The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-09-29 00:00:00

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

The lines of " A Self.edocnted Lad" do credit to his head and
heart. but they must be improved before they are suitable, for
publication.
We should have been most happy to have inserted the letter of
" Expositor " had a e received le earlier. He will find else-
where a communication somewhat as th e same subject.
The letter of e." is smart ~nd p iinted, but as our previous
correspondent had not ma,'.e use of any argumentum ad
hominem. we think he should not be replied to exclusively in
that way
qThe absence of the Mayor from the Agricultural Society's
Dinner, is satisfactorily accoanted for by the fact, that he
was unavoidably out of town.

Elbcrwol tanbarb.

TUESDAY MORNING, SEPT. 29, 1846.

Our contemporary, the Albion, is determined,
apparently, to push us to extremities, with respect
to the relative advantages of the Birkenhead and the
Liverpool Docks, as available for merchants and
✓shipowners, or as offering security for parties wish-
ing to invest by way of loan. We have no wish to
press the controversy. What we have said already,
in defence of the Docks of Liverpool, we should he
quite ready to leave to the judgment of an impartial
public; hut we must correct a few statements into
which the ignorance of our contemporary has led

'the Albion comments upon our supposition that
£30,000 would pay the expense of working the
docks of Liverpool, independent of repairs. We
need not say to any party who has read our article
that it was a mere uff-hand supposition, meant only

to show our contemporary how small was the
chance of any docks, which merely charge ' tonnage
. dues, paying decent interest for the outlay required
in their construction, How he makes out that
£82,000 are th 3 cost of the repairs of this year,
" from the Dock Accounts just published," he will
perhaps be good enough to tell us.
With respect to the surplus revenue of our docks
for the present year, which we said would be little
short of ±lOO,OOO, we must endeavour to enlighten
our contemporary, whose arithmetical faculties ap-
pear to require it. s. d.
On the 24th June, 1845, the Dock
Estate owed tt;e:,ttin of.. 2 357,090 7 2
This year the Estate has borrowed 324,323 13 0

£2,681,414 0 2
From this we have to deduct the
sum of
paid off during the year ;
which leaves £2,665,289 0 2
as the liabilities of the present
year, against £2,357,090 7 2

16,125 0 0

Showing an increase of a debt of.. £308,198 13 0
To set against this, we have, from the published
account., expended upon Dew works as follows :
New south work,: £3,887 0 5
River wall central works 19.478 17 5
Ditto, new north works
New north works
Landing stages (new works)
Parliamentary expenses (new act) 5,637 0 2
Albert Dock 9.404 19 1

Property purchased for iww works 31,911 3 10
Albert Dock Warehouses
Balance due to bankers reduced 13,419 16 7
Excess in materials on hand

X 391,129 7 8

Increased revenue.... f 82,930 14 8

Our contemporary, who is evidently unacquainted
with figures of arithmetic, however apt he may be
at figures of Btllingsuate, will say this is not s sur-
plus of £lOO,O 0. He mly also complain of the
deductions we have made; and particularly the de-
ductions of the expenditure upon the Albert Dock
and Warehouses. So long as these have not their
income brought into the accounts, they have a
right to he taken as new works, not within the
reach of the ordinary expenditure of the Dock
Committee. \Ve have also a right to deduct the
interest on Dock Bonas uiven for the payment of
the Albert Warehouses arid the other new works in
progress, which will make nut the surplus revenue
of the working docks to be fully one hundred
thousand pounds. Witco, moreover, we have the
• Albert Warehouses pay in, twelve and a half per
cent., which the Albion's friend, Mr. Eyre Evans,
assures us they will pay, we shalt have more of this
surplus, and may defy all competition.
We shall neither bother ourselves nor our readers
about Adam Smith's productive and re-productive
expenditure. \Ve ever stud•ed dictionaries much,
. nor Adam Smith either. We leave such abstruse
matters to men of genius like our contemporary.
We know, happily, that two and two make four%
and that is sufficient for our present purpose.
When we want more learninz to enable us to reply
to our powerful cantemporaiy, we shall be content
to quit our present avocatioLs and go to school
again.

