The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-07-14 00:00:00

NOTES ON THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING

That unfortunate St. George's Hall is a perfect cormo-
rant. It swallows up the income of the Corporation at a
truly terrific rate, and with scarcely a sign of ever being
satisfied. A splendid building, no doubt, it will be when
finished; an ornament to the town—an object which the
Liverpudlians of the next generation will point at with
much the same sort of pride as a Cockney points to the
Monument, or a millowner to his chimney ; but the
thought will intrude upon us, all the while, that a vast
amount of money has been uselessly expended upon it,
which might, with infinitely more advantage, have been
applied elsewhere. Every pillar of this ornamental erec-
tion would have built a church or improved a street. The
cost of carving and scrollwork would have sufficed to add
two years to the average life of our population, if devoted
to the sanatory improvement of the town._ Sensible and
practical men, who look at and admire our
will undoubtedly tell us that we have be

courts of Law,

un at the wrong

end, in providing decorations before we have secured the
useful and the wholesome. Perhaps, when they look at
some of our miserable and filthy courts and streets, they
will think us about as sensible as they would a pauper
girl, who had found a horde, and spent it in a shewy
bonnet, neglecting the repair of her rags, and forgetting
to wash the smut from her face.

We are about, it seems, to spend a little more—only
£3,soo!—upon what, we observe, is called " a sculpture"
fir th,. south pediment of this building, with cherubs and
emblematical figures, of all meanings or no meaning, ac-
cording to the di-cernment or imagination of the observer.
We know nothing ourselves of this design. Our con-
temporaries, however, tell us that the following is a des-
cription of it :
"The model is a very beautiful piece of workmanship.
In the middle sits Britannia enthroned. On her left she
holds out the olive branch to the four quarters of the
globe. On her right she points the spear, as protecting
her own agriculture and arts. At her feet is Neptune.
To the left of Britannia, Ceres and Apollo are in a car,
the horses controlled by Discretion. Domestic Happi-
ness is represented by a labourer holding a plough, and
his wife a distaff, with a child at her feet. The Manufac-
tures, especially metallurgy, are figured by labourers at
the anvil, wl.o have been employed in the fabrication of
arms, &c. To the right stands Peace. Mercury presents
Europe, America, and Asia, and lastly, Africa, on her
bended knee, and with a young negro, acknowledges the
liberty she owes to Britannia. There are other devices
which fill up the frontispiece, the number of figures being
thirty-two in all.

Even from this meagre description of the "sculpture,"
we must say that, to the connoiseurs in such matters, it
is dirt cheap at £3,500. For instance, it must be a cur..
prising performance for a female to be "on her left hold-
ing ont-tba olive branch to the four quarters of the globe."
There must be some other quarters on the right, which
are likely to feel offended; and especially so, as on the
right she is indulging in a little of what is vulgarly called
gammon. In this direction "she points the s: ear, as
protecting her own agriculture and arts." So, at least,
say our contemporaries. But how pointing a Spear at an
object is protecting it, we must leave to the imaginative
to discover. More probably, this pointing the spear
means that Britannia is insanely stabbing her own agri-
culture and arts. She has certainly got rid of the habit
of protecting them. "At her feet is Neptune." Poor
fellow! It is ungrateful of Britannia to trample upon
him, considering all he has done for her. We presume
the object is to show the scurvy way in which she treats
her gallant seamen.
" Ceres and Apollo in a car, controlled by Discretion,"
we really cannot solve. What Ceres has to do with
Apollo, or either with our Courts of Law, or with Liver-
pool, is past our comprehension. Discretion, however,
we conclude, is a sculpture of the organization of Mr.
Wiliam Earle. the presiding genius of this building, who
might almost claim the title to sit fur the Apollo of this
" sculpture."

The next is another funny groupe. Domestic happi-
ness is thought by the artist, or the reporters, to be re-
presented by "a labourer holding a plough, and his wife
a distaff, with a child at her feet!' The labourer, we
presume, is whistling, and has no fear of the union work-
house before his eyes, and a little more than seven shil-
lings a week to live upon. The distaff carries us back a
century, or so, and is a sly hit of the artist at the way in
which Domestic Happiness is, now-a-days. overthrown
by our factory system. The child at her feet is no doubt
intended to show that, in the domestic happiness state,
mothers have no time to nurse their babies. " Moicury
representing Europe, America, and Asia," must be in a
position of considerable difficulty. We presume he is
uourtra}ed with a copper nose, his Asiatic feature; a
German paunch, or attired, en blouse, to present Europe;
and a chew in his mouth to point out his American pre-
tensions. No doubt, the large responsibility imposed
upon Mercury is a compliment to his talented namesake
in Lord-street.

It is clear that it will require a most imaginative per-
sonage to understand the whole of the thirty-two figures
which compose this sculpture. If adopted, we should
rec mmend the appointment of an extra official—a kind
of superior showman—to point out to visitors their various
names and significations, otherwise they might be rather
puzzling.
We cannot adopt Mr. Birkett's notions as to the sen-
timents to be conveyed by the pediment, instead of this
fanciful groupe of figures. " Our glorious Constitution
in Church and State" is rather too antique for a modern
building, although the idea might easily be pictorially
conveyed. For instance, an old chair with the bottom
out, or a barrel with a hole at both ends, would convey a
very fair representation of that "glorious constitution" as
at present existing._ _ _ _

Sculptured sugar hogsheads and cotton hags are objecti-
onable. We have noright totake l'berties with thLtancestors
of any of our fellow-townsmen. Something appertaining to
law and the la wlers should be hit upon. For instance,
we might adopt Coleridge's picture of "a lawyer killing a
viper in his s,able," which would, by the unima_inative,
be regarded in its natural sense, whilst it might put the
wicked portion of the world in mind of " Cain and his
brother Abel."

CORRh SPONDENCE.

PRINCE ALBERT'S VISIT TO LIVERPOOL

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SIR,—I trust you will insert the following, through
the medium of your valuable paper.
The cotton brokers, together with many others, having
announced that the two day's visit of Prince Albert to
Liverpool will be observed as holidays by them, it is to
be hoped the corn merchants will not evince less dis-
position to show their loyalty, by acting similarly ; and I
would suggest that the committee of the Corn Exchange
calla meeting of the members, to take the matter into
consideration, and have no doubt that they will readily
agree to such an arrangement.
Yours very reapectfully,
A CORN MERCHANT.
Brunswick-street, July 13/h, 1816.

FIRE AT ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND