Huddersfield Chronicle (04/May/1850) - page 7

The following is an uncorrected OCR conversion of a newspaper page and will contain numerous errors. The text is in the Public Domain.
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- TOCAL CHRONICLE.
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HUDDERSFIELD, MAY 4, 1850.
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-f-
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lighting; 7
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ovement of the town, and whose rates for £hose
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would be considerably lessened were the net pro-
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nar from the supply of gas applied in aid of those
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en present the case in Manchester (and in other
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ne shall shortly allude to), renders any apology froma
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ngesary for again recurring to its discussion. We
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Q the question as one of the greatest nitesent to
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on nerally ; one that involves important conse-
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bic £0 jution. It is in fact a question as to whe-
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= jn zs solu ' 6
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"ate body of speculators, without legal standing-
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' ' authority to break up and occupy our streets
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vehe power to move a paving stone, or ge down to
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ut jipes When once laid: we say it is a questidn
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their Pijederation of private individuals are still to
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-juted to have the use and occupancy of our streets,
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- grose profits which ought to go,-on every
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Je of justice and sound policy,-in aid of the
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) a fam the péslic for public improvements: or
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i" the present favourable opportunity shall not be
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advantage of to secure for the public, ina just and
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ple manner, 3 good source of public income, which
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nder the visits of the local tax-collector less frequent,
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e demands on the pockets 'of the ratepayers less
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These are the real points at issue in the present
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ent concerning the supply of gas: and as to the
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rin which the question ought to be decided there is
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a venture to say, two opinions, as far as the public
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cerned, excepting the shareholders in the exieting
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vand s pertion of their immediate friends.
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parties may,-and naturally,-hesitate, and linger,
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sore, at the idea even of having to give up what has
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a PROFITABLE MONOPOLY to them-a monopoly,
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'er, to which they have no legal right, nor even moral
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ant longer than the public choose to permit them to
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it. Thus it has ever been whenever a proposal to
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the gains of a monopvlising company or class has
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ade: but the just principle that "public good must
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sacrificed to private gain," has always operated to
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tting aside of monopoly, whenever the twe have come
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pen conflict. And so it will be again.
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+ week we showed how beneficially the printipie of
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ilic supplying its own gas had worked in the borough
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Lnchester ; how from the year 1817 to 1843 the sum
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70,400, (NET PROFITS from the supply ef gas) had
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xpended in the improvement of the streets, squares,
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and Janes of the town, and rates to that amount
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in the pockets of the rate-payers ; and how at the
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nt time, with gas supplied to the private consumer at
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varying from 4s. to 5s. per thousand cubic feet, the
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PROFITS smount to nearly £40,000 per annum,
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Liic as above indicated. Had "a company" existed
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nchester during all this period, to whom the supply
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had been quiescently conceded, as ia Huddersfield,
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esaid company as ¢uiescently permitted to break
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and occupy the publie streets, the publie of Man-
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b would have had to pay far more as gas-tax than
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eve hitherto paid: for Manchester has almost taken
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din reducing the price of gas to the consumer, and
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ying that at alow price consistent with the cost of
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ion, the increased consumption will result in a far
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b axcregate of profits: and not only would the gas
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es in the case we have supposed have had to pay
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pr price for the article supplied, but they would have
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tes to pay also fer the improvement of the town to
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pout of the net profits realised from the supply of
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At the end of 1842 those net profits were in the
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Faic, as we have before seen, £370,000. Taking the
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from 1843 to 1847 at £20,000 per annum, and
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§4$ to the present time at £30,000 per annum,-
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'¢ know we are under the mark,-the aggresate
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nt of profits expended in public improvement will be
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00, or more than half a million of money! This
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nse sum, on the system we have amongst us at Hud-
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ld, would have gone inte the pockets of a score or
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ivate individuals, and the rate-payers of Manchester
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have had to pay the amount in rates! Surely public
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tates a far different course for us in Huddersfield,
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ion to gas supply, to that allowed to obtain in the
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mpan
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Manchester is not the only example of the
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ul working of the principle of the publie sup
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gas that can be adduced. There is its next door
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as it were, the Borough of Salford, were the
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elong te the Town Council. This is a case pre-
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npwint with that of ourown town. The works were
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hy erected im the year 1819, by 2 number of private
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s. who hag permission given to lay their pipes through
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hiesireets. In 183] tae works were purchased by the
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Commissioners of Salford; and since that peried
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cen transferred with the powers and authorities of
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lice Commissioners, to the Town Council of that
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gh. From 1831 to 1835 the amount of fixed capital
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works was £6,000 ; in 1846 it was £36,518 ; and of
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¢ sum, when compared with the original amount
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only £16,000 was mortgage debt-the rest
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bec paid out of the NET PROFITS. From 1831 to
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hose net profits amounted to £34,841; and which,
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1 the extension of tke works themselves as abore
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pi out, were expended, te usé the words of the
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lessening the rates." It ought also to be stated
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39 a loss of £1,016 was sustained by an accident
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yas-holder ; and that the sum above given is what
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od after the said loss had been made good. Here
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pe consumer has been well-off in regard to price, from
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syolied by a public body. From 1842 to 1837 gas
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by the Saltord authorities at rates ranging from
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. per thousand cubic feet ; and the net profits during
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4 average] £3,567 per annum. Since 1847 the
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cen reduced to rates varying from 4s, to 5s. per
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nnd cubic feet; and the NET PROFITS xow average
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ran £6,000 per annum.
