The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-04-03 00:00:00

TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

The usual monthly meeting of the Council was held in the
Town-hall on Wednesday, for the dispatch of business.
There was but a slender attendance. JOSHUA WALmsts.Y.
Esq. the mayor, took the chair.
The proceedings of the last monthly meeting were read b 1
the DEPUTY TOWN-CLERK.
The proceedings of the Finance Committee were read over
by the deputy town-clerk. They contained a statement t 0
the effect, that at the meeting of the committee on the pre-
vious day, a deputation from the Dock Committee had
attended with reference to the bill now before parliament'
The deputation stated that a strong opinion had been ex-
pressed by their legal adviser and others, that the compul-
sory
clause between the council and dock trust would cause
a discussion in the committee of the House of Commons as
to the probable price of the land forming the gravin,g-doek.,
and strand to the west side of the Salthouse Dock, au',
would place the bill in jeopardy, and that therefore the legs'
adviser recommended that the price should he fixed by the
council, under the direction of the lords of the treasury. The
surveyor had therefore been instructed to make a new valus;
tion, from the price of land for the last eighteen months, alle,
they had come to the conclusion that the graving-dock and
strand were worth £3 4s per square yard, which, with ca.',
tain deductions for paving, &c., would leave a nett price
50s ; that they thought reasonable as between the council aue,
dock trust. The Finance Committee were of opinion that
£2 13s. 6d. would be a reasonable price, and instructed the,
town-clerk to insert that price in the bill, where there bee
been a blank left.
The proceedings of the Finance Committee were cow
firmed without observation ; so also were those of the
Improvement Committee, and the leases.

WATCH COMMITTEE.
In the proceedings of this committee were embodied 11;
letter from the mayor to Lord Normanby, on the subject 01,
clauses in the county constabulary bill, enacting that ths'
bill shall have force in all the boroughs and towns Ora&
having a police force, and that the regulations for the poll.
force, whether Felonging to counties or the towns there();
shall be framed by the secretary of state and the justices °`
the county. The letter objected to this power of regulatio!
being vested in the secretary of state and the justices, so fBl
as Liverpool was concerned, inasmuch as they, and the jus-
tices in particular, would frame regulations applicable t°
county exigences, and unfit for a great commercial toval'
The letter further stated, that under the municipal reforro_
bill the council possessed the power of passing bye-laws for
the regulation of their police force (those regulations being
subject to the approval of the secretary of state,) and that
the-Liverpool force exceeded in number 'the whole of the
force contemplated for the county, and that the outlay thereof'
was much greater. Under these circumstances, his worslo
wished that the provisions of the bill should not extend t°
this town. bud
It was subsequently mentioned by the MAYOR that be
received from Lord Normanby, through his lordship's, secre7
tary, a reply to the letter which he had written in accord/10c°,
with the wish of the- Watch Committee, informing him
the bill for the amendment of the county constabulary b"
would not in any way interfere with the Liverpool police. „
The Watch Committee's proceedings also set forth that tb"
Town-clerk and Surveyor had recommended alterations Ku
additions to the central bridewell, the estimates for whicA
amounted to £3OO. These, however,-were not recommence
with the view of making the place fit for a permanent bride;
well (which it was impossible to do by any alteration), but
to make it reasonably fit for the prisoners until a new bride"
well could be built, either in connexion with the new court'
or somewhere else. _ _

The proceedings of the committee were confirmed.
METROPOLITAN POLICE ACT.
The TOWN-CLERK read the following petition for the et-
tension of the metropolitan police act :
" The humble petition of the Mayor, Aldermen, Burge
of the Borough of Liverpool,
" Showeth,—That an act was passed in the last session °I
parliament, intituled, An act for further improving the Pcr
lice in and near the metropolis.'
" That the provisions of the said act have been found t°,
be of a most beneficial and salutary nature within the district
therein comprised.
" That it would tend greatly to the public benefit of t,l!e
inhabitants of. the borough of Liverpool and the adjacent dr,:
tricts, and be, in the opinion of your petitioners, general",
advantageous to the county at large, if many of the provisioo
of that act were extended to the whole of England and Wale,os'
such provisions being amended, qualified, and adapted, as '
the wisdom of parliament shall appear requisite, and the VT
cution thereof placed under existing jurisdictions, and par":
cularly in corporate towns under the municipal authoritire
provided by the act of 5 and 6 William IV., c. 76, for t"
regulation of municipal corporations. .
a
" Your petitioners therefore pray that an act may be pas'e
in the present session for effecting such extension.

