The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-11 00:00:00

PARISH OF ST. JAMES,

-------I,I'ESTMINSTER.
meeting of the pa-
held, in
Yesterday a numerous vestry
rishioners of St. James,
the Vestry-room, in Piccadilly,e
Westuli,"fsniotreere'th"e'aspurpose of
the proposed enormous
taking into considerattliloen
magistrates of the county
outlay upon prisons by
must be greatly and perms_
expenditure the
present it
o f M i dd
el exsoerxb, i
tbnyn
ter
nently increased.
one of
said that the subject before
wardens), having
M. GEE
ot the greatest importance, not
whichaotfe rates
the church
he parishioners, but to the whole of the rate-
only to r .
p yers in the county , as he thought the time had
thebe e n
vestry called
was
:(hoeon.
nc
ina.;ived when it became them to consider the pro-
priety of endeavouring to obtain a control over the
administration of the county expenditure.—(llear.)
An enormous outlay was about to take place by direc-
tion of the county magistrates, and this at a time
when, from the depression of trade, they all found a
difficulty in paying the rates. - There was already a
debt amounting to 318,0001., while the annual re-
venue of the county amounted to 72,000/. They
ought to have gentlemen on the bench of magistrates
responsible to the rate-payers of the county, and not,
as was now the:practice, selected by the Lord-Lieu-
tenant of the county.—(Year, bear.)
Mr. BROWN moved the following resolution :
`` That a committee be appointed bo draw up resolu-

tions protesting thlip[9puedigt.itlekby the
Middlesex ma'?ilitrgfel;:fiie, t,be enlargement or re-
building the douse de --",orrection, whereky the
county rate of the 'peri4i''must etsnd per-
manently increased; that tile vesityL'tlWeittifimit a
copy of the same to the. clerk of tip eofra*.lilegis-
trates ; and that .a copy be also tranietbitteli to the
vestry-clerks of the various. parisliq ip:Wegigister."
It' was their duty (he 'O-bier:ye) i.r Rnstrate
against this attempt' to' in.q44,se!7` Wthens.
Should they, fail in ;their *3freAtioik.ff' agis-
trates in quarter-sessions, ta1,tey'......•-'t,,cs n` llse #cluld be
to send a memorial to the oeffetary 9T; tilts,,aild if
no
he did not satisfaatqv !RIOT?. .4.7_464
illtbkouse of
doubt that their;tOme would 'be heard
Commons. • •
Mr. A'BECKETTi seconded the Tesoltkto..9.;4,
Mr. EWEN stated that the county', .rittyx.,,were
originally raised for the repair of bridles, .artd the
highways. in the.year 1700,yfhen the'grstiate was
made, the sum w•as 1,600/.; Krill it wes .2,0001.;
in 1740 it was 2,4001.; in 17SOlt was. 4,000/...; from
1782 to 1800 there was no return ; 1n;71829 it was
36,000/. ; in 1830, 83,0001 ; and in 1835 it was
66,0001. Such was the effect of allowing gentlemen
to be placed in an irresponsible position.
Mr. JACKSON and Mr. M. MILAY supported the
resolution, which was unanimously agreed to, when
the following memorial was adopted :
" To the Worshipful her Majesty's Justices of the
Peace for the county or Middlesex, at tbeir
Quarter Sessions of the Peace assembled—
" Showeth—That the enormous amount and continued
increase of the debt and annual expenditure of the said
county has long been a matter of actions mistrust and
alarm to the rate-payers.
" That this vestry have learnt, -if, not with surprise,
at least with feelings of deep regret, that a proposition
has been recently entemfined by the Middlesex ,magis-
trates for an extensive enlargement of the House
of Correction, wh, reby a -large outlay must be occa-
sioned, and a heavy perm.,nent addition made to
the county rates, and at "a time, perhaps, of unparal-
leled distress, at the Close of a year during which
the c' mmerce of the country has become gene-
rally depressed, and the rate-payers of this metropolis in
particular are yet suffering from an almost total stagna-
tion of trade; when, also, her Majesty's Government,
sensible of the necessity of reducing the taxation, are
carrying retrenchment into every department of the
public service; this vestry, therefore, cannot but deplore
that, at such a period, :thy proposal of an extensive in-
crease, and of questionable utility, should have met with
a moment's attention from the county magistrates.
That thi. vestry entertain a strong conviction, that,
with judicious management, and the introduction of a
better state of discipline, and with less inclination to
encourage that propensity among criminals for seeking
an asylum within the walls of a prison by endeavouring
to render their situation preferable in comfort to a
workhouse, the existing prisons of the county would be
amply sufficient. _ _

‘:ihis vestry, therefore, in behalf of 40,000 persons
directly and indirectly affected by the acts of the magis-
trates of the county, most respectfully protest against
the contemplated expenditure, and express their earnest
hope that the absolute power which the court possesses
of taxing others will be exercised in the present instance,
so as to evince the magistrates' sense of the additional
moral responsibility which the absence of all legal re-
straint must attach to their proceedings."
The meeting then separated.