The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-21 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING,

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.
Yesterday a Court was held for the dispatch of
public business. The attendance of commoners was
very numerous, and several aldermen were present in
consequence of the expectation that a vote of thanks
to the late Lord Mayor would be proposed.
Mr. BENNOCH inquired of the chairman of the
Markets' Improvement Committee (Mr. 11. L.
Taylor), wh,n the Court might expect to see their
rieport.__ _

Mr. H. L. TAYLOR—The committee are as fully
aware of the importance of this subject as the gen-
tleman who has put the question, who may rest
quite assured they are doing all they can in the
matter. The committee are anxious not to come to a
premature decision—they are about to prepare a re-
port which I hope to be able to lay before the Court
very shortly.
VOTE OF THANES TO THE LATE LORD MAYOR.
Mr. Deputy CORNEY—My Lord Mayor, I feel it
my duty to bring under the notice of the Court the
services of the late Lord Mayor; and I hope the
Court will allow me whilst 1 state that, during
his tenure of office as president here (and I
believe I shall be borne out by every member
present), the business was never more punctually or
more faithfully administered.—(Hear, hear.) I
have in the vote which I now propose steered clear
of any questions that might beget a controversy,
from a conviction that a unanimous vote of thanks is
a compliment that every public man duly appreciates.

That vote is alloyed if there are are any objectors.—
(Hear, hear.) I am unwilling to advert to what
passed in the Court of Aldermen on Tuesday last, but
my impression is that that Court, not baying carried
out its motto, " Audi alteram partem," has excluded
such explanation as, I am satisfied, would have
averted a good deal of what there took place.—(Bear,
hear.) My motion is, " That the thanks of this
Court be presented to the Right Honourable Sir John
Musgrove, Bart., the late Lord Mayor of the City,
for the very able and efficient manner in which he dis-
charged the important duties of chief magistrate
during the past year—a period eminently distin-
guished for the cultivation of the arts and sciences,
and the extension of friendly intercourse with all the
nations of the habitable globe—for the upright admi-
nistration of justice—for the punctuality and attention
which distinguished him on all occasions—for the
liberal support he cheerfully extended to the nu-
merous charitable institutions which adorn the metro-
polis of the British empire—for his promptitude in
convening the meetings of this Court, and the
strict impartiality he displayed in presiding over its
deliberations."— (Hear, hear.)
Mr. JOHN Dixort—My Lord Mayor, I have been
requested to second this motion. Before I consented
to do so, I perused the paper on which it is written,
in order to see whether, in my humble estimation,
there was any passage to which I could object. I
confess I see none.—(Cheers.)
Mr. BARKLEY—If a vote of thanks is to be passed,
as a matter of form, I, perhaps, should have no ob-
jection to vote in its favour; but when I consider that
a vote of this description is one of the highest honours
that this Court has it in its power to bestow, it is one
that we ought to be very chary, indeed, in agreeing
to, unless fully satisfied in our own minds that the
late Lord Mayor fully deserves the compliment that is
now sought to be paid to him.—(Hear, hear.) A
very large sum of money is granted by this Court for
the purpose of enabling the Lord Mayor to maintain
the dignity and honour of the office, and, in my
humble opinion, Sir John Musgrove failed in carrying
out the object for which this money is granted.—
(Hear, hear.) No member of this Court is in the
habit of dining less frequently at the Mansion-house
than I am.—(Oh, oh.) I certainly received an invi-
tation from his Lordship to dine there.—(ol3, oh, and
loud cries of " Shame.") I accepted the invitation,
but afterwards, when I found his Lordship had deviated
from the practice of his predecessors in the mode in
which the invitation was conveyed, I considered it my
duty not to dine upon that occasion.—(Loud laughter.)
When his Lordship was remonstrated with for the im-
propriety of the course he had pursued he assigned
a reason which, I think, was an insult to the members
of this Court.--(Laughter.)
Mr. DE JERSEY—My Lord Mayor, the gentleman
who proposed this resolution seemed to think—indeed,
he said he stood upon very tender ground, and he,
therefore, drew that resolution in a very mild form.
lam not here to canvass its terms. lam perfectly

free to admit the courtesy, the urbanity, and even the
hospitality of the late Lord Mayor. I know not
whather the late Lord Mayor has deviated from any
rule or custom of late Lord Mayors.—(Oh, oh.) I
go upon higher grounds. I stand upon principle, and
I intend to move an amendment, and to divide the
Court upon it, even if I stand alone. The late Lord
Mayor has violated an obligation.—(Oh, oh.) He
has done that in a foreign country which he dare not
do here.—("Oh, oh," and laughter.) In this country
we never hear of public festivals being held on the
Sabbath—the idea of such a thing is repugnant to the
feelings of the British nation, and would not be
tolerated for a moment. Formerly the Ministers of
the day used to give their public dinners on a
Sunday, but the practice has of recent years been
abolished. So also with the Lord Mayor. When
foreigners flocked here a few months ago they
found the Exhibition closed to the public

