The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-10-03 00:00:00

MUSIC AND THE DRAMA

PRIM:CAMEO/PIC SOCIETY'S CONCERT.—On Tuesday
evening, the sixth subscription concert for the season took
place in the Philharmonic-hall. The chief feature in the
programme of this entertainment was the appearance of
Mad'lle Cruvelli, whose magnificent dramatic performances
in the Operas recently given in the Theatre Royal created
such a sensation. The impression she there made gave
rise to a conjecture among some of the musical amateurs,
that her qualities of voice and intellect were more suited
to the stage, and less adapted to the concert-room ; while
the generally favourable opinion formed as to her capabili-
ties gave rise to a large attendance. The hall was filled
by a fashionable and highly intelligent audience, who
testified their delight with the wonderful and captivating
singing of the great cantatrice. In several of the solos
allotted to her, the brilliancy of her execution was only
equalled, if it was not, indeed, excelled by the charming
pathos and melodious sweetness of expression which she
infused into her all but faultless singing. A second great
attraction was Signor Belletti, who was in capital voice,
and sang with charming expression and effect. The other
artistes also acquitted themselves well in their several
departments, and as an intellectual treat the concert of
Tuesday evening must deservedly rank high.
THEATRE RoyxL.—During the past week, the genius
of Charles Mathews has been brought into active rivalry,
at this establishment, with the united phalanx of science
which held the reins and ruled in St. George's Hall. To
say that, under sway of the bright London star, Momus
fought an equal battle with the attractive brilliancy of the
electric light, the self-painted portraits of the moon, and
the amusing eccentricities of the man-like apes, is to pay
the poor player no trivial compliment, yet it is a compli-
ment to whieh he is well entitled. On Tuesday
_evening

Mr. Mathews played Mr. Affable Hawk, in "The Game
of Speculation," in such a manner as he alone can play it.
He was cool, unembarrassed, and fertile in expedient ; and
indomitable in purpose as he was affable, courteous, and
gentlemanly in his deportment. In this piece he was
admirably supported by Mr. F. L. Villiers, who played
Sir Harry Lister with great tact and propriety, and fully
earned the well-applied plaudits which he received. On
Wednesday the comedy of " Used up" presented Mr.
Mathews to the numerous and delighted auditory as Sir
Charles Coldstream, in the earlier scenes of which he
was, as usual, particularly happy, polish and gentlemanly
feeling running charmingly through the nonchallant
lassitude of the ennuee man of pleasure and fashion. As
Ironbrace, Mr. Villiers in this piece also appeared to much
advantage. On Friday Mr. Mathews took his benefit,
and, being freed from the attractions of scientific rivalry,
he drew a bumper house. The performances commenced
with a new piece, entitled " A Nice Firm," followed by
another new piece, called " Cool as a Cucumber," after
which the amusing farcetta of " Patter versus Clatter."
In the first-named of these pieces, the amusement is caused
by the opposite peculiarities of the two partners, attorneys,
Mr. Messiter (Mathews), all impetuosity and speed, a
gentleman who does business as railway trains conduct a
collision, without the slightest reflection on the conse-
quences • Mr. Moon (Baker) all caution, hesitation, and
forgetfulness. Between the two, as might be expected,
incessant blundering and endless mistakes arise in the
prosecution of their business, which, however, like all
theatrical embarrassments, are finally rectified. The piece
is an exceedingly silly one, and its success depended
entirely on the admirable manner in which it was acted.
The leading characters were sustained in a manner worthy
of a much better piece. Of Mr. Charles Mathews it is
unnecessary to say more than that he was " at home" in
it. As Moon, Mr. Baker was excellent in every respect :
his abstracted air of puzzled rectitude, and bamboozled
cautiousness, was all that could be wished, and, in point
of fact, was a great histrionic effort ; and of Mrs. Power's
Susannah Applejohn, it would be difficult to speak in
terms of exaggerated praise. It was at once natural and
graphic ; and in the broad touches of farcical comedy, with
which the character is here and there adorned, she was
eminently comic. This evening, Miss Cushman appears
as Meg Merrilies in" Guy Mannering." On Thursday,
the same eminent tragedienne will repeat this favourite
character.

