The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-06-27 00:00:00

MUSIC AND THE DRAMA.

MR. SIIITR'S ENTERTAINMENTS.—By an advertisement
it will be seen that this popular vocalist and piano-forte
player will, in addition to his evening entertainments,
give, on to-morrow and Saturday, two morning perform-
ances. The style and capabilities of Mr. Smith, as an
expressive vocalist, are too well known to require com-
mendation at our hands.

AT THE THEATRE ROTAL, the French comedians hav e
confinned to deserve and to receive general approval. On
Wednesday -evening, the performances commenced with
the comedic vaudeville of Le Chevalier de St. Georges,"
which was acted throughout with a touching grace and
beauty of the most charming order. M. Lafont, as the
Chevalier, was easy, natural, and effective.. Of Mademoi-
selle St. Georges' ..ifesrlame de Presle would be diffi-
cult, indeed, to speak in terms of exaggerated praise—her
impersonation was dignified and becoming—lady-like, yet
expressive ; and the subordinate characters were, as usual
with this company, filled with judgment and ' executed
with, artistic. propriety. The entertainments (a proper
phrase in reference to these performances) were concluded
by a vaudeville, named " Tambour Battant." On Friday,
" Les Extremes fe Tonchent," " Le Gamin de Paris," and
" Au Printemps" were presented, that being the eighth
performance of the limited series of twelve. Deducting
last night's performances, the ninth, there now remain
but two nights on which the talents of this excellent com-
pany can be witnessed, and these evenings should not -be
lost by those who desire to see dramatic representations in
a style of completeness and beauty seldom witnessed in
provincial theatres.
AT THE ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE, the veteran Vanden-
hoff has been refreshing the laurels he long since won,
and which he still so worthily wears. As an actor of the
classic Roman school, of which Kemble and Young were
the acknowledged heads, Mr. Vandenhoff is a most worthy
representative, and in that walk of histrionic art he is
without a rival on the stage. On Wednesday, he appeared
as Cato in Addison's noble tragedy of the same name, and
supported the character with all the heroic and stoical
grandeur pertaining to the character; and on Thursday
he sustained the arduous and difficult part of Richelieu. Of
his rendering of this rare compound of subtle wisdom and
fiery passion—of vigorous intellect and feeble body—it is
hardly possible to speak in terms too highly charged with
praise. The singular gleams of sarcastic invective with
which he varied his impetuous passion were in the highest
degree admirable, and revealed the consummate artist in
combination with the accomplished and powerful actor.
In this piece he was well seconded by the delicate and
truthful performance of Miss Vandenhoff as Julie de
Mortirear. This young lady displays good taste and fine
dramatic perception. It will be seen she takes her benefit
on'Friday evening, on which occasion the programme is
an inviting one, and from the performers announced to
take part in it no doubt can be entertained that it will be
charmingly gone through.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY. ➢ir. Henry Stewart Byrth,
second son of the late rector of Wallasey, has just ob-
tained a second class prize. He was formerly a scholar at
the Royal Institution in this town.
A CONSIDERABLE QUANTITY OF CARGO has been raised
from the Tayleur. A portion of the goods have been dis-
posed of in Dublin by public sale, and realized about
£l,OOO. A second sale will be held this week.
ST. AIDAN'S THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE, BIRKENHEAD.
The chief corner stone of the new college will be laid by the
Marquis of Blandford, on Monday next, the 3rd of July.

Kossurir IN LrvEnPooL.—We understand 3f. Kossuth
is to be in Liverpool in a couple of weeks, he having
agreed to take part in a meeting to be held in the Amphi-
theatre.

ROYAL MERSEY Yecnr CLUB.—The splendid Chal-
lenge Cup, of £lOO value, will be re-sailed for on Saturday,
the Bth July, to which will be added a purse of twenty-
five sovereigns. This valuable prize is now on view in
the window of Mr. Hausburg, the maker, in Church-
street. The Cynthia, H. Roe, jun., Esq., of Dublin, is the
present owner. There will be a good fleet of yachts to
contend for it this year.
THE MARCO POLO.—Two pieces of plate are at present
exhibiting in the shop of Mr. Jones, silversmith, Castle-
treet, bearing the following inscriptions :—" Presented
to Captain Charles McDonnell, of the ship Marco Polo, as
a testimonial of respect from his passengers (606 in num-
ber) for his uniform kindness and attention during his
first voyage, when she ran from Liverpool to Port Philip
Head in seventy-four days and a half, and from land to
land in sixty-nine days.' The other one is, " Presented
by the owners of the Marco Polo to Captain Ferguson,
harbour-master, Melbourne, Victoria, to mark their high
estimation of his invaluable services in rescuing their
favourite 'and far-famed ship from her perilous position,
when stranded in Port Philip Bay, in January, 1854,
Liverpool, July, 1854." The former of these is a very
handsome epergne, or fruit stand, having for its chief
ornament an elegantly modelled statuette of Neptune,
seated in his car, which is dragged by sea horses, and
driven by a tiny but spirited charioteer. This part of the
design is cleverly 'executed in frosted silver, the stalk,
branches, and floral devices being in burnished argentine.
WORKING MEN'S PROTESTANT REFORMATION SO-
CIETY.—On Friday evening an adjourned meeting of this
society took place in the society's room, Lower Beau-
street, Mr. Parsonage in the chair. Intimation having
been made that the discussion on Transnbtantiation
unfinished at the previous Friday's meeting vfould be
resumed, the room was filled by adherents of both sides;
but the Romish champion, dismayed by the arguments
with which he had been assailed by Mr. Flannigan,ldics
not show face, nor did any one make appearance oni
the
same side. In consequence of this several Romanists who
had come to hear the discussion left the meeting, which
was afterwards addressed by Mr. McCarthy, and at a great
length by the chairman, the latter of whom invited any
Romanist present to discuss the matter with Mr..Flanni-
gan, but no one accepted the invitation. At the conclu-
sion of Mr. Parsonage's remarks, Mr. 3inlholland moved,
and Mr. Bennett seconded the motion, that the thankse of
the society be given to Mr. Flannigan for hcslaobni.e xe-
posnre of the Romish doctrine of Transilbstan" t
lecture on " The cirlre • •
chairman then announced that at the nexth ofmeltilunge,btlhro.
McCarthy would
mother of schispend lwreq*"

