The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-03-16 00:00:00

THE LIVERP66I, STANDARD

prejudices, and apt to be led into error "by those friendly
feelings and sympathies, which must frequently be ge-
nerated amongst them by close and frequent inter-
course." If the alderman's description of the members
of the council be correct, it is high time that the bur-
gesses should bestir themselves, and try to get rid of
some of their representatives. They have proved them-
selves to be incapable of acting with independence: this
ought to be a sufficient condemnation. -
We would ask any man of common sense whether
Alderman Evans does not, in the following language,
give his direct approval of hypocrisy, and that in its
basest and most degrading form ? He demanded the
ballot—

" To protect them, in fact, from the operation of the best
feelings of their nature—to obviate that acquiescence in a request
which might often be conceded to private friendship only, but
which could ill be evaded in open voting."

This hypocritical conduct would be the universal con-
sequence of adopting the practice of secret voting.
A Mr. Spencer got up to reply to Alderman Evans,
and completely demolished his sophistical reasonings.
We give this gentleman's speech at length, as it fur-
nishes one of the most cogent arguments that could be
adduced against the introduction of vote by ballot in
any shape whatever:—
- • -• • •

Mr. Spencer said that if he had wanted an additional argu-
ment for opposing secret voting in the council he had been fur-
nished with it by Alderman Evans himself. ltappeared that
when some individual had had the boldness to propose a candi-
date of bad character for an office, a councillor who was cogni-
zant of that individual's notoriously bad character, was not to
reveal the fact, because he might be liable to an action for libel,
but was to content himself with merely voting against him in
secret, By such a mode of proceeding they were far more
likely to hare bad men thrust upon them than they ever had been
Gretofore; whereas, under the other system, if an unprincipled
or worthless man, and known as such to only one or two per-
sons, the mere fact of Mr. A. or Mr. B's open opposition to
him
would immediately cause others to infer that he had some reason
for that opposition. By having recourse to the ballot, however,
a single individual merely recorded his vote against him, and the
matter perhaps terminated in consequence, in the election of a Mary
destitute of character.

We take this to be quite conclusive on the subject.
What security would there be. under a system of secret
voting, that " bad men" or " men destitute of charac-
ter" would not be thurst into the To Nn Council or into
Parliament ? Evidently none.
. .

Equally strong is the following speech in opposition
to the vote by ballot in any shape whatever :
Mr. Downey then addressed the meeting in a very animated
speech in support of the motion, and strongly denounced the
resort to vote by ballot by the council. If it was permitted in
one case, what security had they that it would not be adopted in
others—that it might not one day be resorted to for the pur-
pose of effecting a compromise on the celebrated endowment
job? Ile advised them to send representatives who would vote
openly and fearlessly, so that the electors might know what the.
responsibly elected were doing. The councillors who would ad-
vocate secret voting, could not, in his opinion, be independent

men.
Mutatis mutandis, this speech applies with equal force
to the vote by ballot among the constituents.
We are not sorry that the secret voting in the town
council has furnished an occasion for demonstrating so
triumphantly the folly of advocating the ballot. The re-
formers of Rodney-street ward have given the quietus. o
any further agitation in Liverpool in favour of this nos-
trum. We would suggest the propriety of forwarding
a copy of the speeches delivered, and the resolutions
passed at this meeting, to Mr. Grote.
After this demonstration on the part of the Rodney
Ward Radicals, we expect to find that, at the next muni-
cipal election, a pledge will be demanded from each can-
didate that he will oppose secret voting in the council.
The honest indignation expressed by the radicals, will
surely prevent them from giving their votes to any man
who refuses to give such a pledge. It is lucky for Alder-
man Evans that he was not returned into the council by
the suffrages of the people.

