The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-12-27 00:00:00

PHILHARMONIC-HALL.
'THOMAS'S SHILLING CONCERTS.
GRAND OPENING NIGHT.
On MoNnALY next. Janusiry 2,
A GRAND TRIUMPHAL MARCH.
(Ste Prozramme.)

Rtberpoof c-.-tanbarb,

- - -
FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

MONDAY MORNING.
CHRISTMAS week is proverbially the dullest in the year.
'That which has just terminated was no exception to the
zole. The synopsis of political gossip, which I gave
Sou Lit week in pith, remains unchanged ; to be sure,
there are rumours, apparently well founded, that Lord
IPALIIRRSTON has been courted back again; he has not
-Sim up the seals, but that goes for nothing if he meant
retire,—" holding office till a successor is appointed "
65eulg' a stereotyped Cabinet phrase. The fact is, Lord
.1133intnEzw and his colleagues cannot get any one to fill
• 34rd PALMERSTON'S place ; and your readers need not be
surprised when I tell them that matters, in all probability,
- vial remain as they are till the meeting of Parliament, and
—then we may have a breaking up of the whole concern.
Whatever one's opinion may be of the Coalition Cabinet,
as a body, no one can doubt the existence amongst its
3tembers of high honour individually. They will meet

Parliament, make their statements, break up—some of
them retire—and there an end. At the clubs, the Earl
Hof DEB.BY and Mr. DISRAELI are looked upon as likely to
Soin the remaining few. The foregoing embraces the sum
and substance of the conversation yesterday at the Reform,
Ithe Carlton, and Brooks's.
A " certain convocation of politick worms " see
Ilarnlet passim—his 'Mir! suit, trappings and shoots of
/Igoe, di.e. Who ever heard of the jolly grave-diggers ? the
•xnerry undertakers ? We have all seen and heard of

merry, and something more, undertakers' men, on certain
occasions. But to the point. One of the last—appro-

priately so—public acts of Lord PALNLE-lISTON, was a
curious one ; funny, yet sombre. His lordship had a meet-
ing with two gentlemen in black—undertakers, in fact—

referring to the burial of the dead belonging to the binary
.parish of St. Margaret and St. John, Westminster ; a
given number of feet superficial,—deep,—were deemed
'necessary to bury the dead, out of sight, in the parish

referred to. A long period was agreed on before a grave
should be re-opened. These and other details were
arranged by PALMY and his Hie Jacit Mends. They
went away with a copy of the regulations—each in his
VOCket. PALMERSTON, when in office, touched his ivory
1 ell-pall, gave orders, mid thought nothing of having
'twenty folios engrossed in half the number of minutes.
The gentlemen in black straightway send the regulations
to the papers—they are published—papers and regulations
—the latter as general rules for all burials throughout
England. Little did the two undertakers, still less did
-the "judicious bottleholder," now ex-Secretary of State,
fancy for a moment that two parliaments—Marylebone
Vestry, and City Court of Sewers' Commissioners—would
Lave imagined that what was fit and proper for the parishes

.sibove-named was altogether absurd, untenable, impossible
in application for the country generally. The Marylebone
veople —most sensible, respectable, sagacious, experiencel
=en among them—flogged them;dves into a state of
desperation—frothed about self-government—non-inter-
- leTenee, and all the usual stereotyped clap-trap of anti-
eentralization. Some days pass over—time to chew the
cud of sweet and bitter—ignorance, and we find the city
savans discuss thus :

Mr. Deputy Lorr, who thinks "no small beer" of his
alxrewdness at the commission aforesaid, observed that, as
'he citizens of London had a " burial board," he was
adesirous of asking whether the extraordinary regulations
-issued by Lord PALMERSTON had been forwarded " offt-
ciaßy" to the commission ? " No, they have not," said
31. r. DA.W (worthy of his name). Deputy LOTT again
livishedto remonstrate against any of Lord PALMERSTON'S
----sales—(where are you, shade of L. MunnAy ?). If the
segnlations of Lord PA.LMERSTON are carried out, there
irronld be no cemetery adequate to the requirements of
any locality. Upon which the chairman, Deputy PEACOCK,
a► man of forty years' experience as a baker in Bishopsgate-
atreet, common councilman, and so forth, sagaciously
interjected, "we are masters of our own actions, and
alai, of course, take care not to go counter to the Secre-
&try of State." (I am obtuse, and do not perceive the

sequitur .0 After much more twaddle, it was moved

and carried that the rules and regulations issued by Lord
I"azatzustox be referred to the City Cemetery Com-
-inittee. There was no harm in that. Perhaps, they will
take a hint. The regulations referred to have as much
to do with general 'burial •s the reform bill had to do
ivith PALMF.RSTON'S resignation.

