The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-07 00:00:00

TO HIS WORSHIP THE MAYOR

&-,—Petaining the feelings of interest in the—prosperity of this
t iwe, my residence from boyhood, and which should attach to one
who, to: a long term of years, had the honour of a seat in the Town
Council as a mourn member to consult the interest of the commu-
nity, I feel it a diity to call the attention of the 1:own Ceinctl to the
destruct ye perire,sion of a portion of St. John's Market from its
special le.e-.1 purposes, of a retail provisien marissit, to tid a Whole-
sale veatehierse for pack eees of foreign fruit', and a depot for empty
barrels Sot hampers, being, in tact, a desert as to market purpos,:s,
and dis-reditable in every twit/ to a market hitherto an o' jest of
admiration to straneeis, as well from its appotrathe end syinme-
trica! fictines as for the m.gnitude of retail bus 'less transacted
therein. 'l'h2 spare thus despoiled of its p,oper market fittings,
which contaieed 43 shops or st :11s, besiles b •nches for the s tie of
butchers' inetit, tibrk,bacon, cheese, and butter—the to Is and rents of
wh'ch produced, on an averaze, 4535 per annum—is now occupied,
in warehouse fashion, by three wholesale dealers in foreign frui
who pay for this monopoly of space an average of 415 d—the same
amount which they paid for their standings in the open air, and
therefore showing a loss to the Corporat on income of the futl
amount-4535 per annum. For thi s despotic expulsion of tenants,
an:t dest uction of property Its compare great things with small),
there is no m re suitable parallel than the celebrated clearan,.e of
the traCt of country ca led the New Forest.
The ostensible pretence of prectelite,s so stlicclei on the part
of the ed,por ,tion snd town, by the present market c mmittee was;
I understand, to accommodate within the market the business now
carried on out of doors, and thereby to relieve Great Charlo•teonreet
of its thronged state on mareet days. That tbis prrtencewas with-
out its elledged foundation is to be seen in the fact that the space
inside the marker, eieared by the razure of so tritely va uable shops,
slabs, &c., coMd, if so appl ed, affo d no sensible diminution of the
outdoor bus 'less or relief to the street throuzli wh'ch, whatever
rirght be its crowded state, a carriage-way wes always preserved;
while it should also be noted that there are two other streets running
',rand with Great Charlotte-stre t that afford equal and ample
thoroughfare accommodation in the same direction with that street,
%bleb is itself crowded only once a week during a few h. ors in the
day that are devoted to public purecees of the dtmost donvenieride
and value to the community, as shown in the fact, that those who
throng the street, and frequent the market, are the sellers and buyers
of those provisions whi h the market committee, to a great extent,
are banishing from St. John's Market,—net, it would appear, with
the intention of admitting into the covered Market the excess of
indigenous vegetables and perishable frUits, now excluded, bet
to afford warehouse room to wholesale dealers, as before observed,
at a loss to the public of ger eral convenience, and to the corpora.
tion of 4538 per annum.
This loss, aria ng from the destruction perpetrated in one corner
only of St. John's Market, affirds an idea of what would be the
resu.t of a further expansion of such evil doings.
'1 he value of large retail provision markets is seen by their hay-
biz place in all civilised communities Liverpool in partic tlar has
attained celebrity for her splendid markets, where large supplies of
provisions 'felt sorts are concentrated, where proximate competi-
tion ensures quality with equable prices, where weights an 1 mea-
sures Can be more strictly kept to their legal wandard, and where
Character for honest dealing is mast neces-ary for success. To such
central and protected arena the poor and un,killed in marketing
may resort with safety, economy of time, and with confidence to
supply their wants, instead of brine left dependant upon isolated
badly supplied hucksters, unrerecked by proximate cone ition.
Markets are amongst the eternal, social, and legal institutions of
this country ;—they are specially provided for in the charter of the
Borough of Liverpool, and should be a principal object for preser.
vation and improvement by the authorities of this town. The
desire, therefore, more than once expre,sed in the Town Council,
openly abetted by several of its mentbers, and now apparently me-
tered i to design, to drive the retail provision business from the
market to private shops, for the advantage of priVate propeite is
Virtual treason against the community and the laws. The first
step in th s ideeat direction has been the sale of the Pedlars' al er-
ket, the property of the Corpora,ion, by auction, fur 45,400, which,
at four per cent., the interest current at the time of sale, gives en
income of 4218, against that previously derived from the
of 4453 per annum

