The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-01-17 00:00:00

TITUE CONIMISSION,

- NOTICE.
THE TITHE COMMISSIONERS for ENGLAND
and WALES HEREBY GIVE NOTICE, that a
Copy of a Draft of Apportionment of the Rent-charge
agreed to be paid in lieu of Tithes, in the township of West
Derby, in the parish of Walton-on-the-Hill, in the county
of Lancaster, has been deposited at the Workh..se, at Low-
hill, in the said township, for the inspectio of all Persons
interested in the Lands or Tithes in the sai. ownship.
And the Commissioners further ' ye Notice,
That, pursuant to the Act for Corn tation of Tithes, a
Meeting will be holden for the purpose of hearing any objec-
tions to the intended Apportionment by any Persons inter-
ested as aforesaid ; and that such Meeting will be held at the
Workhouse, at Low-hill aforesaid, in the said township, on
WEDNESDAY, the sth day of February, 1840, at Eleven
o'clock in the Forenoon.

Signed, by order of the Board,
J. E. HOVENDEN, Secretary.
JON. BENNISON, Apportioner.
9, Somerset place, Somerset-house, London.

PATENT PERRYIAN FILTER INKSTAND.
THIS novel and useful Invention insures an instantaneous
supply of CLEAR FILTERED INK in the cup of the
Filter, which can be returned into the Inkstan*ti any mo-
ment, where it is secured from injury, an of affected by
'he atmosphere. The Ink, thus protectod; never thickens
or moulds, and remains good for any 106gth of time in anv
climate. The process of filtration cats the colouring mat--
ter to be held in suspension ; hence the trouble and inconve-
nience occasioned by unsuitable Ink, generally found in
ordinary Inkstands. are completely obviated by the use of
the FILTER INKSTAND. One of moderate size will
contain sufficient Ink for six or twelve months' writing.

THE RAVEN BLACK PEN.
One Shilling per Card.
THE PATENT PERRYIAN RAVEN BLACK PEN iS not
liable to corrosion, and will be found excellent for the use of
the Counting-house, and for general purposes.
Sold by JAMES PERRY and Co., Patentees and Manufac-
turers, 37, Red Lion-square, London ; LACE and ADDISON,
Standard-office, Liverpool; also by all Stationers and other
dealers in such articles.

14(Ear DSRE%
MONS. LE DRAY, SURGEON-DENTIST, from the
,ia,:ncdTCuO.A.L,
LLiornßdogyn .
SCURVYFiitrimthoef G
ARTIFICIAL TEETH SUPPT
WITHOUT WIRES, SPRINGS. OR C
LOOSE TEETH FAsTENE
And filling Decayed Teeth with Min al 3farmoratum.
/
Moxs. LE DRAY and CO., Sureon-Dentists, resiiect-
fully inform the Nobility, Gentry, and Inhabitants of Liver-
pool and its vicinity, that they have opened an Establishment
permanently at No. 38, SEEL-STREET, eight doors from
Berry-street. They continue to fill up the cavities of De-
cayed Teeth with their Mineral Marmoratum, without the
least pain, heat, or pressure ; it is placed into the cavity in
an almost liquid state, and in a few seconds gets hard, pre-
venting and curing the Tooth-ache, arresting all further pro-
gress of decay, and rendering the operation of extraction
unnecessary. The Mineral not only
- converts a mere shell
into a sound and useful tooth, hut, by completely stopping
up the cavity, prevents effectually that unpleasant taint of
he breath which invariably accompanies a decayed tooth.
Among the various disorders of the Teeth and Gums. there
are none more destructive in their effects, or more generally
prevalent, than Scurvy; and it is well known that the loss
of Teeth arises more from this cause than any other. It
affects individuals of all ages and of all constitutions, and is
the primary cause of Tooth-ache and decay. To those so
affected, Mons. LE DRAY and Co. have to inform them,
that they can effectually remove this destructive complaint
by a single application, without the slightest pain.
Artificial and Natural Teeth, of surpassing beauty, fixed
from one to a complete set, without extracting the roots or
giving any pain, without springy, wires, or ligatures, an-
sweri4 all the purposes of Mastication and Articulation,
remaining perfectly secure in their places, and may be taken
out and replaced by the wearer with the greatest
facility,—
at the following Paris charges :
A single Artificial Tooth ..........
A complete Set
A complete Set of Natural Teeth,
gold plate
15 0 0
An entire Set of Natural or 'Ferro Metal-
lic Teeth, highly finished, in the first
style, with fine gold sockets, usually
charged 40 guineas
Loose Teeth fastened, arising either from age, disease, or
mercury, and deficiencies of palate effectually remedied.
Artificial Teeth out of repair, remodelled to fit the mouth,
and restored equal in beauty and durability to their original
state. Attendance from Nine till Seven, and on Sundays
trom Nine till Two.
segZar For the convenience of country patients. Monsieur
LE DRAY and Co. are enabled to fix a partial or complete
set of Teeth at one sitting, without the least pain or incon-
venience.
No. 70, Seed-street,
Eight Doors from Berry-street, Liverpool.

OVED.
ED

£0 10 0
5 5 0

SPOT OF CAPTAIN COOK'f! DEATH.—The rock is slime-
what isolated, and at high tide the water breaks over its
summit. It is said to be, at . present, not one-fourth its
original size; as almost everyvtsiter, for a number of years,
has been in the habit of carrying away a fragment of it as a
relic. A French man-of-war, which was latch here, is said
to have taken off about a ton of it ; and some Spaniards who
visited the island several 37ears since, not only took specimens
.of the rock, but the whole ship's company knelt upon it, and
offered up sprayer for the repose of the hero's soul.—Towns-
head's Sporting Excursions in the Rocky Mountains.
NAMING HOUNDS._ Inannuch as the music of a pack of
houndsimmeasurably surpasseth that of the whole race of
Pastas and Albertazzis, so should the ear of the thorough-
going fox-hunter attuned some three or four times in the
week to the sweetest of all inartificial harmony, greatly sur-
passin delicacy that of the whole ribambelle of opera goers
and concert frequenters. This being an established fact—
one concerning which there can be no dispute—it is surpris-
ing that masters of hounds do not pay a little more attention
to the names bestowed upon their favourites than is their
wont, and not suffer the mind of the sportsman to be outraged
by hearing a heap of adjectives in their huntsman's vocabu-
lary ; for bawl he the words " Dangerous, loful, Speedy, or
Fanciful," never so melodiously, the association of ideas en-
gendered by such words, in their abstract sense, cannot fail
to jar upon the mind, and to leave behind a feeling of some
41€2.1iing unvpriztlird, pttmt Id% unde6ned.—Sportfrig Ma.
, gewne jbr Amory.

~~~

MESSAGE

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate
and House of Representatires

a • OF THE
PRESIDENT OF THE ONITED STATES.

WASHINGTON, December 23, 1839.

I regret that I cannot on this occasion congratulate You
that the past year has been one of unalloyed prosperity, The
ravages of fire and disease have painfully afflicted otherwise
flourishing portions of our .country ; and serious embarrass-
ments yet derange the trade of many of our cities. But,
notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, that general
prosperity which has been heretofore so bountifully bestowed
upon us by the Author of all good, still continues to call for
our warmest gratitude. Especially have we reason to rejoice
in the exuberant harvest which has lavishly recompensed
well-directed industry, and given to it that sure reward which
is vainly sought in visionary speculations. I cannot indeed
view without peculiar satisfaction, the evidences afforded by the
past season of the benefits that have sprung from the steady
devotion of the husbandman to his honourable pursuit. No
means of individual comfort is more certain, and no source
of national :prosperity is so sure. Nothing can compen-
sate a people for a dependance upon others for the bread
they eat, and that cheerful abundance on which the happiness
every one so much depends, is to bb looked for no where of
with such sure reliance as in the inddstry of the agriculturist
and the bounties of the earth.
With foreign countries, our relations exhibit the same
favourable aspect which was presented in my last annual mes-.
sage, and afford continual proof of the wisdom of the
pacific, just, and forbearing policy adopted by the first admi-
nistration of the federal government, and pursued by its
successors. The extraordinary powers vested in me by an
act of congress, for the defence of the country in an emer-
gency, considered so far probable as to require that the exe-
cutive should possess ample means to meet it, have not been
exerted. They have, therefore, been attended' ith no other
result than to increase, by the confidence thus reposed in
me, obligations to maintain, with religious exactness, the
cardinal principles that govern our intercourse with other
nations. LlappilY, in our pending questions with Great
Britain, out of which this unusual grant of authority arose,
nothing has occurred to require its exertion; and as it is
about to return to the
,legislature, I trust that no future
necessity may call for its exercise by them, or its delegation
to another department of the government.