• Some proceedings have just taken place in
the City of London Registration Courts, which
clearly slow the necessity, on the part of the Re-
vising 13.4risters, to check the efforts made year by
year by societies, such as our Atli Monopoly Asso-
ciation, formed for the express purpose of working
the registrations. We give a brief extract of the
proceedings with respect to one case, as reported in
the London 'limes of Saturday :
" A witness proved than he had served a claim to be
rated on the ovi-rse-r on b half of Mr. Bates. He had
tendered pi..., ii.e.it 0' tl.e rams Otte from Mr. Bates, but
the overseer informed him tint h.; did not know whether
anything was dm, or not.
" Mr. A asotn.—At the time von tendered the money
did you intend. hor.d fide. to pay any rates that might be
due ? I don'• how far I am obliged to answer that
question, as the ease has wit arisen.
The situ* s+, is reply to Tte.tions from the Revising
Barristrr, said. i cios drred th it, in making the tender.
I was fulfilling the requirements rit* th • Reform Act. I
had no instructions to do more then make a tender of the
money. I zentral v reef lard my instructions from Mr.
Sidney Smith. If the ove,s,er had told we what amount
• was due from Mr Bdm I iliould probably have with-
drawn the claim, hut the cise al d not arise.
"Mr. ARNOLD —Did Mr. Smith ever d rest you, in
terms, to make a payment ?
"The wiiiiess, after fencing some time, replied—l can-
not say that lie ios,ruct,-d me to do more than to make a
tender with the service of I,acii claim.

Tne witness core I considered that I complied
with my itis•roeti ttria by prod.:n-1g the money. 1 hate
made n good many ten.ters nr ti,e sane kind—some in
every parish in the city I never had occasion to make a
paymen'. I have withdrann clAms more than once,
when the nr?rt.e rs hare it1:1 yne w4at was the great
amount du. be roles. I gener
aallv inlormed Mr. Smith
of these c&s:•s, anti ' aPprov, of the discretion I hod
ex&ei,ed. Tie money I tend- r..ti was in all cases my own."
Here, it will he admitted, is a
.direct case of, at
least, meditated fraud upon tio Constitution. A
hired agent, in, t• acted by tle solicitor or some other
officer of a red ta, ion society, waits up:m the over-
seer of a parish. probably at the last hour, and pro-
ducing a hundred or two hundred claims, require§
to know what rates John Nokes or Thomas Styli 8
owes, and pre ducts a stun of money in his hand
sufficient to meet the possible amount required, and
makes a sham t ruler of it. If the overseer, in the
absence-prolkild; of the collector, cannot say at the
' moment what each of these large number of claimants
_ owes, the case goes before the Revising Barrister.
lf, however. the overseer eon turn to the account at
once, the chtim is dropped like a red hot brand. Our
cunning. hirclin_ had no idea of paying. He was
only to make a tender (.9
The law of • '- e case, and thz decision of the court,
was thus given by the•ltevisin.f, Barrister:—
. "Mr. Arnold observed. that, under the 30th section of
. Lae Reform Act. tursoos niters were on the rates
were entitled to claim -to IT rf-gist, red; but the section
requi:ed th :11,-1, should He'll:a:ly pay or tender the full
• amount of t r Jett theft due or owioa for the premises in
respect of tilt y were rated. Tit • Legislature evi.
_dentiv c nitemplatetl in act! payment, or bona* fide
tender of the rates. The authority which had been given
to Mr. Sirl,•ey Snuff It by a claimant, and which was pro-
duced on NI o tl.r. did not ad ,pt the words of the 30th
"section of ti.e R•torto Act ; it. did not audiorise Mr.
Smith to. " pas or •• remit r'• the amount due. but
lv gave ao anthorit, to •y01..r payment. He (Mr.
Arnold) haul givrit uff r t to tat and similar authorities
in several caste, in eons, crier ce of the statement+ of
the claimant., ti.at they considered they authorised Mr.
Smith, or l,ia stgen,,.. to stay the rates on their behalf.
What he had he,rd to-day, however. hod led him to
regret that hp had pi;c,(l 'have claimants on the list,
for he fearid he tad ,eal.te,:ed a great many persons
who were 7.01 ensiled to the fronchise. It appeared
frorn'the rvith-tice or Mr. Anne that his intention was
merely t 11..ke a teorh-r, without making an actual pay_
view. Mr. Mote had stated tat he would probably have
withdrawn w et to which he had tendered
Payment t f tats if • he over,eers It id informed him of the
amount doe; tool hr had Alan hdynitted that he had ac-
tually tsk,- course on more that, one occasion.
Under the-e c•ri rrstanrrs. he (Mr. Arnold) could only
Come to the eetteht
.if)11 that the tenderlleratwel'ss ifnoatnymlatad( 1
Lona fide with ; atom of paying
been due. bat that be ter d r was altogether fraudulent
used fictitious. tie considered that the 30th section of
he Reform Act had not been complied with—that a suf.

ficient tender had not been made by the claimant or any
~utilos jar(' agent on his beh,at. He would, therefore,
disallow the claim.

