The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-09-03 00:00:00

MEETING OF LEY-PAYERS

Yesterday a meeting of the parishioners in vestry was held
in St. Nicholas's chum!), pursuant to a requisition from the
paving and sewerage connnissioners to the churchwardens
and overseers, " for the purpose of taking into consideration
the propriety of sanctioning an application to parliament by
the said commissioners, in the ensuing session, for an act to
alter, amend, extend, and enlarge the powers and provisions
of an act passed in the eleventh year of the reign of King
George the fourth, intitttled ' An Act for the better Paving
and Sewerage of the town of Liverpool, in the county pala-
tine of Lancaster, and for settling the boundaries between
the said town and the township of Kirkdale, and parts of the
townships of Everton and West Derby.' "
The Rev. AUGUSTUS CAMPBELL junior rector of Liver-
pool, presided:
Mr. M. D. LOWNDES, vestry clerk, having read the ad-
vertisement issued by the churchwardens, convening the
meeting, and the requisition of the commissioners,
Mr. JOHN HOLMES said that last Tuesday week he had
stated that the object of the commissioners in calling the
parishioners together was to prevent a bill which had been
brsught in by government, for making sewers in towns, be-
ing made applicable to Liverpool, it being thought better to
keep that power in the hands of the inhabitants themselves

ratlier than trust commissioners in Lonlon to do as they

thought proper. He should therefore move that "in the
opinion of this meeting it is desirable that the present act for
the paving and sewerage of the town should be amended, by
giving power to the commissioners, among other things, of
levying a sewerage rate in lieu of the one expired, for the
purpose of enabling the commissioners to continue those im-
provements in the sewerage and drainage of the town which
are so essential to the health and benefit of the town at large ;
and that this meeting sanctions and approves of the com-
missioners applying to parliament in the ensuing session for
an act to alter, amend, and enlarge the powers and provi-
sions in the said act, but with this express understanding
that the sewerage rate to be applied for shall not exceed two
pence in the pound, one half to be chargeable to the owners
of property subject to such rate, and the other half to the oc-
cupiers thereof."
Mr. H UTCH IN SON seconded the motion.

Mr. FORD had no intention of opposing the motion, but
he begged to make a few suggestions, which if complied with,
would, he thought, be beneficial to the interests of the rate-
payers. He considered that the commissioners had not been
sufficiently communicative of their intentions. They told
the parishioners they wanted to extend the provisions of the
sewerage act, which was right enough. and to impose a rate
of two pence in the pound, but they did not say whether that
act should be permanent or only for a limited period. They
had not defined to what extent they intended to sewer by any
specific elause to be inserted in the bill. He would for these
reasons suggest that the motion be allowed to pass upon the
condition that a vestry meeting should be called for the consi-
deration of the bill after it had been printed and read a first
time in the House of Commons. As the matter now stood
the commissioners were taking power to any extent.
Mr. JOHN HOLMES.-It is proposed that the bill shall
continue for ten years.

Mr. FORD thought that the commissioners could have
no objection to place the bill, after it had been printed, be-
fore the parishioners. The bill would be none the worse for
it, but the parishioners certainly ought to know what was
doing. The holding of such a meeting would allow of any
objectionable clause being withdrawn, and a fresh one sub-
stituted beneficial to the parishioners, and satisfactory to the
commissioners. He wished to suggest another matter which
Was of importance in an economical point of view ; it was
that tle sewerage, watch, and scavenging rates should all be
levied along with the.poor's rates, by the churchwardens and
overseers, as one rate. If this plan was adopted, one set of
collectors and one book would suffice, and he believed that a
saving of £l5OO or £l6OO a year would result.
Mr. ASPINALL and Mr. BIRKETT said the proposition
asim practicable.

Mr. FORD believed it perfectly practicable. It would cause
a great saving in the summoning of defaulters. If a man was
a defaulter to the poor's rates as well as the sewerage rates.
there were two summonses, and two benches to sit upon one
individual. It would be better to put all into one, because
one party would then have the power of summoning and en-
forcing payment. He threw out these suggestions for the
consideration of the commissioners.

