The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-03-10 00:00:00

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

• -
`)TA's letter upon the'night police, and the inefficiency of that
v,"oriv, will, if possie, appear i our next.
' e tliAnk a friend for bl
sendmg usn a sort of political harangue
Ip,ntlestly called a sermon, preached at Glasgow, iu the "Goose
'Juba," we suspect, by one George Harris. This is not
t,xactiv the plucking season; but he richly deserves it, and
rail have it first spare moment.
e beg to assure a "Shipowner" that we are watching the
4,,F,'Lse• It would be imprudent to say anything at present.
‘-hurch and King" is thanked; but the "creatures" are not
worth meddlin wit. Tey talk or reforniing the Churc!
t them go learn toh read and write, and then teform tbeni h -
eelves.

Ebt Littrpool grtanbarb.

PUESDA MORArING, MARCH 10, 1835.

Some of the. Irish members have already commenced
that series of inanceuvres which so seriously interrupted
Public business and were the disgrace of the last pailia-
tnent• In the estimation of the " trite of Dan" a scuffle
between a constable and a smuggler, in some remote pa-
tish or turf bog in Ireland, is of more importance than
the foreign, colonial, or national interests of Great Bri-
tain, and entitled to the first consideration of the Home
ra Commons. If two rival factions or families at a vil-
ge fair, inspired by whisky and patriotism, and differ-
ing about the amount of "tribute" claimed by some im-
perious beggar, come to blows, and heads are broken, the
aft •
an. is immediately brought under the consideration of
the imperial legislature, and an "intense" interest is
Gated, by a ten hours debate in the commons, as to
"0 kicked PADDY O'SUANE, who tore Mrs. O'FLa-
likrtTY's hair, who sent TEDDY O'FLINN to gaol for do-
ing 'just nothing at all,"—and the debate is carried on
as animated a wanner as if the destinies of England
depended upon the decision of the. house. Meanwhile
the Public business is suspended—the battle of the fair
I.Bkfotrght over again—the wrongs of the O'SIIANES and
e O'FLattEaTys are dwelt upon in all the impassioned
tunes of Irish eloquence—the night draws to a close—
nothing is concluded on either side—a full report of the
squabble appears in all the newspapers; so that the Eng-
isit reader, as he sips his coffee, and glances over the
47nes or Post next morning, finds, to his ineffable dis-
gust, that the representatives of the people of this great
country have been engaged in a discussion that would
trim'
an excise court or a police office into contempt.
of weeks and months was the time of the last session
Parliament wasted in tliese unseemly exhibitions; and
unless ministers, supported by the good sense of the
i I°nse, make an effort to prevent their repetition, the pre-
'tent session will be as barren of usefulness as its prede-
48snr• On Friday last an Irish member of the name of
"WYEE, one of the "tribe" above referred to, pre,
aPnted a petition, drawnup, no douht, by some hedge
retlest who has learned to write ate: tti'expense of Eng-
td, and which petition purported to come from a man
who Signs himself k —who makes his mark—and who
t cnPlains that he was locked up in a station-house from
Saturday night till Monday morning, thereby prevented
orn going to mass on Sunday, and from following his ho-
4"t avocations during the two nights he was in durance.
. -No doubt it is a hard case if the man were innocently
Int Prisoned. His innocence or his guilt, however, forms
4° Part of the question, fur no evidence is offered on
either side. It is not even alleged that the complaining
Harty has sought or has failed to obtain redress. All that
}-)‘le house . has to debate -upon is the statement made
tIY • Who he is no one can tell—O'DWYEa himself
"3 not know him—be comes before parliament in the
above shape, without a voucher, without a reference,
,
^ltbout a single person to speak to his identity.
We ask, is this a case to occupy the attention of the
kouse of Commons ? If this man with his mark be a
been
Person, which we doubt., and if it be true that.he has
falsely imprisoned, which we do not believe; but
aflstinting, for the sake of argument, that what he states
strictly true, still is it a case which demands the inter-
ti-renee of the British parliament ? We contend it does
tit* Parliament is only a court of appeal in the last re•
4t, and then only under peculiar circumstances. But
sli 's case there is no unredressed grievance—co hard-
'P for which the law does not prescribe a remedy—no
aorung which an Irish attorney could not convert into a
ree of profit first to himself and secondly to his client
whieb no 'attorney of the liberal school would not ea-
o,rir „
ek • -.rasp at as furnishing a fine subject for the forensic
'Treace of a SHELL, in an action for damages.
c_umw many hundreds of poor creatures are lodged,
antrary to their will, every night in watch-houses in

