The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-05-22 00:00:00

this country can
ment of the legislature

anequivacal term

petition, in particular, should 13e characterised as either a
falSehood or a nonentity. IS this the Huse of Lords

empire in the days of anarchy and CharifswiTlTtllis
the quarter from which the adVocates of peaceful demon-
stration are to receive their heaviest discouragement ? It
is Mt with regret that it is so„ Moral power' is not one
of the agencies which can operate in the precincts of
Westminster. The men of Birmingham threatened to
march on the metropolis, and the Reform., Bill was
granted';: Daniel O'Connell obtained concession after
concession, in the vain hope of conciliatinz the rabbi,.

which he held at his bidding ; but -the inhailitants of
Liverpool, with their merchants and tradesmen-at their
head, appeal humbly for justice, and are told that the
numbers of their signatures are swelled by paupers; if not
worse; thus adding insult to the alreadrdeeply-feltinjary
of having to support, in transit or perpetuity, the strea
of pauper immigration which inundates our streets
destitution• and disease. A confident- hope, how
still entertained that the d

:amina-ii

the work

majority which clearl
Enrd, noninat thg. mg

,xists at present in

the House &f.

tne measure, to nullify.• the
proxies by which the second reading was carried, and
-,Pnd back to-ministers, a bill, of coarse;• but with such
its as to preserve the principle of the naviga-

• a IL endinen,
, like Liverpool, although belied, as to the with , the non-fulfilment of his- predictions of evil.
tion laws intact.
opinions of its population, by the votes of its Nay,there were some, even amongst the agricultural The local decision on the Pike scheme is more satisf-c-
-' -- -ft,ntually purged itself of the imputa- body themselves, who were not disinclined to believe tory. The rusjOrity are, of course, welVplelased, and tlie
„ by a resolution, adopting a that their fears had been either unfounded or minority are not at all grieved at being rid of a troulMU,
some e and expensive hobby, which many were tired
Juse of Lords to reject the mea- greatly exaggerated. This happy-s dream of security
would. ba,ve, - williNly dropped long,.yore, b
nof delusion and sophistry on this is now passing away. We are Beginning at length
their tenacity to ,prevzously-expressed opinion-
--- - - - 1^,,, nrices- at whir ' •n 'Pr.'''. -
4". s is verily drawing to a close

tion at this meet

The r

i to ascertain the low 1.,.
..,n, i avt..,
years, the foreigner can supply us. Our farmers
1 community, has always hitherto are experiencing the effect of large importations of frightened by another
UttLlUMicx us. ...... ——_
the cheap foreign article upon the money yield of out of the nationza.exchequer, has suggested someremart
elf by the decorous conduct of
Ahbuth day, except in one y
uon the
Aof adoptmen . visabilit' a deficient production at home ;.that the crop,
tidies of the town and outskirts, inha- which has been depended upon in past years- to of
headh is ringnlad such ger
good
w heivoip
ieonot lyir. : p A
temeyt•
'asses of Irish. It is meet the half year's rent, no longer performs- that
Try nature of our important function ; that the reserve, in the purse The merchan -of -

and other aubjec

1 them unwill

g to acknowledge themselves mistaken
in which our gracious Soven

The manne

vign has hear

RPOOL, a
,;.h,,,i h.

the Sa

ntielnen to their sens

This fellov

by the lowest (

we think a.

'ht enlighten hir

er, that

nas to be drawn upon; young stock
to be prematurely brought to market, or the ustial
supply of some article of domestic use or comfort
to be dispensed with. This process of depletion
cannot go on long without bringing on a crisis.
Exhaustion of capital, and the enforcement of
- - I

It cannot undertake to fulfil the strict

or sto

;kin.;.- leg,

rpool feel satisfied that the Cus-
es-will not let the lee frauels in coffee and
sugar slumber, but they are generally expressing the
opinion that time enough has now elapsedto enable them
to clear this matter up.

toms' authorit

of the divine inir

Mails are to be

ed ; and

from every quarter of the

ly arriving on that day, which,

2nce of dock gate-

The accounts from the continent do not' brighten. It
is reported that the Romans have again beaten back both
Neapolitans and' Ittestrians ; the interior of -Germany is
still in a very disturbed state ; and, with respect to the
elections is France, the modrate party- are evidentl
• _

shipping of the port ;- and when
rye us-unot oonsistently

nousehola economy, may be borne with for a time;
hut at length we shall arrive at the day of collision
between U 1 crili+rnixrr-arscl tbn awncur. cif a, fzt

with our notions of worldly prudence, preent our
ships going to sea on the Sabbath. There is one
which has greatly increased of

the period at which the discovery wilt be made by
both that rent is a thing in nubibus, and that, to

going on here ; y

mere concequontly, hnsineis
people are still inclined to await the issue

hey enter upon business of any mo:

ate, and whit

we cannot but think it is the duty
of the authorities of the town to endeavour to put

enable the former to live, the property of the latter
in the produce of the soil must cease to exist.
This may be regarded as a light matter by our
Manchester political economists. "Rents must be
reduced" they will say. "The owners of the soil
must come down in the social scale ; . must dispense
with some of the superfluities of life, and put their
own hands to the plough." Precisely. This is just
what is impending over the landowner; and what
he will have to, do, if it is practicable. But we
end that, to a considerable extent, it is totally
impracticable ;-and where it is not so it must entail
a vast amount of suffering upon the entire com-
munity. Mortgages, and other charges, will be
found to stand in the way of any considerable re-
duction of rents:- and if the owner of the soil has