COUNTY COURT-v -ESTE.R.DAT.
[BEFORE JOSEPH POLLOCK, ESQ., JUDGE.I

DISPUTED PROPERTY IN A PEW.

His Honour having taken his seat at ten o'clock, pro-
ceeded to give judgment in the case of Twentyman v.
Fletcher, which was heard before the court several weeks
ago, as follows :—The plaintiff in this case seeks to recover
£l3 15s. for two and-a-half years' rent of a pew situated in
the chancel and on the floor of that which is now the
Parish Church of West Derby. This pew, which has
been the subject of former litigation, was let some fourteen
years since to the defendant by the husband of the present
plaintiff, who received rent for it from the defendant for
several years, and died in September, 1850, having shortly
before removed his residence from West Derby to London.
In 1851, a payment of rent for the year ending midsummer,
1850, was made by the defendant, who then, however,
plaintiff for
disputed the claim, alleging that the pew belonged to Mr.
Heywood. A
1851.1852 the
to
Mr.
thfnertyheearr paeymnthenngt was
made in
midsummer,
Heywood, in 1843, became the owner of what is called the
Dwerryhouse Estate, situated in West Derby. That
estate had previously belonged to the plaintiff's husband,
who was in possession of it when he let the pew to the
defendant, and then resided in West Derby. TheVew had
been devised to him (the plaintiff's husband) by his uncle,
who, by the same will :bequeathed to him the Dwerryhouse
Estate. The church in which the pew is situated is de-
scribed in an act of parliament, passed in 1843, as "a Chapel
of Ease to the Parish Church of Walton-on-the-Hill."
Some evidence was tendered, however, to show that it was an
ancient chapel in which the Sacraments were administered,
and ought, therefore, for the purposes of this action, to be
considered as a Parish Church. At all events, by the act
above mentioned, it became a Parish Church about the
year 1844. The defendant disputes the claim of the plain-
tiff upon two different grounds. First, he says,—" That
now, at all events, if it was not formerly, the church is a
Parish Church ; thatl either all the pews are free to the
parishioners, and no such right as that claimed by the
plaintiff can exist, or, at least, that if it can under any
circumstances attach, it can only belong to a parishioner,
which the plaintiff has long ceased to be." Secondly, the
defendant asserts,—" That the pew was, or is, appurtenant
to the Dwerryhouse Estate—the old house on which seems
to have been pulled down—and that it belongs to Mr.
Heywood, who has given him permission to occupy it rent
free, while it is asserted by the Rector to belong neither
to Mr. Heywood nor the plaintiff." Where the title to
the pew is thus in fact contested, my first duty is to
inquire whether the defendant is, under the circumstances,
at liberty to raise the question, and dispute the title of
the present plaintiff, to whom, and to her husband before
her, he has paid rent. If he be so, then, unless by pre-
vious consent of the parties, I have no jurisdiction in this
matter, and am not called upon to decide the other diffi-
culties suggested. It seems to me (in accordance with
Mountney v. Collier, 22 L. J. 2 B. 124, and other cases,
though not precisely parallel,) that the defendant is at
liberty to raise at least a portion of the defence on which
he relies, that the title to the pew is therefore in question
before me, and that I have no jurisdiction. At all events
I am much too doubtful of my jurisdiction in this matter,
to attempt to exercise it without the direction of the
superior court to that effect.
The plaintiff was accordingly non-suited.
Inisa IDEAS OF TENANCY. Mr. George Spurr,
auctioneer, of Byrom-street, sued Mary Makin, lodging-
house-keeper, of Banastre-street, for £2. 3s. 4d. of rent.
This was a fraud summons, and it appeared that Mr. Spurr
had promised to forgive the rent, if the defendant would
only leave the house, but she had refused even to do that.
His honour said indignantly to the defendant, " People
from your part of the world appear to imagine that they
have a right to stay in a house if they do not pay the rent.
The plaintiff had promised to forgive you your rent, if you
would give up the house for other persons to live in it,
but you refused. Now you have no such claim in law or
justice, and I shall give an order of commitment for 30
days. This is a case in which you richly deserve to be
sent to prison." _

