The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-02-01 00:00:00

JOINT STOCK BANKS,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SIR,—As the directors and proprietors of the Albionle Bank
P
have found it necessary to dissolve the company, peo are
naturally inquiring whether one or two other banks in this
town, which it is notorious do not carry on so much, nor so
good a business, will also be dissolved ?
Some ill-natured persons say that the directors and mana-
gers have placed the banks alluded to in such a position as to
preclude a recommendation, on their part, of a dissolution.
ALIQUis.

tlr•
P'wr

THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN VERSUS THE
PORT OF LIVERPOOL.
We showed in our last publication, (in reply to the studied
endeavour of the Manchester Guardian to misrepresent the
cost of transit of merchandize from Belfast, by way of Li-
verpool), that the whole charge for freight and port dues of
20 firkins of butter weighing 15 cwt. 1 quarter, which the
Guardian had told his readers was 20s. Bd., would only
amount to 10s. Ild. We made this statement upon the
authority of the two respectable agents in Liverpool, of the
Belfast packets, who, we dare say will feel happy to receive
as much freight as our Manchester friends can give them at
these charges; and having given such an authorized state-
ment against a mere gratuitous assumption of the Guardian—
having proved the assertion which we originally made, that
that assumption was not warranted by fact—we hoped that
we had done all that was required from us.
Our contemporary, however, is not at all
his house of cards thus knocked down by a plan,
Respectable merchants in Liverpool don't know, z.
.seem, their own chargescanaot sum up the figures in u.
own day books—one half so well as the wiseacre of th,
Guardian. We are told now, too, for the first time, by this
ingenious gentleman, what we all along suspected, that the
two cases o charge, by way of Fleetwood and of Liverpool,
were not parrallel cases at all !—were not cases upon which
a fair comparison could be instituted. '
butter, writes the Guardian, with most
" was not 20 but 30"—what, good reade.
" crocks." And the sum of all the Guardian's discoveries
is simply that 30 "crocks" of butter, weighin6
conveyed from Belfast by way of Liverpool, cost nearly a.
much as 30 firkins, weighing 22 cwt. by way of Fleetwood
that a " crock" of butter, weighing hat/ a cwt. costs -
freight as a firkin weighing three quarters of a cwt.
after this, we cannot but suspect that our contemporary us
not know the difference between a " crock" and - -
and we must therefore inform him that the forint-
earthenware vessel—ii of various size—and is conveyed
nerally, as any carrier would assure him, at a higher pi,
tional rate, than a firkin, which is wooden, easier to an
not liable to break.
The dishonesty—we can call it by no milder a'
instituting a comparison of the cost between the two ports
whilst suppressing the very material fact that the article
conveyed was in one case made up in a description of pack-
age, of itself, more expensive in carriage than in the other,
must, we think, be apparent. But the Guardian, is not
content to earn the imputation of dishonesty, but is anxious
to add stupidity and obstinacy to his other characteristics.
Notwithstanding We have assured him that the port charges
on 20 firkins at Belfast and Liverpool are only lid. (and
those on 30 " crocks " will not be Gd. more than this sum),
our contemporary will have it that they amount to ss. Sd: ;
and that in Liverpool alone " the dock dues and town dues
and what not—all the six or eight items of which he is in-
farmed the Liverpool port charges arc made up—would
amount " (with " cartage from the dock to the tailway") to
five shillings. We tell the Guardian that his persisting in
such an assertion, after it has been proved to be utterly un-
founded, is an instance of more shameless mendacity than
we had previously given him credit for. In the first instance,
a reference to his original statement will shew that cartage
was already charged in a separate item of Is. 4d., besides his
20s. Bd." paid on." In the second place, there are no " six
or eight items." There are no " dock dues " charged upon
the article at all. In fact, there is but one " port charf,"-
which is the town dues ; and, upon 30 " crocks
these dues would not exceed Bd. or 9d.
The whole of our contemporary's ingeniously fabricated
case breaks down, therefore, by the very evidence which he
himself brings forward to support it, the only fact which he
has proved being that the freight upon- butter m " crocks"
is greater than upon butter in firkins! We shall not com-
ment upon the dishonesty of the Guardian in representing,
in the statement with which he has furnished us, the 30
packages previously. admitted. to be " crocks " as firkins ;
for we set that down to his not knowing that there is any
difference between the two terms. The Guardian's igno-
rance of most subjects is quite upon a par with his presump-
tion.

atisfied to have

The quantity of

amusing gravity,
r? Why, thirty

but 15 cwt.,

term—of

of butter

In conclusion, we really feel that an apology is due to our
readers fur bestowing so niuch space upon the absurdities of
so stolid a specimen of journalism as our Manchester con-
temporary. His foolish speculations, however, were calcu-
lated to mislead, as they were intended to injure; and that
must be our excuse for noticing them.

