The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-03-02 00:00:00

system has received a severe shock, which tune alone can

rest wi

act
be fou

recover

He intended to leave Liverpool with his fainily on

Monday the Bth ult

but was suddenly attaeked ou that day

with inflamiiiation o the lungs, fibm which he partially re-
covered, and was thentseized with pleurisy. The medical
gentlemen have been constant and unremitting in their at-
tendance, and it is only within the last few days that the
slightest hopes of recovery have been entertained. The
needful expences incurred (the DoCtor being in lodgings, and
requiring the greatest possible care and nourishment,) are
such as his own very scanty means will not enable him to
bear. How far the provision made for him by the Town
Council will meet these extra demands, we leave our towns-
men to decide. But we do hope that Dr. Buck will not be
allowed to have poverty added to his numerous trials in this
time of most severe suffering. We shall be happy to lend
our aid to any plan that may be suggested by Christian friends
to defray the expences of this protracted illness, for we fear
it will be a considerable time before his health can be re-
stored.

PROTESTANT AND REFORMATION ASSOCIATION.—The
members of the Manchester and Salford Protestant and
Reformation Association held their fifth annual meeting on
Tuesday evening, at the Corn Exchange. The room was
filled almost to suffocation, and a vast number were refused
admission for want of accommodation. A very spacious plat-
form, erected for the occasion, was mostly covered with cler-
gymen of the Established Church. At half-past six o'clock
the Rev. Hugh Stowell took the chair, and addressed the
meeting at considerable length, and with his usual spirit-
stirring eloquence. The meeting was afterwards addressed
by the Rev. Thos. Nolan, of Stockport; the Rev. Hugh
M'Neile, of Liverpool; and the Rev. Mr. Dixon, &c. Se-
veral resolutions, pledging the meeting to renewed and stre-
nuous efforts for the deliverance of their Roman Cathlic fel-
low-countrymen from their present state of spiritual thraldom
and degradation, were carried unanimously, and a petition to
the House of Commons for an inquiry into the course of in-
struction adopted in the Papist College at Maynooth, was
also adopted.
NATIONAL EDUCATION.—It will in all probability be in
the recollection of our readers, that about twelve months
since the Synod of Ulster gave in their adhesion to the na-
tional system of education, and have since suffered their
schools to be endowed by the national board. In July last
Dr. Cooke, whilst delivering a speech in defence of the con-
duct of the Synod, laid down the following proposition, which
he stated he would maintain against all who dared to gainsay
it :—" That the system of education established by the Synod
of Ulster, and endowed by the national hoard, provides a full
and scriptural Protestant education; and neither teaches
nor sanctions, nor will provide for the teaching of Popery
or any other heresy, whilst the two favourite societies of our
accusers provided no Protestant education whatsoever, and
ipso facto taught Popery, and provided by their laws for its
teaching and perpetuation." The Rev. T. D. Gregg, during
the past week, has been staying in Belfast, and has written
to the doctor accepting the challenge, of which the latter ap-
proves, and proposes to-day for the discussion, but we have
not yet seen Mr. Gregg's reply. We may probably furnish
an analysis of the arguments after the meeting has taken

