The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-12-29 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

merly the centre, and in which the town of Leigh was not
far behind. Many of the characters are very forcibly
drawn, and will be popular with the descendants of the
nearly extinct race which the author pourtrays.

TERRIBLE EXAMPLE.—" My son !" said an old tur-
baned Turk, one day, taking his child by the hand in the
streets of Cairo, and pointing out to him on the opposite
side a Frenchman just imported, in all the elegance of
Parisian costume—" My son ! look there i if ever you
forget God and His prophet, you may come to look like
that I"

THIRST IN AFRICA.—This beat takes away all appe-
tite, and one longs for nothing but a shady tree and a
gushing fountain ; all else is vain. It is strange to see
efforts made by every creature, when we are corning near
a spring or brook, to reach it quickly. The weary faces
of the soldiers resume their animation ; the horses and
mules, who smell it half a league off, begin to neigh, and,
on reaching the water, both men and beasts plunge into it
to satisfy their burning thirst. General order a,,cl senti-
riels are of no avail—what is punishment, or even death,
to the soldier at such a moment? He would much rather
die by a bullet than by thirst. Most of them lose all self-
control, and drink till they are literally full. I have seen
them drink with a small tin can, called a quart, which each
soldier carries banging to his button hole, as much as five
or six pints at a time. It is extraordinary that more do
not die of it ; but the water is generally warmed by the
sun, and the subsequent marching brings on profuse per-
spiration.—French in Algiers.
THE CLAIMS OF D.—Dr. Daniel Dove, as I have said
in the last chapter, pronounced with peculiar emphasis
the Christian name of Daniel Defoe. Then taking up the
auspicious word.—ls there not Daniel the prophet, in ho-
nour of whom my baptismal name was given, Daniel if
not the greatest of the prophets, yet for the matter of his
prophecies the most important. Daniel the French his-
torian, and Daniel the English poet; who reminds me of
other poets in D not less eminent, Donne, Dodsley,
Drayton, Drummond, Douglas the Bishop of Duhkeld,
Dunbar, Denham, Davenant, Dyer, Durfey, Dryden, and
Stephen Duck ; Democritus the wise Abderite, whom I
especially honour for finding matter of jest even in the
profoundest thought, extracting mirth from philosophy,
and joining in delightful matrimony wit with wisdom. Is
there not Dollond the optician : Dalembert and Dederot
among those Encyclopedists with whose renown

