The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-02 00:00:00

TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

On Friday a special meeting of the council was hell.
for the purpose of taking into consideration the special
proceedings of the Dock Committee on the subject of
further dock accommodation north and south of the pre-
sent line of docks.
Mr.
fe'allild be postponed
by the Mayor, all
which be had given notice :—" Thatwinmotion,
off
the subject for winethe consideration o
day
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oproposedbnie
il a
n
purnotceedings for parliament going on in the meantime, the
tin meeting
appointed
is
s
same being subject to the special council in January."
He said ‘hat a special committee of the Dock Committee
were at present sitting, to consider Mr. Hartley's plans.
and the wants of the trade as regarded the accommodation
of the port; that the proceedings of that committee were
incomplete, and were now in progress ; and that, in asking
the council to adjourn the matter until a day in the next
month, the question would be left in the position in which
it stood at present, so far as respected the dock proceed-
ings. If any gentleman wished to ask him any questions,
be should be happy to answer ; but as this was a pro
forma matter, he hoped no discussion would take place.
Mr. EVANS recommended that the day to which they
should adjourn be fixed at the next council.

Mr. BIZAMLEY-MOORE said, that inconvenience might
be caused by the adoption of the course just suggested,
for the fixing of the day depended very much upon the
reception of the report from the special committee. The
moment the report was received a day could be fixed to
suit the convenience of all parties; but a day could not
be fixed prior to its reception.
Mr. SHEPPARD thought there could be no objection to
the Mayor naming a day after the report should have
reached his hands.

Mr. ISAAC HOLMES said he had been given to under-
stand that the special committee were at present receiving
evidence touching the expediency of making a communi-
cation by water from the proposed new north docks to
the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. He was anxious it
should be generally known that such evidence was being
received, in order that the inhabitants might come for-
ward and give evidence on the subject, for the obtaining
of coals at the cheapest possible rate, by means of that
communication and canal, was fraught with interest to
the town at large. About seven years ago, when Mr. J.
S. Leigh projected the Victoria road, he (Mr. Holmes)
advised that gentleman to preserve the right of going over
the road by railway or canal, because he then thought that
if a dock could be made above Beacon's-gutter, it would
be some £lO,OOO or £15,000 a-year in Mr. Leigh's pocket.
(A laugh.) He concluded by expressing a hope that the
special committee would give the subject the fullest con-
sideration.

Mr. Nicol, said the committee were taking the evidence
in the presence of a short-hand writer, who noted down
everything which transpired.
The TOWN-CLERK stated, that if Mr. Nicol's motion
should be carried, it would be the duty of the Mayor to
call a meeting of the Council some time in January, whe-
ther the report of the special committee should or should
not have been Rresented.

Mr. BIRRETT seconded the motion. He, for one,
thought the Council ought to show to the Dock Commit-
tee and to the town that they were determined that this
question should be gravely considered, and no circum-
stances, either of' delay upon the one hand or of haste
upon the other,should prevent them from expressing an
opinion that the Dock Committee ought to have ample
time to make up their minds on the subject. He was not
for having any collision between the Council and the
Dock Trustees, but it certainly appeared to him that there
was some reason for the charge of endeavouring to obstruct
the question by delay.
The Towx-Cumx suggested that the meeting of the
Council to consider the question should be called in Ja-
nuary, or early in February.
Mr. nom. said that, as parliament would meet on
the first of February, the bill would have to be pre-
pared in the interim, in order that no time might be
lost in making the necessary applications should the
Council resolve upon proceeding during the approach-
ing session.

The TOWN-CLERK said the Mayor must take care
that the meeting was called in time for going to parlia-
ment, whether the special committee agreed to their re-
port or not.
Mr. HODGSON thought the Council was placed in a
situation in which they would be obliged to come to a
division v.ithout adequate time for consideration. if they
postponed their meeting until February, they would be so
hampered for time that their proceedings must necessarily
be pro forma, for then they would be called upon to give
assent to a measure without time for investigating the
premises on which they were going. He was in favour of
limiting the time, in order to show those from whom the
report was to come that they must exert themselves. lie
would not allow it to go forth that the Council were to be
put off from January to February. He expected to have
had the full details before him that day ; but this not hav-
ing been the case, he was decidedly opposed to any ad-
journment beyond January.
Mr. TURNER asked when it would be necessary to have
the bill brought into the house ?
The TOWN-CLERK replied that it should be presented
to parliament about the 14th or 15th of February. He
dissented.
ol mf their
ee
apprehended the solicitor was now at. work preparing the
bill; and if the Council were to adjourn to January or
February, it ought to be with the understanding that they
were to meet, not only for going to parliament, but to
take into consideration the draft of the bill.
that he was going on the resolutions
Mr. AIKIN asked by Whose orders the solicitor was
preparing the bill?.
:Cifcruoeermpther, and that the solicitor was not to
intention Whe n theto
bring DocDoc
forward
rwa rd a Committeeb
e.
ill,
it was understood that it was a pro forma step, without
Mr. AticiN
r.
e
incur any further expense without instructions from the
hadbofinl‘tdil vgDNe
them
ccenk:o
Dock Committee. As hints had been thrown out about
delay, he begged to state that the individuals of the special
committee had been at work five days out of the seven
since the time of their appointment; but if they were to
be hurried, their crude and ill-digested plans would do
more injury than the council were aware of. He should
deem it his duty carefully to concoct the plans, whether he
i succeeded n getting them in time for the present session
or not, because he should rather forego going to parlia-
ment this session than go there with ill-digested plans.
Mr. PARKEtt.—If the Dock Trust had said they were
unanimously in favour of going to parliament, or if a
large majority of them had done so, the case might have
been different ; but the question had been brought before
the Council by a minority of the Trustees. (No, no.)
The MaYon.—l beg to assure you that that is not
correct,