The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-07-05 00:00:00

STANDARD, TUESDAY, JULY

Sin JOHN GERARD'S troop of yeomanry cavalry dined
together, on Thursday evening, at Mr. 'Whiteman's,
Brunswick Hotel.

A "LARK" AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.—LieRteDaIItS
Shirley and Hadley, of the 50th, who, for a " lark," took
a brother officer from his bed, and pumped upon him, at
Preston, have been cashiered.
LIVERPOOL CHEMISTS' ASSOCIATION.—At the last
meeting of the season, Mr. John Abraham presiding, an
interesting lecture on geology was delivered by Mr. R.
Manson, of Birkenhead.
QUICK WORK.—The new steam-ship Telegraph arrived
at this port, on Tuesday morning, in ten hours and five
minutes, from dock to dock, the shortest passage ever
made between Belfast and Liverpool.

THE ANNUAL MATCH played between the Liverpool
Olympus and the Preston Cricket Clubs, at Preston, on
Thursday, was won by the former. The return match
will be played in Liverpool.
PORTRAIT OF THE ARABIA.—The magnificent portrait
of the steam-ship Arabia, painted by Mr. Walters, was
presented to Captain Judkins, on Friday last, by a number
of his personal friends, as a token of their sincere regard
and admiration of his high character as a seaman and gen-
tleman.

TRANSATLANTIC STEAMERS.—The British and North
American Royal Mail steam-ship Arabia, Judkins, com-
mander, took her departure hence for New York on
Saturday, about 4 30, p.m., with upwards of a hundred
passengers, and a large cargo, besides the usual mails,
on board.

WATER-WORKS AT rtrNCORN.—A few days ago, at a
meeting of influential gentlemen at Runcorn, it was resolved
to form a joint-stock company for the purpose of taking
into consideration the propriety of establishing water-
works for the supply of the town and its vicinity.
AT THE ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE, during the past week,
Mr. James Anderson has been performing with his accus-
tomed success. The pieces last night were " The Rob-
bers," and a ballet-divertissement, entitled "Un Fete
Bretonne," 'it which Miss Rosins Wright, a premiere
danseuse, made her first appearance in Liverpool.
POCKET-VICKING IN THE CONCERT-HALL.—On Sa-
turday a well-known pickpocket, who gave the name of
Thomas Cox, was committed for trial on a charge of steal-
ing a watch from a gentleman, at a meeting in the Con-
cert-hall of the supporters of the lion. Mr. Liddell and
Mr. Plorsfall, held on Friday night.
nt. MANCHESTER POLICE.—A large number of men

i!1 the Manchester police force gave notice of their inten-

tion to strike, but afterwards withdrew it. Some misun-
derstanding has occurred, however, and has led to the
fear that a great many will, after all, leave duty. The
authorities say only thirty-two men are affected by the
'mistake, but it is currently reported in the force itself
that 250. out of a total of 420, will cease duty unless
prompt terms of accommodation are decided upon.
ROBBERY FROM AN rMPLOVER.—A young man, named

George Cox was committed for trial, on'Saturday, charged
with stealing a gold watch and half a sovereign, the pro-
perty of his employer, Mr. Correy, surgeon dentist,
Slater-street. The property in question was taken out of
a desk, and the prisoner stated he took them to procure a
suit of clothes, Tearing his-shabby appearance might cause
bim to be dismissed; and that he intended to restore the
watch and half-sovereign. The watch had been pledged
for £2.

LICENSF.4D'VIETUALVERS' ANNUAL FETE 'OIIAMPETRE.
—This attractive gala will take place at the Zoological
Gardens on Thursday next, when a multiplicity of enter-
tainments—far too numerous for us to particularise—will
be provided. In 'the afternoon there will be a public
dejetetter 'in the concert-hall, at which Mr. Alderman
Procter will take the chair. His Worship the Mayor and
the four candidates are expected to be present on the
occasion, but the speaking will, of course, be entirely of
a friendly description, to the exclusion of all political
controversy. Those who patronise the gardens on this
occasion will have the pleasure of seeing the new asylum
and schools of the Licensed Victuallers' Institution, which
are situated' ir. the West Derby-road;end are now rapidly
approaching'their completion.
THE lint.% MR. LIDDELL AND "TUE SHIPWRIGHTS.--
OnStiturdity night, after the Conservative election meet-
ing in the Shipwright's flail, Bond-street, the Hon. Mr.
Liddell, and Mr. G. H. Horsfall, 'accompanied by other
gentlertfcn, were drawn through 'the streets, from the
plate of meeting, in a carriage, by'a number of the sturdy
ana-enthasiastie artizans. While the vehicle proceeded
along -et a pretty rapid pace the .erowd followed at its
rear, -shouting and cheering lustily. In Marybone, we
believe, a disgraceful attack was made upon the carpen-
ters ant the gentlemen in the, carriage by a number Of
Roman Catholics. Fortaaately an efficient body of pollee
were on the spot, and they-succeeded in keeping the mob
partly at bay, until the vehicle bad passed out of the
dangerous locality. Nothing could -exceed the enthnsi-
earn of the respectable assemblage of-shipwrights, and the
evil intentions of the Papists only interfered for a'few
urinates with the hearty and gratifying display of the
'Ocnservative working-men.
A CLEVER TRlCK.—leentirsday a well-dressed -man,
-having the appearance of a foreigner, went into the-shop
.of Mr. Drielsma, jeweller,' Parker-street, and, although
'he professed himself profoundly ignorant of the" English
language, contrived to convey the intelligence that he
'was living at the Adelphi Hotel, and that he wished to
purchase two diamond -rings. He selected the articles,
the price of which vas somewhere about £2O, and then
discovered that he had left his purse at the 'Adelphi.
That he might secure‘hls purchase, however, he wrapped
up the rings in a piece of paprr in the presence of 'Mr.
Drielsma, and, depositing a half-sove::-eign as a pledge of
the bargain, placed ;them again in the hands of lir.
Drielsma, and departed. As he did not return within a
reasonable time, Mr. ',Drielsma opened the •paper, •and
'found that he had dexterously substituted two worthless
articles for the genuine ones. Instant information was
given to the police, ',but no clue has.-yet been obtained of
this accomplished professor of the art of legerdemain.

