The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-02 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENIN

CITY OF LONDON COMMISSION.

The Royal Commission sat again yesterday, at 32,
Abingdon-street, for the purpose of resuming their in-
quiry. Commissioners present :—The Right Hon. H.
Labouchere (chairman), Sir John Patteson, and Mr.
Cornwall Lewis. At the opening of the proceedings,
Mr. Bennoch was re-examined with respect to ..the
Gresham Committee. He said he appeared as the chair-
man of a committee established for the purpose of found-
ing a mercantile and maritime college in the metropolis.
Many of the leading merchants and bankers of London
held a meeting for the promotion of that important
object, the want of such an institution being severely
felt ; and they put themselves in communication with
the Gresham College, or rather with its professors, to
ascertain if they would co-operate in such an under-
taking ; and ultimately a statement was drawn up by
the committee explaining their objects. A copy of that
statement he now begged leave to put in evidence. It
contained an account of the original foundation and
objects of the Gresham College ; and although there
might be a few inaccuracies in it, the commissiots
might rely upon it as being substantially correct in its
facts :
"1, That in the year 1575, Sir Thomas Gresham,
merchant of London, by his last will and testament, be-
queathed his own dwelling-house, after the decease of
Lady Gresham, to the corporation of the city of London
and the Mercers' Company, in trust for the purpose of
founding a college.
"2. That seven professors were to be appointed to
read, daily, within the college, lectures on divinity, as-
tronomy, music, geometry, law, physic, and rhetoric.
The same professors to inhabit and study in the college,
being allowed a salary of 501. per annum each, provided
they did not marry.
" 3. That to endow such professorships, the ReTai..glu
change (built by Sir Thomas Gresham oak'the'grontid
purchased by the citizens of London for more than
4,0001.), its shops, cellars, &c., were also bequeathed to
the same corporation and to the Mercers' Company.
This will was confirmed by an Act of Parliament (23d
Elizabeth, in 1581.
"4. That in conformity with such dispositions, on
the decease of Lady Gresham in 1596, the joint trustees
took possession of the house bequeathed, appointed pro-
lessors, and fixed the times for the reading of the lectures,
and, in 1641, they took a patent from the Crown to
possess for ever the Royal Fxchange and Gresham's
house, already converted into a college.
" 5. That for a time the college acquired great cele-
brity, and counted among its professors Sir Christopher
Wren, Barrow, Hooke, Sir William Petty, and other
men of science. It was within its walls that the Royal
Society had its origin, and that Charles 11. signed its
charter, in 1663 ; and apartments were assigned for their
books, instruments, and rarities.
" 6. That during the Plague and Great Fire, in 1665-
1666, Gresham College was used as a place of meeting
for merchants, and therefore the delivery of the lectures
was for a time suspended, and the Royal Society re-
moved to Arundel House, whence, however, they re-
turned to Gresham College in 1673, and there remained
till 1710, when they purchased the house of Dr. Brown,
in Crane-court, Fleet-street, whither they removed with
their museum.
"7. That the Royal Exchange having been burnt
down in the fire of London, the Gresham committee
were called upon to rebuild in 1667, and subsequently,
on the plea of the expense which they had thereby in-
curred, the trustees of Gresham College, as early as
1669, stopped the salaries of the professors for two
years, and refused to keep up the building.
" 8. That in 1701 the Gresham committee petitioned
Parliament for power to pull down the old mansion, and
to erect smaller buildings for the use of the professors ;
but Parliament refused to entertain their petition, and
thereafter for some time the lectures became of little
practical value.
"9. That great complaints having been made of the
management of the college, an inquiry was instituted
before the Lord Mayor, Gresham committee, and pro-
fessors ; whereupon the lectures were resumed, and
greater attention paid to the conduct of its affairs.
"10. That in 1717, the trustees again petitioned Par-
liament for authority to pull down the college, proposing
to erect on the same site another building, capable of
accommodating the professors and their audience ; but
their request was once more rejected.
" 11. That in 1760, they again petitioned Parlia-
to the same effect, in this instance to build a conve-
nient room for the lectures, and to build in addition
thereto houses for merchants and others ; but they
again met with a similar refusal.
" 12. That in 1767, Government requiring a new
Excise-office, the trustees sold Gresham College, and the
ground attached to it, for no other consideration than
an annual ground rent of 5001., the corporation of the
City agreeing to pay 1,800/. in one month towards pull-
ing down the college. An act of Parliament (8 Geo.
111., c. 32) was passed to confirm the transfer. That
act provided that, by reason of the professors being
deprived of their lodgings, their salaries should be raised
from 501. to 1001. per annum ; that the trustees should
provide a place for the delivery of the lectures, and that
it should be lawful for the professors to marry, notwith-
standing any restrictions in the will of Sir Thomas
Gresham to the contrary.
" 13. That for a considerable time afterwards, an
apartment of the Exchange was used for the delivery of
the Gresham lectures, during which they became com-
paratively unknown, and consequently neglected.
" 14. That in 1838, the Royal Exchange being again
burnt down, the delivery of the lectures was transferred
to the City of London School, until the present building
was erected in Gresham-street, where the lectures are now
delivered during the law terms. The Royal Exchange
was again built by the Gresham committee and opened
in 1841.
" 15. That in 1852, the building erected for the pur-
pose of an Excise-office, together with the ground at-
tached to it, were sold by Government for 108,0001. It
is understood, however, that the Crown still pays the
5001. per annum to the trustees of Sir Thos. Gresham.
" 16. That the lectures now delivered at Gresham
College consist of lectures on astronomy, physic, divi-
nity, law, rhetoric, geometry, in Latin at twelve o'clock
at noon, and in English at one o'clock in the afternoon ;
and on music and geometry, in English, at seven o'clock

