The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-09-06 00:00:00

GENERAL ANNUAL SESSIONS.

Yesterday, at eleven o'clock, (pursuant to the usual ad-
journment from the last Thursday in June,) the General
Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace, for this County
Palatine, was held at tha Court House, Preston, for the pur-
pose of passing the accounts of the county treasurer, and of
transacting other business connected with the raising and
disposal of the county rates, including the election of new
officers, where vacancies have arisen, &c., in pursuance of
notice previously given.
There being several subjects for discussion which excited
considerable interest amongst the magistrates and rate-
payers of Liverpool, Manchester, and Lancaster, the attend-
ance was much more numerous than on ordinary occasions,
there being upwards of sixty magistrates.
The Hon. Richd. Bootle Wil- Joseph Brotherton,Esq. M.P.
braham, M.P. Charles Tayleur3, Esq.
T. B. Addison, Esq. Joseph Lace, Esq.
William Marshall, Esq. Lawrence Rawstorne, Esq.
James Clarke, Esq. Thomas Lyon, Esq.
Samuel Taylor, Esq. John Lomax, Esq.
James Blanchard, Esq. Theodore W. Rathbone, Esq.
Robert Lawson, Esq. James Brancker, Esq.
John Master, Esq. Thomas Thornely, Esq. M.P.
Richard E. Alison, Esq. Samuel Sandbach, Esq.
Rev. Richard Moore. R. T. Parker, Esq. M.P.
Rev. Miles Formby. Robert Andrews, Esq.
Rev. J. T. Horton. John Earnshaw, Esq.
James Davidson, Esq. Samuel Lees, Esq.
William Calrow, Esq. Henry Tempest, Esq.
Edward Dawson, Esq. W. G. Walmsley, Esq.
John Armstrong, Esq. Rev. R. A. Rawstorne,
Chisenhale Chisenhale, Esq. P. E. Townley, Esq.
James Pedder, Esq. John Cunliffe, Esq..
Joseph Bushell, Esq. John Taylor, Esq.
John Anstin, Esq. E. G. Hornby, Esq.
Henry Hargreaves, Esq. Thomas Greene, Esq. M.P.
Rev. R. J. Barton, Clerk W. Bolden Bolden, Esq.

William Gale, Esq.
Thomas Rodick, Esq.
Cornelius Bourne, Esq.
John Bourne, Esq.
Robert Heywood, Esq.
Charles Birch, Esq.
J. F. Hindle, Esq.
Rev. J. Brooks
S. T. Brancker, Esq.
J. F. Foster, Esq.
John Heys, Esq.
The Hon. R. B. WILBRAHAM, M.P., was unanimously
called to the chair.

Charles Townley, Esq.
Joseph Fielden, Esq.
John Hopwood, Esq.
John Lister, Esq.
J. Newall Ffarington, Esq.
L. Whalley, Esq. M.D.
Rev. Gardner Baldwin,
Wm. Ince-Anderton, Esq.
Sir P. H. Fleetwood, Bart.
Rev. Wm. Gray, Clerk.

NEWLY INCORPORATED BOROUGHS.
T. B. ADDISON, Esq., said it was not usual to commence
the Sessions, by reading the proceedings of former meetings,
but he considered it proper to state what had been done at
the meeting of the 24th of June. The June meetings were
not generally for the dispatch of business, but were prelimi-
nary, unless in cases of urgency, the business being trans-.
acted in September. It so happened, however, that in June
some circumstances required to be immediately considered
and disposed of. Two important towns, Manchester and
Bolton, had obtained separate courts of Quarter Sessions,
and having received charters, could raise separate rates. A
dispute had. arisen as to the validity of these charters, and
the question arose—what course the magistrates in Sessions
would pursue? Were there no dispute, as in the cases of
Liverpool and Wigan, they would have acted as they had
done towards them. The course they had adopted as the
safest one, was to include the two towns named in the county
rate. In pursuance of this resolution, an order was issued
at the June Sessions, for the rates, on the respective borough
treasurers. This was done, as the safest mode for the
county, lest the charters should turn out invalid. If they were
hereafter declared to be legal, the funds might be restored to
the borough rate. He concluded by repeating, that as there
were differences of opinion as to the validity of the charters
granted, and that it was his opinion that the course adopted
was the most judicious and the safest, inasmuch as the county
funds would be secure, and no party could in the result be
injured. Having given this information, he stated that he
should not, of course, found any motion upon it.
Mr. W. A. HOLTON, the county treasurer, stated that he
had received letters from Chorlton, Hulme, and another
township, stating that the rate had been refused.

Mr. AimisoN-said, that the rates refused by these town-
ships were not affected by the question at issue, inasmuch as
the assessments were laid previously to the granting of the
charters alluded to. They were, therefore, liable for the
arrears.

Several of the gentlemen expressed their opinion that the
magistrates who were present at the June sessions had
adopted the proper course.

COUNTY TREASURERS ACCOUNTS.-EXPENSES OF PRO-

SECUTIONS.

