The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-12-24 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

LIVERPOOL DISTRICT COURT OF BANK-

RUPT CY.-YESTERDAY.

MESSENGERS' BILLS IN INSOLVENCY.
The public may have observed that during the last few
days, a letter, signed a " Solicitor," has been going the
round of the Liverpool papers, charging the messengers
of the Court of Bankruptcy with making extortionate
charges to solicitors employed by insolvents, in what is
termed " messengers' fees." The charge went to show
t hat they (the messengers) exacted the enormous sum of
£3 1-ts. Od, for advertising alone; and that they had,
moreover, made a bargain with a newspaper to put in
these advertisements at one-half the price usually paid
by solicitors before the passing of the late act, the infer-
ence being that the messengers put the other half into
their pockets.

Mr.GAsKELL. one of the messengers, on behalf of him-
self and the other messengers, denied the truth of these
grave assertions, and called upon the anonymous solicitor
to come forward and substantiate them before the Com-
missioners. The solicitor, in reply to this, in the same
paper which originally brought forth the charges, con-
sidered being called upon to substantiate a very easy and
convenient mode of meeting charges on the part of the
messenger," at the same time sending his card to the
paper, on which was inscribed " Green, solicitor." It
subsequently appeared that the letters of Mr. G. een re-
ferred to a case of insolvency; a person named Bleakley,
whose petition, &c., he took into the Bankruptcy Court,
requiting the messenger to advertise and do the ordinary
duties on receiving the insolvent's petition. This, the
messenger refused to do without the fees were paid
down, amounting in all to £3 I4s , unless he was
ordered by the Commissioner (who was then sitting) to
do so. Mr. Green did not apply to the Commissioner,
and the necessary advertisements (by the insertion of
which in the Gazette and papers, a locus standi for the
insolvent could be obtained) were withheld, and yesterday
was the day appointed for the insolvent's first hearing.—
Mr. Green then complained to the commissioner that the
messenger had refused to insert the necessary advertise-
ments.

Mr. Commissioner PHILLIPS enquired from the mes-
senger, (Mr. Gaskell,) why the advertisements were not
inserted.

The Messenger said that Mr. Green owed him upwards
of £lO for fees, and that he had refused to send any more
advertisements to the Gazette or elsewhere, unless a de-
posit of £3 14s. was made.
Mr. GREEN replied, that he did not owe the messen-
ger a farthing, as he considered his charges were un-
warranted.

Mr. DODGE, the solicitor, then rose, and said that the
real facts of the case were these :—On Friday week, Mr.
Green went to the messenger, and desired him to insert
the advertisement of an insolvent named Bleakley ; the
messen er refused, unless he paid the fees, which he un-
derstood amounted to £3 14s. Mr. Green then tendered
him £1 for the first advertisement and fees, which the
messenger also refused. Now he (Mr. Dodge) thought
that the proper cuurse to have pursued was, to have ap-
pealed to his Honour the Commissioner who was sitting
at the time, and then if the messenger was doing wrong
he could have been brought before him, instead of which
Mr. Green left the court and wrote a letter in the Liver-
pool Mail, which he then held in his hand, bringing
charges against the messengers, the statements in which
were denied by Mr. Gaskell as being wholly devoid of
truth.

Mr. Commissioner PHILLIPS said that he could not
listen to any newspaper letters. Mr. Green could not be
responsible for what a newspaper had put forth.
Mr. DODGE said that Mr. Green bad admitted being
the author.

Mr. Commissioner PHILLIPS thought that Mr. Green's
proper course would have been that which Mr. Dodge had
laid down, viz., to have applied to the Commissioners,
for neither himself nor Mr. Sergeant Ludlow would tole-
rate any thing that was wrong on the part of the officers
of the court. A newspaper could not be a proper tribunal
to appeal to in such matters. '

Mi. GREEN said, that he thought the charges of the
messenger were most extortionate and illegal.
Mr. Commissoner PHILLIPS said, that be thought that
the charges of the messenger ought to be paid before he
put in the first advertisement. A messenger must be
rich indeed if he could afford to advance money for every
insolvent who came into the court.

Mr. GREEN contended that the act of parliament
stated that the Commissioners should cause notice of the
filing of the petition to be inserted in the London Gazette
and the local newspapers, and that nothing was said in
the act relating to paying the fees to messengers before-
hand.

Mr. GASKELL, the messenger, said that he should be
very glad to explain how the fees amounted to £3 14s.
The COMMISSIONER stated that he conceived the ques-
tion of fees was for the officer below him to regulate—
viz., the Registrar. He would leave the matter to him,
and he could report the result.
Mr. DODGE said that as the messenger's character had
been attacked in the letters referred to, he would wish
the scale of fees to be investigated.
Mr. Commissioner PHILLIP. 3 said the matter was left
to the Registrar. And here the affair ended.

