The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-11-17 00:00:00

or exacti

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD:

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STANDARD

Saa,—A truth-telling public press is one of the best
social blessings which can be possessed by a free com-
munity; but in proportion as a truth-telling press is a
blessing, a lying press is a curse. Ido not think myself
at all out of my calling as a Clergyman, in exposing a
falsehood, the tendency and design of which are plainly
to injure (as far as impotent malice can injure) the repu-
tation of a public officer and an honourable gentleman.
I have this morning seen the Mayor, who called my
attention to the following paragraph in the AMion

"The collection* amounted to £B4 Gs. Bd., being nearly £2O
more than it was last year. The Mayor contributed a £2O
note, being the amount that all his predecessors contributed,
with the exception of Mr. David Hodgson, whoonly gave .10."
After reading it, his worship said—" I did not give £2O,
and if there was a £2O note in the plate it was given by
some one else."

The public will now judge how much credit is to be at-
tached to the other statements in the paragraph.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
HUGH WNEILE.

*At St. Peter's Church, on Sunday last, for the Blue Coat
Hospital, when the Mayor attended in his official capacity, as
has been the custom for many years.

Mr. M'Neile, it will be admitted by his political oppo-
nents—and they are not particularly nice in takinglfily
course which tan annoy his feelings, or lower him in the
estimation of his friends—is not in the habit of noticing
calumnies directed against himself. It may be asked,...-
" Why this voluntary defence, on his part, of the conduct
of the ex-Mayor, Mr. Hodgson?" His letter points to
the reason clearly. His notice was expressly called to
the falsehood of the paragraph by the present Mayor ; and
seeing it to be one put forth for the injury and annoyance
of a gentleman who‘bas just filled an honourable public
office, he could not do otherwise than lay before the public
the evidence of such falsehood fortunately in his pos-
session.

The misstatement noticed by Mr. M'Neile, however, is
not the only one in the paragraph. The present Mayor
not only did not give £2O to the charity, but that sum is not
" the amount that all his predecessors contributed, with
the exception of Mr. David Hodgson." On the contrary,
the treasurer of the charity was, at the time of the previ-
ous collection, about to compliment Mr. Hodgson himself
upon the fact of his having been the largest contributor to
the charity on any similar occasion, until he accidentally
ascertained that Mr. Lawrence had given £2O in the year
preceding. We have reason to know that the whole pa-
ragraph is an invention, as such pains were taken by the
collectors to prevent the amount of the con'ributions of
individuals transpiring, that it is impossible that any
thing could he known by our contemporary. As to the
gross amount of the collection this year exceeding that of
last, it ma♦ be borne in mind that the corresponding
Sunday in last year was a most dismally wet one, whilst
this year it was a beautiful day.
The authorities at the Blue School were applied to on
Sunday afternoon by a reporter—we presume our con-
temporary's—as to the amount of the collection, which was
promptly afforded. They were then asked what amount
the Mayor had given? To this unusual question the

reply merely was, that neither they nor any other person
could tell. The whole statement must, therefore, be pure
fabrication.

In conclusion, we may congratulate our contemporary
upon his good taste. His notice of the collection on both
Sundays has been. very characteristically, made the occa-
sion of a spiteful and slanderous attack against Mr.
Hogdson.

THE MERCURY AND THE COUNCIL COM-

M ITTEES

Our Contemporary of Friday is fond of mare's nests.
In complaining in his last, of the new member for Lime.
street, Mr. Danson, being appointed upon only one Com-
mittee, he stumbles upon the parallel circumstance that
Mr. Joseph Hornby was only upon one, whilst he might

have been useful upon many. There is, however, with
respect to Mr. Hornby, a very striking fact, which the
Mercury forgets to notice. This gentlemen, we dare say,
might have been useful on more ; but he did not happen
to be very useful upon that one. The Committee in
question was a very important one, the Watch Commit-
tee ; but Mr. Hornby did not often attend, or give his
services to any of the various sub-committees which be-
long to it. Men do not usually go into the Council, or
any other assembly, full fledged, and practical working-
members. The best way to prove a new man is to try
him first ; and if Mr. Danson attends his one Committee
better than his fellow sufferer, Mr. Hornhy, he will pro-
bably have work given him nest year. We may cbserve
that the attendance of members appointed on Committees
is very desirable on their days of sitting, a fact which we
would impress, not only on our opponent's notice, but on
that of one or two of our Conservative frit nds.

GRAND INSTRUMENTAL CONCERTS.--THE
BOHEMIAN BAND.