ARRANGEMENT OF CASES.—Yesterday, when the se-
cond June court opened, was devoted to fraud summonses,
insolvency cases; interpleaders, &c. To-day, 100 case
will be disposed of, and for Wednesday there are two jury
cases, and one special case. The court will not sit on
Thursday, as the County sessions are to be held on that
day at Preston, and 25 suits for £lO upwards, which were
set down for that day, will be heard instead on Monday
the 10th of July. For Friday 133 cases are on the list.
INSOLVENCY CASES.—Charles Albert, late of Manches-
ter-street, house and commission agent, who was un-
opposed, obtained his final order.—Susan Parker, milliner,
of Great George-street, came up on her first examina-
tion. It appeared that she had been only nine months in
business, and that her debts amounted to nearly £3OO.
Her sales amounted to about £240, and with one excep-
tion she had no bad debts, but the goods were of such a
quality that they had deteriorated in value nearly £l5O.
His honor remarked that it was a very large debt to have
incurred in so short a time, when the insolvent, who is
only 22 years of age, pleaded, amongst other considerations,
her inexperience. She paid £4O a year in rent, and had two
assistants to whom she paid £2O a year. His honor observed
that she appeared to have made a wild speculation, but he
had no wish to be severe on one so young, who was en-
deavouring to get on in the world. The insolvent passed
her first examination, and was ordered to come up for her
final order at the first court in August. —James Taylor, of
the Caledonia Vaults, Townsend-street, came up on his
first examination, when it appeared that he had not made,
as bound, a payment of £2O into court, Of that amount
only £l3 10s. had been paid in, and it was stated that the
reason of the deficiency was that the person who had been
sent with the money had been robbed. The case was then
adjourned till next Monday. Mr. Wheeler appeared for
the insolvent, who was opposed by Mr. Hime. _ _

FRILVD SUMMONSES.—brd ers for committal to -Lan-
caster Castle for 30 days, were made against the following
parties ; —Matthew Davies, 9, Cherry-lane, Bevington-
bush ; John Ryland, 40, Ducldnfield-street, (to issue in
a fortnight, if the claim be not previously settled);
Dominick Hunter, 29, Prophet-street, (to issue in a
month); William Jenkins, Royal Oak Inn, Scotland-place,
William Wishart, seaman, Robert Derenzie, Custom-
house, (not to issue till after the 6th of July) ; John Lamb,
6, Chisenhale-street, provision dealer, (to issue in a fort-
night) ; and Mary Makin, 5, Banastre-street, lodging-
house-keeper, whose case is mentioned above.
The court rose early, and adjourned till ten o'clock this
morning.

BANKRUPTCY COURT,—Yesterday, before Mr. Commis-
sioner Perry, Mr. S. C. Fox, wine and spirit merchant,
Rumford-place, who was unopposed, passed his last exami-
nation, and the certificate meeting was appointed for the
19th of July.—Edward Wilkinson, tailor and draper, who
was supported by Mr. Bremner, solicitor, came up for his
certificate. His Honour said, the only question was
whether it should be of the second or third class, and
deferred his judgment till to-day.
LIVERPOOL Docxs.—At a public meeting of dock
ratepayers, held at the Town-hall yesterday, for electing
commissioners of audit, the following gentlemen were
chosen :—Messrs. John Gordon, Henry Dawson, David
Rae, Joseph Mondel, James Brebner, J. A. Black, James
Williams, and George Kendall ; and these gentlemen
afterwards re-appointed Mr. H. B. Hornby their special
accountant.

FATAL ACCIDENT.—On Saturday week, a young man,
named Thomas Rogers, was seriously injured by an acci-
dent in Messrs. Mather and Edwards' iron warehouse,
Vulcan-street. He was removed to the Northern Hospital,
where he died on Sunday. An inquest on the body will
be held to-day. _ _

FAREWELL.--On Sunday, the Rev. J. H. Thom, the
minister of Renshaw-street meeting-house, preached his
farewell sermon, previous to his retirement from thelaulpit.
BANKRUPTCY CERTIFICATES.—In the course of the last
four years the following certificates have been granted by
the Liverpool Bankruptcy Commissioners :—Mr. Perry, 16
first-class, 63 second-class, 27 third-class ; 34 certificates
suspended. Mr. Stephenson, 60 first-class, 47 second-
class, 7 third-class ; certificates suspended, 41.
THEFT AT THE ALBERT DOCK WAREHOUSES.-011
'Saturday, at dinner-time, Frederick Kelly, one of the
porters employed at the Albert Dock Warehouses, was
stopped at the gate with two ounces of tea concealed on
his person. He was at once taken before the Police-court,
and sentenced to two months' imprisonment.
BANKRUPTCY COI:MT.—OR Saturday, before Mr. Com-
missioner Stevenson, John Sagar, who formerly carriedon
business, as a brewer, at Birkenhead, came up by adjourn-
ment for his last examination. After the examination of
several witnesses, the bankrupt was declared passed, and
the 20th of July was fixed for the certificate meeting.
CRICKET MATCH AT BOOTLE.-011 Saturday the return
match between the Bootle Cricket Club and the Birkenhead
Victoria was played at Bootle, to be decided by the first
innings. The Bootle men succeeded in scoring 118, and
felt well assured of success. The Victoria side then went
in, and their first three wickets were lost for so com-
paratively small a score, that the game seemed quite
against them, but Messrs. Bird and Bloomfield went in,
and the first scoring 56 and the second 46 ; the game was
won with seven wickets to go down.

