The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-07-11 00:00:00

on an application to annul the fiat. As it will be seen, tention of replying to my statements, on the first oppor-
the whole case has arisen out of the affairs of Barton, f tunity, in the Council. My answer is, that these reports
Islam, and Higginson. His honour's decision excited are not incorrect, but at the same time, from their neces-
the greatest interest in court, which was much crowded sary brevity, they give a very faint idea of what I really
during the whole time the decision was being given. mean to convey to the public. I therefore propose to
His HONOUR, in giving judgment, said this was an continue the subject, tiresome as I fear it has become to
application made on behalf of Mr. Haynes Barrow Hig- many, in a few letters.
ginson, to annul the adjudication under a fiat sued out If I have thought it right to allude in public to the
against him by Mr. John Myers, one of the registered proceedings in the Council, and have retorted on some of
public officers of the Royal Bank f Liverpool, for a debt its members for what they have said, I believe it will be
due to that bank. The grounds of objection to the adju- admitted that such rebukes are not wholly uncalled for.
dication, ,which were argued by Mr. Deane on behalf of In particular, I allude to the remarks of Mr. Earle; and
Mr. Higginson, were, that the act of bankruptcy was , though I can laugh with others at his drollery, yet there
insufficient, because founded on an affidavit of debt made are limits beyond which such remarks as he indulges in
under the Ist and 2d Vic., c. 110, sec. 8, which section of should not be allowed, and which are wholly inconsistent
that statute has, as be contends, been repealed by reason with the dignity of the Council-chamber. There are
of its being inconsistent with the provisions of the sth others who express anger because persons out of doors
and 6th Vic., c. 122. Secondly, that the affidavit of debt venture to express opinions differing from their own, but
upon which the fiat issued was made by a public officer who, on their part, think they have a fair claim to make
of the bank, though the provisions of the Joint Stock their opinions known, more especially when they are to
Banks Act do not warrant his taking such a proceeding, be the paymasters.
which can only be taken by a creditor of the debtor. Again, I have alluded to Mr. Hawksley. I ask, who
Thirdly, that the debt sworn to in that affidavit called forth these remarks, but Mr. H.'s own most in-
was £5O and upwards, whereas it should have been discreet friends—Mr. Earle, and others that might be
£lOO and upwards, which is the lowest sum named named—who, in their attempts to exalt him, have dis-
in the Bth section of the Ist and 2nd Victoria, c. 110. paraged their own neighbours ? " Egregious coxcombs,"
Fourthly, that the petitioning creditor's debt was insuffi- itinerant quacks," and other elegant expressions, ap-
cient, being stated in Mr. Shand's affidavit to be £60,000 pear in Mr. Earle's speeches, when speaking of Liverpool
upon a promissory note, and £53,000 upon a guarantee, engineers. In one respect fortunately these expressions
and the conditions of that guarantee not having been, as cannot apply to me, seeing I have been nearly 20 years a
Mr. Deane contends, fully complied with by the bank, and resident in Liverpool, during the greater part of which
so the bank not being entitled to enforce it, the affidavit time I was frequently engaged with the machinery of one
must be taken to have failed as to a part of the debt, and of our local waterworks.
could not therefort support he fiat. And, fifthly, that From my own personal knowledge of Mr. Hawksley, I
the trading was insufficient, Mr. Higginson having ceased entertain no other feeling than that of respect.
to trade from the time of sending ndeed of dissolution of I have also to remind Mr. Earle of his complimentary
partnership in December, 1847, which dissolution was speeches respecting the Polytechnic Society—where, by-
carried out into full effect by advertisement in the Gazette the-bye, he was only a visitor ! If Mr. Earle does not
on the 17th of March in the present year. The case was acknowledge, I think our townsmen will, that they are
fully argued before me on Friday last, by Mr. Deane, on indebted to the proceedings at this useful society for
behalf of Mr. Higginson, and by Mr. Lowndes, on the much important information and fresh light on the Ri-
part of the Royal Bank, and two witnesses were exam- vineton scheme. And, moreover, I tell Mr. Earle that
