The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-12 00:00:00

THE BOTANIC GARDEN.

The MAYOR laid before the council the resolution passed
at the meeting of the propietors of the Botanic Garden, held
on the 25th ult., for the opening of the garden to the public
on Sundays, and the counter-resolution passed at the meeting
on the second of June. The chaiiMan of the meeting accom-
panied the latter resolution with a statement, that the com-
mittee had consented to open the garden to the public on
Mondays and Saturdays, from the hour of one to eight.—
Ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. LASSELL said that the question of opening the garden
on Sundays had now been set at rest, but the committee had
opened them on two days in the week, and he thought it very
fair matter for consideration whether the council should not
therefore make a grant of 1300 or £2OO, he was not prepared
to say which, in consideration of that concession, which, he
maintained, would be the means of affording great amuse-
ment to the public. Last Monday, he stated, three thousand
persons visited the garden, although the fact of its being open
was not generally known. The question had, he thought,
been carried at the last monthly council meeting, but was
afterwards reversed by some persons leaving the room. (No,
no.) He thought that the majority had been changed by that
circumstance. (No, no.) He should move that the subject
be referred to the Finance Committee.

The MAYOR said it would be necessary for Mr. Lassell to
give notice of his motion.
Mr. LASSELL accordingly intimated that he should do so.
Mr. Alderman SHELL said that it was right that it should
not go forth to the public that there had been any mistake
at the previous meeting. The statement of Mr. Lassell was
directly opposed to the fact.

GAOL COMMITTEE.

The proceedings of thiS committee, with respect to the in-
crease of the salaries of several of the inferior officers, were
agreed to. _ _

-The recommendation for the increase of the salary of Dr.
Buck, the chaplain, from £l5O to £2OO, with the allowance
of 4:50 for a house, was also confirmed.

FORMATION OF PUBLIC PARKS.

Mr. SANnnAcn then introduced the following motion, of
which he bad given notice—" That a special committee be
appointed to inquire how far it is practicable, at the present
time, to obtain land, either within or contiguous to the boun-
dary of the borough, for the purpose of forming parks, to be
for ever kept open for the benefit and enjoyment of the in-
creasing population of this borough ; and to what extent and
at what probable cost such land may be procured, in suitable
situations, and to report to the Council the result of their
inquiry." He said that, from the feeling which had hereto-
fore been exhibited, he anticipated the unanimous concur-
rence of the Council in favour of the motion. They had no
meet( to go to the continent for the purpose of finding an ex-
ample for the formation of public parks ; they were already
to be found in London, Dublin, and Edinburgh ; and he
hoped it would be admitted that Liverpool had as much need
of some such provision for public health as any other place.
It had lately been stated at a public meeting by Dr. Carson,
that the mortality was twice as great in Liverpool as in any
other town. He (Mr. S.) had in his possession the tables
that had been printed from the returns of the registrars of
marriages and deaths for one year. Being for such a limited
period, it could, of course, furnish but imperfect data ; but
the return would increase in value every year. To the tables
there was added an appendix, in which it was stated that the
proportion out of every thousand deaths, of persons that were
above seventy years of age, was in all England 145 ; in Li-
verpool and Manchester it was only 63. That was no doubt
what Mr. Carson alluded to, but it did not involve a double
mortality. The proportion of deaths in this town was 3 nine-
tenths per cent. ; in Glasgow it was only 3 one-tenth; so that,
though not double, it was very much greater; and this was in
-part to be attributed to the want of any suitable place for ex-
ercise. Perhaps the want of sewerage, which was in the
course of being remedied, and the fact of there being attached
-to every house a depositary of animal and vegetable matter
in a state of putrefaction, might also be regarded as causes
of that increased mortality. He thought that it was quite
-unnecessary to say any thing to prove the necessity of parks.
In Liverpool, formerly, there was something of the kind,
'which bore some proportion to the wants of the people : there
-were the Lady's-walk and the Mount-gardens. It was prin-
cipally requisite to show the Council that the project was
practicable; and he should therefore endeavour to lay before
them the grounds which, in his opinion, justified him in
asking for the appointment of a committee. The neces-
rsity of the measure had indeed been often felt, and attempts
had been made to carry it out. Two of those attempts he
.should particularly refer to, expressing his regret, at the
same time, as every one else must do, that those oppor-
tunities had been lost. One was on Shaw's land, which
was offered, ten or twelve years ago, for £50,000. Every
one now admitted that the purchase of the land for that
sum would have been a good bargain : then, however, , it
was thought too much ; but now it would be necessary to pay
more, whilst the necessity for it increased with the increase
of the population. If the project were postponed for ten
years more, the necessity for parks would still go on increas-
ing, and they would ultimately be compelled to form them at
a yet greater expense. The next attempt was in Toxteth-
park. Beautiful parks were proposed to be formed, and
might have been formed, extending from Smithdown-lane to
the river: but it was too late now—most of the land had
been sold. In some years hence, it might be presumed, a
great deal of the land now vacant, and that might be used
it
for parks, would be built upon, and therefore became more
pressingly necessary that a large space should be secured and
kept open for the purpose, a space as near as possible to the
centre of the town and to the large mass of the population.