place.
THE LALE MELANCHOLY COLLISION.—On Wednesday
last the mate of the Governor Fenner had an interview with
the mayor for the purpose of makint, a declaration of all the
facts connected with the ship up to the time she came in con-
tact with the Nottingham. The declaration describes, with
great minuteness, every occurrence from the time of leaving
the river to a few moments before the collision, and the cir-
cumstances of this interval we give in the mate's own w ords—
" At about two o'clock Captain Andrews told me he was
going below to shift his clothes, and that I was to keep a good
look-out, and not trust in the least to sailors looking out,
At about five minutes past two o'clock I saw a steamer's
light on the larboard-bow. -• I instantly reported the satne to
Captain Andrews, who was then putting on his jacket. I
did not leave the deck, but called upon him from the com-
panion-way. He immediately came on deck, and ordered
the helm to be put hard a-port, and went close up to the man
at the wheel and called for a light. We had two signal
lanterns lightectin the cabin, ready to show in case of neces-
sity. The boy on deck immediately went for a light, but
before he could get on deck again we came in collision.
Captain Andrews had not been in bed since we left Liverpool,
but had been on deck all night. This is the first statement
I have made, and all other reports now in circulation con-
trary to this, said to have come from me, I pronounce fake.
CURIOUS CASE—A WICKED SoN.—John Evans, a sharp-
looking youth, aged 17, was placed before the magistrates,
on Saturday, charged by his father with having entertained
design of shooting his mother. Mr. Evans, who is a re-
spectable joiner, residing, in Plumpton-street, Everton,
stated, that about twelve o'clock on the preceding day, his
daughter came running to him at his workshop, in Liver-
pool, and requested him to go home immediately, as " John
(the prisoner) was kicking up a row, and threatening to blow
out his mother's brains. He (Mr. Evans) hastened home,
but the prisoner had departed. Mrs. Evans was, however,
in great trepidation lest he should return and commit some
violence, as he had more than once threatened that he would
have her life. About seven o'clock, on the preceding even-
ing, they heard the cover of the coal-vault moved, and Mrs.
Evans became so alarmed that she declared she would not
go to bed, lest the prisoner should enter the house and do
her some mischief. Mr. Evans went to the coal-vault, and
saw that the shutter had been removed, and that the prisoner
had entered and partially concealed himself. He ran up'
stairs to his wife and daughter and locked them in the par-
lour, after which he proceeded to the next door to obtain the
assistance of a neighbour. On his return, lie saw the pri-
soner concealed beneath the stairs, but he could not get him
out, as he was armed with a pistol. He went and obtained
the assistance of police-officer 111, who took the prisoner
from his hiding-place. His i3istol was taken from him, and
he was conveyed to the Rose-hill Bridewell. Here the
pistol was examined. The lock was broken, but the barrel
Was heavily charged with owder and shot, and the prisoner
hadon and a
a _quantity of Congreve matches on his pers • ,
large brown paper parcel of powder and shot. Fiom his
Pocket was taken a twelve ounce bottle, about half filled with
tstroef hemixture of laudanum and ale, which, it was stated,
_aaiier intended to take, had he shot his mother. Mr.
Evans
life,
ans, (!, the prisoner had more than once threatened his
knew wriathetovvas of such a curious temper that he did not
was sanedo with him. He did not know whether he
Mr. Rushton ordered that the youth
should be oracrtied by a medical man, in order to discover
whether he
in a few hours, the
or not. This was complied with, arid,
doctor having e:dprisoner was again put at the bar, the
he (the prisoner) decided that he was sane. Mr. Rushton said,
He was ordered to to be taken care of for some time.
would keep the peace find two sureties in £2O each that he
months, : in default, to be committed for three

LICENSED VICTUALLERS' BALL.--This excellent inatitu-
Con, we trust, will be well supported on Tuesday next. The
purposes of it are admirable.

NORTH AMERICAN STEAM-SHIPS.—We are authorised
to contradict the paragraph which appeared in the Albion of
yesterday, stating that these vessels had changed the times
of their sailings—no alteration has been made whatever.

A PAIR OF SNEAKS.-It was announced in town yester-
day, that Lords Palmerston and John Russell paid a visit to
Liverpool, on Saturday last, for the purpose of holding an
interview with the American consul, but with what immediate
object we have not been able to ascertain. It is understood.
however, that the noble personages left in high dudgeon after
the information they obtained, but we may, probably, hear
something further, when our readers shall be put in posses-
sion of it.

SAVAGE INFLICTION.—John Baker, aged 40, was placed
before Mr. Rushton, on Saturday, charged with having stab-
bed George Goff. The complainant and prisoner are both
sailmakers in the employ of Messrs. Pierson and Crellin. It
appears that, on Wednesday forenoon last, Baker and Goff
were joking together in their work-room, till some not-over-
friendly language rose between them. Baker, it seems, said
to Goff—" I've more wit in my little toe than thou hast in
thy blubber head." Goff, in his reply, applied to his com-
panion a very coarse epithet. Baker, who was cutting a
rope, asked him if he knew what the word meant. The reply
was a repetition of the epithet, upon which Baker struck him
violently on the head with the rope. Goff caught the rope
and endeavoured to take it from him, upon which he raised
the knife and thrust into Goff's right eye, which he has en-
tirely destroyed. The prisoner was committed for trial.
THE LATE FATAL COLLISION.—Captain Andrews, late
commander of the ill-fated emigrant ship. Governor Fenner,
sailed from Liverpool for New York, in the Americanpacket-
ship, Stephen Whitney, yesterday afternoon, and will be the
first to convey the melancholy intelligence to the owners and
underwriters in America. Captain Andrews, with a com-
mendable desire to have the whole affair fully afd fairly dis-
cussed, and to accelerate by every means in his power the
progress of inquiry, applied to the Mayor of Liverpool to in-
stitute an investigation, but his application proved fruitless,
Mr. Bolton representing that he had " no more poiver to in-
stitute an inquiry than the Mayor of London." Had the
bodies found in the rigging of the Governor Fenner been
brought to Liverpool by Captain Church, of the Birmingham
steamer, an investigation would have taken place, and facts
might have been elicited; but, as it is, there is no other tri-
bunal to take cognizance of it but a court of law, and it must
the owners of the vessels to submit or not to investi-
,ation IN such process.

CURIOUS CASE.-COMPLAINT OF BREACH OF
CONTRACT BY SIX NEGRO SAILORS.

At the Police-court, on Friday, a complaint was preferred
by six blacks, from Africa, against the owners of the ship
Warwick, for whom the captain, who had commanded the
vessel thither, appeared by summons.

