TIE HALIFAX NOVEMBER 19, 1842. PRESS. Price One Penny, And now the time in special is, by privilege, to write and speak what may help to the f urther discussing of matters in agitation. The Temple of Janus, with his two controversal faces, might now not unsignificantly be set open: and though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple. Who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter. Her confuting is the best and surest suppressing.— MILTON'S AUEOPAGITICA. TO ADVERTISERS. In a former announcement, it was stated that Advertisements could not be received at our printer's later than Thursday noon; but as it is desirable to extend the time, we have trans- ferred our advertisements from the first to the fourth page, by which alteration we shall be enabled to receive the favours of our advertising friends until Thursday evening. Our fourth page will, we believe, be a very good situation for advertisements'; for there are very few of our readers, we imagine, who do not dwell, with more or less pleasure, on the poetry and scraps to which that page is usually devoted. The principle upon which the business of the " Fiee Press" is conducted by our printer, is that of low prices and no credit. Our charges for advertisements are— One to three lines.. 2s. Ocl. j Including the gov- Four to six 2s. 6d. V ernment tax of Seven to nine 3s. Od. j 6d. and so on in proportion to the number of lines. LOCAL DOCUMENTS. No. I. LETTER PROM E. PROTHEROE, JUN. ESQ. M. P. 24, Chapel Street, Grosvenor Square, Nov. 11, 1842. My dear Sir, In reply to you inquiry, 1 beg to state to you, most distinctly, that 1 have no intention what- ever of giving up my seat. Whenever, IF EVER, I should have such an act under consideration, I should give my friends and supporters the earliest intimation of such an intention ; and, when determined upon, I should give my constituents generally the fullest notice of it. I thank you sincerely for your letter. No apologies could be necessary for your writing to me on such a subject; and, as no one had men- tioned it to mo, I am truly obliged to you for having done it. Your letter was forwarded to me from Newn- ham, and I received it late in the day yesterday. You may show this letter to any one you please. Believe me, My dear Sir, Yours very faithfully, EDWARD PROTHEROE, Jun. Mr. Thomas Denton, Halifax. NO. II. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR. S. GIBSON & MR. D. MACKINTOSH. Hebden Bridge, Oct. 18, 1842. Slit,— On visiting the Halifax Museum, yesterday, I was much surprised to find that you have made so many mistakes in arranging and naming the Fossils belonging to that place. I now write to say that, if you will appoint a time and place, I will meet you, and point out a few of the errors, so that you will have it at your option whether you alter them or not, before you leave the town. If they are not put to rights, I shall point them out in the Manchester Guardian. Yours respectfully, SAMUEL GIBSON. To Mr. D. Mackintosh. P. S. The Fossils you have placed under the head of Speeton Clay do not one of them belong to that formation. The Ammonites concinnus does certainly belong to the Speeton Clay, but the one you have placed under that name is not that species. S. G. Mr. Mackintosh's answer to the above is without date; the post office date is Oct. 19,1842. SIR,— You must have seen that the arrangement in the Museum is not yet completed; the specimens have all yet to be gone over, and subjected to a minute comparison. You, perhaps, in the general arrangement, follow some old system of Geology That followed in the Museum isLyell'sand Berbees.* After the Museum is completed, you shall have a ( right to find fault. Meantinje, the business of science is not to inteifere with the affairs of others, & c. I am directed by the Councilf to acquaint you that you have no connection with the H. tlifax Museum. I am, your obliged Servant, D. MACKINTOSH. Hebden Bridge, Oct. 20, 1842. Sin,— I was favoured with your note this morning. You say I must have seen that the arrangement in the Museum is not yet completed; I expect you would say the Geological department ofthe Museum ; if so, I must say that I spoke of nothing but what appeared ( to me) to be completed, as I saw the specimens placed under their respective labels; and what such labels as those marked Ammonites concinnus are for, I know not; seeing there are no such fossils in the Museum. As to system, I must confess that I do follow the good old one of going down the coal pit shafts, and going to such places as Speeton, where I became acquainted with the Speeton Clay and the Ammonites concinnus, kc. & c. and I do assure you that they look much better ( to me) in Speeton Cliff than they do in either the works of Beib^ e or Lyell. As to the business of science, I would tell you that I have just as much business ( in a public Museum) to consult your arrangement, as you have to consult Lyell's Geology. You say that you are directed by the Council to acquaint me that I have no connection with the Halifax Museum; in reply to this I would say that I do not know that I have gone beyond the rules of the Council of that Museum; if I thought that I had, I should be sorry for it indeed. I shall have to give my opinion on the Geological arrangement in the Huddersfield Museum, and at the same time to give a few remarks on the Trilobites with such great mouths, and the compresscd nodules you mentioned in one of your lectures; but shall prefer waiting until you have completed your arrangement. I remain, yours & c. SAMUEL GIBSON. P. S. There are two specimens of a nondescribed NAUTILUS, that were found in one of the pits near Halifax. When you complete your arrangement, I hope you will not leave them so far asunder. S. G. POLITENESS.