The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-02-15 00:00:00

DISTRICT PROVIDENT SOCIETY.

At the annual meeting on Tuesday, the Mayor took the
chair, end urged with much force the admirable objects
which the institution possesses on the generosity of the
public. The report first noticed with regret, that, in so
large a town as Liverpool, the annual subscriptions to so
useful a society should barely exceed a single thousand
pounds. The casual donations, inclusive of a legacy of
£2 25., between the Ist of May and the 31st Deeember,
were £173 13s. The total number of cases in which re-
lief was granted duffing the past year was 32,696, at a cost
of £2,607 12s. 6d. ; but the great majority of these cases
was during the first four months—the number between
the Ist of May and the 31st December having been con-
fined to 9,663 cases, of which 3,633 were English, 5,465
Irish, 248 Scotch, 298 Welsh, and 24 not ascertained.
The total number of cases relieved in 1846 was limited to.
11,845, of which 6,003 were Irish ; and the total relieved
in 1845 was only 6,646, of whom 3,567 were Irish. The
committee regret that in the face-of the increased demands
upon the society, the number of honorary or voluntary
visiters of the society should have continued to decrease,
a loss of 51 having occurred during the past year, 202
names only being now left upon the books. The report
next referred: to a falling off in the deposit account, and
attributed it in some measure to the falling off of the
visiters, but more particularly to the general distress
which prevailed. The amount deposited in 1846 was
£8,036 3s. 2d., and there was returned in, the same year
£8,488 ; while in 1'047 there was deposited £64409.105. 51d.
and returned £1062 6s. 4d. The report next noticed the
success which had attended the establishment of a branch
office in Bispham-street, and the consequent establish-
ment of other branch offices in Jordan-street„ in October,
and at the Church of England Schools, in Bond street,
in December. The greatest number of depositors at any
one time in 1847 was- 2,103, against 3,206 in 1846, and
3,545 in 1845. The committee, in conclusion, state that
they have not this season deemed it necessary to make an
extraordinary appeal to the liberality of the public; but if
the demands upon the society should continue as heavy as
during the past month, when £5OO were granted in relief,
they fear that the funds- will soon be found quite inade-
quate to meet the necessarydisbursements, and, therefore
call upon the subscribers- to interest others on behalf' of
the society, and so preventit's langaishing.—The balance=
sheet of accounts from the-lst of May to the 31st of De-
cember last, shews that the-balance on the Ist of May, in-
favour of the institution, was- £1,998 7s. 54d. ; and, on
the 31st December, £1,559‘ 1:1§: lid. The treasurer ex-
plained that this apparent decrease was chiefly owing to
the extra amount of arrears, in consequence of the accounts
being- made up to the 31st of 'December, instead of the
30th of April ; and he alluded with pleasure to the fact
that some very considerable donations had been made to
the institution since the Ist of January,. amongst which
was one from Mr, Moss, of £2o.' Still, it must be remem-
bered that the balance was now materially lessened ; as,
since the Ist of January, £5OO had been expended in re-
lief; On one day, the monetary relief amounted to
£6, lls. 6d.r and upwards of ICOO. sixpenny loaves were
also "distributed.—Among the resolutions, which will be
found in our advertising columns, was one submitted by
Dr. Reynolds, with a view to see whether the society had
not suffered in consequence of the discontinuance of pre-
miums -to deserving depositors. The Rev. J. Monk said
he considered that with some necessary restrictions to
prevent imposition, a return to the system of premiums
would.increase the number of depositors among that class
of persons whom it was mostly the object of thesociety to
assist.-

THE liADIE CITARITY.—The annual meeting of the
friends to -this invaluable institution was held on Thursday,
the Rector Brooks in the chair. The report stated that
the past year had not been so favourable as the preced-
ing, as regarded the state of the funds: The receipts in
1846 were-£1262 6sy 2d., and the expenditure £lO4l 7s. 6d,
leaving a balance to• the credit of the institution of £220
18s. Bd.. The receipts for the year just terminated,
were £973 95. 5d.,. and the expenditure £lO3l IN. Bd.,
leaving a deficiency of £5B ls. 3d., which, deducted from
the balance of £156 remaining in the-hands of the trea-
surer at the end of the year 1847, would leave a surplus of
£9B 7s. sd. The balance in the hands-of the treasurer
was small when the demands upon the service of the in-
stitution, were likely. to be increased by the prevailing des-
titution, and would probably be greater than during auy
former year..

