The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-10-26 00:00:00

WEST DERBY WARD.

GREAT MEETING, LAST NIGHT, OF MR.
ANDERSON'S FRIENDS.
Last night, a numerous and enthusiastic meeting of
the friends of Mr. Weir Anderson, the Conservative
candidate for the representation of this ward in the
Council; was held at Marshalls Coffee-house, Low-hill,
with the vie* df promdting that gentleman's return.
The Cdthipany comprised about 100 df the most influen-
tial electors in the ward, amongst whom we observed—
Laurence Peel, Esq. ; Ellis Jones, Esq. ; S. Ridley,
Esq.; R. F. Stable, Esq. ; Hadden, Esq. ; Captain.
John Clay, J. G. Livingston, T.C. ; Messrs. John Smith,
John Littler, John Davis, Joseph Roberts, James R.
Gaskell, Thomas Corkhill, J.. S. Branch, H. Shrapnel,
Es Colbrin, C. C. Metcalf, Peter Vine, Bldxam,
Brown, twatt, M‘linight, Marshall, Smith,
Linacre, Ryder, Hughes, 'Whitby, darner, tiriffiths,
Yates, Jack, Wright, Jackson, Phillips, Wright, Shells,
&c. We should state, in introduction, that we
never heard ogl,;*; pr more practical speeches in all our
professional experience ; and we deeply regret that the
many calls upon our space to-day should preclude us
from giving a more extended report.
Mr. IkytEs R. GARKELL was called to the chair ;
and, in the course of his prefatory remarks; said they
had as their opponent, as they were all aware; a gentle-
man who had represented the ward for the last twelve
years, and Who was supported on the present dceasion
by men of ,incliteace and telent=meri whdm he had
been accustomed to see virorking,in, that room ; and it
would require; tin their part, if they wonld secure the
election of the gentleman *lido:1 they desired; the eiZer-.
cise of their utmost endeavours. He then read letters
of apology for non-attendance from Mr. G. H. Horsfall
and Mr. J. B. Lloyd, mentioning the receipt of another.
He said the chairman of Mr. Beckwith's committee, in
opening the proceedings the other evening, had com-
pared the two candidates, and said that one they had
tried for twelve years, but the other was an untried man.
Would not the same argument have applied to Mr.
Beckwith, when be first came forward, as it did to Mr.
Clint and others, who had proved most active and
. talented members of the Council ?
Mr. EWAILT was called upon to move the first resolu-
tion, arid in a quaint but excellent speech showed that
Mr. Beckwith's professidna of., eeeno'my,had ended only
in the doubling of the rates de the *aril: The iates for
last year were 2s 8d in the pound, independent df Odor-
rates, museum, and other rates ; but if they looked back
ten years ago ,they should find that they were only is 6d
in the pound ; and it should be borne in mind that during
that period the assessniedi el the township, excluding
the rural districts, had advanCed freini 475,000 to
£114,000, or an increase of one-third. the speaker
then went on to show that this increase of rates arose
froM an expensive system of sewerage, carried on at the
public expense, Mai neighbourhoods as Edge-lane,
Rake-lane, andWavertree-rdad; arid said that he did not
wonder at Mr. George Holt speaking so Oen I'4 favoUr of
Mr. Beckwith the other evening. He complaided also
of the state of Wavertree Park and the Botanic Gardens,
as showing that Mr. Beckwith could not have done his
duty as
,a member of the gardens committee; and
pointed out the ineqdality in the assessment of the water
rate, which was • charged
,mereli Upon the rent of the
rich, but upon the poorer obcapler Was assessed upon the
amount of rent and all the rates combined.
Mr. WEIR ANDERSON, the candidate, on rising, Was
loudly cheered. He was not in the position of Mr. Beck-
with, who could point back to twelve years' service to the
township,:and refer to this piece of economy effected
or that; but he had come that evening to state candidly
and fairly that, in any point where they had suffered
grievance, he was willing, if they elected him, to redreSs
that grievance. (Applause.) And when Mr. Beckwith
and his friends, at the meeting on the 22nd instant, had
made the cry why should he now be turned out after
serving twelve years,—he asked how was it that Mr.
Beck With had turned out the greatest man the Town-
hall had seen yet, gr. George Hall Lawrence ? When
Mr. Beckwith was ,flrst eleCted, the' electors of the ward
numbered only 1,000 ; they now ardounted to ,1,400 ;
and those had a perfect right to say who &mild repre-
! sent theni. (Applause.) He was pleased to see that at
that Meeting dot a eingle syllable had been urged against
him personally; but on a legal point it had been sought
to upset him, because he was assessor of the municipal
A
borough of Liverpool. Mr. ndersoti here' entered into
an explanation of the difference between his dwii case,
and that of Mr,llliirvey, which had been referred to, and
said, riled the Matter had, been first brought before him
he prepared a itatedient df facts, and laid it before one
of the greatest and most able of the age in mddk
cipal affairs, Mr. Welsby ; and he. Was happyo inform
the meeting that his opinion was, that he (Mr: Anderson)
was not disqualified from sitting as a member of the Town
Council. (Loud cheering.) Mr. Anderson then promised,
if elected, he should look into the trust deeds connected
with the West Derby Commissioners, with the view of
seeing how the large amount of money which had been
received had been applied. He believed that, if rightly
applied, their rates, instead of being ls. 6d. in the pound,
would not amount to one tithe of that amount. (Mr.
Anderson resumed his seat amid loud cheering.) .
Ruinow moved—" That this meeting pledges
itself to..use every legitimate means to, secure the elee-
tion of Weir Andereori, Esq., on the Ist of NOVeniber
next."