fined. After Mr. Deane had concluded his opening ad- while other associations are closely watching the financial
dress, he applied to me to adjourn the case, in order that concerns of the town, if I have any influence at the Poly-
Sir Thomas Brancker's tesfimony, in a matter connected technic Society, we will there keep a sharp eye on the
with the wording of the guarantee might be obtained ; amateur engineering in the Town-hall.
but Sir Thomas Brancker's summons not having been With these few remarks I will proceed to the discussion
applied for until about half an hour before the sit- of the great question we have in hand, and I trust we may
ting of the court, though the notice to dispute the ad- pursue the controversy in future with the feeling that all
judication was given three days' previously, and though parties have much to learn, and that we should therefore
the party summoning him knew that Sir Thomas review each other's remarks with forbearance, both par-
Brancker was able to give evidence in the case, I ties, I believe, having one object in view, viz., the welfare
did not consider his absence from Liverpool, under the of the town at large.
circumstances, a ground for postponement. A further It is of great importance that all parties should exactly
application was made that the case might be stopped, in understand their position, and have a clear view of some
order that the attendance of Mr. Chaffers, who had not of the leading features of the controversy, and not have
been summoned, but who had the power, as was alleged, their attention diverted by minor points, which points
of supplying the evidence which might have been given have frequently been unduly magnified, and employed to
by Sir Thomas Brancker, might be procured, but declined ward off the blows that were aimed at the really vital
to issue a summons, and it was ascertained that Mr Chef- questions, reminding one of the manoeuvre said to have
fers was unwilling to leave home, andeit was stated in been practised by the French insurgents, who carried
court that he was unwell. Being subsequently again little children before them as a protection against the fire
pressed to sign a summons for Mr. Chaffers' attendance, of the National Guards.
I did so, intimating, however, that the notice was so First, then,—ln what position are the Town Council
short that it could not be followed by the issue of a war- now placed with respect to the people of the town ? A
rant, even if Mr. Chaffers' indisposition had not been a small majority (if majority at all, for I feel that if each
sufficient excuse for non-attendance. Mr. Deane then member' had been solely guided by his own opinion on
made another application, that the registrar should be spit the question, a different result would have been seen)
to Mr. Chaffers' house to take his evidence, or that I should are in favour of the Rivington scheme, while nineteen-
myself attend there for that purpose. To this application I twentieths at least of their constituents are against it. It
declined to assent; for though in some cases I have attended may be argued that those who supported it the ad-
at 'a bankrupt's residence, at his request, to take his vantage of being better informed upon its merits than the
surrender, when confined to the house by illness. I know public at large. This is not the result of my own obser:
no power which authorises a commissioner of this court, vation, for having had opportunities of conversing with
or one of its officers, thus to enter, unsolicited by the numerous parties both in and out of the Council, I have
owner, the house of any person who may be summoned generally found a most marvellous ignorance on the silli-
es a witness. I have thought it right thus to notice these ject, and this even extending to men in the Water Corn-
several applications, and the result of them, before pro- mittee itself. Since, however, the Polytechnic Society
ceeding to examine the grounds of objection which were, took up the subject, a great light has been thrown on in,
as I have stated, five in number. The first is founded and all parties have suddenly become very learned upon it.
upon the argument that the provision of the statute under The qUestion of the water supply was•originally brought
which the affidavit was filed, being inconsistent with before the public in a bad spirit. It was found that the
those of the sth and 6th Victoria, c. 122, must be taken town was in a most unhealthy state, and that the poor
