The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-03-04 00:00:00

THE - LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

knowledge, not merely in talents, but in integrity, and, they
mast excuse hi en for adding, in physical ability for going
through the woe k. This, not merely tbr the pressing arrange-
ments now, for if the machinery was at work it would require
all those qualifications to keep it in order. How were they to
obtain this? He had been asked, rather tauntingly, whether
he would oic £5OOO out of his own business for these quail&
catioas, and he had at once answered " yes." /f the leading men
in the profession were earning their £5OOO a-y.ear, it was their
duty to make the emolument £5OOO a-year, because it was their
duty to look, not to the mere saving of-money, but to have the
very first individual in every respect for town-clerk that they
could obtain. How were they to obtain him but by making it
an object to them to get the office. This was the principle to
go on, and he
.could not therefore consent, having that view of
the subject, to argue, the question on any other ground,' What
did they • require of their professional adviser?
.Did they re-
quire him- to be a sound lawyer? to have the experience of a
great deal of previous practice ? Above all, to be a man de-
voted to carry on all the improvements of the reform municipal
bill? They required hint to be devoted, therefore, mind, body,
and soul, and with the utmost integrity to the object they had
in view.- This was the great ground on which they ought to
argue it. •And about the money, he had been unwilling to
argue it at all on that question ; but if he must condescend to
pounds, shillOgs, and pence, he would do so. He was sorry to
do so, becaue he was bringing forward details which he had
much rather had--been kept back;
.but seeing it was to be done,
he went into it because rit was extremely important that they
should have some one on whom they could feel confidence.
The Mayou.—Allow me to ask, is it really necessary to bring
forward those tails which your own mind would wish to keep
back.
Mr.-Councillor RATHBONE did feel that it was necessary that
they should be brought forward. If it was unanimously their
feeling that Mr. Radcliffe should be appointed town-cleat, and
it' he should have that' emolument as to'wn-clerk—if the report
were unanimously adopted- by those gentlemen who could not
attend—he would waive going into this discussion; if there was
a shadow of doubt, he felt' bound to go into that question.
The Mayon.-The propriety Of such course would be if you
hear in the course of the discussion opinions against the report.
Mr. Councillor Earti,E,Are we now going into the appoint-
ment ?
The MAYoR.—Yes.
Mr. Councillor EARLE.—I shall certainly not vote on it, be-
cause I am not'prepared;
The Mayoa.—That point had been fixed unanimously already.
Mr.,Councillor E A ni.E.—But on this understanding, that this
report was in our hands three days ago. (Several gentlemen
called-to order.)
The Mayori.—lt is my province to call to order. lam going
to tell Mr. Earle that-he is totally out of order. I had made
my apology, and the council bad decided that we should proceed.
Mr. COUlleillOr EARLE did not understand it in that way at all.
The Mavon.—lt is now too late.-
Mr. Councillor EARLE bud Some inquiries to make on that
very report, and he had only received it on entering the room.
He should not thereefore remain. If called to order he could
not move an amendment.
The MAYOR.—BV silence the subject was assented to to be
proceeded with. If Mr. Earle wished to propose an amend-
ment he was at liberty to do so.
Mr. Councillor EARLE would move an amendment if he was
not out of order.
Mr. Councillor RATHBONE then proceeded. He must really'
claim the increased indulgence of that court from this interrup-
tion, becanse he felt his own inability to do justice to this very
important question. He did take a very strong view of the
im-
portance-of the decision, and be was sure they must be aware
that it was a most embarrassing- thing if a gentleman was not
accustomed to bring forward measures. It put a great cause
Under great disadvantage. Let them blame him as much as
they liked, but let not the cause suffer by the inability ofhis ad--
voeacy. (Cries of "No, no.") He thought it-right, in his
opening speech, to give all the particulars he had obtained; he
begged pardon for saying "he —upon which the committee
had arrived at that conclusion. He had therefore to go through
the duties of the town-clerk and the sources of emolument of all'
future town-clerks, and then show them how small a sum they
would be called on to pay for a great object. The borough' court
fees were X 1000; the clerk of the peace's fees were estimated
at £700; theleases of the public, he believed it was not an 'ex,
travagant statement, but rather under than over, to state £5OO,
making-altogether £2,200. The sum for which he ventured to
ask them to vote for—the united salaries—was £3,500; taking
£2,200 from £3,500, it left a balance of £1,300 for the borough
fund to pay. But in addition to this there were the prosecu-
tions; and there was a saving from the fund if one of their own
officers conducted those prosecutions of £1,500 more, leaving
something like ni/to he paid by the borough fund. The re-
newing of leases was Ell); the general business amounted to
£400; and the receipts of the town-clerk for attending on com-
mittees, &c., burgess list -revising, as clerk of the records, revis-.
ing freemen's roll, attending insolvent court, attending, on ma-
gistrates at elections, parliamentary and municipal, and he con-
cluded with the parliamentary actions and suits, the amount
derived from which it was very difficult to ascertain, and ho
took it considerably lower than it averaged when he stated it at
£1,500 a year, a sum which came out of their funds, and which
their officer would not receive at all having a fixed salary; and
there was the prosecutions of the nightly watch cases, which had
hitherto amounted to 1:300 per annum, which by the present
arrangement their own officers would take charge of. He there-
fore -wished to show that by this arrangement there was a posi-
tive saving. They had paid £6,800 a year to the former town-
clerk, according to an average of five years, and their two offi-.
cers were now to be paid £3,500. With regard to the town-
clerk it was not necessary for him to enlarge on his merits:, So
far as he had been himself concerned, he bad been at nine, at
ten, and eleven o'clock at night st the town-hall with hits', and
he believed Mr. Walmsley had been at much later hours in the
morning with him. As to his talents and iuformation, it was '
not necessary for him to speak on them. The very saving of
time in the looking over the municipal act—the 'way in which
their town-clerk had everything at his finger ends, must be very
obvious to that council. One word with regard to the assistant.
£lOOO a year for him was not too much. That assistant was to
.conduct the prosecutions. The public were not compelled to,
employ him. If he was not qualified by his talents to secure
the confidence of the public, -those prosecutions might go into
the hands of the 'public at large ; therefore there would be a
losing if they did not get the best-member they could of the
junior profession,—there would be a losing of £l5OO a year on
those actions they intended to have. He would contend for
what he had said and shown,—that it was essential to them to
offer such a salary as would get the first man in the highest
branches of the profession in Liverpool,—that it was not merely
necessary for the present but for the future that they should
have that man. It was not therefore a matter, of pounds, shil-
lings, and pence, but if they could get a man competent to fill:-
that situation, they would by so doing save many thousands to •
the public, of whom they -were the representatives aneU guarrL
ians. For the convenience of separating the two questions he
would move in the first place " that Mr. Radcliffe be appointed
as town-clerk with a salary of £2,500 a 'year," and then they
would come to the decision as to the assistant, which, though an
important point, was of secondary importance to having/a good
head to the whole.
Mr. Alderinan acLar.—LSubject to the. reduction of fees,
as stated in the report?
Mr. Councillor RAT lIBONE understood most distinctly that
Mr. Radcliffe should have £2,500 coining into his pocket, nei-
ther more nor less.
The Mayou.—The motion is, " that Mr. Radcliffe bp ap•
pointed town-clerk, with a salary of £2,500 a year, subject to
the reduction of fees."
Mr. Councillor WALMSLEY seconded the motion. •
Mr. Councillor H. La waErscE.L.-The report recommended
that a town-clerk should be appointed, with a salary of £2,500.
Mr. Rathbone's was a different motion. They ought first to
li
the salary, and then the individual.
The Al A rott thought it was determined that the salary should
he fixed first.
Mr. CoUncillor RATHBONE had no wish to take the council
by surprise in any way. He was very much obliged to Mr.
Lawrence for his suggestion. 'With their permission he would
move, "that the salaryof the town-clerk shall be £2,500 a year,
subject to the reduction of fees."
Mr. Councillor WALMSLEY seconded this motion.
