The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-09-18 00:00:00

SPECIAL GENERAL VESTRY ON THE WATER

QUESTION.

A special general vestry of the ratepayers of Liverpool
was held on Thursday, at noon. at St. Nicholas's Church,
and by adjournment at the Sessions-house. The meeting
was convened by Messrs. Harbord and Dover, churchwar-
dens, in pursuance of a requisition numerously and re-
spectably signed. The Venerable Archdeacon Brooks
occupied the chair.

The first resolution was moved by Mr. J. R. JEFFREY,
and with the others will be found in our advertising co-
lumns. Mr. Jeffery was received with loud applause. He
dwelt upon the duty of the advocates of the Pike scheme,
in accordance with the demands of the ratepayers, to have
tested the present wells; to have seen what was the
yield, and what the value of the water purchased; and, if
there had been sufficient, they might have acceded to
another request by boring deeper, and the response would
have been instantly more water. They should have as-
certained what were the defects of the pipes at present in
the streets, and after repairing them then they might
have proceeded to Green-lane, and put down an addi-
tional engine in order to raise the water which was over-
flowing at the present moment, in which case a great deal
of time and money of the burgesses might have been
saved. He defended the ratepayers and the Guardian
Society from the charges of inconsistency that had been
brought against them, and complained that they had been
deceived into quietude. When they discovered this they
offered remonstrance upon remonstrance, but it was clear
they had placed too much confidence i❑ the gentlemen of
the day, who had handed over the keeping of that confi-
dence to an interested party—(loud cheers)—parties di-
rectly interested in the spending of money, and not in the
saving of it. Would not the ratepayers insist on their
voi:.es being heard in the Town Council of Liverpool ?
And would they, as the majority of those who sent mem-
bers to that Council, insist on their will being carried
out ? Or would they suffer themselves to be treated as
of no consequence ? It had been said, and said truly,
that taxation without representation was tyranny. He
submitted that at that moment they were being tyran-
nised over. They had sent gentlemen into that Coun-
cil for a specific purpose—they had gone with specific
pledges, and resolved to execute a certain commission;
but when they had got themselves firmly seated in the
chair, which was so exceedingly comfortable, and inhaled
the atmosphere which appeared to turn some men's
brains—they then turned round and said, "My opinions
are altered,—your will is no longer to be the dictate of
my actions,—and I will do whatever I may think proper."
November was at hand. Our local parliament had dared
to do that which the Imperial Parliament of this great
country dared not do. When the Imperial Parliament
attempted to increase the income tax, Liverpool raised its
voice, as the first town in the kingdom, and said, "No ;
it must not be done." The Imperial Parliament hesi-
tated, absolutely withdrew the proposition, and ceased to
act on that question,—so that the people's will was the
will of the Parliament. But the local parliament despised
the popular will. Should this state of things continue ? It
would be for the burgesses, on the Ist of November, to
say whether it should or no. He felt much pleasure
and much pride in Laving been one of those who gave
his name to be inserted in the notice of injunction on the
Town Council, to restrain them from misappropriation of
the Corporation funds, without the power of an act of
Parliament.

