Court Of Common Council.
The Times, 1824-05-15T00:00:00

A orfCoTnmnon Council was heldl yesterday at Guildltall,-In con,~A_enlce ot a reqiisition received by the Right Honourable the Lod nyor, " to coall a ispecial Couirt 'to consiuler the propriety of' petitoning Parliarment forthwith to institute an iniquiry into the state of the representation ofrtlue People in theo House of Ju)otamons; and of re Masnting Inore espe-cially the glaring inequality ht o exsts n je, representation of 1 the district comprising t'he citylowf l''dy the borough t Mddlesex, the city of WVestminster. anid tebruhof Southwatk. compared -with that of the rest of the 'kigdom, as it rcg..urd, populatian, property, or taxatiou-that dis- trIct Setumning only 10 memnbers to Parliamnent, whlile the rest of I the kingdorm retttrns 648 ; and to obtain suchl reformn aN riiay, be founed pon he rue principles of thec Bntish constitiution." The LoRD IllAYOR took the chair at 12 o'clock precisely, but W~as unlable to proceed to business till 'one, in consequence otf the non- attendance of a stelficient number of Al lermntu to cottstitute thL COurt. At a quarter before o-te, M1r. Alilerman Ansley was tile Olily alderman present. Shortly, afterwardts. Aldermien C. Smithi, tM g s ry, n, anti Key, Camte ini and took their seats. Before teir enrance, hower TeLir AYO R felt it necessary to addres a few wordIs to the gentltmen wlto had attended. lie hdt Iliiluself dco'patclwd the busi- 1c3 f thejusuticoroom at an earlier houir than usual, in order that be srnght~ ab16le, without Injury to tile puiblic, to attetitti tile couirt at the hours which he had fixedt. It was %yell known to be the dluty Of Oerain Aldermea to attenid the Court'ofC,,mmon Council in rota- tion but tpunctual as the Ald-ermen ge'nerally were in attending all meetinIg o public comnp:nies where a guinez was to be received, he al Og Yt Observe that-thev wvere not equally, plinctual in attend- igthe meetings of that Court. In a few minutes he should leave thre Court, if no alderman tame is. He did niot wish to quit it immediatdly . he would therefore wait a few minutes lonxer, and should no other Alderman come in (luring thst timne, would theni either adjourn it to another day, or would dissolve it for the P'reslent, anid convene it again for a future day. The noni-attendancc Of the requisite number of Aldermen waS a serious inconvenience to he our, epecially us every indMvilual memiber of it m-ust have Fome~ busluess or other to atttend to. M. S1. l)xysgetdt h odMyr, to s7ait ir. the chair till Vne ocok The LonMXO a rceigt re some fuirhler obser- vat05tion temmsspesn hrh er-ance of A ldeninan C. CQAI. 'rta,NE. The LoaD MA_.YOR ~ald that he would take that opportunity of addressing a few worc'1s to the CUourt, which he trusted would not be cohidhere as 'Attleeessary on his part. IiitdCCd, the obseryations thetm R1.- .s going to Offer totheir consideration, wvere offered to # - avice: ort givingpulct to a trans,action witich lie q,gtdesrved to be expos,ed, and wvhich lite therefore liopedI ..ould be noticed in the public ptints. Tiere wvere so many fraudui- lent colnpanies now in existence, or shortly going to start into exist- ence, that he felt hims-elf bour,d in' duts to his fellow-citizens, to mnake theml acqua-inted withi certain pra' ices which now prevailed, and which were no less in) unous to those of them whio 'consumied ,hIrn tlhey, were to those at theis wlio traded fairly- in the articles to which he was alludin,. They all knew that there were many foul practices at present commnitted lin !h e coal-trade, andl that the Cor- poration had already taken sonic measures to redress the -worst ot themn. The evil, hiowever, would nev'er he effectually eradicated unless it were fairlV referred to the consideration of the Coal and Corn Committee 'rho ubhic it appeared to him, were not sufli- ciniwihJ tliYerence existing in the samne descrip- tac,there were WVall's-end coals sold at 34s. ab,~at41s a hairon. Now, the inferior was often sold for the SOpilOroal,andthus a fraud at'no less than 7s.a chaldiron w2scomn mirtil uon te pa chsr.He held at that mloment in hisiitand a paper of wichhe utte~to, ulusands upon thousands had beeni issuedl. It htlf?rte to ome roma City Phrceaix Coal Co)mpany, undler the Immolae ispcc00of he Lord- Mayor andi Corporationi of L,on- t~In5 nd ropsedto sell thebest