Recollections of a Busy Life — Chapters XI and XII

JUDICIAL WORK.

I was placed on the Liverpool Borough Bench of Magistrates in 1873; on the Lancashire County Bench in 1882; on the Cheshire County Bench in 1900; and was made a Deputy-Lieutenant for Lancashire in 1902. In 1900 Mr. Aspinall Tobin, on behalf of the Lancashire County Bench, invited me to be nominated as the deputy-chairman of Quarter Sessions.

Lord Derby had retired from the chair, and Mr. Hugh Perkins had taken his place, therefore a deputy-chairman was wanted.

In accepting this invitation, I decided if elected to this important position to devote myself to the study of the criminal law, and to qualify myself as a magistrate, as far as a layman could do so.

My spare time for several years was spent in reading the law of evidence and criminal law, and I also learnt a great deal from my chairman, who was a very painstaking magistrate, and who very kindly gave me much good advice.

Mr. Perkins retired in 1894 and I was appointed chairman, and became the only lay chairman in Lancashire, the other three chairmen being all Queen's counsel.

I was also elected chairman of the County Bench and of the Licensing Justices.

We had eight sessions in our court in each year, and this with the licensing work kept us very busy on several occasions.

The sessions in those days lasted seven and eight days, and once even ten days.

The appeals from the decisions of the City Justices on licensing questions were very numerous; at one sessions we heard thirty-eight appeals, and as in most cases they involved the loss of the license these appeals were fought with great vigour, and Queen's counsel were generally engaged in their conduct.

Lord Mersey and the Honourable Justices Walton, Pickford, and Horridge, practised at our Quarter Sessions.

I was gratified to receive a letter from one of these learned judges saying that what he knew of the rules of evidence had been mainly acquired in our court.

Quarter sessions may be termed the nursery of the Bar.

Young men get their first briefs, called "soups," at quarter sessions, and are naturally anxious to air their knowledge of the law, but many have to learn that the theory and the practice of the law are not quite the same, and that the application of the theory can only be obtained by practical experience in court, and this more particularly applies to the rules of evidence.

In addition to the judges named many eminent King's counsel have made their first start at our Quarter Sessions.

I can recall the names of Messrs. McConnell, K. C.

, Steel, K. C.

, Collingwood Hope, K. C. , W.

F.

Taylor, K. C.

, Alfred Tobin, K. C.

, and F. E.

Smith, K. C. , M.

P.

For fifteen years we had no deputy-chairman of Quarter Sessions, which made my position somewhat arduous, as I could not absent myself from my post.

In the end my old friend, Mr. W.

Scott Barrett, the chairman of the County Council, was appointed my deputy, and a better selection could not have been made.

No part of my judicial work gave me more anxiety than the licensing appeals.

One naturally felt great sympathy with the City Justices in their desire to reduce the drinking facilities which had been the cause of so much misery and wretchedness in Liverpool, but at the same time the scales of justice had to be held evenly.

Whatever our decisions were, we felt they would meet with severe criticism; but this did not deter us from doing what we considered to be our duty, though we knew that our decisions might involve in many cases serious pecuniary loss and hardship.

I am happy to think that our conduct of this very difficult business gave satisfaction, both to the public and to the licensees.

My experience on the bench has not been fruitful in incidents, although one day when sitting at Petty Sessions in the city a lame woman was charged with breaking a window by throwing her crutch through it.

The police evidently apprehended that she might use her crutch as a weapon while standing for her trial in the dock, for she had a bad character, and they carefully surrounded her; but she was too clever for them, and managed to hurl her crutch with great force at the Bench.

Fortunately, it fell short and dropped harmlessly upon the clerk's chair, which was happily vacant.

At Petty Sessions in 1889 Mr. Scott Barrett sat with me to hear the charge against Mrs. Maybrick for the murder of her husband by administering arsenic.

The enquiry lasted two days and we committed her for trial on the capital charge, feeling no doubt as to our duty, though of course we heard only the evidence for the Crown.

It afterwards became a _cause celèbre_.

Mrs. Maybrick was condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted to penal servitude.

She had many influential friends, and the agitation to obtain her release was continued with great activity for many years.

WALTON JAIL.

In connection with my duties as chairman of the County Bench, I also acted as chairman of the Visiting Justices of the Jail at Walton.

We visited every month, inspected the prison, heard any complaints which the prisoners had to make, sanctioned any extraordinary punishments, and distributed the funds subscribed to assist prisoners upon their discharge.

During the ten years of my chairmanship, great reforms were introduced by the Prison Commissioners.

The "treadmill" was abolished;

the "cat o' nine tails," which originally was composed of nine strings of hard whipcord, each string having nine knots, was robbed of its terror, each string now being made of soft string without any knots, until, as a warder said to me, "I cannot even warm them up with it."

