The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-08-20 00:00:00

THE LI VERPOOL STA N DARD.

We have now arrived at that point of the discussion
upon the great West India question which places out of
doubt its being passed into a law in this country, and,
consequently, renders opinions upon its details unneces-
sary. We are also on the eve of learning the effect pro-
duced by the measure in the colonies themselves ; of
which a foretaste has reached us, within the last week or
two, in the view taken by the legislative colonies of it,
as first promulgated by Mr. STANLEY. That the origi-
nal proposition should have excited strong feelings,
which led to immediate expressions of condemnation,
and menaced more distinct marks of dissent, is what we have
always expected, and in that expectation we are not de-
ceived. It is true that, at the date of the last accounts
frpm thence, the information received in the West Indies
was restricted to the intelligence of a contemplated loan
of fifteen millions, coupled with a compulsory service of
twelve years on the part of the negro. So gross was
this, that even his MAJESTY'S present ministers could not
carry it forward a second stage. That principle was
abandoned, and a gift' of twenty millions substituted for
a loan of fifteen. Still the term of service remained.—
The conclave of saints was assembled, and, through their
official organ in the public department, demanded a di-
minution in the term of labour of nearly one half of the
specified period. This was yielded by the minister with-
out a struggle. The case, then, stands thus. The pro-
perty of the colonies being valued at 130 to 140 millions,
the minister of the crown says very kindly to the colonial
proprietors, " Allow me to destroy your property at the
end of twelve years, and I will lend you a sum of money
equivalent to 2s. 3d. in the pound upon it." The minis-
ter subsequently feels a little ashamed of this sort of
compromised robbery, and changes his views to this ex•
tent :—"I think my last proposition was a very bare-
faced one ; and as I would wish to rob you in a
gentlemanly sort of way, I will improve the con-
ditions ; and instead of lending you 2s. 3d. in the
pound. Upon the value of your property, I will give you
3s. in the pound upon the amount, in such manner and
at such time as I may hereafter determine, for the privi-
lege of now making a law to effect the robbery." This
condition is acceded to ; precisely as a timid old gentle,
man grants the request of a highwayman, who puts a
pistol to his head, and, with very expressive words,
demands all his property ; but with a promise that, if it
be given up willingly, he will restore him as much as
will pay his expenses to the end of his journey; hinting,
at the same time, in no equivocal terms, that any hesi-
tation would be useless, as the property he will have.
This, which is a most agreeable picture, precisely repre-
sents the case as between the Government and the
Colonist. We hold the question of whether the appren.
ticeship. shall be twelve years or seven,—the last act of
the robbery—to be wholly unimportant, with reference
to final results. It brands, it is true, with additional dis-
grace the infatuated party which demanded, and the
weak ministry which conceded so extensive a diminu-
tion of the originally-proposed and pledged term of
apprenticeship labour; but whether the term had remained
at twelve years or been reduced to two, instead of seven,
appears to us perfectly immaterial, as a matter of fact.
Little as we are inclined to compliment either the mini-
sters or their abettors on this question, we have no dis
position to fix upon them so unqualified a mark of folly
as would attach to them, if we could imagine they be-
lieved the negroes of the West Indies would willingly
labour for any, 'even the shortest of the periods named
above, when such a law as that now brought to its last
stage in our legislature should be promulgated in the
colonies. It is true they have freely asserted that the
negroes will work, industriously exert themselves, on
such a principle. Again and again have they said it;
but as to their belief to that effect, our ideas, we repeat,
do not go to the extent of imagining the existence of
such perfection of full;/. The alternative of our judgment,
however, and that in no diminished degree, is open to
their free adoption.

The measure has been one of an extraordinary nature
throughout. Suggested by fanatical zeal, inflamed in no
small degree by party spirit—snatched at by Ministers
as a means of obtaining a momentary popularity with a
clamorous and somewhat powerful party—hatched in
secresy, and based in ignorance of the merits of the whole
question—carried on through a course of vacillation, the na-
tural attendant on such ignorance—defended, against the
inbreakings of truth, reason, and experience, by falsehood,
folly, and obstinacy, and, finally-, sentfrom the Lower to the
Upper House of Parliament, by majorities of whom to
speak in fitting terms might be inconsistent with strict
prudence ;—the whole progress of the measure has been
one of wickedness pregnant with mischief;;—its consum-
mation, now on the eVe of. being effected, will, we fore-
tel, be marked by extensive ruin to the fortunes of the
colonists, and by scarcely less injurious consequences to
every leading interest of the empire. GOD grant we may,
in this case, be false prophets. Our inclinations and
wishes are adverse to our opinions; but the latter are the
result of an overwhelming conviction.

