The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-02-11 00:00:00

neighbours." The Rotnish clergy, by the temporary
retention in the schools of the masters appointed by
the late education committee, and who seem to have
been well enough disposed to become their partisans
upon this occasion, have had full swing in their efforts
to withdraw the children of their own persuasion.
And though these particular children, being provided
for now in strictly Roman Catholic schools—which
Liberalism, we trust, has bled freely to endow—may
not be permitted to partake of the benefits provided
for children of all denominations, by the education
committee, we have no fear that the Corporation
Schools will be filled, and that, ultimately, the children
of Roman Catholic parents, even, will not be driven
from them by the misrepresentations of a clamorous
and unscrupulous faction.

We abstained, purposely, until the return of a Con-
servative member for the borough had been secured,
from noticing the spirit which was manifested, in the
course of the canvass of Sir Howard Douglas, by a
portion of the Conservative constituency. We are
perfectly acquainted with the circumstances out of
which that spirit has arisen. We are not at all pre-
pared to defend or ev en to palliate them ; and yet we
cannot but regret that, actuated by the pique of the
moment—arising, we trust, far more from misconcep-
tion on their own part than from any real intention on
the part of others to convey a slight upon them—our
operative Protestant friends should have given vent to
their feelings in a way which, although happily unpro-
ductive of immediate injury, is, at least, not calculated
to benefit the cause of which we are confident they are
the sincere supporters.

We regret this manifestation of pique, and we be-
lieve our operative friends will, on reflection, regret it
too; and more especially when they see with what evi-
dent delight the bare contemplation of a Split amongst
the Conservative body is welcomed by our opponents.
Strong as the principle of Conservatism is, in Liver-
pool, we cannot afford to allow it to be weakened by
intestine divisions. We have an active and vigilant
enemy watching us, ready to avail himself of any and
every opportunity to re-erect the fabric of his lost su-
premacy. No wavering, no bickering, no insubordina-
tion is to be found in his ranks; and if we wish to
preserve our present advantage—if we wish to keep
ourselves from being trampled upon and insulted—
Conservatism must be united and unanimous, and we
must some of us even be willing to concede a little,
and forbear a little, to preserve that entireness, which
is strength.
It is not our intention to enter into the merits of the
question as between our operative friends and other
sections of the Conservative body. Our candid opi-
nion is that both have been in the wrong ; but at the
same time we must acknowledge that our sympathies
are with the humbler portion of our Conservative bre-
thren. It is quite possible that in the earnestness of
their zeal for those Protestant principles which it has
so long been their study to promote and to defend,
they may have, in the first instance, assumed a position
somewhat too dictatorial, and attempted to lead when
it was their duty, as a minority, to follow. But we are
satisfied that nothing in their conduct can be pleaded_
in justification of the treatment with which it was vi-
sited by a portion of the Conservative body, and espe-
cially by a local journal which, on this occasion, has
constituted itself the organ.of that body, and dealt out
its denunciations against our Protestant operatives with
a ferocity and insolence of tone which we are satisfied
the influential amongst the Conservatives of Liverpool
will be the first to disclaim and discountenance. We
are confident that the proceedings and the manner as-
sumed towards the assembled operatives by a few gen-
tlemen at the meeting in Toxteth-hall will not meet,
and ought not to meet, with the approbation of Con-
servatives generally ; and that it will not be maintained
by any but a mere handful amongst them that their
Conservative brethren who have toiled so ardently in
behalf of the good cause in its days of peril and diffi-
culty, should, now that the gale of success has filled
its sails, be elbowed aside, or passed over, as men who
have no minds to think and judge for themselves, and
who, if they do not " bate their breath" to the pitch
of proper humility, must be at once " discountenanced
and suppressed."