England ? Hots, many thousands ate taken up on a Sa-
turday night in this country, imprisoned in the Huuse of
Correction during Sunday, and dismissed on Monday

morning without any serious offence being alleged
:against them ? It is thle necessary consequence of asti ict
police. But who ever heus of a petition from any of
these ill-used parties to the House of Commons? Mr.
HumE himself would be ashamed to present such a peti-
tion even from a fellow .Greek, and Mr. `VA LEY, the
honourable member for Finsbury, would, we are sure,
burn his fingers of rather than touch such a docu-
ment.

In Ireland the case is different. The "tail" must obey
the head—the slave of the priest must obey his master.
It is of no consequence whether- the charge be true or
false—whether the k be a mortal or a phantom—a
wretch ready to swear any-thing, or a tool perfectly un-
conscious of its own acts—the member must obey the
dictator, and the dictator must servilely recognise the
commands of his secret but powerful magicians. This,
we admit, is an unfortunate and calamitous state of
things; but we must now bear it until such a moral re-
volution shall take place as will give us the means of
counteracting it. This can only arise from a combina-
tion of events by which the dupes will be enabled not
Only to detect, hut compelled in their own defence to de-
stroy their enslavers. A powerful government, well or-'
ganized, could facilitate this most desirable revival of
principle which, taking its impulse from truth, would be
goaded to acts of retribution by a sense of justice; but
the final execution is certain, despite the accelerating aid
of the authorities. We see its workings in the decline
and fall of O'CONNELL'S power. The character of the
man, as Mr. SHAW observes, is now understood., The
people, o ' land never had any confidence in him—
they . him. liis is a character that is abso-
lute! p'' Ve to our ' national feelings. He has the
i
,06
min tno -the power of. ROBES PI ERR E. He is possessed
of great. talents-7-he has unbounded ambition—he is to-.
tally deltoid of principle—he aims at an object without
seeing it,- as a man of desperate ferocity shoots in the dark
—he is ready to join any party against what. he conceives
to be til'e Common enemy ; but he has not sense sufficient
to tell him .that.by risking too much he must lose all, and
that those who court his power would if they could hang
him to-morrow. The people of Ireland are beginning to
see this. All the respectable catholics have already de-
serted his ranks. He has not a man of rank, property, or
independence who acknowledges his leadership. While
the priests remain with him he will always command
votes ; but how long will they remain with him ? This is the
question. We answer it. at once—not a moment longer
than suits their own selfish purposes; and, what is of far
greater importance, the hour of secession has very nearly
arrived. He has dragged the priesthood of Ireland down
to the lowest pit of infamy to which catholicity ever
sank. Farther they will not go. The old priests know
that O'CONNELL has made their church in Ireland the re-
proaeh of Europe. They are recognised at Rome as
schismatics, if not infidel dissenters. They are, in fact,
(particularly the younger clergymen,) held to be the rob-
bers of the poor, and as setting an example to Roman
Catholics in the western world which, if imbibed and imi-
tated by the faithful generally, must prikkice confusion,
ending in the explosion and final overthrow of the
Roniish church. Mr. O'CONNELL has done more to
bring the religion which he professes, and we believe
only professes, into disrepute than any man living. The
Most intelligent of the Irish priests are aware of it. By
his rabid agitations he has deprived them of that repu-
tation which they formerly held. He has converted the
halls of theological study into political debating rooms.
He has made the priest, like himself, a demagogue. He
has made the minister at the altar a firebrand. He has
reduced charity to something like a compulsory tax; and,
under the influence of unholy incendiaries he has plun-
dered the "basket and store" of the poor man, and turned
the stream of superstitiouS benevolence wholly into his
own and their coffers.