" Mr. Wansey hoped the Court would grant a ease.
" Mr. Arnold.—Certainly not. It I did so, I -hould
state to the Court of Common Pleas that the tender was
fictitious and fraudulent."

Our readers are aware that the incumbency and
pr'ncipalship of St. Bees College have been bestowed
upon one—the Rev. R. Parkinson—learned, no
doubt, and eminent for his talent and ministerial
zeal and usefulness, but already holding high pre-
ferment as Rector of Manchester, and Fellow of the
Collegiate Church of that town—a clergyman with
already as many duties to perform as any one man,
however able and indefat;gable, can get through,
with advautage to the large and populous parish
placed under his pastoral care.
We must not be understood to maintain the
slightest obj,ction to the fitness of the reverend gen-
tleman upon whom this preferment has fallen. We
are aware that his learnirg and excellence as a
mi ister of the G:spel are undoubted, and rightly
appreciated by the large body of his parishioners,
who, by the resolutions entered by their church-
wardens a week ago upon the parish journal, object
to his appointment apparently upon the same grounds
ls ourselves, viz.,—that it is inconsistent with the
proper discharge of his already numerous duties :

" Memorandum,—The churchwardens of Manchester
heing informed that the Rev. Canon Parkinson has ac-
:•epted the presidency of Saint Bees, with the incumbency
of that parish, and that he intends to bold these prefer-
ments in addition to that of rector of Manchester, feel
hound to record their optnion,—
" That it is of the highest importance to the spiritual
interests of the parish, that the clergy of the Collegiate
Church should be resident in Manchester.
" That the addit!onal duties which the Rev. Canon
Parkinson ha 4 undertaken, will r,-quire his residence at
St. Bees for the greater part of the year, and that his
energies will naturally be directed to that scene of his
labours.
" That however earnestly the Rev. Canon may strive
that the parish shall not suffer from this step, it is impos-
,ible hut the parish will suffer.
"The churchwardens deeply regret the loss thus sus-
tained, and feel that the large parish of Manchester re-
quires an increase rather than a diminution of clerical
superintendence.

" Resolved,—That a copy of this memorandum be for-
warded t.. the Rev. Canon Parkinson, and to the dean
and chapter."
'These objections are moreover infinitely more
telling, at a time when the church is urged to seize
unon the tevenues of a poor see now vacant, for
the purpose of erecting a bishopr c in Manchester.
That large parish, we are told, and the manufac-
turing district around, require increased pastoral su-
perintendence, and are save the mark ! too
poor to pay for it, without the extinction of a
bishopric in Wales. Yet, with this plea upon the
lips of Government, and acceded to by a portion of
the church, the pastoral superintendence of a rector
is permitted, if the memorandum of the Manchester
churchwardens he well founded, to be withdrawn
from Manchester, and his learned and pastoral la-
bours are henceforth to be pursued in a remote
parish upon the western borders of Cumberland.
We grieve sincerely to see our Church, by ar-
rangements such as this, putting weapons into the
hands of her enemies for her own over'hrow as an
establishment. This appointment of the Rev. It.
Parkinson would co doubt have been excellent in
itself; but it ought never to have been permitted to
be held along with his rectory and fellowship. One
result, however, the perseverance of the rev. gentle-
man in his present design so to do may bring about,
which we shall scarcely regret. if the parish of
Manchester can dispense with the residence of its
rector, it might, probably, n t be very inconvenient,
but, on the contrary, greatly to the benefit of its
vast population, if the large revenues now drawn
from it by the clergy of the Collegiate Church were
dispersed more equally amongst the clergy of the
parish, or devoted to the endowment of additional
places of worsh:p. It is far from our wish, as lovers
of our venerable establishment, to direct ag&nst her
the hand of innovation, already anxious enough to
be dealing with her revenue and privilet e:. Et her,
however, every reasonable excuse for her enemies to
assail her must be removed, or the task of setting her
affairs in order, and l rJmoting her increased useful-
ness and efficiency, must be taken in hand by her
friends.

