The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-04-13 00:00:00

TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

I The monthly meeting of the Council was held on Wed-
nesday, the Mayor in the chair.
The Finance Committee's proceedings alluded to laying
a rate, under the act for encouraging museums in large
towns. The Town-clerk said the intention was to lay a
rate of one halfpenny in the pound, under the museum
act, for the maintenance of the Botanic Gardens. The
sum of £3,699 17s. ld. had been borrowed for the pay-
ment of the gardens, with the approbation of the Com-
missioners of the Treasury ; and that sum was secured on
the bonds payable out of the rate. The machinery of the
rate was precisely the same as that of the watch rate. It
was not proposed now to lay the rate, but simply to order
returns to be made preparatory to the rate being laid.
Mr. EARLE said he found from the proceedings that they
were about to lease a house in Berry-street for £545, and
he objected to it on account of the necesssity there was to
widen that street.—Sir T. BRANCKER said that the
house about to be leased was on the east side of the street,
and that was not the side to be widened.—Mr. EARLE then
said that he saw nothing in the proceedings relative to the
carrying of dead bodies in coaches. The Town-clerk
replied that the bye-law on that subject could not be
passed until the meeting of Council in May.—Mr.
EARLE then complained that the 'Committee (whose
minds he thought must be in a nut shell) had refused to
purchase a portion of land, near the New Park, for im-
provement purposes, for the paltry sum of £2oo.—Mr.
H. HORNBY and Sir T. BRANCKER said that if they pur •
chased the piece of land alluded to, they must buy others,
and that they had no, funds for the purpose.—Mr. EARLE
however, succeeded in getting this part of the proceed-
ings referred back to the Committee by a majority of
24 to 16.

The proceedings of the Dock Committee having been
read, Mr. BRAMLEY-MOORE moved their confirmation.
He said there was only one subject in the proceedings to
which he felt it necessary to advert, and that was the ap-
pointment of Mr. Worthington to the permanent office
of Dock Solicitor, at a salary of £1,400 per annum ; and
the object of making him a permanent officer of the
estate was to economise the funds, and to secure the un-
divided services of the solicitor. In fact, his time was
so much occupied with dock matters that he was unable
to attend to private practice—so much so that his private
business had deserted him in consequence. During the
last six years, the 'average nett receipts, estimated to be
the profits of the 'Dock Solicitor, amounted to 4.2,600 per
annum. That was independent of the expenses of par-
' liamentary agents and every other item ; and last year
his profits were a great deal more, for the total of his bill,
exclusively of parliamentary agents andcounsel, exceeded
£5OOO. Now, in recommending that the Dock Solicitor
should have a salary of £1,400 er annum, the committee
expressly stated, and wished it o be understood, that this
was to form no precedent for the salary of his successor.
The salary of his successor would have to be fixed here-
after ; and it must be recollected that a gentleman like
, Mr. Worthington ought to be treated in a different man-
, ner to any new officer, who would not have his experi-
ence, and who would not be expected to jump into his
knowledge of dock matters all at once. The duties of
the solicitor had increased year by year, and they would
continue to increase. The erection of the Albert Dock
Warehouses had thrown a great deal more business on
his hands than ever he had before ; and far more credit
perhaps might be claimed for him in preventing actions
then in defending them. His whole time would in future
be devoted exclusively to the service of the Dock Com-
mittee, and if the present recommendation were sanctioned
by the Council, it was intended that he should take his
seat every Thursday at the general meetings of the board,
to advise in case of any difficulty arising.—Mr. Nicol.
seconded the motion.—Mr. EARLE moved as an amend-
ment, that it was inexpedient to appoint a stipendiary
solicitor to the Dock Estate, as an annual expenditure to
the extent of £1,400 per annum in law charges ought not
to be incurred without proper foresight and management,
and that therefore so much of the proceedings of the
Dock Committee as relate to the permanent appointment
of the Dock Solicitor be annulled.—Mr. H. HORNBY se-
conded the amendment.—Mr. EVANS, who walked with
the assistance of a stick, and who had evidently been
much debilitated by his late protracted confinement to
home, occasioned by an unfortunate accident he had met
with, was permitted to retain his seat while he addressed
the Council. He commenced by observing that the op-
position he offered to the recommendation of the com-
mittee was not because of any unfriendly feeling what-
ever to Mr. Worthington. He believed he was one of
those who had been instrumental in that gentleman's ap-
pointment, and he never had the slightest intention to do
him any personal injury ever since. He observed by the
accounts, that for 1846 the parliamentary expenses were
£5,600, and the law expenses £404. He apprehended
that these law expenses were the ordinary expenses that
would have arisen if they had had no other expenses;
that was to say, that they were independent of the par-
liamentary expenses. Therefore, it was quite evident that
the income of the solicitor was derived, not from the or-
dinary legal business of the Dock Estate, but nearly
altogether from the expenses in going to Parliament.
