The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-09-09 00:00:00

TO CORRESPONDENTS

We are requested to state that the organ at St. Silas' Church
will not be opened on Sunday next, as the arrangements
connected with it are not complete.
The lines on " the Sabbath," in their present state, would
not reflect much credit on our fair correspondent's poetical
talents. The sabbath is not " the best—the richest gift to
man," and such a verse as the following has neither
" rhyme nor reason."
0 what a vision meets our gaze
Beyond heaven's portals bright ;
Soul ravished, with strange amaze,
We view the wondrous sight.

One of the lot" is rather too indiscriminate in his ani-
madversions, and we fear the insertion of his letter would
do little good. The gentlemen of whom he speaks are not
all of the character he describes.

BY some unaccountable mistake, the parcel from Prestons,
containing the proceedings of the Preston Guild on Ued-
nesday and Thursday, which ought to have reached us
last night, did not arrive.

ire Ribrrpool &tanZiatt.

FRIDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 9, 1542

The opinions brought before the Council at its last
sitting, with respect to the illegality of any grant to the
Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, have settled the point
that no similar institution. L--no institution which is not
a Church of England institution—can be legally sup-
ported from the funds of the Corporation. The im-
pugners of this interpretation of the municipal act can
have no reason to complain of the animus of the par-
ties by whom the question was put to the eminent local
authorities who have pronounced upon their case.
One barrister, Mr. Tinney, was selected by themselves.
The whole case upon which his opinion was solicited
was submitted to an eminent solicitor of their own
choosing and of their own political sentiments, and by
him approved. And yet the opinion of that barrister
is more directly hostile to the claims of the Romish and
dissenting party than that of Mr. Bacon, although the
opinion of that gentleman is clear enough and suffi-
ciently corroboratory of all that the supporters of con-
servative rights have ever advanced..
" If it be legitimate," says Mr. Tinney, "to speculate
on the policy of the acts as a medium for construing
them, I should be inclined to say that any appropria-
tion for the exclusive benefit of a distinct Church or
religious persuasion, other than the Established Church,
would not be consonant to such policy." We have
here a confirmation direct it is true, but not so strong
as that of the Vice-Chancellor, upon which we re-

marked some time ago. Mr. Tinney, as well as Mr.
Bacon, lays it down that no sectarian institution can be
endowed out of the funds of the Corporation. The
former, indeed, by his exception, goes a little further.
But the Vice-Chancellor's opinion goes to the full ex-
tent, and directly, to the maintenance of the broad
question that a system of education, other than one in
the doctrines and practice of the Church of England,
cannot legally be supported at the expense of the Cor-
porate Estate. The recent opinions, given, of course,
only upon the case put to Messrs. Bacon and Tinney,
maintain that the estate cannot be diverted to the sup-
port of sectarian principles. The opinion of Mr. Knight
Bruce, the Vice-Chancellor, was definitive that, upon
the question of education, no expenditure could legally
take place in the promulgation of any system which was

not based upon the doctrines and practice of the esta-
blished religion of the land.

We wonder little that such a gentleman as Mr.
Thomas Bolton can scarcely trust his senses when he
reads the opinion of his own selected authority ; that
he imagines language, which to other men is decisive
enough, to be of doubtful meaning. Mr. Thomas
Bolton belongs to a sect which is peculiarly hard of
belief. But other rnen, less warped in their opinions,
have long ago given up their sectarian leanings upon
this question; and with the present opinions before
him, and a calm moment given to make up his deter-
mination, we incline to think that even Mr. Thomas
Bolton will be inclined to admit that a further perse-
verance in his peculiar views, with respect to the lia-
bilities of the Corporate Estate, is hopeless and absurd.

When a man has a bill to meet, and no funds at his
banker's—a ship in dock, and no freight coming along-
side—a factory, and no money to buy cotton or to pay
wages—the fashionable expedient in these days is to
elongate his countenance, button his empty pockets,
turn heavenward the pupils of his eyes, and go off in
an explosion of vehement indignation against " the
villainy of the corn-laws." The immediatelconnexion
between the effect, which he feels, and the cause,
which he alleges, is a matter with which a " liberal"
philosopher is not called upon to trouble himself. It
is sufficient to him that money comes not within the
clutch of his ten digits—that his pockets are unfur-
nished, except, mayhap, with an anti-monopoly tract,
or the manifesto of the sapient leaders of that sapient
association—that orders come not, although the mai
and the postman do, as do also the landlord, the tax-
collector, and returned bills ;—the inevitable conclu-
sion to be drawn_ from all these untoward circumstances
is that " the corn-laws must be repealed." It matters
little whether bread is cheap or dear, whether beef is
eightpence or fivepence the pound, the only restorative
to the trade, the currency, and the constitution of the
country, and of our bilious philosopher, is a repeal of
all protective laws and the free importation of all fo-
reign commodities !