Although these changes are all in the right direction, I cannot but think they have gone too far, as among the 1,200 prisoners at Walton there are many very rough characters, very difficult of control.

Walton is now a great industrial reformatory, with prison discipline and prison diet.

The governor told me he never saw the prisoners work with so much energy as when engaged breaking up the "treadmill"; every prisoner on entrance had to do a month on the "treadmill," whatever his sentence might be, and there is no doubt it was a severe punishment.

The only severe punishment now left is solitary confinement, which is a terrible ordeal, and its abolition is now under the consideration of the prison authorities.

I must tell one good story.

Mr. Platt, the head of the great engineering firm at Oldham, was the High Sheriff, and was inspecting the jail, and saw on the "treadmill" one of his workmen; he exclaimed, "Thomas, I am sorry to see you here."

Thomas replied, wiping the beads of perspiration off his brow, "Aye, Master Sam, if they had this 'ere machine in Holdham they would work it by steam, wouldn't they?"

One day, when visiting the firewood factory, in which we gave temporary employment to discharged prisoners, we directed that about a dozen men should be sent away to seek work, as they had been too long in the factory.

The following week there was an outbreak of burglaries in Bootle, and the whole crowd were back again in jail.

HIGH SHERIFF OF LANCASHIRE.

The shrievalty of the County Palatine has always been esteemed the blue riband of shrievalties.

Unlike his compeers elsewhere, the Lancashire sheriff is specially nominated by the King, whilst the office has always been maintained in circumstances of considerable splendour, and entails upon the sheriff the arduous duty of attending eleven assizes in the year, occupying on an average 130 days.

The hospitalities attached to the office are also considerable, for the sheriff has to give a dinner to the grand jury and members of the bar at each assize.

Much deference has to be paid to the Judges of Assize, and many points of old-world courtesy and etiquette have to be observed, which add to the interest attaching to the office; and there can be little doubt that the sheriff's turn-out--a coach-and-four, with trumpeters and javelin men in their handsome liveries of dark blue and old gold--serves to impart dignity to the administration of the law, and to impress the multitude with its majesty and power.

The High Sheriff is the representative of the King, and takes precedence of everyone in the county, except the Judges of Assize and the Lord Lieutenant.

I was nominated to the office in 1893, and again in 1896, but, there being no one to take my place at Quarter Sessions, I asked to be excused.

It was, however, a position which appealed to me--it seemed to me to be the coping-stone to my long devotion to judicial work--and when I was again nominated in 1908, I accepted, and was duly "pricked" by the King.

I appointed the Rev. Canon Armour, D. D.

, as my chaplain, and my son Miles as the under-sheriff.

The Shire-reve, or high sheriff, was in the old Saxon days a position of great authority and power.

He not only was the criminal judge of his shire, but also collected the King's exchequer, and the office was one which brought considerable profit to the holder.

All this has been changed, the judicial functions and the collection of the King's revenue have long since been transferred to others; but theoretically the sheriff has considerable powers left in his hands--the power of arrest and the charge of the jails in the county, while the empanelling of juries and all legal processes of every kind are made in his name.

He is also the returning officer at all elections; this in Lancashire involves considerable work, as the sheriff is responsible for parliamentary elections in twenty-three divisions, but fortunately for him, the detail work is discharged by the under-sheriff or acting under-sheriff, of whom in Lancashire there are three.

At the Lancaster Assizes in June, 1909, we had an interesting and picturesque ceremony.

We drove up in the State carriage to the castle, and were received there by the Constable of the Castle, Mr. Dawson, supported by his two retainers, who were dressed in their costume of the fourteenth century.

We proceeded into the Shire Hall, and the Constable requested me to hang my coat-of-arms on the walls with those of my predecessors since 1188. Having done so the trumpeters sounded a fanfare, and afterwards played "A fine old English gentleman."

I then made a short speech, and the Constable, with similar ceremony, proceeded to place on the walls the shields of six of his predecessors as Constables.

The Constables go back to the time of John of Gaunt.

The shields of the Sheriffs and Constables are grouped under the shields of the various monarchs under whom they served, and make a very brave and interesting show.

The Shire Hall was filled with spectators, and the function was quite mediæval and interesting in character.

In July, 1909, His Majesty King Edward visited Lancashire to present the colours to the newly-created Territorial Army.

This was a special compliment to Lancashire, which had very nobly responded to the call made upon her and had raised a force of 36,000 men.

The King and Queen stayed at Knowsley.

In the park 15,000 Territorials were reviewed; and on the day following their Majesties proceeded to Worsley Park, where a further 12,000 were reviewed.

