The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-01-08 00:00:00

The inhabitants of Wallasey have presented an annuity
of .£8 per annum and an address to " Old William," one
of the seamen employed in the Seaeombe steamer. He
has been in the employ of the contractors, Messrs. Parry,
for a period of twenty-eight years.
TREAT TO RAGGED SCHOOL CHILDREN...MCI Thurs-
day a sumptuous feast was given at the Dingle, by Mr.
and Mrs. E. Cropper, to the boys of the Ragged School,
202, Bedford-street, Toxteth-park. The children, seventy
in number, were much delighted, and after eating until
they were satisfied, each was allowed to take a portion
home. They were waited upon by the ladies and gentle-
men of both houses in the Dingle, and other ladies of the
Park.

FIRES.—On Wednesday evening a fire broke out in the
stables of Mr. Spencer Lee, omnibus proprietor at Water-
loo. Six horses were burnt to death, four loads of straw
destroyed, and the stables completely gutted. The roof
of the dwelling-house adjoining, with the front and back
bedrooms also fell in, having caught fire. The stckck was
not insured, but the premises were.—lmmediately after a
report was raised that Bootle Church was on fire, but the
damage done was trifling.—On Friday morning, the office
of Mr. Fletcher, Temple-court, took fire, through the
heat of the grate igniting the timber beneath, but the
injury amounted to only about £5O.
ST. THOMAS'S ScuooLs.—On Wednesday, the first
anniversary of the St, Thomas's School, Park-lane, was
celebrated in the school-room. Tea was plentifully pro-
vided by the ladies of St. Thomas's congregation, and the
occasion was graced by the presence of the Rev. J. C.
Prince and the Rev. T. L. Pain. The party was held to
celebrate three things—first, the anniversary of the
school ; second, the anniversary of the Juvenile Mission-
ary Society ; and thirdly, the completion of the first cen-
tury of the church with which they were connected.
Each scholar was provided with a bun and an orange as
he retired, and what remained of the tea and bread,
&c., was given to several poor old women residing in the
district. _

LIVER TIIE ATRE.—Under the present management this
once favourite little theatre promises to attain to the rank
which it formerly held in the estimatien of the piaygoing
public. The pantomime, which is a really clever one, con-
tinues to elicit shouts of laughter from all parts of the
house ; and the dramatic pieces, by which it is proceded
are well got up. Mr. E. L. Hime has during the week
delighted the audiences by his excellent singing of the
best ballads of the day, and been nightly encored. In
speaking upon the subject of theatricals, we cannot re-
strain ourselves from remarking upon the fact that this
Christmas our theatres have had to encounter the opposi-
tion of similar performances, of a low grade, of course, got
up in the singing rooms in various parts of the town.

. .
PRESENTATION OF A GRATEFUL ADDRESS TO THE
REV. WM. RAWSON, OF SEAFORTH CHURCH.-011 the

27th ult. a few of those who were confirmed in September
last, at Seaforth, met in the national school there, for the
purpose of expressing their gratitude to the Rev. Wm.
Rawson, for the zealous and kind manner in which he had
prepared them for confirmation. One of the young gen-
tlemen who were confirmed opened the meeting, and read
a long and affecting testimonial, expressive of the thank-
fulness of all present for the spiritual services which he
had bestowed upon them. The reverend gentleman was
very much pleased, and addressed them in very appro-
priate terms, in which he mentioned that he had just
completed his thirty-fourth year as minister of the church.

The meeting separated highly gratified.
CORNWALLIS-STREET RAGGED SCHOOLS.—About two
hundred children who attend these schools were provided
with tea on Friday evening, the 28th December. There
were present the Revs. H. H. Higgins, S. Minton, D. D.
Stewart, and H. Slater; Messrs. Rimmer, Wagstaff, A.

Jones, &c., and the teachers in the schools. After tea the
children were addressed by the Revs. H. H. Higgins and
S. Minton. There was also an excellent magic lantern
exhibited. The children were very well conducted through-
out the evening. There is a manifest improvement in
nearly all the children who attend these schools, which
may be considered the principal of the kind in Liverpool.

They are conducted entirely by members of the Church of
England, and are at present in a flourishing condition •,
although there is still ample room for any who would
volunteer their assistance, either as teachers or as sub-
scribers to the funds of this good cause.
THE MINSTREL FAIRIES.—These surprising children
appeared on Saturday evening at the Concert-hall, Lord-
Nelson-street. The hall was crowded in every part, the
immense assemblage greeting the interesting children
with the most enthusiastic expressions of approbation.
Those of the public who may not have availed themselves
yet of the opportunity of witnessing the performances of
the fairies have a treat in store, afforded by the fact that
Mr. Turner intends to sojourn with his talented family
" a little longer" among us. No adequate idea can be
arrived at by a simple narration of the talent of these
infants, when their tender years are borne in mind, ten,
eight, six, and three-and-a-half years being their respec-
tive ages. Of course, much cannot be expected from the
child (a charming little boy) last indicated, yet he does
all that is set down to him, and, undoubtedly, evinces a
wonderful aptitude for ie profession which be has sl
early commenced, giving abundant proof of becoming, at
least, a second Paganini. Miss Sophia Turner (six years
old) performs on the violin with a taste and finish which
not a few adult instrumentalists might envy ; but the
grand attraction is the eldest fairy, (ten years,) who
touches the harp as a native child of genius alone could
do : her youth affords no cause of regret, for to the lis-
tener, whose eye does not encounter the fragile form of a
child, the music sounds that of a veteran harper. Mr. E.
L. Hime added to the programme by singing several fa-
vourite melodies, accompanying himself on the piano-forte.

THE TEA AND COFFEE-TRADERS OF LIVERPOOL

There is a point of great importar,ce to the trade of Liver-
pool, to which we feel called upon to draw the attention of
importers. It is the inadequate supply of coffee (particu-
larly Ceylon) and of tea to this market. We have ascer-
tained that of the latter upwards of 20,000 packages, and
of coffee about 10,000 casks and bags, equal to nearly 1,000
tons have been purchased and sent down from London by
our wholesale dealers during the past year, simply from
their inability to supply their orders in this market. One
house alone informs us that they have paid at the rate of
one hundred pounds per month carriage for tea and coffee,
and justly observes, "You will perceive at what disadvan-
tage, Liverpool, as a port, and we as dealers, are placed
by such an irregular distribution of the imports, both of
coffee and tea. You are yourselves familiar with the
means of Liverpool as a channel for sales, and as regards
consumption, in coffee at least, we believe it can be shown
that of the entire import of the kingdom 7-10ths is con-
sumed in the district north of Birmingham." The dock
and landing charges are less by one-third on both articles
than they are in London,.and the cost to these buyers of
bringing down coffee is from ls. to 2s. per cwt., and on
Id. per pound, all of which must fall on the importers in
the difference in value, with this additional drawback,
that, by sending all to one place, the market is glutted,
while at the other there is scarcity. We think planters
would find it their interest to ship to this port for the
supply of this more immediate district, (Lancashire and
Yorkshire,) the wants of which are increasing more rapidly
than any part of the kingdom.—Messrs. Littledale's Cir-
cular.