The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-01-04 00:00:00

CHESTER SESSIONS

The following report from the Rev. H. S. Joseph, the
exemplary Chaplain of Chester Castle, was read yesterday
at the annual meeting of magistrates :

TO THE CHAIRMAN AND MAGISTRATES OF THE

COUNTY OF CHESTER

" Twelve months have now passed away since I had the
privilege of presenting my first report to the magistrates
assembled in this court, during which time many
pleasing and encouraging circumstances have transpired
within the walls of the Castle, which I feel it to be my
duty to bring before you.

"-One hundred and fifty.eight prisoners have been
discharged during the past year, many of them under very
encouraging circumstances, several of whom expressed
their feelings of gratitude for the religious instruction they
had received in this place ; others expressed themselves
in this manner—' Oh ! if I bad had such instruction
given me and such pains taken with me before I had been
brought to this Gaol, I should not have been a prisoner.
I have lived in the midst of sin and ungodliness, and no
one seemed to care for my soul.' Others have again
expressed themselves in this way—' Oh, sir, if it had not
been for drink and jerry shops I should have been a
happy man. I could earn from 255. to 30s. a week, and
yet after all I could not find sufficient to get me a new
suit of clothes. Most of my money was spent in drinking
at alehouses.' I find that the majority of the prisoners
were earning from 15s. to 20s. a week—showing evidently
it was not want or distress that brought them to public
shame, but excess of drink in most cases. In fact, I be-
lieve from my heart that the small public-houses and the
jerry shops are a curse to our country.
In my report last sessions, I mentioned that we had
sent four boys up to the Philanthropic Institution. In
the last letter which I received from the chaplain, the
Rev. Sydney Turner, he says, ' The boys, Shottin and
Tomlinson, go on very well ; of Knott and Jackson I
hope to be able to say something more in a few months'
time.' Knot is only turned ten years of age, and Jackson
eleven. We have three lads now in prison, all of whom
I trust will be sent shortly to the same excellent insti-
tution.

" Within the last few weeks I have had a class of the
tried prisoners, at one time, and the untried at another,
and deliverered to them a course of lectures from Cruick-
shank's plates on drunkenness. I have no doubt they

have had a most powerful effect ; many of the prisoners
were seen in tears, whilst I was illustrating the awful
effects of intoxication. I intend going on with this
course from time to time.

" The general conduct of the prisoners is good. At
our morning services I deliver a lecture to them for about
15 minutes. To these they are remarkably attentive ;
each one that can read has his bible, and follows me
throughout ; his attention is arrested, and a deep interest
appears to be felt amongst them generally.
" When prisoners have been discharged I have always
found a great difficulty to know what to do with-them, so
that the good impression made upon their minds may not
be easily forgotten.
"With the female prisoners my difficulty has been
relieved, as there is an excellent institution in this city
willing and ready to receive females into their House of

Refuge, and where several have been. sent, and are still
there. One or two left at their own request; the others
are doing well.
" Some of the women that were not fit persons to be
sent to the refuge I put in a small way of business, and
they are getting a comfortable living. Two of the male
prisoners I took home with me to my own house, and in
two days I procured them situations at a farm-house in
the township of Upton, where they have given great satis-
faction, and where they both worked and earned 12s. a
week, one of them being still employed.
" Many.leasing circumstances have been communi-
t i catddlci me concerning several prisoners- that left t

castle during the past Year. I pra:y Gbd that the poor fel-
lows may be kept from all temptation
" During the past year our co

s have been

as followsT—Chrlstma;-day, 1846, four communicants;
March, 1847, eight; Easter Sunday, 12; Whit Sunday,
10; September, 14, and Christmas-day, last, 14. This
does not include the governor, his family, and the officers.
" I desire t 4.. for the

o express my feelings of gratitu
zealous co-operation of the governor of this castle, in th(
important work in which we are engaged. I have always
found him ready to assist me with his kind advice, and to
encourage me in my work. I feel it also right to say that
both the schoolmaster and other officers, of this place are
indefatigable in the discharge of their important duties,
and all things seem to be working together for good.
" No complaints whatever have been brought against
any prisoner for misconduct in the House of God, and I
have great reason to hope that the word preached from
time to time will be the means of bringing many of these
unfortunate prisoners ' from darkness to light—from sin
and Satan unto God.'

