The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-24 00:00:00

CITY OF LONDON COMMISSION.

Crown, and as I do not consider them to be overpaid, I
do not think any reduction ought to be rnade in their sala-
ries. But there is the town clerk receiving 1,892/. ; the
secondary, 1,2491. (the latter an office which was pur-
chased) • and the remembrancer receiving 1,7691. Now I
never could make out what are the duties of the remem-
brancer, unless it be to attend a few hours in the gallery of
the House of Commons, and take notice of things on be-
half of the corporation, which, if he never noticed at all,
it would be better for the community. These three last
offices I would throw together, and consolidate into one,
attaching to it a salary of 1,250/. ; and then if a clerk was
required to superintend each of the two extinguished de-
partments, there would would be no difficulty, I appre-
hend, in securing their services at 3001. a year each. Then
there is the City Solicitor, who receives 2,0661. ; the comp-
troller (who is merely a conveyancer), 1,5001. ; and the
comptroller of the Bridge-house Estate, 1,0131. ; but for
some time the duties of solicitor and of comptroller of the
Bridge-house Estate were performed by one person with-
out a double salary, and no inconvenience occurred. Then
there are the High Bailiff of Southwark and the common
pleaders, receiving together 1,0361. These I would abo-
lish altogether, because they are no use to the corporation.
Then there is the clerk of the peace, receiving 349/. ; and
the coroner, 482/. ; both of which offices I would amalga-
mate, and give the occupant 5001. Adding to these reduc-
tions in the salaries of the legal officers further reductions
in the salaries attached to the police-courts at the Mansion
House and Guildhall, where the salaries of the chief clerks
are as high as 1,2301. each, and. those of the assistant
clerks 5001. each, the total saving that coull easily be
effected upon these salaries alone would amount to 12,0001.
But further, the mace-bearer receives 5501., the sword-
bearer a similar amount, the upper-marshal 4501. or 5001.,
and the under-marshal some. 2001. or 3001. They also re-
ceive for boats the sum of 14/. ; for cocked hats 20'. more,
and also for uniform 701. I speak from memory, but I
believe I am correct when I say that the total expense of
these two marshals amounts to 2,0001., when any two re-
spectable police sergeants could be easily got to do the duty
for 1201. or 150/. The duty consists in ushering persons
into the presence of the Lord Mayor who desire to have
his signature to certify invoices which are to be sent to the
United States or elsewhere, and in riding on a horse in front
of the procession on every 9th of November. On the whole,
then,
I arrive at the conclusion that you might save,
without impairing in the slightest degree the efficiency of
any office, at least from 40,0001. to 50,0001. per annum of
the 107,000/. and upwards which is anually squandered in
expenses of administration. I have no hesitation in saying
that the whole of the duties of the various offices might
certainly be performed for 50,0001. a year. Here, then,
you would obtain at four per cent. a capital, applicable to
improvements in the city, of a million and a quarter, and
that, too, in perpetuity.
The Chairman—Would not compensation be necessary
for offices abolished ?

