The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-12-06 00:00:00

SPAIN.

BARCELONA, Nov. 30.

The English ship-of-war Formidable was wrecked yester-
day, near the mouth of the Llobregat. The Gassendi was
sent this morning to take her off the sand-bank on which sbe
was fixed. The success is uncertain ; but a part of the ma-
terial will be saved.

Barcelona is about to capitulate with the regent. The
junta has ordered the free corps to lay down their arms at
Atarrazanas.

CHINA.—It is a striking and even gratifying circumstance
in the late victories that they have been divided between the
two great branches of service with almost an honourable
equality. In India the trophies belonged exclusively to the
soldier. In China the fleet was the great arm; for, though
the soldier largely was and effectually employed, the campaign,
in its especial sense, was naval. The consequences, too, are
equally characteristic; for, if the Indian victories are to reap
anything, it will be territory • while, if the Chinese successes
are to be substantiated, it will be in the shape of an extended
commerce and navigation.—Britannia.
The ex-ministers, as was expected, lay claim to all the
merit of the success in China !! Lord Palmerston's organs
have held an almost daily controversy with the Conservative
press on this topic since the overland rymil arrived ; and
though signally beaten in detail at all points, still press for-
ward to " the fray" with matchless assurance. The subject
is too bulky to handle this week; but we must return to it
in our next, in order to give our readers a fresh and amusing
sample of the hollowness and coolness of the pretensions of
the supporters of the defunct administration. When the
wretched mismanagement of the Chinese war by the Whigs
is borne in mind—mismanagement extending over two years
—one would have thought that China was the last ground in
the world on which they would have attempted to make a
stand ; but the very fact exposes the weakness of their posi-
tion more exclusively than columns of argument.
TALES OF HORROR.—We find the following horrid details
in an lowa paper, and it strikes us as it does one of our con-
temporaries, as the " most extraordinary and cruel relation
of circumstances that ever went forth in type :"—" An old
man lived alone, and had forbidden a daughter, who lived
near, and her husband, or even their children, ever to ap-
proach his place, on account merely of some whimsical pique
that the old man had taken against his child. One morning
the inhuman being found his grandchild, under three years
of age, climbing upon his garden rail, and he deliberatedly
went for a rifle and shot the boy dead. The victim fell inside
the fence. The old man reloaded and sat watching. Not
long after, the mother came seeking the child, and the minute
she touched her father's garden rail, as she did with a shriek
the instant she pereeided her dead child, the old brute shot
her in the temple and killed her stone dead on the spot. The
hoary maniac (as be is now accounted) shot the father also
when he came, and he is now in prison to answer for the three
murders.

A FLIGHT or JUDICIAL FANCY.—Some months ago Ho-
race Pagaud, clerk in the Comptroller's-office at Mississippi,
decamped from Jackson, after having forged certain warrants
on the treasury to the amount of 70.000 dollars, and was af-
terwards arrested at Buffalo, New York. Governor Tucker
demanded the fugitive, and sent an agent to receive him, who
visited Buffalo and took the prisoner in charge. On his re-
turn down the Mississippi river, a writ of habeas corpus was
granted at St. Louis, commanding the agent of the state to
produce the prisoner before the court, together with the cause
of his detention. It seems that the agent had no warrant
against the prisoner, nor any evidence to hold him in custody,
except what was called a " sheriff's receipt." When this
was exhibited, on the return of the writ, the judge of the
Criminal Court of St. Louis became quite fanciful, and is
said to have spoken thus :—" No flower of competent proof
nor oasis of legal suspicion gladdens the bewildered eye, but
over the immense plain the bleakness of idle conjecture in
silence reigns. A sheriff's receipt ! Tell it not in Westminster
Hall, breathe it not in the Court of Correction of Errors in
New York, but thunder it 'n the streets of St. Petersburgh
and Constantinople—that congenial atmosphere of despotism
—that a free citizen of the United States is sought to be hur-
ried from one extremity of the Union to the other, by the
questionable authority of a sheriff's receipt in one of the ob-
scure counties of New York. Posterity will not believe it ;
and the court, therefore, orders the clerk to record it at once,
and will pause until it is done."—American paper.

ear Ribtrpool g9tantarb.

TUESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 6, 1842

In another column 'will be found as full details as
we have found it practicable to publish, of the intelli-
gence brought by the overland mail from China and
India. Fresh successes have been obtained in Affgha-
nistan, and his IMperial Majesty of China has paid the
first instalment of 6,000,000 dollars, and proposes, it is
said, to " send an Ambassador to London." This will
no doubt have an important effect in preserving friendly
relations with England. The Emperor, as will he seen,
has consented to ratify the treaty so soon as he is in-
formed it has received the ratification of her Majesty
Queen Victoria.

It was not our intention to return to the subject of
the Corporation Schools until after the meeting of the
Council to-morrow, nor even then, unless that move-
ment had taken place, which we deprecated on Friday,
and which since that we have good reason to expect
will not now be attempted. For the sake, however, of
our contemporary of the Journal, we are induced to
forego our intention, in order to enlighten him as to
the meaning of those words in our article on which he
comments, and which he honestly declares are incom-
prehensible to him. Thus speaks the Journal:—

" So much for ' Ficlus Achates'—now for the Standard
itself :

" ' As the report has reached us, the object in view is to
admit the children of Romish parents to the benefit of an
education purely secular, throwing religious instruction over-
board altogether, and not requiring of them to read the Bible
either in the authorised or the Douay version. Against this
or any similar proposal, wholly irrespective of details, (and
details are also hinted at, on which the Radical party, in and
out of the Council, and their conservative supporters, are not
likely to agree,) we enter at once a strenuous and uncompro-
mising protest. Our duty to God, towards our neighbours
and ourselves, demands this protest at our hands. We must
magnify God's Holy Word ourselves, and teach it diligently
to our own children. And this forbids us, for ever, to be
consenting parties to the exclusion of any other child, or
adult, from the hopes and blessings with which that Word
abounds. 'Tis not that we grudge to the Roman Catholic
child (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that
we do) the utmost benefits of a secular education—but, in
order to that, we cannot become partakers of the sin of his
priest, by consenting to the barter of the child's birthright
for a mess of pottage. The hardship to which the child is
exposed is not fairly chargeable upon us, who are eager to
give him both scriptural and secular instruction, but lies en-
tirely at the door of the priest, who compels his victim to
refuse both, because he fears and hates the Word of God.
And they do not affect to conceal that their hostility is, to
the free use of the Holy Scriptures, even in their ow n
Douay version of them, without note or comment. This is
the avowed cause of the absence of such Romish children as
have been withdrawn from the schools. 'Tis not that we
have turned them out, but that the priests would not allow
them to come in.' "
" What the Standard means by the words we have put in
Italic type, we honestly declare is incomprehensible to us.
If he does not " grudge to the Roman Catholic child the
utmost benefits of a secular education," why does he refuse
to give it? If he imposes, as the condition of education,
that it must cease to be a Catholic, which it must if it come
to be instructed as a Protestant, how can he say that it is a
slander to say that he refuses secular education to a Catho-
lic? How can he be said fairly to offer that which he couples
with an impossible condition ? How can he " partake of the
sin of the priest," if be takes no notice of the priest ? Will
the child be more a Catholic if he comes to the school than
if he does not? The logic, if logic it may be called, is this—
he will give them no education but such as he knows they
will not take ;,.and that he calls not grudging them educa-
tion."