Mr. CORKHILL seconded the Mail* in a speech
which elicited roars of laughter. He saici—We are
making very free with the name of Mr. Beckwith ; hat
upon this principle, thit pnblic men are always public
propeitY. Mr. Beckwith has held a meeting of his
supporters among the ratepayers of this important ward,
and among the .proceedings find two very eminent
testimonials, and I was very much stinck on reading
them. I never saw a quack in my life who could not
get any quantity of them. (Laughter and applause.,
From Mr. Holloway, the great pill-maker, to Mr.
Parr, the pill-maker, they can all get bookfuls
of them: Now I will give you one in opposition, and
it is one as, important as that from him who wrote for
Mr. Beckwith ; it is from Mr. Baines, the historian, of
Liverpool. When Mr. Beckwith first came out to repre-
sent West Derby, Mr. Baines said Mr. Beckwith was as
fit for a councillor as Dogberry 3148 for a judge. (Loud
laughter and great applause.) Now, we' Will comb to
Mr. Beckwith's speech at Mr. Coombeei the other
evening; and this is what he said of that Health Celli-
mittee of which he has been so prominent a member
If lie were to miss a meeting one week, he should not
know what via/ ,going forward : he should be quite at
sea, and should be all anxiety to know if there had been
any dirty jobs passed." Not that is the character
which Mr. Beckwith gives to the Health Committee ;
and I hope that the Gladstones, the Dover's, the Sheila,
and even the Haydocks, will hear that. (Laughter and
applause). Further on in his speech he says he has
favoured a gentleman. I . never knew a public repre-
sentative who favoured one of his constituents, but
who did it at the expense of others ; and con-
eider it was his &Cy tO hold the balance even
between one and one ; but i don't doubt he had
afforded him some political service. Further on he
alluded to poor Luya. He had a considerable hand in
putting that man in the position in which he is at pre-.
sent. He says Luya cheated the Corporation out of
.1,200. The conclusion I draw is that Luya must have
beeti a: elefer man to have cheated a whole committee,
drunken mini as he was, (Laughter and applause.) Mr.
Beckwith takes great credit for the extent of new streets
built, and flagging, &c., executed since he went into the
,council. Now, I hold in my hand a paper showing that
in 1836 the poor rates were only 9d, the highway rates
9d., and the whole of my rates were only XI 'is., Bd.
That is just about' tiVetity-four years ago. Now, set
'what has taken place: since; with Mr. Beckwith and his
cobbling. They have driven all the large ratepayers
beyond the boundary of Liverpool, and what has come
;in place of' them ? The ground occupied by the
,mansions of the rich is now covered with cottages, filled
with poor people removed from the old borough, where
they bait pulled down the property, to Everton and
West lierby, and you have many of them to maintain.
In 1836 my highway rate was 9d. ; last year I paid
£2 18s. 4d. for sanitary rates alone. (Hear, hear.)
Now, Mr. Beckwith takes great credit for the number
of streets paved and flagged since he came into office :
but at whose expense had it been done ? It is the
owners of property who have had to pay for it. (Hear,
hear.) Mr. Corkhill here took exception to the
arbitrary and costly manner in which the Sanitary
Act was enforced by the officials in Cornwallis-
street, adding many instances in proof. He said
whatever the Health Committee had done, he would
tell the meeting what Mr. Beckwith had done
sin& be went. into Council ; he had voted for himself
twice to he alderman. (Loud laughter.) Now was not