WaIl's.end coals at 35s. 6d. aclhal- dron.a crcumtance which c-arried fhoud upon the face of it. The ubic were so little aware of these frauds, that a person of',so miuch sagacity as to be one of the judges of the land would have given an order to this " City Pheen:x Coal Comipany," had not hte (tise L1ord. Mlay-or) undeceived him a's fto the fact of its,, teing titnder the inspec- tion of the LIAo-Mayor andi Corporationi. The Coal and Corn Cons- mittee had prepared'zsome regulations to piit an ecitd to these prac- tices. wvhich it was desirable shiould be adopted. Mlr. BLE,-rSEYV observed, that the party wito was at the ht-ad of the City Coal Company had already been fined and imiprisoned for the frauds he had committed in tile coal-trade. After somne routine business had been transaceted relative to the City Bonds, and the election of a new W1ater-Bailiff, in the room Of tMe late Mr. Howell, the subject of PARLIAMsENTARY RErORts 'was breught under discussion). Mr. FAVE LL said, that though their petitions for Parliamentary -reform had been accumiulating in the archises of St. Stephen's chapel for the last 410 vears, and thoughi they appear-ed likely to slum- ber there on til the day of resurrction, he came forward to call ttpon his% fellow citizetts to address te House of Commions once more, and to add another petition to the large mass whbich thtey hiad alreadly pres-ented to it. He would shortly glance at thle points whiceh he wished them to embody in their present petition. The first point ~was, that the muode now adopted for electing moemibers of Parliament in the c-lose borottghs was contrary to the statute of Edward 1. and the Bill of Rights, both of which declared that elections ouight to be free How c,ould elections be- called free, where the electors were compelled to elect aniy person whomn the patron, thouight fit to nominate ? The necxt point was, that thlough it was a standing resolution of the House of Commons, that it was a highb brutch of privilege for anv Pee of Parliament to interfere in th~ electioni of knjights or hbui- Vesses to s5it in the Comomons House of Parliamnent2 such a breach of privilege was commnitted almost daily, without either notice or in. quiry by those whose rights it so gre~atly affected. The third point was., that Old Saturn, Castile Rising and New-town, in the Isle oh Wight, wblich did not contain more d15n five or six el'ectois, sent as mnany members to Parliament us the three g"reat districts of the me- tropolisLondon, MWestminster, and Sout1itwark. He would also cau thIesi-rattention to the fact, that the clectors in Cornwal.l, who returned 4-i members to Parliament, tlid not exceed the number of pesosi the city of Nottingham, who only returned two ; and that cinden Westminster, and Middlesex, which con-ained one- tenth of the wltele population of the kingdom, according to the population returns of 18-21, and which containted one-seventh of the whole property of the kinqdomi, according to the returns under the property tax, did not return more than ten members, wh-Ist the rest of the country returned the comnparatively dispropor- tionate number of 648. He contended that undler this sSystem the mercantile part of the coimmanity was necLssarily thrown into a sitate of subserv-iency to the 31inisters of the Crowni; for those who formned it were ot'ten compelled to negotiate vrith the Treasury as suitors for that which they would have dlemanded as a right had they, been more adequately represented. 'Ie said that thisstrateofrthings wasI a great grievance, and Ought to be imnmediately investigated. For the last 10 years, the people had been potting op their prayers for this inqtuiry, and had been led away frons it, first on account of one pretext, and then on account of another. At one titne inquiry was refused becau~e we were in a state of internal discord and it another, because we were engaged in a difficult anti expensiye war. We were now, if thec protestations of ministers were to be credited, in a state of great prosperity at home, and of Ro less estimation abroad; and if we were not eaiitled to institute inquiry now, when, in the namne of Fortune, should we be soentitled ? H eneed inot, hewas sure, say aword to convince them of' the necesisity of reform : if thiey wanted e'sy authority toconfinn their own opinions upon that suibject. he would merely remind them that