CORPORATION OF TAMWORTH. (Hansard, 7 July 1835)

§ Sir Robert Peel

said, he had been desired by the Corporation of Tamworth, the borough which he had the honour to represent, and holding as he did the situation of High-Steward in that Corporation, to present a Petition to the House, praying that the provisions of the Bill which the noble Lord (Lord John Russell) had brought in might not be extended to that Corporation. If it had been charged with any abuse, or if there had been a general desire expressed on behalf of the inhabitants to have a change made in the constitution of that Corporation, he should have felt some hesitation in presenting the petition, but the most honourable testimony having been borne by the Commissioners who conducted the examination into the affairs of that Corporation, with respect to the conduct of the Corporate body, he hoped that the noble Lord would not object to except the town of Tamworth from the provisions of the Bill. The Corporation of the town was not so considerable as to justify the application of the Bill to it; and there were other towns which also sent Representatives to Parliament, having Corporations, to which the Bill did not apply. He begged leave to call the attention of the House to a short extract from the Report of the Commissioners with respect to the Corporation of Tamworth, and then he would appeal with confidence to any man whether it was possible to have received 286 more honourable testimony as to their complete integrity of character and conduct. The right hon. Baronet read the following extract:—"From the description which has been given to the constitution of the borough, it is obvious that the governing body is wholly self-elected. It does not appear, however, that the power thus vested in the body has been in any respect abused. The vacancies which have occurred from time to time have been filled up from among the most respectable inhabitants, without reference to party or to political opinions. Neither does it appear that the Corporation, either as regards the appointment of members of the body Corporate, or the exercise of the elective franchise, have been subject, to the operation of any undue local influence. It appears that the Magisterial duties have been discharged with intelligence and integrity. The circumstance of the Town-Clerk, a gentleman of intelligence and professional experience, instead of being merely the legal adviser of the Magistrates, being himself a Magistrate, and thereby sharing the responsibility of the Magisterial acts, appears to have been attended with beneficial effects. The Corporation afforded every facility to this investigation; they gave notice to the inhabitants of the holding of the inquiry, but no complaints were preferred, or matters suggested for investigation. The absence of all complaint, together with the evidence laid before me, leads me to conclude that the objects of Municipal Government have been satisfactorily attained in this borough; that the governing body have been judiciously selected, justice well administered, and the revenues carefully applied to public purposes." He submitted that if every other Corporation had received the same well-merited eulogium, there would have been no need for the introduction of the noble Lord's Bill. This was a matter in which he had no personal interest whatever, but he could not help stating that he did not believe either the cause of good government, or the satisfaction of the inhabitants generally, would be promoted by any change such as the present Bill would introduce in that Corporation, if, unfortunately, it should be applied to it. Had the Corporation been possessed of large revenues, there might have been a reason for change, which would countervail any disinclination on the part of the inhabitants, but he really did not see, as the matter was, that any public 287 object would be answered by it. The Corporation was free from all imaginary imputation. Party feeling undoubtedly had run high, and there had been several severe contests, but they never had allowed themselves to be influenced by electioneering or party considerations. He was afraid the House was now about to introduce a new element into the constitution of the governing body, which was not likely to work so satisfactorily as the noble Lord seemed to anticipate, With respect to the festivities of this Corporation, he might also state, although it had revenues and was not less hospitable than others, yet the members themselves had always paid their own expenses, without at all interfering with the borough funds. Under these circumstances, he did hope that the noble Lord would exclude Tamworth from the operation of the Bill. At the same time, if its provisions were to be extended to towns similarly situated, it was not probable that his Motion for a particular exception in favour of the borough of Tamworth would be attended with success.