The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-12-02 00:00:00

VARIETIES.

WANTON FELONY.—The Tones of Saturday last con-
tains an advertisement headed as follows :—" Railway
scrip stolen." Can a more gratuitous piece of dishonesty
be imagined than such a theft, when waste-paper is only
2d. a pound.—Punch.
GARRICKS REQU SITES FOR A COMEDIAN.—Garrick
used to say of himselt, " A comedian is not master of his
art who cannot model his throat to all sorts of sounds,
from the cat like shriek of a peacock to the whirring of a
knife-grinder's wheel.'
SUPERSTITION

The wide extent of superstition
amongst us—superstition, too, in many cases, of the most
idolatrous character, affords a hurniiating subject of re-
flection ; and it. is a striking proof of the tyrannical cus-
tom on the mind, that many, who have no faith in these
observances, could not teel comfortable were they to ne-
glect them. We recollect a naval officer, high in rank,
smiling at tht, superstitions of his profest ion, and espe-
cially at the almost universal belief, that whistling on deck
is capable of raising toe wind, yet declaring, in the same
breath, that he should not feel at ease were any one on
deck to whistle in tempestuous weather.—Hampson's
iledii jEei Kalendarium.

THE JESUITS —There are at this moment in Italy 150
houses of the order of the Jesuits, containing nearly 4,000
persons, of whom 1,800 are priests. In France there are
46, containing Bi 2 Jesuits of whom 362 are priests. In
Germany there are 88, of which 14 are situate in Bavaria,
21 in Austria, 3 in Wurtemberg, 7 in Baden, 2 in the two
ilesses, 2 in Nassau, 5 in the province of Rhenish Prus-
sia, 3 in Westphalio, 6 in Silesia, 3 in Saxony, 1 in An-
halt- Konen, and sin Hanover and the Free Cities. In
the Grand Duehy of Posen there are are 7; in East and
West Pt tts'al 5; in Pomerania, 2; in Brandenburgh, 2;
in the province of Saxony I. The total number of the
Jesuits living in these houses i.: 1.000, of whom 400 are
priests. In Spain there are 87 houses, containing 536
Jesuits, of whom 220 are priests ; and in Portugal 8,
COntaininz 160 J-su ts, or whom 75 are priests.—Frank-
fort Postam s Zeitung.

APOSTOLICA L SuccessroN.—Archbishop Mathew Pa-
rker was seventieth in succession from St. Augustin.
Now it happans that there is an authentic register of his
consecration preserved in the proper courts of the see of
Canterbury ; and there is also another in Corpus Christi
Co:lege, Cambridge, which the archbishop left to that
college. In these register, we find that the consecration
took place on DecemEwr 15, 1559, at Lambeth Chapel ;
that four bishops joined in the consecration—William
Barlow, Bishop of Bath and Wells ; John Surrey, Bishop
of Ch chester 111,1 es Coverdale. Bishop of Exeter ; and
John Hodgskinne, suffragan Bishop of Bedford. Now,
these four being allowed to have had proper consecration
themselves f orn prelates of the Church preceding the
Reformation, so they had undoubtedly apostolical power
to consecrate another bishop. The thing is, then, per-
fectly plain. Every priest and bishop now existing
traces up his ordiqation to some previous bishop, who
traces it up to Archbishop Parker. Archbishop Parker
traces his consecration seventieth in number from St.
Augustin ; and St. Augustin again traces his upwards to
the apo,tl,-s, through the bishops of the Church of Rome.
—Rev. W. Bennett.

