The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-05 00:00:00

At the foot of this document it is stated that " a motion
having been made, and the question put, that the court do
agree with the committee in the aforesaid report, it is
resolved in the affirmative that the report be referred back
to the committee to carry the same into execution."
believe that my statement went farther, to this effect—
that the Court of Common Council sanctioned the alloca-
tion of 1,000/. a year to that purpose in 1849, and that it
continued so to do up to this time, making the total sum
4,0001. which they had so expended.
The Chairman—That is the statement which you made
when you were last before the commission.
Mr. Acland—And I was correct in my statement thus
far. No such vote appears on the minutes of the proceed-
ings of the Court of Common Council—perhaps I should
say no such vote was come to as a formal vote; but I as-
sert deliberately—and what I assert I shall be prepared to
prove—that it was well understood by the consolidated
committee that the court sanctioned them in expending
not more than 1,0001. a year for that purpose.
The Chairman—What do you mean by the statement
that it was well understood that they were to spend a sum
not exceeding 1,0001., unless some formal vote were come
to empowering them to do so ?
Mr. Acland—l mean that the proieedings of the corpo-
ration of the city of London are—l think the only word I
can use is—tricksy ; that there is very much of that un-
derstanding as regards the appropriation of funds for what
some would call politic, but what I call sinister, purposes
—purposes not to be recognised in public court where the
press is.
The Chairman—Your statement was that the sum of
4,0001. has been expended during the last four years, in
sums paid to the various newspapers of this metropolis.
What proof are you able to give us of such payments
having been made ?
Mr. Acland—l have endeavoured to correct my state-
ment as to the positive sum of 1,0001. being thus spent.
That the consolidated committee was warranted in going
to an expense not exceeding 1,0001., I re-assert. As to
whether they spent the whole of that sum, I am justified
in assuming that they did. They have never published an
account showing how much of it they have spent, and yet
they yearly publish accounts purporting to be accounts of
their receipts and expenditure.
The Chairman—Was there any vote on the subject of
authorising that expenditure ?
Mr. Acland—The committee were to make such tempo-
rary arrangements as they should see fit, but if they made
any permanent arrangements, they were to report to the
court.

Sir John Patteson—lf I understand you, there is no
further trace of the court putting at the disposal of the
committee any sum ?
Mr. Acland—There is not ; but there is a sub• committee
of the consolidated committee, and the sub-committee has
always dealt with the vote as if it were a vote of 1,0001.—
in figures and calculations, they have always treated it
as a sum placed entirely at their disposal for such a
purpose. _ _ _

The Chairman—How do you know that ?
Mr. Acland—l do know it.

The Chairman—But how ?

Mr. Acland—l only hesitate upon the question to con-
skier how far without a breach of confidence I can say that
I know it. But I see they have purchased newspapers,
300 at a time, according to their own admission, and that
continuously. They have in their financial report an entry
of 1,00001. under this heading :—" To Mr. Temple, hall-
keeper [avowedly the person who has dealt with the trans-
action of the newspapers], on account of disbursements
of his office, consisting of the expense of assistance,
watchmen, gazettes, newspapers, advertisements, candles,
firewood, and various other petty expenses, in relation to
the Guildhall, and the courts and offices connected there-
with, 1,0001." This was in the year 1852, and it was stated
at page 43 of their financial report, whilst in that same re-
port there appears an entry of 1001. to the same individual
on account of advertising the letting of the City property ;
and it will be remembered that advertising formed one of
the items of the 1,0001. entry. There is also at page 56 of
the same report this entry :--" To Joseph Temple on ac-
count of sundry disbursements and expenses connected
with his office, 1501." There is no separate entry for the
candles, unless it be in the sundry disbursements, nor is
there any separate entry for firewood. In the year 1851
there is the same entry of 1,000/. under the same conglo-
merated statement of items, including candles, &c. In
the year 1849 there was the same entry ; and in 1853 there
was the same item, only it amounted to 1,2001. instead of
1,0001. Now the purchase of the papers is admitted, and
there is no account of the purchase of them, except in that
item of 1,0001. There is no account in any of those years
of the expenditure of 1501., or any other sum, for news-
papers, except a .similar entry of 1,0001. in the lump each
year to the hall-keeper.
The Chairman—l sae, in the report of the proceedings of
the Common Council yesterday, in the public papers, a
statement of Mr. Wood on this subject, in which he says
that the moneys spent in buying copies of, those news-
papers which have most fully reported the proceedings of
the Common Council have not exceeded 1501. a year.
Have you any reason to doubt the accuracy of that state-
ment ?

Mr. Adam"— None ; but I have every reason to doubt
its accuracy in another sense. It is not denied that any
other sum was spent on the press ; and the amount given
for the purchase of newspapers I cannot know until they
please to publish an account. They publish no other ac-
count except the item of 1,000/. in the lump, and without
any details.

The Chairman—But can you prove that payments to the
newspapers of 1,0001. have been made, besides the 1501.
spent in the purchase of the papers which reported the
proceedings most fully.
Mr. Acland—No, I cannot ; but the committee has
always dealt with the vote as if they were at liberty to
spend a sum not exceeding 1,0001. in this way. The con-
solidated committee once contemplated the publication of
a corporate newspaper with the balance of 1,0001. They
thought, also, of dealing with a sum of 9001. voted for the
publication of the Old Bailey reports in the establishment
of a newspaper of their own.
The Chairman—Confining ourselves to what has actually
been done, are you prepared to say that more has been
dove thap is avowed by the officer connected with this ex-
penditure, viz., that 1501. has been spent during the last
four years in purchasing copies of the papers most fully re-
porting the corporation proceedings?
Mr. Acland—lt is difficult to get to know what a secret
committee does ; but it is not difficult to prove how they
have treated this transaction—that they have not had the
manliness to put it upon the face of their proceedings.
They admit that they spent 1501. thus. Has it, then, ap-
l-peared in any of their accounts ?
I The Chairman—Your charge now is that they do not