The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-11-05 00:00:00

CHKSHIRE.

Last week
.Mr. John Langan purchased the estate anti
hall of Thot mon, near Rock Ferry, for 9,000 euineas.
ASSAULT.-At the Birkenhead Police•court, on Thurs-
day, George Lawton was fined 40s. and costs for assault-
ing Eliza Forshaw, in Higher Bebington. The defendant
accused the complainant of keeping a disorderly house,-
and the magistrates. who had heard of his irregularities,
strongly cautioned him.

CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.—An inquest was on Friday
summoned to b held at Woodchurcb, near Birkenhead,
on the body of an elderly female, who, it was alleged,
had died in consequence of ill-treatment by an unauthor-
ised practitioner in his endeavours to cure a cancer. Tile
c roner, H. Churton, Esq., issued his warrant for the
disinterment of the body, arid ordered a post modem ex-
amination to be made by Dr. Vaughan and Mr. Foullo,-
of Birkenh, ad. However, on the parties arriving at
Woodchur..ll, it was found that the deceased had been
buried at Whirchnrch, in Shropshire, and thither the
parties departed, for the purpose of pursuing the inquiry.

- .
FIRE AT BIRKENHEAD.—About three o'clock on
Tuesday morning last the watchman on duty discovered
the premises of Messrs. Wemvss and Cameron, joiners
and builde,s, Ivy-street, Birkenhead, to he on fire.
The alaru was speedily given, and two of the engines got
to work, but, using to the inflammable nature of the
buildings, whi h were chiefly composed of wood, in less
thun three quArturs of an hour the whole were razed to the
ground. There is every reason to suppose that this is the
work of an incendiary, as the fire originated in the east
end of the building, in a temporary shed used for jointink
flooring hoards, (into which no fire was ever admitted) an&
in the end direct ly opposite to that in which the stove is
erected. Abut fourteen men were employed on the pre-
mises, all of wh in have lost the whole of their tools. The
premises were insured in a London office ; and the loss,
exclusive of the tools, is estimated at about £2OO.
FALL OF A PORTION OF BIRKENHEAD MARKET.--
About eleven o'clock on Saturday between fifty and silty
yards of the southeastern wall of the new market no,,v rtr
course of erection at Birkenhead, by the contractors,
Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and Co. fell down with
tremendous crash, burying six of the workmen in the
ruins. The unfortunate fellows were engaged at the time,
in that part of the building which is to be converted into
underground cellars, and were rivetting a portion of the
iron roof. We are happy to say, although three of the
parties were seriously injured, no person was killed. The
remaining three were got out of the ruins without having_
sustained any contusions of consequence. The names of
the injured parties are, James Ellis, aged thirty.tWOt
whose leg was fractured in two places ; Samuel Hughes'
aged twenty-two, who received contusions on the head,
the hips, and both legs ; and John Cannon, who received
contusions on the head and loins. The poor fellows,Whi
are all unmarried, and from Staffordshire, were remoVeLl
to the Birkenhead Dispensary, where prompt attention
was paid to their injuries. The accident was caused 1)5;
the fury of the gale which was blowing at the time, the
a contemporary states that the walls are not sufficiently
strung, being where the semicircular windows are to he
placed, only nine inches in thickness, the length of a single
brick, and where the pillars, or supports, are erected be-
tween the windows,the thickness varies only from fourteel)
to eighteen inches.

