The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-03-05 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPoori STANDARD

SIR. —ll. trust tilt'; you will tie nil,. r,:at ; .s ur
have iaserred 71 .ccond utter from Al r. E•ieoez, r
I hop- you will allow nee to reply to it. Ido no, peen-nd
to such an ahmaiktot knowledge ot the secrets ot ken-
head as he seevis to poss,Ns ; nut 1 'if) lay elairti to the
possession of cainroon sense, and I am ti.ank!ut to say
that there is tin lack of that va.uarde coo.roodity on our
side of the waier, as our saying.,, and doings so :admirably
declare. Mr. Jones may am-er as he pleas.fs abo it. B.r-
kenhead extending to the Weaver; but, sir, no o,an
living can tell what Birkenhead (or Port. Jackson, if you
like it better) may one day become. It is &stifled to be
the second town in the empire, and no mistake; and it
will be at once a great seaport—a great watering-place—
a great northern metropolis—a great manufacturing town
—and especially celebrated as a place of issue, both paper-
istic and otherwise. Mr. Jones seems to make it some-
what mysterious that there was a real sovereign paid as a
deposit for land a short time ago : but it was a fact never-
theless : and out of the 2,641 sales by contract which took
place within my knowledge, the week after the dock
scheme came out, I know that more than 100 sovereigns
changed hands on that lively occasion. Why, sir, land
at Birkenhead is dirt cheap. Mr. Jones himself may
buy on a promissory note thousands of yards from Mr.
Smith (not me); Mr. Smith has bought from Mr. Wig-
gins, the latter from Mr. Tupp. Mr. Tupp from Mr.
Graball, and Mr. Graball from Mr. Quashy, and so on.
And what is the best touch of all, and quite in character
with a young and flourishing community—it 's all on
credit !!! And as some people in this world never mean
to pay, some can't pay, and others won't pay, it is as clear
as mud that in the long run a good deal of land will be
had for nothing • and if that is not cheap, I'm a Dutch.
man. Now, sir, Mr. Jonts says it is whispered that there
is to be a second line of railway to Chester. Why, that's
no news! Everybody here knows, that when our 97-acre
dock is made, two railways will not be sufficient for us.
The railway now in use is so crowded, that it becomes a
matter of necessity to have a second line; and as we al-
ways look far ahead, it will be better to make it now than
when our town becomes a dense mass of buildings up to
Eastham ; and as it will be shortly proposed at a commis-
sioners' meeting, nobody can doubt that when the ques-
tion is put the ayes will have it. Mr. Editor, I hope you
do not set us down as tools or—anything else, at Bir-
kenhead; because you will find us anything but fools
before long. Why, sir, a distinguished member of the
Wirrall Agricultural Society has discovered a new de-
scription of turnip, which will only grow in swamps. It
is called the Turnip:ea Munchatgeniana, from the beauti-
ful flower which it puts out ; and a celebrated financier
has shown, by the most unerring calculation, that swampy
land valued at 30s. per yard, if set with this wonderful
vegetable, will produce 14i per cent.; and you would be
surprised how that description of land is run after, since
so wonderful a discovery was made. An estate that some
years ago was only valued at £ll,OOO. is now said to be
worth two millions; and one or two of our great landed
proprietors will be in a condition to make a bid at Eaton or
Chatsworth, when they are put up to auction ! And then
our docks! Ye Liverpool noodles of the Council! do ye
think that we are going to pay you TOWN DIES? Do you
think we are going to be saddled with your land by public
auction? Blessings on thy black eyes Dicky Shiel, who
put a stop to the power ot the Finance Committee to sell
their land. Thou didst wallop the corporate estate to
some tune by thy wise motion, and we of Birkenhead
thank thee, but we do not intend to be caught. And ye
old ladies of the Dock Committee, do you suppose that
we don't know what we are doing; We will lay a heavy
duty on all ships coming into the Port Jackson Docks,
but not on the goods; we will saddle you with the coast-
ing trade, because it does not pay. We can get the land
of the Pool for nothing, because we have got on the blind
side of the Woods and Forests • and, although Joe has
come back from London—and, although old Hartley has
valued the Pool at 400 times the value of Cubitt, we shall
keep the game alive, and go a-head. I had intended to
reply to other points of Mr. Jones's letter, but I have 3 or
400 contracts for land to sign; and if Mr. Jones should
again presume to write on great affairs which he has not
mind enough to comprehend, I shall certainly return to
the charge. To shew you, Mr. Editor, that we live in no
ordinary times, I subjoin you a prospectus, which has just
been put out here •, and I am happy to tell you that the
share list is fast filling up, and the scheme is as certain,
in my opinion, to be carried out as our docks are. Let
envious people, therefore, talk as they please about dock
bubbles, joint stock bubbles, kite flying, time bargains
and Birkenhead options. Let them preach about their
experience, and warn you, like witches, about panics,-
1825—land slips. and all that nonsense. Sir, a thing is
worth what we can make it worth, and I am of opinion
that the celebreed Montague Tigg, Esq., was correct,
when he was asked what the capital of the Anglo-Benga-
lee Life Assurance Company was to be, he replied, the
figure 2, and as many 000's as the printer could get in the
same line. You needn't tell it again, Mr. Editor, but
there is no place in the world where there are more
"smart" men than at Birkenhead. considering its popu-
losity, and no people on this side Kentucky know better
than they do, that 9-10ths of mankind are governed by
humbug, and that if you can divert mens' attention, it is
a very easy thing to pick their—brains?
I am, sir,
Your obedient servant,
ZEPHANIAH SMITH.
Birkenhead, March 41h, 1844.

