The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-10-06 00:00:00

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quite
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t the

de Sails, which is equally false with the preceding, It
18 to the effect that the " tithes and property of the
Church were originally intended for the use of the poor."
We are free to admit that the poor were originally en-
titled to relief and maintenance out of the property
held by the clergy; but it should be borne in mind,
when we make this concession, that the Church has
been robbed of full two-thirds of the property which
formerly belonged to it. Let this be restored, and
then we shall be prepared for such an arrangement as
that which the Count de Salis has proposed, viz., the
appropriation of a part of the Church revenues to the
use of the poor.

We are glad to find the Count de Salis speaking
out so plainly on the prospects of Popery in Ireland.
We are glad to find him candidly acknowledging that
he " hopes to see the day when the national Church of
Ireland—the Church of the majority—the Church which
has preserved tranquillity in the /and—shall be re-esta-
blished in a manner becoming the Irish nation."
This, to say the least of it, is plain speaking. The re-
establishment of Popery in Ireland is here plainly inti-
mated as the consummation of Irish hopes. The Pro-
testants of Ireland are now made aware of the grand
end which the Popish priests and laity have in view in
all their schemes of agitation.
It will rather surprise the English reader to find the
Popish sect designated as " the Church which has
preserved tranquillity in the land." If for " tranquil-
lity" we substitute the word " disquietude," or " dis-
order," or " rebellion," there would be some truth
and relevancy in the remark. The Popish system in
Ireland has been, for generations past, a system of tru-
culent
persecution, of tyranny over the minds and
Persons of
the Popish multitude, and of extermination
which
regards the Protestants. The only tranquillity
we - can associate with such a syttem is the tran-
quillity of death.

The proceedings of the Whigs of Liverpool, as dis-
closed at the present registering sessions, furnish, we
do not hesitate to say, the most disgusting example of
political profligacy which it has ever been our fortune
to contemplate. On no occasion that we can remem-
ber has an utter disregard of honesty, of principle, and
of decency, been so unblushingly paraded before the
World; and when it is borne in mind that the party
guilty of this grossness of conduct is one which has
always plumed itself upon its superior purity in public
matters—which has ever been foremost in denunciation
of political abuses, and whose constant outcry is for
reform, for purity of election, and for the ballot as a
preventive of bribery and corruption—we are con-
strained to come to the conclusion, if indeed we had
ever had much doubt of the fact, that the boasted
Principles of whiggism are little better than a compound
of hypocrisy, falsehood, and fraud.
We entreat the attention of our readers to our report
of the various cases brought before the revising court,
in which the rates of claimants have been paid with
money furnished by the Protector Society; and to the
decision which his worship the Mayor, himself a sub-
scriber to the funds of that society, has thought it
decent and becoming to pronounce by his casting voice.
BY this decision it is now established that a political
Party, or an individual, for a political purpose, can
Place upon the register an-unlimited number of pauper
householders at the simple cost of paying the rates of
their cottages or cellars, and by this bold and bare-
faced evasion of the spirit of the municipal act, in
effect swamp the bona fide constituency of the borough,
and disfranchise and smother the opinions of the great
body of its respectable inhabitant householders.
We dare say his worship the Mayor, and the party
who are at present making him their instrument, anti-
cipate the triumph of whig cendidates in some two or
three of the wards as the immediate effect of this deci-
sion. Possibly his worship may be correct; but we
venture to tell him that a triumph so achieved will be
to himself and to his party the dearest-earned victory
which ever was won upon the arena of politics. It
will
enilelxbtegtained at an expense of character incalculable
; and will be the means of introducing into
our future municipal contests a system of corruption
to which anything hitherto witnessed can bear no com-
parison.
li
our
Town
p uenrscee, forth the preponderance of party in
Council must depend upon comparative
weight of
and the lavishness with which this
system of wholesale bribery—for it is absurd to call it
by any milder name—is resorted to by the different
Candidates, or by associations or agents acting for
them ; and to the pure and patriotic reformers of She
year 1840 posterity will be entitled to attribute a prac-
tical repeal of the much-lauded whig municipal reform
act.

