Parish Of Greenwich.
The Times, 1824-08-21T00:00:00

A Vestry W5S beld, in tne parish church of Greenwich, yesterday, X for theypurpos'of`,conhidering of the propriety of assessing a rate on the panshidnezs, for the pawcent of certain expenses micidentalto i the lighting of the,towool,' riecenwich with gas. Thejustice 6f the clatm has given rise to 'miuch,disputeand discussion. One party con- tend that the lat*eChuichwardens, Overseers, and Director- of the Poor, 'made a most iniprovident contract with a gentleman. of the name of Goslins for the lighting the town, while they rejected the more advantageons offiTr df o.lr. Headicy, of' King's Arms-yard, Coleman-street. The consbquence has been,, that a rulc nisi, calling on the inhabitants to show cause why a writ oft nandamus shotld not be issued, to compel them to make a rate for the purpose above-mentioned, has been granted by the Court of IKing's Bench. Previous to the meeting of yesterday, two vestries were convened on this subject both of which refused to make any rate. The business commenced yesterday at one o'clock, when Mlr. RITcurH was called to the chair. The Report of the [nvestigation Committee was laitl before the meeting. It detailed, at great length, their proceedings, and stated their reasons, as afterwards disclosed in the affidavits in answer to those on which the rule nisi for a writ of mandamus was founded. for considering that the inhabitants ought stot to agree to an assessment. It was moved, and agreed to, that the Report now read be approv- ed of and printed; and that the committee who prepared the same should he continued in their offlce, and authorized to act as should to them seem best for the he,,nt; nehe)narish. Arseries of parish accountsxyas now laid before the mectingby the vestrv-clerkc, who stated that he hadi received them fromi Alr. Bic1c- nell,'enclosed in a Icttcr from Mfr. Orde, one of the late churrh. wardiens. These 2ccounts were gone through), item by itemi, and gave rise to observations in no respectitrsig xett toe immediately concerned. Onie item of 121. for a parish dinner wvas ordered to be struck outI ; and it appeared that thecre was some money in the hands of the treasurer (two itenis, amounting,aweolce, to 1601.), wbich was omitted. ~ ,a ecletd i'tr. O tDE, on questions being addressed to hitm chiefly by Mlr. Hammond, said, thrit int sitrjctnesa, tile account wasi~ not hIls. It was a copy of an account sent ioSilr. Bicknell, and some itemns had been omttted. Mtr. HAMMOND Said, Air. Orde niust be accountable for it. Hie could not conceive why, an account shioeld be made up by any othier person but thle vestry..clerk, whiose duty it was. Itwas then mioved by Air. OuniE, "That the return to be made to tile writ of manedeamus was, thiat it wasi the duty of' the vestry to obey that writ of mrnd'trnu., founded on the act of Parliament, and that they would forthiwith makec the necessary assessment." Mr.fHAMMaown movedi an amendmient to the effect, that the ac.. count which hiad been rendered, for the purpose of guiding them in the formation of a rate, was incorrect, and that the vestry had no daote to proceed on In the formation of a rate. A show of hands being called for, the nuimbers appearedi to he.- For the originaltinolion 6 For the amrendmcnt,1l40-Majori ty, 134. A scrutiny was Ithen ae;;anded, when tire nuimbers were-Fir tlie original motioni 13-For the amecndmnent, 88-Majority for the amendment, 75. Mlr. H4sta3l[OsD nowv moved, that theaffidavits filed in the King's Bench, on which the applicition for a mandamtus was founded, and the answers to tdiem, shouild be read. The Vestry-Clerk procceeded to readl those voluminous doeu. menits, which *stated, at genuiine legal length, and vwith genuine legal techinicality, the matt!r at issue betweein the parties. Theli affi- davit of Mlr. Thomas Orde and Mr. S. Tuylin? and many othiers. being thec late chuxrchwardens, overseers and ditrectors of the poor; set forth., that