The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-01-07 00:00:00

BY AN EYE-WITNESS OF THE PROCEEDINGS

Upon the opening of the Council Chamber on Wednesday,
the coup &cell presented to us was of rather an imposing cha-
racter. The attendance of members was very numerous,
and an air of seriousness might have been observed upon the
countenances of all, with the exception of a few gentlemen,
whom we could particularize, and who, having nothing wor-
thy of being called "countenances," presented only to our
gaze their ordinary, stolid, expressionless vacuity of face.
Some half-dozen of the would-be lights of the assembly we
could see in a glance were " big with speech." The astonish-
ing Smith—John, of West Derby—had a world of porten-
tous meaning in his looks ; the amiable-looking alderman,
who subsequently led the van in the opposing army was full
of bustle, as he moved up ane down on the recruiting
service, seeking for a seconder to his forthcoming amend-
ment ; and smiling but dangerous, his brother alderman, of
Abercromby, whirled round upon his pivot as he conned his
notes and a worm-eaten copy of the Mercury; whilst the
enlightened chairman of the Watch Committee and luminary
of Scotland Market directed, ever and anon, the two lights
which adorn his whitey-brown edition of a mortal counte-
nance, with a glance of muddled, wondering satisfaction
upon the preparations for the approaching fray.
We pass over the preliminary portion of the proceedings,
—the reading of the various committee reports—which were
gone through amidst noise and confusion of a vastly edifying
description, a considerable portion of which was the produc-
tion of Mr. Thornhill, of Scotland Ward, who gabbled
across the table, by no means sotto voce, a kind of running
accompaniment. The only feature worthy of notice was the
opposition offered by the Joseph Hume of the council—Mr.
Thomas Bolton—to the appointment of an extra porter in
the Town-hall establishment. The present messengers, the
liberal ex-mayor observed, were not always busy; and when
they were, the cook—his ex-worship seemed to think—might
leave her dripping tins to run errands, and the kitchen-maids
answer the hall door. Perhaps during his worship's regime
such an arrangement might have been sufficiently feasible,
and these useful officials performed such extra service with-
out great injury to the victualling department. But "on a
chang6 tout cela," under the new order of things, appeared
to be the impression of the most rigid economists in the
council ; and the pitiful " tottle of the whole" saving of our
municipal " Joseph "—the sum of 245. a week—was irreco-
verably lost sight of. By-the-bye, we would recommend to
Mr. Bolton a rigid scrutiny into the candle-end and dripping
department in the Town-hall during the present mayoralty,
which it strikes us may become worthy of notice, as an item
of revenue, and ought, upon principle, to go to the borough
fund.
At length the preliminary skirmishing was at an end.
"Now begins the fight!"—was jerked out by one self-com-
placent member; and, when the Deputy Town-clerk began
to read the proceedings of the Education Committee, a sud-
den quiet pervaded the hitherto unruly Council, and
"The boldest held their breath,

For a time."
There were glances and winks exchanged between friends,
and looks of defiance between opponents, as one by one, the
resolutions of the committee were enunciated ; more than
one honourable gentleman looked up to the ceiling in affected
consternation and wonder; the renowned and immortal
Smith, of West Derby, buttoned his coat, and then unbut-
toned it; Win. Earle whisked round upon his seat, clutched
his notes and his Mercury, " grinned horribly a ghastly
smile" at David Hodgson as the author of his woe, and,
after a look, which said "you did it," as plain as possible,
whisked round again. Francis Jordan threw out his legs,
and threw back his head, with a snort, which startled his
neighbour, Mr. Priestley ; and Mr. Robinson, of Great
George's, fumbled with his hands, unfolded half a sheet of
his hieroglyphics, and attempted to read them, whilst his be-
wildered look told as distinctly as anything so expression-
less can speak—" I'm going to make a kettle of fish of
myself." _ _

