The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-04 00:00:00

SELECT VESTRY.

The fortnightly meeting of the Select Vestry was held
at ten o'clock yesterday, Mr. Churchwarden WOODRUFF
in the chair. The following gentlemen were present :,--
Messrs. Bairstow, Owen, Cook, Richardson, Jackson,
Chesney, J. Jones, Mellor, Denton, Satchel', Syred,
Luff, Bold, Smith, Crawford, and Branoker.

WORKHOUSE COMMITTEE.
The minutes of this committee were read. It ap-
peared that the number admitted into the vagrant sheds
during the past week were 250 males, 77 females, and
25 children, in all 352. The number of sick cases in the
house on the 29th ult. was 785, including 79 fever, and
60 itch. The total number of inmates in the house on
the 28th ult. was 2634. Applications had been received
from candidates for the situation of assistant medical
officer. seven in number, out of which the committee
selected three, and requested the applicants to attend a
future meeting—Messrs. Bakewell,of Purton, Wiltshire ;
Moorehouse, London ; and J. W. Fitzpatrick, Liverpool.
Five applications were received for the office of dispenser
to the workhouse, and deferred to a future meeting. 26
Lascars were ordered to be received into the house, at a
cost of Is 6d a•day, to be defrayed by the East India
Company, on whose behalf application was made for
their admission by Mr. W. Rathbone.
The proceedings of the committee were confirmed.
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS COMMITTEE.

The minutes of this committee stated that a letter was
read at a special meeting from four assistant school-
masters of the industrial school, addressed to the rector,
and submitting as grievances various allegations against
the chaplain. The letter was reserved for investigation
at the next meeting of the committee.

Mr. Bairstow moved the confirmation of the proceed-
ings.

Some conversation, originated by Mr. Jackson. took
place in reference to the fact of Mrs. Lyne, one of the
officers of the schools, being allowed the privilege of
having her child occasionally staying with her, notwith-
standing the general order recently passed against
allowing officers' children to reside on the premises. It
appeared, however, that this was a privilege granted to
Mrs. Lyne by special arrangement long previous to the
passing of the order. The objection made was accord-
ingly withdrawn.

The proceedings of the committee were then confirmed
without any further discussion.

PINAINCIS COMMITTEE.
The proceedings of this committee contained the
following letter from the Rev. Rector Campbell :
.Liverpool, Jan. 27th, 1857.
Dear Mr. Hart,—l have received your letter and the
accompanying resolution of the vestry, offering me one
shilling for the pauper funerals, and although I think it
would have been better to have acted on my suggestion
to make a final settlement of the question, by referring it
to one of the superior courts on a special case stated
without pleadings. I shall, so far as lam concerned,
accept the offer for the sake of peace.—Yours faithfully,
To C. Hart, Esq. AUGUSTUS CAMPBELL, Rector.
A letter was read from the Clerk of the West Derby
'onion, complaining of the conduct of Mr. Martindale,
relieving officer, in refusing to relieve Ellen Robinson,
on the ground of her belonging to Everton, whereas she
had very recently been received by Liverpool under a
removal order, as illegally belonging to the former place,
and Mr. Martindale not having, as directed by the com.
mittee, kept a written record, was called in, and informed
by the chairman that unless he showed himself in future
more fitted for the discharge of his responsible duties
than he had hitherto been, the committee must take the
necessary steps to determine his appointment.
Mr. Luff asked waether the resolution with respect to
the rector's fees required to be confirmed by the general
vestry.

Tlie Chairman said, it would merely come on as a
payment in the ordinary way, subject to going before
the auditor.

