The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-07-16 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

bably, without regard to talents, capacity, or education,
previous habits, from the Greylings and Hannibals of the
fifth class, not heretofore, and better, provided for. These
100 magistrates, such as they may be, are to be divided
among the nineteen colonies, which gives about five
for each. Now, let us imagine five magistrates in
the island of Jamaica which is 150 miles in length,
by a mean breadth of between forty and fifty miles,
containing between six and seven thousand square
miles, with a population of nearly 400,000 souls.
At present, this island has its legislative body, con-
sisting of a Council and House of Assembly, with its
Courts of Chancery, Appeal, Vice-Admiralty, Supreme
Court of Judicature, and Courts of Assize, and every
other office necessary for the conduct of public business,
filled by parties competent to the execution of their respec-
tive duties. It is divided into three counties and twenty-
one parishes. Each parish has its custos rotulorunz andbody
of assistant judges and magistrates, varying from ten or
fifteen to fifty or sixty—constituting a total body of magis-
trates of about 600 in number in the island. Besides these
higher authorities there exists every class of inferior
officers necessary to conduct the affairs of a community
almost as variously ramified as that of England. Of
these, the two Chambers of the Legislature are, by Mr.
STANLEY'S bill, in its'present form, to be virtually anni-
hilated; and the whole body of 600 magistrates are to be,
at one sweep, struck of the roll and degraded ; their
functions being assumed, usurped we may well say, by
the five stipendiary magistrates, at £3OO a-year each,
selected from the list of half-pay officers of the army and
navy, the batch of briefless Whig barristers, or, it may
be, some even less competent parties,—uninured to the
climate—ignorant of local laws and habits—and wholly
unacquainted with the characters and peculiarities of the
race of people whose cases are to come before them for
adjudication. Is it necessary to argue the point as re-
gards the other colonies, each varying, in some or other
of its customs and regulations, to an extent that renders
the most experienced man connected with one colony
incompetent to judge of the wants and requisite mode of
proceeding in another, almost within his sight ? And
yet, forsooth, all this is to be accomplished intuitively by-
five striplings of the GREY and STANLEY school in the
Island of Jamaica, where five or six hundred most re-
spectable men at present devote their energies and ex-
perience to the preservation of order and support of the
laws !

Just so in education and religion. The provision " for
the religious and moral education of the negro popula-
tion, on liberal and comprehensive principles," consists
in the extension to the colonies of the 52d of GEORGE
111, releasing Dissenters from certain restrictions here-
tofore in force; by which the whole negro population
will be laid open to the operation of the wily and mis-
chievous doctrines of the KNIBRS and WIIITELEYS of
the day; from which, judging of the mischievous results
of their practices when under restraint, unbounded evils
are anticipated by every person acquainted with the colo-
nies. Of education, we find not one word in the bill.
But, without going further into it in detail, we see
enough to mark the channel through which many of its
leading provisions have flowed. And we cannot conceal
our disgust at the fact, that authorities, still permitted to
exercise functions in the Government departments should
be allowed to introduce into the public laws of the coun-
try matter resting upon the dicta of a party with which
they are too notoriously connected; and from which they
receive overnight instructions, to do acts in the morning,
the fatal . consequences of which, to the best interests of
the country, are too palpable to be matter of the smallest
doubt to any one who goes through the world with his
eyes open.

We had intended to go, seriatim, through the clauses
of this, we do not hesitate to say, infamous bill.—
It is useless to do so. If the clauses were divided into
three classes, we should say that one class was merely
explanatory—a second either wholly unintelligible or
impracticable--and the remainder full of injustice, and
destructive of solemn vested and chartered rights;—
whilst the whole mass betrays the most perfect and unal-
loyed ignorance of what is calculated to' do any thing
short of entirely destroying and sacrificing the colonies.

The adherents of the ministry are in a sort of dog-day
fever, not exactly biting each other, but running wild
from office to office, with famine in their eyes, as if they
had eaten their last loaf, and had booked their last pledge.
But let them roam and rave ; when the sky falls they may
catch larks !

The cause of all this apprehension, good reader, is, that
the days of the present administration are considered to be
numbered. The Whigs see that they can hold together no
longer; they have overwhelmed themselves by their own
blunders ; and as it is an unpleasant matter to part with
office, reputation, and salary, all at the same time, they
have resolved to set fire to all the combustibles in the
camp, and die hard. •

Magnanimous statesmen ! fallen though they be, they
have our heartfelt sympathy. We wish a speedy end to
all their sufferings, and for this reason we regret to see
them made the sport of every battered hack who fancies
he does them good service by prolonging their miseries.
Sir JOHN WROTTESLEY has given notice for a call of the
House of Commons on Thursday next. If this motion
be acceded to, which is mote than probable, seeing the
desperate condition of the Ministry, and the deplorable
prospects of the two hundred and odd honourable members
who sit there for the last time, then Sir JOHN of Wrot-
tesley-Hall will have an opportunity of instructing the
house as to its solemn duties on this trying occasion.—
We should not be surprised if the Commons were to read
a lecture to the lords, full of wise saws and modern in-
stances, inflated with Whig gas, and balanced with Whig
dulness. It will be a rare charm for mortified ambition—

"Sweltered venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog;
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good."