We have quoted the passage in full, with our con-
temporary's comment, the rather that it contains the
turning point of the whole controversy on the subject
of national religion in the general, and national educa-
tion in particular, between Romanism and ourselves.
Our principles as Protestants, and 'our duty as
Christians, oblige us, at all hazards, to promote, by
every means in our power, the knowledge of God's
revealed Will, as contained in the Scriptures of Truth.
The second article of the Popish creed (to which every
beneficed ecclesiastic in the Romish Church is bound by
oath) effectually opposes this, by annexing what it
knows to be an impossible condition (we thank the
Journal for the phrase) to the interpretation or recep-
tion of them—viz., the unanimous consent of the fa-
thers. We cannot, then, lower in our own children,
their estimation of the word of God, as would be the
case if they saw us aiding and abetting the sworn ene-
mies of that Word, in withholding it from the children
their own subjects and slaves. The authority of God's
holy Word we maintain to be paramount and supreme;
by no power on earth, whether of Church, Pope, or
Potentate can it be superseded or set aside. For this
we contend,—on this we insist. It is not a matter of
choice or opinion with us, it is a sacred deposit held in
trust for the children of the country, of all sorts and
conditions, and we dare not surrender it without a
struggle and a protest. The law of the land makes
the highest court of judicature in the realm the
guardian of the minor, to secure to him his rights and
privileges intact, and in due time to make him
acquainted with, and put him in possession of them.
In obedience to a higher law, and in connexion with a
more enduring inheritance, we insist on the use of
the Bible in our schools, and must continue to do so,
without regard to consequences. But where it can be
done without compromise of duty, or surrender of
truth, we are prepared to go to the utmost to meet the
prejudices of such as differ from us ; indeed, we have
done so, by waiving our preferences for the catechism
and formularies of our Church, to gratify, where we
can do so, those who object. Where, however, the
Word of God is concerned, we have no arbitration
given to us; our duty is plain and peremptory. We
have no choice, but discharge it. This the Journal
calls an impossible condition. Who has made it im-
possible ? God, on the one side, has made it impos-
sible for us to surrender the use of his Word. While
the Romish priest, on the other, opposing and exalting
himself against God, forbids his poor victims to ap-
proach or taste it, and compels them to forego the
benefits even of a good secular education, fearing the
power of that very Truth—for it is the truth that
makes men free. This is the meaning of our words ;
and we are persuaded that many of our readers, of
less acuteness than the writer in the Journal, were at
no loss in arriving at it. But it did not suit our con-
temporary to understand us, his object being to defend
the enormity which we would expose : hence he is so
dim-sighted. And truly the defence is worthy and
characteristic of the tactique of Romanism, whose
policy it is adroitly to transfer to her opponent the
imputation of practices and crimes, that are wholly and
exclusively chargeable upon herself.
So much for ourselves. And now, a word upon the
Journal's strictures on the letter of our correspondent,
" Fidus Achates," since we scarcely think he will put
forth a finger himself to touch the flimsy frostwork of
transparent sophistry by which he has been assailed.
" Fidus Achates" must perceive that his letter has
told, and done good service, even by the uneasiness
our contemporary displays to get rid of it. The
quotation, especially, from the charge of his Grace the
Archbishop of Canterbury, with the emphatic endorse-
ment of Rector Brooks, is singularly felicitous and
appropriate, and must be considered as decisive of the

question with all sound churchmen. We refer all •
candid reader to the extract copied into the Journal,
and venture to say he will not find in it the least
warrant for the explanation appended. The truth
the weight of the argument was felt—its application
by " Fidus Achates," to the case at issue, was obvious"—
and therefore the endeavour to explain it away. The
Journal remarks, after making the citation from the
letter :—" Now, observe, the expedient ' against
which the Archbishop and Rector are arguing, is the
universal severance of religious from secular instrue:,
Lion, and particularly as involving their own flock.
The words of the Rector are as follows :—`, He (the
Archbishop) was speaking of the difficulty of finding
any system which might be introduced into a school
so that the children of all denominations of Christians
might be led to approve of it." Where, then, is the
ground of the qualifying limit assigned in the comment
of our contemporary, and particularly in the words
which we have taken the liberty to print in Italics ?
Of Mr. M'Neile the Journal writes, "The former
person we may safely leave." In this we fully concur.
It is much the safer plan (we say nothing of its candour
or honesty) for the Journal and his friends to leave
Mr. M'Neile alone, than to attempt either to gainsay
his facts, or to rebut his arguments. Why did he not
give in full Mr. M`Neile's words from the letter of
" Fidus Achates," or the extract from the Judge's
Charge to the Grand Jury of the county of Leicester?
Doubtless, he had good reasons for the suppression.
But our article is already too long, and so, for the
present, we will, after our contemporary's example,
though for a different reason, take leave of him.

