Arkansas true Democrat., 1857-08-18
NO. 45.
From the N. o. Picayune Arrived at Liverpool.

Our trunks, carpet bags boxes, and all other | traps of the sort, were arranged in the dining | room, and on the ships decks, and one by overhauled The scene at the commencement was exceedingly funny. Every one was anxious 1 that his own particular baggage should be ex- amined first thinking that he would then be enabled to get ashore equally early. There was consequently quite rush towards the GUS | tomhouse officials, and the crowd was soon so 1 increased by others wishing to look on during the overhaulng, that the temper of the officials was sorely tried.
 will give you scene:
 | CustonMouse OGcial-" Ladies and gentle men, you must stand back!"
 No attention paid to it, but greater rush l than ever.
 l Oustomhouse O6icial-Addressng another of | hclal-" Did you ever see such set of people in your life? They are evidently half mad"
 Ogicial-" Ladies and gentlemen repeat, it will be impossible for us to do any thing un- less you give us room.'
 A few ladies go up on the promenade deck, and content themselves with look down at l the fun.
 Passenger" Won't you take look at my baggage first? I have it all ready"
 O6icial-"No, sir!"
 Another rush towards the officers.
 Officers, greatly excited" Gentlemen, if l M, clear the passages
 The majority begin to think so too, and scat | ter.
 Examination begins
 Oficial-"Whose trunks are these?"
 Passenger" Mine, sr.''
 OJiciai-" Nane."
 PaSsenger-" Brown"
 Ofctal-"Anv tobacco Brown?''
 Passenger-"N Never use it.''
 Official turns up the contents of the trunks and finding all right, shouts, 'paste" The paste, however, has got lost in the crowd, and official again shohts at the top of his voice, "Paste, Jones-J ones paste-Where is Jones? Nobody can find Jones'"
 OficiaL-" Has any one seen Jones? He certainly came on board with us"
 After long delay, Jones with his paste pot and stamps turns up and stamps the baggage as fast as it is examined.
 The overhauling lasted neraly four hours during which time all the passengers were con- pelled to remain on board-so that the person whose trunks were examined last got ashore just as soon as the one examined first.
 So far as 1 could learn, but one passenger had tobacco in sufficient quantity to be taxed. It comprised four squares (chewing) and about one hundred and fifty cigars enough to last a person couple of weeks-and on this small quantity he was compelled to pay duty of Il 19s 6d., (nearly ten dolarsD
 The other passengers who had cigars had only thirty or forty and these were exempt from duty. Nothing was asked for by the off, hcials but "tobacco'--and one would think from its constant repetition that England was more interested in the weed than any other products. 1 am not sure but what this is the case so far as revenue is concernd, for, if 1 re- collect rightly, the duties received upon to- ! hacCO lartTp ahead of all ofb ab1 Ia articles.
 The only commendable things about Liver pool are its straw berries; these are as large as an egg and very fine flavor. The city itself is a noisy, gloomy place, with more ale shops and organ grinders than New Orleans ever dreamt of. The houses are low built of brick and plaster and present a very smoky appearance. An ale shop IS visible at nearly every step, and one-third of the carts that pass along the street are laden with beer barrels or bottles. Women in their bare feet, with filthy garments. and basket of fish upon their head are every where to be seen, and the odor from them is very fine to those who like it! As for the poor, generally speaking, never saw more wretched class in my life, while in numbers they seemed like the leaves of the forest. It IS fact that have seen more poverty and beer drinking in this city during the past two days, than 1 ever saw In New ! ork or any other city in a month"; The wretched beings stagger against you at every step and those who are sober follow you for whole squares asking for charity. It's bad , policy, however, to give them even a copper, for if you do you are instantly beset by per feet swarm of them, and fairly compelled to seek refuge in a cab. At night they appear to have regular jubilee. for the turn out of them is enormous and their noise is so great that such thing as sleep IS impossible till long after | midnight
 There are not many public buildings in Liver pool, but what there are we'll built and 1 commanding In appearance. Among these are St. Georg,'s Hall, the Post Office Custom House, Exchange, Sailors Home, etc. The horses, those used for heavy labor, are perfect gants--being at least twice the size of the average run of full grown American horse. Tpresume they are fed on beer! In striking contrast, however, there are any quantity of donkeys, most of them no larger than good sized Newfoundland dog; thess are used mainly by the market hucksters, and the loads they are compelled to draw are oft times far beyond their strength. They must draw it, however, or suffer the penalty of severe beating.
 The hotels remarable for nothing except charges, and these astonish every native that is forced to put up at one. The two best hotels are the Adelphi and Victoria, though there are score or two of others that are considered by their propretors also first rate. The hotels are kept by men, but they employ girls as clerks, and the way they talk it into stranger or guest is perfectly refreshing But there is too much to be said in this letter upon this subject and must leave it until another time.
 Much has been said about the docks of Liver pool, and they are unquestlonably the finest structures of the kind anywhere to be found. For vessels of large tonnage, however, (the Collins Cunard steamers for instance they are oft times found wholly useless, and seven times out of ten these vessels are compelled to ship and unship their passengers and cargo in the Mersey, and leave it on their return voyage without having entered their dock at all This, of course, is serious tax upon the owners, as they not only have to pay heavy charge for dock room that Is no use to them in conse- | quence of an insufficient depth of water, but they have to pay also large sum for the use of tugs h transporting cargo and passengers to and from the city to the vessel. When we entered port there were three steamers lying in the stream unable to reach their wharves, viz: the America, City of Washington and Anglo Saxon. The Atlantic was also obliged to an- chor, and she still remains in the same po- ston
 Apropos of steamers, l learn on authority that cannot be denied, that the Persia, on her last trip to this port, was condemned--having thirteen feet of water in her hold, and two of her compartments filled with water! The remaining compartments were all that saved the vessel from being wrecked; but the passengers were kept in blessed ignorance of any such fact On the arrival of the steamer she was immediately placed upon the dry dock--fenced entirely in from the public gaze, and completely encased in new suit of iron; iron plates of an inch in thickness together with knees of enormous size, were also used in strengthening the ves- sel on the inside, and many other repairs un- dergone before she was fit for sea. This sad