—" You are the most handsome lady I ever saw," said a gentleman to one of the fair sex. " I wish I could say as much for you," replied the lady. " You could, madam, if you paid as little re- gard to truth as I have." A wag, lately describing an elephant, remarked that this sagacious animal took care never to be robbed, for he always carried his trunk before him. * Here, I think, Mr. Mackintosh has not acted consist- ently. He tells us that learning is on the decline: if so, perhaps it would have heen better for him to have followed some of the older and better systems, in preference to such new ones as those of Lyell, & e- S. G. t This must be a false statement, as there was no meeting of the Council at that time. S. G. MR. EDWARD SLOANE, UNDER THE ALIAS OF ISAAC TOMKINS, The statements made in our tenth number have elicited another letter from Mr. Edward Sloane, the erudite " Isaac Tomkins," of " Plug Plot" notoriety; and also a letter from the person whom he has employed as the bearer of his letters, to the office of our printer. We shall first give the two documents, and then say a few words in reply, WHO TELLS THE LIE, JONATHAN OR ISAAC TOMKINS ? To the Editors of the Halifax Free Press. I had determined, in my own mind, that my last should close my correspondence with the Free Press ; but, as I am accussed of asserting " a wilful and deliberate lie" in stating that the bearer of my letter did not mention Mr. Edward Sloane's name. The messenger con- tinues to say such a name was never used, and he has promised to give a. contradiction to your assertion. It is true that your publisher may say that Isaac Tomkius is a " liar," and that the bearer of the letter is a " liar," but that won't do. I fix distinctly the lie on your publisher, neither shall I allow him to wriggle from under it. There is one consolation, and that is, that Jonathan is well used to such " fixes," and consequently, his character can suffer no material damage in this respect. In thus " fixing" the lie upon him, it is only confirming his character, and giving something like a proof that he has lost none of his skill in long- bow practice. I again reiterate my former statement respect- ing your printer's shabby conduct, in altering the copy of my letter. It was not printed exactly as it stood. I appeal to the M. S. as a proof. I am willing to make all due allowance for poor Jonathan and his two apprentice lads, but I won't let him tell lies if I can help it. The letter signed " Dorcas Tomkins" was written without my knowledge, consent, or advice ; and whatever mystery you may conceive connected therewith, the writer thereof is un- doubtedly able to explain. As for receiving help to write my last letter, I would inform you that, in writing this, I am helped by two boys, one holding my inkstand, and another busy in searching a pocket Johnson for the orthography of certain words. 1 am, Gentlemen, Yours, & c. ISAAC TOMKINS. To Mr. Martin, Publisher of the Halifax Free Press. In last week's Free Press it is stated that I mentioned Mr. E. Sloane's name as the person who sent me with the letter signed " Isaac Tomkins.'' This I deny in the most unequivocal manner. In your last week's paper you charge Isaac Tomkins with telling a lie in denying that such a gentleman's name was mentioned by me. If a lie has been told, it rests between you and I; and, as I have no interest in either party, I can have no motive in stating a falsehood. I am, Sir, Yours, THE MESSENGER. Our remarks upon these letters need not extend to much length. We again state, most explicitly, that the name of Mr. Edward Sloane was given to our printer, as the writer 2 THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. of the letter signed " Isaac Tomkins," and also as the writer of the " History of the Plug Plot." When our printer asked " the Messenger" if I the letter came from Mr. Edward Sloane, " the Messenger" gave an answer in the affirmative, and even remarked that Mr. Sloane's name had appeared in the " Free Press " of the preceding Saturday. This our printer stated was not the case, and he showed " the Messenger" a copy of the " Free Press" that contained the letter from " A Special." In that letter, the word " Neddy" occurred, and " the Messenger, on seeingit, said he had read it" Neddy Sloane," and was under an impression that it was so printed. Indeed, had not the writer's name being disclosed, no notice would have been taken of the letter; for we had a right to be assured, before we noticed it, that it was really sent by the author of the " Plug Plot" pamphlet. No third person was present at the interview between our printer and " the Messenger;" and, therefore, no testimony can be furnished in proof of the assertions made by either. These asser- tions are now before the public, and it must be left to them to decide which they will believe Here we drop the discussion ; and, although some of our readers may think that too much space has been occupied with such a topic, we shall not regret that it has been so occupied,, if it shall prove instrumental in plucking off the lion's hide, and exhibiting the ass with its native longitude of ears. THE ESSAYIST. EXERCISES, REVIEWS, AND ACTION. No. VIII.— DO YOU GIVE IT UP ? " Though the gleam of sunshine, the fine harvest, ha, come, the country does not right itself. Will the pilot that was to weather the storm, give up the task in despair, or has he farther resources ?"— Spectator, Oct. 29,1842. So writes the Spectator in October. In September, in the same paper, and the same article which said the Tory government was that which Sod had given us, they wrote thus— " The present government need no support of ours: it Is a necessity of the present time, the only possible government at the present conjuncture."— Spectator, Sept. 17.1842. It would, therefore, seem that the terms " present time" arid " present conjuncture" had a very limited signification;. for the government which, in September, stood on such a basis that it was " the only possible government," is, by the latter end of October, re- duced to such a state, that its dear friends,. its warm admirers, these who say of Sir R. Peel " his peculiar mission is to do," ask, in doleful accents, " Do you give up the task in despair ?" D'ye give it up ? Moreover, the reason why he should give up is singular enough ; it is because, " though the fine harvest has come, the country does not right itself." " Right itself," indeed ! Will Sir Robert Peel permit it to right itself? Will he unshackle trade from its fetters ? Will he remove the penalty of two thousand pounds, which he has imposed on every British or foreign merchant, who shall have the presumption to commit the high crime of freighting a ship with two thousand quarters- of wheat from Europe, Asia, Africa, or America) to be exchanged for the produce of the labour of the s tarving workmen of England b Right itself, indeed'. Is this the only object for which we submit to the grievous burthens of expense of army and navy estimates, civil lists, and priestly establishments— that the country should right itself ? There is one meaning of the term " to right itself," which the country will soon exemplify— namely, to see that it has its rights, the right of good government. If the mission of Sir R. Peel is to do, we ask to do what ? To do nothing ; or to do