ARRIVAL OF THE CZAPPLR;SHIP -EOVEREIGN orrraE
*SEAS.—This celebrated American clipper-ship arrived in
the Mersey on Saturday evening, from New York, ktiving
-made the run in a shorter time than ever previously accom—
plished by a sailing ship. -She departed from New York ot
3, p.m., on the IStlinat. The Sovereign of the Seas .was
built by Mr. WlCity, of Boston. She has a dead rise of
20 inches, and concave lines, but has the longest-and
-sharpest bows of any ship or ocean steamer afloat. A.
cord from the extreme of her cutwater to the turn of her
side at the load displacement line, (205 feat draft forward,)
would only show a concavity of .2 inches. The angle ,ef
'her bow, at the sameline, is 145 degrees, and of her stern
-155. Her loading 'dimensions are as follow :—Length ,erf
-keel, 245 feet ; deck, between perpendieulars, 258- feet;
over all, from the knight heads to the to Frail, 265 feet;
extreme breadth of bearc.44 feet, about 20 feet forward
of the centre; breadth at the gunwale, 42 feet ; depth.,
.'234 feet, including le-al:eight of between decks ; deck
-rise, 20 inches; swell, .or rounding of sides, 1 foot;
sheer, nearly 4 feet.; and registered tonnage, 2421 tons.
\Notwithstanding her vast dz.?, there are many ships of
lief her tonnage that looki larger to the eye. ,She spreads
-about 12,000 yards of •canvas. She has been.exactly‘22B
days at sea, and has madean average speed of HO knots
per day during the whole time. The most -remarkable
gesture connected with thi3-eztraordinary running, is the
fact that she has made the twc last passages with ...a crew
of thirty-eight seamen and six-boys.

THE WEATHER. AND • T,HEt CROPS IN SOrTiVLAN-
03,AAHIRE.—The recent gentle rain has dome incalculable
.good to the green crops, 'but it. will have a contrary effect
for •haymaking. The first crop of clover is exceedingly
light.and thin. Vegetation now proceeds most vigorously,
in the warmth and moistureof,the season. Field-beans
.are,very promising; barley looks luxuriantly; oatszltort
butan excellent colour, whilst vtheat is fast coming int°
ear. This crop is very tight and 'thin, with little more
•than lhalf the usual quantity sown. Kidney and other
new potatoes are showing signs of •decay. Vetches., cab-
bage, •rye, &c. are growing fast, and look remarkably
well. The ravages of the " turniptty " seem to be one
.of themain topics for conversation;; a double quantity of
seed has generally been sown, and in many places the
!:drills seem almost alive with the rfiy. Mangel wurzels
dunotseera to be " brooding" well, owing to the recent
dry weather. An increased quantity of artificial manure
.has43een_sown. Irish labourers are.not so scarce as was
expected, although extra wages are ,demanded and
obtained. .The farmers' fears are mow "awakened " lest
storms should devastate our water meadows. Cattle and
.aheep, on the whole, are doing well.; ,flies irritate them so
.much that many farmers keep them up during the heat of
day, and at.several leys in this neighbourhood the fright-
ful and fatal disease called the " ,very prevalent.
Several year-old stirks have fallen beneath .it. Young
cattle and .useful horses are fetching moderately good
prines, and are great demand. There is a .good show
of fruit.

