The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-11-11 00:00:00

these proceedings, sanctioned and adYised by the hest legal
authorities. With regard to the relators swearing this or that,
every syllable which hail appeared had not a shadow of foun-
datiiin. It was perfectly true that, in the language of counsel,
they were made to use legal language. Some pelson has
chosen to say this was sworn to. Nothing or the kind took
place. I am not aware that 1 have any further question to
answer, except the question as to the letter. A letter was ad-
dressed to me proposing that this piestion should go from the
Master of the !toils, past the Lord Chancellor direct into the
House of Lords; and this 'was proposed as a means of saving
delay. Now, under the advice of counsel, the committee came
to the conclusion' that they ought not to accept that proposition,
and they thought they were entitled to demand the opinion of
the Lord Chancellor, which might be obtained without any
material delay before the House of Lords could sit on this.
question ; and'if that second opinion were against them, (for
they had already had the opinion of the Master of the Rolls
against them,) there might be a question that they should not
go into the House of Lords. From the first to the last the
course 'which has been pursued has been to avoid every pos-
sible delay on the question. Every delay his been avoided.
And now with regard to the clergy who are waiting out of their
Stipends, I believe there is scarcely any member of that com-
mittee who does not entertain the opinion that it is a very hard:
thing upon the clergy that they should be deprived of their
stipends; and probably if the endowment had not stopped the
livings they formerly enjoyed, there would not have been 'a'
member in the council to have deprived them of them.—(Hear.)
, One thing I will state, there was a proposition made by me
with the sanction of the committee, that in all cases where the
corporation would ultimately have to pay the stipends of the
clergy concerned, that the payment should at once be made
without prejudice. It did so happen that though that proposi-
tion was made it was never carried into. effect. If there is any
question I have not answered' on this subject, I shall be very
happy to give any further information.—( Hear. )
Mr. Councillor J. N. Wool-) was much obliged to the Town-
cleak. He was also glad to find that Mr. Bolton had not sworn
as stated. He wished to ask whether the present' corporation
were parties to the said question ?
The TOWN-CLERK said they were parties in order to achieve
the most summary decision of the question, and what was best
calculated to settle it well on the one side or the other. The
council were, in the name of the corporation, as defenders iu
the Court of Chancery, (hear,) and they justly appeared, as
parties advised that the church endowment was illegaL
Mr. Councillor CHARLES LAW.tENCE.—Am I to understand
that the question could be decided by an appeal to the privY
council?

Thei'owN-ctece.—l state at once that the decided opinion
of the counsellors, including therein his Maje•ty's Attorney-
General, was, that the clause had no relation in right to the
question to be raised;and they were most distinctly advised
not to ti:e clause.‘ Th,ir attention was again driven to the
subject- when the six i-tiOntiis were about to expire, and their
Advice was still the same—that the clause had nothing to do
with the question, and that the best course Wei to have the
question legally decided.
Mr. Councillor RATHIiONE wished to call attention to'the
position in which Mr. Lawrenceplaced himself as a member of
that council. He moved to get rid of the question altogether.
He would put it to him how he could honourably, as a member
of that council, try to put a stop to the proceedings altogether?
Mr. Councillor Cuticle said he understood Mr. Lawrence to
have said that it was a question on which, from feelings of de-
licacy, he could not give a vote. The committee had felt that
the clergy were labouring under a great hardship, and they had
a great desire to relieve this. The Town-clerk had not stated
this matter as clearly as he could have wished. The committee
had made a communication to three of the clergy who felt so dis-
posed, that the corpoiration would be qiiite willing to pay their
stipends, on an engageMent frOm the trustees of the endow-
ment that they would.refund it. Therefore the hardship did not
lie At the door of the council.

Mr. Councillor BoLviti slid they never, under any circum-
stantes, would have opposed the continuance of the payment of
the salaries of the present incumbents, so long as they perform-
ed their duties. Himself and his colleagues thought that a
fraud had been committed—(that was the legal phrase) and the
law had been resorted to for 'the 'purpose of getting back the
£405,0()0 so fraudulently abstracted, as they conceived, from the
corporate funds.

Mr. Councillor C. LAWRENCE said one .werd of explanation
on the suggestion made from government. That clause had
been inserted for that very pnrpose by the privy council, and it
was on that clause be had taken the steps be had. Without
that clause he never would have been a party to that endow-
ment. It was with the clear and distinct understanding of a
recommendation from government, that that clause was insert-
ed. Mr. Lawrence concluded by -stating that he did wish to
press his amendment.
Messrs. Bolton, J. Holmes, L. Heyworth, Blackburn, and
Birch were then re-elected on the committee.

CUSTOM-HOUSE COMMITTEE.
The following gentlemen were appointed to hum this corn.
mittee for the ensuing year :—MessrS. Moon, Evans, H. Holmes,
Jordan, Maxwell, and Booth.

BOROUGH COURT AND COURT OF REQUESTS.
It was moved by Mr. Walmsley, that the following gentlemen
form the above committee:—Messrs. Bright, .1. Lawrence,
Duncan, Rushton, Walmsley, and Leasell. Agreed to.

CORPORATION CHURCHES.
Mr. Walmsley moved that a new committee be appointed to
manage
,the pecuniary concerns of the corporation churches.
• greed to.—The committee appointed consisted of Messrs. H.
Horn by, Walmsley, J. Smith, H. Lawrence, and Platt.
A requisition from the committee of the Ladies' Charity, re-
vesting that the use of the suit of rooms in the Town-hall be
granted for their ball, on Tuesday, the 27th December, was
presented by the Mayor. The request was at once unanimously
complied with under the usual rule.
The council adjourned at half-past three to eleven o'clock on
Wednesday next.