Mr. JOHN HOLMES said if all the rates were put into one
paper, many people would not pay at all. He had always
found that the smaller the sum the better chance was there of
collecting it.

Mr. FORD replied that this difficulty might be overcome by
putting specific items into the bill, and taking the money by
instalments.

Mr. BIRKETT said the commissioners had power to remit
their rate, which the churchwardens had not. Mr. Holmes
was the means of getting that power inserted in the act, and
the commissioners could now remit the rates of parties, with-
out going to the expense of summoning them. The church-
wardens had no such power; the magistrates alone had the
power of remitting the payment of poor rates. He felt cer-
tain, therefore, that the suggestions of Mr. Ford would effect
no improvement. The time of the overseers was so taken up
with the registration and the consequences of it, that he was
sure the matter worked better as it was, than it would by
being all put under one hand, unless the duty was taken away
from the overseers of making out and managing the re-
gistration.

Mr. Asrixtt.L said, that besides by the new bill it would
give additional labour to the collectors.

Mr. HUTCHINSON Saiti:ih;ill&;ates were put together
the time of the magistrates would be absorbed in hearing
appeals.

Mr. FORD observed, that as Mr. Birkett had stated
the commissioners had power to remit without going before
the magistrates, why not give them the same power under the
'

new act ?

Mr. LOWNDES, in answer, entered into some explanations,
but we were unable to catch the purport of them.
Mr. FORD, as a proof that his suggestion was good, said
that many gentlemen preferred paying all their rates together.
Mr. BIRKETT said that was true enough, but there were
others who could not. If Mr. Ford's suggestion were ad-
dopted instead of an unanimous sanction of the bill, the
commissioners would have to encounter opposition from all
quarters. Mr. Ford asked what the commissioners were
going to do with another rate ? He would tell him, a two-
penny rate would raise £5OOO, or perhaps £6OOO. That
would be sufficient for their purposes, considering what they
had already done. The had made thirty-five miles of main

sewerage in from eighty to ninety miles of streets in the
town. The remainder of the sewers to be made, therefore,
would be small ones, the expense of which would fall very
light upon the rate payers. In the whole ten years of their
act, the commissioners had got only £2OOO in debt. [Mr.
ASPINALL.—And that is not all for sewering.] lie (Mr.
Birkett) for one, said, "if there is to be any opposition to

the bill, let us have it here in Liverpool." Wlien the bill
was printed the commissioners would be glad to lay it before
the parishioners; but he would say that the twopenny rate
was the only principle involved in it, the rest being all details
of minor importance. . .

Mr. ASPINALL said he was able to shew the quantity of
sewerage done, the amount it had cost, and the valuation of
it, if the meeting wished to enter on that subject. (A voice.
—No, no.) The commissioners were only £194 in debt on
account of the sewerage : the debt due to the bank was for
other purposes, They had exceeded the £lOO,OOO, which
they were empowered by law to expend, only by £194,
(hear, hear,) and with it they had made nine miles, four
hundred and sixty yards of sewerage more than they con-
tracted for.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. Fottn said his sole object was to take away responsi-
bility from the commissioners. Why not, when the bill was

printed, bring all the details before the parishioners? Let it
be laid before them, and if there were any objectionable
clauses in it, let the parishioners state their feelings upon
them ; by that means any vicious principle which there
might be in the bill would be seen.
Mr. BIRKETT said if there was any vicious principle in
.

