The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-03-20 00:00:00

CORK PETITION.

(From the Cork Constitution of Tuesday.)
Oar readers will perceive by the letter of our vigilant and
accurate correspondent, that the consideration of the city peti-
tion, has been postponed to the 9th of April. The reports of
all the London papers were either silent or erroneous on this
subject. It was, indeed, perfectly obvious from the beginning,
whatever Mr. O'Connell and Mr. O'Connor might choose to-
asseverate as to the usual duration of the Cork assizes being
only three or four or five days, that an attendance before the
second of April, would interfere with the other public duties
of almost every witness who would be required for either party.
The day being thus fixed for the ballot, it may not then be
uninteresting to state summarily the course of proceeding fol-
lowed in the formation of the committee which is to decide on
the litigated questions of the petition. On the day appointed.
measures ate taken to ensure the attendance of one hundred
member!, who, having been got together, are immediately
locked in to prevent their escape. Names are then drawn from
a ballotting box, which contains the name of every member
of the house, until thirty-three names of members present, and
neither objectionable nor excused by parliamentary regula-
tions, are drawn. The parties then serike off each one name
alternately, until there remain eleven. These eleven are then
sworn, and elect their' chairman.
The chairman of this committee may at any period of the
investigition appoint a commission for the better examining
into tie qualification of the voters or other specified and dis-
puted fads. 'l'ho commission is armed with powers very nearly
resembling; those of the committee itself: [t is composed of
three commissioners. Two out of three are appointed in effect
by the respective parties, and the third, without whom there is
power t., proceed, by the house. The consequence is, that the
.partisan commissiorers are neutralised. The power of sum-
witn-esses, inspecting books, &c., is almost unlimited'.
and adequate to the most searchiug and cleansing operations
on the state of the registry.
Our position is peculiar, and may be well the object of atten-
tion and interest to all ['eland. We know that our proceed-
ings here are watched by the citizens cf Dublin with an
anxiety only, if at all, second to that for their own representa-
tion. 'lf we succeed, as is likely, and as we did once before,
against the ignorant er interested misrepresentations of the
popular press, in establishing our freemen's rights, we shall
infuse into every important city in Ireland a portion of respect-
akle and enlightened constituents; if we should Mac trry on
this point, we shall have the alternative honour of beng the
first to cleanse the Augean filth of the reform bill from the
national registries. In any view, we shall add to the honour of
our first breaking the unhallowed prestige of radical success,
that of confirming; the superiority on principle, and for ever.
In tho late election the full tide of constitutional and religious
feeling carried on its bosom our present representatives into
parliament. On other occasions the member way have returned
himself; on this, the city has returned the member. The
representation of time city was formerly an honour only to the
representative; now the honour is doubled and reflected, and
the character of the representative is the credit and honour to
the city which, in despite of iniquitous laws, and snore iniquit-
ous evasions of them, has sent its real voice and wishes to
parliament. We know that in appealing to -the victorious
and triumphant principle of a noble regard for the preservation
of our constitution, we cannot be disappointed. The evil
passions of radicalism may stimulate its votaries by passing
impulses; the steady and unprincipled virtue of conservatism
will endure to the end; and for the honour of our nature and
our cause, we will not allow a shade of doubt to cross our minds,
that firmness, perseverance, and self-devotedness could belong to
the assailants—rather than to the defenders--of political virtue.

