The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-01-13 00:00:00

THE BOTANIC GARDENS

The MAYOR read a letter from Dr. Freckleton, President
of the Botanic Gardens, requesting an increased subscrip-
tion from the Corporation. One-third of the whole time
the gardens were open, namely,
two days in the week, were
given to the public, although the subscription of the Corpora-
tion only amounted to £lOO, or one-tenth of the expendi-
ture. The debt having been personally undertaken by the
proprietors, the committee were desirous of placing the gar-
dens in a state of permanent usefulness ; and, as the sub-
scription of the Corporation was eminently calculated to
check :private subscription, owing to so great an equivalent
being given, they thought some addition should be given.
Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE said he could not hold out a hope
of recommending any increase in the subscription of the
Corporation ; and that was all that they could do. If they
did make any change in their subscription, this would he one
of the first he should recommend the Council to abandon.
Mr. BIREETT, as a member of the Finance Committee,
would say, it was necessary for the council to take a de-
cided stand. The corporation had not the means of increas-
ing any of their grants.
After a short discussion the application was referred to the
Finance Committee.

CORONERS

,' INQUESTS

The MAYOR said he had received a communication from
Sir James Graham, in reply to one addressed to him by the
Town-clerk, at the direction of the Mayor, upon the present
state of the law as regards coroners' inquests. The case was
this :—if the death of any person took place in Liverpool,
and the cause of death occurred two hundred miles off, the
law at present required that the body should be taken to that
place in order that the coroner's inquest might be there held
upon it. This seemed to be a great defect in the law, and the
Town-clerk was directed to write to Sir James Graham upon
the subject. The following was his reply :
" Whitehall, 6th January, 1843.
" Sir,—l am directed by Secretary Sir James Graham to
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 6th instant,
relative to the jurisdiction of coroners, and to inform you
that Sir James Graham will consider as to the best means of
providing a remedy for the inconvenience pointed out in your
letter.—l am, &c.

(Signed)
" The Mayor of Liverpool."

" S. M. PHILLIPPS

THE BIRKENHEAD COMMISSIONERS

The MAYOR stated that he had received the following
letter from Mr. John Deane Case, Chairman of the Birken-
head Commissioners.
" Holly-bank, Woodside, 10th January, 1843.
" My dear Mr. Mayor,—My attention has been called, by
a friend, to a part of the proceedings of the Town Council on
the 4th instant, as reported in the Liverpool Mercury.
" Mr. Councillor Parker is therein represented as having
asserted, that at a meeting of the Board of Commissioners of
Birkenhead, of which I have the honour to be chairman, I
should have said, ' I did not care a farthing for the Corpora-
tion of Liverpool.'
" Now, Mr. Mayor, I trust you will pardon the liberty I
take in troubling you upon this occasion : such words, or any
of any similar import, never escaped my lips ; and I am sure
you will do me the justice to read my distinct and emphatic
denial of them, at the meeting of the Town Council, to-
morrow, to which day, I find, it stands adjourned.
" if such words as those in question could, with justice,
be laid to my charge, either by Mr. Parker or by any other
person, I should well deserve to be branded with the crime
of deep ingratitude for the many favours which I have re-
ceived from the Corporation of Liverpool, during a faithful
servitude of fourteen years, as one of their officers ; and I
should consider myself wholly unfit for the situation, which
I have the honour to fill, at the Board of Commissioners of
Birkenhead, as chairman.—Believe me to remain with great
respect, my dear Mr. Mayor, yours, very faithfully, _

- - " JNO. DEANS CASE.
" To Robertson Gladstone, Esq., &c. &c. &c."
There was also the following letter, upoti the same subject,
which the Town-clerk had received front Mr. Mallaby.

