The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-07-23 00:00:00

(From the Mominy Herald of Saturday.)

BIRMINGHAM, FRIDAY AFTERNOON.-It will be per-
ceived, from the the following correspondence, that I was
correct in the impression that the memorialists for the sus-
pension of the magistrates would not furnish the information
required by Lord Johu Russell :
" Whitehall, July 17, 1839.
" Sir,—l am directed by Lord John Russell to acknow-
ledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th instant, trans-
mitting a memorial from certain inhabitants of Birmingham,
v.mplaining that their lives and property were left unpro-
tected to the violence of an organised mob, although full and
authentic information had been early given to the mayor and
magistrates of the borough of the intentions and plans of the
rioters,' and to request the memorialists will transmit to his
lordship any evidence or proof in their power to show that
previous information was given to the magistrates of the in-
tentions of the rioters.-1 am, sir, your obedient servant,
" S. M. PHILLIPti.
" Jolla B. I-fibbed, Esq., Temple-3troct, Birmingbara."

" Temple-street, Birmingham, July 18.
"My Lord,—l have the honour, on behalf of the gentle-
men who signed the memorial which I had the honour of
transmitting to your lordship last Tuesday night, to acknow-
ledge the receipt of a letter from your secretary, dated the
17th instant, and to express their gratification at finding from
the report of the proceedings in the House of Commons last
night, that your lordship is of opinion that the single ac-
knowledged fact of the property of the inhabitants of the
town having been left unprotected for upwards of an hour
and a half on Monday night, is of itself sufficient to make an
inquiry into the conduct of the magistrates absolutely neces-
sary. When that inquiry takes place the memorialists will
be prepared to adduce the, fullest evidence in support of their
own charges against the town authorities. But they cannot
but remember that when on a former occasion others of their
fellow townsmen thought fit to represent to your lordship the
disgraceful conduct of the civil and military authorities, your
lordship submitted those representations to the parties ac-
cused, and received from them private explanations, with
which your lordship professed to be satisfied, without com-
municating to the complainants the answers x% hich you had
so received. The only result of what was then supposed to
be a discharge of public duty was a censure from your lord-
ship; and in one instance, a challenge to fight a duel from
one of the persons whose conduct had been impugned, sent
to a most respectable inhabitant of the town who joined in
that representation. Under these circumstances, therefore,
your lordship will not be surprised if the memorialists re-
spectfully decline to make any private communication to the
Home-office, at the same time that they reiterate their readi-
ness to adduce the fullest proofs of the truth and justice of
their charge beforeany legally-constituted tribunal, and when
they can do so with safety to themselves, and with confidence
that it will not be' done in vain.—l have the honour to be,
my lord, your lordship's most obedient humble servant,

" JOHN B. HIBBEAT.

" To the Right Hon. Lord John Russell."
It will, no doubt, be recollected that the radical party at
the election of 1837 made a murderous attack upon the con-
servative committee who were sitting at Dee's Hotel, that
they demolished the front of the hotel, and the lives of the
committee were upon the point of being sacrificed at the
shrine of reform liberality. The extraordinary delay of the
military upon that occasion must‘be in the memory of your
readers. Upon that subject the depositions of about 20
persons of the highest respectability were forwarded to Lord
John Russell. The above letter of Mr. Hibbert shows how
those depositions were treated. I believe that nothing but
an open inquiry will satisfy the people of Birmingham. Mr.
Maule (solicitor to the treasury) has arrived in the town.
It will be seen, from the following proceedings of the town
commissioners, that the delicate question of " Who's to pay
the piper"—i.e., the expense consequent upon the introduc-
tion of the police in Birmingham, will have to be debated by
the " active" magistrates of the town. There is something
extremely amusing in the explanatory tone of the magistrate's
letter.

A special meeting of the town commissioners was held to-
day to take into consideration the following resolutions of the
magistracy :

" Borough of Birmingham,
" At a meeting of the Birmingham magistrates, held at
the public office, Moore-street, this 17th day of July, Dr.
Booth in the chair,
" It was resolved,

" That on the occurrence of the recent nightly assemblies
and processions which endangered the peace of the town, the
magistrates, finding the regular police totally deficient in the
strength and firmness requisite to prevent such meetings,
were compelled, by the urgent necessities of the case, to seek
foreign assistance without delay and without the power of
previously consulting the commissioners under the Street
Act.

" That the precautionary measure, of bringing the London
police into the town has been the source of a heavy expendi-
ture and is likely so to continue.
" That the magistrates have no control over any fund for
the payment a those expenses.
" That it appears to this meeting the proper authorities to
apply to are the commissioners under the Street Act.
" That an application be made to the commissioners to
take the requisite steps to ensure the payment of the charges
incurred by bringing the London police into the town, and
by the contiluing of such assistance until the peace of the
town be permanently secured, or a new and sufficient police
force be organised.
" That a copy of the above resolutions be sent to the Com-
missioners."

The Commissioners unanimously adopted the following re-
solutions in reply to a communication from the magistrates :
" That the communication from the magistrates be entered
on our minutes, and that the magistrates be respectfully in-
formed that the Commissioners have not legally the power to
defray the expenses already incurred.
" That the magistrates' letter be referred to the Lamp and
Watch Committee, and that they be requested to forthwith
confer with the magistrates as to future measures for main-
taining the peace of the town, and that the said committee
be authorized and requested to appoint such constables,
patrols, and other persons, as shall in their opinion, con-
jointly with that of the magistrates, appear necessary or ex-
pedient under the circumstances ; and that it appears to this
meeting that resource should still be had to a portion of the
metropolitan police, until a more efficient local police be ap-
pointed, and therefore that the Lamp and Watch Committee
be authorized and desired to make such appointments."
The committee sat immediately upon the breaking up of
the meeting, and it is understood that the most vigorous
assistance will be given to the magistrates by the immediate
establishment of a well-qrganized local police. In the mean-
time the London police are to remain in Birmingham, the
expense of their maintenance being for the time defrayed by
the Street Commissioners. An application will, however,
be afterwards made to Government for the re-payment of the
money previously expended ; it being considered, as stated
by one of the magistrates at the meeting of the Commissioners
this morning, that Birmingham in thus defeating the machina-
tions of the Chartist mob was in fact fighting the battle of
the entire country. Had the insurrectionary movement been
successful in Birmingham, there is little doubt that similar
efforts, if not equally successful, would have been made in
other parts of the kingdom.