in the evening ; delivered -during term time.
"17 That the delivery of such lectures in Latin is compa,
ratively useless at the present day, although at the date
of the foundation of the college it was useful, as Latin
was often the medium of communication with foreign
merchants. Moreover, the lectures being delivered
during term time only, the merchants have long ceased
to attend them, and the professors are often unable to
secure an audience.
" 18. That owing to the progress of commerce, the
great competition existing with all countries, and the
advanced state of science, the educational wants of the
mercantile and maritime classes are at present far greater
than those felt in the 16th and 17th centuries, and that
the city of London has long suffered considerable injury
in having been deprived of the advantages intended to
be conferred by th 3 illustrious founder of Gresham
College.
" 19. That the pecuniary trust is generally unknown ;
its revenues are supposed to consist of the rental arising
from the Royal Exchange, with its offices, and the an-
nual ground rent of 5001. arising from the original site
of the college. Its expenditure would seem to include
the cost of rebuilding twice the Royal Exchange, less
the sums for which they were insured ; the building of
the present Gresham College in Gresham-street, the
salary of the professors and other officers, exclusive of
any rent charge in respect of the almshouses founded by
Sir Thomas Gresham.
"20. That considering the vast importance of
the trust, and its great practical value, it is impor-
tant to ascertain with what amount of debt the pro-
perty is at present charged ; the interest paid upon such
debt ; the amount annually paid in liquidation of
the same ; and the annual rental ; so as to indicate at
what future time the whole property will be wholly ap-
plicable to the purposes of the trust."
To the foregoing statement the committee appended the
subjoined outline of a constitution for the proposed Mer-
cantile and Maritime College :
"That, having regard to the foregoing statement, it is
suggested thet the income arising from the Gresham
trust, as well as the property itself, should, together
with a sufficient amount to be subscribed by the mer-
chants and bankers of the city of London, be devoted to
the establishment of a Mercantile and Maritime College,
the management of which should devolve on a commit-
tee, composed of the Gresham committee and persons
elected by the donors and subscribers to the college
funds.
"That the proposed institution should, amongst other
advantages,' afford courses of lectures on the different
branches of science more especially directed to meet the
requirements of the mercantile and maritime classes ;
and also, that there should be attached to the college a
trade museum, constantly replenished and supplied with
every commercial information, besides a collection of
statistics of commerce, parliamentary papers and returns,
a complete commercial library, models, charts, &c., and
to be provided with an active machinery, to promote
objects of national and international importance.
" That certificates should be granted of attendance at
the lectures, which might serve as recommendations to
appointments to trust.
"That it is intended that such college shall be set

supporting, the fees to be sufficiently moderate to attract
students of, every grade.
"The object contemplated is entirely practical. It is
desired to adapt the original plan of Sir Thomas Gresham
to the extended requirements of the present time ; and
whilst the college will furnish complete instruction upon
the theory and practice of commerce and navigation, it
:will
also form a centre of union for the promotion of the
'mercantile and maritime interests of the country."
There was not a place in all London, at present, where
boys could be thoroughly educated for pursuits in con-
nection with commerce and marine, and afterwards
examined as to their proficiency. The only complaint
that had been made against the management of the
Gresham trust was that, although a staff of seven pro-
fessors was maintained at the college, and a sum of
1,3001. or 1,400/. was yearly derived by the institution,
ostensibly to be appropriated to educational purposes,
yet the lectures were only delivered to audiences which
never exceeded, on an average, more than twenty per-,
sons, and even that number attended not for oduea-

ti.nal objects, but merely to wb
which hung heavily on their hag
venues of the college were waste
not, in point of fact, applied to;
purpose whatever. He might me;
of the kind contemplated by the
don had been established at Liver

