The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-06-12 00:00:00

Jn 12, 1849.

LOCAL MEETINGS.

DERB, ntAnDiANs.—on Wednesday, the
15n, We,tlY meeting was held in the Workhouse, Ever-
Fora the •P. Ros Cell in the char. A letter was read
the e Poor law commissioners, saoctioning the increase
k
tootle s" rrorn alarY of Mr. Reid, district /medical officer for
irgeon .£lB Bs. to £4O per annum,—Mr, Pea!sono,_
,Qiild,4,was appointed vaccinator for the townshipt f
??ard t" Mr. Rees, the auditor, appeared before
.he
elispitari°ate:mplain of the very irregular manner in which
the last°Aler, collector for Bootle, kept his accounts. At
isa • audit he (Mr. Fowler) was s summoned before the
s and convicted in a small penalty on the same
nt• Re (Mr. Rees) considered him totally
Tilete,nt to fill the situation. It was resolved that Mr.
ri),,e called ',von to send in his resignation. .
nr,t,Ern COMMITTEE.—The weekly meeting, was
tePortei'hursday, Mr. Thine in the chair. Mr.. Fresh
sanatn that a special inspection is being made into the
sai 4Y state of all the streets where cholera appears,
OiuPiPt measures are resorted to to cause the cleans-
those ill% houses, and the removal of nuisances from
teen street,.
The'medieal officer reported that there had
death increase in the mortality of the borough, the
being o.t,
'id against 245 the preceding week ; the
Ileithese, was Principaily from fever and cholera ; the
!'dtilt, 'min the lane). dista-,. 1,-..rt• 19 children and 22
4eit 01;lainst 2,5 in the preceding weeic.. There had also
u deaths from diarrhcea, and 22 from tever. Two-
tteha °f the cholera cases had occurred in Vauxhall,
sdone tte4d°3e, and Scotland Wards. Mr. Tyrer called the
tuctil
t. the committee to the injury that was
"Ler* suiPowners and others by the reports of the
plae,, eases in the newspapers ; it caused vessels to be
ti„,qt under
I\4'l took quarantine' at` t•breign ports. A conversa-
"lel( su Place as to the ari•god obstacles which the
ropes at ZeYer had thrown in the way of laying the water
e()In `us north docks. It was understood that some
ba. tanniear
,ittee would be re.•••ive i from the Dock Corn-
-1;4azi.e.,,,T consequently n,, r•-•polution was come to. .It
"'sitarit-u, comoliance memorial from the in-
eNstrti,,3,
,uf Gloucester-pi te2, that a sewer should be
alitti,;eQ fa that locality.
CHEMISTS.—On Monday, a meeting geeotf
etne'ils held at the Queen's Hotel, Lnne-s
at, Y Mr. Joseph Bell, of London, editor ofr the
Cesdsned4,4tical Journal. The meeting was numerously
ptaeluditl, Detween forty and fifty gentlemen being present,
Wrana ihNer between
members of the society from Manchester,
haa9v and other neighbouring towns. Mr. Edward
taken the chair, introduced Mr. Bell, who
laij'erY
before received, and in a very able address
ink ;,the naneting the claims of the Pharmaceutical
Lueir cOrdi I support. On Mr. Alpass object-
ett; Pass the examination,a though competent, and.
ZJOjnthat that was the only means now open to him
ion n'e the society, and stating the difficulty of p.repa-
bl.4•43 tt-,ll°, Part of 'those already
.engaged in business,