on Sundays ; but when the Lord Mayor went to
Paris he was content to enjoy the festivities of that
city on that day. Perhaps I shall be told that the
Lord Mayor could not have acted differently from
what he did, and that he must have gone to the fetes
on Sunday, or not at all ! Not at all! The French
are a polite and considerate people, and would most
willingly listen to the conscientious objections of any
man, more especially of a man so honoured as the
late Lord Mayor was on the occasion of his visit to
Paris, and they would have acceded to any wishes he
might have expressed with the greatest promptitude.
I have not provided myself with any seconder. I ap-
prehend that every Christian gentleman who supports
the Sabbath, as a great number in this Court do, will
feel it to be a principle existing in bis mind to endea-
vour to carry out the amendment which I propose.
I see a friend opposite (Mr. Anderton) taking notes,
I hope I shall have his vote.
Mr. ANDERTON—I am not a pantiler or a maw-
worm.—(Laughter.)
Mr. DE JERSEY—Now, I look round again, and

ask who will support me ?
Mr. ANDERTON—Why, nobody.—(Laughter.)
Mr. DE JERSEY—I ask members who hold up their
hands repeatedly in this Court for the various reli-
gious societies of the community, whether they will
hold up their bands against my amendment?
Mr. ANDERTON—Certainly ; all of us.—(Hear.)
Mr. DE JERSEY—I should be ashamed to do so. I
can tell my friend this, that if I am not supported
in this Court, I am supported out of it.—(Hear, hear,
and cries of " Oh.") I am supported by the whole
community of England. 1 have no objection to the
resolution of the Hon. Deputy, but I wish to add as
an amendment the following words :
"Yet this Court cannot but express its regret that, on
the occasion when the municipal authorities of Paris
offered a series of magnificent files to the Lord Mayor,
and other distinguished Englishmen, the Chief Magis-
trate of the city of London permitted himself to forget
the obligations of the Christian Sabbath, and to sanc-
tion, by his presence at Versailles, the desecration of
that day. This Court with pain declares its opposition
to the course taken by one whose public conduct has
been generally so deservedly esteemed; but, looking to
the character of Great Britain, in whisk, however im-
perfectly, yet most firmly, the Sabbath-day is honoured
by the outward conduct of official men, and by the ex-
ample of the Sovereign of these realms, this Court can-
not but regret that the late Lord Mayor failed to hold
that day sacred in a foreign land. The world-famed
courtesy of our French neighbours would undoubtedly
have promptly provided for a conscientious objection,
while they would have honoured the consistency of the
Lord Mayor in the maintenance of principle alike in
France as in England."
Mr. ANDERTON—Nobody will second that, I am
sure.—(Laughter.)
Mr. Deputy Lorr said, I do not rise to second the
amendment, but to support the original resolution. I
had indeed hoped that a resolution of so temperate a
nature as that which is before the Court would have
passed unanimously, and I regret very much that any
opposition whatever should be made to it. Our friend
Mr. Barkley opposed it, and I cannot enter into his
reasons. According to his own statement, he was
invited to a dinner at the Mansion-house.—(Hear.)
He did not dine there.—(Laughter.) Whether be
anticipated taking anything which might disagree
with him or not, I cannot tell—(lncreased laughter)
—Mr. De Jersey has taken objection to the conduct
of the late Lord Mayor in Paris. The objection
taken by the Court of Aldermen was based upon a
very different ground. It appears that the late Lord
Mayor had in a foreign country—a country profess-
ing a different religion—chosen, on his own Sabbath,
to worship his Maker in a place of worship dedicated
to his own religion.—(Hear, hear.) This conduct
caused considerable delay in the movements of
some of the gentlemen there, and brought down
upon the Lord Mayor a great deal of censure
and opprobrium. The remarks of my friend (De
Jersey) are those of an ascetic.—(Loud laughter.)
atheFr
reewncohuladsthraovneombeeern paossmtpuonchingreaan,
elc bl
iapvs
ee epaerrdh
aopf s
son and probability in postponing
the f" ete.—
(Laughter.) I would ask my friend whether his ob-
servations were not those of an ascetic, when he
would deny to the Lord Mayor a few hours' enjoy-
ment in the after-part of the day, after having at-
tended his own place of worship. He seems to have
forgotten the verses of the celebrated Dr. Watts, who
says, with reference to the recreations of man, re-
ligion never was designed
" To make our pleasures less."