For the settlement of our North-eastern boundary, the
Fr~uu,ci you promised by Great Britain for a commission of
exploration- has been received, and a counter
project, including also a provistorc,‘,.- . A
adjustment of the limits in dispute, is now beicirellinritia,
for its consideration. A just regard to the de-
licate state of this question, and a Proper respect for the
natural impatience of the State of Maine, not less than -a
conviction that the negociation has been already protracted
longer than is prudent on the part of either government,
have led me to believe that the present favourable moment
should on no account he suffered to pass without putting the
question for ever at rest. I feel confident that the govern-
ment of her Britannic Majesty will take the same view of this
subject, as I am persuaded it is governed by desires equally
strong and sincere for the amicable termination of the con-
troversy.

To the intrinsic difficulties of questioni of boundary lines,
especially those described in regions unoccupied, and but
partiaily known, is to he added in our country the embar-
rassment necessarily arising out of our constitution, by which
the- general government is made the organ of negociating,
and de;.:i:lioe; upon the particular interests of the States on
whose frontiers these lines are to be traced. To avoid
another controversy in which a State government might
rightfully claim to have her wishes consulted, previously to
the conclusion of conventional arrangements concerning her
rights of jurisdiction or tetwitory, I have thought it neces-
sary to call the at'Leetion of the government of Great Britain
to another portion of our conterminous dominion of which
the division still remains to be adjusted. I refer to the line
from the entrance of Lake Superior to the most northwes-
tern point of the Lake of the Woods, stipulations for the
settlement of which are to be found in the seventh article of
the treaty of Ghent. The commissioners appointed under
that article by the two governments having differed in their
opinions, made several reports, according to its stipulations
upon the points of disagreement, and these differences are
now to be submitted to the arbitration of some friendly
sovereign or State: The disputed points should be settled,
and the line designated, before the territorial government, of
which it is one of the boundaries, takes its place in the
union as a state, and I rely upon the cordial co-operation of
the British government to effect that object. .
There is every reason to believe that disturbances like those
which lately agitated the neighbouring British Provinces will
not again prove the sources of border contentions, or inter-
pose obstacles in the continuance of that good understanding
which it is the mutual interest of Great Britain and the
United States to preserve and maintain.
Within the Provinces themselves tranquillity is restored,
and on our frontier that misguided sympathy in favour of
what was presumed to be a general effort in behalf of popular
rights, and which in some instances misled a few of our more
inexperienced citizens, hassubsided into a rational conviction
strongly opposed to all intermeddling with the internal affairs
of our neighbours. The people of the United States feel, as
it is hoped they always will, a warm solicitude for the suc-
cess of all who are sincerely endeavouring to improve the po-
litical condition of mankind. This generous feeling they
cherish towards the most distant nations ; and it was, natu-
ral, therefore, that it should be awakened with more than
common warmth in behalf of their immediate neighbours.
But it does not belong to their character, as a community, to
seek the gratification of those feelings in acts which violate'
their duty as citizens, endanger the peace of their country, and
tend to bring upon it the stain of a violated faith towards
foreign nations. If, zealous to confer benefits on others,
they appear for a moment to lose sight of the permanent ob-
ligations imposed upon them as citizens, they are, seldom long
misled. From all, the information I. receive, confirmed to
some extent by personal observation, I am satisfied that no
one can now hope to engage in such enterprises without en-
countering public indig,nation, in addition to the severest
penalties of the law.

Recent information also leads me to hope that the emi-
grants from her Majesty's Provinces, who have sought refuge
within our boundaries, are disposed to become peaceable re:
sidents, and to abstain from ail attempts to endanger the
peace of that country which has afforded them an asylum. On
a review of the occurrences on both sides of the hue, it is satis-
factory to reflect,- that in almost every con.lplaint•against our
country, the offence may be traced to emigrants from the
Provinces who have sought refuge here. • In the few instances
in which they were aided by citizens of the United States,
the acts of Untie misguided men were riot only iu directcon-
travention of the laws and well known wishes of their own
Government, but met with the decided disapprobation of the
people of the United States. .

I regret to state the 4iiearance.of a different spirit among
her Majasty's subjects in the Canadas. The sentiments of
hostility to our people and institutions, which have been so
frequently expressed there, and the disregard of our rights
which have been manifested on some occasions, have, I am
sorry to say, been applauded and encouraged by the, people.
and even by some of the subordinate local authorities, of the
Provinces. The chief officers in Canada fortunately have not
entertained the same feeling, and have probably prevented
excesses that must have been fatal to the peace of the tiro

countries.
I look forward anxiously to a period when all the transac-
tions which have grown out of this condition of our affairs,
and which have been made the subjects of complaint and re-
monstrance by the two governments respectively, shall be
fully examined, and the proper satisfaction given where it is
due from either side.
Nothing has occurred to disturb the harmony of our inter-
course with Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Naples,
Portugal, Prusia, Russia, or Sweden.' The internal state of
Spain has sensibly improved, and a well grounded hopeexists
that the return of peace will restore to the people of that
country their former prosperity, and enable the Government
to fulfil all its obligations at home and abroad. The Govern-
ment of PortUgal, I hive the satisfaction to state, has paid in
full the eleventh and last instalment due to our citizens for
the claims embraced in the settlement. made with it on the
3d of March, 1837.
I lay before you treaties of commerce negotiated with the
Kings of Sardinia and the Netherlands, the ratifications of
which have been exchanged since the adjournment of Con-
gress. The liberal principles of these treaties will recom-
mend them to your approbation. That with Sardinia is the
first treaty of commerce formed by that kingdom, and it will,
I trust, answer the expectations of the.present sovereign, by
aiding the clevelopement of the resources of his country, and
stimulating the enterprise of his people. That with the Ne-
therlands happily terminates a long existing subject ,of dis-
pute, and removes from our future commercial intercourse
all apprehension of embarrassment.
T..e King of the Netherlands has also, in further illustra-
tion of his character for justice, and of his desire to remove
every cause of dissatisfaction, made compensation for au
American vessel captured in 1800 by a French privateer, and
carried into Curaeoa, where the proceeds were appropriated
to the use of the colony, then, and for a short time after, un-
der the dominion of Holland'.
The death of the Sultan, has produced no alteration in our
relations with Turkey. Our newly appointed minister resi-
dent has reached Constantinople, and I have received assur-
ances from the present ruler that the obligations of our treaty
and those of friendship, will be fulfilled by himself in the
same spirit that actuated his illustrious father.
I regret to be obliged to inform you that no convention for
the settlement of tue claims of our citizens upon Mexico has
yet been ratified by the government of that country. The first
convention formed for that purpose was not presented by the
President of Mexico for the approbation of its congress, from
a belief that the King of Prussia, the arbitrator in case of
disagreement in the joint commission to be appointed by the
United States and Mexico, would not consent to take upon
himself that friendly office. Although not entirely satisfied
with the course pursued by Mexico, I felt no hesitation.in
receiving in . the most conciliatory spirit the explanation
Offered, and also cheerfully consented to a new convention,
in order to arrange the payments proposed to be made to our
dveeremminedenlet.ss ()Biel
citizens, in a manner which, while equally just to them, was
government, Mr. Ellisryoius and inconvenient to the Mexican go-
cownfiasdednirtelyzotno trehepaiinrtetnoti‘ioLsxi:nf, thatand
diplomatic intercouse has been resumed between the two
countries. The new convention has, he informs us, been
recently submitted by the President of that republic to its
congress, under circumstances
rati-
fication ; a result which I cannotv'
Instructions have been given to .
allow myself to doubt.
ichthpercomomisme
iassslpoieleedryo
of the
United States under our Conventionta with Texas, for the_ de-
marcation.c of the line which separates
The commissioners of both governmentss us from that republic.
The in New Orleans
in August last. The joint commission was
adjourned to convene at the same place on stl'-i)e
tobee: It is presumed to be now in the perforgina2inatnii7ue.lo'finctd;

duties.. _
The new Government of Texas has shown its desire to cul-
tivate friendly relations with us, by a prompt reparation .for
injuries complained of in the cases of two vessels of the United
States.
With Central America a convention has been concluded
for the renewal of its former treaty with the United States.
This was not ratified before the departure of our late Charge
d'Affaires from that country, and the copy of it brought by
him was not received before the adjournment of the Senate
at the last session. In the mean while, the period limited
for the exchange of ratifications having expired, I deemed it
expedient, in consequence of the death of the Charge
d'Affaires, to send a special agent to Central America, to
(dose the affairs of our mission there, and to arrange with the
Government an extension of the time for the exchange of ra-
tifications.