-clwards stated, that having undergone both
ftri:oll;taat,rese,:it aassssiusrteedhseince in preparing candidates
gentlemen present, that it
ttl,),.el)arit3enet.ll a nature as simply to ensure competence on
71'al e,";` ,these who presented themselves, and that a
'4l,;t Prevailed in the council towards those whose
ttlo.entrtue„e'_°,h.usines! had supplied the place of the usual
tir Ito wrimh their circumstances would not allow of.
atitli a" suo,,ested the propriety of memorializing
eritie,
n of this town to apportion a part of the
ILl.lntie:l.rardens for the express cultivation of medicinal
tjo„vet3 -oe;'„thus afford the students of medical botany in
'And • 'uase advanta es which the members in Lr
theNotti.,'ai.eesboein_efi,c.ial in the Regent's. Park. The meeting
her objec,tesci into committee to carry out this and
pfWthis h° COMMISSIONERS.—The monthly meeting
,•"elois,*:°"Y was held on Thursday. Upon the report of
Pentt7l.l'4oal-4•Ze Committee being read, Mr. Meadows
8), in e negligence of the surveyoT (Mr. H-
rea,,th
ug obstructions in the roads, in the shapeh
stones, for upwards of eight months. Thong
he ss ofteipeatedly 'made inquiries of the men as to the
the neglect he was told he could not be informed ;
tla.e!eetr:f.ere, moved the dismissal of the surveyor for
lit't4hiliq the dut3r. Mr. Peer Mr Have you nothing more
4t man than this . Mawdsley : How comes
that
". Meadows makes the complaint now, after a
h'°lld d eight months' alleged neglect ? No gentleman
t e,,Pe e-tthe motion,and the matter dropped.—After
trl
Pt Plr
th Finance Committee had been read and
the reed, r. weh
ke Port ard Parry complained. of that portion of
teeded 9,°' the Improvement Committee which recom-
,,otV,,Minediate construction of a main sewer frntia
i4elrioriza`-ourch to Orrell's Cornert in accordance with
Iridtk, Presented to them from Liscard,. signed. by six
011 cl `s• The effect of proceeding with such a_work
.r.olb
,e to
nterrut the access to the Seacombe Ferry
tiii
87 Egremont, and New Brighton, during the
th2llB log'arner months, and woul.d be attended with
'e ss
t° himself and inconvenience to parties from
by his ferry. He re-
th th ornoods contractingilep4esero!,e.°lllmissioners that, during several months of
in,„,2lnter, the road throduugihnSeacombe was ren-
bee the bt;"sable by the construction of
.the main sewer
Ptlt i!ltking op of the pavement, which had not yet
to Nth "'la Proper order. It seemed to him that these
to- pi. telt betrayed a;design somewhere to do everything
tan Ferry, and drive he t Seaeamhe the contractors
dp r ill nt end New Brighton Ferry.—Mr. C. Hol-
`,4col.4led the imputation of wishing to oastructthe
e terry cast upon the committee by the previous.
ad. not himself attended the meetings at
irt7, resolution was come to,. but he had perfect con-
fri, had Lne judgment and fairness of the gentlemen
eoth,l`lade the recommendation. For his part (and he
e' t 1) h•l'med it was the same with the rest. of the
*,!"i anxious to do everything to facilitate the
4re of theferl and, if possible, to make them
h-jetit. -aftereebj then dropped, and the board
-`4l shortly eight o'clock.

