The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-09-05 00:00:00

lowing

" 13, Norfolk-street, Park-lane, July 13th, 1848.
" The very fact of your infirmity, and that alone, pre-
vents me from laying my horsewhip well over you.

"CRAVEN F. BERItELEY
" To Mr. John Surman Cox."
A most gentlemanly contest it is !

THE circumstances which have occured during
the past few weeks—the prospect of a necessity for
considerable imports of breadstuffs, to supply the
place of a threatened deficiency of our home growth,
operating upon the minds of merchants and traders
generally, and inducing a fear of another monetary
crisis, as shewn in the temporary fall of shares and
nearly every other species of property—have re-
awakened our community to a sense of the insecu-
rity of all mercantile transactions, conducted under
our present system of currency, and to the necessity
of no longer delaying measures to effect a reform.
In ordinary times men naturally cease to concern
themselves with respect to a question, which only
presents itself in its more fearful aspect, when
influenced by extraneous causes; and lately we were
too much inclined to congratulate ourselves that
the moment for stirring energetically in the ques-
tion might be a distant one. We were progressing
gradually towards a state of increased commercial
confidence, and consequently increased industrial
activity ; and the deep conviction of the public
mind, that our present system is only a fair weather
one, is exemplified by the readiness with which
alarm on the subject has been taken.
We are glad to observe that such is the case;
and still further to see that at length, by this
merely temporary check in our prosperity, a bona
fide effort has been aroused. On Wednesday last
the first meeting of a party of gentlemen, interested
in the question, was held at Brown's Coffee House,
Clayton-square ; and, although convened at a very
short notice, and with very little attempt at pub-
licity, the proceedings were very satisfactory, and
may possibly result in an expression of the com-
mercial public, too strong to be neglected by our
present theorists. We give the proceedings from
the Report of the gentleman, Mr. James Harvey,
who was chairman on the occasion.
" The Chairman explained that he had convened the
present meeting at the suggestion of several mercantile
gentlemen in Liverpool, to consider the expediency of
forming an association with a view to Currency Reform,
as they are convinced that without an alteration or amend-
ment of the existing money laws, the partial and one-
sided system of Free Trade recently adopted cannot be
persevered in without the greatest injury to all the in-
terests of the country, agricultural, manufacturing, and
commercial.

" After a lengthened conversation and discussion,—/t
was resolved,

" First—that the meeting resolve itself into a com-
mittee, for the purpose of taking the necessary steps to
establish an association for effecting a reform of our pre-
sent money laws, under the title of THE LIVERPOOL
CURRENCY REFORM ASSOCIATION.

" Second—That in the meantime a subscription be in-
stituted to defray necessary charges, including, as a
preliminary measure, the expense of one or more public
lectures to be delivered in Liverpool, on the evils of our
present monetary system, and the appropriate remedy.
" Third—That a meeting be held on an early day to con-
sider the plan and principles of the proposed association ;
and that the Chairman be convener, and also that he act
in the meantime as treasurer.

" Thereafter the thanks of the meeting were voted to
the Chairman for his conduct in the chair.

" JAMES HARVEY, Chairman
' Brown's Coffee-house, Clayton-square,
Liverpool, 30th August, 1848."

We have taken the liberty of drawing attention,
by the use of Italics, to one passage in the speech
of the Chairman, in which it is stated that "the
partial and one-sided system of Free Trade recently
adopted cannot be persevered in without the
greatest injury to all the interests of the country,
agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial ;" and
we have done so because, in the first place, it
is one in which we perfectly coincide, and which
we have repeatedly urged ; in the second place, be-
cause it is a fact which the whole commercial world
has been, and is still, feeling most deeply; and
especially because it is at length distinctly admitted
by a body of gentlemen, the majority of whom are
recognised as advocating Free Trade opinions.
We know, too, that it speaks the opinions of a
large portion of the influential merchants of Liver-
pool, of all shades of opinion on matters of com-
mercial policy, who are satisfied, in opposition to
the short-sighted views, or rather dogmas, of the
Manchester school of political ecenomists, that the
increased commercial transactions of the country
cannot be carried on by a restricted circulating
medium ; that, in fact, a free trade in money should
be the preliminary of a free trade in the commodi-
ties of which money is the exponent.