ITALIAN AND GERMAN OPEIZA9.—At the Theatre
Royal a series of Italian and German Operas was com-
menced last night, by the representation of Bellini's grand
Opera " Norma," the character of Norma being sustained
by Madame Caradori, Adelgisa being represented by
Sedlatzek, and Oroveso by M. Zolger. The
orchestra, under the able leadership of Mr. Allwood, and
the chorus and other musical appointments, under the
conduct of Mr. E. J. Loder, were most effective; and
the arrangements for the series are such as to give the
best security for the adequate representation of a most
interesting repertoire. The company is extensive in
number, and of acknowledged excellence. The operatic
performances are to be given twice a week, and it is
intended to give twenty of them, the second taking place
on Friday next.

AUTIIUE NAPOLEON, TUB INFANT PIANIST.--This
prodigy of genius is likely to divide for the week the
interest of the musical public with the Grand Opera.
Arthur Napoleon, though but ten years of age, is a won-
derful pianist, performing the most difficult music with
precision, ease, brilliancy, and fine feeling. Our greatest
musicians have displayed their genius in very early years,
and the performances of this young pianist give us the
highest hope of a remarkable future. It was at the age of
four that Arthur Napoleon displayed the signs of musical
genius, and then it was that his musical education was
begun. To say that he has been apt is far too little. Music
has come to him uninvited, and now, at the age of ten, he
will execute pieces which only the most accomplished ven-
ture to attempt. In the programme of last evening, a
fantasia from " Mose in Egitto," by Thalberg, brought out
his brilliant execution ; a solo, by Wallace, " La Craco-
vienne," exhibited his perfect mastery over the instru-
ment ; and the depth of feeling which he can embody
was delightfully manifested in the national airs which
followed. The concert of last night was rendered ex-
tremely attractive by the excellent assistance rendered by
the tenors and the soprano. At the late hour at which
we write further comment is impossible.
Mr. WooniN' whose carpet-bag and sketch-book have so
long delighted the Londoners, has been drawing good
houses at Hime's in Bold-street, though not so
crowded as the merit of his performances deserve. His
power of voice, in adapting it to every change of character
and maintaining it, is inimitable, and the entertainment is

well entitled tosur

DEVIATION OF COMPASSES ON BOARD
IRON SHIPS.

