The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-07-20 00:00:00

THE GRAND CONCENTRATED MEETING.

Last evening, at seven o'clock, a grand concentrated
meeting of the society was held at the Amphitheatre—Mr.
Thomas Freme in the chair. On the stage seats were ar-
ranged for a number of ladies, and the leaders and speakers
of the society. The boxes were filled with a strange medley
of men, women, and children, and almost of all ranks. The
gallery was crowded with men, and the pit about a quarter
filled with respectably-clad men and women. Altogether
there might be about 600 persons present, the Amphitheatre
not being nearly so crowded as on the last occasion. The
front of the boxes was decorated all round the theatre with a
number of small silk banners, bearing various devices and
mottoes, about abstaining from drink; and in one corner of
the orchestra was stationed a band of wind instruments, and
a big drum, that ever and anon " made night hideous;" and
those who could hear, envied the deaf. The speechifying was,
as a whole, much superior to that at the meeting of last year;
there was no red-hot Brummagem blacksmith to hammer
away for two hours together, and forge thunder-
bolts for every body and every thing but teetotallers;
nor was there a talking woman—a Mrs. Hamilton,
to weary out the patience with laughable rigmaFole and
strange conceits; but still there was enough of nonsense
talked—" two bushels of chaff to three grains of wheat"—
an odd mixture of absurdity and truth. We are no enemies
to these societies; for with certain classes and certain per-
sons of weak resolution we believe they are aids to resist the
temptations of intemperance, and therefore do good in saving
the insane victims of this vice from the consequent and cer-
tain misery in person, purse, and domestic happiness which
result from an indulgence in it. But, because we are not
inimical to them we cannot shut our eyes to the babyish ab-
surdities the members often indulge in, and the extrava-
gances in which they appear to delight, which make rational
men shun their meetings and scorn to be participators in
follies which their reason scouts. Let them shake off these
weaknesses and fooleries, and we have no doubt the sphere
of their usefulness will be widely extended. We shall there-
fore give our report, confined as it must be at this late hour,
fairly, exposing to ridicule what is ridiculous, and preserving
what is worth preserving, being convinced that this is the
best mode to correct what is foolish, and to uphold what is
worthy of admiration.
ThCHAIRMAN announced to the meeting that they would
be obleeged to the band if they would play "God save the
Queen."

This was done in the truest sense of the word, " God save
the Queen" was reeled in most drunken fashion. Time and
music were both wanting.
The CHAIRMAN then said—" Noo, my friends, I've to beg
your pity and consolation and excuse for anything I may do
amiss here. lam bro't for'ard unintentionally. You have
been led to expect the Bishop of Norwich, and I feel for your
disappointment very much ; but I can't dwell on that a great
deal, for I must feel for myself. Now, my friends, you who
know my habit; know this is the first time I ever came
for'ard in such a consarn as this. The first meeting of this
sort I attended, the purest springs of my heart was touched.
Now, my friends, if you had had the bishop here, you would
have ha-d
the first man in the country ; a man of profound
knowledge—a man who has laid himself out for religious
and civil liberty; and I must say there is but one Bishop o'
Norwich." [Our readers will perhaps, after this specimen,
excuse us from further transcripts of the chairman's elo•
quence.l The chairman concluded with calling on the
secretary to read a letter he had received from the Bishop of
Norwich.

The SECRETARY, Mr. JOHN M'KENNA, after stating that
it became his duty to explain why the Bishop of Norwich did
not preside on that occasion, and to disabuse the
.public mind,
lest it should be supposed that anything like trick was used
in mentioning his name as being invited to preside. He had
been instructed by the committee to address a letter to his
lordship, inviting him to preside on that occasion, and the
time would not allow them to wait for a reply before the bills
had to be printed; so they had printed what was correct, that
his lordship had been invited to preside. However, though
they had been disappointed in not having him there, they
would be highly gratified on hearing his approbation of the
teetotal cause. The secretary then proceeded to read the
following letter :

" Woodchurch, Suffolk, July 7, 1838.
"The Bishop of Norwich being at present engaged in .a
course of confirmations and visitations wh►ch w►ll occupy him
for sometime to come, regrets that it will not be in his power to
support the Temperance Societies of Liverpool by his pre-
sence, which he would wtih pleasure have done had he peen
in their neighbourhood. He can only assure the committee,
that he most sincerely wishes for a cont►nuation of success to
societies, which he knows from his own knowledge have been
so productive of benefit to the country as large.—(Applause.)
" Mr. John McKenna,
" Secretary to the Temperance Society, Liverpool"