WE are not at all inclined to treat as light the
difficulties, which will have to be surmounted in
carrying through Parliament the resolutions agreed
to at the recent meeting of the Vestry. There are
many, and very plausible, objections to the course
recommended to be taken. Along with Mr. Dover,
we are ready to admit that to tax the Dock Estate
of Liverpool is to tax the commerce, not only of
Liverpool, but of every portion of the empire,
which draws its raw materials, or its foreign pro-
duce, from us :--is in fact to levy a duty upon the
cotton of Manchester and the timber of Neiv
Brunswick, upon the ships which carry them and
the hands which man them. In the broadest
terms we admit all this; and are prepared, with
that gentleman, to insist upon our perfect right
thus to treat the commerce of the empire which
makes Liverpool its central resort.
Let us examine calmly the question which is
here at issue. We have allowed to be provided on
the shore of the Mersey the most stupendous
amount of dock accommodation to he found in
any locality on the globe. We have thus drawn
to our port a vast commerce and immense capital.
For that dock accommodation we charge the low-
est rates, compatible with its maintenance and
gradual extension; but we have hitherto omitted
all consideration of the fact that, along with the
wealth, which an extensive commerce brings, come
also burthens ; that a population, with fluctuating
means of supporting themselves, are a necessary
accompaniment of such a commerce; that high-
ways are indispensab:e adjuncts to docks ; that
sewers have to be provided, a police to he main-
tained, and prisons to be kept up. The expense
of all this we have hitherto thrown upon the occu-
piers of property within the parish, in which those
docks are situated. The shopkeeper of Lord-
street, or Bold-street, has been made to contribute
to the cost of bringing the cotton of America to
the factories of Manchester. We have never
charged either party for the wear and tear of the
streets through which it is transported. There has

been no item in their invoices for paving, or flag-
ging, sewerage, or protection of property from
spoliation. We have been, in fact, to an unparal-
elled extent, liberal and generous to all the world.
Certainly we have had, to some extent, a return
for our liberality. Increased commerce has brought
increased returns to the shopkeepers and other
inhabitants of our town. But to urge this as an
argument against making the means, by which that

increased commerce is brought to us, pay a portion
of the burthens which it brings, is to concede our
right to take care that the advantage and the loss
balance each other. Such an argument allows us
to ask whether every increase of our imports and
exports, and every additional facility provided for
the commerce of the world, pay the parishioners
of Liverpool for the cost to them ; and facts tell
very convincingly that such is not the case. In-
creased wealth may indeed flow to the locality;
but only a portion of it comes into the pockets of
the parishioners of Liverpool who provide for its
accommodation. The merchant, living in his
suburban villa, is benefitted ; but the ratepayers
find that, with every such increase of wealth and
commerce to the port, comes an increase of pauper-
ism and of all local burthens. In fact the advan-
tages and the imposts are no longer distributed
either equally or justly; and the latter have become
intolerable in their pressure upon those who have
to hear them.

In the abstract we maintain that it is not reason-
able that the ratepayers of a portion only of the
borough of Liverpool should be called upon to
provide so large a portion of the facilities for a
commerce in which all the empire, and, indeed, the
world, may share. There is no more politico-eco-
nomical reason why the docks of Liverpool should
not contribute to support the burthens of the place
in which they are situated than any other property.
We tax our commerce and industry when we tax a
factory or a shop. We increase the cost of transit
from place to place when we impose local burthens
upon our railways and canals. By a fiction of law,
it is true, we cannot, without the aid of parliament,
levy rates upon the property of such a body as the
Dock Committee, inasmuch as they are said to have
no beneficial occupation of that property. As it at
present stands, it is either the property of the public
or of the bondholders. The former, however, de-
rive advantages from it, and the latter have, in
reality, though not in the strict legal sense of the
term, a beneficial occupation, as deriving interest
on loans advanced for its creation; and, in common
justice, the quibble, by which they are protected
from being made amenable to perform the duties of
every other species of property, ought to be removed.
There are other circumstances, too, which entitle
us to demand this concession from parliament and
from our public bodies. The latter are now avow-
edly traders ; and, if the principles of Free Trade
amount to anything, they ought to stand upon the
same footing as other bodies with whom they com-
pete. We have admitted this to be just in permit-
ting our dock warehouses to be taxed; why not, on
the same principle, tax the docks themselves ?
Private individuals or companies erecting docks on
our strand have taxes to pay. Why not this great
monopolist, the Liverpool Dock Committee ? There
is no intelligible reason why the one should be
mulcted and the other permitted to escape.
We feel perfectly convinced that the more the
question is scrutinized the stronger the reasons will
appear for carrying out the measure proposed by
the Vestry. Manchester will grumble, of course—
the Cheshire interest will be in arms to oppose us
in parliament. The politico-economical philoso-
phers will declaim against us as selfish and blind.
But common sense will at length be too strong for
their united efforts, and decide that no single com-
munity shall be made to bear the entire burthens
which the world's commerce attracts to its neigh-
bourhood. Moreover, the consummation is rapidly
arriving when we shall not be able to bear them ;
and the local tax-gatherer will be doomed to knock
at the doors of empty houses and closed shops.