THE YEOMANRY CAVALRY.—The grasping avarice of
power manifested by the present government leads them
to the rashest and most unjustifiable extremes. To gra-
tify their insatiable craving for pelf and patronage they
consent to the maddest and most mischievous plans of the
enemies of British independence. This has been suffici-
ently visible throughout the whole course of their official
career ; and fresh instances of their zeal in sacrificing all
the safeguards of our national honour multiply upon us
from day to day.
From a conversation which took place in the House of
Lords on Tuesday evening, we understand that it is the
intention of the ministers to reduce considerably, if not
to disband altogether the several corps of yeomanry ca-
valry throughout the kingdom This force has always
been found of the greatest utility in the suppression of
local disturbances; and, perhaps, the preservation of the
internal peace of Great Britain, for so many years, may
be, in a very great measure, attributed to its efficient
organization. The ostensible motive for the suppression
of this force is the old whig plea of economy—a plea
which has heralded in so many profligate schemes of pecu-
lation—so many gross jobs—so many attacks upon our
revered institutions. The real motive has been glanced
at by the Earl of Winch'!sea, who remarked—
" He very much feared that her Majesty's government had
an ulterior object in 'the removal of this force—viz., the establish-
ment of a paid constabulary force, to be appointed by the govern-
ment ; and, further, the dismissal of the unpaid magistracy, and
the appointment of pail magistrates in their place. Now, he
would warn the people of England that if such a matter were
adopted, there would be an end of British liberty, and whether
it came from that side of the house or the other he would stren-
uously oppose it. At the same time he would not conceal his
opinion that the present rural constabulary force was not effici-
ent, and he should rejoice to see that protection afforded to
several districts which the several police was totally inefficient
to afford. He would not oppose the establishment of a paid
constabulary force, but he should be sorry to see it under the
control of any government, whether whig or tory."
There can be no doubt that the whigs are peeparing
for the establishment of a rural police. What a fine
field will be opened by such a plan for the exercise of pa....
tronage! How many hungry expectants will urge them
on to the adoption of .such a scheme for the sake of pro-'
fiting by its success! The whigs have been so lavish of
their favours—so profuse in their generosity to their ob-
sequious friends in the House of Commons, that they
have long since exhausted all their resources, and, there:
•

Tore, fresh plans must be devised for-the purpose of arra,
menting their patronage. The radicals are becoming
troublesOme and refractory—they have long pined
silent but fruitless expeCtation—they are now clamorous
for lucrative appointments, as rewards for their disin-,
terested patriotism. The Whigs are therefore bestirring
themselves. to appease these troublesome adherents.
We view the proposed interference with the yeomanry.
cavalry with the greater alarm, as it is likely to form, a
prelude to the appointment of stipendiary magistrates
throughout the kingdom. The independent unpaid ina-
gistracy have long been an eye-sore to the present go-
vernment. They have refused to become the tools of
the latter, and to render themselves subservient to their
arbitrary schemes—they have too strenuously defended
the rights of the poor against the despotism Of the poor
law commissioners—they have disdained to prostitute
~
their office for the purpose of aiding the wbigs in their
attacks upon our venerable constitution. For all these
sins of omission and commission they are to be super-
seded by a servile race of salaried functionaries,possessed
of more supple consciences, and willing to do the dirty
work of their unprincipled masters.
On the subject of the disbanding of the yeomanry ca-
valry,. the Morning Herald has the following eloquent
remarks :

"The appointment of a paid constabulary force is, of course,
the object of whig government. The appointment of such a
force will "carry oat" the glorious principle of centralisation!
The advantages of the project are manifold. In the first place;
it will add immensely to the patronage of the whigs. In the
second place, it will add immensely to their real power. It will
in fact, when fairly carried out, investthe representatives of the
scheming portion of the middle-class constituencies, with des-
potic power over the labouring masses, on the one hand, and
over the landed aristocracy on the other!
"The schemata and gambling commercialists have no object
more nearly at heart, than the enforcement throughout the
kingdom of the new Poor Law Act. Lewes well, undoubtedly.
in their view, to appoint commissioners, and assistant coin-
missioners, with their long trains of dependents for the pur-
pdse of carrying that get into effect; I tit still; io littig as the MA

