The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-06-02 00:00:00

THE BIRKENHEAD COMMISSIONERS.

IRISH HARVEST PROSPECTS.—A southern journal writes
as follows on this subject :—" The agricultural operations
in Munster have been carried on with such eagerness and
unceasing exertions that almost all kinds of spring crops
are now sown, and the appearance presented, especially
since the timely rain of the past week has visited us, is
most cheering to the farmer, who sees in the healthy look
of the thriving potato stalk, with which the fields are at
present green in all the surrounding districts, as well as
in the not less promising fields of corn, the guarantee of a
fruitful and an abundant harvest."
DAMAGE TO A RAILWAY CARRIAGIL—A gentleman, said
to be highly connected, was charged by the South Eastern
Railway Company, at Greenwich Polio Court, on Thurs-
day, with smoking in a first-class railway carriage, while
travelling from London to Maidstone, on Saturday night
last. lie was intoxicated at the time ; and had also
abstracted the lamp from its plaee in the earriage, broken
it, and spilled the oil about the cloth and fittings of the
carriage. Tbe defendant (lid not appear. The company
did not wish to press the charge ; they had not estimated
the damage of the cloth ; and if the lamp was paid for
they would be satisfied. Mr. Trail convicted the defendant
in 20s fine for smoking., cost of the summons, 4s; and
6s 6d value of lamp, which were paid by defendant's
solicitor.
Fraz.—On Friday evening, a fire occured in the pre-
mises of Messrs. Glasier, Taylor, and Co., wholesale
druggists, Shudehill, Manchester. The alarm was raised
about half-past eight o'clock, and Mr. Rose was promptly
on the spot with the brigade and four engines. The fire
appeared to have originated in the fifth story, from the
windows of which, and also from the roof, dense volumes
of smoke were issuing when the brigade arrived. Six jets
were instantly applied, and soon the flames began to
diminish, and in less than two hours all danger was over.
The rear of the premises contained a large quantity of
naphtha, oils, drugs, &c., but fortunately these were not '
ignited ; neither did the fire spread to either of the adjoin-
ing buildings. The total damage is estimated at about
£1,500 to £2,000, which is insured in the West of England
and Atlas Offices.
I°Tut SUPERANNUATION ACT.—The Commissioners ap-
pointed to inquire into the operation of the Superannuation
Act, and to consider the complaints of the civil servants of
the crown with reference thereto, have presented their
report to the Treasury. We find the conclusions they
have come to upon these points may be thus briefly stated.
That retiring allowances should be continued upon the
same principle as heretofore. That the salaries of the
civil servants should be really what they nominally purport
to be, without abatement from that amount. That the
deductions established by the Act of 1834 should therefore
cease in all cases to which they have been applied, and
that those salaries which have been subjected to deductions
should be raised to their nominal amount. That the age
at which retiring allowances may be granted shall com-
mence at sixty, instead of sixty-five, and that retirement
from the service shall be compulsory at the latter age.
THE STATE OF IRE LLND. —According to all the Irish
country papers, the "exodus" is being renewed and inten-
sified. According to Judge Crampton, the national sin of
drunkenness is largely on the increase. In the face of
such a state of things, we cannot be reassured or made
comfortable by the congratulations of Dr. Rule on evan-
gelical progress in Spain, or by the- Rev. Mr. Orr's
discovery, that the " Sabbath" would fare better in the
peoples respect, if Mr. Charles Dickens were not so popular
a writer, which he seems to he, despite continuous satire on
the clergy and aristocracy. It seems to us that Judge
Crampton and other learned fanatics, and reverend one-
idead men, must go into the politics of Ireland, before
they can do anything with,hor social sores. The present
blessed constitutional and ecclesiastical arrangements do
not seem to answer; and we would ask of the new Secre-
tary, an honest man, who has to take a new view of a
familiar picture, to tell the Imperial Parliament the reason
why.—Northern Whig.
ENGLISH POLICY IN REFERENCE TO BR AEU.. r.
Roebuck himself could not have been surprised to find
himself with only 17 followers against 312. Yet as we