\.,I\r'APWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.
''tt. "inesday the usual monthly meeting as held.
4.'14 LAWRENCE,.'in moving the confirmation of. thei.
tif tk .e co_.
pl ',e N. iztmittee's proceedings, referred to the R...por.
e,%sed 'Deefors of Weights and measures. That report
k4-11°siitst
Parties, chiefly
which was prevalent in this t-own
y grocers and dealers in articles of
)4.4gilltitl4lBl37ews•Lochmleafid-eup parcels intended to repre!en.
toillt' titlif Pounds, and auarter pounds of deficient
%''tiiti tle (Mr. Lawrence) denounced thispractice as
Nil -3
°TI unfa'rness almost fraudulet, and unbe-
-44
14 L' -'He (Mr. Lawrence),
tvAatlier iverpool tradesmen._
111:4 to..' me pool
of the committee, sent to the shops of
t `,441. '4 grocers, within a few yards of the weight and
eras3l ep,e establishment, in order that they might see the
1) I,' establishment, Mr. F 11 purchased from them half. poundesro!
t,41114-:tlt, rice,' ande so on, and they found, with one
He had
te kti.4,4%erl' one of their parcels was deficient.
lie../%144.- itona the report of the outid.otor inspectors, and
Mr. Lawrence
kite elerely read the heading o
_i •
Naia4 the following names of parties who. practise, the
koik.:Ar hich he complained :—E. C. Hindle) and Co.,_arr
kitta,'irson, W. J. Taylor, Michael Murphy,_Carr
''''7.l 4son and Co., Charles Williston Boote, John
bean )11,. '.
° ° k 5 Thomas Meacock, Tinnis and Co. Thos.
14a;.1°1144 (3!:;•, Thomas Taylor. Those parties had
Pl'h-' eoft Weighing half pounds and quarter pounds o
alat'"rl;,• e,e, &c., not with a half. pound,f as would be
tliE 4(10;4,1 fairly supposed, but with a reaTcetrioynal part ;
*IIY itft Onaking up the whole, in almost instance
if
IQI heitalf an ounce deficient. This was the practice
,Ilitatb,Pattpc°,,nlPlained of. What would those parties say
'' wer,s Of sugar were to make them ay for their
}l4,4)ad:",ed with 54 lbs.? and whenreppresentations
one of them said
4t It Iv 10 those men on the subject,
taco '',ei,,,°41,1 cost him X. 500 a year to_giveproper weight ;
t "ed t
and could never
"std
itu (Ls en tons of sugar a,
,wseweka,s
persecution, and
;,s);cofl,e tra"de's
.. 4
would t he i* fiaalvde t
pill
possession of the Council
114 lay tl°lber. m
~. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Lawrence) dared
Nfoqo e'iNvolild, but he was mistaken in the feelings of
111:-;"i'wnsmen and in the feelings of members of
l'tt,) ff.",
,if they 'allowed a practice so unfair.
t(fei,lorr,
I% Tii,,t'Jght be asked, was there no remedy all
i't(-. tiies:l-6,was no power of summary conviaction in_
,4,10 ,t a , they could not be fined as thewould for
14t '111!41`i false weights ; but surely at common law an
Ittl!:`gl• would lie, and they would not be driven to
,'Cil t '4 ItY of permitting such a proceeding as this.
itklk:lY°4 observed, that since the parties had been
;t1,,/!zy-b.,,°11, the subject of short weight,. the practi e
2 cf; Ilina-rn diminished. and
except cases which had com
''.541 liti. 4telY, with a few pons, had not been of
'A.', t,, bad a character as formerly. Many respectable
r'e ett'thm e°nle and consulted him (the o on the
*Q2(ll,°Reeressing a degire that a universal system. should
4.414-;',.t• Ti and all parties be compelled to give proper
400 the 413 subject had been mentioned at a late meet-
taeh-',, that Markets' committee, and a recommendation
kkte.'itt ealmittee would come before them, rec
4e,.,1 an ° Council to put up three scales in the war-
d,des; such other parts of the town as they might
(diekks:al:de, that poor people might g 9 to them, free
qied.atay,,:‘ and have their provisions we ; and h
ti! 4,.,-` i "h`ii, was satisfisd the moral influence of such a
I;ttlrtlle(l,,,''., entirely put a stop to the rascally practices
No. 1), his men in the town. (Hear, hear.) In con-
yto
ic., fttor, 'tt! worship said Mr. Lawrence had neglected
~V,,aadilig„e Paine of a person who had been twice fined
~, 4,,,," weights. The name was Reynolds.
NiZ4i/',.aitb.ll°Ro said that if the sweeping charge which
N.', tl,'",° of the finance committee had advanced
el ....rade,
114,54,0wr0ui beinen could be thoroughly borne out, i
t.4lth,
_traye a Very great argument against the ad-
c) into the Council, and tend to s.how
4i blltc aMber should be filled by merchant princes
VI req,"thal'a he might remark that the merchant
NI '. 4,lred a little supervision
It„ .11)tase,p. said, that, as one of the parties alluded to
At;* E c 11,..e Gilled upon Mr. Hin.lley to explain. . NI Li PA' b • tiIAnLEY —I have nothing to say on this.
*taeOlf cwt 's• would*like to know the number of cwts.
Ira. that were sent out incorrect by mercantile
d W,behe thellg.ht that the mayor had used too strong a
4eg to- he designated the conduct of the tradesmen
L r, es '' ra 11 ''
'lttl . II sea Y.
tr IPLIIE tl . h h
,Girdo, .. Lkirldi song t t at some explanation. was
mapdu
It li.n ~eY• If the grocers had been unjustly
..r:
44,1!ekstIttionsi-liqc,Bl4
at gentleman's tlernan's duty at once to step to_ _
An imputation of dishonesty did TN them he upon them as a body ; but that some 4% disc" acted honourably there could be no doubt.
tic,
r, Ai, ussion on this subjecethen terminated.
t, of tiiti_ernlari
lIEN-DERSON in moving the confirron-
-1)1,4 ache .Proceedings of the Dock Committee, alluded
ki4 kir,
,Gity
cini Pro Posed to be given to Mr. Worthington.
44E41'4 the g_iving annuities- was no
.doubt objection-
op ti..tp,tio,. rustees considered that this case might be
4f• I‘qvis(4,l, °PPosed the granting of an annuity ; and,
t%li iktsotu, tlie recommendation was annulled.
tillanshi th,selission, Mr. Procter's resignation of the
Vel,l i' oi the Water. Committee was accepted.
pro,...ceed. 'rue WATER QUESTION.
4 i A 4,„ Irlgs of the Water Committee were then
tie sto; Me a detailed account of the proceedings
-etsloinitte, who waited upon the Board of