" Fenwiek-street, Jan. 10, 1843.
" Dear Sir,—My attention has been directed to a report in
the Mercury of the 6th instant of a speech made by Mr.
Parker, in which the following statements appear;—
"' If Mr. Hornby had sat at the Board of Commissioners
at Birkenhead, and if he had been told by the chairman that
hhiesdfiidngneoro tcafroeratfhaerthcoinrgpo(rhaetrieonth, if he had been told by the
Clerk e worthy councillor snapped
to the
Board,
fingers`What again,) do
ain weo . we can drum up the care for your Town-
clerk?'
er k?
, (snapping
members and carry any bill we like against you.'
" With reference to the first, relating to J. D. Case, Esq.,
the Chairman of the Commissioners, I beg to state that not
only have I never heard such expressions as those imputed
to him, but, on the contrary, in common with every com-
missioner, can affirm that his language has been uniformly
highly courteous whenever he has alluded to the Corporation
of Liverpool.
.. __

" For.miself, I deny as strongly
ntoertliaes rtehperpesaerangtaratipvhesasocfri as possible ever alluding
e uttering
members
Cheshire have ever been found ready to
ebehsesthoirmeeo,
parliament, or to yourself in so indelicate and foolish a man-
ner any other member of
thing all like it, or tantamount toorito.f ever
Tl!
vindicate the rights
of their constituents, and to advance the common weal
without. unjustly invading the rights of others ; and the com-
missioners,ers, in submitting any measure to parliament, hope
to receive support only if by it the public good will be pro-
moted.

" To you personally, who know me, any denial of such
expressions as those attributed to me would be unneces-
sary, but, to a large and important body like the Town
Council of Liverpool, I feel it my duty in a formal manner
to make this communication.—l am, dear sir, yours, very
truly,46 JosEPH MALLABY.
" Richard Radcliffe Esq., Town-clerk."
Mr. PARKER said he would have made it his business to
go over and explain the matter to Mr. Case, but he was pre-
vented by the late severe weather. Mr. Case had always
treated him in the most gentlemanly way, and he denied that
his allusions were directed to either him or Mr. Mallaby. He
had, however, heard expressions similar to those which he
had used from other members of the board, and if Mr. Wood
his
werreepmraesrketsaahbeouwtotuhe d
would confirm him
up of members the Town-
clerk in the statement. As to
clerk would bear him out that the zeal of the Cheshire
members for their constituents was exemplary.
Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE ridiculed the idea of any such
feeling as jealousy being cherished between two places so
situated with respect to each other as Liverpool and Bir-
kenhead.

Mr. EARLE said this was the reason why Mr. Hornby had
brought forward his motion for the substitution of another
person instead of Mr. Parker. At this Mr. Parker bad taken
offence, though no offence was intended.
Mr. PLATT thought Mr. Parker did not allude to Mr.
Case at all : it was Mr. Jackson that he alluded to.
Mr. EARLE.—Now we shall have Mr. Jackson writing.

PIERS AND LANDING STAGES.
Mr. SAMUEL HOLNIE said he had taken the earliest op-
portunity which the forms of the council admitted of bringing
before them the subject of the inefficiency of the landing
stages at the pierheads, being convinced, when he had stated
a few facts, that it was necessary to have a special committee
to consider their efficiency, with a view of providing better
accommodation. The present landing slips were not only
totally inefficient, but a disgrace to this great town ; and
speaking as a practical man, he must say that the remedy
for this state of things might be very easily provided. He
knew that the Finance Committee had a laudable anxiety
to give better accommodation, but with the weight of busi-
ness that pressed upon them, they could not give that atten-
tion to the subject which its importance deserved, and which
its importance really demanded. He contended that from
the great increase in passengers, better accommodation was

required ; and by a clause in their last improvement act, it
was obligatory on them to provide such accommodation
Forthwith. Eleven-twelfths of the passengers who were con-
tractors at the ferries were rate-payers in Liverpool, and

.
surely they had a right to expect better accommodation.
Let him also call attention to the fact, that the corporation
had a great interest on the other side of the water—that they
had au estate there worth not much less than quarter of a
million sterling ; and when he also remembered that the
corporation had taken the land from the river for the forma-
tion of the docks, these, be thought, were strong arguments
why the subject should neither be delayed nor neglected.
Let any gentleman go down to the pierhead, and see the
crushing there was daily there: would they say it was safe
to land or embark in such confusion ? It was a state of
things which ought not to exist; and, although £2OOO might
have been spent in giving better accommodation at
Seacombe slip, it was no argument why £2OOO or £3OOO
more should not be expended. He had prepared a state-
ment of the number of passengers across the river
from Woodside and Monks' Ferry. In 18-12 there were
1,725,000 who paid at the gate. There were 890 contractors,
many of whom cross four times a day ; but assume that each
crossed only twice, they would give 649,700 annually.
Above 50,000 crossed yearly with parcels and merchandise,
making in the whole at those two ferries in 1842, 2,424,700,
and the number had been daily increasing. To and from
Eastham. Runcorn, Birkenhead, and Rock Ferry, the num-
ber was understated at 1,500,000 annually. Above 6,000
persons landed or embarked within every 24 hours from the
mail packets, the Scotch boats, the general Irish steamers,
the north of England, the Isle of Man, the Welsh and other
boats, making annually 2,190,000, so that the following re-
sult was arrived at :

