The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-20 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 20, 1853,

MR. IV. WILLIAMS, M.l'., AND lIIS
CONSTITUENTS.
In accordance with his annual custom, since his
return for the borough of L,mbeth, Mr. William Williams
last evening met his constituents at the Route T
Kennington, to render an account of his conduct during the
last session of parliament, and to seek a renewal of their
confidence.

Mr. HON! presided, and having briefly explained the
purpose for which the meeting had been convened, and
spoken of the advantages resulting from the periodical
meeting of members with their constituents, as a means of,
obtaining good government for the people, called upon
Mr. WlLLtases, who said he had invited the presence of
his constituents, to state the course be had felt it his duty
to puree in the last session, and War such explanations as
might be required. Every vote he bad given in that
session bad been in strict accordance with the prin-
ciples upon which he had been returned. From
the commencement of the session, which was the longest
he ever remembered till near its dose he had never been
absent one day from his post. (Cheers.) Towards the
close, however, illness occasioned by his previous labours
in the house and on committees, added to the bate hour* to
which parliament sat had prevented him from continuing
that regular attendance he could have wished. 'so one had
denounced more than he had over and over again the system
of transacting the business of the country at late and un-
seasonable hours. Knowing as he did that it was at those
hours that all the jobbing and bungling legislation was
transacted, and the first vote he lied given in the last ses-
sion was to put an end to the system, though the
motion met with little success. His first important
vote in the past session was against Mr. Disraeli's
budget, and especially against that right honourable
gentleman's proposition for increasing the born tax, and
extending its basis to 101. houses. Had that budget passed
it would have operated most injuriously to Lambeth, and
brought under the operation of the tax 20,000 houses which
were now exempt. Ile proposed, too, an amendment to
the proposition, viz., that the tax should be abolished alto-
gether, and a substi•ute for it found in the extension of the
probate and legacy duty to real property of every descrip-
tion. Mr. Disraeli, in his reply, admitted thejustice of
that amendment, though at the general request of the
house it was not passed. The opinion of the house was
rather upon the budget as a whole. When the new govern.
ment came in he (Mr. Williams) again brought forward his
proposition, and Mr. Gladstone agreed to embody it in his
budget, and, as they were aware, real property was now
subject to the tax as well as perainalty, though not to the
same extent, for as yet it was the legacy duty only that ap-
plied to real property, and not the probate duty. Mr.
Gladstone hail exhibited more moral courage than
any of hie predecessors when he consented to
make the legacy tax applicable to real property. The
produce of that tax would be two millions a year, and the
probate duty, which Mr. Gladstone had promised next
session to deal with, and to extend to real property as well
as to tithes, would p.oduce other two millions. The two
millions thus obtained the Chancellor of the Exchequer
had made the basis of a great financial measure. He bad
taken off the soap tax, reduced the tea duty, abolished the
tux on advertisements, the tax on newspaper supplements,
and there was every hope that neat year the paper duty
would follow. The customs' duties on 180 articles had been
also taken off, and upon 360 it hen been reduced. He re-
gretted that the income tax had been, for the present, not
only continued as it was, but extended to 1001. in-
comes. Every attempt to lessen the burden upon
the trader and professional men, by correcting
the mode of assessment, had been met by the
most strenuous opposition on the part of the landed
aristocracy, and, of course, had failed. It was, however,
some consolation to know that the tax would be reduced
from time to time, until it ceased. Besides the exertions he
had made for extending the probate and legacy duty to real
property, he had been many year, engaged in the attempt
to put an and to the system by which six millions of the
public taxes were intercepted by the collectors, on its way
to the Treasury. In that, too, he had been successful in
the last session, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer bad
taken measures whereby in future, from the next year, the
whole amount collected would be paid inter the Treasury
and expended, as it ought to be, under parliamentary re-
'Tangibility. As showing the probable gain to the
public from the change of s)stem in this re-
spect, he might mention that the proceeds of
the crown revenues had been, on the avenge,
from 120,0001. to 150,0001, whereas the Chancellor
of the Each' quer estimated that when the whole amount
was paid into the Treasury the uet produce would be
390,0001. a year. (Cheers) He then proceeded to enume-
rate the principal votes he bad given during the session.
He had voted against all grants from the public funds for
religious or ecclesiastical purposes, without regard to sect.
(Hear, hear.) For the abolition of church rates, the admis-
sion of the Jews to parliament; for the County Rates Bill,
by. which it had been proposed to give the ratepayers a
voice in the expenditure and administration of the rates;
foe the abolition of the paper duty and the newspaper
stamp; for the Laadlord and Tenant (Ireland) Bill, which,
after having been considered and agreed to by the House of
Commons, had been thrown out by the Irish landlords in
the House of Lords ; for the Bill for the Improvement of
the Administration of the Customs; for the Charitable
Trusts Bill; and many other measures which be
believed to be for the benefit of the country. (Hear,
hear.) In reference to local matters he had on all
occasions given his best attention t t the interests of the
borough. On the subject of Battersea Park, be had, after'
many interviews with the authorities at the Woods and
Forests to preserve the 300 acres which, at an expense of
170,0001., had been purchased for the formation of that
park, succeeded in preventing the acceptance of a great
building speculator to take that land and fain it into
streets and squares. He bad also been Instrumental in
bringing about a settlement of the Chancery suit in which
was involved between 2,0001. and 3,0001. a year, applicable
to charitable purposes in the parish of Lambeth. In regard
to the future, they had been told they were to have a new
reform bill. Nobody knew what that bill would be. He
scarcely expected it would be suck a measure as would
altogether satisfy him; but if it was a real measure of
reform, though it might not be all they could
with, they would do wisely to take :as much as
they could get. If, however, it was such a measure as that
brought forward by Lord John Ru.aell two ye ars ago they
would be better without it. After the instances of bribery
and corruption which had been proved to have taken place
at the last election, it. the propos. d Reform Bill was such a
measure as bad train hinted at they would be better without
it, and without the =Water who proposed it. (Cheers.)
If the mass of corruption which disgraced so many of the
constituencies were to be permitted to continue, they had
better put up the seats to the highest bidder and let the pro-
ceeds go into the public y in mitig Won of the taxes.
(Hear, hear.) The only efficient remedy for that corrup-
tion he believed to be the ballot. (Loud cheers.) The hon.
gentleman concluded by expressing his readiness to answer
any questions which might be put.
A Mr. &MAIMS inquired whether the hon. member had
ever received any applications from any of his constituents
for government places ?

