The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-01-19 00:00:00

OFFICIAL INQUIRY AT BIRKENHEAD,

Yesterday, Henry Robert Goldfinch, Esq., barrister-at.
law' and George Rennie, Esq., civil engineer, presided at
the Town-hall, Birkenhead,
for the purpose of examining
witnesses and reporting to both Houses of Parliament re-
lative to an intended application to Parliament for an act
relating to the Birkenhead Improvement Water Works.
The inquiry was held pursuant to the provisions of an act
of Parliament passed in the last session, intituled " An
Act for making preliminary inquiries in certain cases of
application for local bills.

Mr. John Buck Lloyd, Solicitor,. appeared on behalf
of the promoters of the bill; who are the commissioners
of the township, and Mr. William Laird, Mr. John Laird,
and several others of the commissioners were on the same
side. Mr. William Jackson, Mr. Mortimer, Mr. Hicklin,
and Mr. Highfield appeared as ratepayers and opponents,
and cross-examined the several witnesses at considerable
length.

The proceedings were opened by Mr. J. B. Lloyd
reading the Commission from the Woods and FOrestsi
under which Messrs. Goldfinch and Rennie were em-
powered to act in the capacity of surveying-officers.
Mr. GOLDFINCH read the instructions himself, and hie
colleague had been furnished with them. These instruc-
tions were to the effect that they should survey the dis-
trict, examine witnesses, and report to both Houses of
Parliament, prior to the 4th of March. The object of
the inquiry was to institute inquiries, and obtain more
trustworthy informations, preliminary to any investigation
before committees of the house. It was believed that
this course of proceeding would save expense, and that
in the result the interest of all parties would be, fully.
and fairly represented. Then they were instructed to
conduct the inquiry in the Town-hall, or some other
public place of meeting, to allow the promoters of the
measure to open the case, then to hear the objectors, it
any, and finally to allow the promoters the privilege of
making a reply. It was considered necessary, in all
cases, to dispense with counsel ; and evidence was to be
taken by a short-hand writer.

Mr. LLOYD opened the case at great length. He
divided the heads of the proposed bill under six heads.
The first was to establish water-works ; the second was
to obtain powers to purchase, by compulsion or agree-
ment, the existing water-works belonging to the Birken-
head and Claughton Gas and Water Company; the third
was to obtain water for what might be termed sanatory
purposes, such as watering the streets, supplying wash-
houses and baths, markets, and troughs for watering
cattle, and for extinguishing fires, and to levy a public
rate for these purposes, to be called a water rat/{
the fourth was to supply the inhabitants, not not by cc, -
pul sion, but according to a scale of rents, for domestic
purposes ; the fifth was, to supply parties for manufac-
turing and trading purposes by agreement ; and the sixth
was, to supply shipping coming to the port of Birken-
head by agreement also. He gave full credit to the
existing Company, for having established their water
works at a time of some risk ; but he said the time had
arrived when, in the opinion of the inhabitants of many
towns, these extensive undertakings must be in the hands
of the governing bodies ; and he concluded by- observinef
that one great object of the proposed bill would be, that'
the profits, if any, would go in liquidation of the local
rates. -

Mr. Brunel and Mr. Salter, surveyors and officers of
the township, put in a variety of plans and sections, show-
ing the geological structure of the locality, and the strata
or beds from whence the supply of water is obtained,
They stated that there -were 18,145 inhabitants in the
township, and 4,039 houses. 2,099 of these houses were
inhabited ; 839 were unoccupied; and 447 were in course
of erection and completion. They had classified the
rental, and found that there were not any houses
under £3 per annum. There were four houses above
£3 and under £5 per annum ; above £5 and under
£lO there were 246 houses ; above £lO and under £l5l
1026 ; above £l5, and under £2O, 544 ; above £2O, and
under £3O, 692 ; above £3O, and under £4O, 425 ; above
£4o,' and under £5O, 228 ; above £5O, and under £6O,
162; above £6O, and under £7O, 92; above £7O, and
under £BO, 35 ; above £BO, and under £9O, 45 ; above
£9O, and under £lOO, 23 ; above £lOO, and under £llOl
42 ; above £llO, and under £l2O, 5 ; above £l2O, and
under £l3O, 9 ; above £l3O, and under £l4O, 5 ; above
£l4O, and under £l5O, 4 ; above £l5O, and under £l6O,
1; above £l6O, and 'under £2OO, 5 ; above £2OO, and
under £3OO, 2 ; above £350, 1.
He stated that
bottle
the water of. the existing Company's had beebeenanalysed by Dr. Play fair fair and that it had been found et
excellent quality, softer than that at Nottingham and
r. AWKESLEY was examined.
Manchester, and well adapted for manufacturing purposes,
and domestic uses : there was an abundant supply in the
neighbourhood for 60 or 80,000 inhabitants, and there
was a further abundant supply obtainable at Hobrwell,
He was for giving twenty gallons per diem to each of the
inhabitants of the township, and a constant supply. He
dlcoumlaetsitoinc,s
maas
ntuefacthturie qnuga,natintuyi
°lora'
tehnatetrwedoulindtboearvearquieiretyd
shipping purposes,, estimating that quantity at somewhere
about 1,600,000 gallons daily.
Witnesses were examined to show that the suthe present Company was Periodical, and that on ue,s;
days and Fridays it illy of
was turned off; but Mr. Highfiew
endeavoured to make it appear, that it must be occasion'
ally, and for short intervals, turned off from one district,
in order to supply other districts with additional quail'
titles.
The inquiry lasted from ten until four o'clock, and W
then adjourned until ten this morning. It will, in all pre:
bability, not be terminated to-day should the opponent
of the bill go into a rebutting case.

Lord Hatherton will move the address in the House of
Lords.

The. Queen will hold a Privy Council this afternoon s$
Buckingham Palace.
The Lord Mayor of London is now distributing £5 0°
to the poor of the metropolis, left in his hands by Ibrabil
Pacha.
101 visit to the electors of Sheffield on Wednesday. t
THE TEN Homes' BILL.—Mr. Ward paid his annul)/
course of his speech he made a positive announcement re'
,
specting the Ten Hours' Bill:—" I shall go to the Hoof
of Commons this year to see the Ten Hours' Bill carrie°:,
I say thi„,, a higher authority. than my own, and belie;
that Lord John Russell will give some modification of
Ten Hours Bill his support."
AN INTREPID MISSIONARY.—The Gazette du' Pligli
announces the arrival at Marseilles of M. l'Abbe Gabet, g
.
Lazarist missionary, on his return from Mongolia. Irgi
intrepid ecclesiastic accomplished a journey of 4,urA,
leagues from Chinese Tartary, on the confines of Sibermf
and arrived with his feet frozen in traversing those iT;
mense deserts, where the road is marked solely by 00
bones of men and camels. In the same passage, and °
the same day
40 men were frozen and abandoned.
STEAM TO SPAIN.—The new Spanish steamer Gibralfal
(late the Fire King,) will, in a fewdays, call at this port, 11l
thence proceed, via Southampton, to several of the princi
j
ports in Spain, calling also at Havre. This is another result))
steam navigation of the enterprise of our countrymen, wi11.,.'
cannot fail to be acceptable to shippers of goods and passeng

WRY Is O'CONNELL LIKE A TAILOR.?
Because many a goose in his service is prest,
And many a lord is his debtor;
He can gather a rent from the east to the west,
And the greater the rent is the better.

LIVERPOOL :
TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1846

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED
EVERY TUESDAY MORNING"

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