The insOlvent's case was then postponed for a week, in
consequence of the non-insertion of the advertisements.

LISCARD SCHOOLS.—An examination of the children
belonging to the schools took place on Wednesday last,
and was attended by a numerous and respectable body of
friends, among whom were the Hon. Mrs. Kenyon and
family, who were highly pleased with the improvements
which had taken place since previous examinations in the
education of the children—great praise being due to Miss
Wells and Miss Price for their attention to the children
entrusted to their care. On the re-opening of the school
after vacation, a treat will be given to the children by the
Rev. J. Tobin, consisting of bun, loaf, &c.
TYPOGRAPHIC PLANS.—A short time ago we noticed
the very beautiful and novel plan of Birkenhead, which
had been published by the Proprietors of the LIVERPOOL
STANDARD. We have now been favoured with an early
copy of a remarkably well-executed plan of the present
and intended docks at Liverpool, and also a plan of the
proposed Railway Tunnel from Waterloo Dock to Edge
Hill, in that town, to be circulated with the STANDARD
to-day. It is a very clever specimen of the application of
typography to this purpose, and does great credit, not only
to the care and skill of the printer, but also to the
liberality and public spirit of the publishers.—Chester
Courant.
THE MARINER'S CHURCH SCHOOL.—Yesterday, the
half-yearly examination of the female children of this
school took place in the Floating Church, George's Dock,
before the Rev. Mr. Maynard, the incumbent,—who takes
an unwearied interest in their advancement,—and a con-
s derable number of visitors. About sixty children, all
neatly attired, attended, and acquitted themselves in a
manner that fully evinced the great attention they had
paid to the able and assiduous instructions of Miss
Maxwell, their principal teacher, and of Miss Brewer,
her very young but able assistant. A considerable part
of the examination was conducted by the rev. gentleman
himself, who, from time to time, in the kindliest terms,
impressed upon his juvenile hearers the importance of
abiding by the virtuous and self-denying precepts inculcated
by the several passages from Scripture read or repeated
from memory. The junior classes commenced by recit-
ing successive verses of sacred poetry; readings, succeeded
by questions upon them, followed, which were answered
with prompitude and accuracy, shewing the great pains
that had been taken in their tuition. The higher class
were next examined with equal effect on Scriptural facts.
In the geography of the Holy Land, and finally of the
world, the whole evinced remarkable precision, even in
details. Spelling, with meanings, and parsing were handled
with equal ease. The copy-hooks exhibited much im-
provement in the general manuscript of the pupils, who
also shewed much proficiency in the common rules of
arithmetic. Several beautiful and affecting pieces of poetry
appropriate to the occasion were recited in an impressive
manner by girls of various ages. The whole concluded
by a hymn "On Leaving School." At the close, buns
were distributed, and the gratified scholars broke up for
the holidays.
MEETING OF OPERATIVES CONNECTED WITH THE
IRON TRADE.—Last night, a meeting took piace at the
Nelson-street Assembly-room, of the workers in iron, in
this town—mechanics, engineers, millwrights, mould'irs,
smiths, and boiler-makers—for the purpose of forming a
branch union with the original club of the same trades in
Manchester, for the protection of their labour. The
principal speakers were from Manchester, and had come
as a deputation to invite their fellow-workmen here to
hear an exposition of their views. The room was
well attended by well-dressed mechanics. Mr. Ro-
binson, of Manchester, took the chair, and in open-
ing the business read some documents, showing that
the masters had formed a union which he believed had for
its final object a reduction of the wages of their men.
The printed circular purported to be signed by several
respectable firms in this town and elsewhere. Another
circnlar was also read from the secretary of the masters'
association of this town to the effect that if the re-
gulations of the masters were not complied with the
men would be discharged. He observed that the ob-
ject was to break up all unions of the men, even benefit
societies if at all connected with the regulations of their
trade, and reduce them to a state of bondage. The other
speakers, Messrs. Roberts, Roche, Cornforth, Shep-
pard, Homle, and others spoke at great length, with
much animation and no little eloquence against the union
of the masters, but expressed a feeling of respect to them
as such, and a wish, if possible, to accommodate
matrers ; but a determination, if that could not be
effected, to staud out to the last—especially against
what they termed a " quittance " paper on leaving
their service, which they all alleged would have them
destitute of employment afterwards, as it was to the
effect that they had left in consequence of being discon-
tented with the wages they had received, so that no other
master would employ them, of which there were already
many instances. They also complained of misrepresen-
tations in a lette.i in the Journal, to the effect that the
society had not carried out the objects for which it was in-
stituted, whereas the Manchester union had since its for-
mation-1837 to 1844 inclusive—paid £12,600 to sick
members, £24,000 to men travelling in search of employ-
ment, £l,OOO to members injured by accidents, £l,OOO
to aged members (above 60 years of age), and £3OO
for funerals. Resolutions were passed—lst, to the effect
that the mechanics present (of Liverpool) should form a
branch of the Great Protection Society of Gt. Britain and
Ireland; 2d,that the society adopt the principles laid down
in the rules of the mechanical trades of the union in Man-
chester ; 3d ly, that 3 members of each of the 6 trades named
should meet to choose a committee to consist of 15. A
Mr. Dixon, who stated he had been brought up in a coal
pit, addressed the meeting with great vigour and eloquence.
It was stated that several masters had withdrawn from the
masters' union, and a vote o f thanks was returned to
them.

