The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-11-29 00:00:00

vered from its Whig-Radical mania, and a Conser-
vative Ministry shall once more be in power.
There is, however, a far greater difficulty to be
encountered before any system of National Educa-
tion can be made really efficacious yin training the
children of the poor as Christians and good subjects.
The most that is now done is assistance in the
construction of school-houses, and the training and
payment of more efficient teachers ; but this, at the
best, is supplying a want which is the least felt.
By far the greatest difficulty is experienced in ob-
taining scholars, to obviate which there is but a
choice of evils. The poor care little or nothing for
the instruction of their children ; and the only
attempt which has yet been made, as to a remedy,
is to hold out inducements of a questionable cha-
racter, but which only can be justified on the
ground of anything being better than leaving the
poor children to grow up as heathens, in ignorance
of everything but what they may pick up in the
streets. The parents refuse to contribute even
the small pittance of a penny a week ; and, to
overcome this repugnance, the children are
taught accomplishments equal to those of far
higher station in society, and adapted to a
condition of life much superior 'Lo that which
the children can be expected to occupy. What is
wanted is the inculcation of the first principles of
the Christian religion, and for this purpose there
is no lack of schools and competent teachers. The
children only are needed, and to obtain these more
stringent means must be used. We must go into
the highways, and the lanes, and the hedges, and
compel them to come in, or the alternative will be
the growing up of our youthful population in total
ignorance of their condition as immortal beings,
with the exception of those who are now becoming
discontented with their low estate by being edu-
cated far above it. It is, perhaps, difficult to define
in what way a system of national instruction can
be made compulsory, without infringing too much
upon the liberty of the subject, which is so dear to
every Englishman. The difficulty, however, arises
chiefly in large towns, and not so much in rural
districts, where the children of the labouring
classes are sent more readily to parochial schools.
But in the densely populated manufacturing towns
there are more facilities for turning the labour of
children to some profitable amount, and far less
moral supervision, so that they suffer from the
cupidity of those who are their natural guardians.
The most feasible plan is to prohibit the employ-
ment of children in factories unless they can pro-
duce a certificate of their attendance at a national
school. Another step in the same direction would
be to make the parents responsible for the expenses
in all cases where children are convicted of petty
crimes; and then, with the aid of Ragged Schools,
under efficient supervision, and the Industrial
Schools attached to Union Poor-houses, we may
hope to see some check to the spread of infidelity
and its concomitant, superstition, which are be-
coming the shathe and disgrace of Christian
England.
It may have been supposed that, with all the
recent exertions for the extension of National
Education, the increased grants by Parliament,
and the large amount of voluntary contributions,
that the necessity must now be less urgent than it
was half a century since. The fact, however, is
otherwise. Formerly the population was more
widely scattered, and more under the supervision
of parochial authorities. But the vast increase of
commerce and manufactures has drawn the labour-
ing classes together into large towns, where they
are beyond all efficient moral controul. The
growth of England's material wealth has been the
source of her moral weakness, and the evil demands
an active remedy, if we would not realize the pre-
diction of GOLDSMITH :
" 111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey.
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay."

The subject is one of far more real importance
than the threatened Reform Bill, for which there
has been no demand, and which must result in
promoting the strife of political parties, without
the possibility of producing any good whatever.

THE French Government has made a show of
advancing a step towards the encouragement of
increased trade with England by a reduction of
the import duty on iron and coals. By a decree
which appears in the .Ifouiteur of Wednesday last,
the French duty on the importation of Pig Iron is
reduced from about 565. Bd. to 445. per ton ; till
Ist January, 1855, and afterwards, to 355. 441. ; on
bars and rails, from about £8 4s. 10d. and £6 125.,
to £7 Os. 10d. and £5 ss. 10d. per ton ; till Ist
January, 1855, and afterwards, to £6 35..441. and
£4 Bs. ; on Sheet Iron, from £l7 12s. to £ll per
ton ; till Ist January, 1855, and afterwards, to
£8 16s ; and on steel, in bars, from £26 Bs. cast,
and £52 16s. wrought, to a uniform duty of
£l7 12s. per ton, till Ist January, 1855, and after-
wards to £l3 4s. per ton. The duty on coals is
reduced in the Channel ports from 4s. 7d. to about
2s. 9d. per ton in French or English vessels ; and
a uniform duty of ls. 42d. per ton in the Atlantic
and Mediterranean ports. It is said that these
reductions will give rise to a largely-increased de-
mand, and that about sixty vessels have already
been chartered at Bordeaux to bring both iron and
coals ; and the price of the former article has con-
siderably advanced in our markets. This circum-
stance will, no doubt, eagerly be seized upon as an
instance of reciprocity corroborative of the wis-
dom of our present system of commercial policy,
and perhaps may form an excuse for its further
extension by reductions of our present rates of
import duties on French wines, spirits, and manu-
factured articles. It will be seen, however, that
the change presents but an infinitesimal dose of
advantage to our export trade with France ,

