The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-02-22 00:00:00

MOVEMENT FOR THE ABOLITION OF LIGHT
DUES ON SHIPPING.

The shipping interest of the principal ports in the
kingdom have again taken up the important subject a the
system in which our coast lights are managed, and the
consequent unjust imposition of light dues upon vessels.
The present depression in trade and shipping has natu-.
rally pressed upon those immediately interested in the
necessity of calling for relief from the abuses which un-
deniably exist. Under the antiquated powers of the
Trinity Board British ships are subjected to exorbitant
charges, and the steam-ship interest are alike sufferers.
An association for the Abolition of Light Dues has been
formed in London, headed by a number of members of
parliament, merchants, and shipowners, and we refer to
the resolution passed at a meeting recently held for the
details of the grievances sought to be redressed, and
copies of which have been sent to the members of the ad-
ministration, to all the members of parliament, and to
many other parties. The following are the heads in brief:
That the management of the lighthouses of the kingdom
should no longer be in the hands of self-elected and irre-
sponsible bodies, but should be placed in the hands of a
board responsible to government ; that the debt incurred
for the purchase of private lighthouses ought not to have
been charged upon shipping; that the maintenance of
lighthouses, floating-lights, buoys, &c., should be defrayed
out of the public revenue; that the payment of allow-
ances to superannuated seamen and others from lighthouse
dues, has been strongly condemned by every parliamentary
committee that has investigated the subject; and that the
competition of railways aggravates the burden of light
dues upon shipping. A meeting of shipowners and mer-
chants has been held in Hull, at which similar resolutions
were passed, and a meeting in this town would do good,
and ought immediately to be convened.
Mr. Morgan, secretary to the London Association,
states, in a circular recently issued by him, with reference
to the burthens complained of :—The committee appointed
in 1845 to report on that subject has stated that the
amount levied for light dues is many times greater than it
ought to be—(£soo,ooo being levied, when little more
than £lOO,OOO has been pronounced sufficient)—that
commerce is fettered by the restrictions imposed on the
shipment of goods in cases where the light dues exceed
1 the freight ; that the coasting trade is exorbitantly taxed;
that the merchant navy alone Days them ; that the greater
proportion of them is applied to other purposes than those
for which they were levied : and that they are expensively
collected and wastefully spent. Conclusive as this evi..
deace is as to the necessity for the abolition of those dues,
it is strengthened by the fact that these abuses are in-
creasing. In 1837 the amount expended in the mainte-
nance of lighthouses (not inclnding those purchased)
under the management of the Trinity House, was £49,000;
in 1845, £57,000; whilst the revenue from those light-
houses alone had increased from £111,445 in 1837 to
£186,000 in 1845.

A prebendal stall in Durham cathedral become vacant
by the promotion of Dr. Sumner to the see of Canterbury.
The Edinburgh Town Council have petitioned parlia.
ment for the abolition of the game laws.
There will be upwards of 500 rooms in the new houses
of parliament, and 150 staircases.
Letters from Berne, of the 16th instant, state that the
Diet had on that day resolved upon an answer to a joint
vote of France, Austria, and Prussia. This document is
of considerable length, and cautious in its expressions.
It tnanks the Powers for their solicitude in Swiss inde-
pendence, but affirms that the affairs of their country
belong to Switzerland exclusively. and promises to main-
tain tranquillity and order.
WHICH ARE THE MOST SAVAGE, THE FINEST PISAN-
TRY OR THE BOSJESMANS ?—A ruffian, a couple of even-
ings since, flung an orange from the gallery with great
violence, at one of these poor savages (the Bosjesmans)
and apparently hurt him considerably. When speaking of
the Bosjesmans as the lowest specimens of the human race,
we surely ought to make an exception in favour of the
fellow who perpetrated this outrage.—Cork Reporter.
A MOTHER SHOT BY HER SON.—An inquest was held
a few days since at East Prawle, Devonshire, on the body
of Rebecca Wood, aged 49 years. It appeared from the
evidence that her son, a young man, had borrowed a gun
from a neighbour to shoot some small birds ; he loaded
the gun in his mother's kitchen, and whilst in the act of
putting a cap on the nipple, the gun went off and lodged
the contents in his mother's abdomen ; the poor woman
lingered about two hours and expired.
POACHING AFFRAY AT RABY.—An inquest was held
on Wednesday, on the body of John Shirley, the second
huntsman of the Duke of Cleveland, at Raby Castle.
After an examination of several witnesses, the jury re-
turned a verdict of wilful murder against William Thomp-
son, as principal. and against Thomas Dawson and Wil-
liam Oldfield, as aiding and abetting The parties had
previously been committed to Durham Gaol on suspicion.
The greatest consternation has been caused in the neigh-
bourhood from the melancholy event.
From our official returps it appears that the amount of
traffic for the last week, on upwards of 3,436 miles of
railway, was £148,199, thus accounted for :-70,423 for
the conveyance of passengers only, £41,632 for the car-
riage of goods, and a remainder of £36,144 for passen-
gers, and goods together, not respectively apportioned ;
being an increase of £13,635 over the corresponding week
of the Former year, when the mileage was 2,680. The
average earnings per mile for last week were £42, whilst
in 1847 they were £5O.
AMERICA.—The packet-ship Montezuma arrived on
Saturday, with dates from New York to the Ist instant.
The news is unimportant. The Acadia's outward accounts
were expected with great interest. The markets were
quiescent. The New York cotton market was steady :
the sales on the 31st being 600 bales, good mid. Uplands
at 71- to Bk. Freights were dull : 1000 barrels meal had
been taken to Liverpool at ls. 6d. New Orleans dates of
the 24th state, that " cotton is in fair demand at previous
quotations, good mid. 6k to 71 ; sugar is without change ;
molasses continues dull, with sales at 18 to 18i ; flour is
quiet : exchange nominal, without any new transactions
of importance; and in freights there are several new en-
gagements." The arrivals were numerous.