The confirmation of the proceedings having been moved,
with a brief preface, by Mr. Molyneux, and as briefly se-
conded by Mr. Harbord,
Mr. James Aikin rose to read a sermon—and read it well,
we admit—which purported to be a memorial from the bur-
gesses of Castle-street ward, and which he very kindly in-
formed the council had been got up by certain gentlemen
only the day or two days before, upon hearing (of course for
the first time) what most people had heard a week or two
ago, viz., the nature of the resolution adopted by the educa-
tion committee. The said memorial—of course again—was
signed by the excessively " liberal" gentlemen of the ward—
the Walmsleys, Thornhills, et hoc genus mime, not forget-
ting even the enlightened Mr. Anthony Barnes—overflowed
with milk-and-honey expressions of charity towards the poor
Popish children, dilated upon the vast advantages of secular
education, and warned the council of the dangerous and un-
christian (!) course which they were about to pursue. Such,
indeed, was the excellence and eloquence of this production,
that Mr. Aikin intimated his unwillingness to weaken its ef-
fect upon the council by any remarks of his own—a determi-
nation which, for his own sake, we sincerely wish he had
faithfully adhered to.
Mr. Alderman Turner then rose, amidst a hum of
expectation, to propose an amendment. Upon the speech
or the manner of Mr. Turner we shall not say much.
The former was evidently an effort of memory ; apologetic,
and almost trimming, but gentlemanly in tone and ex-
pression. We can conceive such a speech, and the course
of action which it held out, to have been dictated by honesty
of purpose ; but we are compelled to doubt the existence
of the " moral courage," of which the speaker boasted
the possession (and which boast elicited, we will not say, an
incredulous " hear" from Mr. Francis Jordan), and are ra-
ther inclined to fear that it is to the want of hat valuable
property that we must attribute Mr. Turner's declension
from the path of principle upon this question. We have no
wish to quarrel with the worthy alderman for the course—
happily innoxious save to himself—which he has pursued.
We regret it deeply; and we have mistaken the character of
Mr. Turner if now, after the experience which this day's de-
bate must have afforded him of the animus towards institu-
tions and principles which he venerates, by which the liberal
party are actuated in their proceedings upon this question, he
does not regret it himself, and is not thoroughly disgusted
with the contemplation of a nearer association into which
they would so gladly draw him.
A brief and hasty discussion then took place upon a ques-
tion of form, as to the precedence to which Mr. Aikin's mo-
tion to submit his memorial to the education committee was
entitled. Mr. Aikin didn't think that he had made a direct
motion. Mr. Bolton contended that he had merely presented
the memorial ; but, unfortunately for the correctness of the
latter gentleman's memory, it transpired, from a malapropos
record (in such cases), which is kept by the town-clerk or
his deputy, that a motion had been made, and had even been
seconded, and, after being thus formally ushered into life,
that Mr. Thomas Bolton bad himself stood up to second it a
second time ! How zeal does sometimes outrun discretion !
The difficulty was, however, got over ; and the redoubta-
ble John Smith got up. piping hot, to do the honours of a
second parent to Mr. Turner's amendment. " Fierce as
ten thousand furies, terrible as"—a fishwoman in her cups,
or as any other lady who for three long weeks has been
" nursing her wrath to keep it warm," looked the worthy
misrepresentative of West Derby. " I rise, Mr. Mayor,"—
and his voice rose, and his colour rose, and our own hair
rose upon our head, as Mr. John Smith's excited eyes shot
round a withering glance, and " notu tremcfecit Olympunz:"

" I rise, Mr. Mayor, with great pleasure to second the
amendment made by Mr. Turner; and in doing so I will
avail myself of the opportunity to set myself right in the
eyes of the council and the public at large. with respect to
the proposition which I brought forward on the school ques-

tion'on-the 2nd of last month." Involuntarily a visiorirose

up before our eyes, in which the most prominent figures
were a circle of female dabblers in soap-suds, scrubbing at
at the ebony skin of a blackamoor ; and we pitied Mr. John
Smith for the mortification which must be the result of his

hopeless labour. " Not all the water of the sea will wash
clean this little band," we remembered, was the lament of
Lady Macbeth ; and even a sea of soup-suds, we were con-
fident, would not purge the blackamoor taint from the name
of the councillor for West Derby. We were not permitted,
however, to continue in our dreamy state ; for anon the voice
of John burst louder and louder upon our ears,
" And, volleying like the bolts of heaven,
Pealed forth the dread artillery"

of his denunciation, right and left, against all who bad been
busy with his immaculate name and his unsullied consistency.
" I hold in my hand, Mr. Mayor," pursued the indignant
orator, " a document which will put down all my traducers,
and prove incontestibly that I, John Smith, am the only con-
sistent man in the council—a pattern—a paragon—worthy
the approbation of all the universe ;" and then he took a
paper and shook it, but nothing came out; and then he
walked up to the window, and read—that five years ago he had
seconded a proposition, which he asserted was precisely the
same as that made in his immortal resolution at the last
council meeting—(but which he proved to be as unlike it as
a pole cat to a polar bear)—and that all the conservative mem-
bers who were in the room at the time (and there were only
six in the council) had voted with him. And then Mr. John
Smith looked very indignant—" tore" many " passions to
tatters"—" shook the ears"—and the sides too—" of the
groundlings"—and finally sate down like a spent rocket, and
i
looked round, as much as to say, " there's for you! Oh
most inimitable John ! " That boy'll be the death of us.''
The fury of the small Smith having subsided, asof things
frothy and vapid will ever do, the great alderman
Aber-
cromby (great in soul we mean) got up to whip his amiable
f the council. I n
temper into syllabubs, for the amus.erl
commencing, he took the opportunity o administering a little
" soft sawder" and butter i
to Mr. Alderman Turner, and
wished that every conservative n the coFneil were just such
a conservative—so gentlemanly, so conciliatory, possessed of
the same " moral courage"—as that gentleman. Having