The Share market- shewed symptoms of returning con-
fidence for a few days of last week, but en- Saturday the
adverse news from France and the Continent depressed
the Consol market generally, and Share
To-day prices are again lower, and the pr„,,
London stock closes 126 k 71- ; Midland,
Our Corn merchants, feel their way at present like men
travelling in the dark, confident that the unforeseen events
of a day may totally change the aspect of our markets,
which, however,.. are reported generally firm throughout
this country and Treland by our last letters. Prices
remain steady in Brunswick-street, at the improvement of
Friday, but nothing of any moment has transpired. The
following quotation from a Cork correspondent, which we
give as affecting radian Corn, presents a lamentable pic-
ture of the destitution prevailing in that district :
Importers of Indian Corn have become more moderate in
their demands, and evinced a readiness t

We re fe

for the ar

of making Sunday tha
.1 here, and landing of
from

ympathised

the sister country and

Let any of our readers pay a vist to the Clarence
Dock after tide time on a Sunday, and he will
witness a spectacle which ought not to be seen on
that day in any well regulated community. He
will see some hundreds of our clock labourers and'
porters even busier than on any week day, unload-
ing cows and calves, pigs and sheep, amidst the

.
bawling and execrations of the droverS, the barking
of their dogs, and the yelling of the poor tortured
animals, rudely thrust upon the quays, and driven
off, sea-sick and wearied, to the place of sale. The
street is like a fair during the best part of
_ and we have, in addition, the indecent
pectacle of droves continually passing through our
outskirts by various routes to the Old Swan. This

to descend to the tenant's level, and occupy his
position, the latter, in his turn, must descend to
that of the labourer. With such a social revolu-
tion effected, what must be the enormous pressure
of poor rates throughout the agricultural districts?
It must almost absorb the produce of the soil.
What, too, must be the effect of such a new distri-
bution of the industry of the country upon the
manufacturers themselves, who have clamoured in
its behalf? It must inevitably be the almost total
annihilation of the home market, by the cessation
of the agricultural classes to consume anything
beyond the coarser and less profitable fabrics of
the loom and the workshop, and of articles of
lUxury both imported and domestic; and the ren-
dering us more absolutely dependent upon that
foreign demand for the labour of our manufac-
turing masses, which we have just seen is so liable
to interruption, from causes over which we have
not the slightest control. _

concession ; the stuck of this article now remaining in ware-
house, or on board ship in our river, is triling, as compared
with the large sale that exists for it, although it must he re-
marked that the late advance in prices has. checked the con-
sumption to an important extent ; and it is amelancholy fact,
that the peopleare in such deplorable poverty they are abso-
lutely unable to.: --purchase this indifferent food at the present
rates, and are forced to the use of inferior substitutes, such as
wild and rank vegetables, unfit for human beings, dangerous
to their health; and:not possessing proper rutriment.
Sugar continues in good demand at steady rates ; 500
bags of East India were sold to-day, a portion of which.
were fine white Cnssipore, at 508. Molasses move off at'
full rates. In Rum there is more doing, but at low.
rates. Saltpetre and Nitrate are heavy-of sale, at rather
lower rates. The sales of Guano held this ant- wpm- Al

he day ;

ance and desecration of the Sabbath we contend

n{.114 VIF
with some spirit, Peruvian bringing £9.aos. to £lO per ton.
To-day there has been a fair business transacted in.
Cotton, without change, however, in price. The sales
amount t©. Siooo bales, including 1,00 speculation and
export

has been a little more impiry for foreign Wool
this week; but few transactions of moment have taken
place. PAces are firm. The London sales are reported
to be going off fully as well as the :February sales. Scotch
is in good request. Public sales will be held here on the
29th instant, when 2000 bales Australiln, East India,
Buenosayres, and Mediterranean will be offered.
Our Iron market for all sorts has undergone but little
change the last week ' • and at pr esent Scotch pig ircu may
be quoted at 425. to 425. 6d. for,mixed numbers, and 445.
for No. 1, Gartsherrie, f.o.b. at=Glasgow.
Irish Butter has further receded ls. per cwt, for the
_

But a more important question arises, for the
consideration of the fundholder and the states-
man—tinder such a social revolution, how can the
interest of the debt and the cost of the national
establishments be paid ? These form, it must he
borne in mind, almost an unvarying- hurthen.
'Whatever fiancial reformers may effect in reduc-
tion of expenditure, one half, at least, of the
amount—the debt—is fixed. The interest of eight
hundred millions sterling must be paid, not in
depreciated commodities,, but in bona fide sterling
metal, bought with an increased amount of those,

