The National Register. — London, England, 1816-09-16 00:00:00

SEPTEMBER la POLICE REPOltn • Mr. MAY, Vestry Clerk ttialmal-green, examined. Live you brought with you the rates ?—I have. is whose custody are those rates kept ?—ln the library of the church, when out of hand. You make the rate? —Yee, or my clerk. Turn to the rate of 1597.—( Witness produces the books.) After the rates arc allowed by the Magistrates, have any al terations taken place?—'lt appears there has e. By whom ?—Some by me ; when an error Iraq crept in, I have put them to rights; or when any other persons have come into the houses, the Collectors have altered them. Is it the practice in your parish for the rites, when signed by the Magistrates, not to be considered as final?—Nu person ought to alter the sum after it hits been signed by the Magis trates, unless it was a clerical error. By whom have those alterations been made, besides the Veg. try Clerk and the Collector ?—Thes e appears to have been a rate altered in the case of J. Johnson, rated at 241. paid 71. lOs. altered to 401. By whom was that altered?—it appears to me, but I am a bad judge ef writing, to be that ot'J. Nerceron, Esq. There appears to be an alteration of the rate of G. Titkins, from tel. to LSI in whose writim; is that ? —The same. There appears to he a similar alteration in the names of J. Marshal and J. Robinson; in whose writing do those alterations appear to be ? In the same. Whose handwriting is thot?—Jos. Merceron's, Esq. Can you had the name of Charlotte Cowdry?—(Witness cc /wee/10 44 entry, by which it appeared that she was ruled at 401. paid 71. 10s. and changed into OW. paid 111. 55.) In whose hand-writing is that?—lt appears to me to be that of Joseph Merceron's. Esq Was not that alteration made after the rate was allowed by the Magistrates?—Np doubt of it. Inform the Committee whether there are not a great number of instaimes in which an alteration has taken place in the same hand-wr:tinz?—l see seven or eight. Look at the book again, stud say whether there are not nearer eighty or ninety?-1 cannot say, indeed. Turn to Edward Hartley?--That is altered. Is that altered by Joseph Merceron, Esq. ?—lt is. Turn to Ed card Hughes, is that altered by Mr. Merceron ? —Yes, there is no doubt of that. Have you any doubt that the band-writing of the alteration, in the case of Edward Hughes, is Mr. Merceron's?—No. You would swear to that if you were upon your oath ?—Cer tainly ; I could not do otherwise. Do you recollect the case of W. Blessed, and the history of that transaction?—l have no recollection of any particular cir cumstances of Mr. Blessed, respecting any alteration in the book. 1)o you not remember he appealed against his rate?—Against a rate, but not that rate. Do you not remember that he sustained considerable perse eutiou on the part of Mr. Merceron, for that appeal ; and that for the payment of the rate Bailiffs were put into his house, and he expended a considerable sum in defending himself against it?—To the best of my belief that was not upon an altered rate ; I sued him for payment of his rates, but to the best of my knowledge that was not an altered rate. Do you re.iienacr the case of Charlotte Cowdry, who was raised by a stroke of Mr. Merceron's pen, from 401. paying 71. 10s. to 601. paying 111. 55.; elo you remember whether she was its a di•tressed situation ?—I believe she was very distressed. Do you recollect whether she was obliged to quit the parish almost in the situation of a pauper?—l am sorry to say she was. Can you give to the Committee any reasnu why, according to your jud ment, the rise from 401. to 001. took place?—No, 1 cannot, nor did not. know it till after it took place. There cannot be a doubt as to its illegality?—:!'here canuot be a doubt of it. Since lan, has Mr. Merceron been in the habit of altering the rates—There are souse altered in ISMS. Are there any altered in 18J9?-1 have never looked. Have you ever been instructed by Mr. Mercerise to alter the rate yourself?— ever ; I slmeld not have done it unless it had been a clerical error committed by myseef or my clerks. Have you ever seen him alter the rate?—No ; never. Do you not believe, that in the altering of the rate, Mr. Mer eeron served his friends, and punished his enemies ?—I am sure that I cannot speak to that. have you any doubt that Miss Cowdry stood in the latter predicament when she was raised ?-1 never hail. What was Mr. Merceron's own house rated at, at the time Miss Cowdry's house was raised ?—Thirty pounds in the year 1 SO7. Was Mr. Merceron's house a better house, or as good a house as Miss Cowdry's?—Not the house be then lived in ; the house he now lives in is much Letter. Do you recollect at what his house is at present rated?— It is either .501. or WI. but I cannot speak positively; it is the same rate that his predecessor paid. Turn to Blessed's case in 1807. Mr. Blessed'e rate stand: at 1111. it is altered to 351. In whose hand-writing is that i—lt appears to me to. be Mr. Merceron's. Was it cm this Mr. Blessed appealed?--I believe nat. Was it upon this he went into Court?