The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-12-01 00:00:00

cent. on t

—the ma.

iority of

whom are deprived of a sufficient quantity of thi; health-
preserving and savoury condiment. The salt of War-
wickshire contains only 12 parts of impurities to 288 parts

of pure muriate of soda ; the common salt of Cheshire,
only 164 parts; and rock salt, 161 parts of impurities,
out of 1000—while that manufactured in India, from the

not be recognised as salt by an Englishman, on its being
first placed before him. The contiguity of the sea to our
salt mines, enables our merchants to compete with any
salt-producing country in supplying this article to any
spot on the habitable globe. Our present exports are
11,000,000 bushels annually, employing shipping to the
amount of 299.000 tons of dead weight ; and, if the duty
on salt in India were only reduced to a more moderate
sum, this amount would most probably be doubled. The
United States of America manufacture a Frge quantity
of excellent salt annually ; and formerly, there was an
impost on the admission of British salt of 400 per cent.
As the population, however, increased, the production of
salt did not increase with it; and too wise to debar the
nation of what they could not supply themselves, the tax
has been so reduced, that 4,000,000 bushels are an-
nually imported into America from this country. We
understand that no fewer than nine memorials have
been forwarded to the Indian authorities against the salt
monopoly : they emanate from commercial bodies in
Chester, Worcester, Blackburn, Manchester, and Liver-
pool.

THE MERCURY VERSUS MR. RUSHTON'S
COURT.

Our contemporary of Friday, or rather a correspondent
for him, has made the discovery that the business of Mr.
Rushton's court is not so very satisfactorily conducted
after all. "In the first place," he says, " all summonses
for breaches of local acts are issued for half-past ten
o'clock in the morning, and all witnesses against pris-
oners in custody are ordered to attend court at the same
hour. If the business commenced punctually at that
hour, and was proceeded with continuously. there would,
perhaps, be little to complain of, but, unfortunately, the
magistrate seldom takes bis seat at the time stated, and
rarely, if ever, proceeds with the court business without
interruption. It is said that he has public business to
tranact in his private room before taking his seat, but
this, surely, is a very insufficient excuse for keeping the
whole court waiting—professional men, witnesses, many
of them poor and unable to sustain the loss of time, fe-
males taken from their families, and last, though not
least, police officers, who have only had a few hours sleep
.after walking the streets for eight or nine hours during a
dreary night, and are entered again for duty in the after-
noon. Again, parties who are in the habit of attending
the court feel that the stipendiary is too much in the habit
of leaving the bench to attend private individuals, instead
of conducting the public business before allowing himself
to be interrupted by the many demands necessarily made
upon his attention. The business of the court would be
conducted with much more decorum and solemnity (if I
may use so strong a word) were the casts proceeded with
in a regular and systematic manner. Let the magistrate,
like the judges, when on the bench, pay attention only to
what is brought before him, and much time will be saved,
and a great deal of dissatisfaction avoided."
The same writer complains of the difficulty and loss of
time experienced by parties attending for the granting of
summonses, and, subsequently, for their hearing; and
concludes by stating, that " The office of stipendiary
magistrate of a borough like Liverpool is so important
—the difficulty of any man placed in such a position
giving general satisfaction is so great—that all cases of
dissatisfaction, and especially those of routine, so easy of
removal as the above enumerated, ought instantly to be
done away with. Depend upon it such a step would give
general satisfaction," These are precisely the grounds
upon which we advocate the appointment of a second
court. The evils here pointed out can never be re-
moved by the adoption of any other course.

MEETING IN BEHALF OF THE DESTITUTE IRISH
POPULATION.—Last night, a meeting was held at St.
Joseph's school-room, chiefly of the labourers on
the Liverpool, Bolton, and Bury railway, for the pur-
pose of showing their own disposition to contribute
their respective mites towards relieving their
fellow country men in Ireland, of all denominations, from
their present distress for want of food. Mr. Wilcock, head
engineer of the line, presided, and spoke feelingly on the
question. Several persons engaged on the line, chiefly
workmen, spoke in a feeling manner. Some subscriptions
were given in the room. A deputy from the further end of
the line stated that what was done here would be
followed out there by all the workmen, and it was
finally agreed by resolution that each man should give
one day's wages to the charity. Mr. M'Cormick, the
head contractor, who had, it appeared, started the pro-
ject, was appointed treasurer, and a vote of thanks
was passed to him and to parties not connected with the
line, who had contributed to the fund.
ST. ANDREW'S DAY.—Yesterday, being the anniver-
sary of the birthday of the patron saint of Scotland, a
very large party of " brother Scots," as on many former
like occasions, celebrated the day by a dinner at Mr.
M'Kepzie'e, the " Caledonian Hotel," Lower Duke-
street. The tables were fairly loaded with most excellent
viands, &c., and the liquors were of the best quality.
After the dinner, speech. song, and sentiment, kept the
delighted company in a " roar," and the kindly national
feelings that were reciprocated, flashed to the hearts of all
present—reminded of their native

Land of brown heath and shaggy wood,
Land of the mountain and the flood."

FOREIGN POTATOES.—The arrivals of potatoes in
London from abroad during the past week have com-
prised the following :—The Gypsy, from Jersey, brought
45 tons, the produce of that island ; the Ruding, from
Oporto, 10 baskets, of Portuguese produce ; the Johns,
from Rouen, the large quantity of 135 tons, the growth
of France ; the Giraffe, from Rotterdam, 20 baskets, of
Dutch produce; the Faith, from Rouen, 105 tons, of
French produce; the Charles, from Gravelines, 50 tons,
also of French produce ; the Perseverance, from Dunkirk,
141 tons. the produce of Normandy ; the Ocean, from
Rotterdam, 4 hampers, 6 baskets, and 12 bags, of Dutch
produce; the Rob Roy, from St. Petersburgh, 225 bags,
the production of Russia ; the Sir Rob"rt Peel, from
Rotterdam, 6 bags, of Dutch produce; and the Artemus,
from St. John's, Newfoundland, 10 barrels, the growth
of that British province of North America. It will be
observed that this list of the principal arrivals during the
past week comprises snonlies from France, Holland,
Russia, Normandy, T r• ;: . and the Channel island
first-mentioned, and from which latter place we have
received parcels of the vegetable on former occasions. Of
them, those from France are especially noticeable on
account of their extent, and the individual importation
from Russia on account of its increased extent, and from
Portugal owing to its partial or entire novelty. With
respect to the arrival from Newfoundland, we are not
aware that a similar one has before taken place, and,
although trifling in quantity, the importation, on account
of its novelty, would appear to possess a considerable
degree of interest, and to be worthy of particular and
separate notice.

HANDEL-Dr. Morel!, who urnished Handel with
the poetry of many of his oratorios, related to Mr. Taylor,
that one fine summer morning, he (Dr. Morel!) was
aroused out of bed at five o'clock by Handel, who came
in his carriage a short distance from London. The Doc-
tor went to the window and aroke to Handel, who would

not leave his carriage • Handel was at that time composing
au oratorio. When the Poctor asked him what he wanted,
he said—" What is de meaning of de vord billow?" (which
was in the oratorio the Doctor had written for him.).
The Doctor, after laughing at so ludicrous a season for
disturbing hire, told him that billow meant a wave—a
wave of the sea. " Oh, de vane!" said Handel, and bade
his coachman return without addressing another word to
the Doctor.