The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-01-17 00:00:00

REPRESENTATION OF ST. ANN'S WARD.

The independent and Conservative burgesses of St. Ann's
ward dined together, on Tuesday evening, at Mr. Holden's,
in Richmond-row, for the purpose of commemorating the re-
turn of Robert Jones, jun., Esq., to the town-council.
About sixty gentlemen sat down—the largest number the'
room could accommodate ; had there been more convenience
the attendance would have been trebled. The %hair was oc-
cupied by James Parker, Esq., and the vice-presidents were
Robert Garratt, and John Cooper Grocott, Esqrs. The en..
joyinents of the evening were materially increased by a variety
of excellent singing, by Messrs. Holden, George. Caerns,
and Lunt, under the able leadership of Mr. J. Taylor at the
pianoforte.
Non npbk Dornine having bcenchatinted, .

The PRESIDENT rose and said, before he submitted the
list of toasts which he held in his hand, he must be alle'Wed
to make an observation on the position which he now occu-
pied. He should like to have seen one of those gentlemen
who had been foremost in gaining the victory they were met
to celebrate in his situation, and it was with extreme reluc-
tance he took the chair. The first toast was one which called
for no remark ; it was a pure Conservative toast, and there-
fore it called for no remarks. It was, " Her most gracious
Majesty the Queen, and may she long live in the hearts and
affections of a loyal people. (Three times three.)
National anthem, " God save the Queen." The next
toasts were " Her Majesty the Queen Dowager, the orna-
ment of her sex, and the rest of the Royal Family ;" " The
Duke ;" " Lord Lyndhurst and the Conservative Peers ;"
" Sir Robert Peel and the Conservative Members of the

House of Commons ;" all of which were most enthusiastically
applauded.
The PRESIDENT briefly, and in appropriate terms, intro-
duced the toast of " Our glorious Constitution in Church
and State." (Great applause.)
The Rev. Mr. PICTON said he rose with mingled feelings
of gratitude and pleasure to respond to the toast which had
been so unanimously and so heartily received. He rose with
feelings of gratitude, because he saw himself surrounded by
those who were ever staunch supporters of that Constitution
for which our forefathers bled and died ; he rose also with
feelings of pleasure, because he found himself in the midst of
those who were warmly attached to the interests of that
Church, which had for its end the glory of God and the sal-
vation of man. (Cheers.) It became the ministers of the
Gospel at all times, but especially in times like the present,
to stand boldly forth in the defence of their Zion, when they
saw her assailed and opposed by open and avowed enemies
from without, as well as by false and pretended friends from
within. (Hear, hear.) He was not there, he would wish it
to be understood, in the character of a political partizan
(hear); he was there as a humble guest at that table, which
had been prepared in honour of the return to the town coun-
cil of a gentleman whose principles and integrity every true
conservative could but admire. (Cheers.) The principles
of that gentleman were sound and good ; they were fraught
with every tendency calculated to promote, not only the ge-
neral good, but likewise to give efficiency and stability to
that Church which had for ages past proved a blessing to our
own country, and to every other country whither its princi-
ples and doctrines had been carried and promulgated. (Loud
cheers.) With these feelings of gratitude and pleasure, and
with these few remarks, he begged to conclude by cordially
thanking the meeting for the manner in which they had been
pleased to notice the Church of which he was a very humble
minister. (Cheers.)
The PRESIDENT said the next was the toast of the evening,
for it was the health of the conservative member for St.
Ann's Ward (loud cheers) ; • but, before they drank it, he
begged to offer a feW remarks. What was the position of
the ward one month previous to the contest in which the
conservatives had gained the victory ? (Hear, hear.) Why,
• it was looked upon as decidedly in the bands of the radicals ;
indeed a friend of his, to whose political principles, however,
he was opposed, had frequently boasted to him, " We have
nothing to do but to walkover the course." (Hear.) Mr.
Jones came forward not to gratify his own vanity, but, like
a true Conservative in principle and practice, he said the ward
should not be lost for want of a contest. (Cheers.) The
conservatives then mustered their forces ; they stormed the
citadel ; they' niade a breach in the walls ; and they planted
t'lleifitandard•ot", conservatism victorious upon the ramparts.
.(cheers.),, The radicals were completely defeated. (Cheers.)
Aborby *horn Was the victory Won ? Was it•aehieved by the
merchants. of the ward? No; it was
astiievgl by Mr. Jones•and a few tradesmen who were asso-
4hatectvbith him. (Cheers.) 'They formed themselves into
allim.band., and carried all before them (Hear.) Of those
tradesmen none were more active than Mr. Holmes. (Hear.)
By whom had the radicals been driven from the representa-
Aicli of the 'town but by the tradesinen? (Hear.) In like
manner it was the tradesmen of Liverpool who would ere long
drive the radicals froth the town council. (Hear.) At the
smite time some little allowatice must be made for our ono-
milts
,sitnated as they were,.for, the strong feeling they had
manifestedr at their defeat in this ward. When it was found