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seven] example we adduce bears out our argament
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s-works belonging to a town, quite as fully
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cxutapic of Manchester, taking into account the
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2 size and wealth of the two beroughs. In both
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te ptiiciple has been signally successful ; and it
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Ro less so in Huddersfield, when once applied, and
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the Improvement Commissioners follow the example se
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"them in the towns we hare named, as it respects
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anecement of their works,
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= examples of the successful working of the prin-
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an aso be adduced; but we shall on the present
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po content ourselves with one more,-that of Roch-
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 : 2 1824, 2 company fur supplying the town of Roch-
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s incorporated by Act of parliament ; and
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orks wer purchased by the Rochdale Im-
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 : nt Commissioners for the sum of £26,500. This
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" tnore than the works were worth-lecausé the
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 : W had a legal standing in the town ; had a right to
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the Streets where and when they liked, to lay down
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 : "S, and occupy the ground. They had a moropoly
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ty them by Act of parliament ; and therefore hed
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wee of There were here "vested interests"
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g + to Le purchased, In Ew ldersfield there are
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the
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Sees Go eye OO EE
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'had the
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ing. Since the works were purchased, £7,000 more hae
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'been 'expended in their extensixh. The debt upon them.
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THE HUDDERSFIELD CHRONICLE, SATURD
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none of these; and therefore chat
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the present gas
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ing up and
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profits from
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having had
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expense Will be saved :
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ctmptny having tnd 'the benettt of break-
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cocupymg our strects, and of putting the net
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the gas supply into their own pockets, withett
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to incur the expense of an Act of parliament.
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company been obliged in 1819, when their works
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Were erected, to procure an Act authorising such erection,
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the outlay for such Act with interest up to the present time
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would have amounted to a very cbnsidétable sum. As the
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company had not such expense to incur, and as 'they are
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not in possession of those " vested interests" which would
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now have been worth to them 'thrice the sum they would
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have had to expend to obtain, it follows as a matter
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of course there are none to pay for. In Rochdale,
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however, it was different. There the company had "vested
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rights ;" and there the tewn had to payfor them before the
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power to supply the town 'with gas was transferred to the
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Improvement Commissioners. The purchase money for
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the works was, as we before stated, £26,500, including a
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large sum for the "' vested rights " we have been describ-
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including Parliamentary expenses, was in 1849, £29,000,
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From the proceeds of the gas during the year ending
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March 3lst, 1850, have been paid the interest on that debt;
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the cost of production and mandgement ; the necessary
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repairs; a sum of £892 10s. 8d. to a depreciation fund ;
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and there is leit after all as NET PROFITS, a sum of
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from £1,800 to £1,900 to be expended in "impreving the
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town, and lessening the rates." When the debt upon the
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works has been discharged,-and in process of time it will
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be,-the income from this source will be a very tidy one
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for the Improvement Commissioners of Rochdale. In
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Huddersfield it will also be so, if our Improvement Com-
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missioners are as alive as we believe them to be to the
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interests of the inhabitanta,
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This exampie also bears out the argument of the benefits
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to be derived from the supply of gas by a public body of
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authority, and such examples could be easily multiplied.
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Enough for the present, however, has been adduced. The
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particulars of the other examples we are in possession of,
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as well as those concerning which we are seeking for in-
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formation, eball be given at eome future opportunity. The
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fact is that the eminent suddess of the principle at Man-
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chester-the palpable and manifold benefits thus secured
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to the rate-paying inhabitants of that borough-has had the
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effect of inducing most of the authorities of the Lancashire
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large towns to apply the principle-to seck for pewer to
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parchase up the gas works where the supply has been
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beforetime committed by the legislature te private eom-
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panies. The Borough of Ashton-under-Lyne had a bill
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before parliament last year to effect this object ; and we
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believe that Stockport kat obtained asimilar power. How
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the new arrangements may have worked in the two towns
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just named, we have not at present the means of informa-
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tion ; but when this is obtained it shall be given. Meantime
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we may state that in Ashton, on a fixed capital, ranging
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from £39,000 to £42,000, during the years from 1843 to
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1847 a dividend of £13 4s. per cent. per annum was paid !
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and that at Stockport, on a fixed capital of £34,000, with
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gas at a price varying from 7s. to 5s. 3d. per thousand
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cubic feet,-in 1845 a dividend of £8 10s. was paid.
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The public will be glad to learn that in Yorkshire
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there are also some most successful examples of the work-
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ing of the same principle-gas supplied by public authori-
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ties: one within a very short distance of our own town.
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The particulars of these examples we shall however pass
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over for the present.