".And your petitioners will ever pray, &c."
Mr. THORNHILL moved, and Mr. BRIGHT seconded, the
adoption, of the petition.—Carried.
ADMISSION OF REPORTERS TO THU MEETINGS OF TO
DOCK COMMITTEE. be
In the proceedings of the Dock Committee there was t
following resolution :—" Resolved, that the reporters fort
public press be admitted to the meetings of the, Dock Coto;
mittee, subject to exclusion by a vote of the majority of the
committee."
On the motion for the confirmation of the proceedings °
the Dock Committee being put,
Mr. Alderman LE ATIIOM, the chairman of the committee,
objected to the above resolution, which, he said, had bere
passed during his absence, which he much regretted, a 5
should have wished to have recorded his opinion against IL
measure. The member for Abercromby Ward (Mr. t_
Gladstone), who he was sorry to see was not then presenA:
was the mover of the resolution which had been adopteu.
The objections which he had to the admission of reporte,
were, that their presence would tend materially to increa-,
the labours and embarrass the proceedings of the inembell,•
On every committee-day subjects came before them which
were not then disposed of, and it would be inexpedient to
allow the discussions on them to go before the public wile,
the matters were in an innnature state. If reporters wer,-
admitted, it would lead to the appointment of sub-col:now-
tees to discuss the majority Odelle measures brought for"
ward, and thus take up a great of the time of the wow
hers in attending those sub-committees, of which, accordion
to established rule, he should he expected to be a rueruberi;
He had nearly every day something to do in connexion wit
the dock affairs, and it, in addition to what he now did, 'eine
had to sit upon sub. committees, there would be no end
his his labours. He did not know the reasons of the meteue,d
for Abercromby Ward in bringing his motion ; but he corn
say, without fear of contradiction, that that member atteaueit
the meetings less than any other member. It was diflici l
u
to keep him in his seat for more than half an hour ; and It
perhaps would be convenient to him to read, next morniab;
in the papers, the proceedings of the committee meeting
which he had not attended, and that the rest had attend
all the time.
Mr. Alderman BOOTH entirely agreed with Mr. Leathotitt;
but he did not think it worth while dividing the council °,,
'
the subject. He mentioned his objections to the propositit
but stated that he was nevertheless willing to try the exPe''.
ment.
Mr. Alderman G. Holt seconded the motion of Mr. Altlfe
man Leathom, that the proceedings be confirmed, with P'
exception of the resolution for the admission of reporters. 3
Mr. Alderman EARLE said that the fact of their being
r;
provision to enable the committee to exclude the repoete
when they thought fit, showed that the supporters of repot
motion were conscious that some inconvenience would atte°„g
the admission of the press. The very circumstance of lettll
the reporters retire when certain points were to be discualor
would show the public those points ; and he did not know wile
they (the council) should not allow the reporters to go to the
1`
meetings of the Improvement or Finance Committee,
well as to those of the Dock Committee. There weee,,,,,
great many conversations going on there which would be "
trimental to their objects to have published.
Mr. BOLTON suggested to the chairman of the Dock ‘-,0
mittee that he should allow the proceedings to be eontirla
and when the committee again met, propose a resolution ",
the annulling of that already passed. lie had better do
than press his motion then, because it would require Ltio'd
thirds of the council to do away with the resolution that "
been adopted. the
Mr. LEATHOM approved of the suggestion, and allowed
proceedings to be confirmed.

THE MARRIAGE CHARITABLE FUND.
The MAYOR stated that he had received a communicati°
from S. U. Thompson, Esq., the treasurer of the Marriage
Charitable Fund, intimating that the subscriptions ou tn
part of the public amounted to £2859. lOs. 6d., so that ttw,
charitable institutions were now entitled to the second grAa'
of £5OO. from the corporation.
Mr. PLATT asked whether the subscription was now to be
closed ?
The MAYOR replied, certainly not ; the committee thought/
that they should still be able to raise a considerable sun',,
it was also their intention to have a fancy ball in aid of tiw
fund.
Mr. CURRIE moved that the corporation grant of £looo'
should now be paid.