The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-11-11 00:00:00

ELECTION OF MAYOR.

Mr. SANDS, immediately after twelve o'clock, rose in his
place, and addressed the council as follows :—Mr. Mayor,
the time has arrived when your functions cease as chief magis-
trate; and I rise for the purpose of proposing a gentleman in
every way qualified to fill the chair which you are about to
vacate. (Hear, hear.) Ido not think, Mr. Mayor, that it
would be consistent with good taste even to attempt to dis-
cuss the qualifications of my friend, whom I am about to
propose, because he is well-known to every member in this
council, and to some, perhaps, much better than myself.
(Hear, hear, hear.) It is not necessary, Mr. Mayor, that I
should state to the council, that Mr. Robertson Gladstone
(loud cheers) is an eminent merchant in Liverpool, and con-
nected with an eminent firm. (Hear, hear.) It is not ne-
cessary I should state to the council, that from Mr. Glad-
stone's business habits, from the active character of his
mind, and from the firmness of his character, he is in every
way qualified to discharge the duties which we are about to
impose upon him. (Cheers and applause.) That he will
discharge those duties with credit to himself, and with satis-
faction to the council, I can have no doubt. (Hear, bear.)
I am quite sure, Mr. Mayor, that Mr. Gladstone, if elected,
(and of that I can, of course, have no doubt) will to the ut-
most of his ability do everything in his power to promote the
interests and the prosperity of this great corporate estate, as
well as the interests and prosperity of the town at large, and
that he will sustain the office with honour and dignity.
(Hear.) Of that I have no doubt whatever, and I believe
that the council likewise, will have no doubt. I therefore
beg leave to propose, that Mr. Robertson Gladstone be the
Mayor of this borough for the ensuing year. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. JAMES LAWRENCE.—Mr. Mayor, I rise with great
pleasure to second the motion of the worthy member for Ex-
change Ward. lam fully satisfied that the election of Mr.
Gladstone to the high office of chief magistrate of this borough,
wilt not only give satisfaction to this council, but to the com-
munity at large. I therefore have great pleasure in second-
ing the nomination of Mr. Sands. (Cheers.)
Mr. PLATT said, he rose not to offer any opposition to the
motion, but rather to support it. (Hear.) He should sup-
port it with great pleasure, but at the same time he must be
allowed to make a few remarks, which, in his opinion, were
fitting for the occasion. For some years, some of the members
of the council had been obliged to sit in a very painful situation;
and to hear' with deep concern, many discussions upon the
subjectof education, (cries of " order, and question.") He
should not occupy more than a minute or two, and he begged
to be heard for that time, because he thought he should
prove—(cries of " question and order.") He only meant
to say, that there had been several manifestations of libera-
lity, so as to affect an alteration as to the system of educa-
tion in the Corporation Schools in favour of the poorer
classes of children, and amongst others by Mr. Gladstone,
(cries of " question and order.") He did not wish to say
anything that might be unpleasant—(cries of " oh, oh.")
Mr. SANDS rose to order. Mr. Platt was clearly out of
order, in attempting now to raise a discussion upon the
education question. (Hear, hear.)
The MAYOR then put the question, whether Mr. Glad-
stone be elected Mayor, and the motion was carried by
acclamation. Mr. Leigh then vacated the chair, and Mr.
Gladstone assumed it amidst very animated cheering.
The necessary forms on taking office, having been gone
through, before Mr. John Holmes and Mr. William Earle,
as Magistrates,

The MAYOR rose amidst much -applause, and said :
Before we proceed to the business of the day, I beg to be
permitted to make my heartfelt acknowledgements to the
council for the honour they have just conferred upon me
—(hear)—an honour which, I can sincerely say, I desire
to appreciate. (Hear, hear.) It will be my duty to en-
deavour to conduct the business of this council with fair-
ness and, I hope, with strict impartiality. (Hear.) I
am, however, conscious of the necessity there is for carrying
out those rules and regulations which are intended for the
good government of this council (hear, hear, hear) ; and
I may be permitted to say, that whilst it is my intention to
secure to every one who addresses the council a fair and
uninterrupted hearing, I hope I shall not look in vain
for the confidence and cordial co-operation of the council
in carrying that intention into effect. (Loud cheers.) An
allusion has been made, by a gentleman on my left (Mr.
Platt), to a portion of my conduct since I have been a
member of the council, and especially to what has fallen
from 'me, in the last year, upon the subject of education.
(Hear, hear.) Upon that lam not now going to
enter ; but I can only say, by accepting the office in
which you have just had the kindness to place me, it is not
my intention to shrink from the responsibility of that sub-
ject. (Hear, hear.) lam perfectly aware of its importance,
and I look upon it as one of those matters which stand
entirely aloof from every other connected with the corpora-
tion. (Hear, hear, from Mr. Alderman Earle.) It will
afford me great gratification if it is possible to make such a
change as may really be of value and service to the town ; and
I shall be happy to participate and co-operate in that change,
but at the same time I hope the council will not look for
more from me, in the position in which I am placed, than I
have already expressed. (Hear.) I have only to say that
my best exertions shall be devoted to the discharge of those
duties which I owe to the council, and also to those which 1
owe to the public. We will now, if you please, proceed to
the business of the day. (Hear.)
MINUTES OF THE LAST COUNCIL.
The Deputy TOWN-CLERK read the proceedings of the
last council, which comprised the payment of rewards to
certain officers of the gaol for their efficient conduct during
the late disastrous fire in that neighbourhood ; and the con-
firmation of the appointments recommended by the Markets
Committee of inspectors of slaughter-houses and meat.
After some unimportant conversation all the proceedings
were confirmed.