•
CITY OF DUBLIN PETITION.-
Tjere is no pettifogging quirk or legal quibble to which the
par have not had recourse, in'raising paltry objections in this
case. Even the solvency of the securities—gentleman of wealth
and property—have been questioned, as will be seen by what
took place before the exantinel, in London, on Monday. We
can only say, that that case must be a bad one indeed which re-
quires to be so defended:—
"CITY OK DIBLIN ELECTION
"LONDON, MONDAY.—This being the day appoairted for en-
tering into the sectunies to prosecute the Dublin election pe-
tition the agents of the sitting members attended before the
clerk of the-securities in one of the committee-rooms. Mr.
O'Uonnell objected in the first instance to entertainiug- the
question at ail, inasmuch as the affidavit of the petitioners was
informalrit having been headed in the matter of a petition,
complaining of the election for the city and county of the city
of Dublin; whereas there was no such p:aca as the city an-il
county of the city of Dublin. The petition itself was then sent
for, and it appeared that the petition was properly worded, and
the objection was then over-ruled.
"Mr. O'Connell then said he objected to one of the securi-
ties on the score of insutlieienvy, and produced searches in die
Irish courts, to show that certain judgments were affecting the
property- of the gentleman whose name had been served -as a
security. _

"The clerk o; securities said that he should require to have
the nature of the engagements upon which judgment appeared
to be entered, and Wednesday week next was ultitnat,ly ar-
ranged, as th day upon which tho decision would be given as to
the securities. '1 he ballot cannot therefore take place until
Thursday week, at the soonest, in place of Thursday next, the
10th instant, the day originally named." —Dubtin Euenioy

- - ------------
MIRACLES AT LucKNow.—A second Prince Hobenlohe has
appeared at Lucknow in the person of Syyud Husn Kashinee,
who lately returned from a pilgrimage to Kerb°lah with the
brother of the learned high priest of the Shacahs, and who in
consequence resides at court tiedor the most favourable aus-
pices. On his introduction to the royal presence the King
gave orders to set before him 21 trays of shawls, 60(X) rupees;
but the Syyud, to use the words of our correspondent, "being a
perfect man, and wrapped up in abstraction from worhily
affairs," excused himself from accepting the proffered gifts,
and contented himself with recommending his friend the
l'iloAteheiet's brother to his majesty's favour. It is said, and
by urauy devoutly believed, that this Derveish of Kasban has
positively found the philosopher's stone! the prophet having in
a dream informed him that it lay under Abrairain s black stone
in the kaaba, and especially permitted him to carry it off.
Others doubt this, but by merely placing paper under the
pillow of his fortunate head for the space of one night, he con-.
verts it into gold, yellow, glittering, precious gold, and as be
spends 5000 rupees a month, and receives no rents, it is plain'
that one of the stories must be near the truth.—lndian Paper.
Poetry is the nurse of freedom. From Tyrtxus to Berangee
the muse has befriended through every age the cause oflibertY.
The pulse of patriotism never beats with bolder throb than wheii
the sound of martial song swells in the full chorus of manly voices;
and it was in a great measure the rude energy of the "• Mat:-
seilaise" that won for the shoeless and ragged soldiers of the
convention the victories of Vainly and Gemappe. ID our own
country Dibdin's naval odes, full of inspirating thought and
sublime imagery, have not a little contributed to Cu: maintain-
ing in perilous times the disputed empire pf the ocean against
Napoleon. Never was a pension granted with more propriety
than the tribute to genius voted in this ease at the iecornmen
dation of George 111.; and I suppose a similar reward has at-
tended the authors of the " Alanue.isof England," "The Bat-
tle of Copenhagen," and "The Sea; the Sea." If not, it is a
crying disgrace to the country,—Prole; Papers, in Fraser's Ma-
gazine.
VERY MODEST, DUI' A LITTLE MISTA EEN.—WO staled
last Week at some length the reasons which we felt ought to
insure the rejection of the motion of Lord Chandos for the
repeal of the malt-tax, and we have been gratified to find that
the powerful and statesmanlike speech of Sir Robert Peel does
little more than enlarge upon the reasons which we bad already
advanced.—Obserrer.

Ebt Eiberpool ,Stanbarb.

FRIDAY MORNING. MARCH 20, 1835.