In our publication of Tuesday last, we invited the
Liverpool Journal to point out to us, in a definite and
practical shape, " the source and mode of working of
the- promised increased demand for our manufactured
goods, consequent upon a free trade in corn ; the
probable extent to which we shall exchange mantt"
factured goods for such corn ; and whether this nevi
state of things is to be accompanied by any reduction
in the wages of the manufacturing producer." It will
be admitted, we think, that these questions embrace
the heart of the mystery which is just now agitating
the minds of men. Our contemporary admits the
fairness with which they are put ; and we, therefore,
at once proceed to examine the solution with which he
has furnished us, preserving the division which he has
made of the subject into three points.
First, then, with respect to " the source and mode of
working of the promised increased demand for our
manufactured goods consequent upon a free trade it
corn." We fully anticipated, in an explanation upon
this point, that an advocate of concession to the
foreign grower of corn would be prepared to shew that
concessions in return would be made in the tariffs of
foreign countries—that they would receive our mann"
factured goods on terms which would enable us to
meet the native manufacturer in his own markets.
This plea of the free trader, hmYever, the Journal
throws overboard, at all events so far as the corn'
growing countries of Europe are concerned. These
countries will not now exchange with us upon such
terms ; and we are told, therefore, that it is to America
that we must chiefly look for our supplies of corn, and
our increased demand for manufactured goods.
Turn, then, to America, who, we are told by the
Journal, would reduce her tariff and prostrate her own
manufactures to receive ours in exchange for her corn.
We regard such a conclusion as one not yet proved;
but let that pass. "We should," says the Journal)
" look to the United States for a greatly augmented
demand for our manufactures," as the result of a free
trade in corn. "If we freely received the flour of the
United States, whenever the difference in price was such
as to pay the charge of transporting it to a place of
shipment, and thence across the Atlantic, a very great
importation of flour, and a very great exportation 01,
manufactured goods to pay for it, would take place in
ordinary years." Undoubtedly, we should receive such
great importations, and precisely as here pointed out,
and only as here pointed out. We should receive then'
when the corn growing countries of Europe could not
supply us cheaper. And when would that event bar
pen ? The continent of Europe can, we
,believe, in
average years, raise corn at a much lower rate than the
United States; and it surely never entered into the
imagination of a free trader, that Great Britain could
discriminate in favour of any particular country, whilst
legislating upon this great question.
Nor would America discriminate in favour of British
manufacturers whilst reducing her tariff. We must
compete in her markets, too, with the European mann'
facturer, as she competes with the European grower hi,
ours. The profitable character of both the export and
import transactions must depend, therefore, uP°n,
cheapness of production somewhere cheapness 01
manufacturing production at home, and of agricultural
production in the corn countries of Europe ; and thus
we come at once to the instrument by which alone
cheapness of production can be arrived at,--vi°''
reduced wages to the labourer.
But then it is said we enable the merchant to receive
corn at all times, as a safe remittance. We place the
trade in foreign corn in the hands of " general mer"
chants," to be carried on, as a regular trade, " accord'
ing to the only safe rule of commerce—the judicious
apportionment of calculable supply to calculable de-
mand." Admitted that such a state of things, and,
above all, the absence of gambling speculation, would
be an advantage worthy of risking something to arrive
at. But is not this almost beside the point which we
have in hand? for we are not now arguing the question
as to the comparative merits of a fixed duty and 3
sliding scale. Let us see, however, how far the ittl"
portation of corn can be placed upon this safe footing'
The first effect of the opening of the British ports,
as proposed by the free traders, would undoubtedly be,
as predicted by the Journal, large exportations of
manufactures, and large importations of corn. Pr°-
bably the next would be the glutting of foreign markets
with goods, and of British markets with breadstuff
for the foreign agriculturist can no more wear all the
clothing which we send him for his produce than the
manufacturer can eat all the corn he receives for his
calicoes and woollens. Under ordinary circumstances,
such a state of things would correct itself, and the
apportionment, in both articles, of "calculable supply
to calculable demand " take place. But corn is not all
ordinary article. Harvests fluctuate constantly,—are
one year good in one country and deficient in another,
or good in all and deficient in all ; and unless we con!.
speculate upon such an absurdity as the probability 01
merchants sending out assorted cargoes of goods to
barter with whatever nation chanced to have a surplus
of corn, we can have no such safe trade in that article
as theorists dream about. There always has been
gambling and uncertainty in the corn trade—periods
of glut and of comparative scarcity,—and there always
will be, whether with a sliding scale, a fixed duty, or
no duty.
But to return to the question more immediately ill
hand, and from which the Journal has, somewhat
adroitly led us, let us see what are his conclusions as
to the mode in which the manufacturer is to be affected.
He is to have multiplied " nearly all the extant modes
of disposing of his manufactures ;" but he anticipates
no reduction of duties in his favour except in the
United States. He will receive, however, some acces-
sion of demand from the markets of Europe, created
by the prosperity which the opening of the British,
corn markets has conferred upon the agriculture of
Europe, but measured by his ability to compete ivithi
the protected industry of the native manufacturer; Oa
that demand will most probably be confined, or nearly
so, to the raw materials of manufacture—yarns, twist,
&c., our least profitable articles of export. And with
respect to America, conceding the possibility that she
may meet us with some mitigation of the stringency
her tariff, it is obvious that any greatiy increased cool'
merce with her is contingent upon her ability to com-
pete, as a corn-grower, with Europe ; the extent to
which she may be willing to depress her native maw.'"
factures, and our own ability to compete with the
manufacturers of other countries. In Europe, which
will principally supply us with corn, we have only the
worst possible trade in return—a trade in raw materials,
carried on in the face of competition, aided by highly
protective duties ; and in America, which may supply us
with a portion of our wants, we receive only a market
shared by and subject to competition with the sane
countries who now meet us there, and in many articles
are our successful opponents.
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A valuable home trade—the consumption, at good
prices, of fully matured articles of manufacture. He
exchanges consumers of his best silks, woollens, mils-
&c., at home, for consumers, in Europe, of yarns,
twist, and other half manufactured articles. And, with
respect to America, we must bear this in mind ;--if
she cannot, profitably to her farmers, supply us with
corn, and compete with the European grower, she can-
not pay us, any more than at present, for the goods we
send her. In her case, therefore, the manufacturer ex-
changes a large, and well paid for, home consumption,
for the same worthless paper money, or insolvent se-
curities, with which Great Britain has for years past
been deluged.
Upon this part of the subject—the limitation of the
consuming power of the British agriculturist, which
We regard as the necessary consequence of the transfer
of our custom from him to the foreign grower—we do
not here purpose remarking at length. The Journal
• leaves it altogether unnoticed; but we may suggest to
him that it is well worth consideration, and, perhaps,
he will furnish us with his views upon it in his next
publication. We are unable to-day to enter upon an
examination of our contemporary's explanation of the
second branch of the subject—the probable extent of
our exchange of goods for corn—without exceeding the
space at present at our disposal. Our own views with
respect to it, may, however, be gathered from the above
remarks ; and we shall on Friday consider those of the
Journal. Our third question—the effect intended to be
Produced on wages—is thus noticed,—
" We could answer this question with more precision if
the datum was complete, and we .were told when the new
state of things was to take place. By a perseverance in our
Present policy of asking to sell and refusing to be paid, the
country may get into so hopeless a state, that not even free
trade can revivify it. But we certainly think that, if the
change take place within any reasonable time, it will, per se,
tend greatly to increase wages ; for this plain reason, that
profits and the demand for labour will be increased by the
demand for goods fer export. In addition to the home mar-
ket, there will be the enlarged foreign one. The manufac-
turer will buy all that the home agriculturist can produce,
and as much more as he can consume. The latter will re-
ceive as much as the foreigner, and will have the additional
Profit of freight and transport, and instead of alternate scar-
cities and gluts, as at present, he must have sold, or be likely
to sell, all he has at a fair price, before any reasonable man
Would think of importing any thing from abroad."
.\'ow, we must here express our candid opinion, that
the thinking man who thus tell us,. that reduced wages
Will not accompany a reduction of the price of food, is
not a candid man. It is just possible, too, that he may,
in telling us so, not be very consistent with himself.
For what, above all others, has ever been the most pro-
minent complaint of the free traders ? "We cannot
compete with the foreign manufacturer." And why
Cannot they so compete ? " Because the foreign ma-
nufacturer has cheaper food." Cheapness of produc-
tion has been held up as the great desideratum, by the
enjoyment of which, the manufacturer would be
enabled to engross the commerce of the world ; and
Cheapness of labour is a principal ingredient in cheap-
ness of production. Does the Journal admit this ?
Can he point out any other source by which the manu-
facturer can materially cheapen his goods ? We think
he cannot; and we ask him to reconcile his present
disclaimer of any intention to effect a reduction in the
price of labour with the following passage in an article
of his own, one week only previous to such dis-
claimer :

"That the commerce of the Chinese empire will, in pro-
cess of time, grow up to be one of the greatest value to us,
we do not doubt, but this will depend very largely on our
Pursuing such a policy as will enable us to meet foreign rivals
in neutral markets."

" Such a policy as will enable us to meet foreign rivals
in neutral markets"—in the Chinese markets for in-

stahce. And how are we, by the mere possession of
cheap corn to meet foreign rivals in neutral markets,
unless CHEAP CORN means CHEAP PRODUCTION by
means of CHEAP LABOUR? The Journal may depend
upon it that he throws away the most powerful instru-
ment for effecting an enlargement of our foreign com-
merce, when he seeks to hoodwink the working classes
With respect to the connection between cheap bread and
cheap labour !

We noticed, some weeks ago, the management of
our Police-court, with reference, more particularly, to
Mr. Commissioner Dowling. Our remarks, we have
reason to believe, have had a salutary effect, inas-
much as that gentleman appears to have abandoned

that uncalled for interference in the interrogation of
Witnesses, and that attempted display of forensic
eloquence, which—the business of the court being but
preliminary and ex parte—was, we conceive, (if not in
statutary law, at least in constitutional observance,)
inconsistent with his character as public prosecutor,—
and had consequently roused the attention, and pro-
voked the reprehension, of even casual visiters to that
tribunal, who regard with jealous eyes every innovation
Upon the considerate and humane principles of our
criminal code. Our opinions on the subject have been
generally admitted to be correct; and, as they have
not been officially impugned, we may fairly assume
that we have, in this, "hit the right nail on the head."
Having thus disposed of that gentleman, and hoping
long to see him occupying the onerous station which
he now holds, or to learn of his judicial advancement

