The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-08-15 00:00:00

I TINTED LITROGRAPHY,

IMESSRS. MACLIIRE, 3iA.CDONALD, AND MACGREGOR

Lithographers to Her Majesty ;

Anne printed upon superior paper, so as to render
it,‘Witen framed, an ornament to the drawing-room.
As the printing of s 6 large a number will neces-
sally' involve considerable time, it is requested
"that orders may be forwarded to the office at'lhe
earliest convenience.

Owing to the very great expense inenrrea,
the Standard will, on 'that occasion, be charged
SIXPENCE.

'ire Post-office authorities have announcecZ Their
intention to expedite the night mails for the
North of England and North 'Wales by-dis-
patching them. three hours earlier. This will
necessitate the posting of THE STANDARD Ztfore
nine o'clock on Monday night, instead
night, as heretofore ; and, in consequence, we

are compelled to request that all advertisements
and communications may be sent to tho.effice

before six o'clock on Monday evening at ,tke
latest. The alteration will afford an advan=
Loge to our northern subscribers in the delivery
.of their papers some hours earlier ; and to those
-in North Wales there will be a gain of nearly
twenty-four hours.

tiberPool

TUESDAY MORNING, AUG. 8, 1854

114)W SHOULD- THE WAR BE ENDED?

TII-E progress of the war, as far at least as, eir-
-cumstances have yet taien place, present a tangled
web of confused and often contradictory accounts
by no means easy of .comprehension. This arises
in .a great measure finis the extended scene. of
operations, comprising both extremes of Europe
and great part of Asia, the number of parties en-
gaged at idifferent points,-a,nd the introduction of
the electric telegraph, by ithich the ordinary chan-
nels of communication are anticipated, but whereby
facts are too often distorted, and sometimes in-
vented, either to serve a purpose or to gratify the
public anxiety for news. Some time may there-
fore elapse befcre the proceedings of the belligerent
forces will form a distinct. portion of consecutive
'history, and we must form our conclusions as to
the progress of affairs from such accounts as we
receive, with the proviso, nevertheless, that no
report can safely•Le received until its truth has
been confirmed through some other channel. In
the meantime, it may not be out of place to con-
sider what ought to 'be the end of -the war, and
what guarantees should be demandettfrom Russia
for the future peace of Europe, before -the Western
Powers should consent to terms of peace, and with-
draw their forces from the scene of conflict. This
question becomes also of paore importance, owing
to the close of the session of Parliament-without
any assurances from the Ministry, except the con-
tradictory statements made in each house, and the
strong conviction in the public mind that the
PREMIER has no stomach for the fight, and would,
if he dared, submit to humiliating, or at least un-
satisfactory, conditions, in order to screen his
friend, the Cz_tu of Russia, from the vengeance
which the latter has so wantonly provoked.
If we take the map of Europe which points out
the changes of territory, we shall find that, since
the accession of PETER. 1., the frontier of Russia
has been extended in almost every direction by
large acquisitions from Sweden, from Poland, and
from Turkey, and, unless length of time be allowed
to legalise robbery, there is no legitimate reason
why the present war should not be one to compel
restoration. The career of NAPOLEON only differed
from that of Russia in his conquests being effected
with greater rapidity ; and when his reign was
brought to a close, France was reduced within her
ancient limits, and all the achievements by which
it had been extended went for nothing. It would
be difficult to advance any solid reason why a
similar course should not be pursued on the pre-
sent occasion. If Finland were restored to Sweden,
the latter power would form an effectual check
against Russian aggression in that quarter; and
if, in addition to this, the kingdom of Poland were
re-established, Russia would not have a port on
the Baltic Sea or the Gulf of Bothnia, and even St.
Petersburg would belong to Sweden. With Poland
intervening, Prussia might have less fear from the
proximity of her dangerous neighbourr,eastnodrinAugsttrhiae
would derive a similar benefit. By
territories acquired from Turkey, Russia would be
shut out from the Black Sea, and, indeed, reduced
to her limits, as far as Europe is concerned, as they
existed previous to the year 1689. Should such
be the ultimatum which the allied powers insist
upon as the conditions upon which alone they will
consent 0 negotiate for peace, it may be excess of

TIIE LIVERPOOL

STANDARD, AND GE'StRAL 00AIMERCIAL ADVERTISER.