So a AMERICAN AND GENERAL STEAM V6VIGA-
TION GaMPANY.—The annual general meeting of the
shareholders was held on Friday afternoon, at the office of
the company, in Dale-street, Liverpool. The chair was
occupied by Mr. J. A. Turner. The chairman announced
that it was expected that the Argentina would have sailed
that day, but there were tome little arrangements neces-
sary which had delayed ler sailing. There has been an
examination of her machinery ; and though she was
enabled to pass over to Dublin and back at a speed ex-
ceeding the contract rate, namely, eleven or twelve knots
an hour, that examination ,has shown that, without any
expense to the company, a considerable improvement may
be made in the machinery, xvhic.h it is confidently expected
will enable her to attain an increase of two knots on the
contract speed. (Hear, hear, and applause.) In all pro-
bability she will sail about the 24th of this month. This
will cause a little delay, as it was stated the Brazileira
would be ready about the 24th of July, and the Olinda on
the 24th of August. The chairman moved the adoption
of the report ; and the resolution, seconded by Mr.
Barton, was agreed to.—Mr. W. Gibb moved, and Mr.
Thos. Thompson seconded the next proposition, to the
effect that Sir Joseph Bailey, Bart., M.P., be re-elected
a director of the company.-111r. James Atherton proposed
" that James A. Turner, Esq., be re-elected a director of
this company."—Mr. I. H. R. de Castro seconded the
proposition, which was carried nem dis.—Mr. Richard
Rostron proposed that Mr. W. Alexander Park be re-
elected a director of the company.—Mr. George Deane
seconded the resolution, which was also unanimously
adopted.—On the proposition of the Chairman, seconded
by Mr. W. A. Park, .Ir. Lawrence R. Bailey was ap-
pointed auditor of the company.—Mr. W. Gibb moved a
vote of thanks to the chairman and directors of this com-
pany for their great and beneficial services, and that they
be requested to receive a remuneration of £5OO per
annum, to be distributed amongst themselves as they
think fit for the ensuing year.—Mr. Barton seconded the
proposition, which was carried ?tern. dis.-1n his acknow-
ledgment of the compliment, the Chairman said--.‘.ire
must beg leave, and I have the authority, I believe, of the
whole of the directors for saying this, to request you will
allow us, with the greatest respect, to decline the offer
made to us in the latter part of the resolution. (Hear,
hear.) We have no desire to put money into our pockets
for our services, however kindly offered, until some sub-
stantial results can bb shown." (Cheers.)—Before the
meeting separated, the Chairman stated that the directors
had decided that the secretary, Mr. Hadfield, should go
out in the Argentina, for the purpose of making arrange_
ments with the foreign agents of the company ; and that 1
he would take with him letters of introduction from Lord
Clarendon to the authorities Of Rio de Janeiro, Buenos
Ayres, and Monte Video.

THE NUNNERY QUESTION

REV. W. F. TAYLOR'S LECTURE AT THE
CONCERT-HALL.

On the evening of Thursday lest, a lecture on the subject
of " Nunneries" was delivered in the Concert-hall, Lord
Nelson-street, by the Rev. W. F. Taylor, the incumbent
of St. John's Church. The lecture was delivered under
the auspices of St. John's Protestant Institute, an exceed-
ingly useful society, recently originated in Liverpool.
Mr. J. P. Evans was called upon to preside, and among
the gentlemen present on the platform we observed the
Revs. G. L. Ireland, J. Bardsley, Carpenter, Sayers, and T.
Sutton ; and Messrs. G. Nixon, Thomas Gregory, Owen
Williams, J. B. Williams, and G. Ward.
The proceedings were commenced with prayer by the
Rev. G. L. Ireland, secretary of St. John's Institute,
after which
The CHAIRMAN introduced the lecturer to the meeting.
He said, any person who had paid any attention to the
subject on which the reverend gentleman was about to
speak must be convinced of the fact that it had assumed a
very serious aspect. It behoved them to be well acquainted
with the exact position and true character of the Nun-
neries, and he thought every person present would feel
grateful to their friend Mr. Taylor, for kindly agreeing
to lecture on what had been so prominently brought be-
fore the attention of the public. (Cheers.)
The Rev. LECTURER, on coming forward, was welcomed
with loud cheering, and prolonged rounds of the Kentish fire.
He said that great gathering showed that he had not miscalcu-
lated the popular feeling when lie determined, with the blessing
of God, to deliver a lecture upon the question of nunneries. It
was no small pleasure, indeed, to behold such a large and in-
fluential assemblage of Protestants, anxious to hear all that
was to be told on the present exciting. topic—a topic to which
public attention in this country had been recently attracted by
the bill introduced into the House of Commons by Mr.
Chambers. Before entering upon the subject, he thought it
right to mention that, from the mixed character of the
audience, he would be necessitated to cast a shroud over much
that was base, foul, and immoral in connexion with nunneries;
that he would have to leave the worst unexposed, and bold
back much that was likely to create the most startling effect.
Crimes of the most horrible character were essentially wrought
up in the very constitution of the nunneries; but to the worst
he dare not allude. And he further deemed it proper to men-
tion that the facts he would state were all quoted from authori-
tative documents of the Church of Rome. He had not pro-
duced a single Protestant authority. The hooks be would use
were "The Spouse of Christ," by St. Alphonso Liguori, and
"The Pontificale Romanum," besides a few newspapers. In
the first section of his lecture the rev. gentleman contended
that nunneries were manifestly an interference with the
personal freedom of intelligent beings—that a coercive
power and a controlling tyranny was wrought up in the very
ty:gt trn whiche oughtver very
naost to bepect .
(tolerated
conventualirar eeestcaobti
establishment,
elike
suggested at once that it was the abode of despair and tyranny.
Wh y those bars, those bolts, those prison-lik e doors and walls—
precluding access from without, and escape from within?
Why were the Romanists more anxious to keep the people out

