The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-12-03 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

charters and all abstracts from books, and the mu-
nicipal records which could throw light upon the
transactions of the Corporation in ancient and modern
times. He actually inundated them with information.
Every shilling that was ever received was most fairly
and honourably accounted for. So irrefragable was his
evidence, that no charge of jobbing or corruption was
attempted to be proved, and the questions which were
asked for that purpose failed to establish any one of the
many insidious if not slanderous allegations which have
too long been circulated for factious purposes. What
the commissioners think we neither know nor care ;
what they shall report we believe to be of very little
consequence; because we live in times when neither
honesty of intention, purity of motives, nor rectitude of
principle or action, is regarded amid the reckless and dis-
honest rage for Innovation which prevails.
The commissioners may or they may not report fa-
vourably of the Liverpool Corporation. That we leave
between their consciences and the last account. It is in
la national point of view of slight consideration whether
they are for or against us. We look to a much higher
principle than that which a commissioner's bias, or a
!minister's policy may be disposed to recognise. We
, consider the commissir to be. a most unconstitutional
and illegal usurpation of power, aiming directly at the
rights of property, and rendering every man's hearth
and home liable to the domiciliary and inquisitorial visi-
tations of some ministerial or parliamentary hireling.
The dispensing power assumed by the infamous JAMES IL
was not more derogatory to the rights of conscience and
property—not more insulting to the oaths of sworn men
—not more mischievous or tyrannical than the power
assumed by the Whigs in the honoured and revered
name of the son of GEORGE 111. From the beginning
to the end we see nothing in it but usurpation. It has
placed the SOVEREIGN in this most unpleasant and peril-
ous position, viz. that the loyal subjects of the KING
have had no alternative between defying the powers of
the commission and doing an act in open violat:.,n of
their oaths. Mr. FOSTER, with consummate tact and
ability, has placed this dishonouring alternative in the
clearest light. He says, when speaking of the various
royal charters granted to this borough (see his speech on
Thursday last) that " these charters declared that the
town of Liverpool should be a free borough governed
under the title of Mayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the
town of Liverpool ; and expressed that it should be suf-
ficient in law to render them capable of receiving dues
and making bye-laws; and that all the privileges and
immunities should become the property of themselves
and their successors. in fee and for ever. They gave
power to the Corporation to purchase property. The
charter of WILLIAM HI. confirmed the above-mentioned
charters, and enjoined that the Mayor, Bailiffs, and
Burgesses should hold their privileges without hin-
drance; the same to descend to their heirs in succession;
and that the said burgesses should not hereafter be ag-
grieved or otherwise disturbed BY ANY OFFICER OR MI-
NISTER IN ANY OP THEIR FRANCHISES OR JUDICATURE." 1!

