The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-03-31 00:00:00

PUBLIC SHAVING ON SUNDAY.

In June last, a case was brought before the Bailie court at
Dundee, at the instance of a barber against his apprentice and
cautioner. By the deed of indenture, the apprentice had be-
come bound to serve his master on holiday and week-day. In
practice for nine mouths, the apprentice shaved customers in
the barber's shop every Sunday from seven o'clock in the morn-
ing till ten o'clock in the forenoon, or half an hour before the
commencement of public worship.—The cautioner, who was
the boy's father, had taken a qualm of conscience about this
employment of his son, and in consequence the boy- discon-
tinued his Sunday labours. An action was brought by the
barber to enforce the contract, and in August the case was de-
cided by the Bailie, under the title "tunes versus Phillips and
Cautimer." We give the two following findings:—
" Finds, that itis a matter of public notoriety, that, among
the great body.of mechanics, common labourers, and seafaring
men, residing in or frequenting this town nr its port, a very
considerable number are not in the use of shaving their beards_
with their own hands, but resort to barbers' shops in order to be
shaved, many on the evening of Saturday, but some on the
morning of Sunday. Finds, that, however desirable it may be
that the resorting to shaving-shops on the mornings of Sunday
should be discontinued, if that could be effected, without great-
er evil, yet it does cot appear to be necessary, or expedient,
for a due observance of the Sabbath, to forbid the existing
usage, so long as the shops continue, as at present, open early
in the morning, and shut before the time fixed for the com-
mencement of divine service; anti it appears very obvious that,
if working men, who are not themselves accustomed to shave,
were forbidden the aid of the barkers, in their shops, on the
Sunday mornings, many decently-disposed men would be pre-
vented from frequenting places of worship, and from associat-
ing, in u becoming manner, with their families, through want
of personal cleanliness; and the attempt to reduce the minor
evil might lead to serious offences."
The case for the apprentice. was advocated to the Court of
Session, and the following is the decision and note of the
Lord Ordinary.
"Edinburgh, March 11, 1835.—The Lord Ordinary having
heard counsel on the closed record and whole process, advocates
the cause, alters the interlocutors of the Magistrates com-
plained of, sustains the defences, and assoilzies the defenders
from the conclusion of the action, and decerns. Finds the ad-
vocaters entitled to their expenses both in this Court and before
the Magistrates; allows an account thereof to be given in; and
remits the same, when lodged, to the auditor, fur his taxation,
and report.
(Signed) "FR. JEPPRET."
"Mute.—This is the first instance, in so far as the Lord Or.
Binary is aware, in which a court of law has directly and posi-
tively ordained a handicraftsman (without any ptctence of' ne-
cessity or serious urgency) to work at his handicraft nu a Sun-
day; and he certainly is iu no way anxious to establish such a
precedent.
"The cases of apothecaries' shops, Sunday travelling, and
others that were cited, are evidently quite inapplicable. l'hese
exceptions have been admitted (with more or less scruple and
reluctance,) on the ground that they may frequently be requi-
site for purposes of necessity and mercy ; and that it would, be
impracticable to investigate cases of occasional abuse. But. it
is ridiculous to speak of a public shaving shop as an establish-
ment of such a necessity as not to admit noel uption for a sin-
gle day in the week. if the advocator had refused to shave the
head of a lunatic, or one whose skull had been fractured, the
case would have been parallel. The pretence of usage—espe-
cially such a partial usage as is alleged—is irrelevant in a ques-
tion of illegality, by violation of a public law. That, and the
Mitigated nature of the offence, may account for the connivance
of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, and may raise a doubt
as to the wisdom of proceedings for interdict and penalties. But
it is impossible to connive when these authorities enjoin what
they may have, blamelessly. permitted, and actually subject a
man to penalties for not doing what the law has forfridden.
`"As to the alleged contract of the parties, it was admitted by
the respondent at the bar, that if what was required was illegal,
the contract must go for nothing. The worde are ambiguous;
and the whole arguments or the respondent import that his
sense of them could not be maintained. If holidays mean
Sundays (which is his construction,) then the contract must
have meant that the apprentice should serve on Sundays ex-
actly as he did on week-days'and that there should be no dis-
tinctiou between them. 'set he admits that he could not require
him to work even at shaving during divine service, nor at wig-
making even ou the Sunday morning. Übe says he should
only work when consistent with law and decency, then the
Lord Ordinary is of opinion that he should tibt work on that
day at all. F. J." ,

LONIION GAZETTE.-FRIDAY, MARCH 27.

