The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-10-08 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

PROGRESS TOWARDS COMPLETION OF ST.
GEORGE'S HALL AND THE LAW COURTS.

The interior of this noble building is at length so far
advanced towards completion as to enable a visitor to
form something like an adequate idea of its magnificent
effect and proportions, when finished. The bulk of the
heavy work throughout is already nearly done; and the
decorations, plastering, &c., are being rapidly proceeded
with. The decorated ceiling of the Concert-hall has a
fine effect, and contains some elaborate and beautifully-
designed foliated work in plaster. From its horse-shoe
shape, and the arched form of the roof, we feel satisfied
that its acoustic properties will be excelled by no building
in the country devoted to musical performances. Its
entrance will be from Shaw's-brow.

The space underneath the Concert-ball is devoted to
the Nisi Prius Court, which is rapidly progressing, and
will be a beautiful and comfortable interior, although we
fear it will be found that proper amplitude of dimensions
has been sacrificed by giving too great space for barris-
ters' rooms, magistrates' rooms, &c. The polished grey
granite pillars, upon which the roof is made to rest, have
a beautiful appearance; and the ornamental mouldings
and carved work of the ceiling have a chaste and graceful
effect. The rooms, of which we have spoken, and which
occupy the outer sides of the building, are large, and
admirably adapted for the convenience of those for whose
use they have been set apart.
The Crown Court, which is situated at the Haymarket
end of the building, is even further advanced towards
completion than the Nisi Prius Court, most of the inte-
rior scaffolding being now removed, thus affording a good
view of the elaborate interior decorations, and enabling
us to form a tolerably correct idea of the arrangements
making for the accommodation of the bar, the.judges,
and the public. The pillars by which this court is sur-
rounded have even a finer effect than in the Nisi Prius
Court, being of polished red granite, with the exception
of two at the entrance, which are formed of entire blocks
of the grey granite. From the dock in this court we de-
scend to the prisoners' cells beneath, of which we shall
speak bye-and-bye.
The most splendid portion of the building is the St.
George's Hall, occupying the square centre of the vast
pile and the space over the Crown Court. Its capacious-
ness may be estimated when we state that the height
from the flooring to the ceiling, which is being gorgeously
decorated with carved work in plaster, is 95 feet, whilst
the length is no less than 169 feet. The massy pillars of
polished red granite by which it is surrounded, contrasted
with the graceful lines and fretwork of the ceiling above,
impart to the hall a character of solidity combined with
lightness and grace. When completed, and occupied as
we some day hope to see it with the elite of the land, and
perhaps graced with the presence of Royalty itself, a
scene will be presented of which our town may justly be
proud, and which cannot be surpassed or equalled in this
or any other land.

Reiurning to the Crown Court, we descend to the
vaults beneath, which are most capacious, and, equally
with the hall and courts above, convey a striking idea of
the vastness of the building and its massive character.
Two spacious passages extend on both sides along the
central portion of the hall, in communication with which
are rows of cells for the prisoners waiting for their trial
or sentence. They are of great strength ; each fitted up
with a water-closet ; and, although gloomy enough to
render even a temporary confinement in them by no
means pleasant, especially to a guilty mind, they will be
provided with every sanatory aid to render them whole-
some. They are approached externally from the Shaw's-
brow end of the building, by an arched entrance, suffi-
ciently wide to admit of the prison-van being driven
inside.

We have omitted to state that the light admitted
throughout the entire building is very good, and shews
that great fertility of invention has been devoted to secure
this important desideratum. With respect to ventilation,
so far as we can judge at present, it seems very good.