He, had taken Benison's map, and found.by measurement,
that the parliamentary borough consisted of 4825 acres, Of
that there was occupied by houses, backgrounds, streets, &c.,
a space amounting to 1490 acres ; by docks, quays and pro-
menades, (the latter of which, by-the-bye, were at their for-
mation of much more service to the public thOn now, from
the quantity of steam-boats on the river, which had changed
their character as promenades,) a space of 321 acres ; and
there was a space not occupied, in which parks might be
formed, of nearly 3000 acres. Now, if the whole of that con-
sisted of one property, no doubt, he should think, could exist
that the appropriation of 300 acres of it to the purpose pro-
posed would greatly increase the value of the whole, and that
it would be good policy in the owner of the whole to appro-
priate that part. If that were the case, it would also be to
the advantage of the owners, as a body, to appropriate a large
portion as parks. That they would cost a large sum of money
he was quite aware, and that 300 acres would perhaps be
thought a ridiculous and absurdly large space; but he thought
it would be found, on inquiry, that the proprietors would
sell land cheaper for this purpose than for any other, on ac-
count of the increased value that the formation of parks
would give to the adjoining land. And it should be borne in
mind, that if they would cost a large sum now, they would
cost a still larger at a future period.
Thh MAYOR.—You speak of statute acres I presume.
Mr. SANDBACH.—Yes. The sites round the parks would
be available for building, and would yield increased rents.
The congregation of a large mass of people into one locality
or spot had been objected to, and the only way to prevent
that would be to make one very. large park, or have two or
three of them. He would not allude specifically to any place,
but he might mention that there were two or three spots that
might be selected, some where there were old trees, and where
very little expense would be needed to complete them. He
had also been asked whether he intended that they should be
open on Sundays ; and his answer was, that, as far as he was
concerned, they should never be shut. He would have no
enclosure at all, except open fences, that would not prevent
the free circulation of the air. They would be precisely like
the streets. There were, perhaps, situations outside of the
boundary that might be had on better terms ; but there were
advantages in having the parks within the boundary of the
borough that would more than counterbalance the additional
cost, the principal of which were contiguity to the great mass
of the population, and the circumstance that the parliamentary
borough was under the superintendence of the police. (Hear,
hear.) There was at present no place to which the great mass
of the population, the poorest, could have access, for the
purpose •of recreation and obtaining fresh air. In fact, so
thickly were they packed in some parts of the town—some-
times in streets closed at one end, and with families residing
on every floor of nearly every house, sometimes in every
room—that putrid fevers were never entirely absent from
those parts. This was a fact perhaps not generally known,
and showed the great necessity of doing something soon. He
should be sorry to see the plan carried out on a small scale,
and in a manner that would not repay the expense. The
Botanic Garden had been talked of; but that was totally in-
adequate ; it consisted only of twelve acres, and would not
at all afford scope for the population. What was wanted
was a large space, where all classes, from the highest to the
lowest, might walk or ride at pleasure, and where the sports
and pastimes of the people of England might he exercised—
(hear, hear)—something that would tend to change the face
of society, that our country might once again deserve the
name of" merrie England," and not present those scenes of
exasperation, discontent, and excitement—that fever both of
the mind and of the body, •which made the people fit subjects
to be acted on by agitators.
Mr. Alderman EARLE had at first some doubts' whether
he should be able to support tlkis motion, because he recol-
lected that Mr. Sandbach voted against the opening of the
Botanic Garden on Sunday, and lie feared lest a similar regu-
lation should have been proposed with respect to the pro-
posed parks. He must say, however, that he never saw such
strange inconsistency as that of closing the Botanic Garden,
and yet having the public parks open the whole of the Sun-
day ; he never, in the whole course of his lite, heard anything
equal to it, and he would be glad if any one could afford him
an explanation. This was a very popular question, but Mr.
Sandbach had not the merit of being its originator. It was
agitated in the very first reform council; but the difficulty
then was to find the funds, and he was afraid the same diffi-
culty would still be felt. Mr. Sandbach had professed a de-
sire to raise the character of the people. Why, the council
was endeavouring to educate the people to the best of their
ability ; but they had been thwarted by those opposed to
to them. • All the spare money they had at their command
could be better spent in that way than in making public
walks, because education was the greatest boon whit% could
be bestowed. Every gentlenian in that room had received
a good education, and ought to know the advantage of it to
the lower orders. But only think of these gardens being
open on Sundays from morning to-night ! What desecration!
Was there ever such a piece of inconsistency ? Why, said the
speaker, I shook my head, and 1 don't wonder at Mr. Sand=
bach doing the same. (Laughter.) He thought the project
impracticable ; but he had great pleasure in seconding the
motion, in order to see what could_ be done._