All europne rings from side to side.
Derham the Astro-Physico—and Christo—Theologian ;
Dillenius the botanist; Dion, who for his eloquence was
called the golden mouthed; Diagoras, who boldly despis-
ing the false gods of Greece, blindly and audaciously de-
nied the God of Nature. Diodes, who invented the cis-
sod ; Deodati, Diodorus and Dion Cassius. Thus rich
was the letter D even before the birth of Sir Humphrey
Davy, and the Catastrophe of Doctor Dodd : before Da-
niel Mendoza triumphed over Humphreys in the ring,
and before Dionysius Lardner, professor of the St.
—'niversity of London, projected the Cabinet Cyclo-
pedia. Daniel O'Connell fought Mr. Peel, triumphed
over the Duke of Wellington, bullied the British govern-
ment, and changed the British constitution. If we look
to the fine arts, he pursued, the names of Douw, and
Durer, Dolce and Dominichino instantly occur. In my
own profession, among the ancients, Dioscorides ; among
the moderns, Dippel, whose marvellous oil is not more
exquisitely curious in preparation than powerful in its
use; Dover of the powder; Dalby of the Carminative;
Daffy of the Elixir; Deventer, by whom the important
art of bringing men into the world has been so greatly im-
proved ; Douglas, who has rendered lythotomy so beauti-
ful an operation, that he asserteth in his motto it may be
done speedily, safely, and pleasantly; Dessault, now ris-
ing into fame among the continental surgeons, and Dims-
dale, who is extending the blessings of innoculation. Of
persons eminent for virtue of sanctity, who ever in friend-
ship exceeded Damon, the friend of Pythias? Is there
not St. John Demascenus, Dr. Doddridge, Deborah, the
nurse of Rebekah, who was buried beneath Beth-el,
under an oak, which was called Allonbackhuth, the Oak
of Weeping, and Deborah, the wife of Ladipoth, who
dwelt under her palm trees between Ramah and Beth-el
in Mount Ephraim, where the little children of lerael
came up to her for judgment, for she was a mother in Is-
rael ; Demas, for whom St. Paul greets the Colossians, 1
and whom he calleth his fellow-labourer •, and Dorcas,
which being interpreted is in Hebrew Tabitha, and in '
English Doe, who was full of good works and almsdeeds,
whom therefore Peter raised from the dead.—The Doctor,
by Robert Southey.
BATTUE SHOOTING.—The proprietor of the estate, a
middle-aged gentleman of sedentary habits, does not, in
all probability, care much about sporting. If he does, he
rents a moor in Scotland, where he amuses himself until
well on in October, and then feels less disposed for a
tamer and heavier sport. But in November he expects,
after his ancient hospitable fashion, to have a select party
at the manor-house, and he is desirous of affording them
amusement. They arrive, to the number, perhaps, of a
dozen males, some of them persons of an elevated rank,
or of high political connexion. There is considerable
c onmotion on the estate. The staff of upper and under
keepers assemble with a large train of beaters before the
baronial gateway. They bring with them neither pointers
nor setters—the old 'companions of the sportsman are
useless in a battue ; but there are some retrievers in the
leash, and a few well-broken spaniels. It is quite a scene
for Landscer—that antique portico, with the group before
it, and the gay and sloping uplands illuminated by a clear
winter's sun. The guests sally forth, all mirth and spi-
rits, and the whole party proceeded to an appointed cover.
Then begins the massacre. There is a shouting and
rustling of beaters ; at every step the gorgeous pheasant
whirs from the bush, or the partridge glances slopingly
through the trees, or the woodcock wings his way on
scared and noiseless pinion. Rabbits by the hundred are
scudding distractedly from one pile of brushwood to an-
other. Loud cries of " Mark V are heard on every side,
and at each shout there is the explosion of a fowling-
/‹... v...
hind you is always ready with a spare gun. How he ma-
nages to cram in the powder and shot quickly is an
absolute matter of marvel ; for you let fly at every thing,
and have lost all regard to the ordinary calculations of
distance. You had better take care of yourself, however,
for you are getting into a thicket, and neither Sir Robert
who is on your right, nor the Marquis, who is your left-
hand neighbour, are remarkable for extra caution, and the
Baronet, in particular, is short-sighted. We do'nt quite
like the appearance of that hare which is doubling back.
You had better try to stop her before she reaches that
vista in the wood. Bang!—you miss, and, at the same
moment, a charge of number five, from the weapon of the
Vavasour, takes effect upon the corduroys of your thigh,
and, though the wound is but skin-deep, makes you
dance an extempore fandango. And so you go on from
cover to cover, for five successive hours, through this
rural poultry-yard, and, what is worse, wounding without
slaying, beyond all ordinary calculation. You have had a
good days sport, have you ? Our dear sir, in the estima-
tion of any sensible man or thorough sportsman, you
might as well have been amusing yourself with a rifle
in the heart of Falkirk Tryst, or assisting at one of those
German Jagde, where the deer are driven into inclosures,
and shot down to the music of lute, harp, cymbal, dulci-
mer, sackbut, and psaltery. In fact, between ourselves,
it is not a thing to boast of, and the amusement is, to say
the least of it, an expensive one. For the sake of giving
you, and the Marquis, and Sir Robert, and a few more,
two or three day's sport, your host has sacrificed a great
part of the legitimate rental of his estate—has maintained,
from one end of the year to the other, all those personages
in fustian and moleskin—and has, moreover, made his te-
nantry sulky. Do you think the price paid is in any way
compensated by the value received ? Of course not. You
are a man of sense, and therefore, for the future, we trust
that you will set your face decidedly against the battue
system :—shoot yourself, as a gentleman ought to do—or
if you do not care about it, give permission to your own
tenantry to do so. Rely upon it, they will not abuse the
privilege. The fact is, tkere never should be more than
two coveys in one field, or half-a-dozen hares in each
moderate slip of plantation. That, believe us, with the
accession you will derive from your neighbours, is quite
sufficient to keep you in exercise during the season, and
to supply your table with game. No tenant whatever will
object to find food for such a stock. If you want more
exciting sport, come north next August, and we shall take
you to a moor which is preserved by a single shepherd's
herd, where you may kill your twenty brace a-day for a
month, and have a chance of red-deer into the bargain.
But, if you will not leave the south, do not, we beseech
you, turn yourself into a hen-wife, and become ridiculous
as a hatcher of pheasants' eggs. The thing, we are told,
has been done by gentlemen of small property, for the
purpose of getting up an appearance of game : it would be
quite as sane a proceeding to improve the beauty of a
prospect by erecting cast-iron trees. Above all things,
whatever you do, remember that you are the denizen of a
free country, where individual rights, however sacred in
themselves, must not be extended to the injury of those
around you.—Blacktcood's Magazine.
THE RETURN FROM MARKET.--A chaise cart, driven
by a boy, came clattering along the road : and seated in
it, in a chair, with a large well-saturated umbrella spread
out to dry behind her, was the plump figure of a matronly
woman, with her bare arms folded across a basket which
she carried on her knee, several other baskets and parcels
lying crowded about her, and a certain bright good-nature
in her face, and contented awkwardness in her manner, as
she jogged to and fro with the motion of her carriage,
which smacked of old times even in the distance. Upon
her nearer approach, this relish of by-gone days was not
diminished : and when the cart stopped at the Nutmeg
Grater door, a pair of shoes, alighting from it, slipped
nimbly through Mr. Britain's open arms, and came down
with a substantial weight upon the pathway, which shoes
could hardly have belonged to any one but Clemency
Newcome. In fact, they did belong to her, and she stood
in them, and a rosy comfortable-looking soul she was;
with as much soap on her glossy face as in times of yore,
but with whole elbows now, that had grown quite dimpled
in her improved condition. "You're late Clemmv,"
said Mr. Britain. " Why, you see, Ben, I've had a deal
to do !" she replied, looking busily after the safe removal
into the houses of all the packages and baskets : "eight,
nine, ten—where's eleven? Oh my baskets, eleven !
It's all right. Put the horse up, Harry; and if he coughs
again give him a mash to-night. Eight, nine, ten. Why,
where's eleven ? Oh, I forgot, it's all right. How's the
children, Ben?" " Hearty, Clemmy, hearty." " Bless
their precious faces !" said Mrs. Britain, unbonneting her
own round countenance (for she and her husband were by
this time in the bar), and smoothing her hair with her
open hands. " Give us a kiss, old man." Mr. Britain
promptly complied. " I think," said Mrs. Britain, ap-
plying herself to her pockets and drawing forth an im-
mense bulk of thin books and crumpled papers, a very
kenel of dogs' ears. "I've done everything. Bills all
settled—turnips sold—brewer's account looked into and
paid—'bacco pipes ordered—seventeen pound four paid
into the bank—Doctor Heathfield's charge for little Clem
—you'll guess what that is—Doctor Heatlafield wont take
nothing again, Tim." " I thought he wouldn't," re-
turned Britain. " No. He says whatever family you
have, Tim, he'd never put you to the cost of a halfpenny.
Not if you was to have twenty." Mr. Britain's face as-
sumed a serious expression, and he looked hard at the
wall. " A'et it kind of him ?" said Clemency. " Very,"
returned Mr. Britain. " It's the sort of kindness that I
wouldn't presume upon, on any account. " No," re-
turned Clemency. " Of course not. Then there's the

pony—he fetched eight pound two; and that a'nt bad, is
it ?" " It's very good," said Ben. " I'm glad you're
pleased !" exclaimed his wife. " I thought you would
be; and I think that's all, and so no more at present
from yours and cetrer, C. Britain. Ha, ha, ha! There!
take all the papers, and lock em. Oh ! Wait a minute.
Here's a printed bill to stick on the wall. Wet from the
printers. How nice it smells!" I. What's this?" said
Tim, looking over the document. " I don't know," re-
plied his wife. " I haven't read a word of it." "' To
be sold by auction,' " read the host of the Nutmeg Grater,
" ' unless previously disposed of by private contract.' "
"They always put that," said Clemency. "Yes, but
they don't always put this," he returned. " Look here,
'Mansion,' &c , offices,' &c , shrubberies,' &c., ' ring
fences,' &c., ' Messrs. Snitchy and Craggs,' &c., orna-
mental portion of the unencumbered freehold property of
Michael Warden, Esquire, intending to continue to re-
side abroad '!" " Intending to continue to reside
abroad," repeated Clemency. " Here it is," said Mr.
Britain. " Look !" " And it was only this very day
that I beard it whispered at the old house, that better and
plainer news had been half promised of her soon !" said
Clemency, shaking ber head sorrowfully, and patting her
elbows, as if the recollection of old times unconsciously
awakened her old habits. " Dear, dear, dear ! There'll
be heavy hearts, Ben, yonder." Mr. Britain heaved a
sigh, and shook his head, and said he couldn't make it
out; he had left off trying long ago. With that remark,
he applied himself to putting up the bill just inside the
bar window ; and Clemency, after meditating in silence
for a few moments, roused herself, cleared her thought-
ful brow, and bustled off to look after the children.—
Charles Dickens's Battle of Life,