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We haye been casting abeut to see, if possible, what
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kind of objections can be urged against Mr. COMMISSIOKER 4
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MOORE'S proposal either to erect gas-torks for the town,
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or to purchase the existing works at a fair and fall valuation. ;
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We confess we cannot see any that ought to be listened to
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fora moment. We cannot see one at all, unless it be that
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as the present company have now for nearly thirty years
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had posession of the ground, and put the entire of the
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profits of gaze consumption into their own pockets, without
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giving the public any equivalent share of them, they
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should still be permitted so to occupy it; and that
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therefore the power conferred by the legislature on the
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Improvement Commissioners to provide or purchase gas-
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works for the town ought to be nugatory and of no
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avail. We take on ourselves te assert that any man who
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should venture en such a line of argument as this, would
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be the last to act on it, if the position of the public ia
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velatien to the gas question were his own. Jpreackment and
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practice would under such circumstances be wholly difterent:
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and for ourselves we cannet conceive of one commercial law
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justly applicable to man in his individual eapacity that is
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not also properly applicable in the social or aggregate
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capacity. The feeling that the public purse is a sort of
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sack into which every individual who can manage it, is
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justified in getting his hand and "having a pull," is a dis-
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honest and a dishonourable feeling ; and the sooner that
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such views, whether manifested in relation to the gas or to
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any other public question, give place to a more just appre-
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ciation of muem and tuum as far as the public are con-
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cerned, the better for all parties concerned. Public income
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is as sacred as private income; and ought to L@ as sacredly
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guarded,-nay more so,-by the guardians the public
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have placed over it.
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It may be urged, that the gas-company came forward at
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a time when no one else offered to supply a great public
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want; and that the public have had the benefit of such
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supply during all the period the gas company has been in
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existence. In answer we urge, that admitting for the mo-
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ment this statement of the case to be true, the proprietors
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ef the gas company have been well paid for their public
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spirit. It is well known that the profits of the concern
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have been uzknown to the general publie ; and that the
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gas proprietors have not cared to make them knéwn. It
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is stated that in addition to heavy dividends, heavy
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bonuses have been paid; and that for the purpose of
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mystifying the rate of dividend, the actual amount of share
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paid-up has been nominally doubled ; i, e, -a £20 paid-up
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share has been nominally raised to £40 ; and that therefore
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a 73 per cent. dividend on the nominal share,-which is all
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the gas proprietors say they receive,-is 15 per cent. on the
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actual share, We know not that this is actually so, but the
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statement has been publicly made and never contradicted
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that we know of. Ifit be true,when any one talks of the
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" pub-lic spirit" of the gas company, we ean point to the 15
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per cent., and theheavy bonuses--and say wecould get plenty
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of " public spirit" at the same price / On that ground we are
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sure every impartial person called in to adjudicate on any
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¢laim for continuance on the ground above supposed, would
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decide that in this particular at least the gas company and
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the public are quits. The latter has had the benefit of the
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gas supply-and the former has had the monopoly and the
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profit. . .
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We deny, horever, that the gas company came forward
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to supply a great public want, at a time when nobody else
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would have done so, At the time the Huddersfield gts
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works were erected, the town was supplied (in a manner)
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with water forced. through wooden pipes from Engine
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Bridge : and though these works belonged to a Bart. pro-
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prietor, who did not evince the most ardent desire to
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benefit the town at the expense of his own fiocket, and
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whose consent to add to the value of his own property had
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to be purchased, yet these difficulties did not hinder a read
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public spirited effort from being made to supply a :eal
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public want-better water and plenty of it. The diffieu ties
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were fairly grappled with, and the object accomplisl ed. '
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Bvt the manner of its accomplishment-the principle
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which the real pubkowplrited promoters of the water
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'works Act embodied in thelr measure, will remain as an ,
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waduring monument to their patrietiam and disintereated-
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ness, and in striking eentrast to the ' public spirit" of the
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originators.and proprieters of the gas-works, It was no long.
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ing after or expectation ef receiving large dividends
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and heavy bonuses that urged en the promoters of the
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Huddersficld water works Act; for they took care, in the
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framing of the measure, that neither themscives nor any
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one else should receive enormous pay for patriotism :
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but they secured, after common interest had been paid on
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the capital borrowed for the erection of the works, that
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tht efitire benefit should go to the public ; and that when
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the capital debts were paid off, the entire works should
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belong to the public, and not to a private body of in-
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dividuals, It is no small matter of pride for Huddersfield
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that in the reports of the Health of Towns Commissioners,
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théir town stands alone as having, twenty-three years ago,
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introduced and acted on thé cotrect principle of water
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supply ; the principle now about to be enforced in the
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metropolis, and afterwards throughout the country: and
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we say that the men of Huddersfield who acted so public-
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spiritedly in 1827, when their neighbours were acting on
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the tadividual system, ought to be held in great honour.
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The example they then set is now about to be generally
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enforced as the wisest and the best fer public advantage
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that experience has made manifest.
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The reader will please bear in mind that in these en-
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comiums on the water works Act, we confine ourselves
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strictly to the principle on which the water supply was
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undertaken. We say nothing zow as to the constitution
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of the governing power, except that it is one of whith no
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friend to representation can apprere; but for which we
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believe the promoters of the eriginal act are not so much
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to blame as the parliament itself At that time, 1827, it
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was a fixed principle with parliament to make local
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bodies, under local acts, self-elective. The represen-
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tatives of Gatton, Old Sarum, and the other memo-
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rables of "schedule A," could not brook the idea,
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much less establish in practice, popular elections
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and responsible representation. But there is no valid
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reason, nor even excuse, why the constitution of the go-
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verning body of the water works was not amended in 1842,
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when the water works amendment Act was obtained.