Mr. J. P. APICNIGHT seconded the motion.
Mr. S. HOLME begged to move an amendment. He
was received with laughter, hisses, and marks of disap.
probation. He . said, it is now many years since, Mr.
Mayor—(roars of laughter, which continued for some time,
followed by a little uproar.)
The CHAIRMAN begged that every gentleman who
wished to speak should be fairly heard.
Mr. S. HoLme said it was quite clear that if the arch-
deacon had not been a clergyman he would have been
mayor. (Laughter.) He came there in an open way, for
the purpose of doing that which he believed was his duty,
for the benefit of the inhabitants of the town. He was a
member of the Town Council, he presumed, for a few
weeks longer—(laughter and cheers)—and having given
his hearty assent and consent to the bill, which they had
obtained from parliament, he must state that the language
applied'to the members of the Council was somewhat hard.
He then read an extract from the Mercury, in which the
following passage occurred :—" The ratepayers were
shamefully and wickedly deceived and duped by those
whose duty it was to have enlightened and protected
them." Mr. Holme then referred to the early history of
the water question, and read several extracts from the
Mercury, in which the Pike scheme was lauded, and the
opposition of the Standard and Journal reprobated. He
then proceeded to show that Mr. R. S. Henderson, Mr.
Procter, Mr. Preston,-Mr. Kaye, Mr. J. Lawrence, and
Mr. Bennett had voted in favour of the Pike scheme,
although they now opposed it. They were told these
clauses were not compulsory. When they applied for a
dock act, or any other act, they did not expect it to be a
dead letter. They had been told by Mr. Jeffery that the
supply from the red sandstone had not been tested. That
was a question settled before parliament. (Never.) It
was a question whether they could get a sufficient supply.
(Cries of " Time, time.") Adding the cost of pumping,
&c., to the expense of getting water from the red sand-
stone, he could show that the Rivington plan would be
the cheapest. (No.) They could exhaust anything.
How did they get tin ? Look at the coal•pits. It was
by exhausting water from the red sandstone that they got
coal. Mr. Holme proceeded to refer to what they were
doing at Bristol, where works were now being constructed
under the superintendence of Mr. Simpson, and stated
that he had a letter from the town-clerk of Bristol, who
said every working man in that city might soon have a tap
in every room in his house. A good deal had been said
about compensation to the millowners. The act of par-
liament gave the corporation power to impound the water
over thirty miles of country, compelling them only to
leave one-third, and yet the people turned round and said
they were paying large compensation. He begged the
meeting to remember, that under the general Water-
works Act, if they went on tunnelling under Green-lane,
every inhabitant of West Derby would have a claim on
the purse of the Corporation. He begged the ratepayers
to receive it as a warning from him, that they would have
greater compensation to pay to the owners of property in
the immediate neighbourhood of Liverpool, if they got the
water by cutting a tunnel, than they would if they went
to Rivington. (Try it.) If they allowed the act to ex-
pire, the result would be, that they would be driven to the
river Dee or to Rivington, and then they would have to
pay a money compensation, instead of getting two-thirds
of the water for nothing.
Mr. AMBROSE LACE, in rising to second the amend-
ment, was received with loud hissing. He said it was
quite necessary that something should be said, because he
had not heard one word that day from the proposer of the
original motion, except assertion. He had no object in
view except the general benefit of the town. He had
nothing but what was in the property of the town, and if
the getting of this water from Rivington was either pre-
judicial or expensive to property, he would feel it as much
as any one. On this subject he did not profess to speak
from his own knowledge. He had never given his mind
to geology, but he had endeavoured to get the best infor •
mation he could, and he had no hesitation in placing its
assertions against the assertions of Mr. Jeffery. All the
most eminent geologists of the country told them there
was not the quantity of water within the limits, except at
a greater expense than the Rivington scheme. There
was not a town, ancient or modern, which got a supply of
water from underneath that town, unless it was drawn
from a distance of from fifty to sixty miles. if it were
not for the expense be should recommend them to go to
Bala Lake, where it was morally impossible they could
ever exhaust the supply, but the expense would be nearly
two millions. As to filling up the wells, that never was
intended. They did hope that the wells would not be
used. They would all admit they were not supplied with
water sufficient. (" Yes, plenty.") The next point was,
where they would get it. He said they could not get it in
the red sandstone rock, and that they could get it cheapest
at Rivington. There had been many schemes for raising
water from the river. He would say nothing of the ex-
pense, but he understood that if they used salt water for
watering the streets, and a high wind came, the dust
spoiled the tradesmen's goods. (Oh, oh.) Had none of
them ever got their hats spoiled with salt water ? You,
said he, have got this act. He gloried in the share which
he took in getting that act, because he believed it the best
thing that could be done for the good of the town.
However valiant they might be in that room, when they
went to parliament they would be turned to the right
about. (Oh.)
Mr. SMITH replied, and contended that he had only ad-
vocated going to Rivington in case the local supply was
found deficient, and the extent of that had never yet been
tested.

