The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-01-12 00:00:00

JANUARY 12

possession of the town, and had one-fourth of the troops.
subsequently sent to retake it been forwarded at the pro-
pertime, no loss of property wouli have taken place.
So far, therefore, were the destruction and rapine corn
milted by the insurgents from being consequences of a
purely accidental nature, that they - were decidedly the
Consequences-of gross neglect. The argument founded.
on the losses suffered by Brazilian subjects is too ridicu-
lous to merit an observation. Brazilian subjects have no
means to compel payment, and the justice of any claim
they might choose to advance would be no argument in
their favour with the Brazilian government.
A short time previous to the entry of the insurgent
forces into the town, • the governor of the province ad-
dressed a despatch to the British consul at Para, claim-
ing the co-opeiation of B.M. ship Racehorse with the
Braiilian squadron to defend the town from their attacks,
when feared or expected.

This was readily complied with from the 14th August,
1835, when the insurgents opened their attack upon this
town, until the 23d, when it was abantVned by the go-
vernment and the white population. Ding the whole
of this time the Racehorse kept up an effective fire when-
ever the insurgents made their approaches, and at the same
time kept her boats constantly employed in the convey-
ance of Brazilian subjects from the shore to the lessels
lying off the town, and thus saved many hundreds of
lives.

If, therefore, as foreigners, connected by a treaty of
reciprocal duties and privileges, but in nu war• concerned
in their national differences or internal divisions, British

subjects might have previously claimed protection from
all parties under all changes of government, they were
by this last measure stript of their usual claims to. for-
bearance from the insurgents, and thrown entirely-on the
justice of the Brazilian government.
It has not yet transpired how the British government'
intend to follow up this matter. Every concurrent cir.
cumstance, however, so fully supports the justice of the
claimants in their appeal, than we feel assured their in-
terests will not be neglected.

THE MEETING OF THE TRADESMEN'S REFORM Assn-
CIATION.—The hole and-corner meeting of this political
club was held last night at the Music-hall. This assem-
blage of the Liverpool radicals was designated, in the
Telegraph of Wedneiday last, a "public meeting of the
reformers of Liverpool, for the purpose of adopting reso-
lutions in favour of the ballot, the extension of the suf-
frage, and the introduction of Sir John Cam Hobhouse's
bill into Liverpool."
.can there be a greater mockery of
common sense than to dignify this secret meeting of the
Reform Association with the title of a public meeting ?
Every body knows that no one could obtain admission
into such a meeting but the enrolle4 members of the so-
ciety. It was, therefore, to all intents and purposes a
private meeting; and every thing emanatinz from such
a meeting must be considered as the result of the furtive
operations of a weak and contemptible faction. It is
really laughable to speak of " the voice of this great
community being unequivocally expressed" on such an
occasion. The " voice of this great community," in-
deed ! The miserable whisper of an expiring faction we
should call it.

We suppose the radical journals of this town will con-
tain a report of the proceedings at this meeting. We
shall take care that they do not escape our notice. On
Tuesday. next we hope to Nave it in our power to inflict
ti salutary castigation upon Mr. Blackburn and his asso-
ciates. In the mean time we warn the people of Liver-
pool against the fallacy of considering the resolutions
which may have been passed at this secret conclave of
the radicals as the echoes of public opinion. The peti-
tions which may emanate from the same source must
participate of the same nature.

