The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-07-14 00:00:00

protecting her own agricultL

say our contemporaries

But bow pointing a spear at

object is protecting it, we must leave to the imaginative
to discover. More probably, this pointing the spear
means that Britannia is insanely stabbing her own agri-
culture and arts. She has certainly got rid of the habit
of protecting them. "At her feet is Neptune." Poor
fellow! It is ungrateful of Britannia to trample upon
him, considering all he has done -.for her. We presume
the object is to show the scurvy way in which she treats
her gallant seamen.

" Ceres and Apollo in a car, controlled by Discretion,"
we really cannot solve. What Ceres has to do with
Apollo, or either with our Courts of Law, or with Liver-
pool, is past our comprehension. Discretion, however,
we conclude, is a sculpture of the organization of Mr.
William Earle. the presiding genius of this building, who
might almost claim the title to sit for the Apollo of this
" sculpture." _ _

The next is another funny groupe. Domestic happi-
ness is thought by the artist, or the reporters, to be re-
presented by " a labourer holding a plough, and his wife
a distaff, with a child at her feet!" The labourer, we
presume, is whistling, and has no fear of the union work-
house before his eyes, and a little more than seven shil-
lings a week to live upon.
_The distaff carries us back a

century, or so, and is a sly hit of the artist at the way in
which Domestic Happiness is, now-a-days, overthrown
by our factory system. The child at her feet is no doubt

intended to show that, in the domestic happiness state,
mothers have no time to nurse their babies. " Mercury
representing Europe, America, and Asia," must be in a
position of considerable difficulty. We presume he is
pourtra)ed with a copper nose, his Asiatic feature; a
German paunch, or attired, en blouse, to present Europe;
and a chaw in his mouth to point out his American pre-
tensions. No doubt, the large responsibility imposed
upon Mercury is a compliment to his talented namesake
in Lord-street. . . .

It is clear that it will require a most imaginative per-
sonage to understand the whole of the thirty-two figures
which compose this sculpture. If adopted, we should
recommend the appointment of an extra official—a kind
of superior showman—to point out to visitors their various

puzzling

We cannot adopt Mr. Birkett's notions as to the sen-
timents to be conveyed by the pediment, instead of this
fanciful groupe of figures. " Our glorious Constitution
in Church and State" is rather too antique for a modern
building, although the idea might easily be pictorially
conveyed. Fur instance, au old chair with the bottom
out, or a barrel with a hole at both ends, would convey a
very fair representation of that "glorious constitution" as
at present existing. _

Sculptured sugar hogsheads and cotton hags are objecti-
onable. We have no right totake liberties with thcancestors
of any of our fellow-townsmen. Something appertaining to
law and the lawyers should be bit upon. For instance,
we might adopt Coleridge's picture of " a lawyer killing a
viper in his stable," which would, by the unimaginative,
be regarded in its natural sense, whilst it might put the
wicked portion of the world in mind of " Cain and his
brother Abel."

CORRESPONDENCE.

PRINCE ALBERT'S VISIT TO LIVERPOOL

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SIR,---I trust ycu will insert the following, through
the medium of your valuable paper.
The cotton brokers, together with many others, having
announced that the two day's visit of Prince Albert to
Liverpool will be observed as holidays by them, it is to

be hoped the corn merchants will not evince less dis-
position to show their loyalty, by acting similarly ; and I
would suggest that the committee of the Corn Exchange
call a meeting of the members, to take the matter into
consideration, and have no doubt that they will readily
agree to such an arrangement.

Yours very respectfully,
A CORN MERCHANT.
Brunswick street, July 13th, 1846.

FIRE AT ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ALBION.
SlR,With reference to the intelligence announcing the
destruction of the town of St. John's by fire, we beg to
state, that we have received information that the hooks,
papers, cash, and other valuable property belonging to the
Bank of British North America, were deposited in one of
our Patent Fire-proof Safes, and were found perfect and
uninjured upon the Safe being opened in the ruins after
the fire.—We are, sir, your obedient servants,
C. CHUBB and SON.
28, Lord-street, Liverpool.