The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-05-23 00:00:00

millionaire. Let the constitutional spirit of the
nation be once stirred up ; let petty differences
amongst conservatives be got rid of, and a power-
ful and united party be formed in the country and
in parliament; and we shall see ample statesmanlike
ability developed, which has hitherto been only
feebly disp!aved in desultoryand abortive skirmishes,
or totally obscured by the destructive nepotism of
great and recognized party leaders. Give to such
a party in parliament a commanding influence, in
the support which they receive from the voice of
public opinion out of doors, and its members will
speak and act with a ten-fold confidence, and the
nation may yet be preserved from the dangers with
which it is at present menaced.

empire which fatal and destructive legislation is
fast ruining ;—and, at home, we have Ireland, dis-
tracted with seditious agitation, and ready to plunge
headlong into a bloody and exterminating rebellion.
We have our own labouring masses idle, starving,
and imbibing the pernicious lessons of. the dema-
gogue ; manufactures prostrate, commerce almost
suspended, credit and confidence lost, and bank-
ruptcy and insolvency striking down, day by day,
the proudest, and lately esteemed most stable, struc-
tures of commercial greatness; and the considera-
tion is forced upon us—have we, at the helm of the
State, men capable of bearing us safely through
difficulties so vast; so complicated, so full of dan-
ger ? There can be but one answer—" No." How-
ever much we may differ as to the pilot to be chosen,
the captain to command, and the crew to work the
noble vessel safely out of the breakers upon which
she is drifting, the opinion is well nigh universal
that the Ministry of Lord John Russell are not the
men. Their intellectual proportions are those of
pigmies, when compared with the gigantic propor-
tions of the work which has to be done. They are
the inhabitants of a new Lilliput, straining at a
frail cord, to right and launch into deep water a
stranded three-decker.
We are not prepared to deny to Lord John and
his colleagues the possession of a certain sort of
cleverness. They can look the dignified, and mouthe
and gesticulate with all the energy of men in
earnest. They can worry and sting, like gnats on
a sultry day ; but the world resolutely refuses to
believe in them. They have no weight, no prestige,
no influence. Brawling treason laughs in their
faces and wriggles out of their grasp. The autho-
rity of the law in their hands is only a rush to
restrain an elephant ; a hair sieve to dam up a tor-
rent. They sit complacently watching the growing
storm, until it is ready to burst !Ton the land, and
then pelt it with protocols and law papers. They
are apt at poking their fingers into every body
else's business; are oracularly wise as to how other
Governments should deal with passing events; are
fertile in advice, and not over modest as to the par-
ties to whom it is offered ; but here their capabilities
end. As a Government they are powerless for
good. The suffering masses look not to them for
relief; the merchant dreads their interference with
his affairs ; the active intellect of the country Scoffs
at their feebleness and their petty selfishness ; the
demagogue defies them, and the foreigner despises
them, whilst he endeavours to wile from them con-
cession after concession, fatal to the best interests
of the country, over whose affairs, unfortunately,
they hold, temporarily, a controlling power.
Thus far, with the spectacle of their utter imbe-
cility before us, we have tolerated these men. The
Conservative feeling of the nation has been shaken
by past betrayals; and not knowing in whom to place
confidence, or to adopt as its exponents and cham-
pions, party spirit has been in abeyance. The time
has arrived when this forbearance and lethargy
must be thrown off, if the country is to be saved from
anarchy. Not satisfied with seeing their efforts to
repress sedition and to punish traitors in Ireland
frustrated; not satisfied with the spectacle around
them of prostrate commerce and almost universal
suffering amongst the trading classes ; not satisfied
with having earned the contempt both of friends
and opponents, her Majesty's ministers, that at least
it may be said that they are doing something for
their salaries, have just started the vessel of state
down hill, without a lock on the wheel to prevent
it from being dashed to pieces at the bottom.
