The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-12-20 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOUL STANDARD.

" To he, or not to be. that is the question."
Much as we deprecate the conduct of Lord John Rus-
sell and Viscount Melbourne, we can sympathise with
tired] as men. If they have drunk too deep of political
poison, and are now suffering- under its noxious influence,
we would urge them, whilst there is time, before another
Parliament meets, to take the antidote of conservative
council, lest another draught of the deadly potion should
prove their ruin. But, alas !we speak to the deaf adder.
We see the same hand, though half paralysed, preparing
a cup of the very.same ingredients as the last ; and in a
" brief 'month," or so, in the face of their country, they
intend to drink of it themselves—to divide it to the dregs
among their deluded followers;
There may be much of political tact in this silent se-
clusion of ministers. Whilst the lion sleeps the jackal]
is abroad seeking prey ; and we have watched the move-
ments of many of these state jackal's. We have heard
their cry, and are not ignorant of the victims marked out.
In one spot we have seen the House of Lords singled out
for the chase of destruction. Sir John Campbell 'inted
as vigorously as the confined powers of his mind enabled
him. Mr. Gisborne, though too ii!firinfor parliamentary
duties, displayed reviving energies in pursuit of such no-
ble game; and my Lord Ebrington followed, in a new,
"unheard, and unread of" track. But this royal bird
soars beyond the reach of so mean a quarry, and they
"beat the air" in vain with their rapacious cries.
We envy not the condition of the present ministers--
they are in a "straight betwixt two." On on side
their pledge of Irish reform hedges them in, and no
sooner do they evince a desire to break through it, than
the O'Connell hounds., fiercely yelping, keep them back;

on the other side, Conservative Justice, Truth, and Vir-
tue, forbid any escape. Surrender or destruction are the-
only alternatives. As wise men they ought not to hesi-
tate. If; after the mortification of defeat, they find some
solace in seclusion, yet let them remember, a " worse
thing will come upon them," if they sin as they have
done again. The country is fully awakened to all their
designs ; it has, explicitly, avowed its sentiments ; the
dulleSt understanding—the most infatuated prejudice---
even the devoted friends of radical reform, Sir William
Bentinck and tlfe, ministerial 'press, acknowledge that a
" reaction" has possessed the public mind, and that the
"present cabinet cannot stand the assaults of the next
parliamentary session." Perhaps, though we feel almost.
reluctant to use so strong a simile, like wicked spirits, in
days of old, when commanded " to come out" of their
bond slave, they first " rent him sore," till he " was as
one dead." So our present ministers seem resolved to
place in hazard the very existence of the state, and to
convulse it to its very foundations, before they will relin-
quish the honours of office.

But, whilst we express our surprise at the sudden and
permanent disappearance of our ministers, who, chame-
leon-like, feed upon air, the vitiated breath of discon-
tent, we are not regardless of their several spiracula!,
which are stretched abroad in almost every part of the
kingdom, and which first agitate, and then inhale, the
noxious blast. Sir John Campbell, Mr. Gisborne, and
my Lord Ebrington, are the very nostrils of the present
administration ; brit we fancy that this diet, unsubstan-
tial as it is; fails also in quantity—in quality we are sure
it is much leSs pure than ever.
After all the attempts that have been made to conjure
up the demon of destruction under the name of Reform,
if ministers find him chained, down by the moral spell of
ConservatiSm, will they madly persevere in their political
witchcraft? We answer fur them—oh yes . We fancy
we hear them say—we have not retired to seek rest—the
stillness before the stOrm is 'our emblern—we are forging
armour, which neither truth, nor justice, nor shame, can
penetrate. Ireland shall have' justice measurea to her,
according to her own standard, till popish priests cry
out—enough I—though Protestant prOperty and the Pro-
testant Church be sacrificed in the accomplishment Of it.
Let the House of Lords, let the English Clergy, offer
what resistance they may, we will reform them both—we
have the plan prepared, and the attempt shall 'be made.
Such is the kind of language we can imagine to proceed
from ministerial retreat " Bold words," to be " vouched
by deeds as bold"—still they. pass by conservative inte-
grity as the idle wind which we regard not." In such
a war of desperation, the Fabian policy is ours—they
will perish by their own hands.

