Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-09-03 00:00:00

TOWN COUNCIL.

The Council held its usual monthly meeting in tit*
Concert-room, St. Ge)rge's Hall, at eleven o'clock yester-
day. The Mayor, FRANCIS &LIND, Esq., presided.

THE WATER QUESTION.
kßef)re the minutes of the previous meeting had bee*.
read,

Mr. Alderman Bzwriarr said: Mr. Mayor, I rise upon
a question of privilege. As a member of the Water
Committee, sir, I rise to disclaim the writing, or having,
any knowledge, of an article which appeared in one of the
daily papers, the Daily Post, M mday. As a member
of the committee, I can say, sir, that I have not seen the
editor of that piper, or any one connected with it, in
refevence to that article. Neither have I any knowledge,
of how it found an entrance into the pages of the Daily-
rose. It is a substantial y correct statement of what
took place, and must have been communicated by
some member of the committee. Tam member wail_
Lot myself.
Mr. J. A. TINNR: I think, Mr. Mayor, this proceeding
is somewhat out of order, and I should not have risen at
all were it not for the obzetvation made by the honourable
member who has just sat down, that the report to which
he alludes was a substantially correct one. I deny that
it is a correct report, so far as I am concerned.
Mr. Hoosoi: I took the trcubl3 to call upon the editor
of the paper, to explain that the report was not correct,
as far as I am cot cerned.
Mr WOODRUFF: I think, Mr. Mal or, we will hays
enough of the water question bye and bye. (Hear, hear.)
Tll3 MAYOR : I do not think it is necessary to go any
further. (Hear, hear.)
The question then aroppsd.
FINANCE COMMITTEE.

The proceedings of this committee contained the follow—
ing : —Recommendation to grentpermission to Mr. William
Thorny, pursuant to 5 and 6 Vic , cap 105, sec. 97, to
bring forward a portion of the front of his premises in St.
Anne street, upon the area encicsed, on sufferance. Raceme
men da' im, on the certificate of Sir Wiliiata Cubitt and Mr.
J. B Hartley, of the satisfactory completion thereof by
the cont actors, to accept the New Landing Stage for sea
going steamers, and to authorize the construction of such
additional works, if any, as are necessary to enable the
same to be used for traffic. Recommendation that the
Landing St,,ge for sea-going steamers now in use be
/enjoyed and cold ; and the following resolution :---‘•That ire
consideration of the great labour and extraordinary
services of the Town Clerk, dating the protracted struggles
in Parliament for maintaining the rights of this Corpora-
tion, and as a testimony of the approbation of the Council
of the zeal and great ability displayed by him, this com-
mittee recommend the Council to vote to the Town Clerk
the sum of £lOOO, as an acknowledgement of those
services, which have resulted in the passing of an Act so,
much more favourable to the righ g and iii.erests of the
Burgesses than that or;ginally sought by its promoters."
M. 1101013 Y moved the coufieuation. of the first recom-
mendation, which was seconded by Mr. Alderman Rolme,
and agreed te.
Mr. HORNBY said, the next subject on which he had to,
move related to the new landing-stage. Sir William
Cubitt and Mr. Harley had certified Chet the contractors,
had satisfactorily cmpleted the stage, according to their
contracts. The resolutioe ho had new to move was, that
the committee be authorised to accept the landing-stage,
and also to construct such additional works as might be
necessary to enable the stage to be used for traffic. The
Council were boned by act of parliernent to hand over the
stage to the Dock Committee in such state that it might
be used for traffic ; and he was quie sure the Council
would agree with him in thinking that they ought to do so
in a bone fide manner. By teferring the subject to the
surveyor of the Corporation aid Mr. Hartley, it would be
determined what works were necessary for traffic. Of
course no other works except those necessary for public
traffic would be erected at the expense of ,he Corporation.

Mr. Alderman HOLAZ seconded the motion.
Mr. WOODRUFF a!-ked. whet ,er there was not some
objection to the bridges as being too short, and con-
sequently at low water exceedingly inconvenient and
da,gerous f tzaffic.
Mr. HORNBY : There are objection 2, but Sir William
Cubitt recommends that in the first instance, the stage
should ba tried as at present. We shall then by experirnee
learn exactly what the defects are, if there are aey, and
those defects of course must be altered if they interfere
with the public traffic.
Mr. WconaurF : At whose expense will the altera'iona
be made?

