The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-02-15 00:00:00

UNITED STATES

We have had two arrivals from America since our last.
The Columbus, which sailed from New York on the 19th
ult., arrived at this port on Friday ; and the Stephen Whit-
ney, which left New York on the 25th ult., reached this port
on Sunday, after a quick passage of seventeen days.
The charge of conspiracy against Nicholas Biddle and
others, to defraud the United States Bank, came on before
the Recorder of Philadelphia on the 13th ult., and closed on
the lith. The Recorder considered there was evidence suf-
ficient to justify him in binding the defendants over, which
was accordingly done, each in the sum of 10,000 dollars, to
appear at the Court of General Sessions, to answer the
charges brought against them by Austin Montgomery. On
the 18th the parties appeared, and severally justified in bail
as follows :—For Nicholas Biddle, Messrs. Corn. Biddle and
E. C. Biddle ; for Thomas Dunlap, Messrs. N. Frazier and
J. W. Perrit ; for John Andrews, Messrs. James Tyson and
E. Shaw. Mr. Samuel Jaudon was committed to the cus-
tody of an officer, and a habeas corpus immediately issued
by his counsel in his behalf. On the 19th an application
was made to send up bills against Nicholas Biddle and others,
but the request was not complied with by the court. A rule
was, however, taken out, calling on the defendants to come
into court on Saturday, and enter in recognisance to appear
at the next term of the court. The sequel is not given in
the papers. A habeas corpus having been taken out for Mr.
T. Dunlap, late President of the United States Bank, as well
as one for Mr. S. Jaudon, the hearing of the cases would
take place about the 25th ult.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate had
agreed to the Treasury Note Bill. The Bankrupt Act Re-
peal Bill had passed the Representatives' house, but much
doubt is expressed as to its ultimately being agreed to by the
Senate.

The new Governor-General of British North America had
been sworn in, and was received with every demonstration
of respect.
The British and North American royal mail steamer Bri-
tannia, which left Liverpool on the 4th ult., reached Boston
on the 22d. after a fine run, considering the season of the
year and the unfavourable winds, of eighteen days. She
carried out the news of the appointment of Lord Ashburton
as Special Minister from Great Britain to the United States.
The appointment, wherever the intelligence of it had reached,
seemed to have given general satisfaction. It was considered
as in every way a highly proper, and dignified, and concili-
atory course on the part of the British government. It
offered, the Americans thought, an opportunity, of the most
favourable kind, of bringing the differences between the two
countries to an amicable adjustment, and of establishing
their relations upon a footing of permanent peace and good
will.

Cincinnati had been the scene of an alarming, but singular,
as to its cause, riot. In the city, it appears, there were
several what are called " shin-plaster institutions, or indi-
vidual responsibility banks, which, like all the banks in the
United States, issued paper largely. By a recent decision of
the Ohio Court, the notes of these and all other unauthorized
banks were declared illegal and uncollectable by law. As the
amount of paper which these banks had put into circulation
was large, two of them, the Miami Exporting Company and
the Bank of Cincinnati, resolved to close. The Miami Ex-
porting Company made an assignment of its effects on the
evenim: of the 10th ult., and the Bank of Cincinnati closed
its doors on the morning of the 11th. The mob, exasperated
at the stoppage of these banks, attacked, first, the Bank of
Cincinnati, then the Miami Exporting Company, next the
Exchange Bank, owned by a Mr. Bates, and ended with the
Exchange-office of Mr. Lougee. The rioters were principally
Dutchmen, who had suffered most by losses from the oper-
ation of these irresponsible banks. They forced open the
vaults, stole some specie and bank notes, as well as notes of
companies which had been redeemed, and destroyed every
thing they could get hold of, throwing the remains into the
streets, and leaving little more than bare walls. The police
were quite unable to quell the riot or to save the property of
the banks. A few military were hastily collected : they fired
among the rioters, who returned the fire, and several were
wounded on both sides. The disturbance only ended with
the day. Whilst it lasted, some of the responsible banks
had runs made upon them, which were promptly met. The
runs were not renewed on the 12th ult.
The President of the Senate laid before the body, on the
20th ult., a message from the President of the United States,
covering a communication from the Department of State,
containing the protest of the officers and crew of the Ameri-
can brig Creole, and the correspondence between the Ameri-
can Consul at Nassau and the British authorities, in relation
to that subject. The papers were sent in compliance with a
resolution offered by Mr. Calhoun, on the 11th ult.
The money market was decidedly easier. The reports of
the state of the Liverpool market at the beginning of the
year had made the holders of cotton firmer. Not much busi-
ness in exchange had been done for the Sheridan. The rates
are without change, or, if there was any, it was a trifle lower.
The market was not expected to be active until operations
commenced for the Britannia on the Ist instant. Very little
had been done on France for the packet : the rates closed at
5.314- to 5.30.

COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

WEST INDIES

Accounts from Jamaica to the 9th January have been re-
ceived by a private ship. The planters there, following the
example of those in some of the other colonies had held a
meeting jointly with the labourers, on the subject of equal-
ising the rate of wages with the quantity and value of the
produce from the estates. After the abolition of the appren-
ticeship system high rates had been given, in order to induce
habits of industry, the prices of sugar, &c., warranting the
amount so paid. Since then it would appear that, owing to
the fall in prices, the proprietor can no longer afford to pay
the same wages as heretofore. Several letters had been re-
ceived in Jamaica, stating either that a reduction must be
made in that branch of the expense, or it would be impera-
tive upon the owners to abandon the cultivation of the es-
tates. The managers, therefore, had, upon consultation, de-
termined that Is sterling per day for first, and 9d for second
class labourers, and is per week would be equitable rates.
This had been recommended to the labourers, several of
whom had given it as their opinion, " that the general wel-
fare of the country depended entirely upon the sugar estates
being cultivated," but requested time for considering the re-
solutions. _ _ .

A collision had taken place at Carthagena between her
British Majesty's brig Charybdis and Carmona's squadron,
the latter having fired at the former. It was immediately
returned by Lieutenant De Courcy, by which the admiral
and about forty men were killed: The Charybdis suffered
no loss. The British consul at Carthagena and several Ame-
rican merchants had been obliged to take refuge on board
this vessel, in consequence of Carmona continuing to fire
upon the town. The lives, property, &c., of British subjects
were not safe from the ruthless depredations of the merciless
Carmona and his partisans. A public meeting of the inha-
bitants of Jamaica was held on the 221 December, to take
into consideration the flagrant acts of violence committed
upon British ships by the adherents of Carmona at Zapote.
During one of these outrages, Colonel Gregg* and three other
companions in arms, whilst on board a British vessel, had
been pursued out to sea by armed gun-boats, and the four
brave fellows were ultimately dragged out of the vessel, and
brutally murdered. Al uch indignation was expressed at these
inhuman barbarities, and redress was demanded for the injury
sustained. Great resentment is felt at the supineness of the
British forces nit the West India station.

* This gentleman was a native of Dublin, and brother of
the Rev. T. D. Gregg. He was in the South American ser-
vice.

COURT OF CHANCERY, FRIDAY, FED. 11

BLUNDELL V. GLADSTONE

The arguments in this case were resumed to-day. The
question arises upon the will of the late Mr. Charles Blun-
dell, of Ince Blundell, in Lancashire, who devised his estate
to the second son of Mr. Edward Weld, of Lulworth, Tue
proprietor of Lulworth is named Joseph, and his eldest son
was baptized Edward Joseph, but is known only as Mr.
Edward Weld. The plaintiff in the cause, Mr. Thomas
"Weld, is the second son of Mr. Joseph Weld, of Lulworth,
and he claims to be the intended devisee, and contends. that
his father is called Edward by mistake.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL continued his Address, com-
menced yesterday, on the part of the plaintiff, and argued,
that the effect of the decisions was, that where a will was im-
perfect, the Courts would admit evidence in explanation. It
is admissible where an ambiguity arises from a description
which raises competition between two parties. Correct the
name of Edward in the will into Joseph, and all the other
indicia of the testator's intention are satisfied in the second
son of Joseph Weld. Lady Stourton is the sister of the pro-
prietor, as described by Mr. Blundell, and all the other
limitations are intelligible, if the alteration in name is made
as suggested. The learned gentleman said the Courts would
always presume a devise to be made to an existing person,
rather than one who might or not hereafter be born. One
direction in the will was, that the devisee, whoever he was,
should take the name and arms of Blundell immediately.
After quoting and commenting on the various authorities
upon the subject, he concluded' by praying that an issue or
inquiry might be granted to ascertain who the testator really
meant.
The Solicitor-General replied, and again urged that the
name and description of EdWard were accurate, and the
Court would not alter it. There was no foundation for saying
that courts in general would hold conclusively that testators
necessarily contemplated existing devisees. In the present
case the testator had made various limitations to non-existing
parties, and if Mr. Blundell had intended a person then living,
he would have accurately named him, and not merely de-
scribed him. If parol evidence of the intentions of testators
were once to be admitted, it would. he of most dangerous
consequence, and the courts would never know where to stop.
A testator must express his 'own intentions, and Mr. Blun-
dell had done so with sufficient certainty. The learned gen-
tleman said, upon the whole it was clear Mr. Blundell had
used the name of Edward, not by mistake, but designedly,
and the Court would decree that the plaintiff had not made
out his case. _ _ . _ _ _ _ - _