FAST RUN OF THE " WIIITESTAR" AUSTRALIAN
CLIPPER FITz-JAMES.—We learn, from the Shipping
Gazette of yesterday, that the clipper Fitz-James, belong-
ing to Messrs. Pilkington and Wilson's "White Star"
line, was spoken, on the 19th instant, off Cape Finisterre,
within a few miles of the northernmost point of Portugal.
The Fitz-James sailed from Liverpool on the 15th instant,
a little after noon, and had thus made the run down
channel and across the Bay of Biscay in four days, or in
about the time taken by our fastest steamers to perform
the same distance. From such a commencement of her
voyage, we may augur for the passengers in this fine ship
a very rapid passage.
INSTI-
TUTION.—Some mistakes and omissions having occurred
UNIvERSITY Holy-omit; AND THE COLLEGIATE
se stateuior
pt loirpieztmeira, asieswfolill
nioajwreasitta—;
in the recent mention of the distinctions obtained last
half year, at Cambridge, by pupils of this institution, we
341.311!:;..
v‘mii.ree.rsbsh
Mr. Rigby, scholars of Trinity Colleme, Cambridge, 'n
April; Mr. Rigby, in the first clas ' -
s of his year, and Mr.
Webster, Greek Testament Bishop,
[ prizeman ; 31.,1;: Christ's
second of his year, with-
a valuable exhibition, ai, Webster
Webster,
andan. d
/fir in the first
College, in June. Mr. Nevins is also P—... 1-- ed
obtained a
class at Durham, and Mr. Farrar has -.--n
prize for a theological essay at Oxford.
English3arierru Whiteside,eDeclamationt {)
LIVERPOOL CUSToms.—On -.: on Tuesday the 4th
~4day, Mr. Thomas Mt-
ellen, M.P., gave notice that he will,
g:—Returns showing the
of July, move for the
f°11°"1. appointment of Mr. Wm. Pugh
Gardner in the public service ,
date and rank of the first
• the various offices to which
ted or promoted from his first admis-
sion has been apPom
s' department up to the present date,
sion into the Customs
amount of salary attached to each
• the annual
specifying
additional emoluments received, inclusive
offic, and the .
& • the length of time he has
of light fees, -c . ,
dues fines, .
' the variousports to which he has been
absent from . . .
been .beginning of 1841, distinguishing each
ed since the
attach
year, and the cause of such absence, and whether
on
special service or
otherwise ; if on special service, speci-
fying;
fyinc
the ports or places at which that duty was
per-
formed, and the allowed him in each case for extra
amount
pay, travelling expenses, mileage, &c. And, of the names
of any persons who, during the last five years, have held
employment in the Customs at Liverpool, inclusiif
glut-weighers, under false names, and whal..fig...
they were subsequently allowed to drop; assuming ,
real ones, and continuing to receive pay full:1i the depate fie
meat,
' ‘
14.1. ~O)
' f
:—..,.....",ve1k-

THE GALLANT ENGLISH TAR.

(BY ELIZA COOK.)

THERE'S one whose fearless courage yet has never failed in

fiaL t,
Who guards with zeal our country's weal, our freedom, and

our right;
But though his strong and steady arm spreads havoc initsblow,
Cry " Quarter !" and that arm will be the first to spare its foe.
He reeks not though proud glory's about may be the knell of
death,
The triumph won, without a sigh he yields his parting breath.
He's Britain's boast, and claims a toast I "In peace, m y boys,

or war,
Here's to the brave upon the wave—the gallant English tar !"
Let but the sons of want come nigh, and tell their tale to him,
He'll chide their eyes for weeping, while his own are growing

dim.
" Cheer up," he cries, " we all must meet the storm as well as

calm ;"
But, turning on his heel, Jack slips the guineas in their palm.
He'll bear no long oration, but tell you every man
Is born to act a brother's part, and do what good he can.
He's Britain's boast. and claims a toast ! "In peace, my boys,
Or war,

Here's to the brave upon the wave—the gallant English tar 1"

The dark blue jacket that enfolds the sailor's manly breast
Bears more of real honour than the star and ermine rest.

The tithe of folly in his head may wake the landsman's mirth,
But nature proudly owns him as her child of sterling worth.
His heart is warm, his hat,..l is true, his word is frank and free ;
And though he plays the 3on shore, he's lion of the sea.
He's Britain's boast, and claims a toast I "In peace, my boys,

or war,
Here's to the brave upon the wave—the gallant English tar !"

REVIEWS OF BOOKS.

A Hero of Our Owu Times. From the Russian
of Michael Lermontof. London : David Bogue.

At the present moment, when everything Rus-
sian, or connected with Russia, is possessed of an
interest heightened by accident, a volume like the
one before us, which promises an insight into the
social life of Russia, as that is reflected in its litera-
ture, is peculiarly welcome. In an introductorynotice
to the book, we are informed that its author fell
a victim to that jealousy of intellectual develop-
ment which is understood to be, in so marked a
degree, the distinguishing characteristic of the
Muscovite Government, paternal though its ad-
mirers declare it to be ; and that beyond this general
fact little is revealed concerning the life or death,
the position or attainments, of Michael Lermontof.
The novel, for it is a work of fiction, consists in
the narrative of a series of personal adventures of
an individual named Petchorin, and these adven-
tures are intended to exhibit the varying features
of Russian social life. The story is, in many
points, well told, but the scenes and incidents in-
troduced into it are so entirely conventional, that
great doubt must be allowed, as to their illustrat-
ing the character of any one class of men or women
peculiar to any country on the face of the earth.
The book contains some well-written descriptions
of adventure among the Georgian mountains, the
atmospheric vicissitudes of which are cleverly de-
lineated.

The Works of John Locke ; with. a Preliminary
Essay and Notes. By J. A. St. John. London:

G. Bohn.

In this reprint of Locke's philosophical works,
which it is proposed to complete in two volumes, Mr.
Bohn augments his claim upon the favourable consi-
deration of the publicin bringing before them correct
editions of standard authors at a rate of charge little
more than nominal. The present work is prefaced
by an introduction from the pen of Mr. A. St.
John, in which, frankly admitting the difficulty of
rendering his author popular, he seeks, and if suc-
cess were wanting, successfully seeks to establish
his claim upon much higher grounds than mere
popularity. In his essay Mr. St. John displays
patient investigation, and much familiarity with
the leading points of that philosophy to an duci-
dation of whi6h Locke devoted his acute and
vigorous intellect. He also illustrates the text of
his author in copious and well-digested notes. As
a whole, the work promises to be a useful, and to
the studious public a valuable one.

The Early Introduction of Christianity into
Britain ; and Anti-Roman Antiquity of the
British Church. By the Rev. W. B. Stewart
Mathias, B.A. Liverpool : W. T. Thompson.
The object of this brochure, as, stated by its
zealous and efficient author, is to counteract the
untrue averment made on the part of Romanists
that Popery is the form in which Christianity was
originally introduced into Britain, and that, being
the primary, it must be the true Church. The
fallacy of this argument, even if the premises were
true, is too obvious to require serious refutation to
men possessed of reasoning faculties ; but it is not
to such men that the dogmas of Popery are gene-
rally addressed, and the author of the pamphlet
above named does good service to the cause of
Protestantism in thoroughly exposing it. More
important and more special service is rendered to
the same cause by a full refutation of the assumed
claim of Rome to having introduced Christianity
into these islands. The work is earnestly under-
taken and judiciously executed. To all classes of
Protestants we recommend it, and Romanists
would do well to study its pages, that they
may see how fallacious is their pretended origi-
ity in distributing the truths of Christianity.

widespread, is transitory, and that, as a whole, it
will yet work for good to the French people and
to mankind.
History, by shedding the light of truth over the
past, and revealing to us the motives which have
governed events, as well as showing us their results,
enables us to regulate the present—to foresee, and
to direct the future ; and probably at no previous
period of our national existence was this light more
needed than at the present moment. Our social
and political relations, internal and external, haie
within the last quarter of a century undergone
such changes as completely to alter their bearings,
both relative to our neighbours and ourselves.
The alterations which have occurred in what may
not inaptly be termed the European harmonies
have been great ; and each class and every indivi-
dual feels assured that at the present time the
nations of Europe are commencing a career, the
result of which must be, as important as the strug-
gle for its attainment will be arduous. For the
first time during many centuries, British valour
has been united to the prowess of France, and, as
becomes the dignity of these great nations, their
combined exertions are directed to check the
aggressive inroads of barbarism into the field of
civilization, and to repel the assaults of rapacity
upon an unoffending but high-spirited people. To
estimate aright the full importance of this momen-
tous enterprise, it is necessary that we should be
able not only to calculate the enemy's strength
and weakness—his relative position in the social
and political scale— but fully to comprehend our
own, and to have a correct knowledge of those of
our allies, together with the probable current of
their interests and inclinations ; and' above all, to
understand the position of those powers who, being
neither allies nor enemies, hold the balance of
affairs in their hands to such an extent as may
render the conflict one of brief or of protracted
duration. To expound all these difficult and com-
plicated relations, and exhibit the bearings which
they have upon present circumstances, is a task of
vast moment, and the attempt to do so involves
Herculean labour, while it demands the exercise of
extraordinary mental power. In cursorily review-
ing the previous volume of this admirable work,
we took occasion to glance at the antecedents of
its author, and alluded to the peculiar and
highly favourable training by which his mind
had been tutored to the discharge of so important
a duty as the composition of contemporary history.
To that imperfect summary we have now to add,
that, in the present volume, as in its predecessors
and in his previous works, he brings to bear upon
his subject a vast amount of acquired information,
which he lays before his reader in a spirit of judi-
cious generalisation, combined with great political
sagacity and a nicely adjusted discrimination.
Condensed, vigorous, and suggestive beauty of
description, enables him to picture scenery and
relate incidents with the glowing energy of a poet
and the delicate fidelity of an artist. Of the felicity
of his local descriptions many illustrations might
easily be given, but we must content ourselves with
one, and select almost at random his delineation of