that' the citadel was earriedra conneil °. f war was held, and '
a very ,old political engineer—one of twenty 'years' standing
—was called in for the purpose of forming a mine. That
mine had been sprung, and an explosion had taken place;
but it had;rehounded with infamy upon the parties who in-
vented it. (Cheers.) It had made Mr. JOfies stand higher
in the estimation of the burgesses of the:ward, and of the
town at large. (Cheers.) When the supposed heavy charge
against Mr. Jones was mooted in the town council, what was
the consequence? Did not Mr. Jones court inquiry ? and
what did Mr. Bushell and the conservative members say ?
Why, that they would be the Ost to raise their hands against
him ! (Hear.) The council passed'a resolution for investi-
gating the affair ; no less than seventeen witnesses were ex-
amined ; and great credit was due to the TOwn-clerk for the
manner in which he presented the inquiry. But when he
(the Town-clerk) brought forward his report, how was it
received? (Hear.) Mr. Berm, the alderman of the ward,
Said, " I am proud and glad that the inquiry has been made;
Mr. Jones has come out of it free, and 1 am thankful for it."
What said the chief magistrate ? Did he not say that a full
investigation had been made, that an impartial decision had
been given by the Town-clerk, and that every gentleman in
the council, ought to be satisfied with it? (Cheers.) But
this would not do ; the sting was too smart, and another
scheme must be resorted to : they said, "We must drive
Mr. Jones into a corner, and then we shall manage him."
(Hear, hear.) They proposed a committee, a majority
of which were radicals ; Mr. Jones even seconded that,
and another investigation took place ; and what was the
result of this third trial ? Why, that Mr. Jones was
fully acquitted of any participation, directly or indirectly, in
the charges brought against him. Great credit was due to
the Conservative- gentlemeh who investigated the affair for
their patience and care ; had he (the President) been one, he
should not have consented to put in a clause with a qualifica-
tion. In order to screen Mr. Coglan from a prosecution, a
clause was inserted in the report, to the effect that the charges
Were neither frivolous nor vexatious. He (the President)
knew why that was introduced. The Radicals, being a ma-
jority, said, " we agree that Mr. Jones must be acquitted,
but we fear for Coglan ;" and, consequently, to screen Cog-
lan, they voted that the charge was neither frivolous nor
vexatious. (Hear, hear.) The President concluded by pro-
posing the health of Mr. Jones, which was received with
four times four.
Mr. JONES, on rising to reply, was greeted with renewed
cheers. It gave hint pleasure, he said, and he felt delighted
to see so many of his respected friends crowded around.
They had met to do him the honour of celebrating his return
—a return fraught.with vexation and disappointment to him-
self—but nevertheless it had been a glorious victory. (Hear.)
He had no ambition to gratify in going into the council—
(hear)—but, seeing the manner in which this ward had been
grasped by their Radical opponents, he thought it high time
for the Conservatives to oppose them. A few Conservatives
met on the very eve of the election ; they united their forces ;
and they gained their victory. (Cheers.) The troubles they
had had to contend with since, had, whilst they lasted, been
very annoying; but he had the satisfaction of. saying that
they had terminated in a victory even greater than the first.
(Cheers.) The machinations of the party calling themselves
" liberals" had indeed been such, that he trusted the Conser-
vatives would not only deprive then' of the-government in the
councils of the town, but in the councils of the nation. (Hear.)
The standard they had set up in the late inquiry had been the
standard of party ; and he would appeal to all who had read
the evidence, how poor in other respects were their pre-
tences. There was one circumstance in the case which ap-
peared to have escaped the notice of the press. When the
subject was first mooted by Mr. Benn, the motion went to
the effect that it should be referred to the Town-clerk to re-
port. Mr. Coglan supported, and was satisfied with that
proportion. Now if Mr. Coglan, at the following meeting
had come prepared with a resolution, to the effect, that
during the interval between one meeting and the other, he
had become dissatisfied with the Town-clerk as the referee,
there had been no complaint; but he did not prepare himself
till after the decision of the Town-clerk had been announced
to the council. Mr. Benn, on the decision being read, said
he was satisfied with it, and that he felt gratified the matter
was at an end ; but Mr. Coglan was not, and he wished to go
into details. The Mayor told him he could not, unless he
intended to conclude with a motion, to which he replied that
he should. Mr. Rathbone then took a piece of paper and
prepared a motion ; Mr. Coglan continued speaking, and
when he had concluded, the council were kept waiting for
several minutes before the motion so prepared by Mr. Rath-
bone was moved. Mr. Rathbone had previously passed it
over to Mr. Coglan to see if it suited; and finding it did,
he (Mr. Rathbone) immediately seconded it. (Hear.) Now
was it prudent for any individual to enter the council-cham-
ber, and arrogate an importance which did not really be-
long to hint—because he might fancy he possessed knowledge
and experience superior to those of any other member ; or of
the eloquence he possessed, and the learning he had achieved,
to become the ready factotum of their opponents of the radi-
cal party? (Hear, hear.) Mr. Coglan, in the first instance,
was perfectly satisfied with the course proposed, and con-
tented to abide by its issue. There must have been some
well organized committee at work to carry the matter further,
that told Mr. Coglan he ought to be dissatisfied, and that
they would prepare what he should propose. The venom
was therefore prepared by Mr. Rathbone, and vented by Mr.
Coglan. (Hear.) He (Mr. Jones) had already said that
in entering the town-council he had no ambition of his own
to gratify. He felt, in doing so, that he owed a duty to the
ward, namely, to endeavour to rescue it from the grasp of
the radical party ; he had succeeded—(cheers)—and he hoped
the time was not far distant when the standard of conserva-
tism would be permanently unfurled and planted in it. (Loud
cheers.) With this hope he begged the meeting to accept his
thanks for* the honour conferred upon him ; but before he
concluded, they must permit him to say that, little as was his
ability, he had acted conscientiously in the discharge of his
duty, and that he hoped to serve them in a way to reflect
credit upon himself, and prove advantageous to the burgesses
of the ward. (Cheers.)

