The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-12-04 00:00:00

SKETCH OF A RUSSIAN MERCHANT.

We see here the Russian merchant in all his glory. He still
belongs, indeed, to a caste separate from that of the nobility,
but he is no longer ashamed of it. He does not live in a city
of the nobles, where he must find himself the slave of their wants
and wishes; for the number at Moscow is comparatively small,
aid they are in general invested with so much historical dignity
that the reverence they demand involves no degradation. This
idea assumes no form in the merchant's brain, but he is con-
scious of it notwithstanding. He begins to talk of "his order."
On great occasions he walks majestically through the streets iu
a uniform covered with gold lace; for the emperor, with a fair-
sighted policy worthy of Peter the Great himself, has offered a
premium upon pride.
The merchant's wife is rarely seen in the streets; but when
she is, you make room for her with involuntary respect. She
is dressed in a rote of silk or satiu so rich in the materials, and
so exquisitely delicate, or so gorgeously bright in the colour,
that it might serve for a queen. Her face is beautiful, for the
is painted with such art that one requires to approach very close
indeed to discover the counterfeit—and ber dark bright eves
wander about, or rest upon yours. with all the curiosity which
is natural in a recluse. In order that yon should not mistake
her for a noblewoman, she wears upon her head a little sad-
coloured silk handkerchief, put on with such artful simplicity
that the very ties are concealed.
The merchant's son is a tall good-humoured-looking fellow,
sometimes with a little beard that offers a compromise between
his own modern taste and his sire's- antique prejuc!ices. He
wears no sash, and his caftan begins to streak stealthily into the
European frock.
The merchant's daughter is a little girl with a French bon-
net, a muslin gown, and bishop's sleeves. You can see with
one eye, that she reads French novels and plays the piano. She
does not walk beside her papa and mamma, but either after or
before them. Neither does she take her brother's arm. She
has a pensive air, like one who thinks much; and sometimes
In-a fit of abstraction, will allow her eye to rest upon yours for
half a minute at a time.

I 'egret that I am unable to give all the information I could
wish with regard to the customs of the merchants—lndeed, I
found almost as great a difficulty
.in getting an introduction in-
to the family of a real Russian as into the harem of a Turk.
The highest class of merchants have entirely laid aside their
national peculiarities, and in fact are very little, if at all, dis-
tinguished from the nobles. It is the lower ass—they who
still rejoice in a beard and a caftan, who are the true Russians.
They frequently purchase, from ostentation, the house of a no-
bleman ; but theylinhabit only the worst corner of it, retaining
the rest for show;

On the occasion cif a grand dinner, the guests are received in
the hall by several bearded servants, and conducted into the an-
teroom, where cloaks and shawls are to be deposited. These ser-
vants, together with the lacqueys who wait at table, are hired
for the occasion.

The next room you enter is probably the dining-room, where
you see the table spread out for the expected repast. Through
this, and probably one or two more, you are conducted into the
drawing-room. It is painted a deep and brignt blue colour—
for this is a favourite colour with the Russians. The walls are
covered with family portaits, for the merchant has begun to
pique himself upon his family, and with other large pictures,
original in one sense of the word. In a corner is the house-
hold god, decorated with ribbons, Easter-eggs, and artificial
flowers, mingled with the faded palms of the preceding Easter-
tide. Before the image hangs alighted lamp of many-coloured
glass suspended by a brass chain.
Hare are seated a party of ladies in the nervous silence o
expectation. The gentlemen as, yet arrived do not muster
strong enough to attack this citadel of beauty—we have left
them v.likitling io onnii groups in the dining-room and inter-
mediate romus, Being strangers we bow profoundly; the lady
of the honse grAciousiy—but one of us, who has the good for-
tune to be on more intimate terms, steps up to where she is
sitting. He salutes
,her
,hand, and while raising his head she
kisses him on the brow; and the little ceremony strikes us as
being at once the must kindly and graceful we have ever seen.
Reassured by this transaction, and feeling a sort of confidence
that the meetingis not fur the purpose of an execution, we turn
.roand,.apti hewing several times to the fair circle, the indivi-
duals of which
_all bow several times too, we stand aside to
watch the progress of events.
The company now conic rapidly in, and the malcontents in
the other rooms take the opportunity of slinking in under con-
voy.
.The ladies kiss
.each other vociferously,. and the gentle-
men inter-hug also atid.probably kiss too,. eltheugh.the sound
is lost in their
,wilderpf§§ of beard.
The ladies are in general fashionably dressed, but somewhat
overdone. 'This is the distinction between them and the nubi-
lity.—Leitch Ritchie.