Among the tabular matter in our fourth page our mer-
cantile friends will find the last monthly returns of the
London and West India docks, containing accounts of the
stocks in those establishments, made up to the 31st ult.

LONDON LATEST NEWS.

Saturday Evening, Half-past Seven o'clock.

Since we last wrote there has been little domestic news here,
and few rumours worthy of notice. Our Consol Market has also
been passive, and the closing price for the Account was 89
this evening. Bank and India Stock have both been on the
advance, India Stock being 2441 245, and Bank 2091 210. In
the Foreign Bonds all the northern securities are looking up:
Russian are 104 ; Dutch 51a a ; and Belgian 961 to 971. Spa-
nish Stock continues to attract some notice; 231 a- is the price.
No material speculation has taken place in Portuguese Bonds
or Scrip, which closed for the former at 871 88, and for the latter
at 23i 241 pm.
It will be seen from Mr. Kemble's manly address, that he
does not intend to petition against Mr. Crawford's return for
this city, on the ground of his not being a freeman. Mr. Craw-
ford on the day the election terminated, became a freeman of
the Worshipfui Company of Spectacle Makers; and we doubt not
when the record of the cost of his election is placed before him, he
will he able, without calling upon his new company, to see through
the motives of his backers. Altogether the matter is very dis-
graceful to the constituency of London, but is no more a proof
of there being no reaction than had Mr. Crawford been rejected;
for Mr. Kemble's friends displayed a supineness by no means
unnoticed by their opponents; and the conservatives of London
generally were very lukewarm during the whole progress of the
election. It will be observed, that of 12,000 voters not more
than one-half of them have polled.
We have a file of the St. Kitt's Advertiser to the 25th of June
inclusive. The mild weather and genial showers during the
month have caused the fields in which, a short time previous,
no hope was entertained of getting the canes established, to send
forth fresh and luxurious shoots, promising to he all that could
be expected. The polatoe fields also, from a blighted and sickly
appearance, had changed to a strong and healthy one, and the
yams lately planted were shooting. up strong stems. There had
been but little reduction in the prices of articles for estate con-
sumption. Corn meal was 23 dollars, flour 9to 91 dollars per
barrel; sugar 4 dollars per 100 lbs.; rum 2s to 2s 3d per gal-
lonj and molasses 20 cents per gallon.
We have a file of St. Vincent's papers to the end of June.
They contain the address of the Lieutenant-Governor to the
two branches of the legislature. His Excellency states, that he
shall diligently labour to learn the laws and customs of the
colony; and congratulates the colonists that, in times of such
depression as the present, permanent relief had been afforded
by his Majesty's Government in defraying the entire salary of
the Lieutenant-Governor out of the funds at the disposal of
Government. The House of Assembly, in its reply, states, that
a bill for raising the supplies for the current year was in pro-
gress through the house ' • and, notwithstanding the unprece-
dented difficulties the colonists laboured under, it was hoped
the faith and credit of the colony would still he maintained.
Antigua papers have been received to the 24th of June. The
two houses of legislature had assembled. In his address on
this occasion, the Governor-in-Chief made the following obser-
vations :

" Learning that the labourers in this island, although equally
commendable in point of character, being for the moment
equally misled, have been induced to participate in an error
lately prevalent amongst those in a neigbouring settlement, it
becomes desiralle, in the same terms of explanation, to dispel
the delusion here.
" It is, therefore, imperative on me to state, in consequence
of certain expectations understood to be entertained by the
slave population on the occasion of my arrival, that no com-
mands of a novel nature, in relation to them, have emanated
for my guidance from the Crown."
The assembly, in reply to other portions of the address, ex-
press their satisfaction at the assurances of the Governor.

Large quantities of cotton twist are now being sent from
Manchester, and delivered free in Russia, at lower prices for
the twist than the raw cotton from which it was made would, at
this moment, cost in Liverpool.—Felix Farley's Bristol Journal.
IMPORTANT.—Lord Teynham has at last turned up. His
lordship, on Thorsdav evening, presented a petition from a
parish in the county Mayo. Where is Lord Winchilsea ?

