The Express.
London, England, 1859-12-02 00:00:00

(Stamped Id Additional.)

THE JatROPOLIT42I BOARD OF WORILY.

A meeting of Lambeth ratepayers, convened by
public notice, was held yesterday mein at the Horns, Hen-
shogton, to take into oonsileration the recent appointment of
Mr. Woolrych as standing maul to the Board of Works at
a salary (exclusive of briefs) of 8001. a-year. The meting,
which had been convened fur half-pest mew did bee elm-
maim business until eight o'clock. It was follyeez attemiled.
The chair was taken by Mr. Tomas Wza,
briefly explained the objects for which the meeting had beta
ornate, and claimed a patient hearing for all rmiereatlini
apothemLowe moved the first resolution, which expressed
• the direatlthiction of the ratepayers at the appointment of
Mr. Woolrych as Mande* sommel to the Bard of
Works at a Nary, in oldition to tam of 8001...• yaw,
thus offering a direct premium on litigatioo ; elan as hakes
in direct violation of the ammemical peinelpas apes wWC
the board was lint established. lie complained of the bond
as being composed of talkers rather than of practical men,
and itegedally of their recent set, the appointment of their
esemary am standing consul. Making wiry onaceseloa to
My. Woolrych's high principle, it was sot in human nature
at *lay resist the temptations which this arrangement
Wait fisoe within his roach. (Hear, hear.) It was said
that he areld give up some of his puma pooolumenta. True,
but ha woad Mao give up some of his d 011,., and
thise weal/ lamase the duties of the under clerk.. The
Meth, he (Mr. lima believed, was, that there we. an
ceder-corrent at work, and that the real object wee to pro-
vide ter Gas of the utilise clerks, while they promoted Mr.
Weoirycb. If Mr. Weary& Wined as go le the bar let
kin b• sun itstrirra, and let the bald a who
should give Mt time, se, heaven haw, there we.
• easugh death frp eny ass men to de. Let the, =yere
remember that the boaiieltraubliabed plaa of
bag jpallitimeds WM •
Iroir11000,01:001. As a proof of tiei mode io which the
hosed conducted its hairiest, he might mention that, having
messily invited tenders for one of their high level Muir,
they received several, the lowest being 196,0001.,
and the art 206,0004 When ohs lowest was peed there
we. found to be some defect in the sureties. The proper
coarse in this care would have been to go on to the next
beset, Out so moth did the board disgust the gentlemen who
had made that tender that he threw it op altogether. and
the whole. of the tendering had to be dose over again. What
was the result? Why, teat the lowest of the new tenders
was 217,0001., so that by this blowier not lees than 13,0004
we. lost to the ratepayer.. But this was not the wont.
When the bill of quantities came to be examined, it wee
fond to be so fall os blunders as to the strong suspicion
that so many errors could not have crept in usage by diatom.
One gentleman who was well ambled to give so males
bed estimated these deficiencies of quantities at KOOK, sad
smother at 16,0004 A third, who was meet friendly to '
the board, said these errors might Wm 7,0001. to make up,
but taking them as the middle stun, hare were two blondes,
el the board which would cost the ratepayers 3,2001. (Hear, •
bear.) What the ratepayers should do woe to take oar.
whom they sant to thedie riot board., but in the meantime let
than protest against Mr. Woolrych's eiatment. He
cosh assure the meeting that the shortoom of the board
were the tonics of genets! conversation. (Hear, bear.)
Mr. BiLICKWAN, in seconding the resolution, cow-
eared with the lists in thinking the Board of
Works an saesmblege of eld women, and the chair-
man* a nonentity. ((Cheers and laughter.) He himself
was a government employe gad could testify to the
generality of the principle, which caked every man
who might receive an appointment to one specials It.,
of duties. The slather having strongly recommended the
obairran of the Board of Work. to emulate the conduct of
Cincinuatus, by retinue into private life until his country
should again require his services—which was not likely to be
very soon—(a laugh)—ooncluded by warmly trapporting tbs
resolution, which was mimed altaaiteollaly.
The Rev. Mr. Bear proposed the second resolution, which
provided that • copy of the firm should be forwarded to the
vestry, to the Board of Wake on the following monsing, and
to Marna their deputies at the hoard to oppose the
appointment of Mr. Woolryeh. He lamed the rate-
payers to look after the expellable,e of the inamenee
ramie which they were forced to coatribate to
metropolitan purposes. The Board of Works ware like: most
other public boats. end required good looking after. -Then
were gentlemen at that board who had great Meows with
other gentlemen of high positive, sad there might be a Bole
of You help me new, and I'll do se moth for you next
time." (Chases) Thu bad one men at the board who did
all he could to spare the pnckete of the ratepayers—be moat
Mr. Deputy lismieni—and to him would be entrusted the
duty of enforMag the genes of the mengutiost be held in his
hand. He had great pleasure in moving it.
Mr. OODDAIta, la seconding the resolution, quoted meay
Memnon of the extravagance, of the board; amongst others,
the taking of Berkeley-house at a rent of dant a year
sad an expecte (se the architect) of 20.0001., whoa
they bad freehold ground of their own, and sufficient for all
the new office.. The wattles bed protested against this job,
bat they were told that the thing wee dons—the mosey was
paid, and there was no use saying another word about it. At
another time the board wished to take the collecting of the
rates into their own heads, but the vestries sueomeefelly
resisted this time, and the ratepayers ware saved from en
inoressed expense in collection of 2,0001. a year. The load
oollectent received only fonrpence In the pound, whereas the
authorities in Oresk-sweet would have giros Ova per cent.
Let him glance at the cost of the board. la Lambeth the
vestry administered 42,0001. usually at a tette of expen-
diture to °Moms employed of about four and-a-half
per cent. The charges of the Board of Works
for administration amounted on the whole outlay to 16i per
cent. (Hear, bear.) But the board was an eriatocratic body
and must go westward to Spring-gardens, where they most
have • hall porter in gold lime and cocked hat, and a window
looking down the keg walk, to enable the chairman to watch
for the inceesager ocirsieg from the patens with his loarez-
pectod baronetcy. (Loud Isughter:) With respect to the
case of Mr. Woolrych, the fact was theta was the master of
the board. H. was called the keystone of the arch, without
which it would all tumble down and reduce everyttiaf
to a dead level. Parapet the wooer the
(Cheers.) He(Mr. Woolrych) now asked to be permitted le
do what it was impossible for any ass man to da,
and for so doing he treated to inflict a heavy increased tax ea
the ratepayers. lie was also to be privileged to modes is
▪ touristic, which would take him away nine weeks romp
year, and for anything professional he was to do he wee la
receive, in addition to his salary, the usual fees of a bernseare
Let them remember also that Kr. Wookych we. a oedema-
at-law, and in the smallest cues must have the fees of a
leader. The real motive of this proposition was this. If
Mr. Woolrych merely took his for as a bantam, he would
have no claim for compendia in cue the board should
be broken up, but, by having a Azad salary, he could
la the eventuality of a dissolutia, efitablieh a tangible claim.
The board war, is short, going on in a rani center of ex-
aluna,. They bad commenced their dralasse works at
the high levels north and south, where there were no dal.
ultimo, and would have spent millions of the ratepayers'
money before they came to the low levels, where the wand-
noes of their engineering would be really tasted. Ha celled
upon the vestries to impost a tirm front to this estrus-
lac.end especially to the instance afforded in the cue of
.Woolrych. (Chews.)
Mr. EDWaID• supported the resolution, which was also
unanimously carried.
The peoosedluge terminated with the usual vote of thanks
to the