The Lord Chancellor rose at five o'clock, and said he Would
consider his judgment.

TOE LONDON ANTI-CORN-LAW CONFERENCE.—We
think it our duty, on behalf of every respectable person in
Manchester, of whatever sect or party, to denounce and dis-
own the blackguard proceedings (a milder term would be out
of place) of certain parties, now in London, calling themselves
anti-corn-law delegates. From the inditing of that impudent
letter to Sir Robert Peel, which bears the signature of Mr.
John Brooks, to the pickpocket-like rush into the lobby of
the House of' Commons—which, by the way, was very be-
comingly treated by the proper authorities in such a case—
viz., Me police—the whole of the proceedings in London
have been such, as would have reflected disgrace on the in-
, mates of the lowest haunts of infamy. If the very scum and
dregs of society—if the worst end of St. Giles's, or the
Boeotian purlieus of Liverpool or Manchester, had been
ransacked for appropriate tools for such a purpose, the dirty
iwork of the league could not have fallen into abler hands.
This be their glory,
and for the honour of the town, let them
have it all to themselves.—Manchester paper-

THE PROPOSED SLIDIN4 CAT,T

rom the Manchester\ Courier.)

Although the maximum duty is lower than was anticipated,
we are bound to admit that the proposed new scale Fesents
great advantages in almost every point of view. It neither
exposes the consumer to injury by its tendency to keep up
prices, nor yet the agriculturist by offering any inducement
to him to vvithold his corn until he is defeated by the low
duty and consequent influx of foreign grain. The revenue
will likewise be benefited, because the duties will no longer
range so high as. to- induce the holders of foreign grain to
keep back their importations until the duties have fallen to
the minimum point. Nor will the dealer derive less benefit
from the new- scale, for his arrangements will no longer be
frustrated by sudden fluctuations acting upon the markets.
Hitherto, during the first two or three weeks in September
of each year, the influx of foreign corn has been very great.
Tbis has been especially the case as regards the last two
yearsi for during the early part of September in each, we
find the duties ranging from Is. to 2s. Bd. This, occurring
just at the time when they were thrashing out their wheat to
meet their rents, bore very heavily upon the farmers in the
.North of England. We do not say that the new scale will
absolutely reverse this state of things, but there is no doubt
that the comparatively trifling variations in the duties will
offer less inducement .for the importation of foreign grain at
that particular time.
We believe that Sir. Robert Peel's plans will be favourably
received by the landed interest : and we are persuaded that
they will be heartly acquiesced in by all moderate and
practical men. We do not expect that they will satisfy
either the party at the back of Lord .1. Russell, or the in-
sensate rabble who herd and bellow with Mr. Cobden. But
although they are not calculated to find favour with the place
hunters or levellers, they will disappoint no one, for Sir R.
Peel gave parliament distinctly to understand, before the re-
cess, that he should adhere to the principle of the sliding
scale; and we are very sure that none of the journals which
support his government have ever held out any prospect of
his departing from that principle. Yet' the empty and ob-
trusive member for Stockport rose immediately before the
adjournment of the house in an agony of what he meant to
be taken for the very quintessence of bitter disappointment ?
Disappointment? Pooh! When or by whom was Mr.
Cobden's baffled hope engendered but in a "fool's paradise"
—a lucus a non lucendo—of his own creating ?