I of such buildings than the citizen was to preserve'hi; house
from intrusion? These very bars, he contended, afforded
prima facie evidence that a nunnery was a prison. (Cheers.)
Were the Romanists afraid that the people of England would
break in and do ininry to the poor unprotected nuns? (Hear,
hear.) He thought rather that those bolts and bars were there
to prevent the escape of individuals who might reveal facts
that would bring the blush of shame to the cheek of their
priestly betrayers. Females were admitted into nunneries at
an age when they could not possibly be aware of the tremen-
dous sacrifice they were about to make. And this did not
constitute the only evil of their early reception ; for the con-
secration service read to the poor girls was of such a polluting
character, that we start back with abhorrence from its blas-
phemy. Every female who had been consecrated must, neces-
sarily,, from the nature of the service, be aware of sins.
the existence of which no female ought to know. Let a nun
be as pure as an angel, she must, by the private examination of
the bishop, be theoretically aware of sins which she ought not
to be aware of, and which he dare not name. A female might
be admitted upon her novitiate at twelve years of age, and he
asked what did a girl of that age know of the world ? She knew
little, and it was quite proper that she should know little. At
that age her physical frame was not matured, while her heart
was-innocent, if he might so speak, of the affections which
might ultimately arise there. And yet, at the age of sixteen,
I sheniight take the irrevocable profession upon herself of per-
petual celibacy. (Hear, hear.) Previous to taking this vow,
thenun had to be examined by the bishop, and one of the
points upon which he had to question her was, whether she bad
' been constrained by force to go into, and remain in the nun-
nery. From this rule, it was evident that even the Romanist
'allowed that she might be forced into the 'convent. Else, why
'this examination of the bishop's'? Must there not have been
.a necessity for that law before the law was passed? The exist--
ence of a law plainly indicated the possibility, and even the
'existence of. the crime or evsl against which it is directed. Our
legislators do not pass a law 'for a 'merely possible crime, but
• with reference to a crime 'which exists and has existed. In
England there was no law against cannibalism—the genius of
'the people was opposed to thatorime; but there were statutes
directed against bull-baiting ars4 cock-fighting, for bdth of these
disgusting recreations had existed. *Hence, arguedthe lecturer.
if the crime had not existed, the " holy" Council of Trent would
not have occupied its time, .as it did, making a law by which
the person is subject to -anathema who shall force a virgin or
widow into a nunnery. '('lsead cheers.) And so, when the
Roman Catholic askedlim," Do you wish to adopt Mr. Chant-
bers's bill, because we'have people confined there against their
will ?" he (the lecturer') would reply, " Yes ; and your own
Council of Trent proves•the suspicion to be true:" (Continued
cheering.) Step by-step hemould prove it to be true without
the shadow of a dotibt. 'lt -was a law that a nun should not
get out of the converit,notlor a single moment, nor under any
pretext, except it-was 'for a .purpose approved by the bishop.
If a nun escaped she incurred the penalty of excommunication.
And, .if any person would endeavour to lead a nun away,
unless they made restitution and expressed -penitence, the
most dreadful anathema-of the churcn was .pronounced over
them by the bishop—an-eternal malediction consigning them,
body and soul, to •eternal perdition, and assigning them a
Portion with the devil and '-his angels. The canon law en-
joined that, If a nun escaped from a convent, the superior
should call in'the aid ora magistrate to assist inthe capture of
the runaway.; -so thatovervEngland. under the power of that
law, and were a nun to escape in this neighbourhood, the
mayor of Liverpoawould 'have to send Captain Greig and a
body of constables after the escaped prisoner. But, thanks
be to God, the Churn of 'Rome had not the power in this
country, at'd, thank • God, -she never would have. (Loud and
prolonged cheering.) Another law with respect to nuns ran
thus :—" That, if any pretend that they have been forced into
the house, they are to be judged by their own- superioress and
bishop." How was-she, likely to have justice meted out to her
when that lady superioress might be the tormentor from whom
she wished,to escape,- or •when the bishop might have a very
good reason for deciding unfavourably in order to preserve the
reputation of -her priestly betrayer. (Hear; hear.) Liguori,
in his "-Spouse of Christ;'lobserves—" It is true that even in
the cloister there are-some discontented souls:" Now, the
people of England did not-seekto force any woman out of a
convent if it was her wig) to remain there; but they demanded
freedom for the "discontented souls:" (Loud cheers.) They
knew that a-girl at 21 had a great many notions-which a girl at
12 or IG had sot ; and Liguori showed that convents were not
to all bowers of bliss, when he remarks, that a nun must
enjoy " a foretaste of heaven, or an anticipation of hell." The
lecturer, -in the remainder of his lecture, proved that nun-
neries mere • the money. making- machines of the Romanist
Church, theinterest, or-less than the interest, of the money
brought by eadli nun supporting the possessor during her life-
time, and the -principal going to the church at her death. The
nunneries -were at the -bottom of all the -toe churches
which the • Papists were building in England and
elsewhere. (Hear, heat%) tUr. Taylor likewise alluded to
the horrible -tortures resorted to in nunneries, when a
refractory -"Religious" had to be corrected, and demanded if
we should tolerate those ecclesiastical bastiles in this free land
of ours. (Lood,cries of " No, not") Should there beliouses of
the kind described, at the door of which the magistizte might
not enter?—places, over which the law of England .A'AC to have
no control,andwhere hundreds of poor girls might be sighing
for liberty in-vain, and for whoca there -was no liberty-save to
pine and die. 'The habeas corpus act would not reach them,
and he was afraid that Mr. Chalrebers's bill would be a dead
letter, like the Ecclesiastical Titleat-Bill. 'He would advocate