O'CONNELL AND THE DUBLIN TRADES.—This "bold,
bad man" has at length met with a rebuff which he little
anticipated, and from a-quarter in which he considered
himself perfectly secure. In a moment of excitement he
ventured to declaim against the proceedings of the
Trades of Dublin, accusing them of unlawful combination,
and vituperating their leaders .in terms of unmeasured
eiduploy. This was considered the more surprising as
Mr- o.tonnell himself had advised them to carry out
the very schemes against which he now proclaims his
hostility. On numberless occasions his hat rangues to the
Trades were,marked by the most lawless violence; and
if they acted upon his suggestions, and rendered them-
selves obnoxious to the law by their secret combinations,
,they rationally and naturally concluded that lie should
have been the very, last to upbraid them for the conse-
quences resulting from his own insidious advice. Ac-
cordingly we find that, when he ventured to impugn
their conduct, they retorted by accusing him of directly
Prompting them to acts.of violence. In this the Trades.
were perfectly right. There is no man living who has
suggested more numerous infractions of the law, or
organized a greater number of conspiracies against the
public peace than the Arch-agitator. At the same time
there is no one who has shrunk more frequently, from
feelings of instinctive cowardice, from the consequences
of his own seditious and villanous advice, than the same
traitorous O'Connell. But lie has at length met with
his reward. The very instruments, upon whose willing
co-operation he had long depended, at length have proved
the means of bringing his character into disrepute.
:But on this subject we cannot do better than quote the
i'emarks which the Evening Mail has made upon the
greeting of Monday Evening. The following is the lan-
guage of our-able eontemporary:—
.THE TRADES OF DUBLIN AND MR. O'CONNELL.
Monday last will he upt,r,Led as the fatal thy in the calendar
-of Mr. O'Connell's public life. It was the crisis on which de-
pended the return of the.popular tide in his favour—,or its per-
-.severance in retreating and deserting him for ever. He em-
ployed his arts. and noire than his usual arts, to procure the
.appearance of a favourable result. He Caine prepared to flat-
ter, to cajole, to tempt with pecuniary offers. and government
patronage the injured and insulted men by whose hottest but
mistaken zeal he had himself attained that eminence whieti
.enabled him to injure them. He had filled his rooms at the
'Corn Exchange with a packed assembly; he had selected a
.chairman suitable to his purpose ; and in Peter Purcell, the
-mail-coach contractor, it must be admitted, he found a hench
,man who "did hint yeoman's service." Ere yet the proceedings
were fully opened, or the agitator committed with his " country-
men,"- Peter, who in irony is called "Simple," took occasion
to read a document, as he said, eilianating from the coach-
makers of Dublin, and signed by those who work at the factory
in Russell-place, wherein the subscribers " most heartily coin-
cide with Mr. O'Connell." But Peter forgot to state that the
factoryin Russell-place is a portion of his own establishment,
,and that the coachtnakers who signed his document are exclu-
sively those in his own employment, and under his own controut.
,Nor did this disinterested contractor's aid stop here—his friend-
.ship carried itself through the whole proceedings from beginning
:to end—for we are informed that "the business of the meeting
concluded by the chairman (Peter Purcell, as aforesaid) bring-
ing forward a resolution to the effect that a tradesman's-hall, with
-suitable committee-rooms, should be erected in this city; and
-announced, amidst continued cheering, that himself and Mr.
,O'Connell would subscribe £lOO each!" 4 sprat to catch a
salmon ! But the bait did nut take, The meeting broke up at
"three cheers for Lord Mulgrave
nineo'clock, p.m., giving
twd old Ireland," and omitting by universal consent the once

Popular name of O'Connell! How are the might} fallen!

The proceedings are of the most singular nature. For the first
time in his life, Mr. O'Connell stood as a criminal—not at the
bar of justice, but at the bar of the popular party—arraigned of
deception, treachery, and falsehood. His position was painful:
had he been an honest. straightforward and virtuous man, it had,
excited pity. In public he has hitherto mastered his temper,
but here he lost all self-control ; and being encountered with
an ability, a firmness and spirit which he did not expect, and
was unable to resist, he stood like an angry bear at a stake,
growling, and snarling and snapping at every thing and eve!),
body, till his spleen at length gave way to exhaustion. On the
very outset he made an injudicious cast, in calculating on the
absence of Mr. Patrick O'Brien, the Chairman of the late
Aggregate Meeting, and in falling foul of that. able antagonist
in his absence. But Mr. O'Brien having learned the course
adopted by his honourable opponent, in violation, as it would
appear, of api pylons agreement entered into, left the wof k in

which he was industriously engaged. and quickly appeared
upon the platform to confront this calumniator. We have
seldom seen a display of.snce prompt ability, and unpremedicla-
teil eloquence in alabonring mechanic. His denunciation ►t•as
terrible—and when he remin►ted his antagonist that he (Mr.
v'C•actnelll was hi►zlself ,a _leading con►hinator—that at Kerry
•he recommenileil the death's head and cross tones to be placed at
the doors of all who not combine with him—that he hail a'
this whole country to combine
,against tithes [—and lie
b.aveaddett that blond atreauled at ItatlsCorusac i►s con-