(From the London Times.)
Upon the whole, we repeat what we began by saying, that
this change will approximate, perhaps as nearly as it is pos-
sible for any modification of a sliding scale to do, to the ad-
vantages which might be expected from a moderate fixed
duty. It will discourage gambling speculations in corn, and
in the same degree encourage a steady trade in that com-
modity. The uniformity of the rate of reduction, and the
comparatively narrow limits within which it operates, will
both of them tend to give confidence to merchants, and in-
duce them (in the same way that a fixed daty would) to em-
bark in the corn trade as one of which the results will' be sus-
ceptible of previous calculation.' Below 51s. the duty will be
fixed, and at no unreasonable rate, if either the average prices
in the corn-growing countries, or the degree of protection
necessary to insure a plentiful home supply, are to be con-
sidered. At 645. it falls to Bs., the point at which the late
ministry proposed to fix it ; and when the price rises beyond
this, the consumer and the importer will have the benefit of
a corresponding reduction of duty. The possible effect of
this arrangement will be to keep the price-of wheat, under
ordinary circumstances, at about Ms. per quarter, subject,
of course, to those occasional variations, from the accidents
of seasons, against which no legislation can provide.

That these changes will be unacceptable to the extreme
agricultural party. who claim a vested interest in the full
amount of protection which they at present enjoy, may be
considered certain from the opposition offered to them by
the Duke of Buckingham ; and again, it is clear, from the
speech of Mr. Cobden last night, thatthey will give no satis-
faction to the violent politicians on the Anti-Corn-Law side,
who are for sweeping away protection from the face of the
earth. But moderate and practical men will not think less
favourably of them on account of the disapprobation of these
two parties, and we feel convinced that this third class, com-
prising as it does the great and influential majority of the
merchants, manufacturers, and agriculturists of Great Britain,
will unite in accepting them as a valuable boon from the
hands of the conservative ministry.

EAST INDIA SUGAR

(From the Morning Herald.)

The Bombay papers contain an interesting account of the
progress of sugar -cultiyation in that presidency under the
superintendence of the.Jooneer Company. In the year 1839
a gentleman was despatched to Hewra, to take charge of the
works, and who, immediately upon his arrival,. commenced
operations by buying up the whole of, the .Mauritius sugar-
cane in-the district, which amounted to eight bighas; of these
five wiere made into sugar, and 'the remainder reduced to
plants. The quality of the sugar was good, and the manu-
facture being conducted upon the plan adopted in the West
Indies, the difference could scarcely be perceived. The
quantity produced was 1,2771bs- of sugar and 5071b5. mo-
lasses, which was less than might have been expected, but
the falling off was attributable to the system pursued by the
ryots of yearly 'exhausting the soil, in order to reap the
greater crop. The plants were sufficient for 38 bighas in the
ensuing season. Of these 22 were made into sugar. and 18
reserved for future planting. The produce of the 38 bighas
was 9,8311b5. sugar, 4,5201b5. molasses, and 7271b5. gool.
The quantity of plants being sufficient for 100 bighas, that
quantity of land was prepared, towards which operation the
ryots, having now become fully aware of the value of the cul-
tivation, willingly subscribed, and would have gone much
further had it been considered advisable to have extended the
operation of the company beyond their means, which at that
time were limited, or beyond what the manager.could perso-
nally attend to. Of the 100 bighas, 77 were converted into
sugar, and 23 allowed to go to seed. The seed was appor-
tioned to plant 125 bighas on account of the company, and
50 bighas on native account, with the understanding that
when the canes arrived at maturity, the company should
have the priority of purchase. The produce was esti-
mated to be 52,0001b5. sugar, 7,0001b5. molasses, and
4,000 gallons rum. This spirit is represented to be very
superior, and a portion of each return of a still is found to
be highly rectified, equal to all the purposes of spirit of wine,
and generally above 50 and 60 degrees 0. r. Thus in three
years several small patches of cane originally planted on trial
by government over eight bighas, have, by concentration and
cultivation, increased to 175 bighas; and from the disposi-
tion of the ryots, it was inferred that it would extend over
the whole of this, and even through the adjacent districts.
The canes are now grown under contract by the ryots of tour,
or five villages, having good garden land, or even fair black
soil, with water sufficient for one to three bighas to each well,
according to their means, and advances in money, and
plants for the land, are made at the rate of 20 per cent. on
the crops to be planted ; the, money is for the purpose of
procuring the manure, the necessary utensils, &c.; and the
canes are bought, when ripe, at the maximum price of 100
rupees per bigha, and lower in proportion to the quality.
It was expected that twn years hence sufficient would be
grown by the ryots on their own accounts. to supply the
works with cane, and that they would endeavour to produce
oetter canes than those grown under contract, in order to
ensure a higher price. The ulterior advantage to the natives
was looked upon as likely to be great, in giving extra labour
and employment to many individuals who otherwise would,
probably, be a great burden on their own limited resources,
and remain in a state of all but idleness, and by which' they
have an opportunity of improving their habits, and learning
another business. It is also suggested that these establish-
ments would prove useful to the class of Angla-Indiati lads,
by putting them to acquire practically a knowledge-of cane-
planting, sugar-making. and distilling, especially now that
the cultivation of sugar is extending in the Deccan, about
Poonah, Sholapoor, and in some parts of Kandesh.

