The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-11-01 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

Ma. EDITOR,—WiII you allow me, through the columns of
your paper, to inquire how it is that one of the most useful
and most necessary institutions of the town, the Penitentiary,
is almost in a state of bankruptcy ? The streets and lanes
teem with arguments—living arguments—to prove the neces-
sity of such an institution. The faithful and affectionate
lauours of the committee of management may be, in some
measure, estimated from the reports which have, year after
year, been issued, and which also prove the utility of the insti-
tion, and the blessing which has been vouchsafed. _
_ _

The energies of the institution are now much crippled, and
the committee tare been forced to limit the number of inmates
to 45.

The condition of it must be a most melancholy contempla-
tion to all who love the souls of their perishing fellow-creatures.
As minister of St. Simon's parish, I feel it keenly. In 1847,
when the last census of my parish was taken, there were found
89 houses of ill-fame, inhabited by about 446 females. In times
past I had these houses regularly visited, and we have had the
pleasure of bringing. many a poor girl to the right path. All
such visitation is row at an end, because of the crippled ener-
pie, of the Penitentiary. Poor girls have come to me, beseech-
ing me, with tears, to rescue them from their lost state. Alas !
I have het n obliged to answer then► coldly, because of the
crippled energies of the Penitentiary.
Recently the cholera has been among them : they have
trembled as they saw their companions cut offin their iniquity.
What an opportunity for me to say, " Behold the open door of
the Penitentiary. You may go the re, and sit at the feet of
Jesus" ; but I could not, because of its crippled energies.
I hear of females being unhappy in their polluted abodes—of
their being willing to come out ; bat I could institute no in-
quiry, or make no movement, for the above reason.
I have written these few hasty lines in hope that they tray
meet the eye of some of those whom the Lord has blessed with
means, and I pray that Ile may put it into their hearts to sub-
scribe to the Penitt-iaittry—to work for it—to pray for it.—
Respectfully yours, JOHN It. CONOR,
Incumbent of St. Simon's Parish,
in Liverpool.
St. Simon's, Oct. 22, 1849.

The Qtu•rn has conferred a baronetcy on the Lon?
111nyor of London.
_ _ _

ii.EPEAL ASSOCIATION.—The fourth and most wretched
meeting of the series, was held on Monday. The rent for
the week was £29 Bs, Id., wherever that• sum came trill:.
The Qu• en Dowager had some refreshing sleep on
Monday night and felt better on Tuesday morning. Sit
David Davies remains in atte ndabee on Hot. Mtjesty at
the Priory. _

Lord it,den has written strongly to the Orangemen,
dissuading them from their intended de rnonstration on
the sth of November; and in consequence it will most
likely be abandoned.
LIME STREET WARD.—We are glad to find that Mr.
Johr Stewart has allowed himself to be nominated as
a candidate for this ward ; and, as Mr. Picton will no
doubt retire from the contest according to his expressed
intention, Mr. Stewart will be returned unopposed.
QCOITING MATCH AT SEACOMBE.—This interesting
match came off yesterday afternoon, and terminated in
the defeat of the Seacombe players, whose throwing, how-
ever, was excellent. The Scotch players used the small
heavy quoit, and the Seacombe players the large quoit,
which, tieing affected greatly by the wind, lost them, it
was observed, many casts. Ths throwing match comes
(.ff to-day.
SUBSCRIPTION FOR THE- FAMILY OF THE LATE DR.
BYRTH.—WC are• extremely glad to find that a very
munificent subscription is being raised for the interesting.
family of this much-lamented reverend gentleman. We
believe that upwards of £2,000 have already been con-.
tributed ; and among the subscribers are the following
gentlemen for the princely donations attached to their
tespective names :—John North, D,q., £250; Thomas
Bondi, Esq., £150; George Grant, Esq., £lOO, &c., &c.

SPECIAL GENERAL VESTRY.
IMPORTANT PROCEEDINGS ON THE WATER
QUESTION.