—Probably it was. Upon that occasion, why's the book was handed up to the .Liry, vsa.s not the leaf turned down, so as to conceal the altera t dot's appear so. Did you tern down that leaf yourself, and if so, by whose di m:6oo-1 never had a direction to turn that leaf down. Can you speak as to the object of this leaf being turned down?—Nu, I canna: ; I think it was when Mr. Liptrap and sae Rev. Mr. King svvre at my office that I turned down ta?se leaves. Were you in Coart when the book was han,led up to the Judge?-1 think it was never handed to the Judge. Did that come out in evidence, which now appears in the book, that Mr. Mercerise, had, after the rate Was signed by the Magistrates, ihathleil it No. Yon have stated, that you believe in that shook there are about seven or eight alterations made in the rates—There arc a great ninny more. You have stated, as far as you have looked over the book, yen have observed seven or eight alterations made by Mr. Jus • nee Mercerise. It appears, having turned over a very few Laves of the book, that there are 20 alterations in the same hand-moping, dues it not ? Refer to those names, and tell the Committee by alums those alterations were made; Mary Allen, in page 17?—The altera lion is from 301. to 491. ; it appears by Mr. Merceron. In folio 19, William Hillary; by ss bout is that alteration made ? It appeal.% to be Mr. Merceron's. In folio 20, Miller; by whom is that alteration made in the rate ?—I have no doubt that that is made by the Collector. In 24, B. Burrows; by whom is that made from 241. to 301.1 1 -It appears to be Mr. 3ierceron's. In 25, J. Meakinss by wl is hat made from :O. to 241.? —That maws to be the 3&14.. THE NATIONAL nEGISTER. In 26, S. Alyera; by whom is that mad,• •-- •tame. In 29, J. flow.liam by whom is that made?—The same. In 32, J. Sinsiuomill ; by whom is that made?—The same. In 33, T. Hammond? —I cannot speak to that. In 31, J. Young. from 181. ro 241.?--Mr. Merceron. The same page, T. Mears? —By the same. In 3.5, J. Johnson? —The same. The same page, J. Marshall, from 161. to 181?—The same. And J. Itohinson, in the same page ?—The same. In 36,A. Oartic, by whom is that a lt ere d?—Th e s ame. Turn over the leaves, and see If there are not many other al teration; by the same person great many. And these alterations have been all made by Mr. Merceron, after the rate had been allowed by the Magistrates?,—Yes, they were. Are there any alterations male by Mr. Merceron, reducing the amount of the original rate ?—I do not know. The Committee observe, that D. Daniel's rate has been alter ed from 151. to 601. and subsequently altered to 551. by whom is that subsequent alteration made ?-3lr. Merceron. Was that alteration made upon appeal ?—I cannot sneak to that ; in general they are in my hand-writing, or the Collector's, when they are upon appeals. But as this is in Mr. Merceron's hand, you believe it to be not upon appeal?—l believe it may have been, notwithstand ing that, on an appeal; when I have been busy Mr. M. has taken the book, and put it at what the rate ought to be. Can you inform the Committee what the total of the several alterations made by Mr. Merceron in the rate.after it was al lowed by the Magistrates, amounted to, in the year 1807 ? I certainly cannot. It appears that Mr. Merceton began altering the rates in 1805; how long has he continued to alter the rates?-1 cannot tell any more than appears by the books; I have looked into the pears 1806, 1807 and 1808. It appears that alterations have been made in the years 1805, 1806, ISO?, 1808, and 1809?-1 do not know they have in 1800. From your situation, being conversant with these books, can you, from recollection, say whether any alterations have been lately made by Mr. Merceron?—Not to my knowledge, any one. It appears by a list of between 110 and 70 hooves produced to the Committee, and stated to be rented by Mr. Merceron up to the year 1807, that the houses were rated together at 961. 9s. t4l. and that upon Mr. Mitchell's becoming tenant of those houses, in the year 1808, the rate was increased to .2271. Os. 7d. being an advance of 1311.; can you state the r•ason of that advance?—No, I do not know of any such advance; 1 know that when Mr. Mitchell came into possession of the pre mises, they were let at a very small rate, and shortly after I have invariably understood that he raised the rents double, and some more. Mr. Mitchell raised the rents?--Yes. I have heard many persons say, that before Mr. Mitchell came into possession of the premises, they paid only 81. a year, and that Mr. Mitchell had raised them to 161. 171. and 181. Are you acquainted with two houses in Acre-street, rented in the year 1807, of Mr. Merceron, one occupied by R. Davis, and the other by R. Pullen, the rates of which appear to have continued the same in 1808 as in 1807; can you give any rea son why. zhe rates of those two houses were not advanced at the same time that the other 60 were?