Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-10-07 00:00:00

naamtained, but the general interests of the town

so materially advanced

We believe there is no

I\lllicipal Councii tl4l

kingdom that stands

higher in its character as a public body than that

:a-we have just adverted to,--that, rainely,

bf its

being a Conservative body

,—its being con

stiited, 'to a 'very 'g•re
t at ektent, Of some of the

best of our citizens ; and these, then whose pre-

sence in the Council would never have been

secured, had that,party_in-the Borough which is
ever the opponent .of everything. that

is Con-

This:is a point which; at "a moment likt the present,

tis of the utmost importance to bear in mind. If the

Radicals once succeed in gaining a predominance

meat; we may

'depend upon it, will the character of the Council

become detei4orated. It is not merely that

Radical influences would hai'e a disastious effect

in the administration of the affairs of the Cor-

poration ; but a :Radical majority would, to a
certainty, repel, in no long process, of time, the

attendance of nkany

who now give up their time

and talents

to the service of the. Borough, and

whose:presence

.
in such a holy, as experience has

so often shown, •is 'our -great -security for the

right administration of Municipal affairs

There is another consideration. The Conserva-
tives: have maintained- their -ascendancy in the
:Town Council. without Making it a political body.

The.y....do_not_come there with any political-objects

, ,
discourage, indeed, on eyery, occasion, Me intro-

duction of politics, and are opposed, upon princi-

ple, to: the; Cougoil being mdde: a political arena

hat we have our

Municipal: affairs ,701 adininistered, by

main-

the Council,

ut we also have the character of that 1364 ren-

dered more respectable, its functions more properly
...
executed, and the town spared many of those, un-

seemly. exhibitions which political factions are so

apt:to-have recourse to, whenever they find the

reins of power in their hands

There is no one

respect, that we are aware of, in which advantage

would arise.to,such,a town as Liverpeol,ifrpm its,
. •
having a Radical Town Council: but there are

many, reas-oio for alpprehending, that a Council of
such a political ,character would,_ be constantly

inflicting upon -the town, through its political

-viVi4hich, in 'tile aggregate, would

agitation,

constitute • such a body something very like a

nuisance 'to any' ebiliiiuniq like ours

If any one can really

doubt '•the soundness of

our surmises, we would direct his attention to the

case-of-the- city- of--New-York ; -and- we da-so the

more readily, because eve know that among many

of our principal citizens,- the circumstances of

that important transatlantic city are well known.
Now, in New York, under Republican institu-
tior4, very similar political influences prevail to

those which would be in the ascendancy; were
our Town Council a Radical body. Arid what is
'the eonseqnence.? Why, in the first Place, with
very, slight exceptions,: and these for special
reasons, the more respectable citizens,—those
who, from their property and intelligence and
social position and character, -are the most-emi-
nently qualified to fill
_responsible "..turiicipal
offices,— With one accord refuse to have anything
to do with them. They shrink from coming
.in
Contact with=thoSe democratic spirits which such
political' influences s return, toi Council, and
cannot think of being4icientiged 'avid. such pro-
ceedings as are genefally had recourse to by
_a
body so constituted,—transactions, too often in-

volving the grossest corruption, and venality of
every shade—too much of it with the direct

object of putting money "into their own pockets,
or the pockets of their kith and kin ; or else in
bartering for
.political . support in more extended
spheres of faction, triad for ,:,the still greater per-
son-al advantage of the parties themselves. One
practical effect of such a state of things as this is;
that the city taxes have become a most intoler-
able burthen, while many of the public purposes
to which "those taxes ought to be apprOpriated,
are utterly neglected, and the money voted for
them squandered away under the most corrupt
expedients: It is true, that an occasion will now
and then arise, when the virtue and respectability