FOREIGN Oit'FACE, Idxsicit
The King has been graeiotrily pleased to appoint Richard Paken
ham, Esq.:, (some tithe Ills Majesty's Secretary' of Legation and
Charge d'Affaires at 'Mexico) to he Ills Majesty's Minister Plenipo-
tentiary
,to the United Mexican St4tes.

COLONIAL DEPARTME-Dosir,rtsa-sTaSttT, MAIICII.2O.
The King has been plea.sell to appoint Lieutenant-Colonel John
Ilastins Mair, ,to be Lieutenant-Governor of the Island of Grenada:
rThe appointment, inserted in the (,itzette of the 20th ult., Of this
officer to be Lieutenant-Governor of Dominica, has not taken place.)

1N ,SOLV ENTS.
➢larch 26.—Aryan Mackey, jun., Co4es, Gloucestershire, cattle-
dealer.

March 27.—Richard Nichols, Wakefield, Yorkshire, bookseller.
Thomas Smith, jun., East Grinstead, Sussex, chemist.

BANKRUPTCY ANNULLED.
Henry Havers, Hadleigb,' Suffolk, linen-draper.
• • BANK RLTPTS. •
Jahn Whitley. Liverpool, money-scrivenrr, April 11, May 8, at
one o'clock; at the Clarendon Rooms, Liverpool:: solicitors, Messrs.
Taylor, Roscoe and Turner, Bedford row--John Seymour Smith,
Manchester and-Liverpool, merchant, April 14, May 8, at two o'clock,
at the Commissioners' Rooms, Manchester : solicitors, 111essts. Jolp.
son and Weatherall. Temple-,lames Leonard, llngeTey. Staffordshire,
bookseller--Ilenry Swan London; and Waleot-place, Hackney, mo-
ney-serivener—Edward Eyre, London, blhub.maker—Charles Camp-
bell, London, subscription-house-keeper--William Spicer, London,
licensed-victitaller--Robert Johnson, Sneinton, Nottinghamshire,
lace-manufacturer—Samuel Glover, Idle, Yorkshire, eloth-manutac-
turer—Thomas Allison, Manchester, warehouseman--Williarn Bright-
more Mitchell, Sheflield, merchant—James Knight, Hastings, Sussex,.
Innkeeper—John Cunningtnn sen., Spalding, Lincolnshire, ironinon-
Or —Richard Haekwurth, • Moulton. Lincolnshire, wheelwright—
Ilarry Andrews, Bristol, paper-hanger—Elisabeth Hardy, Purbeck,
Dorsetshire, innkeeper. •
DIVIDENDS.
. March 30, W. 3, Cooper, London, tailor—April 30, Ezekiel, Ti-
verton, Devonshire, draper—April 20, NV. Thornton, Leicester, .ma-
nufacturer of hosiery—April ZO, J. Lane, run., Great Yarmouth, Nor-
tailor—April 4, W. Long, New Sarum, Wiltshire, ,grocer—April
18. E. Evertor, Coventry, riband-roanufacturev—April 24, E. P. Pow,
ell. Southampton, tailor—April 16, S. Jonez, New Sarum, booloeller
—April 29, E. Harvey, Exeter, bahy-linen-nnintifacturer.
•
. .
CERTIFICATES •
To be granted, unless cause he shoivri to the contrary ißa or before
•

- .
the 17th day of April.
J. M. MnHiner, Northampton, eottch-maker—J. H. Bradley, Olen-
rester and Birmingham, merchant—W. %Vise, Manchester, and St.
Margaret's, Westminster+ picture—merchant--T.. Hutton, London,
fringe-manufacturer—W, Prosser, sen., Pitfield-street, Iltixton, linen-
draper,-T. and T. Jennings. Brompton-move, Kensington, livers',
stable-keepers--J. Glover, WaLsall, Staffordshi re, iron fou oder-4-W.
Richards, London, jevireller—M. Srilson, New Snein too, NOttinghain
shire, lace,manufacturer—M.Wertheim, London, foreign-warehouse-
man—J. Kidder, London, silversmith.

AVERAGE PRICE OF SUGAR.
The average price of Brown or, Muleovado Sugar, computed front
the returns made in the week ending the Nth day of March, 183 c),
is 30s 51,14 r cwt . exclusive of the Duties of Customs paid or payable
thereon on the Importation 'thereof into Great Britain.