CO fiRtISPONDENCE.

ON THE SANITARY CONDITION OF SOME
PARTS OF LIVERPOOL.

To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

LETTER XXIII

" Property has its duties as well as its rights."

THE DAMP, FOUL STATE OF DWELLINGS, SOURCES

OF DANGER

I shall quote the notes I made some fifteen or eighteen
months ago :

" Mos( of the cellars in Toxteth-park, they tell me,
were evacuated entirely. Some were deepened in the
lower part of Jordan street, and in Simpson-street, be-
tween Kitchen-street and Bluadell•street.

" A patient, Mrs. K , living in
has bad her cellar altered nine inches by lowering,
and rent raised Xi per annum, to meet the landlord's
extra outlay. She has had eumatism since, which
doubtless was the fruit of so potent a cause. Another
cellar in the same street was lowered, to her certain
knowledge. The cellars at the bottom of the street
(nearest to the docks) in a bad state."

_
I believe that several cellars have been lowered. It
may be notorious as a common► fact : my facts will then
only be a sprinkling ; but I do not aver anything to the
public of which lam not positively cognizant. What-
ever I do bring forward, challenges for itself close inves-
tigation, and even contradiction where I have been misled
or in error.

" A poor woman, aged 45, married, whose husband is
a house-painter, went into a damp cellar-kitchen to live
about two months ago—got rheumatism from cold floor—
constantly wet—never was in a cellar before—always ac-
customed to a boarded floor—never been well since taking
to the cellar—this rheumatic attack threatened to be fol-
lowed by other and greater consequences, which might
be supposed."
My last cellar-case notes run—

" Poor woman—has inhabited a damp cellar five months
—lived in a room all her life, except for three years in a
dry cellar, like a house—this present cellar is chill—has
had a hoarseness very severe for three months, which has
increased lately—was not subject to such form of disease
—in fact, does not remember ever being sick in her life.
She has cough, pain in the chest, &c. There is conside-
rable affection of the lining of the windpipe. Her hus-
band does not appear to suffer! He is out all day as a
hawker, and in the evening occupies the fireside, the only
dry spot. Recommended immediate quittance, on peril
of becoming hoarse for life—promised to give notice di-
rectly." . _ _

