The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-21 00:00:00

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ef the violence which would be done to Siiigii,' - :. ''..;,‘ 0. \
citizens, and the great revulsion whinh would ensile. if -, ''' V de,
their ancient institutions were to be abo eft.
,The,rapper,', .• tt -
in which business is done iii the City i in- iiidihm.ctc, rt - 0
peculiar, and has gown up in gradu aa lyeatroir.G4 ly
municipal institutions. I am, therefore4,:Alrfrunioik.
..
and not for revolutionising those institutions t, ,
gard, however, to the rest of the metropolis, tWa.beiviiithc,
seat of Government, there are many things which are
done by the Government which are not done by it in the-
other towns and boroughs of the kingdom. It conducts
the police, and manages the sewers and other branches of
metropolitan local administration, for instance.
The Chairman—Do you think that no evil arises in the
metropolis from the clashing and collision of the numerous
local boards which-exist within it?

Mr. Moore—lf there be,Twoidd obviate it by remodel..
ling these boards. I feel satisfied that &local municipali-
ties were to be given to 2,500,000 people, and they were to
(cam a confederation, they might occasion great inconve-
nieneo to the 'Government of the day. •
Mx. C. Lewis—Then we are to understand you to say
that because this is the seat of Government you would not
establish municipalities where they do not exist, but that
you would continue those of the City because they do
exist ? .„-,
Mr. Moore—Yes ; and because of the feelings of the in-
habitants.
Mr. C. Lewis—Bat you would retain them in the City
rather because they exist there than because they are
beneficial ?
Mr. Moore—l would do it for both reasons. I thilik it
beneficial, for instance, that the administration of justice
should be in the hands of men of business, experience, and
independence, like the City aldermen, rather than in the
hands of mere lawyers like the stipendiary magistrates.
Mr. C. Lewis—But you proposed that the City police
courts should be filled with stipendiary magistrates?
Mr. Moore—Yes, but not to the exclusion of the alder-
men ; and even the paid magistrates I propose might be
members of the Court of Aldermen.
Mr. C. Lewis—ls that all the advantage the City derives,
independent of the ancient custom and habit you speak of?
Mr. Moore—When you take away the police, the magis-
tracy, and the sewers from the local bodies, as you do in
the rest of the metropolis, there would hardly be anything
left for a municipality except ancient custom.
Mr. C. Lewis—Then you would preserve the City cor-
poration rather because it is an existing. institution than
because it is a good institution?
Mx. Moore—lt may-not be a perfect institution, but I
do not say it is a bad institution ; and I can see no reason
why the old privileges of the City should be taken away
from it, such, for instance, as regards the police.
Mr. C. Lewis—But you do not call the existing City
police an old institution, which has, I believe, only bees
tiftetin years in existence?
Jgr. 'Moore—Yes ; but the old constables were formerly
aPcstiintad by the wards, and were under the authority of
thevorporation in some way.
—10..0. Lewis—Do you see any reason for preserving a
separate board of sewers in the City?
Mr. Moore---No, unless it be that the corporation should
bo allowed to continue to manage its own affairs where it.
has managed them well, which I believe to be the case with
would be the only municipal body-
regard to the City sewers.
Mr. C. Lewis—Then, according to your view, the City
Mr. C. Lewis—Then, under thesei
Mr. Moore—lt would,
circumstances,nt-hemetro is
would?
not the chief magistrate and the corporation of the City
remain, as at present, to a considerable extent the
repre-
sentatives
of the entire metropolis for municipal
Mr. Moore—l dare say that in Paris or at
St.o purposes -
burgh it might be considered so . but that could not be the
case in this country. I don't see that the Lord May or has
anything to do with the rest of the metropolis, than per-
haps to take the chair at some public meeting, which, ir
fact, is rather beneficial than otherwise.