CONSTANTINOPLE PROM THE SEA.
No words can express the beauty of the city of Constan-
tinople, with its charming suburbs of Pera, Galata, and
Scutari, when seen from the waters on the opposite shore
of the Hellespont. Situated on a cluster of hills, which
there border the Sea of Pirormora, it presents an assem-
blage of charming objects, such as are not to be seen in a
similar space in any other part of the world. It has not
the magnificent back ground of the Bay of Naples, nor
the castellated majesty of Genoa, but in the perfection of
the scene, the harmony of all its parts, and the homoge-
neous nature of the emotion it awakens, it is superior to
either. The scene is perfect ; the panorama as seen from
the bay is complete. To the north, the majestic entrance
of the Bosphorus —the waters of which are covered with
caiques, while its shores exhibit alternately the wilder-
ness of the savage forest and the riches of cultivated
society—kindles the imagination with the idea of unseen
beauties ; to the east, the suburb of Scutari, in itself a
city, with its successive ranges of terraces and palaces,
the abodes of European opulence and splendour ; to the
west, the superb entrance of the Golden Horn, crowded
with vessels, and the dense piles of the city itself, rising
one above another in successive gradations, surmounted
by the domes of a hundred mosques, among which the cupola
of St. Sophia and the minarets of that of Sultan Achmet
appear conspicuous ; while, to the south, the view is
closed by the beautiful Point of the Seraglio, its massy
structures guarded with jealous care, half obscured by the
stately trees which adorn its gardens, and dip their leafy
branches in the cool stream of the Dardanelles.

To the above specimen of our author's skill and
taste as an artist inlandscape,we cannot resist adding
an illustration of his masterly manipulation in
delineating character, and for this purpose adopt his

MENTAL PORTRAIT OP TILE TURKS.
The character of the Turks, taken as individuals, has
many estimable qualities, which have gone far to counter-
act the disastrous effects of their system of government.
That they are brave and determined, and at one period
were most formidable to Europe, for their military prowess
need be told to none. But it is not equally well known
how worthy they are, and how many excellent traits of
character are revealed in their private life. They are not
in general active or industrious—they have left the labours
of the field to the natives of the soil—the cares of commerce
to the Armenians, and the islanders of the Archipelago.
Like the ancient Romans, or the medieval Knights, they
deem the wielding of the sword or managing a steed the only
honourable occupation, and worthy of a freeman. But no
one can mingle with them, either in business or society,
without perceiving that few races of men are more estimable
in the relations of private life. Fearless, honest, and
trustworthy, their word is their bond, and they are desti-
tute of the restless spirit and envious disposition which so
often, in western Europe and America, at once disturb
happiness and provoke to crime. Inactivity is their great
characteristic, repose their chief enjoyment. Their wants,
generally speaking, are few; their enjoyments such as
nature has thrown open to all, To sit on a carpet, smoke
a scented pipe, and gaze under shade on the dancing of
the sunbeams on the waves of the Bosphorus, is their
supreme enjoyment. Satisfied, if wealthy, with his own
harem, which combines the ideas of home and pleasure,
the Turk has generally no ambition to invade that of his
neighbour ; and the enormous mass of female profligacy
which infests the great cities of western Europe is unknown.
Nothing excites the horror of the Osmanlis so much as
the details of the foundling hospitals, and fearful multi-
tude of natural children in Paris and Vienna : they cannot
conceive how society can exist under such an accumulation
of evils. Though capable, when roused either by religious
fanaticism or military excitement, of the most frightful
deeds of cruelty, they are far, in ordinary times, from being
of a savage disposition ; they are kind to their wives,
passionately fond of their children, charitable to the poor,
and even extend their benevolent feelings to dumb animals.

History of Europe, from the Fall of Napoleon,
in 1815, to the Accession of Napoleon, in 1852.
By Sir Archibald Alison, Bart., D.C.L. Edin-
burgh and London : Blackwood and Sons.
The third volume of this important work, which
has just issued from the press, is as peculiarly
suited to aid in unravelling the course of events,
at the era of its publication, as it will be found
invaluable in reflecting the light of wisdom on the
after-current of European affairs. It commences
with a review of the social and political state of
Turkey and Greece, in 1821, and narrates the course
and termination of the Greek war of Independence :
it next embraces a survey of the relations between
Russia and Turkey, from the accession of the pre-
sent Czar, in 1825, to the peace of Adrianople, in
1829 ; treats of the affairs of France, from the
death of Louis XVIII. to the accession of the
Polignac administration, and fall of Charles X.,
including a sketch of French literature and the arts
during the same period ; and it concludes with the
domestic history of Great Britain, from the death
of Lord Londonderry, in 1822, to the monetary
crisis at the close of 1825.
In tracing the events which arose out of the
Greek war of independence, the author reveals, in
nervous language, his deep interest in the cause of
Christianity, and his warm sympathy with the de-
scendants of those sages and heroes to whom the
civilised world owes, in such high degree, its pre-
sent position in moral science and political freedom
arts and in arms. He embellishes this portion
of his narrative with appropriate classical allusions,
while he carefully avoids encumbering its pro-
gress ; and enriches his pages by parallels between
the achievements of ancient and of modern heroism.
In glancing at the scenes which constitute the
theatre of recent glories, he kindles the enthusiasm
of his reader by reference to their ancient fame.
The incidents of the contest are detailed with a
fervent glow and a thrilling ardour akin to those
which animate the suggestive narratives of classi-
cal antiquity ; but while admiring the fortitude,
and according praise to the valour by which the
Helens of our day have re-established themselves
among the nations, his sense of justice and his
abhorrence of crime lead him to unmeasured cen-
sure of the cruelties which in too many instances
accompanied the struggle and stained the laurels
of the modern Greeks.
Reviewing the state of Literature and Art in
France, embraced within the period of his history,
affords Sir Archibald Alison an opportunity of
displaying his predilection for intellectual power
and his high appreciation of genius, sentiments at
all times characteristic of a great mind. He is
lavish, though not undiscriminating, in his praise
of the great writers of that time ; and in his esti-
mate of the relative characteristics of Chateau-
briand, Guizot, Lamartine, Sismo
rendi, and the
.two
na-
Thierrys, he displays and exercises ass di
ed.scru Inm his
tion as just as it is eloquently exp
survey of French Art, he dwells with emphasis and
obvious delight on the classic beauty, nrgnificence,
pure taste, and durable material, which constitute
inherent charms in the public edifices of Paris,
and which contrast so favourably with the perish-
able nature and ill-regulated taste so conspicuous
in the street architecture and public buildings of
London and other principal towns in England. In
the literary history of France, fraught as it is with
the experiences, and imbued with the princi-
ples of the revolution, and even polluted as many
of its streams unquestionably are, the great modern
historian
of Europe sees ground of hope, strong in
his reliance on
the powerful and divine workings
of that Providence which is at all times, and under
every circumstance,
" From seeming evil still educing good,"
in believes that the evil, though poignant and

