Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-12-30 00:00:00

LrvER.roOL LIBRARY.

A special general meeting of this institution was held in the
:Library, Bold-street, yesterday evening, for the purpose of
submitting to the proprietors a resolution adopted by the
:general committee. Mr. Mewburn presided.
The CHAIRMAN proceeded to read the notice calling upon
the meeting, and moved pro forma the confirmation of the
.resolution, which is as follows: "That the committee be em-
powered to make alterations in the library in accordance with
the recommendation of the general committee, which is as
follows : 1. The entire removal of the present counter. 2.
The additioa of bookcases in each alternate compartment of
the ground-floor, as shown on the plan, with tables in the
other compartment, the bookcases to hold about 6,000
volumes. 3. The placing of the clerk's desk in a con-
, wenient place near the entrance to the library." He said
it was 4 question which was mooted many months ago,
:and especially during the last year it bad been more fully con-
sidered. It was thought that the proprietors should have
access to the books; and one plan for carrying this out was
that turnstiles should be put at each end of the counter, while
others thought it better that the counter should be removed
.altogether. They had in their possession a sum of money equal
to £550, produced by forfeited shares, and the estimated cost
of the contemplated alterations would not exceed £lOO. That
could be paid out of the money already in hand, so that the
proprietors would not be called upon to contribute anything.
It was absolutely necessary that an immediate increase in the
;accommodation for books should take place, as was shown by
.the late stock-taking.
Mr. WATTS seconded the adoption of the resolution.
Mr. RADcLIFTT. thought it was unfair for the committee to
call a meeting of the proprietors on so short notice, and at this
season of the year. Ire therefore moved an amendment to the
effect that the committee had not given sufficient notice to the
proprietors to consider the matter, and :hat the meeting de-
clined the consideration of the subject until the next annual
meeting.

Dr. ANDERSCN said he would support the amendment, for in
his judgment the removal of the counter and putting up the
proposed cases would only make a huge deformity. They
might as well talk of improving a man by placing a hump on
his back, or sticking a huge wart on his nose. If they did
carry out the proposed alteration, their room, which had been
a pleasure for strangers to look at, would be a piece of de-
formity ; and he was convinced that the time would come
when the committee would be ashamed of the obstructions.
fie came to the meeting almost in despair, with the intention
of •moving a direct negative to the resolution, though he was
not aware that he should have a seconder. The inconvenience
to the proprietors would be very great. With the proposed
plan, he believed, they would have ugliness to begin with and
inconvenience to end with. The darkness in the recesses which
was very great at present, would be very much increased, and
he holed the resolution would not be carried.

Mr. WINTYLLE thought the amendment rather premature,
and if it were carried without both sides of the question being
heard, the gentlemen would come at any future time quite as
unprepared as they were then.
Mr. Join BoULT differed altogether from Dr. Anderson's
view of the question, and he believed the plan before the
meeting was the best that could be adopted. The room was
not to be looked at, but to be used, and he was sure the pro-
prietors wanted to get all they could out of the property. He
hoped the meeting would not adjourn, as it was we 1 known to
the committee and the librarian that additional accommodation
was wanted for the books.

Mr. WATTP said he had discussed the plan with many people,
and all approved of it. He could not see that Dr. Anderson
had given any other reason why the resolution should not be
adopted other than the ugliness of the appearance of the room.
The resolution was carried by a majority of nineteen over
the votes for the mezulment.

Thanks were voted to the chairman, and the proceedings
terminated.

THE FATAL RIOT AT ALDERSHOT.

Since the occurrence -of this most unfoi tunate outbreak at
Aldershot a military court of *quiry has been sitting at Camp.
Until this inquiry is concluded both the evidence and the de-
cision at which the court may arrive will be kept secret.
The inquest on the murdered man took place in the South
Camp yesterday. His Royal Highness the Commander-in-
Chief will visit the Camp to inquire personally into the cir-
cumstances connected with the ['mode.

The 24th Regiment still remains in its old quarters, ht the
West Bloek, when: the riot took place. As with all drunken
squabbles of the kind, there are at least fifty different versions
of the affair. The account most generally believed is, that it
arose from some men of the militia treating two or three of the
24th to beer, which other men of the latter regiment who were
not invited to partake of drank up. A fight is stated to have
ensued, in which the 24th were beaten, though quickly rein-
forced by large numbers of their comrades, the militia were
soon overpowered and driven to take shelter in their bar-
racks, where the 24th were also quartered. A running fight
appears to have taken place, during which the militia-men
reached the balcony attached to the storey infront of their por-
tion of the block. On this place of retreat a general attack seems
to have been made by the men of the 24th, armed with sticks,
brooms, stones, and large lumps of coal,which was of course re-
plied to in kind from above by the militiamen. The row hid only
lasted a few minutes, and the militiamen, who were outnum-
bered in the rate of six to one, and appear to have been getting
the worst of it, since they were now many of them running for
shelter to their rooms, when a cry was raised among the
24th that their opponents were going for their rifles. Though
this statement appears to have been without the least founda-
tion, yet most unfortunately the men of the 24th believed it.
The marks of twenty-seven bullets are still to be seen on
the doors, walls, and windows. One man, a private to the
militia, named James King, who was stivading in one of the
rooms warming himself by the tire, was shot through the
abdomen by a rifle bullet which came through the room
door. He fell at once, and after a few hours of intense
suffering, died. Two other men were also wounded with
bullets, though not dangerously, and one drummer lad was
much hurt by blows from sticks and stones. All these men
belong to the Tower Hamlets Militia, not one of the 24th
being injured, we believe, in any way. A few of the Tower
Hamlets Militia were also locked up, but none remain now
under arrest, as there seems mot the least doubt but that they
were the parties aggrieved, and that the men of the 24th have
committed a cowardly outrage.
Of course not the least clue has been obtained to the man
who fired the fatal shot. Indeed, most of those who fired at
all are said to have been too drunk to tell the direction in
which they were levelling, and nothing but this and the dark-
ness of the night. aim account for so few of the Irdlitia having
keen Lit during the fuaaait',