The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-04-10 00:00:00

ELECTION OF SELECT VESTRYMAN

At ten o'clock this morning (Wednesday) the polling
was resumed. There were very few persons present, and
the number of votes up to half-past ten was about equal.
About that time a number of Mr. Flannagan's supporters
arrived, and after apparently a short consultation, Mr.
Fairhurst rose, and requested permission to make a few
remarks. He said that this contest had been forced on
the party which he represented, inasmuch as they sought
nothing further than to maintain the position which had
been conceded to them for many years, and which the
present churchwardens, in a spirit of justice and fair
play, had been willing they should still retain ; and had,
at his (Mr. Fairhurst's) request, placed the name of Mr.
Flannagan as his successor. But seeing the religious furor
which had been evoked, and the angry feelings which
had been stirred up by their opponents, which he could
not sufficiently condemn, and which his friends were un-
willing to contribute to sustain, as well as the extreme
inconvenience to which Mr. Hart, his clerks, the collec-
tors, and in fact, the whole parish staff were put by
these proceedings, but which had not been caused or pro-
voked by:an3 proceedings of Mr. Flannagan's supporters,
after a consultation with that gentleman, he had decided to
withdraw from the contest, after having kept the poll open
for three days, to enable the parishioners to record their
votes, and after having headed the poll, both in persons
and votes, the first two days, and being still in a majority
of persons, though a minority of votes. He (Mr. Fairhurst)
therefore, in the name of Mr. Flannagan, asked the
churchwardens' permission to withdraw Ips name as a
candidate; and, whilst doing so, he took occasion to
return the thanks of Mr. Flannagan's supporters to the
churchwardens and overseers for the very proper and
impartial manner in which they had acted. He begged
also, in the name of his friends, to return thanks to the
very many liberal, right-mighted Protestants who, in a
spirit of justice and fair play, had given Mr. Flannagan
their votes; and he was sure that, however they might
be taunted by their more ultra-brethren on the winning
side, he was sure they would have the approval of their
own consciences, and of all right-minded men. To the
Catholics who had flocked to the poll the first two days
—many of them poor working men, 'who would probably
lose their day's pay, and provoke the displeasure of their
employers, as well as to their more fortunate brethren
in the social scale who had voted—he begged to tender
his best thanks ; and to those Catholics who had:absented
themselves either from want of information on the subject
or from apathy, he would suggest the necessity of keeping
their minds well informed of the events of the day, through
the medium of the press, which fortunately placed within
the means of every one that great luxury—a daily paper.
And to those whom apathy had kept away, he thought he
need not say one word ; for, when they became acquainted
with the retirement of Mr. Flannagan, they would feel
reproved more than any words which he (Mr. Fairhurst)
could convey to them. In conclusion, he hoped that the
course which his party had taken in withdrawing would
have the desired effect, by throwing oil on the troubled
waters ; and that, when they next met their neighbours
and fellow-parishioners, they would meet as friends, and
that the right hand of fellowship would be extended on both
sides. (Cheers and applause).
Mr. James Levingston seconded the motion, and, in
doing so, begged to take that opportunity of thanking
the numerous and liberal Protestant parishioners for
their independent support of Mr. Flannagan. That sup-
port was a proof of the liberal spirit that actuated his
Protestant fellow-townsmen, and he trusted to see that
good feeling always prevail between man and man, whe-
ther Catholic or Protestant. (Hear, hear.) To the
churchwardens and vestry he had also to offer his thanks
for the straightforward, independent, and impartial man-
ner in which they had discharged themselves in connec-
tion with this election. (Cheers.) They did not exhibit
any bigotry to the 120,000 Catholics of Liverpool (cheers),
who, in co-operation with their many respectable Pro-
testant fellow-townsmen, who supported Mr. Flannagan,
only sought to carry out an agreement that had been in
existence for several years, in regard to the select vestry.
(Hear, hear.) His friends had sufficient ratepayers still
unpolled to enable them to conti-ue this contest even for
days, but they did not think they would be acting as they
ought by their friends if they added further expense on
the parish funds, and continued to stir up hot and angry
feelings. lie trusted to see the good feeling continued
between them ; and, after again tendering his thanks to
the churchwardens, sat down amid loud applause.
Mr. Churchwarden Woodruff, after consulting his col-
league, Mr. Shaw, and Mr. Hart, rose and said, that he
should accede to Mr. Fairhurst's motion, and, as there
was no opposition, gave his sanction to the withdrawal of
Mr. Flannagan's name. In placing him on the list, he
had followed up the precedent set by his predecessors in
office, and now that the struggle was over,he might say,
in accordance with his own views of what was right and
just . (Much cheering)
. .

Mr. Fairhurst again rose and proposed a vote of thanks
to the churchwardens, for the able and impartial manner
i❑ which they had acted during the proceedings ; and it
afforded him much pleasure to offer his testimony to the
way in which they had presided over this as well as
other arduous duties which in vestry fall to their lot.
(Much cheering.)

-Mr. Whitty,in recording the vote of thanks, said he
concurred most earnestly in Mr. Fairhurst's desire to
compliment the churchwardens for their impartial and
proper conduct in reference to this contest. He had the
pleasure of previous intercourse with them at the Select
Vestry for a long time, and had always found their con-
duct governed by those fair principles of tolerance and
justice which enabled them to discharge their official and
arduous duties with the increasing respect of this mixed
community. The expression of their views in proposing
Mr. Flannagan, was an evidence of this ; for he believed
there were few indeed who would consider it, on reflec-
tion, otherwise than just that the usual number of two
Catholics at that board was a fair and necessary regula-
tion to represent and give confidence to so large a body of
their ratepayers. He regretted that an opposition to this
prudent arrangement should have been got up, and he
regretted still more that a feeling of bitter religious hos-
tility was sought to be infused into it. To give further
scope for the indulgence of any such feelings would be
most unwise, and would be highly injurious to that proper
and charitable intercourse which all ought to be anxious
to maintain. He for one would not counsel any further
encouragement to unpleasant contention, or to detaining
the parochial officers, to the detriment and expense of the
public interests. He trusted this explanation would be
satisfactory to the churchwardens, whose conduct on that
and on every occasion, induced him to second with much
pleasure the vote of thanks proposed by his friend, Mr.
Fairhurst.

Mr. Churchwarden Woodruff then rose and expressed,
on his own behalf, as well as his colleague, their acknow-
ledgments for the vote of thanks. It had been their
anxious endeavour, in arranging the list, to give satis.
faction to all parties, and he had hoped to have seen the
list adopted in its entirety; but as Mr. Flannagan had
chosen to withdraw, he had no choice but to concur. He
was glad to observe that, notwithstanding party and
religious feeling ran high outside, yet everything had been
conducted in that building in the most orderly manner,
and nothing had occurred to his knowledge to perpetuate
any ill reeling on the subject. He begged to retur❑ their
best thanks for the vote.
The proceedings then terminated.