The Lessee of the Theatre-Royal has provided us with
a -gratifying treat, by his engagement of a band of inatru-
mental performers, selected from amongst those of the
first talent and celebrity in Germany, by Herr Leipold,
which made their first appearance before a Liverpool
audience last evening. The troupe consists of sixteen
solo performers, certainly of first-rite ability upon their
several instruments; and was ably led by, we presume,
Herr Leipold himself. As the hills, however, with which
we were furnished, were somewhat meaizre in their infor-
mation, we are only enabled to arrive at this fact from the
advertisements; and the same circumstance will prevent
our referring to the various performers individually.
The first part was commenced with the overture from
the opera of Sandella, which was finely played, after
which Herrs Hahn and Rittersch gave a concertante by
Lindpainter, upon French horns, with great brilliancy
and effect. The most attractive piece of the part, how-
ever, was the Musen quadrilles, by Straus. which were
played with a precision which we do not remember to
have heard even under the magic baton of Julien him-
self. _ _ _

Part second commenced with a grand pot pourri, enti-
tled " Paganini in China," introducing a number of
favourite airs, or parts of them, taken up in solo by the
various instruments, with an occasional full band, and
producing a beautiful effect. This piece enabled us to
judge of the powers and execution of nearly the whole of
the performers seriatim, and established the fact of their
excellence as musicians. A grand concerto, by Herr
Sobeck, on the clarionet, followed, wnich elicited frequent
bursts of enthusiastic applause from the audience, who
seemed only to refrain from an encore by a consideration
of the labour of re-producing such a piece on a wind instru-
ment. It was a splendid effort throughout, as was " The
Post Horn Polka," which succeeded, and was encored.
Two other pieces followed ; and the concert concluded with
" God save the Queen," played by the whole band. The
house was not completely filled ; but an audience appa-
rently more capable of estimating musical ability, and
more enthusiastic, we never saw within its wells. We
suspect that a bumper will attend this evening's per-
formances.

CHARGE OF ARSON.—At the police-court, yesterday,
a young girl, of pre-possessing appearance. named Ellen
Mills, was charged by her mistress, Ann Capewell, who
keeps a shoe-shop, No. 99, Church-street, with setting
fire to the bedding in the room in which she slept, on
Friday morning last. It appeared, however, that the
prisoner was in bed when the fire was discovered, and
that the stays she wore were partly burnt. She had left
the candle burning in the candlestick, on the bed, a - -
latter was found blacke
lov

?Or. Rushton, on hearing all the evidence, said

She had evidently been overcome by sleep, and
tnoardonable care'essness in leaving the candle

burning on the bed. The prisoner, to whose-character a

SERIOUS ASSAULT AND ROBBERY IN THE STREET.—
On Saturday night last, about eleven o'clock, as a young

leman, v

town, was returiiiil hom,ward through Warwick street,
Toxteth-park, he wag brnially assaulted by two ruffians
in short coats, serinuslv injured, and finally robbed. One

hem got

him by t

was

making adesperate effort to es,

:ape, tne other
so that he fel

violently with a life-preserver

stuoified

to the ground. While he lay helpless, the fellows rifled
his pockets of all the money he had, about 175., also
of a snuff-box with his name engraved upon it in
full "J. A—." After lying a considerable time in-
sensible, he found his way home to Mill-street, and could
not see a policeman on his route. He is still prevented
from attending to his duties from the injuries he received,
his eyes having been bunged up, and one of his tetrples
cut.. His impression is. t. at his assailants hail left him
for dead. It is to be hoped that this notice may lead to
'the discovery of his brutal assailants.
SOUTHERN HOSPITAL.—On Saturday, a deputation,
consisting of the Rev. Thomas Nolan, John Platt, Esq.,
and John' Liwienee,. Esq., waited on- his Worship the
Mayor, to request him to give his attendance at St. Bar.
nabas' Church on Sunday next, when a sermon was pro.

posed to be preached by the Rev. T. Nolan, incumb,nt,
in aid of the funds of the Southern Hospital,_ to which
the reverend gentleman is honorary chaplain
ship received the deputation most courteously, but was
obliged to decline the invitation for that day, on account
of his having to attend St. George's Church. where a
collection is to be made in pursuance of the mandate of a
Queen's Letter. It was ultimately arranged that he will
attend St. Barnabas' on Sunday, the 13th of December.
His Worship, however, does not on the occasion go in
procession from the Town Hall, but will meet the com-
mittee and the reverend preacher in St. Barnabas' school,
whence they will proceed in procession to the church.
We trust that on this occasion, and in behalf of this ex-
cellent charity, the eloquence of the reverend gentleman
will be rewarded with such a liberal contribution as it is
justly entitled to. We may remark in passing, that during
the present year, according to the information erived
from a friend, the persuasive appeals of Mr. Nolan to
various congregations have been so powerfully attractive,
that they have realised in the aggregate nearly a thousand
pounds. In all probability that amount will be conside-
rably increased before the year expires. The fact of there
being a necessity to enlarge the Southern Hospital will,
we hope, be an additional stimulus to increased liberality
on the approaching occasion.

is Wor.