Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-05 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN TIMES WEDNESDAY, JA_NVARY 5, 1859•

BIRKENHEAD COMMISSIONERS

aeniea, however, that the gardens had been offs red to
the Commissioners by any one authorised to do so.
The subject then dropped.
The minutes of the last meeting were read and con-
firmed.

The monthly meeting of the Birkenhead Commissioners
was held at seven o'clock last night, in the Offices,
Hamilton-square. The chair was taken by Mr. J.
Harrison. The other members present were Messrs.
Gill, Cook, Bailiff, Barnett, M'Whirter, M'Donald,
Golborne, Baylis, Verelst, Keightley, Willoughby, Brad-
ley, and Rae. Mr. Gough was also in attendance.
Mr. Gough said : Before the business of the evening
commences, I beg to say that I have not taken the neces-
sary declaration, not having been here for a few months
now through some informality. lam now here to take
the necessary declarations. Mr. Wain has not thought
proper to send an intimation to me, although I came
here as an elected commissioner, and I will now suhscribe
the declaration if he chooses to give it to me.
The Chairman : What have you to say, Mr. Waln ?
Is Mr. Gough duly qualified to sit here ?
Mr. Waln : Perhaps, the correspondence between myself
and Mr. Gill will sheiv the position of the question in
the best and the shortest way. I have this day received
this note from Mr. Gill.
Mr. Gough : I ordered it to be sent yesterday.
Mr. Waln : It is dated 30th of December last. Mr.
Wain read the following correspondence : -

" To Ambrose Wain, Esq., Clerk to the Commissioners of

fflrkothead.

" Birkenhead, 30th December, 1858

" Dear Sir,—l have to inform you, as clerk to the
Commissioners of Birkenhead, that on the Bth day of
November last, at the instance of Mr. Henry Gough, who
was the relator in the proceedings, a rule nisi was granted
by the Court of Queen's Bench calling on Mr. Thomas
Stanton Eddowes to show cause why an information in
the nature of a quo u'arrento should not be exhibited
against him, to show cause by what authority he claimed
to be a commissioner, upon the ground that he was not
rated as by law required. The rule nisi was argued on the
25th Nov. by Mr. Welsby on behalf of Mr. Gough and in
support of the rule, and by Mr. Mellish against and on
behalf of Mr. Eddowes, and the rule was made absolute.
Mr. Eddowes subsequently filed his disclaimer. I send you
herewith a copy of an office copy of the proceedings, and
the office copy you can at any time see at my office. Mr.
Gough has been advised by counsel that he was duly
elected a commissioner at the last election in June, and
that Mr. Eddowes having renounced his claim to be a
commissioner, Mr. Gough is entitled to take his seat at
the Board of Commissioners. I hope the commissioners
will take this view of the case, and permit Mr. Gough,
who will attend the next meeting, to take his seat.—
I am, dear sir, yours, truly, " JAS. GILL."

" To James Gill, Esq

" Commissioners; Office, Jan. 4, 1859

" Dear Sir —I have to-day received your note of the
30th ult.- informing me, as clerk of the commissioners,
of the proceedings which have been taken in the nature
of a writ of quo warranto against Mr. Eddowes ; also
that Mr. Gough has been advised by counsel that
he was duly elected a commissioner at the election
in June last, and that Mr. Eddowes having renounced
his claim to be a commissioner, Mr. Gough is en-
titled to take his seat at the board of commis-
sioners, and will attend at the next meeting. The
question of Mr. Gough's right to a seat at the
board is one upon which the board of commissioners can
have no' feeling but the desire to act in accordance with
law. I have taken an opinion of counsel for their .gui-
dance, which is opposed to what I understand to be the
opinion of your counsel. You will therefore see that the
commissioners are not at.present in the position to permit
Mr. Gough to take his seat on the board. I shall be
glad to show you the opinion I have obtained, and per-
haps you will let me see your case and 9pinion.—

'"i am, &c., "A. `PALM"
The Chairman: In 'the meantime, Mr. Gough, I do
not see what we can do in the matter.

Mr. Gough : If Mr. wain advices the commissioners
that I am not duly elected—
Mr. Waln : I do not say that you may not hereafter
prove yourself to have been duly elected, but that there
is no such proof now before the commissioners.
Mr. Gough: No such proof! I maintain that i bad
the greatest number of votes in June. You know it well ;
you had sufficient and proper notice of it, and if you had
acted as impartially and in the same manner—
The Chairman : Well, Mr. Gough, I must request--
Mr. Cook If Mr. Gough is prepared to come and take
his seat and his oath, and that he done se illegally, he is
liable to a penalty. Is it not, then, rather a question for
Mr. Gough himself ? If Mr. Gough were to offer to
make the declaration before me, as a commissioner, it
seems to me that I should consider the responsibility
devolved wholly upon himself.
The Chairman; Well, I cannot quite agree with you
in that, Mr. Cook. I think we ought to be satisfied that
he is duly elected.