Mr. COGLAN cordially supported the motion of Mr. Sand-
bach, and, without attempting to analyse the motives that
had induced him to come to the resolution that Mr. Earle
had designated as inconsistent, tendered him his thanks for
bringing forward one of the most important matters that
could be conceived for the good of the community. He
hoped that Mr. Sandbach would never cease agitating till
the important object had been realised. He hoped, too, that,
the large sum which might be requisite would not divert the
council from an attempt to carry out the plan ; and if it were
found that they could not have the whole scheme, let them
at least have one or two parks.
Mr. BOLTON also cordially concurred in the wish to have
a place, such as a park, where the people might associate, if
the means could be found; but it ought tole borne in mind
that the income of the corporation was limited, and that the
purposes to which it could be devoted were defined by act of
parliament. He should propose that there be added to the
motion, " and to suggest from what sources the cost of the
same shall be furnished."
Mr. SANDBACH consented to the addition. .
Mr. COOPER suggested that in the motion• the words
" parliamentary boundary" should be substituted for " bo-
rough."
The TOWN-CLERK explained that borough, municipal bo-
rough, and parliamentary boiough meant the same thing ;
and afterwards that no difference would be made by the sub-
stitution of boundary in lieu of borough. • -

Mr. COOPER then% in reference to ;hat had been said by
Mr. Sandbach, observed, •that in a short time there would
be laid down throughout Liverpool the very best sewerage in
England. One cause of the ~unhealthiness of the town was
the letting off of cellars, without giving the occupants -proper
convenience. Another evil was the close, confined courts,
where the privies were brought to the•very doors of the peo-
ple. He thought that it would be.a very good thing to in-
troduce into some act of parliament a clause to prevent cel-
lars being let off without a proper convenience,' to provide
for the building of courts of a sufficient width, and that no
privies should be: erected except at a certain distance from
the houses. He should support the motion ; hut, from the
state of the corporation. funds, be very much doubted whe-
ther it could ever be carried out.

Mr. BusnEt.t. spokein favourof the motion, in the success
of which he felt a very deep interest, and intimated that it
had been his intention, as he believed his worship was aware,
to bring a similar. motion' before the council ; but he was
very glad to find that it had fallen into better hands.
Mr. CURRIE and Mr. RATII BONE also supported the
motion.