Mr. Wardle (who appeared gratuitously for the complain-
ants) gave a brief outline of the case, and read the following
letter or agreement :

" Mr. -Joseph Dawson.—Dear Sir,—The arrangement
made.with the coloured sailors on board the Warwick is, that
they are to have three pounds per month home, and if they
come out as sailors in the vessel again, they are to have Li-
verpool wages; and if they do not come out as sailors, there
is a passage to be found them. " G. S. KIELD.
" 14th October, 1840.
" Addressed to Joseph Dawson, Esq., Revenue.,
Chambers, Canning-place, Liverpool."
The ship belonged to Messrs. Joseph Dawson and Co. He
called

John Bull, one of the blacks, a tall, good-looking, but
poorly-clad African. Witness said, in effect, he had signed
an agreement in substance agreeing with the letter read. The
other complainants, his shipmates, were Jacob Barber, John
Goree, Cargoo, John Robin, and John Lewis. The War-
wick sailed from Sierra Leone, and arrived at this port two
weeks before Christmas. They.had remained here from that
time until a short time ago, when, as the ship was not to re-
turn to Africa, he put them on board another vessel bound
to the coast. They went on board, thinking they would have
a passage home to Sierra Leone; but after the vessel had
rounded the Rock, they found that she was hound to Bonny,
where (as witness expressed it) " them make us slaves di-
rectly ;" and they accordingly got into the steam-boat that
towed out the ship, and returned to the town. They had of-
fered to take £5 each, and to find their own passage home ;
but this was not agreed to, and they had since been reduced
to great want •, had pawned all their clothes but what they
had on, for subsistence ; and had had to apply to be received
into the Night Asylum. They wanted to be sent direct home
according to agreement.

Mr. Davenport, who was for the defence, said, that the
complainants had shipped as sailors, and had received £3. in
in advance. They had been supported for a long time in
Liverpool, and were put on board of a ship that was to touch
at Cape Masada (as we understood) on his way to Bonny,
from which former place they might readily reach Sierra
Leone. He added, that £3O. had been paid for their passage
in the ship they had left after her sailing.
The Captain gave evidence to this effect, and said, an offer
had also been made, as there was no ship at present bound
to Sierra Leone, to send them to Gambia, whence also they
might fight find their way home.—John Bull objected to
going to' Gambia, almost as much as to Bonny. What they
wanted was to go home. . _

Mr. Rushton, after a patient hearing of the case, said, in
effect, that the contract, which was not denied, had evidently
not been fulfilled ; and steps had been taken to get rid of the
complainants which would scarcely have been attempted with
English seamen, who had a better knowledge of their rights,
and who might have formed a parallel engagement. If the
services of the men had not been required for the good of
the ship, they would not have been hired, and if the owners
sustained great expense, they must place it to profit and loss.
They had pawned their clothes, and being reduced to desti-
tution, must, if not supported, apply to the parish, in which
case he should probably be consulted and would know what
to advise. The parties did not, he trusted, wish to court an
on at law. They must be supported until a passage could

I them to Sierra Leone, I;Ut they must work On board
if required. He advised them to attend to it, and directed
Mr. Wardle to look after the case.

Mr. Davenport.—Would you be satisfied, Sir, if the £5.
to each of them were now paid to find themselves a passage.
Mr. Rushton.—No. - They are now in great want ; there
was no certainty when a vessel might be going to Sierra
Leone ; and it was easy to see that if left to themselves the
money stated would very soon be absorbed, and they would
again be left in this country a burthen to others.—The par-
ties then left the Court.

SHIPMASTERS' ASSOCIATION,

A very interesting, and to shipmasters and owners most
important, lecture was given at this excellent institution on
Friday evening, by Captain Hunt. The subject was, " The
principles of maritime law, and the liabilities of shipowners
and shipmasters ;" questions involved in difficulties and dan-
gers to those concerned, and which need to be examined into
far more than is generally the case among shipmasters. At
seven o'clock, the rooms being well tilled, Mr. Rowett, the
indefatigable chairman of the committee, was unanimously
called upon to preside. That gentleman, on taking the chair,
congratulated the members present upon the commencement,
on that evening, of one of the main objects of the association,
viz., the occasional delivery of lectures on subjects of mari-
time interest, and had great pleasure in introducing to them
a gentleman who had most handsomely come forward to
make the first effort towards the establishment of such branch
of the institution.