WRITING, &c.--Adults, who write indifferently, would
do well to take a few lessons from Mr. Thompson, Clay.
ton-square. His plan is novel, simple, and ingenious,
d admirably calculated to secure the attainment of fit*
on nanship.—See adv.

POLYTECHNIC SOCIETY.-NEW MARINER'S

COMPASS.

At the last monthly meeting of this society, the Presi-
dent, Mr. Grant'iam, exhibited a new mariner's compass,
invented by Commander West, R.N. The advantages
proposed are twofold : first, to reduce the oscillating,
and, secondly, the rotatory motion of the card when in a
heavy sea. To reduce the oscillating motion, a small
ivory ring is attached to the under side of the card, and
about two inches below it, by wires. This ring surrounds
the pivot on which the card revolves; and only allows as
much side motion as the difference between the diameter
of the ring and of the pivot. To reduce the rotatory mo-
tion, two very thin pieces of horn are placed, also, on the
lower side of the card, and perpendicular to its plane.
These present a broad surface to the air as the card re-
volves, and tend to check its motion. Lieut. Lord had
tried the compass at the Light-ships and in small boats,
and expressed a favourable opinion of it. Several expel i-
ments were tried at the meeting to enable the members
to form some idea of its merits compared with the com-
mon compass, and also with the beautitul new compasses
now extensively sold by Messrs. Jones, Eray, and Keane,
of this town. From the results thus shewn, it did not
appear tbat the ivory ring was any advantage, but, on the
contrary, rather added to the motion of the card. The
President, however, cautioned the meeting against form-
ing a decided opinion from these trials, as they possessed
very imperfect modes of testing it. The horn fans did
chew some favourable results. A rotatory motion was
given to the card, and the vibrations were counted. With
the fans properly set, it made only seven vibrations before
coming to a state of rest; with the fans laid flat on the
card, it made eight ; and when altogether removed, it
made nine vibrations ;—thus shewing that light paper or
horn fans might be advantageously employed.
At the conclusion of the meeting the president gave his
accustomed annual address, in accordance with the rules
of the society. He spoke at some length of the progress
and general success of the society. He said he was aware
that a great change had taken place in public feeling with
respect to scientific societies, only a few years back, lec-
tures on chemistry, mechanics, &c., would attract crowded
audiences, every man thought he could become acquainted
with the arts and sciences through t hese means, but the
novelty soon wore off, the public became as well acquaint-
ed as the lecturer himself with all the beautiful experi-
ments and models which lie had to exhibit,—but little or
no progress had been made in the elements of the study
itself, and the consequent disappointment caused a corres-
ponding reaction—and now our lecture-halls are to be
made places of amusement before an audience can be ob-
tained. He hoped, however, that better things were at
hand arid that more solid results were about being obtained.
He only alluded to the above fact to make a favourable
contrast with the society over which he presided. Their
pursuits were purely of a practical nature and much solid
benefit bad been derived from them. Having warmly
thanked the members for their uniform kindness and sup-
port during the four years in which he had been at their
head, he said, that he felt himself under the necessity of
declining to be re-elected to the high office he held, should
that again be their intention, and hoped the members
would come prepared at the next meeting, with a fresh
candidate for the honour. To fulfil the office properly, it
was necessary to give considerable time and thought to
its affairs, and having undertaken numerous heavy and
responsible duties, he thought, in justice to himself and
to those who had entrusted their property to his charge,
he ought not to engage in any occupation, however flat-
tering to his own feelings, that could distract his attention
or occupy his time.