The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-05-16 00:00:00

TUE lAVERPOOL STANDARD, AND GENERAL COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER.

TO CORRESPON DKNI

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Boors, you REVIEW, may be left at I.llr. C. Mitchell's,
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NvANTED to RENT, a good FAMILY
HOUSE, with Stabling, and Field, for a Cow. The
House must contain not less than Ten Bed-rooms,_ and
moder Convniences. All erton or the neighbourhoodre-
ferred.n Thee Advertiser is willing to pay .€l5O per annum
for a suitable Residence.—Apply to Mr. S. WATEituouss, 4,
Derby-square, St. George's Church.

W EST S T
EDREf
for
BY
i U
t 1
e HOSNPIITOAL'of tlNiNe'abo
Nvrre i
jED,I, a
Oli
in the West Derby Road, Liverpool, competent to Keep
the
Account Order of the Poor Law Beard for Workhouses, and,
in conjunction with the Matron, to be responsible for the
efficient management of the Institution. Salary .eso per
annum, with Board and Apartments in the Hospital. Appli-
cations (in the writing of the candidates), accompanied by
Testimonials, to be forwarded to me on or before the 23rd
instant. Canvassing of the Guardians, either personally, by
agent, or letter, is strictly prohibited, and will be held to be
an absolute disqualification.—By ord on-Clerk.
er of the Board,
W. CLEAVER, Unn-Clerk.
2, Elliot.street, Clayton-square. Liverpool, May 11, 1834.

STANDARD GENERAL PRINTING-
OFFICE.
4, ST. GEORGE'S-CRESCENT,
LORD-STREET, LIVERPOOL.
LETTERPRESS PRINTING of every description,
including

IVERPOOL DOCKS.-LOANS OF MONEY.
L—The COMMITTEE of the LIVERPOOL DOCKS do
HEREBY GIVE NOTICE, that they are willing to receive
LOANS of MONEY, on the security of the Bonds of the
Trustees of the Liverpool Docks. at the rate of £4 15s. per
Centum per Annum Interest, for periods of either three, five,
or seven years, at the option of Lenders. Interest payable
Half-yearly.—All offers to be addressed to GEo. V. TANTOX,
Esq.,Treasurer to the Liverpool Docks, Dock Office. Liverpool.
By order, DANIEL MASON, Secretary.
Dock Office. Liverpool, 4th May, 7554.

PAMPHLETS, FORMS, INVOICES,
MERMONS, BILLS OF LADINO, CUSTOM. HOUSE
REPORTS, CARDS, ENTRIES,
CATALOGUES, CIRCULARS, &C. &C.,
SHAREROKERS7 POSTING BILLS OF
BOOKS, EVERY SIZE,
EXECUTED WITH THE GREATEST PROMPTITUDE.

In Stock, and Manufactued to Order,
LEDGERS, DAY BOOKS, CASH BOOKS, JOURNALS,
LETTER BOOKS, COPYING BOOKS, BILL BOOKS,
AND WASTE BOOKS,
IP EVERY VARIETY OF STYLE.

T 0 BUILDERS.--Persons willing to TENDER
for the WORKS required to be done in making certain
Alterations and Additions at the QUEEN'S TOBACCO
WAREHOUSE, King's Dock, for the Corporation of Liver-
pool, may see the Drawings and Specifications on application
at the SURVEYOR'S OFFICE, Town-hall.
Sealed Tenders for the above Works, endorsed " Tenderleft
at the above Office on or before Twelve o'clock at Noon, on
THURSDAY, the Ist June next, after which no Tender will be
received.
The Council does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any
particular Tender.

LITHOGRAPHIC AND C
ROPPERPLATE PRINTING.
E ULING. &c.

ttbcrpoot tai bat

TUESDAY MORNING, MAY 16, 1854.

TO CON TRACTORS.—WAVERTREE
LOCAL BOARD OF HEALTH.—The W AVERTREE
LOCAL BOARD OF HEALTH are prepared to receive
TENDERS for the CONSTRUCTION of SEWERS within the
District of the Local Board of Health of Wavertree, according
to the Plans and Specifications prepared for that purpose.
The Tenders to be sent in, addressed to the Chairman of
the Wavert..ee Local Board of Health, Public-offices, Waver-
tree, near Liverpool, according to the Forms, with a Schedule
of Prices attached to each, on or before the 24th day of May
instant.
The Plans and Specifications may be inspected at the Office
of Mr. ISAAC ATHERTON, Prince's-buildings, NorthhJohn-
street, Liverpool, from THIS DAY (Tuesday), the 16tnst.,
to WEDNE,DAY, the 24th inst., where Forms of Tenders may
be obtained on application.
The Board do not pledge themselves to accept theaN-cle rk
lowest or
any Tender. ISAAC ATHERTON, L.
North Prince's-buildings, John-street,
Liverpool, May 9,185 k.

