The Sun.
London, England, 1830-07-24 00:00:00

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

Yesterday a Court of Common Council was held
for the despatch of public business.
fits MAJESTY's ANSWER TO THE CITY ADDRESS.
The LORD MAYOR informed the Court that h;s
Majesty had been graciou4ly plea-ed to receive the
Address of the Corporation, and to return :a most
gracious answer. The answer of the King, which
has already appeared in the newspapers, was then
read by the Town Clerk, and ()Meted, upon the
motion of Mr. OLDHAM, to he entered on the Jour-
nals of the Court.

SUSPICION OF 31ISREPRESENTATION...-COAL TRADK.

Mr. TICKNIIR rose to claim the attention of the
Court for a few minutes, upon a subject of great in-
terest to the public, and referriug in a peculiar man-
ner to the Court. The Court was aware that Com-
mittees of both Houses of Parliament hail been
occupied with an inquiry into the state of the Ciod
Trade, during nearly the whole of the present Ses-
sion, and that the Lords' Committee had presented
• their Report on Monday last, when the Times,
Chronicle, and Herald newspapers, had published
very extraordinary speech of the Most Noble the
Marquis of Londonderry, containing statements
which ho was confident the Noble Marquis never
could have made, because they were completely at
variance with the Oink—(Heer, hear)--statements
which, if suffered to pass without contradiction or
explanation, might make a very false und inju-
rious impression upon the public mind. The
Noble Marquis had been represented as emigre-
tulating the public en, the result of the hives, i-
gation, and taking great credit to himself and the
other coal Lords for the salutary reforms which were
to reduce the price of coals eight or ten shillings
per chaldron.—(Hear, hear.)—The Noble Lord had
also been made to say that no combination and mo-
nopoly had been found to exist, end that all the
blame lay at the door of the Corporation of London.
—(Hear, and a laugh )—The truth of the in tter
was, that the same alterations which were recom-
mended by the Parliamentary Committees had been
agreed to by that Court upwards of two years ago,
and were contained in the printed report which he
held in his hand. An application had been made to
the Treasury for carrying them into effect, and that
application had given rile to the late investigation,
so that the great good to the public which the Noble
Lord had been represented as exulting so much in,
would redound to the credit of the Coutt„and not
to that of the coal-owners.—(Hear, hear.)—Nor
was it possible that the Noble Marquis could have
said that himself and others had been entirely ac-
quitted of combination and monopoly, for the re-
ports of both Committees distinctly admitted the
existence of those evils, but did not deem it expe-
dient to legislate upon the subject, because the com-
petition from other quarters by railways, &c. &e.
must eventually remedy them. He (Mr. '1 ickner)
had no hesitation in declaring, that the combination
still existed unmitigated and in full operation, by
means of which exorbitant and unjust prices were
ma.ntained ut the ports of shipment upon this
essential necessary of life.—(Cbeers.)—lt had been
distinctly
.proved, that anterior to the late war
the shipping price of coals amounted to about
half of the price at which they were now to he
purchased, notwithstanding that the great im-
provement in maehirery had rnaterielly cheapened
the operation of mining; that the price of the article
hid advanced as that of every other had ads:
vanced during the war; but that while the price of
all other commodities had been adjusted to the in-
creiesed value of the currency and a state of peace,
high war prices were maintained upon coals bi
means of what was termed the restriction of the
vend. This was a true statement of the ease which he
had felt it his duty to make, as well to disabuse the
public mind, ns to do justice to the Noble Marquis,
who never could have made such Incorrect asser-
tions as the newspapers had attributed to him, and
it was really. " too bad" of them to do so.—(Laugh-
ter, and loud cries of " Hear, hear, hear.")—Mrs
Tickner concluded by stating, that if coals were
really to be eight or ten shillings per chuldron
cheaper, the reduction would not molt from the
trilling abatement of something less than one shilling
per chaldren in the charges in London; .but from the
breaking up of that system which gave the coal.
owners of the Tyne and the 'Wear a perfect contronl
of the market here, and enabled them to pocket any
saving made at this end—a circumstance of which
there was no doubt they would avail themselves,
when the. stir which had been made should blow
over.—(Hear, hear.)
tikhßeienlap etkhafe irei provingarcas-rbriraigdeg.sto f
w. utyhe It
A Report was brought up from the General Pur-
pose Committee, with relation to the carriage-road
of
Commissioners of
o t
wt
in repair, and recommended
that 4,0001 should be given for the, purpose from
the funds of the Corporation. •
The report was ordered to lie, on the table.
After some further business the Court adjourned: