The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-07-24 00:00:00

ADJOURNED COUNCIL MEETING.

On Tuesday the Council meeting, adjourned from Fri-
day last, was held at the Town-hall, to dispose of the bu-
siness left over in reference to the water question. There
was again a pretty numerous attendance.
The MAYOR said, before proceeding with the business
of the day, he believed it devolved upon him, as a matter
of duty, to state that upon the previous day he had had
a notice served upon him, which he need scarcely read. It
was a legal notice—a mandamus, calling upon them to pro-
ceed with the Rivington water-works. It was signed by
Messrs. Earle, William Rathbone, and Ambrose Lace.
At the request of the Council, the mandamus was read.
It stated that application for the mandamus would be made
unless the Council proceeded with the works under the
Rivington Act, so as to be able to supply water at such a
pressure as would force it to the highest story of every
house in Liverpool.
Mr. HARBORD asked the Town-clerk what was the
difference between the former notice and the present
edition ?

The TOWN-CLERK replied, that the former one was a
caution to the Council not to expend money for avoiding
the contracts for executing the works under the Rivington
Act, and that if such measures were taken application
would be made to the Court of Chancery. The present
was a notice informing the Council that if they did not
proceed, as legally bound, to give a good supply of water,
application would be made to the Court of Queen's Bench
to compel them.
Mr. HARBORD.—WouId not the purchase of £175,000
worth of iron pipes be sufficient to shew that we had
taken steps to proceed with the works ?
The MAY( n. interfered, and said he could not permit
an irregular discussion to go on. If any gentleman would
put questions in a business-like manner, so as to permit
the Town-clerk to answer all at once, he might proceed.
The TOWN-CLERK gave his opinion. He said : the no-
tice produced was a notice signed by Messrs. Earle, Rath-
bone, and Lace, who described themselves as being re-
spectively the occupiers of property in Liverpool, and en-
titled to demand a constant supply of water, by virtue of
the Water-works Act of 1847, and required and demanded
the Council forthwith to take all necessary steps to make
and maintain, subject to the provisions of the act, such
works as would give a constant supply • and they stated
that in default application would be made to the Court of
Queen's Bench to compel them to comply with the act.
Now in order to explain the notice, he must read again
the opinion he had read the other day. The first question
proposed` to counsel was whether a mandamus would lie
to compel the Corporation to proceed with the works un-
der the act; the second whether such mandamus would
issue from those entitled to have the constant supply of
water, or on the application of the parties who had re-
ceived notice that their lands would be required under the
works. The answer was that a mandamus would lie, and
that it could issue from those entitled to have a constant
supply of water, but not from the landowners. They
were of opinion that a return, chewing that the Corpora-
tion were proceeding with the new works in such a man-
ner as, under all the circumstances, would be deemed
reasonable dispatch, would be sufficient; but it would not
be a sufficient answer to state that they could not proceed
for want of funds. The Town-clerk concluded by stating
that although, in consequence of the long vacation coming
on, application for the mandamus could not be made till
November, the application would have reference to the
time of serving the notice.
Mr. PARKER did not feel altogether satisfied with the
answer that had been given by the Town-clerk. This
mandamus was, in fact, but the opinion of three gentle-
men that we were bound to go on with the works because
we had the act. But facts always altered cases. Be it
known to them all, and to the town at large, that there
never was a case in which so much good bad come out of
evil. They had it from Bolton itself, near the very place
where these works were to be constructed, that even if
the mandamus was obtained, they had not the means of
carrying out the works. . .

After some further conversation, it was agreed that the
discussion as to the way in which the threatened notice of
the mandamus should be disposed of, should be taken af-
ter the question before the Council was settled.
Mr. BENNETT then proceeded, in continuation from
Friday, in support of the proceedings of the Water Com-
mittee, and the appointment of Mr. Newlands as water
engineer. He said that the present members of the Wa-
ter Committee, at the time they took office, entered upon
duties which were very arduous to undertake. He did,
however, hope that before they separated that day all the
features of the Rivington project would be fully under-
stood by every member of the Council. Mr. Bennett then
referred to speeches delivered by Mr. Lace and others in
support of what he had stated. He then continued, and
said it was also a very general impression that the water
we should get from Rivington would be so ample in quan-
tity and quality, and be obtained so cheap, that the pre-
sent wells and machinery would be sold, and that we
should be able easily to repay the bondholders from the
Rivington works. The present committee had had to
throw all these unfounded statements down, and they
could now satisfactorily prove that such was not the case
at all. They could also prove that in many towns which
were supplied on the gravitation principle, the water was
bad in quality and deficient in quantity. (Mr. Bennett
here read the extract from the Bolton Chronicle given in
our last publication.) The town of Chorley was at pre-
sent supplied from the same range of hills from which it
was proposed to supply Liverpool. On Monday he went
to Chorley, accompanied by Mr. Thomson, for the pur-
pose of making some investigation both as to the capabili-
ties of that district to supply the town with water, and
also to ascertain the quality of it. They found at Chor-
ley that the water was not fit to drink, indeed altogether
too foul for culinary purposes, much less for drinking.
The whole district through which they travelled was such
that he felt sure that if Mr. Hawksley himself had tra-
velled it, Rivington would have been the last place where
he would have recommended the people of Liverpool to
seek for water.

