The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-04-14 00:00:00

is liberties and boundary. The rates of charges for water,
too, was limited to the following scale :—On it rental of
£8 and under, 5 per cent. from £8 to £2O, 6 per cent. ;
£2O to £4O, 51 per cent.; £4O to £6O, 5 per elicit. ; £6O
and upwards, 41 per cent., and the charge for any one
year not to exceed £8 if the water was used for domestic
purposes only. The company were also obliged to supply
any person requiring water, or in case of their neglecting
to do so, they were liable to a penalty of £5. The profits
of the company were limited to 5 per cent. per annum,
5 per cent. was to go to the borough fund, and the re-
mainder to he divided amongst the shareholders. Then,
by the 7th and Bth Geo. IV., passed in May,
1827, power was obtained to amend' the last act,
and to supply Harrington and Toxteth Park with
water. The title, too, was altered to "the Company
of Proprietors of the Liverpool and Harrington Water
Works." In this bill they had power to raise an addi-
tional sum of £30,000 on bond, and the number of direc-
tors was increased to twelve (hear). Then came the bill
now before parliament which declared the capital expended
to be 1:190,710 18s. sd. in 400 shares. which made each
share worth £477. ( Hear, hear.) They would bear in
mind that by their former acts when they had any surplus
the company was bound to pay 5 per cent. of it to the
Corporation, yet not one farthing had ever been handed
over to that body. Then they took powers to raise addi-
tional capital to the extent of £200,000 in shares ; but,
mark, those shares were to be divided amongst them-
selves ! ( Hear, hear.) Each share of ..£lOO to be of the
nominal value of the four-hundredth part of the capital of
£190,710 18s. sd. or £477. Then they sought for power
to repeal the clauses in the former act limiting the number
of shares to each proprietor at five, and also as to the
number of votes, giving to each shareholder one vote for
each £lOO stock he should hold. ( Hear.) By the fifth
section the profit of the company was limited to five per
cent. but that was cunningly got over by the 16th section
which limited the profit to ten per cent. and gave
them the power to pay ten per cent. on preceding
years. ( Shame.) The 17th clause enabled them to
provide a contingent fund of £lO,OOO to secure dividends
of ten per cent., and gave power to raise the price of
water. The 24th clause provided that an abstract of the
accounts of the company should be annually filed with
the clerk of the peace for the county, and also that the
ratepayers may inspect them on payment of a fee of one
shilling; but to do that they must travel to Preston.
(Hear, hear.) Now, by the gas acts, those companies
were required to file copies of their accounts with the Re-
corder of Liverpool. and copies could be obtained at a
small cost. No such provision, however, appeared in the
bill of the Harrington Company, and as to filing the ac-
counts with the clerk of the peace at Preston, they might
just as well be filed with the Pope of Rome, for any use it
would be of to the ratepayers. (Hear, hear.) The 26th
was a very rich clause. It related to the supply of water
to the poor, and he would read it at length. He begged
the attention of the meeting to it :—" And whereas, the
houses of the poor were in many cases not supplied with
water on account of the inability of the owners or occu-
piers to lay on the pipes and other apparatus; be it
enacted, that it shall be lawful for the said company of
proprietors, and they are hereby required, within four-
teen days after receiving a written request from the owner
or occupier of any house, building, or premises, and with
the consent, in writing, of the owner or reputed
owner thereof, or of his agent or receiver ; and
upon the said company having a sufficient gua-
rantee from the owner thereof for the payment
of the water rent for the term of three years and receiving
the proportion thereof hereby made payable in advance,
(hear, hear,) to find and lay on any pipes or other appara-
tus for the supply of water to, and into, such premises
for domestic or other purposes, and to keep the same in
repair for such annual or other rent or remuneration in
money, and upon such other terms and conditions as shall
be agreed upon between the company and such owner or
reputed owner, or in case of dispute, as shall be settled
by any public officer who may hereafter be appointed, so
that such rent or remuneration shall yield (after deducting
the estimated expense of repairs) a clear annual profit
upon the outlay, incurred or to be incurred, of not less
than the rate of dividend authorised by this act." This
was for supplying water to the poor ! ( Hear, hear.)
"And such rent or remuneration shall be chargeable and
recoverable from the occupier for the time being, or in
his default, from the owner or reputed owner for the time
being of such a house, building, or premises, or from his
agent or receiver in the same manner as rates due to the
company in respect of such supply of water and such pipes
and other apparatus shall not be subject to distress, nor
for any lien or pledge known in the law of England, any
law or practice to the contrary notwithstanding : provided
always that the company shall not be liab'e to make
good any loss or damage that may arise by leakage
of water or otherwise." (Hear, hear.) Then the next
clause enacted, that if upon tender of water rent
the company should neglect or refuse to lay down
pipes, they should be liable to a penalty offorty shit'ings,
whereas under their present act, as the Harrington
Company had recently been taught to their cost, they
were liable to a penalty of £5. Some time ago a party
came to a house in Liverpool, which had been supplied
by the Bootle Water Works Company. He applied to
the Harrington Company for water, and it was supplied
to him, but some workmen to the Bootle Company being
at work in the same street, informed him that he would
not have the water long, as the former tenant had not
paid the rate, and accordingly the water was cut off. The
party consulted him (Mr. Reay), and the case was taken
befare Mr. Rushton, who very properly inflicted a penalty
of £5. For that offence they now s( ught to fix the
penalty of 40s, whilst in clause 44 of their act It wag pro-
vided, " That if any person supplied with water by the
said Company of proprietors, shall suffer any cistern or
other receptacle for water, pipe, cock, or apparatus on
the premises belonging to or occupied by him, to
be out of repair, so that the water supplied to him
by the said Company of proprietors shall be wasted,
he shall forfeit for every such offence a sum not ex,
ceeding £5, together with the amount of loss sustained
by the Company." Such was the power sought
under their present bill. (dear, hear.) Then they sought
for powers making the water rate payable in advance
quarterly, but, by a nuilible in that very same act, a per-
son might have to pay half-yt arly in advance, and should
he remove shortly [after be had paid his water-rate, to
another house in the borough, he wou'd have to pay the
rate twice over. (Hear.) Clause 33 was also an im-
portant clause, for where the proprietor of a house had
laid down his own pipes, he was not allowed to remove
them until he had given ten days' notice to the company.
