The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-06-07 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 1553.

" divine art," it is a stern fact, that all natural talent, as
it is called, without cultivation, only renders the singer
ridiculous,—that, in short, there must be musical edu-
cation, as well as a mind capable of receiving it. I know
little of the capabilities of the black people's minds,—l
dare say their hearts are soft and kind occasionally, though
I would rather not try them ; but we'll let that pass.
Miss GREENFIELD came out under the auspices of Mrs.
HARRIET BEECHER STOWE, and eke the Duchess of
SUTHERLAND, and Lady PALMERSTON ; the two latter I
know are musically given. The dingy debutante sang
something to begin with about " Little Eva," of course,
and of course also at the request of Mrs. H. B. S. After-
wards Miss GREENFIELD sang two or three other bits—
among them BISHOP'S simple ballad, " Home, sweet
Home !" I cannot describe the singing, because I can-
not call it music, any more than I designate the tom-tom
of the pestilential islands equal to that drum of the
Guards, which in the March in Saul made all hearts wail
at St. Paul's, last November. Some musical critics of
experience say that Miss GREENFIELD'S voice has a range
of three octaves ; by St. CECILIA she did not measure by
octaves ! Again, they say Miss GREENFIELD went from
Din the bass clef, to Bin alt. Perhaps she did. I have
heard of sounds resembling something between a spit
and a whistle. I make no application in the present case.
One thing is quite certain, that when Miss GREENFIELD
came out with her low notes, you certainly would have
taken her for a man ! I have known British voices do th 3
same, a fortune having been laid out in all the adventi-
tious aids of education—their owners withered and died !

Lord JOHN RUSSELL, my little man, I injured you
much last week by slightly referring to your apparent ig-
norance of the provisions of Lord LYNDHURST'S Altera-
tion of Oaths Bill. Now since it has been propounded—
debated—it is valueless. During the whole of last week
it was stated that it was a bill to open a side door for the
admission of the Jews. At the clubs, among M.P.s
and Crown lawyers, this was understood, but Lord JOHN,
when spoken to about it, answered that he did not know
its provisions. This was well on the part of his lordship,
and does not negative my expressed feelings last week in
reference to the proceedings of the deputation, the mem-
bers of which being aware of Lord LYNDHURST'S marital
Jewish connexion, fancied it was to let the " ancient
people" in at the fag end of the session. This was made
entirely manifest on Thursday night, by the amendment
of Lord ELLENeotiouGH, to be read a second time that
day six months, being carried. The debate was coldly
historical ; BROUGHAM, during its continuance, contented
himself by jumping like a grasshopper from one side of
the house to the other, and finally resting himself beside
CRANWORTH on the woolsack, for which he seems to have
an undying penchant. Lord Lr.sntwasr looks remark-
ably well, and his friends are glad to look at his still
manly face, now not disfigured by the ugly black barnacles
which he was obliged to wear for the sake of his eyes in
the early part of the session.
Most commonly on Wednesday, if it be dry, hon.
members, with the exception of your MIALLS, HUMES,
PELLATTS, let me add the honoured name of JOSEPH
BROTHERTON—SPRING Rice, as he is sometimes called,
for his love of the Asiatic fare—and two or three minis-
terial hacks, red tapists,—honourable members, I say,
with these exceptions, prefer the new-fangled Arcadia of
Regent's-park, or the dusty rides about Rotten-row, to
visiting the House of Commons. The Lords, being
gentlemen, never meet on Wednesday. Thanks to his
Grace the late Duke of WELLINGTON, who, for some
good cause or another, had such a repugnance to meet
his peers on that day, that their lordships, in deference to
the DuxE,' made a " rule absolute" not to sit at all.
Some said that the illustrious Duke had had a great de-
liverance—memorable—on that day of the week, hence
his consecration of it. I know, personally, he held it
almost sacred. The Commons, however, always meet,
and on last Wednesday there was a brave muster. the
third reading of the Judges' Exclusion Bill being fixed for
that day. This is an absurd title for a bill which only
goes to exclude Sir JOHN ROMILLY, Master of the Rolls,
from a seat in the House of Commons. Lord HOTHAM,
its author, is a popular fellow in the house, and carried
the bill through every stage up to the third reading, much
to the annoyance of Ministers. Without discussing the
points of the bill in these conversational lines, I at once
say it is a foolish, uncalled-for, and useless bill ; upon
that I will pledge my forensic education, long parliamen-
tary experience, and what is more, stake my conservative
principles. Never mind. Lord HOTHAM, as I have
stated, carried the measure up to the third reading. Lord
JOHN RUSSELL was determined to do something great—
to kink the bill to Tophet. He did so ! And by what
means ? Those not in the secret could not comprehend
the fun of the thing ; rusty supporters of the Govern-
ment, over their shy green pea soup, at the Reform Club.
chuckled and laughed ; what's the rig ? Out it came,
and, oh, to what base uses may we come, Horatio !
Lord JOHNNIE had sent a circular note—a bill of the play,
in short, setting forth, in good Victoria theatre style, that
at four o'clock Mr. MACAULAY would rise in his place, in
the House of Commons, and make a magnificent speech,
and that hon. members were expected to be there to wit-
ness the performance. Now, anotherJoHNN lE—MITCHELL
of the French plays—had RACHEL on her legs at his bijou
theatre thenight before, and JOHNNIE MITCHELLdid in the
first instance whatJouNNIE RUSSELL did in thesecond —he,
the entrepreneur, sent his circular, stating that the MA-
CAULAY of the French Theatre, RACHEL, would appear as
Phedre, precisely at nine o'clock. Time was thus saved
by parties coming in at the nick. Lord JOHN succeeded,
and Lord HOTHAM'S exclusion of the Master of the Rolls
Bill was, for the first time, voted out of the house. MA-
CAULAY made every decent speech, but itwas to oblige the
leader of the house. MACAULAY did the thing per order.
He is still looking very ill—a world too fat ; and then the
whites of his eyes ! Saffron-Waldon ! What lots of
ha'pence he must come out with of a morning ; though
he don't belong to the lacquered boot-school, he rarely
uses a crossing without giving the bare-legged varlet who
keeps it a halfpenny. One likes to see this. He still
continues his solitary walks—l mean alone, for you will
find him reading his little tome—generally a latin author
—in the most densely-populated and " unkempt" parts of
London.