that very modest conduct ? and he could tell them that
if they 'did not happen to pay for their flagging and
sewering, and did not happen to vote for Mr. Beckwith,
they were sure soon to have a communication from the
Town-clerk. His (Mr. Corkhill's) opinion of Mr. Beck-
with was that he would be anythiag—Whig, Radical,
or Tory in politics, and a Mahomedan in religion.
(Loud laughter and applause.) If there was a man in
Liverpool he distrusted and disliked,—he spoke of him
only as a public man,—it was that very. Mr. Beckwith.
He liked to' meet a man who would enjoy his opinion :
give hini the man who would tell them what he was.
(Applause.)
" Give me the trienit; open foe,
Whom I can meet, perchance return the blow.
But of all ills that heaven or earth can send,
Save me, oh save me, from a treacherous friend."
(Loud applause.)
Mr. BLOXA.M, who was next called upon, supported
the Motion in a clever and effective speech ; and referring
to Mr. Beckwith's declaration respecting the Health
Committee said, now one of these things must be—either
the Council and its committees were capable of perform-
ing dirty jobs, or they were not. If they were so, then
upon the evidence of one Who knew them best, let them
all go, rout and branch, one and all—not Mr. Beckwith
only—not the Liberal members, but the Tory members
—all together. (Loud cheering.) Then Mr. Beckwith
said he had been too courteous, too kind, too anxious'to
serve his constituents ; but he apprehended if they re-
turned Mr. Anderson he would not come to them three
years afterwards with such a declaration; but would
tell them that all the courtesy and anxiety. which he
could 'devote to their interests was only. their due, and
110 m'ofe. (Applause.) Mr. Bloxam, with considerable
skill, nett analysed Mr. Beckwith's pretensions as a
"plain matter,of:fact man;" and concluded by speaking
of the incomparably higher qualifications possessed by
Mr. Anderson. He sat down amid considerable applause.
acid he had attended Mr.
' Mr. YATES, a working malt,
Beckwith's meeting to put certain questions to him, but
no opportunity was afforded. He should have asked
him howit was he could boast he had macadamised and
curbed, with one row of flags, Deane-street, at the
township's expense--this being a wealthy neighbour-
hood—whilst poor' struggling men like himself had to
pay as much as £l5 for flagging in front of a small
house which they only got £l4 a year rent from.
(Applause.) The speaker, with great quaintness and
humour, complained of his being charged for new curb-
stones, although they had only taken up the old curb-
stones (his own) and re-laid them; and stated that
when he complained in Cornwallis-street, the bill was
re-modelled, but a difference of only sixpence was made
in his favour. Other instances of like kind he adduced,
and asked if it was not shameful. (Loud applause.)
He would never give a vote for Mr. Beckwith as long
as he lived. (Loud cheering.) He corrected himself
by saying that he believed it was Beech-street, not
Deane-street.
The Chairman then put the resolution, which was
carried amid uproarious applause.
Mr. MARSHALL next addressed the meeting, and com-
plained of Mr. Beckwith's statement that he had once
done him a favour. He related the circumstance. He
wished to have a street paved in which• he had some
property. The street was in a disgraceful state, and he
took Mr. Beckwith and showed it to him. Shortly
after an old man stuck up a notice at the street end,
but the work was not finished till two months ago ; but
the moment it was, he got a bill from Cornwallis-street,