" H. S. JOSEPH, Cl
" Castle, Chester, Jan. Ist, 1648. .

lapktin

MEETING FOR THE. ELECTION 01

CONSTABLES IN

On Friday evening, immediately after meetings of the
commissioners and improvement committee of Wallasey
parish—both of which were financial and private—at the
Queen's Arms, in Liscard,.a meeting of the inhabitants
of the township was held at the same house, in conse-
quence of the following notice, publicly posted :—"Notice
to the inhabitants of Liscard, that a meeting of the inhab-
itants of Liscard will be held at Mrs. Hall's, Queen's
Arms, Liscard, on the evening of the 31st December, &c.,
for the purpose of appointing constables for the township
for the ensuing year." This was dated 29th December,
and was signed by Charles Reddy and Edward Cotterall,
overseers. The attendance was pretty numerous, and
Mr. Mullen, innkeeper, who was called to the chair, on
opening the business, expressed the feeling of all present,
in alluding to the calling of the meeting at such a time,
which in the usual routine of business was out of date,
previous elections having been in November and March.
Neither of the overseers were present to explain, but Mr.
Redhead, deputy overseer, intimated what he believed to
be the cause—namely, that Mr. Scambler, the head con-
stable, had frequently been absent at Knutsford and else-
where, to which a constable might have been sent ; that
in his absence recently there was no one to sign sum-
monses that were wanted ; and that Sir Edward Cust,
one of the magistrates, on learning the fact, had said that
if they could spare Mr. Scambler so much from home,
they could perhaps dispense with his services altogether.
Owing to this, he believed, the meeting had been called
by advice of the magistrates. The chairman good-hu-
mouredly said that those hitherto proposed for constables
(and from the list of whom the magistrates had to select
the required number) were humble members of society,
and he thought it would be but fair that some of those
who had a larger stake in the township ought to be called
to the office of general protection. He, therefore—after
a complimentary comment on the personal and other qua-
lifications of each individual named—proposed that the
following list of gentlemen, handed to him, be forwarded
to their worships :
Mr. John North, Mr. H. W. Gilliott, Mr. John Taylor,
Mr. Louis Huguenin, Mr. T. K. Hassall, Mr. Daly,
Church-street, Egremont, Mr. James Stringer, and Mr.
Wm. Rushton Colbourn.

The list was unanimously adopted amidst mirthful, but
apparently sincere plaudits, on the general merits of each.
The chairman signed the minutes of the proceedings
and handed them to the deputy overseer for presentation
to the magistrates. It is generally thought that none of
those in the list, who may be selected, will serve, but that
they will, as is usual, we believe, in such cases, find effi-
cient substitutes. Three constables are, we learn, gener-
ally appointed for the township.
The Chairman was requested by the meeting to call
upon the magistrates, and to represent to them, as the
general opinion of the inhabitants, that it was desirable
that the constables of the township should do the required
constabulary duties, as the Commissioners' police officers
had quite enough to do in the business of the parish.
The business being concluded in due form, those pre-
sent enjoyed a new year's glass, and separated in the best
of humour.

CORRESPONDENCE

EDUCATION IN WALES,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD
Stu,—lt is said that great events have often small be-
ginnings, and if this letter may in the least contribute to
bring about the end for which it was written, I shall feel
greatly obliged by your giving it publicity in your perio-
dical.

