The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-08-27 00:00:00

PARISH MEETING

On Tuesday, pursuant to notite, a meeting was held in St.
Nicholas's Church, for the purpose of taking into considera-
tion the propriety of sanctioning an application to parliament,
by the commissioners for the better paving and sewerage of
the town, for an act to alter, amend, and extend the powers
and provisions of the act of the 11th George IV, the ten
years for which that act was passed having expired.
At one o'clock the Rev. Rector Campbell took the chair,
and Mr. Edward G. Deane, the clerk to the commissioners,
read the advertisement by which the meeting was convened.
It had been called, he remarked, by the authority of the
churchwardens, the commissioners having no power for that
purpose themselves.

Mr. MOZLEY said, he did not think any lengthened ob-
servations would be necessary to obtain the consent of the
parishioners to the course intended to be pursued. No per-
son could live in the town without being aware of the great
benefit it bad derived from the sewerage, so far as it had
already gone ; which naturally made them anxious to extend
it still further. No one could think of the awful storm of
theprevious night without calling to mind what would have
happened, under the same circumstance, a few years ago, in
the neighbourhood in which he resided. They had often
witnessed hundreds of persons turned out of their beds by
the flooding of the lower parts of the town, to the great injury,
not only of property, but of the health of the inhabitants. In
moving for the additional powers which were necessary to
carry out this very desirable object, he would beg to offer
one suggestion. He hoped that with sewerage they would
combine drainage also. (Hear, hear.) By the former a
great deal was effected in carrying off the surface water, but
the proprietors of property, in important parts of the town,
were suffering serious inconvenience from want of drainage.
It was not so much property in low situations that was ex-
posed to this inconvenience as that which stood upon declivi-
ties, the basements, which might be extremely useful, being
of no avail by reason of the damp from the property above.
Mr. HuTcniNsoN seconded the proposition,
Mr. BIRKETT then intimated his readiness to afford any
explanation to parties who might desire it.
The CHA111111!..N said, he would, with their permission,
read the resolution which it was intended to propose, which
was as follows :

"That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is desirable that
the present act for the paving and sewerage of the town should
be amended, by giving power to the commissioners, amongst
other things, to levy a limited sewerage rate, in lieu of the one
whieh has expired, for the purpose of enabling them to con-
tinue those improvements in the drainage and sewerage of the
towu, which are so essential to the health and benefit of the
inhabitants at large. And this meeting, therefore, so far as it
can, sanctions and approves of the commissioners applying to
parliament, in the ensuing session, for an act to alter, amend,
extend, and enlarge the powers and provisions contained in
the said act; but with this express understanding, that the
sewerage rate to be applied for shall not exceed twopence in
the pound, one half thereof to be chargeable on the owners of
property subject to such rate, and the other half on the
occupiers thereof."

M. FORD wished to know by what authority the vestry
was held.

Mr. DEANE reminded Mr. Ford of his observation at the
outset, that the meeting had been called by the churchwardens.
Mr. FORD replied, there was no such intimation in the
official snmmons. The meeting was called by the authority
of the Board of Highways.
Mr. JOHN HOLMES said, it was deemed much better that
the parishioners should be consutted. The e6rinniasioners
had gone against the consent of the vestry before. He like-
wise thought it would be better to go to Parliament them-
selves than to be under a board of commissioners in London,

Mr: DEANF:s;iil:ll;e-commissioners were not bound to
come before the parish, but they wished to hear all the ob-
jections against their proposal, and prevent opposition in
Parliament. _ _ _ _

Mr. BIRKETT said, they were aware that a bill had been
brought into parliament last year, by the Marquis of Nor-
manby, giving extensive powers to the commissioners to he
appointed under it—a bill which he, as a ratepayer, thought
would operate very injuriously to this town, contemplating,
as it did, suck a large measure of alteration, not only not de-
sirable, but to a great extent impracticable. The Liverpool
commissioners, seeing this, appointed a deputation, of which
he was one, to oppose it. They did oppose it in every shape
and way, and he had very little hesitation in saying that they
would have got a total exemption, as London had, only that
they were not in the same position, having no local act in
existence.
Mr. Birkett was proceeding with his statement, when Mr.
Ford put it to the meeting if it would not be better that the
chairman should give a definitive answer to the question
which had been raised as to the legality of the meeting.
The CHAIRMAN said, he had not the least doubt but that
the churchwardens had a right to summon a vestry. Mr.
Ford's objection was, that that was not a vestry of which
legal notice had been given, having been summoned by order
of the commissioners, and not of the churchwardens.

Mr. FORD.—That is my position.
The CIIAIRMAN.—It strikes me that there is some force
in the objection. Is this a meeting legally summoned ? That
is the point, Mr. Deane.
Mr. DI ANE.-If the objection be valid, it is merely tech-
nical. The intention was, to ascertain the sense of the pa-
rishioners at large. There can be no qucstion that it is com-
petent in the commissioners to call a meeting; whether that
meeting be held in the church, the Sessions-house, or any
other place, can signify nothing. If it had not been for dm ,
word "vestry," which I
'
put in to meet scruples, this que, _
tion could not have been raised. It is a meeting of " (le
inhabitants assessed to the relielpf the poor, and Ido not
see why it is not to be considered a meeting for any Legal
purpose.
The CHAIRMAN said, he could imagine no object; ion to
the commissioners of paving and sewerage calling a meeting
of the parishioners ; but could a resolution emanating g from
that meeting be caled a resolution of the parishir mers in
vestry legally assembled? (Hear.) He should say not. It
would be a meeting, and might pass what resolutions it
pleased ; but he questioned if they would come legally
that designation.
Some further conversation ensued, and it wai3 ultimately
decided to call another meeting, which was fixed for
rester-
day week.