We have no wish to hurt the feelings of his worship
the Mayor by commenting upon his particular share
in producing this result. To any one who witnessed
his demeanour in the sessions-house yesterday, the
conviction must have preSented itself that Sir Joshua
was not a little uncomfortable ; and if he could have
noticed the ill-suppressed scorn of his proceedings pic-
tured in the countenances of most of his fellow towns-
men present, the worthy knight had ample reason for
such a feeling. Of this much we are certain—and we
would press the fact upon Sir Joshua Walmsley—that
Where he hAs gained one vote for his party by the ne-
farious trickery to which he has been led to resort in
order to bolster up. their sinking fortunes in the Town
Council, he has lost two votes for his own election as
a member for the borough.

" I do love thee, Michael Cassio—
But never more be officer of mine !"

Several of our contemporaries have been amusing
themselves and their readers during the last fortnight
nr three weeks with sundry speculations on the subject
of a coalition ministry—a monster engendered in the
brains of some demented radical, and which Prome-
theus himself would find it impossible to inspire with
the instinct of life. The list of an administration,
combining men of all shades of politics, is now going
the round of the papers," and eliciting comments of
80 serious a character, that a cursory observer might
be led to attach some importance to the document. It
may not be generally known that the list in question,
which we quote for the amusement of our readers,
originated in the pages of the Colonial Magazine, into
which it must have crept by some strange oversight
on the part of the talented editor of that excellent pe-
riodical. It was put forth in an article which con-
tained some plausible suggestions on the subject of a
Coalition administration. A mere glance at the sub-
Joined list will serve to prove the political predilections
of the writer. Of the realisation of his plan there
cannot be the remotest expectation. The following is
the list to which we refer :

Premier—Sir Robert Peel, Bart.
President of the Council—Lord Melbourne (with a mar-
quisate).
Home Department—Lord J. Russell (with a peerage).
Foreign Department—Earl of Aberdeen.*
Colonial Department—Lord Stanley.
Exchequer—Mr. P. T. Baring.
Board of Trade—Mr. Goulburn.
Indian Board—Lord Ellenborough.
Admiralty—Lord Palmerston (with a peerage).
Duchy of Lancaster—Lord Ebringion.
Privy Seal—Lord Normanby.
Lord Chancellor (in the Lords)—Lord Lyndhurst.
Court of Chancery—Lord Cottenliam.
Land Revenue—Lord Duncannon.
Secretary at War—Mr. T. B. Macaulay.
Vice-President of the Board of Trade—Lord Sandon.
Commissioners of the Indian Board—Mr. Moore O'Fer-
rali, Mr. Emerson Tennant, Mr. Colquhoun, and Mr. D'ls-
raeli.

Secretaries to the Indian Board—Lord Seymour and Mr.
Under Secretaries of State for the Colonies—Mr. Vernon
smith and Mr. Gladstone.
Secretary of the Admiralty—Sir Thomas Cochrane.
Judge Advocate General—Sir George Grey, Bart.
Slr
Follett, eneral—Sir John Campbell, with reversion to
William on Sir John ac 's cession to the bench.

IRELAND.
Lord Lieutenant—Earl Minto.
Secretary for Ireland—Lord Morpeth.
Lord Chancellor—Sir Edward Sugden.
Solicitor or Attorney General—Mr. Sheil (to be knighted).

INDIA.
Governor-General—Sir James Graham (with a peerage).
Governor of Madras—Lord Elliott, or Mr. Charles Wood
'with a baronetcy).

FOREIGN•
...Minister to France—Lord Clarendon.
Minister to Constantinople—Sir S. Canning.
All the other posts to remain as at present. Sir John Cain
Le'bhouse and Mr. Laboucherc to receive peerages.
he incongruous materials thus brought together
would not adhere for a single hour. Such a ministry
Il'°llld be only known to future historians as " THE
il
tinIEILE ADMINISTRATION."

