The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-12-07 00:00:00

WALLASEY COMM&ibARS.

The usual weekly meeting of the Wallasey COnirnii
sioners was held last eYening, in the Board-room. of. the'
Public-offices, Wallasey. The chair was occupied by
144. •reolpy; and the other members present were
Messrs. Byerleyi Holmes, Caine; 'Hughes; Hill, Maude,
Hosaek, Isaac; Harrison, Marshall, and Boyd.
the rubtibn of Mt. Nughes, seconded by Mr. Hill,
the proceed-106'ot the Works and. health Committee
were cimUrined.
The minutes of the GO and:Water Committee having

been'read,
Mr.•• HILL; in moving their confirmation, made
some remarks upon the satisfactory state of the works.
The number o consumers amount to 420'. The
testing of the supply of, water in the well had, it
appeared, been temporarily stopped for more informa-
tion; but now, by general assent,•the test was in course
of being applied.
Mr. • Horsars seconded the confirmation of the minutes.
111 r. HuoirEs inquired what progress had been made
witty the well, and 'considered the conduct of the engi- -
neer arid contractor blameable.
The ON'ArirMA,N who had-formerly attached blame to
the conduct of the gentlemen censured by the previous
speeches, now stated that the works were proceeding
satisfactorily. The level of the water in the well was
twenty feet abeese the level -of the water in the float.
, The-proceedings were confirmed.
THE rt.p.fret column my.
The' minutes of the proceedings Of the Ferry Com-
mittee were read. ' It appeared that at the meeting held
on the 30th ult., Mr. Caine had reported the result of
the negotiations with Mr. Penny, on the subject of the
tenue .for the purchase of the fee simple of the ferries,
and rights and restrictions connected therewith, viz
that Mr. Penny be paid £33,000 for the same at the end
of tlie' present lease, and also £5,000 for the rights and
restrictions at the- northward of the opening of the
river wall, opP46-46 Nraughton-road; the latter, how-
ever; to be the subject of a separate negotiation. After
considering the subject the conYmittec resolved to recom-
mend an offer to Mr. Penny of ao',Ooo at the end of the
present lease for the Seacombe Ferry, with the rights
and restrictions connected therewith to the southward of
the afofetaid land adjoining the opening of the river wall.
Mr. Caixt; in Moving the adoption of the proceed-
ings, said-4 rise in the usnal course to move the adop-
tion of the Ferry Committee's proceedings, which /on
have just heard read by their law-clerk, but as the
passing. of that report, on the ptesent occasion, by this
board, involves such serious responsibilities, I must call
Upon the board, now that the question of. taking over
the ferries has assumed proportions not originally con-
templated, to valise and thoroughly consider the conse-
quences Which will follow their acceptance or rejection
of the motion. The adoption of these proceedings will
commit the, Wallasey' Local Board of Health to the
purchasso of Seacombe Ferry for £30,000, in addition to
all other liabilities connected with the ferry question. I
want the board arid the parish generally fully to under-
stand their position. if; with the facts fairly brought
out, it be decided that we go on, let us do so by all means,
only let us know exactly what we are doing. We
must now determine whether, having taken the plunge,
we strike out boldly for the point aimed at, or,
if distrbtful of our power to gain that object, we
scramble back again to the shore as best we son.
To go back would involve the loss of some £5,000 or
£6,000 already expended,- besides expose us to a chan-
cery suit with Messrs. Coulborn, who have -already
signified their intention of filing a bill to compel us to
fulfil an alleged contract. To go forward, involves a
responsibility to the extent of £165,000, or thereabouts,
modified by the kind of boats or landing-stages that
may be* provided. In venturing to address you on this
subjectony desire is simply to submit the various facts
and figures, and to give such information as shall lead
you, with'your eyes fully ciliened, to decide 'what course
of action shall now be pursued. To go forward, then, as
already stated, involves : The purchase of Seacombe ferry,
under a liability in five years for £30,000 the adoption
of our arrangement with the Maus. Coulborn; £60,000;
expenses already, incurred in obtaining the award, say
£6,000 ; seven boats, if to satisfy the public, will cost
£5,000 each--£35,000; improved landing accommodation,
which, if we are to be guided by information derived from
the plans selected for prizes, New Brighton, £18,570,
Egremiint, £15,000; total, £164,570. These items are
the bare costs which, in the first instance would com-
prise
our ferry plant. The interest upon this sum, if at
5 per, cent, would be £8,230, with a similar sum, under
our present act, for redemption, in other words, with 5
per cent. interest and 5 per cent. redemption, with the
chance to meet an annual charge for the next twenty
years of- £16,460, unless you can succeed in effecting an
alteration in the existing Act of Parliament with reference
to the repayment, but in any case you would have
to provide £8,230 of interest to meet the capital raised.
The present population of the parish is 13,000, and the
annual value of the rateable property is £46,922. Now
taking. all these facts and figures into careful considera-
tion, at will be for you to determine whether-such an
amount of liability can be met with the population as it
stands,—of course with the prospect, nay, with the cer-
tainty (if the ferries be taken also), that there would
ensue a rapidly-increased population, and also of course
a large increase of rates, enabling you to meet such with
increasing facility. Or you must now determine whether
in your opinion the undertaking (with the means at our
disposal) should be abandoned altogether, in that case,
)searing in mind you will have paid some £6,000 in
utterly useless expenses, besides being exposed,'
)ivhich should not be lost sight of, to the con-
tingencies of a chancery suit with Messrs. Coulborn.
You see -then, gentlemen, how large a responsibility rests
Upon our,dealing With the motion before us this evening.
Whatever terms may eventually be made respecting
these ferries, certain it is they can never be purchased
at a cheaper rate than they may be had now. If
possession of, them be not obtained by the board, and
they are allowed to be carried on as at present, the