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A setting aside at that time of the hateful self-destroying
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principle of office for fife and of self-election, and the pro-
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vision for a regular infusion of new and young blood into
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the water works management, would have made the Hud-
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dersfield water works arrangements the first in the
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country in every respect. This was not done, however;
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and a great blot and objection remains to be got rid of at
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some opportunity or other.
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We hold then that had not the present private gas-com-
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pany come into the field, the public want would have been
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supplied ; and judging from the example set in the esta-
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blishment of the water works, supplied on the correct
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principle : a principle which has now to be applied, and
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which had it been applied then, would have secured to the
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town all the net profits pocketed by the " public spirited"
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gas proprietors. However, as the old adage has it-" bet-
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ter late than never."
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Since writing the above Wé have learned that in conse-
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quence of the absence from town of JOSEPH Brook, Esq.,
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the Chairman of the Improvement Commissioners, and
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from other causes, Mr. Moore's motion respecting the gas
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works would notcome on on Friday (yesterday) evening; but
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that a special mesting for the special consideration of the
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question wil probably be held duringthis month. This delay
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will do no harm-for it will enable thé public to discuss the
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matter in the meantime, and get to the "rights and the
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wrongs" of it. In all probability we shall have something
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more to say on the question.
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The following was the notice of Mr. MOORE'S motion en-
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tered on the circulars calling the Commissioners together
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last night :-
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To consider the propriety of entering into negotiations with
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the Huddersfield Gas Company for the purchase of the Hudders-
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fleld Gas Works &c., gaspipes, gasometers, and other works and
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apparatus connected therewith; or the erecting other Gas Works
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&c., by the Commissioners, or of taking such other steps with
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reference thereto as may be thought proper and advisable.
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No doubt the notice will be repeated.
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ru
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' WHO Is TO BE POET-LAUREATE?-The Atheneum and
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Times are opposed to the continuance of this office, the
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duties of which, the former remarks, belong to the time of
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court jesters. . It has been thought, hewever, that the office
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will be conferred on Alfred Tennysen, but this is also ob-
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jected to, on the ground that he has already been rewardid
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by a pension of £300 a year, and the accumulation in ore
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person of the few pecuniary provisions which the country
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sets apart for her literary men would be a great wrong to
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Mr. Tennyson's brethren, not justified by the pre-eminence
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of his desert. Thus the matter stands for the present, but
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no other name has been suggested for the vacant post,
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which will certainly now be filled up.
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REPORTED SAFETY OF Sin JOHN FRANKLIN. - The
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number of rumours in reference to Sir John Franklin and
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his gallant companions is so great, and the improbability
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so glaring, that very few persons now take the trouble to
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investigate the chances of their correctness. The last
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"latest intelligence" on this head, comes in the shape cf
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a letter from Hong Kong, asserting that Sir John and his
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party had not only snéceeded in effecting the north-west
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passage, but had actually reached the Sandwich Islands in
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safety. The author of this is a master's assistant on
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board of her majesty's ship Hastings, who writes under
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cover to his fathcr at Devenport, stating that the news was
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received at Hong Kong on the 27th of February by means
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of an American whaler. On the same authority, we learn
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that Sir John Franklin directly on arriving at the Sand-
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wich Islands dispatched the first lieutenant over the
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Isthmus of Panama en route for England. We have reason
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to believe the above report destitute of trutiy, and cannot
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but regret that such rumours should be weekly circulated,
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to the great grief, as they must be, of the friends of the
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missing voyagers.
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' PEDESTRIANISM EXTRAORDINARY. - A marine named
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Thomson :last week performed the extraordinary feat of
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walking from the Marine barracks, Chatham, to London-
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bridge and back in 12 hours and a quarter. He was habit-
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ed in heavy marching order-that is, with great coat,
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knapsack, musket, bayonct, belts, cartouélic-box, and 60
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rounds of ball cartridge. He accomplished the first 12
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mniles in less than two hours.
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- A Desperate Lover. - A novel and somewhat ro-
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mantic scene occurred at the York railway station on
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Thursday morning. A detachment of the 8lst Regiment of
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Foot has been stationed for some time at Scarborough, and
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orders having been received from the War-office for their
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removal to Berwick, the light company left Scarborough
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by an early train yesterday week, and arrived at York be-
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tween 10 and 11 o'clock. A young girl, 17 years of age,
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whose heart had been stolen by the charms of one of the
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soldiers, Was a passenger in the. trin,.she having taken
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her fare at Scarborough with the determination of foillow-
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ing the devoted object of her affections wherescever he
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should go. By some means or other the designs of our he-
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roine became known, and she was consequently introduced
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to a police-officer, who informed her that she could not pro-
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ceed any further, but must forthwith return, to Scarborough
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to her triends.. The uawelcome intelligence threw the poor
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deluded girl into a paroxysm of grief, and she screamed ar.d
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sbrieked most loudly. Kecovering a little from the excite-
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ment of the moment, the infatuated girl declared in an em-
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phatic manner her determination to accompany her lover
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to Berwick, and used all her energies to effect that object.