market,

"[tie complaint against the ancient Pedlars' Market, and which
should have been deemed ,ts Greatest reemimentiatian was that its
tenants supplied its wares to the public on cheat) q• terms than
modern private shops elsewhere, less acted upon by competition,
would do; end, strange to say, that the purchaser of the Pedlar's
Market, himself a member of the council, and a strenuous advocate
for its s.le, continues, wi h a small deduc ion of space, but increased
accommodation, the same market or assemblage of stags, standings,
&c., which, in the possession of the corporation, were so strongly
objected to as being inj irion3 to outside shops. The same gentle-
man is known to inveigh against what he calls shops in St. John's
Market, and has credit with those who are a, quainted with council
tactics, for being the intluendal author of the described partial
wr,ck of St. John's Market. As concerns this allusion to a mem-
ber of the council, inseparable from a narration of circumstances
will which he was connected, I disclaim all personal ill-feeling
towards himself; I ssosh to see a stop put to those apparent,y con-
templated encroachments of individual inie est on public rights and
prop rty, which if unopposed, may in time convert the markets
themselves into b dng private possessions.
In conclusion, I take leave to express the hope that the Council
wi 1 a ••cept as an apology for the length of this address, that it
comes from a tormer member of their market committee, who, as
such, had the active superintendence of St. John's Market for above
twelve years, and therefore, may have some credit for a knowledge
of the market affairs, respecting which he has the honour to address
the Mayor and Town Council.

I am, sir, with profound respect, your most obedient servant,
Ch pel-street, WI February, 1856. EYRE EVANS

Mr. Banner concurred with Mr. Gladstone, and con-
sidered the act of the committee in appropriating any
portion of the market to wholesale purposes as illegal.
Mr. Shell took the same view of the subject, and declared
that there was not a statement in Mr. Evans' letter which
was not founded on fact.

Mr. Picton thought that what they wanted was open
space, like Covent Garden in London, for wholesale pur-
p lse3, and then to have the retail business spread through-
out the town. That was the case in London, and resist it
as they would, they should eventually adopt the same
Gladstone Alderman r tCh
oosoop egre
ndtel
en
mi eedn thato the
eaerdg uwmi
tehn
ht
mo
Mr.
system in Liverpool
A.lr
or the statements in Mr. Evans' letter were correct. Cer-
tain stalls had been for a length of time unoccupied in the
market, and the committee observing it requested the per-
sons in the south-west urner to remove to them, in order
that, as they had the opportunity of letting that portion
of the market, no part cf it might be untenanted. That
was the cause of the committee acting as they had done,
and he denied that the change would be any loss to the

corporation. He also denied that it was for-the benefit of

the public that the retail business should b ;entiat

in any market, and contended that the people themselves
felt this in the spread of retail shops throughout the town.
As to Mr. Evans, he was the originator of Gill-street
Market, which had proved a decided failure, and the
market committee should, therefore, be excused if they
did not take him as an authority in the matter.
Mr. Johnson, as chairman of the committee, also denied
that the statements in Mr. Evans letter were correct, and
said that ho would be fully prepared to discuss the ques-
tion when the committee brought up the contemplated
plan of a wholesale market.

_
The proceedings were then confirmed, and Mr. Evans'
letter referred to the committee.

The proceedings of the Elucation, Gaol, Health, and
Gardens Committees were also confirmed.