to the bench in some one of our colonies—to which he
Probably aspires, and for which his experience and his
talents as a linguist eminently qualify him—we now,
in pursuance of our promise, proceed, with equal im-
Partiality, to notice, what we consider to be, certain
imperfections in the conduct of his superior—the
Stipendiary Magistrate.
Mr. Rushton commenced the study of the law at a
pretty advanced period in life, under, we believe, in
the first instance, the patronage of a distinguished
statesman, whose premature and lamented death de-
prived him of that stay. He had previously enter-
tained extreme Radical opinions, which he was wont
to promulgate at public meetings and debating societies,
With, as we think, more energy than discretion. The
bar, like the senate, is, however, a trying ordeal for the
unpracticed ; and what might pass for eloquence and
sound judgment in a provincial spouting club, is often
found to produce but a lame impression in an assembly
Where talent is of a higher and more diversified charac-
ter. Though he was not deficient in natural talent,
Mr. Rushton's debut at the bar somewhat disappointed
the perhaps unreasonable expectations of those who
admired him as a declaimer ; and it became evident
that he could arrive at eminence, as an advocate, only
by laborious study of the law—to which his tempera-
ment was averse—and by prolonged practice. He was
fortunate in obtaining lucrative employment, for a
time, under the Whig-Radicals, as a revising barrister,
and also as counsel on parliamentary committees, in
Which last he evinced, we believe, considerable tact.
When these sources of emolument died away, and his
Practice in the courts—in which there were more cats
than mice to be caught—rather hung fine, he was still
More fortunate in obtaining his present appointment,
as successor to Mr. Hall. Although he cannot yet be
deemed a profound lawyer, he has (as we have be-
fore admitted) achieved much improvement ; and
Whatever be his political creed, we have not observed,
Or heard it imputed to him, that he suffers it to influ-
ence him in the discharge of his duties. We believe,
moreover, that he has done the town some service in
furthering the amendment, by Parliament, of some
salutary local acts, and the passing of one or two others
of a recent date.
Mr. Rushton's besetting sin is his frequently allow-
ing his temper, naturally none of the best, to overcome
his discretion. He is apt to indulge in exhibitions
closely approximating, if not.reaching, to anger—which
It Would be well to restrain, as such displays are not
°III), peculiarly unbecoming from the bench, where all
should be mildness, but are contrary to his own in-
junctions to others, who, in the excitement of the
moment, as witnesses or defendants, and therefore the
ore excusably, may be betrayed into a similar tone.
This was palpably evinced in the late squabble (for
What else can we call it ?) between him and Mr.
Dowling, whom he rebuked, in the onset, for the very
failing which, almost in the same breath, he himself
exemplified in a still more painful degree. Mr.
Ittusliton is also frequently too hasty, and consequently
tOO harsh in his decisions. There is, we admit, amidst
sub a multiplicity of business, a necessity for vigour
and promptitude ; but care should be taken that the
exercise of these qualities should not preclude that
Precision and discrimination which are due to the
veriest culprit at the bar, as well as to minor offenders—
hats in fact, circumstances involving mere suspicion
41101141 not be precipitantly magnified into realities.

In summary jurisdiction tblefis especially to be avoided, '
even at the expense of p*nging, for an additional
hour or two, the business 'Mille day. We allude more
particularly to cases of ass;Sult and informations. One
magistrate may be much more apt than another in
sifting and weighing thd„evidence adduced, and coin-
prehending it in its several bearings ; but when a case
assumes an intricate and uncertain character, it is a
dangerous vanity in any man, assuming the possession
of superior and unerring accuracy, to indulge in that
off-hand and extemporaneous adjudication which sud-
denly arrives at a conviction for which it is difficult for
those gifted with only ordinary perception to account
for. The inzprovisatore in the world of law is fre-
quently, indeed, as unhappy as that in the world of
letters ; but we are bound to state, that when our Sti-
pendiary finds he has been led into a mistake, there is
no man more prompt in withdrawing the opinion he
had founded upon it.
Mr. Rushton, too, in his zeal for the support of the
constabulary force, is too prone to give implicit cre-
dence to the testimony of police officers, in preference,
frequently, to that of persons of a superior station in
life, and generally of equal, if not of higher character.
We by no means impugn the general conduct of the
police force, en masse. On the whole, they are an
orderly and well-disciplined body of men—thanks to
the unwearied exertions of our excellent chief con-
stable, and the scrutiny and vigilance of our Watch
Committee. Still they are but men, and there are
circumstances and temptations by which they are
beset, that render them somewhat obnoxious to dis-
trust in the public mind, in which their morale does
not stand quite so high as in the estimation of Mr.
Rushton. The force is large, and must be kept up
numerically by men of the standard physical powers,
who must also be able to read and write; and their
pay (18s. a-week, exclusive of a deduction for clothing)
is scarcely a sufficient inducement to men of character
and activity to join them—considering their long hours
of duty—until other trades have failed. We wish
that more could be afforded, so that the whole might
be elevated in the scale of respectability. As it is,
there must necessarily be black sheep amongst so
large a flock. 'I his is, indeed, shewn by the fact that—
notwithstanding all the protection that is hedged
around them, and the esprit-de-corps with which they
bolster up and defend each other in cases of complaint
—dismissals from the service are of frequent, though
of reluctant occurrence. If a complaint be made
against an officer, every one must have remarked
the pains taken in questioning and cross-questioning
the witnesses for the complainant; and we cannot but
think that the slightest discrepancy is too eagerly seized
upon to justify, if possible, an acquittal of the accused.
It is no easy matter to procure a conviction in such a
case; but if the parties stand in reverse position, we
do not observe the same anxiety in behalf of the de-
fendant, or the same caution in appropriating the
evidence against him. We are willing to believe that
the fault arises from a mistaken notion of the imma-
culacy of the one party, and an undue suspicion of the
other. In the cases of publicans, evidence of too
slight and loose a character is generally sufficient to
ensure a conviction ; and the new local act affecting
them is carried out with a rigour that resembles a ban
proclaimed against the trade. It is notorious that
police-officers have their favourites, and, like other
individuals in this wicked world, may be conciliated to
forbearance towards some, and provoked to hostility by
the neglect or independence of others whose houses are
equally well conducted. There is, too, an evident
determination in some of these men to clench to the
very letter the testimony of the others who were with
them ; and the accusation of drunkenness, or the
admission of sobriety, (when inebriation would operate
in exculpation) appears to be stereotyped on their
tongues. The conduct of some of them, too, when
they are beyond the surveillance of their inspectors, is
not unfrequently insolent and tyrannous. We notice
these evils as the exceptions ; but operate on the pub-
lic mind to the demerit of the force generally, there is
the greater necessity for caution on the part of the
magistrates before whom they appear.
Another defect in Mr. Rushton's administration is,

s permitting constables who appear as witnesses
particularly on informations) to come in with after-
claps of evidence, after they have been examined in
chief. If their first batch of evidence is insufficient,
is rebutted, or is likely to break down, it is their fre-
quent practice to volunteer something additional, and
before undivulged, though, like the postscript of a
lady's letter, it is far more pointed and inculpatory
than all that has gone before. We are not aware that
this volunteering is illegal ; but it is, at all events, un-
seemly, and would never be tolerated in a higher court
of justice; and we should like to see Mr. Rushton's
court so managed as to be inferior to none in due
formality, in dignity, and in that fairness, and con-
sideration of the unprepared condition of a defendant,
in such case, which is contemplated by the constitu-
tional spirit of our laws.

LOCAL NEWS.