vhth a foot-note that, if not paid on such a date, five
peri dent would be charged.
Mr. Eats foxEs, surgeon, was next called upon, and
gave a like instance of work done for him, for which £44
had been charged, but he insisted on a remeasurement,
and the bill was reduced to £24. He denounced the
system of letting the construction of sewers and other
public works by contract, as opposed to the spirit of the
Municipal Act.
Mr. Lawrence Peel, Mr. Ridley, Mr. Steble, Mr.
Councillor Livingstone, and Mr. M'Knight, afterwards
briefly addressed the meeting; and the Chairman, at Mr.
Anderson's request, invited questions ; but only one was
put, in reference to the proposed public offices, which
Mr. Anderson answered to the apparent satisfaction of
all present.
After the usual complimentary vote of thanks to the
chairman, the meeting, which had been of the most
enthusiastic and harmonious character throughout,
broke up with loud cheering.

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

On Tuesday evening last the Rev. J. C. M. Bellew,
Minister of St. Mark's, Marylehone, London, delivered
a most interesting essay on the "Life of Milton,"
adOlnprined with various readings from his poems. Cs
Esq,, peopied the chair;
.car of St. John's, and, after having
called upon
the Bei% E. rigt37; 'Vi
Wolierhanttetmii to offer up prayer, ho viizq.sed his
regret that id tio'nsecia9fiee a pressing engagement he
would 15e obliged to Sacate the chair before the close a
the (piping: ile then iiitio4ed Mr: Bellew, who !Wad
received by the audience, with the nidst enthasiastie
applause; The rev. gentleman gave a most interesting
and iiistritti,ie account of the life of Milton, and read
portions of his inimitable poris with themost masterly
elocution, the tones of his voice frequently reminding us
of Macready. The attendance was be large,' and there
was the most rivetted attention throughotit the e4ning
We regret we can only give the concluding portithi
Mr. Bellew's essay, which will be read with deep interes
by all :
It is with diffidence that I venture thus to measure the
standard of this great man, as he presents himself' to my
mind ; and yet I cannot refrain from dwelling for one
moment—taking a last look as it were at a favomito
picture before' we quit the' scene—upon one passage in
his life Where it seems to, me that the greatness—and
finest points of his character are exhibited in harmony
and unity f The scene is the last. He is going down
the declining hill of life. He is separated now from all
the turmoil of the world : and in the realms of Poetry
—he lives in seclusion and in thought—the scene is
Bunhill-fields : observe how the sublime genius and the
magnanimous character are exhibited f Prosperity, and
honour, and the triumph of a great cause are one They
are gceft front him for ever! He is deserted; lonely, and
poor ! A few filen& oling around him. Strangers now and
I again came to see the man whose name echoed over
Continents. Staunch old Puritans and Quakers stick
to him. But beyond a feW of these, he is nn'cnown ;in
fad lie is' politically disgraced. Triumpl ant cavaliers
make at rttobk of such a' man as' Milton. The comman
hangman has litiried his works, and a licerrtions Cold,
would only sneer at hint: The world seems all againg
him; and so he retires to his simple cottage !—taking
with him that blindness which the defence of a great
cause broil* on and which his enemies declare is a
just Visitation 9f pod t See the magnanimity of the
great man ! Witlaont a murmur, withoitt dejection,
without complaint—having lost fortune—hast
lost rank—lost everything except dependence Upon Godi
and his own brave heart, he accepts the lot of adversity
and sits down to meditate, and to accomplish iii obtearity
and defeat the greatest triumph that his great genius eduld
achieve ! Oh ! fallen! forsaken! poor ! neglected ! blind !
the world can shew us few such spectacles of mag-
nanimity of soul, upholding and encouraging the rarest
powers of genius, as we behold in that cottage in Bun-
hill-fields, where the blind and impoverished Secretary
of State casts all his former greatness behind him, and
rises with the dawn to dictate the harmonious verses
which shall be the noblest monument to his memory,
while lives the Salon Tongue ! Thus, in a gentle,
calm; and dignified retirement he gave his poem to the
world i "Paradise Regained," followed : then " Samson
Agonistesil' and so from 1671 to 1674, the tale is one
' of slow, and sure decline, until the Sabbath morn of
the Bth of Novemher arrived, and while God's people
were Mng called to his presence in earthly' temples to
' praise his %oly name, death stale so gently upon the pulses
.of the poet, that the moment of his departure was
unperceived—i-an'd painlessly, and quietly, the Minister-
ing Angels called away "to 'temples not made
with hands," him who had ever sung God's praises
upon earth: in sweet and heavenly measures, there
to join the choir, where his pure, his virtuous, his
spotless life,shOuld' meet its best reward; and he should
tune his voice' to' the hynina of those who sing—" Glory,
and honour to him that sitteth upon the Throne, and to
the Lamb, for ever, and efer," In Cripplegate, where
Cromwell was married, Milton lies buried f There rest ,
the ashes of "the poet, the statesman; the philosopher ;
the glory of English literature, the etteinipioti and the
martyr of English liberty !" His spirit ever soaring
towards heaven, was like one of those brilliante that
stud the firmament. He lived in an abnosphere raffled
far above' the earth—pure, celestial, and rare. Planted
in the highest heaven of intellectual greatness, his
immortal works he still shines upon the pathway
mankind—the beacon of liberty—the polestar of magi:a--
lied purity—the planet of poetic fire !—he shines among
the unmertals—in character, magnanimous; in genius,
sublime

Mr. BELLEW thet retited from the hall amidst pro-
tracted applause.

The Chairman, the Rev, C. T. PIZEY, of Trinity
Church, then rose, and said, that he knew personally
Mr: Bellew's objection to any thing in the shape of
complithentary thanks, and, therefore, felt sure, and was
sure all present would feel with him, that after Mr.
Bellew's able and eloquent essay, the least that could be
conceded to him would be thb gratification of his
wishes.