The commission created by the States which formerly cnm-
pozed the Republic of Colombia, for adjusting the claims
against that Government, has, by a very unexpected con-
struction of the treaty under which it.acts, decided that no
provision was made for those claims of citizens of the U. S.
which arose from captures by Columbian privateers, arid were
adjudged against the claimants in the judicial tribunals. This
decision will compel' the U. S. to apply to the several Go-
vernment formerly united for redress. With all these—New
Grenada, Venezuela, and Ecuador, a perfectly good under-
standing exists. Our treaty with Venezuela is faithfully car-
ried into execution, and that country, in the enjoyment of
tranquillity, is gradually advancing in prosperity under the
guidance of its present distinguished President, General
Paez. With Ecuador, a liberal commercial convention has
lately been concluded, which will be transmitted to the Se-
nate at an early day.
With the great American Empire of Brazil our relations
continue unchanged, as does our friendly intercourse with
the other Governments of South America—the Argentine
Republic and the Republics of Uripay, Chili, Peru, and
Bolivia. The dissolution of the ,Peru-Bolivian.Corifedera-
tion may occasitinisoule temporary ipconvenience to our citi-

zens in that quarter, but the obligations on- the new govern-
ments which have arisen out of that Confederation to observe
its treaty stipulations, will no doubt be soon understood,
and it is presumed that no indisposition will exist to fulfil
those which it contracted with the United States.
The financial operations of the Government during the
'present year have, I am happy to say, been very successful.
The difficulties under which the Treasury Department has
laboured from known defects in the existing laws relative to
the safe keeping of the public moneys, aggravated by the sus-
pension of specie payments by several of the banks holding
public deposits, or indebted to public officers for notes
received in payment of public dues, have been surmounted to
a very gratifying extent. The large current expenditures
have been punctually met, and the faith of the government
in all its pecuniary concerns hasbeen scrupulously maintained.
The nineteen millions of Treasury notes authorised by the

act of Cougress of 1837, and theniOditications thereof:with

it view to the indulgence of merchants on their duty bonds,
and of the deposit banks, in the payment of public moneys
held by them, have been so punctually redeemed as to leave

Less than the original ten millions outstanding at any one
time, and the whole amount unredeemed now falls short of

three millions. Of these the chief portion is not due till next
year, and the whole would have been already extinguished
could the Treasury have realised the payments due to it from
the banks. If those due from them during the next year
shall be punctually made, and if Congress shall keep the ap-
propriations within the estimates, there is every reason to
believe that all the outstanding Treasury notes can be re-
deemed, and the ordinary expenses defrayed, without impos-
ing on the people any additional burden, either for loans or
increased taxes.

To avoid this, and to keep the expenditure within reasona-
ble bounds, is a duty, second only in importance to the pre-
servation of our national character, and
.the protection of our
citizens in their civil and political rights. The creation, in
time of peace, of a debt likely to become permanent, is an
evil for which there is no equivalent. The rapidity with
which many of the States are apparently approaching to this
condition, admonishes us of our own duties, in a manner too
impressive to be disregarded. One, not the least important,
is to keep the Federal Government always in a condition to
discharge, with ease and vigour, its highest functions, should
their exercise be required by any sudden conjuncture of pub-
lic affairs—a condition ~to which we are always exposed, and
which may occur when it is least expected. To this end, it
is indispensable that its finances should be untrammelled,
and its resources, as far as practicable, unencumbered. No
circumstance could present greater obstacles to the accom-
plishment of these vitally important objects, than the creation
of an onerous national debt. Our own experience, and also
that of other nations, have demonstrated the unavoidable and
fearful rapidity with which a public debt is increased, when
g';•----aot has once surrendered itself to the ruinous
practice of stipplyttiN,
The struggle, therefore, on our
iL- necessities by new loans..l
part, to bp must,.
be made at the threshold. To make our efforts effective.
severe economy is necessary. This is the surest provision
for the national welfare ; and it is, at the same time, the best
preservative of the principles op whicli our institutions rest.
Simplicity and economy in the affairs of State have never
failed to chasten and invigorate republican principles, while
these have been as surely subverted by national prodigality,
under whatever specious pretext it may have been introduced
or fostered.
These considerations cannot' be lost upon a people who
have never been inattentive to the effect of their policy upon
the institutions they have created for themselves ; but at the
present moment their force is augmented by the necessity
which a decreasing revenue must impose. The check lately
given to importations of articles subject to duties, the de-
rangements in the operations of internal trade, and especially
the reduction gradually taking place in our tariff of duties,
all tend materially to lessen our receipts ; indeed it is pro-
bable that the diminution resulting from the last cause alone,
will not fall short of five millions of dollars in the year 1842,
as the final reduction of all duties to 20 per cent. then takes
effect. The whole revenue then accruing from the customs,
and from the sales of public lands, if not more, will undoubt-
edly be wanted to defray the necessary expenses of the Go-
vernment under the most prudent administration of its af-
fairs. These are circumstances that impose the necessity of
rigid economy, and require its prompt and constant exercise.
With the legislature rest the power and duty of so adjusting
the public expenditure as to promote this end. By the pro-
visions of the constitution, it is only is consequence of ap-
propriations made by law that money can be drawn from the
treasury ; no instance has occurred since the establishment
of the government in which the executive, though a compo-
nent part of the legislative power, has interposed an objec-
tion to an appropriation bill on the sole ground of its extra-
vagance. His duty in this respect hr.s been considered ful-
filled by requesting such appropriations only as the public
service may be reasonably expected to require. In the pre-
sent earnest direction of the public mind towards this sub-
ject, both the executive and the legislature have evidence of
the strict responsibility to which they will be held ; and,
while I am conscious of my own anxious efforts to perform
with fidelity this portion of my public functions, it is a satis-
faction to me to be able to count on a cordial co-operation

from you.
At the time I entered upon my present duties, our ordinary
disbursements—without including those on account of the
public debt, the post office, and the trust funds in charge of
the government—had been largely increased by appropria-
tions for the removal of the Indians, for repelling Indian hos-
tilities, and for other less urgent expenses which grow out of
an overflowing treasury. Independent of the redemption of
the public debt and trusts, the gross expenditures of seven-
teen and eighteen millions in 1834 and 1335 had, by these
causes, swelled to twenty-nine millions in 1836, and the ap-
propriations for 1837, made previously to the 4th of
March caused the expenditure to rise to the very large
amount of thirty-three millions. We were enabled during
the year 1838, notwithstanding the continuance of our Indian
embarrassments, somewhat to reduce this amount ; and that
for the present year 1839, will not in all probability exceed
twenty-six millions—or six millions less than it was last year.
With a determination, so far as depends on me, to continue
this reduction, I have directed the estimates for 1840 to be
subjected to the severest scrutiny, and to be limited to the
absolute requirements of the public service. They will be
found less than the expenditures of 1839 by over live millions
of dollars.

The precautionary measures which will be recommended
by the secretary of the treasury, to prdtect faithfully the pub-
lie credit, under the fluctuations and contingencies to which
our receipts and expenditures are exposed, and especially in
a commercial crisis like the present, are commended to your
early, a&teati9p.
it:lU *itdge then proceeds to allude to the sale of public
la tistLilie principal defences of the seaports and navy yards
—the negociations on the subject of the Florida war—the re-
port of the secretary of .the navy—the mail service, and the
revenue of the post-office' department—the power assumed
by territorial legislatures to authorise the sale of bonds by
corporate companies, on the guarantee of the territory—the
collection, keeping, and disbursement of the revenue—and
the monetary affairs of the Union. The last topic occupies
the greater part of the message. The following are the most
important paragraphs.l
The continued agitation of the question relative to the best
mode df keeping and disbursing the public money, still inju-
riously affects the business of the country. The suspension
of specie payments in 1837, rendered the use of deposit banks,.
as prescribed by the act of 1836, a source rather of embar-
rassment than aid, and of necessity placed the custody of
most of the public money, afterwards collected, in charge of
the public officers. The new securities for its safety, which
this required, were a principal cause of my convening an ex-
tra session of congress ; but in consequence of a disagree-
ment between the two houses, neither then, nor at any sub-
sequent period, has there been any legislation on the subject.
The effort made at the last session to obtain the authority of
congress to punish the use of public money for private pur-
poses as a crime, a measure attended under other govern-
ments with signal advantage, was also unsuccessful, from
diversities of opinion in that body, notwithstanding the an-
xiety doubtless felt by it to afford every practicable security.
The result of this is still to leave the custody of the public
money without those safeguards which have been for several
years earnestly desired by the executive ; and as the remedy
is only to be found in the action of the legislature, it imposes
on me the duty of again submitting to you the propriety of
passing a law, providing for the safe keeping of the public
moneys, and especially to ask that its use for private pur-
poses, by any officers entrusted with it, may be declared to be a
felony, punishable with penalties proportioned to the magni-
tude of the offence.
