The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-07 00:00:00

1'111.; SUN, LOND

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL

A Court was held at the instance of the Lord Mayor,
on Saturday, in consequence of the death of Mr. Wood-
thorpe, the Town-clerk.
His LORDSHIP stated that he had called together the
members in order that a person might be appointed
pro tem. to perform the duties of the office.
Mr. WIRE, after expressing much regret at the death
of the highly respectable and valuable Town-clerk, than
whom a more efficient officer could nowheie be found,
said that he had three resolutions to submit to the
Court. The first was, that the Remembrancer, not being
a candidate for the office, should be appointed to per-
form the duties until an election should take place. The
second was, that it be referred to the Committee, Offi-
cers, and Clerk to examine and report relative to the
duties and emoluments of the office, and also to report
whether any and what alterations should take place
in regard to the fees, &c. And the third was,
that the Committee should inquire whether the office
should ,not be made one of annual election.
It was, he said, well known that the office of
Town-clerk of the City of London was held by
grant, and the holder could not be removed, and there
had been occasions in which Town-clerks so situated had
defied the powers of the corporations with which they
had been connected. It was his object to alter so objec-
tionable a principle, and he, therefore, wished, that if the
Committee were of opinion that the alteration would be
legal and practicable, a bill should be brought in to
effect the obiect.—(Hear, hear.)
The first resolution, appointing Mr. Tyrrell, the Re-
membrancer, to act until the Town- clerk should be
elected, was then unanimously agreed to.
Mr. NORRIS moved the second resolution.

Mr. ANDERTON rose to move an amendment, or rather
an addition, to the resolution, to the effect that it would
be advisable to unite the two offices of Town-clerk and
City Solicitor. It was his anxious wish, that places
under the Corporation, should be consolidated as much
as possible. They had now a legal staff of-'considerrble
strength and magnitude, and it was desirable, when
places became vacant, and could be properly attended to
by existing officers, the additional duties should be per-
formed by those whose business partook of the nature
of that of the Town-clerk. He found, upon refer-
ence to the Report of the Municipal Commissioners, that
the office of City Solicitor was comparatively of recent
origin, and that the duties of that office, of the office of
Clerk of the Peace, and several other offices, hadeen
originally performed by the Town-clerk. Now, if the
duties of City Solicitor and of Town-clerk could be per-
formed as well by one person as by two, he did not see
what rational objection could be made to the union of
those two offices. That a great reduction of the expense
would result from the course he suggest:l, there could
be no doubt. _However, he merely proposed it as a mat-
ter of inquiry before the Committee.--(Hear.)
.

Mr. HOLTleconded Mr. Anderton's amendment.

Sir P. LAURIE was decidedly against the plan of unit-
ing the two offices. As a Magistrate he often found it
necessary to consult the City Solicitor on legal matters of
importance. How could the Town-clerk attend to ad-
vise' him as City Solicitor at the Mansion-house or Guild-
hall, when the City Solicitor was attending as Town
clerk elsewhere ?

A MEMBER asked how were the duties performed of
late years ?
Sir PETER LAURIE said that the active duties of the
Town-clerk had been performed of late years by Mr.
Firth.

Mr. it TAYLOR said that if the matter was submmitted
to the Committee they would very soon dispose .of it.
It had been hund necessary to separate the offices of
Comptroller of the Bridge-house estates from that of
City. Solicitor, and after' the failure of the experiment of
joining those two situations, he could not see how a
more important place could be with any foundation or
reason joined to that of City Solicitor.
Mr. LAWRENCE denied that the experiment of join-
ing the two offices alluded to had failed. The City Soli-
citor of that day was unable to perform the duties in con-
sequence of the deplorable state of his health. The
corporation were bound to do all they could to add office
to office upon the occurrence of vacancies. The late Town-
clerk was a man of extraordinary talents, but he had done
little or nothing iu the office
.of late years. The
whole of the business had been done by other parties.
Now the City Solicitor would in consequence of the
near approach of the termination of Vie labours of the
London-bridge Committee, soon have a good deal of
time upon his hands, and that time could not be better
employed than in the performance of the duties of
Town-clerk.

• Mr. WIRE had no objection to have the question re-
ferred to the Committee. It happened, he said, that the
duties of Town-clerk and City SoliCitor in many respects
were closely assimilated. They were both expected to
attend Committees, and meetings of Courts of Aldermen
and Common Councilmen, and Conservancy, so that
there could be no objection so far to merge the offices in
one person. Under alll the circumstances he could have
no objection to Mr. Anderton's addition or amendment.

After a fen• words from Mr. Col'E and Mr. PEWTRERS,

Mr, WILLIAIus said it appeared from all that had been
said, that both Town-clerk and City Solicitor had little
or nothing to do.
The motion, with Mr. Anderton's addition, was then
carried by a large majority.
Mr. HARRIS then moved the last resolution—viz., that
it also be referred to the Committee to consider a re-
port on the legality and power of the Court to elect a
Town-clerk annually, and if deckled in the affirmative,
to prepare a bill accordingly.—Agfeed to.