The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-10 00:00:00

MEXICO

The Trent brings news from this ill-favoured country
down to the Ist of January, being three weeks later than
that brought by the Stephen Whitney, via New York. It
is still very disturbed, although on the departure of the
packet it was expected matters would be arranged with-
out much blond shed. Some few skirmishes have taken
place, and two or three lives had been lost, but not
more.

landowners to the respectable position of state pensioners;
applied tithes and lands, bequeathed by good men in Dur- A PICTURE'S WORTH.—" And yet," responded I,
ham for the spiritual benefit of Durhamites, to the relief .. the best artists are always the most admired. Some in-
of the spiritual necessities of the dwellers in Cornwall ferior ones may, from adventitious circumstances, obtain
and Sussex; and boldly transferred a prelate from Bangor patronage in high places, but they do not command, even
to Ripon, with all his Welch revenues in his hand. What with this advantage, the popular voice. Whose names
was the aristocracy about then? Did they not see that. are most familiar to the public mouth? The names which
their own right and privileges were weakened by such a the highest talent has made memorable. Around what
blow struck at the rights and privileges of the church? pictures in an exhibition are the largest and most admir-
Not a whit. They were consenting and approving parties ing crowds collected ? The pictures which high talent
to a measure which we considered at the time, and still has made glorious." " Fashion," returned Sharpson,
hold to have been the first step on that ladder of descent, " holds sway more or less in every thing, and crowds be-
to the very base of which, as they themselves now affirm, get crowds. Besides, there are some kinds of power
their champion is going to lead them.—Frosee's Mag. which, employed on certain suhjeets, will always interest
MISERY OF HAVING TO MAKE AN UNEXPECTED AFTER even the dull herd. But rarely, indeed, save under the
DINNER SPEECH.—Some speakers are usually brought influence of fashion and flock-following, do the dull herd
upon their lees by some mark of respect, and are there- seek pasturage on the eminences of art. They prefer to
fore objects of compassion. As they have been deemed leave the ' fair mountain,' to ' batten on this moor,' where
worthy of a tribute of honour one pities them. Theirs is their low spirits are quite at home. Of course they do
rather a hard case certainly. They came out to be cons- not go away without getting a glimpse of the pictures, the
fortable ; they are unanimou-ly selected as deserving a frames at all events, to which great names are attached ;
compliment ; they have the esteem and praises of the whole because they are aware that in the cant of the ' circle' in
table, and they are consequently put to the torture- which they move, be it wide or narrow, they are required
Watch a modest man of this class undergoing " all the to take part ; and they are alive to the necessity of falling
honours," as per order, front the chair. He was in ex- into ecstasies, whether the present performances of those
cellent spirits before you drank his health; he never felt leading artists be exquisite or so-so. But it is the corn-
better in his life than when unconscious of your concern mon-place that in reality enchants them ; the portrait of
about him ; he wanted nothing on earth until he found a lady, the kitten with the hall of cotton, the intolerable
himself in the possession of your good wishes, but now he hamper of game, the detestable hunch of flowers, and the
is miserable to the finger tips. Observe how they trerou. execrable basket of fruit." " That such execrables are
lously touch the table when he has risen to fulfil the yearly exhibited in sundry places is admitted, but you are
grateful duty of stretching himself upon the rack. Listen ! not thence to assume that they are admired —" " I
No, you can't catch his voice yet, but you may hear his prove it," interposed Sharp Son, " when I prove that they
knees knock together. He is a bold, brave fellow, and no are painted. Artists, good ant: bad, work for the market.
foot either, is this shivering Incapable. He is a dashing The great painter, indeed, may find a liberal purchaser
politician, and thrusts a sharp pen six times a week clean for his work, but the profound incapable is almost sure of
through a dozen tolerably eloquent members of Parlia- a customer. Why, what becomes of the hundreds of
ment, he has drowned a few oratorical peers in his ink- odious outrages annually set forth ! Do you think they
stand. But look at him now ! Ile can't say " Bo" to are burned? They are bought. Somewhere shines the
the chairman. He hasn't a word to throw at the dog that sun upon their horrible varnish, and some poor wretches'
proposed his health. He lacks power to express his grate- eves have daily to endure the sight of them." " Nay, if
ful sense of this horrible dilemma you have placed him in. they are bought," cried I, " they cease to he atrocious.
His full clear voice is thick and low ; his command of lan- They instantly acquire a moral glow that gives a mellow-
image is reduced to a few of the most hacknied and corn- ing tone to their flaring ht.'s ; they are wrapped in a
mon-place phrases; and even these he used without the peetry of sentiment that redo' ms them from contempt.
least pretensions to grace. R hat confusion and havoc The act of purchase seals ilisir pretensions as valuable
does this penalty make in a man's mind! One of the works of art, and the ' thine, of beauty is a joy for ever,'
most sensible and judicious persons alive, but one of the an heirloom on the walls of its owner." " You substan-
least " accustomed to public speak'ng," being obliged to tiate the charge with which I started ! " exclaimed Sharp.
address a small company, all associates on some Shakspe- son, upsetting his glass. " I said you judged of a picture
rian subject ; no less in fact, than " the naeraory of Shaks- by the wall on which it hung."—Larnen Blanchard's
pere," which was the toast he had to propose, actually in Sketches of Life
his nervousness and confusion introduced the poet as one WHY PROTESTANTS DISTRUST SIR ROBERT PEEL.—
"whose name he was sure must be known to every gentle- We are not insensible to Sir Robert Peel's great merits
man present ?" There's fame ! There .ere almost 20 as a finance minister, nor have we been slow to give to
persons. and most of them must have been authors." him the cordial weed of our approbation. But no amount
—Sketches of Life, by the late Laman Blanchard. of financial prosperity can compensate for any deteriora-
A WATERING-PLACE IN NEW ZEALAND.—On our way thin of moral weal ; nor does the hectic flush of fever
we visited Wskarecvarewa Hotsprings, by far the finest at differ more from the glow of health, than a plethory of
bout seven miles front Air. Chapman 's and a- wealth from the only sure. indications of national great-

Rotoru

varieties of Ngawha (hot-springs). They are mud caul-
drons, black, blue, grey, green, yellow, and red, the very
emblem of laziness; a faint stream rises from them, and
ever and anon a solitary bubble of gas disengages itself
slowly from the surface, which then returns to its usual
dulness. Close by the side of these, and in strong contrast,
are the clear pools of boiling water, of great depth, and of
bright azure, enclosed in precipitous wills of sulphureous
formation; from some of these, hot streams flow down,
which are guided by the natives either into artificial baths
or into natural hollow. of the rock ; the supply of hot wa-
ter, being so regulated as to keep the bath at the right
temperature. Among these cauldrons and pools, a strong
and rapid stream of cold water rushes down, in some
places not a yard from the spot at which the natives are
sitting up to their breasts in hot water, shelling Tawa ber-
ries, or peeling potatoes, or failing in these employments,
enjoying their never-failing resource of smoking. But by
far the most beautiful springs are the boiling jets, which are
thrown up to the height of many feet from a narrow ori-
fice in the top of an irregular cone, formed of the matter
held in solution by the water, which is deposited as it cools,
and forms a substance of a pinkish white colour, sometimes
also tinged with yellow by crystals of sulphur. It is per-
fectly safe to stand upon the tops of these cones, to the
windward of the spout ; acid from that position it is grand,
first, to hear the roaring and boiling of the cauldron, and
then see the jet spring up into the air, shivered by the
force
ofits projt-cti n into silvery foam, and accom-
panied by a volume of white st.am. Tne hot water, in its
descent, trickles down the sides or ti,e crater, and falls
into several natural baths of most agreeable temperature,
formed in the pure and white subst,nce of the cone, and
lined with the same matter in its half-formed state, still
yielding and elastic. Here the traveller may lie at his ease,
and watch the bursting of the boiling fountain above him;
but, if the wind should happen to change, he must shift his
position, or his place will soon be too hot for him. A
small native village is here, with the usual appurtenances
of a native steam kitchen at the hot springs. namely, hot
plates, made of large slabs of stone, laid es er boiling water
to dry the Tawa berry upon, steam hinghiti, or native
-ovens, always in readiness, and holes of boiling water in
which fish and potatoes can be speedily cooked. A native
swing completes the equipment of this fashionable water-
ing-place, which, together with the game of drafts, relieve
the ennui of those who resort to the baths.—Birhop Sel-
wyn s I isitalion 'f'our.

undoubtedly she may be corrupted, by a superabundance
of worldly cipmforts, if they he not accompanied by the
only knowledge which can make wise unto salvation. It is
of little consequence that a e proyide for the life, if we neg-
lect the life of life. Man was created for higher things than
to be a mere instrument of sordid accumulation. And
never ran thy minister who limits his activity to the pro-
viding thins needful for bodily necesities, accomplish
the great end for which a nation like Eneland has been
raised up, or secure to hia,self a lasting remembrance by
the wise beneficence of his regulations. It is in this, Sir
Robert Peel is wanting. He had at his command an in-
stitute by which he micht have effected all that could be
desired; a church estWishment, which in its teaching
and offices fully met the requirements of the age; which
only required to he supported and extended, to do all
that could be rin.l , by human instrumentality, for the
religious well.}, lug of the people. It. is painful to be
obliged to add, that the advantages of such an institute
have been neglected. And in Ireland what has been the
case? Has it not been rudely shaken, and contemptu-
ously set aside, while popery, the nurse of darkness and
error, has been cherished and exalted; in the hope, no
doubt, that some temporal end would be answered by
the depression of a true, and the encouragement of a false
religion ? We tell the right honourable barcnet, that even
in his political calculations he will be disappointed. The
allies whom he fain would purchase, will become tyrants
whom he cannot control. And the priesthood by whom
he would hope to rule and to pacify h distracted country,
will belie all calculations which may be made from the
past, if they be not the agents and the stimulators of an
agitation more violent and more turbulent by far, than
any by which a British minister has as yet been " let and
hindered." So much for the sacrifices of mcral to poli-
tical considerations. The moral gnilt is incurred, and the
political object is not attained. It is in vain to contend
against the devil with the devil's own weapons. In the
use of these he will be more than a match even for the
adroitness and dexterity of Sir Robert Peel. His new
popish friends may nibble off the bait, hut they will not
swallow the hook which he designs for them. And this
it is—this fatal blindness cr indifference to the value of
moral and religious principle—which has shaken the con-
fidence of the country, and sapped the foundations of his
power, and will, if persevered in, render his administra-
tion as great a curse, as it promised to be a blessing to
the British empire.—Dublin! University Magazine.