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

FREE TRADERS' ASSURANCE-BULLYING A

PREMIER.

The " liberal " portion of the corn men are waxing
importunate for the remission of the four shillings duty
upon that article. Having bought up no inconsiderable
portion of the food of the country, both home-grown and
foreign, under the assurance that Lord John Russell was
squeezable in his composition, and that the high prices
would afford him an excuse for breaking in upon the
recent settlement of the corn question by the opening of
the ports, and transferring the amount of the existing
duty upon bonded stocks in hard into their own pockets,
they are alarmed by the very intelligible hints afforded
from all sides of filling prices and subsiding alarm. The
extent of the potato rot has evidently been exaggerated;
and recent accounts from both America and the Black
Sea assure us of coming large supplies of all descriptions
of grain. Hence there is a bustle in the camp; and de-
putation after deputation is daily presenting itself in
Downing-street, to urge the step which these gentlemen
find to be so imminently important to themselves.
In the proceedings of one of these recent deputations,
we find a Mr. Cochrane reminding his lordship of an al-
leged promise to open the ports under certain circum-
stances, which that gentleman argued had now arrived.
Lord John demurs to Mr. Cochrane's version of the
promise in question, and says that his meaning was, that
if he saw ah extraordinary necessity, he would at once
resort to the use of extraordinary powers to meet that
necessity." Mr. Cochrane forthwith inflicts upon his
lordship the following piece of impertinent sarcasm. We
take it from the Times report :
" Mr. Cocn RANH said, as it was of the greatest importance
that they should be permitted to understand what constituted
an extraordinary necessity,' he sincerely hoped his lordship
.would forgive him if he requested some further elucidation, as
the suffering people would feel very anxious in this respect.
His to; dship evidently viewed the exigencies of the country last
year of no ' ordinary' description, or he w, uld not have deemed
it proper to give the opinions and rcvice which he had spoken
or written— singularly enough at this period last year, possibly
on the very day and hour at which he was now addressing his
lordship—in favour of the total abolition of the corn laws. The
occasion on which Sir It. Peel thought proper to declare his
opinions in favour of the opening the ports could not be consi.
dered an ordinary' one—nor when he passed the modified corn
law this year, although corn was Its per quarter cheaper than
it is now. It is difficult to understand that the present is an
' ordinary' occa ion, as corn is 4s. dearer per quarter than when
his lordship last year considered it', high price was ' the cause of
penury, fever, mortality, and crime among the people.' He
(Mr. Cochrane) most earnestly begged of his lordship to con-
descend to offer for their guidance some slight indication of
what he considered an extraordinary necessity.'"

Poor Lord John ! It is hard to be badgered this way
by one's friends. No wonder that the report goes on to
state, that his lordship " immediately rose up from his
seat, and briefly" (qy. tartly ?) " said, ' He had no fur-
ther explanation to offer.' We are glad the Premier
has too much of the old blood of the Russells in his veins
to submit to be thus outrageously bullied by disappointed
speculators. It would be, by the way, a curious object of
inquiry to ascertain how many of the members of this
and other similar deputations are holders of bonded
grain.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, WESTMINSTER,
NOVEMBER 28.

(Sittings at Nisi Prius before Mr. Justice Cresswell and
Common Juries.)
I'OOLEY V. TAYLOR AND WILSON.

Mr. Sergeant Bytes and Mr. Matthews appeared for the
plaintiff, and Mr. Sergeant Channell for the defendants.
The plaintiff in this case is a manufacturer of weighing
machines at Liverpool, having an agent in London, Mr.
James Butcher, whose office and wharf are in Earl-street,
Blackfriars. On the Ist of May last Mr. Butcher received
a letter from a person named Radley, stating that he was
in want of a weighing machine for the Western Gas-light
Company, whose office is at No. 11, Poultry, to whom he
referred. Mr. Butcher called there, and saw Mr. Tidd,
the secretary, and Mr. Taylor, one f the defendants, and
a director of the company. He showed them Radley's
letter, upon which Tidd said, " It's all right ; Radley was
making some experiments for them, to bring out a new
thing in gas." The machine was accordingly supplied to
Radley. Radley's letter, ordering the machine, was ra-
ther ambiguous, ordering it as for himself, and referring
Mr. Butcher to the Gas Light Company. The present
action was brought for the value of the machine against
the defendants, as two of the directors of the company;
and the question was to whom the credit was given—to
Radley or to the Company ? the defendants contending
that the reference to them was merely as to the character
of Rad!ey, and that it was Radley's order, he doing at the
same time some work for them, Radley turned out to be
unable to pay.
Mr. Justice Cresswell left it to the jury to say from the
evidence to whom the credit was given, and whether the
defendants authorised the credit to be given to them.
After a short absence the jury found a verdict for the
plaintiff, fir the value of the machine; damages £23 17s.