The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-11-10 00:00:00

TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

Yesterday the first meeting of the Town Council, since the
municipal election, was held in the Town-hall. Both parties
were present in formidable strength. Indeed there was only
one member absent, Mr. Sandbach.
Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY took the chair. He said, that
previous to the commencement of business, he had one
request to make from the council, and that was for permis-
sion to take a copy of the painting of Liverpool in the Town-
hall. The request was immediately granted.

LIME-STREET WARD.
The MAYOR said that the Town-dell( had taken the opi-
nion of counsel upon the erroneous return for Lime-street
ward ; and, in compliance with his advice, he (the Mayor)
had thought it his duty to sign the certificate of the election
of Mr. Kilshaw, which was made by the aldermen and the
assessors, and place it on the outside of the Town-hall. He
had also sent for Mr. Kilshaw and Mr. Blackburn. Mr.
Blackburn had previously signed the declaration; Mr. Kil-
shaw had done so this morning, and was now in attendance.
lie (the Mayor) now called upon the Town-clerk to read the
opinion of the Attorney-General, the late Attorney-General,
Mr. Starkie, and Mr. Wightman, which he had taken.
The TOWN-CLERK commenced by stating that the return
as originally published for Lime-street ward, gave a majority
of two for Mr. Blackburn ; but•on the application of a bur-
gess, the voting papers were examined, and in the result
there appeared to be, on the face of the voting papers, a
majority of six for Mr. Kilshaw. Under these circumstances.
he (the Town-clerk) deemed it his duty that the Council
should be prepared with the best advice that could be ob-
tained as to the proper course to be pursued. He had there-
fore taken the opinion of the present Attorney-General, the
late Attorney. General (Sir Frederick Pollock), Mr. Starkie,
and Mr. Wightman, which was as follows :
" We are of opinion that the best course to be pursued, is,
that the Mayor should publish the certificate of the Aldermen
and Assessors certifying the mistake in their former declara-
tion; so that Mr. Kilshaw, who had the majority of legal
votes, should he permitted by the Mayor and Town-council
to make the declaration, and take his seat for Lime-street
ward, leaving it to Mr. Blackburn to take such steps as be
may be advised.

"J. CAMPBELL,
(Si gned) " FRED. POLLOCK,
"T. STARKIE,
" WM. WIGHTMAN.

" Westminster, Nov. 7, 1840."
On the consultation which preceded this opinion, he was
advised that counsel expressly declared their opinion to
be, that the act which directed the returns to be made
by two o'clock, on the second day after the election,
was not conclusive but only declaratory. On this opinion
his duty was to advise the council to receive Mr. Kilshaw as
a member of it, leaving Mr. Blackburn to assert any right
which he might be entitled to, if he had any.
Mr. J. N. WOOD moved that Mr. Kilshaw be introduced
into the Council.
Mr. JoHN SMITH seconded the 'motion.
Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE asked whether he correctly under-
stood the Mayor to say that Mr. Blackburn had signed the
declaration ?

The MAYOR replied that Mr. Blackburn had subscribed
the declaration in proper time.
The TOWN-CLERK said, that at the time Mr. Blackburn
subscribed the declaration in pursuance of the act, only one
return had been made to and published by the Mayor, which
was that Mr. Blackburn had been elected. Mr. Blackburn
therefore was perfectly right in making the declaration.
Subsequently, however, the certificate of the alderman and
assessors, rectifying that return, had been published by the
Mayor ; and in due time Mr. Kilshaw made his declaration.
Mr. Blackburn could not have been better advised than to
make the declaration, because he thereby completely exone-
rated himself from any liability to pay the penalty incurred
for not making the declaration within five days. In the next
place, if the advice of counsel had been different from that
which lie (the Town-clerk) had just read, it would have
saved the Council from a very embarrassing point, and that
was what should be done upon an extraordinary vacancy,
for if this opinion had not been in favour of Mr. Kilshaw,
and Mr. Blackburn had not made the declaration, the five
days would have expired, and there would have been an
extraordinary vacancy.

Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE was fully satisfied that Mr. Black-
burn was correct in taking the course which he bad ; and he
felt also that he (Mr. Lawrence) was also justified in asking
the question.