I shall terminate my case reports with the following
hardship, of general bearing :
A poor woman, who has been a patient of mine at the
Lying-in Hospital for nearly two years, afflicted with a
distressing ailment, which has proved all but irremedia-
ble, although several professional friends have consulted
on her case, and eminent men too. Has gone through a
world o: suffering, as I can testify. She has been main-
taining an honest struggle for a scanty pittance, along
with her husband, in coal-dealing. Latterly I was called
to her supposed death-illness. I found her suffering with
one of the very severest forms of inflammation, which
required the severest medical measures for her relief. I
almost despaired of her myself. Herself and family con-
sidered her a dying woman. She was spared to a tedious
recovery. I found the cause of her dangerous illness had
been a journey down to the Parish-office one soaking wet
day, to try and get some parish-rate forgiven her, as she
was not able to pay. She was unsuccessful, and returned
home saddened and desponding. Her illness followed.
During her convalescence she got a relapse of the attack,
and I obeyed a hasty summons to her. Again I had to
reduce her shattered system, to combat an insidious re-
turn of inflammation. On investigating her case, I found
that a horse, their sole business hopes, had, after an ac-
ridenti in the atehlp and stomp anys of illneee. been sent
out to grass for regaining strength to work in the cart.
The first night the poor animal was out in the open field,
it forfeited its life ; for in the morning, on the husband
going to look after his animal, he found it in a pit of
water head downwards He dared not to tell his wife,
lest it should prejudice her return to health, now more
needed than ever to keep them both from absolute penury.
However, she got to know it, and the relapse followed.
I wrote thereupon a note myself down to the Parish-
office, to state the facts, and to beg that her rates might
be forgiven her. They were reduced to 55., but not for-
given. She had no means to pay even that. I felt her
lot to be really hard, and lamented that more discrimina-
tion could not be exercised towards the really poverty-
stricken, although the Highway Board is obliged to be
strict, from frequent imposition. If the poor woman had
" coined her blood for drachmas," the lancet and leeches
had hardly left enough in her for the purpose. But her
rates stand over her head, a heavy burthen ; and if she
is sold up. she has not ss. worth in the place that I can
see, unless the carcase of the dead horse were taken at
an.ad valorem duty. Many a time she has had no food
in the house. She has often pinched herself of meals, to
be the
thereby to pay her rent. Her landlord has often,
knowing her honesty, looked into her cupboard on
receiving his rent, and finding no food there for her,
has returned her a trifle, or lent her a sixpence.
She again rallied, and matters promised a little turn for
the better. Some kind person enabled the husband to buy
a second horse for £2 10s. ; a loan it was ; still there was
a remote chance of earning a livelihood ; the thought was
comparative happiness ; " joy cometh in the morning" even
to the wretched bankrupt cottager, as well as to the wreck
ing mariner. There was a chance, at all events, of living,
—of food,—of paying everybody their own, and the parish
its own rates. The horse was unsound at the time of pur-
chase, I believe ; at all events, the day after, it fell sick, and
was unfit for work. Hope dropped down to her minimum
drop of consolation. All was at a stand ; no money earned,
no food coining in, a horse sick, they were in the depths of
trial ; again hope delusive dawned for a day so, and the
horse did manage to shuffle along after a fashion, with
perhaps a portion of a load of coals ; it did earn some
money ; it got wages ; it earned not quite so much as it
eat in food. Here, then, was no advance—a quagmire
of sorrows,- yet surely the end of them. No ! one drop
more to the full cup of affliction and temporal despair
The horse broke down only a few days after purchase, and
he could not sell it again at any price. It was worse than
worthless ; it was sick and disabled ; it was too costly a
part of the poor man's establishment, so it was sent to
the dogs. title ends the struggle for an independent,
honest livelihood, and so end, too, the parish's hope of
getting the unforgiven rate ; and is this all? No : trou-
bles come upon the poor, and the parishioners share hand-
somely the trials of the poor, and the balance must be
struck this way—if the poor cannot pay the parish rate,
the parish must pay the poor-rate. The " parish home"
will probably now receive the persons of its ratepayers
within its fostering bosom, who themselves had " nothing
wherewithal to pay." Here is the circle completed ; and
no doubt it is not a rare case. But I have not quite
finished my medical reporting, although I fear the poor
family are broken down irretrievably. She has never,
nor have any of her family, troubled the parish. She has
paid her way till now. She ends a public debtor, with
nothing to discharge the debt. Now, I have a parting
word to say about the question as to whether the debt is
all on one side or not. She has paid rates for some time
—perhaps for a long time. She lives in a little filthy,
narrow back street, which is a wretchedly close one—a
cul de sac at one end, the gutters general filthy, the gra-
tings foul and choked, pools opposite her own door ; in
fact, a fair specimen of Liverpool Proper. The scaven-
gers, I am told, do come sometimes twice a-week. Some-
times, the party I enquired of—will undertake so far as to
say, that they have really been seen once a-week ! Actu-
ally a living scavenger has graced the street once in seven
days with his person and his broom—it may have been
oftener—but once in seven days is a positive, ascertained
fact ! This house has been a little hospital for sickness—
of child, mother, servant, or some one. The poor wo-
man has paid rates for highway improvement. I should
like to kow very well Low it is that she has enjoyed so
little benefit from the rate. Her street requires the sca-
venger daily. The street I happen to live in ought ra-
ther to be neglected, than that the foci of fever—the malarial
Fonds in the smaller streets—should not be attended to. In
my way of looking at it, the public is largely a debtor to any
ratepayer who gets no household benefit from the expen-
diture of that rate. 1 cannot repress the indignation such
a tragedy of Liverpool Proper has conjured up in my
mind ; and if any one had told me half a year ago that
1 should be handling the pen of indignation thus, I could
not have believed the occasion would have arisen before
my eyes.