mischief ? And the answer is, for tbe first eight months hedid nothing but deny the distress of the country, and for the next eight he did mischief, in imposing tbe Sliding Scale and the Income Tax. This it was his peculiar mis- sion to do. The Spectator is not the only govern- ment paper which begins to give signs of a change of dynasty, and say to Peel, in effect, if not in words, " D'ye give it up ?" The Morning Herald of Thurs- day, the 9th, cries out most loudly against the In- come Tax Government, and says that when parliament meet, all their time will be required to hear appeals against this obnoxious impost; but the Herald says nothing against the other obnoxious impost, the penal statute levied on hungry or starving individuals for purchasing food at the cheapest market. We fancy some time will be required in listening to appeals against this also. When, then, it is obvious that we are on the eve of great changes— when the Tory scribes and the ex- Radical Pharisees cry out " D'ye give it up ? " and when our insulted nation will soon speak out with a voice of thunder,,, " You shall give it up I" it may not be very foreign to the point to take a glance at our public men, and see who amongst them all have given the besB proofs of their fitness to take a part in corr- stituting a good government. It certainly would not be contended for a moment that the leaders of the late government have given any such proof; on the contrary, it would be very easy to produce abundant evidence of their manifest unfitness. The no- confidence vote was pronounced by the nation long before it was echoed by the ma- jority in the House of Commons. Their restoration, then, we take to be impossible. And who is there amongst the public men, whose names are prominent- ly before the public, that have demonstrated their fitness to be efficient members of a government by qualities so marked, so general, and so long tried, as Col. Thompson ? Many of them are good in their particular department, but is there any one that is to be compared with him as a whole ?' O'Connell is an excellent member for all Ireland, but he appears to have believed that the interests which he had to look to would not be advanced by standing out in opposi- tion to the late government. Hume is a good man to check the items of an army estimate, but some- thing else besides economy is necessary. Ewart is good at endeavouring to preventthe sacrifice of human life, by. an amelioration in the laws of eapital punish- ments, but- however laudable are his exertions in this respect, it should be recollected that where one man has forfeited his life by the executioner in England, one thousand have been sacrificed in the wars under- taken by the late government, and which Ewart was not prominent in opposing. Has any individual testimonials to produce of a thirty years' apprentice- ship to the sciences and the practice of legislation, that can for a moment be compared with " The Ex- ercises." If so, who is he ? And where are the tes-"' timonials ? But with all Colonel Thompson's superior qualifi- cations for office, the Spectator says, " his accession to to the government is one of the most unlikely events under the Sun ;" and so we have no doubt would he have said of Henry Brougham's elevation to the woolsack, six months before that event occurred, as he would of the elevation of Lafontaine and Girouard to the government in Canada six weeks ago ; but some how or other such changes do occasionally take place, and then the cry is, " Who would have thought it ?" There is a striking analogy between^ the cir- cumstances connected with the elevation of Henry Brougham and the Whigs in 1830, and the subsequent passing of the Reform Bill— that in Both1 cases; the seed was sown a few years before, and the public mind prepared by certain quarterly journals. The Edinburgh Review, or, as the author of tbe Exer- cises facetiously calls it, " the ancient gentlewoman in the blue and yellow," had taken the lead in the dissemination of Whiggery, and unquestionably had been very instrumental in raising up a public opinion in favour of Whig principles; the consequence was that Brougham, Jeffery, Macaulay, and other men, who constituted the staff of the Edinburgh Review, became the staff of the new government. The West• • minster Review, in its soul- stirring days, under its " MAXIMA FELICITAS " banner, and its BENTHAM head, was the originator and disseminator of those principles which are now recognized, by the spirit of the age, as the true principles of legislation. By the Westminster was sown a healthy, thriving, and pro- lific seed, which has spread and multiplied to an in- calculable extent: and the men who sowed that seed, shall they not reap the fruit, by being instrumental in carrying out their own measures ? And be it re- membered that there is no one of the great questions of the day which did not either originate or obtain a powerful advocacy in that publication. The Spectator affects to consider the elevation of Colonel Thompson to the government— as unlikely, from their " knowledge of all tbe political influences ; n England." We never spoke of Colonel Thompson being " the government," but a member of the government. Does the Spectator entirely leave out of consideration that important political influence, the public opinion of the intelligent portion of society,, by which everything great and valuable that has been gained has been obtained in spite of the political influence referred to by the Spectator ? Moreover, does the Spectator disregard the political influenceof that powerful combination,. the Anti- Corn- Law League, an association which had its origin with one of Colonel Thompson's talented associates in the GREATEST HAPPINESS work. If the political in- fluence- of the Anti- Gorn- Law League shall have any weight in accomplishing the changes which are dawning upon us, the leaders of that body would indeed forfeit all claim to public confidence, if they did not include in the new arrangements, the author of The Catechism, And whatever may have been the sins of omission or commission of the Anti- Corn- Law League in times past, they certainly now mani- fest a willingness to do justice to their great chief. One of their most active and influential leaders, the Honourable Member for Stockport, has lately de- clared, in a speech, at a public meeting, which has been circulated in nearly all the London and provincial papers, that Colonel Thompson had been " a hidden treasure," but that he is in fact the " NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE of Corn Law Repeal." Will the Spectator call this gentleman one of " Colonel Thompson's puffers?" Another influential member of the League, the Honourable Member for Bolton, at another public meeting, has also delivered a beautiful aiid touching tribute of respect to the Author of The Exercises, which has also been extensively published in town and country. He said—" I have seen with delight that the League and the country have begun justly to value the eminent services of that most distinguished and excellent man— a man bound as I am to him by ties more than brotherly, of whom I shall not venture to speak as I otherwise would venture to do. But, my friends, I assure you, a mind beating with a higher and nobler benevolence, an intellect more trained by philosophy and beneficence, exists not; and I trust that this country will ere long have the advantage of seeing that gallant man in the place which he ought to occupy, fighting the battles of Free Trade in the senate of his country." Will the Spectator call this gentleman one of " Colonel Thompson's puffers ?" Moreover, under the direction of the League, all the magazines ana periodicals are about to be made instrumental in disseminating extracts from Colonel Thompson's Works. And the Spectator calls the national press " Colonel Thompson's puffers ? " " Convenient journals," publishing " a tissue of falsehoods," " but not on that account the Ies3 readily inserted !" The gentlemen connected with the press, will, we are sure, appreciate the very flatter- ing compliment bestowed upon them by their brother, Spectator. It is alleged against us that we are " Spectator de- tractors," inasmuch as we have intimated that the insidious attempt of the Spectator to prevent the due appreciation of Col. Thompson, had its origin in his successful exposure of their emigration- nostrums ; and our intimation that they were acting under Peel influence, is said to be a lie without the courage to state it;. and because in our letter ta the Editor we did not follow up the subject, they wish it to be un- derstood that we " have withdrawn instead of follow- ing up" our intimation. We are neither detractors nor retractors, but we were not so green as to expect the Spectator would make its own columns instru- mental to its own condemnation, therefore we were silent on these points ; but if those readers who take an interest in the subject, will refer to what is written in the Exercises on the subject of emigration in Vol. V., pages 21 to 25, and many other places, they will find abundant reason why the Spectator pronounced a verdict against Col. Thompson as a man who was deficient in apprehending " actual truth "— meaning by actual truth, Emigration schemes. They are also to take into the account, that the publications,. The South Australian Record and Australian Chronicle, the South Australian Colonist, and the Colonial and jralion Gazette, were the organs of Messrs. Edw. Gibbon Wakefield, Spectators and Co., and some, if not all, published at tbe office of the Spectator. It really, then, is not necessary, in order to obtain the knowledge of a bias in favour of the existing govern- ment, for reasons easily understood, to have been witness to the payment of a specific sum of money from Downing- street to Wellington- street. It may be something in posse rather than in esse, and the mixture of occasional dissatisfaction expressed against the Peel government, while the general tendency of the articles is to support the present ministry, favours this hypothesis, and tbe query, " D'ye give it up," may be intended to stimulate posse into esse. There is something very like esse in the newspapers which have recently arrived from the British settlements in North America, and which may enlighten the under- standings of Observers if not of Spectators. It is announced that a Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield was to be brought forward " on the government interest." There was a Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield who ob- tained some notoriety in connection with a person named Turner, if, therefore, the Spectator should be- come associated with the word Turner or Turn- coat, it is not to be wondered at, that one of the " con- venient journals," the Durham Chronicle, quoting the Spectator last week, and having heard their de- fence, still writes, " Spectator Peel- paper." What- ever arrangements may be negociating between the- two contracting parties, should be1 converted from. THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. 3 posse into esse with as little delay as may be, before Peel gives it up. We have alluded much more to the Spectator than its political importance now deserves, or than we shall do again ; but the acknowledged talents with which the paper is conducted, and its affected neu- trality, rendered its insidious hostility the more necessary to be counteracted. A person affecting to be of no party, whilst at the same time he was in alliance with one party, would be in the position to inflict a more dangerous wound than an open enemy. Fortius reason have we deemed it the more necessary to combat the views set forth in the Spectator- For our own part we acknowledge only two parties, the stationary, or Conservative, and the Movement.— To the Movement party we have belonged, we do belong, and we hope ever to belong. " Progression" is our motto. The absurd and worn- out maxim which the Spectator has introduced, of " measures not men," if applied to practice would serve to render valueless good conduct, character, or consistency, in its influence upon others. Take the instance of any individual requiring a confidential agent,— two can- didates present themselves ; one who has all his life been a deceiver and betrayer of the trusts which have been reposed in hiui by former employers, the latter having a thirty years' character for integrity and fidelity— would you be deluded by any one crying out ' measures not men," and telling you it was un- important by whom you were served, so that you were served; and supposing that the man without character were, by some means or other, to obtain a situation in your employ, and to perform a few good acts, would you not live in the fear that it was only with a view to insinuate himself in your con- fidence, and that he would betray you on the first favourable opportunity.