Mr. HARBORD said that when he came to the meeting
he had no intention of taking part in the proceedings.
But if he understood rightly what Mr. Lace said, he
seemed to place his support of the amendment on two
great arguments. He wished to assume to himself a great
deal of sincerity in the matter, and he wished them to
take as an argument in favour of carrying out the Riving-
ton scheme, that he (Mr. Lace; had some property in
Liverpool. Now, they all knew that people did very
foolish things, from investing money in railway shares,
down to cutting their throats, when they had got no more
to invest—(laughter)—and he did not see how it followed
that because a man had property, and that it would be de-
teriorated by a certain act, why they should necessarily
follow his suicidal example; and besides, it might have
been quite possible to suppose there would be a compen-
sating balance elsewhere. The second argument brought
to bear on this subject by the gigantic intellect of Mr.
Lace was, that for certain geological reasons we should go
to Rivington. But Mr. Lace, at the very onset, asserted
his absolute innocence of any knowledge of geology at all ;
,and he Den Mok it on himself to tell tilip meeting about
'the ferkreandstone, aid about the water drat was net there,
and abTut a great many other things which, as he said, he
evidently did not understand. He was glad to hear the
ex-chairman of the Water Committee say it never was the
intention to dismantle the engines, &c., or to do other
wise than to keep the wells as a dernier resort. (Hear,
hear.) What did it imply ? That they had not faith in
their own scheme. (Cheers.) If they believed all they
would cram down the throats of the burgesses, they would
not make this excuse for keeping the present wells, with
their beautiful water. Mr. Holme graphically described
the mode in which the Highway Board had been extin-
guished—" snuffed out." (Hear, hear.) This was used
as an argument for proceeding with the Pike scheme. If
so, it was an extinguisher under false pretences ; they put
out the farthing rushlight with the municipal extinguisher,
under the pretence that they were going to give them wax
instead. He (Mr. Harbord) would merely say, if the
press and the public supported this scheme under false
pretences, so much the more shame for those who misled
them, and so much the more guilt was on their shoulders
for such a course ; and he saw no argument in favour of
the Pike projectors from the statement of Mr. Holme.
Then they were favoured with the extraordinary announce-
ment, that acts of parliament were always compulsory.
He (Mr. Harbord) did not pretend to much legal lore,

