The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-10-17 00:00:00

F 4 QUITY AND LAW LIFE ASSURANCE
SOCIETY.

No. 26, Lincoln's-in-fields, London.
TRUSTEES.
The Right Hon. the Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. Lord Monteagle.
The Right Hon. the Lord Chief Baron.
gr The Hon. Mr. Justice Coleridge.
The Hon. Mr. Justice Erle.
Nassau W. Senior, Esq., Master in Chancery.
Charles Purton Cooper, Esq., Q.C., LL.D., F.R.S.
George Capron, Esq.
DIRECTORS.
J. E. Armstrong' Esq. John Lucas, Esq.
H. B. Raymond Barker, Esq. Charles Henry Moore, Esq
Joseph Bonsor, Esq. • Joseph Phillinore, D.C.L.
R. J. P. Broughton, Esq. George W. K. Potter, Esq.
John Moxon Clabon, Esq. W. B. S. Rackham, Esq.
Mr. Sergeant Clarke. George Robins, Esq.
John Ellis Clowes, Esq. George Lake Russell, Esq.
William I. Denne, Esq. Nassau W. Senior, Esq.
Sir Fortunatus Dwarris. Alfred H. Shadwell, Esq.
N. Hollingsworth. Esq. R. Smith, jun., Esq.
T. G. 'Kermit, Esq. E. Wilbraham, Esq., Q.C,
John Herbert Koe, Esq., Q.C.
AUDITORS.
John Boodle, Esq. R. J. Millimnre,,.
Alexander Edgell, Esq. Eric Rudd, Esq.
SOLICITORS.
Messrs. Roper, Birch, Ingram, and Whatley, Lincoln's-inn-
Fields.
MEDICAL OFFICERS.
John Scott, M.D. Benjamin Atkinson, Esq.
ACTUARY.
J. J. Silt/ ester, Esq., M.A., F.R.S.

D.C.L.,NLP

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AGENTS FOR LIVERPOOL.
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JOSEPH BOULT, 24, North John-street

Eiberpoot tailbarb,

FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

MONDAY MORNING.

Tun Times has been put out of joint, and, maugre all its
efforts, cannot regain its wonted equanimity. The leading
journal was imposed on lately, and, like other mundane
agencies, was proved fallible. It received fictitious tidings
from the seat of war in the East, and, with an alacrity
worthy of a better fate, it imparted those tidings to an
over-credulous public, accompanied by such big-mouthed
commentaries as became the Thunderer, little suspecting
that in so doing it was playing into the hands of those
who would give a portion of their ears to have the Th
changed into 81. Alarmed at the approximation to
deserving such a transformation in title, it has been
thrown into a paroxysm of ill-nature, and has freely
bestowed doses of it on all that came directly or indirectly
in its way. In the plenitude of its zeal for outraged accu-
racy, it first fell foul of the clerks in the Foreign Office,
who, in copying a despatch from Constantinople, affixed
an erroneous date to the document. It next assailed
Afriral DUNDAS, as an imbecile, and rated him soundly
for his assumed incapacity. Having performed these
caprices, not entirely to its own satisfaction as it would
seem, the irate journalist lays his cudgel indiscriminately
upon peer and peasant, bestowing, en passant, a flagella-
tion on court and cabinet, and smartly lectures the QUEEN
and all her ministers. Feeling assured that, with all its
own prescient vigilance, it is apt to be imposed on, it can-
not understand how men in high official positions should

