The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-10-07 00:00:00

clerk of the peace. With respect to the first-named court,
there is a question for the council's consideration whether
the bailiff appointed by the sergeant-at-mace, or a person
selected by the registrar, is entitled to the fee authorised by
the table to. be paid in each cause for the summonsing the
jury. It will appear in the committee's report on the office
of serjeant-at-mace, that the serjeant has take❑ the fee re-
ferred to, and Messrs. M'Combe and Chalmers have done
the work. In this position the borough fund has paid twice
for the one fee.

It has been mentioned that there is also a table of fees to
be taken up by the clerk of the peace, " for the payment of
" which the borough fund is to be liable." The question is,
whether the borough fund is to be charged with the salary
of an officer to take out the clerk of the peace's summonses
beyond the fee of XI Is., allowed by the table for "striking
lists of jurors, summonses for them, and instructions to offi-
cer ns to service ?" There is no fee in the table for the
service.

The above points must be settled by the council before the
committee can recommend what change should be made with
respect to the summoning of jurors.
The other duties, stated to be performed by M'Cornbe and
Chalmers as sub-bailiffs, are in procuring carts, at the regu-
lation prices, for soldiers on march through the town. The
committee find, on further inquiry, that these duties are at-
tached to the office of constable.

The committee,
.on referring to the table of fees for the
clerk of the peace, observe, that the fees which a crier gene-
rally claims, such as, " For every witness sworn to give evi-
dence to the grand jury" are payable to the clerk of the peace.
The council, therefore, will have to consider whether, by
the change made by the municipal corporations' act, the office
of crier was done away with. In this case the borough fund
has been paying twice for the one fee.
It would have been satisfactory to this committee, if they
had bee❑ able to state in this report what has been the ex-
pense of this department since the passing of the municipal
corporations act. Owing to the mode in which the trea-
surer's accounts are kept, it would require a considerable
time to select the charges, and place them to their proper
accounts.

Beyond the sum of £5,609 Bs. 10d. which the committee
have ascertained was paid to the parties connected with the
whole of this department in the municipal year, 1841, (which
does not include the sum of p£3l4 4s. paid as above men-
tioned,) it would be requisite, to ascertain how much of
£l,BOl 14s. 2d., stated in the 'treasurer's account, to be for
" stamps and general disbursements on professional busi-
ness ;" also, how much of the sum of 2,012115. 11d. for par-
liamentary and " miscellaneous business," and of the sum of
£9ll 15s. 2d. for printing and stationery, ought to be placed
to the debit of this department. The committee have con-
sidered the bill for extra work presented to the council by
Mr. Tyson, amounting to £165 2s. 4d., which they recom-
mend to be paid, on the ground that the other clerks have
been already paid for extra work, and the town-clerk had di-
rected Mr. Tyson to keep an account of similar work done
by him, which the town-clerk promised, from time to time,
to lay before the finance committee.

---
If the council adopt the committee's recommended altera-
tions in this department, the public will have their business
attended to in a much more satisfactory manner, the town-
clerk and borough solicitorviill have most efficient assistance
in conducting that business, and there will be a saving to the
borough fund of, at least,' 500 per annum.

