The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-12-09 00:00:00

Tiff: LIVERPOOL ',..3.l'',klbAgli

newspaper, to offer more than a few general reflections,
or to e ipluin 000 or two Of its more prominent features;
This we designed, and this we hope to have effected.
Alarm is the farthest from our thoughts and wishes; but
if there he danger, it is folly to shut our eves to it—we
do not obtain security by imitating the silly pheasant,
which pits its head under its wing, and thinks, because
it sees no
,evil, that no evil can be near—we write from
conviction, and we desire investigation. Our con-
nexions are with some of the first capitalists in the king-
dom—the question itself is paramount in its conse•
quences.

We have another reason for urging inquiry at. the
present moment—distress darkens the judgment, whilst
it opens the ears of the public to the voice of political
demagogues, who always prosper most when calamity
pervades a country. We, therefore, repeat, our appeal
to our countrymen—search into tho cause of the present
evil, whilst there is remaining among us some collect-
edness of mind, and the worst passions of our nature are
not inflamed.

We have devoted a considerable space to record one
of the most extraordinary, and, at the same time, one of
the most disgraceful meetings that ever took place within
the borough of Liverpool.. We allude to the meeting of
the ToWri Council on Wednesday last. And what a sad
proof does it afford of the evil and danger arising from
crude legislation. ! ThnMunicipal Reform Bill was con-
ceded to ,popular clamour, in order that' his Majesty's
present government might retain possession of their
places, and enjoy the'sweets and emoluments of office.
During 'the, agitation of this question our opponents
were warned of the danger that threatened them, by
such a concession to what was called " publiq opinion,"
and it was then foretold that the bill would work their
own confusion and, disgrace. But with an obstinacy
only equalled by
,their ignorance of the working of de-
mocratic: principles, they.. persevered in their demand,
and instead of Maintaining the nice balance of the Bri-
tish constitution, they threw such an overwhelming in-
fluence in favour of democracy, as not only endangers
the civil rights and religious liberties of the people, but
affects the stability of the throne. The extension of the
suffrages to all the rated householders, even of the lowest
class, has had, in Liverpool especially, a most ,prejudi-
cial effect. It has led to the exclusion of gentlemen of
property, talent, or education, from taking a part in the
local government of the town, and installed into office a
number of men whose only claim to distinction is, that
they are ambitious and restless demagogues, who, to
gain a fleeting populat ity, endanger the peace of society
by pandering to the most degraded passions of the
people, and deceiving their miserable dupes by artifices
the most contemptible. With professions of freedom on
their lips, they cherish and exercise, where they dare, a
tyranny most galling and despotic. The meeting on
Wednesday last, partook largely of this feeling. Our
liberal Town Council have established a sort of inquisi-
torial tribunal, and insolently claim that their stupid
majority shall restrain the freedom of opinion, especi-
allg when it dares to expose the falsehood, the meanness,
and the treachery of whig principle and practice.
We must very briefly introduce to our readers the
persons who figured on this occasion, and then appeal to
them if we do not establish the correctness of our corn
ment by the practice of our liberal Town Councillors.

Previously to the commencement of business, Mr.
Councillor Evans, (who by some accident or other, re-
joices in being an alderman,) rose to notice a libellous
attack upon the council by one of their own body, (a
Tory of course,) and very charitably offered the honour-
able Councillor an opportunity of either denying what
he is reported to have said, or, in the spirit of what he
termed bravado, to dare the council to their very beards.
He suggested an excuse for the member, by saying that
he thought he might have been "labouring under the
excitement of the protracted festivities," (that is, being
intoxicated, but a reformed-Alderman never uses such a
word,) and that he was unconscious of what he was say-
ing—the Alderman's wit and courage both evaporating
at the same time, he sat down ; upon which -Mr. Cduh-
cilror James Heyworth rose, and expressed the surprise
he felt that the council should mix with its political cha-
racter a judicial one, and assume the power of inquiring
and investigating into the motives and conduct of any
of its members. Mr. Heyworth chose very good grounds
of defence, and retaliated upon the council, by stating
that the expressions he had made use of were far less
severe than those indulged in by many honourable coun-
cillors towards their opponents. On which Mr. Coun-
cillor Rawdon, with that courtesy which exclusively be-
longs to a liberal Town Councillor, said to Mr. Alder-
man Robinson, of Castle-street —" What the devil
bus this to du with it ?" Some interruption took

