The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-06-04 00:00:00

AR, GEORGE WILBRAtia AND THE CORN.

LAWS

One of the most extraordinary productions we have met
with for some time has just fallen under our notice, we allude
to the address of Mr. George Wilbraham, the present mem-
ber for South Cheshire, to his constituents and other electors
of that division of the county. _ .

When we look back at Mr. George Wilbraham's career as
t legislator, when we examine the cameleon-like changes
which have periodically taken place in his opinions—we can-
not wonder very much at finding that another " variation of
shade" has presented itself to ♦iew. Mr. George Wilbraham
has been termed the farmer's friend" ; now what has Mr.
George Wilbraham done for the farmer, we should like to
know ? Can any agriculturist in the county of Chester point
to any one item in connection with a farm or with farming
generally, that Mr. George Wilbraham can be said to have
benefitted by his return to parliament ? " The honourable
member" has advocated a total repeal of the corn-laws, then
he became a convert to the extension of opinions in favour of
a moderate fixed duty, next, be spoke in favour of the corn-
laws remaining in their present state. When the last debate
on the corn-laws took place, Mr. Wilbraham said he could
not consent to make this country dependent for its supply of
one of the first necessaries of life upon foreign kingdoms. If
they threw themselves upon 'foreign countries for a supply,
what guarantee had they that Russia would not close her
ports against them ? The supply from Central Europe
would be precarious, and France, Spain and Portugal were
generally speaking more importing than exporting countries.
It was his firm belief that there was no grain in Europe so
good as that which was grown in England; and he should
be sorry to see this country obliged to ransack every part of
the globe, and yet reduced to the greatest extremity, as al-
ready had occurred in the year 1729. And now we come to
the document we allude to at the commencement of this ar-
ticle—namely, Mr. George Wilbraham's address to the elec-
tors :

" The corn law is a subject of universal interest throughout
the kingdom."

It needs" no ghost to tell us this."
" The question at present is rather as to the comparative
expediency of a fixed duty, or of the present sliding scale."
What Mr. Wilbraham means by a comparative expediency
is not very clear; nor is the next sentence more lucid:—
" I am ready to suppoif a flied duty in preference to the
present sliding scale ; but I consider a duts of Ss. per quar-
ter inadequate for the protection of the farmer, and I shall
not be satisfied without a higher amount of duty."
Now, what is the amount of duty which will be adequate to
protect the farmer? Why, Mr. George Wilbraham knows
right well that Ss., which he honestly avows he will not vote
for, will not be sufficient; and he knows that neither 12s.
or 155., nor, indeed, anything short of 205., will protect the
farmer; and when we find the honourable member proceeding to

" Consistently with these opinions, I shall vote for the
proposition of the government, which does no more than
affirm the general principle of a fixed duty, but I shall do so
with an express understanding that I do not thereby assent
to the rate of duty proposed by the government, and that I
shall not be satisfied without a full protection to the farmer,"
We consider that this is an avovial tantamount to a positive re-
fusal to support the government in their measure, and a mere
truckling to the opinions of the electors for electioneering
purposes. Mr. George Wilbraham knows that for the
protection of the farmer the ministry care not a but-
ton—they only care for the interests of the dense po-
pulation of the manufacturing towns, where Radi-
calism, Papacy, and Infidelity infest their purlieus. It
is not iii the free air of the country, amongst the right-
minded, honest yeomen, uncontaminated by the rubbish
pottered and mumbled at " institutes," that the present
wretched administration look for strength ; no, it is in the
towns that man bath made—not in the country—
bright creation. Mr. Wilbraham will not deceive the agri-
culturists of Cheshire again. The wealth of the country is
very great, and its interests must not be left in the hands of
an experimentalist as Mr. George Wilbraham assuredly
is—to play with. He has " turned, and turned, and turned
again"—but having taken all the turns on the subject, there
is nothing now left for him to do but return to his first posi-
tion, and advocate a total repeal, which he will do, should
the electors be so foolish as to place confidence in him again.
The registration for South Cheshire we are assured is in
a most prosperous condition. Mr. Tollemache's reception
has been most enthusiastic every where, and when we declare
that he has secured three votes out of every four, we are
within the mark. Mr. Tollemache's persevering and phi-
lanthropic endeavours, in procuring for the poor benighted
Weaver river population and navigation the great benefits
and blessings of religious instruction, will not be forgotten.
The great want of church accomodation throughout the line
of the Weaver is too well known ; and when the Sunday
trading was abolished, the state of the flatmen and hawlers
was worse than ever, for their idleness proved a powerful
incentive to crime and vicious indulgence. Few men have
such facilities for plunder as has this class of people, and
their conduct ought to be morally good in every possible way.
Mr. George Wilbraham opposed this measure, having the
fear of the ratepayers before his eyes rather than the fear of
God, for the question at the time was not well understood
by the generality of the Cheshire inhabitants, some of whom
expected nothing less than that the passing of the act and the
building of the Weaver churches would entail upon them a

heavy country rate.
There is much to be done to secure Mr. Tollemache's
election, but let the farmers of Cheshire mark well Mr.
George Wilbraham's address, let them note its absurdities,
its waverings, and its indecisive tenor, and let them ponder
well before they give him their vote. The address is a type
of Mr. George Wilbraham's principles, his abilities, and his
consistency. We will now conclude with the close of the
address, which is as soft, and silly, and vague as any other

portion :
" These views do not at all connect with any general ap-
proval of those measures recently proposed by the govern-
ment, which have for their object the advancement of the
commercial and manufacturing interests, the alleviation of
the distresses of the poor, and the general prosperity of the
country."