We find from the advertisement that the conservative
dinner at Newton is fixed to take place on Friday, the
23d instant, the day after the very interesting and
inPortant ceremony of laying the foundation stone of
the Liverpool Collegiate Institution, in Shaw•street.
A
Inong the noblemen and gentlemen who are expe.cted

to be present at the dinner are, Lord Bandon, Cresswell
Cresswell, Esq., Lord Francis Egerton, the Hon. K.
B. Wilbraham, Lord Wilton, Lord Stanley, Sir James
Graham, Sir George Murray, Sir George Sinclair,
and several other distinguished individuals. We
anticipate a rich treat in the eloquent addresses which
will be delivered on the occasion. We have no doubt
that the hall at Newton will be crowded with the rank
and respectability of this division of the county.

NUISANCE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SlR,—Allow me through the medium of your widely circu-
lated journal to point out one of the greatest nuisances in
Liverpool—viz.--at the south end of Paradise-street, and im-
mediately facing the Custom-house. It is a complete reposi-
tory for all sorts of filth and rubbish ; in fact, so much so,
that a person wearing decent clothes, cannot get to the Pos-
office without running a great risk of spoiling them. Tins
ought to be attended to, in order to ascertain where the fault
lies. If this exposure should not have the effect of bringing
it into notice in the proper quarter, you shall shortly hear
from me again with full information of the parties whose duty
it is to see to it.—Yours, &c, A TORY.