Trade, and also of some steps which had been taken to
effect fl compromise with the parties with whom the
Council had entered into contracts for the supply of metal
pipes for the Rivington Pike water scheme, all of whom
demanded sums varying in amount from £4,000 to
X 13,796, making a total of about £30,000, for giving up
their contracts, and giving the Council to the 11th inst.
to decide what course it would take. The minutes also
recommended that the borough engineer should be ap-
pointed engineer to the water-works.
The TOWN-CLERK said he had been served with a no-
tice of an injunction, if the Council paid any money on
account of the contracts, or attempted to get rid of the
provisions of the Water Act. It was from Mr. Thomas
Rigge, at the instance of Mr. Wm. Rathbone, Mr. Wm.
Earle, and Mr. Ambrose Lace.
Mr. BENNETT.—What is the force of this ?

The TOWN-CLERK said if they paid any sum of money
for the purpose of voiding those contracts, or entered into
any arrangement to void them, an application would be
made to the Court of Chancery for an injunction to re-
strain them. A letter was read from an iron founder,
named Cochrane, in reference to the pipe contract, who
stated that every necessary preparation had been made by
those parties for the casting of the pipes, and that the
work which had already been done was of an excellent
kind. A portion of the letter was suppressed, at the
suggestion of the Town-clerk, on the ground that its
publication would be inimical to the interests of the Cor.
poration. A letter was read from Mr. Hawksley to the
effect that if sixteen million gallons per diem were deli-
vered from Rivington to the present population, £lO,OOO
would have to be added for filter beds to the previous
estimate of £480,000.
Mr. BENNETT, as the deputy chairman of the Water
Committee, said that on the 14th of May a majority of
the council had decided to stop the Rivington Pike
scheme, and the Water Committee had then duties to
perform which devolved upon them from that course.
On the 15th of May, the committee at their first meeting,
gave the charge of the works (Mr. Scott having resigned)
into the hands of Mr. Newlands, the borough engineer,
with power to consult with Mr. Simpson as to the neces-
sary staff and arrangements. Mr. Newlands drew out a re-
port which showed that a saving of £5OOO or £6OOO would
be effected. The committee requested the Town-clerk to
report on the several contracts and obligations which the
late Water Committee, previous toNovember, had inolved
the Town Council in. The amount of these contracts was
£137,000. Mr. Hawksley's contract with the Corporation
was sealed on the Ist November. Mr. Jackson's was sealed
on the Ist of November. Mr. Hawksely was required to
give some view of what he would require as remuneration;
but his reply was a short one, just in character with his
other correspondence on this subjec. Mr. Bennett here
entered into a statement to show, that whilst the income
from the waterworks should not be estimated at more
than £57,000 per annum, the interest on liabilities
already incurred, and working expenses, amounted to
£57,922 ; and this statement, he said, showed clearly they
could not incur any further expenditure without increased
powers.

Mr. THOMPSON.—Have we any power to pay this sum ?
—Several members of the council replied they had not.

Mr. COOPER.—That settles the matter,

Mr. BENNETT.—The difficulty of proceeding was much
greater than stopping. At the worst the compensation
would not amount to more than £200,000. (Great laugh-
ter.)' And he maintained that if it cost the whole £480,000
it would be advisable to abandon the scheme. (Continued
laughter and hear, hear.) He then moved the adoption
of the report.
Mr. RODGERS seconded the motion.

