The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-04-08 00:00:00

TIN LIVERPM, STANDARD.

keepers in the council; SoOmitiy gentlemen who were indebted
for their fortunes and station in society to their own industry
and good conduct, and vslio could not look back upon wealthy
and powerful ancestors for the advantageous position which
they enijeyed. • , •
Mr.-lloysa.:—Can'they (theAMerican Chamber> do so, Mr.
HOrnby.?:
Mr. HORNY went on to,sity that he had always understood,
that, when a man was the architect of his own fame and for-
tune, he was more likely to be able to administer the business
of the public, with diligence r and ability., But who were the
parties thus opposing them ;P: • (ifear, hear.), < Why many of
them Were the very men who advised and framed the consti-
tuency with which , they, were, now interfering; rand because
the machine which they •constructed now no longer acted,in
accordance with their directions, they would willingly break
it in pieces- and- destroy it.. -He would now state, the course
which the united committee (the dock and finance) had pur-
sued with reference to the American Association.

A ►engthy discussion of some -hours duration followed, and
ultimately the resolution of the- committee was unanimously
affirmed, and a determined opposition to the bill in its future
stages, also a resolution to preserve the present 'constitution
and, management of the Dock Estate, were respectively agreed
upon.
The rest of the proceedings of the finance committee were
confirmed,.and the 'council adjourned to Wednesday, for the
transaction of the great bulk of the business still remaining on
the paper.

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER AND PRESENTA-
, TION TO CAPTAIN RIDLEY.

It will be in the memory of our readers that some few
weeks since a charge of insubordination was brought by
Capt. Ridley, of the barque Crusader, against his
crew. The vessel which war then lying in the river had
been out five days, and put back through stress of weather,
and that the parties charged had refused again to proceed
to sea was by themselves admitted, but they urged as their
reason the inebriety and incompetency of the commander.
In support of the former charge the mate and steward
were sent for, and they gave corroborative testimony. The
charge was dismissed, and the owners advised by the
magistrate to provide the ship with a new captain. Capt.
Ridley was next summoned before the Local Marine
Board, where an investigation extending over two days
was held. The evidence and the testimonials were of such
a character that, after consulting the Board of Trade, the
charge was dismissed, and Captain Ridley acquitted. Sub-
sequently iacts have come to light which strengthen much
the decision of the board, and tend to prove the char es
perfectly unfounded. To demonstrate their feeling in ti
matter a number of shipowners and others, for many of
whom Capt. Ridley had sailed, invited that gentleman to
a dinner at the Queen's Hotel, Lime-street. on Friday
last, in order to present to him a splendid gold watch with'
appendages, and a purse of gold. The chair was filled by
Henry Danson. Elq., and John Archer, Esq., occupied the
vice-chair. Amongst the gentlemen present we observed
Mr. Dixon, Mr. Holmes, Mr. Baty. Mr. Searight, Mr.
Willoughby, &c., shipowners, &c. From many gentlemen
Unable to attend, notes werereceived bearing most flattering
testimony toCaptain Ridley 'scharacter. They included Mr.
Imrie, Mr. Hutchinson, Messrs. Mackerrow, Mr. T. Wil-
liams, Mr. John Ewart, Mr. Carrick, Mr. Williams, Mr.
Sowerby, Mr. John Meek, and others interested in the
shipping of the port.
The cloth being removed, and the usual toasts proposed,
The CHAIRMAN then rose to discharge the pleasing
duty which devolved upon him that evening, and whilst
feeling that he should fulfil so onerous a task very imper-
fectly, requested the attention of the company for a few
moments to enable him to recapitulate a few of the cir-
cumstances which had been the means of calling them
together that evening. Though he might feel incapable
of efficiently discharging his duty that evening, yet he
assured them that could not find any one more willing
than himself to endeavour to vindicate the character of a
truly worthy and excellent man. It was one of
the golden sayings of Shakspeare that that he who
steals my purse, steals trash ; but he who filches from me
my good name, robs me of that which not enriches him,
and makes me poor indeed ;" and such was the case in
Captain Ridley—a man who depended for the livelihood
of himself and family on his honour, his character, his
stability as a man of business to give confidence to his
employer, and his intelligence,—of all of which it had
been attempted by the machinations of certain persons,
from the most unworthy motives, to deprive him.
The Chairman then proceeded to de- and :the cir-
cumstances connected with the charge brought against
Captain Ridley, which we have alluded to above,
and which will be in the recollection of our readers. He
denounced the conduct of the crew in strong terms, and
read the following gratifying testimonial in favour of
Captain Ridley . _

18th February, 1851
TO THE LOCAL MARINE BOARD, LIVERPOOL.