WE observe that the operative porters of our
town have again appealed to the mercantile body
and the public, for aid in obtaining a redress of the
grievances under which they labour, through the
operation of the present system. We certainly do
not altogether vindicate the tone, in parts, of the
placard, in which this appeal is made. It is liable
to the censure of exhibiting some little symptoms
of an irritated feeling. But really we must remem-
ber that there are positions, in which men may be
placed, which excuse such display. Men cannot
be expected to speak, in satin phrase, of a system
which they conceive deprives their families of the
full fruits of their hard toil. Moreover, we must
bear in mind, that they are not, although equal to
the ordinary duties of their calling, and, we believe,
generally most faithful in their performance, skilful
advocates even of those questions which they most
thoroughly understand.
The complaint which they make, on this occa-
sion, is that the evidence generally bearing upon
their treatment under our present system, has not
been brought fairly before the public; and that,
in the mean time, it has been represented in a
garbled form by a portion of the press of the town.
We can quite believe that their case is still in a
great measure misunderstood; and, in the mean
time, we would entreat the consideration of the
public towards them. On every principle of popu-
lar and philanthropic economy they are justified in
their complaints that a large portion of their earn-
ings is snatched from them by a middleman sys-
tem. Such a system we do not think that the
merchants of Liverpool are desirous of upholding.
The porters themselves do not conceive their
grievances to be at the doors of their employers.
They say, and we believe justly that they are mis-
understood ; and, as we also believe, they seek only
what it is quite as much to the interest of the mer-
chants to grant as for themselves to receive.

We shall perhaps have it in our power next week
to say a few words on behalf of this numerous,
and generally deserving body of men ; and we are
only prevented from doing so now by the arrival of
the American and West Indian Mails, and other
pressure of news.

The Earl and Countess of Wilton arrived yesterday at
Heaton Park.

THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS.—During the whole
week, we have, with trifling exceptions at the beginning,
experienced the most delightful weather, which has
enabled the farmers here to secure the greater portion of
their corn harvest. A good deal of wheat may be seen,
on tardy soils, still in the stook, but it is nearly all well-
seasoned, from the warm sun of the last few days, and
much is already carted home. This crop is in some parts
rather thin on the ground, but on the whole is sound, and
the breadth sown will likely produce a fair average yield.
Some few fields of oats are still standing ; others but
partially cut, though sufficiently ripe. Oats are every
where in this neighbourhood a fair, if not a superior
crop. The other field crops, turnips, mangels, &c., look
most promising, and grass has been abundant during the
whole season. We know of four crops of fine tall Italian
rye-grass (to be used as green fodder) being cut from a
number of fields in this and the neighbouring county since
the spring ; and by aid of liquid manure, and other pre-
vious good treatment of the land, there will still be a good
after-crop. The potato rot does not appear to advance,
and the article was selling, and of fine quality, in our
markets on Saturday, in loads at SAd. to 9d. a peck, of
211bs. ;by retail, 11d. to ls. Fruit, particularly apples
and pears, are abundant. But, notwithstanding the late
fine weather, the rise which recently took place in bread is
still maintained, fair good quality, by retail, being about
2d. per lb. The favourable change in the weather has,
however, greatly enlivened the spirits of the mass of our
population whose means are limited, and they are looking
forward for a considerable decline in price.
PITT-STREET WARD.—At a committee meeting of the
National Confederation, on Wednesday, it was unani-
mously resolved to support Thomas Robinson, Esq., the
present excellent member, at the approaching election on
the Ist of November next.

