The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-08-23 00:00:00

TO OUR READERS.

We this day present our subscribers, and the readers of
•the STANDARD generally, with a pamphlet, containing
a full report of the evidence given before the last Com-
mittee of the House of Commons on the Liverpool
elections. If any subscriber is disappointed, through
the negligence of the carriers, we have to request that
they make an early application at the office. Copies
are sent out with every paper.

the Llbtrpool retanbarb.

FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST 23, 1833.

By the Sparrow cutter, which arrived at Falmouth on
he afternoon of the 19th instant, we have received,
through our correspondent at Falmouth, the following
information

"On the sth, when the Sparrow left Lisbon, every thing was
quiet as fai as the city was concerned, but intelligence had
reached that Cadoval, with 4100 men,who had retired from Lis-
bon, had assembled at Torres Vedras, about twenty miles from
Lisbon, where they had fixed their quarters evidently for the
purpose of making some movement when they had sufficiently
augmented their force. Don Pedro was most actively engaged,
and doing various acts of liberality to make himself popular
with the lower orders. Napier's squadron was refitting and
nearly ready for sea.
"At Oporto, on the 11th instant, things had assumed a very
different aspect, Boutilnont• having-raised the siege on the Bth,
and with ail his forces retired from the scene of action. Sal-
danha was possession of the northern lines, and the consti-
tutional flag was flying on the late Miguelite batteries. It is,
however, supposed that Bounnont's retreat from Oporto is in-
tended as a manoeuvre to draw out the Pedroite forces, and
that should he not succeed in that, he will march direct for Lis-
bon, which in the present state he would not find much difficul-
ty in taking, especially as he would be joined by the troops at
Torres Vedras, who are all well equipped and ready for an en-
counter.

"igolillo.'s forces were at Santarem, and some of them had
deserted to Don Pedro, steamers having been sent up from
Lisbon to bring all the deserters down.
"This important movement on the part of Bourinont will
either settle the warfare or cause a strange alteration in the
state of the question at issue. Should Lisbon be retaken by
the Miguelites, Don Pedro will be placed iu an awkward situa-
tion, and will be obliged to take refuge on board of his vessels
now lying in the Tagus, unless, indeed, the English squadron
should interfere and land the marines for the protection of
Lisbon."

In this position of affairs it may readily be believed
that the inhabitants of Lisbon are in a state of great
consternation. Don lkliouEL's - troops are now com-
manded by an experienced and skilful General; the
People still adhere to the younger Prince ; the clergy
have embraced his cause ; the nobles are deeply inter-
ested in his fortunes, and a desperate and sanguinary
atrugg!e is inevitable. It. remains to be seen, however,
what part the British Admiial will take in the contest.
Should he land his marines, as is expected, then to the
horrors of civil war will be added the calamities of fo-
reign invasion, and the conflict will not entirely be
between the foreign mercenaries of Pedro and the people
°l. Portugal, but between the regular forces of England
and a Spanish army. The British men of war in the
Tagus are -the Asia, .84, (of Navarino celebrity) Tala-
vera, 74, Donegal, 74, Stag, 46, Fair Rosamond and
Viper schooners. Off Oporto and in the Douro we
have the Belvidera, Castor, Nimrod, Savage, Orestes,
Nautilus, and Echo steamer.

We yesterday received a file of New York papers to
the 25th ult. ; but we are saved the trouble of wading
through them by the following obliging intimation in the
New York Gazette:—" The newspapers for some days
have been extremely barren."

The fullowitt art the Only extracts which possess
interest

" We are informed, says the Cincinnati Republican, of the
12th instant, that the cholera has again broken out with in-
creased violence at Mayesville.

• " In Cincinnati, during the week preceding the 10th instant,
there were fifty-eight burials—twenty-four of cholera—Catholics
not ineluded.

"NEW ORLEANS, JULY iZ—The interments on the sth inst.,
at the Catholic Cemetery, were 6, and at the Protestant 2;—
total 8. On the 6th, at the Catholic Cemetery 2, and at the
Protestant 3;—total 5.
" Our city was visited last Saturday by violent thunder and
lightning. Several buildings were struck by the electric fluid,
among which, we understand, was the Customhouse, the Ma-
riner's Church, the Presbytery, a. kitchen in St. Ann-street,
and a house in Bayou-street, the roof of which, in consequence,
fell in. None of the other buildings were materially injured.
We have not heard of any lives being lost, or any further da-
mage being done."