SERGEANT-AT-MACE AND HIS BAILIFFS, CRIER OF THE
BOROUGH COURT, AND MACE BEARER.
Mr. William Stanley Roscoe is the present sergeant-at-
mace. He succeeded Mr. Timothy Parkinson, who was in
office on the Ist January, 1836. Mr. Roscoe's appointment
is dated the 12th August, 1836, anticipating by a few days
the passing of the act of parliament (6 and 7 Wm. IV. chap.
35) for amending the proceedings and practice of the Borough
Court and Court of Requests, which act received the royal
assent on the 20th August, 1836. It appears that the sixth
section of this act is the one which an'thorises the council to
make the appointment to this office, and one of the recitals
in that section states, 'that the duties of the sergeant-at-
mace should be defined and made analagous to the office of
sheriff in counties." The sergeant-at-mace has, by the same
section, the patronage of appointing and taking security from
the bailiffs and officers who are to execute the process of the
court. He also has the appointment of " proper and fi
persons for carrying the mace, and for acting as crier in th
court, and for performing other the duties heretofore per
formed by the said sergeant-at-mace." He is responsible fo
all parties delivering process t.O him, or his bailiffs or officers
and by the seventh section of the act he is required to ente
into a bond with the corporation, with two or more sureties
for securing to the suitors in the court the due execution of
his office, by himself, his bailiffs, and officers. By another
section of this act, (19,) the council have the power of paying
the town-clerk, and the other officers of the Borough Court,
(except the bailiffs of the sergeant-at-mace,) by fixed salaries,
in lieu of fees, but requires the officers to receive the fees,
and pay them over to the treasurer of the borough fund.
The bond given by Mr. Roscoe and his two sureties to the
corporation, is, himself in £4OOO, and his sureties, jointly
and separately, in £2OOO.
Mr. Roscoe has appointed three bailiffs, namely, Messrs
Kirby, Lawton, and Hilton, taking bonds from them re
spectively, with sureties, the amount being, themselves in
£2OOO, and their sureties in £lOOO.
The following, as far as the committee can ascerta
account of the original warrants which have passed
geant's seal in 1841.

Total on precepts Cases in which Defendants
directed to the debt and costs gone to
sergeant to take have been gaol.
the person of I paid.
defendants.
549

in, is an
the ser-

not
exe-
cuted
284

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413 148 2 1X305 9 8. £42 114 I 377 6 I 162
The fees, which the committee can find have been receiv
by the bailiffs on the above warrants placed in their ham

The fees, which the committee can find have been received
by the bailiffs on the above warrants placed in their hands,
amount to £216 15s. These fees do not come into the bo-
rough fund, nor are they included in the returns made of the
sum received for debt and costs.

The committee find, by the treasurer of the borough fund's
accounts, that Mr. Roscoe has had, since his appointment,
£350 per annum as a fixed salary, in lieu of fees, but the
council in granting this salary attached the proviso that Mr.
Roscoe should keep a clerk, and pay him £5O. The result
of this appointment, with the condition attached, in the con-
sideration of the committee, is, that the clerk does nearly all
the work, which is merely to fill up thc warrants, (which are
in blank printed forms,) and to them and the assignments
(the latter being prepared by the plaintiff's attorney) attaches
the seal.

As before named in this report, Edward Fitzgerald, in the
town-clerk's office, is the sergeant's clerk, and the committee'
find that a desk is provided in the same office for the sergeant.
Upon the subject of the fees, Mr. Roscoe could not give
the committee much information, nor did he know exactly
what fees he was strictly entitled to as sergeant, nor could
the committee, on referring to the treasurer of the borough
funds account for 1841, make out what the fees were. The
treasurer's account says,—" The sergeant-at-mace, W. S.
Roscoe, £350, less balance of fees, £l9 Os. 8d.—£330 19s. 4d.
The committee then sought the assistance of the treasurer
to explain what " less balance " meant, and to give the gross
fees which ought by section 19 of the local act to be placed
" for account of the borough fund," but he was in as great
ignorance of how the sergeant's account of fees was made
out as the committee, nor could he state the particulars of
the deductions made from the fees.