Their boasted system of free trade has not produced
its expected results, It has been fertile only in
confusion and commercial distress; and its un-
happy authors, without the moral courage to con-
fess their error, or the wisdom required to trace tilt
source of the existing evil and to remove it, are
about to add to it by the sacrifice of one of the
last elemenrs of our national greatness, which their
rash hands have left hitherto not hopelessly da-
maged, They have sacrificed already at the shrine
of cheapness, and at the cry of a selfish avarice, the
native agriculture of Great Britain ; made bankrupt
her colonies ; ruined her merchants and beggared
her artisans ; and, at the same bidding, they are
about to throw away her maritime supremacy. and
to make a concluding holocaust of her shipowners,
her shipbuilders, her carpenters, and her merchant
seamen. _ .

In the Court of Bankruptcy, on Friday, Messrs. Henry
and William Davies, the extensive sharebrokers, passed
their final examination, to which there was no opposition,
after a complimentary allusion by Mr. Sergeant Ludlow
to their clear and intelligible balance sheet.
FATAL FALLS.—In March, 1847, a man named Peter
Murray was engaged in taking down a sign in Burroughs-
gardens, when he fell off the ladder. He was taken up
insensible, and was never able to follow his employment.
He died on Monday.—On Saturday week an old man
named John Evans, living in a court in Smithfield-street,
slipped down whilst going up the , court and broke his
thigh, from the effects of which he did next day.
TAKING POISON BY ACCIDENT.—Last week a poor old
woman who earned her livelihood by cleaning offices,
found a small parcel under the fire-grate in one of the
offices which she was in the habit of cleaning, and suppo-
sing the contents were Epsom Salts she took them home
and swallowed them as a dose of medicine. It unfortu-
nately happened that the contents of the paper were oxalic
acid, and not Epsom salts, and the consequence was, that
titthheTaepnßopiavlr
appears
acidcpEtyhr.e. mpowlad,marked " Poison," but
the poor old creature was poisoned. The paper in which
i sTa. smeilwrappedN, woman
Eoi
fci, oELu.
rwl 1 d.
Liverpool,
paoost
ot l
s,
read.upnrdeaaye,hle4dthtwinostant,
ser-
mons in this town in the morning, at Trinity Church, and
in the evening at Great St. Mary's. The sermon in the
evening was a continuation of that in the morning ; both
were preached from the 15th chapter of Ist epistle to the
Corinthians, that in the morning from part of the 4th
verse—" And that he rose again on,the third day, accord-
ing to the scriptures ;" that in the evening from part of
the 55th verse —" 0 grave, where is thy victory ?"
Crowded congregations attended to hear this eminent
preacher.—Cambridge Chronicle.
MRS. PARKE'S LAST GRAND CLUB SUBSCRIPTION.—
We once more beg to call the attention of our readers to
the distribution of this spendid property, which is posi-
tively fixed to take place at Exeter-ball on the 29th inst.
As we before-mentioned, this scheme will be the final dis-
posal of the celebrated Bowyer Gallery, and containing
as it does, some of the most superb works of art in this
country, cannot fail to attract the attention of those who
lay any claim to refined taste. The tickets are one
guinea, for which the subscriber has a chance of an allot-
ment of the value of one guinea and a-half up to 3,100
guineas. There are several pictorial cabinets, of the '
value of one, two, and three hundred pounds. Immedi-
ate application for shares should be made to the agents,
whose names appear in the first column of our front page.
THE NEW LANDING-STAGE.—At the meeting of the
Dock Committee the chairman stated that as a wish had I
lean expressed by the committee that the landing-stage
should remain where it now is, and not he removed further
to the north, he had had several interviews with Mr.
Cubitt on the subject, and the result was, that Mr. Cu-
bitt considered it might remain where it was, seeing that
there were now three places for the bridges. He said if
the committee passed a resolution authorizing him to
moor the landing-stage at the south end, he would do so,
and undertake that the stage could be removed at any
time at a day's notice to the northern point, and without
the expense and trouble of taking the bridges off the
stage. After some conversation, the chairman was re-
quested to write to Mr. Cubitt, with the view of obtaining
his. opinion in writing.
NEW HOISTING POWER.—A machine, of a very singu-
lar construction, invented by Mr. W. G. Armstrong, of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has, within the last few days, been
put in operation at the Albert Dock, for the purpose of
raising goods from the quay into the warehouses above.
The moving power is the pressure of the water supplied
from the mains of the Green-lane water-works, and, by
the action of this power, nearly two tons of goods can be
hoisted up on a sliding stage in a few seconds to the
highest floor of the building. The engine works with
great precision and delicacy, both in lifting and lowering,
and its movements are very easily controlled. We per-
ceive, by a paragraph from the Newcastle Journal, that
an engine upon the same principle, but for a different
purpose, and more closely resembling a steam-engine,
has been recently put in operation at Newcastle.
THE NEW CHURCH AT SEACOMBE.—The Rererend
Dr. Byrth, rector of Wallasey, has circulated amongst
the subscribers towards the erection of St. Paul's Church,
Seacombe, a statement of the treasurer's account, and
tenders his cordial thanks for their generous liberality.
He says :—" The church contains 450 sittings, one half of
which are entirely free ; and on the other portion a
moderate rent has been placed towards the minister's
stipend. The division of the pews is not only a numeri-
cal, but a real, equality. Those that are free are in
situation as advantageous, and in structure and appear-
ance as commodious and respectable, as those upon which,
a charge has been affixed. Thus only has it been at-
tempted to avoid all unnecessary distinction between the
worshippers in the house of God, where " the rich and
the poor meet together;" but an approximation has been
made as far as possible, to the principle which seems in-
volved in the very idea of a National Church, namely,
that a place of worship should be provided, free of ex-
pense, for every member of the community. In the
present incumbent, the Rev. E. Roberts, the district
possesses an able and zealous minister of the Gospel of
Christ, and a no less devoted member of our Apostolical
Church." The list of subscriptions amounts to £3,114.
The sum of £lOOO has been invested as an endowment
fund, and stands as a Great Western bond. To meet the
sums now owing there is a deficiency of £157, and £25
Nor is this the worst feature of the crisis which has been subscribed for the erection of a spire, which it is
is approaching us. Already we see the commence- proposed to add to the church.
ment of a formidable agitation which has for its MR. lIAWKSLEY'S LETTER ON THE WATER GOES-
object,extensive changes. -in the machinery of the TION.-Mr. Hawksley has addressed a long letter to the
Jqurnat, complaining-of misrepresentations and inaccu-
governing power. The Cobdens and Wilsons of racier in a leading article in the Mercury, and vindicating
the late Anti-Corn Law League are again in the his own views on the water question. The " experi-
field ; and openly threaten to strip the Crown itself ments "" hitherto made to ascertain the yield of the Li-
of its splendour and its prestige. Chartism defunct, verpool wells, have not, he states, been completed, and
an able and eually unscrupulous set of leaders are the permanent supply is not ascertained. Liverpool re-
q quires—" 1. A peculiar supply for the extinction of fires.
exerting themselves to spread dissatisfaction among —2. A supply for watering streets, flushing sewers,
the masses, and to mislead them from inquiry into cleansing courts, &c.-3. A supply for shipping.-4. A
the real causes of their present fallen condition, by supply for cranes .and hoists.-5. A supply for public
directing their attention to extension of the suffrage, baths and washhouses." He enters upon each of these
vote by ballot, electoral districts, and other specu- heads, showing the supply required for each ; the gross
total being 892,000 gallons per day for domestic use,
lative and theoretical reforms, (?) whose achieve- while he believed it was probable that only 300,000 could
ment to-morrow would have no more influence in be supplied for this purpose. The question at issue re-
raising them out of the deep abyss of suffering, into bites " not to the gross yield obtainable at any particular
which they have been plunged, than a painted loaf period, and under temporary conditions, but to the avail-
able quantity permanently distributable to the_inhabi-
would have in allaying the cravings of their hunger. tants at the time when their wants are the largest and
And this agitation will grow and must grow; for their resources the smallest." In a postscript the writer
drowning men catch at straws, and starving men says—" The discussions now going on relate to a differ-
are the materials upon which demagogues ope- ence of opinion as to the aggregate yield of six stations,
rate most readily, and out of which revolutions a difference amounting in the whole to only a few hun-
dred thousand gallons per. day; although the ultimate
spring. We must give the working man employ- decision must have reference to a source from which it is
ment and food, or he will become desperate and proposed to derive a supply of at least sixteen million
dangerous. gallons per day—a quantity which, however apparently
The only hope for England in the present crisis large, is certainly not more than is due to the present
is the prompt formation of a powerful constitutional necessities and growing importance of the borough of
party in Parliament, and throughout the kingdom; tool Arius. Liverpool. Manchester has taken powers to obtain a
supply of 30 million gallons per day; Glasgow 22 millions,
a party which will not be deterred by the sneers of
sae and actually delivers 101 millions ; Gorbals (a small por-
shallow sophists, or the jabbering of conceited politi- The
connection between the new North Docks and the tion of Glasgow) 2/ millions ; Lambeth (half the size of
Leeds cal economists, from raising the old watchwords of and Liverpool Canal
" ships, colonies, and commerce," and re-opening On Wednesday, as James Halsall, a carter, was walk- verpool) 4 millions."
