The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-07-22 00:00:00

.6e respective poi.
*BRITAS (if he has practichl experience in de-
signing commercial buildings, to be )3,laved, on very valuable
sites) must know, as well as we do., that:the,architect is sel-
dom permitted to indulge in the full exercise of his talents as
an architect (a fact which we hinted at in nut- account) ; that
he is rarely allowed to sacrifice land to outward effect ; and
that the respective elevations of the several stories of such
buildings cannot be always defined by tlie strict proportions
of the pure specimens of ancient Greece. Fled "12 or 15
feet of additional elevation been divided in the three stories
treet building, the ceilings of the rooms
;,;gher than required for
or comfort, and those who inhabited the upper
;ailments would, in ascending the stairs, have undergone
(as in many of our modern mercantile erections) the daily
tortures of the tread-wheel ! In the column portions of
Grecian architecture, with their surmounting entablatures,
&c., we grant that a fixed and defined proportion must be
carried out to complete the peculiar order, and that any de-
viation therefrom would be monstrous. But he appears to
us to be rather hypercritical, in tying us down to precise pro-
portion in the elevation of the general mass. We differ from
him, too, with respect to the windows, which be considers
too small—though they are large apertures, and no fewer than
27 without a blank in one façade. Nor do we concur with
him as to the sculpture, which, though not peculiarly bold,
has nevertheless a fine effect. After all, the question resolves
itself, to a great extent, into a matter of taste ; and though
we admire purity of design, we do not see the necessity of a
servile adherence to, or a perpetual plagiarism of the ancient
masters in the art of building—many of whom exhibited a
variety of conceptions, both in design and ornament.
To come to the the third point between us, our corres-
pondent would have done well to have assured himself of the
accuracy of his premises before he presumed that the build-
ing of Messrs. Waterhouse, in Chapel-street, was to be " a
continuation of that nearly finished," and adjoining to it.
How could he entertain such a supposition when we stated
distinctly that it was to be in the Roman style, not a particle
of which is introduced in the other, so far as we have ob-
served ? Having, however, so " presumed," he proceeds
to demolish (with pen in lieu of battering-ram) a building
not yet raised above the ground, mistaking that next to it
for the veritable pile itself. He denounces the architect as
more ignorant than a tyro of 10 years old, and demolishes
his capitals at a few strokes. We may think this a capita/
joke; but we think he would have been more discreet had
he waited to see the building erected before he attacked it,
Don Quixote did not make a greater mistake when he
doughtily attacked the windmills, believing them to be giants.
The two buildings are in totally different styles, owned by
different parties and designed by different architects. We,
however, concur with him in the opinion that the introduc-
tion of a truss at the corner supporting a pilaster above to
each front at the angle, will be very unseemly, and this, too,
is the opinion of the proprietors and the architect; but us
this is a scientific mode to the public, and that, too, without
cost, it were unjust to blame either of these parties, as it
had nothing to do with the original design. The last sen-
tence of our correspondent's letter we have suppressed, for
reasons which, upon reflection, he may readily diviue,77-iti.

of the Brunswick

throug

gbout would have been

PIIRENOLOQ%

TO THE EDITOR OF TILE LII'HRI'OOL.STAiITDARD

SIR,—If you think the following observations ,on phreno-
logy worthy of a place in the STANDARD, I will thank you
to insert them. They have no reference to a certain recent

controversy

The non appearance of any organs in the brain seems
to furnish a very strong presumption against phrenology,
and might of itself induce an enlightened disciple of Bacon
to treat the whole mater as downright nonsense. Had the
organs visibly existed, it would have been the part of legiti-
mate philosophy t..) endeavour to find out their uses ; but the
circumstance that they are merely hypothetical, seems at
once to exclude phrenology from the number of genuine