The MAYOR then put the question whether Mr. Kilshaw
should take his seat, and it was unanimously carried in the
affirmative.

Mr. KUSH AW was then introduced by Mr. J. N. Woo,
and Mr. John Smith, and took his seat.

ELECTION OF MAYOR.
The MAYOR said the next business on the paper was the
election of a gentleman to fill the office of mayor for the en-

suing year

Afr.EvANs then said he rose for the purpose of moving
that Mr. Thomas Bolton be the Mayor of Liverpool for the
ensuing year. His qualifications for the office, and his
claims to the high honour of holding it, were so well known
to all that he felt relieved from the necessity of going into
any detail of his merits. Mr. Bolton had passed a long
mercantile life in Liverpool, where he had acquired an inde-
pendence without reproach. The same persevering industry
and good judgment with which he had advanced his private
fortune, he had carried into the service of the public, for
whose welfare be had been ever ready, under all circumstances,
to devote both his time and money. Mr. Bolton was not
one of those who claimed public honour in right of their
private wealth, for he had ever acted upon the principle, that
the greater the wealth the greater the responsibility—and
the more we should give of that wealth and of our time to
the service of that society which tolerated and protected
inordinate possessions. There could be no doubt that wealth
in its proper place was no crime, that it ought not to injure
any individual, but upon the contrary should always have its
due weight and influence in society. But when, instead of
being used to forward the purposes of society, it was used
against them, or was kept altogether in abeyance from their
benefit; it became an evil to mankind, and almost a crime
in the possessor. He trusted that the high honour of pre-
siding over a great town like this would never be sullied by
any considerations of wealth unaccompanied by merit, in
proportion to that wealth, and adequate to the uses of it ;
and he hoped that every gentleman who was offered the ho-
nour of the mayoralty of Liverpool would be able to produce
his merits in his labours, public services, and character.
Mr. JOSEPH HORNBY had heard with great pleasure what
Mr. Evans had said, as it relieved him from the necessity of
saying much in favour of Mr. Bolton. He was quite certain
that the council would be perfectly justified, both in its own
and in the eyes of the public, in selecting Mr. Bolton as the
mayor of Liverpool. For a long time he had devoted him-
self to the promotion of the trade and prosperity of the port,
and to the extension of those political principles which he
(Mr. Hornby) hoped the majority of the council still main-
tained ; and he felt certain that, at the expiration of his year
of office, if it pleased the council to elect him, he would re-
tire not only with the good opinion of the council, but with
that of the town at large. . _ _

Mr. ROBERTSON GLADSTONE then rose. He said that
without venturing at all to enter into the comparative quali-
fications of the gentleman who had just been proposed as
mayor for the ensuing year, and of the gentleman wham he

was about to name, he„ should say little more—for there was
no necessity for saying more—than that the name he was
about to propose did, in the very strongest manner, recom-
mend itself to the notice of the council. (Hear.) If inde-
pendence of character, if sterling and honest worth, if—and
he begged to be understood that his remarks applied merely
to the individual of whom he spoke—a gentleman in mind
and a gentleman in manners, a liberal in his actions rather
than in his professions—(applause)—and, if still more was
required, he might add, although it was unncessary, great
interest in the growing prosperity of Liverpool—a man, too,
strongly attached to the institutions and liberties of this town,
as well as to those of his native country—if these were quali-
fications for the high position of mayor of Liverpool, no fur-
ther comment was required from him when he told the coun-
cil that it was his intention to propose Mr. John Shaw Leigh,
as a fit and proper person to fill the office of mayor for the
ensuing year. (Hear, hear.) He should not attempt to oc-
cupy the attention of the council at the present time, more
than to remark upon a hint which appeared to be thrown out
by the gentleman who proposed Mr. Bolton. From what
that gentleman had stated it might almost seem that to pos-
sess wealth—though he agreed that it increased responsibi-
lity—was absolutely a curse. From the manner in which the
subject was hinted Pt, he presumed that if Mr. Leigh pos-
sessed wealth, and any other gentleman possessed less wealth,
that was a disqualification instead of a qualification. (Hear,
hear.) Now, whether Mr. Leigh was a rich man, or whether
he was a poor man, was a question which !had not occu-
pied the minds of those with whom he (Mr. G.) acted for
one moment. Bad as they might appear to be, they had not
made wealth their leading star. (Hear.) They wished only
to see a gentleman possessing the qualifications which he had
enumerated filling the high office of mayor; and he and his
friends were unanimously of opinion, that such a man was
Mr. John Shaw Leigh. He, therefore, begged to move that
that gentleman be elected mayor of this borough for the en-
suing year.