absent themselves at such a moment as the present from
the centre of affairs. Evidently mistaking a proximity to
Printing-house Square for that centre, it demands to know
why Lord JoHN RUSSELL is " sedulously idle" at Scar-
borough, instead of sojourning in similar idleness at his
charming residence which the munificence of the crown
has bestowed on him at Richmond ? Why was Lord
ABERDEEN spouting at the city from whence he derives
his title, when he ought to have been at his snuggery in
Greenwich ? Still unslaked in its virtuous desire to secure
official care from official men, it demands to know why
Mr. GLADSTONE is gadding about in Wales, and why Sir
JAMES GRAHAM is spending his precious hours at Bal-
moral, attending on his royal mistress, instead of being
at hand to aid the Times in scolding Admiral DUNDAS ?
Then, waxing pathetic, it aims a wailing remonstrance
at the Qr.r.zys for the enormity of deserting " the
centre of affairs." " Where is the court at such a time ?"
"Somehow or other," continues this new court monitor, " it
jars upon our feelings to give in one column the list of killed
and wounded in these bloody battles, and, in another, the
pithy announcements of the Court Circular, to the effect,
that the QUEEN and her courtiers are amusing themselves
in the heart of the Scottish Highlands." Pigs are said to
see the wind, and the Times is wise enough in its gene-
ration to know that the lengthening nights and sharp
breezes of the Scottish mountains, in the middle of
October, are sufficient of themselves to drive the Royal
party southward; and it farther knew well enough that
the importance of the recently received intelligence was
sure to expedite their journey ; how nicely fitted these
considerations with the opportunity of having the gaping
multitude to believe that the brazen-throated Times had
sounded the note which re-called the Royal and Cabinet
truants to their neglected duties. HER MAJESTY and her
family, together with the other Members of the Court,
have returned from the " heart of the Scottish High-
lands," anti the thunder of the Times will not now he
called upon to reverberate in bellowing echoes over the
southern plains in condemnation of such truancy.
Apart from the affected domination of the Times, the
war still continues the all-in-all of general conversation.
Its probable duration and ultimate results form important
elements of popular consideration, and questions relative
to both are extensively asked ; while the answers are
equally discussed. This is scarcely a matter for wonder,
when it is borne in mind that, ever since the declaration
of war against Russia, until the present hour, the cost to
this country of that war has been at the astounding rate
of sixty pounds per minute, or three thousand six hundred
pounds per hour. Added to this lavish expenditure of
treasure, the sacrifice of human life, already occasioned by
the struggle, forces the inquiry—what benefits shall we
receive in return for such enormous loss ? Small con-
sideration only is required to show that much ultimate
good will result to Europe generally, and to ourselves
in particular, from the already achieved results. For
many years the power of Russia has been a bugbear which,
from time to time, disturbed the harmonious action of
European institutions. The nations were taught to look
lon Russia as the instrument which wielded the world's
destinies. How often, within the last few years, have we
been told that our own Empire in India was jeopardised
and threatened by Russian diplomacy and Russian
power ! To parties unfamiliar with the facts, it was
of no use to point out the unmeasurable and track-
less wilds which lay between our Indian frontier and the
Russian territory, over which it would be impossible to
march any army. The mystery was rendered more im-
pervious still by British geographers continuing to desig-
nate the Kirghiz steppes by the name of " Independent
Tartary ;" and so great has been the delusion as to the
Russian power, that many otherwise well-informed people
believed in the possibility of an Indian invasion through
Bokhara and Khiva. Her efforts during the present cam-
paign show how difficult it is for a country like Russia to
concentrate a large force, which must be collected over an
area embracing seven millions and a half of square miles,
230,000 of which, in the direction nearest India, are an
unknown and desert country. Russia deprive us of our
Indian territory, forsooth ! The idea is too ridiculous for
serious refutation ; nevertheless it is well that some idea
of its absurdity should be manifested, and no better
demonstration could be made than the futility of even a ,
Turkish campaign. Everything which has happened
since the commencement of this war has tended more and
more to show the hollowness of Muscovite pretence.
Even in the entrenchments of the Alma, her soldiers
were in many instances found to be armed only with
imitation muskets, whose painted wooden barrels were
furnished with bayonet points, which our men broke in
their hands with ease. The Czar has enjoyed the dignity
of autocrat, and has delegated the execution of his indi-
vidual will to officials and sub-officials, who have built
him fortresses of rubble faced with granite, and have sup-
plied his troops with swords whose blades may be twisted
into hoops. His ceaseless personal inspections and end-
less investigations, have been alike vain in securing the
realisation of his wishes. The gigantic bubble has burst
in every particular. Henceforth, for a century to come,
the aggressive prowess of Russia has lost its prestige, and
any attempt she may make to frighten the nations will
be treated with the scorn and ridicule it must inevitably