Mr. Nicoll, expressed his continued confidence in the
Rivington scheme, and concluded by stating that although
he considered Mr. Holme's amendment to be defective.
as it did not go to the extent of binding the Council to
the Rivington works, yet still he should vote for it in pre-
ference to the motion of Mr. Harbord.
Mr. Ald. HODGSON said he never from the outset had
felt that the Rivington scheme had been called for by
necessity, nor was he now ; but it was the town which
had forced on the project. He was always an advocate
for taking our supply from the sandstone ; but what posi-
tion were we in now ? The act had been got, and the
Council were placed in a position from which they could
not escape. If we had made a bad bargain, we had made
it, and were bound to it. If we attempted to repudiate,
we should shake the credit of the town.

Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE, had taken no active part in the
water question, but he had on each occasion voted in
favour of the Rivington scheme, and remembered the
time when one of the sine-gua-eons of a candidate for
the Council was to be favourable to an abundant water
supply. The question was not now one of going to Ri-
vington or not; he could see no chance of successfully
escaping from the scheme, nor had he any of those ap-
prehensions that others entertained as to financial diffi-
culties in carrying it out. We must go forward; but he
felt there would be great difficulty in doing so with the
present Water Committee, if they were allowed to go on
damaging the credit of the Corporation. (No, no.) Lat-
terly there had been not only great difficulty in borrowing
money on the credit of the water account, but the borrow-
ing of monies by the Corporation, to meet other and or-
dinary demank had been damaged by it. If those gen-
tlemen were to resign, and the management of the works
were to be placed in the hands of the old committee, or of
gentlemen not hitherto mixed up with the question, there
would be no difficulty (he spoke financially) in obtaining
funds to carry out the works for which the act had been
obtained, for the credit of the town would then be re-
stored.

Mr. HARBORD replied to the observation that the mem-
bers of the late Water Committee were responsible for the
present confusion in the affairs. They had done nothing
but follow out the instructions of the Council ; and fore-
told the gentlemen who now filled their situations the em-
barrassments they would naturally encounter provided
they attempted to contravene an existing act of Parlia-
ment. Unless a total change was made in the Water
Committee, the honour of the Corporation would be ma-
terially damaged.
Mr. HARBORD proceeded to discuss the points raised in
the debate. Mr. Holme, with good taste, had commenced
his speech by expressing a desire to throw oil upon the
troubled waters, and deprecating all personalities; but he
had forthwith launched his most venomed shafts at his
(Mr. Harbord's) head. He could only look upon the
attack in the light of instructions given to the Old Bailey
practitioner:—" No case; abuse the plaintiff's attorney."
(Laughter.) Mr. Holme had quoted largely from a
speech that he (Mr. Harbord) had made at a ward meet-
ing, it was supposed, upon the Council and Town-clerk,
but he ought to have read the whole. [This Mr. Harbord
himself did.] The following are extracts:—" The only
course, he thought, left to them was to open communica-
tion with other wards, hold a town's meeting on the wa-
ter question, and have as little to do with the Council as
possible, for there were in that body a parcel of calves,
and the braying of some municipal donkeys had fright-
ened them." " Let a deputation be appointed at the
town's meeting to go to the Secretary of State, and state
the position in which they were placed. He had no
doubt but that, if they had an honest lawyer and £50,000,
they could get rid of all difficulties." Mr. Harbord said
he did not wish to disavow anything he had said. By the
term calves, he had merely meant some gentlemen in the
Council.
A most extraordinary scene hereupon ensued, many of
the members indignantly rebuking Mr. Harbord for the
insinuation against the integrity of the Town-Clerk. The
MAYOR called for the atnende honorable, which, after a
very exciting discussion, was given rather reluctantly by
Mr. Harbord.
Mr. Harbord's original motion was, " That the pro-
ceedings of the Water Committee be approved; and in
consequence of the opinion of counsel just read, a special
committee be appointed, consisting of three members of
the Water Committee and three members of the Finance
Committee, to consider the proper course to be pursued."
Mr. Holme's amendment was, " That the proceedings be
confirmed, with the exception of the adoption of the report
of the joint sub-committees as to the Borough Engineer
and his staff; and that it be referred to a special commit-
tee, such committee to have power to examine witnesses,
and if they think necessary, to investigate the whole ques-
tion of water supply ; that sued committee shall consist of
Messrs. G. H. Lawrence, T. B. Horsfall, Aikin, Stitt,
Bell, and Henderson."
On a division, the amendment was carried by a majority
of 34 to 17.—For the amendment: Councillors James
Holme, Thomson, Morris, Preston, Hodgson, Briscoe,
Tyrer, Littledale, Aikin, Holt, Hornby, Toulrnin, Rim-
mer, B. Holme, Tobin, Booker, Kaye, Danson, Freme,