MT:BUSHELL rose to second the nomination. Concur-
ring fully as he did in the sentiments uttered by his friend
Mr. Gladstone, he had great pleasure in seconding the nomi-
nation of Mr. John Shaw Leigh. (Hear, hear.) And he
thought he should be able to bring forward some arguments
in favour of the election of that gentleman, and in favour of
those principles which Mr. Leigh had ever held, and which
he trusted lie ever would hold, which, as there were certain
members of the council who were not bound down to do as
they were dictated to, and who had yet left to them the high
privilege of exercising their own judgments, although they
entertained different opinions to Mr. Leigh, would induce
them, for the reasons he should state, to give him their votes.
(Hear.) He felt that this was not an improper time to enter
into some details with regard to the present position of the
council ; and, in endeavouring to enter upon those details,
he should do so with that good feeling which, he trusted,
would always govern his remarks, however much the senti-
ments which those remarks embodied might not be in ac-
cordance with those of the majority in the council. In
undertaking this subject, he felt it his duty to go back to the
position of the body which formerly occupied the council
chamber. Charges were alleged against that body, whether
rightly or not lie did not now pretend to say, which might
be embraced in the following terms—exclusiveness, self-
election, and extravagance. (Hear, hear.) It was for him
to enter now into an exposition of the acts of the present
body, in order to shew, as far as it was in his power, how
the very same charges, brought by the men a majority of
whom now filled the council chamber, against their prede-
cessors, had been acted upon, and been the mode of action,
of those very individuals. Let him go back to the first
election of the reformed council. When the n-.ajority en-
tered the council-chamber they found a gentleman filling the
office of Town-clerk with credit to himself, and satisfaction
to the town at large; but what was their first act ? Inveigh-
ing bitterly against exclusiveness, against bigotry, and
tyranny, their very first act was to displace from the seat
which he occupied the gentleman who then filled the office of
Town-clerk. (Hear.) What did it serve, although it might
be said " we have given you a gentleman of high integrity,
of strict honesty, of unbending impartiality, and of great
legal talents ?" What said it in favour of the appointment,
if seeking, as they had doubtless sought, a willing and time-
serving tool, they had been disappointed, and the town had
had reason to rejoice in the honesty, the integrity, strict im-
partiality and talent of the present Town-•clerk ? (Hear.)
Because Prussia had been blessed with a benevolent and en-
lightened Sovereign, could that be used as an argument in
favour of despotic government? The principle was the same.
The next act of this council, still inveighing against exclu-
siveness, was to appoint aldermen exclusively of their own
political opinions. (Hear.) What was the object of that but
to raise up an influence within the council-chamber, which
should, in effect, be the means of putting the votes and
voices of the town at large at defiance? (Hear, hear.)
What was their next act ? It was to nominate magistrates
for the appointment of the crown, who entertained exclu-
sively the political opinions of those by whom they were re-
commended ; and what was here the motive ? To create such
a municipal and parliamentary influence, as, it was hoped,
would prove an effectual barrier to conservative aggression.
(Hear, hear.) And to judge from the acts of those ma-
gistrates, he should say that we had found among them men
who, being bound by their position to be protectors of the
law, unless they were much belied, had become themselves
the breakers of the law, by making others the Protectors,
(Uproar and cries of " Name, name." What was their
next act ? Having the power, they had the disposition to
shut out from the committees gentlemen who had been re-
rurned to the council, of high talents, of great integrity, and
whose position in life was equal to that of any other gentle-
man in that council. (Hear, hear, hear.) What was
the intention of that ? The intention was to show
to those constituencies, who dared to send into that cham-
ber representatives of political opinions opposed to those
of the majority of that body, the contempt in which they