THE WAR BUDGET.

Mu. GLADSTONE, on 'Monday last, made his
financial statement for the expenses of the war, in
an elaborate speech, which occupied thirteen
columns of the morning papers. In analysing
this exposition of Ministerial views, it will not be
necessary to comment on the causes of this addi-
tional burden on the resources of the country,
because, although it is beyond a doubt that the
necessity for war is mainly, if not solely, attri-
butable to the insincerity of the PREMIER, and the
want of union in the Cabinet, the mischief has
been done, the step has been taken, and the only
course is to unite our energies to bring it to a
successful conclusion. The CHANCELLOR of the
EXCHEQUER commenced his speech by entering
into a defence of his financial operations of last
year with reference to 4 attempt to reduce the
National Debt, and his r uction and subsequent
increase of the interest on Exchequer Bills. In
this he was simply plausible, for, without endea-
vouring to justify the course pursued, indeed ad-
mitting its utter failure, he called upon the
ch house
to recollect the state of public feeling whi pre-
,
vailed at the time the measure was proposed, and
the fact that the only opposition he encountered
was from those who considered the terms too
favourable to the fun dholder. Such a justification
would be ample, if we could consider that the
Minister knew as little of diplomatic negotiations
as the rest of the public ; but since then we have
become acquainted with the private and confi-
dential correspondence, and, unless the CHAN•
CELLOR of the EXCHEQUER can plead that he was
not in the secrets of the Cabinet, the value of his
defence is altogether destroyed.
The most interesting point of his statement is
that, however, by which he proposes to raise the
ten millions which he computes to be the addi-
tional expenditure of the first year. He argues,
and perhaps very justly, that such an expense
should, as far as possible, be paid out of taxation,
without entailing it on posterity thrOugh raising
it by way of loan. In some respects, this position
is a sound one ; but as the benefits of the war,
should any arise, will be largely shared by poste-
rity, the injustice of iniposing, part of the burden
in the same direction would not be so unjust or
impolitic as might at first sight appear. The last
war was the most enormously expensive that this
or any country ever endured, but we have had the
advantage in a forty yeah; peace, during which
Great Britain has reached the pinnacle of national
and commercial greatness. Nor has the legacy of
debt proved a very serious burden, when we take
into account the large sums which have since been
invested in foreign loans, mining, and, above all, '
railway construction to the extent of three hun-
dred millions, in addition to which there has been
an immense increase in floating capital and that
devoted to commercial purposes. Still it is im-
possible to predict with safety the probable dura-
tion
of the war, or what pecuniary sacrifices may
still be requisite, and, therefore, it is prudent at
the best to defer a resort to a loan until the means
of raising the cost of taxation are exhausted.
With this view of the case, we can, therefore, con-
scientiously give credit to Mr. GLADSTONE for his
attempt to avoid any increase for the present of-
the National Debt.
With reference to the class of taxation by which
he proposes to raise the sum required, the question
is open to more serious objection. Whatever may
be the opinions advanced for selfish purposes by
the advocates of the Manchester school, any system
of direct taxation is fraught with inequality, and
consequently with injustice, because the burden is
thrown upon one class ; and another, which may
be equally well able to bear it, is left totally
exempt. In proposing, therefore, to raise two- ,
thirds of his demand upon the national resources
by doubling the Income-tax, Mr. GLADSTONE
makes a concession to democracy which is un-
worthy of the high• position which he assumes.
He takes great credit to himself for abstaining to
consult his own convenience by resorting to a loan.
Yet it is but the next step to depend •upon an ad-
ditional Income-tax, the sole ,advantage of which
is the ease with which it is collected, and the
almost certainty of its yielding the estimated
amount, an advantage which might not apply to
indirect taxation, which is influenced by the extent
of consumption. It has already been shown that
it is impossible to levy direct taxation under any
system without inflicting injustice ; and even Mr.
GLADSTONE acknowledges that both Mr. PITT and
Sir ROBERT PEEL found it utterly impracticable
even to make any distinction between incomes
derived' from realised property and those earned
by labour and intelligence. In numerous instances
men are earning weekly wages far beyond the
limit of taxation, and yet there are few means of
bringing them within its reach ; while others,
with annual salaries which render them liable, are
struggling to maintain a position which is indis-
pensable to their obtaining a subsistence. By any
form of income-tax, the labouring cla.ss,whose neces-
sary expenditure is far less than that of the class
above them, is altogether exempt; and yet the latter,
with impoverished means, are called upon to bear
two-thirds of the cost of the war, in addition to their
share of the enhanced value of other commodities. It
is a tax which should only be resorted to in cases of
extreme necessity ; and, though the present may
be considered an occasion to justify
its imposition,
it is to be hoped that no further augmentation will
take place until all other means have been ex-
hausted. We may remark that the Income-tax
would press far more equally, and,•conlequentlY,
with less of injustice, if the example auto. PITT
were followed, and the scale were m com-
mence on incomes of £6O a year ; and the burden
would be still less felt if the tax were charged on
all the income above that amount, or, in other
words, to allow every man to deduct £6O from his
annual income; and pay the tax on the remainder.
The remaining one-third of the required ten
millions is to be raised by an increase of is. per
gallon duty on Scotch spirits, Bd, per gallou