All this will tell in the end, and the end is not so dis-
tant as many persons imagine. The very fact that the
Irish members are obliged to resort to such petty arti-
fices as we have described above, in order
.to keep their
names before the public, and make it appear that they
are deeply interested in the fate of the poor peasantry, is
to us proof sufficient that their power and influence are
on the decline. Desperate must be their condition when
they are compelled to employ such stimulants. But the
abject nature of their hypocrisy cannot be concealed. If
the man had been wronged, as is alleged in the petition
which he himself cannot read, and possibly knows no.
thing about, why did not CrCONNELL, O'DWYER, and
the other joints subscribe a fund for the purpose of insti-
tuting a prosecution ? They know better. They know
that the allegations are false; but even if they were true
these demagogues would not pay down a single penny to
save the injured man from starvation. They are willing
to wrangle and chaffer about oppression and injustice in
the House of Commons, where talking costs nothing;
and they are ready to do this 'on any grounds, or on no
grounds at all, at.tbe bidding of some worthless priest ;
but they are not the men to disgorge one farthing of the
enormous sums they have extorted from the paupers of
Ireland.

All this, we say again, will tell in the end. The im-
postor stands in such an odious light before the world
that even the blindest of his admirers must soon see their
error and feel ashamed of their misplaced confidence.
Look at the craven attitude to which he was reduced un-
der the crushing and
.withering animadversions of the
honourable and learned member for the University of
Dublin.', Mr. SHAW, in his speech on Friday night, used
these words :

Mr. O'Connell had denounced the " Orange Knight of
Kerry," well knowing that that benevolent and high-minded
landlord, that useful country gentleman, that ornament to so-
ciety,had always been the opponent of Orangism, and aban-
doned friends and office in support of the Roman Catholic claims.
( Hear.) And why did he call him Orange? Why, in order
that he might point at those who toted for him as objects of assas-
sination. (Loud cheers), in the midst of which

Mr. O'CoNNELL'rose and called on the Speaker to say whe-
ther such was parliamentary language?
The SPEAKER hoped the right hon. and learned gentleman
Would not pei severe in the expression which had dropped from
him.

Mr. SHAW would not persist in it. But the hon. and learned
member bad stated publicly in Dublin, and had it published in
all his newspapers, that whatever miscreant Roman Catholic, or
whoever voted for the Orange Knight of Kerry, should have placed
over his door a death's-head and cross-bones. (Loud and vehe-
ment cheering.)

It is not to the sanguinary and brutal threat that we
call attention, but to the abject impotence of the con-
victed bravo, seeking the protection of the speaker—im-
ploring Mr. JAMES ABEROROMBY to shield him from the
startling accusations of 'the recorder! This meanness
tells a tale. The man 'who is the loudest in his attacks
upon his personal and political Oversaries—who has all
his life indulged in the coarsest language when censur-
ing other men—who has raked the
.hulks, the kennel,
and the stews for flowers of invective and abuse, which
he lifis flung unsparingly around him-7shrinks from a
well-drawrrportrait of himself as if he saw a murderer,
and stops his ears to the truth which describes him to the
life in all his deformity. Such, however, is DANIEL
O'CONNELL, whose career, we predict, is nearly run.
The result of the inquiry into the last Dublin election
will decide his fate.

Mr. BARING, the new President of the Board of Trade,
in answer to some questions in the House of Commons
a few nights ago, stated that foreign corn had recently
been smuggled into England from the Isle of Man.
Some other member, in alluding ,to the same subject,
ventured to insinuate that the late government was privy
to the transaction, and never evinced any earnest desire
to suppress the illicit trade.

This last rather palpable hit aroused Mr. POULETT
TflontsoN from his slumbers, who protested that he was
an exceedingly ill-used gentleman, in being held up to
the world as conniving at a fraud upon the revenue, at
the very time when his noble friend the Chancellor of the
Exchequer was much distressed for money. Mr. Timm-
soN declared upon his honour that he had instituted an
inquiry into the alleged frauds previous to his dismissal
from office, and that he was most anxious on all occa-
sions to do everything in his power to discountenance
such nefarious practices. He further stated that the
smuggling from the Isle of Man had been carried on to a
very trifling extent, and that it was impossible any in-

urn•, in a public point of view, could have been sustained

e re front.

