The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-10-04 00:00:00

WHIG ECONOMY.

One of the three great boasts of the Whig ministers on coming
into place was economy. How they have economized, in Sir
John Key's paper contract, in Lord Durham's mission to St.
Petersburgh, in Lord Grey's family arrangements, in Lord
Plunkett's (longo posto intervallo) imitation of them, in the
Russo-Dutch loan, in the Otho (King of Greece) loan, in the
Irish Tithe Arrears Bill, in the West India Compensation Bill
we need not tell, for the world well knows already. But we'
need tell, that in that popular and very respectable branch of
the public expenditure, Secret Service Money, they "econo-
mize" at nearly twice the expense that we paid in the time of
the prodigal Tories; which may be seen by the subjoined ac-
count, printed by order of the House of Commons :

An Account of Sums i
sth June, 1832, for S.
Admiralty, and Coloni

iuited since the 514
,EGRET SEavwg, in
ial Department.

January, 1&31, to
the Foreign Office,

1831
Ito sth Jan
1832.

1832
Ito sth Jan.
1833.

1833
to sth June,

Foreign Office
Admiralty
Colonial Department

£22,000

1,000
_3,400

£30,000

Total

26,400

Whitehall Tieasury Chambers,

£20,000

£72,000
1,000
7,400

32,000

22,000 180,.E
CHARLES WOOD.
sth July, 1833.

On the other hand, it has been the custom for years back to
employ in his Majesty's Dock-yards from 40 to 50 old women,
generally taken from the parish workhouse, to repair and mend
the colours and flags belonging to his Majesty's navy; the
earnings of these poor women used to amount to from Gd. to Pd.
per day, and their being so employed was a great relief to the
parishioners, who otherwise would have had to support them in
the workhouse. Retrenchment and economy, however, seem to
be the order of the day, for within the last few days, orders have
been sent down to Chatham, Woolwich, Deptford, and all the
dock-yards in the kingdom, to discharge all the old women so
employed, and that for the future such work shall be done by
contract. This reduction, it has been calculated, will effect a
saving to the country of from thirty to forty shillings per an-
num!! !—The above display of commendable economy in our
able Whig financiers, we copy from the Standard, and grateful
ought the country to feel towards the present.promising adminis-
tration for haVing effected so important a saving as we are about
to recount! It is well known that in all the royal arsenals
a quantity.of cats are very properly provided to prevent the
nibbling depredations of certain marauders called mice, and
there is a regular allowance of milk for this useful part of the
establishment; within a few weeks a strict order arrived from
head-quarters to muster the cats, and to report upon the cor-
rectness of the milk allowance. The muster took place in due
form, and Toni, 'rib, Grimalkin, and a few others, being absent
without leave upon a prowl, were struck off from the Strength
of the feline regiment, and the allowance of milk has actually
been diminished pro raid since the muster, thereby adding at
least forty pence to the above-mentioned forty shillings. Alas !
poor old maids and cats.—Carmarthen Journal.

TRIAL OF ISSUES UNDER THE LAW ,AMEND-

MENT ACT.

" We have already noticed (p. 400) the intention of the
Sheriff of Lancashire to hear causes, under the 17th section of
this act, once in each month, at Liverpool and Manchester, as
well as Preston. Under the Local Courts Bill, it was not con-
templated to hold a court oftener than four times in the year at
the several towns in the districts;; so that, in regard to expedi-
tion, much more will be accomplished than was intended by the
Local Court plan.
" In the instaniee of Lancashire, the course which has been, or
will be adopted, will diminish nearly one half the present
distance of the place of trial, in all the causes which come
within the scope of the act. The manufacturing and com-
mercial parts of Lancashire being at Manchester and Liver-
pool, and their immediate neighbourhoods, it is in those places
that the far larger part of litigation has its origin ; and accord-
ing' to the late practice, it was necessary for the parties, attor-
neys and witnesses, to travel to Lancaster, a distance of fifty-
five miles.

" By holding courts at Preston, Manchester, and Liverpool,
the witnesses cannot he taken more than a few miles from their
residence. The distance from Preston to Manchester is thirty-
three
miles, from Preston to Liverpool is thirty-three miles,
and from the latter place to Manchester thirty-six miles. The
place of trial may, therefore, be so regulated as to bring the
majority of the witnesses from the lesser distance of the two—
that is, never exceeding seventeen or eighteen miles; and, on
the average, it will be an easy journey on foot.
" The majority of cases, indeed, arise either actually in Man-
chester, Liverpool, or Preston, and the witnesses residing on
the spot. need not be detained more than a few hours. Trials
for small debts may therefore more readily take place than even
in London, where the parties and witnesses are frequently
scattered over a circuit of twenty-five miles. We believe, that
thus it will be impossible to carry the measures of useful reform
further than has been, or will be, accomplished by the Judges
under the powers given by the Law Amendment Act, which
carries into effect almost all the recommendations of the Com-
mon Law Commissioners. There remains, however, the con-
sideration of the alterations as to evidence and costs, on which
the Commissioners have yet to make reports.
" Resuming our subject, it is important that the tinder-
sheriffs of other counties should, without loss of time, pursue
the course adopted in Lancashire, by fixing specific days in each
month for the trial of issues under the act, as well as assessing
damages on writs of inquiry. Of course the principal towns,
with reference to extent of wealth and population, should be
selected, and due notice given, so that the complete %% orking of
the recent act may be ascertained before ,the next meeting of
Parliament.

" So far We have spoken only of the facilities afforded by the
Law Amendment Act for the trial of causes not exceeding £2O.
But it is equallv important to advert to the diminution of ex-
pense which be effected by the Ass 46 flettio;:al 4ci! 14 the
•