PROSPECTUS OF THE NEW ANGLO-HIBER-
NIC DOCK AND LAND COMPANY.
Capital, £200,000,000, in 200 Shares of one million each.
It must be confessed by all who have studied human
nature in connexion with trade, that selfishness and per.
sonal aggrandisement form no part of the character of the
majority of public men. Hence arises those various plans
and gigantic schemes which never fail to amaze mankind
by their boldness, which are carried out in disinterested-
ness; and hence arises that patriotic feeling which is so
admirable in itself, and which carries away captive the
best principles of our nature. To give to the world a still
further proof that there are men of lofty and vigorous
minds who are willing to make "enormous sacrifices" for
the benefit of their countrymen, and to provide for that
great increased trade which, in the course of a few cen-
turies, must accrue to Great Britain and Ireland, a pro-
posal is now made which will have the effect of raising
the value of land in all parts of the empire, and which will
entitle its originators to a conspicuous place in the Temple
of Fame.
It has been long admitted that the erection of docks
within such paltry rivers as the Mersey, the Thames, and
the S vcrn, was a palpable otis ake, and utterly useless
for the purposes of commerce. A number of spirited in-
dividuals have therefore erected themselves into Pro-
visional Commissioners, pro. tern., and submit to the
capitalists of the country (they being landowners only
themselves) the following magnificent scheme:—
let. It is proposed to build a sea wall from Dundrum
Bay to the Calf of Man, and from Ramsay Bay to St.
B es head ; and also to run an embankment from
Donaghailee to Ihe Mull of Galloway. By this means a
large upper Poll will be formed for the double purpose of
discharging river craft, and also for cleansing and scouring
the great dock.
2(1. To carry a sea wall from Sr. David's head, in Pem-
brokeshire, to the Hook, on the Irish coast; having a
large entrance harbour capacious enough to accommodate
the whole navy of Great Britain, with flood-gates suffi-
ciently strong to resist the roll of the sea from the Bay of
Biscay, and which gates are to open and shut on a new
system of electrical motion, for which a patent is about to
be taken ow. This plan, so comprehensive in its nature,
,nd so easy of accomplishment, will give a floating dock
of 31,644,2361 acres, and an upper pool of 11.943,9874
acres, which, together, it is confidently supposed, will be
the most spacious dock space in the univers. To cleanse
out the docks it is proposed to make two culverts with
large cloves, one to run diagonally across Ireland from the
upper pool, and to be turned into the Shannon at Athlone;
and the other to he carried across England, and discharged
into the Humber. By this ingenious method, the whole
water of the northern sea can be made available at any
time for scouring purposes ; and when not required, it
will run through the culverts in question, and will at one
and the same time render the Shannon navigable, and will
also wash away all the sand banks at the mouth of the
Humber.
3d. It is intended to give to alI the owners of land on
the margin of the dock, permission to carry out walls, sct
as to enclose and ,make .available the space between the
present margin and [bewails awl:milt% Vessels may then
'lie alongside ofaaverymanNi premises ; and it is confidently
calculated that, the • seine atft,theilaid:Air.tia gained will be
more than double4the !ease ciflaraptinigthe walls. ,-.lll'glanctr
a; the map of England will convince the most sceptical,
that if a sea-wall was bUilt from the Rock light-house to
Almwich-point, in the Isle of Anglesey, and again, from
Braich-y-Irwell-head, in Carnarvonshire, to Llangwnda,
in Pembroke, that a very large piece of land would be
obtained, which might be tendered available for iron ship-
builders, manufacturers, and others—or it might be dis-
posed of most advantageously. The Isle of Man being in
the centre of the dock, presents a favourable site for
bonded warehouses; and spacious gunpowder stores are
to be formed on the Calf of Man, so that, if there is any
blow up, no mischief can occur.
4th. It is intended there shall be floating railways across
the dock, which are to be all lighted with gas, and the
various lighthouses along the coast are to be ornamented
by the Trinity Board, so as to form elegant lamps for
lighting the quays of the intended docks. It will be satis-
factory to capitalists to kuow . that all the great land-
holders are eminently favourable to the undertaking, and
that already has much land changed hands, at surprising
prices, in anticipation,ot _future benefits. It may also be
well to state that borings' hive been made, and the bottom
is found to be rock throughout, with the exception of one
portion, of not more than 'twenty miles in extent, and
where piles will have to be used. Designs have been
obtained from an eminent engineer, who has made a correct
estimate of the cost of the works, and the Provisional
Commissioners are happy in being able to state that two
eminent contractors have offered to execute the work at
the engineer's estimate, and to receive payment in Com •
missioners' bonds. The Admiralty have declared them-
selves favourable to the scheme, and it is generally believed
that Government intend to apply a portion of the surplus
revenue of last year in furtherance of the work. An able
solicitor is now in London procuring an act of Parlia-
ment for the formation of the company ; and as a wealthy
and spirited individual, on the shores of ae undertaking,
has already secured gas and water works for the next 75
years, it is his intention to present the gas for lighting the
floating railway, and also the fresh water for the manu-
facture of grog for the crews, in the most liberal and
praiseworthy manner.
As there can be no doubt whatever of the success of the
scheme, and as it has already caused an increase in the
value of the land along the Welch and Irish coasts of, in
marry instances. 2560 per cent., and as the new land to be
formed out of the excavations, and also by levelling down

