Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-03 00:00:00

in front of the Prince's Dock, is required to be completed
by the Corporation at their own expense, so that the same
may be ready for traffic, and the same, if nO completed, on
the I,t day of January, 1858, is vested in the Board, or if
not then c =pieta, shall vest in the Board from and
11er the completion thereof ; and it is directed that the.
Stage shall for ever thereafter be maintained by the
Board in a state of efficiency, and in the situation where
the some is now being cmstruc'ed.
Since the passing of the Act this stage hos been com.
pleted at the cost of the Corporation, except as to a few
details now in course of completion, and was opened for
traffic on the Ist September last. The cost of manage-
ment is now borne ..by the Corporation, bat upon and
after the Ist of January next, will be borne by the Board.
By section 29, the Liverpool Observatory, with its
instruments and appurtenances is from and 'after the Ist
day of January, 1858, tested in the Board, who are to
maintain the same in a state of effioiincy. All charges in
respect of this establishment, and heretofore borne by the
Corporation, will from the lst,of January next be borne by
the Board.

By secion 30, all powe,s, rights, and privileges, vested
in or exercisable by the Corporation, the Liverpool Dock
Trustees, the Liverpool Dcck Committee, or any of such
authorities, under or in pursuance of, or for the purposes
of any of the Act 3 mentioned in the Schedule, and not
inconsistant with this Act, are from and cfter the Ist day
(.1 Janua'y, 1058, vested in, and to be exereisel by the
Board.

The Sc'iedule comprises the several Aes rela'ing to the
Liverpool Docks—the Birkenhead Dock Trustee's Ats,
and the Birkenhead Dock Cunpany's Acts, and consequently
all powers, rights, and privileges by these Ac's, or any of
them, vested in or exercisable by the corpoTation, the
Liverpool Dick Trusters, or the Liverpool Dick Com-
mittee, will, from and after the first day of January next,
be. exercisable by the Board. This enactment (inde-
pendently of other provisions of the Act, whic't it is not in
this report considered necessary specifically to refer to)
would deprive the Council of the appointment of any
members of the Dock Committee, or of any power r f
confirming or annulling any of the proceedings of the
Board or of its Committees.

By S etion 31, all such speweis of licensing and reeu-
lating Pilots, and of fixing pilotage rates, as are vested in
the Commissioners, under the Local Pilotage Act, 5 Geo.
4, and all the property held by or in trust for those
Commissioners, end all other powers, rights, and privileges
of those Commissioners, are, from and eter the Ist day of
Januar/ next, to be vested in and excercised by the Board.
This sec ion seems to have been framed upon a miscon-
ception of the powers and duties of ttte Commislozers
appotntsd under the Act, as distinguished from the
Executive Committee, by that Act:directed to be appointed,
and by which committee the duties of licensing and
regulating pilots is and has been performed. So far as
respects the Corporation. the only effect will be to render
it unnecessary fer the Council to appoint annually 41 of
its members to be Commissioners, and whose duties were
confined to electing qualified persons to supply vacancies
on the Pilots' Committee, as such vacancies, from time to
time, arose [See Act]
By Fection 33, all such rights and privileges of ap-
pointing a Water Bailiff, and of removing sunken vessels,
and all such powers of exercising jurisdiction ever the
navigation, or in respect of the conservancy of the
river
_Mersey, as are now vested in or exercisable
by the Corporation, and all obligations and liabilities of
the Corporation in relation thereto, or in relation to
the Wallasey or Leasowe Embankment, are from
and after the Ist day of January, 1838, be transferred
to the Board ; and by Section 34, so much of the
salary of the acting Conservator, appointed by the Con-
servancy Commissioners, as is now paid by the Corporation,
and 01l other expenses that are now incurred or payable by
the Corporation, in respect of the Conservancy of the
Mersey, are from and after the Ist day of January, 1858,
transferred to, and to be 'some by the Board.
The effects of these two enactments is that the Corpo-
ration will cease to appoint or pay a Water Bailiff—to
pay any expense for removing wrecks or other obstructions
to the navigation, or otherwise in relation to Conservancy
—to appoint Commissioners tinder the Wallasey Embank-
ment Act—and to pay the amount of rate (£1,661 4s 31.
per annem) by that Act directed to be paid by the
Corporation.
The cost of removing wrecks, varied according to ci(-
cumstances, and the number of casualties which occurred
in the port, section 35 vests in the board all the estate and
interest of the Corporation in the North Reserve, subject
to all covenants, agreements, and conditions affecting the
same ; and section 36 enacts that the compensation t 3 be
made by the board in respect of the North Reserve, shall
be the sum of X 127,000.
The North Reserve is not part of the property which
was vested in the Birkenhead Dock Trustees by the
passing of the Birkenhead Docks' Act, 1855. It
became the property of the Crown, as havieet been
reclaimed from. the shore, and in the year 1852 was
agreel to be sold by the Crown to Messrs. Pollard,
at or for the price or sum of £50,000, payable by
the instalments following, viz , the sum of £9,t-.00 on
execution of the contract, together with the further sum
of £22,000, to be paid and applied by the Commissioners
of Wools, when, and in such manner, tee they should
think proper in discharge of their liability to pay the
same, imposed on them by the Birkenhead Dock Trustees'
Act, 1850, subject to a provision therein contained as to
the investment thereof until the stme should be paid
and applied; and the residue of the purchase
money by yearly instalments of £6,000 each, the
first payable at the expiration of three yeas from the Ist
of May, 1852, with interest.at the rite of £4 per cent. per
annum.

