The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-11-29 00:00:00

FRIDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 29, 1833.

We received, yesterday, a file of Jamaica papers to
the lsth October. The House of Assembly, after nu-
merous prorogations, in consequence of the agitated
state of affairs, met on the Bth, but up to the period
when the packet sailed, no business of any importance
had been transacted. The Ktso's speech on the proro-
gation of the last session of Parliament had been re-
ceived, and also a copy of the slavery abolition bill. The
address of Lord MULGRAVE contains the following
clauses, which, in point of fact, are the most important :
" I have lately made a personal inspection of all the most
populous districts of the Island, and I am happy to assure you
that I have nowhere seen any reason at present to apprehend
the slightest disturbance. I have uniformly taken pains myself
to explain to the negro population, wherever I have had an
opportunity, that whatever good intention his Majesty might
have in their behalf, it was by their own good conduct alone
that they could insure its ultimate fulfilment; that, in the mean-
time, nothing could interfere with their masters' still undoubted
right to their services; that, even after the projected change,
they could only expect legal protection, under a system of mo-
derated work; and that, whatever might be their country or
their colour, those who are born to labour must live by industry."
" It is but justice to you to state that you have never expressed
any desire to perpetuate slavery, provided compensation could,
as at present, be secured. To the principle of the change, Ido
not therefore anticipate any objection; upon its details, I shall
most gladly avail myself of your judgment and experience.
cordially invite the most unreserved communications with m--
self upon whatever points you may wish for further information,
assuring you that, upon all occasions, you rill find the mast
anxious desire on my part to meet your views, convinced, as I
am, that whilst you well know a continuance of the present sys-
tem to be impossible, you will feel that uncertainty is itself an
evil. That delay can only increase danger, and expense can
only aggravate loss, and that though the actual operatians of
the new system may not be immediate, its settlement shonld, on
every account, be final."

The answer of the Assembly is simply an echo of the
address. Among other things it says :

'• The people of Jamaica have never advocated slavery in
the abstract, but as connected with their rights of property.
Upon the principle of compz..risatiou, they are ready to relin-
quish the system, and will be proud to show that they have
feelings as favourable to the improvement of the labouring po-
pulation, as their fellow subjects in the mother-country. All
they claim is, to be fairly dealt with.

" The house can confidently assure your Exceilency, that it
will be their endeavour, as it is their duty, to promote the wel-
fare of all classes of society, and it will be a subject of rejoicing
(should the period ever arrive) when the present agitated and
perilous condition of the island shall be settled into permanent
prosperity."

In noticing these proceedings, the St. /ago Gazette
observes:—

"It is a bill which, we fear, it is impossible for the house
to adopt in all its provisions, as our readers would perceive by
our observations upon it last week. In the meantime, Mr.
Watkis has given notice of his intention to move for a committee
to prepare a bill for the abolition of slavery in this island,
which we trust will be so framed as at once to satisfy Government,
to ensure prompt compensation, and to remove the complicated and
impracticable machinery of Mr. Stanley's bill. In addition to any
act which may be passed, we have no doubt such steps will be
taken by the house as may be necessary to enter our protest
against an experiment too suddenly forced upon us, and to
throw the whole responsibility of any evil conseauences that
may arise upon the British Goverum..t, with whom it will rest,
after our bill passes, to carry its enactments into effect; and, in
doing so, we cannot doubt every aid in our power will be most
cheerfully contributed, God willing, to make it a safe and salu-
tary measure.t'

The Honourable Mr. ALLWOOD was unanimously
elected Speaker of the House of Assembly.

We yesterday received the following from our private
correspondent at Falmouth:—

Falmouth, November 26, 1833.
His Majesty's packet Plover, Lieutenant Downey, arrived
here last night from Mexico. She left the Honduras Septem-
ber 11th, Vera Cruz 2.3 d, Tampico October 4th, touched again
at Vera Cruz October 12th, and left the Havana the 27th. She
brings on freight 140,000 dollars. A conducta had left the ca-
pital with a million of dollars for Vera Cruz, to be shipped for
this country, which will come by the next two packets. This
packet brings the important intelligence that, on the 6th ult., a
great battle took place between General Santa Anna's forces
10,000 strong, and the insurgents; that the latter were com-
pletely routed with great loss. Great rejoicings had taken
place at Mexico in consequence, and there was every rJason to
suppose that the country would shortly assume a state of perfect
tranquillity. The Real del Monte mines are in a very pros-
perous state. The cholera had ceased in the city of Mexico.
The roads from the sea-coast to Mexico are infested with rob-
bers. Amongst the passengers by the Plover is General Ba-
sadre, who went out in a civil capacity from the Russian go-
vernment. The Plover was driven from her anchorage at
Tampico on the Ist October, and regained it on the 3d.
H.M. ships Magnificent, Pallas, Larne, Despatch, and Rha-
damanthus, steamer, were at Port Royal Ist September.
The brig James Hudder, from Liverpool, arrived at Vera
Cruz 21st September.

The St. Croix, of Jersey, from the same port, arrived at Be-
lize 10th September, in 51 days.

We earnestly call attention to the opening part of the
able, eloquent, and unanswerable reply of the TOWN-
CLERK upon the evidence embracing the charges brought
against the Corporation before the commissioners. It
will be found in this day's STANDAND. We have not
room to say a word more. When the proceedings are
finally closed, it will then be our task to offer a few ob-
servations, whiCh we have studiously abstained from
doing, pending the inquiry.

A gentleman---=We'beg his pardon, but we really forget
his name—who is, according to the newspapers, a " Ca-
tholic barrister," and who has condescended to instruct
his learned friends of the municipal commission on various
topics of grave interest, has made a discovery which throws
quite a new light upon the science of statistics. He has
found out, by an ingenious process of calculation, which
COLQUHOUN, we venture to say, never heard of—and
which Lieut. DRUMMOND never dreamt of—and which, we
are equally confident, never could have entered the feli-
citous mind of Miss MAR. TlNEAU—that more than one-
fourth of the whole population of Liverpool are Roman
Catholics !

But how ? Have patience, reader, and you shall learn.
He has consulted the register of baptisms in the different
Catholic chapels of this town during a given period, and he
finds that they bear a certain proportion to the whole popu-
lation. He has also, he says, consulted the Protestant re-
gisters, and the baptisms there, he finds, bear a less pro-
portion to the population than the former ; and having
made this astonishing discovery, he speedily estimates their
relative proportions, and jumps to the conclusion that up-
wards of 62,000, or more than a fourth of the population,
are Roman Catholics. A certain illustrious person, it is
said, once invented a machine for discovering the right
hand from the left, which, upon being tried three times,
only failed twice. This machine beats the device of the
" Catholic barrister" hollow ; for his, notwithstanding
his remarkable ingenuity, has not proved right once.
To judge of the aggregate population of a large town by
the number of baptisms in two or three small chapels, is
as ridiculous as if a man were to count the number of
persons who pass London and Westminster bridges daily,
and thence infer the respective numbers of men and wo-
men who live on the east and west sides of Temple-bar.
The estimated number of Roman Catholics in Liverpool
is considered to be about 30,000, of whom nearly 10,000
cannot be taken to have any thing more than a family
connexion with that religious communion.