The TOWN-CLERK stated that the suggestion of Mr.
''Bolton seemed to him at variance with the standing orders.
He therefore proposed that it should run thus—" And that
the special committee be instructed to confer with the
Finance Committee on the requisite financial considerations."
Mr. Alderman SnalL thought that the cemetery ought to
be made more available to the public than it was at present.
The corporation had granted for it 44,000 yards of land, and
£7200 in cash, and yet the public were most unjustifiably
excluded from it at all times when they were likely to have
an opportunity of going thither. It was open only from six
in the morning until six in the evening, just the very hours
that the working- classes were employed in their labour.
He alluded to the fact of three members of the council hav-
ingbeen appointed on the Cemetery Committee, and expressed
a hope that the council would call on the committee for the
report for which he had moved, and which ought ere this to
have been laid before the council. The council ought also
to endeavour to get the cemetery opened, so as to accommo-
date the working classes, both on week days and on Sundays.
Mr. JORDAN thought the formation of parks was a very
desirable thing. The distinction between the different classes
in Liverpool was too great, and by • the very common
courtesy of walking together the higher classes would be
tempted to better habits. They very often looked down on
those whom they ought to look on with feelings of respect.
Mr. CURRIE, as private subscriptions in aid of the pro-
posed plan had been referred to in the course of the conversa-
tion, expressed an opinion that private snbscriptions need
not be despaired of. He had seen a letter from London, in
which the writer regretted the closing of the Botanic Garden
on Sundays, and said that he would cheerfully subscribe one
or two thousand pounds for the opening of parks. Many
others would no doubt subscribe.

The TOWN-CLERK, in reference to what had fallen from
Mr. Sheil, said that the subject of the Cemetery had been re-
ferred to him, and his report had been printed in the Liver-
pool papers. The council might call for some statement of
the funds, but he apprehended that they could not call upon
their representatives in the trust to make a report, of them-
selves, and apart from the whole body.
Mr. SHEIL, notwithstanding the explanation, thought it
was the bounden duty of the council's members to tell the
council what was doing.
Mr. THORNHILL, as one of the tl_•ree gentlemen who had
been appointed, mentioned that the accounts had been
brought forward regularly. About £BOO of the note debt, as
it was called, had been annually paid off for the last two or
three years, and in the course of another. twelve months the
whole of the notes would be paid off. The profits would
then be divided among the shareholders, and the corporation
would come in for their share.

Mr. SANDBACH replied. He thought that the proposed
plan would not require so much money as some persons
seemed to think ; and he confessed that he had his eye on
the £220,000 which the council would perchance get from the
Dock Committee. Supposing, however, that the bill was not
carried, that ought not to be a bar. The corporation, he
maintained, had credit -to raise a' sufficient sum,' and they
could not more properly employ that credit than for this pur-
pose. Even if it were necessary to come to a borough rate,
it could not be levied for a greater public benefit; but he
hoped that that would not be necessary.
The motion was then passed unanimously.
The following gentlemen were named as the select com-
mittee :—Mr. Walmsley, Mr. Sandbach, Mr. Bushell, Mr.
Coglan, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Rathbone, Mr.
Yates, Mr. Lassell, Mr. Sheil, Mr. Blackburn, Mr. Earle,
and the Mayor for the time being.
The MAYOR mentioned that he had that morning received
a letter from Mr. J. Plumpton, offering a plot of land for the
purpose proposed.

INTERFERENCE OF MARKET-LOOKERS AND CONSTABLES
IN ELECTIONEERING MATTERS.
Mr. IsAAc HoLmEs brought forward his motion, of which
he had given notice. It was as follows :—" That the market-
lookers and constables of St. Martin's Market be enjoined
only to occupy themselves with their public duties of attend-
ing to the public markets, agreeably to their appointments."
He said he felt sorry to have occasion to bring forward this
motion ; but he certainly conceived it was proper that it
should be known whether the market-keepers of Scotland-
road Market were active canvassers by consent of the coun-
cil or not-, or by whose consent it was that they appeared so
much in the electioneering squabbles, not only of that ward,
but of Everton and St. Paul's wards. The charge that he
had to bring was this : a meeting was to be held to nominate
the individual that was to be brought forward on the reform
interest, or deform interest, or whatever it might be called,
and the two market-lookers were active men in the work.
One of them, Mr. Tyrer, offered to see that all the notes and
circulars should- be distributed to the persons who were to
be invited to attend the meeting. The whole of the circulars
were printed, and sent to the market-lookers, they were directed
by them, and taken out by one of the market-constables.
Now, he thought it very wrong that the public money should
be expended in employing public canvassers. Let the op-
posing parties be on equal terms; let the fight be fairly con-
ducted ; and then they (the conservatives) would have no-
thing to complain of, nor nothing to fear. He had several
times expressed his determination, if it were in his power, to
prevent this public canvassing. He had said so to the late
secretary of the Reform Association ; and what was his re-
ply ? " Why, it is out of thy power to prevent it; thee can-
not prevent it." He had no doubt that it was by the consent
of the Reform Association that the market-lookers were can-
vassers, and unless the Council did something to put a stop
to it, he must think that it would be by their consent also
that it was continued.
Mr. JOHN SMITH said that he would have seconded the
motion had it not been too vague.