THE BOROUGH REGISTRATION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SIR,—As the period of the revising barristers holding their
revision court is now so near, it appears to me that it may be
useful to our conservative friends to recall their attention to
the objection to the lists, and upon which the Attorney-Ge-
neral has given, politically speaking, a most dishonest opinion,
in favour of their validity. I will dissect this notable docu-
ment and briefly compare it with the clauses of that perfection
of legislation—the Reform Act. Stand forth Sir John Camp-
bell, Knight, &c.
No. I.—" I am of opinion that in point of time, the publi-
cation of the list in this case is not liable to any objection."
The question, as I understand it is simply this—whether
the lists ought not to have been affixed to the church and cha-
pel doors during the whole of the first two Sundays in August
last, anil I find it admitted by the liberal party that such no-
tices were not so placed until the evening of the first Sunday.
Now, what says the act itself? Sec. 44 enacts that the over-
seer shall cause a sufficient number of copies of the signed
lists to be affixed "on the two Sundays" there pointed out.
Now, I beg leave to state, that this enactment could only be
for the object of publicity during the usual hours of church
service, to enable parties whose names do not appear, to send
in the proper claims, and parties on the lists to give the ne-
cessary notices of objection, and in this view it is clear that
the whole of the Sunday is intended, for otherwise it might
as well be argued that publication one minute before twelve
o'clock at night would be a sufficient compliance with the act,
and I doubt if any sound lawyer would place himself in so
awkward a predicament. Such a publication would be a mere
mockery, and 1 maintain that the courts of law will and al-
ways do take notice of the fraction of a day, if it be necessary
for the purposes of justice, and yet coolly, says Sir John,
the time is not liable to any objection.
No. 2.—" I am of opinion that the act has not been strictly
complied with, as to churches and chapels, and that it would
be proper to return to the former practice ou this subject."
True, thou second Daniel ! The act expressly says, that
such notices shall be affixed " on or near the door of all the
churches or chapels." Mark that little word all. Now it
is again admitted by the liberal party that such notices were
only placed on eleven out of all the churches ; and yet
says Sir John, this is a sufficient compliance with the act.
1 boldly affirm it is not, and until I can be convinced that
the half is equal to the whole, I must continue to differ from
this most vaunted opinion.
No. 3.—" 1 am clearly of opinion that no condition prece-
dent has been violated, that the irregularity pointed out is
merely a departure from a directory enactment, and that the
revising barrister is bound to revise the list."
Indeed, a mere departure from a directory enactment—
what honied words for the eager throats of the trembling liberal
party, and how delicate, how tender a rebuke to the unfor-
tunate overseers, who, by a mere departure from a compul-
sory clause, from " the absolute shall," of the statute, have
rendered themselves liable under the 76th sec., to on ac-
tion for £5OO penalty at the suit of every elector aggrieved.
The words of the act are peremptory, as much so as the act
making murder a felony punishable by death. There the
words are, " whosoever shall' stab, cut, or wound any per-
son, &c., with intent to murder." Here " the overseers
shall cause ; and yet, in one statute, the word is to be con-
strued in its positive, and in the other in a negative sense,
" merely directory." Really, Sir John, this the argument
"ad absurdum" with a vengeance. The revising barrister
is bound to revise the list. Is he, indeed ? I say he is first
bound to see that the requisitions of the statute have been
fully complied with ; and for this purpose he is to examine
the overseers touching the accuracy and publication of the
lists ; and I at once assert, that unless the overseers can
show a full compliance on their parts with the act, the lists
are not those contemplated by the statute, but, in fact, a non-
entity, and the judicial power of the revising barrister entirely
at an end. lam fortified in my view of this subject by the
opinion of many eminent lawyers, and the decision of several
revising barristers, men who, unlike others, do not wor-
ship riches, and are too high-minded to bow the knee to
Baal.
No. 4.—" I entertain no doubt that a good election may take
place under the present list, when revised. Even should the
revising barrister be of a contrary opinion, I would most re-
spectfully, but most earnestly, advise him to revise the list,
leaving the question open for decision by a committee of the
House of Commons."
A good election indeed—" ex nihilo nihil fit." So that
an election under a bad, and I say illegal list, must ne-
cessarily be good. Common sense cannot swallow such
absurdity. Next peeps out the cloven foot ;—" leave
the question open for decision by a committee of the
House of Commons." Well done, Sir John. Carry the
election, you liberal party, if you can; lend the sinking
ministry, a vote on the address, or any other little measure
of straw, at which your drowning friends may catch in their
downward course to political perdition. Leave to the wicked
tories the expense and labour of au election petition, the con-
duct of which may be spun out by a little whig ingenuity
for half the session ; but pray let the house usurp the func-
tions of the revising barrister, it suits our party purpose, and
the end sanctifies the means. Truly, Sir John, you are wise
in your generation ;—watch this manoeuvre well conservatives.
and see that you prevent its being carried into effect, state it
fearlessly to the revising barristers, and urge them to pause
ere they decide, on the validity of the lists—much may hang
on their decision. If the conservative party would but shake
off their slumber, and rouse from their nerveless apathy to
the energy of prompt and decisive action, sure I am that
our enemies would quail before us, and the bright banner of
our glorious constitution, in church and state, again shine
forth triumphant and free.
No. 5.—" if he were to refuse to do so, the whole parish of
Liverpool must be disfranchised for the whole year."
Aye, " there's the rub," and fitting is it that the restless
clamourers " for the bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the
bill," should take the penalty of their bond, Shylock-like ;
let them have their pound of flesh, and nothing else. Well
will it read in history, that by the wisdom of the whigs, and
no fault of its own, the second city in the empire was for a
time disfranchised !"—" Most sapient senators.
No. 6.—" Claims could not be made in the manner pro-
posed."
" 'Tis true, 'tis pity, pity 'tis, 'tis true."
No. 7.—" Nothing more can now be done to correct the ir-
regularities ; but I am of opinion, that with a view to revision
and al subsequent proceedings, it is quite immaterial. 9
J. CAMPBELL.

Temple, Aug. 18, 1840.
What a climax ! Oh, wise young man, how do I honour
thee. Quite immaterial—be it so; and you Sir John, now
you have earned your fee. But surely the strong good sense
of the true men of Liverpool cannot be gulled by such non-
sense as this—" immaterial." So that in sober earnest, the
statute has no peremptory definite meaning, but is to be
twisted in the due performance of its enactments, at the dis-
cretion of the overseers. If this be so it is indeed a thing of
shreds and patches; if it be not, how long ye gentle liberal
reformers, will ye strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. How
often will ye expend in a pitiful species of bribery, say £2000.,
in paying up the taxes of poor voters, and find as ye have
now done, a mare's nest ?
P. P.
Liverpool, Oct. sth, 1840.