The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-05-26 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDAnn.

have always dorye while a compromise was possible,
avowed their preference fora fixed duty on the principle of
revenue; but it was felt that the opportunity for such a
settlement was past, and it was unanimously resolved that

they should not waste their energies in attempting to at-
tain that which was now beyond their reach, but promote
vigorously and cordially the success of the bill in the very
form in which it had been received from the Commons.

It is unnecessary to enlarge upon the importance of this
decision. Without it, the corn Bill might have been, not
indeed rejected, but so mutilated as to have insured its
rejection by the House of Commons ; with the firm sup-
port of the Whig peers it may be considered beyond the
reach of danger.

Of rather another complexion is the following,
which we quote from the Morning Herald :

We learn, with grad satisfaction, hat the decision at
the meeting of Whig peers, at Lansdowne House, on Sa-
turday, to support Sir Robert Peel's corn bill, was not
unanimous ; but that Lord Melbourne, who will, we un-
derstand, be supported by Lord Beauvale, Lord Ponsonby,
and at least nine or ten other Whig peers, protested
against Lord John Russell's insolent attempt to dictate
to the party, and declared his (Lord Melbourne's) deter-
mination to vole against the second reading. If Lord
Melbourne take the course which, from all that we can
learn, we believe he will take,—and if he shall be sup.
ported by as many of the Whig party as we trust will sup-
port him, the defeat of " the execrable bill " is certain.
In any case the popular effect of the late Prime Minister's
single vote against the odious measure must outweigh the
votes of any dozen of hungry place-hunting Whigs or
pauper Tory peers.

The Morning Chronicle says that seventy Whig
peers attended the meeting, and that they came to a
resolution, "to give the hill their hearty support,
and to offer a decided opposition to any amendment
whatsoever."

Perhaps, after perusing these versions of the story,
oar readers will conclude, with ourselves, that the
safest plan will be to wait the issue itself. With
the glaring inconsistencies of modern statesmen
before us, we should be sorry to express an opinion
either way.

We are sorry to have to point out, in our Friday's
contemporary, the following piece of—to say the
least of it—exceeding bad taste, which appears in
one of the leading columns of his last publication.
Speaking of the prospects of the ministerial mea-
sures in the House of Lords, the Mercury remarks:

" It is said, more difficulty has beer, found in ascertain-
ing how the bishops will vote than either party anticipated.
The sudden illness of the Archbishop of York or of Can-
terbury would soon solve these doubts. Why can't
Charles James London take the gout, or Edward Durham
g assume a quinsey if he have it not ? In promotion as
love—

' To be in doubt is but to be resolved.'

Nothing would so soon enable the Lords Spiritual to dis-
cover that the passing of the corn bill, without delay. was
a religious question, as a vacant see, or the prospect of
being called to a more extensive sphere of ucefulness."

This may be what the Mercury Considers smart
writing. There is a numerous class of people who
are content to be witty at the expense of decorum,
and to sneer at things which rightly constituted
minds hold too sacred for such flippant treatment.
The character of the episcopal office we should have
imagined was one of these things, at least in the
eyes of a churchman, as the editor of the Mercury
occasionally reminds us that he is. Such a para-

graph as this of the Mercury might have been ex-
cused as coming from the lips of some rabid dis-
senter or socialist, to draw down the applause of a
mob of infidels ; but it is scarcely suited to the co-
lumns of a newspaper, which professes to circulate
amongst families of every creed, and which, on that

ground alone, taking no higher moral or religious

ground, ought not to outrage the feelings of any
class of its readers. We trust the editor of the
Mercury will be able to assure us that the article is
the work of a volunteer, and that its insulting cha-
racter has escaped his observation. It certainly does
not bear the ordimiry impress of his writing.

Mr. Peel, eldest son of Sir Robert Peel, does not return
to Madrid to resume his post as attache to the British
Legaion. He is appointed Secretary of Legation under
his Excellency Mr. D. R. Morier in Switzerland.

We are enabled to announce positively that our govern-
ment has received formal notice from the President of
the United States that it is the desire of the American

Oregon territory should cease and determine at the ex-
piration of twelve months from the date of such notice.—

Obserrer

SINGULAR ROBBERY.—Between the tours of ten and
eleven o'clock on Saturday morning last, an extensive
robbery was committed at the house of Mr. Francis Barnes,
book-keeper, Roscommon-street, Everton, under the fol-
lowing circumstances. It appears that, immediately after
breakfast on that morning, Mr. Barnes and his family left
home, leaving no person to take care of the house except

..
the servant-maid. Between the hours mentioned, a knock
was heard at the front door, which was opened by the ser-
vant, and instantly two men rushed in, seized bold of her,
and fastened her in the water-cellar. They then proceeded
to rans ick the house, and succeeded in finding and carrying

off with them a pocket-book, contairing nine sovereigns

and four half-sovereigns; also several ladies' dresses, some
gold rings, brooches, and ear-rings, a coral set in gold,
three sets of window curtains, a black coat and vest, shirts,
trousers, boots, and a variety of other articles. Bills have
been issued for the apprehension of the robbers.
LIVERPOOL, ORMSKIRK, AND PRESTON RAILWAY
COMPANY.—Yesterday, at one o'clock, at the Clarendon-
buildiogs, a special general meeting of the holders of scrip,
or of bankers receipts for scrip in the company, was held

pursuant to resolutions of the two houses of parliament,
to take irtn consideration the bill now pending in parlia-
ment, entitled, " A bill for making a railway from the
Liverpool and Bury Railway to Preston, and to the
Blackburn and Preston, and North Union Railways, with
branches therefrom, to be called the Liverpool, Ormskirk,
and Preston Railway. There was a numerous attendance
of shareholders. Mr. Wm. Cooke, in the absence of the
chairman and deputy-chairman, occupied the chair.
Considerable delay occurred whilst the names and address
of the'shareholders, and the denoting numbers of all the
scrip and receipts were recorded. The Chairman an-
nounced that the amount of the capital of the company
was £750,000, and that there was a sufficient number of
scrip in the room to constitute the meeting a legal one.
Mr. Lloyd, the law-clerk, then read a bill to the meeting.
Tha Chairman then proposed that the bill be approved of.
This was seconded by Mr. Howell, and carried unani-
mously. 14,592 shares were represented at the meeting.
The proceedings then terminated.
CHARGE OF THROWING VlTRTOL.—Yesterday, two
boys named Joseph Snyder and William Ferguson, the
former about 14 and the latter 12 years of age, were
brought before the magistrates on a charge of throwing
vitriol at a young lad named John James Woodcock. The

complainant stated that on Saturday, between one and
two o'clock in the afternoon, he was running down Camp-
bell-street, from Duke-street, when a boy seized hold of
him and threw something in his eyes, which deprived him
of his sight. Another boy stated that the pi isoner Fet-.
held the complainant while the other threw the

g
vitriol into his eyes

They had the liqui

tie: The complainant was taken into Mr. Taylor's, drug-
gist, Cleveland-square, where such remedies were applied
as the necessity of the case demanded, and he was after-

man. Several other witnesses were called, but their evi-
dence merely went to show that a quarrel had taken place
in Campbell-street amongst some boys, without proving
the concexion of the prisoners with the transaction in
question. Dr. Marsh, who had been called in to see the

complainant, said he found that intric acid, or what was
commonly termed aqua fortiß, had been thrown into one
of his eyes, which was much injured. Snyder denied the

charge, stating that he had been sent on an errand by his
master, Mr. Hay, architect; he went into Campbell-