The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-12 00:00:00

LAVE CAUSE TO THANK YOU FOR THE DEED.

We mentioned, a few days ago, that the' labourers
on the plantations Anandale and Lusignan, in Deme-
rara, had purchased the estate of New Orange Nassau,
in the same colony. Respecting this purchase the
Guiana Times remarks :—" By this transfer of posses-
sion we may safely compute that four hundred effective
persons will be withdrawn from the cultivation of the
staples. We find no fault with the people for trying
to better their station in life ; but if these purchases go
on. as go on they will, and we get no immigrants,
what is the colony to come to ? 'When plantations
lately flourishing under the staples are rank only with
weeds or kitchen vegetables, proclaim through the co-
lony, if you can, without a blush for your rapacity,
that the colonists ought to double your civil list."
'We have been informed, through a private source,
upon which we can implicitly rely, that, subsequently
to the date of the foregoing remarks, the bargain for
the above purchase has been completed, and the money
paid. But a curious coincidence has arisen. The
negroes belonging to New Orange Nassau estate,
and who have been for years residing on it, under
" White" Massa, have positively refused to come to
any terms to labour for their new sable governors. In
consequence of this " strike," the purchasers of this
property are sending home a petition to her Majesty,
humbly praying that the restriction may be withdrawn
prohibiting the importation of hill Coolies, and that
every encouragement may be granted to favour a sys-
tem of immigration ! What will Lord John Russell
say to this ?

It will be seen, by our report of the proceedings of
the Dock Committee yesterday, that an attempt was
made by Mr. Robertson Gladstone to ascertain the ex-
penses already incurred in the endeavour to procure
the sanction of the committee of the House of Corn-
inons to their absurd and dishonest dock warehousing
bill. We have already shown how readily the pro-
moters of that precious scheme were prepared to bar-
ter for it those rights and privileges by the enjoyment
of which Liverpool has been enabled to attain her

proud pre-eminence amongst the maritime communities
of the empire; and Mr. Gladstone's object was; doubt-
less, to afford additional evidence to his fellow-towns-
men of the lavish manner in which the funds en-
trusted to the keeping of their liberal and reforming
representatives could be thrown away, when the object
was to obtain an increase of party influence and to per-

petrate a corrupt job.
That gentleman, however, our readers will not be

surprised to learn, "took nothing by his motion."
The chairman, Mr. Alderman Benn, knew nothing of,
the matter—" had no idea at all !" We wonder, by
the bye, at what remote period Mr. Alderman Benn ever
possessed such an article as an idea. When public
money is to be spent for Whig party purposes, your ge-
nuine reformer seldom takes the trouble of ascertaining
more than the amount which passes into his own
pocket, and that amount he could tell pretty accurately,
but—what a world of meaning is in that little mono-
syllable !—it is not always convenient to be so very
communicative.

But although the Dock Committee and their alder-
manic chairman refused to inform the public how their
funds are appropriated, there is no reason why we our-
selves should be delicate about the matter. We happen
to know that that bill, the joint production of knavery
and tomfoolery, has cost already several thousand
pounds, and will cost nothing less, if it is persevered
in, than three times the present amount. - This is in-
dependent, too, of the money that will be necessarily
spent by the parties opposing it. We may conclude,
then, in plain English, that the abortive attempt to get
this dishonest bill will cost the community, fully,
twenty thousand pounds. We call it an abortive attempt,
for the promoters themselves say that their hopes are
not sanguine, whilst others, who are in the secret, say
that they have no chance whatever of succeeding.
None but madmen, with the host of personS arrayed
against them, would,. have begun it, and none but
knaves would now think of going on with it.

That this is the case is sufficiently indicated by the
fact that the chairman himself, whose meagre capacity
would permit him to enter into any folly, would now
gladly retrace his steps if he could, and abandon the
bill. Another gentleman, we perceive—an alderman,
too—one of the rejected of the people, who distinguished
himself as a witness before the Committee of the House
of Commons, knowing everything of every trade but
his own, has ratted ; and seems to prefer the area of
the Liverpool Exchange, where he is somebody, to the
Commons' Committee-room, where he is only a cotton
broker. In time, as the plot thickens, we shall no
doubt have a few more secessions, perhaps not unac-
companied with confessions, which will be vastly edify-
ing and which shall be duly chronicled. One or two
gentlemen, at least, who are not in their proper position
upon this question, we should be glad to see retreat
before any general blow up takes place.

In the few remarks which we offered last Friday in
reply to an assumption of the Liverpool Times that,
provided a regular quantity of foreign corn was intro-
duced for home consumption, a corresponding amount
of manufactured goods would be taken in exchange for
it, and no drain for bullion would ensue, we maintained
that, even could so favourable an arrangement be made,
still a portion of those manufactured goods consisting
of the raw material, which is a foreign product, would
have ultiMately to be paid for in gold. This position
our contemporary does not venture seriously to attack,
although by a little .bye play he contrives to throw a
doubt upon it. " There is not the slightest reason,"
he says, "for believing that the raw cotton, wool, and
silk used for manufacturing these goods would have to
be paid for in bullion." Indeed. In what shape then,
we ask, would these raw materials have to he paid for ?
In manufactured goods again, argues our contempo-
rary, for " the only effect of an increased demand for"
raw materials, "judging from the experience of the
past, would be to increase_ still more the demand for

goods."
In this description of vague and unsupported asser-

tion your true political economist is always ready to
take refuge. On the present occasion, however, our
contemporary only postpones the specie payment for
which we have contended. The manufactured goods
in which payment for this additional quantity of raw
material is to be made will themselves require a further
supply of raw material; and if the operation is pursued,
ad infinitum, the same result will follow. We shall
still have to disburse a certain quantity of specie to the
foreign grower in exchange for his cheap corn. Our
contemporary, by the way, is a little out, in supposing
that five-sixths of our exports to the corn-growing
States of Europe consist of labour and British materials.
In a great portion of our exports to the ports of the
Baltic, from which, we presume, our chief supplies of
corn would Ise derived, and to which the chief remittance
would be cotton yarns, one sixth would be nearer the
mark, and that consisting of labour performed by ma-
chinery.

Our contemporary cannot comprehend how the
amount which we pay to the foreign grower, in exchange
for his corn, is so much abstracted from the pocket of
the British agriculturist. This plain position is " too
profound for his comprehension." We are sorry for
this, but we cannot undertake to supply comprehension
to our contemporary. Any tradesman would convince
him of the fact, that a transfer of custom from one shop
to another, is, in substance, a transfer of money from
the pocket of one tradesman to that of another. On
this subject we beg respectfully to refer him to his own
milkman.

The remainder of our contemporary's article is a
mere rehash of the stock dogmas of the political theo-
rists, in which the fact that, no matter how great a por-
tion of our fellow beings we throw out of employment
in our mad race of avarice, we have still that portion
in some way or other to maintain, is studiously left out
of consideration. Unfortunately we cannot, after we
have no further use for those human beings who till
our land, break them up like old machinery, or convert
them by a summary process into stocking frames or
spinning jennies, which eat no bread and drink neither
beer nor buttermilk. We might, it is true, hand them
over to the tender mercies of the Poor Law Commis-
sioners, but even that is a process of some expense.
These very ingenious gentlemen find it difficult to
starve a nice, in England, for much less, on the
average than is 41d per week ; and that small pittance
—the lowest scale upon which a human being can be
converted into an anatomy, in order that a smaller
quantity of timber may be required for his coffin—
would sum up to no trifling figure when multiplied by

the number of living machines required to raise corn
to the amount of three millions per annum ! Possibly
a considerable portion of them might be advantageously
converted into a rural gendarmerie, in order that the
remainder might be induced to starve quietly—a pro-
cess not very congenial to English stomachs ; and it
would no doubt be very. .delightful to a disciple of Mal-
thus to witness so truly philosophical a form of society
as would be presented during this thinning operation.

It is astounding to notice the shifts to which the
anti-corn-law gentry have recourse in order to blind
the public to the base and nefarious objects which they
have in view. "We cannot," says the manufacturer,
"compete with the cheap labour of the foreigner," yet
in the next breath the knavish quack holds up the
palms of his hands and professes that "he has no wish

to reduce wages !" He wants—heaven mend his hypo-
critical soul—to give the workman "a large loaf;"
but he has no wish for low wages. How cheap labour

is to be attained by any other means than reduction of
wages is past comprehension. Fasten him, however,
to this point. Compel him to admit that cheap labour
and low wages are inseparable, and mark his next
shuffle. He didn't mean " money wages" at all. His
meaning was, that the workman would have greater
comforts and more food for less money; and he him-
self would quietly put his hand into the pockets of the
British agriculturists and transfer the difference into
his own. The gross hypocrisy displayed throughout
the discussion of this question is sickening. The ar-
guments of the advocates of repeal, if carefully arranged,
would form the most beautiful jumble of contradiction
that ever was swallowed by a greedy public.
We beg pardon of the Times for making his feeble
notice of our remarks the peg upon which we have
ventured to rest our rather rambling observations. The
subject is threadbare, and, although our contemporary
is amongst the more moderate advocates of foreign in-
terests, he may depend upon it that the people of Eng-

land will not entrust so important a matter as the
alteration of our present system of protective laws to
that party which certainly abets, if they do not go all
lengths with, the bitter and rancorous enemies of the

agriculturists of Great Britain, Depend upon if, the
anti-corn-law humbug has gone to sleep, and we trust
it will not wake suddenly.

THE VALET COURVOISIER IN NEWGATE.

The utter incompetency of the new police, for the detection
of crime in the metropolis, has been signally evidenced, not
only on the recent occasion of Lord William Russell's murder,.
but on several other occasions. As a preventiie force, we
admit that they may occasionally be of service, and in some,
large towns even necessary ; but when required for the pur-
pose of detection, to unravel the intricacies of crime, and to
follow up to their clue the tangled threads of circumstantial
evidence, we submit that a more incapable and useless body
of men can scarcely be imagined. A single police officer, of
the old school, would effect more towards the detection of an
offender in a few hours, or even minutes, than the whole body
of the metropolitan force, with its array of inspectors and
subinspectors, could accomplish in as many weeks or months.

To make up, however, for the bungling inefficiency of
these raw recruits, the metropolitan authorities appear, in the
case of Courvoisier the valet, to have adopted a mode of de-
tecting crime which strikes us as being very nn-English, to
say the least of it. This unfortunate person who is, as our
readers are aware, confined in Newgate, has, according to the
Observer, " one of the turnkeys, in the apartment in which
he is confined, with him night and day." Our readers will
naturally suppose that this somewhat extraordinary step is
caused by a fear on the part of the authorities, that the ac-
cused meditates self-destruction. Such is not, however, the
object for which this proceeding is adopted, and the real ob-
ject only creeps out when we are told that, " although a most
strict watch has been kept over him, no appearance of dis-
turbed dreams has been discovered, his sleep being perfectly
calm and sound !" This, we must confess, is the first time
we ever knew an attempt made to extract evidence from a
man's dreams ; and far too much resembles inquisition prac-
tice to be to our taste.

We really think that, whether guilty or not, the poor fellow
might he allowed to spend the few hours which are allotted
to him before his rapidly approaching trial, without being
condemned to encounter, during every moment of his waking
hours, the hard features, and the inquisitorial surveillance of
his gaoler. In either case the position of the accused is one
of awful danger. If innocent, however strong may be the
evidence against him, his feelings will occasionally wander be-
yond the stone walls of his prison, and it is cruel to be ever
recalling them to the stern reality of his condition. If guilty,
_ _ _

he has to make his peace with his Creator, and the time which
will be allotted to him for that purpose, after condemnation,
is not likely to be too long.

QUICK DESPATCH.—The Isabel, from Antigua, consigned
to Messrs. Shands, discharged her inward cargo, consisting
of 520 hhds. sugar and 120 pns. of molasses, and took on
board 520 tons of outward cargo in the short time of 35 hours.
THE PROTESTANT BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.—WC have
been favoured with a copy of the third annual report of this
excellent and loyal institution, held at the George and Vul-
ture Hotel, Houghton street, and are happy to find that there
has been a considerable increase in the number of members,
and a large addition to the society's funds. We trust this
loyal band of true-hcarted Englishmen will have a consider-
able augmentation to their numbers during the succeeding
year, and that our more wealthy Protestants will follow the
excellent example set them by our two honourable represen-
tatives, and enrol their names amongst the list of honorary
members. We see by the advertisement that the annual
dinner will take place on the anniversary of the battle of Wa-
terloo. when, no doubt, they will be joined by many who
would wish to commemorate the recollection of that glorious
day for Old England. We understand several influential
gentlemen have signified their intention of being present on
the occasion.

THE BELL Bllol%—We a few days ago heard an opinion
expressed, by an officer in her Majesty's service, in command
of one of the government mail-boats, relative to this buoy,
which we record in the hope that the suggestion it involves
may attract the attention of the Dock Committee. That
gentlmrinn, after noticing the great value to mariners of the
light ship in the Formby Channel, stated, that he lamented
that the bell buoy, or perch beyond it, was not, on some
occasions, efficient. The bell is heard when there is a breeze
or a storm ; but in light airs or calms, which are often ac-
companied by fogs, it remains silent, and the buoy is often
not seen until a vessel is close upon it. Our informant sug-
gests, that the simple appliance of a tide wheel would effec-
tually remedy this defect, and the cost would be trifling
compared-to the advantage that would be derived by mariners
in that difficult portion of our channel.

ESSAY ON WRITING.—We have received a copy of an
excellent essay " On the Utility, Origin, and Progress of
Writing," by Mr. F. Bolingbroke Ribbans, in which this
interesting subject is handled with great ability. The his-
torical details into which Mr. Ribbans enters are extremely
curious, and are well-deserving of a careful investigation.
Mr. Ribbans is the author of a series of " Instructive Copies,"
selected from the criticisms of Dr. Johnson on Shakspeare's
Plays, which, from repeated t►^anscription, must familiarise
the mind of the pupil with the leading characteristics of each
play, and thus tend to improve his taste and excite his
curiosity. The style of penmanship is bold and gentleman-
like.

THEATRE-ROYAL.—The performances this evening (Fri-
day) are for the benefit of that inimitable performer Mr.
Keeley ; and a cursory glance at the " bill of. fare" will
convince any but an extraordinary sceptic that there will be
an immense fund of entertainment. ' With the exception of
last evening, which was exceedingly wet, the houses have
been crowded. The present engagement has been the most
popular of any during the present season, and the manage-
ment are entitled to great praise for the spirit which they
have shown in the preparation of the pieces.
MODERN YEOMANRY " VALOUR"---" A TRUE BILL."—
We have all heard of " fresh-water sailors ;" and modern
times occasionally furnish us with specimens of butter-milk
soldiers. A party of five or six individuals belonging to a
corps of yeomanry now located for a short period not a hun-
dred miles from Liverpool, after visiting the " lions" of the
town, felt their courage screwed to the sticking place, and
resolved to view the veritable living " lions" enraged in the
Zoological Gardens. They entered the grounds, and viewed,
with unshaken nerves, the lions, the tigers, and the bears.
The view of Algiers next attracted them, and they gazed
with open mouth, in dumb admiration. At length the bom-
bardment began; guns were fired, and homb.shells and
rockets streaked the air. Our heroes had not gazed long
when they began to move backward, and one of them ex-
claimed, in a tremulous and energetic tone, to his compa-
nions, " Come, lads ! let's be gooan. if we doant run, we'll
be gettin' hurt !" Whereupon the whole party turned to
the right about in a shorter time than they had ever accom-
..

plished the same feat on the drilling field, and taking to their
heels, made a direct steeple-chace, over shrub, hill, hedge,
and railing, out of the gardens, the company making way for
them, thinking they were running for a heavy wager.

THE SYLPHIDE.—This steam vessel, which, it will be re-
membered, was a short time ago sunk about four miles north-
ward from the Bell Buoy, Victoria Channel, and with which
an outward bound ship came in contact,—has been weighed
up, and brought into the river. She now lies opposite the
Magazines, water-logged.
THE QUEEN.—CALIGRAPHY.—We hear, that among the
presents lately made to her majesty, Is one of the most mag-
nificent specimens of penmanship ever executed. It is by
Mr. John Craik, the writing master of the celebrated acade-
my of the royal burgh of Dumfries; which has produced in
other respects so many eminent men. At the head of the
specimen, is a representation of her Majesty and Prince Al-
bert, done with a pen. Her Majesty received this tribute
from Mr. Craik, through the Marquis of Normanby, Secre-
tary of State for the Home Department, in the most gracious
manner, it having been given by the right hon. Sir A. John-
stone to the Marquis of Lansdowne for presentation.—Lite-
rary Gazette.

NEW CART FOR WATERING THE STREETS.—On Mon-
day last, and yesterday, a street-watering cart, on an im-
proved system, the suggestion of Robertson Gladstone, Esq.,
was tried in several of the streets with gratifying success.
It is of a large size, of the tank form, firmly built, and em-
pannelled, and well secured with iron bolts, is mounted on
four wheels, with grasshopper springs, and is drawn by two
horses abreast. It will contain two tons and a half of water,
and its principal peculiarity is that the distributing perfo-
rated pipe is continued from behind to a short distance
on each side of the cart, so as to produce a lateral dis-
tribution of the water. From this addition, and the large
size of the cart, a much greater breadth of street is dredged
than by the carts formerly employed. Another advantage
is, that the cart has two main pipes for the conveyance of
the water to the distributing pipe, which last is divided in
the middle. Each of those main or feeding-pipes has its
separate valve, so that the flow of water may he readily
stopped from half of the distributing pipe on either side as
occasion may require. The advantage of this is, that if a
street requires one-and-a-half or two-and-a-half watering
breadths of the cart, one breadth of which will wet a breadth
of twenty-one feet. The ordinary carts, hitherto in use, wet
a breadth at once of only thirteen or fourteen feet, and the
whole breath must be let on at once, there being but one
valve, so that by partial double wetting, there is a waste of
water. The new cart was built by Mr. Richard Holmes,
Wood-street. On the first day of its trial, it wet the whole
of Bold-street, and about half of Fleet-street, with one load
of water, drawn once through them. The following is a list
of some of the principal streets, and the breadths and halts
(as may be) of the distributing pipe required to dredge
them :

BREADTH. TIMES.
Bold-5treet............ 20 f e4e,t ........ once.
Seel-street ............ 201
Duke-street .......... 30 " ........ once and a half.
Great George's-street .. 29 " ........ do.
Church-street ........ 25 "
40 ........
do.
Lord-street .......... 42 " ........ twice.
North John-street .... 32 4
,`, ........ once and a half.
Castle-street .......... ........ twice.
Paradise-street ........ 22 " ........ once.
Hanover-street ........ 18 "
if ........ do.
,0
Leece-street .......... u.) ........ three times.
And so forth in proportion.. he cart is on the whole very
neat and effective,
and wit a few slight improvements,
already obvious, will be still more useful.
QUICK VOYAGE BY STEAM.-By the following statement
of the last voyage of the steam-packet Pernambucana, it will
be seen that she was only 33 days and 10 hours steaming on
her passage out and home, and her stoppages at the different
ports 21 days and 16 hours. We know this vessel to be a
very fast-going boat, but we are also persuaded that her hav-
ing made such an extraordinarily expeditious voyage is very
much owing to the abilities of her excellent commander,
Capt. F. R. Cobb,—to the knowledge he has of the Brazilian
coast—and to his experience in regard to steam-vessels pre-
vious,to his being engaged in the Company's service :
Arrived at. Har
Sailed from. At Sea. bour.
Rio Janeiro, Oct. 12.. Bahia, Oct. 18.. 5 14.. 2 1
Bahia, „ 20.. Maceio, ~ 23.. 2 18.. 1 16
Maceio, 25.. Pernambuco, ~ 26.. 1 4.. 2 5
Pernambuco, „ 28.. Ceara, ~ 31.. 2 21.. 1 2
Ceara, Nov. 1.. Maranham, Nov. 3.. 2 1.. 219
Maranhain, „ G. . Para, ~ 8.. 2 10.. 2 5