The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-02-17 00:00:00

STEAM BOAT,

paper by mistake.
that it bad been put on the paper
Mr. NORTH stated that he was not prepared to bring for-
ward his motion on this subject, of which he had given no-
oeodrnth the option of bringing it forward
it
ni cToe
order
de e no-
It
MAYOR
hadbee
eemxn
pr pl.
auNi to
either now or at the next meeting.
The motion was then postponed till the next meeting.
THE INCOME TAX.
Mr. BIRKETT brought forward a motion of which he had
given notice, with reference to the places of appeal against
surcharges to the Income Tax for those parts of the borough
whieh are
the tax in the parish, and they considered that parties
chargeable to it in the new parts of the borough should and not
overseers within
wardens Liverpool were the collectors of
de-
rive the same advantage as those who resided within the old
borough. This was his reason for bringing forward the

subject. With regard to those parts of the librough which
were out of the parish, the inhabitants, he conceived, were
unfairly treated. The only protection which they had
against surcharges was the right of appeal; and he under-
stood that those who were in that position had, on the north
side of the town, to go to Ormskirk, and, on the other side,
to Prescot. This, if not a denial of the protection of appeal,
was, at least, a mockery of it. Government were protected
from fraudulent returns in various ways, but the persons
who were surcharged had no protection except the appeal,
and they were compelled to lose their time in going to
Prescot and Ormskirk, with the possibility-that their case
might not be heard on that day. He would call attention to
another circumstance—namely, that in surcharging, a differ-
ent course was adopted than was taken with th.

assessed taxes. For instance, as to the assessed taxes, if he
made a return of twenty windows, and he was surcharged
twenty-five, it was so stated ; but in the present case, a paper
was merely handed in, saying " Property tax, —" so much ;
so that you were put to the trouble of multiplying the num-
ber of sevenpences, in order to see whether you were sur-
charged or not. In the township within the borough, he had
been told, the parties having control over the surcharges had
behaved remarkably well—that very few instances of them
had taken place, and those were being amicably settled ;
whilst in the out-townships they 'were .or,liArcrin.

-••••J mana.uaLg,tiig 116111,1111 U
left. Now, as this was a matter likely to bring a good deal
of odium upon the government through the fault of its
officers, he thought the council would be justified in inter-
fering. He concluded by moving that a memorial be pre-
sented to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pointing out
the inconveniences of this system, and recommending the
subject to his favourable consideration.
Mr. Alderman BRAMLEY-MOORE seconded the motion.
The subject was one involving the interests of every indivi-
dual connected with the out-townships; for, in many in-
stances, the present system amounted to a denial of justice.
Mr. Alderman EARLE.—A pleasing instance of the com-
forts of the income tax !

The motion, after a verbal alteration suggested by the
TOWN-CLERK, was unanimously carried ; and the council
adjourned shortly after one o'clock.

CORRESPONDENCE,

THE REGISTRATION ACT

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SIR,—In consequence of public attention having been di-
rected a short time ago to the evils of the Registration Act,
in an article which appeared in most of the London conser-
vative joarnals, and which subsequently found its way into
many other periodicals and provincial papers, a petition on
the subject has been forwarded from the Wirral Union, for
presentation to both housei of parliament, of which the fol-
lowing is a copy. Should you favour me by giving it a place
in your valuable and widely-circulated paper, other boards
of guardians may be induced to follow the example set by
the Wirral Union and may so strongly and simultaneously
press the repeal of so iniquitous a measure upon the notice
of the legislature, as to cause an erasure from the statute-
book of an act which is a disgrace to a Christian legislature ;
which, by destroying the distinguishing ordinances of reli-
gion, is rapidly bringing the nation back to a state of hea-
thenism ; and which, while it robs, degrades, and insults the
clergy, perpetrates an imposition and a palpable fraud upon
all poor-rate payers, by extracting enormous sums of money
out of their pockets, ostensibly " for the support and main-
tenance of the poor," which is appropriated to the payment
of the registrars.
I am, sir, your very obedient servant,
JOSHUA KING.
Woodchurch Rectory, Feb. 10th, 1843.