Mr. FiTzssMMoNS, an Irishman, was then called on to ad-
dress the meeting, which he proceeded to do in a strain of
rich brogue and absurdity. He said "Id was a placing con-
thrast to say such a large portion ov dhe thruly vartuous,
honourable, and philanthropic portion of society ass•sembled
together to aid in promotin' one of the most beneficial favours
dhat was ever conferred on mankind." He would not insult
the hawdience by attempting to prove the vast advantages of
the society to mankind. He was surrounded by a host of
champions who were ready at any moment to cover with dis-
grace any man who would have the temerity to attempt to
throw any obstacle in the way of the great cause they advo-
cated. [We positively quake in our• shoes!] The speaker
then proceeded to enlighten the audience by telling them he
was an Irishman and a catholic, and was in "lineal succes-
sion from their forefather in Christ, the illustrious Saint
Patrick, who had first planted the standard of the cross
in Ireland, and that he (Fitzsimmon, not St. Patrick,)
would not depart one iota from his principles. To which the-
audience cried " Question," and he came to the question by
quoting O'Leary about religion ; but, by gradual steps, got
worked round again to " intoxicating drink," and then pro-
ceeded to prophesy on the wonderful progression of the socie-
ty through the land. " There was not a grade in society in
which they should not run through, as blood through the
ramifications of an arm!" There was no power on earth could
sustain them, if they were united among themselves. Drunk-
ards, who it was the object of this society to reform, broke
every commandment of the decalogue they polluted the
very atmosphere around them by the profaneness of their
bad example. This society " was calculated to remove
all obstructions." (" Throw physic to the dogs" after this!)
He had been what was called a "moderate drinker," and
had been gradually drawn by it into the vortex of dissipation
and ruin, and concluded with announcing, that circum-
stances would, in all probability, prevent him from address-
ing again !
'The Rev. Mr. BEARDSALL, of Manchester, next spoke
with the peculiar style and affected pronunciation of a ranter-
parson. He commenced with quoting a verse, the first lines
of which. in the peculiar twang of these reverends, we un-
derstood to be—
" We cob, we cob, we cob,
And rouse the tem-penance watchword, Lta-erty."
He knew there was a general impression abroad that they
put tee-totalism in the place of religion; but such was not
the case. They were anxious to give food to their fellow-
men in its substantial form, and to take from them liquid
poison, on which they had been too long feeding, deriving no
strength from it. He then descanted at considerable length
on negro slavery, and argued that as they had striven to set
the negroes free, they should now strive to set white men
free from the slavery of drink. Their society had demon-
strated that this could be done. He never was so free as
now; before he joined this society the moderate use of in-
toxicating drinks had continually drawn him with its allure-
ments; but now his health was better, and strength greater,
and with a delicate constitution he could go through labour
on the Sunday, which he was convinced no other man of
similar constitution could go through, with even the mode-
rate use of one glass of wine per day. He would now retire
to make way for the peculiar talents which tee-totalism had
called forth.

The band here played the Teetotal March—
" The landlord kick'd me out of doors,
And I will never get drunk again."
Mr. KAY briefly announced thia fact, that as negro slavery
had been alluded to, intelligence bad been received, that the
slaves of Jamaica, and of British Guiana were to be set free
on the ilist of August next. (Great cheering.) They had
agitated till negro slavery had been put an end to, and he
hoped they would agitate till white slavery—drunkenness
was put an end to. It was the greatest curse that ever came
upon England.
The CHAIRMAN called upon the band to play " God save
the Queen," in honour of the freedom to the slaves of the
West Indies.
Mr. GRUBB, of Preston, then came forward to address the
meeting, who, notwithstanding his name, turned out a com-
plete butterfly of eloquence. We but do him justice when
we say, his speech was powerful, argumentative, and elo-
quent: it was the speech of the evening, and was the saving
clause of the meeting. He spoke at considerable length,
and gave several vivid and true pictures of the misery and
wretchedness which are entailed by the drunkard on himself
and family by indulging in his degrading. and brutalising
propensity. They could not wonder at the ignorance of the
working classes, nor at the fearful increase of crime, when
they considered the error that bad been promulgated abroad,
and attempted to he established, that intoxicating liquors
were necessary for man. Man was fitted for happiness with-
out this acquired taste. HiS constitution was not fitted by
nature for this exciting drink; and if it were said that it was
necessary for his happiness, he could imagine no satire so
bitter as to suppose that the most finished work of God
required the addenda of intoxicating liquors to contribute
to his happiness. (" Hear, hear," and loud cheers,)—
What were the advantages they proposed to confer on a man
by a pint of beer a day ? He would maintain that he was as
goods man either morally, intellectually, or physically, as any
man who took his pint of beer a day, and he never tasted it,
or other intoxicating liquor. Many would not read of the
evils of driut: or of the little liene.At they could derive from it,