Not for a long time has the public mind been so agi-
tated as it now is. Commercial disasters are all over the
kingdom horrid atrocities in Ireland ; and last, though
not least in its consequence to the inhabitants, the moral
and intellectual character of the Welsh publicly slan-
dered. These have caused a great deal of excitement,
and the latter, no doubt, will cause a great deal of harm ;
for, coming from government officials authorised to exa-
mine the schools in Wales, the slander has more weight.
I fear, Mr. Editor, that you will be tired of so many
letters in defence of the Welsh nation ; but all that I
have yet seen are more or less characterised by sectarian
feeling, and uncharitable and untrue assertions respecting
the clergy and members of the Established Church in
Wales ; and this is especially the case with the letters
which have appeared in the Liverpool Journal. Do the
writers of these letters not perceive that, at the same
time that they are finding fault with the erroneous report
of the commissioners, by attempting to define the cause,
they themselves are casting a slur upon Welsh church-
men, and especially the clergy ? The conjecture about
the way in which the commissioners obtained their infor-
mation, is, to say the least of it, shamefully uncharitable,
and vulgarly personal. Have none but Welsh Dissenters
been scandalised ? Does it not extend to churchmen as
well ? Were not the parish schools in Wales examined
by the commissioners ? Bigotry must, indeed, be deeply
rooted that, when a common enemy is to be opposed, the
measure for defence should cause dissensions amongst
those who feel themselves injured.
That the majority of the Welsh are Dissenters there is
no doubt. At the relapse which succeeded the Reforma-
tion, because of the apathy and lukewarmness of some of
the clergy in Wales, a few zealous ministers left the Es-
tablished Church, that they might have more freedom, as
they thought, to preach the Gospel. But can the dissen-
ters of the present day compare themselves to these ? A.
little examination will discover to us how they have dege-
nerated. So far were those pious men from bearing any
malice to the Church of England, that they spoke of her
in the most reverential manner, and expressed their con-
viction of the excellency of her formularies, and even
performed the whole of the church service in their cha-
pels. Can the Baptists, Methodists, and all the other
sects which have sprung into existence only a few years
ago, recognise themselves with those I have just men-
tioned ? Nay ; so far are they front following the foot-
steps of their forefathers, that many of them at this _ day
consider the book of common prayer nothing else than a
jumble of Popish gibberish. I hope my dissenting fellow-
countrymen will not be offended, for I have said nothing
but what can easily be proved correct. But, lam per-
suaded that better days are dawning upon the Welsh
church ; there seems to be a shaking amongst the dry
bones, and we may look forth to behold a very great army
stand up in the defence of the church of our forefathers—
the church of Christ. When Popery first landed on the
shores of Britain, with her mummeries and superstitions,'
her lying legends and cruel persecutions, her promoters
found the Church of England fully established, and felt
that she was an invincible foe, and such she has proved
to be to this day. There remained some in the church
who, in the midst of surrounding degeneracy, con-
tinued steadfast, immovable in the truth ; as shining
lights when all around were involved in darkness, and
were as beacons to warn the presumptuous of their
error. But what do those of her children, who thought
fit to separate from her communion ?—who preferred
the habitation of strangers to their paternal roof ?
and the blind ravings of demagogues to the watchful care
of an affectionate parent ?—what token of gratitude do
they show for the inflexible and victorious opposition to the
intrigues of Rome ? Alas ! the cry that is heard from
every town and hamlet, and reverberates along our ma-
jestic hills, is—" Raze it, raze it, even to the ground !"
But I must say that such animosity is only shown by the
most bigoted and ignorant : those who know least about
the Established Church are the loudest in their cry against
her. I know, from personal observation, that intelligent
dissenters have a regard for our national church ; and
where there is a faithful minister in the church, they will
gladly attend. As an instance of their willingness, I shall
transcribe a short extract from a letter I received from a
friend some weeks back. After stating that he had heard
the Rev. —, a very excellent minister, lately come to a
small village in Wales, he says :—" He has an immense
congregation at his church, and the farmers of all Calvin-
istic persuasions invite him to preach at their houses con-
tinually. So great is he in the estimation of the Methodist
and Old Baptists, that they put off their own meetings
when he is preaching near, to hear, as they say, " Yr
Efengyl yn cael ei phregethu yn ei phurdeb"—`• the
gospel preached in its purity." And I think the corres-
pondent of last week's Journal had no need to exult so
much because the Welsh are mostly dissenters ; for they
became dissenters not entirely from choice, but rather
through necessity.

I fully concur with him that a few stray letters in the
newspapers are not sufficient to express the just indigna-
tion of a whole people, but I want to remind him and
others, who seem to be influenced by the same feelings,
that so long as- sectarian animosity has the ascendancy
amongst us, we can do nothing. Instead of uniting to
combat the common fpe, we are troubling ourselves with
unnecessary disputations altogether foreign to the subject,
which equally concerns all Welshmen. Let all party
feeling be put away, and let all Welshmen of whatsoever
sect they be, combine to make a tangible, an effectual
remonstrance against this stain which has been cast upon
them ; a remonstrance that will be felt through the
lenßth and breadth. of the land ; a remonstrance that
shall:not be quelled till the report of the commissioners
upon education in Wales be publicly acknowledged incor-
vt. Let some of our influential Welsh tnwnqmen come

forward, and they shall si
Only the first movement i

plenty of supporters

I shall occupy your space no longer, but with all earnest-
ness urge the adoption of some plans to this end, and.
hoping they will not fail of success, I am, yours, &c.
A WELSH CHURCHMAN.