PECULIARTIES OF THE BAR —A barrister once in
public cannot retreat and recut u An attorney, or stir-
gPon, physician, or even a divine may on one failure fall
back can a minor occupatii.n, in eihich to prepare for a se-
cond attempt ; but not so with the barrister. With him
ret,ovessi.m is final failure; for not more surely than the
air ru-b•s in to supply a vacuum will his place be imme-
diately MIA by o h-rs, whom he will never displace. Be-
sides, the acknowledgment of failure always excites a pre-
judice of incapacity, though none may have previously
existed. Fur all these reasons, I say, let him pause to re-
fl .ct on his stamina bo h of purse and person before he
Undertake a wearvine plgrimage, which, once begun, can
only be elided in success or de-truction The allegory in
the Spectator, of the multitudes who, climbing the steep
to fame, ever and anon, overcome with past toil, and ap-
palled at the prosvect yet before them, shrink from the
lah,rioua t-isk, to be t recioitated into the gulph of des-
pair ; and Sad.,k. it, each of the waters of oblivion, to
whom the ttrrois of retreat were greater than those of
progress, are the nearest illustrations of his situation that
I can remtmber, and they are by no means in the extreme.
(T-,der all circumstances of heal, h and illness, wealth and
vverty, the barrister to whom it belongs to assist him-
&lf mu-t never step aside from his course ; for the perils
of '4eparture from it equal. it 0 e, do not exceed, any
awaiting him in it.— Hood's Magazine.

WHOSE IS THE OREGON TERRITORY I—lt would be
MO difficult ta,k to c.trwile from the materials which are
a'ready hrfore the public a statem. nt of the claims of
this country to the Oregon teiritory, ut,answerably strong
in itself, and infinitely more conclusive than any argu-
'bents whit h can be adduced on the other side. The
Coast was visited by British naval officers at various
periods from Drake to Vancouver : whilst the alleged
Ciseoveries of the Awericans were merely the expeditions
of private mei chat.tmen. But mere discovery, or taking
po-session by proclamation, is of little avail, unless it be
toll,,wed by oci ups ion. The Americans have never
Id any posi ion on the C.Aumbia, save the fort of
Astoria, which they long ago abandoned ; whilst, on our
aide, to repeat the position we laid down some mouths
ago in dealing with this subject, the occupation by the
North-West Company, and sub,eqm ntly by the Hud-
sen's Bay Company, recoenised by the Legislative and
Execu ive power of Great Bri.ain, is a full and sufficient
ocmpaiton of .12e territory according to the law of
cations, and therefore ab,olute as avainst the adverse
c 1 rim of any other nation, save and except the concurrent
rignt admitted by the tr aty ot 1790 with Spain, and now
anst red to the United nata.s. To these arguments
aright be added others den ivied from the French claim to
the count, y extending from the Lake of Woods to the
Pacific Ocean, which is admitted to have been ceded
to us in 1763. togi ther with the province of Canada ;
whilst, on the contrary, the American attempt to stretch
the limits of the province of I ouisiatia beyond the Rocky
Nouotains has been utterly confuted.—Times
M R

ENVM AN'S FORMER OPINION ow Romit.—lf we
are incite d to helm ve the proles-ions of Rome, and
wale advances towards her, s if a sister or a mother
Church, which in theory she is, we shall find, too late,
that we are in the arms of a pitiless and unnatural rela-
tive, who will but triumph in the arts wtiich have inveigled
s wi,hin her m sh. No : dismissing the dreams, which
the rornal.e.• of early enure!) history, and the high doc-
trines of will raise in the inexperienced
in•nd, let us la, sure she is our enemy, and will do
eta a mischief when she can. In speaking and acting
on this oecatinn, we need not depart from Christian
charity rower& her. We must deal with her as
We won'd towards a friend who is visited with de-
"ngellient, in great affliction, with all affectionate
tt ncler thoughts, with tearful regret, and a broken heart,
but stilt %lit, a steady eye, and a firm mind. For, in
truth, she is a church betide rself, abounding in noble
gift- and rightful titles, but unable to use them religiously
crcity. obstinate, tvi?fut, ma ictous, cruel, unnatural, as
nadmen are. Or rather, she 111911 he stid to resemble a
drynoniae, posseased with principles, thoughts, and ten•
denies nil her own ; in outward form and natural powers
what G„d made her, but ruled within! by; an inexorable
spirit. who Is sovereign in his marr.getnent over her, and
crio,t sub le and most successful in the use of her gifts.
'thus she is her real self only in name, and till God
you, L. to restore her we must treat her as if she were
el.e evil one which governs her. And in saying this, I
must not he supposed to deny that there is any real ea-
cell. nee in it( nrenism, even as it is. or that any really ex-
ccllent men are its adherents. Satan ever acts on a sys-
tent—virious, manifold, intricate, with parts and instru-
sinents of various qualities, some alm,st purely evil, others
Co unexceptionable that. in thews-lves and detached from
end to which all Is subservient, they are really " angels
Of l zht," "^(1 may he found so to be at the last day
Netrtnan'a Lecture*.

