The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-04-18 00:00:00

SECOND DAY, THURSDAY, APRIL 13.

On resuming the inquiry this morning the commis-
sioners were addressed at great length by
Mr. SIIIITTLEWORTII, the Town-clerk, who appeared on
behalf of the Corporation, in defence of the town-dues,
and to answer the objections which had been raised against
them. Mr. Shuttleworth's remarks were chiefly directed
to what had been advanced by Mr. Heron, the-Town-clerk
of Manchester. He contended that the Corporation of
Liverpool had as good a title to these town-dues as any
nobleman had to his estate. In illustration of this he
referred in general terms to the question of title, declining,
however, to go minutely into it, as that was not a tribunal
entitled to take cognizance of the right which Mr. Heron
impugned. At the previous inquiry the commissioners
had expressed themselves satisfied with the information
he had given on this point; but if they thought that, in
the responsible position in which he stood, further in-
formation was necessary, he should be glad to afford it.
Nothing had been brought before the present commission
with reference to these dues which was not laid before the
court at the trial in 1833. He had gone carefully through
the evidence, and had found that every point urged on the
previous day was urged also on that occasion. He re-
peated distinctly that the Corporation had as good a title
to the property in these dues as any gentleman had to an
estate or property of any description whatever. The right
was purchased from Lord Molyneux, who held it from the
Crown, in the year 1672, and from that date it might be
stated that the commercial prosperity of Liverpool com-
menced. In the year 1710 the Old Dock—the first dock
for commercial purposes ever constructed in .England—
was formed on the site on which now stood the Custom-
house, and from that time to the present continued im-
provements had been made in the port for the benefit of
the public. Neither had the Corporation of Liverpool
confined themselves to Liverpool in making these im-
provements. They had looked far beyond the borough,
and had made great sacrifices to promote and extend the
approaches to the town from Manchester and the manu-
facturing districts. The Corporation had been parties to
the construction of several canals for this purpose, the
Sankey Canal among others, and in order to enable them
_to do this, they had sold land to the value of £185,000
in order to pay for the works. He maintained that these
dues were not oppressive, and the immense amount of
trade with the port showed that they were not. It was.
said on the previous day that these dues were the remnant
of feudal ages, and that in no other place but Liverpool were
they paid. This was a mistake, as such dues were imposed
in a great number of other places. The learned gentleman
then named a great number of other places at which
town-dues were payable. The list included Bristol, Brid-
port, Beaumaris, Barnstiple, Cardiff, Chester, Hull, Folke-
stone, Haverfordwest, Swansea, and many others. There
were also (the Town-clerk pursued) dues of this description
payable in boroughs and inland- towns, as in Nottingham
and other towns, to which he referred. In illustration of
what the Liverpool Corporation were doing for the benefit
of the general public frequenting Liverpool, he might say
that at the present time they were about to have con-
structed a large landing-stage, at an expense of £130,000,
which would cost about £7,000 per annum in management,
&c. This had been found necessary for the accommoda-
tion of the public arriving and departing from the port.
It would be constructed out of the town-dues, and no
charge whatever would made to the public for the increased
accommodation thus afforded. After some further ex-
planatory statements, the learned gentleman concluded
his remarks by stating that he hoped the commissioners
would think that he had sufficiently discharged his duty as
the representative of that great Corporation.
Mr. IlEnosr, Town-clerk of Manchester, in an address
of nearly two hours' duration, replied to the defence which
the Town-clerk of Liverpool had offered in support of the
town-dues, and contended that the injustice of the tax
remained unanswered. He concluded by stating, that the
question would not be allowed to rest where it was. The
commissioners' report having been presented to govern-
ment, ulterior proceedings would be resorted to, and he
had no doubt whatever that the result would be the sweep-
ing away of the impost, as an injustice to the great
manufacturing interests of the district.
Mr. MILL, solicitor, next drew the attention of the
commissioners to the inequitable operation of the dock-
dues as they applied to vessels entering the Birkenhead
Docks. This he illustrated by a reference to the steam-
ship Brazileira, belonging to the South American Mail
Steam-ship Company. The Brazileira never entered the
Liverpool Dockg, but sailed from the Birkenhead Docks,
where the dues had been paid. As she was going down
the river, on her outward passage to the Brazils, a few
packages of goods were taken on board from a flat, and in
consequence of this, tonnage-dues to the amount of
£45 38. 3d. were demanded and paid to the Liverpool
Dock trustees, although she had never been in the. Liver-
pool Docks at all. The learned gentleman named similar
cases of hardship as respected the steamships Lady Eglin,
town and the Sarah Sawls.
.Some further evidence respecting tote dock-dues having
I%
been tendered, the proce4 Ings were brought to close
about two o'clock,,