Mr. Councillor ''ABLE supposed he might now make his
amendment. He would not say that he should not be prepared
to vote £2,500 on a future day for the office of town-clerk: he
was not one of those who would wish to have the officers of the
corporation scurvily paid : he only wanted to have his own
mind satisfied The report had only just been handed' to him,
and therefore he should move " that this subject be deferred
until Friday next." That would give gentlemen an opportunity
to make any inquiries that they might think necessary.
Mr. Councillor SHIEL had much pleasure in seconding the
amendment. He had applied for those reports—he was anxious
to have all the information he could, and he'apnlied to the town-
clerk himself, and asked lkira when they would be printed, and
he replied that they would be in the hands of the council by
post time on Monday night. -He merely mentioned this, as
there seemed some inconsistency between tbat and the Mayor's
statement. There'did not seem to be so much ignorance about
them. •

Mr. Councillor.RATittioNE.-7Mr. Shiel would allow him to
explain that there were three or four reports to be printed, itit the
possession of Mr. Radcliffe, and his answer to Mr. Shiel's ap-
plication would necessarily be, that " these reports" were ready,
and would be in the hands of the council. There was no incon-
sistency in that. -
Mr. Councillor SHIEL begged to be understood. He' was
pretty clear that he had asked the town-clerk•for this particular
report ; but it was a matter of nolnoment whether he did or not,
for the:+• had been no report sent, in since. (Hear.)
The MA Yon, in justice to the town-clerk, must add that the
town-clerk called his attention to it the day before. (Hear.)
Mr. Councillor EARLE would wish the votes on the amend-
ment to be taken down, as there were gentlemen who voted
neither one way or the other.
Mr. Alderman ROBINSON.—Many gentlemen of the council
might probably come to a decision they were not prepared for.
If the amendment was lost, he took it for granted that the mo-
tion was carried.
The MAYOR would put both the amendment and the motion.
The votes were then taken, Mr. J. Lawrence signifying that
he must vote against the amendment, because he should be out
of town on Friday; otherwise he would hot.
For the amendment—Messrs. Hope, Thornhill, Shiel, E.
Smith, Barton, L. Heyworth. Bircti, H. Hornhy, H. Lawrence,
Lassell, Holt. Earle, Carson, Brocklebank, Blackburn,
Leigh, G. Holt, Tayleur, and Freme.
• Against the amendment—Messrs. J. Holmes, Logan, Har-
vey, ThOrnely, Rawdon, M`Gregor, 11. Holmes, Mellor, Walms-
ley, Bolton, Woollright, Rushton, Rathbone, Preston, James
Lawrence, Maxwell, Aikin, Morecroft, Roskell, Coglan, E.
Cropper, Alison, Sanders, J. Cropper, Jordan, Duncan, Evans,
Blain, Moon, Bulley, Barclay, Robinson, Stuart, Booth,
Brown, T. Smith, Jones, Benn, and the Mayor, being fur the
amendment 19, against it 39.
- -

Mr. Councillor BIE'Cli presumed he could move another
amendment on the motion. The remarks he intended to make
would have reference to the present, and more particularly to
the previous discussion on this question. When this subject
,had been discussed at the last meeting, Mr. Rathbone had re-
presented that the ground on which he fixed the particular sum
of £2500 per annum was because Mr. Radcliffe's professional
emoluments amounted to that sum, and they could not faiily
expect that he would transfer his services to the public fbr a
smaller amount. Mr. Rathbone had not attended to this point
in his speech on this occasion, and seemed altogether to have
removed his ground ; and he seemed now to have assumed that
the sum of £2500 per annum was only a fair remuneration, no
matter whoever was appointed to the situation. He appre-
hended that Mr. Rathbone had Mr. Radcliffe in his eye when
he said £2500 was only sufficient for the office. With reference
to what Mr. Rathbone had said on the last occasion, it did ap-
pear to him (Mr. Birch) then as it now (lid, although a very
proper consideration, and a very natural one for Mr. Radcliffe,
yet it was not a very fair one to that council, when an important
arrangement was desired, unless they were compelled to -admit
the remainder of Mr. Rathhone's position, namely, " that there
was no other man who was competent to fill the office." If
they were bound to make that admission, and it were -found as
an unquestionable truth that they bad no option whatever but to
appoint Mr. Radcliffe, because there ,was no other .man ade-
quate fort he office, then he must s;iy they.were reduced to a
most painful and perplexing dilemma, and it 'would be very kind
in Mr. Eathbene to extricate them on any terms. But without
the slightest disrespee! to Mr. Rat Maine he must deny the truth
of, his statement. ; : Teinted assent to the great talents, and
the energy which 1`,.1r. iadcliffe combined with them, but he

would not be brought so far to stigmatize the other members of
a large and learneu prafession 'as to listen fur one moment to
this doctrine of peculiar and exclusive eligibility of- any indi-
vidual member of the profession. (Hear.) They must well
remember that when the Lite Mr. Statham died, his loss was
considered as a great public calamity, for it was mentioned to.