Captain H unt then commenced his address by some appro-
priate remarks upon the position he occupied as lecturer, and
the good that must result to the association by their meeting
thus together and communicating to each other the result of
their experience, research, and observation. Nothing, he
thought, could more tend to elevate the shipmaster in the
scale of society than such intercourse; and he trusted the
time was not far distant when the too prevalent roughness of
manner in the seaman would give place to the polish of civi-
lization, and when the gentleman and the sailor would be
found blended together in one individual. Captain Hunt
next drew a comparison between her Majesty's and the mer-
chant service, and showed clearly that the latter is the most
onerous of the two. A naval officer is fenced round and
sustained by severe and stringent laws, while the master of a
merchant ship has little more than the moral weight of his
character wherewith to govern his crew. He then drew a
short sketch of the rise of maritime law and usage, tracing all
our present code up to the Rhodians, who appear to have
been the first people that established any regular system of
protection to commerce. Their laws were subsequently
adopted by the Romans, and in due course were handed down
to ourselves, receiving in their descent such modifications
and additions as the spirit of the times suggested. The lec-
turer next proceeded to touch upon the responsibility of a
shipmaster, which appears to be much greater than is gene-
rally supposed ; his own property being, in some situations,
actually liable for the engagements of his owner., if the latter
be insolvent ; although the remuneration he receives is often-
times most inconsistent with such a positive liability. With
common (the crew) sailors the case was different ; their re-
sponsibility extended no farther than wages due to them.
The important and intricate subject of bottomry formed the
next point of Captain Hunt's lecture, and he showed that it
behoves every master to act with great circumspection, when
unfortunately placed in a situation to render it necessary for
him to resort to this expedient, otherwise confusion and un-
looked for loss must inevitably follow ; that care should be
taken not to make, if possible, any other than the port of
ownership or destination the place of settlement, for two
bottomry bills upon the same vessel, one to pay for the other,
cannot legally be given. He recommended also that masters
should hypothecate both ship and cargo, as facilitating greatly
the raising of money, and the repayment of the same. When-
ever, however, it happens that money must be raised upon a
vessel more than once, between departure and arrival at
destination; it should be borne in wind that the last lender
takes precedence of the first; because the laws assume, that
but for the last succour the whole might have been lost. This
is the reverse of the method of land mortgages, for bottomry
is maritime mortgage ; but the cases are no farther parallel
than the simple act of borrowing and lending. Captain H.
entered also, at considerable length, into the power of a mas-
ter to resort to bottomry, showing that although he has the
ship and cargo under his control, and that he may even sell
a portion of his cargo, he cannot avail himself of such expe-
dient to raise money to discharge any private debt, but purely
for the repairing of his vessel or disbursement. An owner
may moreover object to, or call in question any act of bot-
tomry entered into by his shipmaster, while underwriters are
not responsible in all oases of partial loss, however reasonable
it may appear that they should be, hence partial losses are
often more disastrous to shipowners than total ones, in which
latter case alone are the liabilities of undersVriters simple and
easily understood.

Captain Hunt now wound up his very important address
by giving the details of a very interesting dilemma of his
own at the Cape of Good Hope, the ruinous effects of which
proved the truth of his remarks and the value of his caution.
In fact, nothing could more forcibly have shown the strong
necessity for a thorough examination, on the part of ship-
masters, into the bottomry laws, than the remarkable case
which it has been Captain Hunt's misfortune to fall into ;
and the effect of his observations and information evidently
made a great impression upon his assembled brethren.
After the lecturer had concluded, a very interesting and
useful discussion upon the subject-matter of the lecture took
place, in which Mr. Eshelby, Mr. Rowett, Mr. Causzer,
Mr. Jaques, and several other gentlemen, took part. The
question of general, as distinguished from particular, average
was more particularly mooted, and received some very able
and pertinent remarks. Mr. Rowett, in commenting upon
the particular position in which Capt, Hunt had been placed
in the case above mentioned, made some serviceable obser-
vations upon the best ports at which to make bottomry bills
payable, and pointed out the advantages of a homeward-
bound over an outward-bound voyage in such extremities.
The thanks of the meetin were finally voted to the able
lecturer for his kindness in coming forward in such a hand-
some manner, coupled with a request that he would renew
the subject for their instruction as soon as convenient, and
also that the present lecture should be printed.
Capt. Hunt briefly replied, that he should be always happy
to devote his humble abilities to the service of his fellow-
shipmasters, whose interests, advancement, and prosperity
he had ever at heart ; and he would name to the master of
the rooms an early evening for again addressing them, when
he would make general average and salvage the subject of
his lecture. He trusted, moreover, that others would be
induced to give the association the benefit of their experience
and knowledge, and raise, upon the trifling beginning which
he had had the honour of making in those rooms, a super-
structure of great mutual benefit and gratification, which he
felt convinced might be done independently of professional
assistance, and which would therefore be the more honour-
able and praiseworthy to them all.

SKETCHES IN PARLIAMENT.--No. 2.

(For the Liverpool Standard.)