The neighbours of this poor creature are ratepayers,
too, and I could add someting further to the credit of the
honest purpose of my patient—though not to their dis-
credit—but I will not prolong the narrative.
A classic group of figures is wanted to ornament the
south pediment of St. George's Hall. Would not the
persons and characters of my narrative form an appro-
priate device for symbolizing Liverpool Proper in 1846—
the parish workhouse facade at one end of the field of
design, the highway rate table at the other, a recumbent
or genu-flexed attenuated female figure in the centre,
pining children, lictors, fasces, and axes, horses in last
agony, &c.?

I remain, Sir, yours, faithfully,
GEO. C. WATSON

Bedjord•street, Dec. 26.

Dec. 29, 1846.

MR. JOHN TAYLOR'S ASTRONOMY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

" Out, hyperbolical fiend how vexest thou this man ?
Talkest thou of nothing bat " comets 7

SIR,—I see Mr. John Taylor has again addressed him-
self to the task of confounding the astronomical notions
of the good people of Liverpool. Taking the memoir of
the Astronomer Royal as his theme, he has served it up
with variations and interpolations of his own. The mis-
fortune is that the true story. like Lord Peter's coat, is
not to be recognised under the mass of embroidery.

I leave Mr. Taylor's quotations, which are singularly
inapposite, on one side; but I beg leave to assure your
readers, who have not had the advantage of seeing the
monthly notice of the Royal Astronomical Society for
November last, that the following indisputable facts are
extracted from that notice, which I suppose Mr. Taylor
professes to follow.
Mr. Adams presented to Professor Challis and to the
Astronomer Royal, the elements and mass of the new
planet in September and October of last year. Also,
with a table of the residual errors in the observed longi-
tudes of Uranus, after applying the perturbations due to
the new planet, (s►e p.p. 129, 130.) So much for Mr.
John Taylor's " rude sketch," and his "Primus Francus
homo." Mr. Adams was not " prevented from perfecting
his attempt," by trying to determine the latitude of the
planet. He had found the elements of the planet from
the perturbations of Uranus in longitude as M. Le Venice
did, on the probable hypothesis, that the new planet
would resemble the older and larger planets in its incli-
nation, and therefore Vtat the inclination might, at first,
be neglected. He afterwards, a year later, attempted to
obtai❑ the inclination and nodes of tile new planet from
the perturbations of Uranus in latitude, though he was
" afraid the result would not have great weight."
P. 139. Mr. John Taylor should read first, and if he will
write, write afterwards.
It is not true, nor like truth, that M. Le Verrier's dis-
covery was "a corollary easy to be deduced from his
laborious calculations on the secular inequalities of the
elements of the orbits of the seven principal planets
before, known." Nor is it easy to say what Mr. Taylor
understands by the latter part of the above sentence and
by secular inequalities.
M. Le Verrier ascertained by a careful investigation of
the perturbations of Uranus due to the known planets
and their masses, particularly Jupiter and Saturn, that
there were still anomalies in the" observed longitudes riot
to be thus accounted for, (p. 131,) and this led him na-
turally to look out for the cause of these anomalies. As
to the " easiness of the corollary, Mr. John Taylor
differs rather widely from those who have some notion of
the kind of problem to be solved.
It soems scarcely necessary to mention a few minor
mistakes in Mr. Taylor's verbose epistle. The planet's
motion began to be direct about November 11th, and he,
writing on December sth, says it is " retrograding."