The Great Western, Lieutenant Hosken, sailed on Satur•
day for Bristol, where she will be laid up during the winter.
-- - - -

MR. 11ENRY RUSSELL.—This accomplished singer appears
at the Mechanics' Institution on Wednesday night.
The Cheshire Foxhounds meet to-morrow (Wednesday),
at the Black Dog, Seighton ; on Thursday, at Tilston ; and
on Saturday, at Arley Hall.
We understand that Peter Grecnall, Esq., of St. Helen's,
M.P., has been appointed one of the Deputy Lieutenants of

the county of Lancaster.
The rural police for the district of Lonsdale, Lancashire,
has been reduced one-half since their first establishment two
years ago. The enormous expenses of the force was justly
complained of.
We understand that Captain Loch, 11. N., who is distin-
guished in the despatches of Sir H. Gough and Sir William
Parker, is son of James Loch, Esq. M.P., and brother of
Mr. Loch, of this town.
ASSISTANT CLERK TO THE TREASURER OF THE COURT
OF REQUESTS.—We perceive from the notice paper of the
council for Wednesday (to-morrow), that Mr. Thomas Ash-
brook is to be recommended to the council to fulfil the duties
of the above office.

BANKRUPTS' CERTIFICATES.—It has always been the
practice for the bankrupt to pay the commissioners' fees on
their signing the certificates of conformity which discharges
him from his debts, but the Liverpool Commissioners have
lately decided, that they are payable out of the estate ; and
in cases where they have been paid by the bankrupt's solicitor,
have ordered the amount to be repaid him by the assignees.
TILE CORPORATION SCHOOLS.-Mr. Blackburn has placed
on the council paper the following motion, which will be
discussed at the meeting to-morrow :—" That the children of
Roman Catholics be admitted to the Corporation Schools to
receive secular instruction ONLY." At the same meeting are
to be received the:statements of the Town-clerk, Deputy
Town-clerk, Clerk of Committees, and Serjeant-at-Mace, on
the subject of the report of the Paid Officers' Committee.
PRINCES' PARK.—We have before us a neatly coloured
plan of this new park, as laid out for the erection of villa
residences, under the able design of Messrs. Foster and
Stewart. A much prettier site for such erections it is not
easy to find in this neighbourhood; and when the projected
roads to it from the town are completed, we are confident it

. .
will be a great resort for parties seeking genteel residences,
combined with salubrity of air and delightful scenery.
WANTON MISCHIEF.—On Thursday night or early on
Friday morning last the glass in several of the gas lamps on
West Derby Road was maliciously broken, and the appear-
ance testified that the scoundrels must have performed their
operations for mere amusement. Perhaps it may deter
others from " playing a similar game" if we mention that the
offence is punishable, we are informed, by three months'
imprisonment, with the additional infliction of the labour of
the tread-mill.

PRAISEWORTHY LIBERALTTY.—We very gladly announce
that Mr. Thos. Watkinson, of Kensington, has requested
his agent, Mr. Williams, of Ranelagh-street, to pay, on his
account, to the treasurers of the following public charities,
in this town, the sum of one hundred pounds, in the annexed
respective proportions :—Blue Coat Hospital £2O ; Deaf and
Dumb Institution £2O; Infirmary £2O; North:Dispensary
£lO ; South Dispensary £10; Northern Hospital £10;
District Provident Society Airi ; and Strangers' Friend Society
£5.
- -

ATTEMPTED INCENDIARISM.—On Friday morning last it
was discovered that some villains had attempted to set fire
to some new houses, which are near their completion, situate
near the Market-street, in Birkenhead, belonging to Mr.
Whalley. It appears that a quantity of turpentine had been
poured on one of the floors, and a quantity of shavings,
which bad been set on fire ; but the wind had been too
strong, and had blown the fire out, or most probably the pro-
perty would have been destroyed. Mr. Whalley has offered
a reward of £5O for the discovery of the incendiaries.
INQUEST ON A CHlLD.—Yesterday, an inquest was held
before Mr. Curry, the borough coroner, on view of the body
of a fine male infant child, which had been found dead on the
previous night, enclosed in a box, in St. Nicholas's Church-
yard. An examination of the body had been made by Mr.
Cripps, surgeon, who stated that the child had been born
alive, but he could detect no marks of violence, and was of
opinion that it had died from natural causes. The jury re-
turned a verdict accordingly. The body, we learn, was beau-
tifully perfect in symmetry, in every point, and appeared as
if cut out of the purest alabaster.
THE ANNE.—SALVAGE.—This was a case tried before
Dr. Lushington, on Friday, in the Court of Admiralty. It
appeared that the Anne, while on a voyage from Liverpool
to Africa, got on a shoal called the Rough Point, near the
mouth of the river Bonny, on the 27th April, 1841. She had
a valuable cargo, and her Majesty's steamer Pluto, passing
on the day the vessel struck, was applied to for assistance.
The government ship being under special orders could not
then render assistance, but on the 29th of April she went to
the aid of the Anne, and succeeded in taking out the cargo to
such an extent as to enable the vessel to be drawn off the
sand. Dr. Lushington, in delivering judgment, regretted
that so much contradiction appeared in the affidavits on the
one side and on the other, and laid that he could not give
less than £250 to the salvors.

CONCERT AT THE PORTICO.—By the advertisement else-
where it will he noticed that a concert will be given at the
Portico, on Wednesday, a daughter of Mr. George, onlyfive
years old, will appear as performer on the accordion. We
have been given to understand that she is an extraordinary
player, and as an instrumentalist quite equal to " the Sappho"
as a singer. The bill of fare is attractive.
CHEAP BEEF !—A butcher in Oxford-road, Manchester,
announces this week, that he sells " prime cuts of beef at
41d per lb." Fivepence, we believe, has been the average
price for some weeks past for good joints from well-fed beasts.
How is it, we ask, that we hear of this cheap butcher's meat
in every market round us, whilst in this town we have still to
pay for prime roasting beef, 7d a lb.
TuE INFANT SAPPHO.—This little lady has had several
performances since we last noticed her, and various tributes
of admiration have greeted her from all quarters. On Friday
night a gentleman who has witnessed nearly every performance
of the Sappho, paid her the compliment of throwing over her
neck a rich gold medal, bearing the following inscription :
" Presented to the Infant Sappho, L. V., as an humble token
of the admiration created by her extraordinary musical talent,
by J. Cohan, November, 1842."
NEW PATENTS.—Amongst the new patents published in
Newton and Berry's List for December, are the following :
To Matthew Gregson, of Toxteth-park, Liverpool, Esq., for
improvements applicable to the sawing or cutting of veneers,
being a communication. To Richard Bevar., of Liverpool,
wine-merchant, for certain arrangements connected with the
circulation of steam, employed in pipes or tubes, for pro-
ducing heat, and the application of such arrangements to
various purposes. To Thomas Wrigley, of Bridge Hall
Mills, Bury, Lancashire, paper-manufacturer, for certain
improvements in machinery for manufacturing paper.

ROBBERY TN A CELLAR.—A woman, named Catherine
Burke, was placed at the bar of the Police-court, yesterday,
on a charge of having committed a robbery i❑ the cellar of
police-officer Hough, No. 490, who resides in Canning-place,
Clive-street. It appeared that the inmates left the cellar on
Saturday night, about twenty minutes to eight o'clock, and
returned before nine ; in the meantime, the shutter of the
coal cellar had been removed, and the drawers ransacked of
a new cloth cloak, two dresses, and a boy's coat: The thieves
had effected their escape by the coal cellar door, from which
they had entered. The same evening the prisoner pledged
the dresses and the coat with Mr. Aaron, pawnbroker, in
Park-lane, to whom she gave a wrong address. In defence
she said that a man had given the articles to her to pledge.
She was committed for trial at the sessions.

