The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-02-06 00:00:00

did make -his- fortane-in a house-very small
pared with that of some of his neighbours. But
we do not think that this is at all ayase in point
with the case of the Liverpool docks. Ships are
not quite so expeditious in their movements as city
traders, who snatch their chop or steak in a tavern,
and run off with their crust of cheese and bread, to
munch as they hurry to the shop or the Stock Ex-
change. You might, perhaps, with an extra supply
of landing-waiters, and longer hours of working,
discharge a vessel in somewhat less time than at
present; but you must still provide some place for
the ship until she has another cargo on board and
is ready for sea again. No, no ! Believe us, Mr.
Bushell, this project will go a very small way to re-
move the wants so much complained of by the ship-
owners and merchants of the port.
But, whilst we think its wisdom very questionable
in a practical view, we must protest altogether
against the philosophy upon which it is based.
"Time is money." Yes, it is money—for the
merchant. But time is the lab 3uring man's ESTATE,
and you have no business to put that estate in your
own pocket. Extend the hours of the landing-
waiter from eight hours to twelve, and you take
from him a portion of that which should he devoted
to the affairs of his own family, and, perhaps, to
objects still more valuable. Let the landing-waiter
attend twelve hours, that the merchants may gratify
their inordinate thirst for money getting, and the
labourer's hours—the warehouseman's hours—the
clerk's hours—will forthwith be stretched to four-
teen or sixteen hours. Why, the factory system
would be nothing to this drudgery, to which Mr.
Bushell would consign one half of the industrious
portion of our commilnity !
But turn we to the able review of the whole ques-
tion under consideration contained in the admirable
address of Mr. Nicol. This address, full of sound
I
practical knowledge of his subject, effectually dis-
sipated the cloud of sophistries with which Messrs.
Aikin and Evans, with their supporters, had laboured
to invest it; and if fully given to the world, as it
well deserved to be, would, along with the admirable
speech of Mr. Bramley-Moore, have fully satisfied
the most sceptical, of the wisdom of the course now
decided upon by the Dock Committee and the
Council.

Mr. Alderman Evans is aground. His reign over
the Dock Committee, and his domination over the
Council, are at an end ; and " having in vain en-
deavoured, through official channels, to prevent the
consummation of the measures for dock extension,
recently carried by majorities in " both these bodies,
the poor bewildered gentleman " thinks it right to
appeal to that out-door influence, which is still
sufficient, if not to prevent, at least to abate, the
worst part of the impending nil," resulting from a
persevering refusal to believe in the absolute wisdom
of himself and his small knot of worshippers. The
Alderman has, in consequence, addressed a letter to
" the merchants and traders of Liverpool," which
appeared in yesterday's Albion; and, upon the
arguments in that letter, addressed to the "out-
door influence" which he has so long defied and
scoffed at, we venture to meet him ; not, however,
as the authorised and chosen champion of those
merchants and traders, but in our humble capacity
as independent journalists.
And, first, let us look at the premises of Mr.
Alderman Evans. Speaking of the Harrington
purchase, he remarks

" The wants of the timber trade were, at first, set forth
as the ground for requiring dock extension at the south ;
hut, this ground not having proved tenable, the expediency
of removing the timber trade further south and relin-
quishing the Brunswick to general trade has taken its
place. I shall, nevertheless, keep to the original ground
and examine the plea for timber dock extension. To this
end I beg the public to observe, that 1843 was a year of
national recovery—of commercial, manufacturing, and
agricultural prosperity. The consumption of timber in
that year should, therefore, be taken as a fair standard by
which to estimate the consumption of succeeding years.
" The state of the timber trade, as tested by consan3p-
tinn, may be judged of by the following extracts from
Messrs. Dempsey and Froste's circular, of Ist February.
I take the first and last years therein given, and confine
the analysis to square timber, as being that for which wide
quays are required, and, from the magnitude of its con-
sumption, in comparison of other articles of timber, being
the proper statistical test.
Baltic timber taken for con-
sumption „ „ in 1839 was 352,000 ft.
Ditto „ in 1843 was 364,000 ft.
British American timber ~ in 1839 was 5,735,000 ft.
Ditto „ in 1943 was 5,480,000 ft.
" Here is not only no increase, but a positive falling
off, in consumption; and it is surely unnecessary to insist
that importation must finally be governed by consump-
tion. It is clear, therefore, that, for timber, no dock ex-
tension is requisite, and that any peculiar value ascribed
to the Harrington property, as affording dock accommo-
dation to the timber trade, has no existence."

Now, upon this question of the wants of the timber
trade, we must say that Mr. Evans is too jesuitical
for our taste. It is true, indeed, as he states, that
the year 1843 was " a year of national recovery; "
but that fact scarcely constitutes it a year of national
health, such as would warrant us in taking it as
"a fair standard by which to estimate the consumption
of succeeding years." And, moreover, in the article
of Baltic timber, it cannot—consumption cannot—
be taken as an estimate at all ! The consumption
in 1843—taking the Alderman's figures as correct,
which they are as nearly as may be,—was only

12,000 feet more than in 1839. But it must be
remembered that the last reduction in duty only
took place in October of that year;—too late to
render Baltic timber profitably available for build-
ing purposes, for which it is mainly fitted ; and,
partly owing to this circumstance, it will be seen by
the reader who will refer to any of the wood
brokers' circulars, such timber was superseded by
the red pine of our own colonies.
And, again, with respect to colonial timber, it
must be remembered that, after all, according to
the Alderman's own admission, this was only " a
year of recovery."
But notwithstanding that we are told importation
must finally be governed by consumption, in this
year we cannot recognise the truth of such a princi-
ple. The question before us is one of dock facili-
ties ; mid Mr. Evans, therefore, would have done
better to give us, instead of the data of consumption,
those of importation. Had he done this, he would
have found that, instead of having to provide dock
space last year for 364,000 feet of Baltic timber, we
had to find such space for 651,000 feet, whereas the
average of the preceding five years was only 306,200
feet; and although a large amount of this import is
left on hand, that fact, as we have already remarked,
is accounted for by the duty having only been re-
mitted in October, after the building season had
concluded.

The timber trade of this port must sustain an in-
crease, notwithstanding the somewhat hardy asser-
tion of Mr. Evans, that the reduction of duty, of
which so much has been said, will have no practical
effect upon the consumption of timber, inasmuch as
what has been relinquished, as duty,has gone, in the
shape of price to the importers, with whom it will
probably remain as remuneration, of which the
hitherto bad state of their trade had long deprived
them." Every authority acknowledges the prospect
of a large. increase of trade in this article ; and it is

acknowledged that, so far, the reduction of duty has
not gone into the hands of importers, who, during
the past year, have not been carrying on a profitable
trade. One circular before us, indeed, distinctly
states that " in October Baltic timber further re-
ceded to the extent of the reduction in duty ; and we
believe that authority—(Messrs. James Houghton