to have been repealed by the latter statute. I have had were badly supplied with water. This was an excellent
occasion to consider this .objection long before the pre- handle, and the whole onus was thrown on the water
sent case was submitted to me for decision, and the con- companies, who doubtless had not-done all that was in
elusion at which I have arrived is, that there is not any their power, but to throw the whole blame on them was
such inconsistency. The two acts may, as it appears to a mistake, as may now easily be shown. I will return to-
me, both be considered in operation, and it is open to this elsewhere. The Corporation were principally in fault,
the creditor, either to file an affidavit of debt under the and are now making- noble efforts to atone for their for-
-Ist and 2nd Vic., c. 110, s. 8. ; and on the 22nd day after mer deficiencies.
service of the affidavit to take steps for the issuing of a But in the water question their zeal carried them too-
fiat, on non-payment of the debt, or other non-compli- far, and they overlooked many important considerations.
ante on the part of a debtor, with the requisitions of the The active movers in the question began by degrees to
statute ;or he may, under the later act, summon the debtor look only to one side, and then the whole of their pro-
to the court of bankruptcy, and on his failure to attend, or ceedings leaned to that side, till they no doubt argued
othernon-compliancewiththeprovisionsofthatact, proceed themselves into a belief of the correctness of their own
to issue a fiat upon the acts of bankruptcy defined by the views.
13th, 14th, and 15441, sections of that act. Two cases The world are loud in their accusations of jobbing, and
have occurred before the Vice-Chancellor, Knight Bruce, in attributing unworthy motives; I cannot join in this,
one reported in Ist De Gex, 334. and the- other very as 'see in the Water Committee men of high integrity
recently, but in neither of them was any decision given and independent philanthropy.
as to the constructive repeal of the Ist and 2d Vict., c. The unfortunate bias thus received may be traced in a
110, sB. In the latter case the Vice-Chancellor is re- variety of circumstances ; I drew attention to one that
ported to have declined to decide the point against the may be consulted by those interested, viz., the evidence
party suing out the fiat. Lord Denman, however, in the before the local commissioners. In this will be ken a
case of the Queen against Dunn. 16, Law Journal, s. 382, host of witnesses all brought forward to speak against the
has said the statute Ist and 2cl Vie., c. 110, s. 8, is not water companies, but in the cross-examination it was
" repealed." The second objection, that the public officer almost always reluctantly admitted, that the water would
I
of a bank cannot file the affidavit of debt, which can only have been forthcoming, had the house owners provided
be filed by a crediter, is, I think, answered by the 9th proper means on their part ; but, notwithstanding all these
section of the 7th Gea..4th, c. 46, which not only author- efforts, the commissioners wound up their proceedings by
ises the banking company, in the name of their public stating their full conviction that an abundant supply might
officer, to commence, institute, or prosecute, all actions be obtained from the neighbourhood. The following is
and suits, and all other proceedings at law or in equity, an extract from their report :
but also all petitions to found any commission of bank- "That on the question of quantity we see no reason to doubt
ruptcy, and this statute is extended to fiats in bankruptcy, that an abundant supply, for the wants of the• present and
by the 16th section of the Ist and 2d Willm- 4th, c. 56. future population, may be derived from the new red sandstone
Now by the law and practice of bankruptcy, the pe- formation; whence the supply is at present derived."
But the bias still remained, and although unexpected
tition for a fiat must- be supported by an affidavit
of debt, and it would- be of little avail to provide that demands arose, the Council argued themselves •into thesuch petition may be presented by the public officer conviction thai these must not hinder them. It was not
at first the intention to purchase the interest in the water
without giving him the power to make the petition avail..
companies, but in this they were over-ruled ; thus before
able by supporting it with the necessary affidavit, which
power has, I think, been given by the word " prosecute." a sod was turned or a pipe cast for the Rivington works,.
