The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-11-23 00:00:00

FRIDAY MORNING, NOV. 23, 1838.

CANADA.—The news from Canada, brought by the
passengers by the Garrick, is of first•rate importance.
Lord Durham is on his way home, and may be ex-
pected in a few days. He has given to his successor,

the Commander-in-Chief, the fullest power and autho-
rity to call into service the military forces. The rebels
were congregating on the frontiers, contemplating
another descent. Several of the banished traitors bad
returned, and were allowed to move about with impu-
nity. Another rebellion seems inevitable.
Under these alarming circumstances, it is highly
probable that Parliament will be immediately assem-
bled. Will Lord Melbourne and his associates conti-
nue in of until that period ? It is scarcely possible.

TOWN-COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.—The length of our
reports precludes us from offering any extended obser-
vations on the Council proceedings of Wednesday.
The discussions will be perused with interest. It will
be seen that they afford a strong corroboration of our
oft-repeated assertion that "the school question is not
set at rest for ever." In fact, the whole question has
been re-opened. On Tuesday we shall devote two or
three columns to this subject, in connection with the
other matters brought before the Council. It will be
seen that Mr. Rathbone " is himself again," and that
he is as capable as ever of abusing the Protestant
clergy of the town.

POSTOFFICE ARRANGEMENTS.—Since the 9th instant

the departure of the mail to the north has been post-
poned till eight o'clock in the evening, which prevents
letters being delivered in business hours next day at
Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Paisley.
A memorial, signed by the most influential bankers
and merchants here, has been sent to the Treasury,
praying that it may bP put upon its former footing,
with a letter to the Earl of Lichfield on the subject, to
which letter the following answer has been received :--

General Postoffice, 21st November, 1838.

Siu,—l am commanded by the Postmaster-General to
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th instant,
and to assure yon that the subject to which you refer steal
have his best and early attention.

I am, sir,

Your obedient humble servant,
THO. LAWRENCE, Asst.-Secretary

J. T. Alston, Esq., Liverpool.

MR. HOPES AND THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.--
Many of our readers are, no doubt, aware, that at the
adjourned meeting of shareholders interested in the
Great Western Railway a -stormy discussion arose,
during which Mr. Alexander Hoyes, of this town,
(amongst others,) made himself conspicuous for the
violence with which he attacked Mr. Brunel and the
Directors. The proceedirigs were fully reported i°
most of the Bristol and West of England newspapers,
as well as in the Railway Times. The Bristol and
neighbouring journals commented with much freedom
and considerable severity upon the conduct of Mr'
Hoyes and those who acted with him. The Railway
Times, on the other hond, applauding the opposition
of this gentleman and his friends, published a series °f
violent and libellous attacks upon the Engineer and
the Directors of the Great Western Railway Corn'
pany, accusing them of extravagant expenditure, o'l'
pable neglect of the interests of the shareholders, and
gross incapacity to complete an undertaking Of seal
magnitude on sound and economical principles'
In reply to the intemperate strictures of the 1?aille0
Times, and the no less violent and intemperate attacks
of Mr. Hoyes and his party, we published several
communications in the Standard;which were furnished
to us by a correspondent who assumed the signature
of of " Wm. Watch." In these letters our corresPolu
ent indulged in some strong retaliatory language, bet
not stronger, in our opinion, than the occasion justi-
fied. We felt, and still feel, perfectly convinced that
the animadversions of " Wm. Watch" contained no-
thing that could by possibility be tortured into a libel-
The letters of our correspondent were rather of a set
fensive than of an aggressive character. His ohiee
seemed to be rather to vindicate the plans and pru'
ceedings of the Engineer and Directors of the Great
Western Company, than to pour contumely upon theirt
assailants. We do not believe that our correspond°
wished to disparage, much less to injure, the character
of Mr. Hoyes and his coadjutors. Of course, as INIII..
Hoyes was an utter stranger to us, we could have 13°
motive whatever for insulting his feelings, or 161:
pugning his conduct. We merely admitted the letters
of " Wm. Watch" into our columns underthe ca-
d
viction that we were doing an act of public justice, ari._
that in a matter which affected the pecuniary
of a large body of shareholders. •
Entertaining these convictions, and influenced
_a
these motives, we were, certainly, nota little surprlsen,
to find that Mr, Hoyes, during our absence from tfo
tile
interests
had called at the office to demand the name 0,...,01.
writer who had assumed the signature of /vo_3.
Watch," and that he threatened, in case of non°;,.
chance with this demand, to proceed against the p u
As soon
fisher of the Standard in an action for libel.
referred
as the circumstance was mentioned to us we reit.:
„eel.
to the letter of " Wm. Watch," to ascertain yr I.l.llre_e
into our columns. A careful perusal of the letitecounia
we had inadvertently admitted any /ibellous clr,cog_,
winced us that there was nothing in it which
"ere
bear such a construction. In this conviction w rto
fortified by the opinion of a professional gentlem
whom we submitted the question for decision. _ c
the
If we felt surprised that Mr. Hoyes should
mak
ur
n'l
wonderful discovery that the letter was libello.r;
,°OO
astonishment was still further augmented wi
looking over the columns of the Courier
° recourseday last, we discovered that Mr. Hoyes hafd
the following advertisement:—
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.

_ -----
TO THE EDITOR OF THE COURIF,R•
SlR,—Tlie enemies of good managon tbe,
ement up
Great Western line of railway having, in default
of theirO.!
better arguments, resorted to personal abas o
e .'_'
opponents, I feel myself in the situation of having t.
request you will do me the favour to insert the ol°"'"
ing statement and correspondence.
In the Liverpool Standard, of the 30:h of
appeared a long letter upon the above object, TO I
am
the anonymous signature of they Watch,'
as-
in which my character is malignantly and rallielY
persed. I was in a distant. part of the country upon
the appearance of the publication, but inunediately on
Octobc::;