the Mourne mountains,. Snowdon, Caller Idris, Pttiman-
Maw' Aid mole iltau repay the entire cost of the
works, it is earne•oly rernoire,ended that iinrne iiate appli-
cation be made r;a- share., which have purpo,ely been
111 de tar to to cxciu is I.y. may. haw,cor, hr
pg.ramitred to parclias, much tarki AS' they C:lo.3tir cm Ire
so re, of the c •,,empla-ed dock 3, and whirh
fearlessly se' ure in any cx!elit, and at any price. Further
particulars will be isru-1 in a few days. and appl,eatiuti
for shares mat now i,e made to * * * * *
[Here the MS. is so rkfective that we cannot make out
the names.]

---
DOCK COM M ITTEE.-THURSDAY.

Present—Messrs. Moore. Barclay.)Hno,lEt,vaMnso,lyAniekuitx):
Holmes, ptu Trota. Rovden, Tthi
Kendall, Ripley, Nicol, and Holley. The returns of dock
and light dues for vessels entering the port of Runcorn
for the last month, was stated to be £4B 9s. 9d„ on 168
vessels and 9519 tons—this sum being an increase of £2)
as compared with the corresponding period of last year.
A letter from fonr carrying companies, rerpesting ex-
clusive berths for their vessels in two of the docks, was
referted to the Harbour Ma,sters Sub-committee.
The CHAIRMAN said the next business was as to the
purchase of the !and and strand, from the Corporation,at
the north end. Last week the subject had been kept
private , • but they had now the answer from the Finance
Committee, and he wished to know whether the subject
should be taken into consideration then, or be deferred
till the reporters had retired.
Different opinions having been expressed by the mem-
bers,
Mr. ATKIN remarked that they bad better have the an.
swer read, and discuss the matter, and if it were found
desirable not to have it published, perhaps the reporters
would not take any notice of it.