All this looks very well on paper, and we are willing
to concede that the honourable 'member for Manchester
is a gentleman of "good intentions," and that he is in•
capable of doing anything which he does not conscien.
tiouslybelieve is calculated to promote the welfare of his
country. The little sooty urchin who at dawn of day
calls " sweep," in violation of an act of parliament, is
no doubt embued with the idea that he is rendering an
important service to the community at large. So think
sweeps, and so think not sleepy housemaids! •
But let this pass. It is admitted that foreign corn has
been smuggled into England from the Isle of Man, du-
ring the whole period of Mr. TuomsoN's most impor-
tant services at the Board of Trade. Is it not curious
that the honourable functionary did not find leisure to
investigate the subject in time to put a stop to the fraud
before he was dismissed from office? Could he not have
done that in 1832 which he reluctantly attempted in
1834, at-the close of the session, when he knew no legis-
lative measure, of a remedial nature, could be enacted ?

These are questions which we leave the ex-president
to digest at his leisure, and answer when it suits his
convenience. But a word to the real facts of the case.
It is well.known that the Isle of Man grows more. corn
than is consumed by its inhabitants. The surplus, (and
it is an enormous quantity considering the size of the
island,) is exported to England duty free. Under these
circumstances why is corn from the Baltic allowed to be
impOrted into -the Isle of Man? The authorities who
permit this must know that it is for purposes of smug-
gling. It displaces an equal quantity of home growth,
which is sent to England, and it consequently is, to all
intents and purposes, as much a contraband article as
if it were actually smuggled.into England.

Two evils arise out of this trade. First, the admission
of foreign corn into the Isle of Man is injurious to the
interests of the domestic cultivator. If foreign corn ware
totally excluded, cultivation would be carried on to a far
greater extent than at present, and the industry of the
island labourers thereby promoted and better rewarded.
Secondly, the admisSion into England of • corn grown in
the Isle of Man, the price of which is kept down by the
admission of firreign corn into that island, Must be inju-
dons to the interests of the English farmer, who at pre-
sent is toiling in vain, and living niacin the remnant of
his wasting capital in the hope of better times. But
though not extensively hurtful, still the injustice of per-
mitting such a trade is unpardonably unjust, and ought
not to be tolerated a single hour. In short the whole
system, political and judicial, in the Isle of Man demands
an immediate revision. 'Why should not the island be
made a portion of the County Palatine of LancaSter, and
allowed to send two members to parliament? _The
powers of steam have brought the pretty town of Douglas
as near to Liverpool as is the city of Chester. No greater
blessing could be conferred upon the inhabitants of that
romantic and interesting island than that which would
put a stop to their peculiar advantages, anti cure the evils
arising from cheap brandy, abominable wines, and other
nuisances. It would be a boon beyond all conception if
the Deemstir Courts were abolished, the feudal power of
the " statesmen" curtailed, and the lutnbet ing house of
Keys 'flung into the dungeon well of the keep of Cas-
tleton. At any rite a great reform awaits the Isle of
Man. •

We are not unfavourably disposed towards Mechanics'
Institutions, for we can conceive nothing more useful
than a school in .which the artizan might be instructed in
those arts which would contribute to his excellence as a
workman, stimulate his ingenuity, and promote his ad-
vancement in life.

But where is
_there such an institution ? Certainly
not in Liverpool. The society which assumes this name
here professes to instruct, we adroit, but does not, in re-
ality, instruct mechanics. It is a mere political conven-
ticle, managed by a clique of persons so deeply tinged
with the narrowest of all sectarian prejudices that it is
the duty of every parent and master, who revere the in-
stitutions of their country, to warn their sons and ap-
prentices to avoid the contamination, the affectation of
learning,and the false philosophy which perVade the
place.