provoke.
At an early period of the impending struggle, NICHOLAS,
in pompous strains, reminded the French ruler and the
French people of their defeat in Russia, during the winter
of 1812-13. Some curious speculation has been lately
raised as to the object and ultimate destination of the
French troops encamped at Boulogne. Are they intended
to operate on the shores of the Baltic in the next campaign ?
If they are so, the capture of St. Petersburg resolves itself
into a mere question of time. That army transported to the
banks of the Neva would give a singularly important
answer to the autocratic sneer relative to the French
defeat, under circumstances which the autocrat will
never see repeated.
The operations in connexion with the siege and capture
of Sebastopol, for no one pretends to doubt its ultimate
capture, also continue fertile themes of discussion. Recent
events prove too truly the small reliance to be placed on
intelligence communicated by telegraph, and every one
acts with prudent caution in refusing credence to informa-
tion communicated through a medium which has so fre-
quently proved fallacious. For several days past it has
been stated, in different forms, that the bombardment of
Sebastopol had commenced on the sth of this month ;
whereas the latest intelligence, reaching up to the sth,
tells us that the siege works were then so far advanced as
to hold out expectations that the fire would be opened in a
few days. In the meantime the St. Petersburg system, as
it may be called, continues in full operation, and even the
defeat of the Alma is represented by the veracious autho-
rities of that capital as only a stratagem intended more
fully to ensnare the devoted allies in the Russian toils.

Relative to that splendid victory and its interesting and
gallant details public curiosity is still on the qui vine for fur-
ther information. Among the discussions arising out of that
brilliant action, not the least interesting are those opinions
hazarded by each army relative to the conduct and bearing
of its allies. The opinions formed and expressed by the
French as to the behaviour of our troops are interesting,
and from them useful hints may be derived. All concur
in earnest admiration of the bravery exhibited by the Bri-
tish soldiery, the only adverse opinion stated being that
their movements under the enemy's fire were too slow.
The French say that, had the movements been more rapid,
over the ground swept by the Russian cannon, and the
men brought more speedily into close quarters, from which
the Russians fled in dismay, many brave men who were
sacrificed might have been saved. There may be truth in
*his; but, if it be a fault, it is one peculiar to the system,

and not to be mentioned as a disparagement of the men.
No severer test of true bravery can be given than that
cool endurance, which marches with steady, deliberate,
and unwavering courage against a tempest of devastating
grape and round shot. Whether the French criticism be
well or ill-founded, as to the final result, no room exists for
doubt that a slow advance under a murderous storm of
artillery is the heaviest possible tax upon bravery and dis-
cipline, the mere excitement of hurry being a potent
auxiliary to less indomitable spirits under such circum-
stances. "We saw them far off," says a French officer, of
our gallant countrymen, " ascending with regular steps a
glacis in which was an entrenchment full of artillery, and
never was the contrast between this advance and our im-
petuosity more strongly marked ; but the two armies are
enchanted with each ooher." How terrible must have
been that steady charge into the cannon's mouth by brave
men as bravely led. Of such a movement well might the

poet exclaim—
Wheu level for the charge your arms are laid,

Where lives the desperate foe who for such onset stayed I
Assuredly not among the Russians, who at Alma believed
themselves invincibly intrenched. So little was the na-
ture of the allied assault calculated on, that at the com-
mencement of the battle many ladies were on the heights,
and a scaffolding had been constructed to enable the fair
spectators the better to behold the strife which they were
assured would, as far as the Russians were concerned, be
a mere review : so impossible was it considered that the
allies could come to close quarters in a position naturally
so strong, and fortified with so terrible a weight and num-
ber of artillery. Yet little more than three hours were
sufficient to carry the whole line of defence, and drive the
Russian army away in rapid flight. The array of ladies
fair on such an arena is suggestive of thoughts deeply
condemnatory of that overweening self-sufficiency, and
barbaric taste, which could think of assembling them in
such a situation ; nor does commiseration rightly belong
to those who were willing spectators of the sanguinary
spectacle. When the storm of battle burst through the