total suppression., and if there were Any who wished to serve
1, the pope, let them go and live with oli:m at Rome, and serve
inim there. In,proof that the titthilwere not free to leave the
,convent, he quoted from Liguori, who distinctly stated feat it
impossible to-escape. He also quoted from Liguori to
° prove that the nsusueries were frequesttly• the-scenes of dancing
• and debauchery—that profane songs And operas, and ocher
,carnal amusements, were at times the. occupations of. those
,vericreatures.whoswere too good to lookup to heaven. (Hear,
heir.) In referenceto the question of the celibacy of the Wing,
becontented himself with a reference to •the uncontroverted
.statements of Pierce iConolly and Mr. Hogan. the celebrated
. converts • and also to the case of Dr. Aclsitii v.,Father Newman.,
in Which the Romanista themselves produced evidence of the
depravity existing among their own priests and nuns, and
enabled us to convict them out of their own mouths. Refe-
• rence was made to tlieease of Miss Talbot, whawrote from her
convent that she,was quite contented and happy (this while
under coercion). and who, when ordered •out by the Lord
Chancellor, whose ward she was, instead of running back,
rushed .izto the arms ef husband. And lie,ivished to God
all the nuns in Britain were out of the convents, and honestly
married. (Cheers.) The Tlecturer made a pungent assault
.upon•LordJohn Russell, for his opposition to Kr.. Chambers's
bill, and concluded his address by urging the sneeting not to
,cease its, exertions until nunneries were totally suppressed, as
.being inconsistent with those,glorious ideas of liberty which
Animate the,Lreast of every to ge Briton. The meeting, which
.was large and respectable, gave utterance to their feelings by
!loud bursts orapplause.
The Rev., Q. L. IRELAND moved a vote of thanks to the
.6hairman,,whicii was secondedby Mr. WiLtrams,acd carried
lay acclamation.
The Rev. J. ffIARDSLSY, ,super4ntendent of the Scripture-
readers,,who was loudly called,,and whom the audience wel-
comed with.many,rounds of the.Kentish fire, delivered .a brief
and pertinent speech, and concluded by moving a -vote of
thanks to Mr. EMUS for his admirable conduct in the chair.
Mr. is7axarsr, one ofithe churchwardens of St. John's, seconded
the notion„in an exceedingly neat and pungent speech, and it
was eanried with great enthusiasm. The proceeding. tee-
minated ,with the -singing of the doxotagy, at a few minutes
before tea ozeolock.

There were a number,cf Roman Catholics present, and it was
expected that some discussion would take riace, but no attempt
was made t deny thestatements made lky the reverend lee.
turer,—a task which wtatd have been aV.ended with some
difficulty.

NEW MAGiarnATEs..—.4t the quarter sessions on Mon-
day last, the following gentlemen took the oaths and their
seats, as magistrates of the county :—B. P. Gregson,
Esq., Caton, near Lancaster, and John Gardner, Esq.,
Fleetwood.

IMPORTANT TO AggUßEELS.—rsig3 theory and practice
of Life Assurance have been recently greatly improved,
and it is quite certain that the public are much indebted
to companies of a comparatively modern date for many
advantages which the old ones never thought of extending
to them—not from want of inclination, we dare say, but
from an adherence to old systems of management, which
rendered them blind to the various modes in which Life
Assurance might be employed to benefit the assured, and
yet leave a handsome profit to the assurers. The
Sovereign Life Assurance Company is one of these bene-
ficial companies, and it has had a most successful career.
Established in 1845, it had at the close of its seventh year
effected 1,268 policies, covering assurances to the amount
of £561,374 75,, proposals having been made for the sum
of £1,059,820: and so carefully were the lives selected,
and the business managed, that only £6,683 10s. 6d. had
been required to meet the claims by death, being less than
245. per cent. on the amount assured, and only a little
more than one-seventh of the amount of premiums paid
—viz., £43,587 Bs. 6d. The business of the office has
gone on steadily increasing, the assurances effected with-
in the last three years exceeding those of the first four by
about 23 per cent. ; and Mr. Neison, who had examined
the accounts prepatraory to the declaration of a bonus,
stated a singular and important fact at the last annual
meeting of the company--viz., that " if one-fifth of the
lives assured in this office were to die to-morrow, there
was enough in the coffers of the company to pay every
demand." The usual average of mortality is, however,
about one per cent. ; the company cannot, therefore, be
in a better position in order to secure confidence. After
making allowance for every liability to the 31st of
December, 1852, the company is in a position to declare a
bonus which adds to the policy a sum equal to 75 per cent.
on the amount of premiums paid. We instance one case,
showing the extraordinary benefit accruing to the assured :
A man aged 25 has, during seven years, paid £153 Ss. 4d:,
being £2l 18s. 4d. each year, to secure £1,1300
at his
death, whenever it may happen. By the division just
made he has no less than £123 7s. added to his policy, so
that at death his family will receive £1,123 7s, and this at
the first division only ! There are few companies which
can show such a result—one of such immense consequence
to the assured.—Globe.