Mr. C. Lewis—But does the City corporation represent
tie metropolis ?
Mr. Moore—No, it does not.
The Chairman—What is your view of the relation be-
tween the City and Southwark?
Mr. Moore—l would sever the anomalous connection
which now subsists between Southwark and the city of
London. With regard to the 4d. coal tax, Ido not see
why the city of London should be entrusted with the ad-
ministration of affairs beyond its own boundaries, or have
the power to tax the inhabitants of the metropolis gener-
allyfor purely local purposes.

The witness then withdtew.
Mr. Edward Wilson examined—He had been a silk
manufacturer in the ward of Cripplegate Within, and WO-
presented that ward in,the Court of Conariaon Council be-
tween the years 1832 and 1839, and took a very active part,
'in the affairs of the corporation. He was a member of
the committee of the Common Council, which was moved
for by Mr. Williams, the present M.P. for Lambeth, to
inquire into the salaries and emoluments of the officers
of the corporation. That committee agreed to a report,
which stated that the expenses of the office of Lord Mayor
amounted to 25,0001. per annum. He wished to state
that there was a fallacy involved in that calculation,
which was afterwards pointed out by resolutions of the
Court of Common Council, passed in March, 1836. The mis-
take arose from the original cost of the site and the build-
ing of the Mansion-house having been calculated at a per-
centage, and then debited as part of the annual expenses of
the Lord Mayor's office. He had drawn up an outline of
certain suggestions, the adoption of which ho thought
would improve the constitution of the City corporation-
They were to the following effect. He would propose that,
thncorporation should consist of the Lord Mayor, from '2D
to 25'aldermen, and no less than 100, common councillora
—that the wards should be equalised as to size, regard
being had' to `pdpulation, ' &c.— that there should be as
many wards as alderman—that the Lord,piayor should be
elected from the aldermen by the whole constituency—that.
one alderman and an equal division of councilmen should
be elected by each
,ward—the assumed veto of the Lord
Mayor and alderinen on the choice of aldermen should be
abolished—the Lord Mayor should be elected annually,
and the aldermenfor life—the councillors and all other
officers should be annually elected—that there should be
no money qualification for the offices of Lord Mayor.
aldermen, or common councilmen ; but that there should
bo a penalty imposed on any ono who, having been an in-
solvent, bankrupt, or guilty of fraud, ,hould be found
voting, or acting in either capacity. The Chamberlain
should be elected by the electors ; auditors. not being
members of the corporation, should bo annua:ly appointed
by the corporate body. The electors should consist of the
Parliamentary constituency, and the aldermen and coun-
cillors in each ward should make out and publish annually
a list of voters for each ward, and the poll should be
limited to one day. The corporate body should arrange
lists and voting places for the election of Lord Mayor,
Chamberlain. &c., the poll to be limited to one day in these
cases also. The Lord Mayor and aldermen should have
the administration of justice in the City, and the
charge of the prisons, and should draw on the City'k•
cash for an agreed sum of money annually for that pur-
pose ; nothing beyond that sum to be expended without,
the sanction of the Court of Lord Mayor, aldermen, and
councillors. The controul of the City's cash should be vested
in the corporate body. The necessity of being free of the
City, or of any municipal company or companies, for pur-
poses of trade, should be abolished. A commissioner should
be appointed to try appeals against the decisions of the
Navigation Committee. The trade upon the river should
be as free as air, but in order to prevent accidents and to
e miaopdin hitherto h etrtatptehe ormrfeorpeodra its
corporate
dacu:
preserve the river, there should be some control exercised
over it. Mr. Wilson then proceeded to say thathe thought
thet ie s Navigation
.
Committee
was tteoefhWa which
was
l
counts were extremely clear and easy to be understood. It
would be easy to suggest other modes ofp kee ing the ac-
rceomuiniyts‘.,ebryut
strnhaell, abstract,
not above 50 OOO
aic t
,rge
aylyy epa
rublainshdedso,
was almost perfect. The funds of theCiar
t'rop, per were
much of this amount Was absorbed by the administration
of justice, the police, and the like th t 11 little
was left to be dealt with by the Cit • , a rea y very
City. With regard to the
coal tax, he thought its
proceeds had*
been expended
the benefit of the metropolis
for
~
etropolis at largo Such gigantic worxv
as the rebuildingof L • • 11 for the
