The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-16 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SlR,—The communication of the following simple but
deeply affecting narrative, through the columns of the
STANDARD, cannot fail `,o be interesting to all your
readers, and, I trust, may stimulate some of them to a
more active benevolence towards their numberless poor,
destitute fellow-creatures, who are ready to perish, with-
out food or clothing, in the cellars and alleys of this po-
pulous town.

Within a short distance of the Liverpool Exchange,
there is a large manufactory for spinning cotton, in which,
as usual, a great number of children are employed ; but
the praiseworthy proprietors (who ought to be held up as
an example to all other manufacturers throughout the
country) do not feel satisfied with reaping the fruits of
the labour of their poor children, without doing some
thing for them in return they therefore endeavour to
promote, as far as they can, the present and eternal wel-
fare of the children in their employ, by kindly providing
a schoolmaster to attend them in their leisure hours,.for
the purpose of imparting to their young minds religious
and useful knowledge, and instructing them in the duties
which they owe to their God and to their neighbour. An
humble, pious, Christian man, eminently qualified for
this important office, was a few months ago appointed the
schoolmaster in this establishment ; and the following
little anecdote will afford a beautiful proof of the good
practical effects of the religious instruction which his
little pupils have received from him, and at the same time
fully establish the great scriptural truth, that " the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the know-
ledge of the Holy (One) is understanding." (Prov. ix. 10.)
The school, in addition to the children who are em-
ployed in the factory, is also open, as a day and Sunday
school, to such of the children of the neighbourhood
whose parents are disposed to avail themselves of the
privilege. On one occasion, a short time ago, a little
piteous urchin (one of the day scholars)
made his appear-
ance in the school, nearly half .an hour after the usual
time of assembling, in the morning. On his kind master
gently reproving him, and inquiring the cause of his being
so late, the little fellow replied, that he had been to fetch
some medicine for his mother, who was sick. The master
then asked him, " Where is your father?" The boy an-
swered, " Sir, he is dead." The master then, on putting
his hand on the boy's knees, (for it was scarcely light,)
discovered that he touched his flesh, and that, in fact,
the poor fellow was almost naked, having scarcely a rag
to cover him ! The master then made the following ap-
peal to the boys in the school :—" Boys, here is a poor
lad just come into the school, who has lost his father,
and has a sick mother, and has no clothes to cover him :
what shall we do for him?" " Help him," was the uni-
versal response. " But how can we help him ? " again
asked the master. " With our money," was the imme-
diate reply. " Are you willing to do so ? " " Yes, we
are, as far as we can." The master then gave one of the
boys a sheet of paper, and told him to collect their sub-
scriptions, and take down all the names and sums, and to
write such a heading to it as he thought proper. The
following was the little fellow's unassisted composition :
" Subscription for E. S., a poor boy without father,
with a sick mother, and his clothes are all in rags,
and it is now very cold.

" G. D., Secretary."
Then followed a long list of subscriptions, rising in
amount from a halfpenny to sixpence, to which several of
the parents contributed as well as the boys themselves,
until, with the addition of only half-a-crown by the bene-
volent proprietors of the mill, the requisite sum was
raised to provide a complete suit for the poor fatherless
boy—to which the proprietors also kindly added a suffi-
cient quantity of calico to make him a couple of shirts.
When the several articles were procured, the master
told his little " secretary" that be thought their kindness
would make a more lasting impression upon the poor boy
if he were to say a few suitable words to him on pre-
senting him with the clothes; and desired him to write
down on paper whatever he thought would be proper.
The little fellow then penned the following address, which
he afterwards read to his delighted schoolfellow on hand-
ing to him the new suit, which had been so kindly and
unexpectedly provided for him :
"E. S.—The boys of the Mills Day-school, pity-
ing your condition, as a poor boy without father and only li
a sick mother, have made up our minds to help you, as
much as we can,—and we hope that you will be a good
boy, obedient to your teacher, love your school, and try
to love God with all your heart, for he has said I will be
a father to the fatherless, and He has said, Cry unto me
in the day of trouble and I will help you, for He will hear
an orphan's prayer. " G. D., Secretary.
" With our best wishes we give you these clothes.
" Mills Day-school, Jan. 5, 1844,
Liverpool."
I would only further observe, that the references to the
Holy Scriptures, in the above touching address, at once
show the Christian principles which produced such
praiseworthy conduct; and also that the age of this little
interesting "secretary" is only eleven !
Yours, truly,
A FRIEND TO THE LITTLE ONES.

SEIZURE OF BUTTER AT BARNSLEY.--ATI extensive
seizure of butter was made last Saturday in Barnsley mar-
ket, by the agents of the lord of the manor, who on going
through the market to try the weights of the butter ex-
posed for sale, found upwards of seventy pounds short
weight, which was accordingly seized, and has sine been
given to the poor.

EXECUTION AT STAFFORD.—At eight o'clock on Sa-
turday morning, Sarah Westwood, aged 45, convicted at
the late special assizes for the murder of her husband, in
the month of November last, at Burntwood, by adminis-
tering arsenic in some gruel, was executed in front of the
county gaol, in the presence of an immense number of
persons. She declared her innocence to the last.
THE MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.—The following cir-
cular has been addressed to the conservative members of
the House of Commons :

Whitehall, Jan. 4, 1844.
upbn the meeting of parliament, on Thurs-
day, the Ist of February, public business of importance
will be proceeded with immediately, I take the liberty of
earnestly requesting your attendance in the House of
Commons on that day.—l have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient and faithful servant,
ROBERT PEEL.