•
Mr. HORNBY : I apprehend at the expense of the
Corporation.
Mr. WOODRUFF : It is most unfortunate that, after
spending so large a sum of money upon the bridge a, there
should be any mistake in the construction.
Mr. Aldermen HOLNIE : I should bs very sorry that
that remark should go forth to the public without some
explanation. ( gear, hear) I venture to say th it so far
from there being any mistake in the construction, it is one
of the most magnificent productions which ever
proceeded from any engineer (Hear, hear.) The
object of Sir William Cubit; was, that instead of
the approaches, at at present, going a considerable
distance upon the landing stage, and, therefore, making
a declination, which is found very inconvenient to
foot-passengers, carriages and horses going down there.
we seould have an entire flush stage from end to end,
which would be a great convenience, would make a magni-
ficent promenade, and would be a great improvement neon
the exis.ing stage Ha has therefore provided, and very
wisely provided, that the end of the approaches of the
bridges shall rest upon the edge of the stage, and he has
made provision for counteracting the pressure by giving
extra pontoon:. It is perfectly possible that the upper end
of the bridges may, at a very small expense, be lowered no
as to suit the, convenience of traffic ; and I think the
recommendetien exceedingly wise that the stage be first
tried, and if it be necessary then, at no very great expense,
the bridges may be lowered If th sis legaired to be done,
it certainly ought to be done at the expense of the Corpo-
ration; and in order that we may band it over in a petfeet
condition to the Dock E•ita'e, we can hardly object to make-
any trifling alteration which may be necessary in order to
make it more convenient for it purposes than at present.
The motion was then carried.

HORNBY moved that the old landing-stage for
sea-ping steamers, but now rendered useless to the
Corporation, be removed and sold.

Air. Alderman HoLmz seconded iho motion, which WM
carried.

HORNBY then said: Air. Mayor, before I move the
next resolution, I wish to draw the attention of
the Council for a few moments to the report of the
Town Clerk upon the Mersey Conservancy Act, which,
as we are all aware, has now become portion of the law of
the land. By that act the Council will, upon the Ist of
January next, be deprived of the vmstee...hip of the dicks
which they have held now f.)r a century and a half. At
the same time we cease to have any coLtrol whatever over
the management of the docks, and to have any duty to
discharge in any way conneced with the port of Liver-
pool. At the same time the Town Dues wll be transferred
to a new Bovd of Mansgsmeut, created by
Act of Farliament, which, in lieu thereof, pay to
the .Council the sum of £1,500,000. That Board will
thenceforward take upon itself the expense of keeping up
the New Landing Stage, the Observatory, the maintenance
of the Wallasey EmbankmenP, and alt expenses connected
with the conservancy of the river. The Birkenhead docks
are to be handed over to the new trust at cost price with
interest, and the Council is. to be indemnified for all
the expenses incurred or to be incurred in respect
of those docks, and t be freed from all liabilities connected
with them. In addition to there provisions, the Council
are to make over t) the new Board the property purchased
from Mr. John Abel Smi,ll on tit..., other side of the water,
called the North Reserve, for £127,000, These aro the
principal provisions of the act, so far as the relate to the
Corporation of Liverpool ; and although these provisions;
are far more favourable to the Coq); raticn than those
which were contained in the bill as it first passed the
House of Commons, I, for my part, must always consider
it a moat unjust and arbitrary measure. (Hear, and cheers.)
It is, in fact, sir, a of pains and penalties inflicted upon
the people of Liverpool, and that, too, without a shadow of
a charge of delinquency having been alleged against them_
(Cheers.) I must think, and I have no hesitation in
expressing my opinion, that the emduct of her Majesty's
ministers, throughout this measure, has been most unineti-
fiable (Cheers.) This maisure, sir, was brought forward
in the shape of a private bill, prom ved by the Great
Western Railway Company and the Manchester Corpo-
ration.
Mr CH 4.IILES Marna : The Commercial Association of
Manchester.

Mr. Aide nwt Ob, tell it Pll out.

Mr. HORNDY : it was promot,d by the Great Western
Railway Company, talc' the Counter ial A%sociation of
Manchester; but he Corporation of Manchester, through.
their 'Towu Clerk, were su,,pirters of it And yet, sir
the Board of Trade, which ought to have tic ed as calm
and dihinteres'ed arbitrators, have throughout this measurs,
performed the part of warm an I interested partizans.—
(cries of hear.)—That same Board of Trade, which in
pl .ce of being beneficial, is, in my opinion, an incubus in_
the commerce of the county—has during the last Ivo
years promoted a series of measu es all directed against
the town of Liverpool,—the town of Liverpol which is
the most fl-nri,hing emporium of commerce in the whole
empire In the first place, five years ag•o a commission
was appointer' ostenaih:y for the purpose of examining
into the port dues of every sea-port in the kingdom, but
wt really, and as she event has shown, was directed
against tl:e town of Liverpool. In thi session of pulls..