THIRD EDITION.

COMMERCIAL AND MONETARY NEWS.

MONDAY NIGHT.
AT the very time when every branch of industrial
activity is enjoying an almost unexampled state of
prosperity, when employment is ample, and yet
speculation kept within the verge of safety, when
there are no foreign loans to drain the country of
its surplus capital, nor gigantic railway operations
to exhaust the resources of small shareholders,
when apprehensions have been entertained more
for the consequence of a plethora than a defi-
ciency of the precious metals, there is, notwith-
standing, a degree of alarm among our leading
capitalists, which has led to another tightening of
the screw by the great money corporation of the
Bank of England. It is not easy to find an osten-
sible cause for this movement, but it is clear that,
in spite of the successive benefits of gold from
Australia and other places, there is a gradual dimi-
nution of the stock of bullion in the Bank coffers,
as shown by the weekly returns ; and at the usual
meeting on Thursday, the Directors raised the
maximum rate of discount on good paper to three-
and-a-half per cent., making a third rise of half
per cent. within little more than six months. There
was a time when such an announcement would
have created but a slight impression out of doors,
but the money market has become more sensitive
to such changes, and their effect is felt in multifarious
operations. The Funds have sensibly diminished in
value until Consols are below par, and the hope of
effecting a Financial saving by a reduction of the
interest of the National Debt has been, for the pre-
sent at least, set aside. It is now placed beyond ,a
doubt, that the scheme of the CHANCELLOR OF
THE EXCHEQUER to effect a conversion of a por-
tion of the National Debt, is a positive failure, and
the mode by which he has attempted to carry it
out will tend to increase the difficulty. Of the
petty stocks, amounting to nine millions and a half,
the voluntary acceptances of the proposed new
stocks do not reach one million and a half, so
that he will have to provide more than eight mil-
lions to pay off the dissentients; and by this
means add to the embarrassment. It is in vain
that The Times invents a lame excuse in the non-
arrivals of expscted gold from Australia, and the
unsettled state of the affairs of Turkey ; to such
contingencies we are always subject. Mr. GLAD-
STONE'S inability for the task he has undertaken
is self-evident, and we are now—in the midst of
plenty—feeling the effects of a tightness in the
money market. The decline exhibited in the public
funds is also felt in other descriptions of invest-
ment, and must ultimately have an effect upon
commercial operations, though it is said that the
course pursued by the Bank Directors has not been
generally responded to by the discount houses, and
that money for commercial purposes was compara-
tively easy.
The reports from the manufacturing districts
show that, although the unsettled state of political
affairs on the Continent has tended to lessen the
demand, prices continue firm. The slackness,
however, chiefly applies to the Foreign trade, as
the demand for the Home trade has been compara-
tively active. Much apprehension is, however, felt
of a threatened strike of the operatives for an
increase of wages ; and, should the men persist in
their insane intention to turn out, it will prove a
serious obstacle to business. At Stockport the
demand is for an increase of wages to the extent of
ten per cent., while in several other places the
movement is for short time, and the hands have
threatened to cease labour at six o'clock.

The reduction of the Tea duty to Is. 10d. per lb.,
according to the resolution of the House of Com-
mons, has led to great activity, and clearances at
the Customs have been effected to a very large
amount. The increased demand has, however, led
to an improvement in price, which has been still
further augmented by the intelligence of the rebel-
lion in China; so that the public will not enjoy all
the benefit of the reduction.

The return from the Bank of England, for the
week ending the 28th of May, gives the following
results, when compared with the previous week :
Public deposits .. 5,606,412; Decrease £209,065
Other deposits .. .. 11,935,583; Decrease 17,915
Rest .. 3,110,204; Decrease 46,373
On the other side of the account—

Government securities £13,124,653 ; The same as before.
Other securities .. 14,021,714 ; Decrease 346,549
Notes unemployed .. 8,871,860; Increase 137,630
The amount of notes in circulation is £22,582,030,
being a decrease of £56,725 ; and the stock of
bullion in both departments is £17,944,547, show-
ing a decrease of £5,977.• when compared with
the preceding return.

ISSUE DEPARTMENT.
i
Notes issued .. £31,453,890 Govrnt. Debt.. £11,015,100
Other securities 2,984,900
Gold coin & bu1n.17,431,736
I Silver bullion .. 19,154

£31,453,890

X 31,453,890

BANKING D
Prop.'s capita1.£14,553,000
Rest
Public deposits. 5,606,412 ,
Other deposits . 11,935,583
7-day, &c. bills. 1,303,685

£36,508,884.