The conduct of Lord LONDONDERRY, in relinquishing
the high and honourable office which he received from
his Majesty, reflects unspeakable credit on the noble mar-
'Pits it shows that he perfectly understands what is due
t° his own pride and dignity, and how insignificant in
Ilia estimation are the rewards and honours of office when
they clash in the slightest degree with his own independ--
;.,neer or even the factious censure of the House of
‘-'uartsions.
lOW very different is the conduct of some Whig states-
-41". Lord BROUGHAM could hardly be induced to re-
"re after he had been dismissed. He could not bear
Parting with the great seal without perpetrating some
Paltry job by way of finish to his dying speech. And
Lord DURHAM too ! Quite as much was said about his
to the Court of Russia as has been said about the
intended one of Lord LONDONDERRY. But did the no-
ble, amiable, courteous, and diplomatic Earl of DURHAM
"Pack his boxes, return his outfit, and throw up his ap-
rintment ? Not a bit of it. The public money, wrung
rein the taxes, had irresistible cliatins in the eyes of the
'big baron. The preposterous fully of such an appoint,
41ent did not invoke the condemnation of such men as
S
41114., CUTLAR FERGUSSON, Huatx, Lord JOHN RUSSELL,
°t the Lord STANLEY. The latter nobleman knew from the
beginning that Lord DURHAM'S mission was as rank a
th as ever was concocted by any set of ministers. It
48 an embassy without an object or a purpose foreign
t° the accommodation of certain personal squabbles in
tll eeabinet. Lord STANLEY knew that it was simply a
family arrangement—a tour of pleasure in consequence
of
osinisterial embarrassments—and that it never had or
bir
rits intended to have any effect whatever upon the policy
4411ssia in connexion with the interests of Great Bri-
tk Lord DURHAM, however, went his way without a
itl
4111111,--LOrd STANLEY looked on without a blush ; and
Lt We find the latter nobleman a consenting party to the
imion of Lord DURHAM, and a strenuous opponent to
that of the Marquis of LONDONDERRY. 0, tempora !
Os
stores
We believe that the conduct of the House of Corn-
clis on this occasion is altogether unprecedented. Du-
riling the administration of which Lord STANLEY was a
:,her an attempt was made by O'CONNELL to remove
" degrade Sir WILLIAM SMITH from the Irish bench,
itbilY because he was an honest and upright judge: Had
tilt WILLIAM SMITH been a corrupt judge—had he been
I,3l4,judge what O'CONNELL is as a legislator—there
Zilt have been good grounds for removing him by an
Cites, to the crown. On that occasion Lord STANLEY,
lia honour, refused to entertain or enter upon the al-
-1,(,1i0.113 of Sir WILLIAM SMITH'S unprincipled accuser.
.0 1.118 We say to the noble lord's credit; but what is his
Marquis
in the case of Lord LONDONDERRY ? The noble
1114rquis is not accused of. any political or official tnisde-
e4,4°llr- He had committed no overt act of treason
1 eve"
his sovereign lord the King or the LORDS of the
tihvet house.. He had not entered upon his office—he
ad
net been tried—be had not even been gazetted. Who
a°W4 Whether Lord LONDONDERRY'S conduct would or
:41d not have been that of which the House of Com-
hn,s itself might have approved? He had before been
oe
411°ured with the thanks of that house for important
Tees; rendered to his country ; and was it impossible,
nxtir '4l. from being probable, that he should receive similar
nks.for similar services at the Court of St. Peters-
-I,:gh No man of any sense or any honesty would as.
1,-'t any thing half so absurd. Lord STANLEY professes
l dive_ the ministers a fair trial. Would we could say
tr t
Perfectd sincerity that we believe Lord STANLEY. His
1-I°4'llet is already at open variance. with his professions.
i declarations at Glasgow, on the hustings at Lancas-
tssir' 4" from the cross benches of the House of Com-
a:4.ll.)s are constructively violated in his attack upon an in-
s r lwunal selected by the crown to perform certain duties
tli hich ministers were to be responsible and by which
tri-Y, were to be judged. Is there any thing like a " fair
not'" in this conduct? If it be "fair," certainly it is
4r "trial," unlessin the sense of the Edinburgh din-
whieh was eaten or ended before it had begun.
But let us look upon the proceeding in a still Imre im-
jtidt4nt light. If the House of Commons is to sit in
as rent upon the conduct of high functionaries as soon
apoley are nominated, and before they have entered
otern the discharge of their duties, thereby invading the
at, °Ratives of the crown and condemning men unheard,
Ittod
ywilin must be guiltless of any offence, inasmuch as
Dave not had either the power or the opportunity to
Ole but: where is all this interference to end, and. how is
s,bas_s_insess.of the overnment to be carried on ? If an
te,l,, "'nor is to beg removed, or induced to retire, by in-
aeePet
at attacks in the House of Commons, why not
asttetlrY of state, why not a collector of customs, why
gremeclnrnissioner of the pr laws ? To descend from
things to small—fromoo men to mice—from Lcrd