THE FUNDS, SATURDAY EVENING.—The news received
by telegraphic despatch came too late in the city to have any
effect upon the stock markets, though it is viewed as favour-
able. At the Stock-Exchange there were no operations of
magnitude to notice. The English securities remain steady
at yesterday's currency. Consols for the opening left off 93Z.
to 94 ex, div. ; Exchequer-bills, 50s. to 525. prem. ; Bank
Stock, 171 ; Three per Cents. Reduced, 94* to 3 ; Three-
and-a-Half per Cents. Reduced, 1001 to 1 ; Long Annuities,
12 9-16 to ; India Bonds, 45 to 47 prem. ; South Sea Stock,
India Stock, and the New Three-and-a-llalf per Cents., are
declared shut, preparatory to the payment of the several half-
yearly dividends. The speculative foreign stocks are very
firm. Although very little business was transacted during
the day, Spanish Actives closed 181- to ; ditto Three per
Cents., 23 to ; Portuguese Five per Cents., to 81 ;
ditto Three per Cents., 22-1 to 23 ; Brazilian, 66+ to 67 ;
Belgian, 102 to + ; Colombian, 211 to + ; Dutch Two-and-a-
Half per Cents., 52a to i; ditto Five per Cents., 1011 to * ;
Danish, 83 to 83; and Mexican, 304 to 31.
THE COLLISION IN THE RIVER.—On Friday last, an
inquest was held before Mr. Curry, the borough coroner,
touching the death of John Brown, the sailor, who (as stated
in the STANDARD of Friday) was passenger on board the
Royal Victoria when the collision took place between that
vessel and the Prince of Wales, in the Mersey, on Wednesday
night. After evidence had been adduced to prove the facts,
which were precisely as stated in our last, the coroner said,
he had a doubt that the case could legally come within his
jurisdiction at all, as there was a doubt that the part of the
river in which the accident had occurred came within the
jurisdiction of the borough of Liverpool. He would, there-
fore, adjourn the inquest till Monday, and in the meantime
forward the depositions to Sir James Graham, in order to
learn from him if he (the coroner) could act in the matter,
and he would fix upon the above day either to go on with the
evidence, or to state where it would be taken, if it did not
come within his jurisdiction. The case was then accordingly
adjourned.

MATRIMONIAL HOAX.--The whole neighbourhood of
Edge-hill were quite in a state of excitement on Saturday
morning by what now turns out to be a hoax upon two ladies
keeping a school in that neighbourhood ,one of whom was shortly
to have been married. On Saturday morning, at nine o'clock,
three or four coaches, tile postillions in scarlet livery, gal.
loped up to the gates of the house, and there awaited orders
from within. After remaining for some time, much to the
amusement and interest of the gossipers of the neighbour-
hood, orders were sent out that it was a mistake, the lady
was not going to be married. But this was not satisfactory
to the gentlemen in scarlet; they persisted in it that they
were ordered to take a wedding party to St. Jude's, or Ever-
ton, and they must obey orders, thus shewing themselves to
be proper disciplinarians, and fit to command a regiment of
horse. Matters remaining in this position for some time, it
seemed to become almost an absolute necessity that one of
the fair ones (aged 35 and 60,) should be married. But be-
ing imperative, and no gentleman having made his appear-
ance, the coachmen were at last induced to withdraw. We
believe there is some groundwork for the hoax in the fact
that a French lady, one of the parties keeping the school,
was to have been married shortly to a gentleman of high re-
spectability, but from some unaccountable whim or caprice,
for which her countrywomen are rather famed, the lady sud-
denly changed her mind and refused to proceed further in
the matter.

THE LATE ACCIDENT ON THE BIRKENHEAD RAILWAY.
—On Saturday last the prisoner John Mooton, who had been
remanded on a charge of placing a piece of timber on the
Chester and Birkenhead Railway, with a view of throwing
the mail train off the line, and thereby endangering the lives
of her Majesty's subjects, was brought up for final examina-
tion before J. N. Harden, Esq., at the Birkenhead Police
Court. There was some further evidence adduced respecting
the impressions of the boots of the prisoner ou the ground

adjoining the spot where the accident happened, and William
Dixon, the driver of the engine at the time of the collision,
gave a more detailed account of the collision, from which it
appeared that the shock to the train had thrown both him
and the fireman down, but without doing them any other in-
jury. Mr. A. Yarrow, the engineer to the company, also
stated that the sleeper was placed in such a position that if it
had only been four inches in the ground, it would have stood
at an angle of 45 degrees ; but it would seem, from his state-
ment, that the ground was quite soft in that place, and the
engine had driven the timber four feet into the ground, or
most probably the machinery would have been broken to
pieces, and the fire scattered among the third class passen-
gers, of whom there were about thirty in the train that even-
ing. The prisoner being asked what he had to say, made a
long statement as to where he was that evening, and added,
that he had been at the place the day previous to the acci-
dent, which would account for his footsteps being at the
place. He called one witness, but his testimony did not
materially alter the case against him. He was then commit-
ted for trial.

ROBBERY IN SLATER'S-COURT.—Yesterday, a man named
Thomas Higgin was brought up at the Police-court, charged
with having feloniously entered the warehouse of Mr. Goore,
ornamental painter, in Slater's-court. It appeared that on
Saturday night the office was made secure by Mr. Goore
himself, and the outer door carefully fastened by the fore-
man. About half-past three on Sunday afternoon, Mr.
Deane was passing the premises, when hearing an unusual
noise inside, he communicated what he heard to policemen
Nos. 355 and 446. They went into the place, and after
searching for some time, found the prisoner concealed on
the top of the premises, he having been traced there from
the counting-house. On an examination of the premises, it
became evident that a robbery of an extensive character was
in process of execution. The door of a large iron cafe had
been partially cut through near the hinges, a work which
must have taken the greater part of the day, and two files
were found on the floor underneath, with marks on them of
having been recently used. Mr. Goore's desk had been
broken open, and two screws, a piece of cord, and a key,
taken therefrom ; a box of raisins belonging to Mr. Goore,
jun., had been emptied, and a parcel made up of their con-
tents, which was tied up by a piece of the cord taken from

desk. In the lobby were found a jeininy, a centre-bit,
some skeleton keys, a box of lucifer matches, and a quantity
of lead rolled up ready to be carried away. Some articles
were found upon the prisoner's person, which Mr. Goore,
his son, and workmen, identified. The prisoner, who is a
French-polisher, made no defence, and he was committed
for trial at the sessions. Mr. Goore stated, that during the
last two or three years his premises had been robbed several
times, and property stolen to the amount of some hundreds
of pounds.