ROYAII INSTITUTJON.—The annual meeting was. held
on Friday, Dr. Raffles presiding. Dr, Raffles read a long
address regretting the loss of Samuel Turner, Esq„ fellow
of the royal society, who had been removed by the hand
of death, Very little worthy of especial-notice had taken
place with respect to the museum ; but Mr. Johnson had
catalogued a list of birds - and they had made purchases
of specimens on conchol4;gy and ornithology. 'Reference
was next made to the great number of persons who had
visited the, museum without doing any damage to the
propertv:ofthe institution. The state of the Royal Insti-
tution gehool next came in for a share of commendation,
and the chairman said that it was in a still more sufficient
state than ever, so far as regarded its adaptation to a great
commercialtcommunity. He could like to see one thing
done in conexion with the institution, and that was the
establishment of a society for preserving and arranging
reports, documents,, and memorandums-relating to. the
town and -district. The treasurer's statement was next
read, from which it appeared that the receipts during the
past year amounted. to £935 16s. 7d., and-there was now,
after payment of their debts, a balance in the hands of the
treasurers and bankers of £333 19s. led. •

DOCK COMMITTEE.—The deaths of Mrs. Pritchard,
keeper of the lighthouse at Point laynas, and Mr. William
Williams, keeper of the telegraph on Holyhead mountain,
were reported.. it was referred to the marine sub-com-
mittee to recommend successors. Wm. Blundell was ap-
pointed one of the crew of the Liverpool life-boat, in the
place of -William Woods, deceased. In reply to the ap-
plication of Mr.. Barber, to be allowed to discharge his
vesseLin the Albert Dock without weighing the cargo, the
committee recommended that, in consequence of the ad-
ditionaLsecurity afforded in keepingthe accounts, the sys-
tem of weighing on land be continued, more especially as
any reduction of charges which could be made by omitting
that operation would be very trifling : confirmed. A let-
ter was-read from the:Shipowners' Association„expressing
their unqualified approval of the clause proposed to be in-
serted in the new dock bill for the recovery of the freight
of goods warehoused in the Albert Dock, and offering to
supply evidence in support of the clause (free of expense
to the Dock Committee) before the Committee of the
House of Commons.

SELECT VESTRY.—On Tuesday, a special meeting of
this body was held to consider &motion submitted by Mr.
Thornely, and the necessity for which he enforced by a
very able and lengthy address. The motion was for the
appointment of a committee for effecting a reduction in
'the expense of sending Irish paupers to their own coun-
try—the magistrates' forming so large a portion of
such items—and for memorialising the Town Council and
the House of Commons, relative to the injustice done to
the parish in this respect by recent legislative measures.
Prior to 1845, said Mr. Thornely, the expense of sending
Irish paupers over was borne by the county, but since
then the parish has paid the expense. The cost of send-
ing over the paupers to Ireland, from- Liverpool, for the
quarter ending 23d Docember, last. (2,685 families) was
£l6lB, of which £276 was paid for magistrates' clerks'
fees. The families consisted of 4,448 persons, and among
these were only 478 from the hospitals, the rest being
vagrants. None of these persons had any claim on the
parish, and the expense of sending them home ought to
be paid out of the consolidated fund,: and the Vestry
ought to petition parliament for a redress of the grievance.
Mr. Thornely next alluded to the " Five Years Assess-
ment Act," the operation of which was, he contended, in
this parish and several others partial and prejudicial to
the interests of the poor themselves. The fees paid were
2s. for each summons, 4s. for a warrant, and 2s. for each
pass. The sum paid for passes for the half-year ending
March last, was £252, and for the following half-year
£459, the fees for the former period amounted to £445,
and during the latter to £Bl3. The charge for these
things was lower in Manchester and Stockport, though
much less business was done. Mr. Thornely then alluded
to the enormous expenses which the parish had lately
been called on to pay, and mentioned as instances
£7,000 a-year to the Corporation, £lO,OOO for the erec-
tion of schools, £6OOO for carrying recent acts of parlia-
ment, a large amount for new buildings, besides the cost
of the late Irish influx, and the wonder was, under such
circumstances, that a 3s. rate saw us through the exi-
gencies. The Water Works ceased to be liable to rates
the moment they became the property of the Corportion,
doubtless because they were then the property of the bur-
gesses, and on the same ground he (Mr. Thornely)
claimed exemption for the parish from the payment of
magistrates' clerks' fees, the fees being the property of
the burgesses, and the burgesses being the ratepayers.
The sum of £6,948 had been paid for these fees since the
act came into operation. Mr. Thornely concluded by re-
commending that the clerks of the select vestry should
pdircaesllenytbsayds—tetmhaotftahsese parishioners
andn erawere
fill up the passes. Mr. Ferguson seconded the motion.
He said that Mr. Thornely's speech had proved that the
levying
calledt h the r rates
nwtaos
pay
y-
what they had no right to pay, and that until a national
poor-rate were adopted, justice would not be done to the
people of England. An equalization of taxes was abso-
lutely necessary, and until the Vestry went to parliament
with a very strong hand, and showed that the people of
Liverpool were exceedingly ill-used_ in this matter, they

would not have themselves righted. The motion Was
carried unanimously, and the following gentlemen were
appointed a committee to carry it into effect : The Rev.
Rector Brooks, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Urquhart, Mr. Lewin,
Mr. Poole, and Mr. Thornely.