The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-05-05 00:00:00

COMMISSIONERS Ok: THE WATCH.

The newly-elected Commissioners of the Watch held their
first weekly meeting on Friday. 'Of -the eighteen members of
which the Board consists, there were sixteen present. Imme-
diately on assetnbling, they sent to the Mayor a request that he
would come and preside on the occasion. His Wership promptly
complied with the request, and on taking the Chair, observed
gutt the first business of the Board was to elect a permanent
qhairman.
Mr. W. A. Saturn then moved that Mr. Thornhill should be.
elected Chairman for the ensoing.year. •
Mr. JOSErii Coomt moved an amendment. The last Board
bad appointed Mr. Wales their perpetual Uhairatan and Trea-
surer, and by thus unitin both offices, theY gave power. to the
Chairman to involve the Board. .( Hear.) He pi'oposed, there-,
fore, that they should elect a fresh Chafrinatt at each meeting,,'
in the absence of the Maybr or Aldermen, who, if present, were'
authorised by the act to preside. This was the plan adopted by,
the Select Vestry and the Highway Board.
The Mayott thought the suggestion *a very good one. The
plan answered very well at the other Bonds.
The proposal appearing to meet with general approbation,
Mr. SMITH withdrew his motion, and Mr. Cooper's amend-
ment was declared to be carried. _ _

Mr. TIIOI2NHILL was then unanimously appointed Treasurer,
on. the motion of Mr. Smith.

The different officers, clerks, collectors,,Szc. in the service of
the trust. wet e then re-appointed with the same duties and
salaries as last y'ear.—The Comtnissioners next chose their re-
spective districts of the town, for surveys, &e. during the year.
Mr. Coorta inquired if any part of the funds of the trust had
been expended in opposing the Day Police Bill.
theiead clerk, being sent for, answered in
the negative._
charge was brought against Captain Marshall, for being
drunk on duty-on Friday and Thursday nights, and being par-
tially .drunk during the whole week. The "character book"
being referred to, it was found that he had been repeatedly be-
fore the,Board for the same offence.
Marshall being called in, said that Mr. Whitty had brought
the charge because he had an antipathy against him.
The .Mayott.7—But you know the. Magistrates have fre-
quewly complained of you on the, same ground. •
-Marshall.—Nti, sir, I ant not aware of any thing of the sort,
The.M avort.,--I believe I am a magistrate, and I myself have
repeatettly.complained of your conduct to Mr. Whiny.
111 r. WHITTy said that so far from having any antipathy to
Marshall, it was at his intercession that the late Board agreed
to give him another trial, instead of discharging him the last
time he brought before them.
Marshall having withdrawn, the,Board, on the motion of Mr.
Cooper, unanimously agreed to discharge him. Marshall having
been called for, that he might. be informed of the decision of
the Board, it was found that he had gone away.
Mr. Wita.ta NIS said that the late Board, of which he was a
member, had been in the frequent habit of discharging men
and afterwards restoring them. This system ho strongly con-
demned.

Mr. ThoRNIIIL I. said that he himself, two years ago, moved a
resolution, whiCh would be found on the books, declaring that
no man. who was once dismissed should ever be restored. This
resolution had never been rescinded, and it was very improper
in the late board to transgress so salutary a rule.
John Sands, watchman, was ordered to be suspended three
days for being drunk.
Another watchman, named Parkes, was charged with the
same offence.
The MAYOR said he could state the facts of this case. The
Watchman was drunk, and he took to Bridewell five people who
were sober, (A laugh.) They went very peaceably, and, on
the Bridewell-keeper observing that the prisoners were sober
and the watchman drunk, the latter knocked him down with his
stick and cut his head.

Another watchman, named Collins, was called in to speak to
the state in which Parkes was but• he could riht'undertake to
stry-that-he was positively drunk, nar yet ,coutd Aksay that.he
was sober.

The MAYOR quoted a saying of Sheridan, that if a man could
lie in the channel and cry " Watch," it was it clear proof that
he was sober. (Laughter.)
The hoard, however, did not altogf'ther agree with so high an
authority on the subject of drunkenness, for they suspended the
watchman for a week. •

Oneor two other unimportant cases were then disposed of.
The subject of the appointment of auditors having been
brought forward,
A..O9NIMISSIONER proposed that Mr. Thornhill should be au-
ditun.; - 1. . •
It wAis-objected, however, that Mr. Thoinhill bad just been
appointed treasurer, and it would be rather singular to depute a
to,audit his otynaccounts.
Messrs. Smith and Clay were then appointed auditors for the
next three months.
Mr. BiaxErr proposed that a committee shouldbe appointed
to curtail the expenditure, as he had been told at the annual
meeting that the trust would be £2,000 in debt at the expiration
of the financial year in September next.
Mi. WILLIAMS said that if they found themselves hi debt in
Sepfembei,.he apprehended that the only remedy would be to
increase the rate. They could not decrease the expenditure of
the Watch department without reducing the number of men,
and thereby lessening its efficiency ; and if they' began to in-
quire into the scavenging department, they would very soon find
that if they meant.to put it into a creditable state, instead of de-
creasing the expenditure they would have to increase it very
considerably.
• Mr:Bit:tom said that as to the scavenging, he believed that
bw adopting a different system to that which had been hitherto
pull-sired, they could greatly improve it without any additional.
.expense.
Mr WILLIAMS said that a committee' bf' the last board, no-
niinated'by Mr. Hartley, had investigated the scavengink, de-
partment. They had prepared a report the very week before
they went out of office, in which the result of their inquiries was
embodied. -By referring to that report they would find an ac-
count of the whole establishment and learn, in fact, alt tbat
could be ktiowil on the- subject ; and the new commissioners
would find themselves greatly mistaken if they entertained any
.hope of bein-g able 16 reduce the expenditure.
Mr. BIRKETT said he understood the establishment was at
present on a very extravagant scale, but if it turned out that
there was no unnecessary expenditure, the appointment of a
committee would at all events do no harm.
Mr.. TtioaN ti ILL said that Mr. Birkett had alluded to the
trust being in debt. This was a mistake—there was no debt.
On the contrary, there was £5OO in hand, and a considerable
portion of the last rate was still uncollected. Nobody could pre-
dictwhether they would be in debt or not by next September,
The committee, consisting of Messrs. Cooper, Thornhill,
Williams, Benson, Brown, and Santley, was then appointed,
with instructions, "to look into the establishment, and see if
any reduction could be effected."
The board then broke up.