The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-10-29 00:00:00

CORPORATION DOCK WAREHOUSES.

A public meeting of the master coopers; carters, porters,
warehouse-keepers, and of others opposed to the erection of
warehouses by the dock trustees, was held at twelve o'clock
on Friday, at the large Room of the York Hctel, The meet-
ing was very numerous, the room being about two-thirds

filled.
Amongst those present, we noticed Mr, Robert Ledson,
Mr. Samuel Holme, Mr. John Beard, Mr. J. Montgo:nery,
Mr. T. Revel, Mr. Joseph Cooper, Mr. Francis Grundy
Mr. R. HaHowes, Mr. James Tyrer, Mr. Taylor, Mr,
Green, Mr. Guyton, Mr. Thomas Revel, jun., Mr. J. Tyrer,
jun., Mr. D. Thornhill, Mr. Wharton, Mr. White, and seve.
ral other most influential tradesmen.
Mr. John Barton was called to the chair.
The CHAIRMAN having briefly explained the object of their
assembling together,
Mr. DANIEL LEDSON then rose to propose the first reso-
lution, and was received with considerable applause. He
said that he had felt very great pleasure in moving the reso-
lution which had been entrusted to him, and rejoiced to see
that so many gentlemen opposed to the corporation scheme
of building warehouses on the dock quays had assembled to-
gether. After the charges and calumnies that had been
brought against them, and especially against the respectable
master posters of this town, it was quite time for them to
come forward boldly, and not acknowledge by their silence
that there was any foundation whatever in those charges and
calumnies. (Cheers.) Let them pursue the only course left
open to them ; let them be united and unanimous ; let them
be determined in opposing this—what should he call it ?—a
monopoly ? Yes, a monopoly ; for such it was in the most
extended sense of the word. (Cheers.) These were the
only means now left to them, and this was the only way in
which they could gain their object; and if they did not suc-
ceed, they should still have the satisfaction of reflecting that
they had raised their voices against the proposed measure.
(Cheers.) They had heard a great deal about the pamphlet
which he held in his hand—the one attributed to Alderman
Evans, whether truly or not he could not say. That
pamphlet had been lauded to the skies ; but for what reason
he could hardly divine ; for he contended that it contained
very few arguments in favour of the corporation scheme. If
any disinterested individual would take up and read that
pamphlet, and weigh well, the whole of its assertions—for
assertions they were, and assertions merely—and put them in
contrast with the straightforward and sound arguments ad-
vanced by those opposed to the measure, they must come to
the conclusion, after a candid and impartial consideration of
the whole case, that there was no necessity whatever for the
corporation dock warehouses. At least they would, he was
confident, come to this conclusion, that it was not fair, nor
just—that it was, in point of fact, monstrous, that a public
body should invest this public monopoly with a publiccharac-
ter, and use all their influence, and all the weight of the public
funds, for the purpose of opposing and injuring previous
interests. They, as tradesmen, were compelled to conduct
their business in such a manner as to leave themselves a re-
munerating profit; whilst, on the other hand, the dock trust
might manage the proposed warehouses in whatever way they
chose ; they might impose whatever rates they pleased ; and
they would combine within themselves the character of mas-
ter porters, master coopers, and master carters. (Hear and
cheers.) They might send to London, for what he knew to the
contrary, for coopers • there was no guarantee that they would
not ;—they might send for porters, for there was no guaran-
tee that they would not; and what were they (the meeting)
to do ? It was impossible that private individuals could op-
pose so powerful a body ; and if any loss resulted to the dock
trust from the mode of management adopted by them, they
would not feel it, but the public. (Hear.) Let them (the
meeting) tell the proposers of the scheme—and he called
upon the master carters, coopers, and porters, boldly to join
the avowal—that they could not sit down quietly, aqd allow
a portion of the bread which they were earning, to be taken,
as it were, out of their very mouths. (Great cheering.) There
were many other considerations which ought to induce them
to come forward promptly on this occasion ; but as there
were other gentlemen in the room more capable of enforcing
those considerations—gentlemen who had threaded the mazes
of the whole question, and who, for the last twelve months,
had devoted the whole of their energies to the defence of the
poor man—it might perhaps be improper for him longer to
occupy the attention of the meeting. (Cries of " No, no,"
and "Go on.") Well, he would take the opportunity of
loving before them an extract from the pamphlet to which he
had previously alluded, because he thought that it was very
amusing, and he could assure them that it offered a very
fair sample of the course of reasoning pursued by the Liver-
poOl merchant through the whole book. The passage in
question was addressed to the carters, and ran thus :—" The
poor simple carter, who is told that his vocation will
cease with the establishment of dock warehouses, does
not suspect, that the cartage of which he fancies he shall be
deprived in one direction, will be increased many fold in
others. The clumsy chest or hogshead of sugar may not be
dragged up the hill to a distant warehouse, but many more
hogsheads will be carted to the canal, the railroad, and the
steam-boat. The number of crates of earthenware, of pack-
ages of merchandise, of tons of coal, iron, lead, &c. to be
carted for home use and exportation will increase, while ad-
ditional coasters, with cargoes of grain, flour, butter, bacon,
&c. to be distributed for home consumption, will put into re-
quisition ten times the cartage apparently superseded by dock
warehouses." So it appeared that they were to have vessels
crowding into Liverpool with cargoes of eggs and bacon, be-
cause a few warehouses were to be built on the margin of the
docks. (Laughter and cheers.)
Mr. H ARBORD.—Are the eggs and bacon to go into bond,
because the dock warehouses, as I understand, are to be de-
voted exclusively to bonded goods ? (Renewed laughter.)
Mr. LEDSON continued.—He said that they had the high
authority of the Liverpool merchants for the fact stated in
the pamphlet, and he supposed they were bound to believe
it ; but perhaps many of them would be obstinate enough,
in private, to exercise their own judgment on the matter,
notwithstanding. (Hear, hear.) Perhaps it would not be out
of place if he were then to notice, as he had previously done
at another meeting, a charge which had been brought against
the warehouse keepers with reference to pilferage. (Hear,
hear.) Since that meeting he had taken the trouble to make
someinquiries on the subject ; and he thought he could now
venture to say that the charge of pilferage, to any serious
extent, was altogether unfounded. (Hear, hear.) He would
defy those who had brought the accusation to produce a
single instance in which a serious charge of pilferage had
been brought against a warehouse keeper ; nay, he would
defy them to bring forward a single charge of pilferage against
any respectable warehouse keeper in the town. (Hear, hear,
and cheers.) Actuated, therefore, by these considerations,
he would turn to those who had been accustomed to earn
their livelihood under the present system, who had been en-
gaged for years in toil and honest industry, under the sup-