parish will lose a great proportion of its ratepaying
inhabitants ; rents will be reduced, and land fall in
value. On the contrary, if the ferries can be made
what they ought to be, with good comfortable landing
accommodation, swift and safe boats, regular and certain
communication with Liverpool, there cannot be a
shadow of a doubt that the population would increase,
rents would rise, and land improve in the market.
However, the members of the board must now say
whether they are prepared to accept the responsibility
of raising a principal sum of £164,570, with the annual
charges attending it; are they willing, on belialf of -the
parish,- to undertake this responsibility, or will they
leave the people to, their inevitable fate in declining it ?
As chairman of your committee I ,have endeavoured
siniPly to state the facts' for your guidance. • As an
individual, my determination is taken. I have no
objection to run the risk of probable taxation for so
great a boon. I like the district as a place of residence,
and should be deeply—very deeply—grieved to separate
from many most pleasant associations formed there
but assuredly I will not expose my family another
winter to the horrors of the landing boats. •
Mr.. Huonns seconded the confirmation of the pro-
ceedings of the Ferry Committee, because he saw no
reason-to withdraw from the matter, even if -the figures
amounted to what had been stated, believing that if
desirable the piers and other alterations and ameridations
be constructed at half the cost proposed. As the.
gross receipts of the ferry now amounted to about
£20,000,- and were likely,,under better reanag•ement and.
superior accommodation to increase vastly, he could not
see that they would involve themselves in any Way, evenif
the interest on the borrowed money amounted to £B,OOO
and the working expenses- to £IO,OOO annually.
The Cr.Eax explained that they could borrow money
much more 'advantageously than they had been in the
habit of doing, by borrowing for 40 or 50 years instead
of 20 years as at present.
Mr. BOYD would like to know upon what authority it
was asserted that the receipts of the ferry amounted to
£20,000 ? • •
Mr. HUGHES explained that these facts were taken
from the books of the (tampany.
Mr. BOYD had very-little faith in what was said or
,
seen upon paper.' He read some statistics and moved an
amendment, which, as will be seen, was merged, at a
subiequent period of the meeting, into an amendment
suggested. by Mr. Hill.
Byerly seconded Mr. Boyd's amendment without
making any comment.
Mr.. HOLMES would object most decidedly to the
adoption of the proceedings unless it were understood
that nothing be paid for usuage of the ferry during the
intervening years and the expiration of the lease, when
£300,000 only should be given for it.
Mr. Marshall, Mr. Boyd, and Mr. Hossack made a few
remarks, the latter' stating' that the offer made was a
I third greater than the supposed value of the ferry, and
seeing the figures assuming such formidable shape, he
thought it would be well to adjourn for a month, until
the ratepayers should be consulted.
The CHAIRMAN explained that the sum and substance
of the recommendation of the committee amounted to
the desire expressed by Mr Holmes and other members,—
who, for some reason or another •• misapprehension of the
nature of the subject, or disguised opposition to the
whole schenae,—that the ferry should be purchased
at the expiration of the lease ten years hence. It
appeared to him that Mr. Boyd and other members
Were reviving the old question—ferries or no ferries ;
but he contended that that was finally determined long
ago; and the
as honly matter remaining for their considera-
tion, so far
could See, was, what sum of money
would be reasonable and proper to give Mr. Penny for
the Seacombe Ferry. The gentlemen who had recom-.
mended the purchase were men of ability, learning, and
common sense, with a profound knowledge of the sub-
ject in hand ; a
to take for his own part, he was ready and
willing their experience and adopt their sugges-
tioni, contrary, if need be, to any opinions held by him-
self. Indeed M
r. Boyd's amendment seemed to him to
be no amendment
at all, but a resolution ; and the only
object for bringing
it forward, that he could discover,
t
was 'a desire o overthrow and undo all that had been
accomplished.
Mr. HALT
understood what Mr. Boyd meant very
well, although thegtrnan's.wantofr'tmendment, in consequence of that
not couched i the experience in public matters, was
beat he thought he
n technical terms required by the board ;
could suggest an amendment which
would meet with Mr. Boyd's approbation, and probably
the approbation
receipts of the of the board also. It was said that the
'berries was over £20,000. That might
be so, but he
working expena ad .no ,hesitation in saying that their
evidence 'educed
d--basing his calculation partly on the
£15,000, thus at the arbitration—amounted to
management of showing,c 'a surplus in favour of the
Mr. Caine —the 0,000. Taking the figures read by
incur, the 'heavy responsibility which the board would
and other matter Vest on the capital borrowed, and
not decisive, anconsidered the result doubtful, if
ready to admit that, the ferries would not pay. He was
and receipts would ovvith increased accommodation, trade
shut his eyes to the fact:
necessity increase, but he could not
working expenses m, facts that in an equal ratio the
the case in- this fight, be also augmented. Viewing
at too much ; and de
he was afraid they were grasping
cir-
cumstances,, instead ethought that, under present eir-
Penny, they should of negotiating further with Mr.
or, at all events, not to their hands in that direction,
to
without first allowing come to any serious resolution
the
opinions. With thgat ratepayers to enunciate their
the proceedings of the exception he was ready to adopt
an amendment foes th
_Committee. He, however, read
effect that they shoed adoption of the board, to the
with the owners of th Postpone further negotiations
ferries until the clerk call upon
interest in the.
his tithe to those ferries' and n .Mr. Colbourn to.perfect
thereof, and complete his approve of the conveyance
lgreement with the board.
The CHAIRMAN urgent
individual members to abstynrouested the board and its
to themselves. abstain doing anything dis-
honourableie animadverted severely
upon the amendment, and said he would be ashamed of
their pibeeedings if they withdrew' from the engage-