GENTLEMEN,—Being informed by Captain Ridley, late
master of the Crusader, that his case has yet to come before
you, to be further reported upon, and having expressed him-
self anxious to have his character fully established before you,
he has asked us, the undersigned, to testify to his previous
conduct.

We beg, therefore, to say, that we have known him for many
years, as a commander, and have always considered him a man
exceedingly steady and particularly attentive to his duties.
The charge of drunkenness is so completely opposed to our
knowledge of him, and our opinion of his general habits, that
we really can hardly suppose it possible that be would take any
excess of intoxicating liquors at a time when duty required
his more than usual attention.

IMRIE AND TOMLINSON.
J. WILLIAMSON.
J. MEEK.
DIXON AND HOLME.
J NO. ARCHER.

He then went on to say that this certificate was signed by
upwards of 20 others interested in shipping in Liverpool.
Were they, then, under such a state of things to see a
man's prospects utterly blasted, and his reputation sent.
to the dogs; were they to see him thus trampled on by
his enemies ; and were they to be so craven-hearted as
not to rally round the man whose character they knew so
well, and whom they so highly respected ? (Cheers.)
It was an honourable position in which they stood—that
of vindicating the character of a man placed in Captain
Ridley's situation. Captain Ridley did not stand before
them as one knowing the polite usages of society ; many
of those fully acquainted with those polite usages would
make but poor seamen. But he stood there as an honest,
hard-working seaman, who did his duty to his employers
without fear to any one. (Hear, hear.) These men were
the men who had raised England to her present pinna-
cle of grandeur and glory. (Cheers.) It was on the
mercantile marine their glory depended, and in advocat-
ing Captain Ridley's cause, they were advocating one of
the greatest causes of the glory of our country. He
looked upon this as connected with the cause of those
brave men who had done so much for the trading inter-
ests of England ; those brave men who had been the
pioneers of civil and religious liberty—of those men who
had introduced the trade, the liberty, the laws, and
the policy of England into the furthest corners of
the earth, and who had fought the legitimate, the
commercial, the bloodless battles of our country
in every quarter of the world. (Loud cheers.)
The Chairman then presented a watch and purse to Capt.
Ridley, prefacing the presentation by reading the inscrip.
tion on the inside of it, and then expressing a hope
that Captain Ridley might live many, many years
to use it, and that it might be useful to him not only in
marking the hours of the day, but in marking his pro-
gress to success and his re-establishment in his proper
position in society—(cheers)—and that when his time
was ended, it might be handed down to his children, by
whom it would be appreciated with double value in me-
mory of the estimation in which their parent was held by
the contributors to the testimonial. He also had great
pleasure in presenting Capt. Ridley with the purse he
held in his hand,—not for the valu of what it contained,
but simply to shew the feeling towards him entertained
by his numerous friends. (Hear, hear.) He hoped Capt.
Ridley would never look back with regret, but always
with pleasure, on this day, when they had the means of
showing their respect for so worthy a man. (Cheers.) He
rejoiced that Capt. Ridley had gone so successfully through
this difficult ordeal, and that his character was so tho-
roughly re-established—not in the estimation of his
friends, for that was perfectly useless, they had never for
a moment believed the groundless aspersions against him,
—hut in the opinion of the world, and by the legal tribu-
nals of his country. The chairman concluded by remark-
ing that the local marine board and the Board of Trade in
London bad returned Capt. Ridley his certificate, and
thus placed him in a better position, he might say, than,
if possible, he before enjoyed. (Hear, hear.) He then
proposed the health of " Capt. Ridley and his family,"
which was drank with three times three and enthusiastic
cheering,

•
On the inner case of the watch (one of Pendlington's)
the following inscription was beautifully engraved :
" Publicly presented to Captain Thomas Ridley, in comme-
moration of his success in refuting the unfounded charges of a
conspiring crew, before the Local Marine Board and the
Board of Trade, and as a slight memento of the high estima-
tion in which he is held as a sailor and a gentleman.
Liverpool, 1851."

M;. Dixon, Mr. Walker, and other gentlemen corro-
borated the remarks of the chairman with respect to the
groundlessness of the charges-against Capt. Ridley, after
which—

Captain RIDLEY returned thanks for the high compli-
ment paid to him, but was so affected that he could not
find words to express his feelings, and resumed his seat
amid renewed cheers, and a heartfelt expression of his
thanks.