Mr. COOPER weeded the motion.
Mr. CoaLAN said that before the Council came to any eon-
elusion. before they enjoined men to a strict line of conduct,
before they took on themselves the task of reproving or ad-
monishing, they ought to ascertain whether the charge was
well-founded. On his (Mr. Holmes's) mere statement, Were
they to come to the grave conclusion of enjoining men to at-
tend to their public duties ? He should have stated names,
and a committee ought to have been appointed to report.
Mr. HOLMES had no objection that a special committee
should he appointed.
Mr. THORN HILL was quite ignorant of anything of the
kind having taken place. He had inquired from Mr. Grose,
who said that for his own part he had neither sent any notes,
nor was he aware of any constable having taken any out.
He begged to say that no one attended better to his market
duties than Mr. Grose, the superintendent. In proof of
this, Mr. Thornhill stated that in the years 1834-5, the
year previous to Grose's appointment, the excess of expen-
diture over the income was £259 4s 11d. In 1838-9, the
surplus income was £558 7s 3d, showing a difference in the
receipts of £Bl7 12s 2d. That was a proof that the market
was not neglected. Mr. Grose was a very active canvasser,
but so long as he did his duty they had no right to lay any
restraint on his feelings, or say that he should not do his
duty as a citizen. He considered this argument to apply in
the case of either tory or reformer.
Mr. Alderman EARLE said that the introduction of this
subject was contemptible, and perfectly so from the quarter
whence it came. They heard nothing of it so long as a
tory
The MAYOR called the alderman to order.

Mr. EARLE expressed himself sorry that he had said any-
thing which had made the mayor think it necessary to call
hint to order, and after a few observations sat down.
Mr. Alderman SHEIL was sorry to hear Mr. Coglan speak
as he had done, as if they were to place no reliance on what
had been stated by Mr. Holmes. Was not he (Mr. Holmes)
a man well known in the town, of whose probity there was no
doubt, of whose integrity and inflexibility every one was sa-
tisfied, and did not the acknowledgment of that admit the
correctness of what he had stated? But what, after all, did
it amount to? That a man in the service of the council had
taken the liberty of exercising a right to which he was as much
entitled as any member of the council or of the community.
It seemed to him one of the most preposterous things, that
because they paid a man a salary, they were, in addition to
his services, to-extraot.from his liberty the right of acting as
a free agent. They had no right to exact from him any more
than their bargain. The council could not entertain this
motion without very great injustice.
Mr. ISAAC HOLMES, in his reply, said that it was totally
impossible for men to attend to their duty who were occupied
for days and weeks in canvassing and sending out 240 or 250
votes. He mentioned the name of the constable who dis-
tributed the votes, which we understood to be Carville, or
some such name. He said that they were directed by either
Grose or Tyrer. If the council conceived that those persons
had a right to act as they had done, he was perfectly satisfied ;
all he wanted was to know what they (the conservatives) had
to expect. They knew now what they had to do, and what
they had to fight against.
Mr. HOLMES expressed his willingness to withdraw his
motion, but this was objected to. The council then went to
the vote.

For the motion—lsaac Holme, R. Houghton, J.. Barton,
J. Cooper, T. Robinson, J. N. Wood. and J .
Against the motion—W. Thornhill, W. Preston, T. Case,
H. R. Sandbach, H. Holmes, T. Bolton, J. Woollright, W.
Rathbone, R. V. Yates, T. Morecroft, E. Segar, 'l'. Coglan,
F. Jordan, W. M. Duncan, NV. W. Currie, R. Sheil, C. H.
Jones, W. Earle, T. B. Barclay, W. P. Freme, and the
mayor.