TAXATION OP THE METROPOLIS FOE CITY
IMPIOY EMINTS.

Last evening a numerous meeting of gentlemen
repressed:is the various vestries and district boards of the
metropolis was held at the vestry-hall of St. Pancras, for the
purpose of considering the taxation by the Metropolitan
Baird of Works of the metropolitan parishes for City im-
provements, the oonduct of the majority of the members of
the Central Board rotating to recent grants to the City, and
the best meane of protecting the general body of ratepayers.
The Rev. R. Emery, member of the metropolitan Dosed
for St. Panama, presided, and was supported by Mr. Josiah
Wilkinson, the other representative for St. Pancras. Depu-
tations were present from St. James's, Westminster, Bt. Pu-
mas, Msrylebone, Kensington. Bt. Martin's-in.the-Fields,
Holborn dirtrict, Oreensicb, Fulham, Mile end Old Town,
Lambeth, Camberwell, Newington, de ltc.
The CHAIRMAN said the meeting bed been exavened to
test the optima of the varions metropolitan vestries and dis-
trict boards on the important subject of whether, whilst the
City of London took immerse RIM/ of ninety per annum in
the slime of coal dues and other taxes from the inhabitants
of the metropolis, it should be permitted through the Metro-
pills Board to tax threnstill further for City improvemesta.
Piths present time, while the City of London only contributed
one-teeth towards the expenses of the Metropolitan Board,
they had received sems-tenthe of the money which bad
hitherto been voted for metropolitan Improvements. Oat of
s sum of 9,8831. lls. 6d. voted to local auttiortriee in the
metropolia towards public improvement, there had been
granted to the City of London 6,7971. 10e. Were this for
the improvement of the pnblio thoroughfares there might be
not so much to complain of, but meat grants bed hem made
for improving very narrow and out of- thm way pleas ; and
there were strong reasons for believing, noires a dwelt
were put to it by the ape o of opinion of the local
boards to their reprsentsdves, that very large rums would
be weed to the City at the Metropolitan Board for shaller
Temperas. The vestry of St. Pamas bad requested its re-
presentatives to divide the board on all them occasions, so
that the vestries and disease beards might know how their
members voted, and they could then call them to soccient, If
they dimmed with than, as they west out of Mike every
three ears.
Mr.yßosa, of St. Martik's deprecated this interference of
perbh vestries sad district boards with the Metropolitan
•14. The City, he contended, ems fully eettrled to all the
bass they at present enjoyed, and to any others th.y could
Atria, am an improvement is the Ctty wee an improvement to
the astrepolis. Tim City of Loudon was Um centre of nom-

WOPENCE.

mace, and anything which improved the lapses ad egrets
to and fromit was of advantage to the entire metropolis.
After a long discussion. in which Messrs Bowan, !Ch-
ad; Okuda, &. Martin's; J. it. Callan Bt. Pancras;
Arshhatt, Kensington; Preston, of Holborn; Wede,
Oresaw. ; Dr. Truman, of Kennington; and other gentle-
ant took strongly deprecatory of mesa proceedings of
the bond,
Mr. Aoaxcv, d St. Panama, mood—" That, the
opinion of this meeting, the City of Louden, g the
frost manes st their dispose!, to obtaining froarthe at-
unfair proportion 01 the .seine arising
IWitthratit en
levied upon the ratepayers dither pathos, is
guilty ed peat airman and ammo their dissent to the vote
OIXO• to lately by the Metropolitan Board of Works."
Mr. firmsur, of St. James's, seconded the resolution.
from some
JoractistbiLustmcnebso.gpodnelei::deldthesaitirrothepolirsatanquesßoatiorda
was whether the City of London should Pm the TOR of the
metropolis for its own local prams. Mr. Wiliam lug-
, gaited an alteration, that the representatives of Metro-
politan Board of Works be instructed to watch most care-
fully every spplioat ion made for improvements In the City of
Loudon; and noire clearly satisfied that they 6re matters
of public necessity to the satire metropolis, to oppose most
strenuously such application.
This led to oonaderable further diectudoe, end ultimately
the resolution was adopted unanimously, with the addition of
an expression that Lb. Metropolitan Board should have
at their disposal other sources of revenue than they
Lisysdet present for pablie immovements.