But, unfortunately for the reputation for absolute
wisdom of these very sage specimens of the human
race, we have now and then furnished to us docu-
ments which are anything but confirmatory of their
hasty conclusions. The trade of Great Britain, as the
world well knows, is not confined to one country, one
continent, or one quarter of the globe. Some coun-
tries, some continents, some quarters of the globe
even, with which not many years ago we had a large
and profitable commerce, have no corn to send us, and
buy none from us ! With these, then, the question of
corn ought not to create either difficulty or loss of
trade. And yet with some of these it is that our com-
merce is at this moment in the most disastrous con-
dition. As a proof that this is the fact, let us just
glance over the commercial intelligence, brought to us
by the last mail from India and China. And first we
beg to direct attention to the following statement of
the condition and prospects of business in Bombay

THE BOMBAY MARKET.-JULY 19

With the exception of Cotton shipments to China, there
is an almost total suspension of business here at present.
Cotton Piece Goods and Twist are entirely unsaleable—the
warehouses are glutted with them, while the numerous ar-
rivals from England daily add to the accumulated stock.
There is no prospect whatever of any improvement in prices
after the monsoon. On the contrary, there is every proba-
bility that they will be considerably lower, unless some degree
of firmness be given to the market frji the cessation of im-
ports ; and of that, judging from past experience, there is but
little prospect. Such, however, is the quantity of goods now'
in store that the utmost that can be expected even from an
entire cessation of imports for some months, is the mainten-
ance merely of the miserable prices ruling previous to the
monsoon.

It will be said, no doubt, that this miserable state of
things—this glutting of the Indian market—arises
from the necessity of the British manufacturer to ship
off his stocks, no matter how hopeless the prospect of
remuneration. But even this plea will not avail us.
Our shipments during the past twelve months to these
markets have not, we believe, exceeded, if they have
even equalled those of preceding years ; and the cause,
therefore, of their ruinous state must be looked for
elsewhere. Perhaps it will be found in the impover-
ished condition to which Whig government in India
has reduced the native population of that country. By
referring further to the advices by the same mail, we
learn, on the authority of the Bombay Times, that such
18 the case. We give the statement of the, Bombay
ournalist—

" The custom-house returns for the last quarter of the
°Mehl' year 184] -42, confirm the worst anticipations we had
en tertained of the depressed state of trade at this port during
th e period.
From this document it appears that the decrease
°f imports, as compared with the corresponding quarter of
the previous year, amounts to rupees. 51,06,026; and of ex-
Por is to rupees 20,70,772, making, in the trade of the quarter
a total apparent deficiency of rupees 71,76,798."
A deficiency in one quarter to the amount of 71,76,798
rupees in the commerce of the Presidency of Bombay

alone ! But proceed to another quotation from the
same authority—

" It will be seen that the decline in our trade with Cutch
and Scinde, as compared with the corresponding quarter of
the previous year, amounts to rupees 15,00,000, being four
lacs in imports and eleven in iexports—a falling off to be
attributed solely to the present .state of our relations with
Scinde and Affghanistan. When the annual statement is
prepared we shall be able to ascertain the total decrease
during the year, and on what articles it principal .y falls;
but we may mention that the decl.'ne in exports of British
man4factures alone is estimated in the bazaar at 15 lacs
during the season."

We have here a decrease in the demand for British
manufactures from one outlet of our Indian commerce
which the best informed parties estimated at fifteen
Lacs of rupees! Fifteen lacs of rupees lost to the British
manufacturer by the Palmerston and Auckland Raid
against the natives of Affghanistan ; and yet our com-
mercial embarrasments are the results of—the Corn-
laws.

Examine the condition of our shipping in India, as
described in the native journals brought by the recent
mails. Take the following :

" ire are sorry that we are unable to announce any im-
provement in freights by the present mail, either at Bombay
or at any of the other Indian or eastern ports. Notwith-
standing the numerous departures of ships in ballast to Cal-
cutta and elsewhere, in search of employment, the arrivals
at Bombay have been equally numerous, and a glance at the
shipping list will show that our harbour is as crowded as
ever. Freight to Liverpool has, since our last, been engaged
at the unprecedented low rale of ten shillings per ton; and
there is at present not sufficient produce in the place to load
much more than half the unemployed tonnage."