Mr. EVANS did not like tampering with the reporters
in that way, asking them to leave this out and put that in.
especially as he had reason to believe that part of the dis-
cussion had been withheld at the request of parties. Be-
sides, he did not see why the reporters should individually
be put into the secrets of the Dock Committee.
The CHAIRMAN did not think any individual had
urged the suppression of any part of the discussions.
Mr. EVANS said he had found oftener than once a very
curtailed account of the discussions, and the curtailment
appeared to be a good deal on the one side of the question ;
therefore, it occurred to him that there was some influence
or other exerted with the reporters, in order that they
suppress or enlarge it, but he did not mean to make any
charge against any individual.
The CHAIRMAN did not think that any individual
would take the trouble to ask for a suppression.
Mr. TourN said he found there wal a good deal sup-
pressed, but he did not think there was more suppressed
on the one side than the other.
The CHAIRMAN said the reporters must necessarily
condense a great deal to get the matter into their papers.
Here the subject dropped, it being understood that the
discussion as to the purchase was to come on after the
withdrawal of the reporters.
Mr. RIPLEY said he had been informed by Mr. Jack-
son, that the Dock Solicitor had opposed the Wallasey
Dock Bill bn the standing orders.
The. CHAIRMAN replied that the solicitor had not done
so, and that the bill had not been opposed.
At the suggestion of Mr. AIKIN, copies of the bill
were ordered to be provided for each member of the com-
mittee.

Mr. AixiN said he had been informed by Captain Saars-
field, of the Post-office packets, that, in coming into port
on Wednesday morning, he found the Point of Ayr light
so much stronger to the westward, that, if he had not been
well acquainted with the bearings, he might have mistaken
it for the north-west light ship.
It was stated that the light. which was a new one, had
been placed there by the Trinity Board, and ul•imately
the subject was left to the Marine Surveyor's Sub-
Committee to draw the attention of the proper parties
to it.

The committee then proceeded to the remaining sub-
jects on the paper—the purchw,e of the land and strand at
the north, and the communication between the docks and
the Leeds and Liverpool Canal ; but before they did sn,
the reporters were informed that the who!e of the gene-
ral business had been transacted, and of course they with-
drew.

RIOTING AT ST. HELEN'S.

(From the Manchester Guardian)