.The following is from. a Montreal paper, of date the
13th. July

"THE CROPS.—Never to our knowledge have we seen better
prospects for a rich and beautiful harvest, than at present.
Our farmers have commenced reaping their wheat, which we
learn is very good. The prospect for corn was never better.
The hemp crop presents only a tolerable prospect at present,
owing to the ravages of the cut worm. Some of the hemp
growers in this country hail to sow as often as three times,
before they could get their hemp to stand.--7-Farmer's Adrocate."

The London papers announce that the KING has open-
ed to the public the beautiful and romantic grounds which
environ Virginia Water, in the neighbourhood of Wind-
sor; but has his MAJESTY been told that once open, these
grounds must remain open for ever? This is the fact.
The people of London are admitted to St. James's Park,
to Kensington Gardens, and other places, by royal suf.-
ferance ; but the people,.nevertheless, believe that they
have a right to these parks; and it would be a danger-
ous experiment at this time of day to shut their gates
against the " dear public." The woods and walks which
enclose Virginia Water were the only private pleasure
grounds of the Royal Family, and these being now
thrown open to the visits of the gaping cockneys, who
have as much taste for the picturesque as a cow has for a
boat race, the. KING has not an acre of shrubbery
left which, in the private enjoyment thereof, he can call
his own. Whoeter advised his MAJESTY to this act cf
liberality are not inspired with "absolute wisdom," for it
will soon be attributed to any thing but the true motive ;
and the citizens of London will consider the concession
as a new symptom of the decline of the monarchy, and
the triumph of the majesty of the people over the majesty
of the KING.

We are sorry to see Lord GREY exhibit, as he has too
often done recently, symptoms. which indicate the ap-
proach of second childhood, or those " thick coming fan-
cies," which neither leech nor priest can cure. On the
report of the slavery abolition bill being brought up on
Monday night, Lord WYNFORD proposed a clause to the
etfeet " that no sugar, the produce of countries in which
slavery existed, should be received in the British cloud-
t'i°ns." Lord GREY opposed the clause on the ground
that " it would affect trade" !
The slave traders of Brazil and other foreign countries
must be very much indebted to the noble earl for his ten-
der regard for their private interests; but charity begins
at home ; and if he had shown the same tenderness for
the interests of the planters and proprietors of the Bri•
tish West Indies, they would not now be struggling for
an existence, or glad to accept a mere pittance of com-
pensation for that once valuable property which is now
rendered all but worthless by the insane measures of
Lord GREY'S Government.
" Affect trade," indeed! This is the only time in which
trade or the general interests of his country ever entered
into the calculations of this now doting and superannuated
statesman. If he had considered the interests of trade,
he never would have sanctioned a measure which strikes
a more fatal blow at it than any ever introduced or. re-
corded in the parliamentary history of England. In
short, this is the first time that any argument based upon
the
national prosperity has been used in the discussion of
e slave question. The exclamation of the anti-colotial
(action has br

nciple is every-

thing !" That principle is, "that man can have no pro-
perty in man." Slavery, they tell us, is a deadly sin, as
well in those who encourage as in those who permit it.
It is, they tell us, a stain upon the national character, a
violation of the Divine law, an outrage upon Christian
morals, a reproach, an offence, a crime, and fifty other
horrible things which we have no time or pa,tience to
enumerate.

Be it so, gentlemen,—be it so ! We never contradict
madmen, or idiots. For the sake of peace, and in
commiseration of human frailty, we admit all that you
say. But what has this to do with Lord WYNFORD'S mo-
tion or Lord GREY'S drivel ? The clause proposed by the
learned lord was in favour of your principle as you call
it. You have suppressed slavery in our British colonies,
and Lord WYNFORD was desirous that you should not
contaminate your philanthropy or blear your conscien-
ces by encouraging slavery in foreign countries, nor that
you should increase the miseries of the slave by import-
ing and consuming the sweets of his compulsory labour.