for fear of the "still small voice" of conscience. Their dared
not read; knowledge would be fatal to them. They dared
not investigate, for truth would triumph, which was not what
they wished; they wanted to be believed to be in the truth.
The scriptures were brought forward to prove the allowance
of intoxicating liquors; but, before the invention of dis-
tilling, the wines of the ancients were not at all of the in-
toxicating character of those now in use, fermentation not
being able to make them so; and the man who drank his
wine unmixed with water, was considered worse than a hea-
then. If the mere sanctioning of scripture to the use of wine
were constituted into an approval, Scripture might be made to
approve of many gross vices, which other parts of it condemn-
ed, as it did drunkenness and wine drinking. It was contra-
ry to the physical constitution of man to be benefited by
strong drink; his organization was beat suited to thrive
on a total abstinence from it. It was, therefore, evident
that the Almighty had imposed on man, in his formation,
such laws that they could not but think He never intended
us to drink strong liquors. They saw the young man of
great promise entering into life, and watched him putting
forth his energies, mixing with his fellows, and conducting
himself in a way that was honourable to his manhood ;
they saw him leid to the altar an amiable and accom-
plished woman, paying a devoted and willing homage
of affection to her, and receiving from her the most
noble and disinterested sacrifice which it was possible
for a human being to give—she gave herself, and with
herself her all. After a few years the vile sin of drun-
kenness brought poverty on their once happy home, and
look then at the change, at that poor broken-hearted girl!
See her as she waves to and fro besides the morsel of fire,
under the agonies of broken affection. She thinks of the
happy days of her childhood, and of.the blooming promises
of her womanhood. She thinksof whatshe was and what she
is; while the cruel author of her distresses engages in distant
revelry, reckless of consequencess, rushing further into ruin.
He returns to his house, and offers to his almost heart-broken
wife nothing but a sot's disgusting brutality. Could they
wonder that affection in such a moment as this should be
broken assunder, and that the miserable wife should desire
death, not to snake her more happy, but to put an end to her
sorrows? Let them look to the streets at the outcasts there,
through this vice denied the privilege of a home, and with-
out a heart to love. Let them who had sisters robbed of their
affection from strong drink ; let them who had mothers, who
could feel as none beside could feel; let their hearts bleed
for their injuries : let them go back to the paths of virtue, for-
sake strong drink, and these evils which resulted from the
use of it would cease. The speaker concluded amidst loud
applause.
PROFESSOR GREVNBANK was next called forward. After
a few introductory observations he proceeded to recite a long
poem, commencing
" Oh, bright water, bright water for me—
Leave wine for the tremulous debauche."
He then proceeded to deliver or rather recite, verbatim, the
same speech' as he delivered last year, which ended in a
comparative failure of area, awl about which we think it
doing him a kindness to say no snore.
Mr. ED. JONES, called on by the chairman, proceeded to
Ong in good style, and with a very tolerable voice, to the
tune of the "Old English Gentleman," what was called a
teetotal song. We endeavoured to take notes of it as he was
singing it, and make it out as follows:

f will sing you a new temperance song
Of a young tee-totaller, who had a nice estate,
And he kept up his mansion at a good tee-total rate,
With his little nice tee-total wife that earned her sweet estate
And he was a stanch teetotaller, one of the present time:

His house was hung about with pictures fine to view,
And rich and beauteous furniture was ranged around all new ;
And every night, when toil was o'er, he would seat him in
his pride,
And quaff his Sampson just to support his inside,
For he was a tee-totaller, one of the present time.