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Seeing that the girl was desperate, " physical force" was
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brought into requisition,. and she was placed. in another
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train, which was: tiicn about to proceed to Scarborough.
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She screamed and shrieked louder than before, exclaimir ¢
444:
that as soon as, the carriages attained their full speed sl-c
445:
would jump dut-of the window, and thus destroy hergel%
446:
It was therefore deemed expedient for the girl that some
447:
one should take charge of-her, and one of the railyay por-
448:
tors went in the same.earriage-with her., On the road the
449:
porter's tasit was rather unpleasant, and he had often for-
450:
cibly to hold his charge upon her seat. - Doneaster Gazette.
451:
AY, MAY 4, 1850.
452:
Her Majesty has
453:
. wpen which the conviction took was alto-
454:
gether tzatisfactory and noormlhe Oboe
455:
New County Maatstrates. - Robertson Gladstone,
456:
y of 1, qualified as o magistrate for the county,
457:
seasons held at Kitkoler ee Wa eta eer
458:
eld on y, Zachariah Sillar
459:
Esq., of Rainférd Hail, and Davia 'bramilow, Esq., of
460:
Haresfinch Howse, near St. Helens, teok 'the usual onths
461:
and qualified as magistrates for the county. - Manchester
462:
Guardian.
463:
WESLEYAN Proceepincs at YORK. - The Rev, Alex-
464:
ander Bell, Superintendent of the York Circuit, has sig-
465:
nified to Mtsars. Taylor, Coultas, and Hustwood, the deci-
466:
sions of the court respecting the recent conduct of those
467:
gentlemen in going up to London as delegates to the
468:
form Conference. e delegates are deprived of their
469:
offices as leaders and local preachers, but are permitted to
470:
remain as members. .
471:
CORRESPONDENCE.
472:
All letters intended for insertion ia the CHRONICLE must
473:
contain the real name of the writer, not with the view to
474:
publication, but as an assurance that the statements ad-
475:
vanced are correct.
476:
HONLEY TOLL-BAR. Mae EVASION OF
477:
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HUDDERSFIELD CHRONICLE,
478:
Srr,-I beg to call your attention to a report of a case in
479:
your last week's paper, heard before the Huddersfield
480:
istrates, headed " Evasion of Toll."
481:
his was an information laid by the toll-bar keeper at
482:
Hontley bar, by the directions of the toll contractors, against
483:
Benjamin Hallas, a servant of Mr. John Robinson, of
484:
Smithy Place, Honiley, dyer, fer driving one of his master's
485:
carts along a private read, commenemg at Steps Mill and
486:
running through property held by Messrs. Vickerman and
487:
Beaumont, under the Earl ef Dartmouth, with intent to
488:
evade the toll at Honley bar. In your report you state
489:
"the magistrates very properly dismissed the case.
490:
From what we could glean from several parties in the
491:
hall, a pete pique appeared to have been the real bone
492:
of discerd.
493:
I eouducted the case on behalf of the toll contractor,
494:
and I beg to state that the matter did not originate in any
495:
private yique, but that it was my intention merely to
496:
obtain a conviction for what the contractors then thought,
497:
and what they still think, was an unwarrantable evasien of
498:
toll. As to your remark about the magistrates very pro-
499:
perly dismissing the case, that needs no comment,
500:
I am, Sir, your very obedient servant.
501:
J. B,. HELLA WELL.
502:
Huddersfield, May 2nd, 1850.
503:
Se oy
504:
THE DEFENDER OF NEWTOWN FILTH.
505:
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HUDDERSFIELD CHRONICLE.
506:
Si1z,-So it appears that my letter in your journal of the
507:
20th ult., intended to stir up cither the Improvement Com-
508:
missioners or the trustees of Sir J. W. Rameden, or both
509:
of these parties, te eome and lock at our forlorn and filthy
510:
state, and to take steps to amend our sanitary condition,
511:
has had the effect of stirring up one ef my neighbours, who
512:
has come out in the character of a defender of filth !
513:
Sir, there is no aceounting for taste, as Dolly said when
514:
she kissed the cow. It is a common notion that swine like
515:
to wallow in mire. Den't you think there are two-legged
516:
swine, whose brought-ing-ap-ment has created in them a
517:
similer foereamty g
518:
Enoch Sykes, whose ire at the idea ef our surrounding
519:
filth being disturbed and got rid of, has induced him to call
520:
my former communication in question, designates the
521:
statements in that ¢ommunication as " exaggerated 3" and
522:
how does he establish his charge? By proving my case!
523:
By showing that our drainage is defective,-and that in
524:
Jront of our " front-row," the privies, pig-cotes, dung-
525:
heaps, and other filth are placed !
526:
But then Enoch has a powerful reason why these agglo-
527:
morations of filth in such a situation are not ' deleterious,"
528:
-yes, that his word. First, "there is a capacious high-
529:
way" between the row and the filth; and next, the space on
530:
which the filth abounds contains several thousand square
531:
yards! That is, there are several thousand square
532:
yards covered with filth ; and therefore it is not " delete
533:
rious !"
