The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-08-31 00:00:00

HOYLAKE RACES.-THIIRSDAY.

The HACK STAKES of 1 sov. each, with five added,
once round and a distance, was won in two heats by
Mr. Leach's Gipsey Queen, aged, list 131 h, (owner)
beating Mr. Ball's Bendigo, 4 yrs, list. 111 b; and Mr.
Parson's Mystery, 6 yrs, list. 31b.
The GREEN LODGE HOTEL CUP, value 10 sovs, added
to a sweepstakes of three sovs. each, one mile and a half,
five subs, was won in two heats by Mr. Davis's Tom
Bowling, 4 vrs, Bst. 21b., (E. Lloyd,) beating Mr. Ed-
ward's b g by Voltaire.

A SCENE IN THE LONDON CRIMINAL COURT,

On Saturday, when Mr. Commissioner Bullock was
about to retire, that Mr. Justice Erie might take his seat
on the bench, the following scene took place :
Mr. Platt (with some warmth)—l am sorry to-interrupt
your lordship, but the person by my side (pointing to Mr.
Newton, the barrister), has made use of the most dis-
gusting language, and applied a most offensive epithet to
me—l mean the epithet ' scoundrel," and I must call
upon the court to protect me. I feel, my lord, that lam
disgracing myself in speaking to or of him. 1 hope
your lordship will interfere.
Mr. Newton.—The learned counsel is disgracing him-
self in -making such a statement, in which there is not
one single word of truth.
Mr. Cooper.—My lord, T can confirm every word that
has been said by my learned friend Mr. Platt, and that
the conduct of this person has been most disgusting.
Mr. Newton.—My lord, when I came into court I saw
a vacant seat here, and I took possession of it, when the
conduct of this person became very offensive and intolera-
able, but I did not make use of the expression which he
attributes to me.

Mr. Ryland.—My lord, we all heard the epithet scoun-
drel applied to him.
A Juryman—Yes, my lord, we heard it distinctly.
Mr. Commissioner Bullock addressing Mr. Newton)—
Since your statement has been contradicted, I cannot be-
lieve what you state, more especially when the statement
made by Mr. Platt is confirmed by several persons ; and
when such gross epithets were applied to a learned coun-
sel, he has, in my opinion, a right to vindicate himself.
Mr. Newton.—l should like to know what is the nature
of the application ?
Mr. Commissioner Bullock.—l do not know what is the
nature of the application, but the complaint made by Mr.
Platt is, that you applied offensive and disgusting epithets
to him.

Mr. Newton.—l used the term " scoundrel," because
this person, who is no gentleman, applied an offensive
epithet to me. When 1 came into the seat, which was
vacant, he applied the term " blackguard" to me.
Mr. Platt.—l did not use any offensive epithet until
you applied the term " scoundrel" "to me. When you
did apply that term to me, I certainly made use of the
term blackguard," which I was perfectly justified in
doing und4r the circumstances.
_ _ .

M. Newton.—When I made use of the term "scoun-
drel," it was under very great provocation.: When I
came in and took possession of the vacant seat at the bar,
he asked me if I was waiting for a case. That appeared
to me a most extraordinary question, and one which no
gentleman would have asked. I understood that these
seats were open to any member of the bar of England.
Mr. Commissioner Bullock.—Yes, that is perfectly
true ; but why did you make use of such disgusting lan-
guage ?
Mr. Newton—l should like to know why I should be
obstructed in approaching an empty seat, or why I should
be questioned before I took possession of it ?
Mr. Cooper—My lord, he was not obstructed in ap-
proaching the seat. I was sitting by the side of my
learned friend, Mr. Platt, when this person came in and
rudely pushed by me, and then unceremoniouly seated
himself between us. Although I thought such conduct
anything but gentlemanlike, I made no observations upon
it.

Mr. Newton—When I came in the seat was vacant.
No person has since left the bar. I have occupied the
seat, and you can see there is sufficient room, and that
ought to prove to you that the seat was vacant. I deny
having passed this person (pointing to Mr. Cooper) rudely,
and I was first insulted by this individual (pointing to
Mr. Platt), before I applied to him the term " scoundrel."
Mr. Commissioner Bullock—l advise " the gentleman"
who has, as it appears to me, without any provocation,
made use of such improper language, to apologize. The
judge is coming. I hope he will do so, and that the mat-
ter will drop.

Mr. Newton—lf Mr. Platt will apologise to me, and
say that he withdraws the expression which he has applied
to me, I shall then apologize to him, and say that the
language I made use of was unfounded, and was occa-
sioned by heat and irritation.

The learned judge here entered,and the subject dropped,
to the no small regret of the spectators, who were de-
lighted with so delectable a specimen of the courtesy and
amenity of the " gentlemen of the bar."—Sunday pap er.

CHOLERA AT CHORLEY.—Several eases of malignant
cnolera have occurred in Chorley during the past week,
in which death has ensued after a period of only a few
hours duration. As the eating of unripe fruit has been
frequently found to have caused the attack or greatly to
have accelerated the disease, too great caution cannot be
excercised in this respect by the public.—Manchester
Courier.

