The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-03-05 00:00:00

1, nice distinction
i off-band to a fellow

and an opinion
given after mature consideration of the facts of the
case as stated in his brief, duly endorsed with the
customary fee. The former was td be regarded
merely as his travelling opinion ; and might be
right or wrong, as chance directed. The latter
only was to be regarded as his legal opinion. The
same principle is occasionally to he found actuating
a portion of our own profession. Let but a single
instance of malversation or abuse come before such a

journalist, committed by any individual member of
a class worthy of his steel, and how eagerly it is
seized upon as the plea for letting loose a flood of
virtuous indignation upon the unhappy heads of
the whole of that class ! What noble sentiments
glide from his pen, thus inspired ! What fine
writing sparkles and dazzles through his columns !
But let the offender be one of our journalist's own
party, or patrons; let the cue be given him, and
the fee be duly endorsed upon the brief ; and he

at Once most considerate and discrimi-
nating in his judgment ; appeals earnestly to the
public to distinguish between the many innocent
and the few guilty, whom he insinuates may prove
to have been not so very guilty after all. We are
all liable to fall into error, he reminds us; and
detraction may be levelled at the best of mankind.
In a word, the unsparing censor of yesterday's
offence is its whining apologist to-day.
A glaring instance of this sort of reckless dis-
honesty is before us in the opposite tone in which
the London Times has chosen to treat two cases, both
of which are connected with the same offence, but
very different in dye, and affecting different parties.
Our readers may probably remember a communi-
•cation published in the Times, some weeks ago,
upon the unsupported authority of " A Cabin
Passenger" on board the unfortunate ship
Caleb Grimshaw, imputing serious misconduct on
the part of her owners, in sending her to sea in an
inefficient state, and gross cowardice on the part of
her commander, Captain Hoxie, in having been
amongst the first to desert her. The charges, as
affecting the consignees, we proved at once to be
false; and the conduct of Captain Hoxie has since
been thoroughly vindicated, and the statements of
the cabin passenger denied as fabrications, on the
authority of the commander of the vessel, Captain
Cook, which rescued a large portion of the unfor-
tunate passengers. Upon the slender evidence,
however, of this cabin passenger, the Times
launched a sweeping condemnation against the
whole of the emigrant ships sailing from the out-
ports, and the American ships from Liverpool in
particular. They were described as " badly
built, badly found, and badly officered." He
even went the length of stating that, having once
succeeded in getting emigrants on board, it was
regarded by the parties engaged in the trade as
immaterial whether, or not, such emigrants ever
arrived at their destination ! Ti

Decom

e charge was an

nay

indiscriminate one of fraud, systematic cruelty
of crime itself, against these parties. There was no
reservation ; no hint that there might be excep-
tions to the general rule. More recently a similar
attack was levelled against the ship Robert Burton,
upon evidence utterly void of credit, and which we
showed, on the authority of her chief officers and
her consignees—the ship being at the time lying in
our docks—corroborated by a letter from the son
of a highly-respectable merchant of this port, who
went out in the vessel to Philadelphia as cabin
passenger, to be utterly untrue. The cause of
these slanderous and wholesale accusations against
the emigrant shipping of this port, most of which
is American, and celebrated for its first-rate quality
in every department, can scarcely be divined, unless
we suppose that the 7 imes was in the humour for
indulging in a little strong writing, and desirous of
earning a little popularity amongst the pseudo-
humane of his female readers, or was fishing for a
brief with the usual indorsement, to induce him to
adopt a milder tone in future.
As an example of the ease with which the Times
can pocket his exuberant philanthropy and become
the apologist of the offender, we give The following
case :—On Tuesday evening last, in the House of
Lords, the Earl of Mountcashel put some questions
respecting some occurrences which had taken place
cn board several emigrant vessels to Australia, the
mere outlines of which had already shocked the
public, as conveyed to us by the Adelaide press,
and confirmed by the Australian authorities. One
passage will suffice to show their nature. "It is
impossible," observes the immigrant board of
Sydney, "to convey a just idea of the gross abuses
Which occurred on board the Sobraon, owing to '
the imbecility (?) of the surgeon-superintendent.
Unrestrained intercourse took place between the
sailors and the women, and between certain officers 1
and a certain single woman. Amongst these
were twelve girls from a foundling institution in
Dublin, one of whom, a very interesting girl, was
seduced by the chief officer, and died, in conse-
quence of miscarriage, before she could be landed
from the vessel." Out of twenty surgeons
appointed by the Emigration Commissioners, the
Adelaide Observer says, " Eleven were reported by
the colonial authorities as, more or less, unfit to be
employed again." In many other vessels, gross
immorality and intimacy between the females and
the sailors had been proved to have existed; and
the whole system stands condemned as infamously
mismanaged.
Now, here was an opportunity for a little fine
writing. The Times might have pitched his key
here as high as he liked—and the higher the