It is well known that several thousand colliers have for
the last five weeks been idle in St. Helen's and the neigh-
bourhood, in consequence of a strike for wages. The
coalmasters have made efforts to replace them with men
who would work at the former wages; arid on Monday
evening last a party of the county police, stationed at St.
Helen's, proceeded to near liuncorn, for the purpose of
escorting to the former place a party of Welch colliers
who had been engaged by the masters. The arrival of
these " knobsticks," as they were called, soon be.'atne
known to the turn-outs, who mustered on Tuesday nio-n-
-ing to the number of probably 1000, with the intention of
preventing them from commencing work. A:tout eleven
o'clock on Tuesday forenoon, eight of the county con-
stabulary were escorting a party of about thirty of these
Welch colliers on their way to the Broad Oak Colliery of
Messrs. Burns and Robinson, and when about a mile from
the colliery, at a place called Smithy Brow, they were
attacked by a mob of turn outs, about 1000 strong, who
assailed them with stones, brickbats, and wrier missiles,
severely hurting several of the police. A brit kb,lt struck
Police-constable Green on the back of the head, inflicting
a severe contusion, and Serjeant Black had one band
completely disabled. by a blow from some missile. The
small number of the police prevented their making any
effectual resistance to the nnrribers opposed to them, and
the " knobsticks" were taken from their care, and escorted
by the turn-outs back to St. Helen's, where they were
conducted to the house of call of the turn-outs, arid their
club-house, a retail beer-shop, kept by a colliery under-
looker named George Huyton, where they were detained
about two hours, supplied with refreshment, arid then,
being prevailed on by the threats and intimidation of the
turn-outs, they agreed to leave the town, and were escorted
by some few of the turn-outs as far as Prescot, on their
way back to Liverpool.
About noon, arid during the sittingof the magiorates in
the court-room at St. Helen's, a roan named Platt was
recognised in court, by some of the county constabulary,
as one who had been active in the attack on their force,
about an hour before, and as having been seen throwing
stones. He was accordingly apprehended, and, having
been brought before Mr. Earle and other magistrate s, he
was c tmenitted for trial at the n: xt Kirkdale sessions.
The constables in attendance were cond cling this man to
the lock-up of the station-Louse, which is beneath the
court-room, when, while passing in front of the bui:ding
in the mat Is et-place, they were attacked by a crowd, con-
' sitting chiefly of turn-out colliers, arid the prisoner was
rescued, and got clear off, the constables receiving some
severe blows in the affray.
Between two and three o'clock Serjeant Brandwood and
Police-constable Green, observing a man named Leyland
passing along the Market-place, who had been very active
during the first attack on the police at Smithy Brow, they
seized bin, and Superintendent Storey, the officer in
command of the force at St. Helen's, hearing the noise,
came out of the court-reorn without his hat, and also laid
hold of Leyland, when an attack was instantiv'made on
the police, and a large blue whinstone was throwr, and
struck Superintendent Storey with considerable force on
the forehead. He became insensible, and must have
fallen, but he was caught in the arms of some of the
' constables, and was conveyed into the station-house.
The police received several severe blows from heavy
missiles, and were at length compelled to let the prisoner
go. One man, named Wynn, who was active in attempt-
ing to rescue Leyland, was seized by Police-constable
Green, and they fell to the ground together; but Green
was ultimately obliged to relinquish his hold and seek
shelter. Others of the county police succeeded in cap-
turing three of the turn-outs, named Periketh, Knowles,.
and M`Donough, (the last named an Irishman,) all of
whom were brought up before the sitting magistrates, and
identified as having taken a prominent part in these riot-
ous proceedings, and they were all committed for trial at
the next Kit kdale Sessions. Several others were also
captured, but, with the exception of the three just named,
they were all rescued before they could be lodged in the
station-house ; and, towards three o'clock, the appearance
of things became so threatening that Mr. Johnson, a coal
proprietor, and Mr. Sinclair, overlooker of the Sr. Helen's
and Runcorn Gap Railway, proceeded along that line, and
by a train to Manchester, in order to obtain. some. troops
to preserve the peace of the place. The:usual force -of
the county constabulary stationed at St—fleletes.is only
11 men ; but in consequence of the turn-out this force has
been for some time doubled ; and, we believe, the total
force in the place on Tuesday consisted of Superintendent
Storey and 22 police constables. Of course these were
wholly unable effectually to oppose a riotous mob of at
least 1000 men, and it was deemed desirable to call in the '
aid of the military.
On their arrival in Manchester Messrs. Johnson and
Sinclair proceeded at once to the police-office, but neither
Captain Willis, chief constable, nor Mr. Beswick, chief
superintendent, was then in the way, and having inquired
of the clerks to whom they should apply for troops, they
were directed to the residence of Colonel Wemyss, the
assistant adjutant general of the northern district, in
Smedley-lane, Cheetham. Colonel Wemyss accompanied
them to the infantry barracks, Regent-road, Salford, and
directed that a party of the troops stationed_ there should
proceed by railway forthwith to St. Helen's. We believe
portions of three infantry regiments are now stationed in
the Regent-road barracks, the 32d, the 67th, and the 70th ;
and we are told that about seventy rank and file of the
67th Regiment marched from the barracks to the Liverpool
Railway Station, and were thence despatched to St. He-
len's, by the orders of Colon!l Wemyss, by a special train
of four carriages, accompanied by Messrs. Johnson and
Sinclair. When our account left St. Helen's they were
seen on the branch railway about a mile from that place.
Up to eight o'clock last evening all remained quiet, and
beyond the outrages already noticed, no violence, so fares
we can learn, had up to that hour been offered either to
person or propert9.

THE LATE RACE BETWEEN EASTRAM AND ETCHELLS.
—This match, which came off last week but one, at Belle-
vue, and which ended in a dispute, is fixed to be run over
again on Thursday, May 23rd, at the Old Roan Inn, near
Aintree race-course, each party adding £5O to the present
deposit of £25 a-side. It will be for 220 yards.
MATCH AGAINST TIME.--OH Monday last, Mr.
Thomas Cross, shoemaker, of Birkenhead, undertook for
a wager to walk from Chester to Birkenhead, a distance
of 16 miles, in three hours and a half, which task he ac-
complished in about five minutes within the time, not-
withstanding the unfavourable weather. When he" came
in," he was received with loud cheers by a large crowd
who had assembled to greet him.