Collision with the upper house is the virtuous and be-
nevolent object of this honourable member of the lower
house. On Wednesday he anticipates the defeat of mi-
nisters, and he consequently fixes the following night for
calling together the great assembly of the pledged to sit
in judgment upon the other and more independent
branch of the legislature. Such a proceeding is quite a
novelty in parliamentary tactics. It is worthy of the
mover and his employers, but we beg to inform them
that it will not succeed. The lords have nothing to ap-
prehend from public opinion, and they have as little to
fear from the resolutions of the commons. The people
do not care the feather of a goose for the sentiments of
the reformed assembly. Even the nailers of Birmingham
and the weavers of Coventry hold them in contempt.
BROUGHAM'S head has been taken down from the ale-
houses; the ALTHORP arms have disappeared, and Lord
JOHN RUSSELL dances upon nothing with his feet towards
the welkin. A time there was when a little noise fright-
ened the isle from its propriety, and when Lord GREY'S
franks, superscribed by an attorney, could call into ac-
tion the bludgeons and the brickbats of the political
unions, but that time is gone by. If the commons choose
to provoke the hostility of the peers, let them do it at their
peril. The constitution prescribes a remedy ; and we
are fully persuaded, that if an appeal were now made to
the nation, the electors would reject with scorn the great
majority of the serviles who, from a dread of that appeal
alone, cling to the present administration. We venture
to say, that four-fifths of the whole constituency of Eng-
land are not only dissatisfied, but absolutely disgusted
with their conduct. They have attempted more and done
less than any former parliament. They have now been in
session for nearly six months, and we defy their best
friend to point out any one measure that they have car-
ried worthy of the slightest commendation, with the
exception of the Irish coercion bill, and that, to say
the least of it, is entitled to no praise, simply because there
would have been no necessity for it, provided the govern-
ment had felt disposed to enforce the previously existing
laws. Putting aside the curfew bill, what else have. they
done ? Nothing. The bank charter and the India char-
ter are both in a state of suspension. The West India
bill must be postponed for another year. JEFFREY'S

Scotch bankrupt bill is withdrawn. Lord BROUGHAMS
brother still holds his sinecure in the Court of Chancery.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL has postponed his bill respect-
ing imprisonment for debt. Instead of attending to the
real interests of the country, the reformed representatives
of the nation have wasted their time in foolish inquiries,
on subjects that a coterie of superannuated spinsters
would be ashamed to discuss, in prying into wretched
gossip, worthy only of a tap-room statesman, and ascer-
taining how much beer a bemuddled sawyer may have
drank during a contest in which one HENRY BROUGHAM
drank as much as himself. There has been nothing but
frothy oratory, or dapper impertinence in the house,—
talk and nothing but talk—from January to July. From
such representatives the nation now longs to he delivered,
and we implore the KING to grant its fervent prayer.

After receiving the prescribed number of bullying pe-
titions, his MAJESTY'S ministers have discharged the
Reverend R. TAYLOR from Horsemonger-lane gaol with-
out requiring the payment of the fine imposed upon him,
and without insisting upon any other surety for his
"future good behaviour" than his own recognisance.

The case of this man has induced us to turn our atten-
tion to the practice of inflicting pecuniary fines on mis-
demeanants. The most beautiful feature in the adminis-
tration of English civil and criminal justice is, that no-
thing is assumed to be true that is not judicially proved
to be so, and when a sentence has been pronounced by
the court, there is no legal means of increasing its se-
verity, the constitution having left in the hands of the
Sovereign no other power than that of mitigating, or
pardoning it altogether. But, when a pecuniary fine
is inflicted as a punishment for a misdemeanour, which
the offender has not the means of paying, the power of
increasing the severity of a judicial infliction is lodged
in the hands of the crown, who may be advised to let the
law take its course—and thus imprison a man for life
who is unable to pay the fine imposed upon him. When
the Court of King's Bench sentenced the late Sir MANAS-
SEH LOPEZ to pay a fine of ten thousand pounds, and "be
further imprisoned until that fine be paid," it had no jet.
dicial knowledge that Sir MANAssEH possessed that num-
ber of farthings—no evidence on the subject was of-
fered or required, and, therefore, this part of its sen-
tence was pronounced upon the faith of common rumour
alone, and might have operated as one of imprisonment
for life. TAYLOR was detained in custody for the non-
payment of (we believe) a fine of two hundred pounds, a
sum that he was not more likely to pay than the national
debt, and hence was elevated to the rank of a martyr. We
should especially bear in mind that what the general voice
may tolerate against a notoriously bad man, or an ob-
noxious individual, might be made use of to crush ano-
ther of a very opposite character, for precedents are very
important things in the administration of the law. We
do not quarrel with the system of punishing in "purse
and person" so much as with the loose manner in which
the thing is done. If the offence can be purged by a pecu-
niary fine, evidence of ability to pay one should first
be obtained, and, in case of non-payment, the period of
" further imprisonment" should be clear and definite.—
The practice we now complain of is a relic of Star Cham-
ber justice that ought to be abolished—it is contrary to
the spirit of the constitution, and is in direct violation of
that clause of the " great charter" which declares, " that
no man shall be amerced beyond his means." The
judges, in fining offenders, no doubt suppose that the
parties can pay the fines imposed upon them. If they
knew at the time of passing a sentence that the party
before them could not pay a fine, would they venture to
imprison him for life ? or, have they the power of passing
such a sentence ? We never heard of such a sentence,
and we believe that it could not be legally passed, how-
ever gross or aggravated the case may be. If Lord
BROUGHAM will take this subject in hand he shall have
our best support.

