The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-08-04 00:00:00

imptrial Varlianunt.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-•--THL'ItSDAY.
MUNICIPAL COI.PORATIONS BILL.
[ln order to give the whole or Sir Charles Wetherell's argu-
ment at the bar of the House of Lords, against the principle of
the municipal corporations' bill, we have been compelled to
omit our usual abridgment of the other proceedings in parkia-
ment.] . . .
The order of the day having been read, counsel were or-
dered to be called in, and Sir Charles Wetherell and Mr.
Knight appeared at the bar.
Sir CHARLES WETHLRELL'COMMeBeed his address to their
lordships, by• stating that he, was placed in a perfectly novel
situation, and had to beg their lordships' indulgence under the
circumstances in which he found himself.

Sir L. SHADWELL asked for whom the learned counsel ap-
peared
Sir C. WETHERELL said that he could not so easily explain.
Perhaps he might best do so by stating that he appeared pro
populo —for every corporate population in England and Wales.
His clients he was unable distinctly to enumerate: All those
who had petitioned were his clients, and as to those corpora-
tions whose petitions were not yet before their lordships, he was
convinced that if they only knew the tyrannical attack which
was levelled against their rights and privileges, and property,
they would be, one and all, as anxious to rush forward to the
rescue as those which had been fortunate enough already to ap-
par before their lordships,—undoubtedly, if they bad heard,
or could have conceived or imagined us dreamed of the contents
of that most outrageous, unjust, and tyrannical bill, they would
one and all have presented themselves before their lordships as
petitioners. When, therefore, he was asked for whom he did
appear, he feared that the reverse of that question might be put
to him. and that he might be asked for whom he did not appear.
He was anxious not to exclude anybody that was afflicted. He
believed that he appeared for all the corporations of England
and Wales. The bodies, however, that he appeared for,
trod •that • had petitioned, he would recite to their lordships as
soon. as he could get the catalogue of his' clients. The learned
gentleman then proceeded to read the list, stating that Roches-
ter confided in him—thiit• Malburough depended upon him—
that Leicester"was Ins—that Oxford regarded him as a friend—
that Norwich affected him—that Warwick went with him—that
Worcester he took under his wing—that with Coventry he was
hand and glove—that the rose of Lancaster he wore—that He-
reford consorted with him—that Truro trusted him—cum multis
aliis, which it would be too long to number. Having now stated
and intimated the parties fur whom he appeared, he would beg
to say a'word or two upon a person so humble as himself. A
petition had been presented from 13ristol, of which corpora-
tion he •was a member, and that petition it was his wish, his
anxiety, and his duty to support to the very best of his ability.
They solicited that their case should be taken' out of the,
bill; the corporation was irreproachable, and it was universally
m•knowledged that Bristol was the iecond or third city of Great
'loritain. NoifLondon was left out, and he 'considered that
-Bristol had grounds equally strong for claiming its .exclusion
from the operation of this penal measure. He had had instruc-
tions to support this Bristol petition, and was ready so to do;
' but after this he understood it was their lots-Mips' wish that the
arguments against the principle and chiet details of the bill
should be consolidated, and that some two counsel should be
heard on the subject. Under these circumstances, although in
the Bristol petition he felt he had responsibility snore than
enough, and although it was greatly against his wishes and feel-
' roes to undertake at twenty-four hours'notice the defence of
183 different corporations, all the cases varying, varying the
one from the other, yet obedient to their lordship? order he
would not shrink from the task imposed upon him, hazardous
as he knew it to be, and great as was the responsibility. The
Very imperfect opportunity which he had, enjoyed of examining
the various documents and instruments which had poured in
upon him compelled him "tis throw himielf upon the candour
and indulgence of their lordships. Undeterred, however, by
the difficulties with which he was surrounded, he should, in pur-
suance of the duties imposed on him, pursue the best course he
could, and proceed in the most direct road that he could take in
this unexampled case, so as to consume the smallest possible
portion of their lordships' valuable time.. The prayer of the pe-
titioners was, that they mightsbe heard by counsel at theirlord-
ships' bar against the bill, which bore. a very modest-title.