Mr. ISAAC HOLMES then jocularly intimated to the comae
pany that there had recently been a second meeting at the
Angel, at which it had been determined that a lamentation
should be composed for the loss of St. Ann's Ward ; and he
believed that one of their musical friends would oblige-the,
company by singing that lamentation, as well as the lamenta a.
-
tion of Mr. Joseph Mason.
Mr. GEORGE then sang the following parody :

Oh, cruel were the voters who would not vote for me,
And cruel was the brewer, who such a sight could see—

Oh, are the tories, together they at; leagued,
By liberals-and radical, no longer are deceived.

Mr. ISAAC HOMES.-It was afterwards determined that

all the fallen angels should join in the lamentation ; and the
company will now hear the lament of the fallen angels, alias

ie radicals.

Oh, cruel was the town-clerk, committing a great sin,
To make so cruel a repOrt, not even worth a pin !
And cruel were the judges; in their judgment they did stray,
With their cruel ouster order to drive long shanks away.

Oh, cruel of St. Ann's, to become a tory ward,
For liberal cant and promises they now have no regard—
Our curses on the tortes, that ward they've fairly won,
There's Segar and poor Tommy Cog, completely are undone.

Oh, cruel are the freemen whom we wish to buy or sell,
But yet our gold they will not take, and that we know full well;
For Billy and fur Elphinstone we Weed bribes in vain—
They spurned our bribes, and will not vote for radicals again.

