The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-07-03 00:00:00

LOCAL MEETINGS.

Dock Coittifrrkk, THURSDAY.-1111'. Robinson corn.
plained that a number of labourers had been employed at
the dock works on Sunday. It was explained that the
work was necessary, in order to get in the foundation of
the new north river wall, which etipld only be done at
spring tides, and these occurred but twelve times in the
year.—Mr. Cubitt submitted his bill, showing that there
was a balance of £1137 13s. 3d. owing to him for profes-
sional and parliamentary services. The total amount of
the bill was £2637 13s. 3d. The Chairmen : Will the
committee order payment ? Mr. Holt : I suppose we
cannot get out of it. He must be a very clever man to
get so much out of us in so short a time.—A communi-
cation, pointing out the inconvenience and danger arising
from porters with loads of luggage being allowed to use
the narrow gangways leading from the steamers to the
stage, was referred to the Marine Sub-committee.
WEST DERBY GUARDIANS.—On Wednesday, the usual
weekly meeting was held at the Workhouse, Everton,
Mr. T. F. Roskell in the chair. "A scene" arose out of
a complaint made by Mr. Gilmour, one of the district
surgeons from Toxteth-park. He stated that young prac-
titioners had been appointed as house visitors, with better
salaries, and to the injury of old practitioners. The for-
mer received £2 10s. per week ; he only 305., and that he
was completely " run off his legs." The " scene " which
is thus described took place after Mr. Sydney, who had
defended the medical practitioners, sat down. " Mr.
Smith jumped up and demanded to know what was the
question. Mr. Sydney declared that he would not be in-
terrupted by Mr. Smith or any other man. The wordy
warfare between the two gentlemen was carried on for
some time, and its character may be guessed when it is
stated that Mr. Sydney nolitely informed Mr. Smith that
he was a ' blackguard, and Mr. Smith retorted by de-
scribing Mr. Sydney as ' a vulgar, conceited brute.'
Other choice expressions were bandied about. At last,
the Rev. Mr. Badnall interposed ; and, amid the confu-
sion, our reporter heard something about a • bear garden,'
between which and the scene then going forward, some
gentleman appeared to be drawing an apt comparison."
HEALTH COMMITTEE.—At the weekly meeting the
engineer reported that, from the 18th to the 25th, 341
courts, in the worst parts of the town, had been cleaned
and washed out, being an average of 57 daily. The me-
dical officer of health reported a decrease of 32 in the
general mortality, the number for the week being 316,
against 348 the previous week. The decrease was in the
deaths from fever and consumption.. There had been no
change in the aggregate mortality frOm cholera and diar-
rhoea, the number the two last weeks being 151; 29 of
the cholera cases occurred in Vauxhall Ward, 22 in Scot-
land Ward, and 13 in Exchange Ward.—Some converse-

tion arose respecting the orders of the Central Board of
Health, which were staongly condemned by Mr. Hodson.
—Mr. Rose complained of being called upon to empty
half-filled middens; and Dr. Duncan being of opinion
that the constant stirring up of the manure would be pre-
judicial to the health of the inhabitants, an order was
given to the effect that the practice should be discon-
tinued. Mr. Rose also complained of the practice of
throwing straw beds into middens, the steam arising from
which had sometimes blinded his men for five or six hours.
As it appeared the straw beds so disposed of were princi-
pally those used by cholera patients, a recommendation
was sent to the Select Vestry to provide for the removal
of the straw, and its destruction by burning.—A series of
recommendations and suggestions by the joint Sanatory
sub-committees of the Health and Vestry were read and
approved.—A report, recommending that the water and
local rates should be collected by separate collectors ; that
there should be twelve local rate collectors, and ten water
rate collectors, was adopted.—A letter was received from
Mr. Bannastre, in which that gentleman recommended the
committees to introduce the water and hose into the houses
of the poor, with a view to " shake at once the cobwebs and
their beastly indifference. 7 _