We do not wish any of our readers to adopt our views
without examination. In sotrie of the town newspapers
they will find-a—report of the-proceedings at the annual
meeting of the directors and members of the Liverpool
Mechanics Institute, held, we believe, on Wednesday
list. These persons profess to teach and procure lec-
tures upon the mechanical arts and' many of the most ab-
struse sciences. How far they are competent we do not
pretend to decide; but even if competent, we have in-
surmountable %objections to such teachers on other
grounds. In the first place, let. us see what the luatin-
aries of the institution hold out to our temptation in the
way of instruction and example. A gentleman—Tuomas
URQUHART, Esquires, to wit—addressed the meeting at
great length, and among many other'sublitne sayings,
we find the following:—
.! Mankind must improve, natural means must be used, and it
must be such as It. N. . Yates, Esq., that the sweet sympathies
of human nature must pour out in deep feelings of gratitude, as
one of those who have the interest and improvement of man at
their hearts. (Cheers.) Mankind has, in various pursuits,
been pleased and gratified; in what ? l,i the exercise of the
faculties, and the opera :ions of the nthuli to increase the pounds,
shillings, and pence! But is the happiness of mankind alone
concentrated in the exercise of that faculty of the mind? No!
It must be in the exercise of the intellectual and moral powers
of the mind, and mankind can outs' be put in a condition for the
exercise of their moral and intellectual powers by means of
education. (Cheers.) Hence it is by education that man is to be
unproved, that he is to be directed in the investigation of the
laws of his Creator, that he sees in these laws of his Creator
laws obligatory and binding upon man; and it is by education that
man is brought to recognise those laws, and must bring his: con-
dition into unison with -those laws, which we see binding in every
Wang around us. (Cheers.) There is not au atom or hair but
is subject to the laws of nature; and, therefore, the mind of man
is subject to those laws of nature, and till such time as education
is directed to the Creator's laws arrive, and I prophesy that that
day is fast coming, and if individuals would come forward with
such means as the generous R. V. Yates, it would soon arrive.
The day approaches when we shall see the men ranked according
to their intellectual powers."

We say it in all humility, but we cannot resist saying
that in the above extract there is as much nonsense as
could well have been packed in so small a space. What
does this wiseacre mean by the laws of nature ? Is he
addressing himself to cannibals or to christians ? Per-
haps only to the former ; for he sayS, " the mind of man
(that lOthe mind of the cannibal) is subject to those laws
of nature, and till suet' time as education is directed to
the Creator's, laws arrive." In this there is bad English
and worse sense. We can understand enough of it,
however, to perceive thata distinction is drawn between
the law of nature, and the law'of the Creator, -The former
being before our eyes, and the latter not yet arrived!
According to-this we have received no written law direct
front the hands
,of God, and we are entirely in the dark
as to the moral and intellectual powers of the mind,
whose-operations and faculties are absorbed in the accu-
mutation of " pounds, shillings, and pence !" This is
certainly a splendid specimen of modern intellect in an
Esquire who is anxious to enlighten the rising genera-
tion. Did this poor empiric never hear of a work called
the BIBLE ? But it is of no consequence—his wisdom is
beyond inspiration—nevertheless we pity the youth who
are confided to the charge, or doomed to listen to the
absurdities of such a driveller.

WM. RATHBONE, Esquire, is content to folloW in the
wake of THOMAS URQUHART, Esquire, and he is reported
to have said what follows:—
I am convinced that the education, whether of the rich or the
poor, is little usiderstdod, and has Ling made Very little progress.
It is not sufficient that the rich and poor should learn to read
and write, and have the details of education, unless they have
the wish to turn education to useful purposes,--unless they have
a taste for reading which will instruct and infirm them, and un-
less to education there be added a moral and religious disci-
pline. so, that wed-informed, they may benefit themselves a❑d
benefit their fellow creatures. (Cheers.) I do not mean by
religious and moral education, sectarian squabbles about doctrines,
and by that losing the spirit and essence ~f Christianity; but I
mean that religious and moral instruction which mates each
man love his neighbour as himself; which shall make us each feel
that we are brethren, the children of one Almighty Father.
(Cheers.) ,

This is well disguised, and it is rather difficult to de-
cide whether the modesty of Mr. URQUHART is not
exceeded by that of Mr. RATHBONB. The former says
that " the day approaches when we shall see men rankvd
according to their intellectual powers." Oh, that that
day were come! for then Mr. URQUHART would occupy
hat distinguished station, a million degrees above bi 4•