Yesterday an adjourned General Vestry of the inhabitants
was held for the purpose of receiving the report of the Commit-
tee appointed on the 15th of September last, on the subject of
water supply. The meeting was convened to take place in the
Church of St. Nicholas, but as will be seen it was subsequently
adjourned to the Sessions' House. Amongst those present we
noticed Messrs. Rushton, Earle, Jeffery, Haigh, Picton, Den-
ton, Smith, Brown, Dr. Collins, &c.
E. P. Macknight, E,q., was called upon to preside. In open-
ing the proceedings of the meeting' the Chairman said it was
necessary to state that the melancholy cause of his taking the
chair was contained in the following note:—

" Wednesday, at my Brother's house, 8 o'clock, a.m.
"MY DEAR SlR,—Having been all night with my dear Bro-
ther Harry, and being obliged to remain with him in his antici,
gated last moments, I trust you will make a suitable excuse for
my absence (to the committee), as I am tired and in grief, and
cannot now give my mind to other subjects.
" Believe me, dear Sir, yours, faithfully,
" R. HARBORD."
Mr. LOWNDES having read the advertisement calling the
meeting,
Mr. HAIGH rose, and moved that the vestry do adjourn to
the Session's House. .

This motion having been unanimously carried, the meeting
did so adjourn.
Mr. Elmer, Vestry-clerk, then read the report from the Paro-
chial Committee, which appeared in our advertising columns.
Mr. J. R. JEFFREY rose, and was received with applause.
He said—Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, you have heard the
report of the committee read, and it now becomes my duty to
move that it be received. When this vestry was first sum-
moned, I hoped that my duty would have ended in the utter-
ance of the few words which would be necessary in simply
movine. that the report be received—as the committee preferred
that the facts themselves, as set forth in that report, should go
to the, public, front which they could draw their own
deductions and inferences, and form their own conclu-
sions. (Hear, hear.) Unfortunately it becomes my duty
to make reference to a proceeding which has taken place
elsewhere upon a report based on the same facts as
our own; unfortunately, that report wits not confined to
a mere statement of facts, but embodied opinions atordeduc-
dons from the facts. (Hear.) The report to which I refer was
set forth as being the substance of an arrangement entered into
between your committee and the special water committee of
the Town Council. A copy of it was not received by your
committee until Monday, at half past twelve o'clock, an hour
and a half after the Council had assembled for its dis-
cussion. (Hear, hear.) By an accident your law-clerk saw the
'particulars of it in the public prints. As your legal protector
he felt it his duty (I should say that he did not see it till the
'after part of Saturday) to write to the Town-clerk, protesting
on our account against that document being received as the
arrangement entered into between the two committees. The
motive of our solicitors has been misunderstood ; they wished
to convey that three months was not a sufficient time for
the suspension of the contracts, but that irt their opinion
at least six months would lie necessary to carry out the
desired abject of the vestry ; and if the Council adopted
so short a time as three months, a large amount of money
would have to he paid for the accommodation, and the time
might expire before we had fairly commenced operations ;
and thus the labour which we should have dev ted, the money
necessarily spent, would both have been gone in vain. (Hear,
hear, hear.) At the termination of the time, they were
anxiousthat we should not be so circumstanced that the Council,
or the legal adviser of the Council, should say to you, " gentle •
men, you have had the time which you wanted; if you have
not done the work we cannot help it, the contracts must go on,
the saheme proceed, and you must pay for it." (Hear, hear.)
I say it was the especial desire of your law-clerk to see that we
were not placed in such a position; hence the duty he felt
called upon to perform was a painful one, that of sending in the
protest against the report being received as your committee's
(Hear.) Now I can make every allowance for irregularities in
an office like the Town-clerk's. I am wishful to make allow-
ance for such irregularities as must necessarily arise where
a vast amount of business has to be transacted: but in a case
like the present, I cannot find any excuse for that gentleman
not performing what I would say was an act of courtesy to the
legal adviser to your committee, in not sending him a copy
of report, that he might hat e had our sanction to it, and thus
the coursewouldhavebeenperfectlyclearthat the Council would
have been in no difficulty on Monday last. I regret very much
that there is a Council meeting to-day. I was glad when I saw
our meeting announced for to-day, because the Council meeting,
as originally arranged, was to have been held yesterday; and
then such gentlemen as are members of the Council, who
take a great interest in the question, would have had the
opportunity of being present here, and rebutting, if they