By clause 35 they repealed the power of distraint for rent
by themselves, and gave it to the magistratea. Clause 37
was a very important one ; it enacted that where several
houses were supplied by one pipe, each person should be
liable to the water-rate as 'reach house had been separately
supplied. By the 42nd clause, persons using the water of
the company were to provide cisterns and stop cocks;
but bow were poor people to do that? How was a man,
living in a cellar, to pay the cost of a cistern, or if able to
do so, where was he to piece it, when perhaps the only
room he had for himself and family was a cold damp place,
121tby 9? Then the directors were not satisfied with obtain-
ing adividend of 8 or 10 percent.,but by clause 48 they seek
for powers to pay themselves £4OO per annum for looking
after their own business. (Hear.) He would now snow
them by figures how the company sought to deal with
the public in the matter. As be had stated before the
capital raised under their first act was £95,324 in 400
shares, or £238 6s. 3d. per share. In the second act the
capital was not recited, but in the present bill the capital
was recited at £190,710 18s sd. or £177 p. r Aare, evi-
dently made out of surplus profits equal to nearly 5; per
cent per annum for the past 24 years upon the capital.
But out of those profits a still further dividend had evi-
dently been paid, or their price in the market wou'd
never have reached the sum of £675 at which they were
now selling. But even upon the 5 per cent there was a
premium of nearly 31 per cent. Why was it that
the Corporation of Liverpool had riot participated
in those profits? (Hear, hear.) That was not all
for each shareholder had the power to nominate one house
for every share he held, which, of course, would add
11 per cent. upon the £477, if it were true, as stated, that
£8 had been allowed for each house, and this would make
a total of 64 per cent. per share per annum. (Hear.
hear.) But with regard to the allotment of shares, which
was proposed to be solely anem,gst the-company them-
selves, each share of £lOO was to bear the proportion of
the four-hundredth part of the capital of £190,713 18s sd,
and would give £477, or a clear gain of £377, which share
of £477 having a dividend of 10 per cent., according to
the new act, would give for the 1:100 so invested a divi-
dend equal to £47 14a. per cent. per annum. ( Hear.)
Bnt allowing that the £lOO share be taken at the par of
£238 6s. 3d., the value of a share on obtaining the Act'
of June, 1822, it would give at 10 per cent. a dividend of
£23 16s. Bd. per cent. per annum for the £lOO. Again.
allowing that the £lOO was to be considered a full share,
each proportion or allotment would get, according to
the market price of shares a clear gain of £575; but if
the shire be taken at the par of June, 1822, viz. £238
6s. 3d., then the clear gain on the market price of the
share would be £436 13s. 9d. ( Hear.) IE, however,
the share he taken at the:present capital price of £477,
and if £l9B premium per share be obtained, what would
the price then be in the market—would it not be £lOOO
or £1200? (Hear, hear.) Thus there would be a profit of
about £llOO on a capital expended of £lOO. [Hear )
The speaker concluded by calling on the meeting and the
public in energetic terms to bestir themselves in the
matter, and to frustrate the designs of the Harrington
company, which he designated as a scheme to increase the
value of their property, In order that the c rporation.
when they came to take the property, might have more
money to pay for it (cheers).
The Rev. W. BkvAN, who was called for in the absence
of the Rev. H. Hampton, who had been compelled to
leave the meeting, seconded the resolution, and in doing
so, impressed upon the meeting the necessity of providing
not only an abundant supply of water, but the great
advantage of taking care that it was of a good and
wholesome quality.
The resolution was then put, and carried unanimously.
The MAYOR said he did not happen to be one of the
Parliamentary Committee, and therefore could give no
information on the subject alluded to by Mr. Bevan ; but
several of the committee were present alio, no doubt,
would state what was going on, if they felt themselves at
liberty to do so. (Hear, hear )
Mr. TINNE said that, as one of the parliamentary
Committee appointed by the Council, he had no objection
to state how the matter at present stood with regard to
the purchase of the Liverpool and Harrington Water
Works Company. They were aware that a negotiation
had been commenced by the Corporation for the purchase
of the Harrington Worka for the benefit of the commu-
nity, and the Committee had called upon Mr. Hawksley,
'll' gentleman alluded to by Mr. Blackburn, and a more
competent authority they could hardly have chosen, and
upon some other engineers, to assist them with regard to
necessary
their sanatory bill. He felt bound in candour to state
that the Liverpool and Harrington Company had afforded
them the utmost facility for obtaining all the information
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