The Royal Commissioners re-assembled in the Privy
Council Chamber on Tuesday, and resumed their investiga-
tion into the state of the corporation of the city of London.
Commissioners present—Right Hon. Mr. Labouchere (in
the chair), Sir John Patteson, and Mr. Cornewall Lewis.
The first witness examined was
Mr. James Cherry, the Mayor of Yarmouth, who stated
that he appeared before the commissioners for the purpose
of representing to them the prejudicial effects of certain
dues and customs levied by the city of London on corn im-
ported into the port of London. He alluded to the metage,
lastage, fillage, wharfage, porterage, the Lord Mayor's and
other dues, which are levied upon all cargoes of grain
brought to the port of London, but aro not levied upon
any grain brought by railway. This he regarded as most
unfair towards the shipping interest, who could not com-
pete with land carriage on equal terms. The taxation ira.
posed by the City on all corn brought by water was 4
per quarter, while corn brought by railway was entirely
exempt from any taxation whatever. In the year 1847
there were imported into London from Yarmouth 56,000
quarters of malt and 210,000 quarters of brey,:,,for
maltaal
of 266,000 quarters ; and in 1852 the quantity
im-
ported was 55,000 quarters, of nestersa.rley3l,74B uarters,
rted incllBs2 as
making a total of 86," qli 1847. This
compared with 266,060 quarters imported
falling off in the importations was attributable to the une-
qual competition of the railway carriage, which had caused
e t portion of the grain which used to be conveyed to
togrndaon by ships to be conveyed by railway.
The Chairman—Do you believe that if corn carried by
railway were placed on an equal footing, the
ships and by
shipowners could compete with the railways in the trans-
port of grain from Yarmouth . ,
- Mr. Cherry—Undoubtedly they could. It would pay
the shipping interest to bring corn to London for ls. per
quarter.
Mr. C. Lewis—Does the diminution in the amount of
corn carried from Yarmouth to London by water not arise
from any general falling off in the extent of the trade ?
Mr. Cherry—No ; from my own experience I can say
that there is not ill quarters of grain less exported from
Yarmouth than there used to be.
The next witness examined was Mr. Belton, coal mer-
chant, King-street, Portman-square, who stated—l attend
here as a deputation from a public meeting held recently in
Marylebone. lam instructed to lay before this commis-
sion the injurious effects of the coal dues imposed upon
the whole metropolis by the city of London. We estimate
the burden which this tax imposes upon the consump-
tion of gas in Marylebone at 5,0001. a-year. On the public
lights the burden is 4001. a-year. There are 17,000 houses
in Maylebone, and we compute the coal tax as amounting
to 11. per house, making 17,0001. a year. I think the
principle of the coal tax is objectionable, and so also is
the mode of expending its produce. The revenue raised
by the tax is devoted to the improvement of the streets of
the City, and a small portion to improvements in West-
minster and Middlesex. Marylebone does not obtain any-
thing like its fair share of these improvements, in propor-
tion to the amount it contributes to the tax. The tax
also presses heavily upon the poor, and limits their com-
forts ; and has the effect likewise of driving manufactures
from the metropolis. At Reading, which is situated
twenty miles from London, coals can be bought 2s. 6d. per
ton cheaper than in the metropolis. We object also to the
cart dues or tolls levied by the City authorities. These
tolls are let for 5,0001. a year to contractors, who make
10,0001. a year out of them, or 100 per cent. By the mode
in which the toll is levied, it often amounts to 6d. on a
single cart-load of goods.
Mr. F. Bennoch, who has already appeared before the
commissioners, attended again to-day to conclude his evi-
dence. He said—Before entering upon the financial affairs
of the corporation, I wish to touch upon one or two other
points of a preliminary nature. I believe the aldermen
have performed their magisterial functions with great ad-
vantage to the citizens. At the same time, looking at
their ordinary business pursuits, I would relieve them of
these functions, and have them transferred to two stipen-
diary magistrates appointed by the Crown. The Court of
Aldermen have as much power and control over the City
purse as the Court of Common Council itself, and can order
what payments they please. On a late occasion theywished
to pay a compliment to Alderman Sidney, the present Lord
Mayor, and they had his portrait painted, which cost a
sum of 3001. or 4001. The estates of the corporation, I be-
lieve, are liberally and kindly administered, as far as re-