We have had but one design throughout this address—
to wain our friends not to slumber because.ministers ap-
pear to sleep. We have, hitherto, proved ourselves
66 watchers." Our noble conservative dinners—our gi-
gantic operative associations—our ever speaking press—
all proclaim us prepared for any assault from the enemy.'
But we conclude with the emphatic word—WATCH.

In our last journal we enjoyed a few very agreeable
moments at the expense of the radical members of Scot-
land Ward. " Merrier men• we never Spent an hour's
chat withal"—not a sentence escaped their lips but was
modelled for the ears of " laughter holding both his
sides." • We had an invitation in the same report to
move our diaphragms at a dinner Oven to
Thorne's', Esq., "Va tixhall Ward.'' not we made a
!tasty election : we dare,not deliberate, or, between' the
two exquisites, we should have' been like tile, ass•and the
bundles of hay--starving in a superfluity lif luxury. Wre
now, therefore, shall just step from Scotland to Vauxhall
to partake of the crumbs that fell from the table ; and we
could without much effort of mind believe that we were
literally and truly in "I/aux/lair surrounded with, all its
buffoons. Hold—no slander. Let us proceed to the
entertainment.

The chairman, who, officially, always leads the orches-
tra, opened with "a blast so loud and strong"—never
were prophetic sounds "so void of sense." "He hoped
all present would be thankful for what his Majesty had
already done, and also for what remains to be done"—to
the end of time—a compendious mode of discharging the
debt of gratitude to future kings by paying it in advance
to their ancestors—a radical redemption of the land-tax
of obligation to succeeding- monarchs, or a piece of ver-
biage vertiaculanat Vauxhall, and the correct language
of reform dinuers, where the Destructives uever fail to

t ion, mut tor' imprecat !-,:i'lnst the Lords, who have
"cast them down to utterli-ss perdition.- Thilst the
heart palpitate,s, and the lungs refnse their office; is not
tile hand raised' to denounce vengeance upon their ad-
versaries. Is the brain not tortured, and the imagina-
tion exhausted, in planning scheines of spoliation, as the
only means left of revenge ?—does not a smile of malig-
nant joy play upon the countenance and cause the dis'-
tracted eve to relax when Ireland, flashes across. the
mind ?—lreland, that fertile soil of discontent—that vic-

tim of every political recreant—Yes, Ireland, we think
we hear them exultingly exclaim, Ireland may still be
enraged to pierce the side of her protecting sister Eng-
land. In Ireland may be dimmed, perhaps quenched,
the Protestant light of Britain. In Ireland, may be melted
down, and recast, after an O'Connell plan, the British
Constitution. Oh Ireland, Ireland, which nature, policy,
and experience, invoke to cherish the tenderest affection
towards your sister England, why do you suffer your
worst enemies to alienate you from her. You are made
an instrument, in the hands of oppressive selfishness, to
crush the interest, disturb the peace, and endanger the
stability of England ; and when they who have used you
for this purpose have accomplished their design, they will-
throw you aside, as other tools are, tillyou are wanted
again. But whatever conspiracy may be formed against_
the perdurable constitution of Britain—in whatever point
it may be assailed—with what novelty of weapons soever
her enemies may assault it—whether by open face or se-
cret stratagem—it is fenced round with conservative bnl7
warks which mock
,every attempt.
We fancy we see ministers in their retreat, looking
." through the loop-holes of the world" tn catch " what
news abroad." How frequently is the countenance-dark-
ened, as the post brings' intelligence, that another and
another conservative meeting has sounded forth the prin-
ciples of loyalty and good government ? From the four
winds the sameintelligence.arrives, as if all England had
united in one acclamation'—till, like a fatal sirocco, it
produces in them a political 'asphyxia. Arrayed against ,
them they see the' title, wealth, virtue, and talent of the h
land. Still, who can tear out the heart, hoWever
eased, and live? Cease to he ministers, and cease to be

our language—this is not our painting. This is a picture
drawn by one of their own body. We who freely de-
clare ourselves to be adverse to the constitution and
measures of the Town Council, still cannot forget that
we breathe the same air—walk the same streets with
them ; we, therefore, wish to draw a veil over this hide-.
ous countenance of all corruption.

