The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-01-03 00:00:00

committee to punish the

Robertson),

would be very glad' toget hold of for the pur-
-49 -would recommend Arr. Hodiminiat,,to make those
prepared j - iiroa "themp,4itiid if. he

would not

the committeelht oppktunity of investigat-
ing, he had no right to say that they shrunk from their
duty. ; It-4as execedinglyttlielkalte police_ force that the
niaev and the innocent shotild 'euffer for the few black sheep
ammtig them, whom the watch committee' could not weed
out when.tbose whO made the charges woulthntit come for-
ward to substantiate them ; and it was unfair • to •the
mittee,who were-doing all in `thefr.po;Wer to render the police
force a thoroughly:efficient, bo4, ,to be denied the onportu;i
nity of investigating eharees Which were publicly made in the
council a,gainst.them. (Heai',nhear.)
Mr. Aiken said that, as a new member of the council,
.tha.f, whiot he observed' with'i"the most regret; was: tibs
conduct °roue on two gentlemen toWards•the watch com-
ritlitee. 'He thotigh t I the- attempt bf Mt: Hodson 'to ptitfile
,watch committee .iu, a false positiorl, by,.making, it to, :be
!inferred that• they were actuated by personal motives against
himself, and by, charging them with making a perSen,o
'AMA"`upon' him, 'was an exceedingly unvverthy way-of,
theeting the question—Of meeting, too, the charge that bad,
•been brought; not against himself', but against the watch
committee. (Hear, hear.) "Was it aright thing .for a
tenqeinqn to rise in the council•reom, , and ;directly,;‘o;
,aoeßsi) an important conaniittee,of. grosslymegleetinutheir
duty, and, when called upon to justify his language;
that.he Was'persbnally attaclied by thAefinniteet ? The'yo
pnllgd,qp9P 44,403.91:4114,his cloy, hy: gilingiltiaem the
opportunity of investigating his deliberate statement-,4batl
there were piti ice in'tbe habit' of pityin'ol464 a week to the
police-to escape-fines ; and yet, while:refusing,-ttrclo-scr,. he
?id iidtlfesOater 6-repeat the ehargel he did tetililde hid
head, and blush to tatjt that 'he; a member of the council,
whose (1114'4 WO 'to bring to,light these offences, and to
theveitinpit!ee in punishing: the offenders, was cognisant
-iat by gp,ncealing it he became a party to,
) NkdOphi, in such a large force, there
were some 'hien Who'. Wonld err when temptation was
presentedW,b theutthat was po,nicuse ,fo`r: Mr

°title ffic

411 ear,

ffoason

to hal:ge by them •
ma.:o a sweepAg c , telling it was notorious
thatthe pnrce took bribes ;• and then, when pressed 'to snb-
'staritihte it, refusing to give the committee the'ofmortunitY
of detecting the delin'quent.l It was a gross dereliction of
pul,lic duty in Mr. Hodson to have conducted himself in
such a..manntir in this case ' • and if Mr: Hodson, or any
other member, of the council , brought forward such charges
again in suell'a,WaY, he should excuse the council if they
treated them in the only way; in which they deserved to be
treatedin ( )"'

Mr. 410Pf1,79n-,ParicrOP9lllred AlkatJke prided_himaoli al
being a common brewer —(laup.:hte!)--ond that in..his
yonng .1"r days' he certainly ;Woad BaretimveA a. cite of 'want
of-confidence in Mr. giodsoa-4-lapghter)—for his condud,
in.1%4/chie, . ' • • ' •

Mr, Godfrey sai I Illaitbpjrelolutiort '
of ihe council, in
referet;66' to the chairniiii, retnnidhaibim of Shak,peare's play
of "Much ado ablut Nothing." He had...'said nothing
againsttlfd eimittnan, but l'ios-triftd 4.cts which no member
of the--oeuieil—c,oUld deny. He .h ti' that
itole •of toe timber. , :fliere might
found' few ,exceptions, who were not guilty of
bribing the police, either personally, or through their
servants. , (Criep of oh ! oh !)
The Mayo*' here interrupted Mr. GOdfrey, and* said that
those broatLallegations.could-not be allowed. (ffeaffhear.)
Mr. G frey continued to-say, that if there Wercrobstacles
in the war of the timber trade, they should be properly
removed, but that those engaged.. in it ought not to tempt
the' police, as, prob ably, by-and-bye the police- Might
improve on it and compronlisd felonies.

.Iderman Lang3dalc ; filave been referred to,
Uean,say
.Is, that I never gave any body a bribe.

,d to my carte

s a very re

raitfthirr)

iv no fi

ind I 'am positive al; of my own existenee

After that; the siestiori is at rest I
lared, that as a timber merchant, thirty-
s in the trade, bc had been often 4ned, but that he

Beckwith
Johnson d

I4('.,prfi4e4ings were tben confirmed.