inasmuch as the benefit is almost confined to the
raw materials of coal and pig iron, which may
tend to raise their value to consumers in this
country. Had France really intended to increase
its commercial relations with England, its ports
should have been opened to our numerous manu-
factures upon equal terms to those on which we
receive French silks, gloves, leather, and other
manufactures. But, to confine the reduction of
duty to such simple articles as the French people
require in order to enable them the better to com-
pete with the manufacturing superiority of Eng-
land, is a species of selfish policy which calls for
no concession on our part, and any attempt of the
kind ought to be firmly resisted.

IT is a grievous shame, in this age of boasted in-
telligence, a foul spot upon the escocheon of our
national morality, that the law has hitherto been
found altogether inadequate to protect our females
in humble life from the brutal and savage cruelty
of their husbands, from those who have
solemnly sworn to protect, love, honour, and
cherish them. It would seem that our law is
more regardful of the security of a pocket-hand-
kerchief than even the life of a poor woman, who
has been so unfortunate as to link her fate with
that of a brute in human form ; for, until last
Session of Parliament, the only penalty for the
nearest approach to wilful murder was a fine of
£5, or two months' imprisonment. A paltry sum
of £5, or indeed a money value at all, for that
which SOLOMON has declared to have a price far
above rubies. Last session, however, the HOME
SECRETARY, finding that the crime had fright-
fully increased under such tacit encouragement,
attempted to legislate for its suppression ; and
Accordingly obtained a law by which the magis-
trates were authorised to extend the punishment

for this offence to six months' imprisonment. He
did not, however, express any confident opinion
as to the result of the change, but expressed his
intention to apply to Parliament for further powers
if it should prove to be ineffectual. It would
seem that the punishment of six months' imprison-
ment, with all the comforts which modern philan-
thropy has given to our gaols, presents scarcely
more terrors than the previous limit of two
months' incarceration ; for such offences are being
committed with a frequency revolting to humam'ty,
while the details which the records of the London
Police-courts present, are almost beyond the
bounds of credibility that such human fiends
should be permitted to exist.
The Morning Post of Tuesday last contains
no fewer than three of such cases ; two heard
before the Loun MAYOR, at the Mansion-house,
London, in each of which the offenders were
tailors, and another at the Thames Police-office,
in which the offender is described as a Lancashire
collier. On Friday, the police reports contained
a similar case ; so that, within four days, as many
charges of this disgusting nature were heard
before the London police-magistrates. The par-
ticulars deposed to on oath on these occasions,
exceed the wildest dreams of romance, showing
too terribly that " truth is strange, stranger than
fiction." We subjoin a few extracts from the
cases we have alluded to
Emma Curtis (the complainant) said—On Sunday
morning, between three and four o'clock, he made me
go to bed stark naked, and he ripped up my stays with
a penknife, took the bone out of it, and beat me on the
body with the bone till it broke in three pieces. He was
quite sober, and so was I, for I never drink. He had
been out, and I was afraid to go to bed till he came home.
After he had broken the bone he beat me with my hair
brush. He then dragged me out of bed, made me make
the bed three times, tried to strangle me with his hand,
and with the large square-cut stick the policeman now
has in his hand struck me several times. I did not call
out, for he said if I did he would dance upon my body.
After having beaten me severely he went down stairs and
to the bottom of the court, but he immediately returned,
and began beating me again with the stick, and then the
officers came into the room.

The Lord Mayor—How often has this occurred ?
Complainant—Ever since we were married in January
last. A month ago he gave me two black eyes, and he
has frequently used that stick upon me. He has also
thrown boiling water from the teapot upon me. lam in
the utmost danger, and I throw my life upon your lord-
ship's hands, for I believe it is his intention to kill me.
In the next case,

Ann Wright, the complainant, said—Yesterday he said
he would be hung for murdering me, as the man that was
sentenced to be hung that morning would be hung. He
hit me twice on the head with the sleeve-board, and cut
open my skull in two places. I bled very much. He also
struck me with his fist in the face, and continued to knock
me about for three or four minutes. I called out for
assistance, and people came, and I went to a doctor to have
my head dressed. I have been married to the prisoner
three years, and he has beaten me every month since I
married him.

in the the third case,
It appeared from the evidence of two respectable women,
named Sarah Valentine and Harriet Gentry, that, on
Saturday evening, about half-past six o'clock, they saw
the prisoner and his wife in Cottage-street, Poplar. The
wife was burthened with a young child which she carried
in her arms, and could not move so fast as her husband,
who commenced swearing at her, and told her to walk on
faster. The wife said she was going as fast as she was
able, on which the prisoner, with a dreadful oath, said he
would make her go on faster, and struck her on the back
with his fist. He then raised a heavy stick, which he
carried in his hand, and struck his wife a tremendous
blow on the nose with it. She fell as if shot, and the
blood gushed from the wound over the footpath. The
woman was insensible for some time afterwards, and her
nose was completely flattened by the blow. A policeman,
named Grimes, who took the prisoner into custody, pro-
duced a thick and beavy bludgeon, with which the prisoner
had inflicted the blow on his wife, and said her nose was
smashed.