A correspondent of a weekly journal says 'that he has
heard " from a source that is entitled to attention that
Lord John Russell, in conjunction with the Archbishop
of Canterbury, intends to issue a commission to certain
parties to revise the liturgy, and particularly the baptis-
mal services ; and that some plan of bracketting' certain
passages, after the Rev. Hugh M`Neile's proposal, some
years since, is contemplated. Of course, a new or revi-
sed ' Act of Uniformity' would be necessary, or perhaps
the present Act would be repealed altogether."'
SUPPER AT OXTON HILL-A splendid supper was
given at Mrs. Hughes's, Queen's Arms, Oxton, on Fri-
day evening last, to commemoratethe exteriorcompletion of
property recently in course of erection by Mr. Pitt and
Mr. Baty, under the title of " Chatham Villas." About
thirty gentlemen sat down, amongst whom were the
architect, Mr. Charles Reid, Mr. Atkinson, barrister,
Mr. W. Seawright, Mr. C. Ashlin, &c. The chair was
occupied by Mr. Pitt, and the vice-chair by Mr. Baty,
wine and spirit merchant. After the removal of the cloth,
the usual loyal toasts were given. Mr. Reid proposed the
enterprising owners in a neat and elegant manner—highly
complimenting them on their enterprize in continuing to
build in times so depressed and with prospects so lower-
ing. Capes Ashlin, Esq., proposed the new firm of Baty
and Seawright, which was responded to most ably by the
former gentleman. After several other toasts the meet-
ing dispersed, all highly delighted and wishing the success
of the joint owners in business to be such as would ere
long enable them to commemorate another rearing.

BRISTOL v. LIVERPOOL

The following paragraph is going the rounds of the
press :

"During the past year the dock dues of the port of Liverpool
have fallen off .t 44,000, whilst those of Bristol have increased
about 20 per cent,"
It is not very candid to make such a statement that our
" dock dues have fallen off," leaving it to be inferred that
our trade has fallen off, when the fact is, that the only
falling off in the case has been caused by a reduction made
in the rates, the Dock Committee voluntarily giving up
to the commercial world at large, and to the consumers of
imported produce, a sum exceeding the amount stated in
the paragraph.

PROPOSAL TO APPOINT MR. ALDERMAN BENN
A MEMBER OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE.

We observe a notice placed upon the Council paper for
to-morrow for the above object, to which the name of Mr.
Walthew is appended as its mover. It is really a pity
that the injudicious conduct of his friends should place a
gentleman, very generally respected, in the position of
seeing such a motion opposed. Mr. Walthew may, per-
haps, as a new member, be ignorant of a rule in the Coun-
cil that a twelve months' previous sitting in that body is
required as a qualification' for a seat in the Finance
Committee.

THE APPROACHING MUNICIP4L ELECTIONS

The term for which the following gentlemen were elected
as members of the council, will expire on the Ist Novem-
ber next :
Everton Ward. ..... Francis Shand
Scotland Ward James Thompson
Vauxhall Ward.. W. Rathbone
St. Paul's.
Exchange .
Castle-street Hugh Hornby
St. Peter's
Pitt-street
Great George.. Thomas Royden
Rodney-street ..... .. ~ G. Booker
Abercromby. C. W. Reade
Lime-street . V. Higgins
St. Anne's W. Earle
West Derby. J. Plumpton
South Toxteth... A. Lace
North Toxteth. Thomas Lloyd.

It is intended, we believe, to propose Mr. Briscoe in op-
position to Mr. Eyre Evans, for St. Paul's Ward, and Mr.
Poole in opposition to Mr. W. Earle, for St. Anne's
Ward. There seems every probability of the new candi-
dates succeeding in both cases, as they are supported by
the political party attached to the retiring members as
well as by that of their own.