— Again, the Spectator is for princi( les, not for men, because men die, principles do not. This sounds very elevated, very poetical, but what cognizance have we of principles of action, except in relation to men; and how are they to be carried out, butlwhen they are embodied in individuals ? The inference to be drawn from the Spectator's ap- plication is, it is immaterial whether you have a man of principle, or no principle, because men of principle will die as well as the others 1 The Spectator charges us with misquoting. We defy them to the proof. But there is something very like misquoting in their article. We said " we hope to see the government in the hands of Colonel Thompson, and such men," & c., our meaning being that we hoped to see a government of which that gentleman should be a member, for that his being a member of any actual government would, with all that is known of his past life and public actions, be a guarantee that at least something valuable would be acquired for the people, and that, if his influence as a member of the government was not sufficient to accomplish all that was desired, his vigilance might at least be depended on, to prevent flagrant errors. The Spectator, in quoting it, has left out, " and such men," and argued as though we had intended that the actual government should be transferred to Colonel Thompson, and therefore declares the utter impro- bability of such an event. We will not charge them with wilfully inserting a comma between the words " Col. Thompson " " and such men," because such an error may have been made inadvertently by the com- positors. But it is at least sirgular, that no such comma exists in our copy of the manuscript, and the sense of our meaning is much better expressed without. Having been'thought by the Spectator too severe in in our remarks, we confined ourselves to saying, that those who read both, must judge for themselves— whereupon they complain that people won't read both. We have no remedy for that but to advise that the Spectator should espouse the cause we do, and they would find abundance of readers. We have no com- plaint to make that people will not read what we write, for we have additional readers weekly. But it is too much for the Spectator to complain of us, be* cause people will not read what they write. The phrase " D'ye give it up?" having been ap- plied by the Spectator to the present government, it will be caught up as the signal. Constituencies will say to their Conservative, Tory, or Whig members, " D'ye give it up ?" Upholders of Corn Laws, and abuses of every kind, will be appealed to by " D'ye give it up ?"— and an oppressed nation will say to theif oppressors, " You shall give it up !" As to the Spectator, we hove a lurking kindness towards it, for the good it has done in times past, and should be in- clined to forgive all its little aberrations, and attri- bute thein to its well grounded dissatisfaction with the Whigs, if we saw it come out and espouse the popular cause: but if it is now too much fettered to do this, we shall not desire to annoy it needlessly. The readers will, as we do, quite understand its posi- tion, and many will, as we shall, " give it up." COADJCTOK. OIK LETTER BOX. THE PRICE OF MILK. To the Editors of the Free Press. GENTLEMEN,— I am not at all accustomed to writing for the " Free Press," nor indeed for any other Press; but if you think the following hints worthy a place in your paper, the circulation of which I am told is fast increasing, they are at your service; but, if not, their rejection will give me no offence, as no one will sustain injury thereby. There was a " Milk Meeting," I understand, held, last week, in the Old Assembly Room, for the purpose of reducing the price of Milk. Now I was not aware of the meeting till after it was held; otherwise I would have attended, and made a maiden speech on the occasion. I say maiden, for, be it remembered, it would have been the first time I had ever attended a Chartist meeting. I was once a reader of Cobbett, and a great admirer of his principles; butwhenlperceivedhe was the wisest man in all the world, in his own esteem, I ceased to admire him so ardently. I recollect, however, one principle he laid down, which I have ever since found to be true, and that is, " when apples are plentiful, apples are cheap ; and when apples are scarce, then apples are dear." This axiom, I find, will hold good in everything else, whether it be in apples, pears, potatoes, corn, beef, bacon, or cheese. I therefore presume it will hold good in the article of milk, especially as our " Venerable Champion of Liberty," Benjamin Rushton, Esq., said, " it could not be salted, or pickled) or preserved." I would, therefore, at our next milk meeting, which shall be, as before, got up for the purpose of carrying the Charter, propose that the Cows be petitioned to give double the usual quantity; and should they, like John Bull's present guardians, refuse to hearken to our petition, and trample it under their feet amongst their dung, then at our third meeting I would pro- pose to set up a steam engine on every farm, and manufacture milk by the power of machinery. This will, judging from analogy, effectually lower the price of milk. Consider, gentlemen, the vast power and influence of machinery ; it has been far more influential than the tongue of the " Venerable Benjamin Rushton." It has lowered the price of labour, and of every manu- factured article ; and surely it will lower the price of this useful article, milk. It is true that the price of milk was lowered on Saturday night, and by steam too ; but then it was only the steam that proceeded from the mouths of Wallace, Rushton, and Co.; and the engine house was only the Assemblj Room, where no milk was produced. Perhaps, in reply to the above powerful and effectual arguments, the sapient sages will say " Let Rents and Taxes cotne down ; and then the farmers will be able to sell their produce at much more re- duced prices than the present proposed ones." Very well; let them, then, begin at the beginning, and call a meeting of all Feargus O'Connor's admirers, to lower Rents and Taxes at once— pass the Charter ; and then everything will go on as it ought to do. There would then be no need of Plug drawing heroes, nor learned Tomkins to eulogize ther deeds. I am, Gentlemen, A LOVER or UNWATERED MILK. November 10th, 1842. ON THE ALLEGED DECLINE OF SOLID LEARNING. To the Editors qf the Free Press. GENTLEMEN,— No man can be more sensible of the benefits which result from free discussion, than the the humble individual who presumes to offer a few observations to your notice. Free discussion, when indulged within proper bounds, is capable of achiev- ing great