Mr. ADDISON noticed the great disproportion in the ex-
penses of prosecutions at the assizes, as compared with those
incurred at the respective sessions. At the Manchester ses-
sions, exclusively of salaried officers and other expenses, the
cost per head was about £2. At Lancaster, including the
expenses alluded to, the average cost was £6 12s. 7d. ; at
Preston, £7 19s. ; at Kirkdale, £8 Bs. ; and at Salford,
£8 2s. 10d. This included court fees and every other
expense, without throwing upon the county any expense
of salaried officers. On the other hand, at the Lancaster
assizes, the average cost of a single prosecution was
£22 I ls. sd. ; and at the Liverpool assizes, £39 18s. Id.
The cost at the assizes, indeed, was frequently seven times
as great as that at the sessions, though, in many instances,
the offenders at the higher court were consigned to but
minor punishment—a few months' imprisonment. He, for
one, wa's not satisfied with so great a disparity of expense.
The access to Liverpool for witnesses, and in other respects,
was as great as to the places where the sessions were held—
for instance, Kirkdale. Yet, the single prosecution at Liver-
pool was £39. 10s., while that at Kirkdale, adjoining, was
only £8 Bs. He was aware, that at assizes, the prosecutions
were generally what might be called heavier; but making all
due allowances, he thought the disproportion too great. The
cause was, that those who ruled the expenses at the assizes,
were not responsible parties, or themselves interested in
economizing. The learned gentleman proceeded to adduce
instances from the printed county accounts of the enormous
sums being paid in the past year to attornies in Liverpool for
prosecutions. One party had received £lOO 15s. 4d. for
one prosecution ; another £264 ls. ! He felt assured that
the magistrates whom he addressed would not have allowed
any thing like these sums at quarter sessions. They would
have taxed such bills and reduced them. Complaints had
been made that the county magistrates were addicted to
waste and extravagance. This assertion was totally untrue.
(Hear.) They have paid the greatest attention to the econo-
mizing the expenditure, arid had paved down the charge for
prosecutions from a high amount, to an average of £7. He
thought it was high time the fixing of charges on prosecu-
tions at the assizes should be put in the hands of those whom
habits of business, knowledge of the locality and other ad-
vantages, gave them an opportunity of coming to a judicious
decision. The magistrates, he regretted, had no power to
interfete with the assize expenses.
A conversation here arose as to the party who was the tax-
ing officer, who, it was stated was Mr. Hopi ins, clerk
of the crown ; but it appeared that he was but non
nally so, as he was over-ruled by the judge, who was (as we
understood it) perplexed by contrary representations.
The Rev. JOSHUA THOMAS HORTON, said that he did
not concur in the opinion, that the magistrates had no power
to bring about a reformation on the point in question. He
thought that if a proper representation went from them to
the clerk of the crown, it would be attended to. For his
part he would, at all events, try him. He concluded by
moving, in effect, " That the meeting should call the atten-
tion of the clerk of the crown to the scale of allowances for
prosecutions at the Quarter Sessions, with a recommenda-
tion that in future he should make all allowances at the
Assizes conformable, so far as may be, to that scale.
Mr. BROTHERTON seconded the motion, and it was car:
ried unanimously.

After some observations on the subject of conducting pri-
soners to gaol, the passing of Scotch and Irish poor to their
own countries from Liverpool was taken up at some length
by Mr. GREEIs7E, who contended that the pass-master at
Liverpool (Mr. Evans, the overseer) could not legally pass
out of the county-rates any poor persons, unless they came
under the designation of casual poor belonging to Liverpool.
The general opinion expressed was, that the law was well
administered in this respect ; but a motion was reserved.

CORONERS INQUESTS.

Mr. CLARKE complained of the holding of inquests un-
necessarily, and, in many instances, where medical men had
attended, and could pronounce upon the cause of death
being natural.

M. AnntsoN concurred, and in strong language dis-
approved of the whole system, which he designated (ad-
mitting the epithet to be vulgar, but appropriate)—mere
" humbug." It was, he said, a demoralizing absurdity to
hold inquisitions where no suspicion of foul play was en-
tertained, It was taking the public money for nothing.
Not a ninth part of the money extracted, moreover, was
applied to the intended purpose. It was paid for services,
in many instances that were not performed, or for pretended
purposes. It wrs, in fact, an imposition.
The Rev. J. T. HORTON asked whether the expenses in
cases in which parties called for useless inquests, for inte-
rested purposes, could be fixed upon parties requiring them.
He related a most extraordinary case in which the relatives
of a deceased individual who had been disappointed by his
will, had set forth a rumour that he had been poisoned ; and
had had the body exhumed, at great expense. The result
only proved that the deceased, who had been medically at-
tended for some days after he was attacked by a fit, on eating
a heavy supper, had died of a disease of the heart which he
could not long have escaped.
The Clerk of the Court read a letter from Mr. Rutter,
coroner for the Manchester district, requesting the General
Sessions to allow him the amount of his quarterly bill for
holding inquests—XlsB 17s. 5d., which he claimed on the
supposition that the charter of incorporation to Manchester
was invalid.

A discussion took place on this question, and Mr. ADDI-
SON said that they ought to deal with it analogously as they
had done with respect to the county rates claimed from the
newly-chartered boroughs, namely, to withhold payment un-
til the question of the legality of the charter were legally set-
tled. A resolution, by Mr. Addison, was finally agreed to,
to the effect, " That no charge be allowed to coroners in bo-
roughs to which charters have been granted, until it be legally
determined if such grant is invalid."

COUNTY TREASURER'S ACCOUNTS.
The several usual accounts of the county expenditure were
then read and passed. They presented no peculiar feature of
interest, and a synopsis of the general balances will suffice
for our readers.

The total expenditure of the year just concluded was
£36693 ; that of the previous year X 34989 ;—the arrears of
Rolls £6639.

There appeared a final balance in favour of the Lunatic
Asylum of £1639.

Mr. ADDISON made a suggestion relative to the appoint-
ment of constables under the pending constabulary act, which
allows of one constable to every thousand individuals. He
thought that an " emergency police" body, to be called out
on occasions of riot or disturbance,—some with allowances
of £5 a-year, and others (to be less frequently called upon)
with £2,—would greatly strengthen the hands of the regular
police, and render the whole efficient. He thought that 200
regular police would be sufficient for the county, exclusively
of the incorporated towns, which supported their own.