The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-16 00:00:00

STATE OF THE COTTON MARKET.

By the kindness of Messrs. Stewart and Wright, of
New York, we have been favored, per steamer Caledonia,
with a copy of their usual packet circular, together with
an account of the state of the American market, a day
later than is brought by the ordinary channels. The most
important feature of this communication is the increased
estimate now formed of the amount of the crop, arising
from its being ascertained that much cotton has been
saved, which bad been previously reported as destroyed
by the rains in December last. Messrs. Stewart and
Wright, after a full inquiry and consideration; give it as
the most prevalent opinion that the crop will be between
1,800,000 and 1,850,000 bales. The receipts, in Ameri-
can ports, to the latest dates this year, amount to 1,503,345
against 1,880,538 to the same period last year, showing a
deficit this year of 377.193 bales. The number of bales
received subsequent to this period last year was 498,357,
which, if equalled this year would make, with the quantity
previously arrived, 2,001,682 bales as the amount of this
year's crop. It is not believed, however, that there can
be so large a quantity to arrive this year, owing to the in-
ducements which have existed this season for planters to
urge their stocks forward to a speculative market. Two-
thirds is calculated upon, which will make, with present
receipts, 1,831,936 bales as the crop of 1833 to 1844. In
some of the ports, especially Mobile and New Orleans,
the receipts were at the last dates already beginning to
fall off; and it was confidently anticipated that a material
decrease would soon be observable ; at the present moment
there is much more cotton in course of shipment than at
any period since the commencement of the season; and a
steady shipping business was looked forward to.
The market had been heavy up to the arrival of the
Caledonia, with Liverpool dates to the sth inst., specula-
tion having entirely ceased, and prices declining, to the
extent for " fair" of about one cent below the com-
mencement of the month. In the latter part of the month,
however, a fair business had been doing at the reduced
rates for export and American consumption. The news
by the Caledonia reduced prices another half cent, which
brought buyers on English account freely into market.
The following is the letter of Messrs. Stewart and
Wright, containing the latest intelligence :
" New York, 3 p.m., March 30.

" A large number of buyers made their appearance yes-
terday. Sales amounted to about 7,000 bales, so near our
extreme quotations as to amount to an advance of of a
cent on nearly the total sales, which were entirely for the
execution of orders for European account. The Conti.
nental buyers took several large lists to-day; the market
has a firmer tone, and the bidding has been general, but
for small lots only : sales amount to 1,000 bales; pur-
chasers are supplied with difficulty now, as nearly all the
lots, which were ordered to be sold on the arrival of the
steamer from Liverpool of sth March, have been closed,
and holders generally ask an advance or withdraw from
the market. Freights are dull at 7-16ths of a penny for
square cotton to Liverpool, and 1 cent to Havre. Exchange
closes stiff at 84 per cent. premium."
The effect of the news by the Caledonia has been to in-
duce holders of cotton in Liverpool to sell at a decline of
kth of a penny upon Friday's prices, on account mainly of
the large quantity now on the passage, or in course of
shipment to this port, and the great increase of the ar-
rivals of stock in American ports. The amount of busi-
ness done to day at this. reduction has been small, not
reaching more than about 2,500 bales, with a dull heavy
feeling pervading the market.

ARRIVAL OF THE NEW HEAD CONSTABLE.—Mr.
Miller, the successor of Mr. Whitty, arrived here on Sa-
turday. By his own suggestion, however, we understand
that be will not formally enter upon his office until next
week, intending to devote the present to the attainment
of a knowledge of the localities, &c., of the town. From
all that we have head of Mr. Miller's past management
of a similar post—and those testimonials are highly flat-
tering—we have no doubt that he will discharge most ef-
ficiently his very important and responsible duties. There
is a suggestion, by-the-bye, which we may here take the
opportunity of making to him, and which has repeatedly
been conveyed to us by various correspondents. It is
that those members of the police force who are off duty
on the Sunday should be assembled by their inspectors at
the various stations, and taken by them to some place of
public worship. This practice is, we believe, followed in
most other towns; and it is one, upon the propriety of
which we need not remark.
EXTRAORDINARY EXHUMATION ON THE COAST OF
AFRICA.—The ship " Britannia," Capt. E. Wylie, ler&
Ichaboe, on the west coast of Africa, whither she had
been for guano, on the 7th February, and arrived at this
port on Sunday last with a cargo of that article. The
captain reports that on the 15th of January a " mummy"
was dug out of the guano, and close upon it there was a
common oak stave with the inscription " Columbus
Delano, 1791," cut apparently with an ordinary scribe
for marking wood. It was found only four feet below
the surface, and no idea could be formed of the depth at
which it had originally been buried ; so that supposing it
to have been merely covered under the then level, the
accumulation of the guano over the long intermediate
period of 53 years, could not have much exceeded 21 to 3
feet. It is remarkable that the body was in a state of
perfect preservation, and equally so was the canvas in
which it was enclosed, being perfectly fresh and strong.
The fact will furnish materials for conjecture to chemists
and drug.gi.ts.

