The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-11-29 00:00:00

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Riberpool (btanbarb,

TUESDAY .IfORNING, NOV. 29, 1853.

oRUNKENNESS AND

ALARMED at the sad array Of facts which have, we bad
almost said ruthlessly, been collected and treasured up
against us as a nation, it has become a fashion, and a bad one,
torepresen t British societ eas the strongholdof drunkenness,
to describe our cities and towns as the peculiar; temples in
which the worship of Bacchus is maintained with all its
most frightful orgies, and where his votaries and victims
are more willing and more numerous, relatively as well as
absolutely, than in any other country or among any other
People. Such statements are unquestionably fallacious.
The vice of drunkenness is unfortunately too prevalent,
much too prevalent, among us; but in this, as in other
cases, it is quite possible to overdraw the picture, and, like
many others, the scene has been painted in colours more
dingy and repulsive than the hie:cis-est tints of the reality
would warrant. The truth of this assertion, we make not
the least doubt, will be readily apparent on comparison ;
and what must inevitably force itself on every observer, in
such a town as Liverpool, confirms it. If foreigners are
the comparatively abstemious men they are represented
to be, by those who so vehemently stigmatize the British,
how comes it that foreigners of ee-ery land and clime are
80 easily induced to worship at the shrine of Bacchus on
their arrival in our port ? But, to come nearer the point,
let us take an example. The Norwegians are generally
represented as a simple and virtuous people, and such we
readily believe they are; while admitting their virtue and
simplicity, however, we hesitate to promulgate a wholesale
condemnation of our own countrymen. Instead of doing
so, let us take London and Christiana, the capitals of the
two countries, and by a comparison between them endea-
vour to effect a means of judgment. From well-authenti-
cated returns, it appears that in London every three
hundred-and-sixtieth man is, in the course of the twelve
months, arrested on a charge of drunkenness, while in
Christiana, during the same period, every twenty-seventh
man is arrested on the same grounds ! This astounding
result of comparison we sorrowfully admit is no just ground
of triumph; and though we could repeat it in every pos-
sible case of comparison, it would, after all, form only a
negative ground for congratulation. Drunkenness exists
as a fearful evil in the British Isles, and every well-wisher
of humanity must desire its abatement.
Probably no social affliction produces an amount of
present and prospective misery equal to that which is
directly and indirectly traceable to intemperance. Leek
at the records of crime, as these are unfolded in all their
loathsome atrocity, and we shall there see that their most
prolific source is to be found in intoxication. Inquire into
the history of family suffering, and domestic misery, and
individual degradation ; and, ten to one, but these are found
immediately to arise out of drunkenness, or may be
readily traceable to it as a primary, though it may be
remote, cause. Investigate carefully into that course of
physical and mental degeneracy which seemes at first
sight to threaten, at no distant day, the conversion of a
large portion of the lower orders of society into a
race of brutalized and ferocious savages, destitute
of reflection, and displaying few of those attributes which
distinguish man from the inferior animals; and, in the
majority of instances, the origin and progress of the.l
malady will be found rooted in, and consequent on, drunken
debauchery. If any one is disposed to question the pro-.
priety of such au inference, let him examine the initiatory
stages of crime, as these are unfolded before the magis-
trates and judges of our inferior and police courts. He
will there find every variety of the social pestilence dis-
played before him, from the maudlin stupidity of him
whose senses have been so steeped in oblivion that he
knows not how or whence he came, to him, who, in the
mad excitement of inebriate frenzy, has plunged the
murderous weapon into the bosom, it may be, of his best
friend, or of some one entirely unknown to him, and
towards whom he cherished no feeling of either love or
enmity ;—from the degraded female, forgetful at once of
virtue and of self-respect, to the horrid destroyer of home's
sacred harmony, the despoiler of her husband's household,
the vile assassin of her children's happiness ; from the
lisping victim of parental drunkenness, to the hardened,
though still youthful, malefactor. From such and so sad
a display of the demoralizing effects of intemperance, he
Will become acquainted with many of the channels by
which the social health is wounded, and through which
the general well-being is threatened with destruction ; but
in even these numerous and appalling instances, he will
be unable fully to understand or realise the amount of
social degradation arising from intemperance.
With so alarming a source of evil—so readily traceable
a cause of misery before him—is it surprising that the
philanthropist is roused to the suggestion of many erro-
neous antidotes ? The magnitude of the evil to be over-
come—the multiplicity of forms in which it shows itself—
must plead powerfully in mitigation of even mistaken
nostrums for its cure; but, while admitting this in its
fullest sense, we cannot acquiesce hi every scheme pro-
posed even for the eradication of drunkenness. To attempt
the cure of the worst malady, by even worse remedies, is
quite a possible thing. One of these, dangerous and inju-
dicious, is being attempted at present by an association
dating from Manchester as its headquarters, with an im-
portant ramification in Glasgow—its object a legislative
prohibition of the sale of any and all intoxicating liquors—
in other words, the introduction into this country of what
is known among our transatlantic brethren as the " Maine
Liquor Law." To the introduction of such a law there
are many and serious objections, not the least of which is
the difficulty, not to say impossibility, of having it fully
acted on ; besides which, we are entirely ignorant of the
efficacy of its operation, where, by some enthusiasts, it is
said have worked such wonders. We cannot consent to
indorse the theoretical excellence of such a law, and also
to receive, as evidence of its efficacy, the ipso dixit of one
man, even although lee should be the fortunate husband
of Mrs. BEECHER STOWE; nor do we feel warranted in be-
lieving a two years' experiment conclusive on so important
a subject. Are we, at the bare bidding of any individual,
to surrender our right of judgment as something with
which it is dangerous to entrust us, and so convict our-
selves, as a nation, of a grosser amount of degradation
than even our worst enemies would. charge us with ?
Surely, we have not yet so far descended in the social
scale. If there is not sufficient moral virtue left among
us to vindicate ourselves from the charge of universal
drunkenness, the cause of temperance is indeed a hopeless
one. In so moribund a condition, we should indeed be
serrY to contemplate it ; but we look for the healthy
growth, the full development, and the final triumph of
temperance from the employment of other and more
legitimate means than the application of physical force.
We hope for the restraint of intemperance and its kin-
dred vices from the extended operation of the same means
and causes which have rendered our people, as a people,
more religious, more virtuous, and more happy, as genera-
tion has succeeded generation. We confidently rely on
the influence of that Gospel, and of those ministrations
which have raised us from the serfdom of savage life, and
from the bondage of a degraded Paganism, to the exalted
freedom of religious knowledge and Christian practice ;
and we trust to the operation of those civilizing arts,
which have at once raised the national character, and
improved the individual condition of its sons and daugh-
ters. Are we to believe that the powerful agencies, which,
under God's blessing, have so far forwarded us in social
advancement, have at last become paralyzed ? Are we to
overlook or repudiate the fact, that in those circles, whence
the example is set in social life, habits, in respect to drink-
. Ting usages, are now prevalent anti:on the increase, which,
in the days of our fathers, would bave been looked on as
the habits of anchorites ? No ! We cannot bring our-.
selves to believe that, 'with so good and improving an
example set before us, irreligion, ignorance, and drunk-
enness will not suffer a steady, though it may be slow,
diminution. On the rising generation, in this respect,
must be fixed the nation's hope. While we endeavour, by
all means, to reclaim the aged and mature from vice and
its contingent miseries, let us devote every effort of love
and of persuasion to secure for the young increasing know-
ledge, religious and secular, trusting more to these elevat-
ing agencies, and the blessings which must inevitably rest
on them, and less to vituperation and coercion.