the question of protection to native industry. ing at the top of Seacombe Slip, he fell down dead, in a ROSCOE CLUB--On Saturday, a special meeting of the
There is nothing quixotic in such an effort. There fit of apoplexy, the result of natural causes.
members was held at the Royal Institution, Colquitt-
of
is a broad basis on which to raise such aeon- Fort Anne Hotel, so beautifully situated at the entrance street. Mr. H. R. Sandbach presided. Mr. Leighton,.
1
Douglas harbour, and commanding an almost unri- the secretary, read a report from the Council, and from
vaned
stitutional structure amongst those very working ' 1e
prospect, has been taken by parties from Liverpool, this it appeared that there had been a falling off of the
masses whom, by our lethargy, we are abandoning and will be opened immediately as an hotel. members in the last quarter, ascribed to the deficiency of
in their sufferings, and handing over to the delud- Mr. Brown, Sir Thomas Birch, and Mr. Cardwell, with accommodation, andthat,from preliminary inquiries which
ing and treacherous councils of a party which has a deputation from the Liverpool Operative Porters, had have been made, the council consider it most desirable that
Tuesday at the office of the Board of T
an interview with the Right Hon. H. Labouchere, on the clubshouldberemoved tomoresuitableandcommodious
ever been their worst enemy. The trading and
On
, rade. premises. The annual gross rent now paid amounts.
Tuesday Margaret Johnson died from the effects of to £270; some premises offered, in a more central
middle classes—the great strength of the town
situa-
constituencies—and the loyal yeomanry of the poison taken whilst she was in a desponding mood, in tion, and which were in every way more convenient,
country, to a man, would be with us. These consequence of her husband having left her, his circum- might be had for a rent not exceeding £350 per annum.
is
nt api
in cree.escitsbe-eysitnnrogeleditns
ha
ad
whichi.
bs
es) reilsidiee rc en di n sptealtl eedd.