Of the political sagacity which characterises the
historical compositions of Sir Archibald Alison,
and which is prominently displayed in the present
volume, on the important topics of currency, free
trade, taxation, the rights of labour, the duties and
privileges of capital, and the practical evils opposed
to the theoretical advantages of trade combinations,
numerous and lucid,as well as dispassionate illustra-
tions are given, in discussing the various domestic
occurrences which are brought under consideration
in course of the narrative ; and in all of these the
benign influence of philanthropy and the soothing
spirit of benevolence are brought charmingly in
aid of cool judgment and clear discrimination.
As indicative in some degree of the light thrown
on the probable issue of the present Turko-Russian
war, by Sir Archibald Alison, and even of the pre-
sent campaign, numerous examples might readily
be quoted, but diminishing space warns us of the
necessity for being brief; and believing that from
the past we may in some sort read the future, we
content ourselves with the annexed account of the

TIIE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, AND GENERAL COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER.

only excepted. Since the Sanatory Act came into operation,
1,600 dwellings in this town have been drained, being 26

per cent. of all which required it ; whereas during the same
period the number similarly drained in London has fallen
short of 9 per cent. As a consequence, the recent report
of the Board of Health states that the mortality of Liver-

pool has decreased from 31 to 29 per 1,000; but the truth
is, that in the worst part of the town—the parish of
Liverpool, where more than three-fourths of the drainage

has taken place —the reduction in mortality has been from
35 to 32 per 1,000, or equivalent to a saving of 800 lives

annually.*

[lt is sometimes difficult to comprehend such state-
ments without a comparison. The average number
killed annually, both by sea and land, in time of war,
amounts to 899 ; while the wounded are somewhat more
than four times as numerous, being 3,623. Yet in the
town of Liverpool alone, the laying of a few thousand
feet of pipes for drainage, prevents a sacrifice of human
life equivalent to the war destruction in both arms of the

service ; and, by removal of the predisposing causes of
disease, more than four times as many are prevented from
being silently wounded. In 1847, the approximate pro-
portion of life lost in Liverpool by each person was one-
half ; but supposing it now to be only one-third, the

number of lives destroyed annually, in a population of

400,000, must be appalling. Every investigation tenth to

show that in actual battle the mortality is, for the circum-
stances, 'surprisingly small ; while amid the masses of our
population it is surprisingly great. At the battle of Vit-
toria, only one bullet in 459 took effect ; and in the recent

Cape war required 3,200 bullets and as many charges of

powder to wound a Caffre ; while medical men, in the
visitation and treatment of severe epidemics, are killed at

the rate of 12 to 20 per cent. —that is, one out of every

five or eight ! The horrors of peace are a hundred fold
greater than the horrors of war.]
The conclusions arrived at, on a consideration of all the

circumstances, may be very briefly enunciated, viz. :-
1. That evening classes for adults are most valuable, in
supplying the omissions of early education, and in impart-
ing the peculiar sort of knowledge which experience has
shown to be most required by the pupils.
2. That such classes, like church services on week even-

ings, could be established in almost any part of the town;

and their absence depends not so much on the difficulty of
the case as on the absence of demand, and the conscious.

ness that such instructions would be but partially, if at
all, taken advantage of.
3. That in Liverpool, such classes are most likely to
succeed among artisans or skilled labourers ; many of
whom live near the parish boundary, from Windsor,
along the lower part of Edge•hill and Everton to Kirk-
dale, and also in the Park.
4. That they may also succeed in any mixed popula-

tion—as in Birkenhead, Chester, or West Derby—where
even the lowest class of the community exists in compara-
tive comfort, and constitutes but a small proportion of the
whole population.
6, That with the lowest and most numerous class in