YESTERDAY afternoon, the Rev. Dr. Scoresby attended
at the Underwriters'-rooms, for the purpose of offering
some further elucidatson of his views upon this important
subject. Amongst the gentlemen present we observed
T. B. Horsfall, Esq., M.P., W. Brown, Esq., M.P., T.
Thornely, Esq., M.P., Captain Henderson, Captain Lott
(of the Asia), Captain Schomberg (Government Emigra-
tion Agent), Lieutenant Lord, Mr. Maury (brother of
Lieutenant Maury), and Messrs. H. C. Chapman, Wm.
Stuart, T. B. Barclay, R. Shiel, J. Hubback, W. Fisher,
C. Palmer, C. S. Parker, S. Bright, W. T. Naylor, Chas.
Turner (Chairman of the Dock Committee), J. W. Towson,
Wm. Potter (Chairman of the Liverpool Underwriters'
Association), Rawson (Deputy-chairman of the Ship-
masters' Association), George Grant, John Torr, J. G. C.
Arbuthnot, Hugh Hornby, W. Jones, R. Rankin, S. R.
Graves, John Lockett, F. Hamilton, John Laird (iron
shipbuilder), James Tyrer, C. Cotesworth, &c.
Mr. Wm. Bnower, M.P., having, on the proposition of
Mr. POTTER, seconded by Mr. RAwsow, been called to the
chair, briefly stated the object of the meeting.
The Rev. Dr. SCORESBY then entered upon a lengthy
address, which was substantially the same as the one de-
livered before the British Association a few days ago,
and which was reported in the Standard of Tuesday
last. He appeared, he said, in consequence of an invi-
tation from the Underwriters' Association, in order to
give some further explanation of his views on the mag-
netic condition of iron ships, as producing, or likely to
produce, compass-disturbances, and to suggest available
remedies. He accepted the invitation with much satis-
faction, both on account of the importance of the subject,
and because of certain misapprehensions which had arisen
with respect to some of the statements he made at the
recent meeting of the British Association. He regretted
that any anxiety should have arisen in the public mind
by moving into this question; but he was persuaded that
gentlemen in Livespol interested, as they deeply were,
in the management and success of iron ships, would
not allow the matter to rest. Colonel Sabine, in a
discourse before the British Association, showed that
even the magnetism of this very globe was not free from
disturbance; then how much more likely was the mag-
netism of iron ships to be disturbed by magnetic causes ?
In the outset he would clear the subject of all erroneous
impressions which had been attached to it; and,
in the first place, he wished it to be most distinctly under-
stood, that any observations he had made or should make,
were not designed to draw invidious comparisons between
the relative efficiency or inefficiency of iron and wooden
ships, but were merely intended to draw attention to
that important element belonging to iron ships which, if
not ascertained and understood, might produce embar-
rassment and danger, but which, he believed, with due
care in the appliance of science, might ultimately be, for
all practical purposes, available for good. (Hear, hear.)
Nor did he wish to be misunderstood as implying that
deviation did not occur in wooden ships as well as in iron
ships. On the contrary, so long ago as the year 1815, he
directed his attention to the deviations of ships built of
timber; and in 1819 he published, in the Transactions of
the Royal Society, his views on the causes of deviation of
compasses in the ships of that day. It would also be in
the recollection of gentlemen whom he saw in that room,
that, on the 23rd of January, 1822, he gave a lecture at
the Royal Institution, Liverpool, on the same subject, on
which occasion he showed the danger arising, not so
much from the fact of that deviation, but from ignorance
and inattention to that important fact. (Hear, hear.)
He showed in that lecture that, in the winter of 1810-11,
three or four ships of the royal navy were wrecked, and
that the disasters should be ascribed, not so much to the
deviation of the compasses—although doubtless that was
the first cause—as to the fact that the officers of the royal
navy had at that time very little knowledge of the fact of
the deviation of compasses. On the occasion of wreck
of the ships of the navy, to which he had alluded, a man,
named White, of little or no education, but possessing
remarkable intelligence, had observed that there was a
tendency to draw his ship towards the port when descending
the Channel. The commander of the man-of-war, on that
occasion, signalled to steer S.S.W. ; but the merchantman,
by the acuteness of his intelligence, directed that his ship
should be steered W.S.W., observing that, if the men-of-
war kept in the same course they were pursuing, they
would sleep in their shoes the same morning. His pro-
phecy proved correct, for, while he safely entered the
Downs, the ships of the Royal Navy were stranded that
night, and upwards of 2,000 persons lost themselves, in
consequence of the deviation of the ships' compasses.
(Hear, hear.) It was absurd, therefore, to assume that, if
the comparatively small quantity of magnetic material in
wooden ships would produce disturbance, that ships built
entirely of iron would not be liable to the same effect.
Consequently, the great question affecting the navigation
of our ships amounted to this—namely, that it was not
that they were not capable of compass guidance, but that
the compasses, being liable to certain changes and altera-
tions, derived from the changes in the magnetic condi-
tion of ships, became dangerous, if not understood. If
this were understood by the intelligent captains of our
ships, the danger, if not utterly abolished, would at all
events be vastly decreased. (Hear, hear.) Hence the real
question resolved itself into these two propositions—first,
whether the compasses in our ships were liable, under
certain circumstances, to sudden disturbance, which, if
unknown and disregarded, might be dangerous ; and,
secondly, what might be done to diminish the liability of
this disturbance of the compasses ; and, thirdly, when it
did occur, what might be done to render it less danger-
ous ; and, lastly, what must be done to render the naviga-
tion of ships liable to this disturbance more safe. He
proposed to show the principles by which magnetism on
iron ships was developed ; the changes to which that mag-
netism was liable ; and to suggest the measures which
might be available for diminishing these evil effects, and
so improving the advantages derivable from compass-gui-
dance. The reverend doctor then proceeded to make a series
of interesting experiments, which we have previously de-
escribed, being the same as those exhibited before the Bri-
tish Association, to prove that iron, though highly suscepti-
ble of magnetism, was not in its nature spontaneously mag-
netic in any degree, but that there were circumstances under
which a high degree of magnetic intensity was developed.
It wasamatter well knownnotonlythat ironbecamemagne-
tic, by virtue of the inductive influence of the earth, but that
magnetism might be controlled, altered, or destroyed by
mechanical action. An iron bar, entirely neutral as to
its molecular magnetism, as shown by its being devoid of
influence when placed horizontally, in an east and west
line, near a compass, became strongly magnetic, when
placed upright, or proximately so • had its polarity re-
versed, by turning it with the contrary end downwards ;
and again became neutral when laid on the horizontal
east and west line. If the same bar, while held in an
upright position, or inclined in the axial direction of the
earth's magnetism, were subjected to percussion or other
mechanical violence, not only did its magnetism become
much more powerful than that of simple induction, but
it strongly exhibited its augmented polarity, when placed
in the east and west neutral, or equatoral position ; and,
however it might be moved about and swung around, its
polarity remained the same. Having proved these two
propositions by experiment, Dr. Scoresby went on to
apply them to the case of iron ships, and to point out
that, in consequence of the percussive action to which
the material was exposed, while the ships were in course
of construction, it became as intensely magnetic as it was
possible for malleable iron to be. He explained also that
if a ship was built to the north for instance, she
would have a certain magnetic distribution, which would
be liable to great change ; when in the course of her
voyages she steamed with her head to the south, the
natural effect would be to alter the compasses which had
been adjusted by fixed magnets.. To obviate this evil he
had been led to suggest, some years ago, from the expe-
rience he had obtained from deductive science, that if an
iron ship bad been built with her head to the north,
when launched she should be vibrated with her head in
the opposite direction, or, if possible, that her engines be
fixed in a different position to which she was built; the
effect of which would be to shake down the extreme mag-
netic influence of the ship, and to render her less liable
to changes when she felt the action of the sea. (Hear,
hear.) In the course of an interview with Mr. John
Laird, of Birkenhead (iron shipbuilder), that theory had
been found available in practice; for he (Mr. Laird) had
stated that, after launching an iron ship, it had been his
practice to have her vibrated in the dock, which had the
effect of reducing the subsequent deviation of the com-
passes, and to enable them to get a better adjustment.
(Cheers.) Having been charged • with naming only two
instances in which the compasses of iron ships had de-
viated—the Birkenhead and Tayleur—he now adduced the
cases of the Bosphorous, Propontis, Three Bells, Pasha,
Madrid, Iron Queen, Gypsy, Great Britain, and a num-
ber of others in support of his proposition, that the
magnetic properties of iron ships caused deviations of the
compasses under certain circumstances. He wished it to
be especially understood that he did not bring this as a
general charge against all iron ships ; because, probably,
the majority of such vessels made their passages without
being subject to these risks. What he did desire
to be particularly borne in mind was, that there
was a liability to this compass deviation' and
inattention to, or ignorance of this fact, on
the part of the commander, placed the ship in great
danger. Amongst the remedies for this evil the one in
which he had most confidence was, the placing the com-
passes in positions where they would be least liable to
these disturbing influences, namely, at the mast-head.
In his arctic explorations—which, he observed, he had
been enabled to prosecute owing to the liberality and
enterprising spirit of the merchants of Liverpool, the
compass upon which he had most depended, and by the
means of which he made his most accurate observations
was one placed at the mast-head ; affording a most satis-
factory answer to a gentleman well-known in Liverpool,
who had stated upon paper that no compass could act in
that position, either in wood or iron ships. (Cheers.)
After some further observations, the Rev. Dr. Scoresby
resumed his seat amidst general applause.
Mr. W. COURT, the Secretary of the Underwriters'
Association, produced the following letters which had been
received from Mr. Grantham, C.E.

