The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-05-07 00:00:00

bill kitogether," It then bream eenchieration whether
they should allow the Queen,squaro Company to defeat this

in ells u re

They had only four hours to spare; it they bad
-- • •

allowed it to reluaiu until Monday it would have been too

late. They got up a petition, obtained a few signatures to it,
and sent it by post. Another petition was got up on Monday.
in case of the failure of the first. It was perfectly evident
that the intention of the Queen-square Company was to de-
feat the object they had in view, namely, to get cheap gas ;
for it was certain that if the Dale-street bill was fairly carried

out, they should in two or three year, have gas down to Os

Therefore, it was for their consideration whether they would
allow that opposition to go on—whether they would allow
the Queen-square Company to defeat them in their just ex-
pectations? (Cheers.)
Mr. BRIGHT said it appeared to him that the interest of
the consumer was not considered by either of the companies ;
and that the Guardian Society should go on to the attainment
of its object without regard to one company or the other.
(Cheers.)
. Mr. J EFFERY said, a few minutes before he entered that
room a resolution' had been put into his hands; he was sure,
before he read it to them, that every gas consumer would
enter most cordially into the merits of the resolution, and at
once agree to it. It was :—" That it is the opinion of the
meeting that the Liverpool Gas Bill, as amended by the
House of Commons, and now before the House of Lords,
will be beneficial to the consumer of gas, and this meeting
pledges itself to support it." It would require very little
from him to make every gentleman present believe that it
was beneficial—the solicitor's report was sufficient to con-
vince them of that. Mr. Jeffery then very ably enlarged
upon the facts that were contained in the report, and
in the course of his remarks, said that the new company

commenced comparatively without capital, the consumers
were liberal enough to relieve them from a state of almost
bankruptcy, and now that they had got all they asked from
the gas consumers, they wanted to put their hands into their
breeches' pockets. (Hear, and laughter.) Mr. Banner, when
one of the deputation from the Queen-square company, said
that they (the gas consumers) wished to make one company
and ruin the other. This was not the case. Their object
was not to support either one company or the other, but to
obtain cheap gas. Thus, as the old company were not pre-
vented dividing any amount of profit, while the new com-
pany were prevented dividing above 10 per cent., if the bill
did not pass into law, he should support the new company ;
and if it did, lie should support the old company. Mr. Ban-
ner endeavoured to treat the matter synipathetically ; he was
told it could not be entertained with sympathy, but that they
met there as men of business, to obtain cheap gas. (Hear.)
They would effect much by the bill, it' it passed in its present
shape. In the forwarding of this they had acted in concert
with the Queen-square company—their counsel-had acted
together; and for his own part he was puzzled at the time
lo account for their conduct. They wanted to go hand in
hand with the gas consumers, to prevent the Dale-street
company getting a bill at all ; but they were advised by their
counsel to stop where they were, and be satisfied. As con-
tributors to the fund, he asked them whether they bad acted
wisely or unwisely in taking their stand when they had got
as much as they_ could ? (Approval.) If the bill were passed
as it was, it would be a boon to the gas consumers; and if
thrown out, all the expense they had been at would be lost:
thus, to allow the proceedings of the new company to go on
unmolested would be an act of injustice to the contributors.
(Hear.) In the course of five years they would have gas
at 4s. 6d., if this bill passed into law. (Hear, and cheers.)
Mr. Jeffery informed the meeting that there were sufficient
funds in hand not only to defray the by-gone expenses, but
those which would be incurred—(hear) ; made compli-
mentary allusions to Messrs. Radle) „Woolhight, and John-
son, (who formed the deputation to London); and concluded
by saying that after these gentlemen had given so much of
their valuable time,—to be diddled out of their bill would be
a thing at which he should feel much aggrieved. (Cheers.)
Mr. SUMNERS would merely-state that when mention was
made of the consumption of gas, in the Guardian Society, it
was his ardent desire, and he stated it in committee, to steer
entirely apart from both companies. (Hear.) They had
started, not as partisans of the one company or the other,
but as tradesmen, for the purpose of obtaining cheap gas.
He wished to say a word or two on what had fallen from Mr.
Jeffery, from which it might be presumed, they had acted in
concert with the Queen-square company. They bad cer-
tainly acted indirectly in concert with them ; for the
Queen-square company were obliged to act in concert
with their deputation in order .to obtain a hearing at
all; but they now acted in opposition to the Queen-square
company, in order to maintain the benefit obtained in the
House of Commons, since the Queen-square company,
to secure their own interest, would throw the bill out of the •
Lords if they possibly could, the consequence of which would
be to bring about the old position, with a loss of all their time
and expenses, and a complete extinguisher by the Queen-
square company. He concluded by saying that he thought
the interests of the Queen-square company would have been
better served if they had acted more in concert with them.
Mr. HENSH AW came to tell a plain unvarnished tale. He
detailed the disadvantages under which the new• company
laboured until they obtained power from Parliament to make
their gas of the same materials as the old company ; and
stated that the demands made upon them by the consumers
were of so extraordinary a nature that they could not accede
to them'. They only wanted a clear stage and fair play.
The consumers were their customers, and they did not want
to run counter to their wishes. The price of gas must be
the same, and it was for them to judge of its quality, and
the politeness of the company. Only allow them fair play,
and that was all they wished.
Mr. TURNER said if the bill were thrown out of the House
of Lords they must bestir themselves and have a company of
their own : he thought they should bring them to their senses
then. He must say he was rather grieved at the means
made use of by one of the companies in getting signatures to
the petition to throw the bill out of the House of Lords. if
he was not mistaken, the two persons who went round were
shareholders, if not directors. (Mr. H ENSH AN : I was not
one.—Laughter.) If their bill were thrown out, they would
take the hint of the shopkeepers' assistants, and close their
shops at seven o'clock. (Hear, and laughter.)
Mr. WOOLLRIGHT had misgivings of the ultimate object
of the Queen-square company when they first joined them ;
and they only permitted their counsel to act second to theirs
in order that, in fairness, he might be heard. They soon
found that the objects of the two gas companies and of the
gas consumers were totally different, and objected to go on
any further together ; but it was only in that room that they
got at their ultimate object, when Mr. Banner admitted that
their object from the first was to get them to withdraw
the bill. This would drive the othdr company into collision
with them • 'and it was their (the gas consumers') object not
to suffer the clauses of the bill to bring the companies into
collision ; they would never get a reduction in the price-of
gas by this means. He thought they had done as much as
possible for the furtherance of their wishes. He was sorry
he could not accompany Messrs. Radley and Johnson, who,
however, would be ably assisted by .Mr. Ferguson.
Mr. COOPER and Mr. JEFFERY having addressed the
meeting, the resolution was carried unanimously.
A vote of thanks having been passed to the chairman, the
meeting separated.

THE LIVERPOOL CLERGY

AND THE " TRACTS

FOR THE TIMES

'0 THE HON. AND RIGHT REV. RICHARD, LORD BISHOP