•
place, and a great deal of confusion, which having
parties, he directed the
subsided, the Mayor rose, and instead of demand-
ingottl(t)
acircumstance which
attenatiofnair f hearingthe
councilto t b
happened to himself. He had been also misrepre-
sented by the'reporters, and had taken the earliest op-
portunity of correcting such inis-report. Mr. Councillor
James Heyworth could see no analogy bet Ween the two
cases, as the Mayor had .been misrepresented, and he had
,not. Upon which the chairman rose in a pique, and
dared Mr. Heywood to make any observations upon his
conduct, declared " he would take the, sense of the coun-
cil upon Mr. Heyworth's conduct, and hoped common
sense would triumph." But. we now come to a very cu-
-riot's part of the exhibition, Mr Councillor Coglan ac-
tually rose, and talked about the " law of Ininour, and
suggested that " Such line of policy" should be adopted.
Who would ever have dreamed sOlnufive'years ago,' that
Mr. Coglan, proprietor of the floating tub, where little
boys wash themselves-once,a'Week--patrori of cork col-
lar jackets and life preservers, would, have occupied a
situation in the town council of Liverpool,•and talked to
Mr. james Heyworth 4)44 'the law of honour ? But
such is the fruit of reform ! Mr: Councillor Heyworth,
however, nothing daunted by such a' formidable array
against him, proceeded to justify the expressions he
made use of, by referring to the practice of some of the
councillors; and clearly proved that they were • guilty of
"servility, dishonour and cowardice." He noticed .the
various appointments that bad. taken place under the
-council, and accused them of favouring. their bWn
partizans ; upon which • Mr.' 'Egerton' Smith ed .
to know what he thought of the appointment of
Messrs. Okill, Ellis, and Shuttleworth ?" Mr. Council-
lor La.wrence Heyworth very properly thought his
brother was not called upon to answer such ques-
tions. But we would just ask Mr. Egerton Smith
what he thinks of the appointment of Messrs. Radcliffe,
Wyberg, Curry, Hall, Crooke, and Harvey, who were of
the party of the Council ? We need not ask what he
thinks of Inspector Lyons, formerly a canvasser for the
reform interest, then a police inspector, then defended
in a disgraceful proceeding by Corporation funds, and by
the Corporation's legal advisers. But as the odds are in

our favour, seven to three, we need not pursue the in-
quiry. We have heard it remarked that although ad-
veutitious circumstanccs may raise a man above the circle
in which he formerly tuOvod,' be still retains many of his
old habits and prejudices., We can discover much of this
in the speech of Mr. Councillor Coglan, who followed
Mr. Heyworth. SQIIIO short time ago we had it an-
nounced publicly " that a gentleman would descend into
the water, from the deck of the floating bath, bound hand
and fool," and that when he was in the water he would

"free himself, and perform sundry feats," and so forth;
so in like manner for the amusement of liberal Town

Councillors, Mr. Coglan announced his intention of be-

ing " bound hand and fool" at the Angel Inn, and then
going into the Council, "r-epUdiate any sentiment about
pre-arrangement," and free himself from all previous

obligations to the satisfaction of the company and his
highly respectable and "important" constituency. There
was a trifling discrepancy in the numbers who were said
to have witnessed this feat at the Angel Inn ; by one
party it was said to' be forty, by Mr. Coglan about half
that number. We should think, to use the expressive
language of Mr..4lcleinian Evans, that some of the Coun-
cillors at the Angel Inn were labouring under the " ex-
citement of protracted festivities ;" but we contend for
the principle, and not for the mere number who could
be tray such) low and despicable servility. The remainder

of the conversation partook of the same character as that
we have noticed, and we would therefore direct the at,
tention of our readers to the report itself.
The speeches (if such they may We called, amidst all
the interruptions he was liable to) of Mr. James Hey-
wort h, were distinguished for temperance, sound reaSon-
ing, and that-4 honesty. There was no shrinking Num
the insolent dietation of the Chairman,—no evasion of
the charge,--but a fair, distinct, and uncompromising
avowal of his opinions, and the circumstances Under
which he had formed them. But we Must addresS a word
or two to the Mayor, Chairman of the Council. The
time has not long pasied by, Since this gentle Man was
accustomed to address "the people" in Clayton-square,
on the corruptions and abuses of the old Corporation, and
that in language the most inteinperte, invective the most
scurrilous, and temper the most outrageous; he would
indulge his hearers with a ►2arrative of such ,abuses as his
fangy could create; his jealousy awaken, or his malice
suggest. But now he occupies the chair in such Council,
and is its character itriproved ? Compare his conduct
in the chair even with that of the late Mayor, and how
degrading the comparison. Instead of maintaining the
dignity of his office, we find him fretfUl, peevish, dictato-
rial, and despotic. During this debate he rose upwards
of THIRTY times, and never did a Chairman say' less' to
the point, or display suchchildish sensitiveness. Andthus
it is that, to gratify a little feeling-of vanity, the business
of the town must be neglected, and its interests prejudiced.
But a clay of retribution will come, and that speedily.
We hope the Conservatives will strengthen the hands of
Mr. Jas. Heyworth. This is not the time nor the occasion
when they should be supine or desert their posts. Interests
of the highest importance are at stake, and the Conser-
vatives must encourage the hearts, and second the efforts
of those devoted men who to serve their interests dare
the violence and malevolence of faction.

