The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-05-16 00:00:00

THE LABOURING CLASSES.

We are rejoiced to perceive, by an announcement in the
Morning Herald, of Thursday, that his Royal Highness
the Prince Consort has consented to take the chair, on
Thursday next, at the annual meeting of a very useful
association of which he has long been president—the
Society for the Improvement of the Condition of the
Labouring Classes. It is pleasant to see his Royal High-
ness mingling, whenever the absence of political and
religious principles permits him to do so, with all classes
of the people, for the promotion of objects of general
utility and benevolence. It is satisfactory also to know
that the society in support of which he now comes for-
ward is one which has already effected much, and gives
promise of effecting still more, in the improvement of the
state and circumstances of the working classes.
In all parts of the country its influence and usefulness
have long been steadily increasing. In Dorsetshire,
Someretshire, Kent, and Worcestershire, kindred or
branch associations are now actively engaged, both in
providing for the poor allotments of land, and also in
improving the state and condition of their dwellings.
Several admirable plans of commodious and economical
cottages have been put forth by the committee, and many
such dwellings are now erecting, in various parts of the
country, from these plans. We heard of a pair of cot-
tages, of three rooms each, and of exceedingly neat exte-
rior, being erected, within these few weeks, near Grantham,
after one of these designs, and at a cost of only £l4O for
the pair.
In a Hampshire parish, one benevolent landowner has
recently erected twenty-five good cottages, to each of
which he attaches one acre of land, and lets them at a
rent, for the cottage and land, of £5 per annum.
The society's chief efforts, however, have naturally been
put forth in the metropolis. Here it has built a double
row of excellent little houses near Bagnigge-wells • it has
fully repaired and furnished three old houses in Charles-
street, Drury-lane, for working men as nightly lodgers ;
and it has built from the ground the new Model Lodging-
house, in George-street, St. Giles's, In these various
houses, between two and three hundred persons are raised
to circumstances of comparative comfort, who would
otherwise be sunk in filth and wretchedness • and all this
without any loss of property; for these dwellings all yield
a fair return for the capital employed. The society now
desires to build a Model Lodging-house for families ; and
also one for the poor workmen of London. But to carry
either of these plans into full effect would require a sum
of about £5OOO or £6OOO. Meanwhile, however, the
influence of these efforts and their success is beginning
to be felt in many quarters. Several benevolent persons
possessed of wealth have recently entertained plans of
building houses for the poor, and are now occupied with
the consideration of the subject. But there is ample
room for all, and more than all, such efforts. Half a
million might be admirably employed, and well expended,
before the end of 1850, in projects of this kind. Well
expended, both for the capitalists and for those benefitted
by the operation.

MESSRS. OFFLEY, WEBBER, FORRESTER,
AND CRAMP'S SALE OF THE 15TH, 16TH, AND
17TH INSTANT.

(From the London Wine Trade Circular.)
Agreeably to our promise we proceeded to Liverpool for
the purpose of tasting the whole of the above-named par-
cels of ports.
_ .

In giiring our valuations, it is often our painful duty to
animadvert upon the character of the wines offered, but it
is seldom that we are enabled to speak in terms of unqua-
lified praise of a whole shipment, but here we feel that we
should not be doing justice either to ourselves or to the
house by whom these wines are offered, if we refrained
from giving them the credit of bringing them here in most
superior condition ; and further, that after tasting every
cask, we can safely assert that there is not one single one
in any way faulty.
While upon this subject we must also bear witness to
the excellence of the arrangements adopted by the Dock
Committee at Liverpool, as instead of the filthy smelling
oil lamps and the vast accumulation of dirt that we find
in the London and Saint Katharine Docks, the whole are
well lighted with gas, and the most scrupulous cleanliness
observed. The coopers have not, however, acquired the
expertness in showing the wines which ours in London
possess ; but we cannot expect perfection at once, and we
must say that they have commenced in the proper way,
and regularly give the lie to the objections urged against
the use of gas, as by it a regular temperature is kept up.
and much dirt and unpleasantness avoided.
With respect to the wine themselves, we find them di-
vided into the following marks, viz.:—
Double triangle, double grape.
Four grapes, 1834.
Three grapes, S. S.
Feathers.
and, therefore, our valuations will not occupy much space.
The first mark, therefore (double triangle, double
grape,) consists of good coloured Ports, in splendid con-
dition. These are dry fine old wines, free from brandy,
roncao flavour, well-matured, and fit for immediate bot-
tling. They are a description that will turn out uncom-
monly well, and would soon give a very marked bottle
character. From the age and character of these wines,
they are such as we can recommend to the notice of our
subscribers, and we value them at from £34 to £35, at
which we should consider them worthy attention from
any house. _

The second mark (four grapes, 1834) consists of wines
of much the same colour and condition. These are very.
superior descriptions of old wines, very dry, and of exces-
sively fine character. They possess much purity and ele-
gance of style, and would also turn out extremely well in
bottle. They are perfectly free from spirit, and, in fact,
are highly flavoured old wines, and well calculated to go
into bottle, when we have no hesitation in saying they
will turn out as well as the previous lots. Value, £35 to
£37. These prices, may, perhaps, appear low,' when
compared with their probable cost when purchased in the
Alto Douro, as we recollect giving for the first growths of
that vintage as high as 240 mil reis the pipe ; but the
average price of really fine wines, which these must have
been, was at least 120 mil reis, to which, after adding in-
terest of money and expenses, would bring such wines
to at least £7O per pipe. But although they may not have
cost this rate, still we must recollect the old adage—

" Tlsh
jeuvstalwuehaotfeavetrhiitngwill
and as we cannot see how more than the above prices can
bring,"
be paid with any prospect of obtaining a remunerating
price, we do not place a higher value upon them.
The third mark to which we shall allude (three grapes,
SS) are also of equal colour and condition. This is cer-
tainly as fine a parcel of old wines as we ever had the
pleesure of tasting. They are of equal character with
the above, and in every way as valuable, but if anything
they are more racy, and would give even a higher charac-
ter in bottle.

The fourth and last mark (feathers) are of higher co-
lour, and in equally good condition. These wines are
younger than the preceding lots, have much colour and
body, possess a deal of character and a very fine bouquet,
and as they are nearer the style of wines sought after by
the trade, they bear a higher value, in our opinion, to
bottling houses, say from £3B to £4O.
The whole of the above are perfectly free from brandy,
and every cask is sound and without any fault from de-
fective staves. Still we could not help observing that a
few casks were a little superior to the others, but as room
will not allow us to particularize, we must request that
application be made at our office, when we shall be happy
to point out those casks we consider to possess the best
qualities.