LONDONDERRY to Mr. Commissioner EARLE—we beg
leave to put a case which Lord STANLEY will understand.
The Duke of WELLINGTON recommended Lord LoN-
DONDERRY to the King as a fit person to represent his
Majesty at the court of the Czar; Lord STANLEY re-
commendeJ Mr. EARLE to Mr. Secretary GotTLBuRN as
a fit person to discharge the duties of a poor-law commis-
sioner. We do not inquire into motives, for we presume
them to have been honourable ; but what would Lord
STANLEY have said if the House of Commons had chal-
lenged the fitness of his nominee on the ground of some
misunderstood or unintelligible speechdelivered at a for-
mer period of his life, or on the ground that his brother
is a "leveller and a radical reformer ?'? We beg pardon
for descending so far for the sake of contrast, but we
contend that the two cases are strictly analagous. The
House of Commons has no right, except by positive usur-
pation, to deprecate or condemn the appointment in either
the one case or the other. Theministry would be respon-
sible for both ; and, if either were responsible, the censure
should fall upon the minister and not upon his nominee.
If, roe instance, the appointment of Lord LONDONDERRY
had been of a nature calculated to bring the crown
or the interests of the state into danger, an assumption
which no man has a right to make, for it is incapable of
demonstration,—but admitting it to be so, tired it might
become the duty of the House of commons to address
the crown for the removal of such ministers. Lord LoN-
DONDERRY is nothing more than a private individual,
re-
sponsible only to those by whom, he was appointed. He
is relatively nothing more than the very obscure person
recommended by Lord STANLEY. Neither knows any•
thing of the House of Commons, for they are not amen-
able to it in any way whatever. To single such parties
out, however, in the House of Commons, while their
patrons and employers are left unassailed, is in the last
degree mean, cowardly, and disgraceful. To admit that
every °facer appointed by ministers is to be liable to the
attacks of such men as SHELL, ROEBUCK, Huanr, and
O'CoNstELL—is at once to admit that private calumny
and factious violence should know no bounds, and that no
man is fit to serve his country who has not received a
carte blanche or purchased a passport, or obtained a cer-
tificate from this or the other coxcomb or blockhead who
spouts in a tavern or is the delegate of a political union.
If this miserable malice is to be persevered in, and coun-
tenanced by the House of Commons, the people of Eng-
land will soon see where is the nuisance which festers in
the commonwealth, and interrupts the progress of good
government. If idle and virulent tirades in parliament
are suffered to deter the able and honourable men of the
country froth entering its service, we shall soon be
reduced to an executive government of hypocrites and
poltroons—of beggars and knaves. If unprincipled pup_
pets, deported hither as representatives by the popish
priests of Irelancl, are permitted to engage the attention
of the House of Commons from its responsible duties, by
vulgar and personal invectives against our public men,
we may depend upon it that the "death's head and cross
bones," consecrated at Maynooth, will be placed over
our doors before long. Let us have the spirit to guard
against this before it be too late. Our contemporary of
London, the Times, within the last few days, in a spirited,
able, and indignant article—in an article so truly English
that it cannot be sufficiently admired—contended that the
priests of Ireland had become so insolent, overbearing,
and ferocious in their conduct, that they could be no
longer tolerated or endured, and that the safety of this
more important portion of the empire called loudly for
some legislative measures of a coercive nature against
them. In these sentiments we heartily concur. The
time is come when such wholesome restraints are indis-
pensable.
One word more on this subject and we have done for
the present. We have had occasion to speak, perhaps
sorely, and as some may think act itnoniously, of the con-
duct of Lord STANLEY. We sincerely hope that it is the
last time. We always feel pain in giving utterance to
any feelings, warm though they may be, from the impulse
of the moment, which, when clothed in language, are
calculated to give umbrage or offence to a man of enlarged
genius and splendid talents. The.noble lord is yet but a