"L!verpool, Sept. 50,j854

" Dear Sir,—l have been requested to 'attend, and, if neees-
sary, to reply to the proposed lecture of Dr. Scoresby, on the
compasses of iron ships, at Lloyd's Rooms, but am prevented
from doing either by urgent business, and from having to
leave town for London in the afternoon.
" I regret that a sense of public duty urged me, on a late
occasion, to call in question the correctness of the theory
framed by Dr. Scoresby on the basis of certain well-known
experiments on the change in the polarity of wrought iron,
and from which he assumed that the compasses of iron ships
were not to be trusted, I contended that the cases he men-
tioned were not analogous, nor were his arguments supported
by satisfactory proof. The only cases adduced were those of
the Tayleur and the Birkenhead, doubtful cases at the best
No evidence was given of the numberless iron vessels steering
with perfect safely into every port in Great Britain, nor of the
causes which lead to the destruction of hundreds of our
timber-built vessels every year. Dr. Scoresby described the
vibration which hehad felt in the cabins of iron steam vessels,
which, he said, must have the effect of changing the polarity
of the ship. I now ask him to prove it. Such an assertion is
far too serious to be allowed to pass without direct proof—not
by a bar of iron struck by a hammer or by a plate of iron
bent before an audience in a lecture-room, but derived from
established and well-attested facts on board the ships them-
selves. The idea, also, that the deviation in new ships is
greater than in vessels which have been twisted and shaken
at sea, and thus arrived at a kind of mean deviation, may be
correct theory, but, it is assumed, not proved. `The injury to
the pivot of the compass card, caused by vibraion, must not
be mixed up with this question ; all stezm-vessels are subject
to this defect. . •