Mr. Gough : If the opinion does not cut a better figure
in the next Court of Queen's Bench than in the last, it
will fall to the ground again.
Ths Chairman : I should be very glad to see you here,
Mr. Gough, but I think we can do nothing else at
present.
Mr. Gough:: Well, I think this an exceedingly
ungenerous and dishonourable transaction in the body
of Commissioners to make me go to such expense. The
township will have to pay the expense, and it i§ bad in
principle. The township, recollect, sir, will have to pay
the expense.
The Chairman : If you had had the greatest number
of votes, you could have sat here without any trouble.
Mr. Gough had the largest number of votes.
Mr. Cook asked the clerk whether he (the speaker)
would not be justified, as a Commissioner, in receiving
the declaration of Mr. Gough, if that gentleman thought
proper upon his own responsibility to make it.
Mr. Waln said, that principle would amount to saying,
that any gentleman who came into the room, and said
that he was a Commissioner, and would take the risk
upon himself, might sit at the board.
• • .0

Mr. Cooke : No, I cannot take that view of it, for we
cannot shut our eyes to what has taken place in this
particular case, as Mr. Gough has taken an opinion, and
is prepared to act upon it. I think the onus lies upon
his own shoulders. If he takes his seat here without a
right, he is liable to a penalty._
___ _

The Chairman : I think Mr. Waln's is a very fair
offer, to submit his opinion to Mr Gill, and let Mr. Gill
submit his to him; and if these two cannot agree, they
can then submit it to some third party.
Mr, Gough : I shall not submit it to any gentlemen
except the gentlemen to whom I submitted it before—
Campbell, Weightman, and Earle-

After some further discussion Mr. Gough said, I shall
not bother my head in coming here again. I shall make
fools of you all -that's all. We shall soon see whether
Mr. Walu's law is right or not.
Mr. Gough then left the room.

HAMILTON-SQUARE GARDENS

Mr. Verelst begged, before the business proceeded, to
draw attention to some remarks made in his absence at
the last meeting by Dr. Baylis. At the meeting pre-
ceding the last a report to the road and improvement

committee was read, which had been drawn up by him
(Mr. Verelst). That report proposed to open the square
gardens ; and stated that they had been offered to the
commissioners provided they would have them
watched at night, &c. At the last meeting Dr.
Baylis, in referring to that report, described it as
an "improper report"—spoke in indignant terms
of a " nasty allusion " being made in it to
the gardens being used at night for prostitution, and det
dared he had never seen anythinc, there approaching
what Mr. Verelst had stated. Mr. Baylis also stated
that it was a very improper report to come before the
public until the parties interested had been consulted.
Now, that was the first time he (Mr. Verelst) ever heard
of acting first and suggesting afterwards. He denied
that he had ever made any allusion to the odious word
" prostit.,tion ;" and he denied that either the paragraph
in the report or the contents, implied it. But when he
read the report of Dr. Baylis's remarks, it struck him as
most remarkable that that gentleman should waste so
much eloquent energy, and chaste indignation, in re-
pudiating that of which no accusation had ever been
made. He had the authority of a gentleman, whose
name he was permitted to give if required, that being
on the Gardens' Committee himself, he had taken upon
himself to watch several nights, and he ascertained
sufficient to make him bring the subject before the
Gardens' Committee, of which Dr. Baylis was one. He
Mentioned it to Dr. Baylis, who appeared
to have made no special comment at the time.
He had also the authority of another gentleman
who had walked through the gardens at night, and who
bore the same sort .of testimony. Mr. Verelst expressed a
dope in conclusion, that Dr. Baylis would not for the future
allow -his eloquence to get the better of his judgment,
and that he would neither make nasty allusions himself
nor accuse other gentlemen of making them. As to the
gardens themselves, he begged to suggest that it would be
a great advantage if, instead of a town hall •Or a statue,
salt-water baths were placed in the centre of them. (Hear,
hear.)

Di. Baylis said he was very glad to hear from Mr

Verelst that he did not mean what he had supposed. He
himself never saw anything in the gardens which could
shock the sensibility of any one. Since the last meeting

he had spoken to several gentlemen, who all declared
that they had been in the habit of walking in the
gardens and never saw anything improper there. The
expression nasty allusion," he only used because he
did not well know how else to describe the question of
prostitution ; but, if there was anything in it which was
offensive to Mr, Yereist, he cheerfully withdrew it. Re