It "the platoon of telescopes" be directed according to
Mr. John Taylor's directions, they will not hit the planet,
whether they may emit " a feu de joie with cheers" or no.
The place of the planet, on the 31st instant, may be
somewhere about A.A. 21h. 56m. ; S. Declination 13 deg.
20 min. ; but 1 have no ephemeris by me, and will not
answer for minute accuracy. Hence the approximately
true, and the Taylorian places, will, on December 31st,
be as follows :

Approximate. Taylorian.
h. ni. h. m. a.
R.A.21 56 21 24 52
Liverpool Transit 3 18 M.T. 2 38 40
deg. m. deg. m. a.
S. Dec... l3 20 15 12 20
Mer. Alt 23 18 21 22 58
I can only account for one set of figures in Mr. Tay-
lor's group, which I do thus,—

Erroneous, R.A. of the Planet,
Sid. Time, M. N.

h. M. 8,
21 24 52
18 34 12 Dec. 30!

Sid. Time, from M. N.

2 50 40

Subtract, long, Lpool !

Liverpool Transit

2 38 40 Dec. 311

There are only three mistakes. A wrong R.A., a
wrong day, and the substraction of the longitude of Li-
verpool, or 12m., instead of the acceleration for 2h. 51m.,
which is 28s.

There are other points which this vir promptioris ad
vituprrandum lingwe has touched on after his fashion,
but I have no time, and you no space, for hunting such
" small deer."

I trust he has no intention of bringing up La Place and
Herschel to the present day, but will set himself " to the
composition and publication of fresh works" as a " most
competent person."
In one matter, I fancy Mr. Taylor is right, though he
quotes the worst of all authorities, Bailey. I have run
skimmingly over the Astronomia Instaurata, and I find
(Lib. 1, cap. 10,) two opinions stated, viz., that the stars
ars self luminous, and that they are lighted by the sun
but without remark or preference for either hypothesis by
Copernicus himself. A little further on, after mentioning
the order of the stars and planets, he says, " In medio
vero omnium residet Sol. Quis enim in hoc pulcherrimo
templo lampadem hanc in alio vel meliori, loco poneret,
quam unde totum sicnul possit illuminare ?"
Which seems conclusive as to his opinion of solar illu-
mination. I find no notice under the head of the inferior
planets Mercury or Venus, which would lead me to think
he had contemplated the objection to his theory or its re-
futation ; and I do not see any notice of the phases of the
"noon, thon.h he is +cry Coll on the anbjooet of coups...
I have no doubt the story, if true, belongs to a later date,
and to another person, for Copernicus died as his work
was published, and before it had given rise to any dis-
putes. I thought that the remark of d'Alembert, who
speaks of " Le reve de Bailly, stir ce peuple ancien, qui
nous a tout appris, excepte son nom et son existence,"
had passed into a proverbial truth, and that Bailly's
dreams were forgotten: see Delambre Histoire Ancienne,
preface, &c. But if Mr. Taylor can find Uranus and the
planet in Natchatter and Akash, there is still a remnant
left of the romantic school of astronomy. Cannot ho
join stock with ZAdkiel? S.

THE DISTRESSED IRISH

Tyrone, 19th Dec. 1846.

