The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-17 00:00:00

COURT OF SEWERS.

A special meeting of the Court of Sewers for the City
and Liberty of Westminster, and parts of the county of
Middlesex, was held yesterday at the offices of the Court
in "Greek-street, Soho, for the purpose of proceeding
with the examination of applicants for the contemplated
appointments of new Assistant-Surveyor and Fourth
Clerk of the Works, and other business.
Mr. WILLOUGHBY took the chair at twelve o'clock,
and the examination of the different applicants for the
office of the new Assistant-Surveyor (of which there
were no less than 32) having been concluded, it appeared
that the Court had selected only six gentlemen out of
that number to be put in nomination as candidates at a
future day It was afterwards proposed, and after some
little discussion carried, that only three of that number
should be put in nomination, and that the election should
take place the first Court day after Friday next. Every
Commissioner present, with the exception of Mr. Leslie
(who protested against the whole proceeding), having
sent in to the Chairman the names of the three gentlemen
they thought most efficient to fill the office,
The CHAIRMAN announced that the choice of the
Court had fallen upon Mr. Fowle, Mr. Hawkins, and
Mr. Hughes, to stand as candidates for the office of the
new Assistant Surveyor.
These gentlemen were then called in, and informed of
the decision of the Court ; as were also the other three
gentlemen who had been omitted; the latter of whom with-
drew, after a high eulogium had been passed upon them
by the Chairman for the talent they had displayed in the
answers given by them to the questions put by the Court.
The Court then proceeded to examine the candidates,
and their testimonials, for the office of Fourth Clerk of
the Works. Six individuals applied for this office, and
out of that number only one—a person named Phillips—
proved himself at all competent to fill the office. After
some discussion as to whether another advertisement
should be put in the papers calling for further applica-
tions, it was determined that that step should not be
adopted. Mr. Phillips was then called in, and received
no doubt, to him, the gratifying intelligence of the pro-
bability of the Court electing him to the office on the
next court-day after Friday next. It was then inti-
mated to him that he must attend on that day, but the
Court, doubtless thinking it unnecessary, issued no sum-
mons, warrant, or decree, for thz purpose of compelling
him to do so. _ _

The CHAIRMAN having officially announced that the
election would take place on the first Court day after
Friday next,
Mr. LESLIE suggested that it would be but decent
that the election should not take place till the Court had
decided upon his motion, the effect of which was, that
neither of these officers should be appointed.
The CHAIRMAN said that the Court could not specu-
late upon the result of a motion to be proposed by any
Honourable Commissioner. He then called upon Mr.
Leslie to proceed with the motion of which he had given
notice, with respect to the appointment of Chairman.
Mr. LESLIE then, in an able and unanswerable speech,
which we are unable to give at any length in consequence
of the lateness of the hour at which it was brought for-
ward, and the bad arrangements of the Court to dispel
artificially the declining light of day, brought forward
his motion for the repeal of the 17th Bye-law, under
which they elected a chairman annually. He was totally
at a loss to know under what authority they made such an
election. The Court was constituted under the authority
of the statute of Henry the Eighth, but that statute gave
them no authority to elect a chairman. The Court, in
electing a chairman annually, was acting under a bye-
law, which was at variance with the principles of justice,
law, and common sense. The statutes of Henry the
Eighth and Elizabeth had been found defective, and to
remedy those defects the Act of the 3d and 4th of Wil-
liam the Fourth, chap. 22, had been passed ; and that
Act had been further improved by an Act passed in the
present reign. Now, what did the Act of the 3d and
4th of William the Fourth provide ? Why, that the
chairman should be elected daily. He knew how he
should be met on this point, and that was by stating
that that Act did not apply to that Court ; he asserted
fearlessly that it did, after having had conversations with
some of the most eminent legal men of the present day.
It. was true they had the opinions of Sir Wm. Horne and
Sir J. Campbell, when Attorney and Solicitor-Generals,
that it did not affect them ; but it must be remembered
that those opinions were founded on cases got up
by some of the mysterious proceedings which had
for years surrounded that Court, and which he
wished to put an end to. It was not his
desire to hold any threats over the Court ; all
that he was anxious for was the public interest, and
the public good ; they all sat as Commissioners there
for that purpose, and that alone, and nothing on earth
should induce him to swerve from the line he had
chalked cut for himself, which was to make the Court
as serviceable as possible to the public. As he had said
before, he wished to hold out no threats, but if his pre-
sent motion was negatived it was his determination to-
morrow to direct his solicitor (of course at his own ex-
pense), to apply to the Court of Queen's Bench, that the
order made by that Court (the Sewers) should be en-
tered on the files of the Court of Queen's Bench. The
Hon. Commissioner concluded by moving that the 17th
Bye-law should be rescinded, as contrary to the Statute
of Sewers, particularly the 3d and 4th of William IV.
Some considerable discussion then took place, in which
Mr. White, the Chairman, and several other Commis-
sioners, joined, which ended in
_a show of hands being
taken, when there appeared—
For Mr. Leslie's motion
Against it 8
Majority against Mr. Leslie's motion —2
Mr. LESLIE submitted that two Commissioners pre-
sent not having voted there was no legal majority against
his motion ; but the worthy Commissioner's observations
were totally unheeded amid the noise of the Commis-
sioners leaving the Court, no doubt anxious to get home,
fearing their dinners might be cold.
The Court adjourned at half-past six o'clock.