Parenthetically he begged to observe, that it would be a conve-
nience if noble lords • would take care to have the bill itself
before them, together with the protest of Sir Fs Palgrave and,
the so-to-call-it posthumous protest of a' gentleman nitmned
Hogg. Both these documents he could assure them weresvery
important. ThiS bill, against which the petitioners contended,
was a bill which recommended itself, as was the case with -most
bills in which something very violent was meditated; by a title
the most modest, unassuming, bashful, and captivating. One
'would be led from the title to supposee that the object of the
.measure was simply, and solely, and sincerely to preserve each
and all of these institutions. They would be led to suppose,
under the title, that the bill was what they were in the habit of
styling elsewhere a conservative measure; and they would eou-
elude from its modest face and maiden bldsh that, while it 'pro-
posed to regulate, it at the same time fervently intended to
preserve the corporations. The bill was entitled." An Act to
provide for the Regulation of Municipel Corporations in Eng-
land and Wales." But what was the lea' meaning of -this
regulation ?'' To what did it amount? It amounted to a confis-
cation of-all their charter:L-- to the expulsion of every man Who
now held a corporate office—to the overthrow i utterly o the
ancient municipal hOdy, which Was to-be Supe.raeded quite,'and
a new and different institution established in its steal. The
regulation was to abolish the authority which the existing cor-'
poste bodies had derived from the crown, amid to substitute for
the ancient depositaries of power a new plebeian anal democra-
tic system of government, which was not only nut like the pre-
ceding, but which would be absolutely untenable by any one of
the:charters. With this mendacious title to the bill, then, ths
trainers of it proceeded to regulate the corporations; but he did
not read beyond the second page before he found "that so much
of all laws, statutes, and usages, and so much of all royal and
other charters, grants, and letters patent now- in force relating
to the several boroughs named in the schedules (A) and (13):
to this act annexed, or to the inhabitant's thereof, or tothe
several bodies or reputed bodies corporate named in the said
schedules, ,or any of them, as are inconsistent with or
contrary to the provisions of this act, shall be and the
same are hereby repealed and annulled;" that was to say,
excepting just eo.-niuch of the statutes, &c. &c. as they
yteesed, to ' leave.. untouched in the fallowing pages. And
henrhe had painfully travelled as far as page 30, he dis.-
covered that not one real principle, law, or usage—nothing, in-
it:word, of 'the ancient system had been left—that everything;
had been altered, excepting that which,' indeed, the bill did
condescend to leave, and that was not one substantial particle •
of the ancient frame and forum of municipal government and
system. The effect of the bill therefore was literally thisethe
name of existing charters was left, the norninis umbra. The
ancient charter was left, but it was gutted,—it was disembowel-
led; the skeleton of the charter, the dry unclothed bones were
let, aud those alone. They left the ancient names of the officers
and the corporations; there was still to be the mayor and bur-
gesses-of Oeford, the bailiffs and burgesses of IpswiCh; but every
existing mayor, bailiff, and burgess, was to be expelled, and a
new race, novi homines, a strange herd of person; were to be
driven into their places under the operation of the democratic
principles of this bill, which were actually founded on the doc-
trines of annual Parliaments and universal suffrage. 'Thus,
bodies that from the nature of their institution should be fixed
and sedentary, were to be removed for others which, from the
tratureof them, must necessarily be in a perpetual condition of
commotion and transition. Moreover, in addition to giving to
the new body the powers, magisterial and others, held by, the
old, others were to be conferred upon them. All the
.powers of
locally keeping the peace—all the executive and admiuistrative
powers, which haq been given to the ancient authorities, upon
certain conditions, were to be handed over to the new corners,who were not qualified by any of the probationary or precau-
tionary measures which were essential to the promotion of their
predecessors. The whole system, which they had inherited from'
their ancestors, was to be sweptaway. The form of the charter
was to be left; but the charter itself was to be vaccinated with
a new system, or rather let him say, was to have a new system
ingrafted on it. Without running through a crtntilena of the
clauses of the bill, lie Would attempt to deal with its leading
principles. First, he would ask who were to be the electors of
this municipal body? It appeared from pages 4 and 5 of the
bill that every man in any community who was rateable fur pro-
perty to any amount (for it was not limited) inieeht vote; every
man occupying any house, warehouse, counting-house, or shop,
within any district, had a right to be put upon the rate : and it
put on the rate for a period which was short of three years be-
fore the election in the new community, .he had a right to vote
for the new body which was called a council. That was to say,
that any man who for a certain period paid upon a property, no
matter how small a' rate, of five per cent., say even 6d. on 10s,
a-year, would have a right to vote. Why this was even worse
than in the French Constitution of 1792, which one would have
imagined was in all conscience sufficiently liberal. It was made
by great philanthropists and philosophers, and philoinaths,—in
one word, by great march-et-intellect men, yet even they had
not ventured to go quite so far as the enlightened legislators who
had succeeded theta in the labours of reform and reconstruction.