Mr. WILt.zLYe, like every other member, had often re-
ceived such applications, but he never asked for or accepted
any place for himself or any other person, for he knew well
that the member who accepted such (title, either for him-
self or any of his constituents was expected to pay for them
in votes. In reply to other questions, he said in reference
to the coal duties, he had denounced them as much as any
man. The 4d. duty that went to the City, he looked upon
as a great fraud on the consumer, and he believed it would
be got rid of, but if the Bd. duty were abolished, some sub-
stitute must be found for it. The money obtained from that
duty was devoted to public improvements, and though
Lambeth had not bad its fair share of the benefit, if he con-
-1 tinned to he its member, he would take cate that it should I
have fur the future. With regard to the corporation ques-
tion, he was in favour of a separate corporation for each
of the metropolitan boroughs, and that a central body
should be appointed to deal with such matters u were
common to them all. Be thought that there should be
upon the sewers commission, or the body whatever it might
be that had the management of the sewage of the metro.
polio, members elected by the ratepayers of each of the
metropolitan boroughs. He had had many interviews with
the Home Secretary upon this subject, and at length he had
obtained a promise from Lord Palmerston that his object in
this latter respect should be carried out. He had voted for
1 the Combination of Workmen's Bill, and always would.
Mr. Lvowe moved a resolution thanking the hon. member
for his attention to the interests of the borough, congratu-
lating him upon his consistent and persevering advocacy of
liberal principles, and expressing the confidence of the coa-
-1 stitueney in him.

The resolution was seconded by Mr. Wznihtt, supported
by Mr. RHODES, and carried unanimously.
The hon. member having appropriately but briefly ac-
knowledged the vote, and thanks having been awarded to
the chairman, the meeting separated.

THE FIRE ANNIHILATOR.—On Saturday, at about
twelve o'clock at noon, a fire occurred upon the premises of
Mr. Thomas Gould, coach builder, Princeaq-street, 0 -
end, which might have been attended with •ery serious
consequences, and undoubtedly it would have been so, had
it not been for the presence in the town of a small set of
fire annihilators. It was about ten minutes before twelve

o'clock when alarm was given, and Mr. White, ;I;;;
superintendent of police, who has charge of the annihilators,
together with Mr. Aitkin, the serjeant-at-mace, immediately
proceeded there with the annihilators, leaving the engines
to be brought after them: On their arrival they found
that the fire was raging in an upstairs bedroom, which
appeared to be full of flames, and come of Mr. Gould's
workmen were engaged throwing buckets of water in
at the window at random. When Mr. White entered
the house and proceeded up stairs he found that the fire
had just burnt through the wainscot of the room, and the
flames were just spreading across the landing to the rooms
on the opposite side of the staircase ; it was utterly imuos- 1
Bible to get into the room, and so he, with Mr. Aitkin, dis-
charged one of the No. 5 twenty-two pound annihilators
through a hole in the wainscot. Almost immediately that
the annihilating atmosphere entered the room, the flames,
as if by magic, dropped, and in ab iut three minutes Mr.'
White and Mr. Aitken were enabled to enter the room, and
with two buckets of water to extinguish the embers by means
of a Mall hand engine. When the fire was got under it was
discovered that in addition to the room having been on fire all
round, the flame had burnt through the ceiling and communi-
cited the fire to the roof of the building.—Kentieh indepes.
dent, Dec.l7.