Mr. Egerton Smith, in the flourishing symphony of his
exordium, said—",he was glad that some advantage had
been gained by the Tories." Why so are we; and w e
hope he will have every year increasing cause for in-
creasing joy at the same kind of success. But, glad as
Mr. S. expressed himself, like Mr. Thornely, he appears
to have felt either some qualms of conscience, or a sto-

mach not fitted for digesting all the crudities of a Town
Council ; he, therefore, intends also " to retire at the
end of his term." With regard to his " certificate," we
think he will be more honourable without one. We
should as soon ask to be burned in the hand, or to be
branded on the lot ehead, which are judicial certificates
that
.% ou have not been hanged.
Mr. Muspratt, on acknowledging the honour done him
in drinking his health, said—" He attributed his defeat

at the late election to the conduct of a few apostate Re-
formers." Why these Radicals are the coarsest malign,
ers of their own party :—one affirms they are in a state
of “ apathy ;" another, varying the phrase, declares they
are " asleep ;" and here Mr. Muspratt calls them
apostates ;" whilst Mr. Thornely tells us that the
members of the Town Council " were representatives of
men of EVERY SHADE of religion."

We hope there is sound soothsaying when " the
Chairman, in proposing the health of Mr. Evart," said,
" that he was sorry to find that the people of Liverpool
did not think quite so much of him as the inhabitants of

the metropolis." Perhaps not; they know him better,

But if the metropolis be enamoured of his charms, why
Liverpool is quite ready to perform the paternal office,
and "to give him avray." Thus first fall the pillars, and
then down comes the capital. Sleepy, apathetic, apos-
tate Radicals and discarded members form a group in
good keeping.

There is something so impious in the next toast, that
one could hardly think it capable of being proposed, and
much less of its being received, out of " May
the blessings of a useful education be extended to all the
people unobstructed by the principle of exclusion on the

score of religious denomination." What blessings Y
"Blessed are the pure in heart"—" Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the way of the ungodly.'—" He that
honoureth me," saith the Most High, " him will I also

honour;" and from Him "cornett] every good and perfect
" What blessings," and in what name, will the
Unitarian—the Roman Catholic—the Deist. ask ? Ye

fight agairist Heaven ; and " Who bath hardened his
heart against God and prospered ?" But the toast is

consistent enough with the character of a Town Counc

which represents "men of every shade of religion." We

can proceed no further with comment. When men talk

nonsense with an air of importance, we can smile; when
Liiry '0:-!conie outrageously ridiculous, we can laugh ; but

when they become blasphemous, we retire.

After the turmoil of political discussion we are glad to
enter the peaceful shades of science; and turn from the
book of life to the volume of nature. With Mr. Hem-
ming we shall, therefore, pass a pleasant hour.
"The willow," when planted by Van Helmont, weigh-
ed but five pounds; after five years it weighed 1691
pounds; and the earth. in which it was planted, had lost
only two ounces of its original weight. Although the
physiOlOgy of vegetation was little understood in the
days of Van Helmont, it is better understood now ; and
the formation of so much ligneous matter, is explicable,
upon well ascertained principles—carbonic acid gas be-
ing the chief pabulum, and the hydrogenating or de-oxi-
dizing rays of the sun the chief agent, in giving fixation
to the carbon of it, and evolution to the oxygen gas.
We regret that we have nut space to pursue this subject