THE SERPENT OF MARTINIQUA AND ST. LUCIA.—
More unfortunate than the Carib Indian, the serpent has
obliged the Colonists to surrender its native wilds and
forests—all that is uninhabited by man; and, save when
it shows itself upon cultivated ground, no attempt is ever
made to trouble or molest it. The serpent may be said to
abridge the enjoyment to man of the pleasures of a country
life ; for here is no safe repose in the shade of an old tree
—none of those sweet reveries along the fields, which
must be enjoyed in solitude alone, without a guide, without
reserve : love hath fled from the groves ; hunting is no
more a pleasant recreation; at all points and continually
the mind must be possessed of that verse of the poet,
which would seem to have been called forth under the
inspiration of similar spots—
', Fugit hinc,
Latet anguis in beam."
—Simmonds's Colonial Magazine.
AUTUMN PLANTING OF POTATOES.—One of the re-
commendations contained in the report made by Professors
Lindley, Playfair, and Kane (dated Nov. 7) has been re-
ceived with considerable distrust by the Potato growers,
to whom I have mentioned it. I allude to the question of
autumn-planting. The ground of objection is the proba-
bility of danger by spring frosts. I, however, quite agree
in the recommendation of the Commissioners, and had, in
fact, prepared some land for immediate planting, before
their report appeared. One of the strongest arguments
that can be adduced in its favour is that the few potatoes
that escape notice when the crop is taken up always make
vigorous plants the next spring, and even though hoed
down once or twice, when appearing amongst corn, have
strength enough to push again, to the great annoyance of
the tidy farmer. It is. therefore, very clear that in winter
frosts do not destroy the sets, re r spring frosts the young
shoots.—H. S. Thompson, Kirby Hall, York, in Gar.
dener's Chronicle.
HINT TO TRAVELLERS.—The great moralist of our age
and nation went to study man like Wakley in the Isle of
Sky. How few there are who ever dream of going there
now ! "Up the Ithine "is the cry of 01l who have a
week, and money enough for the week te spare. Men go
to-see the great tun of Heidelberg, and the largest wine
cask in the world, who have never had the curiosity to
see the Winchester pint of the time of Queen Elizabeth,
the largest pint in the world—an Englishman's pint, redo-
lent of the good old times,—the Lycurgus and measure
of all pint pots of that convivial period ; regulating
Shakspeare's sack libation at the Mermaid, and Ben
Johnson's draught of canary at the Apollo. Measure as
large and ample as their minds, equal to a pint and a half
of our degenerate pewters. What is the great tun of Hei-
delberg, in an honest Englishman's eye, compared with
the Winchester brass pint of the time of Queen Eliza-
beth ? The great tun at Heidelberg is a wonder by itself;
but the Winchester pint was a begetter of wonders—the
patriarch of a race of pints.—Fraser's Magazine.
How TO IMPROVE THE YEOMANRY.—The yeomanry
are constitutionally a brave race of men. They are ro-
bust, active, good-humoured. devoted to their country—a
little over-fed, perhaps, but for a spurt a man is not much
the worse for being well fed—and willing, we are sure, to
turn out to a man should government desire it. We re-
commend that they be informed, on authority, that the
government is aware of their good qualities, and prepared
to make use of them when the fitting moment shall ar-
rive. And, in the meanwhile, we are tempted to ask,
whether it would not be judicious to change both their
appointments and drill ? The Duke of Bnckingharn and
Major Deeds may both depend upon it that they will ne-
ver get their fine corps to ride side by side with the 11th
Hussars. But put rifles into the bands of these young
farmers, and train them to fire from their saddles, and
mount and remount in the midst of a skirmish, and let