be extremely difficult to supply his place. They must also re-
member that when the council appointed Mr. Foster it was very
sown discovered that iu the person of Mie Foster they founa
a very good substitute for Mr. Statham; and not more than two j
months ago, when the subject of Mr. Foster's removal was dis-
cussed, it was equally maintained that they should be placed in
a very awkward predicament—that no other person could be
found to fulfil • the duties of the office.. He would appeal to
every member of the council present if the experience of the
services of Mr. Foster's successor had not been amply sufficient
to dispel this second illusion. But he would go further, he
would say that he did not think Mr. Rathbone had displayed
the fairness and candour which he ought to have done, in raising
up this fictitious argument about peculiar and exclusive compe-
tency for the purpose of entrapping their judgments and drawing
away the consciences of gentlemen who ought to assemble there for
the single purpose of acting fairly and uprightly by the trust
confided to them, and not for the furtherance of any peculiar
feelings, or the gratification of any personal partiality. If Mr.
Rathlione did truly believe his own statement, it was perfectly
consistent in him to acquiesce in Mr. Radcliffe's exclusive fitness.
He (Mr. Birch) did not acquiesce in it, and he thought the sum
fixed on was far more than the public ought to pay. He, therefore,
could not concede to the motion, and should conclude with an
amendment. He was rather at a loss how to word it. If Mr.
Radcliffe were requested to continue his.services as town-clerk,
he would move that he should have £2OOO per annum ; if he re-
jected this offer,. he would move that the situation should be
open to the public for £l5OO per annum.. He was aware that
it was extremely desirable that Mr. Radcliffe, whose talents
were very great, and who enjoyed the confidence of the council
.and of the public, should beappointed, and this would be sufficient
explanation for the exception made in the salary in his case. If
Mr. Rathbone persisted in his motion he must move that £l5OO
per ant= be:the future salary of the town-clerk ; if he coupled.
it with Mr. 'Radcliffe, as to fill the office, he must move that
£2OOO a year be given him. Or if Mr. Rathbone would state,
as Mr. Radcliffe's friend, that he would be likely to continue in
the office 'at a salary of £2OOO a year, he would move £2OOO a
year as an amendment to his motion, and not £l5OO.
Mr. Councillor RATHBONR did not come forward as Mr.
Radcliffe's friend; he was the friend of nobody; he came for:
ward on behalf of the public. His private opinion was that Mr.
Radcliffe would not take £2OOO a-year.
Mr. Councillor BOLTON hoped that in the observations he
was about to make, that it would not be construed that he had
any disrespect to Mr. Radcliffe; he had . pellet:a confidence in,
and respect for him, from the..experience he had of hint. At
the same time, he:must say that Mr. Radcliffe had rather made
lighteif the pounds, shillings, and pence; and the circum-
stances of the-estateewere such as.to make it necessary .to look
very closely after them. He had looked at the expenditure,
and he could not think but that the expenditure would exceed
the income for some years to. come. At the same time, having
the unnost.confidence in Mr. Radcliffe's ability, and having no
other attorney 'in the town. who could discharge the duties bet-
ter, probably not eo well, he would;) vote more in his case.
But circumstances made it necessary in them to snake ieeco-
nomical arrangement, though he was no advocate for a stingy
economy. It appeared to. him that they should come-to a con-
clusion how much they ought to pay for the town-clerk and the
deputy—that the two questions should. he united together.