Levy, and had been attended with teat success ; and it
was also a strange coincidence that at this very moment
Austria, Sweden, and Belgium were setting on foot
educational institutions of the same Character, The ob-
ject of the London merchants in thiS movement is in no
way to alienate the funds bequeathed by Sir T. Gresham
from their legitimate use, but rather' to restore them to
such a purpose as the testator himself originally contem-
plated, and to render that which was now a useless form
and a dead letter, a living and vital reality, beneficial in
its working to the mercantile community of the present
day. A lengthened correspondence ensued between the
committee of merchants and the trustees of Gresham
College, the result of which, however, unfortunately
was, that the trustees decaned to co-operate with the
committee in the promotioa of the projected mercantile
college, on the ground that the funds of the trust were
strictly applicable to a specific purpose, and could not
legally be alienated to any other object. The establish-
ment of a mercantile college was a subject which had
taken a deep hold on the minds of the merchants of
London ; and as they were unable to obtain the assist-
ance of the trustees of the Gresham trust in attaining
that very desirable end, he (Mr. Beianoch) hoped that
the commissioners would not refuse to direct their atten-
tion to the question.
The Chairman stated that the commission had no
power to deal with the general question of the alleged
deficiency in the facilities for promoting mercantile edu-
cation in the city of London ; all they had to consider in
relation to this matter was flap; /state ckfithe Gresham
trust as far as it was connected vith the corporation of
London ; and of course any inipro.vempats which. could,
_be suggested" as bearing -upon that point were proper
subjects for investigation before the commission.
Mr. Bennoch thanked the commissioners, and then
withdrew.

Dr. Waldilove examined—Practised at Doctor's Com-
mons, and in the Court of Admiralty, and while there
he had frequently witnessed the injury that had arisen
to the mercantile community through the ignorance of
captains and mates of commercial law. In connection
with this subject, he had turned his attention to the
state of Gresham College. When the college was first
established, the trustees applied to the universities of
Oxford and Cambridge, in order that these learned bodies
might choose the professors, and each of the universities
accordingly appointed three professors, Queen Elizabeth
herself appointing a seventh professor. The witness
having entered into further historical evidence on the
subject of the Gresham College, suggested that it should
be put to the trustees of the institution, whether the
new Charitable Trusts Act did not contain provisions
which would enable them to overcome the impediments
in the way of their applying a portion of the funds of the
trust to the promotion of mercantile education.
Mr. Lucy, master of the Watermen's and Lighter-
men's Company, and a freeman of the city of London,
was next examined, and put in a long written statement,
explaining the privileges of the company of watermen
and lightermen, and defending those privileges on the
ground of the interests of the public, and of the necessity
for the safety of the traffic on the river, that there should
be a trained and efficient body of men competent to dis-
charge the duty of navigating the numerous craft ply-
ing on the Thames. He denied the imputation which
had been cast upon the body that they were concerned
in the alleged corruption which takes place at the City
elections. He said the number of working freemen of
his company was about 5,000, but there were nearly
7,000 altogether, including owners of barges, &c.,
enrolled on the books of the company. The members of
the Watermen's Company were not voters at the Com-
mon Hall elections, and they were totally unconnected
with the longshoremen who had been complained of.
Mr. Deputy Harrison examined :—He was the deputy
of Cornhill ward, and had been connected with the cor-
poration for the last sixteen years. He was chairman
of the Freedom Committee, and a member of the Sewers
and Commission,
also
was a trader in the City, and a stationer. Witness then
commented upon the evidence adduced by Mr. Travers,
Mr. Bennoch, and other gentlemen, as to the character
of the corporation of the present day, denying generally
that they were confined to the class of retail traders.
He also controverted the assertion that the corporation
required to be goaded on by public opinion in order to
effect improvements ; and pointed to the fact that the
City Commission of Sewers had, on their own motion,
obtained very large powers from Parliament, several
years ago, for establishing a complete system of
sanitary regulations. He stated thlit the drainage
works which had been carried out under those powers
were sufficient to provide proper drainage for every
house in the City. The sewers rate in the City, in the
present year, would not exceed ld. in the pound. The
consolidated rate yielded 71,8881. a year, and the sewers
rate 13,7581. The cost of collection, together with the
expense of the City's sanitary staff, did not amount to
more than seven per cent, of the whole sum raised, a
fact which he thought contrasted favourably with other
districts. The commission had expended on works, dur-