Woodside and Monk's Ferry ...... • • ..........
Other ferries. not including Seacombe and Egre-

2,424,700

moot .............. .... : ...............
General embarkation or landing from steam_

1,500,000

packets, &c.

2,190,000

passengers lauding
,000 persons had annually to,
wsosiunig°duleforceattention to it. With
6,114,700
Taking into consideration !he hpolaunrsk.the packets now ply
that it was low water one-third of the period in each day'
the consequence was that 2;038
landbat u ou rl e
seamtbhaer
sky
aacross
aas He felt convinced,
move thatp upon
altered, some serious acci-
dent would occur which
the best means of
these remarks he begged tospecial committee
and
embarking at George's Dock pier.
givingbe appointed
increased
accommodation and
Mr. Amax seconded the motion, expressing a hope that
the mover, however, would allow it to be so framed as to
give a committee with duties similar to that which formerly
existed. Mr. Aikin proceeded to show the duties of the
former committee, which were, amongst other matters, to

superintend and regulate the ferries, and to endeavour to
restore the Irish mail steamers to Liverpool. The new sta-
tion had so failed in all that had been anticipated, that but
little trouble would be required to place matters on their
former footing.
Mr. BIRKErr moved the following amendment :—" That
the further consideration of the subject be postponed until
the council shall have ascertained how far the landing-stage
now in course of erection, and nearly completed, at the Sea-
combe Slip, will be efficient; and that, in the meantime, it
be referred to the Watch Committee, to give the requisite
instructions for all legal steps to remove as far as practicable
the evils complained of.

Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE seconded the amendment. He
opposed the motion on the ground that it was unnecessary.
The motion implied that the subject had not been considered,
but it had been considered maturely. It had been amply
reported on by Mr. Aikin and himself (Mr. Lawrence) in
1841. Mr. Lawrence proceeded to contend generally, that
it was necessary to wait till they could see how the improved
slip at the Seacombe Pier worked, ere they commenced any
fresh operations.

Mr. EARLE urged the necessity of some alteration in the
steps at the George's Pier.
Mr. EVANS said he had never known the day when the
council was not impressed with the importance of this sub-
ject. He never knew a new committee which did not cut out
new works, and he never knew new work that was not expen-
sive. That which was done had not been tried, and having
been accomplished at so large an expense, it ought to be
tried. This was not a maiden question, it had been fully
discussed. It was infantile impatience not to wait even a
few weeks for the result of what had been done.
Mr. AIKIN contended that the committee should be one
to superintend the details and regulations of the landing
places, one which could take a number of matters into serious
and separate consideration, in a manner that could not be
done by the Finance Committee.

Mr. NORTH supported the resolution. He would have
been better pleased with it had it been extended in the form
suggested by Mr. Aikin. The landing places required regu-
lation, and the committee would be one of supervision.

Sir THOMAS BRANCIKEE supported the amendment.
Mr. HOLME briefly replied, and the council divided on the
amendment, which was carried by a majority of 24 to 13.
The following are the names of the voters on each side;—

For the amendment,—Messrs. Shand, Isaac Holmes,
Thornhill, Blackburn, Thompson, Hornby, J. Holmes, As-
pinall, J. Lawrence, Cooper, Birkett, Procter, Rigby, Kil-
shaw, Parker, G. H. Lawrence, Trotman. Harbord, Barclay,
Turner, Freme, Holt, Evans, and Sir Thomas Braneker.
—24.

Against the amendment,—Messrs. Preston, Edwards,
North, Aikin, Holme, Priestley, Rae, Platt, Bulley, Earle,
Bramley-Moore, Molyneu.s, and the Mayor.-13.
The council separated at a quarter-past two o'clock.