But the real delinquents were the officials

01 Ihe Colonial-office ; and the Times had his cue,
WI Thursday last, to protect and whitewash his
friends. We find him, therefore, treading most
gingerly over the ground thus—" Could we believe
that the cases quoted by the noble lord were other
than exceptional, we should feel it a duty," &c.
Hew ready the Times was to believe the unsup-
ported statements of " A Cabin Passenger ! '
Again : "It is clearly the duty of the person who
honestly desires to expose these iniquities to state
that he has discovered that a certain portion—say
five per cent.—of the emigrant ships, is polluted
with this kind of offence, but not to imply that the
whole system, upon which emigration from this
country is conducted, has become tainted with so
foul a blot." Would that the Times had acted
towards the emigrant shipping of this port in such
a considerate and Christian spirit! But those
connected with them were only individuals ; the
Times has his present brief from a government
board. We could go through the remainder of his
crawling and fawning article, and pick out a host of
" ifs" and " huts" similar to those given above ;
but the task is sickening, and we have given enough
already to show to the world the peculiar system of
morality, by which this pattern journalist is
actuated, in his alternate assumption of the cha-
racters of Thersites and Mawworm.

THE manufacturers are just now discovering the
fact that the home demand for their products has
very seriously diminished. Importers of produce
find that they are unable to procure remunerative
prices ; and the middle class of tradesmen—the
shopkeeper and the artizan—are complaining of
diminished custom. All these parties are asking
themselves how it is that, with free trade and low
prices of food, such a state of things can he—and
some of them arc wandering in one direction in
search of a remedy, some in another. " Give us
financial reform," " Impose the legacy and probate
duties upon land as well as upon personal property,"
exclaim one section of the suffering community ;
" We want a more extended franchise," argue the
George Thomsons and Walmsleys of the political
world. Other sections have other pet recipes; and
the majority agree only upon one point, viz., in shut-
ting their eyes to the plain, unmistakeable cause of
their suffering, which is patent to all the world ex-
cept themselves. The men of trade have got the agri-
culturist down ; they wish to keep him down ; and
are ready to jump to any conclusion in order to
evade the admission that they have thus ruined one
of their beat customers, lire shall endeavour to

impress this fact upon the classes in question—that
the depression of the general trade of the country
has been, to a great extent, directly caused by th
blow dealt against the agricultural and other native
interests by our free trade policy ;—and if, in the