(COPY.)
To the Right Honourable and Honourable the Commons of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in
Parliament assembled,
The humble Petition of the undersigned Guardians of the
Poor of the Wirral Union, in the county of Chester,
SHEWETII,

That an act was passed in the sixth and seventh years of
his late Majesty King William the Fourth entitled, "An
Act for registering Births, Deaths, and Marriages," and
amended in the first year of her present Majesty, Queen
Victoria.

That, in carrying the said act into operation, a large amount
of expense is entailed upon the country in the shape of poor-
rates (to pay the registrars) ; from which the poor receive no
benefit whatever, nor the community at large any adequate
advantage.
That the expense caused by it to this union alone, situated
in a thinly-inhabited agricultural district, amounts to the
sum of £139 13s. 6d. a-year.

That, at a time when the country is labouring under in-
creased taxation, and agricultural produce far below a remu-
nerating price, it is but ill prepared to bear this apparently
unnecessary burden.

That the same results the legislature had in view when
passing the said act, might be attained without expense to
the country, if each officiating minister would, at the time of
baptising a child, register its birth as well as its baptism ;
and, at the interment of every corpse, would register the
time of death as well as that of the burial ; provided such
registrations were made legal evidence in courts of law.
That it subjects the clergy to a heavy penalty should they
bury a corpse without the certificate of a lay registrar ; al-
though, through his neglect, they are frequently obliged to
bury without such certificate, which is both unreasonable
and unjust.
That the operations of the said act in unchristianising the
community, by doing away with the solemnity of a religious
contract in marriage, and by superseding the sacrament of
baptism, especially among the lower orders, are still more
deeply to be lamented.
That it has such effect to an immense extent, may be abun-
dantly proved from the great diminution of baptisms which
has taken place under its operation, particularly in large
towns and populous districts, while he number of inhabi-
tants has been very much increased.

That your petitioners feel confident they only need call
the attention of a Christian legislature to an act that thus
tends to supersede a rite which the Divine Head of that re-
ligion appointed, and commanded to be observed, in order
to bate such tendency, together with the other evils therein
contained, entirely removed.

Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray your honourable
house to take their great grievances into your serious consi-
deration, with a view to remove them by repealing the said
act.

