The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-12-26 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

Whig

übmitt

house int
hat de.spri

mut of property of tt

will be built in at
Without rating th,

the el

With rest:

ect to the

.eat hi r

ham contribute
to the local tax
should wonder

mn due

an inc

bt in the

rhey would

r market, to
Sir Oswald

influence of the improved character of the body to
which he belongs, in facilitating his operations
with other Stock Exchanges, or of the inn
to Liverpool of the pre-eminence which it h
recently held, of being the central and leading mart
of a mass of property, which promises shortly to
be only second in amount to the national securi
themselves should be upheld

of the city

d robbery of

.ery sense

4e, or to entitle

THE ''

able and interesting communication," as
a contemporary styles it, addressed by Mr. Cobden
to the President of the Liverpool Financial Reform
Association, is scarcely so complimentary to that
association as we should have expected, from the
manifest glee with which its coining was announced.
It is clear that the hon. member regards the pro-
ceedings of the association—its sifting of the items
of household and other petty cash accounts, its

London

ould excite a storm

e country, which they would
-2; for tliern. We'l

no fear

ter put his

pon the impOhey of

people of Liverpool,

docking of mistresses of the robes and pages of
the hedchamber—as mere higgling ; whilst he
regards the carrying out of any system of direct
taxation as impracticable in the present temper of
the public mind. He commences :
" I gathered from the conversation I had with you and
the members of the Financial Reform Association in
Liverpool, that you had two objects in view,—First, the
substitution of direct for indirect taxation ; and, secondly,
a diminution of the present amount of Government ex-
penditure. I ventured to offer an opinion, which I now
beg to repeat, that it would be far easier to effect a reduc-
tion of expenditure to the extent of £10,000,000, and
apply the whole of that sum to the removal of Excise and
Customs duties, than to transfer the same amount from
indirect to direct taxation. Excepting in Liverpool and
a few of our largest trading towns, there is not, at pre-
sent, a very great force of public opinion in favour of
direct taxation. It has yet to be created and organized."
And he concludes his epistle with the rather cut-
ting remark :

(led to say

a very different view

or three words

November, with

Te these

;ed during the

,1 were trans:

ny to those of the
ce the rates on yea-

Total loss on Excise
TAXES.

ty of the borough in

Window Tax—Abolished
Advertisement Duty—Abolished

T extracts from

rive of the pro-
on and of the

Total of Taxes

lged in as to its

11 pro-

dock i

clues be-

Hinted to £lOO or £l5O
Ir. Hugh Hornby.would
the sake of saving £150;

"My sole object has been to give a practical aim to
your valuable efforts, so that at every step you take you
may find yourselves nearer to a defined object, the attain-
ment of which shall be some recompense for the labours
of an agitation which I trust will become national."

hat the

ses to a shil-

,pended on tran-

He is still more severe upon the entire Whig
party—nay, he is positively cruel—in the passage
in which he propounds the large savings at which
he himself would aim, and would advise the asso-
ciation to adopt as the object of tl

now lose a very

ey proceeded

,e estates, they
rt rsv4- "

eir agitation

Ir. Horsfall's own

" I suggest," he says, " that you take for the basis of
your budget the expenditure of 1835. The whole cost of
the Government in that year, including interest of debt,
was £44,422,000. For the twelve months ending the sth
April last, it amounted to £55,175,000, being an increase
of £10,753,000. The interest of the debt was less by
£87,000 in the latter than in the former year, making the
compa ison so much the more unfavourable to 1848. The
estimated expenditure for the current year ending the sth
April, 1849 (see Lord John Russell's speech 18th Febru-
ary last), is £54,596,000 ; so that we may take the in-
crease to be, in round numbers, £10,000,000 since 1835.
—Do you see any good reason why we should not return
to the expenditure of that year ? Englishmen love pre-
cedents ; and they are not easily persuaded that anything
is Utopian or impracticable which has been accomplished
within the last thirteen years ; and this is cue reason,
though I will find you a better, why you should base
your budget upon that of 1835. If we go back a little
further, to the time when this nation was still under the

to the powers given to the Bristol
corporation under the act. They simply entitle
the corporation to tax the ratepayers in aid of the

