The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-07-29 00:00:00

THREATS OF DISFRANCHISEMENT.

ANY simple individual who does not know that
the Times newspaper is truculent and unprincipled,
will, probably, be very much astonished to hear
that " Queen Anne is dead." It is a story very
well known, that, when a small clique, chiefly con-
nected with one family, who once ruled that most
corrupt of all assemblies, the Irish Parliament,
could not silence a prudent patriot with a reason-
able bribe, they employed a certain famous bully
to pick a quarrel and shoot him. This gentleman
was called Count, or, more frequently, Billy C—;
and they were accustomed to say, after sinecures,
commissionerships, and hard cash had failed to
silence the patriot—" It is no use trying any more,
we must set Billy at him." Now, the Times is the
Billy C-7 of the Radicals and Free-traders.
When a member becomes unexpectedly consci-
entious; when a constituency chooses to judge for
itself; nay, as in Talfourd's", case, when a judge
honestly keeps his oath and administers the law,
they " set Billy at 'em." At present, accordingly,
" Billy" is employed in threatening the short,
simple, and constitutional remedy of disfranchise-
ment for any borough that presumes to return a
Protectionist. Nothing less is to be the punish-
ment for not supporting the Whigs, and Scarborough
especially is marked out for the first victim, because
it has thrown out a carpet lord of the household
and returned a Protectionist member. The
Times does not condescend to tell us how this
disfranchisement is to be7accomplished—whether,
like James IL, Lord John Russell proposes to
resume charters, or whether it will be done simply
by refusing to issue writs. The mode, however, is
not important, since the awful blow must fall
somewhere—that is to say, as soon as the Whigs
have the power to inflict it. Of course, the rule on
which the disfranchisement: is to proceed is to be
quite clear and simple. As long as such excellent
and obedient spots as Arundel choose to take
orders by electric telegraph as to whom they shall
return, they will be left quietly and at their ease. In
the same way, the vivacious Foreign Secretary will
continue to reflect the opinions of the conscientious
and scrupulous electors of Tiverton ; while no such
horrible suggestion has ever taken place as the
idea of disturbing the Russells in the representa-
tion of the select and genteel party called the
constituency of Tavistock. Nay, Sudbury itself,
if it had not fallen upon such evil days, might
have hoped to retrieve itself by electing a discon-
solate Free-trader ; and much-imperilled St.
Alban's, whose exiled electors the Sergeant-at-
Arms found on the sands of Boulogne, sighing at
the sight of Dover Cliff, may still relieve itself
from its danger, as it has not returned a Protec-
tionist.

Now, is it at all tolerable that any newspaper,
prompted by any desperate and dying faction,
should have the audacity to threaten such a con-
stituency as that of Scarborough with disfranchise-
ment, because it had acted on its conscientious
convictions ? Of Mr. George Frederick Young we
offer no opinion. We do not rate his ability too
high, nor his consistency overmuch ; but he has
placed himself forward in the Conservative ranks,
and has a knack of speechmaking ; while Lord
Mulgrave, as becomes the son of " the elegant
Normanby," directs his ambition to a household
place, to teach the duties of which a dancing-
master would be much more appropriate than a
statesman. If Scarborough people voted for a
principle, their testimony is still the more valuable;
and, doubtless, they may rest at ease about being
disfranchised till the meeting of the first Russell-
Chartist parliament.

ANOTHER TESTIMONY OF THE PEERS.
To have heard the debate in the House of Lords
on the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, must have reminded
the auditor of the good old days before the Whigs
were tempted with office, and when they thought
that liberality consisted in petting Popery, and liberty
in "emancipating" a certain order of the Irish, so
that they might vote according to their conscience,
viz.,—as the Priest's will directed them. To be sure,
there was some little change of place among the
old familiar voices of the once juvenile Whigs.
Spring Rice metamorphosed into Lord Monteagle,
having nothing more to hope for, fell into his second
childhood of patriotism, and talked of religious
liberty, and gross oppression, as he used to do
thirty years ago, before he sold the Irish Roman