Liverpool, comprising unskilled labourers only, such classes

are not likely to be either appreciated or accepted ; from
the want of all motive for improvement, the constant pre-

sence of one absorbing thought, how to live at all, and the
consequent deficiency or utter absence of spirit, ambition,
and self-respect.
6.. That even in those cases where such classes are
gladly taken advantage of, they will be successful only, or
mainly, during the winter months.
7. That while reading and writing should be taught,
of course, where they are not sufficiently known, the in-
structions should have a special character, where people
of a particular class reside in unusual numbers—e.g.,
foundry-men, carpenters, miners, sailors, &c.
S. That from the inveteracy of habit, the claims of
domestic life, and other causes, such classes are not likely
to succeed, even during the winter months, with persons

who have passed beyond 22 or 23 years of age.
9. That the difficulties which surround the education
of the adult, should form a new and powerful argument
for the better education of the young ; and that the chil-
dren of the lowest class in the community, whose case
is most hopeless in after years, have the first and
strongest claims upon the sympathy and exertions of
the town.

After these conclusions had been reached, indepen-
dently, some very interesting, but indirect verifications of

them, attracted my attention.
The first is an abstract taken from the census of edu-
cation of 1851. It appears that there were then 1,545
evening classes for adults in all England and Wales, or
one for every 11,000 of the population. At this rate,
Liverpool should contain about 36, or nearly at the rate of
one for every ecclesiastical districts in the town. As might
be expected, they were most numerous in the manufac-
turing districts; and in Lancashire and the West Riding
of Yorkshire, they were far more numerous than in any
other part of the country. The pupils amounted to
39,783, giving an average of 26 to each school. One class
of the community alone, artisans, constitute more than a
third, or 36 per cent. of the whole ; three other classes,
agricultural labourers, factory hands, and domestic ser-
vants, constitute another third; leaving to all other
classes of the community to supply the remaining third,
in which the town labourer would find a low place. Do-
mestic servants, who are given as one of the four principal
classes, amount only to three per cent. The subjects taught
generally embraced reading, writing,and arithmetic,but in
addition to these, grammar and geography were taught in
more than a fifth of the schools, history in one-ninth,
mathematics in one-twelfth, modern languages in one out
of every forty-three, and book-keeping in one out of every

fifty-three.
The second verification I obtained at the Free Public
Library ; the facts of which are the following. In the
month of November last year, the reading room contained
at an average 107 readers, each evening at eight o'clock,
and in the month of May of the present year, 113. Its
entire accommodation amounts to only 130. If we suppose
the room to be occupied by two distinct sets of readers in
the course of an evening, the numbers are doubled, and

are respectively 214 and 226. In connexion with the two
leading libraries, there are 4,015 volumes, and 1,506
readers, or persons entitled to take books home. Many
persons who look at such facts absolutely but not rela-
tively, are highly pleased with these results, and they are

highly gratifying so far as they go. I would simply
remark, however, " what are these among so many ?" If
an enormous population like ours possessed a fair average
of intelligence and spirit, there is not a ward of the town
but should do as much in the way of acquirements as the
whole town has done.

The third point is derivable from the statistics of the
evening schools held at the North Corporation School ;
the facts referring to the last three years. In nine years
5,951 males were admitted, and in three years 1,258
females; or an annual average of 681 males and 419
females. The average attendance, however, was only 73
males and 65 females ; and this is accounted for in part by
their brief connexion with the school, which averaged a
little more than four weeks for the males, and more than
five weeks for the females. In both sexes, though the
pupils had left school and entered on remunerative employ-
ments, there were few actual adult:; for the males
averaged in the three years, from 25th March, 1851, to
25th March, 1854, 15 years, and the females from 13k to 13.
Strange to say, in both cases, there was a regular decrease
of age, a younger class of pupils seeming to thrust out
even those who by courtesy were called " adults." One
would like to see the tendency in the opposite direction ;
the junior population requiring supplementary instruction
less and less, and the seniors trying to recover lost ground
more and more, in the competition of improved intellect.
I have thus endeavoured to present as many facts as
possible in a brief space, as the basis of sound opinion.
The practical inference to be derived from the whole is, I
think, at once obvious and indisputable. We should
endeavour to supply to adults, the education which, from
circumstances of various kinds was neglected in youth, or
which experience has shown to them to be most required.
If adult evening classes were opened in parts of the town
where skilled labourers and other poor persons reside, who
are beyond the harrassing pressure of want, they would
be likely to be well attended, and in general would be
completely self-supporting. The time of our best teachers
is a good deal occupied, owing to the stringent arrange-
ments of the committee of the Privy council, but com-
petent teachers could still easily be procured. One class,
of the community, however, I consider all but hopeless in
reference to improvements to be effected in this way. It
consists of those who can never drive " the wolf from the
door ;" who, through hardship and uncertainty, have lost
all trust and almost belief in an overruling Providence ;
who have, in many cases, retrograded from moral agents
and intellectual beings to mere animals ; and in whose
dark future, to-morrow threatens to be as gloomy as to-day,
to-day being only a repetition of the misfortunes of
yesterday.

* Prow a Report of the Medical Officer of Health, June
15th, lac
t There are 46 such districts in the town.

NEWSPIVERS ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.—SMan as
country newspapers were, not containing more matter
than in one of our pages, the editors had some difficulty in
filling them. A Leicester newspaper about 1750, filled
with a chapter from the Bible every week, beginning with
Genesis I ~ until it reached Eatpclu4 x.