Further than this we decline reasoning with the tri-
umphant emancipators of the West India negroes. The
freedom of the slaves is already decreed-by the high wis-
dom of Parliament. In fact they are already free. It is
in vain to blink a fact which the arrivals of the next month
or two will confirm. But we hold, and shall continue to
hold the advocates of this emancipation to their " prin-
ciples." There must be no child's play, no trickery, no
sophistry, no equivocation; no stealing, under the lamp,
no fraud in the dark, no chicanery, no sleek hypocrisy or
sly dishonesty on their part, now that the worst has come
to the worst, and the Parliament of Great Britain has de-
clared that slavery in the colonies is incompatible with
the constitutional liberty of England. Mr. WILBERFORCE
is in his grave, but he will speak from his shroud when
appealed to in defence of the universality of English free-
darn, and the duty which devolves upon the nation to e2c7 -
terminate that crime in the alien which has been expir
ated by ,his countrymen. Lord GREY advocates the now
revolting doctrine that, to exclude sugar, the produce of
foreign slave labour, would be to injure " trade." He and
his colleagues have proved that the time has gone by
to talk of trade or...interest as affecting a great principle.
The imbecility on the part of Lord GREY we forgive, for
reasons 'which we have previously assigned; but
we still take leave to assert that the importation o
sugars 'made by foreign slaves would be a ten-mil-
lion times greater sin than the importing it from
our West India colonies, under the sanction of acts
of parliament which imposed many difficulties in the
way of its abrogation. It is not for us to say how
foreign governments may feel disposed to act, should
their sugar, or other slave products, be prohibited. Eng-
land owes them nothing, asks nothing from them, and of
course is not bound to be a participator in that trade which
she
,has pronounced to be criminal. For the future,
therefore, there must be no sugars imported from the
Brazils, or from any of the free republics of South Ame-
rica, by the moral people of Great Britain. Having
prohibited the wrong on the part of our kinsmen, we
must not encourage it on the part of the stranger. As
Christians we cannot recognize the Hebrew law, and do
that with the alien which it would be unlawful to do with
those of our own union—of our own house and faith.
As BUXTON has brewed, so he must drink. We shall
tolerate no law to the contrary. Lord WYNFORD'S nio-
tion may be defeated, but the principle of his proposi-
tion must be recognized ; and it amounts to this, that.
what is'condenmed at home, as an offence in the sight
of Heaven, must not be encouraged, for the sake of
trade, when it is carried on by foreigners.
In the philanthropic intricacies of this discussion we
have forgotten the tontemptible drivelling of Lord GREY;
but as these are excusable on grounds which it would be
invidious to mention, we charitably leave him to his own
reflections, as we leave those who have aided and abetted
him in experimentalising upon the commercial policy
of the country, experiments that have, already led to the
extinction of credit, and are sure to involve us in na-
tional bankruptcy.

The despicable shifts to whiCh the present administra-
tion -have--had- recourse, under the pretext of protecting
the revenue, but in reality to squeeze as much money
out of the pockets of the people as possible, in order to
meet the expenditure incurred by Lord DURHAM'S mis-
sion, the Russian loan job, and the travelling expenses
of law jobbers and factory commissioners—these tricks
and shifts, we say, are notorious. The opening of • let-
ters in the Postoflice—the hunting after parcels—the,
peeping into newspapers, and charging a quadruple
postage for " all's well," or " God bless you,"—all this
sort of work is so mean and scandalous, so shabby and
inquisitorial, that we are quite sure it would not be to-
lerated
in a German province, nor indulged in by the
neediest keeper of an English turnpike-gate. If the
Duke of RICHMOND, who, the Whigs say, is the sole
author of this pettifogging, imagines that he can prop
the revenue by such mousetrap and cheeseparing
modes of finance, he cannot be blessed with any super-
abundance of intellect. The noble duke may not be the
author of these practices; in which case we beg to in
form
.him that he cannot too soon disclaim them; for
his excellent colleagues have taken immense pains to
make him the scapegoat, by representing his grace as
the only resPonsible•party.
It is not in the Postoffice alone that the needy system,
and the maxims of the old women who gather offid in
the street, are held in high esteem and are in full play.
In the Customs and Excise—in the Stamp department—
in the Tax office—the same miserable policy is pursued,
and a legion of sharks are employed in extracting milk
from paving stones, silver sixpences from old nails, and
golden eggs from pigs born at sea. The ministers,
themselves resemble the unhappy hypochondriack, who
fancies that every man he meets intends to rob him,
without for a moment reflecting that he has nothing on
his back or in his pockets worth the stealing. Ignorance
produces in the minister what disease does in the hypo-
chondriack. They are totally ignorant of official duties;
and, in order to compensate for this ignorance, they
readily listen to the suggestions of quacks and jobbers
who assure them that a thousand a-year may be saved
here, and five hundred there, and two or three hundred
somewhere else, by means of a little " sharp practice."
The object of such toad-eaters is purely selfish. They
want emplpyment iand they know that the surest way
to obtain it:is'to convince the ignoramus of a minister
that he can save money by availing himself of their ser-
vices. It is chiefly from this source that the Customs
and other national establishments are pestered with a
new race of inquisitors who raise the most vexatious ob-
stacles in the way of business, impede commerce, and
invent difficulties which were never contemplated by the
legislature or the revenue boards.