Though the duties of the office had been large, vet, when regu-
larity had been establiihed, the ,duties might he greatly dimi-
nished by a division or labour.. Some particular branch might
he given to both. Ile would propose that £3OOO be the salary
fur the town-clerk and his deputy. By adopting this course,
they ensured the services of Mr.Jßadcliffe, and left the .matter
open fornegociation to Mr. Radcliffe, whether the sum be £5OO,
£6OO, or £7OO which he would allow for the deputy. Ile would,
therefore, .propose " that the whole amount of the salary do not
exceed £3OOO •
Mr. C 06116116- BIRCH W 01.114 beg to alter his amendment to
"that Sir. Radcliffe he requested to continue his services as
town-clerk at a salary of £2OOO per annum."
Mr. Councillor fIoRNBY begged to second this.
Mr. Alderman' 4LAY. appeared to him in the first
place, in speaking on the subject, that gentlemen looked too
much at the pounds, shillings, and pence. It appeared to him
that the ,consideration was nut so much what the salary ought
to be, as whether there were duties to he performed cowmen-
surete with the salary proposed; and if it could be fairly proved
to the satisfaction of 111/a tOtHleil, that the duties required a
salary of £5OOO instead of £2500, it would be their duty to pay
that. He thought it beginning at the wrong end of the subject
to say what - sine should be paid; they ought first to look at
what was wanted. The town-clerk must have legal knowledge,
or he could net inform them; he must have .practical know.
ledge, or he could not advise them; so he must have zeal, or
he would sadly disappoint them; he must have industry, or
they should leave him hehind; and he must have integrity, or
all these things were not worth anything. Where must they
Look for these requiSites? Not in a young man just come out
of an office; not in. a young solicitor rising in the world, but
they must took fur them in a thorough-bred, seasoned lawyer,
who alone was fit to act as'tbe legal adviser of the second muni-
cipal corporation in the kingdom. If, therefore, ,they found
such a man, they would Cud him settled and established in his
profession, and in the receipt of a considerable income. They
called on him to give up all his practice completely, and they
employed him as long as they pleased. And, then, there was
another consi,leration which was not mentioned; after he had
given up all. his
.practice,
„for some cause or other they aright
dislike him—they might disagree, and they tinned biin off, and
every thing he had would be gone,,and heewould have to begin
the world again. .Therefore, the salary they ought to give a
.man should enable him to support the rank of a geotleman—
should enable 'hint to bring up a family—should enable him to
lay by somethieg as a provision against probable dismissal.
When-they considered all this—what kind of a man he was to
be—when they considered the situation - such a man was pro-
bably filling at this moMent, what he was to do, and what he
was
one 'both
hher
shillingand toohe rienatile.teh.
i, he did not think the
um oof
MreCotinCilleeKAllLE thought they had rather begun at the
sum of give£ .O 11101)1; v
wrong end of thie,bueluess. 'There.had been a report read, and
• the hrst act ougiit-te have been to hiee confirmed that report.
The committee recommended that the salary of the town-clerk
should be £2500. Now, those gentlemen who formed this had
had Mr. Radcliffe either in one eye or both. Had it been not
less than £2500, they might have made their arrangements
with anybody. But the committee had recommended a report
tying them down ; if it had been " not less," they might have
given as much more as they pleased for great and extraordinary
qualifications wherever-they could be found,
Mr. Councillor Settee had already alluded to this report.
When he first read it in the papers' on Monday morning, and
saw the office of town-clerk with a salary of £2,500, it imme-
diately struck him that the first figure, two, must have been in-,
tended for a one, and that it must have been a mistake of the
„printer. He turned the thing over in his own' mind, and saw
.clearly that this report referred to Mr. Radcliffe., He was sa-
tisfied-that there was such great competition in- the profession,
that they might get any number of gentlemen they might want
perfectly competent in every way to fulfil all the duties they,
might require to have performed for £lOOO a year., (Cries of
No, no.") Why it might be "No, no, no,'' but he would
show them a good reason why the council ought to sity,'t Yes,
yes, yes." A thousand a year would get them a man competent
in every way. But Mr. Radcliffe had, been in possession, and
therefore they did right in securing his services. Ile thought,
howev6e that this report was the mistake of the printer, but he
found, on inquiry, that it was perfectly correct. tie would take
the liberty of replying to the noes around him. lie had always
heard that 'of the two brancheS of the legal profession the bar-
krister stood highest; his. education was more ,costly, and he
could not obtain practite until he had arrived
,at a certain age.