These circumstances, added to known defects in the exist-
ing laws, and unusual derangement in the general operations
of trade, have, during the last three years, much increased
the difficulties attendant on the collection, keeping, and dis-
bursement of the revenue, and called forth corresponding
exertions from those having them in charge. Happily these
have been successful beyond expectation. Vast sums have
been collected and disbursed by the several *Departments
with unexpected cheapness and ease ; transfers have been
readily made to every part of the Union, however distant ;
and defalcations have been far less than might have been
expected, from the absence of adequate legal restraints.
Since the officers of the Treasury and Postoffice Departments
were charged with the custody of most of the public moneys
received by them, there have been collected sixty-six millions
of dollars, and, excluding the case of the late collector at
New York, the aggregate amount o! losses sustained in the
collection cannot, it is believed, exceed sixty thousand dol-
lars. The defalcation of the late collector at that city, of
which Congress has been fully informed, ran through all the
modes of keeping the public money that have hitherto been
in use, and was distinguished by an aggravated disregard of
duty, that broke through the restraints of every system, and
cannot, therefore, be usefully referred to as a test of the
comparative safety of either. Additional information will
also be furnished by the report of. the Secretary of the Trea-
sury, in reply to a call made upon that officer by the House
of Representatives at the last session, requiring detailed infor-
mation on the subject of defaults by public officers or agents
under each administration, from 1789 to 1837. This docu-
ment will be submitted to you in a. few days. The general
results, (independent-of the, Postoffice, which is kept sepa-
rately, and will he stated by itself,) so far as tifey bear upon
this subject, are, that the losses which have been, and are
likely to be, sustained, by any class of agents, have been—
the greatest by bankers, including, as required in the resolu-
tion, theft- depreciated paper received for public dues ; that
the next largest have been by disbursing officers, and the
least by collectors and receivers. If the losses on duty bonds
are included, they alone will be three-fold those by both
?ngress
col-
lectors and receivers. Our whole experience, therefore,
highest)e etghree e
experience of security
o
ofis furnishes; the strongest evidence that the desired legislation
alone wanting to insure in those operations
fanodthfaecrilhiatytionSs.uchFarolsmo atphpeeraer_s
tltolehaa have let di
sults of inquiries made by the Secretary of the Treasury in
regard to the practice among them, I am enabled to state,
that in twenty-two out of t ' • wenty -seven toreign governments,
from which undoubted information has been obtained, the
public moneys are kept in charge of public officers. This
concurrence of opinion in favour of that system is perhaps
as great as exists on any question of internal administration.
In the modes of business and official restraints on disbur-
sing officers, no legal change was produced by the suspension
of specie payments. The report last referred to will be found
to contain also much useful information in relation to this
subject.
I have heretofore assigned to Congress my reasons for
believing that the establishment of an Independent National
Treasury, as contemplated by the constitution, is necessary
to the safe action of the federal government. The suspension
of specie payments in 1837, by the banks having the custody
of the Mlle money, shewed in so alarming a degree our de-
pendence on those institutions for the performance of duties
required by law, that I then recommended the entire disso-
lution of that connection. This recommendation has been
subjected, as I desired it should be, to severe scrutiny and
animated discussion ; and I allow myself to believe, that,
notwithstanding the diversities of opinion which may
be anticipated natural .
on all subjects involving
such importantcon-
siderations, it
has secured in •t • your as general a concur-
rence of public sentiment sas couldl, be expected on one of
such magnitude.
Recent events have also co •
to such a connection. coSntinued to develope new objec-
tionshe
existing system and practice, abled( tn is ahy bank, under t
its liabilities for deposits and notes into *meet, on demand, all
main-
tains specie payments, and transarTscirculation. It
only by the confidence of the public a profitable business,
only
whenever this is destroyed, the demanasitsofsolvency ; and
its
anti note-holders—pressed more rapidly thandepositors
collections from its debtors—force it to stop payment. This
loss of confidence, with its consequences, occurred in 1837
and afforded the apology of the banks for their suspension.
The public then acquiesced in the validity of the excuse ;
and, while the state legislatures did not exact front them
their forfeited charters, Congress, in accordance with the
recommendation of the executive, allowed them time to pay
over the public money they held, although compelled to issue
treasury notes to supply the deficiency thus created.
It now appears that there are other motives than a want of

public confidence under which the banks seek to justify
themselves in a refusal to meet their obligations. Scarcely
were the country and government relieved, in a degree, from
the difficulties occasioned by the general suspension of 1837.
when a partial one, occurring within thirty months of the
former, produced new and serious embarrassments, though
it had no palliation in such circumstances as were well alleged
in justification of that which had previously taken place.
There was nothing in the condition of the country to endan-
ger a well-managed banking institution ; commerce was de-
ranged by no foreign war ; every branch of manufacturing
industry was crowned with rewards : and the more than
usual abundance of our harvests, after supplying our domes-
tic wants, had left our granaries and storehouses filled with a
surplus for exportation. It is in the midst of this, that an
irredeemable and depreciated paper currency is entailed upon
the people by a large portion of the banks. They are not
driven to it by the exhibition of a loss of public confidence,
or of a sudden pressure from their depositors and note
holders, but they excuse themselves by alleging that the cur-
rent Of business, and exchange with foreign countries, which
draws the precious metals from their vaults, would require,
in order to meet it, a large curtailment of their loans to a

comparatively small portion of the community, than it will
be convenient for them to bear, or perhaps safe for the banks
to exact. The plea lias ceased to be one of necessity. Con-
venience and policy are now deemed sufficient to warrant
these institutions in disregarding their solemn obligations.
Such conduct is not merely an injury to individual creditors,
but it is a wrong to the whole community, from whose
liberality they hold most valuable privileges—whose rights
they violate, whose business they derange, and the value of
whose property they render unstable and insecure. It must
be evident that this new ground for bank suspensions, in re-
ference to which their action is not only disconnected with,
but wholly independent of, that of the public, gives a cha-
racter to their suspensions more alarming than any which
they exhibited before, and greatly increases the impropriety
of relying on the banks in the transactions of the govern-
ment.

A large and highly respectable portion of our banking in-
stitutions are, it affords me unfeigned pleasure to state,
exempted from all blame on account of this second delin-
quency. They have, to their great credit, not only, conti-
nued to meet their engagements, but have even repudiated
the grounds of suspension now resorted to. It is only by
such a course that the confidence and good-will of the com-
munity can be preserved, and, in the sequel, the best interests
of the institutions themselves promoted.
New dangers to the banks are also daily disclosed from
the extension of that system of extravagant credit of which
they are the Formerly your foreign commerce was
principally fOunded on an exchange ~f commcdittes, including
the precious metals, and leaving in its transactions but little
foreign debt. Sw.li is not iinx the case. Aided by the
r...Tnaled . - :nem credit has become too
ryl•fitriu,ty • ' • Many of the banks them-
selveh, not etc,--- \vit. n'tatinc . pysi,,,,/ among
rathcr mi
s, V 414 while they imikar
bllity, oT the meraantib •-• !•:.nunity ; they have become
borrowers instead of they establish their agencies
abroad ; they deal laigtty in stocks and merchandise, they
encourage the issue of state securities until the foreign mar-
ket is glutted with them ; and, unsatisfied with the legitimate
use of their own capital, and the exercise of their lawful pri-
vileges, they raise, by large loans, additional means for every
variety of speculation. The disasters attendant on this devi-
ation from the former course of business in this country are
now shared alike by banks and individuals, to an extent of
which perhaps there is no previous example in the annals of
our country. So long as a willingness of the foreign lender,
and a sufficient export of our productions to meet any neces-
sary partial payments, leave the flow of credit undisturbed,
all appears to be prosperous ; but as soon as it is checked by
any hesitation abroad, or by an inability to make payment
there in our productions, the evils of the system are disclosed.
The paper currency which might serve for domestic purposes
is useless to pay the debt due to Europe. Gold and silver
are therefore drawn, in exchange for their notes, from the
banks. To keep up their supply of coin these institutions
are obliged to call upon their own debtors, who pay them
principally in their own notes, which are as unavailable to
them as they are to the merchants to meet the foreign
demand.

The calls of the Banks, therefore, in such emergencies, of
necessity, exceed that demand, and produce a corresponding
curtailment of their accommodations and of the currency, at
the very moment when the state of trade renders it most in-
inconvenient to be borne. The intensity of this pressure on
the community is in proportion to the previoUs liberality of
credit and consequent expansion of the currency ; forced sales
of property are made at the time when the means of purcha-
sing are most reduced, and the worst calamities to individu-
als are only at last arrested, by an open violation of their ob-
ligations by the batiks, a refusal to pay specie for their notes,
and an imposition upon the community of a fluctuating and
depreciated currency.