THE SHABBY RADICALS.—One of the shabby ruses of
the Radical faction, at the recent Easter Vestry, was the
attempt made to throw dust in the eyes of the public by
proposing, along with the list put forward by their own
tools, the names of respectable Conservatives. Of these
two or three were put forward without their consent, or
even their knowledge of the doubtful honour about to ba
conferred upon them. Mr. Schofield, a conservative,
who was proposed as churchwarden, in opposition to Mr.
John Wilkinson, was thus proposed against his will, and
gave his own vote for his opponent. Mr. Thomas Tay-
lor, and, we believe, Mr. Mould, were both out of town,
and were not consulted upon the subject of their nomina-
tion. Another candidate, who was present at the vestry,
and thus sanctioned his nomination, had not, we are in-
formed, paid his rates at the time, and therefore was not
entitled even to hold up his hand at the meeting, much
less to go to the poll. What is more conclusive still of
the factiousness of the whole proceedings; the name of
one gentleman—a conservative—was refused to be with-
drawn by his radical proposer, Mr. John Smith, although
it was intimated to him that that gentleman had by letter
expressed his disinclination to contest the honor, or even
to serve if elected.

A FORGED BEGGING CERTIFICATE.—Yesterday, at
the police-court, a man, who gave bis name as Alex-
ander, was placed at the bar, on a charge of obtaining
money by means of a false certificate, which was produced.
It was written in a good hand, was dated the 4th instant,
and purported to be signed by " John Tomkinson, mason
and budder." It stated in effect that John Atkinson had
been fifteen months in Mr. Tomkinson's employ ; that in
October last he fell from a building ; that he had until
lately been in the infirmary, but was now convalescent;
that his goods had been sold up for rent ; and that the
undersigned recommended him to the notice of the bene-
volent—so that be might raise £7 9s. "to save himself
and family from the unhappy situation into which he was
plunged." Appended were the signatures, or pretended
signatures, of a number of respectable parties, with sums
affixed opposite to their names of from 2s. 6d. to £l.
Amongst the names were those of Messrs. Tomkinson,
Samuel Holme, W. Fawcett, Joshua Edwards, R. Bicker-
steth, (Rev.) T. Tattershall, Edward Cropper, (Rev.)
Hugh M`Neile, &c. Mr. Tomkinson was in attendance,
and stated that the certificate was altogether false, and his
name to it was a forgery. The Rev. Mr. Ewbank also
said that he had been called upon by the prisoner, and
seeing the names of Mr. M`Neile and others, he had given
the prisoner ls., without signing his name. The prisoner
was apprehended on leaving the house. Some of the sig-
natures were real. Mr. Rushton commented on the
heartless conduct of the prisoner, who, like many others,
had ingeniously taken advantage of the charitable feelings
of the humane, and ordered the prisoner to be imprisoned
for three months.

RATHBONE THE ILL-TEMPERED.—If, in the proceed-
ings of any meeting in Liverpool, assembled to discuss
questions of a local or a public nature, you meet with any
language peculiarly offensive, or marked by a more than
ordinary amount of venom and spitefulness, depend upon
it, in nine cases out of ten, you will find that its utterer
was William Rathbone. Other gentlemen can pursue
public and even party objects, without violating the
courtesies of life and levelling studied insults against those
who differ from them. Other gentlemen meet their poli-
tical opponents on 'Change, on the magisterial bench, or
in the private circle, without forgetting that, although of
different opinions, they are still fellow citizens. But it is
not thus with William Rathbone. Once start this unhappy
old man upon any political scent, and away he goes, with a
viciousness perfectly unaccountable. Place him upon a
platform, with permission to open his mouth, and although
other gentlemen can keep in view the object of which they
are in pursuit, and that alone, William Rathbonecan scarcely
utter ten consecutive words which do not convey insult to
some one, and proclaim to the world that, beneath the
puritanical garb which he wears, a mass of bitter and ran-
corous passion is boiling which, if it could have free scope,
would scorch and blacken all within its reach. An in-
stance of this unhappy infirmity is before us. The
Radical and Anti-Church faction in Liverpool have expe-
rienced a crushing defeat during the past week ; and
William Rathbone has accordingly been more than ordi-
narily waspish and vicious. He has looked daggers at his
political opponents, and so more than usually savage and
bitter against the Church that we wouldn't have answered
for the safety of the rectors, or any one of the clergy, if he
had met them while the fit was upon him. The chance
for a display of cannibalism, however, was not offered
him ; and he had to endure the workings of his accumu-
lated bile until Friday evening, when the " great free
trade banquet" afforded him an opportunity of partially
relieving himself. On this occasion he had entrusted to
him the duty of proposing the health of the Chairman—to
an ordinary man one would have imagined a very simple
,
duty, and not at all likely to brine the speaker foul of the
Church or of Churchmen. But William Rathbone is not
at all an ordinary man ; and fish, flesh, and fowl, dessert,
and wine
having become an anti-Church acidulation upon
his stomach, he proceeded to perform his task as follows:
" Gentlemen have told us to-night of the ignorance of
other places, but I can tell them we have ignorance in
Liverpool, ay, and in the pulpit, too, even though it be
occupied by IVl`Neile.—(oh, oh.) We have bad quoted
in the pulpit Russell's history, and been gravely told that
it was Lord John Russell's history. (Hear, and oh! oh
I beg leave to give you the health of our chairman—(loud
applause.)"
Unhappy old man ! The clergymust torment his spirit
in general, and the Rev.
Hugh M`Neile in particular
sorely, to warrant their being' lugged in thus unceremo-
neously upon an arena where they were so little expected,
and so much out of place ! What earthly connexion could
there be between " Russell's History," or " Lord John
Russell's History," and either the Corn-laws or the
health of the member for Wolverhampton ?