Germany annually takes and consumes a full half of all the
tobacco that the Uutted States exports.—German paper.

THE LIVERPOOL CHURCHES,

ROLLS' COURT.—TuEsDA Y

THE ATTORNEY-GENFnAL V. THE CORPORATIoN OF LIVERPOOL

The Master of the Rolls, having to sit as commissioner in
chancery to-day, gave his judgment in this case at Lincoln's
Inn U all, instead of his own court.
His honoire said that this case had come before him in order
to have an injunction dissolved which had been obtained on an
ex-parte application. The state of the property involved in the
proceeding was alone sufficient to induce a judiee in equity to
entertain the case. The Corporation of Liverpoel.was entitled.
to very large possessions, and the town itself having been ori-
ginally brought within the limits of a single parish, the provision
which had then been made for the support of its clergy had been
found inadequate to that purpose upuu the increase in latter
times of its population. Several chapels had been built, the
ministers of which had been provided for in various ways.
Amongst others the corporation out of its own funds had found
means to contribute to their remuneration by arrangements,
many of which, having been made more than seven years previ-
ous to the passing of the municipal. reform bill, had been pro-
tected by one of the clauses of that act, while others, which
Caine within the seven years, had been rendered nriavailing. it
appeared that strenuous attempts had been made before. the
passing of that bill to effect arrangements between the corpora-
tion and the parishioners of Liverpool for the permanent endow-
ment of their ministers out of the funds of the former, but that,
having been defeated, the property of the corporation remained
in the same state. that it had been in for many years before.
The question then was, whether, under the provisions of the
municipal reform bill, the court was called upon to interfere and
hinder a proceeding which for the same object the corporation
was about to carry into effect? His purpose was theutrather to
state the difficulties of the case suggested on the stateinerits of
both parties, add elso.to show the grounds fur the conclusion to
which be had come, than to give a decided opinion upon the
question of. facts. The first clause in the act rendered void all
laws, statutes, end usages relating to the old corporations which
. should be found inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions
of the new act. It did not appear to him that this clause af-
fected the subject matter of the question in the case, but could
only be conaidered important in giving the court a jurisdiction.
'At the sameThrie he considered it was not necessary even for
that purpose, inasmuch as there could be no doubt of the inde-
pendent jurisdiction of the court to restrain any proceeding
which was iu contravention of the provisions of that act. By
the 25th clause of the act it was provided, that on the 9th' of
November in this year the aldermen and council of the new
corporation were to he elected, and after that time the functions
of the old corporation were to cease. 131 Y the 58th a treasurer
was to be appointed, .and.then came the 92d dense, the enaet!
ments of which were highly important in reference to this case,
and deserVing of peculiar consideration, as they provided that
all fuuds arising from the corporate property were to be applied
to the discharge of all necessary borough expenses, and that the
surplus thereof, if any such remained, should be laid out for
the benefit:of the inhabitants of the borough; while any defi-
ciency in its requisite amount' should be raised by a general
rate. Taking- this clause alone into consideration, it gave
the court a jurisdiction to interfere in such a transaction
as that which was the subject of the injunction. It had
been asserted at the bar, that the court had no jurisdiction. to
interfere with corporations in the disposal of their property.
But if corporations held property, they had public duties to per-
form in its distribution, and they were, therefore, trustees. In
the case of " The Attorney-General,v. the Corporation of Dub-
lin," the latter were considered trustees for particular purpoSes,
and the court interfered to see that their duties' were done. Un-
der this act, Also; what the court had to consider was whether the
corporate "prorie'rty was held for the performance of certain du-
ties and if it were, the court would certainly but act in the exe-
cution of its duties in restraining any breach of the trust so
created. But it was said that there was au interval between the
date Of the passing of the act and its coming into operation, and