VESTRY MEETING.-At the fortnightly meeting on
Tuesday, the Rev. Rector Campbell presided. The clerk
read a letter from the Registrar-General, refusing to
sanction the use of the building in Brownlow-hill as a
register-office, in consequence of the receipt of a memo-
rial from the dissenters, complaining of it as a site very
inappropriate for the purposes of marriage.—On the pro-
ceedings of the Finance Committee being brought forward,
Mr. Gardner contended that the vestry had no power to
compound the rates, but that it rested with the magis-
trates, and he moved an amendment that that part of the
proceedings be referred back. On this a long conversa-
tion took place, when ultimately the chairman decided
that according to the act the amendment could not be
put.—The Medical Relief Committee recommended that
twelve medical officers should be appointed to visit from
house to house, in accordance with the order issued by
the Board of Health. This order was dated the 18th of
June. and complained that although cholera had broken
out in the town, no house-to-house visitation had com-
menced, by which the vestry would have been made ac-
quainted with the progress of the disease. It also stated
that Dr. Duncan had said that one of the medical officers
of the parish had said that he had not time to attend to
the number of applications made to him for relief in cho-
lera and bowel complaints. The letter concluded with
the following severe, but uncalled-for observations :—" I
am also to observe that the board reserve for further
notice the omission of the guardians to comply with the
9th, 10th, and 11th regulations of the board, issued on
the 9th of November, 1848. They cannot, however, but
apprehend that suffering and loss of life have been occa-
sioned by previous neglect." In reply to this a letter
written by the chairman was adopted by the vestry, which
denied the truth of this serious charge, and by a series of
facts proved that the vestry bad exerted themselves in a
praiseworthy manner to meet any increase of disease, and
had made a number of additional arrangements to ascer-
tain the state of health in the town, and had provided
every appliance possible to prevent an increase of sick-
ness, and to meet the cases of those who might be affected
by disease. The relieving and medical officers reported
daily any instances of diarrhoea, &c. occurring, and any
nuisance or tendency to nuisance existing, witn a view to
their removal. The letter concluded with the following
severe castigation for the remark at the close of the
board's letter :—" The vestry deeply regret that such a
charge against them should have been made. The parish
of Liverpool contains at present possibly 250,000 souls, a
large proportion of whom are Irish paupers, who, in spite
of the earnest and repeated remonstrances of the vestry,
have been allowed to be brought into the town by tens
of thousands, in a state of exhaustion, famine, and dis-
ease shocking to humanity, because the Board of Trade
have not exercised the powers which they possess of re-
stricting the numbers of passengers on board the steam-
boats. In such a parish the vestry feel with sorrow that
it is totally out of their power to prevent ' suffering and
loss of life,' but to be charged with causing it by neglect
is particularly offensive to them. They think the charge
ought not to have been made, and they are not of opinion
that it has been sustained. The Select Vestry is com-
posed of men who have undertaken a very onerous and
responsible duty, not for their own interests except in so
far as these interests are identified with the general wel-
fare of the town ; for the most part they do it at some
considerable inconvenience, and possibly pecuniary loss to
themselves ; they are willing and anxious to go on with
their duty to the best of their ability, and obey the law as
long as they can ; but they think that the best mode of
inducing them to do this well and cheerfully is to treat
them civilly, avoiding any appearance of harsh dictation
and every accusation, the justice of which may seem to
be questionable." Mr. Denton, after complaining of the
large sums of money paid in the shape of out-door relief
to the residents of several houses and courts in the town,
gave notice of his intention to move for a committee of
inquiry into the subject. He found that there were houses
in Birkett-street receiving £75 12s a year; one-house in
Circus-street, £23 Bs. ; four houses in Gerard-street,
£74 2s. ; one house in Richmond-fair, £4l Bs. ; one house
in Ellenborough-street, £23 14s. ; one house in Gilbert-
street, £32 10s. ; two houses in Harrison-street, £46 16s. ;
two houses in Hodson-street, £49 ss. ; two houses in
Martin-street, £4l Bs. ; two houses in Sawney Pope-
street, £44; one house in Back Russell-streef, £22 10s. ;
one house in Copperas-bill, £26 ; and one house in Oriel-
street, £25. He thought these statements proved that
something should be done to remedy such a state of
things. He then passed on to the courts, and found that
in one court in Derby-street £59 10s. was paid in one
year ; a court in Prussia-street, £36 Bs. ; one in Ray-
street, £33 18s. ; another in Addison-street, £36 Bs. ; and
to another court in Brick-street the enormous sum of
£lOl Bs. Whilst this was going on he found that the
rates of houses in several respectable streets had either
been wholly or in part excused, and at the present time
there were 13 houses in one street not paying rates at all.