The condi,ion to which Ireland has been reduced
by the almost total failure df the potato crop is
becoming,
.day by day, more appalling ; and so
raasettlyeaa"clopmaTitOusprisovtihdee oapreateiodny r3rthe
th e
distressmeasure,
of the labouring classes, that it is now almost a
matter of certainty that Parliament must meet,
within a few weeks at furthest, to divine some
efficacious legislation upon the subject. A perusal
of the reports of the presentment sessions, which
at present almost fill the Irish papers, is quite
sufficient to satisfy a man of ordinary perception
that whilst we are pauperizing the minds of the
Irish peasantry by our present system of relief, we
are at the same time opening the door wide for
every species of jobbing, and winking at an enor-
mous waste of money, expended upon works which
can never return a shilling to either the Government
or the Irish people. A few samples of the pro-
ceedings of these presentment sessions may not be
uninstructive to the English reader. We should
premise, however, that these sessions are equivalent
to our meetings of justices and county ratepayers,
assembled to vote money for public works, to he
assessed upon themselves. This will account for
the struggle made by different parishes or baronies
to get a large slice of the grants, for outlay upon
their own particular localities. Take the following,
then, from the proceedings of the Miltown Malbay
Sessions, Thomas J. Morrony, Esq., J.P., in the
chair :
" After some further discussion, public works were pre-
sented for in the parish of Kilfarboy to the amount of
8910. It is worthy of remark, that the chairman cried
down some presentments for useful works in this parish,
and affixed his s'enarrire of rrjection to them, th >ugh a
poll "as demanded by respectable cess-payers.
"Cl airman—l think we had better now proceed with
the parsti of Kilter t.. .

- . -
" Sir Burton M'Nainara-1 would wish to take the
sense of the cess-n,,vers as whether we proceed neat with
Killard— (cri-s of Ki'morry ! Kinard! Kilmurry ! Kil.
lard ch. ir, chair, order, pull, poll, great uproar, and
shouts of laughter.)
"Chairmatt---` Com?. a'on; Josey,' let us have a poll
Ca* it. (Laughtet.)
"Mr. Singleton—lf I were the chairman-, I would not
be put down by clamour in this kind of way. The chair-
man should decide as to which parish we go on with.
(R,eneweli uproar.)
" A poll having been called for, the numbers were in
favour of K.lmurt y.
" (Here, among other voices in the body of the court,
a country schoolmaster bawled out, • The Kihnurryeuians
have if ! Bravo, Sir Burton!' (Laughter.)
" Public cm Ira wtre granted for Kilrnurry, to the
amount of £10.418; and to the parish of Killard, to the
amount of £9OOO.

" Among the presentments sought for in the parish of
•Kilfarboy, was a fever hospital for Miltowo ; nod this
presentment was thrown out. though the Hey. Mr. Hill
stated ih-it sixty persons at least died of fever every year,
for the want of•an hospital."—Limerick Examiner.

Or the following, from the proceedings of the ses-
sions at Cahir, the Earl of Glengall in the chair:—

" Toe next presentment was to make a line of road be-
tween Arrifi.tan and roatl.—Co=t, £2036.
" Lord Glengall—X2o36l Oh! nonser s .
" Mr. Butler L iwe, y !ores an t Lenttemen, I
most strenunnsly urge on you the tv•cessity of passing
this presentment. Nothing can exceed the distress of
the unfortutta e pet ple io that locality. I think lam
not mistaken in saying that this meeting was convened
for charitable purposes, but laving even humanity
aside, I think the necessity for this road demands of
you :o pass it. (Hear, hear, hear.) The county of
Waterf int have completed their portion of this road,
which, if you now pass will be one of the most perfect in
the country. I say, my lord, that the people of that I.t-
-cality deserve employment, for the manner they hat e
borne their misfortunes. They came to my gate in hun-
dreds the other evening in the most peaceable manner,
and begged of me to get them employment, as they were
actually starving, and I promised to do all in my power
for them.

" Counsellor MutCARY bore witness to the utility of
this und-rtaking, and the good character of the inhab!.
tants of the neighbourhood. The learned gentleman con-
cluded by saying. I call on the maciktrates and ness pay-
ers to p .ss this nre•e,•tment, or when we go home the
peop'e of the district will say that you were unable or un-
willing to assist them."

What, we ask, is likely to be the utility of works
thus decided upon ? Are they at all likely, except
by some unforeseen chance, to he profitable?
Kilfarboy has not £8.940; ergo, Killard roust have
£9,000. But Kilrnurry demands to he served first ;
and " the Kilmuryenions had it," to the tune of
£10,418. The parish of Ki?farboy wanted a fever
hospital for Mihown; but a fever hospital the far-
mers and other cess-payers would not tax them-
selves for, although 6‘ sixty persons, at least, died
of fever every year for want of an bo,pild.,,
Again, what is the main argument used".for a
line of road between Ardfinan and Brien's Road,
the cost o' which was put down at the Cahir ses-
sions at £2,036 ? That " nothing can exceed the