The finance accounts for the year ending January sth,
1833, published by order of the House of Commons,
contain, under the head of "Trade of Great Britain with
foreign parts," an abstract of the value of the IMPORTS
into, and the Exports from Great Britain, for the years
1831-2 &3. The total value of the IMPORTS into Greal
Britain, according to the official rates of valuation, was
In 1831 £44,815,397
1832 48,161,661
1833 43,237,416

For the same period the exports were as follows :
In 1831. Produce and Alarm- )
s. £60,492,637
factures of Great Britain
Foreign & Colonial Merchandize. £8,535,786
Total exports
1832. British products £60,090,123
Foreign and Colonial 10,729,942
Total £70,820,065
1833. British pr0duct5......... £61,582,037
Foreign and Colonial 11,036,758
Total
In the latter year the value of our exports was
In Cotton Manufactures
Cotton Yarns 6,725,505
Total £13,786,255
This branch of English industry, therefore, supplies two-
thirds of the value of all the manufactures and produce
that is exported from Great Britain.
The British and Irish Shipping entered inwards from
foreign parts was

YEARS. VESSELS. TONS. MEN.
In 1831 13,548 2,180,042 122,103
1832 14,488 2,367,322 131,627
183.3 13,372 2,185,980 122,591
The FOREIGN vessels entered for the same period were
as follows:

YEARS. VESSELS. TONS. MEN.
Iu 1831 5,359 758,828 41,670
1832 6,085 874,605 47,453
1833 4,546 639,979 35,399

These last will be found to amount to something more
than a fourth of the whole number engaged in our
import trade.

There is one circumstance connected with these ac-
counts that we feel no small degree of pride and pleasure
in laying before our readers, because it is more imme-
diately connected with the town of Livet pool, and shows
an increase of a magnitude that is unexampled in the
history of any port in the world ,—here the subject
ceases to be one of dry detail, and amply repays us for
the labour of entering on an investigation so apparently
uninviting. The net receipts at our Custom House,
after deducting drawbacks and repayments
.For the year ending January s', 1833, amounted to
£3,381,557
Those of all Ireland for the )
£1507,219
same period were S '

All Scotland £1,373,616
making a total of

leaving a balance of
in favour of Liverpool above the amount collected in ALL
Ireland and Scotland.

When Liverpool with a restricted commerce can thus
contribute so largely to the public revenue, what will
she do when the East India and China Trade is thrown
open to the enterprise of our merchants ? What may
we not hope for from a further extension of our commer-
cial relations, as a means of increasing the wealth and
population of the town and its vicinity.

THE LATE LORD DOVER.—The death of Lord Dover, at his
residence at Whitehall, at au early hour on Tuesday morning,
has plunged several noble and distinguished families into deep
affliction. This accomplished young nobleman had been for
some time in a declining state of health ; and two months since
his medical attendants feared that his disorder was a serious
one. The Marquis and Marchioness of Stafford, the Countess
of Carlisle (mother to Lady Dover), and others of the noble
lord's connections were at Dover House when the melancholy
event took place. George James Welbore Agar Ellis, Baron
Dover, of Dover, county of Kent, in the Peerage of the United
Kingdom, a trustee of the British Museum and of the National
Gallery, F.R.S. and F.S.A., born January 14, 1797, married
March 7, 1822, Lady Georgiana Iloward, second daughter of
the Earl of Carlisle, and niece to the Duke of Devonshire and
the Countess Granville. His lordship was the only son of the
present Viscount Clifden, by Lady Caroline Spencer, sister to
the Duke of Marlborough. Lord Dover has left an infant
family of six children, the eldest, the Hon. Henry Agar Ellis
(the present Peer), being in his ninth year only. His lordship
was a staunch political adherent of the present administration,
and on the change of Government in November, 1830, he was
selected by Earl Grey to succeed Viscount Lowther, as Chief
Commissioner of Woods and Forests. This office he, however,
resigned a few weeks afterwards, on account of his delicate
health, and he did not subsequently accept any other appoint-
ment under the Crown. In the spring of 1831, his lordship was
created a British peer. Lord Dover was warmly attached to
literary pursuits, and was an author of high reputation; his last
work was "Correspondence of Horace Walpole with Sir Horace
Mann," published from the originals in the possession of Earl
Waldegrave. He also wrote the "Life of Frederick the Great,
King of Prussia." His lordship was a personal friend of the
late King, and of the King of the Belgians, who stood sponsor
for one of his children in 1829,