COLLEGIATE INSTITL

lON CONCERTS

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
The directors of the Collegiate Institution have
---ge to give a course of thirty concerts, for the
nf *,-,widing a fund wherpt,i+), +-

ass°
,n organ for the lecture-room of that institution. The
sixth concert of the course was given last Saturday

The selection consisted of Ist, Overture, on the organ,
AuLer• ; 2nd, Quintet, " Oh rapt►zre unbounded," Auber ;
3rd, Scena, " Fancy's sketch," Braham ; 4th, Duet, " A

Linley ; 6th, Ballad, " Scenes that are brightest,"
Wallace; 7th, Buffo song, from Cinperella, "Ye tor-
mentors," Rossini; Bth, Rondo, piano-forte, Thalberg
9th, Rondo, " Non fu sogno," Verdi ; 10th, Quintet,
" When winds breathe soft," Webbe; 11th, Buffo duet,
from Cinderella, " Sir, a secret," Rossini ; 12th, Song.
" Bay of Biscay," Dibdiu; 13th, Trio, from the Secret
Marriage, "My Lady the Countess," Cinzarosa; 14th,
Song, " Ciascun lo dice," Donizetti ; 15th, Ballad, " The
Maypole," ancient English song ; and 16th, Buffo. song,
" Robinson Crusoe," Roe.

The vocalists were Misses Thornton, Parsons, and' M. 13.
Marsh, and Messrs. Rafter, George Buckland, and Henry
Buckland. The solo player, conductor, and accompanyist
Mr. E. F. Smith.

The quintets, Nos. 2 and 10, were taken by all the
vocalists, except Miss M. B. Marsh. The quintet, No. 2,
was well performed, but that at No. 10 was not so, except
by the ladies. The copies sung from by the gentlemen
were novel in shape, and, perhaps, questionably correct.
Mr. Rafter sang in good glee style ; but the other gentle-
men might have been better at home, if " When winds
breathe soft" had been something approaching the buffo
style. Besides, the singers in this glee ought not to at-
tempt such a performance without the accompaniment,
unless the contralto and basso were possessed of voices
which might render the remarkable declinations of the
key note an affair of little consequence, The comic trio,
No. 13, was given deliciously by Misses M. B. Marsh,
Thornton, and Parsons. The duet, No. 4, by Misses
Thornton and Parsons, was much and deservedly ap-
plauded. The Messrs. Buckland were completely suc-
cessful in their comic duet, No. H. Mr. Rafter was
successful, too. in the " Picture song," No. 3, and in the
" Bay of Biscay," No. 12. This gentleman has a warm-
toned and an extensive voice, and his enunciation was as
clear as can be desired. The songs, No. 5 and 14, were
sung by Miss Parsons, and her 'need of praise, evinced
by a hearty and repeated applause, left no room to doubt
the excellency of her singing. Miss Thornton sang the
songs No. 6 and 14. The former was as finely sung as it
is finely contrived, and the latter was as archly interpreted
as if the singer had been present at an ancient game
for kisses. Mr. George Buckland has been considered,
by a contemporary, as an imitator of John Parry; and he
is so, too, successfully, in the peculiarity of his singing
and piano-forte playing. It is true that a good copy is
better than an indifferent original. In this way he suc-
ceeded eminently in his buffo songs, Nos. 7 and 16, and
nobody thought him an ass, although he insisted upon it
in his song No. 7. The execution of Verdi's Rondo,
" Non fu sogno," was entrusted to our young fellow-
townswoman, Miss M. B. Marsh, who performed her
task so well as to elicit one of several encores. It is a
song with difficulties, which Miss M. altogether sur-
mounted, and she had the power to do so more easily if
the piano-forte had not been considerably above concert
pitch. Mr. E. F. Smith, in his solos, No. 1 and No. 8,
as well as in the accompanyments as the conductor, re-
fleeted great credit upon the choice of the managers.
It has already been intimated that there were many
encores ; but, if the badness of the weather had not pre-
vented an attendance commensurate with the laudable
object of these concerts, the encores might have extended
to four or five pieces which were hushed down.

J. M. X.

STATE OF MANUFACTURES

We extract the following remarks from the monthly
circular of Messrs. M'lsrair, Greenhow, and Irving, of
Manchester, published on Friday :
" An eventful year is rapidly drawing to a close, to be
succeeded, we sincerely trust, by one of a more happy and
prosperous character for all. A reference to, or recapitu-
lation of the causes which rendered it so productive of in-
jury and ruin to many, and to compel it to be regarded as
one of the most memorably calamitous commercial years
on record, appears to us to be so unnecessary, as they
are now so generally well understood and admitted.
"Though the market throughout the month has been
characterized by excessive gloom and much apparent in-
activity, the result warrants us, we are happy to say, in
expressing our disbelief of any abatement in the feeling of
improvement perceptible at the date of our last circular.
On the contrary, confidence appears to us to have been
materially strengthened, and to have acquired a stability
justifying reasonable hopes for a slow but progressive 44.
vance to maturity.