Then since we are iu sore distress, we'll make our lamentation
'Gainst Robert Jones and Isaac Holmes, we'll vent our in-
dignation—
Our curses on those tories, they care not for our frown,
We wish them from the council, we would drive them from
the town.

Mr. Isaac HOLMES.—And it was determined that the
whole should conclude with the lamentation of Mr. Joseph
Mason, which you will now hear, with a liberal offer :
Oh, cruel were the voters who would not vote for me,
And cruel was the brewer, who such a sight could see !
Then, since I'm now a cast-away, I'm always to be found,
Licens'd to give my best advice on payment of five pound !
The song elicited much laughter and approbation.
The CHAIRMAN then gave—" The Conservative Mem-
bers of the Town-council."
Mr. Isas.c Hol.mus responded in an address of consider-
able length. He alluded to the reception which he and other
conservative members had met with in the town-council, and
spoke of the rising prospects. The conservatives had now
twenty members in the council, and, if they had fair play,
they would have been able to muster as many councillors as
the radical party.. That day intelligence had been brought
of a rule having been granted relative to Evertor Ward, and
he supposed that there was now every reason to expect that
the representation of Everton Ward would be given to a
conservative. (Cheers.) The speaker here proceeded to
detail very minutely the case of personation (that of John
Davies) which took place at the recent municipal contest in
lftverton Ward ; he stated that the names of the three radi-
cal canvassers who had knowingly brought forward a non-
'elector of the name of John Davies to poll for a registered
burgess of the same name could be brought forward ; and he
concluded his observation on this point by stating that he
had no doubt whatever that similar frauds had been practised
by the radicals in every ward in which they could practise
them undiscovered. He then alluded to the case of Mr.
R. Jones, to the bitterness and pertinacity with which it had
been urged, even after an acquittal had been given in by the
town-clerk, and it had been shown to the satisfaction of every
reasonable mind that the accusations were completely • un:
founded. He said, that although it had been proved that
there was not a tittle of evidence to support the two charges
of Mr. Coglan, Mr. Coglan had not the manliness to come
forward to apologise, either to the town or to Mr. Jones. for
having brought those two accusations, but he had gone, like
a sulky child detected in a falsehood, into a corner, nursing
his anger, and sucking his own venom. He (Mr:Holmes)
repeated that, unless Mr. Coglan came forward to apologise
for his unfounded statement, the shame and the reproach
would rest upon him. Mr. Holmes proceeded to give an
outline of the evidence adduced on behalf of Mr. Jones,
which completely disproved the charges brought against him,
and showed that they had originated in direct falsehood.
Mr. COOPER also rose to return thanks. After a brief
allusion to several proceedings on the part of the council in
the policy of which he did not concur, he called attention to
the fact, that two or three additional schools were intended
to be built at the expense of the corporation. He hoped
the inhabitants of Liverpool would never rest satisfied unless