i'reor:alesues gave to Dr. ..,sorekby 444 pre f tope in)

portant facts relative to his survey of the Euphrates, for 1200
miles, in an iron steamer, which will, I trust, be published;
more satisfactory evidence cannot be imagined.
" I am far from stating that there is no local attraction in
iron ships, or that the compasses are not liable in certain lati-
tudes to considerable variation, but I believe it will be diffi-
cult to disprove the assertion that, with proper care and
proper corrections, iron ships may be, and are, navigated
as safely as wooden ships ; and I feel that the statements of
Dr. Scoresby, at the British Association, tended to give an
erroneous impression as to the relative safety of the two
kinds of vessels.

"Dr. Scoresby has said that the corrections, as usually
made, are delusive, and seems to recommend that they shoulp
not be made. This looks almost like a wish to deprive iron
ships of that which long experience in many hundred ships
proves to be highly beneficial.
" I am happy to notice that a committee has been formed
by the British Association to investigate this subject; 'but to
render this inquiry still more practical I hope to form another
committee in this town, who will take measures to arrive at
facts by collecting the evidence of all the commanders of
steamers and other vessels, both wood and iron, employed in
this port. .

Dr. Scoresby said much about the importance of arriving at
the truth. lam of the same way of thinking, and am not
afraid of the truth; but to allow partial statements, and the
wrong application of known facts in science, to go forth to the
public unanswered, will only lead to error, and tend to foster
the prejudices of those who have been opposed to the intro-
duction of iron as a material for ship-building—one of the
greatest improvements in navigation of modern times.—l am,
dear Sir, yours very truly, " JOHN GRANTHAM.
"Thomas Court, Esq."

"Orange Court, October 2, 1854.
"MY DEAR SIR,— At the British Association Mr. Towson
differed with me as to the state of the compasses on board
the Sarah Sands, but as my information was general, I could
not clear the =titer up at the time. I now band you a copy
of evidence taken on board that ship this morning, and I
trust the information may go forth to the public. In ad-
dition to the following evidence, Captain Thompson, who
commanded her for seven years, states that from the time
she started till her return from the Pacific (five years) her
compasses never varied. Mr. Gray, then, at his own wish,
swung the vessel, and made some alteration, as the two com-
passes varied from each other one-third of a point. Captain
Thompson thinks that she has not been quite so correct
since, and he was troubled with some variation on the coast
of New Holland, but he does not know whether the deviation
was anything unusual. Captain Illesley's later experience,
however, seems to confirm the opinion that she has from the
first remained the same.—l am, dear Sir, yours truly,

"JOHN GRANTHAM

"The report that the compasses were not correct when she
went ashore last summer in a fog in the Straits of Belisle,
may bane given rise to the report named by Mr. Towson, but
which has since been shown not to have occurred, as will be
seen by Capt. Diesiey's evidence.
.‘ Evidence of Captain lllestey, formerly first officer, taken
on board the Sarah Sands, October 2, 1854 :—" Has been on
board the Sarah Sands ever since she was built. Compasses
on main deck and poop have always varied from each other
under five degrees. The vessel was half swung at Mr. Gray's
desire about three years ago, and a magnet was taken out of
the main deck compass. No other change has been made,
and the compasses have remained the same from the begin-
ning. She was in the Pacific for two years, in and out of
several ports, and while in the Straits of Magellan, the corn-
posses were proved by an azimuth compass on shore, and
found to be quite correct. At the Cape of Good Hope com-
passes varied a little, but not more than is usual with wooden
ships at that place. Deviations also observed in the St.
Lawrence; compared them with logs of an experienced cap-
tain, who had made twenty-two successive voyage up the St.
Lawrence in a wooden ship, and who found the same devia-
tions, and says that they corresponded at all points. In June
last got ashore in the Straits of Bellisle, while in a fog, and
surrounded by ice. Thought the compasses might have been
in part the cause, but this voyage, when coming out through
the Straits, steered the whole way by compass,and found them
perfectly correct."
The Rev. Dr. SCORESBY, in the course of some observa-