From Naples we learn that the constitution was publicly
proclaimed on the 12th instant, and that " the enthusiasm
towards the king was excessive." From Florence, under
the date of the 11th, we learn that the Grand Duke of
Tuscany had also published a decree for a representative
constitution. From Padua, under date of the Bth, we
are informed that a collision had taken place between the
military on one side, and the people and the students on
the other. The soldiers entering the cafes with drawn
swords, and the people seizing any weapons they could
meet, sanguinary conflicts took place, and many people
were killed and several wounded. Several scenes had
taken place at Brescia and Como. At Pavia, on the Bth,
a conflict also took place between the soldiers and the
citizens, a great number of whom were wounded and
seven killed.

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.—OD Thursday the half-
yearly meeting was held at the Paddington terminus, Mr.
Charles Russell in the chair. The report for the half-
year ending December 31st, 1847, showed a balance of
£257,318 2s. 3d., to be disposable for a dividend, which
it stated would admit of the usual dividend of four per
cent., and still leave a surplus of £11,002 2s. Bd.sufficient
in ordinary times to be carried to the next account; but
the directors recommend a dividend of three-and-a-haW
per cent. in consequence of the unusual stagnation of
railway traffic. Mr. Stansford moved, as an amendment
to their proposal, that it should be four per cent., which
was seconded by Mr. L. Heyworth. The amendment was
declared to he carried, and a poll was demanded, which
continued till five o'clock, and was then adjourned. Oa
Friday the result of the poll was declared as follows ;
For a dividend of 31 per cent., 3,342; for a dividend of
4 per cent., 1,213: majority for 31 per cent., 2,129. •
BIRMINGHAM AND OXFORD JUNCTION.—At the meet-
ing on Saturday, an amendment moved by Mr. Mozley
was carried. It was to the following effect :—That as no
reply had been received from the Great Western Com-
pany, the meeting should be adjourned to the 4th of
March, in order that the sentiments of that company,
relative to the proposition, might be ascertained. The
document consisted of a proposal to stay proceedings
cy mit y aiiv *omit rresrern ~ornpuny U MKT,-
taking- to guarantee the payment of £3O ss. (with interest)
for all the shares upon which £2O have been paid up the
amount to be paid according to the agreement of the 12th
of November, 1846; and the Great Western Company
binding themselves to complete the line, the Birmingham
and Oxford Company guaranteeing the sanction of two-
thirds of their shareholders to any bill which may be
brought into Parliament by the Great Western Company
relating to the completion of the works, agreeable to
Lord Wharncliffe's standing order.
LONDON AND NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY.—The usual
half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Friday,
at the Euston Hotel, Mr. George Carr Glyn in the chair,
and was very numerously attended by shareholders. The
Chairman went into a long statement, proving clearly that
the assertion that the dividends of the company had bee*
paid out of the capital was wholly unfounded. He also
denied that there was any foundation for the reports which
had been circulated in reference to proposed amalgama-
tions between the London and Northwestern and other
companies. The directors recommended a dividend of
four per cent. for the half year, which was unanimously
agreed to, and the meeting adjourned. The following_sre
extracts from the report laid before the meeting :—"Th.e
increased wear and tear of the rails, owing to the more
rapid speed of the trains, and the
greeter
engines, has been very carefully investigated by the cam-
pany's officers, and the result beenhasmeetth to
eexpensesatisfy
theo
board
t.
that, as a matter of prudence, it is desirable periodically to
set aside a depreciation fund, to
attend-
ing a gradual re-laying of the whole line. A sum of
£lO,OOO will be found-to be appropriated for this purpose
in the current half-year. It is satisfactory to the direc-
tors to be enabled to add, that the whole of the tunnels,
weightthe
and the way and works of the line, are in perfect order.
From the statement of the half-year's accounts, it will be
seen that the nett proceeds, after deducting £40,462 18s.
for the renewal of stock, amount to £607,392 16s. 7d. To
this must be added the balance carried forward from the
last half-year £7027 Is. 11d., making a disposable sum of
£614,419 18s. 6d. Out of this sum the directors recoil,-
mend a dividend of four per cent. for the six months, : 0(4
amounting to £564,029 Bs. Ild. and leaving ai.balinceof
£50,390 9s. 7d., (exclusive of the contingent reserve fund
of £130,000,) to be carried to the next half-year's ac-
count. The dividend on the Manchester and Birmingham
shares is calculated for the present half-year ou five
_months' receipts, which arises from these shares, in coo-
formity with the act of Parliament, having been entitled,
previously to the present half-year, to a dividend for sic. -
months ending on the 31st January instead' of the 31st:
December. In future, these shares will receive div •
in common with the general stock of the conipcivy..;44 a; 1619
14111