INQUEST ON THE BODY OF THE STEWARD OF
THE UNITED STATES.-VERDICT OF WILFUL
MURDER AGAINST A PASSENGER.

On Wednesday an inquisition was held at the Sessions.
house, before P. F. Curry, Esq.,Coroner, touching the death
of Eli Robinson, a coloured man, steward of the ship United
States, which arrived from New Orleans on Sunday last.
The prisoner is a stoutitbhuinito,thrionugnodifaapcepdar,
eanntdferraotchi
teyr
good-looking young man, w
in his countenance. He was dressedisindboluubetletrsoswaseurastiavnedoaf
fustian jacket, and, from his accent,
wa tirtihckhCi
sa hil l.
hands Ulonctki
el
dt oal
gda
itnhsatt
hishe
Ireland.
down,His nahme
might sit estoisodP
breast.ri
hhee When
aads asked, after
questions the firstt
o put, w witness s
said,had i beenna
quietex-
tone aml,ed
"No ; I ask no questions—l have done that." The
following evidence was adduced :
mate
theßoAbmeretrßicoalnstoshnip UnitedDeakin
States.m d—l
Them deceased,second
name was Eli Robinson, was steward on board the same
e x
an ea
of
whose
vessel. He was about 55 years old. We left New Orleans
about the middle of April last. The prisoner was a steerage
passenger. We arrived at Liverpool on Sunday night last,
and on Tuesday morning went alongside the Prince s pier-
head for the purpose of docking. I observed the deceased
and the prisoner together at the fore part of the vessel. The
prisoner was asking him for some tobacco, and the de-
ceased said he had none. The prisoner said " give it to me.
or I'll kill you." The deceased then run to the starboard
side of the vessel, and the prisoner followed him. I did not
observe that the prisoner had anything 'n his hand. They
ran round the vessel a second time, and the prisoner caught
the deceased close by the main rigging. He laid hold of the
deceased by his neck, and I saw him strike him on the back
and neck. The deceased turned round and raised both his
hands up. The prisoner then struck him in the abdomen,
and I saw that the prisoner had a knife in his hand. I ran
to his assistance, but before I could get to him the prisoner
struck the deceased again with the knife two or three times
in his breast. I got bold of the prisoner and made him fast
to the main rigging by a rope. The deceased was sitting at
the time on the hatchway. I went to him, took aff his
handkerchief, unbuttoned his waistcoat, and found that he
was bleeding freely, but did not observe how many wounds
he had in his breast. I had him carried into the cabin, and
directly after he was taken on shore. The only words I
heard pass between the deceased and the prisoner were those
before stated. The prisoner, during the voyage, had always
conducted himself in a quiet, peaceable manner. The pri-
soner was quite sober. We arrived in the channel on Friday,
and I expected to be in town on Saturday night, and made a
remark that I would never place any dependence on wind or
weather again, and said I did not believe there was anything
certain but death. The prisoner was then standing by. The
following morning, the prisoner came to me and said, "What
was that you were saying about murder last night ?" I told
him I had said nothing on the subject. He appeared to have
something heavy on his mind, and walked the deck all that
night.
A number of other witnesses were examined, who proved
the fact of the prisoner having repeatedly stabbed the deceas-
ed. The last witness examined was

Edward Parker, Esq., who deposed as follows I—l arr. as-
sistant house-surgeon at the Northern Hospital. The de-
ceased was brought there on Tuesday morning, about eight
o'clock. I saw him immediately, and found life quite ex-
tinct. I have since made a post mortem examination of the
body. There was a wound about half an inch long on the
left breast, which had evidently been occasioned by some
sharp instrument. It was situated at the junction of the
fourth rib with the breast bone, and appeared to penetrate
the cavity of the chest. It passed in a direction downward,
between the fourth and fifth ribs, and pierced the purse of
the heart, and wounded the right ventricle of the heart.
There were several ounces of fluid blood in the purse of the
heart, and the cellular tissue in front of the purse was infil-
trated with blood. The wound on the heart was about the
third of an inch in length. The bone of the breast, at its
junction with the fourth rib, was nicked by a sharp instru-
ment. The wound on the heart was the cause of death.
There was a flesh wound on the right breast, two flesh wounds
on the back, and a wound at the back of the head; and a
small portion of the skull was clipped off.
The prisoner, after being cautioned in the usual way, said
he had nothing to say.
The. Coroner briefly addressed the jury. From the evi-
dence of the surgeon, it clearly appeared that death was
caused by a wound in the heart ; and from that of the other
witnesses, no doubt could be entertained but the prisoner's
was the hand that inflicted it. In order to give a verdict of
murder, it must be shewn that there was malice either pre-
pense or implied. There was in this case evidently an evil
design—the prisoner haying said, "If you don't give it me,
—meaning something---" I'll kill you.
The circumstance,
too, of using a deadly instrument, such as the knife, implied
malice. He had no doubt of this on his own mind, and if
they held the same opinion, the verdict would be wilful mur-
der against the prisoner.
The jury immediately returned a verdict of " wilful mur-
der" against the prisoner, who was committed, en the coro-
ner's warrant, to take his trial at the assizes. The witnesses
were bound over to appear against him, is the Bam of 11100
seek.