The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-12-11 00:00:00

CORPOILXVIOic -P-L4.TRONAGE.

AT the reeking of the Liverpool Town (Contill, on
Wednesday, n'-':ffisous'sion Welaleh may be charaett.ised
as something'mOre than animated, took place Ton the
presenttion'of the report of the Dock 'Committee, an
attempt being made to exercise a presumed :Right of
veto on an appointment %connected with the Albert
Dock Warihouses. It was alleged that a aerk had
been promoted to a marc'responsible c.iffice:because he
was a nephew of one of the members •0f :le Dock
Committee; and an evorreous amount of -...filituous in-
dignation was expendeddo denouncing suah an iniqui-
tous abuse of represerfttive powers. Supposing the
accusation to have been-'founded upon !any proportion
of trail,- there is not Eng very surprising- nor very
heirteuiin: a man preferring his khcsmante a stranger,
even supposing thattoan impartial observer the latter
had Slightly the preponderance as faraecqualifications
were tencerned. lEn this case; however;;A was shown
that the members ,alhe sub-committee,, with whom
resiedlthe selectionovere not awareofihe relationship
antil ifter their 'icheice had been -made, so that it
coulethave had neinfluence whatever on ,heir decision,
in Which they weresiilely influenced by the compara-
tive-merits of the caniTadates, and had`,:aerefore, made
fitness for office the Sole claim to preference. It might
havd,laeen thouglrfthat such an explamaon would have
been: deemed hietly-safisfactory,:andthat all complaints
would consequentlYihave been set -attrest. By Itadi-
6zelsowever, a!grievance is too highly prized to be
rightly given up. iit serves for something upon which
telornd magniloquevt professions-, of purity, if tor,
nothing else ; though,every one must be aware of the.
hdlowness ofsnehretensions ; andoaccordingly, foiled
en the only grauniLliiiich couldgive a colour of plau-
sibility to the charge; he •CouneThwas called upon to
exercise a questionable and at the =best an invidious
right4ef veto on itite•Artroceedinge,df the Dock Com-'
naittee, because thelutter. had deemed it right to pass
oven a senior clerk and promote {nitre capable man
wfholoppened to he .this junior iarithe service of the
Corporation. The avasall the argument upon which
theleharge was esentuaßy based;: and what is it worth,
• coming, as it did, from rprofessingi Reformers ? The
gravest charge made:against the Government for their
malladrsinistration of tthe affairs,of the war, was their
stoli&ddberence to theYroatine of: seniority, and their
totalaiogieet of the eininas. of merit. More than half
the sadrerings of our ,gdllant. soldiers in the Crimea
werecauced by responsible duties, being entrusted to
men ~wilo.had no other ,eaftims than their advanced ages
sok the ,Tiublie loudly demanded. the :banishment of
General 31outine from aeti,vc•service; in order that we
might, have the advantage ofa'. Genertkpossessing the
,letter claims to confidence ,of physical energy and
:tvilitary smius. Yet these Reformers in our local
vaVairs woad. cast a stigma ion the ;gentlemen coin-
in.g, the flack Committee., bring- two important
loodies into qinseemly :for !prating simply
'that, courge‘w%ich every one inSists ,uponf tolbe the only •
Aright , one. ;Fortunately, howexer, ifor :the credit of
the oeouneil, the dissatisfied todk nothing by their
muotif4,,whieh WAS rejected by a large majority.