very young man. Dark' is the day in which we live—
few are the spirits walking in our ancestral halls, who •
have the rich and glowing halo upon them of the rising
sun—there is a,pall spread upon the gloi ies of England
—we are now a nation verifying NAPOLEON'S sneer, and
fulfilling NAPOLEON'S curse—we are in the wake of our
renown, our credit being, like our fame, posthumous—we
therefore can ill spare the talents, may we say the virtues?
of Lord STANLEY. He must see, far clearer than we do,
or we overestimate his discernment, that the last battle
has now to be fought between conservatism and unhal-
lowed 'revolution. It is not now a party struggle between
PITT and Fox—but between the monarchy and an un-
licensed democracy—between property and spoliation—
between protestantism and popery—between him who has
and him who has not any thing to lose—between the law-
ful owner and the profligate plunderer. •
We believe Lord STANLEY to be religiously honest and
unreservedly sincere. It is not his principles we fear,
but his weakness. His intellectual qualities have no
otlm enemy but that which belongs to a perturbed vanity
which feeds upon and destroys itself. The noble lord
must see, constituted as parties are, that, at present, he
has not the most remote chance of either leading the
House of Commons, or of acquiring that preponderance
in the senate, which, by gratifying his ambition, would
for a single day, sustain him in supreme power. The
house of Derby has no modern claims upon the confidence
of the peOple of England. Its most distinguished scion
has not yet won golden opinions from all sorts of men.
It will be a long time before Lord STANLEY can procure
three hundred supporters in the House of Commons. He
ought to fling from him the personal and private admo-
nitions of the Duke of RICHMOND. They are utterly
beneath his consideration. Spleen by inoculation is a
gangrene in the soul of genius. The counsels of Sir
JAMES GRAHAM are only valuable in the inverse ratio of
their present sincerity estimated by his political consis-
tency. Lord STANLEY will be pleased to recollect what
Sir JAMES professed when he opposed the WELLINGTON
administration on the currency question. His pamphlets
would not be an unprofitable study at the present hour.
These will explain why Sir JAMES GRAHAM'S principles
are worth nothing, and prave that Lord STANLEY'S fidelity_
to principle is every thing. We have no wish to speak
harshly of the right Honourable baronet, otherwise his
political character in our hands would not be worth three
hours' purchase. We are only anxious to save Lord
STANLEY without destroying Sir -JAMES GRAHAM. The
noble lord we hope will take the hint. He cannot be
minister yet—he may never be the Earl of DERBY. In
the changes of the last forty years we have seen kings
living upon royal alms, and nobles begging their bread.
God forbid that, in reality, the revolutionary eagle
should carry off the hopeful child.
These hastily written sentences—perhaps too senten-
tious--will, we fear, be only understood by the initiated.
They are not, however, written in a bad spirit. They
are not dipped in the venom of an anabaptist like the pen
of the Globe, or in the unitarian bile of the Morning
Chronicle. Tire former is only silly, the latter is rabid.
We pause to consider other matters.
Sir ROBERT PEEL has formally announced that if the
supplies are limited or stopped he will resign. We rejoice
to observe that the right honourable baronet has made
the declaration. He has given an opportunity to HU3IE
and Lord JOHN RUSSELL to turn him out. The poor
creature last named, for whom we know Lord STANLEY
entertains the greltest contempt, can hardly bring its
diminutive mortality to the conviction that it is out of
'office, and that there is no salary_for it at quarter day.
There is not a living creature on the face of the earth for
which we have a greater contempt than for Lord JOHN
RUSSELL. It is a general if not universal sentiment.
Sir ROBERT PEEL, however, dares him to the trial. He
has challenged Lord JOHN to the lists. He has nobly
and magnanimously told biro that if he can procure a
vote signifying a want of confidence in his Majesty's
ministers, he, Sir ROBERT PEEL, Will resign.'
Let us then have a fair trial of strength, for the pre-
sent skirmishing in the House of Commons is only wast-
ing precious time and exhausting public confidence. We
are satisfied that an immense majority of the people have