Sept. IS_2.t

Per°
but he had seen acts of parliament which were _„„e
sive. If he recollected rightly, the Corporation suia a'o)
in getting placed in the water company's *et . rpe
soy
powers to purchase those works, at a certain enceiolfl,
believed it was a notorious fact. that within theifbi:
I years, fifty-five railway acts had been rePealerjsePj
I were equally compulsory with the Rivington
ort,ss,
j (Great applause.) Mr. Holme asked a yeti P etli°
question with reference to mines. How do they gopel
(Great laughter.) How do they get tin ? By
the water out. He (Mr. Harbord) would ask Mr. ;f,
how the Rivington Pike people expected to get eni,
permitting their dirty water to come to LiverP°o.
pumping the tin out of the pockets of the burg ,
(Cheers and laughter.) Mr. Holme had refertoro
Bristol, Manchester, and other places. Mauch d, fo'
intrinsically a manufacturing town, which require pel
purposes not domestic, a vast amount of
watera to fol
was no reason why Liverpool should be comPelle
low their example ; the eases were not at all P, to
Then, with regard to Bristol, they were not e'igto°,
there the silly thing which was to be done at Ititc;ll,'tl,'
It was proposed to furnish Bristol with water Ir,
Mendip hills,—the water springs from the sides °iv fit"
hills, and that town would be supplied exclusive c°6'spring water. Mr. Holme had told them that ...the fps
pensation clauses were not understood. He (tur.Fpote°
bord) hoped, with reference to the compensation
old 17er
of in the disastrous act of 1847, that it never .wi°l nfe;
understood by the burgesses of Liverpool. dos
ence ence to this matter, there had been something Oa,
the £4500 compensation to Mr. Pendlebure- ge.
e
Harbord declared that this gentleman bad ne.;e
the value of a shilling for this £4500 he had Wel
re,
was to receive. Mr. Chippendale was also to bayboe, ;
a year, and he gave nothing for it. (Cries of S roino°,
In addition to this special clause inserted in this ode;
act, by which those gentlemen were entitled t°i'beeo;
compensation than any other parties interested-I.°o 0!
—he (Mr. Harbord) did not hesitate to say that interested-I.°o
iniquitous part of this "ruinous bill of pains and Pe.
as Mr. Avison had properly styled it on a Preve's-ted °I;
casion, was that any party, high or low, inte.rf beoo
disinterested, were bought off on this occasi°°' I f OP P°''
kewJasas.
(wAhpopiwauasse,staillild
a stiff-necked
v oice,,Li
put his head or his hand up with the intention o
to,
ing it. Some they deceived into complianeellasrij
And now about sealing the contracts. The burges-ceille.;
had many a blow inflicted upon them by the Clogl"
fore; they had many a heavy whack ; but the set! "ftlic'•:l
on those contracts did more harm than all tude,,riN
they had had put together. And as to the a° rd)
was all moonshine. (Cheers.) He (Mr. fisnte
bTetulogmhtsoinn,ttoheee bi"tercwseris
not hesitate, in his place in Council, to denounce
„c!
politi dr
cally
imm
• oral a" of°
honest. (Hear, hear.) The only authority ea",
had was under the advice of the town-clerk. (yr;rets?°;,
bation.) Gentlemen would put I heir own interr..neveh",l
on such an act. It had been suggested to him t°`oo"
what an admirable contrast wasresented by the 's ittee.
of Mr. Henderson, the Chairman t.theD Co3'll.' sPri
o Doc" d
(Applause.) He simply appealed to the law an.
of the case, and was content to abide by the decio O. Rs'
voice—" A cheer for Mr. Henderson.." The c 9
werte
heartily responded to.)
the amendment was put, and about ten ban,"„¢3o'
held up in favour, and some four or five hundred 4
it.
be
The CHAIRMAN declared the amendment t°
,it and
amidst applause, and the original motion was r od
carried. a
The Venerable Archdeacon then vacated the el's°
te
Mr. Churchwarden Harbord occupied it. Se.,
Mr. S. HOLME then rose amidst cries O. 051
already," " Order," " Chair," &c. When silenc`e,
tlll5
sot'
l
some measure restored, he said he was exece-
ing2/
ious that there should be an end put to agitation asst;
question, and that the public opinion should be elPseila'
therefore he demanded a poll as the fairest way of
ning it. (Disapprobation.) mot'lll
Mr. JEFFREY, as the mover of the origina,-h,islei
should be very happy to assent that a poll should d, r",
A number of other speeches were then delivere og'
we have already given the principal arguments,
list
readers will no doubt have read sufficient about
tb
some question.
DOCK COMMITTEE, THURSDAY.—The re- °I soT, of.
tion of the Marine Committee for the appointo; 01111;
officers to the Albert Dock warehouses, Ste., wlld dee,
firmed. The petition of John Kelly, a discharget ict•
gateman, was not entertained. A long rneul°,rhae 01,h;
read from the operative porters, and referred t° f
committee. A letter was read from the secrets' °ef thee
Underwriters' Association respecting the ren30,13,, cot'
buoys at the mouth of the Ribble, without o°' ova beexp explained
being given. The chairman that the b°' err
In •je
been placed there by the Ribble Navigation Co. its 0„
sequence, however, of the channel on the 00'1,01
of the river having been found preferable for otr
the buoys had been removed, due notice of wl"e""
to have been given. fir,Ch.abl;
WEST DERBY GUARDIANS, WEDNESDAY.--- of
mers reported to the board that the appoint
e 1
lay domiciliary visitors in his district had been sags
with very satisfactory results. Innumerable ti
bowel complaint had, through their agency, bee°e net,
municated to him which otherwise might have
lected. Mr. Sidney withdrew his motion for the:ce
went of an inspector of nuisances. Mr. .M'Cu—apellS
notice that he should move, next Wednesday, tit tie- die
overseer of Mr. Musker, as assistant °verge. 01 '
letter from the Poor-law Board was read, relsu.'not aceo
appointment of Mr. John Whitehead, as ass's' oPi°,:7
seer to the West Derby township, expressing thelnf 1„
that that gentleman was appointedat salar9 " eel
a tse
per annum. Mr. Smith said that the letter °1“. eiss. se
law Board was contemptible and shuffling, as',.;
of nothing but "ifs." Mr. Sidney gave note of te's;
would move, next Wednesday, the appointment "orb r•
dent medical officer for the township of Litherla woo r
the suggestion of the Rev. Mr. Badnall, a Place se P°°
dered to be covered in for the accommodation of t
applicants waiting for relief.
qnc f/IT
HALE FLORAL AND AGRICULTURAL 0-,--15,1
Tuesday, the annual meeting of members 8°;,.0, 56:0f
of this society, for the exhibition of fruits, fll'„"dlarde
cultural produce, &c., was held in the beautiful to 014
Hale, and notwithstanding the unfavourable sipectr,er
weather the attendance was numerous and renest e,`er
and the show was, on the whole, one of the OwselPti
witnessed ender the auspices of the association roclocv
as regards rare plants and flowers, or the Bleachgenersl.„P
of the field or the garden. After the show, I:;ty..
burne and his friends, at the head of the sle'vdeclF
dressed the assemblage outside of the tent, °fa. ce-ide
the prizes, complimenting the successful entia':elson,set
titors. The Rev. Mr. Steward, Mr. Robert rely fee,),4
Nickson and others, addressed the assemblage 101 l
terms. The following were amongst the prineiqbooreto
prizes :—The cleanest cottage, Richard Mason ; 400theooe
cottage, also roots and vegetables, Thomas of .e•
best roses and creepers, Thomas Ireland; modes; fall;
tage and garden, Dunbavin ; fruits, Tim. M:,a°sfes,,,°lol
tables, Stephen Appleton ; window plants, ‘`..* kern;
dahlias, Richard Mason ; red roses, pansies, ‘s‘,;th,et,te
cucumbers, W. Beesley ; sweet herbs, Thos. the -05
&c., &c. Amongst the first prizes awarded tb°
scribers, or tenant farmers were :—White
Allen ; red wheat, James Cowley ; oats, W. r„3" of
barley, Henry Houlgrave ; beans, John El"!;deficeo;
turnips, Wm. Walker; mangels, James Bireb,
g
flowers, John Molyneux ; cabbage, Robert oo
cucumbers, James Green ; carrots, ditto ; P
Martha Hosker ; celery, George Fleetwood.

