The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-01-31 00:00:00

Jennie.

......... Miss Lidia. Mog-gy., .. Miss Thomassin.
After which, the highly--popular Farce, called
THE DUMB BELLE.
Mr. Nlanvers .. Mr. Tilbury.
--.• Mr:;. Raymond.
O'Smirk.... Mr. Raymond.
'ln" the course of the Ereizing,.SongB and Duets.
To conclude with the 4iteresting Domestic Drama, (never
acd here,) called
THE 'MILLER'S MAID ;
OR THE RIVAL SWAINS.
Giles, (originally 'performed by him in London,) Mr. Rayner.
Tickets and places for the Boxes may be had of Mr.
BREEZE, at the Boxolfice, from Eleven till Three o'cloCk,
and of Mr. RAYNER, 5, Anson-street, LOndon-road.

UCROWS ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE OF ARTS.

SECON,:THIS EVE ,FR
NINGIDAY, JrA. 31,
D LADIES NIGHT AND FASHIONABLE
E SPECTACLE.
The same EntertaiDntnßentsSS repeated TO- MORROW, (Saturday)
for the Last Time.
The following Splendid Rotation of Novelties, with the Gor-
geous Pageant-o
and, une f the TOURNAMENT, and the popular
cees in te Circle, hich rents an
union ofq walled `the
never before offered within the walls of
any Arena.. The Trained Horses, the French and German
Riders, and the Wonders of the Olympians, astonish every
beholder. Notwithstanding the great popularity and en-
couragement bestoWed upon the Tournament, the short
stay of the Company in Liverpool will oblige its represen-
tations to-he limited, -to give way for the production of
THE SIEGE OF AC.RE. FRENCH IN EGYPT,
And other Entertainments yet in store.
THIS present FRIDAY EVENING, the 3ist instant,
-11 and every Evening during the week, the Entertain-
ments will commence, at Seven precisely, with DUCROW
HISTORIC AND MAGNIFICENT
TOURNA M E N T,
- IN THREE FARTS,
With all the unequalled pomp which crowned its long and
splendid career, during the greater part of last season in
London.
THE WHOLE STUD OF FIFTY-EIGHT HORSES.
Mr. Docnow and every member of the Company will ap-
pear in the above Pageant. This costly production of the
Amphitheatre will not offer merely an outline of Tilting at
the Barrier, but a true and effective living Picture of the
Three Day's Ceremonies, Encounters, &c., and Scenes at the
LISTS OF ASHBY,
By Sir Walter Scott. New and admired
FEATS OF HORSEMANSHIP!

AND
SCENES OP THE CIRCLE 1
The Spectacle will terminate with a favourite Christmas
Pantmornine of

HIGH-NIETTLED RACER.
pmei

TO CORRESPONDENTS

---
The communication from Sheffield safely reached its desti-
nation. We shall avail ourselves of the admirable letter
•on the Corn-laws in our neat. To the accompanying
letter, for which we feel greatly obliged, we shall forward
a reply
by this day's or to-morrow's post.
The lines by " St. Leger" arrived too late for insertion
to-day.

e therpoof 'tanOarli.

PR IDA y MORNING, JANUARY 31, 1840.

We have received files of the Guiana Chronicle to
the l 3th of December, inclusive. The contents of
these papers are extremely encouraging. The Colony
seems to be gradually recovering from its depression;
but the general cry was, still, "we Want more labour-
erB." This want supplied, and British Guiana would
become one of the most prosperous and magnificent
colonies on the face of the earth---a colony capable of
sustaining forty millions of inhabitants, and of *Lipply-
jog this country with every one of those products for
which Ave are now dependent* upon foreign countries
within the tropics.
A great banquet had been given at Georgetown, De-
merara, to Governor Light, on the 12th ultimo, which
was attended by upwards of two hundred of the first
inhabitants of the Colony, comprising planters, pro-
or repres.entatives of estates, the judges of the
Colony, and professional men of all casses. Sir
chael AI
Turk occupied the
chair, andl the proceedings•
seem to have been characterised.by a strong feeling of
uhis nanimity. His h Excellency, in returning- thanks, after
val ealth had been drunk, observed.
Demerara, he lost
n that, on his arri-
in
SeCretary of State o time in Presenting to the
the resorces of that " rich mine of
gold." While he faithfully u
represented its means, he
said, "all that was wanted were hands." He strongly
d that to an unlimited extent, at least as cultivation
-Progressed. fie declared that he had no other ambi-
tign than the prosperity of the Colony. Throughout
his speech he dwelt most emphatically upon the urgent
necessity of immigration into the Colony. This is the
constant theme of discmsion in all the papers that we
have received .from Demerara. The most flattering ac-
counts are.given of the health and prOsperity of those
and.Berbice.
ac-
emigrants who have been already located in Demerara