Mr. DIXON then gave the health of Mr. Baty, who was
ever ready to come forward to assist a friend in adversity ;
and the chairman also bore flattering testimony to the
character and amiable and honourable disposition of that
g entleman.—(Applause.)
Mr. BATY appropriately returned thanks, and remarked
that he had only discharged a duty in coming forward to
defend an old schoolfellow, when it was attempted to
deprive him of his character and fair name by means
the most cruel and unjust, and through charges the most
groundless.—(Cheers.)
Mr. WILLOUGHBY next proposed the health of their
respected chairman. He said he felt it to be the duty of
every one to come forward and defend a respectable and
honest man when wrongly assailed ; and had great plea-
sure in bearing testimony to the high character of Capt.
Ridley, whem he had known for a long time, who was so
highly esteemed by so many shipowners, andiwho was so
entirely free from the stain it had been vainly attempted
to cast on his character,—(Cheers.)
The healths of Mr. Dixon and Mr. Holmes were given
from the vice chair, in brief but appropriate language,
and drunk with enthusiasm. _ _ _

Mr. HoLmEs first returned thanks. He felt that, had
he been absent that night, he should not, he thought, be
doing his duty. Captain Ridley had been entrusted with
the command of their vessels before he entered the
Crusader, and left them only because they had made a
prior arrangement which rendered the longer continuance
of his services unnecessary. He was satisfied—indeed,
they had then a letter in their office from Barbadoes to
the same effect—that no man ever discharged his duty
with more zeal and anxiety for the interests of his em-
ployers than did Captain Ridley. (Cheers.)
Mr. Dixon bore similar evidence to Captain Ridley's
character. He entirely refuted that portion of the charge
against Captain Ridley with respect to his having mis-
taken the lights, and expressed a regret that there was no

proper tribunal established for investigating matters of
this description ; for they were of far too serious a nature
to-be decided. by a magistrate,. who could not be at all
Acquainted witty all those nice details 'whioh formed so
important gy feature in all. enquiries of this nature..
(Hear, hear, and cheers.)

Several other toasts and sentiments were given during
the evening, and many amusing -songs enlivened the
entertuinnient,--the company separating a short time
before ten o'clock, after having spent a most delightful
and gratifying evening.

hrtenu anb IPorttrulturt.

DESCRIPTION. OP TUE ENCEPHALARTUS CAPPER,

FROM WHICM THE KAFFIR TRIBES MANUFACTURE A,

VARIETY OF SAGO WHICH SERVES THEM AS FOOD,

The plant from which the following description was
written lately flowered at Chatsworth, and a model of the
inflorescence was presented to the Liverpool Literary and
Philosophical Society, by the president. J. B. Yates, Esq.,
on behalf of his brother, Mr. Jas. Yates.
This model is not quite half the size of the cone itself,
which' measures in length 24 inches, and in its middle
girth 36 inches. It grows on the summit of a cylindrical
trunk, the thickness of a man's body, and about seven
feet high. Around it spring about thirty dark green
rigid pinnate leaves, some of which are above a yard in
length, expanding on every side, and each assuming the
form of a beautiful curve. The pinnte, or leaflets, are set
obliquely on the midrib of the leafs and with a degree of
imbricate obliquity corresponding to their vernation.
They are united to the midrib by a distinct articulation.
They amount in some instances to as many as thirty-four
pair, and are about five times as long as they are broad.
The rhomboidal scales are arranged round the axis of the
cone in eight spirals, each spiral consisting of forty scales,
and each scale containing two nuts. The plant, there-
fore, being a female, would produce in all probability four
or five hundred nuts, supposing a portion to be barren.
This plant belongs to the natural order of Cycadete,
which hold a middle rank between the Coniferie and the
Palms. The Cycadete abound in a mucilaginous juice.
and a kind of sago is obtained from the soft centre of the
Cycas circinnalis.
The name Encephalartus is intended to denote the use
of the pith (egke'phalos) of this plant for making bread
(drtos). We are informed by Thunberg (1. c.), that the
Hottentots, being very little acquainted with agriculture
or with the use of the cerealia, and subsisting principally
upon wild bulbs and fruits, obtained food also from this
plant by the following process. Having cut down a tree,
they took out the pith, which nearly fills its trunk, and
which abounds in mucilage and an amylaceous fluid;
after keeping this for some time buried under ground in
the skin of an animal, they reduced it by pounding and
kneading into a kind of paste ; and they then baked it in
hot ashes, and in the form of round cakes nearly an inch
thick. The Dutch colonists, in consequence of this prac-
tice of the natives, called the plant brood-boon, which
signifies literally bread-tree.
It is now ten or eleven years since his Grace the Duke
of Devonshire erected at Chatsworth that great Conserva-
tory ; and at the same time he received from Baron Lud-
wig, a munificent patron of botany at the Cape, an exten-
sive assortment of the genus Encephalartus. Among
those sent by the Baron were two large leafless trunks of
the Encephalartus Caffer. They were planted out (i. e.
not in boxes), and near together. They happily struck
out roots ; sent forth terminal buds, which expanded into
noble circles of leaves ' • and they are now in a highly-
flourishing condition. They are about equal in size, and
may perhaps be reckoned a hundred years old.
The Liverpool Botanic Garden is not very rich in plants
of the natural order of Cycadete. It contains, however,
the following :—Cycas revoluta (3 or 4 plants), Cycas
circinnalis (a good specimen), Encephalartus horridus,
Encephalartus brachyphyllus (a rare and curious plant),
Zamia muricata, Zamia pumila.