results; but on the contrary, nothing perhaps contributes more effectually to deaden the higher feelings of man, than making use of acrimoni- ous expressions. I am glad to see that two of your correspondents, Mr. Mackintosh and D., indulge in facts rather than in invective. After the long discussion which has been carried on in the pages of the " Free Press," by your corres- pondents above referred to, I will, with your per. mission, offer a few remarks on the question of the alleged decline of solid learning, especially as your correspondent D. has intimated his intention of writing no more on the subject. I believe that both your correspondents are, to a certain extent, correct My assertion may seem somewhat paradoxical; nevertheless, such is my opinion. For instance, Mr, Mackintosh affirms that the reading public, but par- ticularly the working classes, are degenerating,— that their taste is corrupted,— that their minds are direct ed to wrong channels,— that nothing but the trashy periodicals of the day, such journals as Cleave's Gazette, the Odd Fellow, Satirist, & c, will suit their taste. Has your correspondent D. overturned this argument ? I am fully aware he has attempted to do it; and will also allow that his answer was in some respects convincing; but what of that ? Did he suc- ceed ? Let the public determine for themselves ; and we all know that public opinion is never far wrong. D. argues that, previous to the establishing of these journals, that portion who read them now were not readers. Be it so. Does that establish the fact laid down by Mr Mackintosh ? Now, Gentlemen, let us go to facts. There is, as is well known, in Halifax a Mechanics' Institution ( of which I am proud of being a member) containing some of the most valuable works and monthly peiio- dicals of the day, almost upon every subject. Now, for being a member of this library, it only costs the individual two shillings per quarter, or something less than two pence per week. Here is an abundance that every one may be satisfied with ; for if his appe- tite be of a voracious kind, he may get not less than three volumes and three periodicals per week, of the best works extant,— treating upon all subjects con- nected with the Arts and Sciences, History, Biography, & c., aud what is as good, if not much better, he may hear the ablest and most talented Lecturers of the day,— and all for less than two pence per week ! ! Were the public taste not corrupted,— were they not rivetted to, and engrossed with, the moonshine issues of the Saturday and Sunday penny a sheet newspapers, they would see their own folly, and at once cease to support such journals : nay, if they were in love with reading, reading something worthy of being read, and paying their penny where it would do good,— would they not join the Mechanics' Institution ? I tell D. that, if the above mentioned journals were to cease today, and never more make their appearance, and in conjunction with them all novels of a shadowy kind, their readers would not cease to read. They would go to other and better places, where they would find something more congenial, and where consience, that never- ceasing silent monitor within, would not accuse its possessor. I lately read, in a respectable weekly journal, a journal got up for the purpose of suppressing vice, immorality, and in- temperance, and for spreading morality and solid literature amongst its readers, the case of a young lady who took with her to bed at night a lighted candle, to read a book in bed before she went to sleep ; bat while reading in the silent midnight hour, her bed caught fire, and she was burned to death; and the editor adds, in all probability she was reading a novel. One more argument and I have done ; for my time is gone, and your space is limited. Suppose we leave the the smoky city and the jing- ling town, for the more pleasing rustic village; aud in this village let us suppose there to be. no library, no reading club, nor literary society of any kind. In this village there are twenty individuals who pur- chase, every week, every one his penny paper, of the above stamp. I ask these twenty individuals, I ask D. would it not be more profitable, more advantageous to themselves and the rising generation, if they would, with their twenty pence per week, in a short time, purchase some of our best standard works, such as a majority of them might think proper ; or if they were determined to have a weekly paper on literature, why not purchase Chambers's Edinburgh or Cham- bers's London Journal; nay, for the working classes in such a place, and with such circumscribed means, what would be more interesting or even profitable, ( for that is what we must look at now) than Chambers's Information for the People ? Hoping, Gentlemen, that your journal may con- tinue to be, what it already has proved itself to be, a journal open at all times for the expression and promulgation of public opinion, I remain, Gentlemen, Yours & c., PUyEMONSTRATOR. Hill, 8th Nov., 1842. He that refuseth to buy good counsel cheap, will generally buy repentance dear. DISCRETION.— Discretion is the sure sign of that presence of mind without which valour strikes un- timely and impotently. When ill news comes too late to be serviceable to your neighbour, keep it to yourself.— Zimmerman. A coachmaker, remarking the fashionable stages or carriages, said, " that a sociable was all the ton during the honey- moon, and a sulky after." Sensible acts of violence have an epidemic force ; they operate by sympathy : they possess the air, as it were, by certain tender influences, and spread the kin- dred passion through the whole community.— Grattan 4 THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. POETRY. ORIGINAL. A THOUGHT, Written on the summit of Skiddaw, in Cumberland. BY THOMAS CROSSLEY, AUTHOR OF " FLOWERS OF EBOR," & C. With weary step and ceaseless toil I've climb'd dark Skiddaw's airy brow; And look'd with wonder's wistful smile On meaner hills and mounts below. Ere I had reach'd this height sublime, Wrapt in a pure ethereal wreath, I thought not I should wish to climb Beyond those hills which crouch beneath. How like ambition's infant train. Who strive some little mount to rise; But see some loftier point to gain, Whose summit stretches to the skies. Their wishes crown'd,— on those below With scornful air their eye is cast; But each in turn, as 1 do now, Must to the vale descend at last 1 Ovenden, near Halifax. 