They had heard it stated just now that his income last
year was £s,ooo.—Mr. MOORE, who spoke in a low tone
of voice across the table, was understood to say that this
£5,000 was not his nett income.—Mr. EVANS com-
plained of a want of explanations. The Council had not
been told what was nett, and what was not nett. Those
who came forward to state that the dock income of the
solicitor was £5OOO last year, were bound to say how much
of that went for London agents, how much for barristers,
how much for travelling expenses, and how much for cab
hire. But there was nothing of the sort. Had it not
been intended to impress the Council with the idea that
£5OOO was the real income of the solicitor ? Would any-
body contend that the impression ought to remain that,
by giving him £1,400 a year, they would save the whole
of this £5,000 ? He apprehended there were professional
gentlemen present who would consider that, even out of
the £5,000, the nett income of the solicitor at £1,400
would be a most enormous proportion. He considered
that in anything reasonable or just, the Dock Committee,
if prepared to go to parliament, would not be opposed ;
therefore their future parliamentary expenses would be as
nothing compared with what they had been.—Mr. BRAM-
LEY-MOORE replied. He said that the average of Mr.
Worthington's salary for the last six years had been
£2520, and that the proposed salary, together with the
salary of his clerks, would only amount to £1650. He
then referred to statistical returns to prove the growing
features of the port, and concluded by observing that
officers sent over by the American government had lately
reported that Liverpool, in the management of her lights
and all other matters connected .with the harbour, stood
pre-eminent above every port in the kingdom.—The
MAYOR said it was with much reluctance he had declined
to attend the Birkenhead festivities. Under ordinary
circumstances, it would have been a pleasure to him to
witness the resources of Wallasey Pool developed ; but,
at present there were so many matters of finance pending
between the Council and the gentlemen of Birkenhead,
that he thought it better to follow the example of the
Mayor of Liverpool who, three years ago, declined to be
present at the laying of the foundation stone of the docks
on the other side. (Hear.) But he had no ill-will or
jealousy towards the people of Birkenhead. He had re-
ceived their invitation in the kindest spirit, and he hoped
the day would come when all the jealousies between the
two towns would pass away, and when they might see the
authorities on both sides the Mersey uniting together to
promote the general benefit of the places to which they
respectively belonged—(hear, hear, and applause.)—The
Council divided, when there appeared for the amendment,
20, against it, 26. The amendment was consequently
lost, and the proceedings of the committee, including the
giving of the salary to Mr. Worthington, were confirmed.
The following members voted in the division :—For the
amendment—Messrs. W. Preston, W. Rathbone, Eyre
Evans, James Stitt, John Holmes, H. Hornby, J. Aikin,
G. G. Hornby, J. Cooper, ' C. Robertson, J. Procter, T.
Kaye, V. Higgins, Henry Danson, W. Earle, J. Plump-
ton, Thomas Lloyd, IL Benn, John S. Leigh, and the
Mayor. Against it—Messrs. F. Shand, W. Atherton,
Jas Holme, J. G. Morris, C. S. Middleton, T. Littledale,
jun., J. A. Tinne, T. Robinson, T. Toulmin, T. Royd n
J. N. Wood, J. Parker, W. Bennett, J. Booker, e
R. L.
Jones, A. Lace, W. Mann, R. Houghton, W. Nicol, Sir
T. Brancker, Thos. Sands, J. Bramley-Moore, E. Moly-
neux, and T. Chilton.
Upon the motion of Mr. Higgins, the Council ad-
, journed at three o'clock, to next day.
i The adjourned meeting was held on Thursday.
The Health Committee reported that the water com-
panies had agreed to supply additional quantities of water,
to be supplied to the districts of the town in which fever
was prevalent. It was recommended that means should-
be taken for placing the Saracen's Head premises at the
disposal of the officers for carrying out sanatory improve- '
ment. The. proceedings were confirmed.—Mr. RATH-
BONE observed that he had received a letter from Boston,
announcing that Congress had sent a frigate with 8000
barrels of provisions for Ireland, and the vessel was ex-
pected to arrive in Cork about the 16th instant.—From a
report of the surveyor ordered by the Church Expendi-
ture Committee, it appeared that seventy free sittings and
two pews had been taken away from the poor, in conse-
quence of certain alterations which had been made in St.
Martin's Church. Some conversation ensued on this
point, during which it was stated that the Corporation had
paid for these alterations some months ago. Several
gentlemen complained that the seats had been taken away
from the poor, and something was said about " very
curious goings on" lately in that church; but as it ap-
peared a sub-committee had the matter under considera-
tion, the discussion dropped.—The report of the special
committee appointed to take into consideration a general
and comprehensive plan for the improvement of the mu-
nicipal borough was read. It referred to a previous report
upon the same subject, which stated that no compre-
hensive plan of improvement could be carried out unless
the inhabitants consented to a rate for the purpose. The
committee added that they were prepared to recommend
many very important improvements ; but knowing, from
experience, that the promulgation of their views would
• have the effect of inducing the owners and occupiers to
demand excessive and exorbitant prices for the property
required, they were decidedly of opinion that the public
would suffer materially if their views were now declared.
They recommended, as a preliminary step, that the Mayor
should call a public meeting of the inhabitants to ascer-
tain how far they were willing to assist the Corporation
in carrying out the improvement of the borough, eons_
I mensurate with the want of such improvement. The
committee added that they would be prepared to state to
such meeting the amount of rate which would probably be
required, and they were willing to hope, that, after the
lapse of another year or two, they would be in a position to
get a considerable amount annually from the corporate
funds in aid of these improvements.—Mr. EARLE, in
moving the confirmation of the proceedings, hoped the
inhabitants would not object to a tax for improvement
purposes in imitation of Manchester.—Mr. RATHBONE
I said that if tlierate were extended over a number of years,
it would.. fall .lightly, and Mr. Roamsozr. said that a

threepenny rate would produce £16,500 per annum.—
The MAYOR said he would be glad to call the meeting,
and it being the general impression that no effectual im-
provements could be made out of the corporate funds, the
proceedings were confirmed.—On the recommendation of
the Town-clerk, it was referred to the Finance Committee
to consider the propriety of appointing Mr. Driffield his
principal clerk, with an assistant, to take charge of the
sanatory matters, and of electing another officer to sup-
ply his place.—The TOWN-CLERK reported in the highest
terms of the efficiency of Messrs. Driffield, Topping, and
Jamieson, and recommended an increase in their salaries.
Several members of the Council spoke in the most lauda-
tory terms of the great talent and industry of the Town-
clerk, and said that any recommendation from him ought
to be' attended to.—Mr. HIGGINs brought forward his
motion, that the Newsham-house estate f:hould be laid
out as a park for the people, but having received an as-
surance from the Finance Committee that the subject
would be taken into their consideration, he withdrew the
motion.—Mr. PARKER then proposed the motion, of
which he had given notice, that in consequence of the re-
port of the Government Commissioners, the Council
should not persevere with the Rivington Pike scheme.—
Mr. DANSON seconded the motion.—Mr. LACE con-
tended there was sufficient evidence to show that an ade-
quate supply of water could not be got from the red sand
stone of Liverpool. He entered at great length into the
question, showing the necessity for proceeding with the
bill. He concluded by calling on the Town-clerk to read
a letter from Mr. -Milne, surveyor to the New River
Company, who had lately made a survey of the district from
which it was intended to bring the water. Mr. Milne in
his letter said he had no doubt the district would yield the
quantity calculated by Mr. Hawksley, and of a quality
admirably adapted for the supply of Liverpool. The let-
ter was decidedly in favour of the scheme ; and concluded
by stating that no great increase could be expected from
the red sand stone foundation.—Mr. EARLE said the re-
port of the surveying officers was the most infamous one
that was ever made public.—Mr. DAWSON wished to
withdraw his seconding of the motion, as he was convinced
from the discussion that the Council ought to place con-
fidence in the committee.—Mr PARKER, however, re-
fused to withdraw the motion, and on a division there
were, for the motion, 4, against, 26. Messrs. Robinson,
Higgins, Parker, and Lloyd voted in favour of it.