--(Hear, hear, and laughter.) I most cordially agree
with the motion proposed. I say most distinctly that
the Lord Mayor acted with the most praiseworthy
courtesy to the members of this court, and that he
performed all his duties with zeal and ability.—

(Cheers.) It, seemed that there was in the other
Court an unfortunate disagreement upon questions
with which the Court of Common Council had noth-
ing to do, but that disagreement would have no in-
fluence upon the decision to which we shall arrive.
Mr. Beeezeocre—My Lord Mayor, I am neitteet the
apologist nor the eulogist of aldermen, whether sit-
ting on the bench or on the cane chair. At the same
time it becomes me and every member of the Court
to maintain the dignity of every officer of responsi-
bility and power.—(Hear, hear.) Many of the ob-
servations made today go far to degrade the office
held to be so honourable, and which gentlemEn who
presume to attack hold in veneration.—(Hear, hear.)
I certainly have not received greater civilities from
the late Lord Mayor than other members of this
Court, but I never knew the chair occupied with
more dignity than when occupied by him, and I
never heard any man declare that he did not perform
his whole duties in a manner worthy of the character
of the first magistrate cf the city of London.—(Hear,
hear.) One gentleman spoke of a dinner ! Are we
to determine whether we shell give a
vote of
thanks to the late Lord Mayor because be did not
entertain a member of this Court at his table in a
way that exactly suited the taste of the gentleman
Are eating and drinking to constitute the chief office
and functions of a Lord Mayor ? They are consi-
dered by certain parts ofthe press to be so, and with
good reason too, when you find an honourable gentle-
man get up and gravely declare that, on account of
hear.) Had
some slight alteration in the mode of invitation, he
will oppose a vote of thanks ?—(Hear,
it not been for the courtesy of the Lord Mayor, and
his attention to his public duties when the Great
Industrial Palace was open, this Court would not have
had a place there.—(Hear, hear.) I consider the
Lord Mayor in that respect not worthy of all censure,
but deserving of all praise ; and I consider that what
Mr. De Jersey has said is a piece of unmistakable,
unmitigated cant.—(Loud laughter, aril cries of
" Hear.") That gentleman opposes the vote of
thanks on account of the visit of the Lord Mayor to
the waterworks at Versailles, on Sunday. Now, I ask
him, whether he himself, or other Honourable Gen-
tlemen connected with the Legislature, never visited
Hyde-park, or any other place of recreation on a
Sunday ?—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. CAER—My Lord Mayor, in all Catholic
countries the Church service is in le morning. The
people attend their places of worship at seven, eight,
nine, and eleven o'clock. In this country the people
never think of commencing public Divine service till
eleven. In every part of the Continent the churches
are open every day, and the religious parts of the
communities thus go daily to church.—(Hear.) I
mention this for the purpose of showing what I be-
lieve to be the fact, namely, that the Sabbath is quite
as well if not better kept in France than it is iu this
country.—(Hear, and a laugh.)
Mr. ANDERTON-4 need not state in this Court that
I am proud of having the late Lord Mayor as my
friend; and I should be ashamed of myself, either
in this or any other assembly, to hear that honour-
able gentleman calumniated, if I did not get up in
my place to defend him.—(Cheers.) Observations
have been made by Mr. De Jersey with regard to the
Lord Mayor's acceptance of the invitation given to him,
and those who accompanied him, and the public, and the
English in general at Versailles on a Sunday. He went
to his church in the morning, and did his duty there as
a Christian and a Protestant. His performance of that
sacred duty delayed his attendance at Versailles, and
drew down upon him not only the censure of the press
of England but some portion of the press of France,
for keeping persons waiting.—(Hear.) The late Lord
Mayor is kind, he is generous, he is charitable, and a
man more religious or more observant of the Sab-
bath does not exist.—(Cheers.) Mr. Anderton, after
several other observations in commendation of the
whole course pursued by the late Lord Mayor,
thought it necessary, although not encouraged to do
so by the Court, to read the items of the expenditure
in the past year, and from the statement it appeared
that Sir John Musgrove had expended very consi-
derably more than the sum allowed for sustaining
the dignity of the office.