Now let us pause here for a moment. These, as above
quoted, are the exact words of the charter of our Pro-
testant King WILLIAM the Third. The proviso against
"officers" and "ministers,"—against Lord GREY, Lord
BROUGHAM, and their "officers," WILKINSON and Ilona
for example—was introduced as a declaratory clause to
remove all fear with respect to the unhallowed attempts
made by JAMES the Second in favour of the Roman
Catholics. The charter, in the most unequivocal terms,
restrained the power of any future " minister " or
"officer " of the Crown, or any body else, from question-
ing the tenure by which such property was held—from
interfering with it in any way, and it was to be held, as
the Liverpool. Corporation have invariably held it,--r-for
the exclusive benefit of the Mayor, Bailiffs, and Bur-
gesses, "in fee and for ever."
This being the case—these being the words of the
charter—we have only to lament, as humble individuals
unconnected with the Corporation, and uninfluenced by
its acts, that the Mayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses (lid not,
in the first instance, read this clause in their charter to
the commissioners, and inform them that they could not,
consistently with the faithful discharge of their duties,
recognise the extra-judicial, extra-constitutional, and
illegal poWer usurped by the advisers of the Crown, and
the present House of Commons. We admit that gene-
rous minds, conscious of innocence, and writhing under
the unsparing slanders of revolutionary demagogues,
are naturally tempted to brave the restraints of royal
charters, and undergo the ordeal of an inquisitorial
though an illegal commission, in the proud satisfaction
that they have done nothing which they are ashamed of
—nothing that they wish to conceal. We freely admit
all this. We can imagine the popular odium which
would have been raised against them had they stood
upon their rights. We can conceive the yell of drunken
patriotism, and ferocious clamour, that would have rung
far and near. It is disagreeable to meet popular indig-
nation with a scoundrel for a general, and the mob with
its fangs open. It is unpleasant to be pelted with mud,
even in an old coat, as Sir JOHN CAM HOUHOUSE and
old- BURDETT well know. But in these times we are
of-opinion—and we have entertained the same opinions
in other times—that when a man is satisfied that he has
only done his duty, he ought not to shrink from princi-
ple, or from being a martyr to the obloquy which a
proper discharge of that duty might expose him to.
Better to fight from the ramparts than from the narrow
way which leads to the citadel. Better to do that in the
open field which must be done sooner or later nearer the
shrine. The Corporation of Liverpool have as clear a
right to their property and their municipal immunities
and privileges as the Duke of BEDFORD has to his houses
and lands. We could mention an eminent solicitor in
London, whom his Grace has more reason to know than
we have, who has repeatedly asserted that he would not
undertake to make good his Grace's title to any one of his
numerous houses in London for the whole of its value.
This is no uncommon circumstance ; and the Whigs are
more deeply interested in it than all the Tories of Eng-
land put together. Suppose, for instance, that we, A. 8.,
were possessed of lands in the princedom of Lancaster,
or Wales, or in any county in England, which our aaces•
for had received from WILLIAM 111. "in fee and for
ever." How should we treat Messrs, WILKINSON and
HOGG if sent by Lord BROUGHAM to investigate the title
of such a property ? Treat them I why, in good old
English fashion, or as Dr. JOHNSON prescribed for a
cucumber. We should ask them to breakfast, on the
ground of hospitality, and then order them to "depart
with a little more expedition than they came. If they
should demur to this order, the footman, or, perhaps, the
butler, would have a straightforward duty to perform,—
either to kick them out of the hall, or toss them into the
first horse-pond. That is the way, we presume, that the
Marquis of WESTMINSTER, the Duke of SUTHERLAND,
or the Duke of BEDFORD, would act under similar cir-
cumstances.

This mode of treatment, illiberal as it may appear,
would have been justified, except on the ground of its
tending to a breach of peace, even by the Court of
King's Bench. This court is the only avenue through
which the King himself can visit Corporations. This
every lawyer knows, and Sir JAMES SCARLET? has con-
firmed the legality of the opinion in the plainest terms.
A commission of inquiry into Corporations is an usurpa-
tion of the rights of the King's independent justices.
They have a right to complain of such usurpation ; it is
their duty to resist it, and it is equally their duty to pro-
tect every man who resists it by all the means in their
power.

The commission was not only illegal; it was, besides,
formed of materials of a still more abhorrent and repul-
sive kind. Ministers were known to entertain opinions
hostile -to the corporations as they are at present consti-
tuted. Lord DURHAM, at the Gatehouse dinner, sur-
rounded by his creatures, congratulated the meeting on
the campaign which his former colleagues had commenced
against the boroughs, and considered their conduct in
sending forth this illegal commission as entitling them to
the thanks and confidence of the public!. We thank Lord
DURHAM for his inimitable candour. He has confessed
the truth like an honest, good-natured, old English ba-
ron. Ministers have resolved to break in upon the char-
terS. They have declared war against privileges con-
ferred by former sovereigns, and " given to be held "-in