performance of this task, we borrow freely from
another of the able series of articles on the subject
of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures,"
contained in this month's number of Blackwood,
we feel certain that our excellent contemporary will
grant us a willing pardon. First, then, we shall
deal with the question of the diminution of our
home demand for manufactures.
The people of Great Britain and Ireland, we are
told by a carefel authority—Mr. Spackman, in his
" Occupations of the People"—may be thus
classed, viz., persons dependent on agriculture, a
little over 18,700,000, and persons directly and in-
directly drawing their livelihood from manufactures
a little short of 8,100,000. Any measure, or
measures, therefore, which depress the condition
and decrease the consuming power of the greater
number, must greatly overbalance the effect of any
reasonably increased prosperity bestowed upon the
minority. It is computed that the manufacturing
productions of this country amount to about
£178,000,000, of which last year—which is trum-
peted to the world as one of great commercial
activity—the exports were £58,000,000, leaving
more than double that amount, or £120,000,000, to
be consumed at home by the two classes. Now,
let us see in what ability these classes have re-
spectively been to take off the manufacturers' hands
this large quantity of goods. Take the agricultural
classes first. In moving the address to the Throne,
Mr. Villiers, the free trade member for Wolver-
hampton, stated that—
" He had made a calculation of the saving effected by
the people in consequence of the present reduced price of
food. He found that the average price of wheat in 1847
was 695. sd. ; on the 20th December, 1849, it was 395. 4d."
(The honourable gentleman showed a similar decline in
other sorts of grain, and proceeded)—" The usual calcu-
lation was that our population of 30,000,000 consumed
one quarter of corn to each person annually. But taking
a low estimate of consumption, and calculating that the
population annually consumed 20,000,000 quarters of
each description of grain, he found that the saving
effected by the difference of prices between 1847 and
1849 amounted to £61,000,000." (A further saving of
£30,000,000 is taken as having been effected by the
reduction in meal, butter, cheese, potatoes, &c. ' • and Mr.
Villiers proceeded to argue)—" So that there has been a
total saving in the expenditure of the people upon food of
£91,000,000. This was the result of free trade in the
very first year of its operation. And when so large an
amount was saved for expenditure upon other articles
than food, be thought it was no matter of astonishment
that the general condition of the people had improved,
and that the country was in a flourishing condition."(!)
We shall not stop to remark upon the astounding
assurance of the man who could deliberately utter
the sentence marked by us in italics, but proceed
to ask what has become of "the large amount
saved for expenditure upon other articles than
food ?" The manufacturers have not received the
benefit of it : that is a fact beyond dispute. The
cry from them is now, and has been for months,
that the home demand for goods has greatly fallen
off. Has it been expended in increased consump-
tion of other articles of comfort or luxury? The
following table of the consumption of four of the
principal articles scarcely bears out this assumption :

1845. 1848. 1849.
Coffee, lbs 34,318,095 37,101,279 34,431,074
Tea, „ 44,183,135 48,735,696 50,024,688
Tobacco and snuff, 26,322,944 27,305,134 27,685,687
Wine, (gallons) 6,986,846 6,369,785 6,487,689
The only large excess of the consumption of
1849 over that of 1845 is in the articles of tea and
tobacco,—both of them frequently resorted to by
the working classes as the substitutes for a more
satisfactory meal. We contend, moreover, that
had the increase in the consumption of these arti-
cles been double, we should not have admitted
them as showing an improved condition of the
people generally, in the teeth of the known facts
that in 1845 the middle and working classes were
in the very height of prosperity, with railway
undertakings giving employment to hundreds of
thousands, and stimulating the prices of every
industrial product; whereas in 1849 we are pain-
fully aware that the very contrary was the general
rule.

This sum of £91,000,000, then, has somehow
evaporated. Nobody owns to having received a
corresponding benefit from it. The 8,100,000
people who derive their livelihood from manufac-
turers have not got fat upon it. Let us,
however, see at whose expense it is alleged to have
been saved. The annual value of agricultural
productions in this country has been estimated by
competent statisticians at £230,000,000. The
saving in question has, therefore, been abstracted
from this sum; and the loss has been divided
between the owners and cultivators of the soil.
These classes have had £91,000,000 less to spend
with the manufacturer, the artizan, the importer,
and the shopkeeper, as the result of free trade and
cheapness induced by foreign competition. They
have been compelled to limit their purchases to
articles of absolute necessity ; and the natural
result has been complaining tradesmen, half-em,
ployed artizans, accumulating stocks, and accounts
worse paid than they have ever been within the
memory of the most experienced observers.
It is not, however, the decreased expenditure in
the necessaries of life of the owners and cultivators
of the soil which has affected the home market.
The profits, and consequent power of consumption,
of nearly every class in the community, have been
decreased since we entered upon our present
ruinous policy. Take the shipowner, for example ;
and we find from the following table, published by
Messrs. Lindsay and Co., the eminent shipowners,
of London, that freights have declined within the
past four years from thirty-five to fifty per cent.
We give the figures :

s. d. s. d.
from 105 0 to 60 0
.... 117 6 to 77 6
.... 105 0 to 55 0

Singapore
Calcutta .
Hong-Kong
(Last quotations )
Bombay
Ceylon
Mauritius
Callao
Hayannah ..........
Odessa
Alexandria
Cronstadt
Quebec
The deductions from previous freights here shown,
obviously must have come from the pockets of ship-
owners of this country, and decreased their ability
to buy native manufactures or foreign produce, and
to employ labour. Into whose hands do they go ?
Nine-tenths of the amount into the hands of the
foreigner. The diminished profits of the ship-
owners result in decreased wages of captains and
seamen. From Cork, for example, we learn from
a letter addressed to the Shipping Gazette, " the
wages of shipmasters have been reduced one-third;
and, further on, " shipmasters have been obliged
to accept of reduced wages, in order to obtain em-
ployment to enable them to support their families.
Several of them, who were fortunate in having a
little money saved, have commenced tailoring, rope-
making, acting as coasting pilots," &c.
There is one class of the community who, it is
really surprising to think, could have been duped
into the adoption of a policy, whose be-all and
end all was the extension of our foreign trade, at
the expense of the best customers of the home
market, yet who have in every borough and county
throughout the empire been the loudest and most
vehement abettors of free trade in corn. We refer
to the shop-keeper class. The writer in Blackwood
well describes the mode in which this class was
hoodwinked by the league agitation. He says :

95 0 to 60 0
95 0 to 70 0
84 0 to 60 0
95 0 to 63 0
85 0 to 47 6
95 0 to 42 6
12 0 to 5 6
32 6 to 19 ,0
47 6 to 32 0

" There was no honesty in these men. They were
fighting a desperate game, without regard to the general
interests of the country, so that they could be the indi-
vidual gainers; and they fought it, as gamblers will do,
unscrupulously, falsely, and dishonestly. They durst not
have hinted that the immediate effect of the repeal of the
corn laws would be a large and permanent depreciation of
the value of agricultural produce. Had they done so, the
tradesmen and retail dealers, whom they chiefly aimed to
dupe,—because the electoral influence of that class is im-
mensely large,—would at once have seen that, by limiting
the general power of their customers to purchase, they
were, in fact, depriving themselves of so much of their
former profit. Shopkeepers and tradesmen do not live by
the export trade : they maintain themselves and their
families by distributing the products of labour among the
community; and their gains, as well as those of the arti-
zan, are measured by the amount of custom which they
receive. Any legislative change, therefore, which could
have the effect of diminishing that custom in a serious
degree, would necessarily be most detrimental to the
interests of this class,—a proposition so clear that no effort
of political jesuistry could disguise it. The corn law
repealers knew this; and accordingly they rested their
case upon different grounds."

Let the small tradesmen, the shopkeepers, and
the artizan class throughout the country, many of
whom are doubtless at this moment congratulating
themselves upon the cheapness of food, and their
diminished expenses of housekeeping, take the
trouble of setting off against the saving from these

sources the loss from reduced profitsand diminished
custom. Let them look into their ledgers, and see
if the outstanding accounts are being paid with
the same cheerful punctuality as before their agri•
cultural customer was prostrate. If we do not
much mistake, they will discover, as the result of
snch inquiry, that they are paying very, very dear
for their cheap loaf.

BY the arrival of the Europa mail steamer, from
New York, which arrived in our river on Sunday
at midnight, we have dates up to the 20th ultimo.
Her news will be found elsewhere in our columns ;
and it will he seen that the advices as to the state
of the cotton market completely confirm the state-
ment given by us a fortnight ago, as brought by
telegraph from New York to Halifax, giving two
days later from the former city, and noticing a
decline in the cotton market of / to / cent, with
more sellers than buyers. The subsequent opera-
tions, indeed, more than confirmed the truth of
the state of things represented, although previously
to the sailing of the Europa the market had become
stiffer, from the fact of advices coming from the
southern markets favouring the views of the advo-
cates of short crop.

Of course, we leave our readers to place what
confidence they please in the advices in question.
Messrs. Stewart and Co. persist in their opinion
that the crop cannot reach above 2,100,000 bales;
and they state that this opinion is based upon re-
ports from about a hundred of the principal depots
at which cotton is lodged in readiness to be sent
down for shipment, and the fact that nearly the
whole stock has arrived at these depots. It is only
proper to state, however, that private letters, con-
taining telegraphic despatches from the south,
received in New York on the 20th ultimo, give
rather more favourable accounts.