have observed in the speeches, and not less in the great
number of those who, after hearing both sides, declined to
vote with either, we may see plainly what the House of
Commons regards with dislike, and will not long continue
to sanction with eves a reluctant and hesitating vote. It
will not always persist in a policy which is evidently
vexatious to a friendly government and people. It does
not contemplate arrogating for England to the end of
time the onerous and most thankless duty of the police of
the ocean. Whatever the success of an exceptional
policy with one nation as compared with another, or what-
ever treaties or other historical reasons may be ageged, it
does not like such a plain difference of dealing as may
provoke the charge of national truculence and baseness
made by Mr. Roebuck. There is a policy which, wise or
unwise, can neither be suspected. nor even charged with
making distinctions between the strong and the weak.
The House of Commons would rather not have to stand
on its defence against charges of this sort; and, though
England has certainly proved her courage more than once
within Mr. Roebuck's own memory, and need not be so
jealous of her honour at he wishes her to be in her dealings
with her own flesh and blood across the Atlantic, yet
there is at least colour for the reproach that we are taking
stronger measures with Brazil than with the United
States. The House of Commons, then, would rather it
were not so. Such a policy as ours with Brazil may be
just or not, honourable or not, necessary or not; but one
thing ii certain—it is a policy which must come to
au end. and the longer it is persisted in the more dan-
gerous it is.— Times.
A SINGULAR DELUSION.—At tho Mansion house, Lon-
don, on Saturday, Mr. Hugh Miller, a respectably-attired
man, described on the police sheet as a commPrcial
traveller, was charged with having threatened Yesterday
su'cide. S. Heywood, constable No. 488, said : y
afternoon, while on duty, I was called to the Wine Shades
in Martin's-place, where I found the defendant in an ex-
ceedingly excited state, declaring that he would kill, drown,
and murder himself; that he had lost thousands of pounds
by betting, and that he and his family and his employers
had been ruined by his own act. Finding that I could not
pacify him, I procured the assistance of another constable,
and after a good deal of trouble he was conveyed to the
station-house, where he was taken care of lest he should
carry his threat into execution. The Lord Mayor : Do
you believe that he would have destroyed his life if
precautionary measures had not been taken to prevent his
doing so ? Witness : Yes, my lord. The Lord Mayor :
Did be appear to have been drinking ? Witness : No ;
he was suffering from pure excitement. He had had
nothing to drink at the Shades. While in the station-
house he kept striking his hand with great force against the
wall, and we were obli.ied to handcuff him and tie his legs.
He bit a brother officer in the arm and tore a piece of
cloth out of his coat. Upon making inquiries, I found
that, just before he entered the Shades, he rushed into
a tradesman's shop in the neighbourhood, and seized
a knife, and had it not been for the kind assistance
of a passer-by, who seized him, closed with him, and
wrenched the knife from his grasp, in all probability he
wonld have killed himself. In answer to the Lord Mayor,
the defendant said he had not the slightest recollection of
the transactions referred to by the officer. He had had
nothing to drink, with the exception of a little beer with
his dinner ; but said he was very much excited on
account of his wife having charged him with speaking
to a female of loose character, the accusation
being totally groundless. He had never been in
any way engaged in better transactions. The defend-
ant's wife here stepped into the witness-box, and, in
answer to the Lord Mayor, said that her husband
was not in the habit of betting, and that she had never
known him make a bet during the five years she had been
married to him. She had, ou previous occasions, seen
him in a violent rage, but nothing equal to that he exhi-
bited as deposed to by the officer. He bad recently been in
the Middlesex Hospital, The defendant was remanded till
Monday, but sent direct to the infirmary, in order that the
state of his mind might be ascertained. The Lord Mayor
ordered 103 to be given to the person who seized ths des
fendant and wrested the knife from his hand,

An adjourned meeting of the members of this board was
held last evening, for the purpose of performing the usual
routine business on the closing of the year. Mr. J. Laird
occupied the chair. The other commissioners present
were Messrs. Golborne, Baylis, M'Whirter, Park,
Mekin, Cooke, Harrison, Bell, Bailiff, Bradley, Aspinall,
and Keightley.

THE PARLIAMINTAUX COMMITTEE.
The proceedings of the committee held on the Ist of
June having been read, and which contained the proposals
that they had agreed to come to with the Railway Com-
pany, in reference to their opposition to the bill then before
Parliament,
The Chairman said, as chairman of the parliamentary
committee, he begged to move the confirmation of the
proceedings. He would first allude to the gm and water
bill. As they were all aware, after that bill had been in
the Houee of Commons for four days it had been thrown
out, indeed, the preamble was not proved. After that an
attempt was made by the gas company in the committee
to get another bill introduced, but that had been
opposed by the deputation sent to London,
because they did not think it right that
any new bill should be introduced into parliament that
session, without the inhabitants of the township being
made perfectly acquainted with what sue) bill really
would be. He thought the inhabitants should know what
the bill was before it went into parliament. When that
bill was first introduced, the petition against it was con-
sidered too stringent, and some of the commissioners had
refused to sign it, but after• some discussion the petition
was signed. That petition had been published, therefore
it would be unnecessary for him to further allude to it, but
there was one fact to which he would allude, and that was
that only the promoters had been heard in committee. It
was only they who had called witnesses. The commis-
sioners had not called auy, but had twice heard them
cross-examined through their counsel, Mr. Calvert,
who had also replied, and yet the bill had been
thrown out. That showed the strength of the
opposition, and that the commissioners had acted right in
taking the course they had done. It had been alleged by
some parttes that the commissioners had neglected their
duty in reference to this bill, in not having offered their
opposition to it until after the meetln of the ratepayers,
held at the town hall, but he quoted dates to show that the
petition from the commissioners was presented before the
one from the ratepayers, which, had it not been for the
dissolution, would have been too late to have been pre
sented at all. But from what had taken place in commit-
tee, they had gained information of the receipts and
expenditure of the company, which was as follows :

11Erma.
1. That in forming the company the names of parties were inserted as
shareholders who ware net; eight being named, two only
of whom were intereated, and Mr. Mallaby, who was inter-
ested, not being named at all. 2. That Mr. Mallaby acted as
solicitor to the gas bill, sad also as law clerk to the commissioners,
although he was, before the passing of the bill, owner of one-third of
the concern. 3. That the capital of £50,000 was fictitious, only
£15,000 to £20,000 having been paid up.; 4. That, in order to raise
money under the act a declaration that the capital had been paid up
was necessary; and a declaration to that effect was made before a
magistrate, though the money had not been paid. 5. That, after
that declaration was male, .£33,000 was borrowed, nominally for the
purposes of the act, but was actually lent by themselves to them-
s .Ives—viz., to Messrs. W. Jackson, J. S. Jackson, and J. Mallaby.
6. That there was great irregularity in making out the accounts—the
one sent to the shareholders and that lodged with the clerk of
the pane, as required by ant of Parliament, differing to
a large extent, the former showin; a much larger profit.
7. That large sums of money wore paid for the purpose of
carrying a township elec'ion in favour of the Gas au 1 Water Com-
pany, in June, 1847, and that such sums were charged to capital
account. And now, gentlemen, I put it to you whether, upon the
showing of the gas company themselves, there was an allegation in
the petition that was overstated? 1 think, to say the least, that the
result shows we may place some confidence in Mr. Wain, bec,use he
was asked, at the time the pettion was submittal here for approval,
whether we could prove all that the petition stated, and Mr. Wain
replied that we could. Upon the faith of his assertion I signed the
petition, and the result is that they are all proved without our calling
a single witness ;—nay, more has been proved, and much more could
( have been proved, against the Gas and Water Company than we
alleged. I have here an account of the statement of accounts filed
under the act, and those presented to the public, showing the
•difference between the two. It is as follows:

BIRKENHEAD GAS AND WATER COMPANY'S PROFITS.
Statement of accounts rondere 1 by the company, from 1842 to
1856 :

As rendered to Difference
Shareholders.
~6 s. d. Je s. d.
1842 1,033 11 5 ........ 1,033 11 5 ...... Same
1843 . 1,259 16 3 .
1844.. ... ..... 1,178 6 1
1815 1,031 4 6
1846 1,909 13 5
1847..
1848 . . 1,923 4 2 ...... 4,275 0 7 ...... 2 351 16 5
1849
1850.......... 3,106 17 1
1851 .... .... .. 5,604 0 10
1852.......... 6,510 12 9
1853.......... None filed. -i,644 13 1
1854.......... 7,761 11 3
1855..
1856 9 418 15 8 ....,.... 9,851 11 3 .. ... 432 15 7
But notwithstanding that they had not examined any
witnesses, still the bill was thrown out. Having passed a
high eulogium on Mr. Waln, the law clerk, for the able
manner in which he had conducted this, and indeed all
1 their parliamentary business, he then read the following
report in reference to the Gas and Water Bill :

Filed Account.

