The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-12-10 00:00:00

MEETING OF THE BIRKENHEAD POLICE
COMMISSIONERS.

A general meeting of the commissioners under the Bir-
kenhead police act was held in the Town-hall, Birkenhead,
on the evening of Tuesday, " for the despatch of business."
Only about ten commissioners were in attendance. Mr. J.
H. Green was called to the chair. .

Mr. MALLABY, the law clerk, read the proceedings of the
last general meeting.
The books of the Finance Committee being produced, Mr.
MALLABY said it appeared that no minutes had been made
since those which were confirmed on the 14th Oct., or nearly
two months ago. It certainly seemed necessary that some-
thing should be done to render that committee more efficient
than it was. There was one entry in the book which, per-
haps, might account for subsequent meetingi not having been
held ; it was as follows :—" The Finance Committee beg to
call the attention of the commissioners to specify what are
their special duties ; at present they only appear to be to exa-
mine the accounts ordered to be paid by different committees,
and to see that they are correctly copied into the finance
book."

Mr. ATHERTON made some remarks about a sum of £lil6o
having been expended, or ordered to be expended on certain
streets by the Road Committee, without the intervention of
the general body.
Mr. STAN SFIELD said it seemed to be supposed that the
Finance Committee had under their control every item of
expenditure from first to last. They had not that power ;
their simple duty was one of routine, in casting up accounts
and when they tallied to enter them in the book for that pur-
pose. The Finance Committee conceived they had not the
power which they ought to have in their position.
The CHAIRMAN wanted to know upon what authority the
Road Committee had ordered that £lOOO to be paid? In the
first instance they recommended certain repairs to be done
to the extent of £5O or £100; at the following meeting, the
commissioners were recommended to pay another £lOO on
account of the roads. Now, he complained that instead of
this being an end of the business the Road Committee went
on recommending one £5O after another, without permitting
the general meeting of commissioners to know what the
original account was.
Mr. COLE said every account was sifted at the general
board, and that the £lOOO had only been recommended, not
ordered, to be paid.
Mr. MALLABY said the question was what was the authority
of the Finance Committee, and how their powers should be
defined? Every committee derived its authority from the
general board, and either possessed powers of expenditure in
itself in the ordinary course of its duties, or only upon
specific occasions, which were to be stated by the general
board. For instance the Road Committee should have
power to keep in repair the streets without receiving any
authority beyond their original constitution ; but if they laid
out new streets, not township streets, then they ought to
have a special authority from that board. This authority,
too, should appear in the public minutes of the general
board; and the chairman, when any order was made for the
payment of money by the Road Committee, should refer to
the minute of authority by which they are entitled to spend
that money That should be the case also with the Lighting
and Watching Committee. The supervising authority of
the Finance Committee would then be this,—that as soon as
every expenditure of the committee was laid before them
they would refer to the authority to make it, and if they did
not find any, the Finance Committee would refuse their
sanction to it till they had reported it to, and received the
sanction of, the general board. This course was reasonable
and proper.
The CHAIRMAN wanted to know the authority by which
certain committees had paid sums of money. There was no
check indeed upon any of the committees ; they might spend
as much money as they pleased ; and all was passed by the
general board, because the general board presumed they
never did wrong.
Mr. COLE said the Road Committee had gone no further,
nor did they wish to go any further, than to recommend that
a bond for £lOOO should be paid.
The CHA lILNIAN.—By what authority did you recommend
this £lOOO to be paid ?
Mr. COLE.—I tell you for the fourth time that we only re-
commended it to be paid.
The CHAIRMAN.—But you must have had some autho-
rity for that. _ _ _ _

Mr. MALLABY said, that in order to avoid anv misunder-
standing in future, he would draw up a resolution which
should go to define the duties of the Finance Committee. He
then prepared a resolution embracing the substance of the re-
marks he had just made ; and after a short discussion it was
carried.

ROAD COMMITTEE'S PROCEEDINGS

Mr. MALLABY read the proceedings of this committee.
One order on the book was, that is 6d a yard be paid to Mr.
Craven for paving some streets, in addition to the price con-
tracted for with him.

Mr. FrLY (we believe) called the attention of the cornmis-
missioners to this order, and asked whether the committee
had power t;ius to exceed the contract?
Mr. MALLABY said, that as a general principle it was not
usual ; but he thought there were some circumstances in the
case which would justify the course taken by the committee.
Mr. PIM said there was a clause in the contract stating
that an additional sum should be allowed, if Mr. Craven put
in a certain description of stone. This was done, and he was
paid the increased price—which, indeed, was provided fur in
the contract.

Mr. MALLABY said, that from this, the increased price
might be considered as comprehended in the contract.

The proceedings of the committee were then confirmed

ARREARS

In reply to a question from a COMMISSIONER, who made
some complaints upon the subject, it was stated that the ar-
rears due for paving the. central streets, amounted to the sum
of £1,750 17s. 51d.
Mr. MALLABY said it was most unjust to allow these
arrears to remain unpaid. The effect of it was, instead of
making the owners of property pay for new streets, to make
the inhabitants lose the ►nterest on their money.

Mr. Piat said, if this was the fault of any holly, it was the
fault of the law-clerk.

Mr. M ALLABY observed that the clause in the act of par-
liament intended that the owners of property should indemnify
the commissioners for making streets, but not to pay interest
on the money expended.