THE GREAT BRITAIN SCREW STEAMER.

On Friday last, a party of private friends and gentlemen
connected with the literary department of the Liverpool
press, were entertained by Captain Mathews, on board
this magnificent vessel, as she lay in the Sandon Dock.
Before sitting down to the repast, the gentlemen on board
were conducted over the vessel, in order to sex the im-
provements and alterations which have been effected in
her since her return from the golden regions. The nau-
tical men expressed a very high opinion of the alteration
in her rig to that of a clipper-ship, and prophesied a great
acceleration to her sailing powers by the change. Every
one admired the elegant saloon and state rooms for the
chief-cabin passengers, while surprise was manifested on
finding such excellent accommodation in the second cabin,
so superior to the same class cabins in the sailing vessels.
In this department we observed that the number of this
class of passengers that can be taken is reduced, thus giv-
ing more accommodation for the remainder. The fore
cabin has been done away with, and the after one has been
painted in light and pleasing tints, giving the apartment a
very agreeable appearance. Indeed the comfort and com-
pactness of the arrangements were the theme of praise of
all on board. At three o'clock, about forty gentlemen sat
down in the chief saloon, under the genial presidency of
Captain Mathews; Captain Martin, Messrs. Gibbs,
Bright, and Co.'s overlooker, occupying the vice-cbair.
There were produced from the famous " kitchen" of the
Great Britain substantial viands and delicate dainties,
with wines of the choicest vintages, and full justice was
done to the edibles. After the usual loyal toasts had been
disposed of,
Captain MATHEWS rose and said he had invited his
friends there, to show them what alterations had been
made to get the ship to perform the shortest voyage pos-
sible to Australia. They had combined the best sailing
to her steaming powers, and had fitted her with the latest
and most approved form of screw-propeller,—Griffith's
patent. The Great Britain was now rigged as a clipper-
-chip, and would do to sail with any ship afloat. (Cheers.)
He (Captain Mathews) was quite proud of the manner in
which the alterations had been made, and had every con-
fidence in their success. They had reduced the number
of tecond-cabin passengers, to give the others as much
comfort as possible. He trusted it would never be said
again that they were over-crowded. Every improvement
that could be made had been done to the satisfaction of
all concerned. In conclusion, he sincerely hoped their
anticipations would be realised on Monday, when they
were to make their trial trip ; and he knew that the public
had a similar feeling. Wherever he had been, all over
the world, he had found that there was a feeling in favour
of the Great Britain. (Cheers.) He was glad to see some
of the representatives of the local press, and he would
propose to the company, as a toast, " The Press of the
World:"

I Mr. Wrz.rwie acknowledged the toast, and proposed
"Success to Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co."
The toast was received with all due honours, and re-
sponded to by Mr. HENRY BRIGHT in an eloquent speech.
He said that the object of the owners of the Great Britain
was to make her, if possible, the finest merchantman that
sailed on the seas. He thought all present would agree
with him that they could not have a more meritorious
captain, or a better set of officers than belonged to her,
and he begged to propose their healths. (Cheers.)
Captain MATHEWS replied, on behalf of himself and
his officers, for the kind manner in which the toast had
been received. Speaking personally, he said he had now
been a commander, off and on, for upwards of twenty
years, and never had any serious mishap to any ship of
which he had the charge, He had never cost the under-
writers a single sixpence. He did not say this boastfully,
but merely to show them that he had had a most fortu-
nate career ; for be did not know how soon he might be
as unfortunate as some of his brother commanders. He
went to sea at ten years of age, and had now reached
fifty without ever being shipwrecked or meeting any dis-
aster. (Cheers.) With regard to his officers, he was
going to take the same officers and most of the same men
who had been with him on her last voyage to Australia,
and in whom he had every confidence. (Cheers.) Cap-
tain Mathews then proposed the health of Capt. Martin,
overlooker for Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co., who had
superintended all the alterations made on board the Great
Britain since first being fitted for her Australian destina-
tion ; but, as that gentleman had left a short time pre-
viously, it was not responded to.
Mr. J. H. NIGHTINGALE proposed the health of the
gentlemen connected with the office of Messrs. Gibbs,
Bright, and Co., coupling with it the name of Mr. Bye-
water.