534:
Enoch trusts that I " have written witheut having given
535:
the sybject a mature consideration." I am sure that he
536:
has done so, or he would not talk of ' highways" in
537:
connection with the present Newtown. There is not such
538:
a thing in the whole place. It has long been a crying
539:
grievance that rates have been collected at Newtown for
540:
the repair of highways, and not one single stiver laid out
541:
on the roads at Newtown. And the road that Enoch
542:
Sykes s of is unpaved, almost unformed,-in wet sea-
543:
sons ankle deep in shush and filth. And this Enoch calls a
544:
"capacious hichway." ;
545:
Then for the "large area of open ground" covered with
546:
filth. On that area there are privies without doors, in
547:
the most abominable state of nastiness that can be con-
548:
ceived. There are pig-cotes in the most filthy condition-
549:
the liquid refuse running on the surface, and also the drain-
550:
age from Enoch's filthy "high-way," forming regular cess-
551:
pools of abomination, constantly giving off " delete-
552:
rious" emanations. There is also a filthy pond of water :
553:
there were two, but one has very lately been filled up: and
554:
altogether it is a mass of irregularity and "delcterious-
555:
ness" not to be matched within the sound of the parish
556:
church bells. .
557:
But Enoch says, that the " deleterious influence of the filth
558:
and nastiness" on his fine open area, is "xewtralized by the
559:
surrounding atmosphere." If so, how came the Cholera to
560:
visit the eastern edge of the very identical open space ?
561:
Pray, Enoch Sykes, how was this? There were but threo
562:
spots in the Huddersfield township where the cholera
563:
broke out ;-Johnny Moore Hill, the Lane, and our blessed
564:
Newtown! Two deaths from this fatal pestilence,-one
565:
that always se2ks out the filthy places and revels in them,-
566:
occurred aftera very few hours' attack, within little more than
567:
one hundred yards of Enoch'sown domicile! The " delete-
568:
rious influence" that Enoch admits .to arise from his
569:
"several thousand square yards" of 'filth and nastiness,"
570:
had not been " neutralized" on that occasion !
571:
But Enoch Sykes, while he admits that the main sewers
572:
require enlarging, can "see no necessity for the neighbour-
573:
hood to be turned topsy-turvy." It is a pity that Enoch
574:
has not pointed out where the main sewers are which re-
575:
quire enlarging: for I am sare the entire Newtown will
576:
have to be turned topsy-turvy to findthem! There are no
577:
sewers at Newton-any more than there are: highways!
578:
There are open ditches of "filth and nastiness." 'there is
579:
one at the south end, down which rus all the drainage from
580:
Belgrave Terrace, Highfield, Brunswick Place, Newhouse,
581:
and the Bath Buildings, the contents of their numerous
582:
water closets and all! Yes, this is running on the surface
583:
within a few score yards of Enoch's own residence ; and yet
584:
he talks of " mali sewers" as if-any body at Newtown ever
585:
saw such a thing ; and he is afilicted with a horrible dread
586:
lest my " exaggerated" descriptions should cause this neigh=
587:
bourhood of filth and nastiness to be turned topsy-turvy.
588:
Why, it was but the other day that at the north end of
589:
Newtown, and within twenty yards of numerous dwellings,
590:
all the drainage from Clare Hill, water closets as well,
591:
einptied on to the surface! and it was only when cholera
592:
broke out in the good dwellings at Clare Hill (a part of
593:
Newtown), that a drain was made to take this filth and
594:
nastiness under ground for a short distanee: for it even
595:
now, ata little below the Newtown Mill, has to run on to
596:
the surface for want of main sewers to take it properly
597:
away.
598:
Because I have called public attention to this most dis-
599:
graceful state of things, Enoch Sykes talks of my " pruri-
600:
ence"-and " presumes that my mind dwells in a darker and
601:
deeper cellar than my body ;" and that "T can only look
602:
upon the small privileges of my neighbours with malevo-
603:
lence." Now, sir, I shall be quite content if my " pruri-
604:
ence" have the effect of causing this neighbourhood to be
605:
turned topsy-turvy, and the filth and nastiness to be re-
606:
moved: and I have every contidence that this discussion
607:
will hasten that much-to-be-desired event: for spite of all
608:
the defence of nastiness that Enoch can make, and spite of
609:
all his pleadings for the " privilege" of being filthy, if the
610:
Improvement Commissioners can but be induced to come
611:
and look at u% they will turn us topsy-turvy, and cause the
612:
owners of property to provide something decent in the way
613:
of private accommodation for women. My 'mind" may
614:
be dark ; it may be "of the earth earthy," 'deeper than
615:
my cellar ;" it may be that I am malevolent: on these
616:
héads I will give no opinion: but I will say, that, maugre all
617:
Enoch Sykes's teachings,-house drainage in open ditches,
618:
tilthy cess-pools, sloppy unpaved streets and, courts, dirty
619:
pig-cotes, heaps of dung kept for months together, and
620:
rivies without seats for women to use !-I will say I cannot
621:
look upon thesé thisios as " privileges" to be defended : and
622:
I further say that he mist have an enlightend mind, a pure
623:
taste, and a strong stomach whe does so defend them.
