The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-05-20 00:00:00

MEETING OF THE SELECT VESTRY

The usual fortnightly meeting of the Select Vestry was
held on Tuesday last.
After reading the Workhouse Committee proceedings
several members expressed themselves favourable to take
the present Workhouse completely down and erect an en-
tire new building. It appeared that in the opinion of Mr.
Samuel Holme a new building might be built on the site
of the old one for £2,000. The subject was referred to
the Building Committee.
Rector Brooks stated that Mr. Johnson, the surgeon of
thelndustrial School, had intimated his intention to re-
sign unless an apothecary were appointed. The duties
are very arduous, and the salary is only £lOO a-year, out
of which Mr. Johnson had to find medicines which cost
£5O per annum. The subject of appointing an apothecary
was referred to a special committee.
On the recommendation of the rectors, the Rev. Robt.
Wilson, who is acting for the Rev. Mr. Leigh, Vicar of
Walton, was appointed chaplain to the Industrial School.
The Building Committee accepted Messrs. Furniss and
Kilpin's tender for the erection of a new registrar's office
in Lime-street, for the sum of £2248. They also accepted
a tender from Messrs. S. and J. Holme, for making cer-
tain alterations at the Workhouse, for the sum of £48,148
deducting £3,798 for old materials. ,
The Finance Committee reported that 174 candidates
had applied for the six vacant situations of collectors of
the parish rates. After carefully examining the testimo-
nials of each, they recommended seventeen candidates.
The vest's, then proceeded to vote, when the following six
were declared the successful candidates :—Fry, Shim-
ming, Stein, Ireland, White, and Ayres.
Two candidates offered themselves for the situation of
assistant-surgeon of the workhouse, namely, Mr. Thomas
Morris, of Knowsley, and Mr. W. J. M'Dougall, of Great
Howard-street, at a salary of £5O per annum. Mr.
M`Dougal was unanimously elected, subject to the appro-
val of the Workhouse Committee.
Here a deputation from the trustees of the Merchant
Seamen's Fund, consisting of Mr. William Potter, Mr. J.
N. Wood, Mr. George Kendall, and Mr. Alderman Nicol,
were ushered into the room, for the purpose of having an
interview with the Select Vestry.
Mr. Potter said himself and colleagues were deputed by
the trustees of the Merchant Seamen's Fund to represent
to the vestry the bearings which a government bill, now
before the House of Commons, would have on the finan-
cial condition of the parish of Liverpool. At present the
different ports had each a separate fund of its own for the
maintenance of the widows and orphans of those who
have been killed or drowned in the merchant service. Li-
verpool had the largest fund—about £20,000, and here
about £7,000 were distributed annually for the benefit of
1500 or 2000 persons. The object of the government bill
was to amalgamate all the funds of the different ports into
one; but as the funds in a great many of the ports were
insolvent, and as the money here must go to supply defi-
ciencies elsewhere, the calculation was that, instead of
£7,000 now, only £2,000 then would be available to the
pensioners on the Liverpool list. The remaining £5OOO
would go to other places. The bill had been read a first
time, and would speedily be read a second time; and the
object of the deputation was, to know whether the parish
would incur the expense of opposing it, seeing that, if it
were passed, it must seriously affect the parish funds.
A petition from the board was ordered to be sent to the
borough members for presentation to the House of Cora-
mons against the bill.
The deputation withdrew, and the board adjourned

FIRST CHURCHWARDEN'S VISITATION AT
PRESCOT.

