The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-05-14 00:00:00

TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

A meeting of the council was held on Wednesday, at eleven
o'clock, in the Council-chamber, within the Town-hall, as
an adjourned third quarterly meeting of the Council, and also
a special council, to take into consideration and determine

certain subjects

LOCAL ACTS AND I'OLICE BILL

The TOWN:C-1;17K laid before the Council a breviate of
the Local Acts and Police Bill, the object of which is to give
additional power to the Town-council and the Magistrates
of Liverpool, for the improvement of the town, and the regu-
lation of various matters connected with the police of the
town.

The bill repeals, partially, the old acts on these subjects.
It empowers the Council to fix and pay the salaries of the
Clerks to the Magistrates, and requires the fees to be paid
over quarterly to the borough fund. It also empowers the
Council to pay over a portion of any excess to the poor fund.
The bill empowers the justices, under certain regulations,
to cause any dirty house to be cleansed at the expense of the
occupier, with many other salutary provisions. It also em-
bodies powers for the regulation of ,streets, weighing ma-
chines, slaughter-houses, hackney coaches, porters, and the
police ; for facilitating the apprehension of offenders and
suspected persons ; doing away with dog carts punishing
drunkards, and preventing fires and nuisances. The Town-
clerk held up two volumes of local acts, and said the object
was to condense into one act all the various provisions in
those two voliunes, and to embody other new provisions, in-
cluding the 42d clause of the Metropolitan Police Act.
Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY proposed that the various clauses
in the bill should be discussed clause by clause before the
council. _ _

A very general feeling was expressed against this course,
as the various provisions and clauses of the bill had been
before the members of the council, and it bad undergone a
thorough consideration, which had endured for a fortnight,
before the Watch Committee, and had also been examined
attentively by the sub committee.

. .
The TOWN-CLERK, in reply to a question, stated that the
bill would have to be submitted to the magistrates before it
was proceeded with.
The bill was then referred back to the Health and Watch
Committees, who are to receive and consider any suggestions
for alterations.

REVISION OF THE BOROUGH LISTS

The TOWN-CLERK read the report of the Special Com-
mittee appointed to take into consideration the present un-
satisfactory and defective state of the law relating to the
Municipal Burgess List, &c. The report, after setting forth
the evils of the system as exemplified at the last sitting of
the Revision Court, and giving an analysis of the objections
taken on the overseers' list, set forth the resolutions to
which the committee came at its first meeting, on• the 9th
March last. These were, first, that every notice should
state the grounds of objection, to which the party shall be
confined ; second, that the Court shall have, in frivolous
cases, power to award costs and compensation. for loss of
time, to the extent of £lO and under, recoverable by dis,-
tress ; third, that any one !Arty objecting to more than six
persons, shall deposit forty shiilings, to abide the event of
any order as to costs : fourth, that the provision as to costs
should,also apply to frivolous and vexatious claims : the costs
to be not less than five shillings or more than ten shillings,
and to go to the borough fund ; fifth, that every objection
or claim not supported by the appearance of the party, or his
agent, shall be deemed frivolous and vexatious.
At the second meeting, held on the 20th April last, the
committee took into consideration the bill now before Par-
liament, far the better enrolment of burgesses, &c.

The first resolution at this meeting was to communicate to
the Secretary of State the opinion of the committee, as to
the inadequate amount of deposits for this town, and recom-
mending the amount named in the foregoing resolutions.

t was also further resolved, that certain amendments be

submitted. The first of these referred to forms, and recom-
mended simplification. It was suggested that after clause
15, the clause of the act Ist Vic. c. 78, which enables the
Mayor to appoint another alderman to act in consequence of
the illness of any alderman, should extend to the appoint-
ment of any councillor. It was further suggested that the
section for enabling the presiding officer to close the poll
before four o'clock, if an hour should elapse without a vote,

ih ould be declared to extend to each of the several booths
'or the election of auditors.

Mr. HORNBY moved the confirmation of the report.
Mr. BIRKETT moved, as an amendment, that the consi-
leration of the report be postponed to the next monthly
meeting of the Counoil, and that each member of the Council
have a copy of it. . . .

Mr. HUGH lionNBY said he had not the slightest objec-
tion to this, if no inconvenience would result from it.
The TOWN-CLERK said the bill would be in committee
next Monday.
Mr. BIRKETT said his object was tostop the bill.
Mr. H. HORNBY said if Mr. Birkett's object were to see
that the council did not compromise itself by too much haste,

he could have no objection to as much delay as could be ob-
tained, but if it were to stop measures which had been taken
to secure amendments which were considered so desirable,
he would oppose him.
Mr. BIRKETT said he had many objections to the provisi-
ons of the bill. He objected, for instance, to the mayor pre-
siding in the revision court. He thought it ought to be a
barrister.

Mr. CASE said Mr. Birkett had forgotten the situation in
which the council was placed respecting this bill. It was a
public bill, brought in by Mr. Baines, and it would be
committed on Monday next. It contained clauses which
were objectionable, and proceedings had been taken to get

these clauses amended. If Mr. Birkett's object was to stop
those proceedings he could not go with him. The town-
clerk had already corresponded to some extent on the sub-
ject.

The TOWN-CLERK having referred to some documents,
corrected his statement that the bill would go into committee
on Monday. It would go into committee on Wednesday.
The town-clerk expressed a hope that nothing would be done
that would have the effect of preventing him from proceeding
to effect the amendments suggested in the report. Any delay
would endanger the introduction of the amendments into the
bill, and it was not likely they would ever have another op-
portunity of introducing alerations so desirable.

Mr. BustiELL said he was opposed to any measure that
would have the effect of overthrowing the bill. Mr. Bushell
adverted to the disgraceful proceedings at the last revision
court, and said though he should have liked to have more
time to consider them, yet he would not endanger the pro-
ceeding by causing any unnecessary delay. He would vote
against the amendment.
After some further discussion, Mr. Busunm. thought it
might meet the desire of all parties if the subject were ad-
journed to Saturday, the town-clerk in the mean time being
allowed to proceed.
Mr. BI.KETT amended his amendment by the addition of
the following words : " And that the town-clerk have per-
mission to proceed with his communications with the pro-
moters of the bill, with a view to putting an end to frivolous
and vexatious objections and claims."

The Council went to the vote on this amendment, when
here appeared—for the amendment, 19 ; against it, 27;
majority, S. _ _ . .

kr. li U SHELL proposed the following motion :—" That the
Council do, at its rising, adjourn to Saturday, at one o'clock,
for the further consideration of the report, and of further
amendments on the bill now before Parliament ; and that, in

he meantime, the report, with an abstract of the bill before
Parliament, be printed, and that the Town-clerk be at liberty
,o proceed upon the report in the meantime."
The above resolution was at once agreed to.
COURTS OF ASSIZE, &C.

The resolution of the Finance Committee on the above
subject was, that as the Council have already confirmed the
arrangement by which the expense of this erection is to be
borne by the Corporation, it be recommended to proceed
with the buildings, subject to their approbation of the plans.
On the motion of Mr. HORNBY, the resolution was
adopted, and confirmed.
Mr. BUSHELL hoped no time would be lost in commencing
this erection.