'eduction made in the due

_.ere is, however,
no clause in the act exempting the docks from
being rated. There is still a beneficial interest in
them, which makes them liable to rates; and in
the case of any failure of the experiment, or any
' '

the municipal

ring of taxing

chants of Bristol

return to ti

Id rates

Do wl

they will•

rule of the boroughmongers, we shall find a startling ar-
gument in favour of this plan. In 1830, the last year of
the Wellington-Peel administration, the expenditure for
all purposes, exclusive of the interest of the debt, was
£18,024,000 ; for the twelve months ending the sth April
of the present year, it amounted to £26,747,000. The
Tory Government was overturned the following year
upon the motion of Sir henry Parnell, in favour of eco-
nomy, and the House of Commons was soon afterwards
reformed, mainly on the plea of its profligate waste of the
people's money ; and yet now we have an increase to the
expenditure of £8,723,000, or nearly 50 per cent., as the
fruits of the Reform Act. We are now actually expend-
ing more upon the army, navy, and ordnance alone, than

t for the maintenance of the whole civil and mill-
zblishments under the Duke of Wellington's go-
vernment ! When these facts shall be generally known,
the country will, I think, be in the Tumour to respond to
your appeal, if you inscribe as your motto upon your
banner The Expenditure of 1835 ;' which will be a reduc-
tion of £10,000,000 from this year's budget."

tar est

, .
The italics are, we presuMe, Mr. 'obden's own :
at all events, we take the whole passage from the
columns of a Whig contemporary of Thursday
last; and the whole does certainly furnish us with
a most unique specimen of the result of Whig
efforts in the way of retrenchment, or, as Mr.
Cobden says himself, " the fruits of the Reform
Act" ! Let us examine, however, how far the
operation proposed is capable of being effected.
Mr. Cobden says that the cost of our warlike
establishments—the estimates for the army, navy,
and ordnance—were £11,657,000 in 1835 and
that in 1847 they were £19,341,000, including a
sum of £1,100,000 for the expense of the Caffre
war, thus shewing an increase (deducting the cost
of the Caffre war, which may be regarded under the
head of extraordinary expenditure) of £6,500,000
in round numbers. Our Reformer would allow
only £10,000,000 per annum as the maximum for all
the three departments. But how would he effect
such a saving ? We apprehend that few sane men,
and certainly no wise statesmen, would advocate
any reduction in the effective force of our army in
the present critical posture of European affairs.
We have not a soldier too many abroad or at home ;

•• axt ..... C:00, LUC pope, wown xinuteu
the flame of revolution throughout Europe. Whig
Radicalism, and its traditionary feebleness, has
kept our fleet idling in the River Plate, the scoff of
a blood-thirsty usurper, the monster Rovs; and
the cruel sacrifice of money, and the lives of our
brave seamen, on the Coast of Africa, which Mr.
Cobden would put down, is also one of the curses
brought upon us by Whig rule. It is Free trade
which has stimulated that accursed traffic; and
the forehead of its Idol, " Cheapness," ought
to be branded with the shame embodied in the fate

of the hundreds of brave fellows who have perished
in the swamps and amidst the foul exhalations of
that pestiferous coast; and of the thousands of
wretched human-beings, who have been sacrificed
in the middle passage, in seeking to avoid the
hypocritical rigour of a nation, which avowedly
tempts the cupidity which leads to the crime, of
which it thus ostentatiously, and at such cruel sac-
rifice, parades its hate.

