The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-04-19 00:00:00

THE TOWN DUES

LOCAL CHARGES ON

SHIPPING COM-

MITTEE

(FROM OUR OWN REPORTER.)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY.

The select committee appointed to enquire into the
operation of local charges on shipping, met to-day for
the first time, Mr. Lowe, vice-president of the hoard of
trade, in the chair. Mr. Creed was the committee
clerk.

The other members of the committee present were—
Lord Hotham, Sir Stafford Northeote, Mr. Milner Cllb
.

son, Mr. Beamish, Mr. Horsfall, Mr. Vance,

Mr. Fenwi

Mr. Hardy, Mr. Bouverie, (president of the poor La'
board), Mr. Duncan, Mr. Moffat, Mr. Watson, Mr. Car.
well, and Sir John Duckworth.
The members absent were, Mr. Cobden and M
Headlam.

The Chairman announced that Lord Stanley, °I
Alderley, the president of the Biard of Trade, had re-

ceived a petition from the inhabitants of Runcorn,
plaining of the local charges on salt. This petition
noble lord hal forwarded for the consideration of

committee, and perhaps it would be as well that it shot]
be read by the clerk.

Mr. Horsfall said before that was done, he begged to
move that the room be cleared, as he had some important
private business to bring before the committee.
Strangers were accordingly directed to withdrass
the committee remained in deliberation with closed do,''

for nearly an hour and a half. On the readmission of Me
public the Runcorn petition was read.
Lord Hothant thought the more regular plan would
have been, that the petition should have been presented
and come through the House.
The Chairman :
,But this is not a petition to the
House ; it is only a petition to the Board of Trade, and
i` will not be entered in the minutes.
Mr. Heron, the Town Clerk of Manchester,
was then
called, and examined by the Chairman : He said he b-id
considered the question of local charges of vital impor-
tance, both to Manchester and Liverpool. In 1700, the
population of Liverpool was 5,714; in 1831, it Wag
165,000 ; and was now very little short of 350,000'
In 1753, the dock dues of Liverpool were £2,034 16s 2d,
in 1803 they were £28,027 13s 4d, in 1833 they were
£182,980 16s 4d, in 1851 they were £235,527 2s 6d. The Parliamentary Committee that sat on the dock dues last
year, proved that the dock dues were nearly
£380,000.
In 1731, the town dues were £648 16s 3d, in 1801 theY
were £19,728 3s sd, in 1833 they were £47,007 1.45 2(l'
in 1847 they were nearly £lOO,OOO, in 1855 they were
nearly £150,000 ; of which sum, £125,000 found its way
into the coffers of the Corporation of Liverpool, and the
remainder (in some way which he could not explain)
found its way into the pockets of the freemen of Liverpool-
The witness proposed to" read extracts from a panWII:
let prepared by a member of the Liverpool Financial
Reform Association on the subject, but some objection
was taken to this by Mr. Horsfall and Mr. Watson. Tile
objection, however, was not persevered in,
witness went on to say that last year 967 merchants and
brokers, who were well able to pay their taxes, were
exempt from the town dues of Liverpool, because theY
were freemen ; 618 were resident in Liverpool, 184 in
Waterford, 68 in Wexford, 68 in Bristol, and 19 ill
London. and the
Mr. Horsfall : Do you know that of your own
knowledge ?
Witness : No ; but if this is wrong, I can easily be set right'
The dock dues of Liverpool, at present; were £380,000, b°
town dues £130,000 a-year, and he estimated that `,lien
existing works were completed, which would be in the course,
of two years, the charge upon the commerce of the Mersey, fboc
dock and town dues, would be something like £656,°,,c,
a-year. The increase in tkese charges from 1847 to 18')'
was £50,000 a-year.
The Chairman : What is the nature of the title to the
chargesl?
Witness : There is a return which was mac

in 1654:

that will show that it appears
that the charges are claimed, first, by prescription ; secondly, ibY
royal charter; and, thirdly, by purchase from the crown. In
1628, Charles I. conveyed the manor of Liverpool to the ce'r-a
ration of London for a sum of about £7OO ;
the property' ‘c3
t
afterwards conveyed from the corporation of London to that of
Liverpool, through a lease from the Molyneux anc,ssl°r_
to the present earl of Sefton. In 1833 it was decided in ttvlo.
case of the Mayor and Corporation of Liverpool
the
Bowden, which was an action brought to try the rights of.
corporation, that the title of the corporation of Li"
pool was good in law and and
then their right had not been disputed.
ration of Liverpool seized certain vessels for town dues,
to be payable on them. In consequence of that, a b
filed against the corporation of Liverpool by Samuel
and another, freemen of London. Tho case' was heard 1
the Barons of the Exchequer, on 2nd July, 1697, 01'
result was, that freemen of London, connected with Live'
were declared to be exempt from the town d'
Liverpool. The law proceeding,, taker
were not commenced with a
of these dues, but only for the purpose oi
a more equal distribution of the dues' and although the "'"action
failed in law, it yet had the effect of drawing attention to too
subject, and some of the previous abuses attendant ?art of
levying of the dues were removed by the corperanoes,
Liverpool. The corporation claimed an arca to 101 n„rt
extending over the whole custom's port of Liverpool. Tbe,ervo,
was established in 1680, by a commission granted 11Y
The dues were levied on every article passing in and oil,
-he port of Liverpool ; they were fixed by tho Town Cot? „.
and varied occasionally on memorials addressed to that 11111;4
A brass plate used to be fixed at the Custom-house, 0-llt
a tariff of duties, but the plate disappeared in 1800; t,,..‘,510,
now no regular fixed tariff, though a list of dues did oce- , a
ally appear in the directories ; the dues were now collet their
the discretion of the clerks, who frequently differed
.IVrior
views, and that offered temptations to young men for poi'
the cut
of
The witness then gave some statistics from°,
Robert Proctor's circular, showing the alncitis ,
the imports and exports of grain from Ireland, as
grown in England and the colonies, for nine mentb?'lo,olo
Ist October, 1852, to Juno 30, 1853, the dues en wl.neo could
something like £B,OOO. He considered that ship Ply, The
be benefitted but to a very limited extent by those duebs' gr.
witness then read an extract from a statement wadi?, Ynicipal
Foster, the town clerk of Liverpool before the .1,-Lu woo
well a Lt
Corporation Commission in 1833, who said the corallienter
had evidence before them, showing that by far tthe Wry to
portion of the town dues were paid by foreigners ;t Liver-
say,
that they were not a tax upon the inhabitants e Foster)
oster)
pool, whether freemen or non-freemen. Ile OR. proportion
thought he might fairly affirm that by far the greater pry/added
were paid by persons living at a distance. Mr. Fc'st,f towards
that the poor rate of Liverpool was about £60,000, an, 0,01)0,.
that the corporation contributed between £5,000 ant!donce 0t
out of these very dues. The witness next read the jorpool
Mr. Bramley-Moore, who averred that the town of
"-: in the
at large derived great benefit from these town due
keeping in repair of the streets, &c. onditur°
The witness next stated the various items of elP_f gaa'
under the borough rate of Liverpool, and also that 0

equity, r p o
.
In 1695 the co
ii,„ca

in the y.

view to the !

chester.
At four o'clock the committee adjourned until 111"d2Y

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