- .
SINGULAR FACT.—There is at present living in Low-street,
Sunderland, a child that was born with the mark of a butterfly
upon its face, which is subject to the following remarkable
changes :—ln the summer season, the resemblance of the head
is prominent, the wings, legs, &c. highly coloured, the whole of
a considerably greater degree of heat than any other part of the
child's body ; in winter, the wings, legs, &c. are scarcely per-
ceptible, the head diminishes to a mere speck, and the whole is
a death-like coldness.

AWFUL EFFECTS OF SUDDEN FRIGHT.—AII the world has

heard of the Eider duck-bunters and others, who might happen
to be placed in circumstances of danger, suffering dreadfully
from the effect of sudden alarms. The hair has been known to
turn grey in a single night; and persons have been instantly
struck dumb. What we have now to report, as having occurred
under our own observation, does not fall short of any such re-
corded consequences.—The ship Bland, recently arrived from
the East Indies, brought the usual supplies of live stock, cer-
tain portions of which were still in existence when she reached
this port,—amongst others some poultry; and the necessary
means were resorted to for landing them. After four months'
imprisonment in their coops the poor creatures were, doubtless,
much gratified at the prospect of a release ; and the process
was so far advanced that they were in the boat, ready to come
ashore, when one of those fearful agents of the law—we don't
mean Jack Ketch, but a Custom-house officer—made his ap-
pearance, and insisted on their being reconsigned to prison, un-
til a regular trial should be gone through, and their condemna-
tion or final acquittal, in due course of law, should be formally
pronounced. Unhappy hens! But, mark the consequences!
From the moment of their being reconveyed to their coops to
that at which we write, the cocks have never been heard to
crow, and the hens have invariably laid imperfect eggs : that
is, eggs enclosed in the skin which forms the interior lining of
the ordinary shell, but destitute of the shell itself. We under-
stand that the occurrence has become matter of serious physio-
logical inquiry; the object of which is to determine,—first, if
there be any, and what affinity between bipeds of the human
and feathered races—secondly, through which particular nerves
of the latter race the influence of terror is likely to affect their
habits and condition—and finally, whether, in this especial case,
the effect was produced by an intuitive abhorrence of the race
of Custom-house officers generally, or by some accidental dis-
covery that the organ of destructiveness was strongly developed
in the cranium of the individual officer whose immediate act
seems to have led to such astounding results. We trust the
inquiry will be sedulously pursued; and if we were permitted
to offer an opinion on so momentous a question, we would re-
commend that a pair of the fowls should be sent to the Zoolo-
gical Gardens, in order to ascertain what alteration in their pre-
sent unfortunate condition might he effected by change of air
and kind treatment; and that the final result of the investiga-
tion going forward should be made the subjectof a course of
lectures at one of the scientific institutions in the town, by
Doctor Van Ovumbacher, who would be quite equal to the task.
In the meantime we would suggest, as likely to throw some
light upon this important examination, that the Inspector Ge-
neral of the Customs might advantageously summon a jury to
phrenologise the head of the officer upon duty on this occasion,
and report the result to the Surveyor General, who has for-
tunately arrived here within the last few days on a tour of in-
spection to the outports. This report, together with all the facts
of the case, the latter authority would, doubtless, feel it his duty
to make the subject of a special representation to the commis-
sioners in London ; who, in turn, would submit the whole mat-
ter to the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Spring Rice; and
through him it might reach Lord Althorp ; from whom, in his
zeal for the advancement of natural history, all due attention to
the question might be fairly expected. Should this course be
pursued, it will be a source of much gratification to ourselves
that we should have been so fortunate as to be the first to draw
the attention of the public to so interesting an inquiry.