The Earl of ABERDEEN is looking poorly; this nipping
-weather seems to starch him woefully. When he walks
*broad he is usually attended by a couple of policemen in
n clothes : these functionaries stick to the Prime
Minister very close, observing everybody laely to come
in contact with the noble earl. They wield each a trusty
"shillelagh," which is firmly strapped round the hand,
1118 if ready to bastinado any unruly Turk who might
tome offensively in their way. There's nothing in this,
however; it has long been the practice for Prime
Ministers of England to be thus attended. I have seen
the late Sir ROBERT PEEL repeatily so.
Though coming somewhat within the scope—the doleful
territory of "lapsed news"—l cannot refrain from refer-

Sing to a fruitful subject of conversation and discussion in
-icily, hall, and coffee-house, during the week,—a topic
which seemed to engross the city as well as west-end
tradesman ; Government clerks, and they of the Bank of
ICngland, having only a negative interest in the affair,—
If Ibe allowed the expression,—were mute. I refer to
Lord PALMERSTON'S letter to the Lord 31.t.v0n, on the
question of keeping the 26th instant a holiday. Generally
speaking, the great bulk of metropolitan tradesmen were
• in favour of the holiday, and well they might be ; there
-would not be an inch of ribbon sold by the haberdasher, nor
at pound weight of raisins by the grocer on that day. Why?
33ecaase the purchases were made before the festival, as
Stting preparations for it. The ex-Secretary's letter has
given much satisfaction to the numbers out of business.
Covernment clerks have always been allowed a holiday
amminally that they might go to church, when Christmas
Tell on a week-day'; argal, qnoth PALMY, as it falls this
'Lime on the Sabbath, the clerks will have the same oppor-
tunity of performing their sacred duties. Abstractedly
this is true. They—the clerks—won't be very hardly
'worked after all. I dare say they will be seen flattening
-their noses, and steaming the plate-glass panes at the

west-end offices, as usual ;as they of Somerset-house will
'Lave " hot joints" at their own fires " from ten till four."
I am given to understand that of shop-keepers there will
"tot be half-a-dozen doing business. This is virtually a
'victory for the closing movement. While on this subject,
I may add, from the best authority, that the early closing
lquestion is making sure, though slow, progress ; and that
before another year shall have elapsed, thousands of intel-
ligent men, from the warehouse porter up to the conduc-
tor of our city establishments, instead of leaving work
1" fagged " at nine or ten o'clock, as not long ago was the
ease, will be able to doff the apron at six or seven in the
evening:, without loss to any one,—a consummation de-
voutly to be wished.

The week prior to our great Christmas festival brings
out thousands upon thousands of human beings to visit
our public places, who, probably, are not seen far from
their quiet and respectable domiciles the greater portion
-of the other part of the year. The weather each
night during the past week was inclement in the extreme,
and, worst of all, wet and sloppy under foot, yet at least
20,000 persons were attracted to Exeter-hall by HANDEL'S
Sphere-harmony," chiefly as exhibited in " The Messiah."
Other works were presented elsewhere. Such demon-
strations vouch for the grandeur of England's moral
/character. These individuals never visit theatres, but
they have a keen relish for sacred music. One wonders
where they all come from, as they form an entire contrast
to the theatre and opera-going public.
One of the snore remarkable men of the day is DANIEL
IVIIITTLE HARVEY, City Commissioner of Police, some
'thirty years ago a city solicitor, with that other remark-
able man for an eleve, I mean DAVID WILLIAMS WIRE,
• 110 W Alderman and Sheriff. After a long parliamentary
'career, Mr. HARVEY sat himself down in his well-paid,
though arduous, commissionership. Though far advanced
Years, he is still active and of commanding aspect.
When he dons his best garments, which he invariably
11°e8 When he pays his periodical visits to the SECRETARY
of Sr.vrc's office, he looks like a man to be feared and re-
tom- I have said that WHITTLE HARVEY is active ;
following the example of his superiors, he took it into his
'lead to deliver a lecture the other day, not on the duties
and obligations of his fraternity—he had pleased the bro-
!rilacxxl , however, by previously obtaining for the mem-
i, ttddition to their pay—but on the rights and duties
"")°u r. There was a great crowd ; and the lecturer
"armed as he .
went on at prodigious length; here and
there I considered him slightly tinted with " optimism ;"'
Lerclarefilith:.re! theoretical ; but altogether it—the lee-
called 14301111611, especially towards the close, where he
guidance of
_,_triendli to begin the new year under the
"'mull resolution to labour in the cause of