The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-11-29 00:00:00

of the efficiency and impartiality with which the Mayofct and
other municipal officers had performed their duties at elections;
and he hoped that when the commissioners reported ,to the
King the result of their inquiry, they would state that the ma
gistrates, as given on all aides, had lent their time and their
ability without any partial influence, emolument, fee, or re-
ward ; and he gave Mr. Thornely credit for the good feeling
which prompted him to that statement.
Mr. Thornely here rose and said that the Town-clerk was
mistaken on one point, for he believed the influence of the
Magistrates and the Corporation was verygreat ; and he would
instance that, when canvassing for votes at the late election,
if he happened to go to the house of a freeman, and he was told
that he was in the service of the Corporation, it was sufficient
for him to depart without snaking any solicitation, which
evinced the influence possessed by the Corporation.
The Town-clerk said that he only meant to say that Mr.
Thornely had given the Mayor and magistrates credit for the
very efficient manner in which they always conducted their
business.
Mr. Thornely said that he should be always happy to afford
that statement to the merits of the Mayor and magietrates.
The Town-clerk continued : he thought that, with regard to
the affairs of the Corporation, he had touched uponfileady every
point with the exception of the question of the town dues, which
were then in litigation; and on which he was compelled to
offer a few remarks Here-, however, he would take leave to
observe that, when first the attention of Parliament was direct-
ed to inquiring into Municipal Corporations, the conimittee of
the House of Commons, having finished their labours, and
the commission under which they, the commissioners, sat, was
about to be issued, he had observed in the parliamentary reports
in the public papers of the day, that a few questions were put to
the Lord Chancellor by a noble lord, relative to the powers in-
vested in the commission, as to whether the instructions of the
commissioners were to be, to enter into an investigation of the
titles of Corporations; or whether the inquiry waseto be con-
fined to the mode of government, and other local Matters con-
nected with Corporations. These questions were put by a
noble lord to the Chancellor, Lord Brougham, and the Chan-
cellor's opihion was, that it was to the second of those queries
that the commissioners had to apply their labours. The ques-
tions were put by Lord Wharncliffe, a report of which ap-
peared in the columns of the Morning Post; from which it
appeared that much injury might be sustained by Corpo-
rations entering into cases which might be- in state of
litigation. He believed the report to
.be a correct one; but
he, did not depend upon the veracity of the newspiner report
alone, as a gentleman of his acquaintance was present and
Heard the questions put, to whom he-read over the report in the
paper, and who stated it to be correct. [The-ToWn-clerk here
read the report alluded to, front which it appeared that the
Lord Chancellor, in answer to the queries of Lord Wharncliffe,
Said that the noble baron, to ascertain correctly the powers
vested in the commissioners, sehould move for a copy of the
commission, and at the same time stated, that corporate bodies,
in cases of inquiry; should take- legal advice befbre they au-
swered the questions put to them under the commission. Upon
the foundation ofthese observations of the Lor:1 Chancellor it was
that the Common Council acted when they came to the resolution
of refusing to tender any evidence on the subject of the town-
dues now its litigation.] He (the Town-clerk) now begged leave
to state, as a matter of evidence, that, by saying nothing, at the
time that Mr. Lowe made his long statements on the subject of
the town-dues, he (the Town-clerk) did not by any means, in
not answering, admit the truth of those statements. He now
thought, however, that it was due to the Cenunon Council to
enter into that question, in order to remove erroneous impres-
sions, which might have been imbibed by a Part of the town
on the subject of the dues. In doing so -he was aware that he
proceeded on difficult grounds; and in the statement he wished
to makeehe should say nothing of the title of the Corporation
to those dues. He adverted to what Mr: Lowe had said, "That
had he" (the. Town-clerk) "been present at the time he made
the statements, he would haVe been aware that the question was
not to try the right of the town dues, but first to ascertain whe-
ther there was a right." . When he had seen the statement
in the paper, he could scarcely believe that Mr. Lowe
had made it; for he must confess that he could not see the
difference between the trial of the right to the town dues, and
the-trial to ascertain whether there was a right. Mr. Bolton
had then stated that if all had paid alike he should not have
disturbed the question of right; and Mr. Low had added that,
under those circumstances, he would not have been seen as
the solicitor in the action.- From the extracts with which he
was furnished from the paper, it appeared that Hr. Lowe had
also stated diet the dues were only an usurpatioi on the pert
of the Corporation, and that the title to them at the trial was
invented by the late Town-clerk.