1 Here, you bogtrotter," said a half- dandy soap- lock to an Irish labourer, " come tell me the biggest lie you ever told in' your life, and I'll treat you to whisky- punch." " An' by my sowl, yer honour's a gentleman," retorted Pat. Nature must be the groundwork of wit and art; otherwise, whatever is done will prove but jack- pudding's work.— Selden. A good man is the best friend, and, therefore, soonest to be chosen, longer to be retained ; and in- deed, never to be parted with, unless he cease to be that for which he was chosen. In any adversity that happens to us in the world, we ought to consider that misery and affliction are not less natural than snow and hail, storm and tem- pest ; and that it were as reasonable to hope for a year without winter, as for a life without trouble, . He that would make a real progress in knowledge, must dedicate his age as well as youth,— the latter growth as well as the first fruits, at the altar of truth. OUR SCRAP BOOK. " A thing of Shreds aud Patches." REASONS FOR HAVING A WIFE,— Have you means j She will keep and increase them. Have you none ? She will help you to get them. Are you in pros- perity ? She will double it. Are you in adversity ? She will comfort and direct you. Are you at home ? She will make you comfortable. Are you abroad ? She will wish and welcome your return. " The King will knight you," said Anson to Camp- bell, as they were proceeding to Court. " I ken nae use that will be to me," was the reply. " But your lady might light like it," said Anson. " Weel, then," rejoined Campbell, " his Majesty may knight her, if he pleases."— Memoirs of Keppel. 1 have no more pleasure in hearing a man attempt- ing wit, aad failing, than in seeing a man trying to leap over a ditch, and tumbling into it.— Johnson. A good schoolmaster minces his precepts for children to swallow; hanging clogs on the nimbleness of his own soul, that his scholars may go along with him — Fuller. There are few, very few, that will own themselves in a mistake, though all the world see them to be in downright nonsense.— Swift. If the prudence of reserve and decorum dictates silence in some circumstances ; in others prudence of a higher order may justify us in speaking our thoughts.— Burke. If it is dangerous to be convinced, it is dangerous to listen ; for our reason is so much of a machine, that it will not always be able to resist, when the ear is perpetually assailed.— Mackenzie. As benevolence is the most sociable of all virtues, so it is of the largest extent; for there is not any man either so great or so little but he is yet capable of giving and of receiving benefits.— Seneca. False happiness is like false money ; it passes, for a time, as well as the true, and serves some ordinary occasions; but when it is brought to the touch, we find the lightness and alloy, and feel the loss,— Pope THE EASIEST CURE FOR INTEMPERANCE.— A man addicted to habits of intoxication was suffering the usual miserable consequences, and, in a moment of repentance, said he would give anything to cure him- self. " It is as easy as to open thine hand," said Quaker. " Convince me of that," replied the in- eberiate, " and I will persevere in the experiment." " When thou takest the tempting glass into thine hand," replied the Friend, " before thou liftest the liquor to thy lips, open thy hand, and keep it open, and thou wilt be cured."— Boston Mercantile Journal. He that puts his trust and confidence in any learn- ing or doctrine besides God's word, not only falls into error, and loses the truth, but also, as much as lies in him, he robs God's book of his sufficient truth and verity, and ascribes it to the book of men's decrees which is as much to wrong God and his book as may be thought or done. DISTRESS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.— For no fault of theirs, the working classes are suffering the pain of hunger, with all the physical and moral evils which accompany it. God has provided for them corn, not in their own crowded country, but in others less densely populated. They have the ability to buy it, by their labour, if the law forbids not ; and the restoration of their natural right would invigorate every branch of British industry. Generously, there- fore, as becomes the disciple of Christ, let every Christian reader overcome all party spirit, silence each ignorant prejudice, and, trampling on the sug gestions of a short- sighted self- interest, labour, with every friend of his country, to effect that extension of our trade, which, while it improves the condition of the working classes, will open the prospect of un- bounded prosperity to the whole nation— Hon, and Qev. Baptist W. Noel, ADVERTISEMENTS. TO THE TRUSTEES UNDER THE IMPROVEMENT ACT TOR THE TOWNSHIP OF HALIFAX. GENTLEMEN,— As the resignation of Mr. MrcHAEL GARLICK, your present Clerk, has now placed that Office at your dis- posal, allow me most respectfully to announce to you that I am a Candidate for the situation he has so long occupied in connexion with you. Of my qualifications, you will no doubt form an opinion without any special reference on my part, and, perhaps, with more satisfaction to yourselves than a statement of my own might produce. Should you consider me worthy of your support, the favour of your Vote and Interest will be highly esteemed. If elected to the office, I shall endeavour to discharge its duties to the best of my ability. I am, Gentlemen, Your most obedient Servant, JOSEPH COCKIN HOATSON. West Hill, Halifax, Nov. 3,1842. A map does not exhibit a more distinct view of the boundaries and situation of every country, than its news does a picture of the genius and morals of its inhabitants.— Goldsmith. The difference between a rich man and a poor man is this,— the former eats when he' pleases, and the latter when he can get it.— Sir W. Raleigh. A SCENE ON THE SHORE OF GENOA.— Immediately under, a group of nine boys, all clothed in Murillo- tinted rags, and varying in age from about twelve to five, had congregated themselves upon a heap of sand and pebbles, and during the space of two hours that I remained either at or near the window, they never changed their position— all cf them lying on their stomachs or their sides, basking in the sun, with their heads towards one common centre, j never witnessed a spectacle of such utterly listless idlenesss. Their only amusement was the picking out little pebbles, and flinging them at one another> but so tranquilly, that no quarrelling or noisy effect of any kind was the result. Most certainly—" in their warm cheeks the sultry season glowed ;" but could this alone cause the perfect stillness of a group, all whom were of a sex and age that I had ever seen elsewhere appearing to detest stillness more than even painful fatigue ? Other causes must, I think, have something to do with it. They one and all looked in perfect health, and I could only suppose that habitual idleness had taught them to be content with this half- dead condition. Poor little fellows ! Several of them were superbly handsome, with curly locks, and eyes as black as sloes. I would have given something to have seen them all busily at school.