The itnpoeanee of poseessin,,g:this property for the full
development of the Birkenhead plans was apparent, end
accordingly the Corporaticn purchased from M~. Smith
his interest in the property, end became bound to the
Crown to ftffi.l his
.o'olig itioas. The amount then paid
under the agreement to the Crown by Messrs. Pollard,
or by Mr. Smith, at that time, was (in addition to
the £22,0011) the sum of £15,000, including the
first yearly instalment of £6,000, and conssquently
there remained due and payable to the Com—
missioners of Wbods, &c., on the let of May, 1855,
the sum of £45,000 only. Mr. Smith, claiming under
Messrs. Pollard, on the 17th Oct., 18.55, transferred the con-
tract to the Corporation, subject to the payment of the futenre
yearly instalment, at or for the price or sum of £55 000
'there now remains owing to the Commissioners of Woods
the SIMI of £33 000 only, exclusive of interest. The 36th
Section, therefore, proneeds to nee that the £127,000 shall
be applied as follows : —lst. In paying to the Crown the
balance of pt-chase-money aed interest ; 2nd. In payment
and satis'ection of all prcuniary ineurnbra::ces, if any ; and
3rd,ly., in paying the balance to the Co..poration. There
are no pecuniary ineumbrances affecting this property, and,
therefore, after payna nt, of the remaining instalments due
to the Crown, the balance will be payable to the Corpora-
tion. The section contains a proviso that until the eym-
pensation b 3 paid it shall not be lawful for the Board to
take or interfere with the North Reserve; and that unless
the sum of £127,000 be paid to the Corporation within
two months of Vie Ist Janteiry, 1858, the timotint shall
bear interest after the rate of £4 per cent. per annum, from
that date (Ist January) until the same be paid.
Sec ion 38 directs that the Board shall pay to the Cor-
poration on or before the several days mentioned in the
4th part of the schedule the several sums specified in such
schedule ; and that !he Corporation shall apply the several
6.11113 ree,eived by them under this enactment, in psyment of
the several sums owing or to become doe as specified in the
said schedule.

Under the Birkenhead Docks' Act, 1855, the Corpora-
tion were required to issue to the Birkenhead Thck
Trustees, and Birk nhead Dock Company, Booth, under
their common seal, for the aggregate amount of
£1,143,000, which Bonds have been issued, and, with
the interest thereon, are now a charge on the Borough
Fund. The Bonds are of different classes, bearing
interest at varied rates, and are payable at different
perods—the last being payable in July, 1865. This
schedule shows the dates when the principal and interest
respectively fall due, and by the above section the Beard
are required to make payment to the Corporation on or
before those dates of the amounts required.
The following is a copy of this part of the:schedule :
STATEMENT

showing the amounts payable by tin Corporation of
Liverpool for principal money and interest in respect of
bonds delivered to the nominees of the Birkenhead Dock
Trustees and the Birkenhead Dock Company, between the
23rd January, 1858, and 23:d July, 1865, both dates
inclusive.

Snm total of Prin.
cmal and In!erest.

s. d.
13 930 0 0
133,931 0 0
11,430 0 0
11,430 0 0
15,895 0 0
15,895 0 0
15,895 0 0
143,895 0 0
13,395 0 0
4",9,95 0 0

8,930 0 0
8,930 0 0
8,930 0 0
8.00 0 0
8,930 0 0
455,430 0 0