The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-11-02 00:00:00

MEETING OF DRAPERS.

A 'meeting of the master draper.s silk mercers, &c., was
held on Tuesday evening, at six o'clock, in the Clarendon-
roams, fur the purpose of taking.into considetation the ques-
tion of limiting the hours of business. There were about 90
persons present. Mr: John Wooßright was called to the
chair, and briefly introduced the business of the evening, in
which he spoke favourably of the respectfnl and well-written
memorial of their assistants, and professed himself willing to
accede to any arrangement that might be cotne to.
Mr. W. SLATER proposed the first resolution, namely,
there should he three several hours of closing, seven, eight,

and nine, each of which- I -was. to continue four Months,
commencing with seven o'cloCk•in November. Re stated it
as his opinion, that the proposed curtailment in the hours of
labour ought at once to be conceded, on the principle of jus-
tice. It would have a beneficial effect on the physical, men-
tal, and moral character of the•young men in their employ.
r. R. BRIGHT seconded the motion, and briefly stated
that he could not let the opportunity pass of supportiug,with
his voice the very reasonable request which had been made.
It was much to be questioned whether there was a body of
respectable young men in the empire that were subject to
such heavy anti severe duties, as the drapers' assistants were.
Mr. BEcKwrrn proposed an amendment, to the effect that
the hours of closing should be eight in winter and nine in
summer. He thought that theme was a greater likelihood of
bringing the whole body to consent to that arrangement than
to the one embodied in the motion. In the more aristocratic
parts of the town, it might be a matter of indifference whether
the drapers' shops were closed at five, six, or seven ; but he
could assure them that in the lower districts, such as his own
for instance, the great amount of their business was duce from
six to tine o'clock in summer.
Mr. TAYLOR seconded the motion.
M r. 'l'u I PP spoke warmly in support of the original motion,
contending that if they did not allow to their young'men such
an extent .of leisure as might be devoted to profitable pur-
poses, the concession was more likely to be injurious than
beneficial to them. The young men proposed to form a sort
of literary institution, and their earnestness and sincerity had
been shown by the promptitude with which they came forward
with voluntary subscriptions towards its establishment and
support. If, tioa ever, they were compelled to work until
eight o'clock in winter—after which, it must be remembered,
they had still to clear up, and refreshment to get—it would be
nine o'clock at the least before they would be at liberty, and,
as they were compelled to be in again at eleven, they would
actually nut have more than an hour and a half at their dis-
posal. It would then become very questionable whether they
might not think it useless to attend a reading-room or a lec-
ture, or to devote the spare time to improving their minds at
all. The great probability was that they would feel a disin-
clination to do so, and then what would be the consequence ?.
Amusement vould be sought in sensual, instead of intel-
lectual relaxation—the public-house would be resorted to, but
the reading-room would be deserted. In summer, it would
be evident to every one, that the position would be such as to
allow them even less opportunity for study than in the other
period of the year. Ile should therefore support the original
motion, as not being calculated to injure the employets one
iota, while it would concede to the young men an amouut of
leisure that might he turned to their profit.
Mr. JEFFREY took the same view of the question, anti
maintained that the closing at an early hour could not possi-
bly be injurious to the shopkeepers, it all consented to the
arrangement. In proof of his position. be referred to the
early hours at which the banks of Liverpool close, and said,
that if no inconvenience was experienced by the community
from that, he could not see how any inconvenience could be
felt in their business, a much less important one than bank-
_ _

A long 'and somewhat desultory conversation ensued, in
which the majority of the speakers expressed themselves in
favour of some curtailment of the hours of labour, but seemed
to think that they would be more likely to carry their object
by a moderate reduction in the first place. If that was found
to answer their expectations, a further reduction might take
place at a future period.
The amendment of Mr. Beckwith was then put from the
chair, and tarried by a majority of one—the numbers being
38 for and 37 against it.
Allusion was then made to the institution which the dra-
pers' assistants have it in contemplation to form, and though
several individuals expressed their hopes that it might be
formed, and their willingness to contribute to its funds, it
was thought that. it would be premature to pass any resolution
upon .the subject till it was seen what the young men did
themselves.. •
• On the motion of Mr. JEFFERY, seconded by Mr. BECK-
WITH,
a committee was then appointed to watch over the
regulation then agreed to. and to obtain. the-consent and
signature of the drapers, silk mercers, &c.. to the resolution.
A motion for the printing of the resolution, with the signa-
tures appended to it, in the Liverpool papers, was then
carried.
The meeting separated at half-past nine.

SHEERNESS, OCT. 29.—The hurricane this morning from
the west produced the greatest terror amongst the inhabitants
of this town. Conshlerable damage has been done to the
dock-yard from its fury ; roofs of some of the houses were
completely blown off; and i❑ High-street a stack of chim-
neys was forced. into the street, and a portion falling on a
sailor, of the Dowe, inflicted a frightful laceration on his
skull. He was not discovered till some time after, appa-
rently dead. The sentinel boxes round the boundary wall of
the dock-yard, with the sentinels in them, were blown down.
The emigrant ship Westminster, with '251 emigrants, prin-
cipally from Kent, arrived safe at Sydney on the 27th of
June, and on the 30th the ship Amelia 'Thompson, with 238
emigrants, arrived from Plymouth, with the loss of seven
passengers from small pox, and 30 from typhus fever; she
was placed in quarantine. The Duncan, from Greenor•k.
arrived the same day, after six months' voyage, with 254
emigrants; 14 died on the passage.—Hanipshire paper.
IPSWICH, OCT. 29.—A tremendous gale of wind arose this
morning from the west, and has caused much mischief bete.
The flag-staff at the Custom-house•was blow❑ down during
its ravages, and nearly killed a carpenter of the name of
.Street. The orchards have sustained considerable injury,
On Sunday night several large trees were blown down in
the churchyards of St. Mary at-the-Walls and St. Peter
(Colchester); a very large mulberry tree, belonging to John
Bawtree, Esq., was also levelled with the ground, and anew
brick wall by the side of the howling-green, at the Blue
Posts -Inn, Botolph-street, was also laid low, besides chim-
ney-pots and tiling in different parts of the town. We re-
gret also to hear that part of the new church at Donylaud
was also blown down.—. Essex Herald.