;hted lines of the Russian invincibles, that flock of
doves took rapid flight, leaving many a feather in their
track, for the ground it seems was strewed with female
finery. The idea of such a gathering so congregated is
revolting in the extreme. It constituted a new 1

added to the horrors of war. In the gay throng there were
nany invited to witness sure destruction hurled
upon the husbands, sons, and brothers, of our fair country.
women ; and here at least there can be little room for
regret that the murderous game they were assembled to
behold recoiled on those near and dear to themselves—
that they who came to witness the making of widows and
orphans should find themselves the victims of the cruel
sport.

doubtless

Intrenching himself behind the Alma, .31mIscifixon,
no doubt intended to do what greater generals than him-
self, and better troops than he commanded, had done on
previous occasions. Secure in a commanding position, he
meant there to withstand the attack of his opponents,
and whenever that should fail, to hurl the war down upon
them, converting their retreat into a destructive rout.
During the Peninsular war this was frequently done by
WELLINGTON, as in the case of Salamanca and elsewhere;
and in such circumstances the passive courage of his men,
that same courage which enabled them to march slowly
and with parade step in front of the Russian batteries,
was the element alone on which he could rely for success
in such an undertaking. This element had no existence
in the Russian ranks ; and, the desperate onset made,
they threw away their knapsacks by thousands, and many
of them, it is said, threw off even their boots, that they
might run the faster. The advance southward was, it
seems, unopposed, and so little calculated on that Balak-
lava had been chosen by many parties living in Sebas-
topol, and by Russian officers, as a place of safety for their
wives and children. In their advance towards that town,
our soldiers passed country houses from which the occu-
pants had but recently fled. In one of these a magnifi-
cent grand piano, by Erard, was open, with the music
still upon it ; other evidence was there also that some fair
performer had been unexpectedly disturbed, for a newly-
plucked peach, together with some slight articles of female
attire, had fallen, and were lying close to the music-stool.
That the operations against Sebastopol will be pushed
forward spiritedly there seems no reason to doubt, and
expectation is on eager tiptoe waiting for intelligence
which can be relied on from that quarter. In the mean-
time numerous divers, provided with suitable diving
apparatus, are being, it is said, sent out from London, to
aid in recovering the guns and stores from the ships
sunk in the entrance to the harbour of Sebastopol. So
pressing has been the demand for parties to undertake
this duty, that the diver who has been exhibiting at the
Royal Panopticon, since the re-opening of that institu-
tion, has been sent off at a few hours' notice. This
celerity and urgency on the part of government is worthy
of all commendation ; but its necessity at this juncture
of affairs conveys a curious commentary on the want of
foresight evinced in equipping the expedition with all the
necessary implements of efficiency. Better late than
never seems obviously the motto of the coalition govern-
ment in carrying on the war against the Premier's
quondam crony. Apropos of government arrangements,
the rumour has been revived that we shall have a short
winter session of Parliament.

A " Patriotic Fund," as it is called, under the imme-
diate patronage of the QUEER, has been established, and
the appointment of commissioners for its management
was announced in Friday's Gazette. The object of the
" fund" is to testify " loyalty and love" by a just and
generous benevolence towards the widows and orphans of
those who have fallen in battle. That the orphans and
widows referred to ought to be provided for, no one
doubts ; some there are, among whom I cannot choose
but rank myself, who are unable to see the propriety of
such provision being entrusted to a voluntary benevolence.
Their claim is a public one, and as a public one it should
be recognised. Popular benevolence has also taken ano-
ther direction in regard to the sufferers in our gallant
army and navy. It is proposed to send out nurses and
comforts for the sick and wounded in our hospitals on the
Bosphorous. In this Sir ROBERT PEEL has taken the
lead with a donation of £2OO, similar sums being also
contributed by Sir MOSES MONTIVIOBB and Mr. LYNE
STEPHENS ; Mr. LOCKE has sent £lOO, and these with
smaller sums amounting in auto £761 10s. were collected
in two days.

