Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-12-01 00:00:00

;e against thepri-

:ling her master,_ and she was too :old to lx

present to a penitentiary. He would sentence her' to
six months' imprisonment with hard labour, and if at
the expiry of that time she wished to enter such an

establi-shinent she might do so. •
THE MARKETS' BYE-LAWS.—Rebert Isaac, fish
dealer, was summoned for causing an obstruction in the
avenue of the market by allowing fifteen baskets.of fish
S to remain an unreasonable length of time before

his stall. Mr. Blackhurst, whQho appeared for the
defendant, raised the same defenc: as he. did in
the case of Kearney, last week, viz., that there was
an informality in the mode by which the bye-laws
had been made. 'By the Municipal Corporations
Act it was required that two-thirds of the
Council must be pressnt at the consideration of bye-laws,
whereas those in force had been made by a committee of
the Council. In the evidence given by the officers Of
the market, it was admitted that Mr. Isaac had been
accustomed to place his baskets in that place, and in the
same mariner, for the last twenty-four years, during
which time he had occupied, the stall. Mr. Edwards,
deputy town-clerk, contended that though the bye-
laws were made in a committee,• the proceedings of
that committee were submitted to the Council and
confirmed, which was a legal mode of procedure. After
a long and rather desultory discussion, Mr. Mansfield
said he would take the case into consideration, and
give a decision on Wednesday next.
(Before Messrs. J. B. LLOYD and G._llovr.) _

DANGRIWITS MERCHANDISE.-Messrs. John Hutchi-
son and Oswald Earl were summoned under the fire pre-
vention act for having a large quantity of inflammable
goods warehoused" in a place which was not fire-proof.
Mr. Rishton said that in- this place,' which abutted upon
Blackstock-street, he found about 500 barrels of resin, and
a quantity of tallow and charcoal. ' On one side of the
yard was a foundry with--a number of windows broken.
A young man, who appeared to answer for Messrs. Hut-
thison and Earl, stated that there was an iron,roof to
the warehouse. -Mr

Rishton, however, explained that
this was only a small place- in the middle of the yard.
The magistrates imposed the full penalty of £lO, and
warned the defendants to put themselves in a right posi-
wards the law.

ton as r

TO THE LIVERPOOL RATE-PAYERS

11th month. 30th, 1859

GENTLEMEN,

My last, was addressed to you, 'as the owners of the
workhouse. The editors gave it a different heading—
Women grinding corn at the Liverpool Work-
' My. taking this straightforward • course, has
caused considerable annoyance to the board, as the
report of the proceedings at the Vestry Board clearly
indicates. This I, was prepared for, to some extent. Mr.
Cropper, jun.'s statements are very much exaggerated as
"to my closing my eyes to everything praiseworthy, &c."
I said in my last, the cleanliness and general good
arrangements were apparent." My scrutiny, doubtless,
was too searching. The corn in the mill-hoppers then
grinding was as inferior as the corn then being delivered,
and which the store-keeper said was sweet and right—
"this lot was rejected," we are tuld. by the committee
of the house next day. How was it that the wheat then
grinding, and the worse wheat grinding last 'February,
was not also rejected by. some • committee or official ? 1
learn that the wheat has been, very extensively supplied
by one firm ; is it not fair to assume that the February
and November wheat are. a' fair specimen of past years' ?
If so, what ground has Mr. Denton for his "contempt"
of the facts ? It will be ,a- boon to• the poor to have
sweet good corn, instead of musty; and if he and his
colleagues will have a stricter eye over their duty, and aban-
don the-bad- corn, and the oppressive mill-grinding system,
no discredit will attach to them ; at the same time the
full' expression of approval that the mills received when.
the Rector and Chairman very fairly submitted the ques-
tion to them, as to= the good or evil of the iron mill
grinding—all approved. The public will pause, con-
sider, and pronounce a just verdict, as to whether Liver-
pool. will subject .the women, who are requiring some
assistance outside, to this-'test, and work at 6d. or.9d.
'per day in badly ventilated passages, and especially as
to whether the case of A.B. in the house, and-such like
cases will be tolerated—the whole being work not
required by any other Union in England or Ireland.
Mr. Cafferata asserts that " the mills are the most
valuable part,ef the establishment." Surely I did not
express a sentiment' so entirely damaging to this boasted
Hall of Equity'? The Wards appropriated. to the idiots
and those •subjected occasionally to epileptic fits, all
visitors to asylums, &c. know that classification is very
important, whether in pauper Workhouses, where a
harmless class are allowed 'to be retained; or pauper
asylums—here no. M.D. 'of experience will approve of
those cases of epilepsy that have not seriously injured
the mind—should be, as I said, subjected to daily and
constant intercourse with those whose mind is gone..
I have travellethintensively through Ireland, and
visited, 'some weeks, six union houses, spendiug,five or
six hours per day in each: I made reports !to the
Poor-law. Commissioners in Dublin .during the famine
for about seventeen weeks ; and, at last,-'my progress
was stopped by being attacked-with the typhus fever in
.Dublin—the whole cost -was borne .by.rayself, with no.
object save mitigating the misery of the people. I there
found—and itwas proved-lamentably true in the investi-
gation by the (Mayor of Cork this'year; s see printed
report of the evidence' taken before a Poor-lavi Commis-,
sumer—as -I now find in Liverpool, that the Poor-law -
'Guardians and vestry boards frequently act M a much
more superficial way than is for the public good or the
paupers' reasonable claims. and legal' rights. - ;1 name
this from the advice of a Liverpool ratepayer, as afford-
ing those now.address, an opportunity to form an opi-
nion; not for my own credit or interest, or from egetism.
:L.Cropper stamps' myremarks on .the idiotic wards as:
fritolous.. I have visited asylums and. unions' for up—
lviirds of twenty years ; and all M.D.'s .admit 'classifica-
tion 'as 'essential. As to diis not being ehairman,-that
was no fault 'of mine; - he :was introduced to me as the
chairman by I mutual friend. He was addressed as
Chairman by the governor;- and, on his doingtso, Lre-
Peated the term, and J. Cropper in no instance objected
to it. This is notimportant. "Then as tkvmy consider—
day-room and
ing there was a want of openness in communicating, Bce.,
I believe I was correct•; . for Lbefore J. Cropper came to-
no dish to drink
the workhouse on Wednesday went into the. .men's
yard, and, finding a .drinkino.: folurtam and
Qut of for the 1 number of men, I
large nu
asked how
this -juncture the e said,' they ;never had ohe.- At
m ipal attendant came up, and very
improperly stopped
official showed me andytl'inPlig to the man.
a chance to ape 'This old
olratepayerround last
egthatanldwas extremely
February, and I then considered
435!etocir-.:
narrowly watched against speaking,
artoorea
ally against the poor having
Last week we were charged by the governer.not to express
anything before the' women who were grinding. ese
were free agents, and receiving nothing from the work_
house except the dearly earned 6d. or 9d. per day. We
avoided speaking mainly; Still we wanted to know what
thoy could make, and, when we went to turn the mill
for the sake of testing its hardship, we had a right to
enquire. They were not convicts, although therresemble
them most of any women out of prison I ever saw.
There is a manifest want of sympathy between officials
and 'paupers.
The West Derby Union officials and paupers eat
the same bread. This is some guarantee that store-
keeper and governor will keep millers, &c., to their