THE PORT OF LIVERPOOL.

No. V.

Br the contract which was entered into with Messrs.
lIR.LBSKY M'Cointrcx, and Co., at the close of last year,
by the then Birkenhead Dock Trustees, and confirmed
11 the board which was subsequently elected, in which
tht Party familiarly known as the Blue List sostar4
jongly
DteNuderated, it was agreed that the outer works oin-
-4114 the Ilersey should be completed, so that the Greatk
r0,,,,,,„,H*t luiglit be rendered fully available for dock
space -', and the tidal water excluded from the large
sP, 7,,igiiiallY destined to form the North and South
eserv--
Ilirough the liberal terms upon which those
eminent ht,,,,,
of the heavy---A-Ls agreed to undertake the responsibility
n outlay Which would necessarily be incurred,
the
—lsek Trttatees Were enabled to take this important
?teP WWilfilfi tIW ration of the long-deferred Lope§ of

completion, and the bill to give the necessary powers was
passed through parliament last session. In accordance
with this agreement, by which a right of property in the
South Reserve, which adjoins the beaching ground at
Woodside, was secured to Messrs. BE.A.SiY and Co., they
commenced operations in the course of the summer,. on
the outer wall of the North Reserve, and since then the
works have been proceeded with as rapidly as their
peculiar nature will permit. Those who cross the Mersey,
either by Woodside or Seacombe ferries, may have observed
the gradual extension of the northern wall, over which is
a double line of rails, laid upon a course of piling within
and without.

In the course of this work, which is of the most sub-
stantial character, great difficulties have to be encountered,
owing' to the wall being brought almost to the extreme
edge of the sandy formation, and the necessity of securing
a firm foundation for such massive erections. The portion
yet unfinished is only uncovered at low water of spring
tides, and, consequently, the men employed can only work
at it about four days in a fortnight, which accounts for
the seeming delay that has taken place in its completion.
In the mean time, however, the embankment at the
northern part of the South Reserve is being actively pro-
ceeded with, in order to join the outer wall, and thereby
exclude the tide at this point ; so that, when the gap in
the northern wall is filled up, the water will be shut out
from the whole of the northern portion,.including• the
space intended for the central dock, which will form the
entrance to the Great Float.

When this part of the work has been done, which will
probably be in about a month or six weeks from this
time, many hundreds of additional labourers will be
employed, and a rapid progress made with the works.
These will comprise, in the first instance, the completion
of the North Reserve, and a long line of wharf, extending
from Seacombe Ferry along the side of the Mersey and
the central dock to the entrance of the Great Float, the
interior forming an ample space for the erection of com-
modious warehouses. On the southern side will be a
dock or basin, opening from the Mersey, of the spacious
area of 37 acres, capable of receiving vessels of a larger
burthen than any that have yet reached the Mersey, and
affording shelter to shipping fully equal to any of the
docks on the eastern side of the river, at the same time
forming a magnificent inlet to the vast area of the
Great Float.

While these works are in progress, the contractors will
complete the outer wall of the South Reserve, in a similar
manner to that on the north, so as to join the corner next
Woodside. This will form another extensive wharf sur-
rounding a large area for the erection of substantial build-
ings, for the purposes of trade, the whole communicating
with the line of railway, and giving such facilities for
commercial operations as will not be surpassed at any
other port in the world. Between the south wall, at the
upper end of which is the entrance to the 31orpeth Dock,
and the pier and esplanade of Woodside Ferry, is a well-
sheltered beaching ground for colliers and other small
vessels, of the extent of about sixteen acres.

We may remark that the outer wall, which is now being
constructed, is of the most substantial masonry, present-
ing a smooth surface to the action of the tide, the upper
course being several feet above the level of the highest
spring tides ; and there can be no doubt, from the high
character of the eminent contractors, that the whole work
will be carried out to completion in a manner to do justice
to their reputation. They have also now a greater interest
in the dock works being brought to a state of completion,
owing to their own extensive foundries and workshops
which they have recently erected at the upper end of the
Pool.

When the whole has been finished, which may reasona-
bly be anticipated in about two years from this time, there
will be a total area of wet docks on the Birkenhead side
to the extent of at least two hundred acres, which is equal
to that of all the docks on the Liverpool side of the
Mersey. But, in addition to this, there will be ample
facilities for increasing the dock accommodation to almost
any extent, both in water space and quay-room, should
the growing trade of the port demand such extension, as
both on the Seacombe side and the Birkenhead side of the
Great Float. there is ample room, and all of it more really
accessible than the extreme north end of the Liverpool line
of docks, and far less costly to make it available.

We have hitherto confined these observations on Birken-
head facilities for shipping purposes to the spacious area
known as Wallasey Pool ; but this is by no means the
limit of the advantages which the western shore of the
Mersey presents for extending the trade of the port of
Liverpool. Between Woodside and Monks' Ferry, as have
been noticed already, will be two large ship-building yards
on land leased by the Liverpool Corporation to Messrs.
1 CLAYTON and Co., and Messrs. CLOVER and Co. ; and the
iwhole of the intervening space will be thus occupied.
From the upper side of the railway station to Birkenhead
Ferry, including the whole of the land np to Church-
street, with the exception of a small spot in the south-
west corner belonging to Mrs. LE FRENCH, the space will
be occupied by Mr. JouN LAIRD with iron ship-building.
Along this frontage the Corporation has engaged to build
a river wall, and construct graving-docks and other ap-
pliances for building and repairing large vessels.
Immediately beyond what is now the Birkenhead Hotel,
and which will form the southern extremity of Mr.
LAIRD'S premises, is a partially formed 'dock, originally
the outlet of Tranmere Pool. The mouth is covered by a
light wooden bridge, connecting the Birkenhead and
Tranmere Ferries ; it has been partially walled, and on
the north side is a slip dock, where corn and coals are
landed. A very moderate outlay might serve to render it
a commodious wet-dock, while the outer wall would serve
to continue the boundary of the Mersey, which would
then be complete from this point to Seacombe Ferry, and
prove of very great advantage to the clear course of the
tidal stream—an object of much importance in preserving
the mouth of the Mersey from being obstructed by sand-
banks.

Above Tranmere Dock there is also a spacious bay
formed by an indentation of the Mersey, which, if more
dock-room were required, might be made available by
constructing a river wall and embankment from the point
at Tranmere, to one near Rock Ferry. This would have
a two-fold advantage, as it would not only still further
preserve the tidal stream, but make available a consi-
derable space now of little value, from its being too low
for complete drainage. It would also be admirably
adapted for ship-building purposes, as the river is here
very deep, being that portion known as the Sloyne, where
large vessels usually find a good anchorage ground.