We find that we were in error in stating that Mr.
Cobden failed to tell us how we are to reduce our
military force. We beg his pardon for even the
minutes misrepresentation of his views, to
It is urged that,
stablished in the

e,
urthen fell advance the interests of the members of the Stock mother country, and our colonies deprived, or about
r, to an Exchange themselves, than any course which they to he deprived, of all protection for their products
to remove ano- can devise to bring about. the healthy and legiti- in the home market, we are to withdraw from them
, and other rateable mate state of things to which we have pointed ; further, their protection by our military forces
. a dock and ware- and we would strongly urge upon all the respecta- against the aggression of Foreign powers, or the
of he contended that, ble members—and they are numerous and strong— savage population of the distant regions; to which,
erest, to persevere earnestly in their efforts to bring' it relying on the paternal character and good faith of
~00n about. Without such a step, we fear that much the British Government, they have transported
er quarter of the town. of the genuine business which has hitherto been their industry. In other words we are to abandon
proposed to be formed brought to the Liverpool Stock Exchange will be our colonies, and leave the millions of British sub;-
-es on its quays, how transferred to a more secure market. We learn jects, our brothers, our friends, and our children,
-.nt produce of the with pleasure that some of our leading bankers, settled in them, to their fate! Such is the patent
merchants, and holders of railway stock, are Manchester mode of ensuring the continued great-
'at that Parlia- anxious to aid in the movement; and we may state ness and power of this nation, and the honour of a
' Why should indeed that, so urgent is the necessity of a reform Sovereign, whose proud boast it is that she rules,
4*- which will give security to share transactions felt in the principles of freedom, over an Empire upon
~,s, to be, that the Committee have been memorialized which the sun never sets !
we from some influential quarters, and the fact dis-
We might spare ourselves the trouble of ex-
'a tinctly stated to them, that the carrying out of plaining the mode in which Mr. Cobden proposes
such a reform is the sine qua non of any future to bestow his reduction of expenditure, at least,
until they are more likely of realization ; for Mrs.
business being transacted by them in this market,
should think there can be little de- ' Glasse's well-known direction, " first catch your
hare," may be well addressed to their promulga-
tor. We give a brief ' sketch of them, however
firstly, because they are somewhat cunningly se-
lected, with a view to catch the sympathies of the
most important sections of the community, and se-
condly, because to many of them we have not the
slightest objection. First, then, Mr. Cobden would
save in retrenchments £10,000,000; and he would
add to this £1,500,000 as the proceeds of the Le-
gacy and Probate duty, upon real and personal
estate, making a total of £11,500,000 to be applied
to the reduction of taxation. We need not say
that we utterly condemn, as both unjust and cruel,
this further assault upon the already severely
.stricken landholder. Where will the selfishness
and rapacity of these men stop ?
Mr. Cobden thus states his reductions :--7
" CUSTOMS DUTIES. LOlB of Revenue.
Tea—Duty to be reduced to one shil-
ling per pound £2,000,000
Timber and Wood—Duty abolished 945,000
Butter, cheese, and upwards of one
hundred smaller items of the ta-
riff—Duties abolished..

516,000

Total loss upon Customs
" EXCISE DUTIES.
Malt—Duty abolished
Hops-- „ „
Soap— „ „
Paper— ~

£3,461,000

£4,260,600
416,000
850,000
720,000

£1,610,000
- 160,000

Total Loss upon Customs, Excise, and Taxes, £11,477,000"
Even we members of the fourth estate, it will be
seen, are not without having a sop thrown to us,
in the shape of an abolition of the duties on paper
and advertisements. With respect to most of the
other imposts, reduced or abolished, some of which,
for instance the duty on tea, and the excise upon
malt, hops, and paper, with the addition of the tax
upon light and ventilation, we may suggest to our
Free-trade Sir Oracle and his friends the question
whether some of them were not more worth their
early attention than some of those duties, protec-
tive of native industry, which they have repealed
within the last few years, had their policy in reality
been directed to secure the permanent happiness
and prosperity of the British people, and especially
of the working and producing masses. But Mrs.
Glasse, after all, must settle the question so for as
Mr. Cobden's scheme is concerned; first get your
financial saving—" first catch your hare !"

ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S SCHOOLS.—The half-yearly exa-
mination of the numerous children attending these
schools took place on Wednesday evening, in the presence
of the parents and other members of the congregation.
The Rev. G. Dover, the painstaking incumbent of the
church, and the Rev. Mr. Powell, his assistant, presided
over the proceedings, and the answers given by the chil-
dren reflected the highest credit on their teachers. Per-
haps in no district of the town is more widespread good
being accomplished than through the instrumentality of
these schools and the religious teaching of the clergymen
in connection therewith.