On Friday, the visitation for the Deanery of Warring.
ton, on the Prescot call, took place at the parish church
of the latter town, for the purpose of instructing, and in.
stalling into office, the recently-elected churchwardens of
that district. This being the "first" visitation that, under
the new ecclesiastical act, has been held at Prescot, the
occasion excited considerable interest, and the attendance,
including clergymen and wealthy families of the locality
and neighbourhood, was, considering the day of the week,
rather numerous. We observed, besides those who took
a part in the proceedings, the Rev. Mr. Ellam, of
Rainford ; Mr. R. P. Crockett, of Eccleston ; Mr.
C. G. F. Driffield ; W. Joff, of Farnworth ; and se-
veral other pastors; and amongst the laity, Miss Chor-
ley, and others of distinction. Prayers were impressively
read by the curate of the church ; after which a sermon
was preached by the Rev. Ellis Ashton, vicar of Huyton,
from the 4th chap. of the Ist Epistle of Timothy, ver. 7
" Exercise thyself unto godliness." After the service was
concluded, the churchwardens and guardians of the dis-
trict assembled round the Venerable John Rushton, D.D.
Archdeacon of Manchester, who addressed them at con-
siderable length on the nature and high importance of
their duties. He referred to the recent enactment which
established an additional number of rural deaneries, and
stated that much of his efficiency in office would depend
upon the co-operation of those whom he then more espe-
cially addressed—adding that he should postpone any re-
marks to the clergy of the district until a more intimate
acquaintance with them and their parishes would enable
him to do so with stronger effect. He considered that the
bringing together of the churchwardens at convenient
places, and communicating with them periodically, would
be'beneficial to them and their localities. They were now
relieved to a great extent by the new poor law of the du-
ties that formerly devolved upon them in respect to the
poor's affairs, and had therefore more time for exertion in
other points. Their office bad become, in fact, rather more
of an ecclesiastical than a secular kind, and was one of the
most honourable, if duly attended to, that could be exer-
cised. He should furnish them with instructions to carry
home with them, and which he trusted would be well stu-
died and complied with. He then referred to and dilated
upon these printed articles of inquiry, to be answered by
the churchwardens and sidesmen, dividing his discourse
into the several:heads—first, concerning theclergy ; second,
the office and duties of churchwardens ; third, the con-
servation of the fabric of the church ; fourth, the minis-
trations of the church ; fifth, concerning the pews; and
sixth, concerning the churchyard. With respect to the
rubrical questions that had lately agitated the church, it
was gratifying to find that those of the clergy who had un-
happily fallen into the tractarian system were not the so-
ber-minded and judicious, but the young, the inexpe-
rienced, and, he might add, the fanciful ; and this being
so, he had no fear for the safety of the Church of England.
It was their duty to represent what repairs or additions
were required for the churches, and what for the services
of the church, with all due regard to economy, the same
to be submitted to the Vestry ; and he pointedly enjoined
them in all cases to get their money before they spent it.
With respect to church rates, it was to be lamented that the
law was yet sadly indefinite; but if it were leniently and
judiciously applied, he believed that rate would be found
not to be so offensive to parishioners as was generally
supposed. For peace sake they might here and there re-
lax a little of its stringency without giving up a principle.
The conduct of parish clerks fell under their supervision,
and, where they found them at fault, they had the power
to bring them to account, and, if need were, to have them
dismissed. All endowments to the church should also be
carefully attended to, or sums given for the services of the
organist. The fabric of the church should have their es-
pecial attention ; no burials should be permitted close to
the walls; the ground should be well drained, and the
church well ventilated by opening the windows in dry
weather. In allusion to the Registration Act, be lamented
that it gave facilities to early and improvident marriages,
and that they should endeavour to induce parties to pub-
lish the banns regularly in the localities to which they
belonged. He next alluded to the improvement of pews,
their comfort, and the division of those too large for re-
quirement being (with the consent of the parties) desira-
ble. Their sale, or transfer, or money transactions re-
specting them, were (we understood him to say) of un-
questionable legality. Churchwardens were in fact church
extensionists, and he urged them to support all judicious
measures for the bailding. enlarging, or repairing of
churches, in their respective localities, where the popula-
tion was increasing, and the location of additional pastors
required, so that the districts might be divided into smaller
and more manageable portions. He next referred to the
attention which the schools demanded from them, as a
sacred duty, and the example which they ought to set forth
to their fellow men by their own punctual attendance at
divine worship, and by the education which they instilled
into the minds of their own children ; and concluded by a
fervent hope that " the Lord would give them understand-
ing in all things "

The numerous churchwardens present then signed the
required declaration, in lieu of oath, (according to the new
act,) and the proceedings closed.

FATAL ACCIDENT.—About half-past nine o'clock on
Saturday night a labourer, named William Owens, acci-
dentally fell into the Prince's Dock Basin. He was taken
out and conveyed to the Receiving-house, where be ex-
pired soon after.