Our acquaintance with Mr. Hemming, as is always
the case when we meet with one possessed of a culti-.
vated mind, grows more pleasing as we more frequently
meet. We never remember to have heard a course of
chemistry more comprehensive in its viewQ, and more
lUcid in its explanations, than the one now in progresS
in Liverpool. That they should be delivered to " over-
flowing audiences" is no more than they deserve, and
might have beeh expected. It is no less-a compliment
to our town,
.and especially to our philosophical opera-
tiVes, than it must be flattering to Mr. H.
We now resume our task, nor as critics, but cowmen.

tators of Mi. H.'s third lecture :—The episode upon

. .
" Cobalt" is, like the best episodes of Homer and Virgil,
a natural offspring of the current narrative, and the only
objection we have to it, is the affirmation that " Cobalus
was a lady." If the termination be Roman, we should
class this troublesome " spirit" with the masculine gen-
der; and we think chemists in calling " Cobalus a lady"
evince as little gallantry, as the stern law, which slanders
woman, by making " rixatrix, calumniatrix, communis
pugnatrix, communis pacis pertabatrix," all feminine ?
The " grass green" precipitate, obtained when ammonia
is added to a solution of sulphate of copper, and arsenious
acid, is an arsenite of copper—until the addition of the
ammonia no chemical, as well as no apparent action,
had taken place. On seeing the nitrate of silver
as
.a test, with ammonia, there was formed a pre-
cipitate of arsenite of silver—the third test of arsenic
(viz.) lime water, is exceedingly ambiguous, as many
other acids form insoluble compounds with lime. Still,
Mr. H. justly observes, that, in conjunction with other
proofs, it is corroborative evidence. We pass over the
fourth, as it is fully explained in our report, and call the
attention of our philosophical friends to the fifth test, as
it presents to us a hitherto unexplained phenomenon in
chemistry.- •.How. 'nascent hydrogen combines with
arsenic, we know not. Some suppose that it is because
the hydrogen in that state has not acquired its elasticity;
but, in truth, we know nothing of its Saltus from a state
of combination to a free state. It is an interesting fact,
and may lead to important results. We have ourselveS
witnessed some extraordinary unions between bodies in.
a nascent state, which liad little or no action upon each
other in,a free state. The action of albumen upon bi-
chloride of mercury we think erroneous. We cannot• in
any way understand how albumen can convert bi-chloride
of mercury into " calomel." We believe the neutraliz-
ing poWer of the albumen consist in forming an inert
compound with the bi-ahloride, since we know that they
are precipitants of each other. We confess ourselves a
little sceptical as to the "neutralizing" powers of sugar
when copper is taken into the stomach. At all events, it

cannot chemically, however it may physically, neutralize
it. 'We apprehend the saccharat of copper, which We.
have frequently formed, would be as powerful a poison
as any salt of that metal ; in sotue respects more so, as
it resembles more closely the hydrate of.copper, the most
powerfully poisonous of all. With regard to the forma-
tion of carbonate of lead in cisterns containing " rain
water," whilst " none" is formed with "spring or river
water," we are much disposed to doubt the accuracy of
the statement. We know a part of the country where
the " springs" are so destructive to lead pipes that all
the pumps are obliged to be made of wood; and what
renders it the more remarkable is, that the water rises
through a very thick stratum of chalk, (carbonate of
lime,) so that, if any carbonic acid exist in the water, it
most probably is in combination with the lime, forming
a super or bi-carbonate of lime. We think there is also
a little mistake respecting. the formation of the. tinned
lead pipe. We have. had conversations with the ingeni-
ous and highly respectable patentee of that article, and
hare now a piece of the pipe received from him ; and the
.process of tinning is simply that of immersing lead pipe
in melted tin at a particular teniperature. Upon the
exactness of the temperature depends the success of the
operation. If the process were adopted which was men-
Oohed in the lecture of Mr. H., the thin film or lamina
cf tin covering the lead would so suffer in the operation:
of "drawing" as to render it wholly useless as a protector
against saturnine poison. Mr. H. will, we are ceriain,
forgive us, lovers as we are equally with himself of
chemistry, and equally interested to maintain all her
powers, if we dispense with every test but the tongue to
determine whether oxalic acid be AN acid or not.
•
We not' make our bow for the third time to Mr. H.,
which we intend to speak, as "plainly as a bow can
speak," that we continue highly to value his most inte-
resting lectures. Continue, fellow-operatives, for we are
all operatives in our several stations, to listen to the
voice of philosophy ; her instructions will prove profit-
able to you in youth, the days of your strength ; and, in
the words of a great philosoph6r, " in aunt' (elate, chin
toultunis diuque vixeris,tuirificos apt-lint fructus, quia
nunquam deserunt, ne in extremo qUideat temporc
celatis."

