The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-16 00:00:00

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

Another special Court of Common Council was held yes-
terday for the purpose of taking into consideration some
matters of importance to the citizens of London, in connec-
tion with the new Pauper Lunatic Asylum, at Dartford.

The Lord Mayor presided.
TILE CONDEMNED PIRATES.
Sheriff NISSEN, at the commencement of the proceedings,
laid before the Court the letter he had received from the
Home Secretary, announcing that he did not consider there
were any grounds for directing that the execution of the
seven pirates, at present under sentence of death in New-
gate, should take place at any of the seaports.
Mr. Ex-Sheriff CocKERELL also gave notice of a motion
that at the next Court, a committee of the whole Court be
formed for the purpose of considering the best means of
securing tha more effective cleansing at the footways and
roadways of the City, and also to secure the more efficient

public lighting of the same.
THE CITY ARCHITECT.
The LORD MAYOR stated that he had appointed Friday,
the 26th inst., for the election of this officer.

THE LUNATIC ASYLUM.
The Court next proceeded to discuss the subject for
which it had been specially convened.
It may be as well to explain that the corporation have
nearly completed the building in question, at Stone, near
Dartford, at a cost of £38,464, the estimate of Mr Bunning,
the late City architect, being £43,500. The whole of the
money was provided from the City cash, and it appears that
by the Act of Parliament having reference to such matters,
the establishment, upon its completion, would be vested in
fhe aldermen of London, as justices of the City, who would
then be empowered to make a rate upon the inhabitants of
the City for the support of the inmates. This has given
rise to a good deal of excitement among the citizens, who
appear to feel that as they had contributed the whole of the
money for building the establishment, they ought to have
the control over it, and that the money necessary for keeping
it up should be provided out of the corporation funds, and
they look with a great deal of jealousy upon the power that
would be given to the aldermen to levy a county rate. A
number of petitions from the different wards in the City
have been presented to this Court, praying them to take
steps to prevent such a proceeding from being carried out,
and also, if necessary, that an Act of Parliament should be
obtained for that purpose; and yesterday was speciallyap-
pointed for the discussion of the whole matter.
Alderman DAXIN, the chairman of the Special Lunatic
Asylum Committee, brought up the report from that com-
mittee, which stated that the building had been entirely
completed by the contractors, Messrs, Piper and Wheeler,
for the sum above mentioned, and recommended that the
Court should sanction the expenditure of a further sum of
£7,000 for laying out the grounds and fittings ; and also that
proceedings should be taken in Parliament with a view to
enable a committee of this Court to have concurrent control
with the justices over the establishment, with a view to pre-
vent the latter from having the power to make a county
rate for its maintenance. The worthy alderman, in the
course of a most lucid and able speech, adverted to all the
uilding of the asylum, and said
facts connected with the :2
that the committee over which he had the honour to preside
had been in communication with the ccOmittee of justices
upon the subject, with a vieW to ascertain whether there
might not be some concurrent jurisdiction between them and
a committee of this Court for the management of the asylum,
as was the case at Bristol, which town, like the city of Lon-
don, was a city and county in itself ; but they were unable
to come to any satisfactory determination, as the justices
appeared to be of opinion that such a course could not be
legally taken. All that could be done, therefore, under the
present state of the law was, when the building was com-
pleted to hand over the keys to the justices, who would then
be invested with all the powers conferred upon them by the
Act of Parliament. He said he believed that the commit-
tee had faithfully discharged the duty that had devolved
upon them—(hear, hear)—and they had agreed to the re-
port that had been laid before the Court, and he now moved
that this report be agreed to. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. RowE said he should like to be informed whether the
justices had not already taken upon themselves the right of
appointing a medical officer to the establishment.
the TOWN CLERK said he had received a notice to the
effect that Mr. Octavius Jephson, of St. Luke's Hospital,
was appointed on Saturday last to the office of resident
medical attendant at the now asylum. (Cries of" Oh I oh.")
A long and animated discussion then took place upon the
question whether the report should be agreed to and carried
out.

Mr. LAwLEY said he believed that the citizens of London
were not at all desirous to take the control of the new asylum
from the aldermen, but all they were afraid of was that a
county rate should be imposed upon them, (Hear, hear.)
If this Court were allowed to have control over the expen-
diture, and there was an assurance given by the justices
that no county rate would be levied, he thought that was
all that would be required. He considered also that there
was this objection to applying to Parliament—that if these
views were carried out the city of London would be reduced
on this particular question of the condition of an ordinary
borough, and would be deprived of the privileges it enjoyed
as a city and a county, (Hear, hear.)
Deputy ELLIOTT opposed the report so far as it related to
making an application to Parliament, and expressed his opi-
nion that the control of the asylum ought to be vested in the
justices, who were the persons empowered by the law to
have that control. (Hear, hear.)
Alderman PHILLIPS also expressed himself opposed to
going to Parliament, and said that the only effect of such a
proceeding was, to ask the Legislature to allow them to do
that which one section of the corporation had the power to
do already. He asked the Court whether the aldermen of
London had ever abused any of the privileges that were
granted to them by their fellow citizens. (Bear.) He said
he really could not understand why such a discussion should
have arisen, and he believed that the inhabitants of the
wards who had petitioned the Court, had done so under some
most erroneous statements of the facts. With regard to the
allegation that the justices intended to make a county rate,
there was not the slightest foundation for it. (Ilear, hear.)
The corporation had plenty of funds, and there was no ne-
cessity for making a county rate, and this being the case, he
was at a loss to see why the justices of the City of London
should be deprived of those powers that were vested in them
by law. (Hear, hear.)
Mr, J. Symons, Mr. Rowe, and one or two other gentle-
men supported the report, and said that although they had
great confidence in the Court of Aldermen, and believed that
the justices performed all their duties in the most honour-
able and zealous manner, still they were unwilling to give
them the power of adopting such an obnoxious proceeding
as the levying of a county rate.
Alderman J. C. Lawrence and Alderman Copeland next
addressed the Court, and they denied in the most distinct
terms that any intention had ever been entertained or ex-
pressed by the justices of the City of London to make a
county rate. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. H. L. TAYLOR. said that the court was aware that
on all occasions he was most anxious to uphold the privileges
of that Court and of the corporat ion generally, but the inha-
bitants who had petitioned on the present occasion seemed
to have lost sight of the fact that, by law, the right of manag-
leg this asylum was vested in the justices and the question
was whether it was advisable to go to Parliament to get that
law altered. (Hear, hear.) He was of opinion that it was
not. The justices had always done their duty properly, and
why should they be deprived of the powers given them by
the law? (Hear, hear.) Even if there were to be a county
rate, which he did not believe was at all probable, it would
not be more than a halfpenny in the pound, and he was sure
the citizens of London would not object to pay such an
amount for the important purpose to which it was to be
devoted. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. RUDKIN, after some further discussion had taken
place, moved an amendment to the effect, that the committee
be empowered to complete the building, and that it be then
handed over to the justices of the city of London to be
placed under their management.
Upon a division there anpeared--
For the amendment .................... 49
Against it ............................ 59
Majority against the amendment.... —lO
Alderman ROSE, N,P., subsequently proposed another