the utmost confidence in the character and professions
of Sir ROBERT PEEL. It is only in the House of Com-
mons where united faction can pester him. The only
way to crush that faction for ever is to give them a tri-
umph, and for ministers to suffer a defeat upon an im-
portant question. We are satisfied that it is impossible
to form a ministry from any other section of public men
than the present conservative party. The whigs are
characterless and broken down. The people every
where hold them in the greatest contempt. Even in the
most populous and radical districts, the name whirls
synonymous with --, a word we do not choose to
write. The Hums faction never had any pretensions
to character, and it never was and never will be endured
for a single day in office by the people of England. If
they could but get into place for a week there would be a
dreadful scramble, and th tail might possibly get fat,
hut there is no fear of this. The conservatives, there-
fore, have nothing to dread from a defeat in the House
of Commons; and rather than submit to petty wrang-
ling, and factious clamour, and vulgar personalties,
night after night, they should court the conflict, and if
discomfited-make another appeal to the electors. This
ordeal would wash away the rubbish of the present
house, and give us an increased number of faithful, in-
telligent, and respectable representatives.

We have reported at as full length as our limits will
permit the speech of Sir ROBERT- PEEL on introducing
the dissenters' marriage bill. One thing seems to have
been accomplished by the right honourable baronet—he
has brought forward a measure, after a short consideration,
which has received the approbation of the house generally,
and which Lord JOHN RUSSELL attempted to do and failed.
The noble lord's bill had been nursed by him for a con-
siderable period—it had been fondled by all the political
housemaids of his party—it had been watched and doc-
tored by the whig quacks; but when introduced into the
house, and placed before the public, it was found to be a
sickly, ugly thing which no one would look at, and which
the dissenters disowned. In short, it perished the moment
it was exposed to the daylight.
Sir ROBERT'S bill, however, has been differently
received, and it is likely, with some modifications, to be-
come the law of the land. We might here raise the
question as to the necessity or expediency of altering the
present form and ceremonial of marriage, which we think
has not been proved; but we pass it by, seeing that a
plan is proposed which is satisfactory to the house, and
will, perhaps, be consiiered so by the great body of dis-
senters. If they say content, we can have no earthly
objection to it, provided the bill is so framed that it shall
not be productive of fraudulent or spurious marriages,
and shall not be prejudicial to public morals.
Let us for the present consider it in this last point Of
view. The bill enacts that the parties wishing to be
married shall go before one justice of the peace, and
swear that they are dissenters from the church of Eng-
land, and that there are no legal impediments to their
union. One or other of them must also swear that he or
she has resided in the parish or hundred where the magis-
trate resides for the space of seven days previous to the
application. This is the first step in the matrimonia
process. The happy creatures are here booked but not
yet bound. They are allowed fifteen days to repent
which is questionless an act of great generosity and
liberality on the part of Sir ROBERT PEEL. If no repent.
ance take place they may, after fifteen days, and before
three months, return to the magistrate, sign a civil and
simple contract, and declare themselves " man and wife.'
The business is then done for ever.

