The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-06 00:00:00

THE TOWN'S 'SIEETING, YESTERDAY.

LIVERPOOL has risen, within a comparatively
brief period; from the dimensions, of a„.tisbing
Village to be a place of importance, second only
to LondOn—the metropolis of the world: - The
rapidity with which Liverpool has, increased in
population is without a parallel. It is as indis-
putable as it is remarkable that it has quintupled
the number of its inhabitants within half a cen-
tury ! The original character of the little nucleus
from which the town latterly extended in every
direction was that of a miserable jumble of narrow
and inconvenient streets, lined by dull and heavy
looking houses: The haste with which new
streets were subsequently laid out, and requisite
accommodation •was provided for its sudden
development of commerce and trade, is a well
known fact. The teeming thousands so speedily
attracted to the port by the prospect of employ-
ment, and of profitable merchandise, gave no time
for the conception or digestion of an economical
and uniform plan for effecting the extension of
the borough. The people who flocked in such
crowds to this spot, on the east bank of the
Mersey, required to- be housed immediately ; and
those who planned and built in those- days seem
to have acted, not conjunction with each
other, or on the basis of any general plan of
operations, but each man only "as seemed right
in his own eyes." The Liverpool builders
of a former generation, eager to meet the con-
tinually growing demand for accommodation of
all kinds, with the least possible delay, seem to
have entertained small regard either for the
quality of their work, for its architectural
character,' or for the subsequent convenience of a
greatly-extended town and seaport. This has
been more or less the history of every large town,
but, in the case of Liverpool, it has found a more
than usually striking illustration, owing to the
general fact we have already alluded to—its
unusually bad beginning and unprecedentedly
rapid enlargement. The evils arising from such
an ',ill .regulated accumulation—we might say
conglomeration—of streets and buildings, of. all
sizes and shapes, except those we now desiderate,
soon become manifest. The streets are too con-
fined for a great traffic ; the dwellings remain
imperfectly ventilated ; sewerage and other sani-
tary requisites are impeded ; and all sorts of im-
provements, the benefits of which . might have
been secured, by anticipation, at little cost, become
so difficult .to effect that every makeshift is had
resort to, from time to time, until the evils com-
plained of reach a climax and work their
own cure. The lapse of time thus not onty
aggravates the orginal mischief, but renders
its effectual remedy so much the more ex-
pensive, and of course, correspondingly irksome,
to those who have to hear the cost. The
conclusion is very manifest, hoWeVer, and' it
especially deserves the serious consideration of
the burgesses and ratepayers of Liverpool, that
the, longer certain desirable improvements are
deferred, the charge for effecting them—as they
must beat some subsequent
_period—will un-
doubtedly,bear so much the more heavily npon
them or their representatives. So that whatever
opposition may be offered by selfish and narrow-
minded people, who may think that the present
unimproved state of things will serve their day—
and there will always be found some such human
oysters—it is unquestionably the dutyr,' and fOr
the interest of Dicky Sam, junior, to welconie
and promote ally safe and well-matured plan for
the gradual improvement of the borough.
Much has already been done in Liverpool to
repair the errors of the past. Of public building§
we can boast some that will bear a favourable
comparison with the finest architectural efforts
even of metropolitan cities. Private enterprise,
especially of late years, has also been most judi-
ciously and tastefully applied in the erection of
magnificent piles,of masonry,--which -are not

unworthy of a town that boasts of its merchant
princes. Even under-ground, beneath the feet
and beyond the vision of the sight-seeker, most
valuable sanitary improvements have, quite
recently, been executed in Liverpool at an
enormous cost. In this unostentatious way
alone, the town has expended the princely
sum of upwards of three millions sterling !
There is still, however, a vast amount of work
to be done and money to be spent before
Liverpool, above and below ground, is brought
into a condition commensurate with the grandeur
of her position, the value of her commercial
resources, or the number and wealth of her
inhabitants. The spirit of improvement is now
stirring up our population to make some adequate
effort towards the further beautification and
substantial improvement of the town ; and a
comprehensive scheme of public improvements, as
we have often had occasion to notice, now engages
the attention of the magistrates, the town council.
and their constituents.

Yesterday a public meeting of the burgesses
snd ratepayers of the Borough, convened, on
requisition, by His Worship the Mayor, was held
for the purpose of adopting proceeding's relative
to the proposed corporate offices in Dale-street,
ind to the scheme of public improveinents in the
Borough. The virtual deliverance of thatmeet-
ing was that all the proposed improvements
onght to be indefinitely poStponed. The value
and importance to be attached to the verdict of
any public meeting depends patkely on the
character of its originators, the parties coniposing
it, and the tenor of its deliberations.. A so-called
Tong's meeting may have negative as - well as
positive qualitice. For instance, every one will
admit that a meeting ealied cri a barely sufficient
requisition, attended by none of the greater
lights of the community, and in its discussions
marked by a great want of proper and enlight-
:ne.d feeling on the part of the majority then
tssembled, is not an assembly whose decision can
')e looked upon as that of the general body of the
inhabitants. Qty these important points we
state only facts, when we say, that the requisi-
tionists were so insignificant in number that,
although His Worship the Mayor might not 7
is the circumstances, have felt justified in dis-
regarding it altogether, the originators of the
movement, ac far as numbers go, cannot be said
to constitute a perceptible portion' of the con-
stitliencies ; that the weagre attendance, at the
mseeting of yesterday, was characterised chiefly
by the marked absence of most of those *gentle-

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, JUNE 4.
(Sittings in Banco, Trinity Term, before Lord Chiei
Justice Erie and Justices Williams and Byles.)

MERSEY DOCKS AND HARBOUR BOARD v. JONES AND

OTHERS

This was a special case, arising out of an action of
replevin, to try the question of the liability of the
Birkenhead Docks to pay poor-rates. A rate was made
and levied by tile defendants as overseers, 444 the
plaintiffs replevied. The importana Of the question in
dispute was shown by the fact that the sum claimed from
the plaintiffs for their contribution to the particular indi-
vidual rate now in question was no less than £20,580.
Sir Fitzroy Kelly (with whom was Mr. Quain)
appeared and argued the case for the plaintiffs; and
Mr. Boyill (with whom was Mr. Mellish) for the
defendants.

The plaintiffs contended that the docks in question
were used for public purposes, and that the plaintiffs
had no beneficial occupation, and that on those grounds
they were not rateable. The defendants contended that
the rateability of docks, the tolls or dues arising from
which were applicable--,fixst, to keeping them in repair,
and afterwards, for general public pnrposes, in precisely
the same manner as these docks, had been decided to be
rateable .by the Court of Queen's Bench, and that the
whole public were not benefited by the docks, but only
a class of the public, and that this was such a bene-
ficial interest as rendered them rateable. A great
number of cases were referred to in support of the
respective arguments. The argument was adjourned
tntil to-morrow.

Ju:sa 5.
On the openifig of the case to-day, the court, without
' hearing Sir F. Kelly in reply, said that the principal
question, apart from certain authorities, was whether
these docks were used for public purposes. Mr. Bovill
said because only that portion of the public-who
invested their capital in ships used them ; but the same
might be said of a highway for carriages for it was
only that portion of the public which invested capital in
horses 414 carriages that used it. In the one case, like
the ()flier, all persons had the right of use • and if a great
public harbour like this were to be rated they did not
know how it could be said that the owner of the soil of
a highway was not liable to be 'rated, for the benefit which
the public received. It was said the distinction was this
—that the frequenters of this great public harbour paid
dUes for using it ; but this was analogous to the case of a
turnpike road which the public paid for the use of. It
had been long ago decided that the soil of a turnpike-
road was nut rateable, on the ground that it was
devoted. to the public use, and they could not see the
difference between that and a public harbour, which
any inf;.n might enter with his ship. Upon this ground
they were bound to say that the case of "King v. the
Liverpool Docks, " was rightly decided; but at the
same time their judgment must be based upon the
ground of the incompetence of this court to review
6.
solemn decisions of the Queen's Bench with all the ir
Parliamenteumstances before their, „theesepeecciaealelsy
aass
laswev,eirna this lAas of
par-
ticular instance at all events.
Judgment fqr the plaintiff. s.