Catholics for a place. Lord Lansdowne, however,
it appears, preferred his place to the old clap-trap;
as did also the good-natured Clanricarde, who,
doubtless, lamented the necessity of voting against
anybody or anything. For the arguments used
on all sides, what can be said, seeing that they have
been re-produced so often ? There was on the side
of England and the Reformed Religion the same
noonday light of obvious duty and common sense :
and, on the side of Rome, the same old fallacies,
and the same apparent unconsciousness that any
principle was involved in the matter. The Duke
of Newcastle told the House that, as Vicars Apostolic
were merely removable by the Pope's own motion,
and as Bishops can only be deprived by Canon Law,
and for a canonical offence, therefore we ought to
be glad to have Bishops instead of Vicars Apostolic.
The Duke of Newcastle seems to be interestingly
ignorant of the mode of enforcing Canon Law. Does
he not know that the Bishop as well as the Vicar
Apostolic would be tried in Rome; and that "who
enters there leaves hope behind ?" Men have little
idea of the actual condition of Rome, under the
despotism of the Priests, who talk of trifling with
the Canon Law as a defence of innocence. Mr.
Whiteside, the Queen's Counsel, in his book on
Italy, tells us he met a Roman noble, come some
time to the age cf manhood, who had never seen
the sea, not having been able to obtain permission
from the priestly government to leave the city.
What a safeguard must any law be under such a
government !

But there is something deeper than politicians of
the stamp of the present Duke of Newcastle think
proper to acknowledge—principle. Why should a
nation that made no cowardly nor unmeaning pro-
test against the Roman superstitions bargain and
chaffer with an imbecile foreign Priest, as to
whether he will give to us emissaries more mis-
chievous or less ; or why, if it pleases Dr. Wiseman
to sneak at the eleventh hour, and drop, for a time,
both " the Flaminian-gate" and Billinsgate, are we
to accept the repentance and place in his hands the
means of insolence again ?
Lord Monteagle was an unfortunate advocate of the
Roman Catholics. He said that no government dare
enforce the penalties against Popish Priests falsely
assuming the titles of real Bishops; and he instanced
the supineness of all administrations, since 1830,
in that behalf in Ireland. His lordship seems to
forget that Sir Frederick Thesiger has taken care
that no such supineness need occur in future, except
the whole people are as supine as the Attorney-
General ; and, even in Ireland, where Lord Mont-
eagle threatens a civil war, (an " Irish rebellion !"
we know what that is,) we mistake the Pro-
testants of that country if a private prosecutor be
wanting to crush the Cullens and MI-Tales. The
Romish party in the House of Lords have not even
found such support as to make up decent minorities;
and both the second reading, and the clauses in
committee, attempted to be disturbed, have been
carried by enormous majorities. If the House of
Commons, this session, has signalized itself by
doing nothing. the House of Lords has done nobly.

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY AND CANADA.
The adage " Aides-toi et Dieu t'aidera," or, as it
is sometimes rendered, " God blesses self-relying exertion,
and enables it to succeed," was never more fully verified
than in the case of the projected Great Western Railway
of Canada, the report of which occupies so large a portion
of our space this week. That the undertaking is one of
great national importance, there cannot be a shadow of a
doubt ; and this opinion is corroborated by the testimony
of the chief railway authorities in England, and as well as
in the United States, who have admitted it to be the best
and most direct line of communication even with New
Orleans, but more particularly with St. Louis, in Mis-
souri, Chicago, in Illinois, and the whole of the far west.
Our readers will, probably recollect that this undertaking
was brought forward during the busy scene of 1845 ; and
the public would then have gladly taken up the stock, had
not Mr. George Hudson and ten other railway magnates
at once become possessed of it ; and though these gentle-
men afterwards sold a large portion of the scrip at a con•
siderable premium ; yet, in consequence of their other
heavy responsibilities, they felt unable to keep faith with
the people in Canada, and, with one or two honourable
exceptions, took no further interest in the matter. Smart-
ing under such treatment, the Canadians applied to the
provincial parliament for additional privileges, which they
obtained, and were thus no longer compelled to rely on
foreign aid. Indeed, the charter, as it now stands, is con-
sidered as the most valuable one ever granted by a parlia-
ment; for so impressed was Lord Elgin's government
with the importance of the immediate construction of this
great artery of communication through Western Canada,
that they bound the province to advance its bonds
bearing six per cent. interest to the Great Western Rail-
road, to complete the last half of the line the moment the
first half is completed, should this be thought to be for
the interest of the stockholders.