THE KING OF PRUSSIA AND HIS DONATIONS

We are informed that his Majesty entered the harbour at
Ostend shortly after daybreak on Saturday morning week,
after experiencing a delightful voyage.
His Majesty, shortly after his landing, wrote an autograph
letter to our beloved Sovereign, acquainting her Majesty of
his safe arrival at'Ostend, with which a courier was despatched
immediately, who reached Windsor on Sunday.
The subjoined is a list of some of the munificent donations
given by his Majesty to the different charities and establish-
ments in the metropolis :
To the Society of Friends of Foreigners in Distress.. £5OO
„ the Dreadnought Hospital Ship .
„ the Shipwrecked Fisherman and Mariner Society 50
„ the German Catholic Church
„ the German Lutheran Church (Savoy) 5O
1, ditto ditto ditto (Little Ailev-str.) 50
f ditto ditto ditto (Hamburg Church) 50
„ the German Reformed Church (Hooper-square) 50
His Majesty, as has been before announced, gave £5O to
the workmen of the Thames Tunnel, and to the attendants
of the Great Western Railway his Majesty, before leaving
this country, sent the handsome sum of £lOO.
The royal bargemen who assisted at his Majesty's landing
at Greenwich, have been presented with £25.
To the Queen's household at Windsor Castle, comprising
the domestics in the departments of the Master of the Horse,
Lord Chamberlain, and Lord Steward, his Majesty has left,
with regal munificence, the sum of £l5OO.
To the poor of Windsor the King previously gave £lOO.
The domestics at Buckingham Palace have, in addition to
those of Windsor Castle, been left £lOO.
The six beautiful vases presented by his Majesty to the
Queen and Prince Albert, are reported to be unique, and of
inestimable value. They are of the finest porcelain, covered
with exquisite paintings and elaborately ornamented, and
stand six feet high.
They were conveyed from Berlin in 18 cases, and their
value may be judged, for they were insured at Antwerp for
" sea risk" to this country f0r.1.00,000 francs.

His Majesty, we understand, gave the liberal sum of X6OO
to be divided among the crews of the Firebrand and Shear-
water steamers, proportionate to the rank of each person em-
ployed on board.
As is generally the case when a crowned head visits the do-
minions of a friendly state, the King of Prussia came pro-
vided with a number of valuable gold snuff boxes for pre-
sentation.
His Majesty has, we hear, presented handsome gold boxes
to the Earl of Jersey (Master of the Horse), the Earl of
Delawarr (Lord Chamberlain), and the Earl of Liverpool
(Lord Steward of the Queen's Household). The boxes are
very valuable, being set with brilliants of the finest water,
surrounding a miniature of his Majesty on the lid. They
may be considered the finest specimens of Berlin workman-
ship, and the value of each box is said to be upwards of
£7OO.
The Earl of Hardwicke, Capt. Meynell, R.N., M.P., and
Colonel Arbuthnot, the lord, groom, and equerry in waiting
to the Queen, selected for the honour of attending on his
Majesty, have, we understand, also been presented with
similar tokens of his Majesty's esteem.

MIWPWIMIIMIIMII
HE WORE HIS CHAIN OF OFFICE

Hail ! tailless bully, Dublin's great Lord Mayor,
As senator rejected and disdained,—
Thy friends 'nave raised thee to the civic chair,
But don't forget, great brute, to send thee chained !J
Feb. 11. R. J

The Irish papers generally assert that Dr. O'Brien, Dean
of Cork, and son-in-law of the Chief Justice of the Queen's
Bench, will be the new Bishop of Ossory.
- • - -