— Mrs. Trollope's Visit to Italy. A DAY IN AN OCEAN STEAMER —- A description of one day will serve for all the rest. Here it is. The captain being gone, we compose ourselves to read, if the place be light enough : and if not, we doze and talk alternately. At one a bell rings, and the steward- ess comes down with a steaming dish of baked pota- toes, and another of roasted apples : and plates of pig's face, cold ham, salt beef; or perhaps a smoking mess of rare hot collops. We fall to upon these dainties ; eat as much as we can ( we have great ap- petites now) ; and are as long as possible about it. If the fire will burn ( it will sometimes) we are pretty cheerful. If it won't, we all remark to each other that it's very cold, rub our hands, cover ourselves with coats and cloaks, and lie down again to doze, talk, and read ( provided as aforesaid) until dinner- time. At five, another bell rings, and the stewardess reappears wikli another dish of potatoes— boiled, this time— and store of hot meat of various kinds; not forgetting the roast pigto be taken medicinally. We sit down at table again ( rather more cheerfully than before;) prolong the meal with a rather mouldy dessert of apples, grapes and oranges; and drink our wine and brandy and water. The bottles and glasses are still upou the table, and the oranges and so forth are rolling about according to their fancy and the ship's way, when the doctor comes down, by special nightly invitation, to join our evening supper : im- mediately on whose arrival we make a party at whist, and as it is a rough night and the cards will not lie on the cloth, we put the tricks ia our pockets as we take them. At whist we remain with exemplary gravity ( deducting a short time for tea and toast) until eleven o'clock, or thereabouts; when the captain comes down again, in a sou' wester hat tied under his chin, and a pilot- coat, maki » g the ground wet where he stands. By this time the card- playing is over, and the bottles and glasses are again on the table ; and after an hour's pleasant conversation about the ship, the passengers, and things in general, the captain ( who never goes to bed, and is never out of humour) turns up his coat- collar for the decli again; shakes hands all round ; and goes laughing out into the weather as merrily as to a birthday party. — Dickens's American Notes. HALrFAx MEcHANrcs' iNSTrTUTioN.— The Members and Friends of this Institution are respectfully informed that a Lecture on the RECENT CENSUS and the VtTAL STATrsTtcs of Halifax and Skircoat, will be delivered in the Old Assembly Room, on Tuesday Evening, the 22nd. Nov. 1842, by W « . ALEXANDER, M. D., President of the Institution. The Lecture to commence at Eight o'clock. Members admitted on showing their Tickets, and Non- Subscribers on payment of Sixpence. Ladies' Tickets, admitting them to all the Lectures for the Year, Four Shillings each. OUR CHATTER BOX. " Vocalis" has reached us, and we would insert his letter, if we thought it would do any good ; but he had better write one of a more general character- Such remarks as those to which he refers,— viz. the paragraph, in the last Guardian, relating to Mr. Ostreicher's musical classes, may well be passed over with silent contempt. We know something of the nasty spirit of spleen and disappointment which caused the insertion of that paragraph ; and may say more, anon, if need be. " Lines to England," as revised, are accepted. The lines " To an Old Maid," imitated from Horace, will scarcely suit us. We do not so much dislike the verses, as the topic, and tbe mode of treating it. Under the title of " A new way of paying debts," we have received a letter signed " one who hates ingratitude;" and relating a story of a person who had offered a reward for the restoration of a Jost- dpg; and then threatened to have the restorer before the magistrates, on a charge of stealing the animal ; thus getting rid of bis claim to the reward. Supposing the story to be true, and our anonymous correspond- ent gives us no guarantee for its truth, we do not see of what interest or utility it would be to the public. C. W. has our thanks for his budget of paragraphs for " our scrap book." Contentment without the world is better than the world without contentment. What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence. Affliction teacheth a wicked person sometimes to pray; prosperity never. Carefully avoid those vices which most resemble virtue, they are the most dangerous of all vices. No one in his heart derides religion long. What are we— any of us ? Religion will soon be our only care and friend. Pride is seldom delicate— it will please itself with very mean advantages; and envy feels not its own happiness, but when it may be compared with the misery of others. To endeavour to gain the perfect happiness pro- mised in the next world, is the surest way to gain the greatest happiness this present world can bestow. The man who threatens the world is always ridi- culous ; for the world can easily go on without him, and, in a short time, will cease to miss him.— Johnson . Music is an innocent and exhiliarating amusement, suited, by the universality of its nature, to all grades and positions of society. It enhances the enjoyment of the countless luxuries which surround the wealthy, — it throws a friendly veil of enchantment over the as countless miseries and privations which crowd around the path of the indigent ; it lends a brighter lustre to the glrncing eye of happiness,— it lulls the throbbing heart of sorrow ; it heightens the delicacy of all that is refined,—- it raises that which was coarse and vulgar to the elegance of good taste ; it may be either the most valued and precious treasure amid the uncounted stores, tbe " exceeding many flocks and herds " of the rich man, or the one ewe lamb which has lain in the poor man's bosom, and grown up with his children, the comfort and sole ornament of his dwelling.— Maimer's Musical Times. HALIFAX -.— Printed and Sold, for the Propretors, at the General Printing Office of H. Martin, Upper George Yard.