WALL ASEY.—On Thursday evening, the adjourned
meeting of the parisioners was held, to take into consider'
ation certain propositions for the improvement, lighting?
and watching of the parish. On the motion of Mr. Lit'
tledale, J. C. Ewart, Esq., in the absence of the Ret
Dr. Byrth. was called to the chair.- The meeting halcee'
been opened by the chairman, and addressed by Mt.
Winch, in the speech explanatory of the proposed eaea;
sure, Mr. Meadowcroft opposed the project, but he tee
with little support. The following resolution was carried,
with only three or four dissentients :—`' That taking jete'
consideration the great present and prospective increase
of the population of the parish of Wallasey, it is, in the
opinion of this meeting, very desirable that applicati..oll..
should be made to parliament in the ensuing session fe
an act for the regulation of the affairs of the parish tie°,,
7
the principle of vesting in commissioners the powers 0
paving, lighting, watching, cleansing, and otherwise itei
provirg the parish, the establishment and maintenance °0
an effective police, and a public market thereon, and el
other powers that may be found necessary for its effecter!,
good government, for which the general law of the land',
necessaryeeit becoming insufficient:"—A number of gene
tlemen were then nominated to act as a committee.---1",
secretary proceeded to read the report of the sub.cotee
mittee on the brads of the intended bill. The first elms
vests the execution of the act in 21 commissioners, rated
at £5O, or possessing property of the value of £l5OO :„./
to be elected by the inhabitants rated at £lO to the r !rt.,
of the poor.—Mr. Brice proposed that the qualificato
should be a rating of £35 instead of £5O, or property ta
the value of £lOOO instead of £l5OO. Mr. Banner el,
conded the motion, which was carried, after Mr. o:4ince..
bad explained, in answer to a question, that the cleah„..e-:t
tion was to be in landed property, or houses. The r•
clause provides that seven of the commissioners sisal' rat
tire annually by rotation, and be re-eligible. The °is,
clauses, relating to the monthly meetings of the coene t,
sioners, were agreed to without comment. In the Heal,
which made appointment of auditors of accounts optioof,
it was made compulsory, on the suggestion of Mr. 'ith-
lins. The next clause relates to the lighting and wet
jO-
- particular districts, by direction of the convtlie to
ners, and provides that such parts only shall be lewole
the rates. Mr. Ford suggested that it m ould he adv"tb eir
for the commissioners to take power to manufacture
nicer
own gas, instead of taking it from Birkenhead. and fleet
a good deal of discussion, an amendment to that eizing
was carried by a small msjority.—The clause author. ex-
the commissioners to take a lease for any term etl.,;ture
ceeding twenty-one years of any of the existing or 1:d to
ferries of the parish having been read, it was ogre' The
leave the consideration of it to the committee.: Jog
clauses authorizing the laying of the improvement, it_ ()b-
-and watching, and highway rates were passed withoc;_ to
serration.—The clause authorizing the Commissia:
ipg
borrow £15,000 for the general purposes of the aet.",_,. left
been read, Mr. Ford proposed that the sum shouldoe__coo
blank, and filled up by the Committee. Agreed t old
various clauses in the report having bee" read eveorndekl
approved with the alteration named—Mr. Brice, s;';itioaal
by Mr. Sharland, proposed the following as an floe,. fro,
clause. "That all tenements under £lO be rxetrenL the
the improvement rate, and that for such teneimccl-)7rgea
highway, ae )e
d lighting and watching-rates, shall Aa i
directly on the respective owners." Carried.—
over: Is there no el rose for a supply of waL,ned by
Solicitor explained that suelf;power must be 9,,:itt the
a company, and not by the commis. loners, :
toa
ing
forms of the House would prevent them from
.zi.ro;',er:
for such powers this session at least.—The Far'c",iicitor,
We want water snore than any thing else.—lne ot
tshol
eggceosnitend
ittht
ei this
.rtil,theer
vwaoriuol
udsbcel
abuestetserolfetift ei nbti r
I aees ;pc:
proved, and a committee formed to carry out the in

Nov. 5, 1844.

TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

On Wednesday a special meeting of the council was held
at the Town-hall, for the purpose of winding up the
affairs of the municipal year.

The DEATH OF THE TOWN-CLERK.
MAYOR said his first duty was to announce to tho
council officially what they all knbw—the 'death of the
Town-clerk. He need not say that the Town-Clerk was
very eminent lawyer. and that they all deeply regretted
his loss. (Hear, hear.) He died on Friday night last at
Leamington.
Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE said they bad in Mr. Radcliffe
Imost excellent officer, whose services were unremitting.
There was no subject, however difficult or embarrassing,
to which he was not at all times ready to employ the vigo-
rous energies of his able mind ; and there was no demand
'made upon him to which he was not always willing to
lend a ready ear. This amounted almost to a fault—he
was so courteous, so accessible to them all. When they
considered that his services were enhanced with the high-
est legal talent, and the highest sense of honour, they
Would be able to form a just estimate of the excellent man ;
and when they remember the difficuities he had to en-
counter, and with what undeviating consistency be had
led them through the intricacies of the Municipal Reform
Act, they might, indeed, feel that the council had sus-
tained some loss. To him (Mr: Lawrence) personally,
--and he believed he spoke the sentiments of the whole
c°llrleil—Mr. Radcliffe had been very kind, very encou-
raging : there was no occasion on hich his aid and judi-
cious advice had not been within his reach ; and he should
neglect his duty, and the council would be open to a
charge of ingratitude, if they hesitated to record their
sense of the services to which he alluded, and failed to put
on their minutes some regard for the high ability, zeal,
and splendid talents which the Town-Clerk so eminently
Possessed, and of which it had pleased Providence, in his
Inscrutable wisdorrk, to deprive them. He concluded by
13
.:iing a resolution to the effect,—that the council, deep-
Y impressed with a sense of the services of the late Town-
Clerk, Richard Radcliffe, Esq., embracing the earliest
°PPortUnity of entering on their minutes a record of the
Zeal and ability which had ever distinguished his career,
and
- requested the Mayor to convey to Mrs. Radcliffe,
and the other members of the family, an assurance of the
is,3Yrnpathy of the council in the decease of this most excel-
lent officer of the corporation.
Mr. AIKIN, in seconding the motion, said that it would
be very difficult again to find a man combining the various
talents which were so ably enjoyed by Mr. Radcliffe, who
40, d not only great legal knowledge, but that fondness for
VS Pursuit which induced him to give his time morning,
L""o, and night, to the services of the town. But per-
haps the indiscriminate praise which had been used was
rather unfortunate. He could only lament that any frailty
of habit should have at all impaired Mr. Radcliffe's great
could
utility ; but speaking of him as a public man, he
"Ind only again express his fear that it would be hopeless
for the council to expect a successor combining all the
qualities Mr. Radcliffe possessed.
The motion was carried unanimously.
APPLICATION FROM THE BIRKENHEAD DOCK
COMPANY.