lates to the tenants ; and, on the other hand, a fair return
of rent is obtained from them. No blame can be attached
to the corporation in that respect. The number of agents
for these estates is not excessive. The property is well-
conditioned and easily managed. With regard to the
sewers, I think nothing can be better than the manage-
ment of the City Commission of Sewers ; and their ac-
counts have, of late years, been kept very satisfactorily ;
but, at the same time, I consider it would be an improve-
ment to have but one authority with regard to sewer-
age for the whole metropolis. lam a member of the
City Commission of Sewers myself. I believe the City
commission are anxious to carry out any recommen-
dation of the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers. I
think, however, it would be much better to have the City
sewers merged in the general drainage of the whole metro-
polis. With respect to the financial affairs of the corporation
I do not believe the members of the corporation are charge.
able with malversation, peculation, or any conduct of that
description; but the multiplicity of offices, and the large
salaries attached to them, bring out a total expenditure
which is highly reprehensible. The gross income of the
corporation amounts to 213,5721., which is collected as fol-
lows :—Rents and quit rents, 86,311/. ; renewing fines,
12,8001.; markets, 20,5951.; tolls and duties, 6 941/ • offices(a
curious term, but it really means coal dues 'and 'Corn met-
age), 73,1691. bequests, 1321. • brokers' rents, 3,7561. ,
freedoms, 840/. ; interest, 1,392/. ; sheriffs' fines, 1,2001.
and casual revenue, 6,4591. These items make a total
of 213,5721. Then there is an additional income from
the navigation of 8,377/. ; consolidation of sewers rates,
66,8611. ; general dues, 19,4261. ; Bridge-house Estate,'
47,021/. ; making the total, 355,2571. This does not in-
clude the receipts of the Irish Society, because, not being a
member of that society, I have no power of getting at the
particulars of their accounts. Nor does it include the
police rate, which is about 30,0001. more. But with the
addition of these items I believe to total income will amount
to nearly 400,0001. per annum. Now to the expenses of ad-
ministration I wish to direct attention, as that is a point
on which the corporation must be condemned, if it is to be
condemned at all. The general salaries paid to corporate
officers amount to 38,672/. ; the legal salaries to 14,7001. ;
legal expenses, 4,6001. ; pensions to relations of officers,
3,64441. ; pensions to relations of aldermen, 580/. ; Parlia-
mentary expenses, 1,467/. ; committees allowances, 2,9a0/.
(an item which other expenses connected with the corpora.
tion barge, with feasting, &c., would bring up to fully
4,0001.) ; auditors, 1061. ; printing and stationery, 3,1821. ;
state coach and official clothing, disbursements of the hall-
keeper, and re-imbursing officers for petty expenditure,
4,067/. ; a similar item of 142/. • a variety of sundries,
amounting in the gross to 14,65 d., of which one-half, I
think, may fairly be taken as being applied to general ex-
penses of administration, leaving the other half to go for
works, the improvement of estates, or repairs. Then there
are discrepancies in ho account of salaries, 10,0611. ; and
further discrepancies in the accounts connected with sala-
ries, 13,1871. ; and expenses of the chamberlain's clerks,
2,3721. This brings the total expenses of administration iu
expending the balance of 255,327/. Then, in addition to that,
there is, for certain artificers with names attached, 5,4401. ;
for artificers, without names attached, 4,1601. There was also
expended on charities, of which so much had been heard,
1,1471.; and also a curious item of 1331. for cloth to Minis-
ters of State.
The Chairman—Who are the fortunate individuals who
get this cloth ?
Mr. Benuoch—l believe the First Lord of the Treasury
is one, and I am sure the Lord Chancellor is another.
(Laughter.) There is also an item of 259/ for emblazon-
ing an address totheF
freeuhEmperor, and a. nether of 1561.
for emblazoning a vote
thanks to Alderman Sydney. In
page 61 of the Blue-book there appeared 19,6251. under the
head of lodging-houses for the labouring poor. Anybody
looking at the account woulde naturally infer that this
money had been expended in
merelyrecting lodging-houses for
the labouring poor, but it isthe balance of the
Finsbury estate, which is held n trust, and which the
corporation is too virtuous to allow to be merged into the
is to build
not beenseve
general fund. Out of this balance it
l 3 proposed
these lodging-houses, but the foundations
laid, although, I suppose, they will be on a future occasion.