Irish spirits, a retention of the present amount or
sugar duties, or nearly so, instead of reducing
them as fixed by the act of Parliament, on the sth
of July next, and an augmentation of the excise
duty on malt from 2s. 9d. to 4s. a bushel. In this
selection, the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER has
shown much judgment and prudence, though, as a
matter of course, in every scheme to increase
taxation there are always many to be found who
will argue that revenue ought to be derived
through some other channel than that which im-
mediately affects themselves. This is particularly
the case with regard to the proposed addition to
the Malt-duty, some of the representatives of the
agricultural interest contending that the farmers
have been too little considered in modern legisla-
tion, and ought not to be called upon to bear any
fresh burdens. It is an egregious error to suppose
that the farmers, as a class, pay the duty on malt,
which is borne by those who drink beer, and as
this is a custom of very general observance, it is
anticipated that this item in the War Budget will
realise the amount expected from it, particularly
as the proposed increase of ls. 3d. per bushel will
hardly make an appreciable difference in the retail
price of the manufactured article. Such will also
be the case with spirits ;, and, besides this, there
are very many who, upon moral grounds, will cor-
dially agree with the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE-
QUER in his attempt to pay for the war out of the
anti-temperance habits of those who share none of
its dangers.
It may be that the yield of these several addi.
tions to the revenue will not fully realise the
estimates of their productiveness, but, on the
whole, the majority of our readers will agree with
us that Mr. GLADSTONE has adopted a course to
which, perhaps, the least exception can be taken ;
and we the more readily make this admission, be-
cause there is so little in the policy of the present
Cabinet with which we can coincide.

" Homunculi quanti stint, cum recogi;o."•

the least of it, passing strange.

'-PLALTTUS.

MERCHANT SHIPPING LEGISLATION.