to vacate
classes have felt where the spur goads them. They Removal, &c., was estimated to entail a cost of £6OO,
the premises and this capital it was proposed to raise by the accept-
have watched the growth of the bubble—Free as a dealer in pikes, ance loans of £5, at ten per cent. interest, from
Trade—and its bursting. They have seen one &c. The sale of the articloecscET. been latterly extremely such of the members as might be disposed to ad-
powerful interest after another sacrificed—handed languid. vance that sum. The average number of members
over to the foreigner—to prop up a griping mane- WOOLTON FLOWER Snow.—The first of these inter- for the last three quarters approaches to 700 but such
facturing interest, and to enable the capitalist to esting exhibitions for the season will take place on Thurs- has been the decrease that there are not at present
day. A splendid display of the products of the garden more than 607. On the motion of Mr. Tinne, seconded
swell his hoards ; and if calmly and resolutely
and conservatory is expected. by Mr. J. R. Jeffery, it was resolved to remove, as early
appealed to as intelligent men, capable of under- It is stated that the Theatre-Royal will open on the 10th as possible, to more eligible premises near the Exchange,
standing their own interest, and of weighing the of July next, under the management of Mr. Simpson, with and to raise the required capital in the mode suggested. 1
hard dry facts of their position, divested of the the new play of " The Wife's Secret," in which Mr. ana The unpleasant fact transpired that the institution
empty jargon in which our politico-philosophers
Irs. Kean will act the principal parts. had lost considerably by the coffee-room ; but it was
seek to conceal them, we do not fear but that I The railway from Southport to Waterloo will be opened stated that effectual measures had recently been taken
on the Ist of July, and passengers can then go from Li- to render the department self-supporting, and that,
they will come nobly to the rescue. verpool to Southport, including the omnibus stage, in what with the experience acquired, and the thorough
Let us not be mistaken, however. We do not one hour.revision in the entire management, which was- now
seek to fall back into reliance upon what is termed The packet-ship Tuscarora was discharged, in the completed, the future prospects of the club were never
" the old country party:—the men of acres and
Waterloo Dock, in the short space of thirty-five working more hopeful. It being one of the principal reasons for the
game laws, petty sessions, and union bastiles. hours, by Messrs. Brown, Shipley, and Co.'s men. Her projected removal, to secure the means of developing the
These men have been too lon the mere blind fol-
cargo consisted of 10,700 packages. higher objects for which the institution was raised, we sin-
g
lowers of the prestige of great names; the led The magistrates have lately been investigating certain cerely trust that the important class for whose benefit it was
charges against Mr. E. R. Highton, Governor of the established will, by giving it their strenuous support,
horses of astute and designing statesmen. We Borough Gaol, and the result is that Mr. Highton has cuniary and personal, do what in them lies to renderpe-
it
must have men who have gone a little way with been allowed to send in his resignation. This he did on capable of achieving its original design of increasing the
the spirit of the age, who have eyes and use them, Tuesday. physical comforts, supplying the social wants, and above
On Tuesday last, Mr. Cardwell entertained Sir Thos. all, forwarding the moral and intellectual improvement of
perience, ud gment and discretion to
who have ex j,
Birch, M.P., Mr. J. Bramley-Moore, Mr. Ambrose Lace, its members.
guide them in unravelling the tangled cords in Mr. Wm. Mann, Mr. Wm. Cubitt, and several other ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.—The opening pyrotechnic gala
which we have permitted the industry of the nation gentlemen engaged in parliamentary business connected at these favourite grounds came off on Thursday evening
to be bound down. We want men of intelligence with the local bills now pending, at his mansion in last, and. though we regret the weather was not so favour-
and honesty, ; men who can use the pruning knife Whitehall-gardens. able as might have been wished, the attendance was great,
as well as prop the tree : above all, men who will COLLISION ON THE MERSEY.—FLAMBEAU V. WIRRAL. and sufficiently marked with enthusiasm to give the scene
'
ce- —The trial in this case, which arose out of a collision represented the character of " a decided hit." In a great
not convert politics into a trade for the advance- between the above-named steamers on the Mersey a short maritime port like Liverpool, where the influx of foreign-
ment
• hthe Flambeau went down, settled particularlyAmericans—isbe
of their own selfish interests. Such men time since, in which
there are to be found amongst our mercantile on Tuesday by the Lords of the Admiralty, who gave their great addendalto the patronage bestowed on public amuse-
bodies, amongst the members of our aristocracy, decision in favour of the Flambeau. ments, it requires some degree of judgment to select for
and even amongst the more humble trading classes.
SUSPENSION OF A BANKRUPT'S CERTIFICATE.—At representation a subject suited to all. New York admir-
We want no regularly apprenticed statesmen—no the Court of Bankruptcy, on Tuesday, Mr. Sergeant ably fills all requirements, not alone from the magnificence
Ludlow suspended for six months granting a certificate of the city, but from the beauty of the panoramic scenery
political prigs, who have, hung ,on the skirts of to Richard Taylor, a bankrupt, who had given a warrant with which it is surrounded. The view is taken from
party, and chattered and toadied until the world of attorney to one of his creditors, thereby giving a pre. near Chatham-street, and thus commands all the ancient
has taken it for granted that there is something in ference over the rest of his creditors.