Mr. Jackson begged leave, under the circumstances, to
ask the vestry clerk to refer to a resolution of the board
passed at a special meeting on the 12th of last September.
He should like to know the position in which they stood
with regard to that resolution, and whether it or that
one passed at the last meeting of the board was the more
binding upon the vestry.
The Clerk read a resolution passed at a meeting held
on the 12th of September, specially. The resolution was
adopted on the motion of Mr. Bairstow, and was to the
effect, that the churchwardens do call a meeting of the
;general vestry on a early day, for the purpose of con-
sidering and determining as to the list of fees to be
received at the Walton cemetery.
Mr. Jackson said that resolution placed the vestry in a
fix. It bad been allowed to remain on the books ever
since the 12th of September, and had never been carried
out, and he now wanted to know which of the two reso-
lutions adopted by the board was to be abandoned.
The Chairman apprehended that by the former resolu-
tion it must have been intended to leave the churchwardens
some discretionary power of calling the meeting, if the
circumstances should require it. At the time that reso-
lution was passed the committee and the board were in
a considerable difficulty. It was then thought that the
board had no power to pay the Rector any fees without
appealing to the general vestry, and under those circum-
stances the resolution was passed. The circumstances,
however, had very much altered since then, and a large
majority of the board as well as of the finance committee
were-now under the impression that they were justified
in passing the last resolution, If they had not felt
themselves justified in making that offer, under the
special circumstances in which they were placed, and
the Rector had not accepted it, the churchwardens would
then undoubtedly have called the parishioners together and
submitted a scale of fees for their approval, but, under
the present circumstances, the Rector having accepted
the offer of one shilling, and the churchwardens believ-
ing as they did at present, that the parishioners
would approve of it without being called together, they
were unwilling to give any unnecessary trouble by call-
ing the parishioners together. They conceived that they
had acted most faithfully to the public, and quite in
ate.ordance with the feeling of the majority of the
board. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Bairstow remarked that he thought it out of all
reason that the vestry should pay the clerk of St. Peter's
Church 6d for doing nothing at all. He, therefore,
thought the churchwardens could not get out of their
difficulty without calling the parishioners together.
gerhaps, however, they might submit the subject to the
Innual vestry, when there would be a better muster of
the `parishioners than they could get at any special meet-
, .
ng.
The Chairman regretted that Mr. Bairstow was not
somewhat better posted up on ecclesiastical law.
(Laughter.) There was a general want of information
Olson this subject. The parish clerks had the same claim
upon the vestry now in regard to Walton church for
their fees as they bad in regard to St. Martin's church.
,It7eir claim was placed upon precisely the same footing
and un,:..l.f't the same law as the rector asserted his claim.
((Hear, hear.) It would be for the Select Vestry to con-
sider the best means they could, of getting rid of such a
,claim ; and lie did not NIA a public meeting of the
parishioners would be the best Means. His impression
was, that under the law at present, the parish clerks could
;compel them to pay certain fees, and in point of fact,
their claim being on the same footing as that of the
rector, they conld demand much larger fees than they
were willing to accept; or than the vestry would be dis—
posed to give. He presumed, that in a few weeks, some
demand would be made upon the vestry, and it would be
then for the vestry to say whether they would make a
similar arrangement as in the present instance.
Mr. Jackson contended, that the simplest and wisest
course would have been, to have called a meeting of the
parishioners, when the rector offered to submit his claim
to the General Vestry, and the Bishop of the Diocese.
Mr. Braneker said, the select vestry was placed there
by the general vestry to determine these questions, and
he did not think that the general vestry had any claim to
agitate the mat er, until it was brought before them by
the select vestry at the annual meeting.
Mr. Jackson said, the 10th, Geo. IV., otherwise called
St. Martin's act, provided expressly for such a dilemma
as that in which they were now placed.
The Chairman said, that some time ago he expressed
his regret that the rector's position should be so compro-
mised by these discussions. (Hear, hear.) He thought
it would be much better for the town to come to an
honourable arrangement for a fixed annual payment in
lieu of all fees, instead of having continually to dispute
about intricate and difficul,, old acts of parliament, and
involving so much time, anxiety, and trouble. If such
an arrangement was honourably entered into with the
rector and his assistant officers, to have in lieu of fees a
fixed payment, a short act of parliament could be
procured at very small cost, and the question could be at
once settled, instead of having these painful questions
continually raised. He was in hope, some time since, that
a more proper feeling on all sides would be manifested,
and that a short act migh• be obtained, and the expense
made payable in the usual way out of the charges for
poor rate. He thought that the only satisfactory way in
which the long vexed question could be settled ; but if
gentlemen who maintained extreme opinions would not
attempt to come to any moderate point, they must only
get on the best way they could.
Mr. Sa`chell hoped that the question would be con-
sidered settled by the almost unanimous vote of the last
meeting.
The subject was finally allowed to drop, and the
proceedings of the committee were confirmed.
Mr. Chesney moved that the governor be requested to
furnish a return of the children in the workhouse on the