But here a difficulty arises at the very outset, and it is
a serious one. Suppose EBENEZER SMITH and REBECCA
JONES go before a justice of the peace in Liverpool, Mr.
WALLACE CURRIE for instance, and make their affidavit
in due form, and that they return to declare themselves
"man and wife" after the lapse of fifteen days—how very
foolish they would look if master justice were not to be
found. The worthy magistrate might be making a speech
in Clayton-square—he might be gone a fishing, hunting,
or shooting—he might be at a watering place, or inhaling
the breezes of the Welsh mountains. It is quite possible
that, by an arrangement, another justice might be found
to perfoi-m the duties of Mr. WALLACE CURRIE, and
complete the contract. Still, this would be vexatious,
for ,affidavits are apt to be mislaid, and a dispute might
arise as to identity. What proof could the second magis-
trate have that the EBENEZER and REBECCA mentioned in
the affidavit are the parties who come to declare them-
selves "man and wife"?

But if a difficulty like this might occur in Liverpool,
where we have many justices of the peace, how much
greater and embarrassing the difficulty in country places
and remote districts, where the magistrate, might live ten
or twenty miles away'from the residence of the bride and
her lord? The church is always open for this interesting
ceremonialthe time when is universally known—the
priest never dies—there is rarely any disappointment.
Not so the house of the magistrate or the magistrate
himself. He has the sessions and the assizes to attend
to; and the chance is that in four days out of the seven
you cannot depend upon finding hint at home at any
given hour—if at all. -
In short, we conceive it to be impossible to secure the
legal registration of marriages except through the medium
of the established church. When a marriage is celebrated,
as at present, the parties sign the register at once—it is
witnessed—it is completed, and it becomes a legal docu-
ment, as tangible, and as well secured as any document
can be. Not so will be the registration of dissenters'
marriages. What if the magistrate—being an old man,
or an indolent, or a careless one—should neglect to for-
ward the papers to the clerk for registration, or in sending
them through the pustoffice they shobid be miscarried oil
lost? The parties most interested would perpaps never
know of this loss. It, in all probability, would not be
discovered until after they were dead, and then only in
consequence of some question relative to property or
succession. The register would be searched but no
names found. The marriage might be disputed, and the
children of a magisterial marriage declared to be illegiti-
mate.

There are many other points in the bill equally open to
objection, and we shall possibly recur to them; but we
have this to say, that if the dissenters are satisfied with
the bill, wa ARE.

We beg to direct attention to a series of tables and
estimates, which will be found elsewhere, explana-
tory of the bases of Mr. MooßE's plan fur supplying
Liverpool with water for extinguishing fires. The plan
itself has already been submitted to our readers. The
facts, however, for which we can vouch, present to view
a frightful picture of the ravages of fire in this town
within the last three years. We are confident that such
destruction of property—from accident as it is called
never occurred in any part of England or of Europe in so
byiefa period of the last hundred years. If we were to say
that such devastation is quite unprecedented we should
not be overstepping the truth. In short, our fire-police
system has been so wretchedly managed, and the supply
of water has been so inadequate, that the premiums of
insurance have reached an enormous height, not more
high, we confess, than the hazard warrants, but still so •
high as to render some change in our system indispen-
sably necessary. If the evil cannot be corrected we may
depend upon it that the warehousing trade will leave the
place, property will be deteriorated, and our labouring
population deprived of employment.
Mr. MOORE shows that from the end of 1831 to the
beginning of the present year the ascertained loss of
property by fire in Liverpool amounts to near £400,000.
This is only the ascertained loss. Much has been de-
stroyed of which no account can be obtained, and of
course no exact estimate formed ; but at a rough guess
we should not exaggerate were we to assume that the
aggregate loss comes very near to HALF A MILLION
We are bound to admit that the property consumed is
of an extremely ignitible nature, but that is no reason
why cotton should be more exposed to. fire in Liverpool
than in Manchester, London, or Glasgow. Mr. MooRE
urth6r calculates that the value of property in Liver-
pool liable to destruction or serious injury by fire
amounts to upwards of TWENTY MILLIONS I !
These facts being premised, the next consideration is a
emedy for so astounding an evil. The water companies,