'nest descriptions of Watei
here has been a fair dernani

3rd and Cairick, fcr which
and Cork Thirds seltreadily

American Lard meets a brisk demand ; and the stock
being low, is held at firmel".rates ; 345. has bean paid for
fine quality, and holders- are asking higher prices. In
Bacon, some low-priced western lone middles. for thn

commodities, and of the labour employed in their
production. Thus, virtually, the industry of the
country, depressed with competition by "
• "1/

inf ovats. Vil 1 urbuay, , al, p
from 30s. to 325. 6d.;, and a considerable
been done during the week in the finer d
Eastern, at a reduction,of Is. 6d. to 2s. per cut. on former
rates. Shoulders are in fair request, at 20. to 305., ac-
cording to quality. More business has been done in
Hates (in dry sail) at 30s. to 365. Fickle cured neg-
lected. Pork has been in better demand and sales to a
fair extent have been made at 48s. to 50s: for Old Prime '
Mess, and 50s. to 555. for new ; Mess is held at 545.
The sales in beef continue limited. b the early part of
the week the market was quite bare of fine Cheese; since,
then we have bad considerable arrivals, and a good busi-
ness has been done at full prices.

:es ranging

mess ha

Icriptions of

foreigner, will be subjectec to a pressure of debt
double that which it has hitherto borne, and to the
payment of which, we have no hesitation in saying,,
it never can for any length of time submit. We
shall give an instance of this, and adopt the calcu-
lation of the able writer of a pamphlet before us,
entitled "An enquiry into the economy, exchange,
and distribution of wealth, by J. Mason,. opera-
tive." The author assumes it as an undisputed
point that the value of an article is fairly measured
by the quantity of labour and skill engaged in its
production ; that a debt of a pound, which can be
satisfied this year with a week's labour, will press
doubly upon the debtor, if next year he has to pay
it with a fortnight's labour. Taking the national
expenditure, therefore, at an unvarying sum of
fifty millions per annum, the following would be
the comparative extent to which industry would be
taxed to meet it in the two years 1810 and 1849, in
grain and manufactures :

Money taxes. Real taxes

Grain, at 80s. per qr
in 1810..
Ditto, at 40.
in 1849 .....
Manufactures, at £4 per
cwt. in 1810 9l 12,500,000 cwts
Ditto, at £l, in 1849.. /I 50,000,000 cwts
The real taxation in 1849, as compared with real

£50,000,000 12,500,000 qrs

Is. per qr,

25,000,000 qrs.

taxes in 1810, is—
In Grain £100,000,000
In Manufactures 200,000,000
Or, average of the two 150,000,000
We are quite aware that there are some classes
of political economists who will turn away from
such a calculation of the money pressure of taxa-
tion, as savouring of what they are pleased to re-
gard as the dreams of currency doctors. But these
figures cannot lie surely. They represent the
amount paid for taxes in labour and in rent in 1810,
as compared with the amount in 1849, with only
too great certainty. It is this very pressure upon
our merchants and shopkeepers—the exaction of

SIR JOHN GLADSTONE ON THE NAVIGATION
AND THE CONDUCT OF ITS SUPPORTERS.

Fasciae, 17th May, 1849.
DEAR SlR,—When I yesterday received your favor of
the 15th inst., informing me that the Mayor of Liverpool
had determined to call a second public meeting of the
inhabitants, that they might again consider and oppose
by every means in their power the extinction of our Na-
vigation Laws, the time I possessed for the further con-
sideration of that most vital and all-important subject
was restricted by the post to less than an hour for the
chance of its reaching your hands before the meeting was
assembled. Therefore notwithstanding, 'your committee
had urged my attendance and feeble efforts at your public
meeting, I could only hastily express what occurred to me
on the pressure of the moment in connection with so
important a subject. After further consideration, during
the short interval that has since elapsed, all I can further
attempt for their perusal and consideration, is to offer a
short review of the past conduct of those who are now
occupied in promoting, by every destructive means within
their power and influence, the extinction of those most
vital interests which have been committed to their charge.
I will begin with their exertions to promote the aboli-
tion of slavery in our colonies, where its practice, however
painful in principle, was humanity itself when compared
w►th its pernicious practice in all the colonies of other
countries. Those persons who are now so eagerly occu-
pied with their exertions to extinguish our navigation
laws, (the frciits of matured wisdom and the wo
of ages,) were not then less zealously engaged
urging forward measures for extinguishing slaver_
But mark the result. By the sacrifice of above
twenty millions of our public money they succeeded, and
held out the vain expectation that such an example would
be adopted by other nations. Under this assurance and
prospect the importation of slave-labour sugar was for-
bidden here, and free-labour sugar alone permitted and
encouraged. But observe what has followed

These

advocates of humanity and professors of liberality ere
long, first faltered and next failed in their attempt. In
place of persevering in the discouragement of slave labour
sugar, they, with the grossest and most outrageous injus-
tice and inconsistency, turned round on the straightfor-
ward honest Conservatives ;: and though most actively
opposed by theM, they abandoned protection and encon.
raged the importation of slave made sugar into the United
Kingdom, the fruit of the most horrifying and disgraceful
trafficin human blood and life that has ever been witnessed
on.the- face of this earth. I<'6r this the only reason I can
discover_ seems to be the-increase of revenue and the