by, the 26th of Geo. IL, t?ie inhabita'nts of tha parishi of GreenwicJh regularly convened in vestry, were empowered to (!lget 21 substantialand discreet p~ersons, as governtors and dlirectors of the poor in that parishi, who were authorized to make such rate for die tniaintenance of the poor, sad to disburse sucil money for otlier loc-al prpoe therein mientionecd, as mnight seemr to them necessaryand epxopedient. By the 4thi of' hiis pre.sent Alajestv, whichi was an act for'tlte more effecctually lighting and watchiing,' the town of Greenwich, it was declared to be lawful for the clhurcitwardens, overseers, (directors of the poor, anid inhia- bitants, at any, special mneeting hieldl for that purpose, to provide for the lighting of the !own, and for the erectioeti of lainp-ironts, &r. ; and they were further authorized to contract with any company or body of persons for lightinig thie town withi oil or gas. To mneet tire expense, thie chiurchiwatrdens, overseers, (tirectors of the poor, and in- hah,iitants,wereempiowered to iake a sufficient rate on the parishiioners. Under thisr act several special mieetings were hieldl last year, (M1r. T. Orde and Mlr. S. Tuiylin. beinig, we ielieve, the hate clhurchwaffiens, atnd the Rev. SIlr. Mlathew, vicar), forthe purpose of considlering of the best mode oflighting the town, It was determined tolight withigas; anidtwo competitors, Mir. J.Goslii, of Canterbury,anid Ilr. J. Head.- lev, of King's Arms-yard, appeared as coinpetitors. Blut, tleponenits stated, that, as Mlr. Headley's proposition appeared to be vague and indlefinite, whiile the tender of Air. Gusilin was dtistinct and dlefinite, theCy rejected the offer of the former, and closedl with that of the latter, They dleclared, that before this transaction, they ktiew nothing of Mlr, Gjoshin or of Mlr. Hemiley, and that thej'y lia(1 acted entirely for the benefit of the parish. 'rTe affidatvit then went into alonglitistoryof the contract enteredI into withi Me. Goslinr, and proceeded to state, that on Fridav, the 7th of Novemiber last, a vestry mieeting took place, at which one of the parishi officers stat. etd, that if a rate of one shilling in thie poind were assessed, it wouldI probably require anothier shilling in the pound to defray the ultitnate expense. A rate of one shilling in the pounid wvas agreed to, which had produced 1,1821. 12s. kid., which, except 1621. now in tlie hiands of the treasurer, had beeti ]e5ally expendr d by the Di)r rectors, (inclu(ting the costs andi charges for the act of Parliament), but that nio part of it had bees paidI to Mr. Goslin.. The affidav,it then wenit on to state, that on Easter Friday last, new parish officers hadl been appointed, two of whoin refused to act, and thtat one: of them, andI many of' the parishioners, declared tlteir deterttiiiitaion that thie contract shotild not be carriedl into effect. The diepertents patict- harly complained that Alr. Hanmuiond lhad comnpelled Mr. Goslitn'a W.,knmen to gtve over their labours on the highiway, tind hiad acttitalls- threatened them wiithi tie tread-ttmill if they disobeyed. The affida:. vit nextadverted to two vestries which were held on the 5th andi 17th of Mlay last, for thie purptoe of alportioning a rate ; and describedi thte proceedinigs as riotous and -disorderly. In botht instattees, the rpro4osion for affixina, a rate waL3 defeated, in consequence, as the aftiilavit stated, of the consfitsion whiichi wa, createdt b1v thlose who opposed the measure, nisay of whom, it was assertem , wouild riot ltave been liable to assessment tinder thte act of Parliamenit. These allegations were answered, first, by the affidlavit of Mr. Ileadley, wito deposed, tltat whien lie offeredI to ligttt Greenwvich witli gas, he was told that, witliout an act of' Parlianitrent, thecy couild not allow him to break tip the pavement, tehichi act of Parliament he offered to procure at his own expense, an( litad made some efl'orts for thiat