MY DEAR MR. GROVES,—Accept my best thanks for
your kind remittance of £l2 just received. It has come
most opportunely to raise my spirits, much dejected by
the sufferings of my poor pensioners during the past fort-
night's severe weather, and total cessation of all work,
public or private, which compelled me to extend my sup-
port to families under my ministry, but hitherto no bur-
then to me, owing to the men being employed on the pub-
lic works. I have now a much larger number on hand,
as every day harrows our feelings with fresh cases
of the most appalling destitution ; frequently decent
men coming at night to beg meal, saying their families had
not tasted food since the day before. The times are awful.
The cold (as you judged) induced us to expend several
pounds on blankets, quilts, and clothing. But I trust the
Lord will (as hitherto) bless my renewed efforts to carry
on, now more needful than ever, as the money voted for
public works at sessions is expended all but about £3O, I
am told. I have set 34 to work to-day to make a road,
just to occupy them, and form an excuse to give them our
usual mid-day feed of strong soup, and beef and vegetables.
Our worst trial is the price of meal. At first I bought
oatmeal at £1 Os. 6d. per hundred, and Indian meal at
17s. 3d. Now I get oatmeal, with trouble, at Bs., and
Indian meal at £l. I now retail it at a reduced price to
the men on the public works for cash, as 2s. 6d. a peck for
meal, with 9d. a day wages, is starvation, or better.
Many thanks for the true Christian kindness of your Li-
verpool friends. You have done more good than you
could conceive. I will write you a full detail, please God,
in a few, days. To-day lam ill, and greatly hurried.
Ever faithfully yours,

Mr. Groves, of Rumford-place, we are informed, will
gladly receive and forward any contribution.

HOW THE EXISTING DISTRESS MAY BE

ALLEVIATED.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

Sir' —I wish some one of ability would point out what
the ladies could do in the present emergency to lighten
the distress amongst the Highlanders, Irish, and English.
Could not a penny subscription be raised ?—laid out in
course materials, and made into clothing by the destitute
females, who should be raid for their labour under the
superintendence of ladies. Also, could not a place be
appointed for receiving old clothes and carpets, to be sent
to the clergy for distribution ?
It is the duty of every one to do something ; and if a
plan of action were well organised, and if a few influential
ladies would tyke the lead, 1 am sure the women of Eng-
land would do much towards clothing the naked, whilst
they leave to the stronger sex the more difficult task of
feeding the hungry, and correcting the desperate.
No time is to be lost. Up and be doing, for the cry 15
—Death ! I have the honour to be, Sir,

Yours respectfully,
A WIDOW.

December 24, 1816

POTATO DISTEMPER

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

SIR,—My attention having been attracted to this most
important subject in your journal of this date, allow me to
offer an opinion as to what may prove beneficial, or ope-
rate favourably towards the preservation of this most va-
luable esculent. In addition to the articles mentioned by
your correspondent " Charon," viz. soap-waste, lime, and
soot, I think another antiputreseent might be added with
advantage, that is, the refuse bark from the tan-pit, com-
monly known as " spent bark." Should no remedy be
applied to counteract the spread of this malignant disor-
der, we may, it is to be feared, apprehend in a short period
the utter extinction or extirpation of this root, so indis-
pensible to the poor man's family that no adequate sub-
stitute can be procured.
It is often remarked, that since the introduction of fo-
reign guano, as a dressing for our land, both vegetables
and cattle have been affected by a sort of murrain, which
seems to gradually increase ; whether the injudicious use!,
of this rank manure, without a proportionate admixture 0;
other rectifying substances, has conduced to the spread
of this afflicting malady, is a question for the agriculturist
to solve, as many persons have a strong prejudice against
it. The beverage called punch consists, as the Frenchm...ol
says, of " de sucre to make it sweet, and de lemon to mace
it sour," which appears a contradiction of terms ; why 0:1
not then a combination of opposite qualities be requisite
to the fertilising properties of our composts, the one cor-
recting or neutralising whatever might be noxious or ua-
i in the other.--I am, sir, &c.
22d Dec. 1846. U DINE*