Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-01-24 00:00:00

ADOPTION OF. THE LOCH. GOVERNMENT

ACT OF 1858.

MEETING AT WEST DERBY, YESTERDAY.

In pursuance of a requisition, a meeting of the rate-
payers and owners of property in the township was
convened by the churchwardens, in the National School
Room, in the village of West Derby, yesterday forenoon.
The Rev. J. Stewart, rector of West Derby, was unani-
mously called to the chair, on the motion of. Mr. Ledger ;
and amongst the other gentlemen present were the Rev.
W. Calder, Messrs. Radcliffe and Crosby (the church-
wardens), Ledger, Anthony, John Stewart, R. Sheil,
Dr. Glazebrook, Jas. Edwards, W. Cropper, J. .B.
Leatherbarrow, J. C. Corbally, Briscoe, R. Higgin, W.
Jones, M‘Bride, Urquhart, Benn, &c., &c.
Mr. RADCLIFFE having read the requisition, and the
notice convening the meeting, and a synopsis of the
powers-sought to be obtained under the Local Govern-
ment Act,

The CHAIRMAN said it now became his duty, accord-
ing to the terms of the act of Parliament, without
expressing any opinion, to propose the following reso-
lution :—‘,‘ That the Local Government Act, 1858, be
adopted in the whole of the township of West Derby, in
the county of Lancashire, except the part comprised in
the borough of Liverpool."
Dr. GLAZEBRO9K said he had been requested to second
the resolution, and he did so with very great hesitation
in the presence of so many gentlemen more suitable to
the duty; but, inasmuch as he had been connected with
the Highway Board, and was intimately acquainted with
the necessities and requirements of the poorer population
of the parish, he considered he :would be wanting in
moral courage were he to refuse to advocate on
this occasion the • adoption of the Local Government
Act. He, had two reasons : first, that the powers o
the Highway Board, acted under the Highway and the
Nuisances Removal Act, were insufficient to deal with the
present and prospective difficulties and requirements of
the nuisances and sewerages ; and, secondly, because the
powers granted by the act of 1858 were ample, complete,
and practicable. The present Highway Board acted
under two powers—the Highway 'Act of William IV.
and the Nuisances Removal Act of 1855. The Highway
Act merely referred to the making,. repairing, and
maintaining of roads and highways—the Nuisances
Removal Act was merely for the prevention and re-
moval of nuisances, and its powers were limited, unde-
fined, and sometimes expensive in operation. The Local
Government Act was passed in 1858, and was based
upon the model act of Sir Robert Peel of 1845, and
incorporated with the Public Health Act of 1848.
It was those powers which they were moving for now.
The necessities of the case were simply these. In May
of last year the Highway. Board had innumerable appli-
cations from every part of the district—of the parish—for
the prevention of nuisances and the 'making of sewers
and drains; and in inquiring into the different requisi-
tions they found they were almost powerless—the same
application had been made year after year to previous
boards, and they had been unattended to. At last, from
from various portions of the parish, they received notices
that if the board did not attend to these requirements,
the people' would • apply to the Government to have
an inspector sent down. It was then decided
'that a committee of the Highway Board should be ap-
pointed to go-into the subject; and that _committee had
found it impossible to do anything but to apply for the
adoption of the Local Government Act. Now, no doubt,
if this act were adopted, and the board put into responsi-
ble hands, it would be one of the greatest blessings they
could have for the parish. (Hear, hear.) As to the
increase to the local rates and taxation, the idea was
absurd, for there would be a decrease But, he main-
tained that it was not merely a question of taxation—
(hear, hear,)—but one which involved the social condi-
tion of the labouring classes. It was not that, the man-
sions and villas which studded the various localities in
the rural districts wanted draining, but it was in the
poorer districts, where the inhabitants had no power to
assist themselves, that the drainage was required. He
would now read the report which the committee of the
Highway Board had prepared about June last. It was
as follows :

TO. HS CdAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF lIIGTIWATS.

Gentleman,—In compliance with the resolution of the board
we beg to inform you that a meeting of the sub-committee was
held June 2, 1859, to'take into consideration.the subject of
adopting, in this parish, the Local Governmeht Act of 1858,
and also to submit the decision arrived at at that meeting,
namely—

It is the opinion of this committee, and they do unanimously
resolve to recommend to the Highway Board the desirability
of immediately adopting the Local dovernment Act of 1858, in
this township. . _ _

The committee, in making a few observations, beg to remark
the act under which- your boafd- is constituted, is the
Highway .Act of William IV.t-5 and 6 • and the board have.
also power -to 'put into operation the Nuisance Removal Act;'
Victoria, 18 and 19, 1855.
• The Highway Act refers principallv to the making, mainte-
nance and repair of the highways and footpaths, with power
to ievy for that purpose.' - •
The Nuisance Removal Act refers to the prevention and
removal pf nuisances, on general, undefined, and insufficient
terms, with Ouestionab!e and limited powerS a' to general
sewering and draining. . .

The Local Govermiient Act is a concentration of all previous
legislation referring to the local management of a parish, and
in addition has. many new, requisite, and valuable powers,
with reference to social sanitary improvements. Its powers with
regard to housedraining, street cleansing, - public drains and
ditches; private nuisances, slaughter-houses, trades, *common
lodging-houses, occupants of cellars, management of itreets,
public grounds, supply of water, regulation of buildings, high-
way and street repairs, are ample and stringent. ' •

,-----
We feel, on comparing the powers of the Highway. Act and
Local Government Act together, that it• is most important to
adopt the latter., • - • ,
, Though the' present powers are sufficient to -deal with some
individual nuisances, ye; they are totally inadequate to deal
-with the question of sewers and nuisances, noel°. inention,the
important sanitary requirements of removal of nuisances.
The applications, since the board have been in office, are
numerous and important. The Nuisance Conimittee have
great difficulty in rendering assistance, and considering the
rapid increase of the many extensive and dangerouS nuisances
which at present exist, it is important as it is imperative, at
once to take decided steps in bringing the Local Government
Act into operation. _ _

The applications for assistance from the heard are from the
district near the Zoological Garden, West. Derby-road near
Clubmoor, West Derby Village, Dog's-lane, Hayman's Green,
Church-road, Stanley.
To take the district round the Zoological Garden as an
example—there are about 180 houses, with a population of
about 1.500,and no means whatever of drainage. The suillage
from all the privies and ashpits runs into entries and Streets,
on the open road, and then flowing into an open ditch on the
road side.

In this case it would be manifestly unjust and impossible to
complain; and take legal measures against the owner and
occupiers of this property, simply because there is no public
sewer provided for them. The duty of providing a pubic
sewer is as imperative upon the board as the abating of such a
foul and dangerous nuisance Would be upon the owner and
occupier, in case a sewer was there provided.
Similar facts and principles apply to the populous portions
of the parish, namely,—Whitefield-lane, West Derby. Village ;
Dog's-lane, Knotty-Ash •, Church-road, Stanley.; Edge-lane
Fairfield ; Sandfield-park, Old Swan; and Stony Croft.
We feel the importance of the step recommended, and in
adi sing it, would remind the board of the great importance
and duty of every parish to secure its own local self-govern-
ment, and especially parishes bordering on such important
and rapidly-increasing towns as Liverpool. If this parish fails
'in providing the requisite sanitary im2rovements, eventually,
and at no long period, a large portion of this parish will be
absorbed into the borough.
The committee feel another and most important reason for
the step proposed—the welfare and well-being of the poor and
working classes. Improve their dwellings, their sanitary con-
dition, and you improve their social and mora . The rich can
partially, and for a time, remedy their own nuisance, by
creating a lesser nuisance—a !cesspool; but the congregated
thousands of our 'parishes are utterly helpless. They lave
neither means to do it with, nor space to do it in ; they are
condemned to drag out a miserable existence in places of
habitation unfit for human beings.—We are, gentleman; your
obedient servants,
(Signed on behalf of the committee,) " •
RD. RADCLIFFE, Chairman.
He need not say, as a medical man, that death was
doubly active amongst the lower order of the working..
classes; that annually, in England, 30,000 died of pre-
ventible cholera; that 115,000 .died of preventible
diseases ; aud.,whether they looked at this question as a
question of pauperism, of destitution, of widowhood, of
orphanage, of crime, or of taxes, it was important that,
something shOuld be done in this parish. Let any one
survey the filth, the foulness, the darkness, the dirt, and
the despair, the moral and physical .degradation, the
religious destitution, the social vileness and abomina-,
tions of the charnel-house habitations of our working
classes, and they might depend upon it they would,agree
with him that it was important that something should
be done. It was the greatest boon and the greatest
blessing that man could offer his fellow-man, to assist in
dragging him out from those dens of foulness, and Nile-
ness and abomination, in which many of the poor were
condemned, as it were, by an inevitable fiat of
•Provi-.
dence, to live, without being able to help; themselves.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr.. Churchwarden RADCLIFFE supported the resolu-
tion. He thought it was the best thing to be adopted,
because it would best suit the objects which they all
had in view. It was an advantage that, under the,
Local Government Act, they would have the power to
borrow, and the expense of improvements would there-
fore not be immediately thrown upon the ratepayers.
Mr. ANTHONY, having been one of the members of
the Highway Board, saw every necessity for the adop-
tion of the Local Government Att. ' _ ,

Mr., HAYLOCR said that,under the Local Government-
Act the whole district• was liable to be -rated for all'