Mr. Lowe's clerk here said that Mr. Lowe was in London ;
and suggested to the Town-clerk the propriety of refraining
from any observations upon Mr. Lowe in his absence. The
Town-clerk said he should snake no personal remarks on Mr.
Lowe, but confine himself to his evidence, whicl was admitted
by Mr. Lowe's clerk to have been correctly givea.
The Town-clerk continued: the insinuation on the part of
Mr. Lowe, against Mr. Statham, the late Town-clerk, was un-
true, which he hoped he should be able to show by his testimony.
The first intimation of the resistance to the payment of the town
dues was in a letter firms Mr. Hornby; -stating to the Mayor
that the merchants had come to a resolution of trying the right
of the Corporation to the town dues ; and he hopeed the question
might be set at rest by a judicial decision.—[Tie Town-clerk
here read a resolution, adopted at 6 meeting of the merchants,
sent by Mr. Hornby, to the effect that the meeting were of opi-
nion that the town dues were an illegal exaction, and that no
time should be lost in bringing the right to them to a decision by
a court of law.]—This showed that it was a trial of the legality
of the claims of the Corporation to the dues. The Common
Council, on receiving this information, ordered the correspond-
ence to be entered upon the Corporation books; and an intima-
tion was given to the merchants that the payment of thos6
dues would be enforced. In regard to another allegation of
Mr. Lowe, that the stun of £12,000 had been appropriated for
the expenses attending the litigation on the subject of the town
dues, he was quite sure that sum would not be sufficient to
maintain the right of the Corporation to those dues. The next
course of proceeding was, that a writ was sued out of the Court
of King's Bench by Mr. Bolton, which he admitted was, so far,
done fairly and honourably on the part of the merchants; but
what will the merchants and people say of that whith had led to
the presefit unwarrantable great expense.? etpreouid scarcely
believe his own eyes when he saw it in the payer that it was not
to try the legality of the town dues, when the mere-trains stated
that the Corporation had no right to them! He weuld now refer
to the course subsequently taken by the merchants, who, if al-
lowed to use the expression, bad, bs means of the screw of the
Court of Chancery, filed a bill to. compel the Corporation to state
their title to those dues. (cheers) He had expressed himself
with a degree of warmth which the subject might excuse; and
he would now state the words of a most popular min (he meant
the Solicitor-general), when the answer was made by the Com-
mon Council to the first appeal to the Vice-Chancellor. Sir John
Campbell then said that it could not be the law of England that
a man was compelled to come into a court to show his title
to his property. This was at the time when .Belgium was in a
state of disaffection; and Sir John Campbell. remarked, " if
such be the law, the Belgians hove not much to complain of."
(Loud cheers.) This proceeding in Chancery called upon
the solicitors to the Corporation to produce every private
doeument and confidential letter which had passed between
the attornies and their clients from the very moment the
action was brought. Appeals were made to the Lord Chan-
cellor, which caused the delay, and Was one feason why the
question was not vet settled. Mr. Bolton and his solicitor
were limited by the Lord Chancellor to the inspection of
certain documents; and the expense of their Chancery pro-
ceedings would be added to the expenses of the Corpora-
tion. The truth was, that the burgesses of Liverpool were
paying for those proceedings of Mr. Bolton. lle (the
,Cown-clerk) wished to make no other remark than this with
respect to his predecessor, which was, that there was no man
living who was more conscientious and than he was;
and it was due to his memory to say, that such a man was not
likely to commit the wilful perjury which had been attributed
to him. The late Town-clerk had stated in evidence, that he
was ignorant of the title to the town dues before. the year 1830;
and it was his (Mr.F.'s) firm belief that he was so, as he himself
was also ignorant of the title to that period ; and he was con-
vinced that it was to the deep research and, exertions of Mr.
Charles Okill, that the discovery was made of the clearest maul,
festation of a title, which must be admitted in any courtof justice.
