The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-24 00:00:00

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;ood paper."—Fraser's Mag.
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s, which he divided
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PREMIER

D ESCRIFTI ON

-Dorset paper

ing any of
GRAPHIC LAST
SPEECH.—Sir R. Peel's speech is only too successful. It
is a perfect triumph of argument, but the victor is the
great captiv. of the day. The procession, the spoils, the
trophies, and the banners, are beyond measure splendid ;
but when we look for the hero, we perceive him bound to
his own chariot wheels. He has crushed all objections,
but they were his own ; he has demolished a party, but he
was once its leader ; he has revealed a great crisis, but
that crisis is the catastrophe of his own life's drama ; with
one mighty effort be has brought the fabric of protection
and a crowd of antagonists down to the ground, but, like
the captive of Gaza, be is himself buried under the down-
fall. Every quality of greatness in the speech recoils on
the speaker. He proves the dire certainty of a famine,
and the impossibility of doing more than just alleviate its
horrors; but a famine was always a possible, not to say a
probable event, and why was it not provided for? He
demonstrates that protection is a blighting thing, and that
competition gives new life. Why has he been so long
making that discovery ? He establishes the truth that
abundance is a blessing. How could he ever deny it?
His whole life is the foil of this one cast. He has tried
protection these thirty years or more, and his only con-
clusion is the preacher's
—that it is all vanity and vexa-
tion of spirit. Happily he is spared to undo what he has
done. He lights up a glorious beacon at last, but what a
length of past aberrations the light betrays !—Times.

APPEARANCE OF MATURIN.—I have already hinted at
his personal eccentricity, and I shall now describe him a
little more particularly,—not for the sake of ridicule,
which did not attach to him, but that I may present a
graphic picture of his appearance ;—tall, thin, pale, with a
pensive expression ; large, full, but lightless eye ; a zrace-
ful figure; his dress, not merely on those country ram-
bles, but walking the streets, attracted general attention,
but the people knew it was Maturin, and he passed with-
out molestation; a large brown roquelaire, with a long
cape, which nearly hung to his feet, he held closely
round his perion its colour had once been dark
brown, but it had changed by time to that of high toast
snuff ; his nether limbs were cased in old black web panta-
loons, a style that had once been fashionable ; his long
feet, thus looking longer, were cased in well-worn shoes ;
his small hat was twisted into all imaginable shapes,
brown and napless, and covered with ragged crape ; his
small wig scarce gave a stray lock to cover his high and
intellectual temples ;—such was the strange figure that
presented itself to citizens and strangers; but still, the
one could perceive that he was a perfect gentleman, nei-
ther decayed nor mad, while others only looked, smiled,
and said, " There goes Maturin." The contrast that he
presented sometimes to this was equally strange. I have
seen him dressed in canary-coloured shapes, and black
frock of most fashionable cut, scarcely reaching to his
knees ;—these trivial variations from custom or propriety
were very leniently regarded in general ; some might
laugh at him, but he was loved by all.—Jerrold'* Mag.
DEFECTIVE VENTILATION A SPECIAL CAUSE OF
DISEASE.—This might be argued as a deduction from its
producing dissipated habits; but even where the men are
sober it is stated in the Second Report on Health of
Towns, as the result of a large induction of facts, that an
impure atmosphere in factories induces consumption—
renders the constitution more prone to, and less able to
resist the attacks of diseases of various kinds, especially
fever. Hence in Dundee we find one tithe of the whole
population attacked with fever during the last seven years,
and in Glasgow no fewer than 21,000 fever cases have oc-
curred in oue year—the chief victims being working peo-
ple, exposed to a close and impure atmosphere. In the
evidence of Thomas Brownlow regarding the tailors, we
find the following testimony Great numbers of them
die of consumption. By their own rules, a man of fifty
years of age is superanuated, and is thought not to be fit
for a full day's work.' These being the deplorable effects
of a defective supply of pure air in the houses and work-
shops of the people, it becomes an important element in
vital statistics—How is this clamant evil to be remedied?
On practical details it is impossible for us at present to
enter. The grand remedy, however, is plain and patent
to all—a free circulation of fresh air. The amount of the
supply and the manner of its admission must in some mea-
sure depend on the character of the house or workshop in
question. Eminent scientific men have paid attention to
these details, and we must again refer the reader to the
elaborate work of Dr. Reid, and likewise to the excellent
pamphlet of Mr. Ritchie on toe sanatory arrangements of
factories.—Hogg's Weekly Instructor.

FIRST PEDESTRIAN MATCH OF CAPTAIN BARCLAY.—
The writer of some " Recollections of a Lover of Society,"
in Blackwood's Magazine, gives from his note-book, un-
der date Jan. 1800, the following:—The town is ringing
with an extraordinary feat of pedestrianism ; the first ex-
ploit of a young Scotchman, Barclay of Uri. He had
betted £5OOO that he would walk ninety miles in twenty-
one and a half hours, and has won, leaving an hour and
seventeen minutes to spare. Feats of this order have a
valtv, as showing the powers of the human frame. They
would otherwise be merely vulgar gambling. But if it is
of importance to know the extent of the mental powers,
those of the body also have their uses; and an effeminate
generation would only hive to prepare themselves by the
exercises of this young gentleman, to be able to dispense
with post-chaises and the gout. The walker is but 22
years old; and he has finished his exploit without any in-
jury to his frame, and, it may be presumed, with a consi-
derable advantage to his finances. All the " sporting
world," as they are named, were on the ground, which
was a measured mile, on the road between York and Hull;
lamps were erected to light the principal performer dur-
ing the night. A cottage at the road-side received him
for refreshment, and change of dress' at intervals. A mi-
litia regiment, which happened to be on its march from
Hull, halted and filed on either side of the road, with the
gallantry of sportsmen, to give him free way ; and the ge-
neral interest taken in this singular performance was sur-
prising. The only drawback was the evident activity of
his frame, and his powers of endurance; for after the first
thirty miles the betting began to be wholly in his favour,
and the spirit of speculation shrunk from that period, and
long before the close no bets would be taken. From day-
light, multitudes thronged to the course. All the car-
riages, of' which such numbers pass along this communi-
cation between the two great northern towns. went to the
side of the road; even the mails gave way. The affair
seemed national, and if the gallant pedestrian had failed,
it might have been followed by a general mourning in the
Ridings.