Then the coal tax figures very conspicuously.
The Chairman—Has the Corporation expended anything
on baths and washhouses ?
Mr. Bennoch—Not a penny, except in the voting 501.
or 1001. occasionally to such an establishment after it has
been erected in the neighbourhood.
The Chairman—Has it paid attention to the subject of
improved dwellings for the labouring poor?
Mr. Bennoch—By no means. It is one great condemna-
tion of its past conduct, that while new streets have been
opened, the poor, who have been disturbed and turned out
to make way for these improvements, have been compelled
to crowd together in the spots nearest to their employment.
In Moorfields, Clerkenwell, and other places where im-
provements have been effected, no provision has been made
for the poor who were deprived of their former accommo-
tion and very unhealthy over-crowding in the adjacent
localities has necessarily resulted.
The Chairman— Has the City pursued a different course,
in this respect, to the rest of the metropolis ?
Mr. Bennoch—l am afraid not. As regards the coal tax,
general misapprehension appears to prevail. The whole tax
amounts to ls. ld. per ton. Of this the City receives ld. for
the expenses of collection, Ire.; and it also receives and ap-
propriates, underact of Parliament, to public improvements
4d. more, whilst the remaining Bd. is handed over to the
Govern re ent, for t he purpose of effec tinggeneral metrcpol i tan
improvements. Out of that latter fund New Oxford-street
was constructed, as were also most of the improvements in
and about Trafalgar and Leicester squares, the New Vic-
toria-street, Westminster; and I believe 90,000/. is to be
applied to the opening of a street from the Town-hall, in
the Borough, to Southwark-bridge-road. The whole of
the remaining 4d. is placed at the discretion of the City
corporation. The present coal tax can be levied until the
Tear 1864, and the proceeds of it are pledged to public
bodies who have advanced money on the security of the
t_ssx for public improvements. The tax will, however
expire in 1861, unless it is renewed by act of Parliament.
theta"el,_b_e.v.erY desirable to anticipate the expiration of
Tate, extigqito impose in lieu of it a general improvement
The Chai ng over the entire metropolis.
unpo-
pularity of a direct you so apprehension of the unpo-
tax of that kind ?
Mr. Bennochirett in the least. I believe it would be
willingly borne, as
police rate, which wax bears
velvaas the case with the case with the
The coal ts felt to be for the general advantage.
consume a large quantitylard on particular trades, which
of coals, such as sugar refiners,
whose business is chiefly confined to the metropolis. I
know a contractor who as eengaged to supply 50,000 tons
of coal for the manufactu2r,erio& gLs, and the tax upon that
quantity, amounting to
There are several diecrepancies taemytteiYouhUtesavtyo wbrelheni
,erbuof officers are
wish to call attention. A certain n
Lakitt in the Blue-
stated in the accounts to receive 29,348
difference
book they figure as receivingel9,9B3/.
between the two returns of 10,061/. This arises ian
this
ner : Mr. Beddome, for instance, is receiving, accordiman-
ng to
his own showing, 6501. per annum; whereas in the
account he is put down fer 4401., and the same is aaecestr4ll
with the salary of the comptroller, and other officers. The,
discrepancies are accounted for by the fact that these officers
receive,, i n addition to their salaries, a certainc amount of
fees. This system is clearly an abuse which
intohih ought to be
got rid of, by requiring all fees to be paidthe common
chamber, and allotting fixed salaries to the officers from
the general fund. The total sum paid in salaries by the
pe n
corporation is 55,3181., of which amount 23,0001. is ex-
sodli4l:sBo 62,697 65,172 127,869
aner that cannot be understood from the The number of I
which
the chamberlain's office. Now, suppos-
nearly 1,, when dividre4oo constituents in ?ated at and above 101. is 16,761,
12 wards, gives an average of
Iterations to be made in the corporation
12 aldermen and 72 councillors
eerach ward ;these would return
4:modelling it, I think the following reduc-
Although about 130,000 a
Wants who reside in the city of L
s—in all, 84 representatives.
' salaries ought to be made, which alone
The PPears to be the number of inha-
-250,0nd0n, it is estimated
;gregate saving of 12,0001. a
.eceives 3,000/. ; the Common Sergeant, that, during the day, at least
0 0
judge of the Sheriffs' Court, 1,2001. ; ' avocations within its limits; it is thererfaoorrea Ipursue their
of theee three gentlemen must either be larger portion of its population is contributs:detrAttiehraso: gsn'uhr:
me, or by the judges appointed by the rouidinz districts; thus, it differs from all