so far as they afford a plentiful supply of pure and whole
some water to the inhabitants, are in a most efficient
state, and with the exception of the cottage owners, there
are no complaints against them. They have gone to
great expense in conveying this pure water to all parts
of the town ; but the question is, can they, even if dis-
posed, afford such a constant supply of water as is
required at a moment's notice when fires take place ? We
contend they cannot, and it would be unreasonable to
expect them to keep their mains pei petually charged in
order to meet contingencies of this kind, however cala-
mitous. It is proved beyond all cavil and dispute that at
none of the fires, which have happened within the period
alluded to, have the engines been promptly supplied from
the mains of the water companies. Our own pages offer
ample evidence on this point; but we prefer the evidence
of a contemporary. At the fire in Lancelot's-hey in
October last, where the loss amounted to £30,000, the
Liverpool Mercury states• that, after the engines had
arrived, "some time elapsed before the plugs were
found, and when found there was no water in them,- and
that " fully an hour and a half, if not two hours, elapsed
before an adequate supply could be obtained!" The
Mercury'ful tiler observes—" we are sure that with even
a moderate supply the fire might have been extinguished
before it extended further than the story in which it com-
menced."

The same journal, in noticing the fire at FOSTER and
STEWART'S, in Lawton-street, where £B,OOO of property
was consumed, says—" The Norwich engine was pre
vented from playing with effect on the range of shops in
which the fire first broke out by the scanty supply of
water," and that, " had there been water when the engine
first came on the ground, the fire could have been con-
fined to the one story shop in which it originated."
At the-fire at FOSTER and GRIFFIN'S, in January last,
the same complaints are made. It commenced at twenty
minpl,es past eight o'clock, the engines were pro'mptly on
the ground, "but there was no water in the mains!!"
This evidence is sufficient for the present and for our
purpose. It is clear that there is no adequate supply of
water for extinguishing fires in Liverpool, and it is
equally clear that there can be none while the present
system remains. Some statements, we understand,
have recently been made, holdint, forth the prospect of
a better supply in future ! These hopes are utterly
fallacious. They have been indulged in too long; and
they emanate from quarters too interested, and too fond
of official Dogberryistn, to be entitled to any credit.
The fact is, that the fire police, from being deprived of
an efficient director, is now in a worse state than ever,
and yet there are no facilities given or can be given at
present, from the docks or mains, for a better or more
ready supply of water.
We now return to Mr. MOORE'S plan, which is decid,
edly the best that has ever been proposed. It is simple,
it is cheap, it could be easily carried into execution, and
it would provide an abundant and ever-ready supply of
water to a large portion of the town, and that portion
too where the most valuable and ignitible property is
warehoused. In the tables will be found the various
places where the water level of the Leeds canal is above
and below the streets. This water can be obtained for
the trouble and expense of conveying it, and we think the
water companies ought, and we think would liberally
contribute to carry the plan into effect. The water pro-
cured in this way and thrown upon fires would save the
Water of the several companies. It might barnacle as orna-
mental as useful. There might be an elegant fountain
at the New Custom House, and another near St.
George's church. There would be plenty of water in
all the low parts of the town, and in every pillar of the
dock sheds. The engines would be supplied the very
moment they an ived on the spot, and as it is impossible to
exhaust the supply, it could be used most beneficially for
health in washing the streets and common sewers. We
earnestly call the attention of the authorities and the in-
habitants to the subject.