A SPECIAL FORM OF PRAY bout
crbos a Of
To be used in all Churches and Chapels throe. Iso 00
Parts of the United Kingdom called B it
a •
Ireland, instead of the Prayer used during saor,oB
Common Plague or Sickness, on Sundays, obtooog
Prevalence of Cholera in this Country;. terbeseeCoitl)
Pardon of our Sins ; and, particularly, r Dl.:.,esge
God to remove from us that grievous cist
which many places in the Kingdom are new JO
~.tor
BY HER MAJESTY'S SPECIAL COM,— „ crtnlejj,
" 0 Almighty God and Father, whose power tws
lof to
able to resist, and in whose hands are the issu.eeo
death: look down, we beseech Thee, from 11 ea' 00_,,td
ling-place, upon us Thine unworthy servantsz„esss;free6
Thee, their only refuge, in this season of sic''ot dep;ollid
mortality. 'We confess, 0 Lord, that we have 0, hag toe of
be free from that visitation of Thy wrath, whiqo gist 10r
other nations of the earth. We acknowledge la•ol 0010411
contrition that we have shown ourselves unthan rode, jii7o,
special mercies vouchsafed to us, and have Ilet,iebtai c°oo
turn for our national blessings, which Thou n„ro v" 4,01
require at our hands. We have departed fr;bitiPAeirers
mandments ; we have followed too much' the %:,,,,rooffj
present world ; and in our prosperity we have, in, „,
honoured "lhee, the Author and Giver of it 4€l
to deal with us after our sins, or reward us ac— , free,
iniquities, we could not stand in Thy sight. Goo ortbs,
" But Thou hast revealed Thyself unto us BS. auoivo..ol jog
and forgiveness, towards those who confess their Info l;
wilt- ox.,
and turn to Thee in repentance and prayer. tiled
~g 1
provoked Thee to wrath, and thousands fell bY
pestilence, Thou didst stay the sword of tbe4ifed, Niopi
,en leg
when the purpose of Thy judgment was ful' Touts
men of Nineveh repented of their iniquitY,
..ed6t to
aside the fierceness of Thine anger, and slg"their eloetyte
city, when Thou savvest that they turned froT„ ricbcit 0.01?,
" And now, 0 Lord, we entreat Thee after tli'ge SP',00:;111;
grant unto us Thine afflicted servants the 'sties')
pentance, that Thou mayest withdraw Thy eh'slielmeto
our land, and stay the plague and grievous ...Aeist,.o
abroad, making many desolate. May the4:7, i» Tb9lD
Thou hast sent, work in us a more lively faith' to of
obedience, a more earnest endeavour to cot! sensib,,,,
and to advance Thy glory. Make us dulY_,,lityql_ gran ,
goodness, in maintaining the domestic trancirand Ift° 001
in preserving us from intestine commotinottillocli4
a plentiful return to the labours of our bUs , von 00
us to show our thankfulness for these mercies, of op.d,
desire to relieve distress, to remove all occasion 01;0,4
and murmurings, and to promote go ur,lostsoliesfooplri
amongst ourselves. And may the frequo!',4 the O of
tality which we have beheld, remind us alt i'bot
death and dispose ns so to number our daY.s, or dY7lll'o'
our hearts unto wisdom : that, whether living.. um e ,
he found faithful disciples of Him vvho bnotiog
sting of death, and opened the gate of eve'
and $ ti re;
believers. • great ; our V'
" Hear us, 0 Lord, for Thy goodness is these
to the multitude of Thy
b' mercies receive .•
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." „oPiot
or Sio
THE WEATHER AND THE URODS. —The favo° t
the week just past was, upon the virlic''_'fid Desla* ire Piot
the completion of the grain harveshti;)o;rhood bole
wheat, oats, and barley in this neig—
_;d to be e 00.401
stacked in good order, and may
average of crops in quality and
we may state, that Harold Littledealbilin,sttiy.si:!ac' scrs.loo:(_°,`,l.lll7orl::
has at his farm got under cover five „oak sni.'ry. to
two of oats, and four of hay, each 01,";tisfse_i_ctecloll
in length. The yield has been most ;re joteireot
regret to say, however, that Totateewo hoPe',..d.ee,eef;
considerable,extent with rot. f this ese"-tter Poe
we can learn, that the general crop 0. . of 10 hstio
be more abundant, and, with painstaio,'!s We ooe
ing quality, than for some years banch::_iy poo
heavy fall of rain from Saturday to et"
day. Yesterday was a lovely day.