London-bridge, which were
advantage of the whole metropolis, could not fairly be
charged to thz expense of the City alone ; and for improve-
ments of that character he did not think a general im-
provement rate would be a more equitable impost than the
coal tax. The City were extremely good landlords in the
management of their• corporate estates.
Mr. M. Sayward examined- He said that he was the secro-
teary to a life assurance office, at Chatham-place, Blackiriars-
brilge, and his object in appearing before the commissioners
was to point out the disadvantages arising from the double
The office with
jurisdiction of police in metropolis.the
t tewest
ivas nad o the
which he was connected; which
u a coal-
yard that was side of Chatham-place, and abutted the back po
the property of another party, was broken
robbed in the latter part of the year 1849, the
into and
havin,
obtained an entrance by means of the coal-
yard to
thieveswhich he had referred. This coal-yard was
ap-
proachable by a causeway of a hundred yards wide, which
was left at the margin of the river by the recession of the
tide, and which, although it extended all the way from
London-bridge to the Temple, along the water's edge, was
left entirely exposed to gangs of thieves, who roamed at
large there during the low tides Without any let or hin-
drance from the police, and who committed frequent de-
predations.'
'lndeed, there was hardly a counting-house
along the City side of the river's bank which had not been
broken into and plundered by these unchecked marauders.
He had therefore brought the subject of the exposed state
of this waterside hardway before the attention of the City
corporation, in connection with the robbery which had
boon committed upon the premises of his office, with the
view of inducing them to place it under the protection of
the police ; but the City authorities had declined to comply
with his request (in which his neighbours had, by memo-
rial, joined him), and had, on the contrary-, recommended.
him, in a letter written by their officer, Mr. Merewether,
to employ a private watchman in the coal-yard at the rear,
although it did not belong to the office where the burglary
was committed. The office, of course, contributed its share
to the police rates of the City, but was refused the protec-
tion of the police. He understood that the City authorities
said that the jurisdiction of their police stopped at the
point of high tide, and did. not extend to the part of the
river which was left dry at low water. Failing in his a
to-
p
plication to the City, ho had next applied
for redress
the Metropolitan Commissioners of Police, who, although
they h not jurisdiction over the City police, had yet the
control dof the Thames police •
but as force only
watched afloat; he also failed in attaining his object in
that quarter. He understood that th - • e metropolitan police
watched that portion of the river side left d. by the re-
ceding
of the tide which was Within ry .
their jurisdiction,
but the City police did not. The case which he had laid
before the commissioners illustrated the evil of a divided
police jurisdiction in the metropolis, and he considered
it desirable that the police of the City should be placed
under the same authority in respect this -as the rest of the
metropplis.
Mr. Henry Roy appeared to call attention to the City
privileges in connection with the Stock Exchange. He
thought the corporation, did not enforce its regulations in
respect to the sworn brokers of the City with sufficient
stringency. The Stock Exchange was entirely a private
association, and what he wished the City corporation to do
was; to prevent the committee of the Stock Exchange from
rendering the Exchange a close market, which it was at
present. Ho thought the license of the corporation ought
to be sufficient to admit a sworn broker to carry on busi-
ness in the Stock Exchange, without any restriction being
imposed by the regulations of the Stock Exchange com-
mittee.
The whole of the witnesses as yet summoned having been
examined,
The Chairman said that the commissioners now proposed
to adjourn tho commission until the 11th of January, when
they would probably enter upon the examination of wit-
,nossos connected with the corporation. They would not
sit again before the above date unless they should find it
expedient to examine some other witnesses whom they
w ere not at present aware of, and in that case due notice
would be given of their intention to meet. But, as at
present advised, the commissioners would not sit again till
the 11th of January, and then they would proceed to n-
amine the officers of the corporation.
The inquiry was thou adjourned accordingly,

1/Jii

•

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1853.