As Mi. Lowe had quoted the opinion of Mr. -Sergeant Wilde, who
stated that the Corporation had no title to the town dues' he
would quote the opinion of a counsel equally eminent with Mr.
' Sergeant Wilde; he meant Sir James Scarieet, who had stated
distinctly as his opinion that the Corporation had made out as
strong a claim to the right of the dues as ever came before a
court of j ustice ; and if carried to trial, they would be sure to
obtain a verdict. And it proved by the result of the trial in the
Court of King's Bench, that Sir James Scaelett's opinion
was better grounded than that of Mr. Sergeant Wilde.
:Up. to this period nothing had yet occurred to alter the
opinion given by Sir James Scarlett, and he (the Town Clerk)
tendered that fact as a matter of evidence; and that there was
no trial had taken place on the abstract title of the Corporation
to those dues until February last. That cause originally came
on for trial in 1832, before Lord Tenderden. A special jury
was summoned, but only six attended; and Mr. Holton had
then the power to have prayed a tales for the trial to go on,
but acting, as he presumed, under the advice of his counsel,:
he declined doing so. The Corporation did not pray a tales,.
although they had the power, as it would have been stated on:
the other side that they were not a jury of merchants, and
the judicious conduct of their counsel was proved by the fact
that Mr. Sergeant Wilde afterwards tleelaredsthat if they
(the Corporation). had prayed a tales they would not have been
content with it. The trial again came on hi 13.33,.under great
disadvantages to the Corporation; as they were deprived of
the valuable service of his (the Town-clerk's) predecessor,
who had devoted so great a portion of his time to the study',
of the subject. And he was sure he spoke within com-
pass, when he stated that he (the late Town-clerk) was
twelve months away from his family in- lodgings in Lon-
don, arduously engaged in endeavouring to to :establish this
title. The trial came .on with the loss of his presence,
which was an unfortuuate circumstance for the Corpo-
ration and the public at large. The trial also cause
on, the Corporation being deprived of the advantage of
Lord Tenterdeu as a judge, and was tried before Chiet Jus-
tice Denman and a special jury, and occupied one entire day
and a half. Would it be believed, after the iesolutions of the
merchants, that the Corporation had no title to the dues, that
the cause went to the jury without a single witness being called
to support their views? (Cheers.) New he would ask if the
merchants were anxious to establish their right to the duei;
why did they not give the jury the benefit of the contents of
those voluminous documents which they had laid upon that
table,-and which occupied the attention f the commissioners
for two days in reading.?
Mr. Lowe's clerk here said that the documents were not pro-
duced by the advice of Mr. Sergeant Vs'ilasi.
The 'town-clerk said, if they were of so much value as to be
deemed requisite to occupy so much time of the Commissioners,
they might also have been useful to the jury.—[:llie Town-clerk
here read considerable portions of the evidence given in court
by Mr. Chillingworth, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Brooks, and other
witnesses, corroborative of his statement.]—And added, that
after the careful and minute summing up of the jedge, the jury
did not hesitate more than a couple of minutes ineinding their
verdict for the Corporation. He then proceeded to state, that,
with regard to the alleged oppression of the town dues, there had
only been four or five applications from 115 d to the ereseut period
for a reduction of any partof them, which had been favourably re-
ceived by the Corporation ; and he instanced the cases of Mr. Horn-
by and others, to whom relief had been afforded iii 1825 and sub-
sequent years; and he felt hiniself bound to state, that if the
merchants had made a fair representation to ie Common
Council that any portion of those dues -was oppressive, theme
would have been no less disposition in 1831, on their part, upon
showing that one article was more heavily taxed than another,
to have made similar concessions and mudisfications to those
made in 18')5. (Loud cheers.) He would state in that court
that the Common Council had no interest whatever in the
question beyond what related to the good of the community
at large. In what way were the town dues applied but to the
improvement of the town ? Improvements which had excited
een ral admiration throughout :he kingdom. among the oh-
jects to which they were applied were the improvements at the
inlets and outlets of the port—in that great work et the entrance
of the river, alike calculated to save the lives of the mariners
and the property of the merchants—he meant tie light-house.
He could also refer to the great improvements in the vicinity
of the docks, and the widening of those streets larmine the im-