unpaid magistracy of England remained in existence—so long
as a most respectable section of the gentry of England con-
tinued to administer local laW—so long did it remain an utter
impossibility to find supple tools in the provincial courts of
justice, to give full effect to the legislative edicts of the Mal_
thusian " triad" at Somerset House. On the ground of their
inflexibility, therefore, in this and in, other similar matters, it
became necessary to the whirrs, to get rid of the unpaid magis-
tracy. Their places, therefore, will ;non be filled by Whig de-
pendents; and the new Poor Law Act will gain another class
of enforcers—a class of men, who will (whenever their powers
tnay enable them), abet the commissioners and assistant com-
missioners in all their plots against the independence and coin-
forts of the labouring poor ! •

" Yet, fortify themselves as they may, with slavish commis-
sioners, and hireling dispensers of local justice, the authorsand
supporters of the new poor law can never be secure, that the
feelings of outraged humanity may not, sooner or later, impel
the labouring classes to resist the law ;—and in such an emer-
gency (should such ever occur) the yeomanry corps throughout
England might not, always, perhaps have been, safely depended
on by the whigs ! These yeomanry corps consist of English-
men, in whom the old-fashioned feelings of humanity are not
altogether extinct; and who, moreover, are linked to the la-
bouring poor, by a strong community of interest. The yeomanry
corps, in short--although always prompt in vindicating the
constitutional law of England—might have hesitated, perhaps,
at giving full effect, in the last resort, to the precepts of Mal-
thusianism !

It has become necessary, in point of fact, to create, and to
bring into action, a description of force, more in harmony with
the spirit of the poor law commissioners, and with the spirit
which will carefully be instilled into the stipendiary magis-
trates ! A constabulary force, therefore, extending all over the
kingdom—and responsible, like the poor law commissioners,
and the stipendiary dispensers of law, only to the Home office
has been resolved on! 'This body will have no constitutional
scruples—no respect for ancient usages, or for the kindly feel-
ings
of neighbourhood. The law of Somerset House will be in
'their eyes, more sacred, than the laws which have descended to
us from the time of Alfred ! They will, in short, complete the
philosophical' system of centralisation.' They will move in
exquisite harmony, with a dependent magistracy, dependent
commissioners, and a despotic Home office! The system will
be one of absolute irresponsibility. The labouring poor will be
powerless to help themselves; and to whom shall they com-
plain? To the landed gentry around? Alas! the landed
gentry will soon be as powerless as the labourers themselves! To
the paid magistrates? To the commissioners ? The magis-
trates and commissioners will have no higher duty, than to set
at defiance such complaints! To the House of Commons?
Why, the House of Commons has given birth to the system,
and the ruling portion of the House of Commons—the
scheming, active, moneyed portion—hopes to revolutionise
society in this country—and to get rid of the last traces of
monarchy and aristocracy—by the operation of the very prin-
ciples, of which the new poor law is an embodiment!
" The appointment of poor-law commissioners and assistant
commissioners and the establishment of boards of stipendiary
magistrates will strip the landed proprietors of England of a
large portion of the influence which they now possess—will de-
prive them entirely of their natural right to superintend all
arrangements for the disposal of the sick and unemployed poor,
and estrange them altogether from the sympathies of the labour-
ing classes. And this is one of the objects of the system !