MR. HENRY DEACON'S FIFTH PAPER ON THE MANu.

FACTURE OF GLASS

The cylinders go from the blower to the spilter. The
ends; though equal in diamete-r, are not quite square with
its axis. For the sake of the shape, when unrolled or
flattened into a sheet, and for obtaining a good edge to
pile upon in annealing, the ends are squared by a diamond
mounted in a very simple little apparatus. It consists of
a flat boatel with an iron pillar; from this project two V-
shaped arms, the plane of the arms being at right angles
to the board ; thus a cylinder of any diameter held in
these Vs will have its axis at right angles to the board.
The diamond is placed in one of the jaws of a pair of
spring pincers mounted upon wheels, so as the pincers
are moved about the diamond makes a cut parallel to the
board. Matters thus prepared, a cylinder is placed in
the V arms, the edge of the glass inserted between the
jaws of the pincers, the diamond being pressed against it
by the springs; the pincers are then run round the cylin-
der, and a cut is produced parallel to the board, of course
at right angles to the axis of the cylinder. Both ends be-
ing squared, the cylinder is placed in a wooden trough,
and a straight edge is laid inside ; a diamond fastened to
a wuoden rod is drawn along its edge, and the cylinder is
thus split from end to end. It is singular that the cylin-
ders do not require annealing, the regularity of the thick-
ness and the circular shape enabling them to withstand
the strains they are subjected to. All the diamond cuts
must, however, be made on the inside; if on the outside
they would fly in all directions. The thicker kinds are
often split by passing a red-hot iron rod up and down
them, as causing less breakage than a diamond cut. The
cylinders are now placed in charge of the flattener, who
works at a kiln of peculiar construction. It consists of
two chambers, one very small and hot, with a short tun-
nel from the outside leading into it, and a very large
chamber not nearly as hot as the smaller one, and com-
municating with it by a long narrow slot through the par-
tition wall, just above the stone floor, which is very flat,
and exactly level in both chambers. The cylinder with
the split uppermost is gradually brought through 'he
tunnel into the small hot chamber, or spreading kiln;
a large sheet of glass, or " large," has already been laid
upon the stone floor of the kiln, and is retained for each
succeeding sheet of glass, to present a more even and
close surface than stone itself. On this " large" the cy-
linder is placed ; it soon softens by the heat, and gra-
dually unrolls. When nearly flat, it is rubbed down by a
piece of wood about the size of a common brick, stuck on
the end of a long iron rod, all together being called the
" polissoir." Being quite flattened, both " sheet" and
" large" are pushed along the floor, through the long,
narrow slot before alluded to, into the larger and cooler
chamber, the " annealing kiln." After a few seconds, a
"fourchette" similar to the crown glass is used to remove
the sheet from the " large" to the back part of the floor
of the kiln. The " large" is pushed back through the
slot, and the " sheet" is left to cool and stiffen whilst
another cylinder is flattened. When this second sheet
and large are pushed into the annealing kiln, the first
sheet is taken up on the fourchette, and is piled against
an iron bar; only, instead of its being piled before the
workman, as in crown glass, it is piled to his left hand.
He can thus see how each pile goes on, that the sheets are
quite straight, &c., for it is of more importance to preserve
the flatness of sheet than of crown glass, as it is cut into
so much larger squares The piles are divided into sec-
tions by iron bars running from side to side of the kiln,
three piles being reared against each bar. Between every
score or so of sheets, flat, iron, rectangular frames or
" drossers" are piled ; these keep the glass straight, and
stiffen the pile. The kilns are filled in two days and two
eighths, or, if very full, a day or night, or more. The
men work in relays, eight hours on, and eight hours off,
and with an idle day, or day and a half, in the middle and
end of the week. One flattener flattens the cylinder
made by two blowers, four flatteners and eight blowers,
with their numerous assistants, being the general comple-
ment of a house, though one or two more are by no
means unfrequent. The glass being closely packed, takes
long to anneal, generally three days. Taken out of this
kiln, it is assorted according to substance and quality of
the glass, and as to goodness or badness of the workman-
ship. It is then packed as sheets, in crates, for the mar-
ket, or cut to order into squares.