them see that you expect them to pass through woods and
over quagmires which no regular cavalry would face, and
we deceive ourselves if you do not increase their useful-
ness fourfold. We have some faint recollection of the
masses of mounted riflemen whom the Yankees used to
bring into play two-and-thirty years ago, and we fancy
that in every county of England there are materials with-
in reach out of which to form corps at least as trouble-
some to an invader as these.—Fraser's Magazine.
VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.—Having no house, the origi-
nal inhabitant of Van Diemen's Land had no home ; and
he had no tie to bind him to a particular spot; and having
the habit of roaming over the country for food, he felt the
less necessity for a fixed dwelling-place, and therefore was
less solicitous about erecting one. Thus he has ever re-
mained, so far as his history can be ascertained, the only
being in the human form without a roof of sou.e sort,
wherewith to shelter himself from the inclemencies of the
weather. It ie to he observed also, in explanation of the
peculiar habits of those aboriginals, that the country pro-
duces no wild seed similar to any grain, such as wheat,
barley, or Indian corn: they have no bulbous root;
nothing like the yam, or the banana, or the bread fruit.
Neither have they any fruit of any sort in the whole of
Australia. This singular denial of nature in these coun-
tries of the food necessary for the sustenance of mln in
the shape of grain, fruit, herbs, or vegetables, is of a piece
with the other singularities of those primitive regions.
There the trees are all evergreens, and shed not their
leaves annually, bt t their bark ; almost all that grows
there is, in some respects, different from all that grows in
the rest of the known globe ; and all the animals, and even
some of the fishes, possess an organic peculiarity of forma-
tion, in the false belly, or pouch, which is different from
that of the animals in all other countries.—Hood's Maga-
zine.
THE CREATOR'S GOODNESS.—It is a delightful evi-
dence of the benevolence of our Creator, that all our or-
gans of sense are so framed as to he productive of pleasure.
Not one bone, or muscle, or nerve, indeed, has ever been
discovered, in any kind of animal, of which the natural
tendency is the infliction of pain on its possessor—all are
made to produce pleasurable sensations. True indeed it
is, that each of our five senses may be grievou'ly of-
fended ; that the organs of animal bullies are capable of
derangement and disease ; and that the destruction of one
living creature by another, is one of th- laws through
which an inscrutable Providence maintains the order of
nature. But while, in the sufferings which are thus occa-
sioned. we may perhaps trace one mark of a fallen and
degenerate world, it is nevertheless obvious even here,
that the happiness of conscious living creatures is the
object of the Divine economy : pleasure is the rule, and
pain only the exception. The law of mutual destruction,
in the lower animal cresti n, is, indeed, the law of life.
Were that law reversed, and were these sentient creatures
left to the slow operation of disease and decay, the suffer-
ings of those animals which now exist would be vastly ag-
gravated ; pestilence would spread on every side, and the
pleasure of existence itself would soon be fearfully cur-
tailed. Who can listen to the songster of the grove, or
to the lark which carols in high air—who can witness the
smooth and easy flight of myriads of birds ; the happy
gliding rapidly of countless fishes ; the dance of millions
of insects in the sunbeam—without confessing that great
are the pleasures which their Creator has bestowed upon
them—that the painful but unforeseen stroke which may
soon consign them to nonentity, is as a cypher in compa-
rison with the unreckoned sum of their enjoyment.
—Gurney's Thoughts on Habit and Discipline.