The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-02-26 00:00:00

11E* LIVERPOOL STANIiARD.

under tolerable our free-trade policy. Mr. Glad
stone is opposed to going bac kto protection. He
regards, indeed, concession to the demands of the
agricultural party as the best guarantee of the con-
tinued operation of those free-trade measures, of
which, with a sort of paternal fondness, he may
say, " quorum pars magna fui." But he admits
fully the fact that real property has for a century
and a half been descending by inheritance, with
' peculiar burthens attached to it, undertaken upon
' the faith of a strictly protective Corn Law ; and,
' he might have added, that they were contracted
under a monetary system, the change in which has
doubled their pressure. He admits also the pecu-
liar pressure upon the land of some of the imposts
enumerated by Sir James Graham—the duty on
bricks, malt, hops, &c.—although he does not see
at present how they can be repealed, keeping sup-
plied the necessities of the state, and the require-
ments of the public creditor. But, it may be
asked, why are the owners of lands and houses
alone to be thus conscientious in the preservation of
the national faith ? Has the millionaire, who,
paying to-day little more than the taxes of an
humble tradesman, may to-morrow be enshrined in
the hall of some ancestral family, whose mortgages
modern statesmanship has succeeded in doubling in
pressure, no right to pay taxes in proportion to his
means ? These questions will have to be answered.
A system of taxation is symbolled by Mr.
D'lsraeli's proposition which will strike more di-
rectly at the pockets of these classes ; and the day
of reckoning is more nearly at hand than they are
aware of.
We must, however, bestow a few remarks upon
the speech of one of the most eminent quacks of
the day—Mr. James Wilson, the editor of the
Economist newspaper, and one of her Majesty's
ministers. This gentleman has taken some pains
to furnish us with statistical tables of prices in
different foreign markets, intended to prove to
us that the present low rates of grain are
exceptional ones, and that the British farmer
has no need to fear their being permanent.
The gentleman, indeed, is only afraid " on
account of a sudden reaction from these ex-
tremely low prices to correspondingly high prices!"
We have certainly very little fear on this head, and
just as little confidence in Mr. Wilson's facts. It
may be true that, in the average of a succession of
years, prices on the continent of Europe and in
America, with the British market closed against
their produce, have been somewhat above that
which the British farmer used to fear; but it is
equally true that, with that market always open,
production in the corn-growing countries of the
world will steadily increase, and afford a surplus
beyond the wants of their own population. More-
over, we repudiate averages of prices of grain, im-
ported into this country to supply deficiency, as
the exponents of the cost of its growth. Mr. Wil-
son gives us, for example, the prices of wheat im-
ported from Holland from 1839 to 1848 as 545. 9d.;
and in doing so he proves too much. He over-
throws, in the first place, the argument of the free
trader, that protection raised the prices of this
country very greatly in excess of those current in
other countries ; and, in the next place, he shows
unmistakeably that the foreign grower is enabled
to put in his own pocket the largest portion of the
difference between the actual cost and the market
value here. Such statisticians as Mr. Wilson ought
to be careful of making such mistakes