DRUNKENNESS AND SABBATH-BREAKING IN

LIVERPOOL

Monday is usually a heavy day for our stipendiary ma-
gistrate as well as the subordinate functionaries of the
Police-court ; it frequently happens that several hun-
dred prisoners are brought up and disposed of : all have a
hearing, and the peculiarities of each respective case are
related. Of course a great proportion of the charges are
such as require no very scrutinising investigation, and
consequently admit of a very summary award : still it would
be utterly beyond the ability of the most energetic of
ordinary magistrates to grapple with such a mass of busi-
ness in the course of one judicial day. With all the judg-
ment and legal knowledge of our worthy stipendiary, and
the extent of his power in these respects is universally
acknowledged, lie would be unequal to the task were it
not for the immense practice he has had. From this cause
he is enabled to see clearly, as by inspiration, the legal
points of the most intricate case that can well be brought
before him. As for the mass of drunken and disorderly
cases which are called on the days referred to, he appears
to dispose of them without consideration : no sooner do
the culprits come up to the dock than they are removed,
the punishment appropriate to the distinctive cases hav-
ing been awarded. The attentive observer will discover
that this is no haphazard mode of getting through
the business, the variety and degrees of punishment ad-
judged in apparently similar cases prove this ; the magis-
trate intuitively perceives the extenuating or aggravating
circumstances of each case, and decides accordingly. It
is not without a reason that the common charge of
drunkenness in one case is punished by the usual fine, hi
another by the imprisonment of the offender, and in a
third case is disposed of by the discharge of the be-
wildered culprit. The shades of crime are varied
strikingly even in this class of prisoners, and the
distinction in their position in society is equally varied.
Here is the worthless drunkard, whose appearance in the
dock is hebdomadal, or perhaps more frequent ; next
comes a simple countryman, whose indulgence on Satur-
day night has led to his passing his Sabbath in the
bridewell, instead of his own rural village ; then a string
of " gents.," whose indiscretion has, for the nonce, made
them the temporary companions of the refuse of society ;
the extremes of age and youth also contribute to swell
the throng : all tending to prove how fearfully prevalent
is the vice of intemperance. No relations of life seem to
be exempt : drunken husbands, drunken wives, nay, even
drunken grandmothers and grandfathers, appear in suc-
cession before the tribunal to expiate their crime.

COMMERCIAL AND MONETARY REPORT.

Monday Night

We have again to report a large business in theshare
market. Prices continue steadily to advance, and each
day brings new buyers from the public. The market
closes this evening at the best of the week—the stocks
chiefly in demand are still York and North Midland—
Midland, Leeds, and Dovers and Londons, which
have hung fire so long have at last begun to move
a little. The quotations of this day are Leeds
stock, 494 50 491 491 50 504 ; ditto, fifths. 71 d ;
Leeds and Thirsk, 114 ; London, 4. 24 8/9 p ; C qrs
2 1/16 p ; Old Sheffields 19 ; Midland stock, 45 4- ;
ditto, 3 s 20 18/9 1 18/9 /.1 d; North British, 7 6 3 • Old
Dovers, 21 1 ;No 4, 7/16 ; South Staffords, 38 d ;
Berwick's, 161 ; York and North Midland, 244 ; Dublin
and Belfast Junction, 284 d ; Pacific steam, 60.
A buoyant feeling continues to pervade our Colonial
Markets, and prices are firmly maintained. The con-
sumption throughout the manufacturing districts is on a
satisfactory scale, and with raw articles generally, seems
likely to continue. Sugar, Tea, or Coffee are all in favor ;
and as the supplies for the next three or four months will
be moderate, the general impression is that prices must
be higher. There was a strong Cotton Market here on
Saturday, and some 10,000 bales changed hands, at rather
stiffer rates. To-day the sales are estimated at 7to 8000
bales, without change in price.

The Corn trade has ruled very dull since the close of
last week, and little has been doing. A few parcels of
Indian Corn and Meal have been sold at previous rates;
other articles having a drooping tendency. All the foreign
markets are at present higher than in this country. A
few parcels of American Flour have been sold at rates
nearly equal to those of last week, but no extent of busi-
ness could be done. It is pretty evident that the Ameri-
cans will not have an overwhelming quantity of grain
and flour to part with this year at all events. On receipt
of accounts from this country prices had risen consider-
ably, and before any very large supplies could be brought
down from the West, the transit would be checked by
frost.