could, what may be stated by_ any of the speakers who may
feel it their duty to comment upon the observations which
some members of the Council thought proper to make on
Monday last. (Hear.) Sir, the mayor stated in his place in
Council, that " the better course to pursue would he to go on
with the arrangements, and act in good faith on behalf of the
Water Committee. Go on with their recommendation to the
Council, without reference to what had occurred there, and let
the blame rest where it should properly fall, and not on the
Council." • Now, sir, i concur in those sentiments of the
mayor. I say, let the blame rest where it should fall, and not
upon your committee. (Loud applause) Gentlemen, we are
placed in a very painful position. The report was presented to
the Town Council ex parte. It was deliberated upon, and gen-
tlemen ventured to gire their opinions on that report as though
it had been mutually agreed upon by both parties, but after-
wards repudiated by us. Now, I wish to call your attention par-
ticularly to that circumstance if you please. Ido not believe
that the gentlemen who are reported here to have been so severe
in their observations would have been so, had it occur ed to
them, for a moment, that we were not parties to that arrange-
ment. (Applause.) You see the importance afone false step ; and
that false step was unfortunately taken by the legal adviser of
those gentlemen themselves • and it is one for which we must
not, cannot, will not, he held responsible. (Loud cheering.)
Mr. George Holt, who i , the chairman of the special water
committee, is reported to have said,—" The principle on which
they resolved, as the only one on which there was any chance
of settling this question, was that of arbitration. Both parties
were distinctly agreed, and if they would only keep to terms,
and adhere strictly to them, there would be every disposition
on the part of the special committee to meet the parochial
committee in all its details." Now, I defy Mr. George
Holt, nr any other gentleman, to say that your committee
hes deviated in the least from the terms agreed to. (Applause.)
Mr. George lioit -was present at every nterytew ; tie was a
party to the winding up of the- whole affair; and I think lie
cannot have read the report before he put his name to it, else
he would have seen that it contained other sentiments than
those which we agreed should be put down as the bases of the
arrangement. Further on, he said—" The committee believed
everythine had been done which could he done in the testing
of the wells. All the evidence, from Jones, the well sinker, to
the president of the Geological Society, was against the proba-
bility of a supply being raised at home." Excuse me, gentle-
men, if my remarks slightly diverge from consecutive order,
as I think it will be better to dispose of the points as they
arise. I have information, gentlemen, that daily, every 24
hours, in the neighbourhood of Si. Helens' no less than from
eight to ten million gallons of water are pumped out from
the mines to keep them free from water, which is poured into
the canal, run into the Mersey, and is wasted. (Hear and
applause.) Now this Mr. Jones, the well-sinker, is referred to
at every whip and turn ; but I believe that there are gentlemen
present who can tell you that he used expressions on his deathbed
on the subject of our local supply very contrary to the opinions
which have been ascribed to him. Mr. George Holt also refers,
—and really, sir, I am sorry to have to criticise the speech of a 1
gentleman who stands so deservedly high as Mr. Holt does
as a townsman ; I feel myself in most unpleasant circumstances
in having to comment as I am obliged to do on his remarks, in ,
protection to your committee, and in justice to the public at
large, that they. may be fully informed on the facts ; but
public duty requires that this should be done. (Hear, bear,
and applause.) He is reported to have said, "Ott the 15th
they bad agreed on every point except as to the suspension or
otherwise of the contracts, and they ctimmutuicated to the
Parochial Committee that they were desirous of receiving from
them the necessary agreement for a formal ratification, but to
his great surprise, when he considered every thing satisfac-
torily arranged and concluded, except as to the suspension of
the castings—and they were determined to carry out that
faithfully and fully—during the progress of this negociation he
saw this advertisement in the Mercury :—" The Parochial
Water Committee, appointed by the late Special General
Vestry, to adopt measures for putting a stop to the costly pro-
ject of water supply, known by the name of the Pike scheme,
beg to apprise the rate-payers at large, that hitherto, although
ail diligence has been used, preliminary proceedings only have
been taken, and that no one conclusive step has been definitely
agreed upon." Now ,gentlemen, you will see the great disparity
between Mr. George Molt's statement and the statement of the
chairman of your committee. The advertisement proceeds :
" And they feel it to be their duty, further and emphatically
to declare their conviction, that the question whether any ar-
rangement can lie effected at all for staying the scheme, and