The Americans, as we now see, finding themselves
unable to dispute the position of the Canadians, or the
local advantages with which nature has endowed their
line, have become fired with admiration and sympathy for
their neighbours on the north side of the St. Lawrence,
and are anxious to assist them in the spirited and inde-
pendent movement. But, much as we admire the liberality
of Brother Jonathan, and grateful as the Canadians ought
to feel towards him, we should be both grieved and disap-
pointed to think that a foreign state should have the entire
control of a railway passing through a British territory;
and it would say little for the patriotism of our English
capitalists were they to permit it. The case stands thus :
The Canadians have taken one-half of the 40,000 shares of
£2O each ; the Americans have taken the 10,000 shares
offered to them ; and the question now is—will the mother
country take the remaining 10,000 shares ?
Not only from our own knowledge, but on the authority
of the chief railway authorities in England, as well as in
the United States, we believe all the statements as to the
existing and prospective traffic, population, &c., are to be
implicitly relied on. Indeed, a glance at the map shows
that, if any line in America can pay, this, which is at once
a main artery for the province of Upper Canada, and a
link in the great line from the Atlantic ports of New
York and Boston to the great western states, ought to do
so The chief point with gentlemen in England will be,
as it was with ourselves, whether the estimates as to cost,
construction, and working, opposed as they are to all our
English experience, are to be relied on. The broad fact is,
that English railways have averaged more than £30,000 a
mile, and hardly ever have been constructed under £15,000,
while in America they have only averaged about £4OOO, and
thousands of miles have been completed for between
£2OOO and £3OOO, while the highest cost of those in the
old settled and populous districts, such as Boston to
Lowell, has only been £lO,OOO to £15,000.
Moreover, an American railway is quite a different
thing from an English one. Firstly, —You have the
act of incorporation and land almost for nothing. Then,
you have an unlimited supply of timber almost for nothing
on the spot, of which all bridges, viaducts, &c., are very
cheaply made. Stations are mere wooden sheds. The
line is laid on a sort of framework of wood, with longi-
tudinal timbers and cross sleepers, and great speed not
being required, much less iron is wanted, so that 40 to
501bs. per yard is a common allowance for rails even on
the principal lines. Then, again, the bulk of the traffic
is through traffic for long distances, requiring very few
trains, and consequently little rolling stock and expense
to work. The principal railways only run two or three
trains a day, where we should run twelve or fifteen. All
this applies strongly to the Great 'Western Railway of
Canada. It is a very easy line to make, running for the
greater part of its distance over a level plateau, with
no range of hills, great rivers, or ravines to cross,
and plenty of timber; the bulk of its traffic would
go with one clear run from end to end, two hundred
and twenty-six miles, and would probably be worked with
two passenger and one or two goods trains each way daily;
so that a plant of one hundred thousand pounds would
suffice, and an average per tentage of working expenses of
about the same amount as on the American lines of which
it formed a link, or less than 40 per cent. Another result
of this concentration of the business in a few trains, and
of the moderate speed required, is, that you can work
great distances with a single line, with the electric tele-
graph and occasional passing places. We have the
highest English railway authority for saying that there is
no doubt this line can be made for £5,000 to £6,000 per
mile, and it must, therefore, at once pay handsomely ;
while in the future the increase in the value of such a
property can only be measured by the progress of
wealth and population in the district it traverses in Canada
and in the north-western states of Michigan, Winsconsin,
Illinois, and lowa, to which it must always be the
thoroughfare from New York and Boston.
We understand that a meeting of gentlemen will take
place in Manchester next week, for the purpose of inau-
gurating the movement. We need scarcely add that it
has our best wishes, as we feel assured it will also have of
every man, be he Briton or American, who takes the
trouble to examine the map, or give due consideration to
the hide detailed in the report appended thereto,

COMMERCIAL AND MONETARY NEWS.

Monday Night.