ANY attempt which is made to render the law
more intelligible and comprehensive, by consoli-
dating the various acts of Parliament relating to
any particular subject, is in many respects praise-
worthy, and should entitle those who undertake
the laborious duty to very great credit. It may
be doubted, hosiever, whether the vast interests
of commerce have, in reality, been benefited by the
various enactments which. from time to time,
have been brought to bear upon its operations.
The mighty shipping and commercial interests of
Great Britain have, it must be remembered, at-
tained their gigantic elevation irrespective of
other aid from legislation than the restrictive pro-
tection of the Navigation-laws, and, therefore,
every attempt to fetter future operations by act of
Parliament is naturally viewed with some degree
of suspicion, and should receive the most careful
consideration in its details by those most com-
petent to judge, and most interested in its results,
before receiving the sanction of the Legislature.
A bill is now before Parliament entitled " a bill
to amend and consolidate the acts relating to mer-
chant shipping," and, as the names of Mr. CARD-
I WELL, the President of the Board of Trade, and
1 Sir JAMES GRAHAM, the First Lord of the Admi-
-1 ralty, are on the back of it, it may be considered
a Ministerial measure. It is a very
voluminous
affair, containing no fewer than 460 sections or
clauses, and is said to be the most bulky document
ever submitted to Parliament as a singe measure.
Many of its provisions are simply the rel-enactment
of laws already in operation, but there are some
portions which will militate very severely against the
shipping interest, and particularly against the im-
mense amount of property invested in steam naviga-
\ tion; these points deserve the especial attention, not
I only of our own representatives, but all those who
consider rapid communication with foreign ports
1 to be of essential advantage to the trade of the
kingdom. The objections to them have been
strongly urged by the Steam-ship Association of
this port, in an able document explanatory of the
bill; and we call particular attention to it, in order
to give the most objectionable provisions more ex-
tended publicity.
By far the most important alteration proposed
is in section 23 of the bill, by which it is proposed
to be enacted that in all steam-vessels in which the
propelling power is to the gross tonnage one-horse
power for every seven tons, the amount allowed to
be deducted in the registered tonnage for the space
occupied by the propelling power shall for paddle-
wheel steamers be three-tenths, and for screw-
steamers two-tenths, of the gross tonnage. The
effect of this alteration as concerns steam-vessels
belonging to this port will be very serious. For
instance, in the Alps and Andes the increase will
be not less than 50 per cent., and in most of the
steamers, both screw and paddle-wheel, the
increased per tentage will be very great. The
consequence of such an alteration will be to
augment materially all dues charged upon regis-
tered tonnage, such as light, dock, and other dues.
Such a provision must tend materially to discourage,
if it do not altogether put a stop to improvement
in steam navigation ; for the owners of those
vessels possessing the most ample means for speed
and efficiency will be the greatest sufferers, as they
will have to pay charges for space which cannot in
any way be made available for freight, instead of,
as at present, paying only for that portion of the
vessel which can carry passengers or cargo. It
will, therefore, unless modified or repealed, be an
effectual bar to the construction of powerful and
fast steamers, which in all cases are the safest, but
operate seriously, if not fatally, to the extension of
steam communication with many distant ports, to
which the enterprise of Liverpool shipowners in
particular is opening up new markets for
British commerce: At a time like the pre-
sent, when every exertion is being made to
secure to Great Britain the maintenance of her
commercial superiority, such a regulation would
prove a heavy blow and great discouragement,
which ought to be firmly resisted. It is well
known that many lines of steam-ships depend more
upon hopes for the future than existing profits ;
even the great New York lines are supported
hic
by
subsidies from Government ; while to those wh
have recently commenced, such as to Canada, Bra-
zil, Africa, and the projected line to Australia, it
would prove a death-blow, a suicidal act on the
part of a Government which we may
ur belcommerce ieve to be
animated by a desire to promote o
to the fullest extent. It has been estimated that
in one coasting steamer, making three voyages a
week, the difference in dues, f rom an increase not
amounting to 100 tons, would not be less • than
£4OO a year—a ruinous addition to the amount of
charges now paid, and which must directly militate
against steam-navigation under any circumstances,
and particularly against companies competing with
railways. The question is of too great importance to
be passed over ; and unless the Ministry consent to
an alteration of the objectionable clause, it must
be resisted by every means allowed by the forms
of Parliament. It is preposterous to argue that
any advantage to commerce can be gained by lay-
ing a restriction, or impost, on one class of con-
veyance to benefit another. Even supposing that,
from steamers being forced then atural result, if
not the design, of what is urged by the sailing
shipowners upon Mr. CARDWELL) to raise their rates
of freight, the sailing ships are enabled, to some
extent, to raise theirs also, what will be the con-
sequence P Why, plainly, that the public will
puffer, and that a premium will lac affOrdqd to

THE BOMBARDMENT OF ODESSA.