tions, thought the statements he had already made would
anticipate most of Mr. Grantham's objections. (Hear,
hear.) Afterreplying to several of the statements contained
in the letters, he concluded by expressing his concurrence
with Mr. Grantham's suggestion for the appointment of a
fair committee, composed of men of different views, to in-
vestigate the question. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. T. B. HonsFALL, M.P., moved a vote of thanks to
Dr. Scoresby, for his interesting and valuable statement,
which he hoped would be the means of exciting that spirit
of inquiry which must result in great good to the com-
merce of the country. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. C. TURNER, in seconding the proposition, observed
that the mercantile community were very much indebted
to Dr. Scoresby for the very valuable information he had
furnished with respect fo this difficult subject. Hear.)
Mr. Josx LAIRD, the eminent iron-shipbuilder, of
Birkenhead, corroborated what Dr. Scoresby had stated
with respect to the advantage of having vessels well shaken
and vibrated before an attempt was made to adjust the
compasses. Before he resorted to that practice, he fre-
quently found that the compasses had to be re-adjusted
before the vessel went to sea. He also acknowledged the
correctness of the reverend doctor's statement with respect
to the great liability to deviation in ships proceeding
southwards. He thought that Dr. Scoresby was well en-
titled to their thanks for raising a question which by the
aid of science would, he had no doubt, lead to the adoption
of a more improved principle of regulating ships' com-
passes than by the Professor's system of fixed magnets,
although, in fairness, he must say that in some cases in
which that system had been followed there had not been
the slightest deviation. (Hear, hear.)

The vote of thanks to Dr. Scoresby was passed by ac-
clamation; and, after that gentleman had responded, the
usual vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the
proceedings.

THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION.—At the municipal elec-
tion, on the Ist of November, the following members retire:
—ln Everton Ward, Mr. Robert Aked ; Scotland Ward,
Mr. James Thomson ; Vauxhall Ward, Mr. Edward
Bradley ; St. Paul's Ward, Mr. J. R. M`Guffie ; Exchange
Ward, Mr. Thomas Littledale ; Castle-street Ward, Mr.
Hugh Hornby ; St. Peter's Ward, Mr. Harmood Ban-
ner ; Pitt-street Ward, Mr. J. Gladstone, jun. ; Great
George Ward, Mr. Thomas Wagstaff; Rodney Ward,
Mr. Thomas Fleming ; Abercromby Ward, Mr. Hugh
Neil; Lime-street Ward, Mr. James Johnson ; Si.'
Anne's Ward, Mr. Raymond W. Houghton ; West Derby
Ward, Mr. R. M. Beckwith; South Toxteth, Mr. John
Stewart; North Toxteth, Mr. Thomas Royden. Mr.
Bradley's election will be warmly, and doubtless, success-
fully opposed by Mr. Bains, of the " Black Ball Line," a
change which will greatly facilitate the conduct of public
business. Mr. Banner's re-election is to be opposed by
Mr. Frodsham, and Mr. Houghton by Mr. Kitchen. Mr.
Jas. Holme is spoken of as the next toffilthe municipal chair.
ADJOURNED ANNUAL SESSION.—An adjourned meet-
ing of magistrates was held at the Court House, in Preston,
on Thursday, for the purpose of further considering the
Militia Laws Amendment Act of 1854, and the propriety
of referring to the committee appointed by the annual ses-
sion the completion of the contract entered into on the part
of the deputy-lieutenants for the purchase of a site for the
storehouse of the sth Royal Lancashire Militia, at Burnley.
R. Newsham, Esq., was in the chair, and only about six
others were present. The clerk having read the agenda
paper, Mr. C. R. Jacson briefly alluded to the necessity of
completing the contract for the purchase of land for the
erection of a militia storehouse, at Burnley, for the sth
Royal Lancashire Militia. The clerk of the Lieutenancy
had put into his hands a representation to the effect that
the place already existing was insufficient and insecure for
the keeping of the arms and accoutrements of the militia
regiment. After a discussion as to the form of a resolution
submitted to the court by Mr. Jacson, the following was
agreed to That the court approves of the site for a
storehouse for the sth Regiment of Royal Lancashire
Militia, selected by the lieutenancy, and approved of by
the lord lieutenant and the commandant of the said regi-
ment ; and that the deputy-clerk of the peace be instructed
to effect and carry out the purchase thereof, at a price not
exceeding £1,150 ; and that the necessary assurance there-
of be made to Ralph Holden and James Foulds, Esqrs.,
two of Her Majesty's justices of the peace, as trustees for
the county.

THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND AT BD:MENNE/o).—On
Tuesday morning, a numerous and influential company as-
sembled at a public breakfast, in the Holy Trinity Church
Institute, at Birkenhead, to meet the Lord Bishop of New
Zealand. The Rev. Dr. Baylee, Principal of St. Aidan's
College, presided, and there were present nearly all the
clergy of Birkenhead and the vicinity, as well as some from
Liverpool. The Bishop of New Zealand, in the course of
his speech, said :—" What was wanted was more systematic
effort; and the observations which he made with respect to
Melanesia, were true also of India, and China, and Africa,
and all other parts of the world. They could not expect
to provide a sufficient number of educated teachers from
England to instruct 500,000,000 of heathen. They must
begin in the directly opposite way from that in which they
had begun already. The Church in the United States had
almost died out for *ant of bishops, because of the difficulty
and expense which were inseparable from coming over to
England to be ordained ; but now that that church had
bishops of its own, it was not only extending itself over
the whole of the United States, but had its missionary
bishop in China. Their system admitted of their sending
out missionary bishops into all parts of the world. He
did not know what the objection was to our doing the
same thing, but he believed it was that no Bishop could
hold authority without the sanction of the Queen, and that
the Queen could not give authority out of her own do-
minions. Whatever the cause was, there could be no doubt
of the fact that the missionary work was paralysed, and
must be comparatively ineffective, so long as we were only
able to send out mere catechists, or even presbyters, who
were unable to give to the natives the same powers which
they possessed themselves. When he first went to New
Zealand, the catechists and lay agents whom he found
there told him that they could not do any good because
they were unable to administer the sacraments—that since
the ordained missionaries had come out, the natives
thought less of them, and would not listen to them, be-
cause they saw they had not the powers which the
ordained missionaries possessed. Upon that representa-
tion, he had proceeded, with the cordial assent of his own
feelings, to ordain the greater part of them ; but now he
had another difficulty to contend with—for when he said
to any of the native teachers ' Why don't you do this or
that ?' the answer was, ' The people wont listen to us ;
they tell us they would rather have an Englishman, for
they think that Englishmen can teach them better than
ourselves.' Yet these same men—if there were no ground
of comparison—if there were no English missionaries with
whom the comparison could be made—would be useful and
effective teachers of their own people. The simplest way
then—and that which he believed would be the most
effectual—was to send out two or three European mission-
aries—a bishop—and one or two chaplains—and to let these
gather all the best and most promising young men into
one central spot, and after giving them the best training
that they could, send them out as ordained missionaries to
the native tribei around them. He believed that by doing
this—by planting 'the tree whose seed is in itself,' instead
of sending out barren stocks, to wither and to die—the
Church of England. even with its present means, and with
its present number of men, might adequately, under God's
Providence, discharge its missionary duty. They knew
perfectly well that the two missionary institutions in this
country, in connexion with the Church—St. Augustine's
College at Canterbury, and the Church Missionary So-
ciety's Institution at Islington—hardly found it possible
to send out 20 or 22 missionaries annually, and that at an
expense of £3,000
,a-year, because they were intended not
for 20 but for 100. How then was it possible, he askedagain,
to supply
_ .
English teachers for the five hundred mil-

lions of heathens who were scattered abroad in all parts of
the world ? How, indeed, was it possible to supply them
with teachers at all, except in the way he had suggested ?
They wanted simply the powers of the episcopate. They
wanted neither its ornaments nor its emoluments ; they
the powers of ordination and confirmation,
ed these because they considered them es-

wanted on

be maw

ti9as of the Church

THE WAR IN THE CRIMEA.

DEFEAT OF 50,000 RUSSIANS.