Mr. CRAWLEY proposed—" The Ladies."
Mr. BELCHER responded to the toast.
Mr. TowsoN, of the Sailors' Home, proposed " Success
to the Great Britain herself." Steam, so far, had not
gained great advantages over sailing vessels, in the voyage
to Australia, as it had done on shorter voyages ; but
he thought the time was coming when it would succeed
there as much as it had done in other points of the globe.
He thought the advantages of establishing a coal depot
at the Falkland Islands were very great. All that could
afford to travel by steam ought to do so, as it ensured
autpghphi
lntaguts
sh
eet
this
ni Gs
dr
veaoacyt
ka
ngßoe r.wi tl ae
Theidnwg ehwdet anobsayts
hlthi
ekeyre
waslwy oretr o
comforts which counterbalanced even the cost of the
cal. ecoicyvoaelldepw.liisthhilgegrreetaahtto
able to say some-
thing more about her capabilities. Cthheeeersdony
came-
back thy c of
rmo mni ahnedre r , w
trialli o
trip, said t
ht hatey
whoeu hl
do pheed ,
Mr. LEE then gave " Success to
of Aus-
tralia," and hoped that every shipload
went thither, would impart additionalof passengers that
to the already strong and v strength d • ur
vigorous - an
vil'o
alluded to the projected docks "3
colony. He then
pt Aielh
-.mune, and elicited

from. Captain Mathews the information that docks of a
most commodious character were being completed at
Sydney.

After spending a most agreeable afternoon, the com-
pany separated about four o'clock.

THE LIVERPOOL WRIT

PARLIAMEN-

TARY NIAMEUVRING.

A petty battle, fought during the past week, over the
Liverpool Writ, has been decided in favour of common
sense and justice. The Liverpool Election Committee
gave birth to a report almost unparalleled in parliamentary
annals for inconclusiveness and stultifying self-contra-
diction. Each half of every paragraph contradicted the
other ; each paragraph contradicted some one that pre-
ceded or followed it ; and the last nullified all the rest.
Yet, though the committee could not reason, they could
act; and, to the astonishment even of their own friends
in Liverpool, they voted out the sitting members. Their
zeal, indeed, outran the occasion ; for the sudden, and
on the whole unjustifiable, verdict found the Liverpool
Liberals without the means of setting up new candidates.
Not so the Conservatives of that great commercial town.
The strength of the cause is there so fully felt, that men
of the highest local influence are willing to stand, know-
ing that, although every art of unscrupulous partisan-
ship be resorted to in order to render the struggle severe,
the result is certain. And there is among the Liverpool
Conservatives an earnestness and activity in the cause
that merits this confidence. Tho Liberals, dismayed at
seeing Messrs. Liddell and Horsfall in the field, and
rushing everywhere to find victims to succeed Messrs.
Cardwell and Ewart in the honour of defeat, were unpre-
pared for an immediate contest. At all risks, then, the
writ must be stopped, and time be gained. To this
scheme Lord Dudley Stuart was induced to lend himself.
When Mr. Freshfield, on Wednesday afternoon, moved
that the writ do issue, the noble lord rose to " speak
against time," drawling on with dull and unintelligible
verbiap, amidst the derision of the house, long after the
stock of ideas wherewith he had armed himself had be-
come exhausted. At length, as six o'clock struck, the
noble and magnanimous electioneering agent attained his
object, and the manoeuvre so far succeeded. On Thursday
the attempt was renewed ; but this time Lord John Rus-
sell committed himself to a participation in the disre-
putable trick. Appealed to by Mr. James M'Gregor
not to leave Liverpool without representatives, when such
important commercial questions were coming on, the
leader of the Whigs " was afraid that the house would
be too much occupied to go on with the subject." In
other words, the coalition candidates could not be found,
or were not screwed up to martyrdom point, and the dis-
tinguished party chief condescended, for the nonce, to do
the work of Mr. Coppock. The matter was not, how-
ever, to be easily shelved. Even at nearly three in the
morning the adjourned debate was resumed, when Lord
Dudley Stuart, compelled this time to appeal to the house
instead of to the clock, moved the suspension of the writ
till the 20th of July—a course which Lord Palmerston,
in the absence of Lord John Russell, modified into a
proposal of postponement for a fortnight. For surely
in a fortnight some candidates could be caught ! The
energetic remonstrances of Lord John Manners and Mr.
Malins defeated even this adroit " move" of the noble
Home Secretary, who, " on learning," of course for the
first time, " that the committee had recommended the
issuing of the writ," withdrew his objetion, and ulti-
mately the writ was ordered to issue forthwith.
We congratulate the Conservatives of Liverpool on this
result, so well merited by their promptitude and con-
stancy. Their city has indeed esciped a multiplicity of
dangers. Persisting, from some singular perversity, to
return Conservative members, Liverpool has been
threatened on various hands with the disfranchisement of
its freemen ; with the ballot ; and with an interregnum of
representation at the very time when a new dispensation
of the commercial policy of the country is under debate.
To leave the second city of the empire unrepresented at
such a moment was a step which nothing could justify,
and which despair only could have suggested even to the
Whigs. It is nleasant to know that the attempt has been
so utterly baffled, and that the consequences promise to
recoil in discomfiture and disgrace upon its authors.—
The Press.