fee and for ever." Lord DURHAM tells us so, and the
acts of ministers themselves prove that they are quite se-
rious in their intended work of spoliation and robbery.
The character of the men who compose the commission
shows the animus without any disguise. We are sorry
that Lord BROUGHAM'S name should be mixed up with
this business; but to him we are indebted fur the selec-
tion of the learned persons who are sent to pave the way
for the preconcerted innovations. If ministers had been
desirous of giving the Corporations fair play—if informa-
tion had been their object—if strict and impartial justice
had been intended, they would at least have placed able
and impartial lawyers, men of experience and unbie-
inished reputation, upon their illegal commission. Could
they not find men of this character and of respectable
standing at the bar to do their invidious and servile
work ? We know not; we question if they made the
search; but this we do know, that more partial, or com-
promised, or willing instruments, could not have been
selected than those already nominated by Lord BROUGHAM.
We do not believe that there are two men on the com-
mission who are not the zealous and pledged partizans of
the noble and learned lord. Who is Sir Somebody PAL-
GRAVE, who is appointed to inquire into the Corporation
of London? This gentleman's original name was COHEN ;
he is of Jewish extraction; and the merit which recom-
mended him to the notice of the Chancellor was his
relationship to some of the directors of the London Uni-
versity, and his having, some time ago, written a furious
painphlet against Corporations ! The work is supposed
to be scarce : there are many reasons why it should be
so ; and we rather suspect that Sir FRANCIS PALGRAVE
would not regret if not one of its copies were in exist-
ence. We do not say that to write a book against Cor-
porations is an offence ; we do not say that its author
has done wrong ; on the contrary, he may have collected
important information; and if he did, he had a right to
sell it. But we say, nevertheless, that Sir FRANCIS
PALORAVE, having so committed himself, was one of the
last men in England who should have on
such an important inquiry.
In Dublin, Mr. Sergeant PERRIN was appointed; and
who is Mr. Sergeant PERRIN ? A gentleman who has
been opposed to the Dublin Corporation for many years;
who is a violent political partizan; who is an avowed
ultra reformer; who has been found guilty of bribing
the poorer and radical burgesses of Dublin, and whose
return as one of the members of Dublin was in conse-
quence annulled by a committee of the House of Corn-
Mons. There is no harm of course in a reformer giving
bribes had he been a Tory he would have been impaled
alive ; and perhaps it is deemed pure patriotism to be
an enemy of the Dublin Corporation; but admitting all
this, Mr. Sergeant PERRIN is not exactly the man to be
a commissioner.

Messrs. Roscoa and RUSHTON of Liverpool are also
commissioners. What claims had they upon Lord
BEol,onam ? They are borough reformers; were of
counsel against the freemen in the inquiry before the
committee of the House of Commons relative to the
Liverpool Corporation; and, to the full extent of their
very humble powers, have been avowed opponents of the
Corporation. The appointment of these men not only
evinces gross partiality—it is actually indecent.

There is one commissioner of the name of DRINK-
WATER, and another of the name of DWARRIS, both on
the commission, who are violent partizans, which we
suspect is their only recommendation to the government.
Mr. HOGG is said to be recommended by his college at-
tainments. There are others of whom we know less,
but quite enough to satisfy us that there is hardly a man
among them who is not either notoriously or sufficiently
well known to be biassed against corporations. To wind
up all, we have only to add that Mr. JOSEPH PARKES of
the Birmingham union is Secretary to the commission-

The appointment of these men, we repeat, shows the
animus of the proceedings of the Government, and their
determination not to be balked in their revolutionary in-
novations from a want of ready and subservient instru-
ments. Then again, the secret object of these contem-
plated innovations—what is it ? In one word, we answer
PATRONAGE! FroM the first moment when the Whigs
came into office until the passing hour, their unceas-
ing study has been to create patronage. It has been
" their, hope by day—their dream by night." Every
change, every pretend improvement, every act and
deed, every scheme, be it what it might, was made sub-
servient to an increase of patronage for themselves and
their dependants. Call it reform if von please—call it
delusion if you will—call it fraud if you dare—no matter
what the measure has been, patronage has been its basis,
its body, its wings, and its other adjuncts. To think of
the GREYS and their emoluments, must operate as an
emetic upon an honest man. The very term " Whig" is
enough to make him sick. It has been grabbing, and
plundering, and scheming, and jobbing with the whole
set, from morning to night, ever since Sir JOHN KEY and
the thieves of London placed them on the Treasury
benches.