These consequences are inherent in the present system.
They are not influenced by the banks being large or small,
-created by National or State Governments. They are the
results of the irresistible laws of trade and credit. In the

recent events which have so strikingly illustrated the certain
effects of these laws, we have seen the bank of the largest
capital in the Union, established under a National charter,
and lately strengthened, as we were authoritatively informed,
by exchanging that for a State charter, with new and unusual
privileges--in a condition too, as it was said, of entire sound-
ness and great prosperity—not merely unable to resist these
effects, but the first to yield to them. •
'• Nor is it to be overlooked that there exists a chain of • ne-
cessary dependence among these institutions which obliges
them, to a great extent, to follow the course of others, not-
withstanding its injustice to their own immediate creditors,. 1
9r injury to the particular community in which they are,.
placed. This dependence of a bank, which is in pro,,orthmi
to the extent of its debts for circulation and depositdis not!. I
merely on others in its own vicinity, but, on all those which
connect it with the centre of trader Distant banks may fail,
without seriously affecting those in our principal commercial
cities ; but the failure of the latter is felt at the extremities
cf the Union. The suspension at New York, in 1837, was
every where, with very few exceptions,. followed,.as Soon, •
as it was known • that recently' at Philadelphia inniaeclie:tely,
affected the banks of the South 'arid West in a shriller' man-
ner. The dependence of our whole bauking,'system on the,
institutions in a•few large cities, is not found in the laws of
their organization, but in those of trade and exchange. The
banks at that centre to which currency flows, and where itis
required in payments for merchandise, hold the, poker of
controlling those in regions whence it comes, while t latter
possess no means' of restraining them ;* so that the'V ll In ,e of
individual property, end the prosperity of trade, t'lirots Iv the
whole interim. of 'the country, are made to depend- on the
good or management of the banking institutions in the great
seats of trade on the seaboard.
But this chain of dependance does not stop here.—lt does
not terminate at Philadelphia or New York. It reaches across
the ocean, and ends in London, the centre of the credit system.
The same laws of trade, which give to the banks in our prin--
cipal cities power over the whole banking system of the United
'States, subject the former in their tern, to the money power
in Great Britain. It is is not denied that the suspension of
the New York banks in 1837, which was followed in quick
succession throughout the Union, was Produced 'by an appli-
cation of that power; and it is now alleged, in extenuation of
the present condition of so large a portion of our banks, that
their embarrassments have arisen from the same cause.
From this influence they cannot now entirely escape, for it
has its origin in the credit currencies of the two countries;
it is strengtheued by the current of trade and exchange, which
centres in London, and is rendered almost irresistible by the
large debts contracted there by our merchants, our banks,
and our States. It is thus that an introduction of a new
bank into the most distant of our villages, places the business
of that village• within the influence of the money power in
England. It is thus that every new debt which We contract
in that country, seriously affects our own currency, and ex-
tends over the pursuits of our citizens its powerful influence._
We cannot escape from this by making new banks, great or
small, State or National. The same chains which bind those
now existing in the centre of this system of paper credits,
must equally fetter every similar institution we create. It
is only by the extent to which this system has been pushed
of late, that we have been made fully aware of its irresistible
tendency to' subject our own banks and currency to a vast
controlling power in a foreign land; and it adds a new argu-
ment to those which illustrate their precarious situation.
Endangered in the first place by their own mismanagement,
and again by the conduct of every institution which connects
them with the centre of trade in our own country, they are
yet subjected beyond all this, to the effect of whatever mea-
sures policy, necessity, or caprice, may induce those who
control the credits of England to resort to. I mean not to
comment upon these measures present or past, and much
less to discourage the prosecution of fair commercial dealing
between the two countries, based on reciprocal benefits ; but
it having now been made manifest that the power of inflict-
ing these and similar , injuries, is, by the resistless law of a
credit currency and credit trade, equally capable of extending
their consequences through all the ramifications of our bank-
ing system, and by that means indirectly obtaining, particu-
larly when our banks are used as depositories of the public
moneys, a dangerous political influence in the United States,
I have deemed it my duty to bring the subject to your no-
' Lice, and ask for your serious consideration.
Is an argument required beyond the exposition of these
facts, to show the impropriety of using our banking institu-
tions as depositories of the public money ? Can we venture
not only to encounter the risk of their individual and mutual
mismanagement, but, at the same time, to place our foreign
and domeitic policy entirely under the control of a foreign
moneyed interest ? To do so is to impair the independence
of our Government, as the present credit system has already
impaired the independence of our banks. It is to submit all
its important operations, whether of peace or war, to be con-
trolled or thwarted at first by our own banks, and then by a
power abroad greater than themselves. I cannot bring my-
self to depict the humiliation to which this Government and
people might' be sooner or later reduced, if the means for
defending their rights'are to be made dependant upon those
who may have the most powerful of motives to impair them.
Nor is it only in reference to the effect of this state of
things on the independence of our Government or of our
banks, that the subject presents itself for consideration ; it
is to be viewed also in its relations to the general 'trade of
our country. The time is not lopg past when a deficiency of
foreign crops was thought to afford a profitable market for
the surplus of our industry ; but now we await with feverish
anxiety the news of the English harvest, not so much from
motives of commendable sympathy, but fearful lest its anti-
cipated failure should narrow the field of credit there. Does
not this speak volumes to the patriot? Can a system be be-
neficent, wise, or just, which creates greater anxiety for in-
terests dependent on foreign credit, than for the general
prosperity of our own country, and the profitable exporta-
tion of the surplus produce of our labour ?
The circumstances to which I have thus adverted appear
to me to afford weighty reasons, developed by late events, to
be added to those which I have on former occasions offered,
when submitting to your better knowledge and discernment
the propriety of separating the custody of the public money
from banking institutions. Nor has any thing occurred to
lessen, in my opinion, the force of what has been heretofore
urged. The only ground. on which that custody can be de-
sired by the banks, is the profitable use which they may make
of the money. Such use would be regarded in individuals
as a breach of trust, or a crime of great magnitude, and yet
it may be reasonably doubted whether, first mad last, it is
not attended with more mischievous consequences when per-
mitted to the former than ,to the latter. The practice of
permitting the public money to be used by its keepers as
here, is believed to be peculiar to this country, and to exist
scarcely any where else. To procure it here improper influ-
ences are appealed to ; unwise connections are established
between the government and vast numbers of powerful
stora
ttui
jantgltuhieiontortni bearstso,oat.an
idiadt
their
bothuseeriripiiisurplus
stockholders
kce theohvieol: l
combinations,
a;se
tci
throughout
diri
svo,e, u
gal
iehri and legislative
tnl egislatiye de=
state institutions •, other ' motives than the, public good are
ibpir
ulesgeisthirletijorn,haeremfereied. It is made the interesatgthneotfoeuxbncasiuopnikci:ntaigosl
exertionsn
means are
ethe u
rinnicsrheeads e
foraonf ttahxwoastei oenua
excessive
itvhee
issuesa c ca -
lid to extravagant trading arid speculation, and are
twahfrelrfollrelederunners of a vast debt abroad, and' a suspension Of
t atll°
the bank
therefore, as I am, with the propriety of the
fundsthOgovernment being. withdrawn from the private
a of
Impressed,c
use of either banks or individualsi, • and the public money
kept by duly appointed public • agents ; and believing, as I
do, that such also is the judgment which discussion, reflec-
tion, and experience have produced on the public mind, I
leave the subject with you. It is, at all events, essential to
the interests of the community and the business of the
government, that a decision should be*triade. *
* * *
M. VAN BUREN.

Mr. Maeready will make his debut at Drury-lane as
Macbeth,
Which is to be revived with new scenery) et,e.

TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

A special meeting of the council was held on Wednesday,
for the discussion of several subjects the consideration of
which had been adjourned.

PURCHASE OF THE BIRKENHEAD PROPERTY.
The MAYOR said that the first business of the council
would be the proposed purchase of the Birkenhead. property.
The deputy town-clerk would read the minutes• of the last
council. on the subject.

This having bee; done,
Mr. CURRIE moved the confirmation of the recommenda-

don of the Finance Committee, for the purchase of the-above

. .
named property, characterising the proposed purchase as one
that was exceedingly judicious and desirable.
Mr. PLATT seconded the motion, `clunking that the matter
was one of immense importance to the "corporation, as well
as calculated to advance the interests of the community at
large.

Mr. Aldercnon,SitEu. was opposedlo:the purchase bf "the
property, and thought that not many years, elapse be-
fore the corporation would have' to regret‘their pUrchases on
the other side of the water. He thought it his duty to state
this, but he would not take up the time of the council in what

he knew would be useless opposition.