EXTENSIVE EMBEZZLEMENT.—Information has been re-
ceived by the police of an extensive robbery committed by
two lads in the employ of Mr. Salmon,
.a linendraper, of
London, whose service they absconded from on Wednesday
evening, carrying off with them cash in gold and silver to the
amount nearly of £4OO, besides four £lO Bank of England
notes. The number of the notes are fortunately known, and
will, it is hoped, lead to the detection of the culprits ; but
hitherto no clue has been obtained of their destination. The
oldest boy, named John Ogilvie Martin, is only 17 years of
age; the name of the other boy is Jones. A reward of £5O
has been offered for their apprehension.
DEPARTURE OF LORD ASHBURTON. —PORTSMOUTH,
THURSDAY EVENING.—His Excellency the Right Hon.
Lord Ashburton embarked this afternoon on board the War-
spite frigate at Spithead. He left the harbour between two
and three o'clock, accompanied by Lord John Hay, in the
'admiral's tender, and was saluted by the forts with nineteen
guns as he passed. When he arrived on board the Warspite,
the yards were manned, and he was received with another
salute of nineteen guns. Shortly after the frigate was hove
skort, and at four o'clock got under weigh, with a light
breeze from about S.S.W., which will just enable her to lay
her course down channel.

VIE ANTI-CORN.LAW LIEAOUI

(Prom Yesterday's Times

We have not thought it hitherto necessary to pay much
attention to the various meetings which have been got up in
connexion with that very seditious set of personages calling
itself the Great Anti-Corn-Law Conference—a body which,
as may be supposed, has been. in its glory, now that Sir Ro-
bert Peel has given it something definite to quarrel with.
Their debates on the occasion fairly put to shame, in quan-
tity, Sir Robert's speech itself, and in quality, we will do
them the justice to say, quite equal those of their past or
present parliamentary representatives. Indeed, two of these
gentlemen, Colonel Thompson and Mr. O'Connell, who took
a part in the morning's amusement, were by no•means the
lions of the occasion, but seem to have been fairly thrown
into the shade, judging at least by the relative proportions of
" tremendous cheering," " renewed laughter," and such like
tributes of admiration, to a very vivacious gentleman, of
whose speech, the mcst effective morsels, judging from the
aforesaid symptoms, seem to have been of the following pe-
culiar character :