The proposed Dinner of the South Lancashire Conservative
Association, ou Thursday next, at Newton, will be on a scale
consistent with the high respectability of the party assembling.
A considerable number of members from Liverpool and its
vicinity have made arrangements for carriages to convey them
from hence to Newton and back, as the regulations of the Rail-
way Company compel them to close their gates early in the
evening. A full report of the proceedings will appear in the
STANDARD of Friday.
The Preston and Liverpool Turnpike Trustees have abandon-
ed the intention of directing the highway between Preston and
Hutton Mill, from a consideration that on account of the present
debt of the trust, and the probability that, by the construction
of the railroad from Preston to Wigan, the traffic on the road
would be considerably decreased. The alteration could not be
accomplished without a very considerable increase of the debt.
MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT.—On Friday night,about ten o'clock,
four labourers, in the employ of M r. Atherton, of New Brighton,
had fastened a small boat in which they were to the stern of a
steamer. When the steamer arrived at that part of the river
where the labourers intended to land, the master ordered the
engine to be stopped and the men to cast off the punt. Thefour
men, who were unused to the management of a boat, rushed
forward all at once. The consequence was, that the boat filled
with water, and two of the men were unfortunately drowned.—
The other two were saved by means of life-buoys thrown to them
from the steamer.

JURYMAN FINED.—On Friday afternoon, at the conclusion
of the crown business, at Lancaster, before Sir Thomas
Denman, Mr. Robert Fletcher, merchant, of Toxteth-park,
Liverpool, who was summoned to serve on the jury dur-
ing the first week of the assizes, was fined £2O for non-
attendance, by order of the Court. On the first day of the
assizes, several other gentlemen summoned on the jury did not
answer to their names, and it was ordered that they should be
fined £5 each, with an intimation that the fine should be increased
every time their names were called over without their answering,.
We presume that the parties found it advisable to attend to the
notice, to that effect, which they received from the officer of the
Court, by letter, as they all, with the exception of Mr. Fletcher,
either made their appearance or gave a good and sufficient
reason for their absence.

ATROCIOUS OUTRAGE BY TURN-OUT JOINERs.—On Saturday
night last an attempt was made by a party of seven or eight
persons, supposed to be all turn-out joiners, to murder a man
named Thomas Bridden, a joiner, in the employ of Messrs.
Buxton and Sons, Oxford-road. It appears that Bridden, who
is a native of Derbyshire, came to work with Messrs. Buxton,
on the turn-out of their men, and was shortly afterwards in-
duced, by the intimidation offered by the turn-outs, to leave the
town, and go to Bolton, where he was apprehended under a
warrant for deserting his work, and, being brought before the
magistrates, was ordered to return. Shortly afterwards he again
absented himself ; but returned to work of his own accord,
by which he appears to have given great offence to the turn-
outs; and given rise to the murderous attack made upon him
on Saturday night. About eleven o'clock he was standing in
Clarendon-street, within a few yards of his own door, when two
men came out of a beer-shop in the neighbourhood, and, after
a short parley, began to abuse and threaten him with violence.
He was retreating to his own house, when six or seven other
men came up; and, just as he laid his hand on the latch of his
door, one of them seized him by the collar, and struck him two
or three times upon the neck and the side of the head. Ile got
away into the house, and then found that be had been severely
wounded in the neck by repeated stabs of some sharp instru-
ment ; and that one of his ears was nearly divided, apparently
by drawing a sharp knife across it. The murderous intention,
however, failed; none of the stabs having taken effect in a vital
place. We are glad to learn that two of the men are known ;
and a warrant has been issued for their apprehension. A reward
of twenty-five sovereigns has been offered for the discovery of
the man who inflicted the wounds.—Manchester Guardian.

CONNUBIAL Biass.—On Tuesday last, a rather aged son of
the last, whose name we did not happen to hear, appeared on
summons before the sitting magistrates at the Town Hall, to
answer the complaint of his better half, who attended by his side
to complain of ill usage. He was in the constant habit of beat-
ing and punching her, she said and she prayed their worships
to interpose their authority in her behalf.' Crispin, in defence,
did not exactly deny the charge, but alleged in justification,
that his wife's tongue was too unruly for his management, and
he prayed their worships to be so good as to separate them.—
The magistrates, however, did not feel disposed to fall in with
this suggestion, and, after consulting a white, intimated to the
husband that he was to find sureties to keep the peace towards
his wife. " No, no," exclaimed Crispin, amid the laughter of
all present, "no, no, I'll not be bound in that way, !" " How,"
quoth the bench, "you will not be bound?" "No, no," was
the reply, " I will not be bound to keep the peace her." It
was finally arranged that this happy couple should separate.—
They had been married just twelve months !—Preston Pilot.