A RUN WITH THE CHESHIRE HOUNDS.—On Saturday
last the meet was at Oulton, the seat of the much respected
and worthy member for South Cheshire, Sir P. Egerton, and
as soon as the hounds were thrown into the first cover, a
plantation at Darlay Farm, close to Oulton, at half-past
eleven, a fox broke away, but the hounds did not get well
away with him ; slow hunting for some time, pointing for the
Park, when he turned, leaving Little Budworth to the left ;
here the pace improved, and he made his point for Darnhall,
through the covers there, without dwelling for a moment;
crossing the river Weaver, and ran over a deal of country for
Minshull ; from there at a racing pace up to 'Warminglaarn,
leaving the wood to the left ; then straight to Elton, and
nearly up to Abbey Field, the residence of Charles Ford,
Esq., the late manager of the hounds ; up to this point it was
brilliant. He then set his head straight for Union Gorse,
which he missed, and crossed the railway, up to Bradwell
Hall, where they came to a long check ; he then went for
Holmes Chapel, and was viewed making Hedge-row, the
hounds having hunted to him beautifully, and they ran him
' in view for a few fields, when Maiden, (the hunstman,) who
was going like mad close up to his hounds had a most awful
fall, a regular burster, but he was soon up and at it again,
crossing the Holmes Chapel turnpike-road for Breton Mill;
from there up to the Dane Viaduct, where he crossed the
river, and they ran him to ground in a rabbit hole at Twem-
low, at a quarter to five o'clock, it getting so dark for the
last half mile that the fences were invisible ; but he was drawn
by a hound in a minute, not being half a yard in, when there
was as a jolly " Who Whoop !" as ever fell to the lot of man
to hear. The field kept dropping off one by one, till very
few were left, beside Captain White and Maiden, to enjoy
the finish.
ACCOMMODATION IN CHURCHES.—Under this heading,
the Liverpool Mail of Tuesday last contains a letter, signed
" E. M.," and written, we are informed by a lady, detailing
what the writer terms a case of " great hardship." The
circumstances of the " hardship" in question, as detailed by
" E. M.," are as follow :—Being a stranger in Liverpool,
she attended for " two or three Sundays" at the church of
the Rev. Fielding Ould, on which occasions "every atten-
tion was paid to her by the verger, and instant accommoda-
tion furnished to her." On several succeeding Sundays,
however, she says that she was permitted to stand throughout
the whole of the service, until at length, seeing " a large
pew in the eastern part of the gallery unoccupied," the lady
in Question took possession of it, and sate " for two or three
Sundays unmolested." But "on Sunday morning last, as
the congregation was separating," she says that she was
" impudently tapped on the shoulder by the verger, arid
asked if she had taken a seat in the pew"—(a very reasona-
ble question, surely, under the circumstances)—and "on
replying negatively, was told that she must not sit there
again." We should not have remarked upon this trumpery
affair, but have concluded that the complainant was one of
that party in the church who have adopted the outcry, now
become fashionable, against the system of having pews in
churches, had we not been requested to say that the whole
statement is erroneous, and had not the journal in which it
first appeared refused or neglected to give the correct ver-
sion of the story. Such a circumstance did occur, or at
least something like it. Such a lady did attend the church
for some weeks. She was never, however, intentionally
allowed to stand in the aisle. Such a circumstance is never
allowed to occur in Christ Church, or any other church in
this town, when there is unoccupied pew room. The lady,
however, at length took possession of a sitting, occupied it
Sunday after Sunday, until, as described, she was reminded—
civilly, however, and not "impudently"—that the pew in
question was not her own. This is the sum and substance of
the mighty " grievance" which the lady " has the moral
courage"—as our contemporary expresses it--" to make
public (!) through the assistance of" his columns ; and a more
ridiculous grievance the public has rarely heard of. We
shall be told some of these days that it is a grievance
that "a stranger" is not permitted to take possession of an
unoccupied house without being reminded that she is a
trespasser.

SUBSCRIPTION CONCERTS..—We perceive that a list for
a series of subscription concerts is about to be commenced.
They are to be held at the Royal Assembly-rooms, under
the able management of 'Nit. Rlliston.
TOXTETH-PARK PROTESTANT OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION.
—The monthly meeting of this association was held on Mon-
day week, in Toxteth-hall, when John Sheppard, Esq., oc-
cupied the chair. After a prayer had been offered up by the
Rev. Mr. 11111, the chairman made some very appropriate ob-
servations, and the meeting was subsequently addressed by
the Rev. Messrs. Nolan, Falloon, and Butler, and Richard
Harbord, Esq. Resolutions were passed expressive of the
opinion that increased exertions are necessary to obtain a
parliamentary inquiry into Maynooth College, and that a pe-
tition should be adopted by the meeting, and intrusted to the
members for the borough tor presentation. Tile meeting was
a very crowded one; and we learn that as a larger room can-
not be obtained, is in contemplation to erect a sufficiently
commodious building for the purposes of these meetings, and
we understand that a subscription is already on foot, and we
hope will be very liberally responded to.
TnEATRE-ROYAL.----The following paragraph, which has
appeared in the 111anchester Guardian, is, we are informed,
a disgraceful tissue of misstatements : we are requested to
give it an unqualified denial in every particular :—" We re-
gret to learn, that, for the last fortnight, such has been the
state of the treasury' of the Liverpool theatre, that the
performers generally have found themselves, at the close of
the week, sans salary. The theatre closes at the end of this
week, till Christmas, after the worst season ever remembered
in Liverpool, the loss exceeding, it is said, £2,000; and the
whole of the company will thus be, during five weeks, with-
out a farthing of salary. For some weeks they have been
dividing the receipts, as we see, by the London papers, is to
be the plan till Christmas at Covent-garden ; but the Liver-
p )ol company have been in the predicament, under this plan,
of having nothing to divide."

LAUNCH OF Two IRON VESSELS.—OR Saturday last, two
iron vessels were launched from Mr. Laird's building-yard,
North Birkenhead, the one, a brig of 220 tons measurement,
(appropriately called " The Guide,") constructed for the
Hon. East India Company, as a pilot vessel for the Bay of
Bengal ; and the other a light-ship of 200 tons, named " The
Prince,'r for the Liverpool Dock Trust. This is the first
application of iron in the construction of vessels for the
above purposes, and, as the East India Company have had
iron vessels at work for the last twelve years, and both they
and the Dock Trustees did not decide on building the pilot
brig and light-ship of iron until the advantage and disad-
vantages of the material had been repeatedly and fully dis-
cussed, there is every reason to expect that they will both
answer the purpose for which they are intended, and open
another and very extensive field for the introduction of iron-
built ships.

SERVANTS' SWEETHEARTS.—On Friday week, Mr. W;
Hindley, of Nile-street, received an anonymous letter, stating
that his servant girls were in the habit of allowing men to go
into the house through the back door during the time the fa-
mily were at supper. In consequence of this information he
began to examine his larder, and found that his preserves,
brandy, &c., were disappearing rather more quickly than he
thought they ought to do. On Wednesday evening he ap-
plied at the police-office to have two men stationed near his
house. His request was granted, and the officers had not
waited long before they saw dime men enter by the back door.
They went to the front of the house and gave information to
Mr. Hindley, who found Robert Meacock in the kitchen,
and a person, named Owen Jones, fondling the dog, evidently
with the view of keeping it quiet,—The two men were marched
off to bridewell in charge of the police, and on last Thursday
morning, when they were brought up before Mr. Rushton,
Mr. Hindley, jun., appeared and stated the case. After he
had been heard, Mr. Rushton aaid, " Where are the maids?"
Mr. Hindley.—Oh, my father turned all three of them out of
the house this morning. Mr. Rushton.—There is no doubt
the servants let them in. The men must be discharged. Mr.
Hindley.--My father did not wish them to be punished, but
only to give them a night's lodging, and he is desirous of
knowing whether he will be compelled to pay them their
wages. Mr. Rushton.—That will depend upon the contract
with them, and whether they were allowed to see their friends
in the house. Mr. Hindley.—l believe not. Mr. Rushton.
—Well, the learned Commissioner of the Court of Requests
will decide that point for you.

HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND ATTEMPT TO MURDER, NEAR
ST. HELEN'S.—For a few years past, the neighbourhood of
St. Helen's has been infested by a gang of most desperate
ruffians, who place in jeopardy the lives and property of the
inhabitants. They are a very formidable set, consisting of
about forty or fifty, and have received and are well known by,
the cognomen of the " Long Company." It is only about
twelve months ago that Mr. Grayson was waylaid on the
road to his own house at Rainford, and cruelly murdered on
the highway. On Saturday last, a respectable young far-
mer, Darned Basnett, was on his way from Eccleston to
Rainford, when two men sprung from behind a hedge, and
struck at him. Being a powerful man he returned the blows,
and was getting the advantage of the fellows, when two
others rushed upon him. He still kept his ground, and
struck out right and left, retreating backwards all the time,
until he fell into a ditch. One of the ruffians then called
out, " Cut the -'s throat." Mr. Basnett then felt one
of the party draw a knife across his neckerchief, and make
several cuts about his neck, whilst another emptied his
pockets of about two pounds in silver and gold. After
otherwise severely handling him, the fellows ran off, and the
young man reached home he knows not how. The robbery
was committed near the residence of the late Mr. Grayson.
It appears also that Mr. Basnett called at Arnold's beer-
house, on his road home, where he saw a number of the
" Long Company," including the parties acquitted on a
charge of murdering Mr. Grayson, and there is no doubt
that after he left the house the fellows followed and waylaid
him. On examining his clothes in the morning, he found a
long cut, as with a sharp instrument, .down the right breast
of his coat, and on his left breast there were several stabs.
His neckerchief was also cut in several places, which leaves
no doubt of the intention of the villains who attached him.
The robbery took place about twelve o'clock.