In the fourth case, which was heard at the
Westminster Police-court,

John Rogers, a low-looking fellow, was charged with
the following brutality to his wife, who bore undeniable
proofs of his savage treatment
Margaret Rogers, the wife, who evinced throughout a
strong desire to screen the defendant, stated that between
two and three o'clock that afternoon he came home drunk
and asked her for money. She replied that she had none,
upon which he knocked her down and kicked her, and
then threw the dinner which she had prepared into the
street.

Mr. Simons, Inspector of the B division.—Did he not
thrust his hand down your throat and hurt you very much ?
Complainant.—Yes, but I only want him held to keep
the peace.
Mr. Simons.— She has got marks on her arm, where he
has cut her with a knife.
The woman's arm being bared, presented the marks
alluded to, there being one more severe than the rest.
Mr. Broderip.—How came you with those scars ?
Complainant (hesitatingly).—They were cuts with a
knife.

Mr. Broderip.—When were they done ?
Complainant.—Two years ago.
Mr. Broderip.—By whom ?
Complainant.—By my husband, but I don't wish to be
hard with him.

Mr. Broderip.—How did you get that black eye ?
Complainant.—He gave me that last Friday week.
Complainant further reluctantly admitted that he had
been in the habit of treating her in the most cruel manner
for a great length of time.
Robert Adams, 158 B, stated that defendant thrust
three fingers into her throat, and attempted to tear her
mouth open. ' He then struck her several blows about the
head with his fists. _ _ _

Mr. Simons said that, from his knowledge of the de-
fendant and his habits, he should not at all be surprised
to find him placed at that bar for murder or manslaughter.
In all these cases the full penalty of six months'
imprisonment was inflicted.
It is fortunate for such despicable ruffians that
those who administer the law are obliged to restrain
their outraged feelings of humanity, or it would be
almost impossible to say what extent of severity
such savage brutality would justify. It is, however,
a disgrace to our civilization that the law should
confine offended justice to a remedy so manifestly in-
adequate, and the attention of the Legislature should
be seriously called to the necessity of rendering
it more efficient. It is becoming a question of some
importance whether the abolit:on of corporal pu-
nishment, which was intended to be humane, was,
in reality, a wise '*lteration. The successful in-
stance in which it was restored for the better pro-
tection of Her MAJESTY against assaults upon her
person, affords some proof of its efficacy, and per-
haps it might be applied with advantage for the
better protection of Her MAJESTY'S more humble
female subjects. The objection that corporal pu-
nishment tends to brutalize a man is positively
worthless, for such offenders are worse than brutes,
and no punishment can be too degrading. It is
said that in one of the prisons of the United States
of America a precaution against escape is taken
by having the nose of each prisoner stained with a
black dye, which is rendered indelible for the time
of his sentence, and it has been suggested that
such a remedy might be applied with advantage to
savage husbands. It might be made a mark which
should exclude them from all civili zed society, and
subject any publican to a penalty who supplied
them with drink. Such a plan may not be infal-
lible, but it is clear that some alteration of the law
is imperatively called for. Another mode might
be to commit them for trial, and subject them to
the consequences of assaulting with intent to
murder.

CONTINENTAL NEWS has lately assumed such
a deep tinge of falsehood, and become such a con-
fused compound of truth and fiction, that it requires
more than ordinary skill, and some share of good
fortune, to discriminate between them, and tell
which to believe and which to reject. Of all that
has lately come over the wires, the only thing that
seems distinctly to be corroborated is the death of
the QUEEN OF PORTUGAL, and the details of that
event are accompanied with variations, the succes-
sor to the throne of DONNA MARIA being styled
Dom PEDRO 11., V., and VIII., in the several
accounts. An event which is probably, however,
of more importance, has recently occurred,and may
have a considerable influence on future events. It is
said that a fusion, as it is termed, has taken place
between the two branches of the French house of
BOURBON. Such an event a few years since would
have been highly improbable, owing to the un-
willingness of the ORLEANS Princes to surrender
the claims to the Throne of France, which they
could only assert through the doubtful title of
Louis PHILIPPE. Such hopes are, however, now
at an end, and the restoration of the BOURBONS
to the French Throne can only be effected through