Among the notabilities of recent date are some of the
non-official declarations of Ministers in relation to the
war. At Aberdeen the noble Premier has taken the
occasion of the citizens of Bon accord inaugurating a
portrait of himself, in the Town-hall of that ancient city,
to edify them and the public as to his views of Russian
peace and war. The same topic has also been alluded to,
rather than handled, by the Earl of GnsliviLLE, in a post
prandial effiision, consequent on a review of the Stafford-
shire Yeomanry corps. In both orations the noble earls
took occasion to laud, in striking terms, the efficient
means adopted for prosecuting the war, yet they differed
from each other in several remarkable particulars. At
Aberdeen the First Lord of the Treasury seemed, like
SEMPRONIUS, to have his voice " still for war;" while
among the Staffordshire Yeomanry the Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster, in imitation, humble it is hoped, of
Lucius, confesses that his thoughts " are turned on
peace." Of course honourable and safe peace is what each
of these noble lords contemplates, yet each contrives to
wear his -!` rue with a difference." The Premier's view of
peace is in the past tense, the Chancellor's in the future ;
the one would have maintained it if he could, the other
will establish it if he can. So far so good; but the united
ministry has a most unhappy method of agreeing to differ
on this as well as on many other topics.
Another notability in ministerial progress is a new
move in financial hocus pocus, inaugurated, yes, that is
the word, by the Right Honourable the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, in the Times, relative to some new mode of
cooking the revenue returns. It is probably the most
successful illustration of the novelist's chapter entitled
" an explanation, in which nothing is explained," to be
met with. As arithmetical interference with fiscal mat-
ters generally resolves itself into what is called a "pocket
question," no doubt your readers will have ample oppor-
tunity of becoming more fully acquainted with the subject
in all its bearings, and feeling satisfied that
Where ignorance is bliss 'tie folly to be wise,
I would-not urge too early a familiarity with the " useless
knowledge."
Some stir has been made in literary circles by the dis-
covery of several interesting MSS. by Cowper, said to be of
great value in throwing light on the private life of the
poet. How far this may be true is doubtful ; that they
may throw additional light upon a gloomy subject without
adding much value to it, is quite a possible contingency.
After much cogitation, the Lords of Han MAJESTY'S
Treasury-have arrived at the conviction that it will be
desirable to establish a Permanent Educational Museum.
MA class's great picture, "The Marriage of Strongbow,"
has been purchased for £2,000, by Lord Nomtuwicn, and
by his lordship added to the TIIIILLSTANE House collection.

-
The London theatrical season seems to be making pro-
gress. DOUGLAS JERROLD'S new drama, " A Heart of
Gold," was produced at the Princess's, on Monday night
last, as 1 mentioned last week, with such a cast, and in such
a trim, as was not likely to secure for it a very favourable
reception. It is said, how far truly it would be difficult
to determine, that the parties for whom the different
characters were written did not personify them, and that
they suffered much, consequently, in the representation.
If this be true, it is a severe, though it may prove a valuable,
lesson, as to the impropriety of writing plays to show off
the peculiar talent of particular actors or actresses.
Where this is done, the author surrenders himself into
the hands of the actor, and condemns his play to evanes-
cent influence, which he should carefully eschew, even
supposing those parties to have no inimical interest in
connexion with play or author ; where, however, the dan-
gerous element of personal caprice is added to the other
drawbacks on success, the chances of ultimate, as well as
immediate, failure are incalculably and most unwisely
increased. At the Haymarket, HErpsoN's Irish comedy
and WRIGIIT'S broad humour keep the ball of success roll-
ing favourably towards the treasury. At the Adelphi,
Mr. Moaai BAR RE= continues a leadlug actor and a
powerful attraction.