Mr. MELLOR opposed the motion on this ground—The
proposed purchase would cost £65,000, which, at, two per
cent. per annum, would be £l3OO a year ; and whatever
benefit might result from the purchase hereafter, the present
inhabitants of the town would be deprived yearly of the use
of that sum. _ _ _ _ _

ffi:B-11-A--Cmiuxit4 observed that Mr. Mellor was wrong in

his calculation. There would not be a loss of two per cent.

on the whole amount of purchase money, but only on that
part of the property which did not yield any return. There
would, therefore, be no need of a sinking fund, except for
one-fourth part of the purchase. If he was wrong the town-
clerk would correct him.

The motion was then adopted without a division.
MR. °KILL'S SALARY.
Mr. SHIEL said the motion he was about to make was a

matter of simple right, which he believed was vested in every
member of the council. Any one there might do it, and no
one, he believed, had any right to make any opposition. He
moved, therefore, that the Treasurer be ordered to make a
return of all monies paid out of the Corporation fund to Mr.
Charles Okill, since his first connexion with the Corporation,
in 1815, up to the present time, distinguishing the amounts
paid as a fixed salary, from those paid for special and distinct
services ; and stating, as accurately as possible', the particu-
lar service for which the different sums were paid, with the
dates of the order of council relating to each sum, and that
the return be sent to each mernber of the council as soon as
practicable, but not later than
,the summons for the next

meeting of the council.
Mr. CURRIE arose and was about to address the council,
when •
suurr, said if he had anticipated any opposition to his
motion, he Should haVe endeavoured to enfor/e it by argu-
ment. He must, therefore, throw himself on ,the good feel-
ing of the council, to hear what he might have to say on any
part of the subject that. rnight•arise.
Mr. CUIUUE said he merely wished to remark that the
motion was so reasonable and proper, that no member of the
Finance Committee could possibiy have any objection to it.
He admitted at once the justice of the principle and would
second Mr. Shell's resolution. So far from any member of
the Finance Committee desiring to keep back information of
the nature mentioned, he, himself, at the last Council, had
intended to give all the information now sought for, and he
should unquestionably have done so if it had not been that
he was a little irregular, which prevented him. He had,
however, told one of his friends, on the other side of the
table, that if he thought proper to ask for the information,
he had it with, him and would put the Council in possession
of it. It was not asked for. He had the same document
containing the information now, but if they thought it more
proper that the information should come before them in a
formal manner, of course there was no member of the com-
mittee could have any objection.
Mr. ShEIL protested against the production of the infor-
mation in any form but that called for in his motion.
II The MAYOR was about to put the motion, when
Mr. SHEti, said he did not know what object Mr. Currie

had in saying that he was ready to produce the document at
the last Council. He (Mr. Sheil) recollected that Mr. Carrie
made two distinct speeches on the question,—one on the
motion and one reply, besides a distinct reply to him (Mr.
Sheil). Mr. Currie said be had the document and was ready
to produce it now. He (Mr. Sheil) considered it very sin-
gular that Mr. Currie had not produced it when the subject
was first brought forward. Mr. Currie did state all that Mr.
Okill had done for the corporation, since 1815. He detailed
all Mr. Okill's circumstances very minutely, but lie did not
state the other side. Why did he not produce the other side
of the account ? This, he believed, was the way lawyers
proceeded when bringing actions ; they stated all on one
side, laid down all their allegations, and left the parties to
produce the other side of what they had to set off against
their statements. Surely the gentleman who came into that
Council as a representative of a portion of the public of
Liverpool was not to come forward as an advocate of expen-
diture, without putting the people in possession of all the
facts. Both sides of the statement ought to have been given,
as well what Mr. Okill had received as what he had done.
Mr. C unurE avowed himself somewhat astonished at what
had fallen from Mr. Sheil, and particularly at his appearing
not to kkuow why he (Mr. Currie) had brought forward the
subject: -It could not have been forgotten that he brought
•it forward as chairman of the Finance Committee, in conse-
quence of a 'memorial from Mr. Okill. lie (Mr. Currie) it
would also be remembered, was the first person whO men-
tioned.thuliedessity of postponing the subject for a month, .
iu.or4 to_give time to every person for consideration and
inqinry. That necessity was doubted, but it ultimately turned
'otifithut he was right. Mr. Sheil asked him why the state-
ment,s,mi the other side had not been read. The report in
the reference of the subject to the committee had bedn'read,
andlhilit set forth • Mr.• .Okill's services ;,• he told. Alderman.
Evans that he had the statement of the money paid to Mr.
Okill;. and would produce it if he (Mr. Evans) would'ask for
it. • The first part of the proceedings turned out to be irre-
gular., and the statement was not asked for.
Mr. Sifuti: 'said Mr. Carrie had not answered thd 'Charge
`that-he had brought forward, that he had given it one-sided.
statement. He charged Mr. Currie with having acted im-
properly, in having brought forward a one-sided statement.
The MAYoa arose;:and taut the resolutiOn, which was
cartied without a division. • . • . .

LEVYING A WATCH RATE-THE PARISH AND THE
COUNCIL. •
- -

+. The NI AYOu; stated. that the Yieft‘bitiitiess forthoreon i-
deration of the council viai.a. commuitidatnux kontt sp select
vestry relative to the Trevieus proceeding* of the council ott
the subject of the watch rate. - •
The TOWN-CLERK read the following communication :
At a meeting of the Select Vestry; held in the'Board-room
in Renwick-street, on Tuesday, the ith day of ,Tanu-
ary; 1840,
The Rev. Rector Bitooxs in the chair,

The Vestry-clerk having laid before the vestry the 'cow.-
mimication of the town-clerk, containing a copy of the par-
liamentary notice as to watch rate, and the resolution of the
council at their meeting on the Ist January instant,
Resolved—That it appears to this board that the bill pro-
posed to be solicited by the corporation for continuing iu the
council the discretionary power of laying a rate to the ad-
ditional extent provided by the act of last session, will not
meet the views and objects of the parishioners as embodied
in their resolution' at their last general vestry and they
therefore trust the council will be pleased to re-consider the
subject, and to instruct the town-clerk to solicit au act hav-
ing for its object the direct exoneration of the parishioners
from any rate beyond the amount' authorised to be levied by
the municipal corporations amendment act. • '
Resolved—That; if the council be pleased to carry ont the
views of the parishioners as above expressed, the select ves-
try are prepared, and now offer, to contribute one-half of the
expense of such application to parliament.
Resolved—That a copy of the resolution of the general ves-
try be transmitted, along with the foregoing resolutions, for
the purpose of representing to the council-the repugnance of
the parishidners to the act of last session.
Resolved—That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be
transmitted by the churchwardens to his worship the mayor,
with a request that he would lay the same before the council
at their next meeting. • •
Extracted from the minutes, • • •
M. D. LOWNDES, Vestry-clerk.
The TOWN-CLERK then proceeded to say that he thought
it necessary to remind the council, as figures were not .always
recollected, of the exact position in-which the corporation
stood in reference to the parish, in conSequence'of the mu.-
nicipal act of 1835. Before the passing of, that act, a watch.;
rate was levied in the parish ; but the effect of the municipal
act had been to throw on the corporaliori the burden' of pay=
ing for the parish of Liverpool £11,500 of county rate, which,
to the fullest extent, was paid by the corporation, indeed, to
a greater extent. This payment was now Made altogether
direct to the country, consisting of the' expenses of gaols,
payments for prosecutions, the payment of the coroner, and
the payment of a balance claimed by the county to the amount
' of about £2OOO. He was therefore quite borne out in say-
ing that the corporation fund, either directly or indirectly,
had to pay upwards 0f,£11,500. There was then to be con-
sidered the effect of the late decision, which had relieved the
corporate estate from the payment of parochial taxes to the
amount of £3500, so that the short effect of the municipal
bill, with reference to the county-rate and the watch-rate,
was to throw upon the corporation the payment of £B,OOO,
which the corporation had not previously borne, so that the
parish was a gainer by that amount, and also a gainer in the
better lighting of the town, involving a charge of £7OO, and
a gainer with respect to the advantage of a day and night po-
lice. The town-clerk then alluded to his report on the sub-
ject, in which he had suggested that a clause should be ob-
tained, giving to the council the power of appropriating their
surplus revenue to the payment of such portion of the watch-
rate as was beyond the maximum rate collected and payable
in the parish under the old watch-rate, and at the same time
giving the council a discretionary power to levy that overplus
(not, however, to exceed 6d. in the pound ;) and he con-
ceived that he was going to the full extent of his duty to pro-
pose that the council should. take that discretionary power.