sciences.
The allotment of two instruments to one mental function
is contrary to all analogy. I believe the phrenologists some-
times represent this supposed arrangement as an admirable
instance of the wisdom and providence of nature; " for how
wretched," say they, "had been the condition of a man
who had lost the use of one side of his head, if be bad not
had the other to think with ?" Nothing, I think, could be
more nonsensical than this ; nothing more puerile than to
fancy that nature had given us two eyes, for instance, to
provide against the cases in which one is lost—an accident
not happening to one person, perhaps in ten thousand.
Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine of the human
species have more than one eye, solely on account of the
ten thousandth, who otherwise had become quite blind!
One eye is merely a duplicate of the other, in the same way
as we send a copy of a letter to China for fear the original
should be lost ! Nor is it any wiser to conceive a second eye,
given upon the consideration that two would wear better than
one; as if nature could not have imparted the virtual vigour
of two eves to one. To conceive such things is to ascribe
to nature the imperfection of man. Some organs in the
human body are, indeed, double, but never in any case in
which one could perform exactly the same work as two. We
have two eyes, because one, if placed where the eyes are at
present, would have been hindered by the intervention of the
whole breadth of the face, from commanding more than one
half of the scene through which we were advancing : and, if
placed, like that of the cyclops, in the middle of the fore-
head, it would still have been prevented by the interposition
of two or three inches of space between it and the side of
the head, from perceiving the landscape close up to the per-
son in walking ; whereas the two eyes, placed as they are at
the very edge of the face, command equally the space on
both sides, from the most immediate proximity to the
greatest distance. We have two ears also; because a single
ear, wherever situated, must have been materially hindered
by the interposition of the body from hearing sounds in the
direction opposite to that in which it was turned. I need
not say why we have more than one leg: for I believe the
phrenologists will not insist that we have two merely for fear
we should lose one. But we have only one nose, appa-
rently because the impressions which it is its office to re-
ceive, have no relation to the extension of space, and its
sense is not obstructed by the intervention of our own bodies
between it and its objects. To be sure the phrenologists
may say we have two nostrils, but none, except phrenolo-
gists, would pretend that we have the second nostril for fear
we should lose the first. We have only one mouth, because
the sense of taste has, in its action, no relation whatever to
anything without ourselves ; and is not liable, like sight or
hearing, to be obstructed in its function, either by its posi-
tion in the body, or by the circumstances of external space.
Now, I contend that, in point of analogy, thinking, or the
exercise of intelligence, a power purely internal in its opera-
tion, as the taste is, is far more likely to have only a single
organ or seat, than to -have two, like the very dissimilar
powers of sight and hearing, whose province is to communi-
cate with external nature. In this respect, analogy is clearly
against the phrenologists; and so much against them, as to
throw, in my opinion, a great degree of suspicion over their
whole theory; forasmuch as the hypothesis of double organs
charges Nature with making the second, either from fear of
accident, or to make up for her inability to impart sufficient.
power to one ; while I believe that, in the whole economy of
Nature, there will be found no such appearance or acknow-
ledgment of deficient vigour.
But the suspicion attaching to the idea of mind having
double organs, is much increased by another consideration
which suggests itself. One half of the brain is just the same
as the other half; and so one half of the body is just the same
as the other. Is it possible to forbear suspecting that this
double form of the brain has a particular relation to the dou-
ble form of the body ? May we not reasonably infer that
the brain, in fact, has far less to do with the mind, after
all, than with the body; It would give me pain to be com-
pelled to believe anything to the disparagement of mind, and
to the honour of matter, against which I plead guilty to
having a very strong prejudice ; whereas I have the same
sentiments of regard for the soul, that Tacitus tells us one
could not help entertaining for Agricola: Magnum liberates
crederetn.
In conclusion, there is a great deal of the suppleness o
Mahomet about the phrenologists. They will go to tin
mountain, if the mountain will not come to them. No phy•
sical difficulties, however insuperable, stand the least in thei
way. Thus it might be supposed, that a substance so con
cealed as the living brain—an apparatus so exquisite as tin
organ of intellect—might have many qualities and modes o
action not only undiscoverable by human search, but no:
conceivable—the thousandth part of them—to human imagi•
nation. But no. According to the phrenologists, not onl3
the operations of the organ of mind, but the very properties
of the matter which compose it, are all obvious to the eye—
nay, could all be ascertained with the tips of the fingers, with
some little reference to temperament, a thing easily known
by observing
the complexion. It was also exceedingly pos-
sible--nay, nay, it is only by a miracle that it was not actually
the case—that only part of the brain might have been allotted
to intellect, and that part of it might have been connected
merely with the functions of life. Such a distinction it was
impossible for man to trace, and therefore the,phrenologis,ts
boldly claim the whole of the brain for intellect T-00 11:Y
way in which wonderful- have made anything.
indeed, truly in fact, hardly credrb°loebiste.trhvaattriolnr;
the few superficial circumstances which human entire phenomena •
could possibly discover in the brain, the
as the phreno-
and constitution of the mind could be loan gEprimus.
logists pretend.—Yours,
Liverpool, 19th July, 1842.