" But, in the second place, the system of reducing the
labouring poor to a- " coarser kind of food"—the system of
lowering the general rate of labourers' wages, must, in its not
very remote consequences, destroy the independence of
an aristocracy which derives its revenues from land. As wages
fall, the labourer's power of purchasing must lessen ; and'as
the labourer's power of purchasing lessens the price of the great
mass of the products of the soil must fall from want of the cus-
tomary competition. Farmers, therefore, who grow that pro-
duce will be ruined. Shopkeepers wtio retail that produce will
be ruined ; and, at one or other remove, the recipients of the
rent of land—the gentry and' feudal aristocracy—must give
place to the commercial schemers who have concocted the
project, and who look forward to all the results which we have
specified as to the crowning glories of the Malthusian new
Poor Law Act ! A population of labourers toiling eighteen
hours a day for less than half their present allowances—small
shop-keepers and farmers beggared and reduced to the level of
labourers—au aristocracy stripped of the means of asserting
their ancient privileges—and a small band of capitalists, and
schemers exercising despotic sway over the rest of society :
these are the sure results of Malthusian legislation ; these are
the objects, to the advancement of which, the whigs have lent
-themselves—as they are always willing to leod themselves, to
the advancement of every thing that is base—of everything
that is opposed to the true interests of the English nation !
"The yeomanry corps are to he got rid of! The continued
existence of organized bodies, able and prompt in times of ex-
tremity—in times such as seem not far distant—to assert at
once their own rights, and the time-honoured institutions of the
country;—the continued existence of such bodies of bold citi-
zen-soldiers, might be found, perchance, exceedingly inconve-
nient to the Malthusian Melbourne dynasty!"

MR. BROWN'S CONCERT AT THE TEMPLARS'
HALL.

Mr. Brown's concert was held on Tuesday evening last, at
the Templars'-hall. We have rarely attended a concert at
which more good music was brought out, or which was better
perforated. The concert opened with a grand symphony from
Haydn, which was very splendidly performed by a compact and
most • efficient orchestra. The madrigal which followed,
Dainty tine, sweet nymph," was delightfully sung by a picked
number of th.e Liverpool choristers. The passage " Amongst
these roses" was beautifully executed. The next song was
the beautiful ballad, " The light of other days," by Mrs.-
Brand, with a cornet a piston accompaniment, by Mr. Thomp-
son, This ballad, it will be rec,illected, was delightfully sung
by Mrs. Alfred Shaw, at Mr. George Holden's concert. Mts.
Brand sang it very neatly. There is nothing particular in her
style of singing; she sings sweetly; her principal fault is gasp-
ing audibly. We \ have before spoken of Mr. Thompsou's
cornet a piston accompaniment to this, ballad; the tone of the
instrument is beautiful and capable of great modulation. Mr.
Davies sang the succeeding score, " The hattleof Hohenlinden,"
without one spark of the spirit or feeling of the piece. Mr.
Davies has a good bass voice; but voice alone does not consti-
tute good singing. Mrs. Hiles next sung " Tell me, my heart,"
which she gave very sweetly. Her voice is much improving.
The next piece was a duet by Mrs. Hilles nd aster Gillow, a
boy of about 14, "My pretty page." hias duet formed quite a
delightful feature in the concert. Apart from that charitable
allowance which an audience is always disposed to place to the
credit of a youthful effort, Master Gillow was deservedly ap-
plauded for the taste and sweetness with which he sang his part
in the duet. The duet was enthusiastically applauded. Mr.
Walton, of Manchester, sang with his accustomed taste the next
cavatina, " Adelaide." Mr. Brown then.gave a grand fantasia
on the flute, the last composition of Nicholson, which he played
with splendid execution. A song, " What is the spell ?" in-
troduced Mr. F. Gardner to the audience. He possesses a
sweet tenor voice, and, with cultivation, we have no doubt he
will make a good singer. At present, when above or below the
natural pitch of his voice, he has no command over it. Another
thing, no less to be attended to by a public singer, is, to learn
to avoid all grimace. It is difficult to dissever the ideas which
proceed front sight and soiled conjoined ; it is nut easy
to laugh at a joke which is told with the solemn air of a church-
yard story;' the manner and the matter ought to agree. When
singing the sentimental verse, "The spell is woman's love," Mr.
Gardner looked frightened out of his wits, and was in effect
irresistibly comic. The finale of the first part, " The Chough
and Crow," a quartette, was delightfully executed. In the
second part, the flute obligato by Mr. Brown, "Pow
our
notiri,"
was a most extraordinary performance, whether ce
the feeling which he threw into it or the execution which he
exhibited. It was enthusiastically encored. Mr. G. Eyton
played very neatly, and with much sweetness of tone, a solo on
the violin. A song, by Mrs. Hiles, " Lo! here the gentle
lark," with a flute obligato by Mr. Brown, was very loudly ap-
plauded; the accompaniment was beautiful. The glee, " The
WAtchman," by Mr. Lunt, Mr. Walton, and Mr. Davies: was
very well received; it is a delightful glee, full of striking effects.
Thecoucert concluded with " God save the *Queeu," and ap-
peared to give much and general satisfaction.