Until that resolution of the idea vestry had been handed to
the mayor, he had not been aware that there existed any dif-
ference of opinion on the subject of the corporation taking
that discretionary power. His own' notice, which had ap-
peared in the newspapers, distinctly stated that the object of
the bill was to apply for discretionary power to apply any
surplus of the corporate fund in or towards the payment of
the watch-rate; and, moreover, the notice given by the ves-
try-clerk was couched in terms not very different from his
(the town-clerk's.) The town-clerk read the resolution of
the select vestry, which, he contended, asked simply that
there should be a discretionary power on the part of the
council, not that they ahould be altogether relieved from
the obligation of levying. It was out of his power to
advise that the council should part with that discretionary
power. A time-might possibly come, as had happened under
the old corporation, when it would be necessary to make
use of every branch of the revenue—he alluded to the period
when a part of the revenue was suspended. He thou. lit that
the council should remain in possession of a discretionary
power to levy according to circumstances ; for it was too
much for the parish to anticipate that circumstances might
not happen in the course of years which. would fairly justify
the council in levying the additional amount, which, by law,
they were empowered to levy. It would be, for the council
to consider every year whether they would confine themselves
to the old maximum
.rate, leaving the parish a gainer by
£BOOO, or whether circumstances did not make it imperative
on them, in discharge of their public duty, to leYy the addi=
tional amount. He hoped that the revenue of the corpora-
tion would continue, and that the council would he enabled
to relieve the parishioners from any levy beyond the old
maximum rate; but he thought it his duty to give his most
distinct opinion, that the council should not part with a dis-
'cretionary power. For that opinion he was responsible to
the council and to the town.
Mr. ISAAC HOLMES entirely differed from the town-clerk.
He concluded that it was proper tOconcur with the'parish in
entirely getting rid of the bill.. .The individual who brought
forward that bill in parliament, never contemplated its appli-
cation to such boroughs as Liver Pool, When they possessed
a great revenue. It was merely intended by Mr. 'Baines,
who introduced the measure into parliament, that it was to
apply to such boroughs as Leeds, Manchester, Bolton, Bir-
minghaM.,&c., where there were no borough funds to which
they could resort. The parish authorities and the town-clerk
were at variance in opinion, relative to the saving which the
parish obtained by the municipal bill. It was stated by the
parish that the county-rate amounted to £40,000, and that
the corporation was exempted from the payment of taxes to
about £4OOO, making a difference of only £6OOO, which was
the additional burden cast upon the corporation. Now,
when the present council enjoyed an income of £23,000 per
annum more than the old corporation, surely so trifling an
addition might be easily borne. With respect to the appli-
cation to parliament, to give the - council a discretionary
power to lay a borough watch-rate, they possessed that

power at present ; for the maximum rate of the bill under
dicussion was 6d in the pound ; but the act expressly said it
was not to exceed 6d ; therefore, if they levied a rate by vir-
tue of that bill, it might only be the sixteenth part of a
penny, and that would be sufficient to satisfy all the provi-
sions of 'that act. If the' parish of Liverpool were not to
derive any benefit, in being eased from taxation, in the name
of goodness, of what advantage had been the municipal
reform ? He considered that the parish of Liverpool had a
right to demand ..the rescinding of the measure. At the
vestry meeting which, took. place, when the resolutions were
passed to' empower the churchwardens to apply for the repeal
of the act in question, there 'were, certain gentlemen, who,
although they didnot expressly state that,they were autho-
rised by the donfinant party in that council, to say that the
council did not :intend 'to carry the act into' effect, yet by
•

their language. they, implied that they were so authorised.
Mi. Holmes concluded with the following motion i:--" That
this council concur • with the parish of Liverpool, that it is
pr9per,to,apnly:tor.parliainent for. the resciuding .of,the act,
so far as 'regards this borough—and that the expense of such
4iPplication shall' tie: easily borne byAlia:council and the
parish."
• •
Mr. Coop En. said it was the general opinion out of doors
that' the churchwardens had the support of the public in their
endeavours to get the act alluded' to rescinded, so far as re-
garded Liverpool. It was quite wrong in the council to say
to the community generally, as they were saying, " We are
going to levy sixpence in the pound, and we will tax you
whether you are agreeable or not." He, for one, should de-
cidedly oppose the vesting in the'eouncil of any such power;
and he thought that those individuals who were favourable
to the clause would hesitate in approving of the proposed ap-
plication to Parliament, if they had sat with him and seen
the number of appeals against the payment of the parish
rate. Out of thirty-six thousand persons rated, fourteen
thousand only had paid, leaving twenty-two thousand who
had declared themselves paupers and unable to pay. He se-
conded the resolution.

Mr. CURRIE remarked that the sentiments of Mr.'COoper
were not to be considered as those of the council, but of Mr.
Cooper himself. The council had never said that they would
tax the public, whether the public were agreeable or not.
On the contrary, the notice of .the Town-clerk was an act of
forbearance ; for it was never intended to avail themselves of
the powers conferred by the bill, except in cases when it
would be prudential to do so, and until that time should ar-
rive, the Town-clerk and the council were willing that the
act should lie in abeyance. Why, then, was it attempted to
impress upon the public that the council were disposed to
annoy-and oppress them ? He should be sorry that anything
was either said or done to cause a difference between the
corporation and the parish, for which there was not the
slightest reason. The very object of the proposed bill was to
obtain what the parish desired, namely, to relieVe the coun-
cil from the obligation of levying the rate.
Mr. Woot.a.tcliT said that the select vestry wished to im-
press upon the public, that the council were desirous of
taking from them all that they could get. Such was not the
case. as was proved by the fact that the council hpd the
power to levy the £B,OOO which they theinselves paidi- The
old corporation had never paid a farthing towards the public
expenses. He could not help feeling, all the time that Mr.
Cooper was speaking, that his observations were addressed,
not to the Mayor, but to the gentlemen who sat opposite to
the Mayor (the reporters.)
Mr. Alderman EARLE.—It is nothing but an electioneer-
ing trick.

Mr. JOHN SMITH observed, that the impression on his
mind had been that the proposed bill was to place 'the town
in exactly the same position as it had been before the passing
of the recent act. He could assure the council that there
would be a great deal of jealousy if the council obtained the
power intended to be applied for; for the public did not
know how, when obtained, that power would be exercised.
Mr. Alderman EVANS admired the modesty of the proposal
made by some gentlemen. The council were asked to de-
prive themselves of the discretionary power, and to pay the
expense of making a confession of their imbecility. He should
like to contrast the capability of the council to decide on the
subject of the public interests with that of the select vestry.
They (the council) were the real representatives of the peo-
ple ; but what were the vestry ? He wished they were under
that organisation which would give to their proceedings that
order and regularity, and that responsibility, which the pub-
lic had a right to claim. The power had got into the hands
of four or five men, many of whom were actuated by a desire
to gain notoriety. Look at their acts ; and if he might judge
of their capability from that, he should allude to their absurd
efforts to put the poor rates on the dock estate. After acts
of that sort, he did not consider that the select vestry could
be said to represent the people ; they were not supposed to
do so in a general way. The fact of lodging the proposed
discretionary power in the hands of the council did not at all
suppose that the power would be abused. The council was
the proper depository of all power. He did not think that
too much power could be given to it, because it was responsi-
ble in every way ; and if the public had anything to complain
of, there was the proper place to seek for redress. But for
the select vestry to come forward and ask the representatives
of the people to denude themselves of any power was not
only—he would avow the word—impertinence to the council,
but an insult to the constituencies that sent them there.
Mr. Alderman SnEIL should be sorry to see any of the
public money expended in a contest between the corporation
and the parish. He should at once vote for the power of
levying to be in the select vestry, if they could by any fair
means be styled the representatives of the town. As he was
well known to entertain strong views in favour of giving to
all an equal participation in the right of protecting themselves
from taxation, and as the prespt system of electing the select
vestry was diametrically opposed to those views, he could not
consent to place in the hands of the vestry any power of
which he could deprive them. The system was founded on
the principle-that the rich alone could have a right of levying
taxes.. The rieh,man aright have, twenty-four votes, whilst
the poor man could have but one. For that reason, and that
alone, he should certainly support the propriety of giving to
the corporation the proposed power, because they were elected
on a more general principle.
Mr, G. IL LAWRENCE believed that if ever there was a
well-regulated parish it was that of Liverpool. He thought
it very hard that, when speaking on this subject,.persons
should 'be taunted with speaking to the press, and for elec-
tioneering purposes, rather than from a wish to promote what
they conceived to be
,the good of the tbwii. He thought,
howeVer; that the council should not abandon the principle
proposed by the town-clerk;. neither did he, think that the
public would- sustain any loss by placing the power in the
balids of the council;- for, It 'ought' to be recollected;lthat if
ithqr had not ;this power, they had the powerofleyyingA
otaikate., which would, tie supposed, put the matter on the
't aine' looting: "With- these vitYis, -he should ,-ailtierte!tb' the
-town'-clerk's opinion.