MANCHESTER, BOLTON, AND BURY CANAL
NAVIGATION AND RAILWAY COMPANY,

The seventh half-yearly meeting of this company took
place yesterday, at the Clarendon Rooms, far the purpose of
receiving the report of the committee, and a statement of the
receipts and disbursements for the six months ending 31st
December last. The attendance was pretty numerous, there
being from sixty to seventy gentlemen present.
Mr. JAMES BRANCKER, chairman of the committee, was
called to preside ;, and, after the advertisement calling the
meeting was read by the Secretary, opened the •proceedings
in a brief address. He stated that this was the half-yearly
meeting, and as each gentleman present had received a copy
of the report, no lengthened discussionNsould be required.
The directors were in a condition to say that they had quite
held their ground since the last meeting, which was the more
gratifying, inasmuch as, with them, all depended on the state
of trade, which had recently been greatly depressed. Even
under such circumstances they had done more business than
last year, which was as much as any reasonable man could
expect. With regard to the smallness of the dividend recom-
mended by the committee, several circumstances had arisen
that tended materially to reduce it. A person who had long
been in the employ of the company, and whose services had
been deemed valuable, had retired in ill health, and afterwards
died, leaving a widow unpruvided for. An allowance had
been made to her, awl a young man (Samuel Haywood) suc-
ceeded to the vacant situation, who had been brought up in
the company, and in whom they had every reason to repose
confidence.. That young ,man had, however, commenced and
carried on a system of fraud, and had afterwards absconded,
and taken from their funds a sum of about £l5OO. This de-
falcation had reduced the dividend by about ss. per share,
The increase of the poor-rates, caused by the depression of
trade in the districts through which their lines ran, also con-
duced to the reduction of the dividend ; but it was considered

that their property was overrated, and steps had been taken
to obtain a more equitable assessment of these and other
rates and . taxes.. He concluded by proposing that the britT
report, already submitted by circalar to ►he proprietors, should

be read.
The Seeretery then read the report, introducing the state-
ment of accounts, of which the following is a copy :
" In examining the statement of accounts herewith, it
will be perceived that the receipts on the canal and railway
are somewhat larger than in the preceding half year ; that
there is no greater increase is not perhaps to be wondere
nt, considering that both means of conveyance are strictly
dependant upon trade for. their support; and of the de-
pressed state of it in this district none now scarcely need to
be informed.

" The diSbursements for parochial rates and taxes alone
are nearly £BOO more than, during the previous half year,
which goes to reduce the nett profits. The committee regret
to state that the disposable proceeds have had to be still
further reduced in consequence,. of the defalcations of the
canal agent, Samuel bevwood, which have extended over a
period of nearly six years.
" With regard to the parochial assessments it is considered
that the company's property is overrated, and in several cases
notice of appeat, has been given, in the hope of obtaining a
more just and equitable assessment.
" On the Stli,pl September last the committee entered into
an agreement with the Lancaster and. Preston Junction Rail-
way Company, to supply the locomotive power on the Lan-
caster line. This agreement came into operation on the first
day of this mouth, since which period this company's engines
have been running between Lancaster and Preston. The
facilities, arising out of this arrangement will not be felt until
by the completion of the Bolton and Preston Railway
shall be a continuous traffic over your line to Lancaste
" Salford, 13th Jsnuary,;lB42 "

_
He then read the statement of receipts and disbursements
for the half-year. The following are the heads of the prin-
cipal items:—

£11,196 0 7
3,825 16 91
1,682 3 6

£16,704 0 10i

6,873 12 10

4,283 13 5:

£14,114 1 5}
6,691 18 7

£7,422