MNr. Pitt, before he was moinister, had said, that " if there had alwayrs been a House of Commons to act the part of a fathful steward toathe nation, of adiligent elteck upon the admiinistration of the finances, of a constitutional adviser of the executive branch of the Government, and of a steady and con-. tinued friend to the people, the burdens of the cotlntry would tiever *have risen to their presentenormous and uiiprecedented extent." Tite honourablc member then mioved a series of resolutions, tor whiich see the advertisement. Mr. Deputy Uot:Ttr secondled the resolutions. Mlr. Alderman Bit owsr, couild not cofisent that a petition foundied upon the resolutions whiichi had been jutst read to thiem, should go to Parliamnent as the ptiton of the city of London. lie contended that the citizens of Lndon had no reason to complain of the mnanner in which they were representedI in Parliament, or of thie way in whiich their representatives were elected. If the citizensi of ILondon were such streniuous advocates for reform as they had been stated to be, how did it bappen that they hiad sent so few reforniers to Parlia- ment ? If he were told that it was owing to the corrupt influience which was employed amongst them (which, by the by, he did not believe), he would ask, how could that influence be checked by re- form ? And if so numierous a body of electors as voted for London could become the victimns of corruption, hiow would they prevent less nUMerous and less independent bodies from falling und.er the same control? lHe did not deny that there were some imperfectionis in the ouseof ommos: he knew that the mnanner ini which busi- ness was transacted in comnmititees was not exactly as it oughit to be ; hut the question he asked hiinself was thiis-is the evil complainedl of so great as to induce ime to run the risk of meeting with a greater, in attem clong to remove it ? For hiis own part, he thottglht that the people alXaready sufficient'influence upon the House of Commions, and he was sure that whenever they- deemned it right to exert their voice in it, that voice would be found irresistible. He could quote a recent insltance, in whichi all the power ofti te Crown had bee~n emnplo ed in vain against the popular Will, with a view of carrying thnrough Parliament a bill contrary to the law as it was tilet establisihed. Besides, the people had in their own htands the nieans of reforming the House of Cosmnons, if they would only begini by first reforming theymselves. Let themn try that scheme ; and then, if thy were unsuccessful, let them come to thie Corporation of Lon- don 7or assistance. But, utitil cite people had made that trial, lie thought that the Corporattun of London. would do bette-r in attendling toir is own corporate concerns, than in listening to any abstract doe. trines ur'n popular privileges. Mr. JJtME3 expressed himself hostile to the iiiotion. Mir Jr-pe supported the original resolutions. Mr. PEw-rPT3s followed on the same sitle. If it were improper th-tI" he c Uoa of Cousmons should exercise influence aver thie ia of Lords, it must be equally improper that the House of eod hould exercise mOotnc oe the House of Commsons. rS. Dixo A lie ved-(5 to-tsmto watbogh orado in'' ilyfo o-w sact uI1tha t motion *was brought forward no- rinaly for one purpos,e, a,7dPalPably for another. The realnotean- ing of the resolutions then presented to them was to obtain an in- crease in the number of membets for the citv; and he now had a member of that Court in his eye (.Elr. Favell), who trusted that if such an increase vere carried, he should exchange his seat in that Court for a seat In the Ileuse of Commons. a e objected to the motion. Mr. PATTYE contended that if vre had had a reformeal Parlia- ment, we should never bave been engaged in a war for 20 years which had filled our poor houses with paupers and our prisons wiih the victims of state persccuLuon. Ie argued that if reform were granted, we shonld soon be known again as a geople who were con. tented at home, and feared and respected for their energies abroad. Alr. WVELCH said. thatlast, thougli not ilest, he came forward as nn advocate for Parliamentary reform. He stood there as a man, as a Brituli, as an Englishman, as a citizen of London, as a signer of the requisition. (Immense laughter.) He said with Lord Chat. hamn, if the House of Commons did not reform itself from