Mr:Piiii.mrs hoped that the vote of thanks would
be unanimously passed.
Mr. GILPIN.--.1 have not been present during the
whole of the debate, but I wish to take this opportu-
nity, and I took a similar opportunity two years ago,
to express my conviction that there are no circum-
stances under which this Court exhibits so much

littleness in the eyes of the world as when we are en-
gaged in discussions of giving thanks or otherwise to
a chief magistrate of the City.—(Hear.) We hear
gentlemen who have never been chief magistrates,
and are never likely to be chief magistrages, finding
fault with a position of which they know nothing, or
next to nothing, of the trials and the difficulties ; and
we hear those who have some chance of being Lord
mayors flinging stones at their predecessors, because
of some fancied slight and some peculiar occurrences.
—(Hear, hear) My Lord Mayor, these things sink
us, and deservedly sink us, in the estimation of all
upright and sensible men.—(Hear, hear.) Mr.
Gilpin then expressed himself perfectly satisfied with
the mayoralty of last year, and concluded with hop-
ing that the resolution of thanks would be carried
unanimously.
The question was then put, and there appeared
upon the division, which Mr. Anderton insisted upon
causing to be taken—
In favour of the vote of thanks
Against it

Majority in favour of the vote .... 110
Mr. De Jersey's amendment not having been
seconded, of course fell to the ground.

CITY OF LONDON ELECTION AMENDMENT BILL.
Upon the motion of Mr. Deputy Ham:moil, the
Court proceeded with the adjourned consideration of
the proposed Bill for regulating elections witbin the
city of London, and for conferring, under certain re-
strictions, the rights and privileges of freenien and
citizens of the said city upon persons occupying and
rated to premises therein.
Clause 1, repealing the II th of George II C. 189
and the 12th and 13th of Victoria, c. 94, was
agreed
to without alteration.

Upon the second being proposed, which provided
that every male person of full age, and not subject
to any legal incapacity, I who shall have occupied
pweirtiho da
any
yf an
other
rr p
ea
rnsdn
na
within the said city, or the liberties thereof, for the
ndrayp,eraeninths,erasnoy nnlehlyosr jointly
e,
n
ing-house, warehouse, office, chambers, or shop, and
shall, in the case of a sole occupation, ba rated in
respect of such premises in his own name, in or to an
amount of not less than ten pounds per annum, or, in
n
the case of a joint occupation, be rated in the names
of the occupiers in or to an amount which, when
divided by the number of
occupiers, shall a give
sum
of not less than ten pounds per annum for each and
every such occupier to any municipal, Parliamentary,
or parochial rate, in respect of such premises, and
shall bear lot, shall, whilst continuing to occupy the
same, be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of a
freeman and citizen, and subject to all the duties
thereof, and shall be entitled to vote as such in any
election for alderman, or common councilman, or
ward officer, for the ward in which such premises
shall be situate, and also at any election of mayor,
sheriffs, chamberlain, bridgemasters, auditors of
chamberlain's and bridgemasters' accounts, and for
any and every other officer to be chosen in and for
the said city by the liverymen thereof."
Deputy CORNET proposed as an amendment that
the latter part of the clause, from the word " situate,"
should be omitted.
Alderman SIDNEY wished to take the earliest op-
portunity of setting his friend, Deputy Corney, right,
in the wrong conclusion to which he believed that
gentleman had arrived with reference to the parti-
cular part of the Bill then under review. Did they
(the promoters of the Bill) propose anything in that
clause by which the livery would be deprived of any
rights which they now possessed ? If so, let the ad-
vocates of the livery prove it.—(Hear.) This they
sought to do, to abolish monopoly, and throw open
still wider the franchises and privileges of the city to
bond fide citizens; for it was a fact that many of the
gentlemen connected with the companies of the pre-
sent day, neither resided among the real citizens of
London nor "bore lot with them."—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. BENNOCU thought that there was no necessity
for searching amongst musty documents to support
the extension sought by the promoters of the Bill.
The fact was, that the City companies had been
formed at a time when commerce in this country was
in its swaddling clothes, when the land was fettered
by monopoly, and when they could not, even if they
wished, move so rapidly as in the times in which they
now lived. Such days, however, had gone by. As
to the amendment, it involved an absurdity, when
compared with the principle of the Bill, which was
for perfect freedom for the constituency. If they
desired to go to Parliament, let them go with a good
Bill or none at all. He did not think that the
companies cared a single jot about the matter.
Mr. R. TAYLOR had for many years sanctioned an
enlargement of the franchise, and he believed that
nothing in the Corporation required reform more than
the elections in common hall.
Alderman LAWIIRNCR said that the object of the
clause was very simple ; it was to give every citizen
the right of voting in common hall.
Mr. H. L. TAYLOR was in favour of enlarging the
constituency much, but he could not give to the Bill
that hearty support he would have willingly done had
not the Court, at their last sitting, struck out of it the
clause which provided that the election of Aldermen
should not be for life, but for a term of seven years.—
(Hear, hear.) By doing so, they had, as he believed,
rendered the Bill futile, absurd, and most ridiculous.
Mr. BLAKE would support the clause as it stood.
Deputy HARRISON briefly spoke, after which the
question was put, and the amendment lost by a large
majority.
Mr. NORRIS then moved as a second amendment—
" net the words in the same clause (2) shall be en.