thereby protecting the ratepayers from an enormous expendi-
ture, and from still more serious liabilities, will entirely de-
pend upon the election of decided opponents of the scheme as
members of the Town Council, on the Ist November neat.—
Signe-t in and on behalf of the committee, in pursuance of an
unanimous resolution.—RlCHAßD HA 111101 to, CilUlVl.WnEdtql of
Liverpool. Gentlemen, time has shewn you whether the
chairman of your committee or the chairman of the committee
of the Town Council was correct at the time. This advt.? tise-
ment was issued, because there were certain publications set
forth by a gentleman who was a candidate for a seat in the
Town Council opposed to our views, and therefore an advocate
of the Pike, stating positively and absolutely that the question
wes a settled question, arid therefore so far as his qualifications
were concerned, it could not be held in the least to his pre-
judice. Seeing this, I say it was our dirty to communicate to
you the fact that we as a committee were still contending w ith the
other committee—that we were in the heat of the battle—that
we were contesting the matter step by step, inch by inch, with
the committee of the Town Council. (Applause.) And labo-
rious were the duties—great time vnluable time devoted on
both sides necessarily, to this important question, which is of
snch a magnitude as to involve a very serious sum of money,
I'm afraid to trust myself to name the amount : or t should say
two millions sterling. (Hear ) I believe that, before we get out of
it, the figures will add up to somethinglike that sum. M r. George
Holt is further reported to have said,—" hatever difficulties
they might hsve had, end however deficient he was as a
diplomatist, he could assure the Council the committee never
Entertained any feeling but that of securing peace,—(hear,)—
and to be met, as they now were met, by a protest against that
which was agreed to the other day, rendered airy attempt to
settle the matter hopeless. '1 hey were willing to sacrifice their
own ft clings, but when they found parties breaking from their
engauerro nts. in this way, what were they to do. If they were
met in such a manner as this in public matters they could
never give satisfaction." Now, gentlemen, these observations
naturally an use the ire of any inan who possesses as honourable
mind, and an honest determination. (Loud applause.) On be-
half of myself, and of those gentlemen with whom I have had
the pleasure of acting, I beg to say that we never had any
but an honest determination to bring the question to an
mierible set dement, if possible; to procure peace for the town
ef Liverpool as far as practicable. (Applause.) But we are
here charged with breaking through our agreement. Again,
is that observation based upon the unfr rtunate neglect of the
Town-clerk, and I declare that I bad half made up toy mind to
I,e very severe on him. After the difficulties wi icb we have
Lad with the special water committer of the Council—after the
difficulty which we had to toter a ono-sting some points with
the tnediatot•s—diflictilty out both hands, from all sources, it is
ost annoying to find the Town-clerk playing so high a game
at the last moment, us to send in a report which had never
been sanctioned by us. to that Council ; as it were, tacitly
tls ing rs to rr ti ;at we might beat him ;
hut not sac! dicing at IP it Vi: !P, 1:;,,.,. rat we wereritTht, we
played the highest game Ail 1,11i;1 :i• frayed, prevented the
public being imposed upon, and ma nothied our integrity.
I urn happy to say that I have now concluded the comments
which 1 meant to make on Mr. liott's observations. I come
now to a gentleman who at: of a as high in Liverpool as Mr.
Holt,-1 refer to Mr. Geo. Hall Lawrence. He is reported to
have said, "Wien he found from the letter of Messrs. Avison
tied Pritt, that all the proceedings were repudiated." Gentle-
men that is a very severe word ; I have a right to feel ill
" Repudiated ;" by whom repudiated? Not by your commit-
tee; I deny the imputation, and all of a similar character given
utterance to in the Council, on Monday last, and throw it back
to the gentleman with contempt. (Loud cheering ) "Many
of the stipulations and conditions in the report he had brought
his mind to consent to with great reluctance; and he thought
there was great rink in going to a reference at all on the matter,
atter what had taken place." Gentlemen, that reference was
not the proposition which we submitted ; we assented to it
with great reluctance; we had a very warm and animated dis-
cussion in our committee upon it. Are thought that a refe-
rence to engineers was quite unnecessary; we thought that-we
might nominate, as you have heard in the report; three gentle.
men of the Council, and three gentlemen not in the Counted,
but connected with the borough, who might sit upon the
matter, and hear the facts addirced. (Applause.) But that
special Water Committee, of which Mr. Lawrence was a
member, made it a site qua non that it should be submitted
to the arbitration of engineers (Hear. hear, 'hear.) Mr.
Lawrence further on only does Mr. Churchwarden Harbord
and myself Justice when he says: When be looked'