The Sun.
London, England, 1833-06-11 00:00:00

AFFAIRS OF THE CITY OF EDINBURG

(From the Edinburgh Evening Courant.)
Oa Saturday lit‘t a numerous meeting of the holders o
the bonds and other obligations of the city of Edinburgh,
call.d las a ciren'ar letter from the Lord Provost, was held
in the Council Chamber, Edinburgh.
The Loan PROVOST said that he had had an interview
with Lord Althorp, and other members of the Govern-
ment, when lie explained the situation of the town's
affairs, with a view of ascertaining whether his Majesty's
Governtnent would suspend, far a definite number of
years, the operation of the Sinking Fund in regard to the
debt due to the public for the docks. at Leith, the interest
on such debt being in the meantime duly paid. Lord
Althorp said, that in consideration of the town of Edin-
burgh giving over absolutely to Government the whole of
the dock property and revenues, pledged to the public at
present in security, they would acquit the town of three-
fifths of the debt (about 150,000/0, and claim with the
other creditors upon he remaining property of the commu-
nity pari passu for the other two-firths (about 100,0001.)
The Lord Provost said this was requiring the town
to surrender, at an undervalue, a property which had
cast the town 300,000/. The Lord Provost then con•
ferred wi,h the. Members for the city, and afterwards
wrote to Lord Althorp, requesting to know whether, in
case it should he the opinion of the creditors th it the pro-
posal should be declined, and that they should consider it
more advantageous to retain the property of the docks,
and to secure to Government full implement of the con-
ditions of their b nd, his Majesty's Government would
give their aid towards obtaining the authority of Parlia-
ment to place the affairs of the city under a trust? To
this Lord Althorp immediately replied that, although in
strict right the Government might now take posses&on
of the part of the security which was exclusively giv, n to
them, yet, if the arrears were paid up, and the payments
-stipulated-for them originally wete regularly wade for the
future, it would be unjust for them to avail themselves of
their present right ; and for the future it would not be in
their power, and certainly most contrary to their inelina••
tion, to interfere in any way with the property of the
city of Edinburgh. And even in this case, he felt that it
would be very desirable that an Act should be passed to
put the affairs of the city in trust.
Sir JaatEs GIBSON CRAIG expressed his satisfaction
with the manner in, which the Magistrates had come for-
ward with a statement of the difficulties under which they
laboured, instead of concealing, and attempting to holster
up matters, a mode of procedure which, if it had been
adopted, could only haVe had the effect of adding to those
difficulties. He moved the following resolution :
" That the meeting approve of the proceeding already
taken by the Lord Provost, and concurring generally in
the opinion expressed by him, that it will be more Irene-
heist to retain the wet docks than to cede them to his
141ajesty's Government on the terms proposed, authoriz
the Bill fur constituting the Commission to be proceeded
in, on the footing of full implement of the bond granted to
Government being secure ; a course which the meeting
adopt with the iess hesitation, because it will be in the
power of the Commis ioners, if the Bill shall pass, to dis-
pose of the dock•, as well as the other property of the
city, in the event of their considering it of more advan-
tage to do so."
This resolution was agreed to, and a Committee was
appointed to carry it into effect.

„ • ,
The following leaer has been sent to each of
the City Members :—” Ward of Viotry, London, June 7,
IB33.—The Undersigned Inhabitant Householders of the
Ward of Vintry, deeply interested in the repeal of the
House and Window Duties, resretfully request that you
will support Mr. Humes motion for the repeal of the
Inhabited House Duty, whirl, comes on is tt e House of
Coranione on Friday next, the 14th inst,'