The same act, moreover, in an earlier section, the 4th, the water account has a debt of some £700,000, nearly
requires that the piNic officer shall be a member of the
the whole of which is for objects that will be useless the
co-partnership, and so he is himself a creditor of the moment the Pike water is let on : provided always, the
party against wnom he may proceed. The third objet- people will drink it when it does come! And where have
tion,
tion, that the debt sworn to was £5O and upwards, where- we any guarantee that no other unlooked-for outlay will
e
as it should have been £lOO and upwards, following the be demanded.
words of the Ist and 2nd Vic., c. 110, s. 8, appears to me But as these things are done and cannot be undone,
to fail, for this reason—that the necessity for depositing what shall we do next to avoid further loss. -The example
is before us,—let us read a lesson in the proceedings at
to the larger sum is to be found only in the case of the
affidavit filed under that section. When the act of bank-
New York.
ruptcy is once completed under that section, any creditor The people there were clamorous for water, but in one
having a debt of £5O or upwards may sue out a fiat, even respect their case was different from ours, they really had
though he may not have been a party to.the filing of the very little water, and that little was very bad, some parts
affidavit of debt under the Ist and 2nd Vic. ; and if any of the town were supplied by water carts. The authori-
ties were obliged to do something, they consequently took
creditor, a stranger to the last-named proceeding, may
obtain a fiat upon the smaller debt, I know no reason the best advice they could, and then submitted the whole
why the creditor who has filed the affidavit of debt under question to the people ; this was done by a ballot in the
the Ist and 2nd Vic., for the purpose of making the act of several wards, the result of which was 17.330 in favour,
bankruptcy, is to be called upon to depose to the larger suand 5,963 against the prosecution of the celebrated Croton
m
in his affidavit for the fiat. The case of. Mr. Higginsou Water Works.
as to the fourth objection is made, by the argument, to What must now be the satisfaction of those who were
depend upon the assumption that the Directors of the then in power, and who can look back on the course they
Royal Bank have not complied with the conditions upon then pursued. Now where is it found that the cost,
which Mr. Higginson gave them the guarantee, but this instead of 4,500,000 dollars, (the mean of the two esti-
objection has been, as it seems to me, wholy disposed of mates for the Croton works,) has become 12,000,000, and
by the Lord Chancellor in his judgment, even should it that the water is found occasionally to be most unwhole-
some • while all must regret the loss, yet all must share
eventually turn, as contended before me, but not put in
evidence by reason of the absence of Sir Thos. Brancker, the blame.
that the initials to the alterations in the letter of the 13th I must not be understood as recommending " vote by
of March, 18'46, were not in Mr. Higginson's hand writ- ballot," or constant " appeals to the:people,"—discrimin-
ing ; though, as to this matter, it may be as well to notice ation is necessary. But here is a question in which no
the fact, that arguments were addressed by Mr. Higgin- fundamental principle is involved, where a man must feel
son's counsel to the Lord Chanceller, to prove that a sig- that his conscience alone must be his guide; this is a
nature, by enitiais, is not a sufficient signature, I now simple question of the social condition and domestic com-
come to the fifth and last objection, that Mr. Iligginson fort of a community, in which each individual has daily
had ceased to be a trader an the 17th of December, 1847, experience to guide his opinion.
nd that he had given notice of a dissolution of part- Let this opinion be fairly expressed-, and let us be guided
the Royal Bank on the 22nd of Dprpmhpr aid by the result. If, as Mr. Holme says, the opposition is
only the " cry of the few," the Rivington scheme will go
on, and the Corporation will be free from responsibility.
If, on the other hand, it is the cry of the many, that cry
will soon be heard, for November is near at hand ; but how
gladly would every friend to peace and good order decide
the question in a less hostile manner. It may be said that
the sense of the people was originally taken, this I think
may he easily refuted, as I shall attempt to show at