Sept I

:tor iminact a:ol c
le:1,
g
e callsl
so Dal
not
Noon come
Youdsn:
And all 'll
A° °o n,
nd man fr
a„,,
Withappc
ith the
ES which a
Np'er plea
c Olt call
q,ent ands('

iatookh,
or
4k"abiogral
aYe, M.D,
it edit
tL Re or of
d author eteiled des al
the
te cri
r manuscript
f PrOducti
tp:7ollrably
p PaPently Seel:s% the so
re
t think
traiae<`_ heve thi
in
o( Li ad vei t
n t:r

,al!!._)t. 18, 1349.

Rarraturr.

POETRY.

THE THREE CALLERS.
More ealleth fondly to a fair boy straying
shenal golden meadows, rich with clover dew;
WO'
he still thinks of nought, save playing ;
WO' so she smiles—and waves him an adieu!
tie,tBt be) still merry with his flowery store,
'us not that Morn, sweet Morn ! returns no more.
hH COMetil—hat the boy to manhood growing,
tae
not the time—he sees but one sweet form;
; , Inang fair face, from bower of jasmine glowing,
so all his loving heart with bliss is warm :
end"n, unnoticed, seeks t..e western shore,
Man forgets that Noon returns no more.
"ht'aPpeth gently at a casement gleaming
pwith the thin tire light, flickering fain. and low;
Iyliich a gray-hair''d man is sadly dreaming
'high
Pleasures gone—as all Life's pleasures go :
silent ands
him to her—and ne leaves his door,
dark ;—and he returns no more.