The winter, with his frost and snow, shed darkness o'er each

scene,
He felt how happy he was then to what he once had been ;
And he never suffered unrelieved the cravings of the poor,
He gave as much as he could spare, he could not well give
more.
For he was a tee-totaller, one of the present time.
He used to beat his wife and drink, and spend his hard-
earned gains
In wine-wash and jerry-broth to steal away his brains;
His coat was out at elbows, and his hat without a crown;
In fact he was a common pest—a nuisance to the town,
Before he turned tee-totaller, one of the present time.
But now so happy is his life, so nicely he is dressed,
He never beats his little wife, but clasps her to his breast,
And if a tear is in her eye, it is for joy that he
Left off his beastly drunkenness, and turned out to be
A real staunch teetotaller, one of the present time.

Now surely this is better far than all their ale or wine,
And if you wish real happiness, you will come and sign;
-
For I contend that abstinence has done great things-forme
For once I wanted a little drop, but none now you see,
For I'm a staunch teetotaller, one of the present time.

This morceau was loudly encored.
Mr. HARKER next followed, and stated, he had been 20
years a drunken dragoon, and through drink got discharged,
and was reduced to a street-sweeper at Manchester, and
had raised himself from that degraded situation to comfort
and plenty, by abandoning his former course of living, and
happiness and contentment at home had taken the place of
misery, revilings, and bickerings, his pride being now to see
his children well-dressed and respectable rather than Miss
Susannah, the innkeeper's daughter, a fine lady with his
money. He was better in health, and had ceased
patronizing the doctor's shop and wanted now no pills but
baker's pills, and his intellects were none the worse for
having given over hiccuping out at the ale-house bench
" We'll not go home till morning."
A vote of thanks was passed to the Bishop of Norwich for
his answer to the application made to him; it was announced
that the " inimitable Grubb" would speak to night; a
Doxology was sung, and the meeting broke up at ten
o'clock.

THE LivEEpoot, CLERGY ENDOWMENT BILL.—In the
House of Commons, on Friday last, this bill was ordered to
)e brought in by Lord Sandon and Mr. Cresswell.

Mr. Kennedy, the poet, author of the Siege of Athens, and
lately editor of the Hull Advertiser, has gone out to Canada,
and is appointed by Lord Durban' one of his lordship's se-
cretaries.

The Sirius, steamer, arrived at Plymouth 16th instant, at
noon, sailed from New York on the 'lst; having landed the
mail she proceeded to London the same day.

ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.—The extraordinary• exhibition
of Mount Vesuvius in a state of eruption will be repeated
on Monday evening. It will bear seeing many times.
P►CTURES IN BOLD-STREET.—These fine pictures have ex-
cited considerable attention, and have been visited by num-
bers of persons. As the period is very limited for their stay
in this town, we recommend an early inspection.

The Great Western steam-ship will sail from Bristol to-
morrow, Saturday, for New York. Madame Vestris and Mr.
Charles Matthews, who are going on a theatrical excursion
to the United States, will be amongst the passengers. They
were expected to have gone by the Royal William. The
Postmaster has given notice, that letters posted before 2h
45 p. m. on Friday, and the postage to Bristol paid, will be
in time for the steamer.

Marshal Soult, attended by the Marquis' of Dalmatia,
Marquis de Mornay, &c., will leave town on Saturday morn-
ing early, for Liverpool. His excellency will return to town
on Monday night. His excellency had made arrangements
to embark at the Tower on the following day; but, on ac-
count of her Majesty's diplomatic banquet on the 25th, it is
generally thought the gallant marshal will postpone hit de-
parture until the 26th instant.— London paper.
In another part of our publication will be found an adver-
tisement for an assistant-surgeon to the Dispensaries. This
additional officer has been rendered necessary by the resolu-
tion of the committee, in compliance with the wishes of the
subscribers in Everton and Kirkdale, to extend the limits of
the visiting surgeons of the institution. A very important
benefit will thus be conferred upon a large and rapidly in-
creasing population; but as the funds of the charity are at
the same time extremely low, we hope it will stimulate the
friends of the sick and poor to renewed and more strenuous
exertions, and that an early and earnest appeal on behalf of
this most valuable institution will be made by the ministers
of religion. •