the bill, the churchwardens might jail a pariih meeting
upon it ; but he could assure Mr. Ford that all, except the '
twopenny rate, was mere minor detail. The commissioners,
however, would be glad to receive any suggestions concern-
ing it.
Mr. KNAPPER concurred with Mr. Ford that the hill
ought to be laid before the parishioners. He really thought
the parishioners should have an opportunity of seeing what
was the nature of the clauses introduced into the bill before
there was a possibility of its becoming law.
The CHAIRMAN said the parishioners certainly would have
that. The only question was, whether the bill was to be
considered by the parish in vestry assembled. He, himself,
did not think that very wise. If the commissioners saw
anything objectionable to the bill, then they would have no
objection to that course, but they did not like to pledge
themselves to it at this time.
Mr. LOWNDES mentioned that it had always been cus-
tomary whenever a bill affecting the parish had been before
parliament, for the parishioners to have an opportunity of
discussing it.
After a few words from Mr. BtaKErr, who repeated that
the bill did not meddle with the principle of the present act.
except as to the twopenny rate, Mr. ASPIN ALL and Mr.
LOWNDES, the motion was put and carried unanimously.
Mr. Ford then moved, and Mr. Knapper seconded the
following resolution, which was also carried unanimously :
" That the churchwardens shall convene another meeting of
the inhabitants, after the proposed biil shall have been
printed, on receiving a requisition from ten rate-payers,
stating their objections to such parts of the bill as they
wish to have discussed."
The thanks of the parishioners were then voted to the
Rev. Rector Campbell for his conduct in the chair, and the
meeting separated.

Sir Watkins William Wynn, Bart., M.P. arrived a
Wynnstay on Monday last from town, to make the necessar:
arrangements for the festivities there next week.

ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.—The fine weather is daily enti-
cing crowds of persons to these delightful gardens. The
siege of Acre is undiminished in interest, and it seems to
defy all the shocks of fire, and sword, and gun, hoth big and
small.

ASSAULT.—At the Police-court, yesterday, Mr. Robert
Johnson appeared to answer a summons for an assault issued
at the instance of Mr. G. H. Wilson. Both plaintiff and
defendant are youths, and clerks in the employ of Messrs.
Brown and Shipley. Several young men, also belonging to
the office, were in attendance as witnesses. The complainant
said, that on Monday, about noon, while he was busy at the
office, one of the young gentlemen present, Mr. Augustus
Turner, (defendants companion and fellow-lodger,) came to
him, and told him that Robert Johnson (the defendant) had
told him to say that he wished particularly to speak to him
outside. Complainant made some demur, but eventually
went out to see him. He found him in the warehouse, and
when he got into a dark part of it, Johnson said to com-
plainant " You havebeen interfering with my private affairs,"
to which he replied that he was authorised by his family to
collect his accounts. The defendant then struck him several
times. The complainant added that the defendant had been
extravagant in his expenditure ; that his accounts had been
collected and sent to his family, who had written back, re-
turning thanks. On cross-examination the complainant
said he was employed conjointly with another party to collect
the defendants accounts, and that he himself had only col-
lected one account, which lie had shown to a private friend
of his own. He denied that he ever said he'd flatten John-
son's head against the wall if he struck him again. The fur-
ther evidence was irrevalent to the charge, which was sub-
stantiated. The defendant is by much the smaller of the
two belligerents. Mr. Rushton, addressing the defendant
and his companions, said he had been very ill-advised. A
parcel of conceited lads, such as they were, ran into debt
with their tailors and others, and because means were taken
to assist in stopping their extravagant expenditure by one
who was authorised to do so, he is called into the warehouse
and assaulted. He considered it would be much better for
them to apply themselves to their employers business. The
complainant had, however, acted very improperly in showing
the defendants accounts to any one. He then required
Johnson to pay a fine of 10s. arid costs for the assault, or be
imprisoned five days.

SALMON FISHING.—Some notion of the success of the
salmon fishings this season in Scotland may be formed from
the following facts :—The arrivals in London of salmon for
a period of eleven days (being from the Ist to the 11th Aug.)
from Spey, Tay, Aberdeen, and Tweed alone, amounted to
no less than 11,900 boxes. Suppose the'salmon to have sold
at 6d. per lb., and the grilse at s(l'' the value of each box
would be .13 10s., so that the value of the salmon sent to
London alone, daring the above short period, from the four
quarters mentioned, must have amounted to no less than
£41,650. This valuable fish has, this season, been more
abundant in Scotland than it has been for several previous
years. Salmon and grilse have not been so cheap for the
last ten years. The average price for the last two months,
at the water side, has been—salmon, from 54d to 6d per lb. ;
grilse, 30 to 40 ; trout, 3d to 30.-5/Wing Paper.