BOLTON was opposed to giving any poWer to the pa-
He said that it ought also to be borne •iii inind•lhat
although £B5OO only was levied; the actual expenditure .Of the
police, &c. was £25,000. He thought it better that they
should retain the discretionary power of levyihg a watch-rate,
than, in case of necessity, resort to a borough-rate.
Mr. HENRY LAWRENCE disclaimed any concurrence in
the opinion that there was an inclination on the part of the
council' to throw burdens upon the public. He,. however,'
could see no disadvantage in acceding to the proposal of the
parish. It had been said that th 6 were' the'repre-
sentatiyes- of the public, and so they were to a certain extent ;
but, as he did not wish to be personal, he should not enter
into that subject. '
Mr. Alderman EARLE.—Say what you like; you can do
no harm.
Mr. H. LAWRENCE.—tinder the present municipal act
many persons had -no vote at all, though he did'not on that
account say. that the system of representation was unfair, as
was said in many quarters. He hoped that the corporation
and the parish would not proceed to extremities, for it would
be foolish to waste their money in litigation. (Cheers and
laughter.)
-Mr. Baronr thought that the proposal now'rnade was, not
calculated to allay the anxiety which prevailed, and. suggested
that a select committee should be appointed to take the re-
port .of the Town-clerk into consideration.
The. TowN-cLgitx, in reference to what had been said by
Mr. Woolright, stated that there was now thrown on the
borough fiiiid' the sum of £BOOO, to the exoneration of the
parishioners of Liverpool. .Until the act of last . session,
however, the council had no power to levy that £BOOO unless
there.bas'no 'surplus. The Town-clerk then proceeded to
show.whatwoultl be the result to the.parish if the whole six-
pence in thepound should ever happen te, be levied. Six-
pence in the pound, on the rental of, Liverpool, would yield
£20,125, which, as the council had heard from Mr. Bolton,
was less than the actual amount of the watch expenses. If
the amount of the old watch-rate, £Bs27—the additional sum
• tor better cleansing, £7OO, and the amount to which the
parish had been relieved from county-rates, £11,500, were
added together;they would produce a total of £20,727 ; and
if from that-were deducted the sum saved to the corporate
funds by exoneration from the parochial rates, there would
remain £17,227, which, being deducted from the whole sum
yielded by the levy of sixpence in the pound, would leave a
balance of £28983, which the parish would have to pay. But
so long as the council did not exercise the power of levying,
the parish would remain a gainer by upwards of £BOOO.
Mr. ISAAC HOLMES, in reply, said that if he had not fully
made up his mind upon the measure of applying for a com-
plete repeal of the bill then under discussion, what had then
transpired in the council would have caused him to advocate
it. He was happy to find that Mr. Woolright completely
accorded with him in opinion that there was no surplus fund.
He (Mr. Holmes) contended that there never had been a
surplus fund since the new corporation came into power.
At present this corporation expended from eight to ten
thousand pounds per annum more than the old one. (Mr.
Rathbone and Mr. Bolton—" No, no.") He was ready to
prove his assertion from the published documents, and would
enter upon the subject the first opportunity. It had been
stated that the council had power to levy a borough-rate, if
the funds were not sufficient. Then why object to the re-
scinding of this bill? The select vestry had been abused in
no measured terms. It was said that they were no repre-
sentatives—that they were merely chosen by four or five
individuals ; but what was the case of this council ? One-
third of the whole council were merely chosen by two or
three individuals—(Mr. Mellor here rose to call Mr. Holmes
to order, but the Mayor decided that he was in order)—and
one-half of those gentlerhen were actually the rejected of the
people.
The vote was then taken. The motion of Mr. Holmes
Was lost by 39 to 13.
For the motion there were—Councillors D. Hodgson, I.
Holmes, R. Houghton, W. Preston, J. Barton, J. Cooper,
J. Lawrence, T. Robinson, H. Lawrence, J. N. Wood, R.
Gladstone, It. Jones, jun., arid J. Smith.
Against it-7-Councillors J. Holmes, W. Thornhill, H. R.
Sandbach, G. Quayle, T. Case, H. Holmes, J. Mellor, E.
Pilcher, T. Bolton, J. Woolright, R. Bright, W. Rathbone,
H. Hornby, R. V. Yates, C. Bushell, T. Morecroft, G. H.
Lawrence, T. Coglan, J. S. Leigh, J. Platt, W. M`Kee, F.
Jordan, W. M. Duncan, W. W. Currie, D. Mather ; Alder-
men R. Sheil, T. Booth, J. Hornby, T. Leathoin, G. Holt,
R; Berm, W. Earle, J. Moon, E. Evans, T. B.. Barclay, T.
Bailey; T. Holt, E. Harvey ; and the Mayor.
Abseut—Councillors B. Frankland, G. Wright, T. Sands,
Priestly, W. Lassell, J. Carson, T. Blackburn, R. Rigby,
E. Segar ; Aldermen R. Roskell, C. H. Jones, and W. P.
Freme. •

The MAYOR then observed that it would be necessary that
some reply should be made to the select vestry.
Mr. CASE thought that the matter did not seem to be
properly understood by the select vestry, and he suggested
that, in Order to effect a complete understanding, and to save
the, expense of litigation, a committee should be appointed
to confer' ith the vestry.
Mr. CURRIE said that as it would be necessary to follow
the matter up, he should move the following resolution :
" That this council, animated by an anxious desire to pro-
mote the utmost harmony and good understanding with the
members of the select vestry, regret that they cannot concur
with the wish of that body 'that they should relinquish the
power in question ; but, with a proper regard to the arrival
of a period when it may be necessary to avail themselves of
that power, they utterly disclaim any present intention of
doing so, and sincerely hope that such a contingency will
never. occur."
Mr. BO .TON seconded the motion.
Mr. Alderman EVANs could not conceive the use of it,
because the council had already decided the question, and
left no discretion whatever. He did not want to contend for
the right to be arrogant in the matter; but he considered
that' the council ought to maintain its own position and its
own dignity ; and he did say that this motion was a conces-
sion not consistent with the dignity of the council, and alto-
gether uncalled for, and would be absolutely useless in its
effects. It was undertaking to say what they would do in
future.
Mr. RATUBONE did not take the same view of the motion
.as Mr. Evans did.. He thought that it was merely a cour-
teous reply to the select vestry, and called for by the wish of
the council, as expressed by his good friend Mr. Lawrence,
that they should not throw away the public money in law
charges. - It Was.a mere act of courtesy, which, as a public

\

body, the select vestry were entitled to ; and although that
body should forget what was due to themselves, the council
ought not to forget what was due to their own character. _

The TOWN-CLERK said it had struck him, on hearing the
resolution of Mr. Currie, that, if it were placed in juxtaposi-
tion with that of the select vestry, it might appear as if the
council were giving up the position which they had taken.
He had, therefore, framed the following :—" Resolved—That
while this council is animated by an anxious desire upon all
occasions to promote the utmost harmony and good under-
standing with the members of the select vestry, they regret
that they cannot concur in the wish of that body that they
should .relinqnish the power in question ; but with a proper
regard to the possibility of the period arriving when,it may
be necessary to avail themselves of the power, they utterly
disclaim any present intention of doing so, and sincerely
hope, as they fully expect, that such contingency will never
occur."

Mr. CURRIE consented to withdraw his motion, and to
move that which had been drawn but by the town-clerk.:
Mr. BOLTON seconded it.

Mr. COOPER said:that he' could ITS' lnit' look upon the
whole proceeding as an attempt to take money out of the
pockets of the parishioners without an .act of parliament. If
the council wanted the power of levying a rate, why did they
not go for a borough-rate, by which means the public would
not be called upon to pay without knowing what they had to
pay for. •
Mr. Bust' ELL much regretted that it should go forth to the
public that the interests of the parish were not duly consi-
dered in that room. He considered himself as one of the
representatives of the parish at large, and could not under-
stand how the interests of the corporation and the parish
could be disunited. As one of the representatives of the pa-
rishioners, he should always feel great distrust in acting con-
trary to the opinion of their legal adviser; for although he
entered that chaniber prepared to act on his own opinion,
the opinion of their legal adviser would always have great
weight with him ; it ought indeed to be-departed from with
great care and caution. Mr. B. concluded with a few obser-
vations on the remarks made by Mr. Alderman Shed, to
which that gentleman briefly replied.
The motion was then agreed to without opposition, and the
council separated.