They had a rule that no man should vote for the primary body,
which was to consist of electors, excepting he pail in taxes -to
the state three days' labour, which was equivalent to some 4s. or
ss. a-year. Now here there was riot only the guard of some pe-
cuniary qualification, but also that of an intermediate body.
But, accordiug to the bill before them, the person who contri-
buted as a rate the smallest silver or copper coin for a definite
period might vote for the rulers under the new Jacobin dynasty.
So much for the electors. Let them now cast their eyes uppn
those who Were eligible to till offices in which there is much
power fur good aud evil, aud so much responsibility. In page
17 they might see the characterof the rulers of the new dynasty.
There was to be a mayor and council. There was to be no
qualification of property. There was none for the voter, ands
pariratione, by the powers of just sympathy and the fine liberal
feelings,pf *eternization which now prevailed, there was of
pourse to bp none for the person elected. TL only qualification.'
asecessartetikhlsoficer Was, that he *should .be a burgess, that
he shoubi be entitled to vote. Therefore the qualification for
th 4 mayor was no more than for the voter, and the person in-
vested under the bill with high authority, and great trust might
be no more than a rated pauper—an individual who paid some
trifle as a rate to maintain his vote, though scarcely by any
means able to maintain himself. Now, such being the case, let
their lordships look to the power, administrative and executive,
which belonged to these new corporate offices. The bill gave
the officers the power of watch and ward, which amounted to a
power infinitely greater than any which existed at present : they
hail the power of making by-laws. It was there enacted,
"that it shall be lawful for the council of any borough to make
such by-lawseis to them shall seem meet for the good rule and
government of the borough, and fur prevention and suppression
of all such nuisances as are not already punishable 111 a stint-
mary manner by virtue of any act in force throughout such
borough, and to appoint tic such by-laws such tines as they shall.
Non this by-law being sent up
deem necessary for the prevention and suppression of such of-
fence,."
to one of His Majesty's
principal Secretaries of State, might acquire the force of law. It
was, in fact, a legislative nower. They,might,-for instauee, in their
district establish a curfew law 'provided it 'seemed meet for the
good rule and government of the borough. In fact, their lordships
would find that iii that bill there was too much of Downing-street
in every .clause. It was new to liaVe the corporate officers
Moved about here and there'as a secretary oe•srate might fancy.
It was strange to have corporate bodies, that used to be re-
cognized as fixed, turned into teols to be played with by the
government—to go on with the movement, or to stand still with
its opponents, just as the administration then in power might
happen to fancy. The intervention of government in the local
affairs of corporations he maintained was new and unheard of in
any era or time of the British' constitution. Great complaints,
indeed, had been made, that at present the magistrates always
took a side in politics on every question; but did not the govern-
ment itself always take a side on every question, and was this
a reason for making corporations mere playthings aud tools in
the hands of each successive administration—tsi have their offi-
cers made or unmade under the auspices of that new democratic
system, as might suit the whine or the convenience, or the po-
licy of the minister? lie begged to press these matters on
their lordihips' at tention, and should be glad to know from those
who supported the bill what they could say in favour of these
large privileges. He now came to a power even still more
monstrous than that of legislation to which he had adverted.
Be alluded to that which in the House of Commons was called
the poser of the purse. 'lt was said their lordships had no right
to interfere u ith a money bill. The commons accordingly ought
to be taut obliged tp their lordships for•strikisig out certain

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