THE official despatches, describing the bombard-
ment of the Russian port of Odessa, which were
received by the Ministry only on Thursday last,
and published in the London Gazette of Friday,
are of little more value than to confirm the correct-
ness of the reports previously received, which we
published last week. During the last war, great
interest was excited by the various bulletins de-
scriptive of our victories by sea and land l;
but the
press has now outstripped the State in the race for
bringing the earliest and most authentic intelli-
gence--notwithstanding the sneers of certain titled
legislators—aid official despatches have lost all
interest—except the novelty of their appearance at
all—through being so long anticipated. There is,
however, one prominent point in the late affair
which demands an intelligible explanation in order
that the .public may understand whether, after all
these mighty preparations, we are really at war
with Russia. It appears from the statements of
Admiral DUSDAS, that the ostensible motive for
the attack on Odessa was the firing by the Russians
on a flag of truce, contrary to all the usages of
civilised warfare. For this outrage he demanded,
as a reparation, that all the English, French, and
Russian vessels anchored near the fortress or the
batteries of Odessa should be delivered to the
combined squadron ; and, upon a refusal to comply
with this demand, the bombardment took place,
and the fortifications were destroyed. This is so
far intelligible; but the natural inference to be
drawn is, that had the Russians not fired upon the
flag of truce, or had they made the reparation
demanded, the bombardment would not have taken
place. Plain people will, therefore, ask themselves
the question, for what purpose has the declaration
of war been made, if our fleet in the Black Sea is
to wait for a breach of warlike usages on the part
of the Russians, in order to justify an attack on a
Russian fortress P There appears to have been a
punctilio of national politeness, the reason of which
is not very clear, unless Admiral DUNDAS has
secret instructions to spare the enemy, instead of
bringing him to reason by reducing all the strong-
holds in which he puts his trust. It is declared
in the despatch, which we have given in another
column, that in addition to the fortress of Odessa,
the Russians were labouring day and night in
strengthening the moles and erecting formidable
sea-defences, and had also collected between' 0,000
and 30,000 men for the protection of this military
depot, as well as for the security of vessels seek-
ing shelter under the guns of the place. These it
would be thought would furnish abundant reasons
for attacking the fort and destroying the works ;
and yet, we are told, that the ostensible, if not
the sole motive for the bombardment, was the
outrage on the flag of truce, and the refusal to
make reparation. The Ministers should be called
upon for a distinct explanation, or we may be
doubtful whether we are really at war, and whether
the preparations are not, after all, only a show.
But, perhaps, Sir CHARLES NAPIER will soon tell
a different story in the Baltic, as he is only waiting
for the ice to break up from the northern ports
to commence operations.

enable foreign shipping to take from us a large probably the coming election will elicit an explanation.
What are the Commissioners about, that they do not put
portion of our carrying trade. their shoulders to the wheel? All the energies they pos-
By section 37 an alteration will be made by
sesi will be necessary, in order to place Birkenhead in the
which- there will in future be no means of position which it ought to occupy.
establishing companies, as is now the case in
Scotland, •by registering vessels in the names BIRKENHEAD " THE LIVERPOOL
of trustees, and the only resource, without MAIL."
an alteration of the law, will be for companies to
obtain a clip.' ter of incorporation. This clause,
therefore, requires some modification, in order to
adapt it to circumstances which have proved bene-
ficial in so many instances.
The Bill is divided into eleven parts, of which
the ninth relates to the responsibility of shipowners.
In this there is no material alteration from the law
as it at present stands, but what is required is a
definitive settlement of the doubts which exist as
to the liability of shipowners under the act, known
as Lord Campbell's Act, for affording compensation
to the relatives of persons killed by wrongful act,
neglect or defraud. It is well known that this act
was intended to apply especially, if not exclusively,
to railway accidents ; but by slovenly language,
common to all hasty legislation, it may be made to
apply to any description of accident, and the glo
rious uncertainty of the law has left it doubtful
whether a shipowner, who can have no possible
control over the management of his vessel—other
than that afforded by the certificates of the master's
capability required by the law—is not pecuniarily
liable to the full extent of all his means for any loss
of life which may occur, through wrongful act,
neglect, or default. Such a regulation is mani-
festly unjust when applied to railways, because the
innocent suffer for the guilty, and every passenger
may insure his life for a trifling outlay, as shown
in an able pamphlet by Mr. BOOTH, of the London
and North-western railway; but its application to
shipowners would be still greater injustice, because
the control is infinitely less ;. and therefore a Bill,
which professes to comprehend all the law relating
to merchant shipping, should distinctly declare the
exemption of shipowners from such an uncertain
and loosely-defined liability.
We have gone into the question at some length,
from the importance of the subject,but have referred
only to those points of the measure which especially
demand alteration or modification. We can hardly
believe that Mr. CARDWELL will persist in pressing
the clauses alluded to in their present state, when
the objections to them have been pointed out, and
the attention of the legislature called to them by
our representatives and those of other shipping
rrts.