At Mark-lane, to-day, there was a decline in prices of
from Is. to 2s. per quarter for wheat.
At Manchester, to-day, trade was much more lively,
and there was evidently a much better feeling than pre-
vailed last week.

The market for Scotch Pig Iron has been inanimate
during last week, and no :improvement has taken place.
435. is quoted for mixed numbers, but these are no longer
above 425. 6d. ; No. 1, Gartsherrie, 435. 6d. to 445. ;
Bars, £4 10s. to £4 12s. 6d. in Wales.

The accounts received to-day from America as to the
growing cotton crop are, as usual, conflicting, the esti-
mates ranging from £2,000,000 to £2,250,000. The
weather at the south had been favourable for maturing
the crops. The following is a statement of the move-
ment in cotton since the Ist. of September inst., as com-
pared with the previous three years :

• 1850. 1849. 1848. 1847.
Receipts at the ports lB,OOO 18,000 45,000 15,000
Exports to Great Britain! 38,000 12,000 36,000 30,000
to France
to other foreign ports 10,000 4,000 2,000 4,000
Total exports
Stock on hand 85,000 100,030 123,000 132,009
The news of the decline in prices at Liverpool, taken
out respectively by the Asia, the Canada, and the Pacific,
had produced no corresponding decline at New York,
holders being even more exacting in their terms. The
following article, from the New Orleans Bulletin of the
13th ult., contains some remarks which are well worthy of
consideration :

There seems to be very considerable alarm in Europe that
the supply of cotton will be perman-ntly short for the increased
and increasing demand of the world, and that very injurious
consequences will follow, from throwing out of employment a
greater or less portion of those now engaged in the manufac-
ture of the article. Our own belief is, that these fears have no
just foundation, for if prices continue even at the present rates
the culture of it will hold out such inducements as will attract
a larger force to the production of the staple, which will be
withdrawn from other agricultural pursuits. It must also be
borne in mind that even the force now employed in the culture
of cotton is capable of producing a much larger crop than what
was grown last year, and what will probably be gathered during
the present season. In both these seasons, circumstances and
weather have been unpropitious for the production of full
crops, and they will not be equal to what may be considered an
average yield in proportion to the force employed and the ex-
tent of the planting. This is very evident from the fact that
the last crop exhibited a falling off from the one of the preceding
year of more than 600,000 bales, although the force employed
in the culture of it was at least as large. It is this deficiency
that has created the apparent scarcity of the article, the ad-
vance of price, and the consequent alarm in Europe, which
latter is the more confirmed, by the general advises from this
country that the present crop will not greatly exceed the one of
'ast year, and undoubtedly will fall short of the preceding year.
The crop of 1848-9 was 2,730,000 bales, that of 1849 50 2,100,000,
and if we estimate the growing crop at 2,300,000 hales, being
the average of the estimates, (which range from 2,100,000 to
2.500,000 bales, being the two extremes of the ultras), we should
have an average production for the thr• e crops of less than
2,400,000 bales, which is certainly below what should be the
average production of the country. The short stocks on hand
and the probable production of the growing crop, are, no
doubt, circumstances which may, to some extent, realize the
fears entertained in Europe of a diminished employment in the
manufacture of the article, and will certainly have the tendency
to keep up prices at least to present rates, and thus affect the
consumption, but we consider that this, at best, is a temporary
result, that will be corrected by the future crop or crops of the
Union, which will furnish an ample supply, and replenish the
stocks up to their usual full quantity. Our English friends,
we think, therefore, may set their minds at rest as regards the
future provision of cotton, even if the supply which will go
forward during the present year should leave them with a still
further diminished stock at the close of the season. The sti-
mulant of present prices, even if they advance no hig:ier, will
insure such attention to and such increase of the culture, that
the supply will undoubtedly keep pace with the demand in
future years, without rendering it at all necessary for John
Bull to make fruitless efforts to introduce the culture into
Western Africa, or to spend further sums in experiments to
improve the quality or quantity in India.