DEBATE ON LORD MORPETH'S IRISH REGIS-
TRATION BILL—THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25th.
The adjourned debate on Wednesday and Thursday even-
inp excited fully a; much interest as the debate on Monday,
of which I gave you a sketch in my last ; yet I feel that I shall
best perform my duty to your readers by proceeding to offer
a brieftleseription of the concluding debate on Thursday
night. In taking this course, I would not, however, be un-
derstood as wishing to depreciate the talent displayed by the
several speakers on the intermediate days. On the contrary,
I am ready to admit that some of the most successful efforts,
both on the ministerial and on the opposition side of the
house, were made on Tuesday and Wednesday ; and upon an
impartial review of the whole debate, I believe it will be found
that some of the most striking facts connected with the
measure were elicited upon those two days. My motive,
then, for passing them over, and confining my present sketch
to the debate of Thursday night is, because I conceive that
the interest of your readers will very naturally be fixed—as
that of the public has been—upon that night's proceedings in
particular, as affording an opportunity of hearing the argu-
ments of Mr. O'Connell and Lord John Russell in support
of the measure, and of Sir Robert Peel in opposition to it.
A very justifiable curiosity was excited—in which, I doubt
not, your readers will have participated—to learn how his
lordship could vindicate the present alteration of the Irish
franchise, and maintain, at the same time, his formeropinions
as to the finality of the reform bill ; and with what feelings
the Right Hon. Baronet views this direct violation of the
"great constitutional settlement" (!) of 1829, to effect
which he was induced to make so heavy and, in the opinion
of his best friends, so unfortunate a sacrifice of principle,
and almost of personal honour, upon the shrine of fancied
To ;.,-ratify this curiosity, therefore, will be the

expedienc,

leading object of my present remarks.
The attendance on Thursday, from the commencement of
the debate was, especially upon the ministerial benches, more
numerous than upon any of the preceding days. It Jaadbeen

priviously understood, as an agreed point, that a division
was to take place this evening; and at an early hour various
of the " small unknown" might have been observed passing
and repassing in the lobby of the house, each duly, primed
and loaded with a speech, which was to be let off on the first
opportunity of his being able to " catch the speaker's eye."
The number who succeeded in this object of ambition, in pro-
portion to the number of aspirants, was not great; and yet
no explosion took place ! The mighty stream of eloquence,
" cabined, cribbed, confined," found some air vent through
which to emerge, other than the atmosphere of the House of
Commons—some terrestrial scene, through which to meander,
other thati the pages of Hansard, or the no less important
columns of the " mudfog Chronicle," or such similar record
as the various independent boroughs represented by the gen-
tlemen in question may happen to possess. It is well known
that throughout the whole of the week the ministerial whip
was in incessant activity, and the threat of a dissolution, as
the consequence of ministerial defeat. was unsparingly used.

The anxiety, therefore, of the butterfly tribe, who at present
flutter their brief hour in the parliamentary atmosphere, to
have one " blaze" before their extinction by the rude hands
of their constituencies may easily be conceived; and it is
heartrending to reflect how great must be the anguish caused
by their lamentable disappointment.

The debate was opened by a very sensible speech from Mr.
Gaskill, which was repeatedly cheered by both sides of the
house. The allusion of the hon. member to the charge
brought against government, and so indelibly fixed upon
them by Sir James Graham, of having encouraged the repeal
agitation, by patronising the leaders of that agitation, was
particularly happy. " Whom "—asked the hon. member—
" had government selected to repel the charge ? It was the
right hon. and learned gentleman (Mr. Shiel)—himself a
minister of the crown—and who had in his place in parlia-
ment, voted for the dismemberment of the empire!"
Mr. Villiers Stuart, Colonel Conolly, Mr. Howard—a new
member—and Mr. Lascelles, next addressed the house, and
were followed by Mr. Gisborne, M. P. for Carlow, who, very
unaccountably, broke down without concluding his speech,
which possibly might have been his last, upon that arena,
Mr. Gisborne has the reputation—similar to that of Lord
Brougham—of being eloquent in proportion to the depth of
his potations, and displaying the most acute legislative per-
ception, when his external senses are most disarranged. I
will not say what was the occasion of his failure on this occa-
sion, although the smothered merriment of the house when
the honourable member, having lost for a moment the
thread of his discursive speech, was unable to find it again,
would lead to the conclusion that, having meditated a very
high flight, he had added to his pinions until they were cum-
bersome to him. Mr. Gisborne was succeeded by Mr.
Cholmondeley and Mr. O'Connell, neither of whom added
much to the information, or the arguments already before
the public. I must not, however, pass over so briefly the
clear and lucid statements of facts which Mr. Emerson
Tennant brought to bear upon the subject, one or two of
which were of so startling a nature, that I must be pardoned
if I depart for a moment from my duty as a sketcher, in