were held for their non-allegiance to faction. (Hear, hear.)
What, although the town might return such men as Mr.
Sands and Mr. Hodgson, men who were fitting representa-
tives at the direction boards of railways and of banks ?
these gentlemen standing thus high in the estimation of the
town, had been the very men who had been excluded from
the committees. (Hear.) Was this exclusiveness and par-
tiality, or was it not? (Hear.) But what had been the ef-
fect of all this ? Why, with all their government influence,
their municipal influence, their aldermanic influence ;
and though last not least, their committee influence;
(hear, hear)—they now found themselves in the posi-
tion—which he thanked God they were in to-day—of be-
ing a majority of the exclusives certainly, but a woful mino-
rity of the elected. (Hear.) And what now was the charge
they themselves brought against the electors? In the year
1835 they were pure, honest, unsullied, and enlightened ;
but in 1840, when acts which had gone forth from that coun-
cil chamber had brought them into disrepute, the electors
were corrupt, bribed, and bigotted. (Hear, hear.) He beg-
ged pardon for going thus far into detail, and he would now
forbear. But he would ask what were the qualifications of
the gentleman whom the majority of the council this day de-
lighted to honour ? Were they that he held political opinions
which were at variance with those held by the great majority
of this great community? Were they that he entertained
religious opinions which were certainly not professed by
nineteen-twentieths of the inhabitants of this vast commu-
nity? Was it set forth that his mercantile position was such
that he was the only man fit to fill the civic chair in this
town ? If these were the arguments urged in favour of that
gentleman, he (Mr. Bushell) would ask whom he and those
with whom he acted opposed to them ? They opposed to
them a gentleman who stood high in the estimation of every
one who knew him ; whose political opinions eminently fitted
him to occupy the chair, and to preside over the deliberations
of a council the majority of the elected in which was purely
conservative—(cheers);—whose religious opinions were such
as peculiarly fitted him to preside over the destinies of a
constituency decidedly Protestant—(much applause) ;—and
whose great wealth, although, like Mr. Gladstone, he thought
wealth was not to be compared with character, was expended
in the best direction. These qualifications he trusted would
have great weight, even with some of those who differed po-
litically with Mr. Leigh. With these views, and entertain-
ing these opinions, he (Mr. Bushell) called upon those mem-
bers of the council who were not bound by the cliqne which
assembled at the Angel, who were left to give an unbiassed
vote, and whose opinions were unshackled, to fulfil the duty
for which they had been sent into that chamber, and to bear
in mind that they were not the representatives of a faction,
but the representatives of the town at large. Let them con-
sider how the " liberal" majority in the council was consti-
tuted. Had they not flown in the faces of their constituents
by electing more than one-half of the aldermen from the re-
jected of the people? Would they then bring an unjust ma-
jority to bear against the wishes of the people. (Hear.) If
they did so they were the intolerants and the bigots, who
having liberality eternally upon their lips had nothing like it
in their hearts. (Applause.) He once more called upon
those who were not bound by the faction at the Angel, to give
Mr. Leigh the support to which, from his character and
qualifications, he was entitled at their hands. He was no
bigot in politics ; he was no waverer in religion ; and, there-
fore, for the sake of good feeling, which ought to be held
dear by every honest and upright mind, he hoped the
exclusiveness which they themselves condemed in others, and
the bigotry which they disclaimed against, would cease to
exist in that chamber, by electing for the chief magistrate a
man who had qualifications not to be surpassed by any gen-
tleman in that council. (Applause.) One word more and
he had done. There was a motto often quoted by the libe-
rals of this town, and perhaps by others too. He trusted that
that small party whom he had been addressing,—those who
still remained free to act for themselves without the factious
motives of those who led and governed the majority—he
trusted, he said, that that party would bear in mind the
motto—" Fiat justitiat, mat ccelum." Mr. Bushell then
resumed his seat amidst much applause.
Mr. ISAAC HOLMES rose amidst some cries of "vote,
vote," but through perseverance he obtained a hearing. He
said he could not say he was astonished at hearing Mr. Bol-
ton proposed as the next mayor, because the fact had been an-
nounced eleven days ago. He supposed, indeed, that Mr.
Bolton was elected at that very time, not, certainly, by this
council, but at the Angel, or at the Reform Association, or
probably by the Protector Society. (Hear, hear.) Now,
when the announcement was made so long before of who was
to be the mayor, it was a proper topic for enquiry, what was