and picturesque portion of the city, the East River and
FIRE.—On Wednesday a fire broke out in the building the Hudson, Long Island, Jersey, &c. In the painting
them. Our confidence should be placed only in
shed of Mr. Pendleton, joiner and builder, Whitfield- there is a distinctness of delineation and breadth of colour-
known and tried men, whose ranks we ought to street, Toxteth-park, ipid though every effort was used by ing, with a judicious introduction of light and shade, but
endeavour to recruit from amongst the intelligence the neighbours to extinguish it, scarcely a vestige of the the artist (Mr. Fenton) has been more peculiarly successful
and worth of the nation, irrespective of the tradi- place remained in three-quarters of an hour. In addition in catching at one glance, without disturbing the general
tionary claims of birth or of past party connexion. to the destruction of the shed and other property, the effect, all the important buildings of the city. General
Nor shall we meet with any insurmountable woodwork complete for nine houses was consumed.
opinion, which does much for ultimate success, pronounces
difficulty in finding leaders for a party thus WOMAN DROWNED.7AbOUt half-past two o'clock on the painting excellent, while "Brother Jonathan," being
Saturday afternoon a middle-aged woman. named Betsy more than delighted to point out to his European friends
strengthened and, above all, united in a firm de- Davies, who kept a stall in the Fish Market, in Great each attractive feature, says much for the accuracy with
termination to do justice and to exercise their coin- Charlotte-street, leaped from one of the Birkenhead ferry which it is pourtrayed. The pyrotechnic works, by Mr.
mon sense, irrespective of theory and philosophy, steamers into the river. The tide was receding at the J. Atkins, were, in colour and design, splendid. The
There are gems still in the mine as bright and pure time, and she was rapidly drifted down. Two boats were Gardens are now in excellent order, and the late refresh-
as any which have been drawn out ; and great put ff to the rescue. but she soon sank to rise no more. ing rains have given to vegetation additional beauty ; in-
emergencies seldom fail to brio SALES OF WOOL.—We are informed that the public deed, there is not out of London any resort more worthy
g forward command- sales of East India wool held here on the 18th instant, of a visit; and we think we will be borne out by the
ing minds. The able subaltern of a skirmishing brought a large attendance of buyers ; the competition was public in awarding to the proprietors that meed of appro-
party is overlooked, although he display the talent spirited throughout, and the whole was disposed of at bation that is the dessert of spirited enterprise—and
cent sales made by private treaty, which is a complete command that support that has prompted them to seek
and bravery which make the general into a hero. Prices fully equal, and in some instances higher, than re- wishing that the ensuing season, like those past, will
The humble clerk, toiling at his desk, is often the
achiever of the wealth which makes his employerincreasedpatronage, • a • -' 1 -
contradictior! of reports that appeared inC:several of our ra tiler public praise than pecuniary profit—to give w.th
contemporaries,

THE LIVERPOOL FINANCIAL REFORM ASSO-
CIATION.-LETTER OF LORD KINNAIRD.

The Liverpool Association continues to increase, and
derervedly so, in the number of its members, and its pe-
cuniary means. Without reference to party it takes up
the great cause of reducing and equalizing the general
taxation of the country, which has, from popular apathy been
swelling out, even in time of peace, to a weight and mag-
nitude that absolutely crushes the enterprise and energy
of every class, and especially of the commercial and the
working community. Our merchants and traders have
prepared a memorial to the Mayor, requesting hini to call
a public meeting, to petition parliament for a general re-
vision and retrenchment of taxation ; and it is understood
that he is prepared to comply,—so that we may expect a
legitimate monster" gathering on this all-important
and absorbing subject. The example will, we doubt not,
be followed in all great and even moderately sized towns,
if not indeed in villages, for all are sufferers in proportion.
The salaries of Government officials must be reduced ;
all sinecures must be abolished ; pensions unmerited
withdrawn, and others reduced to merited proportions.