DO.9K CONIMITyIZE

The proceeclinkg, resatotious, and directions of the Dock
Committee were read. •

Mr. Charles Ttirne'r sail : Mr. Mayor ; In moving the
confirmation of, fhilJe prOgeedings the only subject tb which'
I think* it-neeesSary to refer, is that which refers to the
reviseklitchedule ,of 'dock rates. ThsoDock COMmittee;
having taken their financial position intcramsideration, not
merely i 1 its eNisting state,.but as regarels.its' futuriistate,
in sa far as it 'May be effected by tbo- state' of44.tOvhich
we'are ht pieient-engagetr, the'lhoteased:presaine upon, the
Moneyinarket, and the tonnage- consequent
Upon alteratipd,: fl;u;•=ode of measuring ships
authorised by the act of Parliament passed, during the last'
session came'to the unanimous aetermittatien that it Was an
aFt pf prudBpee, at l'ea44,i,f„pot, of liecessity, to .make snipe
lacrease npoli the eleoliirales)wbich had previously e*istecl?,
In fact, it was abundantly evident that theetiltlng inconfe
of the' doeld estate;' as`' abouiiilii`llie years! 1'864-55, ,would
.not he sutDciertt.tp,cover •th expenditurel and the dock
gommitteQt 'Considered that it was 'not 'OeTrable thatl:i
shonld be left in any manner of .doubt fo,whetlier the
iabothe'of thedock estate would meet or not its exi)e4jture.
...kliearr, hear.) - Mom& gentler-nen thou ht that it
have been left with safety to. the increase of trade,
but the dock committee generally considered
it of so :much importance, to have it established without
dahlif that the income
,of. the estate would be amply
.suffi-
elent. to meet Titkn,7;aftenieitis expenditure, that they
determined.npon an itictease of it'lfe r4te'sqn the way which
was alluded to in the --resolutions. The State of things
which I:hrtve deedribed 'arose partly from the inerew4
amount of money spent upon Eicklitional shed accommodation
and otllSEAP44s,vviliqiiit although they have been, and
will be; of,lll4,el;4l_aflvantage, to the trade -p4 the port, yet,
as gentieitiee `connected with commercial affairs will
be " ,•aivarc. ' not bring '' of

an Increase
(1.1000 s tiO dock; estate::: We have
l so ad some ,increase of charges from. matters which
,will, cveutuallT, I think, be a souroe 'of great-profit to the
dook estate, such es the, warelr,nnses at,present:ln.axisteaPei
'41064' hind purchateS tipade, titt'which, at present, are a
borthenraVoil the existing dock funds. Bat, sir, there is
one item shOklike to:sayi 4a4 a very material
infltiehce'iipori-thd minds of the dock
,con?,in'ttee—that is,
the increase itrihe rate of interest whsqh,llas taken place
sip* the.eciinmencement of the war. -The debt of the dock
estate, at the present time, is, as most of the council are
£5,400,000: ;'-okfentletticti' ' Will see at a
th t :an :increase L., of Ode per cent, on
tile- interest wouhli, add at - £54,000 a year
tO 'the eipenilitureAif; the dock committee. If the average
fat:e:of,interest in times of perm be 31' per cent, and in
times of war he raised to per cent or per cent, as I
believe it will' be,•,in
.4the one 480.414s*oiilij be aii increase
Vll4 eixoWiiiitre of 4,000 _year. xand, in the other
year added to that aOtin, making
together £Bl,OOO. - The committee thought it absolutely
negpssarr t o,provide for that. state df •:things.• • • Then Aeon',
sir, the,all 0-Mien Tloch•WEir it* in 'the vreaswement
ship§;'etifeillo avki•age' 'pf.tka:iling Vessels' : ktil'al to a
reduction on thc,rate which previously existed of. fully ten
prr cent.. Ships measured- under the new act• would measure
;fatly ten per cent,. lesi. they- previously_ did. This,
of course, as we 'are obliged to take the, "registered, tonnage
1 as the tonnage upon which the rates are to be levied., will
r'4R,4.4igainution of the dock rates upon tonnage to the
d same extent. As regard-

aware,
glane

teamboats, the rate by a cjanse
tohiCh IS in the dorrki further dttninisheci.
believe the diminution upon steamboats will be considerably
more than- that I have mentioned, Takin& 'all these
e matte

rs, sir, into consideration, the clock entninittee, as I
previouslY stated, thought that as a matter of Prudence, at
least, if, not as a matter of absrdute necessity, it
was most dis-irable that they should put the income
of the estate beyond all question, by, proposing to increase
the rates in the manner which has been deSoribed in the
resolution. The inetease upon the tonnage rate is just tc n
cent;; which doe'i not more than meet the'diminntion
wuinhiii.caused -by the new measurement of ships. Upon
goodi the iscrease,eenerally is about frOm ten tq tlNielve,and-
tiAttif-per emit ThCre' are some goods Upon which -..the
keel jhgvanse it .watil.ll43 opinion of the