the degreeofinfluence exercised•upon the couuciland by whom.
Vicar, hear.) The majority in that council were really in a
strange situation; but it was a situation in which individuals
and countries had often been placed—they had called in the
aid of mercenaries, and afterwards became the slaves of those
whom they had called to protect them. (Hear.) In like
manner he feared that the party which ruled in that council
were the servants of their Protectors. (Hear, hear.) It had
been stated, as one of his claims on the mayoralty, that Mr.
Bolton had manifested a great degree of public spirit. In-
deed ! One of the instances of his " public spirit" was a
public opposition to the town dues, whereby he put the town
and corporation to the expense of nearly £30,000 in their de-
fence. (Hear, hear.) When Mr. Bolton was not in the
council, he considered it improper and unjust to levy town
dues ; now that he was in the council, and a candidate for the
mayoralty, he considered it quite proper to levy them, and
even to increase the salary of the individual who had been
the great instrument in retaining them. (Hear, hear.) On
the church question, too, a great sum was expended—a sum,
he thought, amounting to £lOO,OOO, and Mr. Bolton was one
of the chief causes of that expenditure by the corporation.
Were these, he would ask, claims to be urged on the council
for that gentleman being elected mayor ? (Hear.) He
thought not •, indeed he considered that the " public spirit"
which Mr. Bolton had manifested, so far from being service-
able, had been detrimental to the interests of the town and
of the corporation. (Hear.) But there was another reason,
for which he considered he should not be doing his duty to
himself, and to those who had electedhiru, if he did not pub-
licly oppose the election of Mr. Bolton. Mr. Bolton was
one of the first to vindicate the manner in which the commit-
tees were composed—not that he had used language at which
he (Mr. Holmes) ought to take offence. He, indeed, had
not, but other individuals had. If those individuals would
but give him satisfaction out of doors, he cared not what lan-
guage they used, but they would not—
Mr. R. V. YATES rose to order, contending that Mr.
Holmes ought not to be allotved to use such language.
The MAYOR called Mr. Holmes to order.
Mr. BOLTON asked Mr. Holmes if he meant his observa-
tions to apply to him ?
Mr. HOLMES replied, certainly not. Mr. Bolton had far
more sense than to use the language to which he (Mr. H.)
alluded; but at the same time, he certainly had been a party
to the act which excluded himself and others from the differ-
ent committees. (Cheers.) That conduct, he considered,
was exhibited only to gratify the malignant feelings of some
individuals who had been displaced from their seats at that
council. It was an insult to the wards which had elected
them, and it was hypocritical in those gentlemen who pre-
tended to have objections against meeting those individuals
in committees whom they had formerly met, to advance the
reform or liberal interest. On this point, however, he should
have more to say when the committees were formed. He
should not now dwell further on this question; but he would
say to the individuals opposed to him, and who, were still the
dominant party, that a little more modesty would become
them. (Hear, hear.) If it had not been for the partiality of
the aldermen ast year the numbers would have been more.
equalized, and the feeling of the town having been manifested
so clearly in the last two elections, it became the dominant
party to pay some deference to that feeling. He hoped,
therefore, that the business of the council would be con-
ducted with something like liberality during the ensuing
year, that there might be something like union and concord
with each other. (Cheers.)
Mr. COGLAN next addressed the council at considerable
length, declaring that if the tories had been in power, they
would certainly have elected aldermen of their own way of
thinking, as the reformers had done. It was unfair to charge
it as an offence against them, that they had removed the late
town-clerk, because they had a right to choose their own le-
gal adviser. What Mr. Bushell had said with reference to
the magistrates, he did not hesitate to say was a libel upon
them, unless he named the particularindividuals to whom he
alluded.
Mr. BUSHELL said he would name them.
Mr. COGLAN proceeded to observe that one gentleman had
stated that Mr. Bolton had been chosen by a certain clique,
in consequence of his religious opinions. Now, he (Mr. Cog-
lan) did not expect that in the year 1840, in this enlightened
period, and from the intelligence of the gentleman who made
the remark, any parallel would be drawn between the religi-
ous opinions of one man and another. The law of the land
had given to Mr. Bolton as good a right to fill the office of
mayor as Mr. Leigh. Mr. Holmes had stated that Mr. Bol-
ton had been appointed mayor eleven days ago. Now, he
(Mr. Coglan) interfered in the affairs of the council as actively
as any member, but, upon his honour he knew nothing of
who was going to be proposed, till this morning ; and he
believed that no such arrangement as that described, had ever
been made