ing the year, 78,1291. ; and altogether the entire san
tary arrangements of the City were in an admirable
state—in fact, in a state rapidlyapproaching to absolute
perfection. The City sanitary staff was very efficient,
and no inconvenience whatever arose to the metropolis
generally from the separate sewers jurisdiction existing
within the City. Referring to he bribery practised at
the City elections, witness stated that he had had con-
siderable experience of the Common Hall elections, and
he knew that transactions occurred on these occasions
in which the names of voters were given by hundreds to
candidates on condition of receiving a certain sum of
money. He had also known :nstances in which a
sum of money wag paid to sectre an attendance at
Common Hall, and he had himself been obliged to pay
51. for every hundred men who passed into Guildhall
through a certain wicket, by which freemen alone ought
to have been admitted. This was a flagrant and crying
evil, and the corporation had on two different occasions
endeavoured to remedy this abuse, but the livery compa-
nies were too strong for them, and had succeeded in throw-
ing out their bills in Parliament, which were introduced
to check it. He also denied the charge that incompetent
persons were appointed as the chairmen of committees,
and asserted that the practice was to select the most
efficient business men for their officers. He had been a
member of the navigation committee for four years, and
he considered the manner in which they discharged their
duty as most satisfactory. At the same time he did not
pretend to say that the system of the corporotion could
not be improved in any respect.
Mr. T. H. Hall, chairman of the Improvements Com-
mittee, examined—He said he attended there that day
as a member of a body which had been much maligned
in the course of this inquiry, He had been chairman of
the Improvements Committee for six years. The course
which the committee pursued in promoting improve-
ments was to examine somewhat in the capacity of a
special jury all the claims put before them for the pur-
chase of houses required to be removed, leaving the
value of freehold or leasehold property to be estimated
and reported upon by Mr. Bunning, the City architect,
in order that they might satisfactorily determine the pro-
per amount of compensation to be awarded. The commit-
tee was generally composed of from 18 to 20 gentlemen
who had had previous experience on special juries ; and
they thoroughly sifted all the numerous cases which came
before them, taking care that justice was done to private
rights as well as to the funds of the corporation. An idea of
the extent of business done by this committee might be ob-
tained from the fact that during the last six years they had
examined into claims for compensation amounting to an
aggregate of 1,200,0001., and had invariably settled them
by paying the parties much smaller sums than they origi-
nally demanded. Street Improvements were executed
under the directions of the Improvements Committee,
acting with the advice of their officers. When the com-
mittee reported that an improvement was desirable, the
Court of Common Council generally approved of it, and
applied to Parliament accordingly for powers to carry it
into effect. He wished to rebut the accusation that the
corporation did nothing to improve the metropolis ; and
would put in a map showing the various improvements
which they had already carried out. The corporation,
he said, were anxious to go as fir in this direction as
their funds would allow, and the difficulty often was to
tell, where so much was necessary, in what quarter to
begin first. The corporation had now under considera-
tion the opening of a new thoroughfare from the new
Cannon-street to Earl-street, Blackfriars, in order to re-
lieve Ludgate-hill and Cheapside, and this plan, it was
estimated, would cost 195,0001. for its execution. The
corporation had also charged the City estate with a sum
of 11,5001. per annum for a period of three years, for the
improvement of Clerkenwell ; and all this although they
did not receive any revenue whatever on account of im-
provements.
The Chairman—Yes, but were not the corporation all
this time receiving the 4d. duty on coals, which is levied
from the consumers throughout the whole metropolis;-as
well as from the consumers within the City ?
Mr. Hall—The corporation had carried out the new
Cannon-street improvement from the produce of the 4d.
coal tax which they hold by prescriptive right ; and this
improvement would not cost them less than 500,0001.
when it was completed. The corporation were now
widening Upper Thames-street, and part of Newgate-
street ; aid petitions ha I been presented to them, call-
ing for similar improvements in Lime-street, in Fen-
church-street, Tower-street, &c. In fact, there were at
that moment plans before the corporation for street im-
provements, which would require an outlay of more
than two millions of money to carry them out. The
witness then corroborated the testimony of Mr. Deputy I
Harrison, with regard to the appointment of the chair•
men of committees, contending that they were generally
chosen from the most competent and able members. He
indignantly repudiated the insinuation that a regular
attendance at the committee dinners was the only or the
chief qualification demanded of a chairman. He had
himself proposed the reduction of a committee's allow-
ance from 5001. to 2001., and succeeded in his object ;
and yet that circumstance, so far from being regarded as
personally unfavourable to him by the members in ques-
tion, had been followed by his own election to the office
of chairman. The committee allowances were not a