Again the Calcutta Star, July 4, says

" Numerous and unexpected arrivals from New South
Wales, the Mauritius, and Bombay have contributed to de-
press rates lOs to 15s per ton within the past month ; the
prospects of this trade are at present most gloomy ; the
Indian seas are swarming with British tonnage, and every
port and harbour in India is reported full of shipping, much
or most of which, it is apprehended, may come hither for
employment. If these be added the usual shipping of the
season, and the tonnage taken up at home to bring out the
10,000 troops intended for India, it is probable that the rates
of tonnage may fall this season below any precedent."

Nor are our prospects better at Madras. Such in
fact is the depression in that presidency, that we learn
from the Madras Spectator,
" Should not some speedy improvement take place, it is
feared many vessels will be under the necessity of proceeding
to Calcutta, discharging their crews, and waiting unemployed
for better times. Such in fact is, we are informed, the in-
tention of some of the vessels now in the roads, should not
the forthcoming overland accounts promise an amendment
of prospects."

Perhaps our anti-monopoly wiseacres will be able
shortly to spare half an hour of their valuable time,
and explain to us the connexion of this disastrous
state of things—this virtual annihilation of one of our
best and most extensive markets—with their favourite
bugbear—the Corn-laws !

The proceedings of the Dock Committee meeting
of yesterday, with respect to the charge against the
dock-surveyor, in which, from the circumstance of its
having been made through our columns, we naturally
feel an interest, will be found fully reported in our
publication this day. It may be remembered that the
charge in question was, that the surveyor had dis-
missed an old servant of the estate for an alleged error
in the laying down of the railway from the new works
at Salthouse Dock to the north end of the town. The
sub-committee appointed to investigate the merits of
the case appear disposed to exonerate Mr. Hartley :

at all events, they deprecate further inquiry into the
matter,—on the ground, however, that due subordina-
tion to the surveyor on the part of the servants of the
estate cannot be preserved, unless such complaints as
those of the man Brown be treated cavalierly. When
we find, therefore, that such is the deliberate opinion
of the committee,—that the surveyor is, in fact, to
control absolutely those who ought either to be the
servants of the public, or of some individual personally
responsible for their blunders,—our business with the
case, or with the proceedings of the Dock Committee
at all, is at an end.

For our own credit, however, we feel bound to say
a few words before the matter is permitted to be for-
forgotten amidst the mass of Mr. Hartley's exploits
as surveyor to the dock estate. We have no wish
to impugn the decision of the committee. It may be
that the dock surveyor is infallible. But we were cor-
rect nevertheless in stating that the working drawing
furnished from the dock surveyor's office, for a com-
pliance with which, we presume, the man, Brown, was
summarily dismissed from his employment, is egre-
giously and stupidly incorrect. The plan itself is now
before us, and we are willing to submit it to the in-
spection of any competent anthority. It is, in fact,
incorrect upon the face of it ! A common excavator—
any man who even executed the most subordinate
work upon a railway—would at once detect its incor-
rectness. The man dismissed—(we have his letter,
received an hour ago, before us)—detected the error,
and yet "the whole of one side of the longitudinal bearers
was laid from the central police station to the Clarence
Dock, and part of the other side, for one line of road
was also laid opposite the Trafalgar and Victoria
Docks ;" and not a word of any errcr was admitted by
the surveyor to the man who had executed this portion
of the work, or any error in the plan in his possession.
The man " worked to the section given to him, with-
out making any further inquiries into the subject until
the whole of one side of road was laid in, down to
Canning Dock ;" and then, when a heavy expense
had been fruitlessly incurred by the estate, he was dis-
missed ; and so, we presume, the matter must termi-
nate !

'We know not of what description may have been
the inquiry of which this is the result. This much,
however, we are assured—the man himself, the
accuser of Mr. Hartley, has never been examined
before it; and the inquiry, therefore, is one based
entirely upon the exparte statements of the surveyor,
or himself and his subservient staff. We ask for no
better evidence than this affair, and the arguments by
which it is defended, present to convince the public
of the radically erroneous system upon which the
engineering department of the dock estate is con-
ducted.