•
We have received- our files of the Jamaica Royal
Gazette and Standard to the :24th of December, inclu-
sive. The news from this important colony is' ex-
tremely cheering and satisfactory. The House of As-
sembly and the Governor still continued to co-operate
most harmoniously. After getting through an im-
lUense mass of business, the House had adjourned to
the lith of March next. The appointment of Sir
Charles Metcalfe, thu far, at least; had been attended
with the most favourable results. We trust that the
Imperial Parliament will reeogniSe the prudence as well
as the propriety of avoiding* any further interference
with the legislative functions of the House of As-
sembly.
The Royal Gazette, in reviewing the proceedings of the recent session of the House
of Assembly, states
that
more actual business had been done during the
period than on any former occasion. This cannot be
looked upon as the result of the locus penitentire afford-
ed' to the House of Assembly; for the members have
been ever ready to do . the work of legislation when-
ever they have been left to themselves. The constitu-
tional stand which they made, at a former period, was
occasioned by that 'system of continued interference
and
.unjust policy. •pureued towards the Colony. The
fruits of a different and a more conciliating line of po-
licy are already too apparent to need any extended
comment. The House. of Assembly has fully proved
that iE is anxious only for the general welfara
of all classes in the island, and that it is disposed
to do equal justice between man and man, without any
reference to creed or complexion. To what, then, can
we attribute the disrepute under which the House of
Assembly laboured ? The Royal Gazette has furnished
the appropriate reply, when it says that the odium in-
curred by the House was not incurred "by any ct of
their own, but by the zealous influence of a party,a who,
in the language of Sir Evan M`Gregor, in to an
address presented to him by the labourers answer
of Barba-
does, whatever may he their ultimate designs, are un-
ceasingly engaged in endeavouring
.to persuade the public, and yourselves in particular, against the evidence
of your own senses, that you are unhappy and op_
pressed.' " The parties here referred to are thew ell-
known anti-slavery agitators on whose recreant, hides
we bestowed a merited castigation in our last.
We perfectly agree with the editor of the Royal Ga-
zette when he remarks that " the jealousy with which
every act of the Jamaica legislature has been received
by the British public, wherever the labouring popula-
tion , has been concerned, has been carried to no ordi-
nary height; nor can we easily account for the great
excitement produced in their behalf, even since every
vestige of bondage has been broken, and since their
admission to all the rights and privileges of British
subjects." Our contemporary need be under no diffi-
culty in accounting for the prevalent excitement in
Great ,Britain to which he so, feelingly alludes. It
has been superinduced by the violent, lying, and in-
flammatory appeals of those hypocritical agitators who
have so impertinently and officiously interfered in the
affairs of the West Indies. The pernicious harangues
of such men as Sturge, Scoble, and Co., have gene-
rated a sort of morbid philanthropy in the public mind.
Owing to the. false and exaggerated statements of these
pseudo-humariity-mongets, the 'West India planters
have.been looked upon; by the great mass of the peo-
ple, as perfect monsters, as frightful ogres, whose sole
delight appeared to consist in the infliction of every
species of torture upon the unfortunate.negroes. This
delusion is, we are happy to say, fast wearing away.
The public arc no longer to be gulled by the artful
misreprentations Of those individuals who have so long
claimed a monopoly of sympathy with the negro popu-
lation of the West Indies. The people of England
How begin to find that they have been grossly and hn-
podently imposed upon by a set of as arrant scoundrels
as ever— disgraced humanity. They find that the
planters have been scandalously maligned—that their

conduct has been misconstrued—and that there are to
be found among them men of as great kindness, huma-
nity, and liberality, as any in the United Kingdom.
The rapid declension of the West Indies, under the
infatuated system of policy so pertinaciously adopted
towards the planters, has also done much to disabuse
the public mind, and to produce a reaction in favour of
the colonial interests.
We agree with the Royal Gazette, that the labour-
ing pOpulation of the West Indies are peculiarly
situated.

During slavery they were allowed many
privileges which can never be conceded to them as
subjects. It was then the interest of their masters to
do every thing in their power to render them happy
and comfortable. Extra allowances were given to
them When well, and during *sickness every care and
attention was bestowed upon them. The slave was so
liberally treated that he thought' it no robbery to ap-
propriate to his own use whatever belonged to his mas-
ter. Ile was looked upon as one of his master's
family. The spare lands were open to him to culti-
vate wherever he thought proper. The trees on the
master's estate were felled for firewood ; and be was
allowed to place his " fish-pots" in the rivers wherever
he pleased. Such was the condition of the slave be-
fore be- was emancipated. But a different era has
commenced. " The affection which bound the master
and servant together," to use the words of the Royal
Gazette, " has been removed, and the negroes have, by
their conduct since the period of emancipation, totally
severed every tie." Both parties are now independent
of each other. The labourer receives from the pro-
prietor full remuneration fm: all his labour. It has,
therefore, become necessary that laws should be passed
for the protection of the planters' property, on which
the negroes have no further claim.
We trust that the important nature of the subject
will be considered a sufficient excuse for this digression
upon West India affairs' in general. We now return
to Jamaica.

During the eight weeks occupied by the late session
of the House of Assembly, forty-three Bills, some of
which were of a very important character, have engaged
the attention of the members. To all of those which
were brought to maturity, Sir Charles Metcalfe gave
his cordial and unhesitating assent. The promptitude
and alacrity with which he has met the views of the
House have won for hint an increased measure of

popularity. •
Among the most important of the measures which
have been under the consideration of the House of
• Assembly, we may mention those regulating the mone-
tary affbirs of Jamaica. Provision has been made for
placing the Island Treasury on a proper footing, and
for paying the public creditor altogether in specie.
'lllw nominal and fictitious currency of the Island has
been changed to sterling ; and although the Bill does
net oblige the banks and public offices to keep their
• accounts in sterling until 1841, it appears that it is the
intention not only of the banks, but of many indivi-
duals, to alter. their money of account forthwith, that,
when the period arrives, the system may be in full
operation. This is a very important change, which,
we have no doubt., will be found to work well. This
reform is greatly needed in others of the West India
Colonies, in which we hope to find the example of
Jamaica speedily followed.
Wee-cOrdially respond to the hope expressed, that the
measures passed by the Jamaica House of Assembly
will prove satisfactory to the British Government and
to the Imperial Parliament, and that the confidence •
which has happily existed between the popular branch
of the Colonial Legislature and the Executive will ex-
tend itself to the Colonial Minister, that harmony may
be restored, and every baneful feeling banished.
We are happy to add, that the agricultural prospects
of Jamaica are improving on the whole. The want of
a sufficient number of labourers is still the prevalent
complaint on most estates. We learn froni the Ja-
maica Standard that the want of continuous labour was
very severely felt in the parish of Manchester. By
letters from that parish it appears that a large propor-
tion of the present crops of coffee is likely to be lost
for want of labourers to pick it. One correspondent
says, " we cannot ensure any thing like continuous
labour, although five shillings per barrel is given for
picking:" Many of the labourers, it is stated, were
travelling to Kingston, to purchase goods to hawk
about the parish. Horse-stealing and cattle-killing
were on the increase ; and the proprietors were
anxiously looking for the contract, vagrant, and police-
laws, to save that once flourishing parish from destruc-
tion. The parish constables were, it is said, laughed
at by the labourers, many of whom were well supplied
With tire-arms.

The news from other parts of- the West Indies, not
mentioned in the preceding articles, is, generally-
Teaking, of an encouraging character. From Barba-
does we have intelligence to the 11th of December.
The House of Assembly had met, and the addresS of
the Governor is satisfactory. His Excellency gives
the number of punishments inflicted upon the labour-
ing population; for various offences, from the Ist of
August, 1837, to the Ist of August, 1838, at 10,868;
and from the Ist of August, 1838, to the Ist of August,
1839, at only 2,916. The reports from the local autho-
rities indicate a more . favourable - disposition to work
on their parts. The preparation of the land for the.
crops of 1841 is said to reflect great credit upon them.
There had been refreshing showers in the Colony, after
a severe drought of three weeks. Great mortality
continued among the troops in the garrison. Several
deaths had also taken place among the seamen of her
Majesty's ship Vestal.
From Trinidad the news extends .to the 13th of
December. The inhabitants of the island had drawn
up a petition, for presentation to Parliament, respecting
the equalization of the sugar-duties. The petition
asserts, that if the planters of Trinidad were not ruined
by the competition of slave sugars in the British mar-
ket, they could alone raise more sugar than the con-
sumption of the whole British empire would demand,
and with much less labour than is necessary in the
other British West India Colonies. We venture to
question the accuracy of the litter assertion, especially
in. reference to British Guiana. Our reasons for call-
ing this statement into question we shall state here-
after. •

Private letters from Trinidad inform us of the arrival
of a great number of immigrants from France, the
United States, and the smaller West India Islands.
The quantity of labour performed by the American
immigrants is said to be twice or three times as much
as that done by the labourers of the island. Here we
have another proof of the actual indisposition of the
negro to work at wages which other labourers'consider
adequate and satisfactory. A- public meeting was held
in Trinidad, on the 22nd of November, to protest
against the placing of Trinidad under the Governor of
Barbadoes. A counter-petition had been agreed to at
another meeting in favour of that measure; but at the
latter meeting it was resolved that that petition did not
express the feelings of the coloured inhabitants. The
tniii;setornpetnrftit
perfect unanimity
;manimity prevailed among all classes of
more prosperousand
aspect. This is attributable, in great
measure, to the large influx of immigrants, owing to
which labour 'had become more abundant:

The-mutinous spirit which Mr. Hume has dared to
manifest, in reference to the allowance to Prince Albert,
is destined to meet its reward. He haS presumed to
act the part of an " inde
p.,,nGent-, ' representative of
the people, in opposition to the behest of the Great
Dictator, and the penalty entailed upon him, for so
flagrant an instance of disobedience to the will of his
master, is, the unconditional surrender of his seat for
Kilkenny. We learn this from the hubli •
orntv
Register. That pre-eminently • Liberal journal says
that " he is not a fit person for any Irish constituency
in the present state. of things." What is meant by
66 the .present state of things," it is- difficult to con-
jecture, unless it is meant to imply that every member
of " the tail" ought to g 6 the whole hog, for the sake
of securing the continuance of Court favour and pa-
tronage, and for the sake of propping up the present
tottering administration. One thing is certain ; no
member of " the tail " is to he so conceited as to
imagine that he has a judgment of his own-. Each
and all are to be guided in their votes by the principal
joint in the caudal appendage. As Mr. Hume was
helped into Parliament by Mr. - O'Connell, the latter
seems to consider that he has a right to controul the votes
of the former. Listen to the sage oracle of the Morn-
ing Register. " Mr. Hume does not choose to be fetter-
ed in the exercise of a judgment which is wayward

! and fallible, and, it would appear, uninformed, as far
as Irish interests are concerned." The only sense that
we can glean out of this remark is, that it best accords
with the interests of Ireland to pay • a large sum to
Prince Albert, or, in other words, to be lavish in the
public expenditure. Ireland must certainly be in a
very prosperous condition to be able to afford such a
liberal and generous outlay of the public money. The
Morning Register, in the amplitude of its liberality,
seems to forget that the allowance to Prince Albert is
to come, almost exclusivefr, out of the pockets of
Englishmen.

If Mr. Hume (who, by the way, happens to be no
favourite of ours) be really so very incompetent a per-
son----so wayward, fallible, and uninformed—why was
he selected as the representative of Kilkenny? Does
not the complimentary charge of waywardness, falli-
bility, and ignorance, convey an imputation upon the
character of O'Connell himself? If Joseph Hume he
so unfit to represent an Irish constituency, what shall
we say of Daniel O'Connell, by whom he was singled
out for that honour ? If the adage, like master, like
man," is to hold good, O'Connell must be the most
wayward, fallible, and uninformed" man of. the
He is welconie to the compliment.

prennt age

We are glad to find that the blockade of the River
Plata by the French was adverted to by the Earl of
Aberdeen, in the House of Lords, on Monday evening
last. The subject is one; in which the mercantile inte-
rests of this town are deeply concerned. It was .ob-
served with truth, by the Earl of Aberdeen, that there
is no justifiable precedent foi.the course which France
has thought proper to pursue in this matter. A block-
ade is a belligerent act of the most decided character.
But France is not at war with :Buenos Ayres. There
was no declaration of war in the case. The only course
which France would have been justified in pursuing,
under the _circumstances, was, to.have ordered repri-
sals. Had this been done, no third parties could have
sustained any injury through the quarrel. Instead of
adopting this, the only rational," course, France has
thought fit to act against the commercial interests of
this country. Was it the original design of France,
when she proceeded against the Government of Buenos
Ayres, to injure and depress the commerce of Great
Britain ? Recent circumstances seem to justify this
suspicion. The ostensible object of France was to
demand satisfaction for alleged injuries from the Bue-
nos Ayreans : her real:design appears to have been to
cripple, if not to ruin, the commerce of Great Britain
in that part of the world. The blockade of the River
Plata has been carried on for two years, during which ,
time the merchants Of Great Britain, trading with
Buenos Ayres, have been subjected to a series of
hardships and encroachments of the most galling
nature, not to say anything of the immense losses
which they have sustained. We feel quite confident
that if England had acted the part which France has
done, in the matter of this blockade, we should have
heard enough of the arrogance and presumption of the
"nation of shopkeepers." France has no right thus
to interrupt the commercial pursuits of Englishmen.
As far as this country is concerned, the French ought
not to have any greater controul over the River Plata
than they can have over the River Mersey. The im-
.becile Government of this country has acted a most
treacherous and cowardly part in . this business. A
firm and decisive remonstrance from the Government.
of this country would have deterred France from pur-
suingri so unjust and oppresSive a course. But what
cares: our present Administration for the mercantile in-
terests of the country ? They may all go to ruin as
long as Lord Melbourne and his associates can dance
attendance on the Queen.

The parliamentary proceedingS of the present week
have brought to light another instance of trickery on
the part of the Whig administration. We allude to
the " Naturalization Bill" of Prince Albert, which was
laid before the house the other day. This bill pur-
ported, in its title, to be simply a bill for the naturaliza-
tion of .the young prince, and nothing more. It con-
tained, however, a clause which empowered her Majesty
to fix the precedence, or rank, of Prince Albert. This
cunning stratagem, thanks to the vigilance of the Duke
of Wellington, has failed in its object. The precipi-
tancy with which the measure was urged was enough
to excite the noble duke's suspicion that "all was not
right." When the second reading of the bill was
Moved, on Monday evening last, the duke insisted upon
having the discussion upon it deferred until this day.
He assigned the absence of Lord Lyndhurst as the
reason for thus postponing- its Considerati6n. This is
a tolerably significant hint as to the probable fate of
the insidious and objectionable clause in the bill. Lord
Lyndhurst possesses. a singularly felicitous talent for
" cushioning" the suspicious bantlings of the Whig
ministry. The success with which he detects, exposes,
and defeats the' cunning maturuvres of the Whigs
has rendered him an object of great dread to Lord
Melbourne. We do not, therefore, wonder at the
earnest importunity of the " glozing" viscount, when
he entreated the Duke of Wellington to permit the bill
to be read a second time. The duke's inexorable tit in-
ness seems to have have sorely grieved and disappointed
the premier. No doubt he had pledged his word and
honour (things of very little value, by the way) that
the measure should be carried. He must have thought
it very cruel and very unhandsome of the duke to
deprive him of such a nice opportunity of still further
ingratiating himself in the favour of her Majesty. But,
as the Duke of WellingtOn and Lord Brougham ob-
served, there were other parties to be consulted before
precedence was given to the young foreigner over the
blood royal of England, Lord Melbourne thought he
would silence this objection, by observing that the
arrangement 'glad not been objel He forgot to stateed. to by those pecu-
liarly interested in point of rank.'
that the Duke of Cumberland, the individual chiefly.
interested in the matter, had not signified his acquies-
cence in the arrangement. He forgot to state that
Prince George of Cumberland, and Prince George of
Cambridge, both being minors, are disqualified by law
from giving their consent to so insulting and deroga-
tory a contract.

But there is another consideration which ought to
be conclusive against the passing of Prince Albert's
" naturalization bill" in its present shape. The clause
to which we have referred is intended to confer upon
the Prince rank next to the Queen. This would place
him above the Prince of Wales (supposing the Queen
to have male issue)—a thing unprecedented in the his-
tory of England. The Prince of Wales has always
maintained a rank only second to the reigning mo-
narch; and the people of England are scarcely pre-
pared to allow a foreigner to take precedence of the
hek apparent to the crown. This impudent scheme
must he frustrated. We look with confidence to the
House of Lords for the defeat of so insulting a mea-