farther. '•
Mr. H. observes, that " by holding over an ignited
jet of hydrogen a bell-shaped glass, in .a shiirt time it
will be covered over with vapour"-7--the same .result will
take place if it be held over a candle; by
,which is evi-
dently proved the existence of hydrogen in the wax or
tallow. We can by no means yield our assent to the
dictum of Mr. H., that ." iron, at a very high tempera-
ture, has a greater affinity for oxygen than tiny other
substance in nature ; for how then could iron•ores be re-
duced, or how could a single casting' in iron be effected ?
for if this affinity were, as stated, in both cases we should
obtain but an oxide of iron (perhaps
,vitrified) and not
metallic iron. On the explosion of oxygen and hydro-
gen gases, they are said "to expand into 30 times their
space, aed.according to others into 15." We should be
disposed to think the expansion considerably greater—
the heat necessary for the larger expansion would be about
2000". Gunpowder, in its products after explosion, Ge-
cupies 1000 times more volume than before ; but there is
this difference between the two cases—the products of
the one are permanently elastic gases, whilst that of the
other is a condensable vapour.

We cannot exacfly go along with Mr. H. respecting
the improved salubrity of waters from increased saline
impregnations. As medicine, their virtues may be mea-
sured by this standard, but as a wenstruurn or diluent of
food, and of .course a thing of daily consumption, we
think those which contain sulphnretted hydrogen,
bonate of iron, carbonate of soda (Ilkeston) or, as we
have drunk at a very worthy archdeacon's, bi-carbonate
of magnesiii, might all be well dispensed with.

. to be composed of
small
aVllll)eall..' s
tical.lems,l‘!:ll.i jel) "a
is
‘l‘isrucii:Pru:::ni d, and SUppey t__.
liatever bard and rimnd," lutist Le " Slippery"—
we know nothing of "-slipperiness," as a property Of
matter, beyond " hardness and roundness." " The

compliment themselves and one ;mother with this kind of
anticipatory gratulation for stir% ices whivh yet " remain
Ito be done,"—a happy conceit; as the thanks are paid and
pocketed, whilst the .services always cont►nue in pros-
pective, uninjured, to serve the same turn on future
Occasions,
The next toast was the health of Mr. Thornely,
cx-
member of the Town Council. From the introductory
observations. of the Chairman, we should have thought
that Mr. Thornely had beep a " dumb" man, (blindness,
•we know, is prevalent among Radicals,) and that, in
consequence of this ihfirmity, his health would have been
"drunk in silence," us it seemed to us a piece of imper-
tinence to load a man with compliments of which he is
insensible, and for which he can make no acknowledg-
ment. We waited, expecting a tablet would be brought
on which Mr. T. might have written his thanks, but were
agreeably surprised to see that Mr. T. "found a tongue,"
and a tongite which made " work for reporters" at a pub-
lic dinner, however he might stand the " mute, inglori-
ous"'Member of the Town Council. " I do know of
these, that therefore only are reputed wise for saying
nothing," and—but we will not give offence by further
quotation. But. Mr. Thornely spoke, and very perti-
nently asked—" What had the Town Council done ?"
We iterate the question—" What had the Town Council
done?" Mr. Thornely gave no answer—no one present
attempted any answer. It would have required an
(Edipus to answer it to the satisfaction of the company
or of Liverpool, except plain Truth had risen and ,re-
Plied—This has the Town Council clone. It has degraded
municipal pffices into venal political bribes for personal
slavery. Under the name of liberalism it has extin-
guished liberty itself. Whilst it demands of all others
responsibility and open courts, it claims for- itself " shut
'h'ors" and secret " caballing." Religion and her legi-
timate offspring, morality, are the objects of their perse-
secution. These virtues, "and such like," are engraved
on the municipal escutcheon of Liverpool.—Whether
Thornely would ,have. made an answer in the saute
.fOrm of words, we know not; but it seems, from his own
showing:, that he soon grew sick of municipal doings,
and, therefore, "declared that he should not offer himself
again as a candidate." But if Mr. T. did not tell us of
all the anti glorious achievements of the Town Council,
yet he has affixed his seal to a declaration which will
confer upon them the character of infamy as a corpora-
tion, when their private virtues shall be no longer
remembered. He said, " they were representatives o
men of every shade of religion." This, reader, is no