POST-OFFICE NOTICE.—A notice issued on Tuesday
from the General Post-office states that the Government
of the United States having raised the transit rates of
postage chargeable on newspapers conveyed through the
American territory in the closed mails between Great
Britain and Canada, all newspapers hereafter forwarded
by the closed mails to or from Canada will be liable to the
charge of one penny each, instead of one halfpenny as
heretofore, and this rate will be levied on the delivery of
each newspaper, whether in the United Kingdom or in
Canada.
CULTIVATION OF COTTON IN AUSTRALIA. —On
Thursday last, at a meeting of the Manchester Chamber
of Commerce, Dr. Lang delivered a very clear and con-
vincing speech, on the adaptation of a very large extent
of territory in South Australia, on its north eastern side,
being suitable for the cultivation of cotton, by means
of European free labour. He was listened to with
great attention, and questions were afterwards put to
him, the replies to which tended to establish the facts
he had stated. He showed satisfactorily in what manner
poor persons in this country might be enabled to emigrate,
and pursue the cultivation of cotton with advantage to
themselves and to their country. A vote of thanks was
passed to him for his valuable communication. We shall
probably revert to the subject when our space will permit.
THEATRE ROYAL, WILLI AMSON-SQUARE.—Mr. C.
Pitt, a well-known favourite in Liverpool, commenced an
engagement of five days last night, previous to his depar-
ture for America, where, if rewarded as very inferior men
have been, he will reap an ample reward for his undoubted
talent. he piece was Othello, which was given with all
the strength of the house.
ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.—In addition to the continued
attraction which the sterling dramas enacted at this
theatre afford to the play-going public, and a further de-
velopment of the talents of the Lauri Family, the won-
derful feats of strength and agility performed by Signor
Letort have been very highly applauded.
THE METAPHYSICAL THEORY 0* PERCEPTION.—
When a man consults his own nature, in an impartial spi-
rit, he inevitably finds that his genuine belief in the exis-
tence of matter is not a belief in the independent existence
of matter per se—but is a belief in the independent exist-
ence of the perception of matter which he is for the time
participating in. The very last thing which he naturally
believes in, is, that the perception is a state of his own
mind, and that the matter is something different from it,
and exists apart in naturd rerum. He may say that he
believes this, but he never does really believe it. At any
rate, he believes in the first place that they exist together,
wherever they exist. The perception which a man has of
a sheet of paper, does not come before him as something
distinct from the sheet of paper itself. The two are iden-
tical : they are indivisible: they are not two, but one.
The only question then is, whether the perception of a
sheet of paper (taken as it must be in its indissoluble to-
tality) is a state of the man's own mind—or is no such
state. And in the settlement of this question, there can-
not be a doubt that he believes in the second place, that
the perception of a sheet of paper is not a modification of
his own mind, but is an objective thing, which exists alto-
gether independent of him, and one which would still exist,
although he, and all other created beings were annihi-
lated. All that he believes to be his (or subjective) is his
participation in the perception of this object. In a word,
it is the perception of matter per se, which is the kind of
matter, in the independent and permanent existence of
which man rests and reposes his belief. There is no truth
or satisfaction to be found in any other doctrine. This
metaphysical theory of perception is a doctrine of pure in-
tuitionism : it steers clear of all the perplexities of repre-
sentationism ; for it gives us in perception only one—that
is, only a proximate object : this object is the perception
of matter,—and it is one indivisible object. It is not, and
cannot be, split into a proximate and a remote object.
The doctrine, therefore, is proof against all the cavils of
scepticism. We may add, that the entire objectivity of
this datum (which the metaphysical doctrine proclaims)
makes it proof against the imputation of idealism,—at
least of every species of absurd or objectionable idealism.
But what are these objective perceptions of matter, and to
whom do they belong ? This question leads us to speak
of the circumstance which renders the metaphysical doc-
trine of perception so truly valuable. This doctrine is va-
luable chiefly on account of the indestructible foundation
which it affords to the a priori argument in favour of the
existence of a God. The substance of the argument is
this,—matter is the perception of matter. The perception
of matter does not belong to man ; it is no state of the
human mind—man merely participates in it. But it must
belong to' some mind,—for perceptions without an intelli-
gence in which they inhere are inconceivable and contra-
dictory. They must, therefore, be the property of the
Divine mind ; states of the everlasting intellect ; ideas of
the Lord and Ruler of all things, and which come before
us as realities,—so forcibly do they contrast themselves
with the evanescent and irregular ideas of our feeble un-
derstandings. We must, however, beware, above all
things, of regarding these Divine ideas as mere ideas. An
idea, as usually understood, is that from which all reality
has been abstracted ; but the perception of matter is a
Divine idea, from which the reality has not been ab-
stracted, and from which it cannot be abstracted.—
Blackwood's Magazine. •