" Prices of both goods and yarns, which are lower than
than they were a a month ago, have again been necessarily
very irregular, and regulated in most instances by the po-
sition of the seller, and the extent of the operations sub-
mitted to him. Stocks may be considered much about
the same as they were at the end of November. Our
quotations represent the market value of Bach article as
nearly as it can be given.
" Production is on the increase, and with it conse-
quently increased employment for the operatives. There
are still, we lament to say, vast numbers totally or parti-
ally unemployed, a matter much to be regretted, at this
season of the year particularly.
" More failures have unfortunately taken place, none of
them happily to any great extent, but forming collectively
considerable liabilities. Though the monetary panic may
be considered to be at an end, there is, we fear, consider-
able suffering to be experienced amongst the smaller class
of traders, whom the consequences of the crisis have only
recently reached. The demand for goods during the
month has been but recently assisted by purchases for the
country trade ; a matter which may be readily accounted
for, by that to which we have just alluded, the absence of
employment in the manufacturing districts, and the with-
drawal of large sums hitherto in circulation for the pay-
ment of wages, &c., connected with railway and other
undertakings.

" Such then briefly is the state of this market at the
close of another year. We are not amongst those who
anticipate a speedy improvement with the new year. The
embarrassment consequent upon the disastrous events of
the last few months must necessarily render it slow but
progressive. Indeed, until the East India and China
trade shall have become again healthful, and the means
necessary for the prosecution of legitimate operations with
those important markets are available, no really general
and decided change fur the better in this district need be
anticipated.

AN EXAMPLE OF WHIG IRISH LANDLORDISM.

The reckless mode in which emigration from Ireland to
Great Britain and her colonies has been promoted by
landlords and boards of guardians, is tolerably well ap-
preciated in this locality ; but unless we had been ac-
quainted with the respectability of the journal in which
the facts are made known to us (the Toronto Herald),
we should scarcely have been inclined to believe that a
statement like the following could have had any other
foundation than a maniac's dream or an Irish agitator's
peculiar regard for truth. We give the facts from our
contemporary's columns and most sincerely trust that
they are susceptible of being incorrect, or at the least ex-
aggerated. The case referred to is a cargo of passengers
in the ship Richard Watson, which sailed from Sligo with
169 passengers, and which arrived at Quebec in the be-
ginning of November. Our contemporary says, taking
his facts from the Quebec Mercury of November 11th :
" We must premise our sad narrative by stating that
these poor creatures were tenants of Lord Palmerston, and
sent out by his agent, Mr Smith. The tenants already
sent out this year from this nobleman's estate had almost
become a bye-word for wretchedness. Of these passengers
about one-fourth were males, the remainder women and
children ; and we have been assured by a gentleman who
saw them when they arrived in port, that a more destitute
and helpless set have not come out this year. They were
penniless and in rags, without shoes or stockings, and
lying upon the bare boards, not having even straw ! When
the health officer visited them he saw, among other visible
instances of destitution, three poor children—infants, we
might say, from their age—sitting on the bare deck, per-
fectly naked, huddled together shivering ; the only cover-
ing for the three being a scant piece of blanket thrown over
the group ! The mother is a widow, and in rags—not pos-
sessed of a farthing, and, as we understand, not knowing
where to get one. Her youngest child is about two years
old. One poor girl (who was sent to the Marine Hospital
where seven from the vessel were sent) was so naked she
had to be supplied with a garment made from a biscuit
bag ! and we have heard from a gentleman who saw her
land that this appeared to be her only covering. Some of
the men's attire wore no semblance of tailor's work, their
shreds being tied together with cord. We have been in-
formed that not one of the steerage passengers owned a
box. The harrowing interest of our too sad narrative is
complete when we state that this vessel sailed for Quebec
on the 27th September ! These are facts which speak for
themselves. They need no comment. The date of sailing
itself is sufficiently expressive ; as, in the generality of
seasons, the St. Lawrence at the period of their arrival
might possibly have been filled with ice, and these poor
creatures been subjected to all the chances of shipwreck."
This, if true, is really a horrible state of things ; and not
one which we should have expected to find her Majesty's
Foreign Secretary mixed up in. Little indeed of good, or
of loyalty to the sovereign of Great Britain, can be expected
from colonization of our Canadian possessions by a race of
beings so totally unfitted to buffet with the hardships of
colonial life, as must be these tenants of the noble lord,
the Foreign Secretary of her Majesty the Queen of gng land.