Mr. Bennoch—l believe that 99 out of the 100 offices are
offices to which the election is annual, and I have no doubt
that the City or Parliament could call upon the occupiers
to resign without any compensation whatever ; but I am
sure that no Government or city would act so unjustly in
regard to officers, many of whom have served for years, as
to dismiss them in any such manner.

The Chairman—You mean that, although they have no
legal, they yet have an equitable claim ?
Mr. Bennoch—l do, and I should be sorry to see that
claim unacknowledged. I have a curious document here,
which I would submit to the commissioners. I have said
that 50,0001. a year might be saved to the corporation ; and
I felt that to speculate or guess at a conclusion of this
nature would be exceedingly unwise and unsafe, and, there-
fore, I put myself in communication with the leading men
in Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dub-
lin. I found, however, that the case of Dublin did not
exactly apply, and, therefore, I have omitted it. The re-
sult of the statistical information I received, contrasted
with similar statistics in the city of London, is as follows :
—The population resident in the city of London, according
to the last census, was 127,000 persons ; that of Liverpool
was 367,665 ; that of Manchester, 316,213 ; that of Edin-
burgh, 160,302 ; and that of Glasgow, 329,097. The num-
ber of inhabited houses (which shows the area covered in
each city) was—in the city of London, 14,580; in Liver-
pool, 54,310 ; in Manchester, 53,204 ; in Edinburgh, 7,786;
and in Glasgow, 11,965. The smallness of the number of
houses in Edinburgh and Glasgow, arises from the fact that
they are built very high and very large, and it is the prac-
tice for families to live in " fiats. ' I have obtained also an
account of the receipts and expenditure of the corporations
of each of these cities, which affords the means of comparing
the cost of analogous important municipal offices. For
instance, I find that the salary of the architect and surveyor
to the city of London is 2,5001., and in addition to that there
is a surveyor of sewers who receives 1,2001. Now, the surveyor
of Liverpool receives 1,0001., the surveyor of Manchester
7001., and the surveyor of Edinburgh 3001. There is no
corresponding item of this kind in the Glasgow accounts,
but I believe the corporation there has what is called a river
trust, the account of which I have been unable to obtain.
The city of London has a bridge-house comptroller, with a
salary of 1,013; while these four other cities have no officer
of the sort. The city of London has a chamberlain, with
a salary of 2,500/. ; the salary of the same officer in Liver-
pool is 7001., in Manchester 5001., in Edinburgh 4701., and
in Glasgow 4001. In each of these places the officer is
called a treasurer. Now the city of London has a clerk of
the chamber, but the other cities have none. The city of
London has a clerk of the peace, who receives 3491. ; there
is no such officer in Liverpool ; in Manchester he receives
4501., in Edinburgh 1501., and in Glasgow there is no such
officer. The Lord Mayor of London receives 8,000 a-year,
the Mayor of Liverpool receives 2,0001., the Mayor of Man-
cheater receives nothing, and the Lord Provost of Edinburgh
receives 5141. Neither of these other cities has a remem-
brancer or secondary. The aggregate result of the compari-
son of the cost of analogous offices in each of these cities
stood thus :—ln the city of London the cost was 31,787/. ;
whereas in Liverpool it was 9,8651., in Manchester 5,7741.,
in Edinburgh 1,7891., and in Glasgow 1,075. The total
expenditure of the chamberlain's-office in the city of Lon-
don in 1852 was 4,8721. 10s.: in Liverpool the correspond-
ing expenditure was only 1,1131. 17s. 4d., in Manchester it
was 6701.145.8 d., in Edinburgh 6651., and in Glasgow 5831.
The expense of analogous offices in the city of London, as I
have said, was 31,7871. ; whereas, in proportion to its
population as compared with Liverpool, it ought only to
have a nounted is 3,3541., or a little more than one-tenth
of its actual present amount. Again, as compared with
Manchester the same expenditure in proportion to popula-
tion ought to have been only 2,3351. for the city of
London ; as compared with Glasgow and its popula-
tion, it ought not to have exceeded 1,4291. ; and as com-
pared with Glasgow, it should only have been 4181. Why,
the aggregate expenditure of upwards of 100,0001. on cor-