Negotiations, and negotiations, and negotia-
tions. We are sick of them. HEAVEN knows,
too, that we have had quite enough and to spare
of the miserable twaddlings of diplomacy about a
Pacific settlement. We have had the -Vienna
Note, and the 'Vienna Conference, and the Vienna
Acceptance of the modifications. And, after all
this, moreover, we have had the massacre at
Sinope and the resignation of Lord PALMERSTON.
Nevertheless, such is the pertinacious fatuity of
our Rulers that scarcely have the multitude been
enabled to appreciate the importance of the last-
mentioned occurrences—scarcely have the people
of England awakened to a seise of the ignominy
accruing to us from the unavenged butchery of
Our allies by the Russian squadron from Sebasto-
pol, and of the supplementary weakness in-
fused into the Coalition by the withdrawal
of the Home Secretary from 'the Administration—
when we are com place n tly infortned—What ? T a
the combined fleets have at length passed through
the Bosphorus ? That Admiral HAMELIN and
Admiral DIINDAS have united their formidable
maritime armaments with the Turkish naval force
under Admiral SLADE, and have proceeded to-
gether in a direct line across the Euxine to the
seizure of the Crimea and the bombardment of
Sebastopol? That Turkey, and France, and Eng-
land are at last wreaking a tardy vengeance upon
Russia for the whole catalogue of her criminal
acts towards the Sublime Porte, from the lawless
-passage of the boundary of Bessarabia to the
brutal slaughter at Sinope ? Nothing of the
kind. No !—simply this—that the revival of the
Conference is most satisfactory ; that the union
of the Four Powers is complete ; that they pro-
pose the same media ; that they pursue the same
object ; that their perfect accord is sufficient of
itself to tranquillise the public mind ; • that
confidence is reviving ; that a disposition
favourable to negotiation is being mani-
fested at Constantinople. This, remember,
immediately after intelligence of the battle of
Sinope, and of Lord PALMERSTON'S resignation !
Not a word about wiping out this new and infa-
mous stain about the honour of England. Not
a syllable about the necessity of retaliating upon
the CZAR for the duplicity of his councils, and the
ferocity of his armaments. Not a whisper about
retribution. It matters nothing that two of our
merchantmen (the property of a Maltese firm)
sailing with coals to the Black Sea, are said to
have been " roughly dealt with" in the midst of
this infamous carnage at Sinope. It matters no-
-thing about that other British merchantman,
reported to have been fired into and boarded by
the Russians off the coast of Trebizond. It mat-
ters nothing that all these outrages are taking
place while our fleet is lying quietly at
anchor in the Besphorus. Lord PA LMER-
"ON has retired in dudgeon from the
Cabinet, and Ministers at once return to their old
-011 t, threadbare ruse of diplomatic negotia-
tions.

Negotiat*
ions, upon what understanding ? Why,
wofind it
stated that:the Four Powers have actually
agreed that t
he Olmubz Concessions and the
Modified Vienna, Note, are to be the bases of these
new negotiations. The Olmutz Concessions !
The Concessions vouchsafed
the Emperor
NrcHoLAs in the plenitude of his benevolence,
wad followed UP so consistently by the mas-
sacre of the Turks in the Bta.ek
Sea, and by
their butchery simultaneously on
A.siatic,and
European Continents ! The modified Vienna
Note ! The Note to which the AuTocaa,/,
peretnp_
torily denied the accompaniment of any modifica-
tions, no matter how requisite or reascniable
Such are the bases of these propitious and mira-
culous negotiations.

Then, as we have remarked, it is intimated by
advicris from Vienna, dated the 19th of
this present December, a disposition favour-
able to negotiation is said to be manifested
at Constantinople. It i; probable l---wonderfully
probable, as any one may conjecture, after the
slaughter at Sinope and the reverses experienced
by thei Turks both in Asia and along the Danube,
both, from Prince BEBOUTOFF and from Prince
GOF4ITCHAKOFF. Upon these premises the people
of England are to rest conteutecL with the shadowy
promise of a pacific settlement, held out to them
bb the foreign policy of the ABERDZEN Govern. 1