INFANT.REARING.—Miss Martineau, who, like all philoso-
phical ladies, has studied the matter thoroughly, says, that
"in England alone, 40,000 babes die annually; and cne-third
more of that number grow up either idiotic, sickly, or de-
formed." The reason is evident, as mothers, through inability
to nurse their offspring, resort to the administration of baked
flour, biscuits, tops-and-bottoms,or pap. The infant stomach
cannot assimilate such crude preparations, and frequently
rejects them; but still the nurse or mother continues them,
under the hope of soothing the child. Internal inflammation
place—eructations, diarrhoea, and consumption appear—and
most frequently convulsions arc induced which seal the infant's
fate. The Medical Times and Gazette, August 28, 1858,
p. 215, conveys Dr. C. B. F. Rauth's views on the same im-
portant subject, and his opinion of Du Barry's Revalenta
Arabica Food, as adapted to obviate the mischief effectually.
Dr. Routis is physician to the Samaritan Hospital for Women
and Children. This :earned and experienced practitioner says :
" The human milk contains, besides salts of lime, chloride of
potassium. Now, in common with carbonic acid, this salt
enjoys the peculiar property of dissolving carbonate of lime
or chalk. An absence of it in the food, as in wheat bread, is
very injurious to a growing child; hence, a child fed on pap
for a time grows fat, but the bones are soft; frequently it
sickens, and severe symptoms supervene. Amongst the vege-
table substances, that which comes closest to milk in its com-
position, besidesbeing more easily assimilated and strengthen-
ing, is, without doubt, Du Barry's Revalenta. Arabica Food,
containing both phosphoric acid in abundance, and chloride of
potassium; it also includes caseine, the same principle which
is found in milk in its constituent parts. No wonder, there-
fore, that under its influence many children affected with
atrophy (wasting away of the body) and marked debility
have completely recovered. I have given it with the greatest
advantage in such cases; and, so far as I may judge from my
own experience, practice fully carries out what theory, from
knowledge of its composition, led us to anticipate. It gives
good iouscle and strengthens the bones, restoring tone, and a
healthy. regular action to the stomach and bowels, whether
constipation or 4 relaxed state of the system is complained of."
C. B. F. Bourn, M.D.—Packed in tins, with full instructions :
11b., 2s. 9d.; 2 lb., 4s. Gd.; 51b., lls. ' • 121 b., 225. ; 241 b., free
of carriage, 40s. Barry du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-street ;
also Fortnum, Mason and Co., Piccadilly; Abbiss, GO, Graee-
church-street, London; and through all grocers and chemists.
Agents in this district :—Nixon and Thew, I, Castle-street; T.
Low; J. Kirkus • Forsyth; F. G. Jones, 5, Paradise-street;
R. Stunner and 64. ; H. S. Alpass; E. Pearson and Son ,• J.
Oliver;W. Cross ; Sharp, Higgins, and Co, ; Clay and Abra-
ham, 37,1 Bold-street; Evans, Sons, and Co., wholesale agents ;
John Beynon ; Thompson and Capper ; J. Strawson, druggist ;
G. Bramwell and Son; Cr Broralow, 1, London-road; Isaac
Woodville, tea dealer; Raimes and Co., wholesale druggists;
F. Staveley, druggist, Price-street ; T. D. Walker, Ranelagh-
street ;, J. 11. Howell, 72, Dale-street; Hingston, druggist,
Bold-street; Henry Afiddleton ; Gilbert Brothers; J. Cruicai
druggist •; B. J. Candler ; J. Dutton; J. Z.
Grace and Belk; G. Barber, 21, Great George-street, Birken-
head ; T. Fore,
Hargraves ; Sanders and Co.; C. Jones ; J. Green. .

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