ACCIDENT AT GEORGE'S PIER-HEAD.-011 Saturday
evening last, at dusk, a Mrs. Bowers, we are informed, who
was going to the Rock Ferry boat, which was outside, lost
her footing in passing along the plank between the Birken-
head and Woodside boats, and fell into the river. A man,
who is stated to be a supernumerary on board H.M.S. Etna,
and who was proceeding to that vessel, immediately jumped
into the water, and, being a good swimmer, succeeded in
extricating her; otherwise she would, in all probability, have
been drowned. The lady was much exhausted, and insensi-
ble ; but she was soon afterwards got on board the Rock
Ferry boat, and conveyed to her family. The plank from
which she fell was narrow, and was unprotected by any rail-
ing. We strongly suggest to the proper authorities—many
accidents having from time to time occurred in the same
manner—the propriety of framing a regulation requiring all
steam-vessels, receiving or landing passengers at the pier, to
provide planks or stages of adequate width, with hand-rails
fixed on both sides of them, to ensure safety. We would
also suggest, that after sundown every boat so plying should,
in addition to a sufficiently broad plank or stage, have a strong
globular lamp fixed near their gangways, and which would
throw a body of light across the vessels and along the planks.
These lights could be doused when the vessels cast off their
lines, and might be relighted for the avoidance of danger at
their respective piers at the other side, if required ; the cost
would be only a comparatively trifling sum. The Scotch
and other steamers at the Clarence Dock, the decks of which
are frequently at a considerable distance from the quay, are
provided with landing-stages for passengers, ribbed across to
prevent slipping, and railed or boarded up at each side. We
do not say that these could be so conveniently employed at
the pier-head, owing to the rise and fall of the water at the
slips and stairs; but surely some approach to the same secu-
rity might be made, by providing a broad plank with light
railing. The landing of passengers is, we learn, much bet-
ter attended to on the Clyde ; and it is certainly a reproach
to this town, that, it would appear, a number of lives must
be lost or jeopardised, before our official authorities will
rouse themselves to effect an amendment in this important
department in the management of our port.
SINGING roa THE MILLION.—Mr. Joseph Mainzer,
having concluded his lectures on vocal music for the million,
in the Mechanics' Institution, announced his intention of
giving two other lectures in the Nelson Assembly Rooms ;
the first last evening, and the other to-night. We regret to
say that the attendance last night was so thin as to cause
Mr. Mainzer to abandon his intention of giving the second
lecture. He entered into an exposition of the general prin-
ciples of his system, and accompanied his explanations with
many pleasing illustrations, showing that the method is well
adapted for the instruction of large bodies in the art of
singing. As several individuals have applied to us to explain
the difference between the two systems of Wilhem and
Mainzer, we copy the following from an Edinburgh paper
for their advantage, merely premising that the writer is evi-
dently a strong partizan. Our opinion is, that for the object
which both profess to have, the improvement of congrega-
tional singing, the two systems have about equal merit :
" 1. Wilhem has introduced a new Manual Alphabet of
Music, in which the lines of the stave are represented by the
five fingers, while the notation is performed by very ingenious
manual signs. In this manner the pupils are taught to read
and speak music by means of certain gestures of the body.—
Mainzer used the ordinary notation. 2. Wilhem, who em-
ploys the hands of the professor with the manual exercises,
forbids the use of an instrument.—Mainzer recommends its
use in order to tune the voice, to educate the car, and to
correct the natural and constant tendency of the voice to fall;
while it also relieves the lungs of the teacher from an unne-
cessary strain. 3. Wilhem's exercises are chiefly and pur-
posely mechanical and unmusical, for the sake of dexterity.—
Mainzer has given to all his exercises a charm which is quite
fascinating; every little exercise has some musical idea, in
order to cultivate the taste, and to encourage the pupil.
—4. Wilhem teaches the grammar of music from the very
beginning. Mainzer begins with only one letter of the al-
phabet; and does not teach the grammar until his pupils
have learned.-5. Wilhem introduces expedients which must
afterwards be laid aside. Mainzer introduces nothing but
what will always be required.-6. Wilhem's elementary
course consists of sixty lessons. Mainzer's consists of only
sixteen.-7. Wilhem uses the old analytical plan of instruc-
tion ; classifying and arranging, coming downwards from the
great to the small, as we would define for an encyclopaedia.
Mainzer uses the synthetical plan ; building and adding bit
by bit, going upwards from the small to the great, as we
would explain for a child."
SERIOUS CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER.—At the Police-
court, on Friday, John Bowman Randles, first mate of the
East Indiaman Clydesdale, of this port, David Barnes, James
M'Donald, George Deane,. and George Saul, seamen, and
John Roberts, an apprentice, were brought before Mr. Rush-
ton on a charge of having been concerned in killing the cook
of the ship, shortly before she arrived at this port. There
being no evidence against the apprentice he was immediately
discharged. The first witness examined was John Stephen,
a black, who said he was a seaman in the Clydesdale, now
lying in the Waterloo Dock, and which arrived the previous
night from Bombay. He knew the deceased, whose name
was Philip Keel. He was a black, and cook of the ship.
He died on board the day before the vessel arrived ; he had
been sick before for some time. He was below in bed in the
forecastle. Witness was then in bed. The prisoner Randle,
the chief mate, came down to him on Wednesday morning,
and asked him to go and get breakfast ready. Deceased said
he was not able to do so ; the mate said he was, adding " You
b— you are skulking." Deceased said he was not skulk-
ing. The mate said, "If you don't go on deck, I'll send a
watch tackle and have you housed out." Deceased had then
been confined to bed three or four days. After this the pri-
soner Saul came down, and said to Barnes, " If you'll put a
rope round deceased's neck I'll bouse him up." Barnes put
a rope round his neck, but neither of them touched it after-
wards that he saw. Deceased was pulled out of bed, but
witness did not know by whom. The carpenter (a witness,)
cried out to them on deck, " Avast, or you'll choke the man."
George Deane said he would hoist the b---- up if a rope was
put round his neck, but witness did not see him touch the
rope. After Deane got on deck the deceased was hauled up
from the bunck, a bed place where he was. The rope was
then round his neck. George Saul cleared the cook's head
from the scuttle as he was hauled up. Witness, who was h
bed, saw no more of it. They brought the cook down again
in better thou twenty minutes. George Saul and Deane
brought him ; he did not speak a word, and could not walk.
They put him on the bunck. He never spoke afterwards ;
his eyes were shut and his mouth open. The man was dead.
Other witnesses were then examined, and gave several other
particulars connected with the occurrence, but the chief fea-
tures of the case are presented in the evidence above. Two
surgeons stated that they had made a post mortem examina-
tion of the body and could detect no outward appearance of
violence, but they thought that death was occasioned through
suffocation, and was not the result of natural causes. Mr.
Rushton then adjourned the case until Saturday, when all
the prisoners were committed for trial at the Central Crimi-
nal Court.