Mr. Isaac HOLMES observed that Mr. Coglan must not
have been quite active enough; as it was notorious through
the town that Mr. James Brancker, at the Mayor's dinner,
had proposed Mr. Bolton's health as the future Mayor.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. COGLAN concluded his address by stating that for 25
or 30 years there had not been a more public spirited man
than Mr. Bolton.
Mr. EARLE wished to make a few remarks upon the ques-
tion. He should not have taken any notice of the speech
of the gentleman who seconded Mr. Leigh's nomiation, if it
had not smelt so strongly of the lamp. It was studied in
every respect; and he (Mr. Earle) should not be surpised,
if Mrs. Bushell had had to sit up all night while her husband
was preparing it.
Mr. BUSHELL rose to explain, when
Mr. HUGH HORNBY called him to order. The Council
could not allow him to speak more than once upon the
question. If he really wished to explain or to correct any
expression he had used, he was entitled to be heard, but if
he rose to defend himself against any charge he was out of
order.

Mr. BUSHELL said, he had merely risen to explain, and
in doing so, it was impossible but that he should take some
notice of the observations which had been made by Mr.
Earle. They were totally uncalled for. •
The MAYOR: Mr. Bushell, you will please to confine
yourself to your explanation.
Mr. BUSHELL : If you had been pleased to check Mr.
Earle when he was making that gross and uncalled for allu-
sion which caused me to rise, my explanation would not
have been called for. But the bane has now gone forth, and
must have its antidote. (Cries of " Chair.") I trust, sir,
that the courtesy I have always received from von, and which
you have invariably shown towards those whii think and act
with me, will be extended to me. We are quite willing to
give you all the credit you deserve for strict impartiality in
discharging the duties of your high office; and I trust on
this your last day, you will show towards me the same spirit
of impartiality which you have always shows before. I say
then, sir, that the remarks of Mr. Earle were uncalled for,
that they are unjust, and that they are contemptible. (Great
uproar.) I will stand here a week but I will be heard. (Re-
newed uproar.)
The MAYOR : I call you to order, Mr. Bushell. In speak-
ing of any gentleman in the Council, you must confine your-
self to proper language. I cannot permit you to speak of the
observations of any gentleman as contemptible ; and if you
say, that you will stand there a week but you will be heard,
I must take the means which will prevent you, i f you persist
in that determination.
Mr. BUSHELL.—You may do as you please, Mr. Mayor,
but I will be heard. (Much confusion.)
Mr. EARLE said, he intended to make no improper obser-
vation, but if he had, he was ready to answer for it.
Mr. HUGH HORNBY spoke to order, maintaining, that a
speaker had no right to address the chair twice. Order hav-
ing been restored by his remarks,
Mr. BUSHELL concurred in the remarks of Mr. Hornby,
and he beggad to explain, that in his observations relative to
tt
hh ee
sbe ewn cell
dos f_Thet
somemagistrates,he of
those had
hs eed
s, h oe rta intendedha
have been
to
use,the
protectors of the law had been breakers of the law, and had
made others Protectors. If there was any breach of order
in that remark, he left it to those to whom it applied he had
brought no charge against the whole bench of magistrates,
and if he were called upon for his reasons for the observation,
he should be prepared with them. (Applause.)
Mr. ROBINSON, in reference to what Mr. Coglan had said
about the Town-clerk, observed, that if the conservatives
came into power, he for one should never think of removing
the Town-clerk.