The Europa has brought out a considerable
number of orders for British manufactures. The
western buyers had liquidated their fall engagements
most satisfactorily ; and a large and prosperous
spring dry goods trade was anticipated. First
class Bills on England were done at the sailing of
the packet at logl. Money was plentiful; and
the Californian additions to specie in the States
were giving an impulse to every branch of com-
merce.

It is said that the Earl of Sefton has very liberally made
a reduction of 20 percent. to his tenantry.
Mr. Stephenson visited Rivington Pike, on Thursday.
in company with Mr. Newlands•
Mr. Alderman Griffith, of this town, is the new high
sheriff of Anglesey.

The Rev. Dr.- WlNTeile is announced to speak, on
Tuesday next, at the meeting of the Birmingham
auxiliary to the Church Pastoral Aid Society.
On Thursday night, a servant girl, in the Rimrose
Hotel. Houghton-street, absconded, taking with her a
work-box, containing £5O and some deeds.
SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL.—
On Sunday evening, after an excellent sermon by the
Rev. J. C. Richmond, the sum of £l9 was collected in
St. John the Evangelist's Church, in aid of this valuable
society.

Messrs. Winstanley and Sons will to-day submit to
public competition a collection of select engravings—most
of them first class, and many of them in rich and costly
gilt frames. The collection comprises works by the prin-
cipal masters of the art.

Messrs. Ratcliffe and Corlet have opened a new drapery
establishment in Castle-street. The fittings up of the
interior are elegant and classical, and the establishment is
a beautiful addition to the recent improvements in shop
architecture in the town.

ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, TOXTETH-PARR.—We are
glad to perceive that two sermons will be preached in this
church, on Sunday next, for the purpose of defraying the
expenses which have been unavoidably incurred in order
to render this place fit for the decent celebration of divine
service.

On Friday morning, as Mr. Banner, surgeon, was
driving along Rodney-street, in a gig, with a servant man,
the splinter bar broke and struck the horse, which began
to kick and plunge violently, and the gig was dashed
against a lamp-post and the servant thrown out. He was
much bruised ?bout the face. Mr. Banner was unhurt.
WEST DERBY UNION—INCREASE OF GUARDIANS.—
The Poor-law Board has altered the number of guardians
to be elected for the townships of Everton, Toxteth-park,
and West Derby, giving six additional to the three places,
viz., one additional to Everton, four to Toxteth-park, and
one to West Derby. There will, therefore, be :hereafter
three guardians for Everton, nine for Toxteth-park, and
four for West Derby.

SUMMER AND RAILWAY EXCURSIONS.—As railway
trips have now become almost a necessary of existence in
the summer months, it is satisfactory to find that the
business of providing for the public accommodation has
fallen into the hands of Mr. Marcus. The great lines are
indisposed to accept the proposal of any excursion con-
tractor; and we have seen testimonials to Mr. Marcus
from Captain Huish, Mr. Macgregor, and others, of the
most flattering nature to his character. Mr. Marcus's
first trip is announced for Whitsuntide—to London,
Paris, &c.

THE MERCHANT SEAMEN'S FUND BILL.—We under-
stand that Messrs. J. N. Wood and W. D. Bold have
gone to London as a deputetion from the trustees of the
Merchant Seamen's Fund of this town to the Board of
Trade, in order to urge the preservation of our local fund,
which would be confiscated b 3 the proposed act. Messrs.
H. C. Chapman and Thomas Bold, accompanied by Mr.
Carson, will also go up to tawn on Saturday, as a deputa-
tion from the Shipowners' Association, with the view of
obtaining alterations in the bill. We understand that the
Liverpool fund shows a balance of nearly £50,000, not-
withstanding the issue of a large amount of relief, whilst
all other trusts are in a bankrupt state. The ministerial
measure, nevertheless, proposes to sweep the whole into
its own control.