IMPROVED PATENT FELT.—We have before us a specimen
of this useful substance, which fully justifies the high terms of
'commendation in which it is universally spoken of. It forms
an admirable material for sheathing ships' bottoms, for baling
and wrapping, for roofing, out-buildings, sheds, &c. It is im-
pervious to wet, and resists the attacks of the worm. We have
no doubt that this sheathing felt must soou supersede every
similar article.

THE LIVER THEATRE.—This delightful little theatre we un-
derstand has been crowded during the week: The drama of
the Pickwickians, and the excellent acting in it of the drainatis
persona will account for this. We have not had time to pay a
visit to the theatre this week, and give an opinion as to the
merits, or otherwise, of the drains, and the acting in it, but we
have heard both highly spoken of. Mr. Lee's Jingle and Mr.
Hammond's Sam Weller are said to be exceedingly clever.

THE ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.—This evening Mr. Ryan
takes his benefit, with the " Giaour Chief." Mr. Ryan's exer-
tions during the season are deserving of particular support at
the end of it; and•we make no doubt that he will obtain it.
MRS. RAYMOND'S BENEFIT.—Mrs. Raymond's benefit will I
take,place on Monday, her bill is the strongest of the season.
We perceive. that Alr. T. P. Cooke will re-appear on that
night in the " Pilot," as Long Torn Coffin, and Hammond, for I
the first time this season, as Captain Boroughcliffe. We heartily
wish her a bumper. •
THE COMMODORE STnast-stitP.—Last week we gave a de-
scription .of this beautiful vessel, copied from the Glaigoth
Argus. Since then we have had au opportunity of personally in-
specting her and admiring her splendid fittings and her beauti-
ful proportions. Like our contemporary, of the north, we do
not profess to be very deeply skilled in naval architecture. Our
opinions, however, have been backed trir those of competent
judges, who have pronounced ber to be one of the finest models
afloat. Many improvements have been introduced into her
machinery, which will, under circumstances .that frequently
Arise, be highly advantageous. It is not difficult for even a
novice in such matters to perceive, that her engines have been
finished in that:style that always gives evidence, on the part of
the manufacturer, of a determination to piodnce a chef d'ceuvre.
Nor have either the machinist or the builderi of this beautiful
vessel been disappointed in .the anticipation. The Coinmodore
has already distinguished herself as a superior boat both in point
of speed and comfort. The cabins are magnificent. The prin.
cipal cabin, a saloon; is fitted up with exceeilin,, taste and ele-
gance... Nothing inure superb has ever fallen under' our notice.
The ladies' Cabin rs, if possible, as it should be, still More beau-
Will. The style Of the fuiniture and decorations in the latter
reflects credit on the Lase of the person who designed the whole,
as the effect is adiniraible. The berths are exceedingly coinfoi t-
able and commodious, inure than usual attention having been
paid to the itittiengets l Wit; iniptirttitit department;

CORRESP'ONDEWCE.

LIGHT SOVEREIGNS.

TO THE RMTOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STA./Ara/IEI7.

Ste,--Owing to the Excise, Customs, and 190,toince refusing
sovereigns short of weight, many of the old established tia`nlitogf
houses a►e now practising the same, to the very gfeat inconve-
nience of the public at large. The way to put donut this incon-
sistency is to memorialize Government on the impropriety of
issuing such orders to those under them; and, secondly, fur all
all those who have accounts with those bankers who refuse. light'
sovereigns, to remove their accounts to the Joint Stock Banks,
the 'whole of which take them. The wheels of trade must riot,
be shackled any longer. By giving insertion to the above, you
will oblige yours, &c. A SUFFER.EK.