£ s. d.

BIRKENaEA.D, LANCASLIME, AND CIIESLIIRE JUNCTION RAILWAY ULU

(STEAMBOATS, &C)

Memorandum of Arrangement betweon the Birkennead, Lancashire,
and Cheshire Junction Railway Company, and the B rkinhead
Improvement Commissioners.
The Monks Ferry Slip Hotel, as shown in plan A hereto annexed, to
be taken back by railway company, and contrvt, so far as it remains
uncompleted, to be cancelled. The railway company to have a right
of ferry, but only for passengers, cattle, goods, and other railway
traffic, conveyed by their railway from outside the township of
Birkenhead, to be conveyed across the river Mersey, and passengers.
cattle, goods, and other railway traffic brought across the river Mersey
from Liverpool, to be conveyed by th.ir railway beyond the limits of
the township of Birkenhead—the company paying, by way of acknow-
ledgment, £5O a year until their passengers reach a million annually,
£75 when upwards of a million, and under a million and a half, and
so on. The ferry steamer Woodside to become the property of the
company, as against arrears of interest due on Monk's Ferry purchase,
which are thus to be discharged; also, as against township bond for
two thousand pounds and interest, which is to be given up to the
Commissioners and cancelled. The Commissioners to abandon any
claim to tho pieces of land coloured blue and red in the annexed plan
marked B. in consideration of the company widening Taylor street,
as shown by yellow c lour on same p'an, and making bridge for foot
passengers over the crossing in Canning-street ; this last, however,
Only on the joint requisition co:. the Commissioners and Corporation
of Liverpool. The above agreement to take effect from aryl after this
date, subject to the bill of the company now bef.ire parliament (with
such introduced clauses as will give abet to the present agreement)
obtaining the royal assent, and subject also to the formal consent of
the b Jard of directors of the railway company and the general board
of Birkenhead Commissioners.
Next with regard to the arrangements that they were
about to enter into with the Railway Company. They
were all aware that on that subject there had been some
long discussion., and they had never been enabled to come
to a right conclusion. No doubt it was a difficult subject
to deal with, but ho did hope that by the present
proposed arrangements that all difficulties would
be settled. They ware all aware that the Railway Com-
pany had had to make great complaints with the working
of their traffic by the ferry, but, by the proposal that the
committee recommended, the Railway Company would
take the Monk's ferry at the pinto cost, and in lieu of
the debt due to them, the commissioners was to let them
have the boat, Woodside, which was built expressly for the
goods traffic. The Railway Company was to work their
own traffic ; and it was so arranged that, notwithstanding
that, it would be impossible for the Railway Company to
in the least interfere with the local traffic—indeed, the
commissioners would have the whole of the Wood-
side to manage ;_ and as it was proposed that two
of the boats should bo sold, he thought that the township
would be in a better position than it ever was in that
respect. The next point was with regard to the piece of
land at Bridge-end. This piece of land has also been the
matter of dispute between the Railway Company and the
Board, and, on one occasion, Mr. Waln had played a moat
distinguished part, but as the Railway Company had
brought the power of a steam engine to bear against him,
why, of course, he was obliged to retreat. There was no
doubt but the land was of great value to the Railway
I Company, and of some value to the commissioners,
but, under all circumstances, it hail been agreed to give
up that land to the Railway Company, as they were
going to take the Monk's Ferry and work the same. He
then stated that he believed that if the proposition was
carried out, and that the railway company were allowed to
take the Monk's Ferry and work it, that it would be a
saving to the township of between £2,000 and £3,000 per
annum, which would be as good as one per cent. to the
bondholders. For his part he thought it most desirable
that the arrangement suggested should be agreed to, as it
would be for the interest of all parties that two such im-
portant. bodies as the commissioners and the rtiiway
orjrnpany should act in unison together. That would be
done if these arrangements were carried net. Tiler° h..d