purpose. fie was thret informned that the piarishioners would( themselves apply for it, but that lite sholttd be remunerated for hiis exp'ense an(l trouble, whichi lie tiever had beeti. Ilie mifterwardls, oni rite 3d of.July, 18123, wrote to tile vestry-clerk, stating his rrartinesis to lighit the towtt withi gas ; and receivetI a letter, calling on him tospe.. city his terrms, whichi lie dlid. ['[ie ternts whicl fire h,rrroseld were read, and the computation, withi respect to the titne of ~ight- in,&.,aperd to be tnade ottthie mnost mninuic scale.] f edepottent thecn went, ott to 'leelare, that, in his contacienee. die contract for 14 years, riehti it ad been madle withi SIr. toslint, was most disadvantageous to tlte pttrislt. HeI wotidl( hiave performed tlte cotntract at a ziuch less rate, and woulti hiave given undeniable security in) any amount whatever. If iris tenider had been takcen, hie wouila have supplied lamps, &c., withiout any additional charge to thic parisht, as lie hadt done at R.amsgaLte arid Alargate. At the rate of 41. lOs. per light, he would have realized a htandsome pirofit, and freed the parish fr,m thec chargec of, lamps, &c. Secondly, the affidav-it of Alr. lHammiond stared, tlhat tite letter of Air. leadiley, of the 3d of July, urerely asked fot a contract. It could niot be considered as a tender, but at mere inqutiry unto the ttature of thec proposalis that were to be inadle.Bu on rthe Jth of .July, 1823, Kilr. Hecadhey sent in a regular tctid(er, stating Itis tertiis expressly. His offer was nut acecedted to; btitt a contract was tiatate with Air. Goslin, first for three yearsi, atnd next trr 14 yeairs, whichl the deponent held to be contrary to the spirit anti letter of the act of Parlianietit ttade anti passed for lighiting the tparishi. The affidavit then described thec cotitract to be grosisly extravagant and itightly disadvantageous to tite parislt. It accuttet titose whio had enteredi into tile contract withi AMr. (Goslini with litaving exteded the tiMe for his performnance of the Contract, without calit tIr inhaitar- ants togethier. The deponent furtlter observed, tJirt the contract stiould hiave been miade by public advertisentent. The affidavit then went oti to state, that time proceedlings at the fortiter vestry meetings were not condueted, so far as deponent and his friends were concernedi, in a riotous mianner. IDeponenit further observeni, that respectable per-sonas did nut absent thiemselves from vestry meetings in that parish for fear of' being insulted, as had been stated in the preceding affidiavit, hut on account of the disgust ttitey felt at thie arbitrary conduct of certain leading inadividuals its tlte parish, who tlitreatened theint with the loss of their business and total ruin, if they stated their opinions and asserted their rights. The affidavit then went on to contrast tdie terms offered by MIr. Goslin and those proposed by Silr. Ileadley, ant stted tht i te ltte ha ben referred, it would be asaving to he arih o 3,001, ecluiveof heexpense attending the act of Parlamet. t aso et ort, rst hentit contract was agreed to, SIr.Gosln's ende wasread buttha of Hr -eadley was not. Mr. HAMON nw obseved, tat,o the 10th of July, a special meeting of the parishl officers wa called to receive tendlers. Some of them were now present, and he asked, hiad .Sir. Hcudley'ms tender been read ? Alr. TuyLix, one of the clhurchwardens.-You put all those questions before to the Rev. Mlr. Alathew. I doni't ktiowe what answer he made but I suppose it was sadisfsctory. Slr, H41tcOwND-1 am asking youe a question. You were present. WVas Alr. fleadley'8 tender reed ? Mr. Tu YaIxs.-It is not freshi in mny recollection. A Parishiotter.-Mr. Wegg was priesent, why did he not sign the proceedin~ ? Something Intust have been said that prevented him from siFnmng it. MNr. Vrl.TYM .-As there was a vestry-clerk present to look after thlese matters, they tdid non fix themiselves in miy memory. UT. It XxO yl.