" A sliding scale ! What was a sliding scale ? A key to turn
the lock on the door of the storehouse of the Universal Fa-
ther of the World—(great cheering,)—a law that took away
the bounty of God freely sent for the support of his children,
sent them into prison, placed them under bondage, and pro-
hibited the thousands and tens of thousands from that which
they had already earned. Cursed law! doubling the primeval
curse, turning the warm sweat of industry into the chill damp
of starvation. (Tremendous cheers.) He denounced that law.
(Cheers.) It was an impious law. (Cheers )
(Cheers.) If they persevered thus ta the end, and did not
remain waiting for three months, they would succeed. Saul
at Tarsus acknowledged his Master on one day, and the next
lie was preaching to the Gentiles. (Loud cheers.) Display
the zeal of new converts. (Cheers.) Rejoice that you did
not see the iniquity before. (Cheers.) Redeem the time.
Take your arms from the skies, and fight this Goliath of the
Philistines. (Loud cheers.) He wanted to get their fee
upon a rock. (Cheers.) If they departed from principle,
and made the question one of time, or place, or circumstance,
or harvest, or averages, or prices, they committed themselves
to a sliding scale. (Cheers.) There were other sliding scales
than those of Sir Robert's. (Hear, bear.) While they de-
nounced his they should not adopt one of their own. (Hear,
hear.)"
One scarce knows which to wonder at most, the liveliness
and exertions of the speaker, or of the audience, in this re-
markable and very offensive specimen of half pulpit, half
hustings oratory. There is scarcely anything which more
moves our indignation, or is more disagreeably characteristic
of real dissenting sedition, than this fashion of scriptural
garnish which our orator so freely adopts • especially when
such passages are introduced and succeeded before their
lines are over by " renewed. laughter." Indeed this alter-
nation is so rapid and inexplicable, that we cannot help
thinking that there must have been something very facetious
in the speaker's physiognomy—he must have had the power
of exhibing some peculiar Listonian contortions of face or
body—indescribable, and therefore unreported—to produce
such results on the nerves of the audience. For example,
he takes on him to speak in " Cambyses' vein " of one of
the miracles recorded in the gospel—the multiplication of
the five loaves " rather than the poor should go hungry
away." (Cheers.) Now for " Sir Robert Peel's speech, '
he proceeds,—(" laughter"—adds the reporter.) We may
be very stupid, but for the life of us we cannot see the joke,
either of the words or of the transition ; and can only fancy
this sudden emotion excited by one of those grimaces with
which it is easy to imagine that such a speech might be
accompanied.
" He was glad," be shortly proceeded, " that a gentleman
on the right of the chair severed the speech of the minister
from the Sovereign " (whose head, another orator insists,
shall not be cut off). " The ministers were for (qu. against?)
them—the Sovereign was not. What ! a Sovereign—a wo-
man—a wife—a mother-0a patriot Queen, sanction that ini-
quitous mockery of the wrongs of the people! " (Great
cheering, and cries of ' No, no.') No. Not then for their
Queen,
" ' Now 's the day and now 's the hoar—
See the front of' battle lour,
See approach proud faction's power,
Peel and Buckingham,' &c.
,"However, we are spending too much time in introducing
our readers to a specimen of great anti-corn-law conference
oratory. We should say a word or two on the substance of
their proceedings. In the first place, like the leaders of the
masons' strike, and the Lord. Mayor of Dublin, the great
conference finds it necessary in the person of its chairman to
remind " gentlemen " that they must " have for the struggle
the sinews of war,"—(hear)— ' and that they must open
their purse-strings." And this, although he has "got in-
telligence that the Manchester Bazaar has already, realized
£10,000." Now this we are always glad to see. When men
of this kind begin pulling at one another's pockets it is a
symptom of the beginning of an end. Nothing has such ,a
disabusing power over. Englishmen as an attack in that
quarter; and nothing, of course, so certain to betray a rogue
as the command of funds. if there is money flying about,
we may safely calculate on the speedy absconding of a secre-
trry or two—events which will have mote effect on the sub-
scribing members' politics than a library of pamphlets, or a
whole menagerie of members of parliament.
Next, it is to be observed who it is they choose as their
parliamentary leader—as the representative of the people's
interests, who, in opposition both to Sir R. Peel and to Lord
John Russell, is to move for the total abolition of the." bread
tax." Mr. Villiers, the quondam employt of the Poor Law
Commissioners. Truly if these gentlemen were really so
anxious that the spare diet of the poor should be increased,
their comforts multiplied, their independence secured, it
might have been expected that they would have betaken
themselves to some party rather less identified with their
gruel, close ceils, galling restrictions, and all the other enor-
mities of the red-brick bastiles, than the hon. member whom
they have selected, or who has selected himself, to be their
advocate. Nor in that case would they make them-
selves, what in fact they are, though they try to dis-
guise it by a few hard words, the t.,•-ds and supporters
of these would-be ministers, to whose g• theories, and
hard mechanical practice, so much misery and oppression is
to be traced. This, if nothing else, would prevent our be-
ing deluded into any sympathy with these demagogues—that
while they are blustering and labouring to invest a desired
commercial reform with a popular character which is not its
own, and which can only be fastened on it by the most false
pretences, they overlook a plain system of practical oppres-
sion, which does not depend for its proof on extended exami-
nations, intricate calculations, and nice deductions, but stares
them in the face as a fact which may be grappled with, not in
its supposed causes, but in itself tangibly and immediately.

THE AFFGHANISTAN WAR AND RUSSIAN
INTRIGUE.

The Times of yesterday notices at some length the occur-
rences which induced Lord Auckland to plan, and the house
government to approve, our great expedition beyond the
Indus. Our contemporary first quotes largely from the
the despatches to Lord Palmerston and from the communi-
cations of his lordship, and proves from these, as well as from
other circumstances, that the war of Affghanistan was un-
undertaken against Russian influence, and then proceeds as
follows:—We feared not the Afghans, we feared not the
Persians, but we had irrefragable proof that the policy of
Russia was sufficiently formidable to demand " a prompt,
active, and decided counteraction." On this point there can
be no difference of opinion between any people who have
taken the trouble to read the evidence laid before Parlia-
ment. But the question as to the nature of that counterac-
tion, and as to the best measures to be adopted for the pur-
pose, is quite a distinct matter. Was it wise for us, a mara-
time power, to select the deserts of Central Asia for the
scene of operations intended to repel the aggression of Rus-
sia ? Was it politic for us to act as a belligerent power,
incurring all the outlay, and (as the result has proved) much
of the danger of distant warfare, when the power we really
meant to. cope with was not in the field at all, and, in fact, no
military resistance was opposed to us ?