PUBLIC MI

ADAYS,

N calling attention to the report of the Com-
mittee on Public Houses, we briefly alluded to a
clause wherein they recommend the opening of
places of recreation and instruction on the Lord's
Day. There is, perhaps, no part of the sc

which is fraught with more danger to public
morality than this apparently innocent concession
to public desire, and which is attempted to be
shielded from active opposition by the plausible
pretence of restricting it to such places as shall
receive the consent of the LORD CHAMBERLAIN.
It would be opening the door to a legalised dese-
cration of the Lord's Day ; and, when once this has
been effected, it would be impossible to affix any
limit to its progress. Every place so allowed to
be opened would furnish the excuse for some other,

where the degree of difference would be so slight
as hardly to be appreciable ; and so, from step to
step, the course of demoralisation would proceed,
until every barrier had been removed, and England
become worse than the continent—far worse, be-
cause the sin would be committed in spite of our
moral conviction of its heinousness. All must

admit the gross depravity and immorality arising
from the number of spirit-shops and beer-houses
in our large towns, but the evils are confined, in a

great measure, to certain classes prone to such in-
dulgences, and whose vices, though they may shock
the more virtuous, chiefly affect Themselves. But

what may we anticipate would be the effect upon
the minds of those better &posed, when they are
invited to partake of recreation under the sanction
of the law, and their scruples to such indulgence
overcome by the pretended innocence of the tempta-
tions thus opened to Them ? In vain would the
Clergy enjoin the necessity of obedience to the
Divine Will, and teach the all-important truth that
it is righteousness Which exalteth a nation, tor vice
will have been robbed of her deformity, and the
man who hesitated to commit the open profanation,
would too soon 'be weaned from his good resolu-

tions, when the 'temptation became 'too strong for
resistance. The excuse which is -pleaded for this
innovation is 'the necessity for relaxation after the
toil of six days in the week, and The impossibility
of the working-classes finding arty other time for
healthful exercise and mental iroprovement than
the one ty which has been -set ?part by Divine
authority Tor public worship. This is, however, a
difficult of man's creating. 'We admit the 'im-
portance of occasional relaxation, and the strength
of the temptation by Which 'the working-man is
induced to devote the Sunday to bodily recreation,
and ,the question then :arises as to the 'mode of
meeting the want without infringing the Divine
command. This maybe ..:accomplished by setting
apart certain days in 'they-ear to be observed as
general holidays, such alrwas formerlyilene in the
various departments Of tthe public service, and is
now done at the StoCk 'Exchange and similar in-
-tfitutions in London, on 'the Ist of May and Ist of
-November, which are 'kept as close holidays. It
would require an Act of Parliament in order to
-provide for, the paymeitt of bills-and-other obliga-
'tions by the Banks, and such days. may be selected
:us the QuEnx2s birthday, the 'anniversary of the
'Battle of Waterloo, the QUEEN'S Accession, the
'3.st of June, or siriular commemorations. In the
:absence of any legal, enactment, much may be done
Thy the agreement of -employers to aiessation from
labour and the paymesit of wages at _ac earlier hour
-on the Saturday ; and -this course has been pur-
sued to a considerable extent in I:iiverpool and
some other large towns. If snob practice were
'to become general, the working-clasees.would have

less excuse for the violation of the sanctity of the
Lord's Day, and we might reasonably expect a

,better attendance at Dirine Service. At any rate,
it would be an endeavour to gain•the iiftt way by
the right means ; but 'to seek to win the dissolute
from their evil courses ;by providing Saativ amuse-
ments for them, would not only fail of its effect,
but prove the certain means of -deluding many into
a-systematic desecration from which -they: are now
deterred. In alluding, however, to the general
complaint of the evils for which the'Commilttee on
Public Houses endeavour to provide a remody, we
claim credit for the working-classes of Liverpool
being far less amenable to the Charge thaar those
of most large towns. From their hard ei.rnings
they :voluntarily contribute -more .than :1400 a
year; in order to provide 'religious instruction for
themselves and their famflies; and no better proof
than Ibis could be afforded of their regvml for
higher and holier obligations,zinstead of the mere
gratification of their animal • instincts under -the
pretence-of requiring recreation.