LAUNCH..—A very large steam-ship will be launched at
Derry in a few days ; she is to be propelled by the Archi-
median screw.

"WE ARE SORRY TO HEAR."—A phrase used by
editors prn forma. It is generally penned in cases of in-
teresting accidents, when seribes of the press are not sorry,
but glad, that they should have something of moment to lay
before their readers.

ORTIFOGRAPHICAL EXERCISES.-At the window of a
private house in Union-street, Marylebone, a bill is exhi-
bited, from which the following is
,copied serbatim :—" The
Many,elling Traid removed hear from the Strete round the
Cornir Threhapense a Duzzen. N. B.—New -Milk and
Creme Sould Heai Warentidd rreil and Not Stall eery
Mornin."

FETTERCAIRN—EXTRAORDINARY CROP OF APPLES.—
The nutzber of apples on tree oil the frOn't, wall of the farm
house of Balmain, covering Buthea of 54 square feet, was
last week counted, amounted t0'1321, being' on an average,
24 to the square foot !--./ilorairo.re Standard.
" SuccEsstozati THE Fiuthcn Cnowil.--It is a remark-
able historical filet that for the last two centuries (that is
since the accession 'of Louis XIV. in 1613), no French king
has transmitted his crown to his son. Louis XIV, and Louis
XV. were succeeded by their`grandsons, and sincethe death
of Louis XVI. it is 'well known no son has succeeded his
father on the throne of Prance."

TWEED. IDE crops• in this
neighbourhood have rallied to
.an astonishing degree since
the showery:weather commenced. Oats and barley, -which
it was formerly considered. would scarcely cut, are now look_
ing well. Turnips and potatoes have a promising appearance,
especially the former, which nteal,be an abundant crop.
Several patches of hay have heen cut, ,but .it is uncommonly
light and free of clover,--.nertviel: li.4rd.•
A SECRET FOR A FARMER'S WIFE.-;-While the milking
of your cows is going on, let your pans beplaeed in re kettle
of boiling water. Strain the 'milk into one of the pans,
taken hot from the kettle, and cover the same with another
of the hot pans, and -proceedin like manner with the whole
mess of milk, and you will find that you will have double the
quantity of good rich cream, and get double the quantity of
sweet and delicious butter. Try it.
THE "ROE " OF THE BARBEL.—During the present and
the ensuing month the above fish is in high perfection,
and it 'is customary for little parties to enjoy a day's ex-
eusion in-angling for barbel. As it for the most part hap-
pens that the sportsman is prone to participate in
the fruits
of his capture, after it is served up to table, it tuay be as
well that he should be timely warned against eating of the
" roe" of the fish in question, as the same is invariably at-
tended with the most painful and alarming results, it pro-
ducing violent retching, accompanied by "diarrhoea," and
other choleric symptoms. Not a summer passes by but the
above malady is experienced by anglers mid others, ignorant
of the pernicious properties pertaining to the " roe,' of the
barbel; and the above fact cannot be too generally known,
that its ill effects may be avoided. As soon as the vomiting
has ceased, castor oil and brandy have been found to afford
considerable relief, when medical attendance has not been at
hand.

ACCEPTING THE CHILTERN HUNDREDS.—Persons un-
acquainted with the constitution of parliament are often at a
loss to understand what i§ meant by having accepted the
stewardship of the chiltern hundreds, when thy read in the
newspaper reports of the parliamentary debates that a mem-
ber has vacated his seat by the acceptance of that office. It
may not be amiss, therefore, to state that by the law of par-
liament no member of the House of Commons can volunta-
rily resign his seat.; but there is a statute in force which
expressly enacts that no office having etnt)lulflent attached can
be conferred by the crown upon a member of the House of
Commons without thereby vacating his seat. This, then,
being the only mode by which te'gentleinae can rid himself
of the duties of a representetive during the continuance of
parliament of which he,-may have been elected a member.
those who are desirous'-of resigning .are under the necessity
of applying to the crown to appoint 'them to some salaried
office of small note, in 'order- that they may be enabled to re-
tire into private life • No* it:does happen that there is a
ridge of chalk hill which traverses Buckinghamshire a little
to the south of its centre, reaching- from Trilig, in Hertford-
shire, to Henley-upon-Thames, hi Oxfordshire, which is di-
vided into the three hundreds of lle:.!-,,,rough, Stoke,
Burnham ; and, from the chalky nature of the soil they take
the name of "the chiltern hundreds." The in indiction Of
the hundreds into which many of the counties recileided
by King Alfred was originally
invested in )ecwulir:r - courts
but afterwards devolved to the county .
merits,. in--which-it
still remains with the exception of some, as -the Chiltern Hundreds, which by privilege have been annexed-- `to - the
crown. The Sovereign, therefore, has ;the ~,,,,er.ae .aii-
pointing the Steward of those Hundreele, and as the salary
is twenty shillings yearly and all fees, the acceptance of the
Stewardship is sufficient to vacate a seat in parliament It
has consequently become a matter of. course for A mewb4r
who is desirous of abdicating his seat, to apply to the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer to be' appointed to the Stewardship,
which is granted as a matter of course, and as soon as the
appointment has answered his purpose by vacating his seat,
the ex-member resigns the Stewardship. There is no obli-
gation on the crown to confer this appointment, but it is a
convenient usage, and on that account maintained.
POPISH CONTRIVANCE.—It was asserted last
the House of Commons by Mr. O'Connell, that a
mwaeenkruit(it
his family at Team, had been five days
at Tunre,
following is the report of the stipendiary
the magistrate.tale originated. " I
without food. The
of the circumstances under which
11 in the public papers,
must say that the reports I have seen
exaggerated, and
of the distress in this county. are- greatlybeen taken to strengthen
I am aware of strange steps harTta,
oinnaen
whu.oir
crleretkd
ahterae nn ye;_
or warrant those reports-
terday I shall mention. Ato me, and said that he had been
Catholic chapel here came
ale
H to request I would take the
sent by Archbishop
kl/la was with him as to the state of dis-
affidavit of a man aye:d his family were in, and that on.
tress and want thatdhaviatii
tDher.tulkaltal,cHale would afford theta,
he said that he and his
fitgilueee.sdaeraiitsn_iigithout a morsel of food. I said that
h case. as there wlitsdiad r2toonst‘_ pvh\locenhteittZ
frhaei
mlsi
relief. On
makingwoerne
that came top a:eksifrt:rdit. The 'el la::
such could not la
to every one
psurepspsleydgivent take
come oft odfaivinto, wwhtoicit'he printer until I get'
clerk saiindeat°°h7tell'is day's paper.' I asked him for what
this inserted7‘ Oh,' says he, ' the bishop desired
skoemdmeei
fttiotmhheeaamvfetaelnrt
iviipuusrree.rLesdel'iy.tirhte.he had
printer,„a rsea.sonfotenuit
came to *
davit was
,na•adfatics,le,i
ial.nitud tshot:t he had
halsworn such an
_affidavit. I said he had. Mr. Kelly
' True or not I wish you
taondintsleiartt
,iymt what:
shit
rltdhaie)y'a
purpose,bisiesphaaoppers.a i d
I inbae sg,
tiot .
,s y
ca.6„ll,,,,tihoiatl hlrckhnbeiwshottple
Of course it has appeared in
that this is one of the many
ways that are resorted to for the
,pqrpose of showing the
tually is.
country to be in a state of
greater destitution than it ac-
"

NORTHERN hOSPI'?'AL, JULY
16
[WEEKLY REPORT.]

Accidents.
5.....
Medical and ui.gicai.
Upon recommendation

ADMITTE I;

0 I Cured

MSCIRARG/SD

atOnt Pitient
16 ; Irregular
I Died •
46)
iainingin the Hospital .76 • •