that during that time the old corporation was left. in Possession
of all its powers. The result of that state of things was, that
the corporation should be considered to have held property as
trustees for the.purposes pointed out by the new act, and that,
therefore, they should have no power to deal with it, except in
conformity with the provisions of the act. Upon that ground
the court had the right to interfere. Whether it would be dis-
creet in the court to exercise the power which it thus undoubt-
edly possessed was another and a distinct question. By the 68th
clause, all stipends and allowances, which, during seven years
before the said stli of June, 1835, had been aunually paid to the
minister of any church or chapel, should be secured as soon as
conveniently after the passing of the act. By that clause all
stipends allowed by the corporation of Liverpool, prior to the
year 1828, were 'secured. Again, the 96th clause, which was
prohibitory, protected all corporate property in the mean time
between the acts, passing and coining into operation from 41
such contracts of' sale, mortgage, &c., as bad not been made
previous to the month of June in this year. Then came the
97th clause, which was the most pregnant of any connected with
this case, and which might hereafter give rise to questions of
the highest importance and difficulty. By it the new corpora-
tions were empowered to call in•question any disposition of the
corporate property made on contract between the sth of June
and the time, of the acts coming into operation, and also
,to the
King in council the power on petition, to hinder the new col.-
, Orations from taking any measures in pursuance of that 'provi-
sion: It was said that this clause only related to the subject-
matter of the preceding clause which regarded leases alone, hilt
it went beyond that, and included all contracts made subsequent
to the sth' of Juno. He would say no more respecting that
clause than that it was framed iu words which left its intention
'uncertain and open to discussion. It was not necessary, thee.
to give: any opinion on it—it remained a subject of serious mat-
ter for future consideration, The 139th clause of the net pro-
vided for the sale of corporation advowsons, &c., the proceeds
whereof were to go the augmentation of the borough-funds.
Under this state of circumstances, what the corporation proposed
to do was, to'secure a permanent endowment of the clergy who
had come within its nomination, with adequate stipends, greater
in amount than had hitherto fallen on the corporate funds alone.
There could be no doubt that this object was just and creditable,
but the question was whether the corporation hair the power to
carry it into effect ° No one had ever disputed the former
point, and it was even obvious, on the face of the act, that such
a measure as that taken by the old corporation might be expe-
dient. By the 97th clause the corporate funds were first to be
applied to borough purposes, and any surplus was to be laid out
for the benefit of the inhabitants at large. Now, although no
public benefit could be considered more unequivocal than the
adeqtate endowment of the clergy who ministered to the pub-
lic, and although the new councils might concur in the expe-
diency of such a measure, yet it should necessarily be secondary
and contingent on the incident of a surplus, and even they
might not be able to effect it. After having considered the dif-
ferent bearing of the question somewhat further, his honour
expressed himself-thus-conclusively, that, independent. of-rho
difficult questions of the construction of the act and the inteution
-of the parties, he had come to this decision, that if he continued
the injunction he would by that proceeding, put a bar to the
possibility of the question being ever again raised, contrary,
perhaps, to the feelings of the future council of Liverpool, while,
in case he dissolied it, the parties who might consider them
,selves wronged would still have an opportunity of re-opening the
case, setting aside what had been done, or submitting it to the
consideration of the highest tribilealthe King in Council. He
should therefore dissolve the injunction. In regard to costs, as
the question at issue was one of great importance, upon which
there might reasonably be a difference of opinion between the
parties interested in its ultimate settlement, and as the relators
had not unnecessarily, in the first instance, applied ex-parte
to the court, or after any unnecessary delay, he should not
burden them with costs. The order, therefore, simply was to
dissolve his injunction.