porafeoffices in connection with the city of London is very
much larger than the whole civil expenditure of the Fede-
ral Government of United States of America ; and what is
perhaps still more startling, its expenditure upon itself, in
administering the funds of the corporation, is larger than
the whole amount of its revenue from rents, tolls, and fees
from brokers—throe great items of its income. And here I
must say that the accounts kept by the Manchester corpo-
ration might be taken as a model for the accounts of every
corporation in the kingdom ; they form a small pamphlet,
in which every item is separated and lucidly explained.
The Chairman —Does the corporation of Manchester pos-
sess estates like the city of London ?

Mr. Bennoch—l think not.
The Chairman—Then Liverpool would present a greater
resemblance to the city of London in this respect ?
Mr. Bennoch—l suppose it would. The corporation of
Manchester undertakes the management of the waterworks
and the gas supply, upon which two items alone its expen-
diture is 233,0001. ; and the gross expenditure under all
heads which is made by the corporation of Manchester
amounts to 485,2521. Now, the total cost of salaries and
expenses in administering the whole of that large expendi-
ture is under 10,0001. per annum, or only 8,8491. ; whereas
the cost of administering a smaller sum in the city of Lon-
don amounts to upwards of 107,0001. per annum.
Mr. C. Lewis—Has the subject of salaries never come
before the Court of Common Council ?
Mr. Bennoch—Sometimes ; but iu an old corporation
like that of London, not so often as might be wished. In

cases where an office falls through by the deeease of its oc-
cupant, a committee is sometimes appointed to ascertain if
a reduction should be made : but in the majority of cases
the salary is maintained intact.
Mr. C. Lewis—When the office of chamberlain was re-
cently vacant, what took place then ?
_ _

Mr. Bennocb—A committee was appointed to inquire
into what should be the salary, and it was ultimately de-
termined that the salaryof_2,sool. a year to the chamber-

lain, and the allowance Of 2,1021. 10s. for his staff of clerks,were not excessive, and ought to be continued. An alder-
man was a candidate for the vacancy who had been useful
as a magistrate, and it was probably, therefore, thought
that it would not be proper that the state and emoluments
of the office of chamberlain should be shorn or diminished.
Mr. C. Lewis—Do you think the hospitality of the City
is popular ?
Mr. Bennoch—To judge from the anxiety of people to
get tickets to the dinners at the Guildhall, you would think
it must be
attend popular, and that its abolition would be regarded
wnas, t uational calamity ; but the majority of sensible people
go away only to laugh at it.
Mr. C. Lewis—What is the feeling with regard to the
Lord Mayor's show 9
Mr. Bennoch—lt. is considered perfectly contemptible • and when it was omitted in the
year of the late Duke' of Wellington's funeral, it was sincerely hoped that it
would never be revivedanaplin. This year, however, the
show has been restored,
espt style that is more absurd
ec to the mode in
and ludicrous than ever.
With
which the sheriffs are elected, the practice is to
to frighten or seduce gentlemen into accepting endeavour
the office.
One of the present sheriffs refused to have anything to do
puerile pageantry of the
mot:::
worasto obliged
towards the 'expenses of the banquet at Guildhall. The
consequence was that the Lord
with the
1,6001.; and the feast from 10001.
or 1,2001. to 1,400/ other sheriff had to
raise to make up the °
year to increase his
orcontribution for that
. __Have you any suggestions to offer to the
The Chairman
—'H
to any reform which
commission with regard you would
raise his from 5001. or. deficiency.
the management of the corpora-
tion of the City ?
I have examined the question
Mr. Bennoch--I have.
that no reform can be effectual
propose in the system or
fully ; and I am satisfied
ele metropo
principle of extending th
mu-
nicipalwhichissynsotetrabatseedthueplovnhethe
outline of the scheme which you propos ?
before the committee
d to lay
The Chairman—Will you be good enoughe to give us an
Mr. Bennoch then proposed
the following .. __

- • it SCHEME.
" 1. That the representative system be maintained in its
full integrity.
"2. That the metropolis be divided into nino munici-
palities.
" 3. That each municipality be divided into wards.
"4. That each ward have one alderman and six coun-
cillors.
" Taking the city of London as an example, which con-
tains : _ .

Total

Houses. Males. Females. Persons.
Within the walls 7,174 26,550 28,152 54,702
Without the walls, )
including
Inner Temple
Middle do.
Barnard's-inn
Sergeant's do. 7,406 30,147 37,020 75,167
Clifford's do.
Thavies'
Part of
Furnivars do.
_1

_ paided in a mann
ap.... . s kept in
..... ..,,,,. .. .t 4 .er alt 4
(ly ~ ' V 5 11'14;1..
.rq, , .f rei
'at'' :4';24k, '' ~...;.4, ed
0i'451-; agg
% •$, , -4,,,,..-1.44i- tio hee
v4,,0t5r,,,-,.t.•
~,..',4:77.7
\v'it:7l7.llll#l.7:' rt. . they
uadvasivag