The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-02-24 00:00:00

LOCAL MEETINGS.

WITHIN the past week, the usual amount of disputing
has been increased by a rompus of a minor kind in each
of several of our public bodies. It is not possible, of
course, for men who are differently constituted, both
mentally and bodily, to take the same view of any parti-
cular question ; but it is desirable that they should always
keep their temper, and make the least, not the most, of
any difference that unhappily arises.
As if it were not bad enough for the Town Council to
he at loggerheads with the Magistrates, the latter are in
a position of antagonism with the West Derby Guardians.
It appears that two girls, inmates of the Workhouse,
went out of it ; upon which they are charged with steal-
ing the clothes of the Union. The natural reply is, that
if the small fault of irregular retirement is committed at
all, it is not usual, in England, whatever it may he on the
coast of Africa, or in the South Sea Islands, even for
honest people to go naked through the streets. But it
appears that each of them had double clothing on ; and the
reply to this is that the weather had been unusually severe ;
a reply that we should readily have given ourselves, had we
been charged with the crime of putting on an extra coat.
The magistrates, thinking that no burglary had been in-
tended, dismissed the case; the Secret„ry of State is
therefore appealed to. He decides in favour of the magis-
trates, and then Mr. Badnall moves for another applica-
tion to him ; on the principle, we presume, of the appeal
from Philip drunk to Philip sober. Surely such a paltry
matter has gone far enough already; especially as the
decision was on the special facts of the case, and does
not really affect the principle of workhouse discipline.
There has been a breeze in the Select Vestry, too. Mr.
Hughes, it seems, was anxious to get two promising lads
into the Industrial Schools, and, with the best intentions
in the world, acted a little irregularly. Messrs. Bradley
and Earle took exception to the irregularity ; and they
were quite right in doing so, for if each individual in a
uublic body were now and then to assume the powers of
the entire board, there would be an end to all official
acting. Upon this, Mr. Hughes writes a vindicatory let-
ter to the Mercury of Friday last ; hut instead of confin-
ing himself to the simple facts, and to his own conscien-
tious motives,—on which grounds any reasonable man
would have at once excused him,—he assails those who
differ from him, in a tirade of bitter personalities. This
will not do, Mr. Hughes; your letter is not a reply so
much as an attack ; and you will be sure to injure some-
body by it, viz., yourself.
Some of the heath Committee,—we wish them their
own health,—have been in hot water again. Mr. Earle
had a letter in one of our contemporaries, imenening Mr.
Dover's public conduct on the wit hdriwal of the Sanatory
Bill lately before the Council, and Mr. Dover first spoke
his reply in his place, and then had it published. It
appears that the latter had spoken in general terms of
" the landowners" being opposed to the bill ; and the
former had instanced some of the most prominent as if
Mr. Dover had mentioned them by name. Both of these
gentlemen are useful public men ; and it is from a good
wish for them both, and an anxiety to see public bodies
follow after business instead of recrimination or exculpa-
tion, that we now allude to the subject.
On the whole, however, and notwithstanding this sin-
gular concurrence of squabbles in three of them, the tone
of discussion is much improved of late in our local public
assemblies. We hope that it will long continue so.