624:
Tam, Sir, Yours truly,
625:
Ce A CELLAR DWELLER:
626:
Newtown, May 1 1860
627:
7
628:
WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. - ANNUAL
629:
MEETING IN EXETER HALL.
630:
The annual meeting of the friends of this society was held
631:
in Exeter Hall, on Monday. The spacious hall and galleri
632:
Were well filled. Dr. Bunting, the Rev. Dr. Newton, and
633:
other ministers who take a in the society's operations,
634:
were received on their coming on the platform with hearty
635:
plaudits, mingled with hisses; and it was ovident-that the
636:
would not be of a i The
637:
mee unanimous character.
638:
Right Hon, Fox Mave, M.P., presided. Phe CHAIRNMAN
639:
tomarked on his attachraent to the Wesleyan Church, for
640:
the interest its members had evinced in the body to which
641:
he belonged-the Free Church of Scotland. He remarked
642:
that although light ruffies had passed over the surface of
643:
their body, yet these trifling breezen had passed away.
644:
(" No, no," and responsive cries ef " Yes, yes.") And tho
645:
great balance-sheet of charity which they showed proved
646:
that the heart was as sound as ever it was. (cheers.)
647:
Frem the report read it appeared that the debt of the
648:
society, which last year was £18,858 16s. ld., had beon
649:
now reduced to £10,841 133. 24. This arose partly from a
650:
#mall reduction in the expenditure, but principally by a
651:
large augmentatien in the income, when compared with
652:
previous years.
653:
The total amount of income, received from all
654:
sources, for 1819, had been..........sscccceecesseneceacs £111,685 13 6
655:
The expenditure for 1849 had been ......... - 0s0. -- , 209,168 10 7
656:
Balance of income over expenditure ........0...... 2517 211
657:
Deduct this amount from the deficiency reported "
658:
last year, VIZ, ......cceccesssecssceasecescensvecssscscascnence 13,358 16 2
659:
And there remained a debt Of..........00..ccccce00e cceaces 10,841 13 2
660:
"the receipts from the foreign auxiliaries and from Ire-
661:
land were rather below those of the former year ; but, hap-
662:
pily, much leas se than might have been anticipated from
663:
the depressing circumstances which are known to exist.
664:
The receipts at the Mission-heuse and from the home dis-
665:
tricts exhibited an inerease. The Juvenile Offerings con-
666:
tributed a fair average amount to the income of the year ;
667:
the donations of several liberal friends, on annuity for life,
668:
and the amount accruing through lapsed annuities, exhibit
669:
a considerable increase ; and the items of legacies and co-
670:
lonial grants had exceeded the average of previous years."
671:
Nr. Heap, M. P., moved the first resolution: "that
672:
the report of which an abstraet has been read, be received
673:
and published ; and that this meeting offers its grateful
674:
acknowledgements to Atwig hty God for his continucd
675:
sanction and blessing vouc to the Wesleyan Missionary
676:
Society, and other similar protestant and evangelical in-
677:
stitutions." The society, he said, was not diminishing ; its
678:
influence was not decreasing, its friends were not with-
679:
drawing. The evidence was that the funds were increasinz.
680:
But more tham that, its operations were everywhere
681:
crowned with success. .
682:
The Rev. Dr. HANNAH having seconded the resolution,
683:
the chairman was about to submit it to the meeting, when
684:
Mr. Grosszan, who was in the body of the hall, said he
685:
had an amendment to propose. (hisses, cheers, and
686:
hubbub, which lasted for some minetes.)
687:
The CWALNMAN said if they would allow him he would
688:
state the course of proceedings, as it would save some time
689:
and prevent a scene which he must say was unseemly.
690:
He must decline to receive any amendmen} on this resolu-
691:
tion. He presumed the gentleman who wished to move
692:
the amendment had eome to the meeting by virtue of the
693:
ticket, which stated that the person holding it pledged
694:
himself to abide by the decision of the ehairman.
695:
Cries of ' Hear him," "the amendment," 'NO, no,"
696:
and great eonfusion. A cry of " Police," was heard ; and
697:
two policemen entered the hall and made their way to the
698:
gentleman who had essayed to move the amendment.
699:
After much clamour,
700:
The CHAIRMAN requested the gentleman who had inter-
701:
rupted to sit down, and if he would not do so it would ba
702:
his painfal duty to order him to be removed.
703:
he resolution was then put. A cry of the "contrary"
704:
was heard, but it was not put by the chairman ; some few
705:
hands were, however, held up, but they formed a very
706:
small minority of the meeting.
707:
Mr. & M. Preto, M.P. moved the next resolution, to the
708:
effect that the circamstances of special encouragement and
709:
promise by which several of the principal missions of the
710:
society in heathen lands are now placed imposed upon the
711:
society the imperative obligation to make every effort
712:
within its power for the purpose of raising those missions ta
713:
a state of greater vigour and efficiency.