EXCITEMENT.—A man drinks three glasses, and he is in a
state of excitement. A person receives a box on the ear, and
he is excited. You stick your elbow in your neighbour's
soup at table, and he is excited, You kick-him with a sharp
toed boot, and he is excited. You pull his nose and spit in
his face, and he is excited. In fact you can do nothing in
the world without creating excitement--save one thing; hire
a man by the day, and such an example of coolness and
Christian patience he will exhibit, is enough to kill good
folks.—American Paper.
-

IMITATION WINES.—It is not, perhaps, generally known,
that very large establishments exist at Cette and Marseilles
in the south of France, for the manufacture of every descrip,
tion of wines, the natural products not only of France, bu"
of all other wine-growing and wine-exporting countries
Some of these establishments are on so large a scale as to
give employment to an equal, if not greater, number of per
sons than our large breweries. It is no uncommon occurrence
with' speculators engaged in this sort of illicit traffic, to pur-
chase and ship imitation wines, fabricated in the places
named, to Madeira, where, by collusion with persons in the
Custom-house department of the island, the wines are landed
in the entrepot, and thence, after being branded with the
usual marks of the genuine adeira vintage, reshipped, prin-
cipally, it is believed, for the United States. The scale of
gratuity for this sort of work to the officials interested, may
be estimated by the fact, that, on one occasion, 70 pipes were
thus surreptitiously passed at a charge of 1,000 dollars. It is
a circumstance no less singular, that the same manoeuvre is
said to be commonly carried on with counterfeit wine made
up in Cette and Marseilles, and thence despatched to Oporto,
where the same process of landing, branding, and reship-
ment as genuine port is gone through, the destination of this
spurious article being most generally the United States.
Such is the extent of this nefarious commerce, that one in-
dividual alone has been pointed out in the French ports who
has been in the habit of despatching four times in the year
25,000 bottles of Champagne each shipment, of wines not the
produce of the Champagne districts, but fabricated in these
wine factories. It is known, that the imposition of these
counterfeit wines has arrived at such a pitch as to have be-
come quite notorious, and the subject of loud complaint in
the United States, at least.—Times.
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.—On comparing the traffic
upon that portion of the Great Western line, which is yet
opened, with the traffic of the Liverpool and Manchester,
and the London and Birmingham Railways, the result is
most favourable to the former line, and must satisfy the
shareholders, that in spite of a temporary depreciation of
their property, effected by the most unscrupulous means,
the Great Western will shortly prove a superior investment
to any other line. It will be recollected that the arrange-
ments of the company are not yet sufficiently matured to
convey .a large proportion of the traffic, of various kinds,
which is ready to be transferred to the railway when in full
working order. But, notwithstanding this, we are enabled
to state, that from the openiffg of the line to Maidenhead
(23 miles) on the 4th of June to the 10th instant, the passen-
gers conveyed on the line were upwards of 55,000, or an
average of above 1,500 per diem. The receipts during the
same period have exceeded £8,600. During the first six
months of the Liverpool and Manchester line's working, the
total number of passengers was 135,000, or less than 1,000
per day upon the average ; and after the line had been
opened fifteen months, the daily average was little more
than 1,200,--and the receipts from passengers (upon a line of
30 miles) about £8,002 per month, which enabled them,
with a comparatively small profit on the merchandise car-
ried, to declare dividends of 9 per cent. per annum. From
the last report of the London and Birmingham-Railway
Company, it appears. that from the 20th July, 1837, to the
14th February, 1838, (a period of 30 weeks,) the number of
passengers conveyed on their line to Box-moor and Tring
(the latter being a distance of 30 miles) was 162,216, or an
average of 772 daily. This result the directors considered as
fully bearing out their estimates of the traffic, and as most
encouraging for their future prospects; but, on comparing it
with the traffic of the Great Western line, our readers will
be surprised to see that it is only in the proportion of one to
two. We have conversed this week with a gentleman well
conversant with railway matters, (Mr. Tothill,) who had
just returned from a careful examination and trial of the
other lines, that in all those portions which have been pro-
perly packed, the Great Western is superior for ease and
motion to either the London and Birmingham or the South-
ampton line. We have little doubt that in a short time the
whole line from London to Maidenhead will be in an equally
satisfactory state, and that' public confidence in the under-
taking will bp stronger thati Journal.

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