THE HON. H. T. LIDDELL AND THE
REPRESENTATION OF LIVERPOOL.

Gallant Liverpool is like what Napoleon said of the
Great Duke, we have lost and lament, at Waterloo, " It
is beaten but will not know it." A snug trio majority
liberal-packed in a House of Commons committee, with
the vacillating member for South Shields at its head, ap-
pointed to try the merits of a petition aginst the return of
Messrs. Charles Turner and Forbes Mackenzie for that
great port, decided according to a foregone conclusion
against the validity of that return, on the ground of cor-
ruption by their friends or agents, said corruption con-
sisting :in the enormous fact that "twenty five labour-
ing men (electors) had been given a day's holiday by their
masters, who had paid those men their day's wages,' to
enable them of course to exercise their rights7as electors;
without exposing their families to one day's hunger or
abstinence in consequence.
So conspicuously as the names of patriot Rathbones
have flaunted on all occasions for half a century past at
least, it is odd their old fellow citizens, singularly blind
to their surpassing merits, should never to this day have
cast a longing eye upon them, or breathed the softest
whisper of desire, for the distinguished favour of their
representative services for Liverpool. Happy tribe, who
can thus so plainly

" Read opinion in their townsmen's eyes."
We repeat it—the gallant spirit of constitutional Liver-
pool cannot and will not be beat. Less than ever now are
the Conservative party likely to succumb, when their un-
scrupulous opponents, self-sweated of their tens of thou-
sands at the last contest, and from their insolent attempt
since by election petition to swamp the voice and dictate
the votes of the vast majority of the constituency, will be
so much the less found with the means for the wholesale
practice of that scandalous corruption to which, whether
represented in meal, or in malt, or in hard metallic, they
owe the votes of that miserable minority which could be
duped into being dragged through Coventry with such a
motley set of leaders. The Conservatives were forecast-
ing for the emergency that might possibly arise, and on,
its arrival were prepared accordingly. They present
themselves with two excellent substitutes for the capital
members who for a season are lost to the constituency.
To fill the place of Mr. Forbes Mackenzie Mr. Thomas
Berry Horsfall is offered, a gentleman whose name is
associated with all that is respectable, trustworthy, phi-
lanthropic, and truly Christian in Liverpool,—a name,
indeed, historically connected with the seaport which
justly boasts to be the greatest in the world.
To succeed Mr. Charles Turner, that inestimable citizen,
merchant, and gentleman, who is cherished, as so well he
deserves to be cherished, in the hearts of the magnificent
community among whom his lot has been cast, the Hon.
Henry Thomas Liddell, our invaluable neighbour, and
one of the chief ornaments of these counties, has been
called upon with one acclaim to come forward, and he
has accepted the invitation. Conservative Liverpool has
honoured herself no less than she has distinguished the
heir and representative of the noble and time-honoured
house of Ravensworth by such a selection. The friend,
pupil we may say, of the immortal George Canning and
the illustrious Huskisson ; the friend also and fellow-
collegian, who won high honours, of the Earl of Derby,
Chancellor of Oxford University that is, and first scholar
we may say that was, he could not present himself with
higher credentials of character in justification of the choice
of a bcdy so enlightened as a Liverpool constituency. We
can testify of him, moreover, as can all in this the northern
metropolis, and in the great communities surrounding,
that in addition to the various eminent qualifications, and
the amiable qualities which he holds in common with the
noble family he is connected with and so endear him and
them to us, Mr. Liddell possesses in an extraordinary
degree those special acquirements which should peculiarly
recommend him to the favour of a mercantile and indus-
trial community. In the Commons' House, when a
member, no one more exerted himself, and none was
better accomplished by position and knowledge for the
task, in the defence of the great shipping interests, those
shipowner
every c
andass inclusiveshipw rishipwrights,
hetns
downaged frtoo the
the
e lowestshipbuilder
operative,nd
even rope and sail makers and sailors, against the rash
experiments of ignorant theorizing legislators; so also
with respect to mercantile and manufacturing interests.
We can state, and the columns of this journal will bear
frequent testimony to the fact under his own signature,
that few men, statesmen or not, are so well versed as Mr.
Liddell in all those great questions of finance, currency,
banking, and political economy which have been and yet
are in agitation amongst us. We fearlessly assert, there-
fore, and challenge contradiction, that for the suffrages of
Liverpool it would be impossible to find a man with
higher and more substantial pretensions, and appreciated
as they are, and called upon as he has been, by the most
influential inhabitants of that great port, as well as by the
mass of the electors at large, no doubt can be entertained
that the present candidate will become the successful
m e m ben—Newcastle Journal.