that, therefore, were not j
trader on the 6th of May

find in treating_ him as a

,te of a

ri would be w

110, are to be Co]
Dcan, who intern

rued accord
is the words

ing to the argument of Mr.
is such trade as afore-

said," as if they were, " is now engaged in business as a
trader." But it is obvious that the act has no such re-
stricted meaning. If the trader be ".a trader within the
meaning of the laws now in force respecting bankrupts,"
the trading is sufficient to support a fiat, and it has long
since been a settled point in the law of bankruptcy that a

another time.
But as this letter is already too long, I must reserve
till my next other arguments on this branch of the subject.
JOHN GRANTHAM.
P.S.—I am reported to have said, at the Music-hall,
that Mr. M`Donald was the only practical man at the
Corporation waterworks." Ido not think I said so, as
I certainly did not mean it, as is evident from what fol-
lows. I think I said that he was the only man that had
ventured to speak out on the subject now in dispute.

ldebted, while such trade

Is so nide
+olenr%

after he has ceased to frade. Indeed, the case of Bailie
agaidst Grant, decided by the House of Lords, in 1832, has
gone further than this, for it was then held that a person,

not a trader, contracting

le did not pay whil

he continued to trade, might be made a bankrUpt upon
an act of bankruptcy committed after he had ceased to
trade. All the grounds of objection, therefore, havine
failed according to my view of the case, I must, no

THE SAFETY OF ST. SIMON'S CHURCH

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

'twith-

SIII,-Mr. Woodruff, the excellent member of Scot-
land Ward, having in his place in Council, on Wednes-
day last, made some remarks which may lead the public
to believe that the fabric of St. Simon's Church has been
injured, or is in danger through the improvements now
making by the London and North Western Railway Com-
pany, I trust.that you will allow the following letters to
appear in your columns to satisfy the public mind on the
subject, and oblige your obedient servant,
JOHN WALKER,
Churchwarden of St. Simon's.
July Bth, 1848.

standing the hardship of the case, as it affects Mr. Haynes
Barrow Higginson, a surety merely for his brother, con-
firm the adjudication which I had previously made.

DEATH BY DROWNING.—On Wednesday, as John
Thomas, shipkeeper of the Challenge, lying in the Bruns-
wick Dock, was going on board, he slipped into the dock.
He was taken out alive, but soon died.

THE WEATHER.-Since our last publication, we have
enjoyed a few fine sunny days, but the past week has,
upon the whole, been chequered by showers, and some-

times prolonged rains, which have rather militated against
the hay harvest. On Sunday morning, a very heavy rain
fell for several hours successively, flooding the roads and
streets. The afternoon, however, was dry, with a fine
breeze, and yesterday was, on the whole, fine.
SUDDEN DEATH.—Yesterday, an inquest was held at
the borough coroner's office, on view of the body of John
Wilcock, aged 39. Deceased lived in Collingwood-street.
On Friday night last ha went into Preston-street, and
there took lodgings with a woman with whom he coha-
bited. They went to bed, and at 11 in the morning he
was found in a state of insensibility, in which he remained
until four in the afternoon, when he died. The cause of
death was disease of the heart and lunge.

Office, Lime-street Station, Liverpool,
14th June, 1848.

GENTLEMEN,--Understanding that some of the con-
gregation of Saint Simon's Church are apprehensive that
the railway tunnel and works have made the foundations
of the church insecure, I am happy (as engineer of the
railway works) to inform you that the foundations of the
church are quite secure ; and I may remark, that whilst
carrying on the railway works, I have discovered that the
foundations of the church are upon hard rock, and more
secure than public buildings frequently are.
I am very sorry for the annoyance which our operations
have occasionally been to the congregation of St. Simon's,
but they will now be speedily completed.—l am, Gentle-
men, your very obedient servant,

THEFT OF LINEN FROM A SHOP. —At the Police-court,
yesterday, four women, named Margaret Waters, Mary
Smith, Mary A. Lynch, and Sarah Bowman, (two of
them with infants in their arms,) were cnarged with hav-
ing gone in and about the shop of Mr. Lewis, draper,
Great George-street, and carried off a piece of linen con-
taining 39 yards, valued at 61d. a yard. The article was
at the door, tied by a strong cord, which was found to be
cut. The prisoners were observed by several parties to
make other attempts, and the piece was found upon one
of them. They were all eoMmitted for trial,

EDWARD WOODS.

MESMIS. THE CHURCHWARDENS Of
ST. SIMON'S CHURCH.

[coPy.]

Liverpool and North Western Railway Offices
Lime.street Station, Liverpool, June 29, 1848,

DEAR Sia,—l think if youi architect, Or any other gen-
tleman taking a prominent interest in St. Shuou's Church: