The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-12-27 00:00:00

LIVERPOOL POLICE COURT.

On Friday last an information was laitl before the sitting ma-
gistrates against the proprietor of an omnibus which runs daily
between Liverpool, Bootle, and Crosby, for carrying a greater
number of passengers than the law allowed. The informer in
this case was a person of the name of Wood, a solicitor, we be-
lieve, and said to be a very respectable person, who lives some-
where on the road traversed. The case was fully proved, but
under circumstances which justified the magistrates in enforc-
ing only the mitigated penalty of £5. The proprietor of the
omnibus was driving at the time, and the extra passengers con-
sisted of the coachman, his daughter, and a female, who was
taken up on the road.• The inconvenience was cheerfully sus-
tained by most of the gentlemen present,
,who were, very natu-
rally, unwilling to leave a female to walk the whole distance
unprotected. But the humanity of the informer was moved,
and he ordered the cad to stop, professedly to relieve the horses,
but in reality to take an exact account of the number of passen-
gers. We are no advocates for the violation of the law, and
are at all times averse to the overworking of animals; but we
find in this case these mitigating circumstances which plead
strongly in extenuation of the offence. - We must, however, do
justice to the humane feelings of the informer in descending
from the omnibus, and we have no doubt if he would make it his
usual practice to travel on foot, the proprietors of the numerous
vehicles on the road would feel infinitely obliged to him, as the
presence of an informer is not very pleasant at any time. We
might indulge in a little mirth at the attacks made by our libe-
rals upon publicans, car-drivers, &c., but lest our contemporaries
should accuse of making this also a political question, we shall
content ourselves by expressing our gratification that the gen-
tleman in question was not a conservative. A very curious note
has been put into our hands, but we decline publishing it, as it
might subject us to some inconvenience. Strange things are
coming to pass every day, and the opinions of our libei-als are in-
fluenced by the political character; but we are foolish enough
to entertain the opinion, that an in fanner is not a very respecta-
ble man. Necessity may plead some excuse—the offer of re-
ward may tempt a poor man—and the hope of revenge may de-
termine others; but in the case of a respectable man we know
no other excuse than the one urged in this case—HUMANITY.
Oh dear ! The humanity of a Whig !! ! See the poor law
bill. But that affects men, not horses.

The subscription for raising a statue to the Duke of 'Welling-
ton, near the new London Bridge, amounts at present to up.
wards of £SCOO.

THE IRON TRADE.—We are sorry to hear that the reaction
in the demand for iron, though such an event might reasonably
have been expected, has reached South Wales, and that the
ironmasters have been compelled to "blow out," as the phrase
is, a certain number of their furnaces. When, however, we
look at the list of notices eftracted from the various provincial
papers, of bills for railroads intended to be solicited in the en-
suing session of parliament, we cannot but believe that the
diminution of orders is but temporary, and that the ensuing
spring will restore the furnaces to their full activity. The de-
mand for iron in America being simultaneous with that for
home consumption, has tended to keep up the price to a point
beyond that. which it ought to maintain, and the railroad makers
of the
Ilnited States are wise enough to hang hack, until rea-
sonable prices will be accepted ; or, in default of this, to look at
home for a supply, It is alsoa subject of mush consolation that
the railroad from Cardiff to Merthyr, and others in the neigh-
bourhood, will afford ample employment for all the labourers
who may be deprived of Work by Hi?) recent determination of
the ironmagers to " blow ont" some of theii furnaces ; even if
our anticipations of a large deMand for iron' should not be re-
alized.—NertlYyr (3 nrdie