Mr. HARBORD proposed that a payment of £4,500 to
Mr. W. Pendlebury, recommended in the proceedings,
should he struck out. He did not think that because an
action had been brought against the Town-clerk, the
Council should pay £4,500 for nothing.
The TOWN-CLERK explained the circumstances under
which the Council had become liable to Mr. Pendlebury
for £4,500. He had taken an opinion on it, and he was
advised that he would be obliged to pay the money.
After some discussion,
The MAYOR said he regretted to say that the discussion
had not borne upon the proceedings before them. (Hear,
hear.) Somewhere about £30,000 was claimed as com-
pensation by the ironfounders, and they had till the 11th
June given to them to consider an answer. Therefore, if
they confirmed the proceedings, they would then have to
propose some resolution authorising the Water Committee
or some other body to carry out these compensations in a
manner to satisfy the parties, which would be contingent
on an act of parliament being obtained, inasmuch as they
had at present no power whatever to advance one farthing
of the money.
Mr. AIKIN asked the Council what was their position ?
Suppose they gave £30,000 to cancel these contracts, and
in the course of twelve months found they were in a posi-
tion to maze other contracts, at a rate, perhaps, of 15 or
20 per cent. beyond the original contract price, they
would have paid 10 to 15 per cent., whatever the case
might be, to get rid of the contracts. In twelve months
a new light might burst upon them, and he did not think
that there would be the slightest chance of their being
able to enter into contracts then at the same rate. Mr.
Bennett alluded to the fact, that pig iron fell 2s. or 3s.
immediately after these contracts were entered into. They
all knew that his (Mr. Aikin's) countrymen on the other
side of the Tweed had shrewd notions of what was going
on ; and he suspected that these contracts were made in
the expectation that pig iron would fall very much lower.
He thought that as men of business and common sense,
instead of paying £30,000 as compensation now, they
should take the 30,000 tons of iron, and he questioned
then whether they could sustain much loss. A remark
had fallen from Mr. Bennett, that if the worst should
happen they would get rid of about £200,000 for doing
away with that about which the town of Liverpool was
once so anxious. After all, the whole of their proceedings
would be stultified, and £200,000 would be sacrificed.
Let him beg of them to ponder the result.
Mr. S. HOLME, in the course of a long speech, in which
he went over the old ground, advocated, as the best way
of getting out of the dilemma,proceeding with the Riving-
ton scheme. He had a letter from the Town-clerk of
Manchester, the substance of which was, that the new
works for bringing water from the hills of Longdendale
were progressing satisfactorily,—that the contracts had
been taken under the parliamentary estimates,—and that
any arguments used for the abandonment of the Riving-
ton works, grounded on the failure of the Manchester
works, were fallacious. As an individual member of this
council Mr. Heinle was not prepared to sanction a reso-
lution placing the whole of these works in the hands of
the bororgh engineer. In conclusion. he said that if the
committee showed that they could get out with honour
on one hand, and advantage to the inhabitants on the
other, be should be glad to support them.
Mr. HAnnonn said, it had been proposed that we shall
go on with these contracts, and carry out the letter of the
law. All he would say was, that if they were to do this,
he would be deceiving the bondholders if he were to say
that the council would be able to meet its liabilities. At
the present moment they might be able to pay 17s. or 18s.
in the pound, but if they were driven on to this ruinous
expenditure, they would not be able to pay anything like
that sum. Mr. Harbord concluded by stating that if they
went for the pipes, they had better suffer the bondholders
to take possession of the water works and pay themselves.
Mr. FERGUSON moved the adjournment of the report—
At this stage of the proceedings, the Mayor stated he had
an engagement in London, and should .leave. He ac.
cordingly left the chair, which was taken by Mr. Moly-
neux. _ .

Mr. Ferguson's amendment was then put and nega-
tived.

Mr. Aikin's amendment was then put, and was declared
to be carried by a majority of 20 to 12.
The following gentlemen voted for the amendment :
Aldermen Swainson, Sands, Cooper, Molyneux, and J.
H. Turner ; Councillors Walthew, J. Holme, Thomson,
Morris, Hodson, Tyrer, Aikin, Tinne, Rimmer, S. Holme,
Freme, Watson. Benn, Mann, and Fisher.
The following gentlemen voted against the amendment :
Alderman Henderson ; Councillors Woodruffe, Bell, Fer-
guson, Harbord, Rogers, Wagstaffe, Neill, Johnson, Ben-
nett, Parker, and. Hindley.
It being five o'clock, the council adjourned toWednesday
(to-morrow).