Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-02-03 00:00:00

The
confirmeu

general proceedings of the committee were then
1

WATCH COMMITTEE.
Mr. Clint moved the adoption of the report of this
committee, and Mr. Robertson seconded it.
The report passed the meeting without observation.
HEALTH COMMITTEE. •
Mr. Dover moved a recommendation that Mr. John
Jones be appointed assistant-surveyor in the , borough
engineer's department for the north district, in the place
of Mr. Richard Blades, deceased, at a salary of £l5O per

Snnum.
Mr. Shiel seconded the motion, and the attention of the
chairman of the health committee having been directed
to the state of Mill-street, Torteth-park, the resolution
passed without opposition.
•

ST. GEORGE'S HALL

Mr. Turner said, it would be remembered that a recom-
mendation to increase the salary of Mr. M'Kenzie had
been referred to the law courts' committee. That com-
mittee had taken the matter into consideration.
Now, he would say that he thought it very
hard 'that Mr. M'Kenzie should be kept in
that hall by evening parties to eleven, twelve, and
sometimes one o'clock, without remuneration. He would
therefore.move that a further charge of £1 be made for
the use of St. George's Hall for an evening performance,
such, sum to be paid to Mr. M.'Kenzie for his personal
attendance in charge of the machinery for warming and
ventilation.

Mr._ Kitchen wished to know if the salary
paid Mr. M'Kenzie was not sufficient ? That
hall . was principally for the use of the working
classes, and he thought that any additional charge would
have the opposite effect from what was intended. He
thought it would be altogether wrong to increase
the '.barge, as the Saturday evening concerts had
been mostly failures, in consequence of the high
charge for the hall. If Mr. M'Kenzie undertook
the :management of the hall at a salary of £2OO
a-year, he ' must have understood that he was to
give his attention to the evening performances as well as
the day. He (Mr. Kitchen) thought it a very fair salary,
and would move as an amendment that it be referred
back to the committee.

Mr. Woodruff seconded the amendment.
Alderman Parker was of the opinion that if the other
officers were paid extra for their attendance on such oc-
casions, Mr. M'Kenzie was entitled to the same con-

sideration.
Mr. Woodruff said he ought to show his reasons for
seconding the amendment, as he thought Mr. M'Kenzie
a most intelligent man, and had done his*duty well in
the situation whch he tilled, but he would, nevertheless,
object to this extra charge of one pound. He would
say,,' howdver, that if Mr. M'Benzie was not
properly paid he ought to be, but not in
the way mentioned. That was his reason for
amendment. He wished to ask the
chairman- whether ho had been informed right in
having heard that Mr. Mgienzie had the power of letting
the hall on application ? If so, on a recent occasion, ap-
plication had been made to him for the use of the hall, by
the -Rev. Mr. Newton, to deliver a lecture, and Mr.
-M,Kenzie refused to sanction it, appealing to the chair-
man:and the chairman would not allow it; and, there-
fore; the concert-room was not made available to the lec-
turer. The hall had cost a great deal of money to the
town, and he wished to know what was the use of it to
the town if it were not let ? What was it to. he ? A
show-i•oom ! a tax to the committee ! One oppor-
tunity hid been presented within the last fort-
-night 'to let the- hall for a lecture by Cardinal
Wiseman. Now, he would say, that when an
application was made, it should be understood, whether
the- Hall could be let or not. He did not believe it
mattered much in the case that he referred to, as the
parties had been able to obtain a more suitable place.
But what was the use of the Hall if not let when required,
and that by parties willing to pay.
Mr. Turner said, it was quite true . that applica-
tion had been made for the use of the Hall. He
had.lbeen dining out that day, and he was called out
from dinner to answer the question of application. He
went hack into the room and consulted two other gentle-
nen'who were there, and they did not feel authorised to
give the use of the Hall, because it never had been let for
the purpose of holding a political or religious meeting, and
he thought' he wag quite right in refusing.
Mr. Woodruff: I am not satisfied with the explana-
tion. (Cries of " spoke, spoke.") I asked a question,
and-now I want to finish the speech.
The Mayor : You are quite out of order.
Mr. Woodruff : I am going now to a new question.
I want to know if the chairman of the committee had
anything to do with the management of the Burns'
Centenary, and if he has given satisfaction to the losers
of the hats and cloaks. (Laughter and " shame.")
Mr. Shell said he was not satisfied with the 'answer
given by the chairman of the committee. What were the
regulations in letting this ball ? The chairman made one
remark that surprised him a little. When he had been
called out from his convenient dinner, he would not grant
permission that the lecture should be delivered in the
hall, because it had not been let for religious purposes.
Now, it was not intended that the lecture should be
religious, and it was not a religious lecture, but merely
a lecture on education. He &d not hear the lecture
himself, but from what he had heard he believed it to
be a fair, general, and impartial lecture, and not a word
in it calculated to give offence to any class, and he
thought they were bound to have a regulation in the
letting of the Hall.

seconding th

Mi. Gladstone could not understand why any party
could not claim a right to have the hall, on paying for it.
lle thought that the power of letting the room should
rest wia, one party. If Mr. M'Kenzie had not the
authority, he, or some one else, should have the authority.
What possible mischief could ensue from letting the hall
for such a purpose ? On one occasion there had been
something of that kind, but nothing of any consequence.
Now I think that Mr. Woodruff is perfectly justified in
,• - t:s. He would say, for once and all, and let it
tool, that the council would draw no line
leparty and another, but all would be to them the
was au opportunity of listening to the opinions
entertained views at variance with his own
" that he could have listened with
I over anything

be and
betweer

same. I

orthosi

person
please
that

;aid the town suffered

were to be deprived of
ht be afforded them. If the Rev. Mr. Newton

very material los:

for the hall

In futur

.fired that there was