The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-09-12 00:00:00

thing substantial to eat or to drink,—green peas at five
shillings a peck when, by waiting a fortnight, they could
have them at a shilling,—new potatoes at Christmas,—
or ices at midsummer. Little talk was there, whilst en-
joying these luxuries, of how much better the money t'iey
cost might have been laid out, and less still of giving it to
the poor. Looking dispassionately at the question why
is not the talent of the singer, so long as it is united to
virtue and not employed for unworthy objects, to be with-
out its market price, even although that price be a high
one? Why is the enjoyment, which the singer affords to
the lover of song, to be less valued than any other transi-
tory enjoyment,• so long as he or she does not offend
against good morals or religion ? We cannot see why.
We know that by the medium of song the most potent
appeals may be made to the human heart, and the most
thrilling effects produced upon the finer feelings of that
heart. We know that music is a language touching above
all other languages; and we feel, whenever we hear it
thrilling from the lips of Jenny Lind, that its sweet waters
have flowed over a pure soil—that the Syren who enchants
us has not stolen her spells from the evil one, and that
her sweet notes are not poured forth to lure us to a thought
of ill. But then, "Jenny Lind is a foreigner." Most
patriotic objection ! Most taking argument ! Fair lady,
if such be the sex of the objector, will you be kind enough
to tell us whether the satin you prefer to wear is not a
French one ? Worthy male objector, assure us that a
glass of port, or Cognac, has never been preferred by you
to a glass of English brewed ale ! Both of you find us an
English songstress of Jenny Lind's quality, and we will
do our best to raise a guinea to pay her for a song. Above
all, before you censure your neighbours for buying their
pleasures from the foreigner at so Ugh a price, get rid
yourselves of your habit of treating everything that is fo-
reign as preferable to the ordinary English commodity.
Cease to look upon your four-and-ninepenny hat as a
" Paris gossamer," and your excellent Paisley as a "French
shawl 1"

A PROSPECT FOR BIRKENHEAD AT LAST.—The secret
is now out. We know at last the reason of all the sweet
billing and cooing which has been going on between the
amiable Lord Morpeth and the Birkenhead Com-
missioners. We know why parks have been laid out and
docks built, and why royal yachts have entered them.
Birkenhead is a candidate, and a favoured one, for the
honour of being made the seat of government, and one
of the residences of royalty itself ! So, at least, as the
Journal informs us, " some gentlemen at Woodside
suggest," and cur contemporary strengthens the claim in
more than a column of most logical argument, in which
the historical records of half the world are ransacked for
most cogent reasons. Our contemporary says he is not
at all in joke in advocating the claims of Birkenhead to
this distinction. By doing so we shall give to the go-
verning powers a more central locality, and burke the
Repeal question for ever. Besides he hints that we shall
withdraw our legislators from the temptations of that
villainous London ; from Brooks's and the Carlton ; from
the dangers of having their virtue " undermined by an
evening with a dowager, and the prospects of their
daughters at Almacks." At Birkenhead, too, we are
told that there will not be the same dangerous proximity
to Epsom and Ascot, and there will, in other respects, be
no such opportunities as London affords for honourable
members to shirk their labours. roey will come there
ready made up for business. One advantage our con-
temporary has not referred to, viz. :—the opportunity of
procuring cheap lodgings for the Brothertons, George
Thompsons, and other representatives of the people.
Thus far we coincide in the justice of our contemporary's
views. We admit, too, the pungency of his statement as
to the example set us by America, in selecting for their
government " not New York or Philadelphia, but a kind
of Birkenhead, a Carthage—on paper,—Washington, a
city of great promise, but which has yet to be built and
peopled." Birkenhead's claims, by the bye, beat those
of Washington, both in its " great promises "—especially
"to pay "—and in the fact that it has not "vet to be
built," although its builders would be most happy to see
it peopled. There is another similarity, too, in the cir-
cumstances of the two places. " Everybody at Washington
knows everybody "—so says the Journal; and we fancy
it is somewhat the same at Birkenhead. The fact, too,
of the existence, in all small places, of this generous
interest in their neighbour's affairs, is conclusive of the
argument against holding parliaments in large places ; for,
by the latter practice, doubtless, it is that our honourable
members have got into the practice of looking after them-
selves alone. In one thing we differ from the Journal,
viz. :—in thinking that the private business of parliament,
of which this locality contributes so large a portion, would
be better conducted in Birkenhead than in London. We
assure him that there would be very little private business
at all in that case—very few witnesses to be found—very
few water doctors and amateur geologists springing up
from their previous obscurity to bestow their light upon
us. Consult any member of a local deputation, or any
parliamentary witness, on this point! A trip to London
could not; be dispensed with on any account. Of course,
our contemporary will enlighten us as to what is to be
done with the new houses of parliament in London, and
which fortunate possessor of land in Birkenhead is to
have the providing of the sites which will be required for
the royal palaces, gardens, stables, &c., and for the
houses in which parliament will conduct their delibera-
tions. Perhaps the Birkenhead Hotel might be made
available for one hous", very much to the satisfaction of
our own Corporation. And, as it would be only fair that
both sides of the pool should be made available, the
Commons might be cheaply accommodated on the green
of the Messrs. Parry, at Seacombe. But we shall, no
doubt, hear further details of the scheme by and bye, and
learn whether Liscard, or Wallasey, puts in its claim to the
high honour to be bestowed upon our Cheshire friends.

A FEW REMARKS ON THE LAST COUNCIL

MEETING.

No. I.—A most unhappy advocate of close committees
Mr. William Rathbone proved himself, during the debate
upon the admission of reporters to the Health Committee's
sittings. It is unwise, Mr. Rathbone thinks, to " load
the public with information" as to the doings and sayings
in committees generally, because " the proceedings had
to come before the Council before they could be confirmed ;
and they ought to come before them in such a shape that
the public at large could understand them." This is con-
ceding the existence of the very difficulty of which the
public complain. The proceedings of committees are
confirmed before the public know anything whatever
about them. The prisoner at the bar—the public who
pays—is tried, found guilty, and sentenced, before he
knows either what crime he has been arraigned for, or
what evidence has been laid before the jury. This is, at
least, a very unsatisfactory course of proceeding ; but Mr.
Rathbone renders it still more s;, by telling us that half
the jury go out of court as soon as the trial comes on.
He says, with respect to the reports of the committees :
" It was rather curious to observe that a great clearance
of the Council Room took place as soon as they com-
menced being read; and when gentlemen thought the
details were over they began to creep in again." The
absent jurors of course vote by intuition after they creep
in, a mode of proceeding satisfactory to themselves, but
not quite so satisfactory to the public.
No. 2. There must be something very soporific in these
reports, which half the Council will not stop to hear, and,
although all the reporters have been offered the chance,
only one hardy person, the Journal reporter, has ventured
to read, and he cut it" as soon as he found an amateur
willing to give him their substance in a more life-like
shape. The amateur in question, however, Mr. Rath-
bone complains, does not report quite correctly, which,
we take it, is a very fair ground for having the task handed
over to more practised hands, who have their note books
to refer to when honourable councillors mistake yards of
water for inches. Mr. Rathbone. we observe, is anxious
that the press " should not publish things which would
never be read by the public;" a matter he need not trou-
ble himself about. We suspect he fears rather that we
should publish some things which would be read by the
public, and remembered.too.
No. 4.—Mr. Evans' notion that the proceedings of a
committee are " a raw material" is quite correct. But it
is not so true that the raw material in question "ought not
to be exposed in its crude and imperfect state." We
should like to expose some of these proceedings in their
crudity—the proceedings about the Pike particularly,
which we hope are not even yet in so perfect a shape that
they may not be slightly altered by the result of the No-
vember elections.

No. s.—Mr. Wm. Earle was, as usual rich on the sub-
ject. The Journal's amateur reports of the Health Com-
mittee's proceedings he said were "all trash," an asser-
tion which may be made of amateur reports in general,
and in particular of those of the proceedings of the old
Council, in the concoction of which he himself was said
to have had a hand. We quite agree with him in his cen-
sure of the regular reporters of the present council's pro-
ceedings, by whom. "if any little squabble occurred
amongst themselves (the members) that was most faith-
fully reported, because it sold the paper." It is lament-
able to think that the press should thus pander to the
public want of taste, by reporting Mr. Earle's own ebul-
litions, ar instance ; but so long as people will consent to
part witE their money to see a man get into a pint bottle,
or balance a ladder or a donkey on his chin, we fear that
we shall continue to offend in this particular. Mr. Earle
might aid greatly in diminishing our temptations.
No. 6.—Mr. Earle, further on, says,—" No doubt they
had heard that there was a great deal of agreeable chit-
chat at the Health Committee, and these reporters wanted
to get in." Only natur•il. Why should the Health
Committee keep all their "agreeable chit-chat" to them-
seive!=, and furnish thepublic only with nasty statistics about
nuisances and middens ? Agreeable chit-chat, now-a-
dreis, is rather a novelty, and would sell a paper even as
well as squabbles between town councillors.
No. 7.—lt is not quite clear to us, that it is at all in-
cumbent upon the Water Companies to provide for their
old servants, after they have parted with the establish-
ments, upon which they were employed. We should
rather say that the council ought to give them ;work, if
there is no reasonable objection to be urged against them.
The pour old fellows might at least, after so many years'
service, be worth their meat and drink.
No. B.—Mr. Alderman Hodgson probably did not intend
to be severe when referring to the small attendance in the
council, when the rating of the docks was last discussed,
lie suggested that " this was a period of the year when
many gentlemen desired to be absent; and that it would
be better to postpone the subject for some time, in order
to secure a full expression of the opinion of the council."
We hope he did not mean that many gentlemen do not
find it convenient to give an opinion upon a subject of
great interest with their constituents, so close upon the
period when they must seek a renewal of their confidence.
The public are rather anxious that the question should
not be postponed as suggested, on the ground that that
period is so very near, and that the votes of honourable
members in favour of or against rating, may have some-
thing to do with the way in which some other votes will be
recorded on the let of November.