—No; I cannot speak to those houses at all; I have less knowledge about that part of the parish than any other. It is very frequently the case that two houses appear to the eye on the outside, to be of the same size, and when you go up stairs you find that one shop runs over the two houses, which house, to which the shop be longs, would let for twice as much, and sometimes three times, on account of the length of the shop. The Committee ask you with respeet to two houses, out of 60 or 70, stated to belong to Mr. Merceron, the rates of which were not altered when the rates of all the others were more than doubled?-1 cannot account for it. Turn to folio St in the book in your hand, you will find the name of Norman alias Whitehead, rated at 91. has any altera tion been made in that rate after it was allow d by the Magi%- trates, and by whom?—it appears to me by the Collector, but 1 cannot speak to that, those are not collected on; tlio.e al terations are merely memorandums to go into the nest hook, it tines not appear that any of them have been collected on. Those alterations you state, are not made by Mr. Merceron % —Most certainly not. That alteration was made after it was allowed by the Magis tratesi—l cannot say when; it appears to be a memorandum to put into the neat rate, as it has not been collected on; the haloes were not Mr. Mercerun's. Not in 1807?—Nor now; I think they belonged to the Rev. Mr. Natt, or 11. Bushy Esq. They are stated to belong to Mr. Nati, but rented by Mr. Mercerunt—l do not believe they ever were rented by lain; Mr. Merceron collected the rents of them, but be had no in terest in the houses. Mr. Merceron was the agent for the estate ?—He was. And as such he had interest for his employer iu keeping the rate down?—The same as every other agent. Then the moment the rents of the houses ceased to be col lected by Mr. Merceron, the rate is raised from 9til. to 2271% —I cannot speak at all to that: That appears from the book, does it not?—When the bruises were parted with, they were sold by auction; and when Mr. Mitchell came into the possession of them, I have understood that he more than doubled his rents, unit if he did, it was a natural thing to put him up in the payment of the taxes. Have you any later rate here than l'inB?—Su ; I have not. Are all the houses in the parish rated according to their weft value ?—As far as that could be ascertained ; our rate states, it is according to the full rent or value thereof ; hut if a house is let at 271. or 2SI. and others have been rated at 251. I have considered the 251. as a proper rate, and 1 have not put them op. Do you know whether there is in the rates, after the year 1919, any further. alterations of namis in the hand writing of Mr. Mercerini?—Not to my knowledge. Is it part of your duty to be present at any of the meetings of the Vestry I—A ',ways. Have these Mectiogs latterly been very tumultuous ? Certainly. Has it been the practice to :Minium the Meetings of the Vestry from the Churel, to the ('lurch-yard?—\o. Has that ever happened?—We [Lave adjourned to the por tico of the Church. So that you had in front of you the public that chose to a. , semble?—No; the Vestry-men took care to keep away those that were not Vestry-men; auJ they could be anuelt better discerned there than in the Vestry-room. Of course, they could aot keep those that were not Vestry men from Milig lookers-on, some few yards ott?—Cotainly ; all who were in the Clint - clay ard were looker'-on. Why was the Meeting adjournedi.— Because the Vestry-room was not large enough to hold half that attended. Have you ever seen Mr. Merecron wave his hat and give times cbccrs, for bating gained any objeet?—Never. t. 45 Will yon take upon yonrself to say that that has never hap. pened?—Never in my presence. Have you ever witnessed bullock-hunting, and that riotous assemblage of persons in the neighbourhood of the Church and Churchyard, which have been detailed before this Committee? Oh yes; many times; the most disgraceful thing in the coun try; I have often ofli•red to tarn out as a volunteer to prevent it. On Monday and Friday we have a bullock or poor cow hunted; the butchers round Hackney and Bethnal-green have paid the Police.ollicers fur having brought their bullocks home safe; and as soon as that pay ceased, their attention ceased. Have you ever seen in the neighbourhood of the Church, or Church-yard, duck-hunting and dog-fighting?—There is scarce. ly a Sunday that there is not. Do you know whether any complaints have been made on this subject to Mr. Merceron, or to the Bencb?—l understand many have been made to the Police-office. How near does Mr. Merceron live to the place where thee• assemblages take place ?—About a quarter of a mile ; it inclose to the Church and Church-yard; the congregation must Le frequently disturbed by it, and it is dangerous to persons to come. Do you not suppose it is the duty 6f the constables of the parish to put a stop to such • meeting?—l have used every influence in my power, and I believe, for the last five or six months, it has been lessened somewhat. Being Clerk to the Trustees, as well as Vestry Clerk, I have intreated the Trus. tees to double our number of Headborosighs; we have now 28 instead of 14, in order to have peace officers in the parish, that they have done for three years, hut they can do nothing* one Police-officer will do more titan all our 28 Headboroughi. Do the Police-officers never interfere?—l have not seen them more than once these three years. By whom is the High Constable appointed the Mag ls• trates of the Tower Hamlets District. Are the officers in the interest of Mr. Merceron I—They are not; that in great part lies with me; and I can assure the Com mittee, that our 2ii Headhoroughs are the most respectable men that arc in the Tower Hamlets. The question relates to the parish-officers, are they taker by rotation through the parish, or indiscriminately P—Every one that has served three years, goes on the first regularly ; Mr. Merceron has no more to do with it than any other person; it is my duty to put on every one that is ripe, as they call it ; lie goes on the list which I return. The Overseers are ap pointed under an Act of Parliament. What is the number of the pour now in the house ?-639. What is the allowance paid by the parish for each of the in-door poor?—They have 241. in a shilling on their earnings ;. the out-door poor are maintained according to their families ; same have 3s. some have 4s. sonic 2s. some Is. What should you reckon the cost per head of the in-door poor?—I have understood from ss. 2d. to ss. 4d. VACCINATION.-.—A Society for Vaccination, similar to that of London, has been formed in Jamaica, and main tains relations with the Mother-Society. The Small-pox has yielded to the efforts of Vaccination at the Cape of Good Hope ; so that that frightful malady is no longer known there. This happy result is ascribed to the insu lated state of the colony. At Ceylon, where the Small pox used to make horrible ravages, that disorder is lime extremely rare. In Denmark - and Sweden Vaccinatio is in fitll vigour, and the Small-pox no longer dreaded. The Committee established at Berlin has been very sue. cessful in its labours, and since its foundation has vacci nated 19,841 persons. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.—On Monday Morning at six o'clock, a mare belonging to Mr. Davison, of Charing Cross, and rode by a Mr. Hine, who is about eight stone, started from the one-mile-stone near the Asylum; to go 20 miles in one hour, for a considerable wager. The road selected was through Croydon, and from thence to Rei gate. Unfortunately, however, the poor animal, to the great out deserved discomfiture of those who support.. ed her in such an extraordinary task, broke down (as tea.. nically termed) near Croydon, at the nine-mile-stozw, having performed that distance in '26 minutes. The rider f ~ ding that neither whip nor spur would prevail, alight ed from her, and she almost instantly fell, but v..as short ly afterwards able to come home. The stone mare yer formed 17 miles within the hour on Sunbury-comtuon La Friday se'nnight. BREAKING into GOAL—A girl, belonging to the pa rish of Selling, Kent, having been sent to St. Augustine's goal, for misconduct, her sailor, a journeyman tailor; c,f the saute parish, actually contrived on the 31st of Aug. to make his way into the prison, after his Etir inamarc:a. Love, as well ;-..; hanger, will break through stone walls. A few ila)s ago, a man at' middle size, dark hair, and sallow complexion, pi ai:ikctl the follow Mg hoax:-1e went to a settee! a short distance from town, enquired the terms, and asked .. reference to ;:ny person whose child was there. The maste r gave him a card, writing the reference on the bark ; he went to the place, and asked cur the parents, .a} in;: he hrd came fluid Mr. —; w hen the mother of the he told Inert shy was desired to go immediately, her sou hying taken ill. This, as it appeared afterwards, was to create alarm : the cruelty of harrowing up the feelings of parents in this manlier, cannot be described. On the mothers :;rival at the school, to her agree able surprise, she fauna her sun in perfect health. Mr. recollected haying given a card with ceference on Mond..y last ; for Use the first time, she suspected it must have been to rob the house. On reaching holm, it appeared that all be load been able to take was a large mother o'pearl soon' ho,. from the chimney piece. Mr. James Tuck, landlord of the Bald PayPd Stag, on En field Chace Side, who stands charged 00 suspicion of the roar. der ot - 11.'. Draper, was removed on Fridas morning in a hack ney couch, azemnpanied by two officer:, from the infirmary in the House of Correction to Newgate for trial, winch will take place on Friday •text. The Sessions commence on Wednesday. The prisoners for trial, it is said, amount to near 400. A soldier of the 1 , 4 Guards, while in a state of intoxication, lost his Waterloo medal ; hearing there was one uttered ti,r sale at Mr. Solomon's, a Jew ■ilversnmith, in New-sseret, Co.• -vent Garden, lie went there several times to see if it was his, bat receiving evasive answers, Mr.Soloman was suounoned bet .fire the Police Magistrates in Qat:mutual e, when the truth came ant from the shopinan, Waterloo medal to dispose of, but were in the l:abit of getting' o e rn made, and that the one offered by them for sale Yits et dm:4 by au niicer si dragoons, and ni•.ci J tut ml