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done the unfree, the worthy alderman "went to work" in
his peculiar style—talked of the severe castigation adminis-
tered from the pulpit by " a haughty divine, a soi-disant fol-
lower of the apostles," and expressed his opinion that " the
gentleman who was reported to have run into the lion's mouth
on the occasion, exhibited more courage than wisdom."
When called to order for the irrelevance of his remarks, and
the personality in which he was indulging, the alderman
bounced forth from his state of comparative serenity into his
ordinary rabid vein ; snapped in canine fashion at every thing
and every body, and inflated his chest and elevated his voice
in denouncing some proceeding which he mentioned as " a
piece of humbug."
Again the honourable gentleman was called to order, upon
which he flew voraciously upon an imaginary " wooden
bible," for the substance of which he appeared to possess
some peculiar affinity, but was repulsed with some damage,
we fear, to his teeth ; rambled to a discourse upon grammar
spelling and pronounciation, " run amuck" at parsons in
general, Irish parsons in particular, and the Rev. Hugh
M'Neile in especial, upon whom he poured a volley of most
approved billingsgate. Once more his slanderous career was
attempted to be stayed, by a request from Mr. Parker that
he would confine himself to the expression of his own opi-
nions instead of inventing opinions for Mr. M`Neile ; but as
well ►night the worthy councillor have attempted to stop up a
sewer with a cambric pocket hankerchief as try to close the
orifice through which a torrent of blackguardism (we are
compelled to use the word) was bubbling, hissing hot from
its malevolent source, by any reference to the demands of de-
cency and manliness. " I have met Mr. M`Neile," shrieked
the frenzied alderman, " and compelled him to retire like a
coward from the contest" ; and the punch of the council
shook his arms, twisted his small person, and grinned with
such a hideous glee, that we almost expected to have seen
him pull out of his coat pocket the identical squirt with which
he had performed this prodigious and boasted feat.
Mr. J. B. Moore stepped up to the table in the middle of
this disgraceful exhibition of the alderman's infirmity, and
remarked, somewhat sternly, that had the object of Mr.
Earle's slanderous vituperation " worn a blue coat instead
of a black one, he durst not"—(and the spirit of the rabid
alderman cowered beneath the rebuke conveyed by the tone
and manner of Mr. Moore, as well as by his words)—" he
durst not have made the remark which had just escaped his
lips ;" and although the rebuked orator still swaggered, and
mouthed and spit, like a hunted cat driven into a corner by
the growl of some noble animal, whose patience he had goaded
into anger, the tempest of his exhibition was subdued, and
be was content to snarl, and grin, and mouthe in a more tem-
perate vein to the end of the chapter. As a whole, the ex-
hibition of the alderman at this meeting ought to suggest
serious thoughts to his friends, as to the propriety of his be-
ing at large. We should most assuredly not like to approach
too near him in the dog days. By the bye, will he inform
us the name of the divine who "preaches to the senses and
not to the passions?"
Upon the principle that extremes meet, the lively exhibi-
tion of Mr. Earle, was succeeded by the leaden one of Mr.
Robinson, of Great George's. How such a gentleman as
this, so utterly incapable of understanding the subject upon
which he offered himself as a new light, ever found his way
into the council, does really surprise us. But we will not
waste words upon such a specimen of stolid absurdity. We
leave him, with the redoubtable John Smith, to the care of
his constituents.

" Sure, such a pair were never seen
So justly formed "
to be dris en tandem in Mr. Alderman Earle's drag,—if that
gentleman could only keep them from turning too sharp
round the corners.