these schools were appropriated to the education of the chil-
dren of parents of the established church. (Cheers.) For,
he had ever contended, and must still..holtla-that so long as
the children of Protestants could not, with a due regard to
principle, be sent to these schools, they were deprived of the
right of participating in the funds of the corporation which
were applied to the purposes of education. (Hear, hear.)
He would say a word or two with regard to the watch-rate.
(Hear, hear.) He happened to know that the bill which
authorised a watch-rate to be levied, was framed with the in-
tention of giving that power only to such towns as Leeds,
Manchester, Bolton, and Birmingham, where there had been
previously no corporations, and consequently no funds. It
was never contemplated to extend it to Liverpool, and there-
fore he should support the churchwardens in their endeavour
to procure its repeal, as far as this town was concerned.
(Loud cheers.) Mr. Cooper concluded by proposing the
healths of the MeMbers for the County. (Cheers.)
Mr. ISAAC HOLMES, with a neat and appropriate intro-
duction, proposed the health of the chairman, the conserva-
tive candidate for St. Ann's Ward, at the next election. He
spoke highly of the character and ability of Mr. Parker, and
expressed a hope that the conservative electors would do their
duty when the day of battle arrived. (Much cheering.)
The CHAIRMAN, on rising to respond, was received with
enthusiastic applause. He stated that, if permitted to follow
the bent of his own inclination, he would much rather remain
in the quiet of retirement than mingle in the turmoil of a
political life. It had been hinted to him, that he should be
proposed as the conservative candidate at the next election
for St. Ann's Ward; and lie then stated what he now re-
peated, that if, at the last hour, no more efficient and deserv-
ing gentleman could be found to (tome forward, he would sa-
crifice his personal feelings, and, like his friend Mr. Jones,
do all that he could to rescue the ward from the hands of the
radicals. (Much applause.) The chairman then referred to
the broken professions of economy of the dominant party in
the town council, to the importance of the warehouse and the
education questions, and concluded by saying, that if his ser-
vices should be needed, he should not hesitate in coining
fariaari, (Cheers.) - • .
Mi. t: Jose gave". The Members for the Borough."
(Loam and long'continued applause.)
The CHAIRMAN, with a suitable eulogium on their v:;lu-
ahle services, proposed—" The Chairman, Committee, and
Canvassers of St. Amt's Ward." (Applause.)
Mr. R. GAILRATT, one of the vice-chairmen of the evening,
and the chairman of the ward committee, returned thanks.
The CHAIRMAN next gave,—" The Honorary Secretary of
St. Ann's Ward, Mr. R. Harrison." (Cheers.) •
Mr. R. HARnis6N, in responding to the toast, said, that
the consideration which induced him to accept the honour-
able position of Secretary to the,Ward was, because he con-
sidered it might render him an opportunity of advanciug
those principles in which he had been instructed, and which
he hoped.he•would always uphold. He had previous to the
achievement of the late victory in the ward, almost despaired
of seeing the efforts of himself and colleagues crowned with
that success which the cause they espoused so richly merited;
but the result of the late contest, in having their hopes re-
alized, had dispelled all doubts, and lie was convinced that on
any future Occasion, by a mutual co-operation and a deter-
mination of purpose, they would be enabled triumphantly to
contend with their opponents. He thanked them sincerely
for the manner in which they had received the mention of
his name in connexion with the toast, and he begged to assure
them, so long as he enjoyed their confidence, he would never
shrink from lending his aid, however humble, in carrying out
those principles they all so highly.esteemed. (Loud cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN next proposed—" The vice-presidents of
the evening." (Cheers.)
Mr. GRocoTT replied, alluding to his office of assessor of
the ward, and stating that his endeavour on all occasions
had been to act with impartiality. (Applause.)
The health of John Formby. Esq. was next given from the
chair, and a hope expressed that at the next municipal elec-
tion he would have a seat in the town-council. (Great ap-
plause.)
Mr. FORMBY replied, stating that in two or three years
hence lie might perhaps aspire to the honour, but he thought
that for the coming contest the conservatives were already
very well provided. He then referred to the harsh course
which had been pursued in the case of Mr. Jones, and made
several observations on the fact of a certain newspaper having
persisted in maintaining that Mr. Jones was guilty, even af-
ter he had been twice acquitted. Such conduct, he observed,
would not have been tolerated in the case of the humblest
individual, after a jury of his countrymen had aquitted
The newspaper in question, having, however, received no-
tice that an action would probably be brought, had become
silent, and not said a word since.
The CHAIRMAN proposed—" The 193 burgesses who re-
corded their votes in favour of Mr. Jones."
Mr. HOLDEN, the worthy host, replied, and in the course
of his remarks gave a synopsis of the evidence he had given
before the committee of inquiry on the case of Mr- • Jones.
That evidence. as he stated, distinctly gave the lie to the
statements of one of the opposing witnesses.
The CHAIRMAN gave—" Mr. Wilkinson and the Conser
vative Tradesmen's Association of Liverpool." (Applause.)
Mr. WILKINSON briefly responded, and concluded by
giv-
ing " The Conservative Operative Association of Liverpool.
(Applause.)
The chairman, with a number of the guests then departed ;
but the festivity was afterwards continued under the presi-
dency of Mr. Grocott, and several gentlemen addressed the
meeting on local topics, amongst whom was Mr. George
Wright.