It may undoubtedly be very desirable, in the opinion
of some gentlemen who have succeeded in climbing
into local authority through the instrumentality of this
very body, that no "intermeddling" should be per-
mitted with respect to the mode in which they realise
their past professions—that no check should exist to
prevent principles and pledges from being violated and
to obstruct those " arrangements," made in their vari-
ous coteries, by which the declared will of the consti-
tuency of the borough is sought by them to be de-
feated. The Protestant operatives—and that they are

such and not merely " operative Conservatives " con-
stitutes iu some quarters the gravamen of their offence—
have shown a quick eye to detect and a resolution to
denounce these backslidings. But we are much mis-
taken if any serious offence has been taken by Con-
servatives generally against the late proceedings of the
operative body, from which the ill-feeling manifested
towards them has arisen ; and are confident that, un-
less by a display of passion, such as has been evinced
within the past week, they forfeit their claims to the
respect of their fellow-townsmen, no power, no body
of men will be allowed either to insult or to put them
down.

We have ourselves ever taken a strong interest in the
proceedings of the operative body. We continue to do
so ; and if, by a return to the exercise of sober deter-
mination and to the maintenance of sound constituti-
onal and Protestant principles, without any admixture
of passion or unworthy resentment, they will enable us
conscientiously to approve of their proceedings, we are
ready to pledge ourselves to support them to the ut-
most of our ability. They can easily afford to over-
look much of what they have construed, we believe
without cause, into meditated offence against them, 'on
the part of Conservatives, who are as little disposed as
themselves to sacrifice principles to expediency ; and
they are ready, we trust, to despise the threats which
have been levelled against them from whatever quarter
they may have come. . Let the Protestant operatives of
Liverpool be true to themselves. Let them stand fast
by their principles, and exercise them with no unwor-
thy disrespect to the principles of others, and we at
least, as their advocate, will not in silence permit them
to be either "discountenanced or suppressed."

THE FEELING ON 'CHANGE WITH RESPECT TO
SIR ROBERT PEEL'S PROPOSED MODIFICA-
TION OF THE CORN LAWS.
The arrival yesterday morning, by express, of the third
edition of the London Standard, containing a verbatim re-
port of the speech of Sir Robert Peel in introducing his new
scheme of corn-laws, created the most intense excitement
amongst all classes of the frequenters of our. Exchange.
From the inquiries which we have made we cannot report
very satisfactorily with respect to the feeling with which it
was received. By the liberal party, of course it was not to
be anticipated that any proposition from Sir Robert Peel
short of a total abandonment of all his previously recorded
opinions upon this subject, would be satisfactory ; whilst
amongst those who call themselves "liberal conservatives,"
an impression appears to have gained ground, arising partly
from the retirement of the Duke of Buckingham from the
cabinet, that some measure of a more sweeping character
was in preparation, and hence something resembling disap-
pointment with the measure itself has in the first instance
resulted.
We believe, however, that a very imperfect knowledge of
the details of the measure very generally prevailed. In fact,
we know that great misconceptions upon several material
points are in circulation ; and we do not therefore believe
that any fair criterion of the opinion of the merchants of Li-
verpool can as yet be formed. A very perceptible gloom,
however, pervaded the market, which may in part perhaps
be attributed to the loud dissatisfaction expressed by those
of our Manchester neighbours whom business had brought
amongst us. The gentlemen of the league from that town
were especially bitter in their denunciations of the govern-
ment scheme ; and we heard of one gentleman in particular
who fancies himself a conservative, and who declared his in-
tention, immediately upon his return to city of cotton bob-
bins and tape, to enlist himself amongst the monomaniacs of
the league, and become forthwith an out and out repealer.

MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE.—About six weeks ago
a Young girl, daughter to a poor woman of this town, went
out one morning for the purpose of attending to her duties
at the house of an individual in Pitt-street, who had engaged
her for the day as a charwoman. From that day to the pre-
sent the girl has not been seen by any of her relatives or
friends, and we need not say that her parent has suffered
great misery in consequence. When ache did not return to
her home at the expected time, her mother made inquiry at
the house where she had been engaged, but it was found that
she had never made her appearance there. Every means of
discovering ber fate have been resorted to, but without suc-
cess. Sheis represented as about twenty years of age, rather
short, and strongly built, with a tolerably handsome face.
She was exceedingly deaf, and spoke very imperfectly.