This " sharp practice" having either entirely failed, or
being about to be abandoned as unproductive, especially
in some departments, the Ministers have resolved to try
their hands at fiscal legislation. The time chosen for
this last new experiment is the present moment, the fag
end of the reformed Parliament, when independent mem-
bers have generally left town, and when few remain but
the place hunters, the city solons, and the serviles. At
this dull and convenient juncture, Mr. SPRING RICE has
been ordered to bring in a bill, the professed object of
which is to prevent the sale of forged stamps, by com-
pelling the retailers of stamps in all parts of the country
to give bond and two sureties for their honesty!

This is the'most comical piece of legislation we ever
heard of. .If they make money by this speculation, they
will be the- most fortunate dunderheads in christendom.
We are quite confident that not one hundred respectable
tradesmen in the united kingdom will comply with the
prescribed conditions. Who that had a soul above six-
and-eiv,htpence a week would allow his shop to be liable
to domiciliary visits—his drawers to be opened—his
books examined—his very bed overhauled—and his
clothes searched, by an exciseman ? It is the most in-
sulting proposition as concerns the Government, and the
most degrading one as concerns retail tradesmen, that
ever was promulgated even by a Whig statesman. It
beats Lord ALTHORP'S tax upon steamers and transfers
all to rags,
The consequence will be, should this fag-end bill pass,
that few or no stamps will be 'sold at all. In fact there
will be-nobody to sell them except at the stamp office; and

THE LIVERPC

who is to take the trouble of running a mile. or two to
such a place for a shilling or two-and-sixpenny stamp ?
But, supposing that tradesmen were induced to give the
required sureties, how is this to prevent the forging of
stamps ? . A Jew fence, or a regular cheat, may give
sureties as well as an honest man ; and he can go on in
the business of forging more successfully than before.
It is admitted on all hands. that no man, even the most
practised dealer, can tell a genuine from a forged stamp.
The execution of the impress is of so clumsy a description
that itcan be imitated even by an old clothesman, and so
perfectly that the forgery is sometimes more accurately
done than the genuine pattern. The thing will never
do----and that Mr. SPRISO RICE knows as well as our-
selves. As for Lord ALTHORP, lie is as little conversant
with the subject as -a Carlingford oyster.

We have unmingled pleasure in calling attention to
a report of the proceedings of, and speeches delivered at,
a meeting of the South Lancashire Conservative Asso-
ciation, held yesterday at Newton, in this neighbourhood.
There were upwards of two hundred gentlemen of the
first rank and respectability in the county present—more
in point of fact than was expected, or than the room in
which they met could conveniently accommodate. The
utmost unanimity and hilarity prevailed ; and the senti-
ments which were expressed and unanimously cheered
give token of a restoration of those feelings, and an
extension of those principles which have hitherto been
the pride and salvation of England in the worst of times,
and the revival of which may be hailed as an omen of
returning reason, and future happiness. We regret
that, owing to the late hour at which our expresses arrived,
and the want of space, we are prevented from doing
justice to some of the able and eloquent speeches deli-
vered on this occasion. But they will keep till our next.

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