THE WEATHER.—During last week the weather was,
with very slight exception, delightfully mild and agree-
able. The change, indeed, was so great from the severity
and changeable temperature of the preceding weeks, that
some parties began to fancy that we were on the pleasant.
but dusty, road to real summer. Saturday was especially
fine, and even warm in the sun, which now begins to as-
sert his potency as we approach the equinox. Tne winds
were chiefly westwardly. Sunday forenoon was gloomy,
and somewhat squally, wind southward, but afterwards
veering to about N.N.W. The thermometer fell from
about " fair" to " change," and a little below the latter,
and at one p.m. rain commenced, and continued, at in-
tervals, to fall heavily for some hours. In the evening it
again brightened up, and the night was clear and starry,
but cold. A rather frosty air prevailed yesterday morn-
ing, but we observed no congelation. The day was clear
and breezy. Vegetation, from the influence of the mild-
ness alluded to, has already made considerable progress,
and verdure in budding leaves exhibits itself in hedges.
trees, and shrubs, in situations not much exposed. We
must not, however, halloo before we are out of the wood;
for, before the arrival of " glorigus summer," we may yet
have biting cool winds, if not frost, which may give a
check to forward vegetation. A late spring is generally
the safest in this country. Owing to the general severity
of the past winter, we think it probable that we s, all not
this spring be visited by any killing depression of temper-
ature. The wheats look well, and are not too much ad-
vanced for the time of the year. The gardens also look
well. and there are already abundance of flowers.

THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING.—Ac Council meeting
will be held to-morrow, which, to judge from the subjects
to be discussed, as set down on the notice paper, will he
one of unusual interest. There is a good deal of routine
business to be disposed of, after which a question will
come before our municipal representatives that has been
repeatedly mooted in the legislative council, and has fur-
nished for the last few years an anxious subject of debate
in every circle of our community.—A letter from Mr.
Rushton will be read, "setting forth the evils that arise
from the want of an institution other than a prison, to
which juvenile offenders may be sent for reformation
rather than punishment, and suggesting a remedy." The
suppression of crime at its source is confessedly one of the
paramount duties of the present generation, not only
viewed as a work on which the m. rat and social security
of society depends, but positively teco nmending itself to
our consideration in an economical point of view. If we
refuse to check the threatening evil on the highest and
the most legitimate ground, we may find it to our interest
to effect the object out of regard to our pockets. From
time to time statistical tables have been framed, which
prove that it would be cheaper to train the offspring of
misery and crime to become useful and well-behaved
members of society, than by allowing them to graduate
through all the varied steps of criminality in which
they are nurtured, ultimately to maintain them in pri-
son. We sincerely trust this important subject will be
handled in an enlightened spirit, and not be dismissed
until it has received the mature consideration of every
member of the council. Mr. H. Banner will come before
the board in the character of a petitioner, ennobled by
the nature of the cause he will advocate. A letter will be
read from
.this philanthropist, asking the grant of the
scite of the old Botanic Garden for the purpose of erecting
an Asylum for Orphan Boys. For such a purpose, it
might be concluded the boon would be granted without
hesitation, backed by the claims which Mr. Banner could
advance did his modesty allow. Surely it would be im-
possible to withhold the favour. It is well known that
the origination of the idea, and the carrying into practice,
of the Asylum for Orphan Girls, (one of the brightest
ornaments of the town,) was due to Mr. Banner. Mr.
Councillor Bennett will move a resolution, having for its
object the improvement of the approaches to the town,
and Mr. Counsellor Parker will move a resolution, to the
effect that the possession of the Baths at George's Pier
be handed over to the Health Committee at the expiration
of the term of the present tenant, (which will be in May
next,) for the purpose of being applied to the use of the
public. This is another subject involving vital interests,
and while we congratulate the worthy mover on what he
has already achieved in this direction, we wish him every
success in his future efforts. Mr. Parker's benevolent
wish is to give the poor salt water baths at the most rea-
sonable charge possible.

THE UNALLOYED PEER.
The Banker Lord must have his name destroy'd
The Peerage must be pure—no Peer aILoY'D:
No longer by his City Title known,
Lord over gold—he's now Lord OVERSTONE.
Kent, Feb. 27, 1850.