within, the people would soon retbrmn it with a vengeance from without. (Hear.) People miglI talk as they likedab9ut the elective franchise-; but he would only tell themii what he knew. He would give thetn a little insight into the manner in which influence and corruption work- ed. He knew a man, a respectable tradesman, who was canvassed at the last election by .Me. Waithman's committee. He sabi, ;" I cannot vote for illr. Waithman; because, if I dit, it wouldb ruii my business; but I wish him well, and here's a l1. niote to pay his expense" If that genitleman had not been acted upon by infliu-nce, Mr. Waithman would have had a good vote, and a 61. note into the bargain. (Loud laughter.) There were mjny other persons in' a similar eituation with his friend; if they htd voted for elr. Waithman, as they wished to do, Milr. Wilhma3a would this day have been one of their repreaentatiiem (Cries of " Order" from all quarters of the Court.) " If I am out of order," continued Nr. Welch, " my Lord Mayor will say so; but as to you, my friends, who call out order, you may call on as loag as voti like, and I shall not mind, you. (Great uproar.) I say, Sir wi liam Curtis, who is now one of our reoresentatives is a sharne to the city. (Order, order.) I am a Briton, and I will speak mny sentiments. I aai a Briton, but I shall never be a man again (a loud laugh), becaus' I have got such a cold, and because a s%ivering fit has come upon iue. (Im- mense cries of ' Question, order,' &c.; also great laughter.) I witsa any man who calls out iorder,' would have the goodness to show me hisface hen iedoesit. (Order, order.) \Vell, we have heard agreat deal about the machine working w ell. It mag be so, or it may be- not: but if Parliament is a machine, we ought to recollect that old machines will get out of sorts, if they are no, repaired in time." (A laugh) Mr. FAVELIr shortly replied. The resolutions were then put, and carried by a large majority, as was also a petition to the House of Commons founded upon them. Mr. Matthew Topham Gibson was appointed a governor of St. Blartholornew's-hospital, in the room of AMr. Dibbin, deceased. A petition was presented from sundry holders of bonds tinder the City seal, in relation to the proposed reduction of interest thereon which ber-n read, was referred to the Finance C@rmmittee to congiaer. The conmmittee appoinMtel in relation to the London Workhouse delivered in a report on having settletl the claims upon that establish- ment, and. on having made temporary arrangements for its present inmates, withlout calling further upoin thie several parishes. Tlhey added, that in consequence of a plan having been submitted to them by Charles M' illiam [lick, Esq., for putting the samze upon a per- manent !ooting utpon an extensive scale they submittud it to the Court for further consideration It was'then ead, and referred back to-tie Committee to take such steps thlerein as they might see fit. During the discussion upon this report, the LORD MAYOR took an opportunity of euloeizing Mlr. Hick's endeavours to create an s eititution for. herhoueesr juvenilepoor. He said that he had him- self recelved $0i. from lAl r. Rothschild for this purpose, which he had felt himself obliged to return, from not knowing how to apply it and he added, that he knew several individuals who were also inclined to suhscribe argely, as soon as any rociety of genmlemen should be readv:o oundertake the management of such an institu- lIton. From his experience asa magistrate, he was convinced that such an institution wovuld be most emineatly useful to the city of London. li'r. OLDn A .smentioned, that .lr. Prince [boare had declared his iniention to give to this institution, a post-obit bond for 4,00101., a'id also the copyriaht of a life of (}ranvilleSharp, on which he was tiow engaged. He trastel that the liberality of this gentleman would be imi ated by others, and that his honourable friend Mlr. Itick would live to seethe compleieon of the benevolent work of which lie had sutggested the commencement. The Court, at its last meeting, having resolved to petition the Ilouse of Commons agairist the South l,ondon Docks, agreed to the (draught of a petiton , hich brad been preparcd in consequence, and ttie Sheriffs, attendeLd by sth Remembrancer, were directed to pre- sent the samaeaccordingiy. The Court then broke up. COURT OF coMMoN COUNCIL.