The proceedings of tite-finttnce Committee comprised
an application from the Birkenhead Dock Company to
Purchase the reversion of the corporation in a portion of
the Wallasey Estate. The application, with an accompa-
nying plan, was signed by the law agent of the company,
Mr. Joseph Mallaby. It set forth that the company had
agreed, for 75 years, to purchase the property; and that
they intended to apply for an act next session to incorpo-
rate the company, and to empower them to erect ware-
houses on the margin, They now formally applied to the
finance Committee, and offered to pay for the reversion-
ary interest in a gross sum at a price to be agreed to, or
a valuation by competent parties. The Finance Commit-
tee resolved that this was only a repetition, by a joint-
stook company, of an offer which had been previously
+Bade by the lessees to purchase the reversion ; that the
former offer had been declined by the committee, and also
Y the council, and that the committee did not feel at li-
berty,, to enter into any negociation On the subject. The
committee recommended the sale of a piece of land, con-
:Liming about 2,200 yards, in Church-street, Birkenhead,
`° a Mr. Wright, at the rate of 355. 6d. per yard, for 75
Years, subject to a deposit of 10 per cent.
Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE, in moving the confirmation of
the proceedings, thought it right to mention that if this
Proposal had come from a public body like the Birkenhead
Commissioners, and that if it stated public grounds for
the measure, and accompanied it with plans, showing the
exact extent for which public warehouses, in connexion
With public docks, were required, then, possibly, the Fi-
nance, Committee might have given it more consideration.
‘No, no.) He said more consideration ; but here was a
Proposal, on the cart of a self-constituted company, of
Which the council knew nothing. Unless they were fur-
nished with some pretext—some arguments which might
Show the benefit to arise to the corporation estate—
(hear)—and the benefit also to the burgesses of Liverpool
""-- (hear, hear)—it was impossible for the council to go
further; and, accordingly, the committee thought it bet-
ter to abide the issue of events, and give a simple refusal
to the application. (Hear.) With public grounds, inde-
Pendent of corporate interests, the council had nothing to
,do. It was for the legislature to interfere in such matters ;
out he thought the legislature would never wrest the pro-
perty of the corporation out of the hands of the council,
Without some more information than the Finance Com-
Mittee had been able to secure or obtain. Here was a
wholesale application for almost th- whole of the property
they had leased to the parties at Wallasey Pool, enough to
Provide warehouses, not only for the trade to be expected
at Birkenhead, but for all the trade of Europe! He
hoped the proceedings would be confirmed. (Hear.)
Mr. Nicol, said it always afforded him satisfaction to
hear Mr. G. H. Lawrence, and that he generally agreed
with that gentleman ; but he thought that upon this as
Well as upon a former occasion, the Birkenhead people
must
feel indebted to him for pointing out to them in what
wolf:), they were to approach the council for the purpose of
foretaming a reversion. (Hear.) When they applied be-
hl, Mr. Lawrence certainly said that if they had come
be-
in shape—if they came as Commissioners of Bir-
vvoulep, or in any public shape—the Finance Committee
ren,, have listened more favourably. (Mr. G. H. Law-
Mr, Z...ented.)
applied ""a Icor. continued.—They had taken the hint, and
Finance aioint-stock company, and the chairman of the
still altererimittee now said that if they came again in a
into greete shape, that committee would take the matter
the words: eonsideration—" greater consideration" were
ing out to Now he (Mr. Nicol) thought this was point-
should adopPteoPle who wanted no advice, the plans they
it to be , and how they were to proceed. He begged
understood that he, as an humble individual, did
not concur in thright or fair—faose sentiments, nor did he think it quite
chairman of r was an improper word to use—in the
the Finance Committee in any degree to
Pledge the council to any particular course when the Bir-
. enhead gentlemen came (Hear, hear.) He thought it
indecorous so to do ; and he, for one, protested against
these conciliatory sentiments being considered as those of
the council, when it might hereafter be the duty of the
Council to act completely in opposition to them. He
thought the granting of the reversion would he doing an
injustice to the leaseholders on the Liverpool side—(hear,
bear)—and he was anxious it should not go forth to the
Public, or to the gentlemen on the other side, that the
sentiments they had just heard were the sentiments of the
council.
