The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-07-13 00:00:00

TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

On Wednesday, the usual monthly meeting of the
Council was held, at the Town-hall. The Mayor took
the chair at ten minutes after eleven o'clock, at which
time there were twenty-three members in their respective
places.

THE BIRKENHEAD DEBT.

Mr. PARKER begged to ask the Chairman of the Finance
Committee the reasons why the £llO,OOO, due from the
Birkenhead Dock Company, had not been paid into the
corporation treasury ? He said that as a trustee of the
burgesses of Liverpool, he thought he had a right to look
after their interests. Many gentlemen present were not
aware that the old corporation in their foresight and
judgment—and experience proved their judgment to be
sound, and the Mayor's sire was a member of that corpo-
ration—purchased the estate of Wallasey for the sum of
£200,000. The council had now an estate of the value of
as many millions as it had originally cost hundreds of
thousands. That estate was handed down to the Munici-
pal Reform Corporation, and they, in their glorious ple-
nitude, abused the old corporation, and the purchase was
called a job, and it was said that thousands of the public
money had been thrown away for a swamp on the other
side of the water. When the present Mayor was chairman
of the Finance Committee, that committee in their wis-
dom, thought proper to recommend to the council, in a
very quiet way, to lease away the Wallasey estate ; but no
sooner had the Birkenhead people got possession of the
property than they announced it to be their intention of
building docks on it. They took the estate at 75 years
lease ; but having had all their plans cut and dry, they
went to work to deprive the burgesses of Liverpool of the
fee-simple right which they possessed. Being supported
in- this by the people of Bolton and Manchester, they went
to Parliament and obtained their bill, depriving the bur-
gesses of the fee simple ; and by that bill they were to pay
the Liverpool Corporation the sum of £llO,OOO, not one-
tenth part perhaps of the value. He wished to know
whether the bill specified the time when the £llO,OOO was
to be paid ? He wanted to know on what grounds this
£llO,OOO had not been paid ?—when it was to be paid ?
what security there was for the payment of it ?—and what
interest the corporation were receiving for it ? (Hear.)
The estate had been got from the corporation almost by
fraud. He would not say by direct fraud, but he would
say by deception. The business on the other side of the
water had been commenced in excitement, and carried on
by false agitation. (Hear, hear.) Excitement was the
order of the day. Lord orpeth had been brought down
to open the docks ; and it was thought the people in Lon-
don would bleed, but it was now ascertained that they
would not bleed. (" Hear," and laughter.)
Mr. MANN objected. He thought it beneath Mr.
Parker to reflect upon the manner in which the Birken-
head Docks were opened.
Mr. PARKER said he was giving his honest opinion, and
that he should not shrink from the conscientious discharge
of his duty. (Hear, hear.)
Sir T. BRANCKER said that the Finance Committee
neither had nor would part with the Wallasey Estate until
they obtained full satisfaction for it. He could inform
Mr. Parker, for the information of his friends out of
doors, that, as the Corporation were unwilling sellers in
the first instance, if they did not get the money they had
the estate, and would be very glad to repossess themselves
of it—(hear, hear.)
Mr. S. HOLME expressed a hope that Mr. Parker would,
in his usual manly way, withdraw the expression he had
used with reference to " fraud." When that expression
was applied to such men as Mr. Potter, Mr. Glynn, and
Mr. Bailey, M.P., it could not but be exceedingly of-
fensive. _ _ _

Mr. PARKER did not say fraud ; but he said it looked
very much like fraud, and that there was a very great
deal of deception used there could be no doubt.
The matter then dropped. .
DOCK COMMITTEE.

The proceedings of the Dock Committee having been
read,

Mr. BRAMLEY-MOORE said the dock accounts had just
been published, and that there was an increase of X 32,648
in the receipts, and also an increase of 255,095 tons in
the tonnage. This rather exceeded what he estimated it
at when he last had the honour of addressing the Coun-
cil—(hear, hear.)

FINANCE COMMITTEE.
The TOWN-CLERK reported that, in consequence of
the Birkehhead Dock Commissioners having, •by the
clauses of their bills, vested the strand of the Wallasey
estate in the crown, he had consulted eminent counsel,
and had appeared and opposed the bills before a commit-
tee of the House of Lords, when the committee decided
that the claims of the Corporation should not be pre-
judiced, and the clauses were altered accordingly.
Sir. T. BRANCKER moved that the proceedings of the
Finance Committee be confirmed, and that Mr. Earle be
appointed a member of that committee, in the place of
the late Mr. Aspinall. He stated that the claim of
£20,000, made by the Dock Committee upon the Corpo-
ration for the wall in front of the Tobacco Warehouses,
had been referred to a sub-committee, to inquire and re-
port.
Some conversation then took place relative to the in-
adequacy of the present gaol for the accommodation of
offenders ; and also about an account of £2OO which had
been paid to Mr. Pooley, on account of the baths, without
the concurrence of the Baths' Committee ; after which,
Mr. TINNE announced that Dr. Thomas Duncan was
in future to be designated "assistant engineer," to dis-
tinguish him from the several surveyors of the town, and
not to be known any longer as the "assistant surveyor."
Mr. Nicol, said he perceived, by the proceedings, that
the Finance Committee had approved of the elevation of
a new Wesleyan chapel, on the west side of Gill-street,
and he asked whether Dr. Duncan's opinion ought not to
be taken relative to the ventilation of that and other large
buildings for public worship ?
Sir THOMAS BRANCKER said the committee had only
to do with the elevation, and that they had nothing to do
with the ventilation.
The proceedings were then confirmed.
MARKETS COMMITTEE.

This committee recommended that Mr. Luya should be
appointed superintendent of St. John's Market, at £2OO
per annum ; that Mr. Stonehouse should be appointed
superintendent of St. James's, and that a new superinten-
dent should be appointed to Gill-street, and to act as ge-
neral superintendent.
Mr. Tn onN ti ILL disapproved of these recommnndations,
and thought the plan of having a general superintendent
over all the other superintendents would never work well.
Mr. Luya ought to have more than £2OO a-year when the
late Mr. Graham had £2BO.
After some conversation, Mr. S. HOLME moved that
the subject be referred back for further consideration.—
Carried.
- ---------

BUSINESS OF TEE COUNCIL.
The MAYOR said, that as he had to meet his Imperial
Highness the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, the
Council must now. adjourn.
The Coroner's account, amounting to £162 19s. 2d.,
was then passed, and the Council adjourned until eleven
o'clock on Wednesday, (to.raorrow,) for the dispatch of
the remaining business on the paper,. and also for the pur-
pose of coasidering the matters mentioned in, the Town..
clerk's letter..