But the dates of these transactions are still more extraor-
dinary, for it appears from them that at the very time our
armies crossed the Indus to establish Schah Sojah in Cabul,
and to quell the alarming progress of Russian influence
amongst the Affghan septs or clans, Russia had not only to-
tally disavowed all her emissaries arid intrigues in that quar-
ter, but Lord Palmerston had accepted M. de Nesselrode's
explanations as " entirely satisfactory," in his despatch of
the 20th December, 1838. The siege of Herat had been
raised, the Schah had retreated, the Russian government dis-
owned all its acts—nevertheless the expedition proceeded.
The case then appears to us to stand thus : if the explana-
tions of Russia were believed to be " entirely satisfactory."
the whole case for the war falls to the ground, for it is only
as a war of defence against the intrigues of a great power that
it can be justified ; but if those explanations were false--if
Russia was convicted, by numerous and unquestionable
proofs, of having carried on a grand system of policy hostile
to British interests and the security of British India (a sys-
tem which her subsequent disavowal only renders more sus-
picious)—if, in short, war was believed to be the only means
of protecting our empire and checking these encroachments,
then, in such a case, the war should not have been a " little"
war, without an avowed enemy or a fair field, but the really
" prompt, active, and decided counteraction" should have
been applied by British men of war in the Black Sea or the

These retrospective considerations are not without a direct
application to the present state of affairs in Affghanistau.
The military demonstration, which began with the defeat of
Dost Mahomed and the capture of Ghuznee, and has ended
with the insurrection of Cabul, was intended to eradicate the
influence which Russia had acquired over the Sirdars and
native chiefs. We encounter no enemy in the field; the
Sirdars are abandoned by Russia to their fate ; all the known
emissaries of St. Petersbnrgh are disavowed, some are re-
called, some perish in strange ways ; we' occupy the country
in comparative security, when a sudden but general insur-
rection breaks out on various points, at the season of the
year most disastrous to our troops. The first victim is Sir
Alexander Burnes, -Well known (and denounced in M.
M. Vicovich's despatches) as the most vigilant servant of
Great Britain, and the keenest antagonist of the Russian
agents. The operations of the natives bear marks of a good
understanding amongst the rival tribes and great uniformity
of combination. They must be attributable to some efficient
cause, beyond the mere irritation of an ill-used tribe. Is
there any other cause so efficient or so probable as that
power whose growing influence amongst those tribes first
called for our interference?

We throw out these remarks as conjectures; they can be
no more. But the point is reducible to this very clear pro..
position :—lt was demonstrated, in 1838, that Russia had
made considerable progress in extending her influence by
emissaries throughout Central Asia, and that a treaty had
been signed by the rulers of Candahar, under her Minister's
guarantee, containing stipulations " injurious and offensive
to Great Britain ;" such are Lord Palmerston's just epithets
applied to it. It must now, therefore, either be supposed
that Russia has entirely relinquished the objects she had then
in view, which is not her usual practice ; or that she has
availed herself of the earliest opportunity to turn the forces
of the country against us.

MODES OF LIVING.—The clergy live by our sins, the
medical faculty by our diseases, and the law gentry by our
misfortunes.

A very serious accident by misadventure happened on Sa-
turday morning at the shop of Mr. Allen, a butcher in South
Audley-street, London. Two lads were playing together in
the shop, when one of them put the head of the other on the
block, and jokingly said, " Now, I'll cut your head oti," at
the same time drawing, as he supposed, the back of the knife
across his throat. Unfortunately, however, the edge was di-
rected to the boy's neck, and being very sharp it cut through
the handkerchief, and inflicted a wound of considerable depth
in the throat. The boy, whose name was James Gibbs, was
removed to the Middlesex Hospital, where he is going on
well.

MYSTERIOUS AND SiTSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.—On
Thursday week, as soma I:lbourers were removing some ba-
ring from the limestone quarries, in property belonging to
Walker Smith, Esq., of Brotherton, near Ferrybridge, they
discovered a human skeleton, buried little more than two
feet below the surface, and about thirty yards from the great
north turnpike road, which, from the accompanying circum-
stances, gives ground for suspicion that the body must have
been murdered. The circumstance of a reaping sickle and a
pocket knife having been found together with the bones, as
well 'as fragments of leather, and a coarse kind of greenish-
coloured cloth, gives rise to strong suspicion that the indi-
vidual met with an untimely end. There is evidently an
appearance:of a fracture in the skull, and all the teeth are in
a perfect state which may lead to supposition that it has been
a young corpse. The remains must have been in the ground
for al great number of years, and most probably are those of
some Irish reaper, perhaps murdered by his comrades when
returning home with his harvest labours.—Leeds Mercury.

CORREPONDENTS

In the event of an equality of votes for a common council-
man, the alderman of the ward has the casting vote.
The poetry of "J M L" cannot appear until Friday.

ii.tberpool k.)tantiarti.