-i 'nave given you lile, to con%iWjer 1A this q'aes. tiotr. You sir there as Governors and Directors, to do juistice to the parishi, and you ought to know wlietlter there were ttwo tenders or one. Did you not call Mlr. Headley in? Alr. TuYL.ex.-The beadle callecd himi in. AMr. HASsMNOND.-Now that is a thing that I would not hiave re- itienibered. But Alr. Headley was called in, and told that itis ten- der would not beactce pted. Pray wyhat was it ? Mr. TuyLiN.-It has been read in the affidavit. AMr. HA-,U31OND._Ye8, it is in the affidavit: we have not got it frmyu. Twvo tenders were put in, but you will not say whether they were both read. Is this justice ? Alr. Tuys.sN.-I do the parishi justice AIr. HA,mStOD.-When yoti have a tender for 51. 0A. 6d. on one side, and for 31. l0s. on the other, -and chose the fbrmer, lis that doing the paristi justice ? Let those officers get rid of this improvi- denit contract notv, and save thie parish seine thousands. Thecy are ashamned to come down and tell us wvhat they hiave done. Why is not the second contract entered on Ithe minutes, as the "1intlefiniite letter is ?" Sir. TutYLiNT._I have nothing to do withi making the mninutes. Air. HIA,SnasONn.-..Yoa are allashamed of this buoiness. Mr. TuYL.rs.-1 never did any thing I was ashiamed of. Mrl. HAstatOND.-YOU oughit to he so. It wvas monstrous, when two tenders were presented to a public board, to suppress one. Air. TuYLX-i.-Look, Sir, at the names of the gentlemen com- positig that hoard. Do you mean to say there is not ani honest man aMOngst them ? Have you any right, to cltarge them withi disho- r. Hii1oxD-1 sk,why wvas iiot the other tender read ? Mr. TUYLIxN.Affidavits have been sworn, and it is insitiuated that there has been some false swearing. I think it 1Is mostutstjust; and it is certainly mast unfair to ask me questions at thtis moment. and.ttto.requure. to give answers which may be construed as crinsi- niatory of myself.I Air. lAMazoND..I4oppsehend,.in MiP, itF tehdUrflms been 5upp5055ed, tlie're ists'raud on the face of the traneaction. 'T'bc-Vestxy Olcrk....Certai:nly, evry appearance of it. IUr. RAMesOaN2.3- tIhink this will form one of our strongest grounds of opposition to this 7nandamus. Qne of the parishofficers said,besaw nootherwritingbut theletter. f1r. HAafmroNr5.-Then the tender was sacrificed. No man could do such an act vwithout hoping'to obtain profit. They would not so conduct themselves for the mere purpose of procuring the ill- will of their fellow-parishioners. A mlotive must exist-there miust be something in secret-which haal not yet appeared. After Air. Headley had matte an offer, Afr. Goslin was brought into the parish with hiis tender. Who found him out ? He saw a number of gentlemen, who had attended many of these special meetings, they ought to-know something of the watter. As the parish authorities persevered in refusing information, he would continue to pursue the precise line of conduct with which he had set out. Mr. RITCsIIE, after pointing out the necessity of the parish-offl- cers giving every informnation on the subject that could lead to an amnicable aLdjustment, which might. save the paris-s the expense of a law.suit, moved the thanlks of the restry to the Comnmittee of Inves- tigalion for their exemplary and disinterested conduc;.-Carried Mr. HAIxMoxND returned thanks, and then nmoved a vote of cen- sure on the late parish-officers. churehwardens, and governors, for themimproridant contract they had entered into, and for their Frogs negleciofduty, in not placinig !Mr. H-eadley's tender on the minute book; and also on those parlsh-offlcets who were now prosecuting their fellow parishioners, whose interes's they were bound to protect. The motion was carried, and the resolutione were ordered to be printed in The Tinms and other London papers, and two county pa- pers. Thanks were then voted to thc Vestry Clerk, and the meetig broke up. itthVetyCckanthmetg PARISH OF G'RBENWICT.