IN a leading article of the Liverpool Mail of Saturday
last, the editor has done me the honour to remark on a
letter,with the signature of "Tabakraucher," that appeared
in that paper on tL (Ith inst., the subject being Birken-
head. He sets out with a compliment, and winds up with
a growl. A compliment, because some of my observations
have been co-incident with his own —a growl, because
some of his friends are rather thin-skinned, and mightily

afraid of a certain well-known "Mrs. Grundy."
He accuses me of throwing out indiscriminate censure
on the Commissioners of Birkenhead as a body, and on
Mr. Curry individually. I frankly meet those charges

with a peremptory denial, and refer him to his OWII

columns for the proof of my assertions. That men holding
the office of a commissioner are open to remark, is a

truism that even he will not be so daring as to deny.
What ! A man, who, when remarking on any one dissent-
ing from his own opinion, cannot dip his pen into the ink-
bottle without loading it with terms of the most vulgar

vituperation, to cry out halt, when in the fair field of cri-
ticism a touch of the whipcord is applied; this is, to say

I found fault with Mr. Curry, because he introduced a
paltry squabble about a disputed 4d. with a car-driver, at
a meeting of the commissioners. I do not retract one
word of this. I say that it was beneath the dignity of a
commissioner of Birkenhead to occupy the time of a
meeting of their body with such twaddle. Having, how-
ever, done so, and a committee having taken the case into
their consideration, it was the duty of Mr. Curry to have
attended that committee at their invitation. Mr. Curry,
forgetting that there is such a thing as "courtesy," did
not attend the committee. The chairman, Mr. Wil-
loughby, was perfectly satisfied at the explanations given
by Mr. Evans, the owner of the car. As a commissioner,
Mr. Curry ought to have made himself acquainted with
the cost of the hire of a car to his own door. If he then
had an idea that the car-driver had imposed on him, it
, was his bounden duty as a commissioner to have made an

example of the man for the benefit of the public at large,
by taking out a summons and bringing the matter before
the magistrates. All this was open to him—but no ! like
a petted child, he has recourse to his "debating club," and
tells the chairman of the commissioners that " it was not
the 4d. he cared about, but the manner in which he had
been asked for it." Mr. Curry being proved to be wrong,
and the car-driver to be right, the writer in the Mail
adopts the well-known adage of certain lawyers,—" No
case ; abuse the plaintiff's attorney :"
Mr. Curry is perfectly welcome to the wholesale adula-
tion of the writer in the Mail,—it certainly will require
a huge appetite to digest it. It is, however, open to me,
or to any other ratepayer, to inquire what has Mr. Curry
done during the twelve months he has held the office of a
commissioner? Will the Mail favour the public with a
summary of these wonderful doings ? As to the writer of
these lines, although suffering from severe indisposition,
wonderful to relate, the article in the Mail has not quite