THE MARQUIS OP SLIGO.—This uohleinan, with his lady and
family, arrived here in the England. (Capt. Waitebqroni New
-
York, in 18 (lays, on Tuesday last. His Lordship remained at
the King's Area until Wednesday ensuing, when he left fur
Loudon.
LIVERPOOL ZOOLOGICAL GARDEPIS.—The following is a list
of donations presented to these Gardeus since the last annottoce,-
ment:—Mr. Aikba, No.l, Alfred.itreet, a pair of Red Coates;
Captain Bartlett, of the Spermacetti, a Golden Agouti; Capt.
Baker, of the Golden Fleece, a Peccary ; Mr. Barber, Chapel-
street, a pair of Tortoises; Mr. Geo. Ciaggs, of the Vigilant, a
Golden Agouti; Capt. Chapman, Prescot-street, three Turtle
Doves; ',lr. W. H. L. Corran, Clarence-street, Everr,,n, apair
of Muscovy Ducks and a African Goat; Capt, Cook, of the
Superb, three Peacocks and an Aligator; Capt. Cowley, of the
Duncan, a pair of
Besdnecked Doves ; Captain Edwards, of
the Frankland, the Martinique Gailinule; Mr. Thos. Evans,
Denbigh, a pair of Owls; Mrs. Farrell, Duke-street, a Martin ;
Capt. Fox, of the Eliza, an American Black Bear; Mr. Jos.
Green, Demeraa, a Brown Pace; Mr. G. Gardiner, Veudle-
, ton Priory, a Peccary; Mr. E. Glynn, Grove-street,. twa Came-
Hous; Mr. Thos. Hatch, Seel-street, two Guans; Miss Huson,
St. Paul's-sqnare, a Muscovy Duck; Mt. B H. Heyward,
Whitehaven, a pair of Indian Monkies. Mr. Edward Hunt,
Bedford-street, a Black Fox; Mr. E. Kirkpatrick, 3, South
Hunter street, Maryland-street, four White African Doves;
Mr. Little Exchang,e-buildin • Exchange-buildings a pair of Red Coahls; Capt.
Lethbridge, of the Nottingham, a Grey Parrot ; Mr. Miller, of
Demerara, a pair of Curassows ; Mr. Mason, Edge-lane, a
Crocodile; Capt. Newson, of the Faithful, arz Eagle; Capt.
Pattiuson, of the Birmingham a Grey Fox; Capt. Perry, of the
Buoyant, a Red Coatiniondi ; Capt. Peile, of the Standard, a
Capuchin Monkey; Mr. Reckless Berkeley-street, six 'TurtleDoves; Capt. Reid, of the Glace, a Bald Eagle; Capt. Raisback,
Bedford-street, 'roxteth-park, an American Fox; Mr. James
Smith, mate of the Spernaacetti. an A lligator ; Capt. Scott, or the
George Canning an African Pig; Capt. Timothy of the George
Canning, a Martinique Gallinule; Mr. Williams, tide waiter.
ter. an
Indian Monkey ; Capt. Webb, of the Frankland, an American
Deer; Capt. Breeding, of the Luna, a Grey Coatimondi; Capt.
Joseph Bewley, of the Feeiee, a Pig-tailed Ape; Capt. Bis-
phant, of the Sandbach, a Tiger Cat; Mr. Topping of the Hin-
du(); an Indian Monkey; -Ca.pt. Da-son, of the Nailor, a Ba-
boon faced Monkey.
New Vocai. Mustc.—A. number of Songs and Duets have
just been published, the music of which is by Henri Herz who
has, iu these compositions, confirmed us in the high opinion we -
have always held of him as a Pianoforte writer :—his vocal
music is distinguished by peculiarly beautiful melody—iiiiwing.
elegant, and touching. "Stoll Nor!" "LAND of SONG,"
and " NIGHT AT SEA,"- ale all exquisite specimens of vocal
composition ;--the last-named agreeably reminds us of the sen-
sations created by the best of Moore's admired melodies—and
.we think it will be as great a favorite and as universally popu- ,
lar as " I loved thee. in thy spring time," and " We havelived
and loved together,"

':~Z:i: R)L :^l.k~