The London and North-Western railway board intends
to subscribe £5OO towards the exhibition in 1851.
A return of Bs. 6d. per share is to be divided among the
shareholders in the Liverpool and Leeds direct line.
The bill for rating small tenements has been read a
secend time in the Commons, with scarcely any opposition.
CiThe Liverpool Dock Bill is now waiting to go into
committee, as are the Childwall Water Works Bill, the
Liverpool Cattle Market Bill, the Birkenhead Dock and
Improvement Bills, and the Southport Railway Bill.
The second reading of the Liverpool Water Works
Bill has been postponed until the 10th April, and Mr.
Stephenson's report is expected to be delivered before the
end of-March.
The Town Council of Warrington have resolved that,
in future, any officer of the corporation making application
for an increase of salary, shall accompany such application
with a resignation of his office.
We perceive that the members of the Cambrian Society
intend to celebrate their forty-third anniversary at the
Brunswick Hotel on St. David's Day. From the well
known and tried taste of Mr. Whiteman, and the respec-
tability of the society, we doubt not that those who may
attend will be highly gratified. We understand that the
worthy treasurer, Mr. E. P. Jones', services have not
been overlooked by the members, and that he is to be
presented with his portrait, painted by Huggins.
ST. DAVID'S DAY.—We are very sorry to find that the
Welsh Schools are in such a state for the want of -funds
that they must be finally closed in a short time if no kind
friends can be prevailed on to come to their rescue. We
sincerely trust that the appeals which are about to be
made on their behalf on St. David's Day and the Sunday
following will be well responded to. The Rev. J. C.
Richmond, whose name is now well known in this town,
and an eminent clergyman from North Wales, are to
preach in their aid.
APPEAL TO LIVERPOOL.—In two most eloquent ser-
mons, at St. Anne's Church, on Sunday, the Rev. J. C.
Richmond, from the United States, called attention to
the appalling fact, that in the district assigned to St.
Anne's by the Lord Bishop, and south-west of the church,
there is a " population of 10,000 souls without a school
of any kind, either during the week, or on Sundays ;"
and if there be possibly some slight, unknown exception
in appearance, there is none in reality, to that general
remark. There is really no school for the poor in that
populous scene of ignorance, neglect, and spiritual deso-
lation. He begged that so " foul a blot might be re-
moved from the fair brow of Liverpool ;" that the
schools, which had not been established during the four-
score years since St. Anne's had been the parish church
of that intellectual and moral wilderness, might be
founded at once, that he might be able to tell, on his
return to his native land, not of the neglect, but of the
liberality of this renowned and wealthy borough. He
told his hearers that, though there was no room for a
school for the poor, a splendid Dancing Academy had
been erected long ago, when this part of Liverpool had
been the chosen abode of the rich ; and that any
one who should look upon the Custom-house,
the Exchange, St. George's or the Philharmonic Halls,
would not complain that too little had been done for
music and mammon. The text in the evening, Psalms,
cxix, v. 18, " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things oat of thy law," was powerfully and
scripturally illustrated, by showing the impotence of man,
with all intellectual helps, and even with an earnest study
of God's Word, to understand this law without the illu-
mination and aid of " the blessed Trinity of light, and
' life, and love ;" and that the spirit of God alone, brood-
ing over this created mass of 10,000 souls, could effectually
say, " Let there be light." He alone could warm the mass
with life ; and fill the whole body with the divine and
wholesome influence of Love. But a greater part of the
festering corruption amongst the poor and outcast in this
region were " so perfect in their misery," that they did
not once perceive their lost estate : and it was necessary
for the servants of Him who went about doing good, to
follow His example, and go out into the highways and
lanes and compel them to come in. Instead of one
Church there should be ten. Instead of no school, there
should be at least a beginning—an effort to found one.
Liverpool pays annually over £lOO,OOO to keep the peo-
ple in order. It would cost her infinitely less to teach
the people to keep themselves in order. Let us respond
to the appeal ! The collections amounted to about £24.
A ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AT THE NIGHT ASYLUM.
—The Albion of yesterday tells a curious story of the
admission of two persons at the Night Asylum, who, he
says, some people fancy came to lodge there to " protect"
their own followers from the preaching of missionaries.
We will allow our contemporary to tell his own story,
and, like him, will leave our readers to come to a con-
clusion on the subject :—lt appears:that, on the evening.
of the 24th ultimo, two ministers in connexion with the
Town Mission visited the asylum, and an Irish inmate,
named George Harris, in company with another man,
complained to Mr. Holgate, the superintendent, respect-
ing them, and threatened to leave the place if they were
allowed to preach. The men were told that they could
not be allowed to go out that night, but, if they had an
objection to the preaching of the ministers, they might
go into another room. Harris had a long disputation
with one of the missionaries, and displayed an amount of
intelligence and cleverness far superior to his dress ; and
those who heard him came to the conclusion that he was
a Jesuit. But this circumstance might have passed off
almost unnoticed had it not happened that, the same
night, about half-past twelve o'clock, a man dressed as a
priest applied for admission to the sheds. He had on a
blue cloak, which covered a decent suit of black, and he
carried about with him no fewer than fourteen volumes of
Catholic books, amongst which were the " Garden of the
Soul," the " Sinner's Confession," and such like. He
stated that his name was Jerome Daley, and that he was
a priest from the Convent of St. Ignatius, Cork •, and the
writing in the books bore testimony to the truth of this
statement. He also represented that he had that day
crossed from Ireland, and that on the road he had lost
355., which was all the money he had. His object in
coming into this country, he said, was to enter into a con-
vent inLincolnshire, and all he requested was the favour
of shelter for the night. This was readily granted by the
superintendent, who was only surprised that a man appa-
rently so respectable should make the application.. In
the morning Mr. Holgate, on going into the yard, was
still more astonished to find the priest on one knee break-
ing stones along with the other men; and, feeling com-
passion for his position, he told him that he might leave
off. Daley expressed much gratitude to the superintendent
for his kind treatment ; but, before leaving, he requested
as a great favour that Harris, the men before alluded to,
might be permitted to go out with him. This, consi-
dering what had passed, appeared somewhat singular;
but, as there could be no objection to the man leaving the
house, Mr. Holgate readily granted the request, and the
two men departed together. Whether Harris was a
priest or not it is impossible to say, the circumstances we
bay related being AU that could lead to that conclusion.