The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-10-01 00:00:00

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minutest details of corporation aff'airs, the particulars of the titles
by which the corporation holds its land and other property, the par-
ticulars of mortgages and other securities, for money granted by
the corporation or by individual members'of it, together with other
matters with which he (the town clerk) had become acquainted
solely as the officer and solicitor of the corporation, and as so-
licitor of certain members thereof. • That the commissioners in-
sisted that such books,' papers, doeuments, and information,
should be furnished to them in public at meetings like that then
assembled, which was open to all the town, and principally at-
tended by violent political opponents of the corporation, and
that such books, papers, docuMents, and information, should
be there publicly examined and questioned•at the suggestion of
any individual present. That he (the Town Clerk) distinctly
inquired from the Commissioners whether such books, papers,
documents, and information, when furnished, Would be con-
fined to the commissioners themselves, or submitted to the in-
spection of others; to which the commissioners,' replied, that

they would make no pledge upon that subject, and intimated
that the utmost publicity would be given by them to such docu-
ments, accounts, and information, when furnished. That he
(the Town-Clerk) has been informed and verily believes, that
all the documents and accounts hitherto furnished by him to the
commissioners have been by them handed over or shown to political
opponents of the corporation, and that occasion has been taken
therefrom to assail the character and rights of the corporation.—
That upon the last occasion of his (the Town-Clerk) being ex-
amined, the Recordck, who was then present; interfered to desire
him (the Town-Clerk) not to answer a question put to him in-
volving the title of the corporation to certain property, where-
upon the commissioners declared that he (the Town-Clerk) had
no right whilst under examination to the advice
.of the Recorder, as
to what questions he ought properly to answer. That from the
mode in which the examination of him (the Toivii-Clerk) and
other witnesses submitted by hint to the examination of the com-
missioners, on behalf of the corporation, has been conducted,
his mind is impressed with the belief that the further prosecution
of this inquiry cannot tend to an impartial elucidation of facts—
but is calculated to hold up him (the Town-Clerk) and the cor-
poration to the Obloquy and ill will of their political opponents.
That at such meetings great excitement necessarily prevails,
which the commissioners have no, power, to repress; and that
such excitement is quite inconsistent with the dispassionate in-
vestigation of truth."
Tlijs is really shameful ! We never saw such a bur-
lesque upon judicial proceedings. These upstart gowns-
men fancy that they have the power of enforcing an an-
surer t 6 their questions, and that the witnesses who at-
' tend before them have no right to the advice of counsel.
What a pity
,that these ingenious and learned gentlemen
did not live in the days of the STUARTS, when they could
have extorted confessions by means of the rack and the
thumbscrew. Torture is the thing for them !
The inquiry ended as might have been foreseen. The

town clerk submitted to the corporation the course of ex-
amination to which he had been subjected, and required
information as to his future conduct. That body met,
and came to the following resolutions :
" Resolved unanimously,—That this corporation feels towards
his Majesty's commission the greatest possible deference and
respect, and desires to yield obedience to it, but that they do not
consider that it can form any part of the object of that commis-
sion to assemble daily large meetings of the town and to require
the disclosure before them of all the private pecuniary affairs of

the corporation and of the titles by which they hold their pro-
perty. That therefore this corporation in Common Hall assem-
bled is of opinion that the Town-Clerk should not deliver up to

the commissioners the further books, papers, documents, and
accounts which they have now required.
" Resolved unanimously,--That under the circumstance s
above detailed by the Town-Clerk, this corporation does not feel
justified in authorising the Town-Clerk to deliver to the Com-
missioners the documents specified in the said last mentioned

summons."

This is as it should be, and in fact is the only way to
encounter impertinence. The commissioners haVe no
power whatever to extort evidence. The information
they receive must be gratuitous; and if the officers of the
corporations chose to seal their books, and shut their
lips, the commissioners have no power to open the one
or the other. Under all the circumstances, and consi-
dering the strong bias in favour of radicalism which pre-
vails, this is the course which the corporations must
pursue in their own defence. Dispute the power of the
commission, and it will speedily be at an end.