We have not space to remark upon the satisfactory speech
—we say satisfactory, because it must have been satisfactory
to him to have the opportunity of explanation which it afforded
—delivered by Mr. Bushell ; or do more than express our
thanks to Mr. Parker who followed him, for the manliness
which characterised his brief address and his conduct
throughout the meeting. We shall not either say a word
upon the sentiments expressed by Mr. George Hall Laurence,
or the vote by which they were followed, much as we depre-
cate and regret both. We are satisfied that his reverend
relative, from whose letters he quoted, and by whose advice
he had endeavoured to profit, would not have arrived at the
conclusion to which the worthy councillor himself arrived ;
but, being driven to the necessity of providing a system of
education for the children of his humble fellow townsmen,
would have felt himself compelled to base that system upon
the religion of the Bible alone.
The brief speech of Mr. Moore, though delivered at a late
period of the debate, was listened to with attention, and de-
served being so listened to. Mr. Moore must not, in future,
allow his abilities to be cast into the shade. He possesses
every qualification for taking a very high place in the Coun-
cil ; and we trust before long to see him occupying it.
But Mr. Yates—surely that gentleman was never de-
signed for so mundane an occupation as that of a local legis-
lator. With a little more of the conventicle snuffle, he might
occupy and adorn the pulpit of any chapel of which the con-
gregation were admirers of Socinianism, tricked out with a
plentiful adornment of blue flames and brimstone.
Mr. Bolton too—but our readers know him and his capa-
city. We would as soon attempt to sketch the gable end of
a house, or the uninteresting features of a factory chimney,
as describe a speech of his. At its conclusion the Council
became impatient for the vote, upon which Mr. James Aikin
O'Connellized a little, and threatened to move adjournments
until midnight, or the middle of next week ; but contented
himself with making a speech, which was not so good as his
memorial. Several members subsequently addressed the
Council on both sides ; but our sketch has become so lengthy
that we must conclude, and in doing so express our satisfac-
tion with the result, which, although by only 8 votes, is still
a satisfactory and even a glorious one for the good cause of
conservatism in the " good old town."

EDUCATION.—We beg to draw attention to Mr. Middle-
ton's advertisement inserted elsewhere. His abilities as a
teacher, we understand, are undoubted.

DANCING.-Mr. Harwood, we perceive, announces une
soiree dansante to take place on Wednesday week. These
way parties are generally well and fashionably attended.
PANORAMA.—A. panorama is now exhibiting in Bold-
street. We have not had time to inspect it, but shall do so
in our next. Report speaks highly of it. Numbers of
persons are daily visiting it.

THE LIVERPOOL CHESS CLUB.—We perceive the mem-
bers of this club dine together at the Clayton Arms on
Saturday, the 15th instant. We are glad to hear that the club
is prospering and adding daily to its numbers.

The last number of the Gazette contains notices of the
dissolution of nine Liverpool firms, some of them of very
long standing.