The committee, not feeling satisfied, proceeded to make a
searching enquiry into this office, and most curious is the
result :

Although section 6 of the local act recites, that the duties
of the sergeant are to be analagous to the office of sheriff,
the committee conclude that the analogy is limited to the
duties set forth in the enacting part of that section, which
only refers to the execution of process out of the court to
him delivered, and in appointing bailiffs and officers to execute
the process. The sheriff of a county summonses the juries
by his bailiffs or officers. In this case the committee, on re-
ferring to the 12Ist section of the municipal corporations'
act, (5 and 6 William IV, chap. 76,) find, that the registrar
of the court shall cause to be summonsed persons to serve
as jurors, and, as stated in this committee's report on the
town-clerk's department, M'Combe and Chalmers, by the
direction of the registrar, summon the juries, and not the
bailiffs appointed by the sergeant-at-mace.
Ois searching further, the committee ascertain that the fol-
lowing are the particulars of the fees which Mr. Roscoe has
accounted for to the treasurer :

Debt or damage Debt or damage—
Other
, not exceeding not exceeding:
£5. £2O. cases.

Summonsing jury .. is. Od. 2s. Od 3s. Gd.
Calling p'ff on nonsuit Os. Gd. is. Od ,Is. Gd.
There is also a fee of LI Is. which the sergeant charges on
the seal being put on assignments :
By the sergeant's book, the committee make, for
the municipal year of 1841, the gross fees, which
includes fees on 14 assignments £23 4 10
And the deduction, being two bills for printing 2 2 6

Leaves ;C2I '2 4
as the balance, which the treasurer calls £l9 Os. Bd.
On observing " summonsing jury," an act which neither
the sergeant nor his bailiffs do, the committee were led to re-
fer again to the Municipal Corporations Act, and i❑ the 124th
section they find, that the council is required, within six
months next after their election, to make and settle in those
boroughs in which there shall be a court of record, a table of
fees to be taken by the registrar and officers of such court,
and such tables of fees shall be submitted to one of his
Majesty's principal secretaries of state," and if approved,
" the fees therein mentioned may thenceforth be lawfully
taken by the person therein named to be entitled thereto."
The committee called for the table of fees above referred
to, and to their great surprise find that there is not any fee
payable to such a person as the sergeant-at-mace. The table
is signed by Lord John Russell, and came into operation at
the end of 1836, or beginning of 1837, and has at the head of
it this notice :—" N.B.—The following fees are only to he
taken for the performance of duties required by the rules
and practice of the particular court, and no fee is to be al-
lowed which is not hereinafter mentioned.
The fees which Mr. Roscoe has claimed as his, under the
table, are payable to the bailiffs, viz., for summoning
jury and for calling plaintiffs on nonsuit ; the fee of £1 ls.,
which the serjeant has charged on assignments, the commit-
tee consider has been taken illegally, as it is not included in
the above-mentioned table of fees. There are two points
which the committee wish the council to consider, which
are, first—is the serjeant-at-mace an officer of the borough
court ? If he is not, then the section in the local act, 19, cannot
be acted upon. Secondly, if the serjeant-at-mace is found
to be an officer of the court, can the council still act upon
this section, and pay a fixed salary, the consideration for the
payment of which is, according to the section of the act of
parliament, to be in lieu of fees ; and that all fees receivable
in the said court shall " be received by the officer to whom
such fees have been heretofore payable ; and every such offi-
cer shall pay over such fees to the treasurer of the said bo-
rough, for account of the borough fund, provided that
nothing herein contained shall extend to the payment of the
bailiffs of the serjeant-at-mace of the said borough."
The committee cannot find that from any source the ser-
jeant-at-mace is entitled to any legal fee.

The serjeant-at-mace, the predecessor of Mr. Roscoe,
and in office before the Municipal Corporations Act and the
local act above named passed, received a salary of £l3O per
annum from the corporation, for which he carried the mace,
and acted as crier of the court. He also found security, and
provided his own office. He took certain fees as crier.
The scrjeant-at-mace at the present time is not in so res-
ponsible situation as formerly, in consequence of the aboli-
tion of arrest for debt.
In the present position of the serjeant-at-mace, the coo-
- have nothing to recommend before the difficulties are
removed, which are now brought before the council for con-
sideration.

CRIER OF THE BOROUGH COURT.
The table of fees does not recognise such an officer as
crier of the court.