order to lay them before your readers.
The honourable member, after calling the attention of
those members who were favourable to the second reading,
(upon the understanding that the qualification clause could
be altered in committee), to the fact that the details of the
bill are framed to suit that description of franchise and that
alone—that denuded of the qualification clause the whole
measure would become inoperative, and must be forthwith
abandoned—proceeded to prove, that under the bill in its
present shape, the whole power of determining the right of
voting in Ireland would be substantially vested in the poor-
law guardians. And to show what would inevitably be the
working of the system in such hands, the hon. member in-
formed the house that " in one parish the clerk to the
guardians had act,tally made out, in anticipation of this bill
becoming law, a Est of those who would be qualified to vote
under the pre,en t rating, distinguishing the liberals from
the tories in pPplrate columns !" I need scarcely ask your
readers to how eminently useful such a functionary
would be to reverences the priesthood of Ireland at
future election.: ; or to inquire whether it is not equally pos-
sible to " disLin;mish the liberals from the tories in separate
columns," whilst making the valuation itself, which is to
confer the franchise. Michael Cassidy, with " Roman Ca-
tholic and repealer," written over his name, would stand a
fair chance of having his cabin and potatoe ground rated at
£5, whilst his neighbour, with a better qualification, because
classed as a " protestant and conservative" might be very
leniently rated at £4 lOs !
But it may be argued—" no man in his senses would seek
an increase of taxation or rating for the sake of being able to
give a vote ;" and this argument also Mr. Tennant effectually
demolished. The amount of the poor-rate throughout Ire-
land, according to the statement of the hon. member, is
about 10d. in the pound, which would make upon a £5 rating
4s. 11. Of this amount the owner of the land pays half;
and the cost of a vote is therefore 2s. ld. ! " Five hundred
voters," concluded Mr. Tennant, " could thus be had for an
expenditure of £5O a-year" ! Nor is this the whole of the
case—although bad enough it is. The actual payment of the
rate by the voter is not necessary to constitute his claim to be
upon the register ; yet lest any of the Cassidy family should
be perturbed by a demand being made for payment of the
rate, we are now for the first time informed by the member
for Belfast, that " a provision has been smuggled into the tenth
clause of the bill, rendering legal the payment of rates on
behalf of the voter (.9, thus introducing into the system of
registration in Ireland a principle which was lately attempted
to he put in practice in the borough of Liverpool, but which
attempt was very properly defeated." Has this beautiful
little specimen of Whig trickery sprung from the corre-
spondence of your late chief magistrate with the home office ?
Mr. Tennant was succeeded in the debate by Mr. Wm.
Roche, the member for Limerick, who, amongst other re-

markable discoveries, informed the house that " it is not
from their own choice, but from necessity, that the Roman
catholic clergy interfere with elections !"—an assertion which
It would be difficult, I imagine, for the honourable member
to prove satisfactorily, unless the destruction of the Protestant
church in Ireland, the repeal of the legislative union, and
other similar objects, constitute the necessity in question.
The speaker who succeeded Mr. Roche was Mr. Shaw, the
recorder of Dublin, and with this gentleman commenced in
earnest the business of the evening. Upon every Irish ques-
tion, Mr. Shaw is a very effective speaker; and on the pre-
sent occasion, the manner and the matter of his address were
equally worthy of the applause which they elicited from the
house. The rebuke which he administered to Mr. C. Buller
and to a few other gentlemen who, " like the honourable
member for Liskeard, talk of matters relating of Ireland of
which they are profoundly ignorant," was well timed and
cutting; but it was when boldly confronting the great auto-
crat of Ireland himself, or " crunching the bones" of such a
patriot morsel as Mr. Richard Shiel, that Mr. Shaw appeared
to be in his native element. There are few who, when in-
clined, can deal out a severer measure of chastisement than
the learned recorder; and his blows on this occasion wanted
nothing of forcc on the score of the goodwill with which they
were administered. His picture of the small president of the
board of trade—the hero of Penenden Heath—as formerly
" A patriot bursting with heroic rage :"
but now

" A placeman all tranquillity and smiles"—

was given with the most happy effect ; but when he dragged
that placeman—that man whom the Queen has delighted to
honour—back to the deathbed of an illustrious prince, the
uncle of the Sovereign, whose dying agonies he had made the
subject of his vulgar ribaldry, I should not have envied the
feelings of the patriot himself, or of his colleagues, if such
men can be said to possess anything worthy of the name.
The biting taunts of Mr. Shaw effectually " started from
his lair" the honourable and learned (!) member for Dublin,
who, contrary to his habits, appeared rather difficult to draw
out upon the present occasion. It may be that the effect of
increased years has impaired somewhat the bodily powers of
the agitator; it may be that, notwithstanding the aid which
an unprincipled government is ready at all times to afford
him, his acute and cunning eye can perceive the rapid ap-
proach of a period when that aid will no longer avail to pre-
serve his declining influence ; it may be that (as he himself
has declared to his Corn Exchange followers) he is not sincere
in the opposition which he is compelled to offer to Lord
Stanley's bill : but true it is, that the manner of the burly

mendicant appears to have undergone a great and striking
change within the last few years. A sullen and a dogged
determination still clings to his features amidst the most
severe attacks of his enemies. The glow of shame, which

the countenance of one less practised to conceal the workings
of the heart beneath must reflect, when the catalogue of his
reckless mendacities and manifold impostures is. unfolded
before him, is unmarked upon his imperturable front; yet
we no longer see the same alacrity to cross blades with his
antagonist which used to mark the parliamentary career of the
member for Dublin. He is no longer the war horse which
" smells the battle afar off," and rushes to the encounter,
but a far less noble animal, which is only goaded to the dis-
play of open hostility, although ready and alert to cast the
venom of his nature upon the unresisting or the absent. A
consciousness of the contempt with which his character and
position is regarded, alike by his friends and by his oppo-
nents, hangs round him, and despite or his superhuman
powers of assurance and bravado, bows him to the earth.
As a whole, the speech of the " stipendiary of the people
of Ireland," as he termed himself, was very unequal to some
of his previous efforts in the house, and immeasurably be-
neath the bulk of his harangues out of doors. The old to-
pics of " seven centuries of oppression" were repeated and
dwelt upon ad nauseam; the old comparison was instituted
with respect to the proportion of members to population in
the two countries ; and the present state of our relations
with other nations was pointed to as an unanswerable argu-
ment in favour of conceding the demands of his disaffected
countrymen. From these hackneyed topics the learned
gentleman rushed at once into the subject of repeal ; and,
by a singular fatality, every argument which he brought for-
ward—every sentiment which he uttered—was calculated to
cut the ground from beneath the feet of his ministerial
friends, and to convince the world how unsound is the po-
licy which concedes the possession of a vantage-ground to
one who is prepared to use it for the purpose of exacting
further concessions. Can any man, I ask, believe that the
passing of the present ministerial bill, which is in effect the
subversion of the entire measure of reform, in favour of de-
mocracy—or, more properly perhaps, priestly influence—in
Ireland, can have the effect of even checking the treasonable
agitation which is at present distracting that unhappy land ?
Let such a One, then, calmly examine the bearing of the
following language, uttered by Mr. O'Connell on Thursday
night, and—l blush to record the fact—responded to with
cheers from the benches occupied by her Majesty's minis-
ters ! " Could the people of Ireland be contented," de-
manded the member for Dublin, " when one-eighth of the
population had a rich church establishment at the cost of
the whole? They had lately obtained a reduction of one-
fourth"—by the tithe settlement ; " but they were not con-
tented, and he told them that they never would le contented
whilst any part of the imposition lasted" ! Let any man, I
repeat, reflect upon the language thus insultingly levelled
against the Protestantism of the empire, by one who has
solemnly sworn, as the condition of being permitted to exer-
cise the privilege of sitting in the House of Commons, to
uphold the integrity of the Protestant established church in
Great Britain and Ireland ; and then say whether it is at the
demand of such a man that we are to break down the last
remnant of at best a feeble bulwark, by which the hand of
spoliation is held back from her venerated walls.
But I must pass from a consideration of the ruffianly
ravings of this worthless impostor; yet I cannot refrain from
noticing one or two further passages, more frantio than or-
dinary ; and the more especially, as one of them furnished
the occasion of drawing from Sir Robert Peel a noble vindi-
cation of the loyalty of the Irish people. " It was one of the
splendid errors of Napoleon," remarked the speaker, " that
he overlooked the condition of Ireland. It was the infidelity
of France"—and no feeling of patriotism—" which secured
to Great Britain the Catholic priesthood of Ireland!" Hear
this, ye Clayton-square giants—hear this unblushing avowal
from the brazen god of your worship ! " True, he agreed
with the member for Limerick, that if there was an invasion
to-morrow the priesthood of Ireland would be the foremost
in sending their flocks to resist the invaders ; but—let them
be ;old that they were surpliced ruffians—that they were a
demon priesthood"—(the mendicant had by this time worked
himself up into a state of fury, which would have been very
uncomfortable in the dog-days, and the sentence, or one
name in it which followed, was uttered with a horrible con-
tortion of visage)—" let them see THE INPNEILES AND
JEZTBELS of Liverpool sending petitions with 27,000 sig-
natures so denouncing them—(bravo !)—let them see the
House of Commons yielding to such petitions"—and then—
and then—What? I know not. The ministerial cheers were
intentionally, I suppose—so loud as to drown the utterance
of the treasonable threat which followed, or the fury of the
orator boiled over entirely, and the world is therefore left in
the dark unfortunately as to what their reverences would do,
if that lash of theirs Mr. M`Neile and the Protestants of
Liverpool should chance to move their saintly tempers.
I will not go through the argumentative and able speech of
the right honourable baronet, convinced as I am that I have
already far exceeded my limits. It will be satisfactory, how-
ever, to your Protestant readers to observe, that even on the
admission of Sir Robert Peel—its author—the compact which

n and of

was entered into between the people of Great
popish Ireland, will be torn asunder by this iniquitous mea-
sure. The course to be pursued by Protestantism I leave to
other and abler hands to point out. For the same reason—
want of space—l must omit a description of the speech of
Lord John Russell, in favour of the measure, which was as
unsatisfactory and as truckling to the superior power by
which he is coerced on this question as it well could be. The
result of the division you will already have. The parliament
of England for the present have declared, by a majority of
five, in favour of the cause of Popery against Protestantism
—for that is the only true view of the question; but for the
rest—WE SHALL SEE I " There's a brave time coming"—
a time of reckoning, which not a few gentlemen of the
honourable house will have some difficulty in getting through.
London, Saturday, Feb. 27th.

POST-OFFICE GALLERY

The following pictures have been added to this very splen-
did collection since our last. If the proprietor continues to
send so many pictures down, and of such a high class, we
shall be almost able to boast of a gallery equal to any in the

kingdom

24. " Christ in the Garden"— Ludovico Caracci. A
beautiful little cabinet picture, copied by this eminent master
from Corregio, whose works he greatly admired and ardently
studied. The original is in the possession of the Duke of
Wellington. The copy is so cleveul y imitated that it is hardly
possible to tell one from the other. The face of our Saviour
is replete with expression : his under garment is a pure and
dazzling white, upon which the light is beautifully thrown ;
the outer garment is deep blue. This picture is almost equal
to the original.

23. " St. Jerome in his Cave"—Ribera. A remarkably
fine picture, representing the saint in his cave, attended by
his favourite lion. The figure is in a kneeling posture, and
the face is marked with an expression of great veneration :
the light catches the head and limbs, which are finely coloured.
The drapery is of a deep reddish cast. On the left of the
picture are the emblems of mortality. This tine picture
was brought from Lucien Buonaparte's gallery, and was
much valued by him.—Ribera was a Spanish artist, and is
familiarly known as Spagnolletto.

25. " Road-side Inn"—George Morland. It is impos-
sible to look at this picture without at once recognising it as
the production of an English artist, and as representing an
English scene. Morland was a fine painter—he was the Wilkie
of his day. He brought things before us which pleased us from
their familiarity. Like Ostade, his pictures were all drawn
in low life—in the country—amidst farmers and agricultural
scenes. We cannot stroll into the country but such a scene
as that before us may be witnessed. Here we have a low-
roofed, humble public-house, with a bench and skittle-
ground under the " wide-spreading beech "—the " tegmine
fags" of the poet of old. In the doorway of the cottage
stands a little lad with his hands in his pockets, and a
girl is playing with her doll. In the adjoining penthouse,
upon a bench, are ranged pitchers and earthen dishes ; on,
the corner of it hangs a striped shirt ; while outside recline
a shrimping net, an eel-prong, and a mop.
Enjoying the
doice fa niente is a sow with two grunters, her ears shading
her eyes. Approaching a pool is another porker, around
the neck of which is a yoke, clearly indicating the rambling
propensities of the wearer. Beneath the broken window is
a pitcher and a shutter ; while at the further end of the cot-
tage a scarlet runner climbs in all its luxuriance. Beneath
the deep foliage which occupies the top of the picture, peeps
out the roof of a barn or adjoining building. The figures
consist of a jolly, farmer-looking man, mounted on an old
white mare, the trusty servant of many a year. Accompa-
nying him is a gamekeeper, with a spaniel, setter, and
pointer. The terrier is smelling at a skittle on the ground.
Beside the large tree sits a sportsman with his gun, enjoying
his " brown jug"
and pipe. A woman appears taking mo-
ney from the farmer in payment for the contents of the jug
she holds in her left hand. A rosy child, with a little cart,
hangs at her skirt, apparently half frightened at the dogs
before him. This picture will bear " a long, long gaze." It
is like "an old familiar face." It is admirably drawn, and
charmingly painted. In the background is a view of the
distant sea. We recommend all our readers to visit this
most interesting and valuable collection.

DEATHS FROM FIRE IN 1840.—__B_y _
the returns from the
city and liberty of Westminster, and the coroners of the city
and eastern division of Middlesex, it appears that during the
last twelve months no less than 245 children have been burnt
to death in those districts, chiefly owing to their parents
leaving them alone in a room with a fire in it. Of these four-
fifths were girls, and the remainder boys. This arises from
the difference of the clothing between boys and girls. The
greater number were the
offspring of the working and poorer
classes of society, whose business takes them from their
homes.

UNPLEASANT INTRUSION.----On Monday morning, the
15th instant, as one of the privates of the 7th dragoon guards
was going through the ceremony of being united to a young
lady of Nottingham,
at the office of the superintendent regis-
trar of the Radford Union, the proceedings were suddenly
interrupted by the entrance of a military authority, who im-
mediately marched off the bridegroom as a prisoner to the
barracks, leaving the disappointed fair one in an agony of
excitement, and the attendants confounded at this strange
adventure. The soldier was absent, it Seems,
without leave,
and was contracting marriage without the necessary permis-
sion : hence this untimely intrusion, and his disagreeable
transfer from the nuptial festivities to the solitary meditations
of the guard-room.--Stasford MercUry.