Our Share Market during the past week has presented
a more healthy appearance. Prices generally have ad-
vanced, and business has been more active, a greater
disposition to buy, on the part of the public, having been
manifested. The market this evening closes at the best
of the week, and there are evident symptoms of stock
being very scarce for the approaching settlement. We
annex this day's quotations:—Chester and Birkenhead,
15k £22-shares, 71d ; Caledonian, 10.1; East Lanca-
shire, 141 ; Old Leeds. 491 S n•' London stock, 1231 L;
Da. new Quarters, 3:1 P ; Midlands, 40 391 41 ; Do..
Halves, 211 d ; Old Dowers, 21 a 1 1 ; York,Newc
and Berwick pref unpnid up, 31d ; York and North Mid-
land, 18k.
With the exception of that of the Brighton Company,
when a dividend of £1 16s. per cent. for the half-year
was declared, the railway meetings of the week have bees
of a secondary character. The Scottish Central share-
holders have agreed to sanction the creation of a 5 per
cent. preErence stock to the amount of £170,000. The
directors of the North Staffordshire Company propose to
declare a dividend of 2s. 6d. per share.
Thera is a gloom over the commercial markets which it
is difficult to account for, but though prices are generally
low, there is a large consumption going forward which
will, ultimately, tell upon the stocks. Since Friday there
has been more inquiry for sugar, and 2,000 bags of Ben-
gal and 2UO Mids. of W.I. have found buyers. 400 pun-
cheons of Antigua molasses have been sold, to arrive, at
165., and 200 puncheons I3arbadoes, ex ship, at 15s. 6d.
There was more inquiry for Cotton on Friday and
Saturday, and 20,000 bales changed hands at rather higher
prices. To-day there has been less life in the market, and
prices have been barely supported. The weather conti-
nues fine for the coming crop.
The arrivals of breadstuffs into Liverpool and Runcorn
on Friday and Saturday last were :-4,107 qrs. Wheat;
630 qrs. Malt ; 150 qrs. Oats ; 290 qrs. Beans ; 6,008 qrs..
Indian Corn ; 152 loads Oatmeal ; 140 sacks and 8,314
barrels Flour.

The money market at New York continued well sup—
plied, notwithstanding the extensive exportations of bul—
lion.

The bullion in the Bank of England has again decreased,
the difference, according to the last return, being £154,608,
of which a proportion may be accounted for by payments
of coin in small amounts to dividend recipients, whilst
probably the larger part was taken for exportation, as it
is known that gold was still being sent abroad. It roar
be mentioned that money has been more in demand in the
metropolis during the last few days in the general loatt
and discount market, and though no alteration in the
bank minimum rate need be immediately apprehended, it
is the speck in the commercial horizon that should be
taken timely note of.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

LONDON, MONDAY NIGHT.

- - ---
ELECTION OF SHERIFFS FOR THE CITY OF LONDON.—•
Mr. Richard Swift, a Roman Cathglic, was to-day elected
sheriff without opposition.

. .
AUSTRALIA MINING COMPANY.—The annual meeting•
was held to-day, and reports adopted. The directors
entertained favourable views concerning the ultimate suc—
cess of the adventure.

THE ECLIPSE TN LONDON.—The eclipse began to be
visible at three minutes past two this afternoon ; but the
gloomy and rainy state of the weather prevented any par—
ticular observations. The greatest darkness was at eleven
minutes past three, when the eclipse amounted to an.
observation of about nine-tenths of the sun's surface.
After that time it began to go away, and at fifteen mi_
nutes past four it had entirely disappeared.
PORTSMOUTH, SUNDAY.—The Meander, Capt. Kettle,
arrived at Spithead this morning from Rio Janeiro, bring—
ing specie to the value of 160,000 dollars.
PARIS, SUNDAY.—LittIe done in the funds to-day, but
there was an advance of 15 centimes. Fives being done at
95 70. There would appear a prospect of ample occupa—
tion for the working classes of Paris during the present
aulumn.

