The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-30 00:00:00

THE ORANGEMEN, THE MAGISTRATES, AND
THE WATCH COMMITTEE.

Of course we did not think it necessary to
upon the alieg,d in''.
borou-'

of the magistracy of the
to visit with the penalty of dismissal those few
members of our police force, who are guilty of the atrocity
of belonging to the loyal Orange association ; nor should
we trouble ourselves now, had such intention been
vouched for only by such authority as the Liverpool
Mercury. We have, however, before us, besides pri-
vate information, the authority of a report, in the Journal
of Saturday last, of a meeting of magistrates, at which
resolutions were passed, to the effect that being a member
of an Orange lodge is in itself a disqualification for the
situation of policeman ; and we are therefore fully war-
ranted in exprrssing our opinion upon the whole question
as thus mooted.
We shall give, in the first instance, the circumstances
which have originated this movement of the authorities.
They are these. The -popish minister of St. Patrick's
Chapel complained, as it appears, a short time ago, to the
Mayor, of some disorderly lads, who have been in the
habit of annoying his reverence by processions past his
chapel, in which orange flags have been exhibited, and
music and " drawn swords" (!) displayed. Such com-
plaint of course was reported by the Mayor to the Stipen-
dary Magistrate; and that zealous official addressed the
home office, suggesting that increased powers be afforded
to the Magistracy to repress displays so offensive to radi-
calism and popery. The reply of Sir James Graham,
however, was that the bench had already sufficient
powers to act in any matter in which the public peace was
endangered; and accordingly the Stipendary was driven
to the adoption of other steps for the carrying out of his
designs against the growing Influence of this loyal body.
The late head-constable. Mr. Whitty, and the newly
elected head-constable, Mr. Miller, with Mr. Dowling,
were summoned to meet himself and the Mayor; an order
was given for a return of the names of the officers of the
constabulary force, specifying the various benefit societies
to which they belonged ; and it having been discovered
that amongst the 503 officers composing the force, there
were nine men who were members of Orange Benefit
Societies, a resolution was adopted by Mr. Rushton and
the Mayor, that any constable who is a member of an
Orange or Ribbon Society is deemed by them ineligible
for the situation of a police-officer in the town of Liver-
pool, and unfit for police duty.

It appears unfortunately to have been forgotten by the
Stipendiary, and we regret to say by the Mayor as well,
that there was such a body as the Watch Committee,
with whom it would have been only ordinary courtesy to
have communicated with respect to such a proceeding as
that in which they were engaged. Mr. Rushton is pos-
sessed by a strange hallucination, which leads him to be-
lieve that he comprises in his own person something more
than the dignity of a magistrate, and little less than the
dignity and the talent of a judge. By the sense, however,
evinced by the Watch Committee of the slight put upon
them, and the encroachment upon their privileges, by
this interference with the body appointed and paid by
them, he was recalled to something like a just appreciation
of his powers; and the next step resorted to, to cover the
mistake committed, was the summoning of the whole
body of magistrates, for the purpose of sanctioning by their
dictum such an uncalled-for proceeding. Well, this
meeting so summoned was held; and' its decision was
precisely such as any one acquainted with the materials
which compose our borough magistracy might have anti-
cipated. The infliction of pains and penalties upon
loyalty was confirmed - and the option was offered,. to the
nine unfortunate offenders,' of retiring from the force cr
repudiating those societies of which their certificates of cha-
racter prove them to have been peaceable, loyal, and well-
behaved members.
Such are the bare facts of the case; and now for a few
words of comment upon the proceedings of this magis-
terial conclave, before we proceed further. Of what had
these proscribed men been guilty, to call for a punishment
so heavy ? Had they neglected any duty ? Had their
principles led them to any subordination? Nothing of
the kind. They entertain principles of devotion to the
constitution and the Established Church of their country.
They are supporters of the principles which placed the
family of Hanover upon the throne of these realms. They
belong to a body who, police responsibilities apart, are
pledged by their regulations to obey the laws, to maintain
peace, and,. if necessary, to risk their lives for the public
safety. They belong to a society-which is now declared
to be illegally constituted, though on no solid grounds
that we are aware of. These are the crimes of the nine-
men visited with Radical persecution. They are loyal'
Conservative men; but worse than that, they can say to
disturbers—to Repealers—to Radicalism—" we are three
thousand in this borough of Liverpool, determined to
maintain the inviolability of our constitution, the peace of
the country against all disturbers, and the rights and
liberties of Englishmen against all the world !"

And now let-us see whether such sentence can be or
ought to be carried out. The Orange Association, we are
told, is an illegal association. That such is the case has
been taken for granted, and yet at this moment the Town-
clerk is submitting opinions to eminent counsel upon the
question ! Decency would have suggested that such alleged
illegality should first be established. Again, how is it
that these nine men are shewn to be ineligible for police
appointments. We have already said that no bad con-
duct is alleged. But the rules of the Watch Committee
provide that every constable should be a member of a
benefit society, and they do not specify any description of
such society.
These men, unfortunately, are members of Orange,
or Protestant benefit societies, and are thus visited with
the condemnation of the magistrates for strict compliance
with an undispensable regulation of the Watch Commit-
tee, who employ them, and regulate their conduct.
These men, who are either to leave the force or renounce
the expression of their Protestant principles, must, in the
event of such submission, forfeit every shilling of thci,
contributions—the savings of years—to sh. it various
societies.
The most imporh"4 ir-...acure of the case, however, is the
position ;.. winch the united bench have, by their pro-
ceedings, placed the Watch Committee of this borough.
That committee has an onerous duty to perform to the
public—has hitherto performed it well and faithfully ;
and it is a little indecent and injurious to public interests,
and especially to that " moral influence" which Mr.
Rushton is so anxious that the police force should
possess, that such members of the Watch Commit-
tee as Mr. Harbord should be stigmatised as that
gentleman was at the meeting in question. Mr.
Harbord, although filling a distinguished office in
the Orange society—and who dare say that he is less
trustworthy as a public man on that account ?—has never
failed in the performance of his public duties. As an
Orangeman, he is infinitely more worthy of the confi-
dence of loyal Englishmen than many of his traducers.
He is a member of a society whose only fault is that it is a
loyal society—whose proceedings and principles are duly
given to the world—whose regulations are printed and
circulated—whose principles are in the hands of the ma-
gistracy, who court the most scrutinising inquiry, and
who are far more deserving of being entrusted with the
preservation of the peace of the town, or of the country,
than of being visited with censure and disability, or looked
upon with d strust. Such a man, and such a body as the
Watch Committee, are surely as responsible and trust-
worthy as any bench of magistrates, or any stipendiary
possessed of no more temper and discretion than Mr. Ed •
ward Rushton. The public at all events think so, and
the public are generally not much in error.