CHESTER RACES.—The entry for the tradesmen's cup has
closed within the last few days, there not being less than 61
horses named. The weights will be published on the 14th
instant, and acceptances are to be declared on or before the
Ist of February. The weights for the free handicap have ap-
peared ; there are 241 horses handicapped, and the accept-
ances for this race are also to be made by the Ist February.
WIGAN INSTITUTION FOR THE DIFFUSION OF KNOW-
LEDGE.—The annual tea-party of the members and friends
of this institution was held in the large room at the Com-
mercial-hall, on Monday evening. After tea Mr. Venables,
of Liverpool, delivered a lecture on the ancient minstrelsy
and national music of England. The lectures were illustrated
by the vocal performance of Miss Venables, who sang the
grand Italian polacca, " Son Vergin," and several ancient
English national airs, in which she was repeatedly applauded
by a numerous and highly-respectable audience. In the
course of the evening the members of the instumental music
class belonging to the institution played a variety of airs.
Mr. J. C. Prince, a native of Wigan, and author of " Hours
with the Muses," and other pieces, was to have given several
appropriate recitations of his own composition, but was un-
able to attend from indisposition.
In the course of yesterday morning, the teller of one of
the principal banks in this city was apprehended in his bed
on a very grave charge of theft and embezzlement. The
amount which is deficient, and chargeable against him, we
have heard variously estimated at from £5OOO to £12,000.
The investigation proceeded during the whole of yesterday,
up till a late hour in the evening, and all that is known with
certainty is, that it is one of the most serious cases of bank
robbery which has occurred for a lengthened period of time.
—Glasgow Mail Wednesday.
LORD MELBOURNE.—This nobleman, who visited the
castle for the -§rst time since his " retirement" from the pre-
miership, on Saturday last, left on Tuesday afternoon just
before the arrival of Sir Robert Peel. The ex-Premier.
during his short visit, only once left the castle, and that was
on Monday, when he proceeded to Norfolk Farm to have an
hour or two's shooting with His Royal Highness Prince
Albert, Colonel Bouverie, and Mr. G. E. Anson. His lord-
ship, as he passed through the Long Walk, looked as good-
humoured as ever, but not exactly in his usual spirits.
LIBERALITY OF THE QUEEN.—Her majesty has just
caused to be presented 41bs of beef, llb of plum-pudding,
2 gallons of potatoes, 21bs of bread, and a quart of ale, to
each adult in 100 poor and deserving families of Windsor ;
and also to each family a sack of coals. To each of the chil-
dren comprised in each family a moiety of the like pro-
visions and ale has also been presented. Gifts of precisely
the same description, to the same number of families, were
likewise caused to be given by his Royal Highness Prince
Albert, upon the eve of the new year.
Lord Ashburton is expected to arrive at Bath House, Pic-
cadilly, on Monday next, from his seat, the Grange, Hants,
to make his final arrangements for departing on his impor-
tant special mission to the Government of the United States.
His lordship, we understand, will embark at Portsmouth, on
board a government steam frigate, for New York, about
Monday, the 24th instant, and that he will be attended by
a limited suite, as his lordship's stay at Washington, where
the personnel of our embassy already consists of Mr. Fox,
cousin to Lord Holland, and Mr. James Hudson, ci-devant
gentleman usher to the Queen Dowager, is expected to be
brief. The noble lord's lady, before her marriage, was a
Miss Bingham, of Philadelphia, and his lordship was at one
time proprietor of immense tracts of land in Pennsylvania.
Lady Ashburton and the Hon. Misses Baring do not accom-
pany the noble envoy to America.
Miss A. Kemble's present salary at Covent-garden Theatre
is 100 guineas per week—a larger sum than there was ever
yet statedly paid to any vocalist. Singers have been paid
more per night, but never so much per week. Reckoning
the expenses of Covent-garden, when Miss A. Kemble
at £2lO per night, which is beyond the amount, from £l5"
to £l9O profit per night will remain for the lessee.
THE EXPLOSION ON THE BRISTOL AND GLOUCEE
RAILWAY.—On Friday, after hearing the evidence tendered
.denta
in this case, the jury returned a verdict of " Accil unanimously
express with the following rider :—And the jury
express their great regret that in this case they
improper
their power to mark their sense of the grossly
g a deotland,
ma-
nagement of this line of railway, by
lev
extent had any-
which they would have ltvied to the utmost have it not in

thing beeri left to levy it upon. _ morning Hsra/d, of
THE lEXGHEQUER BILLS.— C
the remarks which appeared in thoartiso
a being implicated in the
our columns, as to several noble
"there is no truth whatever
Wednesday, makes the amende ha'oroarboleziatinidroeofeprieendceinttoo
nn..—A fund is now exchequer bills bills fraud, and says,
in the allegation." „ naszr,
TESTIMONIAL TO MP- -.ng Mr. Oastler, his wife, and
iug for the purpose of a 1
• laccaudortable circumstances. The
their adopted daughte! in
G. Sinclair), who are to decide
_hrmodns
Monday the
(among whom
ht° .161 r
oi nv
eg. ran tm ii the object.
day the appeal of Sir
are moneyijo rids
Ft oe
vb
eer vestedp ro,_t_i
ni;ndo, the hands n g
on the best method of fulfilling
at a late conviction for refusing ,to pay
REFUSAL TO A Aio-
tO vote at an election, came on for
I,,rnhai
whilst
csoboeunlintbiaftsrgtbwa
The particulars of
the case apitieoareesd.
11:erlYtime. The conviction was confirmed.
it is currently reported, has resolved in this puma
of
steam communication between the Pacific
n and New Zealand and the Australian.
AautilelroirciatiesofPanatna, we may add, have in-
vited an
English engineer to survey a line of railroad across
i the Isthmus, and are most desirous that the line should be
executed by an English company, to which they are pre-
pared to grant exclusive privileges.
Some days ago a woodman, named Michel, while employed
on the woods of Malle
•
Y. near Courboux, in the Haute Saone,
was assailed by & wolf, which tore him in several places, and
would have killed him had not another woodman, named
Huot, come to his relief, and sacred the animal away. Hav-
ing, with some other men, placed Michel in safety, Huot and
his companions went to h'
unt up the wolf, resolved to destroy
him. Having discovered him, a terrible conflict ensued ;
Jollivet, one of the men, was severely wounded and bitten in
the arm and body. The beast was diverted from him by the
assaults of the other men, and in his rage sprang upon the
wife of one of them, and was tearing her with teeth and claws,
when the husband, a man of unusual strength, seized the
creature by the ears, turned it on its back, and there held it
until his companions killed it with their hatchets.

Literary Ciiz