The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-04-15 00:00:00

Masons " to c

a act bavj

terate parliametielio prevent their meeting. It never was
put in force; § and we find Henry VII., as Grand Master,
summoning a lodge of Master Masons at the Palace. and
walking in procession with them to the east end of West-
minster Abbey, where he laid with his own hand the founda-
tion of his magnificent chapel. . _

I feel that no evidence is more conclusive of the general
estimation in which Freemasonry is held, than to remark,
that ever since th?. time (A.D. 879) when Alfred the Great
had been Grand Master, that institution has continued to
enjoy to this day the patronage of kings, princes, prelates,
statesmen, and warriors, as eminent in their virtues as illus-
trious in their dignities,—those, sir, who have not thought
it beneath their dignity to join a society whose every effort is
the advancement of art, the cultivation of the sciences, and
the practice of all moral and social virtues. I cannot close
without thanking you for your indulgence by the insertion

of this iu your v.Au-able pal:

ram, Mr. Edit.or, your obliged servant
J. A. C., •

9th April, 1842

P.M. of Cestritin Lodge, 015

;ther with Lord viscount M

[We have been compelled, by the press of matter occasioned
by the assizes, to defer our correspondent's letter, with
others that we have received on the same subject, in an-

swer to the letter of " Delta." Some of our correspon-
dents have been angry with us for having given insertion
to the letter in question. We did so not from a want of
respect for the " craft." but i❑ order to elicit a reply sueh
as the above, which we felt persuaded would be forthcoming.
—ED. L. S.]

THE LIVERPOOL

ACADEMY

Sia,—l believe we may thank your publication for having
been the cause of a change that has taken place in the con-
stitution and administration of the close borough of the Li-
verpool Academy. Mr. Barber has resigned his post of

- .
president, iilcons'equence, it is, said, of some critique upon
the painting which he exhibited during the last season, ap-
pearing in the STANDARD, If the change is attributable to
you, it is your duty to watch over the institution, and see
that a fit and proper person—a man of talent in the profes-
sion, and of some standing in the eyes, not only of artists,
but of the public, be appointed in his stead. The falling off
in the number of subscribers last year, shows that additional
energy is necessary, if the academy is to be looked up to,
and that a step or two with the times must be taken to in-
duce persons to come forward at the close of the season with
their suppOrt. PALETTE.
.

[We do not see in what our duty consists in respect to the
Liverpool Academy ; we have nothing whatever to do with it
either directly or indirectly. This we can tell our cor-
respondent, that we know Mr. Barber has resigned, and still
more, that Mr. Eglinton " bath leaped into his seat," Mr.
Eglinton, jun., become secretary, and Mr. Crane treasurer.
What the Liverpool artists are about we know not ; if they
are satisfied we are equally so. Some men are thankful for
small favours.— E. L. S.l

QUALIFICATIONS OF SHIPMASTERS & MATES

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

—Hoping that my two former letters have in some
degree tended to remove the erroneous opinions that were
entertained respecting this proposed measure, I proceed to
advocate its probable utility in promoting our mercantile
welfare, which 1 deem to be one of the most important con-
siderations connected with it ; and in discussing the subject,
I wish it to be clearly understood that I shall assume (what
1 apprehend none will deny) that our mercantile welfare is
at present greatly dependent on the character, ability, and
judgment of our shipmasters, and that I shall avail myself
of the expressed opinions of many of their valuable body
whom I have the pleasure of knowing, and whom I have
found unanimous in their opinion of the absolute necessity
of some measure of the kind, for the purpose of obliging
our future mates and captains to keep pace with the increased
demand there is upon their nautical, commercial, and scien-
tific attainments.

With these premises, I shall commence by calling atten-
tion to the very different aspect the commercial world pre-
sents now, to what it did at the time of the promulgation of
the celebrated Berlin decrees. Them we could afford to
laugh at, for we were the carriers of the world. Now, how
different! Twenty-eight years of peaceable rivalry has ren-
dered even the slightest alteration of the commercial tariff of
our rivals a matter of no small importance. At that time
there was little trouble in freighting a British ship ; and to
keep, convey, and preserve an adequate crew free from im-
pressment, were the most arduous duties of the shipmaster.
Now he has frequently to be both merchant and agent—to
freight his ship as well as sail her ; and in this duty, how
often has he to compete with foreign stri'P'S that can accept of
lower freights, because they can be sailed'. at less expense !
That he is able to do so at all, is entirely owing to our not
having yet lost our high character for nautical ability. How
invaluable, then, is the preservation of this character! Be-
sides, quick passages have become absolutely requisite to
ensure anything like a remunerative return to the shipowner,
and these can only be expected from a careful attention to
former experiences and the nicest calculations of astronomical
science, that was formerly but little known and less cultiva-
ted. Obliged, then, as a shipmaster is now, to be possessed
of superior attainments, ought he not, in common justice,
to be endued with superior consideration? The answer, as
a matter of course, is, he ought. Then why is he not ?
Simply from want of a test, by a board possessing the con-
fidence of the shipowners. At present, when on:. of employ,
they are necessitated to bespeak the consideration of the
shipowners, under, at times, the most humiliating circum-
, stances, to their certificates, which, perhaps, after all, from
some ill feeling towards those from whom they received
them, or from their not being in the best odour, may prove,
for the advancement of their interests, perfectly worthless.
A board, then, like this, will save them from such contumely.
Hence one strong claim in its favour—a claim that should
bring down on the heads of its framers the blessing of every
shipmaster ; for surely its qualified certificate will place its
holder beyond the cavilling exceptions that are at present
frequently taken, because perhaps the gentleman applied to
has not the very highest opinion of the gentlemen recom-
mending, leaving other incidental causes out of consideration
altogether.

I now proceed to call attention to the late East India Com-
pany's service during the first period; and what do we find?
Why, we find a merchant marine whose fame and glory lives
in their country's history—whose officers were respectable
and respected; and why so? Because they had examina-
tions, and its concomitants, discipline and respect, followed
in the wake. That this is no fanciful theory, let the histo-
rical experience our country affords, on perfectly analagous
cases, speak. For instance, we find that the ignorance of
our clergy was so great, that an examination to prove them
capable of writing was established, and from this seedling
germ have emanated all those progressive improvements
which have made them, in this our day, the most enlightened
body of gentlemen in the world, whose fame is bounded only
by the universe. And has not the system of examinations
raised the medical faculty from the state of barber-surgeons
to their present proud pre-eminence? If the same system,
then, is applied to our mercantile marine, why should we not
anticipate the same result? But, to take a more enlarged
view of the subject, have the public no interest in this ques-
tion ? Has not the traffic in passengers increased to such an
extent, as to become an object of great importance? and are
not they entitled to be satisfied of the upright cbaracter a
and
competent knowledge of those to whom they entrust them-
selves? Remember, sir, thero are no coroners invests
board of ship at sea, and consequently no rotgOntik check,

blatd be generally

'etpted

Will not the certificate of th
as a sufficient guarantee?
The length to which this letter has run warns me to c
clude.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
B. W. TRACE/

Mates' Association, 11, Duke-street,
April 9th, 1S 42.

Lieut. R.N