The Sun.
London, England, 1845-10-08 00:00:00

HOSPITAL.

Alderman WILSON brought up the report of the
Committee upon the report of the Lord Mayor on the
proceedings at Christ's Hospital on St. Matthew's-day
last, in which the president and treasurer of the Hospital
refused to recognise the claim of the Lord Mayor to be
head of the institution. It stated that the Committee
had proceeded duly to consider the subject, and was
attended by a deputation of the Royal Hospitals' Com-
mittee of the Corporation, and it appearing that the
lists which were delivered to the Lord Mayor on St.
Matthew's•day last were inaccurate in point of form,
and not according to the 'Ancient practice, they were
of opinion that the said lists should be returned to the
rresidents of the several Hospitals, and that they should
be requested to correct and amend the same in proper
form ; and they recommended the Court to give direc-
tions accordingly, and that the Lord Mayor be requested
to hold a General Court fur all the Hospitals at Christ's
Hospital, fur the purpose of receiving and confirming
the corrected lists of governors.
Alderman WILSON having moved that the report be
agreed to, . .

Alderman WOOD said the Governors of Christ's
Hospital had, in denying the right of the Lord Mayor,
Aldermen, and Corporation to be at the head of thatinsti-
tution, quite mistaken the extent of their own authority,
and by their proceedings on the day the Queen visited
the Hospital jeopardise the privileges which they exer-
cise. If the matter was a question of precedence alone
it would not be deserving of notice, but it had become
necessary, from what had taken place, to insist upon the
long-established existence of the right. It formed an
essential ingredient in the constitution of the Roy al
Hospitals, that the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and
Commons should form part of each of the
Courts. In fact, without the presence of the Lord
Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons, a legal Court
could not be formed; go that, for the sake of a paltry dis-
tinction of rank, those who had made the experiment
called in question the whole of the privileges of which
they claimed the absolute possession. The Alderman
having referred to the authority of all the charters in
support of the power of the Corporation, and spoke at
some length in favour of the resolute legal assertion of
the rights of the body, concluded by seconding the mo•
tion, with the addition that copies of it and of toe re-
port of the Lord Mayor relative to the proceedings on
St. Matthew's-day, should be sent to the governors.
Sir PETER LAURIE suggested the propriety of hold-
ing a conference with the governors, which he con-
sidered to be a course more likely to lead to a satisfactory
issue than a charge against them could be supposed cal
culated to effect. He was sure that the misunderstand-
ing could be explained away.
Alderman WOOD thought a conference between a
committee of the Corporation and parties who had de-
liberately slighted and insulted the head of that Cor-
poration would be exceedingly humiliating to the Court
of Aldermen.—(Hear, hear.), There had been expressed
nit a word of regret or acknowledgment of error by the
governors, who had denied the authority claimed ; on
the contrary, they had passed resolutions and made
statements of a very different tendency in confirmation
of their avowed belief in the superiority of their own
powers. The only place in which the question could be
settled was a court of law, and there was very little
doubt as to the manner in which it would be settled
before such an ordeal.—(Hear, hear.)
Alderman WILSON was surprised to hear Sir Peter
Laurie, who had shown so excelient an example himself
in promptly acknowledging the superior authority of the
Lord Mayor in the Hospital over which he presided,
allude in such terms to the conduct pursued at Christ's
Hospital. It was quite evident that the intention of the
governors was to show, in a way not to be mistaken,
that they wholly repudiated the claims of the Cor-
poration ; and he was happy to find that the Lord Mayor
had acted so resolutely in defence of their privileges.
There was no occasion for a conference. If the go-
vernors happened to be amicably inclined, they bad had
plenty of opportunities of evincing the change in their
sentiments.

Sir PETER LAURIE said that he preferred an ami-
cable arrangement to an appeal to the law, by which an
enormous expense might be incurred, such as had been
incurred in the matter of the Irish Society. Indeed, he
looked upon it as merely fighting for a straw, and he
considered a victory purchased in such a case for the
sum of 50,000/. not very well worth such an expendi-
ture. Ile believed the governors of all the Hospitals
were disposed to pay every proper respect to the ma-
gistracy of the City.
Alderman LUCAS approved of the report, and of the
spirited manner in which the privileges of the Corpora-
tion had been supported.
The report was then agreed to, and the Lord Mayor's
report was ordered to be printed, and copies of it were
directed to be sent to the governors.

Upon the motion of Alderman WILSON, seconded by
Mr. Alderman WOOD, the thanks of the Court were
unanimously voted to the Lord Mayor, for the modera-
tion and firmness with which his Lordship had acted
at Christ's Hospital, in asserting the rights of the Cor-
poration.

The LORD MAIon, in returning thanks, declared that
he had merely performed his duty, as he believed he had
done since he had had the honour of filling the office of
magistrate of the City of London.—(Hear, hear.)