The Corporation commission, and the contemplated
innovations connected therewith, are intended to be a
splendid source of patronage. Just imagine the patron-
age of two hundred recorders all at the disposal of
HENRY LORD BROUGHAM ! Talk of ambition !—talk of
Cardinal NirotsEir t—Lord BROUGHAM, if he had this,
would have more power and influence than the KING.
This, however, is aimed at—the cloud like a man's
hand is in the distant horizon—and if the people them-
selves do not dissipate the dream of power and ambition
at the first watch, it will become a splendid reality be-
fore the morning.
As to the injustice of admitting aliens into corpora-
tions, without subjecting them to the ordeal through
which their ordinary members pass, it was placed in a
clear light by a gentleman of the name of I vtNo,-in the
presence of the commissioners, on Tuesday last. Hear
his own words

" Mr. Irving, on the subject of the change proposed to be
made in the system of obtaining freedom, said that he had
availed himself of the method appointed by the charter to
obtain his freedom, by deriving it from a burgess, though he was
not free by birth, and f others had not been so prudent in their
younger days to avail themselves of the door by which he entered,
it was their own fault, and he held that it would be an act of
injustice and oppression in the legislature to pass a measure whereby
his privilege would be deteriorated. He did not envy Messrs.
Bolton and Thornely their property, and he did not think they had
any right to envy him his privilege."
If we were to rake the whole of the voluminous evi-
dence given before the commissioners, we are certain
that a more concise or more just view of the real merits
of the case could not be selected.- Here we have the
point at issue, and the argument in a few words. Mr.
IRVING IS a freeman, Mr. BOLTON is not a freeman. Mr.
IRVING has acquired privileges by servitude, which he is
desirous to retain; Mr. BOLTON did not condescend to
this servitude, therefore he has none of those privileges,
but still he is anxious to acquire them without servitude.
The contest is between parties similarly situated as these
two gentlemen, in all the corporate towns of the king-
dom. Now, let us reverse the case. Mr. BOLTON has a
park stocked with game ; and Mr. IRVING has no park
and no game. Why is Mr. IRVING not allowed to kill
game in Mr. BovFoN's park ? Oh, says some luminary of
the Whig school—some JAMES Low; for instance—this
is according to the law of meum and tuum; the park be-
longs to Mr. BOLTON and his heirs " in fee and for ever."
He bought the park with his own money, and is, conse-
quently, entitled to the exclusive right of killing the
game.

Why, might not Mr. Irving reply,—it may be true
that Mr. Bolton purchased the property, but that is no
palliation of the hardship and the iniquity of excluding
me from his preserves; for what right has he to so much
land and game, while I have 'neither an acre nor a bird?
I claim the right upon general principles ; the happiness
of the greatest number is a law of nature ; but, indepen-
dent of that law, have I not as clear a right, upon terms
of reciprocity, to his park and game as he has to my pri-
vileges? His estate is for him and his in fee and for
ever; my privileges are mine and my heirs in fee and
for ever ; and if he seeks to poach on my manor, surely
lam entitled to poach upon- his ? Money purchased his
property ; servitude, which is as valuable as money, pur-
chased mine ; and, if he dares to plunder me, I will make
just 'reprisals!

LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET—FRIDAY, 2 o'cLocK.

The demand continues good from the trade, but holders
demanding a further advance prevents that extent of bu-
siness which the inquiry would lead us to anticipate; the
,000 bales, at the full prices of sales may probably reach 2
yesterday to
lb advance, and not much offering at
w
these rates.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

Wind West, blowing fresh.—An Irish Mail.
ARRIVED.

City of Glasgow, (steamer) Ewing, from olasgowandoPf emilaPno.wdry.
George IV, (steamer) Parsons, from Newry and Isle
OFF PORT,..
3 Brigs, and 1 Snow,. at 1 p.m,
The New York Packet Ship of the 16th November, New York,
Captain Hoxie, took a pilot on board off Point Lynas, at eleven this
morning, and may be expected up this tide.