714:
The Rev. W. CHALMERS, of the Marylebone Prosby-
715:
terian church, in seconding, stated that four-fifths of the
716:
world were now in heathen darkness; and at the
717:
rate they were going on now it would take twenty thousand
718:
years to evangelise the globe. (hear, hear.)
719:
Mr. Joun Ropinson Kare, of Bury, supported tke
720:
resolution.
721:
The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution in the affirmative
722:
only, and ne opposition was offered to it.
723:
Mr. Cowax, M.P. moved the next resolution, expressive
724:
of gratitude for the increased resources placed at the dis-
725:
posal of the committee by the augmentation of the socicty's
726:
income during the past year; and eherishing the hope that
727:
the samé spirit..6f liberality may continue to manifest
728:
itself, and speedily render the funds more fully commen-
729:
surate with the wants of the great work they are intended
730:
to promote. :
731:
The meeting was then addressed by the Rev. W. Bevan,
732:
of Wolverhampton, the Rev. Peter M'QWEN, of Liverpool,
733:
Mr. J. A. Haminton. M.P.
734:
Mr. G. Sars, of Camborne, in an attempt to address
735:
the meeting, was assailed by a voict-is that Mr. George
736:
Smith who wrote the tract against the expelled ministers ?
737:
(uproar.) .
738:
Mr. Saarh thén proceeded to address the meetin:
739:
amidst gréat uproar, which rendered him inaudible even to
740:
these who were close to him. In the course of his speech
741:
the Rev. Mr. Griffith, one of the expelled ministers, rose
742:
in the body of the hall, and ¢xciainied "you would not
743:
meet us."
744:
The Rev. Dr. Newron added a few words, after which
745:
the resolution was put, and the cellection. was then made.
746:
'the Rev. C. Prest, ¢f Hull, moved 'that the addresses
747:
of the meeting be presented to the ministers who hav:
748:
advocated the cause of the society throughout the year ; t»
749:
the treasurers, secretaries, and committees."-(" No, no.")
750:
-He hoped they would listen:-"of the auxiliary an1
751:
branch societies-(laughter) ; to the Iadies' associations and
752:
committies, for their zealous co-operation; to the juvenile
753:
soticties ; and especially to the collectors of the Christmas
754:
and New Yéar's offerings, and the kind friends who coun-
755:
tenaneed them, for the handséme amount received from
756:
this delightful source of income ; to the missionaries, officers,
757:
and contributors on the foreig' Stations for their practical
758:
interests in the maintenance of the funds of the parent
759:
society, in addition to the support they have afforded to
760:
their own local institutions; and to the members of other
761:
Christian communities who have kindly aided the opera-
762:
tions of this society." .
763:
The Rev. Joun Scott seconded, and this resolution was
764:
carried in the same manner as the former onés.
765:
The Rev. JOUHN Bowers moved the next resolution,
766:
which was a vote of thanks to the committee and to the
767:
general treasurers and general secretaries. The reverend
768:
gentleman, who was much interrupted and hissed at, spoke
769:
at some length, vindicating the conduct of those officers
770:
from the aspersion which, it seemed, some persons wished
771:
to cast upon them, and expressed his deep sense of humility
772:
that Christian men, who were éf the same hovséhold, who
773:
had eaten of the same bread, and drank of the same cup,
774:
should be found to lift up their hands against them, and
775:
that tvo before strangers. The aftirmative and negative
776:
having been put to the meeting, the chairman declared the
777:
affirmative carried.
778:
A vote of thanks having Iccn passed to the chairman,
779:
Dr. BUNTING took the opportunity of saying there was no
780:
doubt of what was the general feeling of that socicty.
781:
The vast majority, he believed, were ashamed that there
782:
should have been found persons so wanting in common
783:
propriety, and before strangers too, to expose their own
784:
want of every thing that evinced proper feeling. But the
785:
feeling of pain which that had occasioned him had besn
786:
greatly removed by the manntr in which those resolutions
787:
which were most calculated to call forth what little diiter-
788:
ence there had been carried. 'the sense of the society,
789:
deny it who could, was in favour of those resolutions.
790:
'here was a small and miserable sprinkle who had the
791:
presumption to lift their hands against them. Therefore
792:
he felt. thankful that the st:angers who had honoured them
793:
with their company that day had had the opportunity af
794:
sc¢ing what was the prevalent feeling of the methodist
795:
connexion. . . .
796:
The CHAIRMAN, in acknowledging the complimént, said
797:
he could not conclude that meeting without expressing, a3
798:
he trusted as a stranger he might be allowed to express, tle
799:
deep sense of sorrow which came over him when Le pex-
800:
ccived that the shades of difference hung over that larze
801:
and influential society. At all times he was happy to hava
802:
the honour of presiding among them; and would to Gud
803:
he had the power of pouring oil upon the waters before they
804:
became troubled. He would say to all parties that ho
805:
trusted they would call to mind the vast use whieh that
806:
society was.to all the world, and the deep responsibility
807:
which would ¥est on the one hand with those who inter-
808:
fered unnecessarily With tatters with which they had
809:
nothing to do-(hear, hear) ; and, on the other hand, with
810:
those who refuséd information on matters upon which iy-
811:
fopmation ought to be given. half bir o'clock
812:
 : The meeti en separated at = wr O ,

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