It was not very long since he sawtheni in waist of a barrister,
and the law provided that they must have a barrister of five
years standing, and they very properly selected one of the most
eminent men in Liverpool. With what salary?
.At a salary
of £lOOO a year; and in order to have that gentleman's ser-
vices efficiently, moved that he should give up all practice but
chamber practice. Then if they could get a barrister of long
standing andacknowledged abilities for £3OOO a year, for fifty
per cent. more he was convinced they could get a solicitor com-
petent for the office of town-clerk. To tell hint that they
.could not get a man competent for town-clerk without placing
a value of two barristers and a half upon him was absurd.
(Laughter.) It oas a sort of insult to them as it was to the
other branches of the profession in Liverpool to say that there
was but one man competent to fill the situation. He begged
leave to say that he did not profess to be more attached to the
pounds, shillings, and Pence than any gentlemah in that room;
but pounds, shillings, and pence must be considered in all cases.
In the first place they wanted an efficient and a clear head, and
they wanted nothing more. Thev did not want a Copernicus,
or a Napoleon, or, as was said of a young gentleman of twenty-
two -lately—a second William Pitte-eall they- wanted was
.a sound-headed man. And what were they to pay hint ?
Exactly what they could get him for. But if thee had !lath' dozen
men, which he was convinced they would. have, offer themselves at
£1,500 a year, they were bound not to pay more. This was his
opinion, and they would act against their principles, and in a
manner entirely different to what the town was led to expect from
them if they did otherwise. In his opinion the two appointments
should be kept distinct. In many cases the duties of the town-
clerk would have to be performed by his deputy; and in that
case he would say that they were bound in their duty to the
public to get two men capable of performing each duty. They
might, require the services of both at the same eminent. How,
therefore, could Mr. Bolton propose that they should name a
fixed sum to pay the two, and by implication that they should
give five or six hundred to pay one man, who must be equally
competent to act, as deputy, as the town-clerk. himself? The
thine,' seemed to him to be quite monstrous, and he differed en-
tirely from Mr. Bolton. He begged to second Mr. Birch's
motion. He should not move any other amendment, but, as
Mr. Birch had proposed £2,000 a year,. he would support it.
Mr. Councillor E. Ssthei said that, -when he heard -of the sum
fixed to be given the town-clerk and his deputy, he could not
help thinking it a very extraordinary sum. lie had made some
inquiry into- the salaries received by public men in similar
situations, who had great responsibilities, and who had great
-duties to perform, and the result of those inquiries he left them
to determine on. It appeared that Mr. Moule, the solicitor to
the treasury, who left a very excellent practice, had £2,000 a
`ear; that the solicitor to the customs had £1,500 a year; the
solicitor to the excise £l,lOO a year. He presumed that all
these were men who had a great deal of work. He belieVed the
rule in the customs was to come to business at ten o'clock in the
'morning, and leave at four o'clock in the afternoon—as much
m's any man intellectually ought to work. Mr. Hall was a gen-
tleman of academical education, who had left a very excellent
business who 'had • great responsibilities attached 'to his office,
who wits liable to prosecution in certain cases if he should give
false awards, and such a man, giving up the greatest part of his
practice, had mu thousend a year. The collector of the customs
in Liverpool had the highest salary of any officer, with the ex-
ception of that proposed to be given to Mr. Radcliffe; hut that
was given wider peculiar eircontstances, and he understoodthet
it teas the intention of government, when the, present. direction
should cease, to • reduce the salary very considerably. The
comptroller of customs had £6OO a year; the inspector of cus-
toms £3OO a-year. With these facts before him, it could not be
considered as personally offensive in him to vote for a smaller
sum. He was not influenced by any personal feeling
in the
matter; he admired Mr. Radcliffe's intellect and his sterling,
honesty, and he thought it would be worth some sacrifice to ob-
tain him. He could not help saying that he preferred, on the
whole, the principle on which the late town-clerk was compen-
sated—he meant the principle that the emolument or the office
should correspond with ,the duties he had to perform. Mr.