~._.
EDUCATION AND RELIGION

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SlR,—Will you have the kindness to give a place in your
highly-respectable paper to the following remarks on the
principles set forth in a report published by a school society
in this town. One of the resolutions in the report is this—
" That this meeting dissents from the opinion that knowledge
is in itself a dangerous thing, being fully convinced that
whatever tends to develope and exercise the intellectual fa-
culties facilitates the reception of moral and divine truth."
Now, this principle seems to me to be quite contrary to the
teaching of Scripture, to historical facts and daily experience.
The Scriptures inform us that the cause why the Greeks (the
then most learned nation in the world) would not,receive the
Gospel was, that they " counted it foolishness." They said
of Paul, " i,That will this babbler say ?" the fact evidently
appears that when the mind gets stored with secular know-
ledge, without a knowledge of the Word of God, it becomes
so self sufficient as to disperse the simplicity of the Gospel ;
this is the knowledge that " puffeth up ;" and this fact has
bean proved wherever the Gospel has been proclaimed. A
striking instance of this truth has been, and is at this mo-
ment exhibited in Ireland, where so many hundreds of un-
educated persons have gladly embraced the Gospel, while it
would be difficult to find one individual, who has received
only secular education, who has embraced the Gospel. This
I knew by experience, having resided in that country fur
many years, and being perfectly acquainted with the state of
it, both as respect' its education societies and the general
state of religion. The same principle is inculcated through
the whole report, enforced by such strong assertions as
these—that to differ from their principle is " a most despi-
cable fallacy, repugnant alike to common sense and universal
experience." In refutation of this it may be sufficient to
state what effect secular learning had on the conduct and
principles of the Greeks and Romans : its evident effects
were to enable them to know that many surrounding nations
could be easily conquered, robbed and made slaves ; and this
they did to a very great extent, and just for the purpose of
enabling themselves to indulge more largely in the most de-
spotic and abominable practices, thus rendering themselves
more unhappy, and making thousands of others most raise
rably so. ut there is another reason given why the lower
orders should receive secular education, and it is this, that
they may Ist qualified to use political power, or, in other
words, become inflammeral rulers in the state ; now this
object seems to me to be also contrary to Scripture teaching
and experience, and, whenever adopted, has had most ru-
inotis consequences. In Scripture it is said, " Blessed art
thou 0 Land when thy king is the son of nobles." King
here evidently means the rulers of a state ; and as to its ru-
inous consequences, see the late revolution in France—yes,
and see the present state of our own country, thousands of
Chartists and other such politicians boldly threateningl to
overturn the present constitution ; and there is every reason
to fear that much blood must be shed before a stop can be
put to what they avow as their object—viz., the overthrow
of the present happy constitution, unless some ministry can
be foetid with sufficient nerve to at once put a stop to all
meetings and agitators of questions subversive of govern-
ment—and this could yet be done. It is a fact that, ever
since our pusilanimous government submitted to the Bir-
mingham mob, in allowing them to appoint a ministry,
government has been daily losing its strength, and mob legis-
lators daily gaining more political power. But, to return to
the education question. Those who advocate secular in-
struction ever take for granted that Roman Catholics would
not send their children to be taught in schools where the
Scriptures were read and made the basis of their education ;
but this is proves to be a most erroneous opinion, for, prior
to the establishment of the national schools in Ireland, there
were upwards of 100,000 Roman Catholic children at schools
where the Bible was not only freely read in the schools, but
the children had to commit to memory considerable portions
of it ; and, if sufficient funds could have been obtained, five
times the number of Roman Catholics would have attended
the shools, and that in despite of all the denunciations of
their clergy ; and even at this moment there are more than
100,000 Roman Catholics (including adults) receiving a truly
religious education, and carefully reading the Word of God.
Bnt the report on which I am observing, with other publica-
tions of the like import, is evidently intended to influence
the government to adopt in Great Britain the mode of edu-
cation imposed on Ireland. Now the facts respecting the
state of the parties for and against the establishing of the
Irish system in Britain may, 1 think, be fairly stated at about
one in every hundred of the inhabitants in favour of the Irish
system ; then the case stands thus, that to gratify these few,
who hate the Word of God, cannot bear to hear it even read,
that precious Word, given by God for the guidance and com-
fort of man, is not only to be kept from the people, but be
lowered in its inestimable value and importance in the eyes of
all, it being made a matter of indifference whether it should
be read or not. I may just observe that, although Ido not
see the necessity of putting my name to this letter, should
any one dispute the correctness of what I have stated, as far
as regards Ireland, by his noticing it in the STANDARD I
shall immediately give him my name, and I pledge myself to
produce authentic documents to prove all I have stated.
I am, Sir, yours, Ssc.
A DISSENTER.
Liverpool, 11th February, 1843.

THE LIVERPOOL MERCURY AND THE NEW

COPYRIG tIT LAM'

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

SIR,—I shall feel myself much indebted to you by your
permitting me to make a few remarks on a paragraph which
appeared in last Friday's Mercury, touchinc, the advantages
of the new Copyright Bill, under the head of " 13eneticial
Effects of the New Copyright Act" ; for, in this said not
very lengthy paragraph, the Editor totally disavows the prin-
ciples of free trade, virtually recants all his previously pub-
lished sentiments, and, in principle and effect, becomes a
rigorous and ancompromising advocate of restriction, mono-
poly, and comprehensive protection. (I take for granted
that the Editor of the Mercury wrote the paragraph itt qual-
tion, or fully approved of its doctrines, sine* It. has not ac-
nowledged it as taken from any other newspaper.) And it is
not a restriction of any thing immaterial tp the people, and
by a restriction of which they will net be injured, that the
Mercury here advocates : on the other hand, it, is a tnatter of
the highest importance, it is the knowledge of lite 'people.
The Editor of the Mercury pleads for a monopoly in know-
ledge! For dear reading, for high-priced literature; for
monopoly of the most interesting books in the English
language!
I wish, Sir, to call your close attention to that part of the