Connected with this subject it is pleasing to find that
some of the nobles of the land are wisely, for their own
'sakes, taking part with the people. Lord Kinnaird has
,addressed a long letter to Mr. A. H. Wylie, upon the 0...) -
'jeet of the association alluded to. His Lordship. who
has ever had commerce and the rights of industry at
'heart, does not go the full length aimed at by the associ-
ation, but he admits the accuracy of many of the princi-
ples sought to be brought into play, and expresses
opinions with firmness and candour. He addresses him-
se!f to the four objects in view, and first to " a general
retrenchment of national expenditure." On this point
he states that only about twenty-one millions or the re-
venue can be touched, and he questions the policy of any
large reduction of our forces in the present disturbed state
of Europe. He anticipates much, however, from the en-
quiry now entered into by the parliamentary committee.
He does not think the navy can be materially reduced,
but that there is no necessity for so large a standing army.
With respect to our colonies, we ought when they received
the twenty millions compensation, to have made a proviso
that it should be devoted to improvements there, and not
encourage the recepients to a baneful dependance on the
mother country. He thinks great retrenchment may be
effected in our diplomatic arrangements, and trusts we
shall cease to intermeddle too much with the politics of
other countries. On the second head, the assessed taxes,
he thinks that many articles are of luxury and fairly tax-
able, but a fairly-apportioned house tax would be "a good
substitute for window and other assessed taxes. He does
not believe the abolition of the malt tax would be bene-
ficial to any class. The revision of the whole excise and
customs' taxes are, he conceives, well worthy of attention.
On the other two heads—that taxes are imposts that in-
terfere with industry and should be transferred to direct tax-
ation, and " the equitable apportionment of all needful
taxation" his lordship to a great sxtent.concurs with the
association. The property and income tax should be
more equitably proportioned. The loss on the tea duties
would be fully compensated for by the additional con-
sumption of sugar. The navigation laws required
amendment, also the restrictive clauses in the Bank
Act of 1844. His lordship concludes by saying
" I hope your association will keep clear of the question
of reform in the representation, although it requires very
extensive alteration and extension ; yet the two questions
are quite distinct, as, even in its present defective state,
the decided expression of the country's opinion in favour
or against a measure, cannot remain long unheeded."

COMMERCIAL CRISIS.-UNFOUNDED
RUMOURS.

At a time like the present, when the commercial world
is but just recovering from a season of disaster and suffer-
ing, it is lamentable to find that there are among us
thoughtless people, whose idle tattle is continually pro-
ducing renewed distrust; and pointing at, or insinuating,
the names of fresh victims, often without the slightest
ground beyond their own senseless conclusions. There
can obviously be no security for commercial men—no
revival of commercial activity—no confidence amongst
capitalists—so long as such wanton practices are in-
dulged in.
We know, however, that it is difficult to put a stop to
them. From the press, however, we ought to expect
better things; and, although generally, want of circum-
spection as to the promulgation of reports of an unfa-
vourable character, affecting individual houses, cannot
with truth be alleged against our contemporaries, instances
of deviation from this -wise and proper course do occasion-
ally occur. We had an instance in the columns of a
contemporary last week, in which a firm was pointed at,
by name, as having suspended ; and although, as it hap-
pens, the firm in question no longer exists, the report
was calculated to do serious injury upon the house which
has succeeded to its business. Of course the report was
promptly contradicted. In a Manchester paper, the Ex-
aminer of Saturday week, we find an instance of a diffe-
rent kind in the following paragraph : "We have
information from Liverpool, this evening, of rather an
unpleasant character. Rumours have been prevalent
there, during the day, with reference to parties whose
affairs are understood to be in such a position as to render
a public announcement of difficulties not improbable
within a few hours. We refrain, in the meantime, from
mentioning." No names are mentioned here, certainly,
although our contemporary, affecting a great degree of
credit for concealing them, intimates that the names are
in his possession ; but the paragraph is, on that very
account, only calculated to produce the more extensive
distrust. It is not one house, definitely pointed out,
which is in difficulties, but more than one; and every
Manchester manufacturer, who has business transactions
in Liverpool, is left to surmise whether one or more of
the particular houses, in whose stability he is interested,
may be the tottering houses in question. Our contempo-
rary must by this time be convinced that he has been
misinformed.