Foster had been paid for his duties according to what he did,
and he believed no person found fault, with his charges. But
the emolument was infinitely too great. It did aepear to him
for any town-clerk to put in his pocket twice as much as a judge
of the land was disgusting. Brit, if the present town-clerk was
to derive his emolument in the same manner, only reducing, the
scale of charges, it would be more satisfactory. He did not
like the principle of paying a man a fixed slim at all : it would
perhaps have the effect of making him begrudge to do everyjob
they gave him:
Mr, Councillor COGLAN thought that they were not doing:ins-
tiee to Mr. Radcliffe if they called on him for an immediete de-
cision. It was a very important subject to Mr. Radcliffe to
decide on, (Cries of" We do not wish it.")
The MAYOR said that in point of feet this emolument did not
.come out of the borough-fund, but from the public.
Mr. Councillor RATHSONE rose in reply. The first question

Tilt-STEEPLE CHASE.—A suspicion has arisen in the minds
of the sportsmen who attended the late steeple chase respecting
the accident which occasioned the fall of Mr. Powell from
Laurie Todd. It was stated in our report that the gate to which
the mishap was attributed was accidentally closed. It is now,
however, supposed to have been wilfully done by parties in-
terested in the event of the race. A reward of ten pounds has
been offered for the discovery of the person or persons who had
recourse to this trick in order to defeat the winning horse.
THE WORRALL CONSERVATIVE ISOCIETV.—A preliminary
meeting was held at the King's Arms, Trauniere, on Tuesday
evening, for the purpose of forming a conservative association,
upon Se principles of the South Lancashire Conservative Ass-
ociation. l'he meeting was most respectably and numerously
attended, and onTnesday next the first motnlily meeting will be
held at the same house, when Nathan Sewell, tsq., will take the
chair. The societvintend to commence their labours by a rigid
investigation of all the'claims to the right of voting throughout
the hundred of Worrall, and make their report to the parent
society at Chester. Nearly all the parochial offices in the
hundred of 'Worrall are at present held by radicals and unita-
rians. As far, at least, as regards the town of Tranmere, this
will be reformed at the ensuing Easter elections.

Idleness appears always to have been considered by the
Dutch as a crime, and one which was formerly rather too se-
verely punished, if we may judge from a curious contrivance
shown at Amsterdam. It is a confined place, into which a
stream of water entered on one side, with a pump on the other,
so that if the culprit did not incessantly wort at the pump, he'
must inevitably be drowned.

INDEPENDENCE OF THE BAlL—Like a 2:1100—a thing much
talked ot, and .seldom seen. If a barrister profess any profes-
sional or moral independence, it cannot be worth much, for a
few guineas will generally purchase it. It Must be confessed
that he is singularly independent of all those scruples which
operate upon the consciences of other men. Right and wrong,
truth or falsehood. morality or-profligacy, are all equally indif-
ferent to him. Dealing in law, not justice, his brief is his
bible, the ten guineas of his retaining fee are his decalogue:
his glory, like that of'"a cook-maid, consists in wearing a silk
gown, and his heaven is in a judge's wig. Head. heart. con-
science, body, and soul, all are for sale: the forensic bravo
stands to be hired by the highest bidder, ready to attack those
whom he has just defended, or defend those whom he has just
attacked, according to the orders he may receive from his tem-
porary master. Looking to the favour of the judge for favour
with their clients, and to the government for professional pro-
motion, barristers have ton often been the •abject lickspittles of
the one, and the supple tools of the other. M. de la B---! a
French gentleman, seems to have formed a very correct notion
of the independence of the bar. Having invited several friends
to dine on a maigre day, his servant brought him word that
there was only a single salmon left in the market, which he had
not dared to bring. away, because it had been bespoken by a
barrister. " Here," said his master, putting two or three pieces
of gold into his hand, "go back directly, and buy me the bar•
lister and the'salmon too."—Paul ChaVeld.