COLLEGIATE CONCERTS.--These musical reunions,
which proved so eminently attractive and successful last
Christmas, are announced to recommence this day. The
vocalists have been well chosen, and a more popular or
varied selection of music could scarcely have been made.
Amongst the pieces to be performed on this occasion we
notice a beautiful trio—" 0 dolce e taro istante," said
to be an especial favourite with the Duke of Wellington ;
and which, when director of the ancient concerts, he sel-
dom fails to insert in the programme. From the patron-
age which these concerts have already received, there can
be but little doubt of their enabling the directors to pur-
chase an organ for the Lecture Hall, in lieu of the present
one, which the Philharmonic Society intend removing in
February.
CONGLETON GRAMMAR SCHOOL.—This old-established
school is rapidly rising into repute under the energetic
superintendence of the present head master, the Rev. M.
Pugh, of St. Catharine's-hall, Cambridge. The examin-
ation of the pupils this year lasted several days, and was
conducted by the Rev. J. Hughes, Vicar of Congleton ;
the Rev. W. C. Evans, curate; John Wilson, Esq., soli-
citor ; and J. T. Rhodes, Esq., second master of the
Macclesfield Free Grammar School. The distribution of
prizes took place on Wednesday, the 20th instant, in the
nresence of the Mayor and a highly respectable company.
The examiners assisted the Principal in describing the
respective merits of the successful candidates. The first
classical prize was awarded to Master David Tudor James,
son of the Rev. D. James, of Kirkdale.

ST. BARNABAS Sono°Ls.—On Wednesday last the
annual distribution of prizes to the various classes took
place, after which Mr. Trott, the head master, was pre.
sented by the senior boys with " Southey's Book of the
Church," accompanied with the following note :

St. Barnabas School, -Christmas, 1.848.

Dear Friend and kind Instructor,—We, the senior scholars of
St. Barnabas Boys' School, beg your acceptance of " Southey's
Book of the Church," as a te:timony of the esteem we feel for
the unwearied attention you have shown in the capacity of
master ; and we hope that you may be blessed in all your un-
dertakings through life, and reap the fruit of the seed you have
endeavoured to sow, sevenfold into your own bosom. We also
wish that you may be long spared to discharge your present
duties here as our teacher, that by doing your Master's will on
earth, when you are called hence, it may be the summons to a
brighter world, where you will enjoy a crown that fadeth not
away.—Signed on behalf of the first class,

CLEMENT H. HOOPER.
EDWARD WILLIAMS..

Inscription:—Presented to E. H. Trott, by the senior scho-
lars of St. Barnabas Boys' School, as a small token of their
esteem. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a
crown of life."