The votes were then taken. When the mayor called Mr.
Bolton's name,
Mr. BOLTON expressed a wish not to vote.
The MAYOR reminded Mr. Bolton of the rule, that he
must either vote or leave the room.
Mr. BOLTON then said, he should feel it necessary to de.
part from precedent which had been made in higher guar-

ters—he meant in the case of voting for a Speaker of the
House of Commons. He always considered such votes in-
sincere, and should the-efore vote for himself.
For Mr. Bolton.—Aldermen Sheil, Booth, Hornby, Ros-
kell, Leathom, G. Holt, Jones, Benn, Earle, Moon, Evans,
Barclay, Bulky, T. Hclt, Freme, Harvey, and Councillors
J. Holmes, Quayle, Thornhill, H. Holmes, Mellor, Aikin,
Bolton, Priestley, Woollright, Bright, Hornby, Yates,
Morecroft, Slater, Coglan, Platt, M`Kee, Jordan, Currie,
Mather, the Mayor-37.

For Mr. Leigh..—Councillors Hodgson, Isaac Holmes,
Houghton, Copeland, Case, Blundell, Wright, Toulmin,
Barton, Sands, Cooper, J. Lawrence, Robinson, Birkett,
H. Lawrence, Wood, Procter, Gladstone, Bushell, Kilshaw,
Rigby, Jones, G. H. Lawrence, Leigh, Smith, Harbord-26.
Absent.—Councillor Sandbach.
For Mr. Bolton 37
For Mr. Leigh,

Majority for Mr. Bolton ll
Mr. BOLTON was then conducted to the chair, when, having
triode the usual declaration, he addressed the council. He
.begged the council would receive his sincere thanks for the
honour which they had conferred upon him in electing him
as the chief magistrate of Liverpool for the ensuing year. It
was his anxious desire to act with faithfulness and impartiality
in the fulfilment of the duties which devolved upon him. In
that council some allusions had been made to the prominent
part which he had taken in two important local questions,
and, he trusted, he should be excused if, peculiarly situated
as he was, he might advert to them. It was only to declare,
that, in neither, did he seek to procure any personal interest
or any exclusive privilege for himself. If, when the Town
Dues Question was agitated, every merchant had possessed
the same equal rights and privileges, he should not have been
one in the contest. As regarded the question of the endow-
ment of the clergy, if it had been for the good of all denomi-
nations, instead of for the one only, he would not have applied
for an injunction to stop it.. In both cases, the impelling
motive with him it was the extinction of monopolies.—
Throughout his life he had hitherto endeavoured to act justly
and conscientiously towards every human being. In dis-
charging the office to which he had, through their kindness,
been elected, he was determined to act by the same rule, and
he should also endeavour to profit by the excellent examples
of those who had preceded him. He hoped to have the kind
indulgence and support of the council to assist him in presi-
ding over their deliberations. He could add, with truth,
that in his conduct in the council he had, to the best of his
ability, exercised his judgment upon all occasions, for he did
not consider that he was under an obligation to follow the
dictates of any man, as every vote which a man gave ought
to be the result of conscientious conviction. Once more
thanking them, he would call upon them to proceed to busi-
ness, of which they had much before them.

ELECTION OF DOCK COMMITTEE-MEN.
The MAYoI stated that it was necessary for the council to
elect two members of the dock committee, in consequence of
the retirement of Mr. Segar from the council, and the resig-
nation by Mr. Robertson Gladstone of his seat in the com-
mittee.

Mr. LEATHOM proposed that the vacancies should be filled
up by the election of Mr. Aikin and Mr. Sands.
Mr. BENN seconded the motion.

Mr. lsAA.c HoLmEs said that as 12 out of the 13 members
nominated by the council were radicals, it was a very unfair
proportion for the party. He moved that Mr. Wood should
be a member of the dock committee.
Mr. WOOD declined to serve.
Mr. IsAAc HoubrEs then consulted with his friends, and
was advised to make no further amendment.
The motion of Mr. Leathom was then carried.
MAYOR'S ALLOWANCE.
- - .

The Mayor's allowance was fixed, as heretofore, at £2OOO.
subject to a deduction of £7OO. towards defraying the expen-
diture of the town-hall establishment committee.

APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS.
The officers who hold their situations by annual appoint-
ment were all reappointed, with the exception of the bellman,
into whose conduct the Mayor is to make inquiry, and then
decide whether he shall be reappointed, or a fresh officer
chosen.