put an end to his days ! And he begs to assure Mr.
Curry, or any other commissioner, that, when he may feel
disposed to comment on the proceedings of their body, he
does hope that such comments will be couched in the
language of gentlemanly society. Most willingly does he
eave the writer of the Mail to indulge in the pure
classic terms of Wapping, and St. Giles'.
The Mail evidently writes with a relish; it is some-
thing, on occasion, to give way to the tone of a man's
mind; some men have a natural wish for improvement;
others prefer the beaten track ; but the writer in the
Mail is disposed to march backward. To what else can
be attributed, as applied to respectable tradesmen, such
terms as "decent sort of men who can knead dough, or
paint a cart, or draw a pot of beer, or survey a gin-hsop."
" Men who, in the art of municipal government, exhibit
their asinine propensities of braying, kicking, &c."
Surely Mr. Curry ought to feel ashamed of a defence, in
which, with the same breath, his colleagues are thus stig-
matised ! Are we living in busy England, and in that
1 corner of England more especially devoted to commerce
and trade of all kinds, and that in the 19th century, to be
ridden rough-shol over by any man, writer of leaders or
not, who shall attempt to thrust such trash on the pub-
lic? It was a true remark of Napoleon, that England
was a nation of shopkeepers. Wait on the Exchange of
London, Liverpool, Glasgow, pick out the busy b.eis, the
enterprising minds, and then let the writer in the Zrfail
ask hhnself the question, how many of the most leading
men, who have made their way by dint of industry, in-
tegrity, and perseverance, can boast of the familiar quar-
teriugs of a German baron, whose rent-roll is oft inferior
to his title ? Away with such contemptible rubbish.
The Mail attributes the heavy taxation and house rent
to the want of wiser heads. If this writer does not know
facts, he ought to have made himself acquainted with
them. This taxation lays at the door of commissioners of
Birkenhead, when the place was one scene of laud specu-
lations, of land gambling —when land put up for public
sale (Winstanley auctioneer) by the commissioners, was
bought in, by their order, at a fabulous price. I leave the
writer in the Mail to explain this. Birkenhead has barely
yet recovered'the blow dealt out to her by her then so-
called friends. The management of the funds of the
township was not then properly attended to, else the
Woodside and the Monks' ferries would long ago have
been the property of the township. Since the Mail is so
condescending as to say that "the shopocracy dynasty of
Birkenhead are indebted to one forbearance, not to our
ignorance," I would, with all proper humility, ask the
writer to proceed, and perhaps he will further solicit his
friends (Greene —Rae—Curry—Furniss), whose names he
introduces prominently, to support Mr. Willoughby the
next time he brings forward a motion for a searching in-
vestigation as to the how large sums of borrowed money
have been disposed of—whether the said sums have been
appropriated to the purposes for which they were in- -
tended. If memory serves me rightly, these friends of the
Mail repudiated such inquiry net very long since.
Touching the one shilling additional rate, which Mr.
Greene and his friends were so anxious to saddle the town-
ship with, the forbearance and ignorance of the Mail are
characteristically displayed. The Mail says the rate was
to be laid upon land. Of course the Mail should be cor-
rect. It does so happen that the tax was to fall upon
houses, not on land. So much for the forbearance of the
Mail. The present taxation of Birkeuhead is 3s. in the
pound, Commissioners' rates, and ls. in the pound poor-
rates—a total of twenty per cent. for local rates only.
Little wonder that families avail themselves of .the good
roads, the lamps of Birkenhead, and live just outside the
boundary, to escape so heavy taxation.
The "asses yoked in the team," is rather an unfortunate
allusion of the writer in the Mail—the term "asses" being
a usual compliment from that quarter to any person hold-
ing an opposite opinion. Ass—asinine—flows so glibly
from his pen, that he must be acquainted with the proverb,
"Plus neqabit unus-a3inus in unil horel, guam centum
philosophi probarerint in centum annis."
I had the temerity to suggest as men well adapted for
the office of Commissioners at the ensuing election, the
names of Laird, Stewart her, Lamont, Carmichael, Derby-
shire, Clayton. The writer in the Mail does not agree
with me. He has had the kindness—the very gentlemanly
feeling—to offer as candidates at the next election a par-
ticular friend of his, viz., his sweep, with a clean shirt, as
chairman, and half-n-dozen scavengers to fill up vacancies
in the body of Commissioners. Whether the gentlemen
whose names I have suggested are to be considered proper
associates for " our own sweep and scavengers," I leave to
the decision of the erudite writer in the Mail.
TABAKRAUCHEB,
Beech Lasvn, Mey 15th, 1854. •

MORE STABBING Cct, on Sr,tordaA
;S
E
S
IX LIVERPOOL.—At the
stabbing Henry Wa4-son.', James Ryan was charged with
limn Werett was eh and Thomas Watson, and Wll-
- with aiding
and abetting. On
Friday night
the prisoners,
who are American seamen,
were going
- along Rupert-mid, when they came up to the
Watson:- , who are brothers, and jostled roughlY against
them. A scuffle ensued, in the course of which Ryan
drew a knife and stabbed the brothers above the right
hip, inflicting dangerous wounds. Ryan was taken into
1 custody on the spot, and the Watsons were conveyed to
the Northern Hospital, where they remain in a dangerous
state. The other prisoner was subsequently apprehended
on board the ship Capital, to which he and Ryan belonged.
They were remanded for seven days.
WARBINGTOS.--TITB MI LITIA.—The period for which
the men forming the 4th Royal Lane ishire Militia were
assembled for training has drawn to a close, and they were
disbanded on Saturday. On Thursday last, they were in-
on the
,training ground, near Arpley station, by
Colonel Derinzy, of Liverpool, when the usual evolutions
snected
the men. At the close Colonel
De_
were preformed by
rinzc addressed them, and expressed his astonisl
satisfaction at the progress they had made, and warmly
astonishment and
congratulated the officers on the success of their'
In the afternoon games, foot races, Fee. were entered into
exertions.
by the men, and a steeple-chase was run by several of the
officers, the course being three tunes round several of the
fields in Arpley.