DENMARK, 25Tri.—The Senate has placed several.
almost prohibitive restrictions on the transports of emi—
grants by the agents of British shipowners. The Senate
has also requested the Prussian government to adopt
similar restrictive and hostile measures ; and it is stated
that the city of Bremen proposes to follow up the example
set by the city of Hamburgh.
SPAIN.—MADRID, JULY 22.—1 t was confidently
asserted at Madrid that Mazzini's proclamations had beat
widely circulated in that city, recommending that the
Spanish demagogues be prepared to act at the first
signal, as the time is approaching for the overthrow of all
the thrones of Europe. It was believed, however, that
such incendiary publications would have but little effect
amongst the population.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
YESTERDAY.—The Commons met at twelve o'clock
in the new houses, when several bills of little public im-
portance were advanced a st,ge. The house was then.
adjourned until five o'clock in the evening.
At the evin.ng sitting, Mr. V. SMITH gave notice of
his intention to move next session, that the house resolve
itself into committee to consider the expediency of abo-
lishing all the oaths except the oath of allegiance.
THE CASE OP Mn. SALOMONS.—The SPEAKER read
a letter from Mr. Salomons, intimating that two actions
for penalties had been directed against him for having
taken his seat and voted.—Sir B. HALL moved that the
house comply with the prayer of the petition presented
from the electors of Greenwich, and allow them to be
heard by counsel at the bar of the house.—The ATTOR-
NEY-GENERAL opposed the motion ; the question had
already been amply discussed, and it was scarcely possible
that any new light could be thrown on the sul ject.—Mr.
ANSTEY supported the motion.—Sir F. THESIGER op-
posed it, and remarked that the Greenwich petition
was itself objectionable, since it assumed that the House
was interfering with the rights of the electors choosing
their own representative; whereas it was only taking care
that the persons elected were properly qualified.—
Mr. Villiers, Mr. Newde,gate, Sir J. Hanmer, Sir R. H.
Inglis, Mr. Aglionby, and Lard J. Russell having spoken,
a division was taken, when the numbers were—For Sir
B. Hall's motion, 75 ; against it, 135 ; majority, 60.
Mr. R. CURRIE then stated that he would not trouble the
house to divide upon the similar petition from the electors
of the City of London.—Mr. ANSTEY said that he would
not allow the matter to drop in that irresolute manner,
and moved that the prayer of the petition be granted.—
After a short discussion, in which Mr. Currie, Mr.
Osborne, Mr. Hobhouse, and others participated, the
house divided, and the motion was negatived by 77 to 41.

LONDON MONEY AND SHARE MARKETS-YESTERDAY.

CLOSING PRICES,

Consols Account, Money, 969 ; Three-and-a-Quarter per
4C7e nsot sp. ~98.
T 9 ;h
ellmanakriS,
et
to cbk
e,
t2t
el i
r 6
for; Exchequer Foreign s Stocks
loc3ki I s L
:,
:‘i.exanicrlanss.:
309 1 ; Spanish Actives, 21 4 ; Ditto Thiees, 38 3 ; Ditto Pas-
sives, 6 4. Railway Shares: London Stock, 1234 9; Ditto
Quarters, 39 4 pm. ; Midland Stock, 40 3; Ditto Halves, 21 204
dia.; North Staffordshire, 99 3 dis.; South Eastern and Dover,
223 ; Caledonians, 103 8 ; Ditto Preference, 63 9; Ambergate,
Nottingham, and Eastern Junction, 43 8- Eastern Counties,
6 3 ; East Anglian, 29 3; East Lancashire, 144 9; Great North-
ern, 17 i; Great Western, 833 49 ; Lancashire and Yorkshire,
49 3 ; Ditto Fifths, 9 83 die.; London, Brighton, and South
Coast, 94 5; Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln, 27 8; York,
Newcastle, and I3erwick, 183 3; Ditto Preference, 69 3 dis.;
York and North Midland, 184 9.
English market good, but with little doing. Railway Shares
improved from the flat appearance of Saturday, closing at not
quite their best, the market having shown great fluctuation,
especially in Midlands and Leeds Stock. Continuations
will be on heavy stocks particularly light. Dealers are in ge-
neral short of stock.

MANCHESTER SHARE MARKET.-YESTERDAY.

The following were the closing prices:—London Stock,
122 k; East Lancashire, 14 3-16; Lancashire and Yorkshire,
48i; London £lO Shares, M. and B. C., n pm.; Great
Northern, 17; South-Eastern and Dover, 21 15-16 I.

LONDON CORN MARKET-YESTERDAY.

The show of English Wheat at market this morning is mode-
rate; millers are cautious, and on the whole trade is quiet, at
about the currency of Monday last. Foreign is firm, at former
terms. Arrivals of Barley scarce, and fully as dear. Flour
moved off rather slowly, but former terms were well main-
tained. Peas and Beans each unchanged. Arrivals of English
Oats scanty, but, the supply of Foreign being large, light and
inferior descriptions are the turn lower. Harvest operations
have commenced in various parts of Kent and Sussex.