The high sheriff being a civil officer, I had nothing to do with these functions as they were military, but we were invited to lunch at Knowsley and were then presented to the King and Queen, and afterwards at lunch we had the seats of honour, as it appears that when the King is present the high sheriff takes precedence even of the lord lieutenant.

It was an interesting function, and in spite of indifferent weather passed off well.

One of the pleasantest incidents of the shrievalty is the number of distinguished and interesting people one meets.

Upon the grand jury we altogether summoned 250 of the leading men of the county, and at our banquets we entertained, in addition to the grand jury, all the official world of the county and many others.

During my year I had not only the honour of meeting our late King Edward, but King George, who, as Prince of Wales, was on a visit to Knowsley.

I had some years ago the honour of escorting King George and the Queen over the Overhead Railway, when I was surprised and gratified with his interest in commerce, and the knowledge he displayed of the trade of the port; and in the somewhat lengthy conversation his Majesty honoured me with last year at Knowsley, I was still further impressed with his knowledge of Liverpool and his interest in the construction and movements of our great Atlantic liners.

His Majesty struck me as being very "human" in his thoughts and sympathies, and ardent in his wish to be in touch with the activities which make for the advance and progress of the country; and I therefore look forward to a reign that will not only be distinguished and brilliant, but in which our King will be found to recognise and encourage by his interest the efforts of his subjects in all that makes for the advancement of the country and the well-being of his subjects.

[Illustration: "RAMLEH," EAST FRONT.

] The judges at our Spring Assizes this year were Lord Coleridge and Mr. Justice Hamilton.

They spent the week-end with us at Bromborough.

At the Winter Assizes in November we had Mr. Justice Ridley and Mr. Justice Bray.

These Assizes will be memorable as having introduced what will be practically continuous sittings in Liverpool and Manchester of the civil judge.

I have been much interested in sitting on the bench during the progress of trials at Assizes.

It is an education, and one cannot but be impressed with the great care the judges exercise, and with their patience and solicitude for the prisoner.

CHAPTER XII. BLUNDELLSANDS, CROSBY AND BROMBOROUGH.

Having already described the pretty suburbs of Bootle, Seaforth and Litherland, lying to the north of Liverpool, and the little seaside resort, Waterloo, as they were in the 'forties and 'fifties, we will now proceed further afield.

Two miles to the north-west of Waterloo the quaint old-fashioned village of Crosby stood, with its thatched black and white cottages and its old church built of red brick with its square tower.

Between Crosby and the seashore there were no houses.

Immediately to the north of Waterloo, Squire Houghton had built a large house (Sandheys) surrounded by quite a park, but to the north of this there was only a long stretch of sandhills until Hightown Lighthouse was reached.

About 1860 Mr. Arnold Baruchson built a large house on the sea front, which for some years was the only house on the shore, and was the beginning of Blundellsands.

Other large houses followed, lining both sides of Burbo Bank Road.

The splendid air and magnificent marine views quickly made Blundellsands an attractive place, but it had no roads, only sandy lanes, and the only approach was the circuitous one through Crosby.

Its little iron church nestled in the sand dunes.

Altogether it was a very quiet, secluded place.

We took up our residence at "Ramleh" in 1871. Shortly afterwards an American friend expressed his surprise that people who could afford to live in the fine houses he saw scattered about should be content to worship God in a "tin" church, as he termed it.

This made me think.

I called upon the clergyman, the Rev. B.

S.

Derbyshire, and put the matter before him, and offered, if he would accompany me, to go round and try to raise money to build a permanent church.

Our first effort was not very successful, we received promises of only £1,450; but by dint of begging, bazaars, etc. , we eventually got together sufficient money to build St. Nicholas' church, of which Mr. Derbyshire was appointed the first incumbent.

Before the iron church was erected a service was held every Sunday by the Rev. S.

C.

Armour (now Canon Armour) in a schoolroom at Brighton-le-Sands, to which he attracted large congregations by his excellent preaching.

In the slight allusion made to Blundellsands--my home from 1871 to 1898--I have scarcely done justice to its attractions.

Probably no place in the United Kingdom possesses a finer marine prospect.

Its wide expanse of sea, with its background of the Welsh mountains, Snowdon standing in the far distance, and in the near foreground the constant parade of great merchant ships and steamers, which pass and repass all the day long, make a picture which for beauty and varying interest it is difficult to surpass.

The Earl of Northbrook, when First Lord of the Admiralty, stayed with us at "Ramleh," and remarked that when he looked out of his bedroom window in the morning he was amazed at the lovely view expanded before him, and could not resist getting up, although it was only seven o'clock, and taking a walk along the terrace in front of the house.

At breakfast he told us he knew of no marine view so charming except the Bay of Naples.

Of course, it is not possible to compare the two places; each has its points of attractiveness.