even Mr. Cobden himself has not the hardihood to THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN AND THE
say that we have. All that he urges is a remark of GOLD OF CALIFORNIA.
Sir Henry Parnell, with respect to the expenditure
In strict fairness, it is not incumbent upon us to enter
of our military departments,—" Fix upon a much
smaller sum, and they must make it answer." The into a controversy with the Manchester Guardian upon
mode is not given us. any new phase of the currency question. Our contem-
The main reduction, it would seem, is to be in porary will remember that there has been a little out-
our naval department. We are to carry out the standing balance for some time due to us. He was to
doctrine of non-interference in foreign affairs. He have shown to us under what circumstances the currency
says :
proposed by the Liverpool Association could be depreci-
" During the whole of last year, a fleet, as formidable
as that required by the Americans to watch over their ated ; and although we forebore with his delay in the
commerce in all parts of the globe, was maintained in the performance of this task, so long as he had, as he said,
Taguq, out of the taxes of the British people, for the ser- " metal more attractive" to deal with, it is rather tres-
vice of the Court and Government of Portugal. At this
moment we have as large a fleet in the straits of Mes-
passing upon our goodnature to lead us into a discussion
sine. engaged in an armed interference between the King I upon a fresh point, connected with the same subject,
of Naples and his Sicilian subj"cts, with no more interest until he has disposed satisfactorily of a former one, which,
or right on our part than the Government of the United by-the-bye, was of his own selecting. We shall not,
States would have to send a squadron off Holyhead, and however, stand upon our privilege, but accommodate our
assume the character of an armed mediator between Eng-
land and Ireland. For three or four years we have had a contemporary with a reply to his fallacies.
fleet in the River Place, interfering in the endless and in- The article in the STANDARD, which called them forth,
nos
explAyricabeansle sq,uandabblwhich has at last ended ies cf the Monte Videans n
ana
ridiculous d the Bue- was one upon the possible effect upon our currency, and
upon British industry, of the recent discovery of vast
failure. I would wish to see our Government spare the
people this useless expense, by simply following the rule, quantities of gold in the valleys of California; in the
observed by individuals, of leaving other nations to settle course of which we asked, "If things go on at this rate,
their quarrels, and minding its own business better." what will be the position of Great Britain, with our pre-
We rather suspect that his own friends, the sent price of gold fixed at £3 17s. 10d. per ounce ?"
', and their Foreign secretary, Lord Palmers-
and showed, on the authority of the reports from Arne-
ton, will have to bear much of the blame of the rica, that " a sailor, in two months' working, realizes
expenditure thus created. We cannot forget the from 4142,000 to £l,OOO, or from £433 to £650," wh:ch is
quadruple treaty, and the armed intervention equal to the average remuneration of " from 856 to 1300
on, weeks labour of the British artizan." We pass over the
which placed Queen Isabella upon an unstable Guardian's preliminary flourish, which is in his usual
mheprtiboins,asasnedrtipornosc,eseec?liatotimd.eal with his argu-
tmoennet so, for a srsaut
throne; the intrigues of our envoy at the Court of
" If people go on gathering gold by handfuls in the valleys I
Rome, the effect of which was that movement of
of California, what is to become of us? Porh'^" ---
move sump nt i,,^ ~..._ • -

tne apprehensions which on
sppears to entertain on this head, by informir

vvisilal Ile It
ing their brains to bnng about, name!

:o.ntemmirary

the world will have to be determined
harvest at the Ural Mour
in the same way as we

ifornia; and elsewhere,'

The misrepresentation in the paragraph, is the assertion Lena"
that we, and the Liverpool Currency Reform Association, lows
are seeking to bring about `• a diminution in the value of
John's, Cro
wick ; St.
money." We are doing no such thing. We are only
seeking to prevent that fluctuation in its value, and alter-
nate and undue expansion and contraction in its sup-'
which take place under our present system.
" If a spade or a pickaxe is now worth ten cm-

I known

r.,_.. ''' ant
uantornia, it is because spades and pickaxes are scarze, and
gold is plentiful "—Manchester Guardian.
A repetition of the admission made above

Jeswick, an

Witness went to

se9uent rise in the value of commo-
s.;;Zi:iYA;;Vra tuii
Guardtan. ye taKen 'miler the pretence of carrying on the provisicin ditie
trade. After getting possession of the shop, they were to
Here we have, first, an admission, and next a misre- bore under the ground so as to get to the gas works yards,
presentation. ( old—our inflexible and unerring stan- to place five cwt. of gunpowder under the boring, blow up
dard of value—is admitted to h. /I .n,6..., -,__ the gas work, sand atilt tbn, I I

aunnttea to oe a mere commodity after I°C gas works, and put the town in complete darkness.
all, subject to the same laws of supply and demand as Several persons were appointed to superintend this, and
INl`Donough was to act as their leader. A resolution was
other commodities, and consequently unfit for the task it
has to perform as the basis of a currency. Tt may be agreed to on the motion of Cropper, seconded by Downey.
_L_

rnarxets of ue dppoinreu ro secrete tti
watching the the churches, and to be_provided with im

Inselves in

re then to be

ers were appointed for particular churches, as fol.
-St. George's Church, Scofield ; St.. Paul's, Chad-
Ann's, Donovan ; St. Mary's, Leech ; St.

Is,o the canal

Lecturers were