CI :MICR EXPENDITURE COMMITTEE.
The proceedings of this committee were read. They
recommended that the salary of Mr. Hackett, organist of
St. Peter's Church, who was lately dismissed by the Rev.
Rector Campbell, be paid µpi to July, and also that the
clock of St. Michael's Church be lit with gas.
Mr. Banner explained at some length that the Rev.
Rector Campbell had the power of dismissing the organist,
and quoted the opinion of Sir William Scott, brother of
Lord Eldon, and afterwards Lord Stowell, in support of
this view.

Mr. Alderman Dover contended that Mr. Hackett
having been appointed by the corporation, and his salary
paid by them, could not be summarily dismissed by the
rector. He had been churchwarden of the church for
two years, and during that time no man's conduct could
have been more proper, or the discharge of his duties
satisfactory than Mr. Hackett's. Mr. Hackett had effi-
ciently filled the olice during Archdeacon Brooke's time,
and it was hard that he should be dismissed immediately
after the death of that divine.

Mr. Robertson Gladstone. This is a plaguy subject,
and ever will be so. The question is in what manner are
the churches to be rendered really serviceable to the
people ? and not have them as at present bare walls,
empty penis, and no flame of righteousness to warm them.
It is sad, sad work, and the best thing this corporation
can do is to endeavour to suggest some means of getting
free from them altogether ; for as I said before they are
a " plaguy spot," and no credit to the members of the
church—nor to Protestants generally can it be a matter
of satisfaction to see these churches maintained as they
are. Actually the whole rental of every church in con-
nection with this corporation barely produces a main-
tenance for one individual. The whole pew rental of any
one of the churches barely pays as much as wou:d repay
the expenses of sinkers and organist. Truly this a lamen-
table state of things. How is it that the Dissenters,
Roman Catholics, and others, do not appear before the
public questioning and quarrelling as to who is to pay the
organist' or whether an organist is desirable ? or whether
in point of law the organist is to be dismissed as a nui-
sance, and liable to 17) removed by the police by force
from his seat ? it is sad, sad work, and the sooner we
are free of these churches the better.

The proceedings were then confirmed, bat the recom-
mendation with regard to lighting the clock of St.
Michael's Church was roferred back to the committee.
The council then adjourned till eleven o'clock next
Wednesday.

Accounts from Havre state, that many orders for
American breadstuffs have been recalled, in anticipation
of a considerable decline in the United States, when it
becomes known that the Russian ports are about to be
thrown open.
DISSOLUTIONS OP PARTNERSHIPS.—J. Barber and B.
Smith, Cartworth Moor, near llohnfirth, Yorkshire, woollen
cloth manufacturers. James Duckworth and John Duck-
worth, Manchester, boiler makers. E. Taylor and R.
Aveyard, Sheffield, Yorkshire, general printers. J. Lamb
and J. Bellamy, Sheffield, Yorkshire, button manufacturers.
G. Tolson and B. Hague, Dewsbury, Yorkshire, rag
merchants. Joseph Robertshaw, John Robertshaw, It.
Crabtree, J. Sugden, and B. Murgatroyd, Halifax, York-
shire, commission wool combers, so far as regards It. Crab-
tree, J. Sugden, and B. Murtgatroyd. T. Nelson, E.
Emmett, and R. Emmett, Edenfield, Lancashire, cotton
manufacturers. J. Dyson, W. Helm, T. Summerskill, and
J. Wormald, Halifax, Yorkshire, masons. S. E. Carlisle,
A. R. Capel, G. Norbury, and S. J. Hallam, Mincing-lane'
City, and Liverpool, tea brokers. E. Done and J. Done,
Manchester, hessian dealers. W. Smith and K. P. Fitton,
Huddersfield and Kirkbeaton, Yorkshire. S. Hall,_ L. W,
Hall, D. Hall, and B. Hall, Marsden and liudalsrdeld.
-9
Yorkshire, cloth manufacturers.