"Ramleh" was a fine, commodious house, on the sea front.

We bought it partly built; its completion and the various additions we made gave us much pleasure and delight, and we were greatly attached to it.

CROSBY GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

We had in Crosby an old school, endowed some three hundred years ago by a Crosby boy who made his fortune in London, a part of which he handed to the Merchant Taylors' Company for educational purposes in the village in which he was born.

The school was established, the old schoolhouse erected, and it was carried on with varying, but no great success, for over two hundred years.

At one time when the Merchant Taylors came down to inspect it, they found it had been closed for some years, whilst the head-master was living at Sefton quietly drawing his salary.

Within my recollection the scholars numbered only fifteen to twenty, and the head-master frequently adjourned the school in the afternoon to go rat-hunting.

But when Canon Armour was appointed head-master, he at once sought to bring about a change and extend the area of the school's usefulness.

The city property belonging to the school had meantime greatly increased in value, and the opportunity appeared favourable to make the school a great middle-class institution.

In this I was in hearty accord with Canon Armour.

We called meetings of the inhabitants to promote a petition to the Charity Commissioners in favour of our project.

The Vicar of Crosby offered very strong opposition on the ground that we were robbing the poor man of his school.

In the end we were successful, the present schools were built at a cost of £37,000, and were soon filled with 250 pupils, and under Canon Armour's able guidance quickly took a leading position for scholarship, and became celebrated for the success attained by the pupils at Oxford and Cambridge.

Canon Armour made this school his life's work, and right well he did it.

BROMBOROUGH.

Bromborough Hall became our residence in 1898. It is a very old house built in 1617, but enlarged several times since, with the result that the exterior, though quaint, is not pleasing--partly Georgian and partly an old English homestead; it cannot be said to have been built in any style of architecture.

Fortunately, the entire south front is wreathed with wisteria, jasmine and clematis, and this makes it harmonise with the charming old Dutch garden which stretches out before it.

The interior is rambling, but possesses some interesting features.

The hall has a stone staircase which winds round the walls as in old Georgian houses.

It also has a capacious lounge, a minstrel gallery, and a quaint old oak chimney-piece.

It opens out into an alcove which forms a very pleasant resort in summer; and beyond again is the Dutch garden, which is bright and gay in spring with tulips and in summer with begonias and roses.

We have a ghost, which however we have never seen, and a priest's room with a cupboard carved in stone for the chalice and patten.

The charms of Bromborough Hall are the gardens, which cover about thirteen acres and contain probably the most extensive lawns and the largest trees in Wirral.

The outlook from the grounds across the river Mersey is extensive and very lovely.

The park is beautifully planted with copses and groups of trees, and being 500 acres in extent, it forms a very attractive feature.

We have a walk three miles in length which passes through the woods down to the river, then along the river bank above the red sandstone cliffs, which at this point margin the river, and back through the woods, which form our boundary on the south.

[Illustration: BROMBOROUGH HALL, GARDEN FRONT.

] Although the present house dates back only to 1617, a Bromborough Hall has existed since the year 1100; this former hall probably stood in the park, as there are clear indications of a moated grange having existed there.

The present house was built by a Bridgeman, who became chancellor of the diocese, one of his sons becoming Bishop of Chester, when for a time the hall was the bishop's palace.

Another son was made Lord Bradford.

The hall afterwards passed into the hands of the Mainwaring family, who for 150 years were the squire rectors of the parish.

The family is now represented by Mr. E.

Kynaston Mainwaring, of Oteley Park, Salop.

Bromborough was an active village in very remote days.

There is strong evidence that the battle of Brunaburg was fought in its neighbourhood--this battle was the "Waterloo" of Anglo-Saxon times, and secured the Saxon ascendancy in England.

The story goes that the Danes were encamped at Bromborough, and were joined by the five Irish kings;

and that Athelstan, hearing of this, marched out from Chester, gave them battle, and utterly defeated them.

The Queen of Mercia afterwards erected a monastery in Bromborough as a thank-offering for this victory.

This monastery stood for 200 years, but was destroyed in the times of the Normans.

The old Saxon church remained, and was pulled down only in 1822. The Runic stone decorations still exist in the gardens of the rectory, and from these archæologists say the church must have been built about A. D.

800. The two large fields which adjoin Bromborough Park and run down to the sea are known as the "Wargraves," and Bishop Stubbs, the great historian, stated it to be his opinion that this was the site of the famous battle celebrated in verse by Cædmon.

Bromborough was for centuries the chief market town in the Wirral; the village cross around which the market was held still exists, also the manor house in which Charles I. stayed after his defeat near Chester in 1645. [Illustration: THE OLD DUTCH GARDEN.

] CHAPTER XIII. DIRECTORSHIPS.