The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-05-28 00:00:00

BIRKENHEAD DOCK BILL.

The Parliamentary Committee on the Birkenhead Dock
Bill resumed its sittings on Monday last.
Mr. Walker was examined on behalf of the Town Coun-
cil of Liverpool by Mr. Hill. He was well acquainted
with the navigation of the river Mersey, and had been so
for several years ; had often seen vessels layirg on the
space now proposed to be occupied by the B rkenhead
docks and wharfs. It would be injurious to these vessels
to have this spare taken from their use, and the proposed
plan would therefore be prejudicial. He suggested a re-
medy which does not app3ar to have occurred to any of
the engineers who crowded the room to hear his evidence.
It was the construction of a sort of pier, that, by being
built very wide, and at some distance from the north side
of the shore of the pool, would leave a vacant space for
coasters to resort to. As a general principle the abstrac-
tion of any back water would be injurious to any river, but
in Liverpool it would be practically found to be but slight.
Beyond this he was not asked any questions as to the dan-
ger to the navigation. Had doubts whether Mr. Rendell's
plans would slui^,e the docks, but if nut they might be
dredged, as most harbours were.

Mr: Hill addressed thecommittee on the evidence against
the bill, of which he spoke in most unmeasured terms.
He considered it merely a land speculation, in which the
parties looked to no interest but their own—their plans to
advance which were crude and undigested in themselves,
incapable of being carried into effect, though they at-
tempting to do so, would injure, perhaps ruin, the port of
Liverpool. Upon these grounds he was instructed by all
the authorities of Liverpool to offer their most unqualified
opposition to the bill, which he entreated the committee
to reject. Mr. Cockburn, for the bill," followed, who
stoutly maintained the converse of all for which Mr. Hill
had contended. The scheme had been formed on the sur-
veys and plans of the most eminent engineers, who were
responsible for the work, and whose capability to form a
proper judgment could not be doubted. The bill was re-
commended by the government, whose officers, through the
Lords of the Admiralty, as well as the conservators of the
River Mersey, approved of the plans, which had been by
them most minutely examined, and were considered
by them the most eligible to supply the universally
admitted want of dock accommodation at Liverpool.
He complained of the counsel and agents of the
bill not bringing forward Mr. Hartley, Lieut. Lord,
and others of their engineering department who could tell
much better the effect which the proposed plans would have
on the river than any who were comparatively strangers
as nearly all those called were. Denying every point on
which Mr. Hill had insisted, he declared that he fully ex-
pected the decision of the Committee would be unanimous
in favour of the bill.

The committee re-assembled on Tuesday morning.
Strangers were ordered to withdraw, and after a lapse of
one hour and a half, upon being re-admitted, it was an-
nounced that the preamble of the bill was proved. Upon
this the counsel proceeded with the clauses ; the first of
which was objected to by Mr. Wordsworth. It was to
declare that the three commissioners of Birkenhead, ap-
pointed by the Corporation of Liverpool, should be inca-
pable of acting as commissioners under the new bill; but
after the room being cleared, it was ordered to remain part
of the bill. Subsequent clauses, severally opposed by Mr.
Austin, Mr. Bellasys, and Mr. Wordsworth, were, after
discussion, ordered to stand part. There were five divi-
sions, in all of which the amendments were rejected, and
one hundred and thirteen clauses were approved. On the
114th clause being proposed, as to the sale of reclaimed
lands, two amendments were proposed, during the discus-
sion of which Mr. Pemberton, the Solicitor of the Woods
and Forests, announced the termination of an arrange-
ment made with that department which precluded the
necessity of the clauses. The numbers on the division, it
was rumoured, were eleven for the preamble, against it
four.
The discussion was carried on in committee until Fri-
day, when it passed that ordeal. We have dealt with the
subject in a leading article in another column, where our
readers will find the chief features of the bill, as it at pre-
sent stands, impartially detailed.

GREGORY V. RUSHTON.—This was an appeal case
against a decision of the stipendiary magistrate, which
was tried on Friday before the learned Recorder. The
appellant was Mrs. Gregory, a pawnbroker of this town.
Some short time since she was fined by Mr. Rushton in
the sum of £2O, for having violated a clause of the pawn-
brokers act by charging Megg Dodds, who had pledged
some articles with her, 2d for a new ticket, in place of
the original one, which had been lost by the pawner. Mr.
James appeared for the appellant, and Mr. Arnold for the
defendant ; and after the case had been argued at some
length, the Recorder confirmed the conviction. In
another case in which the pawnbroker appealed against a
conviction for an overcharge for interest, the Recorder
took time to consider.

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