distress of the unfortunate people in that 'locality.' q
The farmers and landlords of the entire district are
called upon to tax themselves for, probably, a very
useless road, to benefit a particular locaity, or,
perhaps, a few interested individuals, lest when
these individuals go home " the people will say
that they were unable or unwilling to assist them !"
A most unconvincing reason for throwing away the
money granted by government, with sucbovery
little security of its being repaid.
It would surely have been within the power of a
wise government to have devised some great public
works, upon which the distressed people of Ireland
could have been employed, the benefit of which to
the country was not merely problematic ; to have
taken some precautions against that system of pri-
vate or local jobbing which has been the curse of
the social system of lrelard from time immemorial.
There are lands to be drained there; bogs to be
reclaimed ; mountains, only requiring the outlay of
capital to enable them to produce food for man, in-
stead of cover for grouse or scanty pasturage for a
few sheep. Ireland has fisheries capable of sus-
taining the whole of her population ; hut her fisher-
men have neither boats nor nets. The formation
of railways is calculated to give a vast impetus to
the future prosperity of that country; cannot these
great works be pressed forward by the aid of go-
vernment loans properly secured ? Surely none of
these remedies are beyond the reach of adoption; yet,
in the words of an Irish proprietor, addressing Lord
John Russell upon the subject of the present Relief
Act, the entire- bounty of the British nation, willingly
extended towards their suffering Irish brethren, is
being "laid out in works of public inutility ; in en-
deavouring to make mountains of mole hills, laying
out roads which lead to nowhere, and planning works
which will benefit no one but the county surveyors;
creating, in fact, a gigantic system of unproductive
labour, to be repaid by borrowed money, introducing
habits of laborious indolence, in the shape of break-
ing stoneb, amongst an agricultural population,
whilst the land which is to pay for all will derive no
benefit from the labour which will he wasted on the
roads." If this is the best that the present Ministry
can do; if to sink the labourer in the social scale,
and, at the same time, to hang an increased burthen
of debt round the necks of the Irish landowners, is
the extent of Whig capacity to legislate for that
country, the sooner the duty devolves upon other
hands the better for all parties.

We feel it a duty to call the attention of our
readers to the letter which we annex, from a mem-
ber of the Pilots' Committee, and an intelligent
shipowner of this town, with respect to the satisfac-
tory working of the Albert Docks.
We must bear in mind that these new ware-
houses are not under the management of the
gentlemen who originally projected them ; and that,
therefore, they are Lot supposed, or represented, by
these gentlemen, and others, to be managed with
the same consummate wisdom possessed by their
original projectors. Our correspondent's letter,
however, will show that such complaints are not
exactly founded upon reasonable grounds; that the
warehouses are efficiently conducted ; that the
officials are most courteous and well acquainted
with their duties ; and that the prospect of their
future operation is encouraging both to the dock com-
mittee and to the merchant and shipowner. What
may he the profitable return to the Dock Estate of
such expensively-constructed warehouses, of course,
we do not pretend to guess. This much, however,
we repeat, that they will he used extensively and. in
preference to warehouses of the ordinary construc-
tion; and here we would have a word of ad-
vice to offer to our fellow-townsmen. We see
a great amount of warehouse construction
going on in various parts of the town—some
of them not the most eligible. We say to
them, " nause awhile." The new system is ab-
stracting the business from the best warehouses in
the town. It is hopeless, so far as profit is con-
cerned, to attempt the erection of warehouses in in-
ferior situations. Those who take our advice will
thank us hereafter.

We give here the letter of our correspondent.
with further comment

TO THE EOITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

Sin.—Ravine ob-erved, ever since the opening of the
Albert Dock and Warehouses, a strong disinclination on
the part of shipowners—how produced I do not know—to
make use of these magn;ficent facilities for our com-
merce. I deem it but R duty to state my own exreee, ce

(,01;;;iii, from eeleutta, crmP into the Albert Dori, on
Thursday, the 17th instant, having on hoard a cargr,
€nzar, rice, and saltpetre. She commenced discharging on
F,iday, at one p.m , fini•he4 on Wednesday tollowi, g.
at three p.m., thus occu ying four days and two hon s
I state that we had every day to k ock off at h, f.
past three, only one landing waiter b,ing appointed for
the ship. If we had gone to the exnense or another land-
ing waiter, we could Ip.ve been cleated out in three days.
The Bi'l which I have plid is the 'olhwing :
Di-charging 435 Tons. at 91. £l6 6 3

Shia mendin?. and ruatPrills
Receiving and putting Kent.ledge on board 15 0

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.