s_Air. G. H: LAWRENCE explained. He was sure that
Nicol had put an interpretation on his words which
e (Mr. Lawrence) did not intend. He never meant to
Invite the Birkenhead gen•lemen to approach the council
again ; but what he said was, that from the manner in
Which they had come, the committee could not give them
greater consideration.
e Mr. AIKIN said he was aware of the difficulty of dis-
ynesing anything where matters of bargain were involved,
I.lt they had got an application from men who had shown
'-'that they were not in the habit of holding out any idle
threats. And this was not a threat. It was simply inti-
mating that it was their intention to do that in the next
session which it was pretty well known already they in-
tended to do; and therefore the only question with him
'vas this :—.`• Is there a chance of that body of men ob-
tialining such a bill and if they do obtain such a bill for
at h ch they will endeavour to show will be of great
Public utility to the trade of the kingdom, then are we
ripw in the position of getting more than we would be then
t hey get their bill? (Hear, hear.) He was not an ac-
illarY, nor much acquainted with the subject, but he
ac'ught it quite probable that the council might now get
very large sum. He threw it out as a hint that it might
be
well, and wise, and judicious, instead of spending thou-
sands in a fruitless opposition to bills, to endeavour to get
thousands in their pockets for property, which property
~
`"lght be taken from them.
I Mr. LACE said the terms on which all the corporation
ttases were granted were these—that the parties taking
em
would so improve the property as to make it more
valuable. If, then, an estimate of the Wallasey Estate
ere
to be made now, would any surveyor put any extra
(Hear on reversion of what was hereafter to be done ?
bee now,
As a mere matter of prudence, if they were to
he_ now, they must get less than ff the irnprovenients had
completed;heady upon the • for what man cland ?t
tel
They would get
l how to value
e7t was not
e_ mere naked value of the reversion. It was not to be
I,:erPected in his opinion, that parliament would give to a
_e joint-stock company rights which they had not
been to others ; and when the Liverpool warehouses had
built on leases for 75 years, why not pursue the same
Pilsen the other side? (Hear, hear.)
hoe EusHELL did not believe the council would ever
tolerated the sale of the land at Birkenhead, if it
here believed that such a question as the present would
great sz)
be considered afterwards. (Hear, hear.) The
°lnducement with him to sell the land was, that
uld be made valuable—that its value should be in-
its edand that the council should have the prospect of
Price that;
with this increased value. Hence the low
an..
rh t was accepted for it. Much higher prices than
hoidgbaduated scale for 75 years were offered for the free-
InitteeY parties who put in tenders ; but the Finance Com-
and he never thought of entertaining such a proposition,
entertai a.s sorry that Mr. Aikin or any body else, should
posed
warehouses
it for a moment. He contended that the pro-
priv on the other side were for the benefit of
individuals, though handed together, and that it
eiliovv Possible to bring before parliament any arguments
yet to be that. the country would be benefitted qy what was
e done. The public benefit was conferred when
e forbock " apace was conceded ; and all future benefit would
(Hear, I:enadi!viduils, or collective bodies of individuals.
Yer ewe lair'.) Therefore he hoped the council would ne-
t the
least, henever Present question for a single moment, at
n er would for one. (Hear.)
--nivi PARKER said that if Birkenhead continued to ad-
Weree at the rate they were told it would, the land they
fortto Mr. Wrighto welling
lent va would be double its pre-
pleased with the spirited
the heart of the town. He was
tlthe
PPiication
aide of the water 'tinted reply of the Finance Committee
o the joint-stock company on the other
. That reply did them great credit. He

hoped they would never be frightened. The day might
come when the Wallasey Estate would come back to the
corporation.
Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE thanked Mr. Parker for his
compliments to the Finance Committee, and hoped this
would not be the last time that gentleman would do so in
the council chamber. (Hear, and a laugh,) The land
proposed to be sold to Mr. Wright was on the south side of
Woodside Ferry, and fronted, not to the river, but to-
wards Church-street. He should not be surprised to hear
next week that the same lot had been sold for £5 a yard,
for such was the fever at Birkenhead that there was no
way of accurately estimating the value of the land. .
The proceedings were confirmed, and the Birkenhead
Company are to be informed that the council see no rea-
son to alter their previous resolution.