150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (6 - 12 NOVEMBER 1873)
This week's many stories include the laying of the new Town Hall's foundation stone, an outbreak of smallpox in St Helens, the exiled German Fathers perform at Prescot, a small boy is sent to prison for a month, Greenall's rent dinner takes place and the secret ballot that was causing confusion in the local elections.
November 6th was a big day in the history of St Helens when the new Town Hall's foundation or memorial stone was laid. The St Helens Newspaper said: "An event of rare public interest to the inhabitants of St. Helens, and fraught with grave significance as regards the past and future of the town, took place on Thursday, when John Marsh, Esq., the Mayor, laid the proposed memorial stone of our Town Hall.
"No other official act of any public or representative man has ever been of such deep importance to the community at large as the fixing of a corner-stone of a monument which, so long as it rears its head aloft, will mark the period at which this town sprang into a place amongst the oldest municipalities of the land." The Wigan Observer made a point in the headline to their report of the stone laying that was published on the following day of saying it had been sent to them by "special telegram".
A procession comprising the mayor, councillors, clergy and other important folk had formed outside the old Town Hall buildings. Special guest was Charles Turner – one of the two MPs in the South West Lancashire constituency that included St Helens – as well as the mayors of Wigan, Southport, and Bootle. The all-male procession wended its way to the site of the new Town Hall in what was then part of Cotham Street.
A number of ladies occupied a special viewing grandstand that had been erected for the occasion where they observed the ceremony and listened to the mayor describe the town's meteoric rise from a population of 7,000 in 1801 to 49,000 in 1871. A grand banquet followed the ceremony and in the evening a ball was held.
I mentioned William Walsh in June. The Tontine Street ironmonger had been cleared of committing a breach of the peace after fighting with a man that had pinched one of his frying pans. This week a child was accused of being part of a group of young thieves that had stolen an unspecified item from Walsh – and the lad received a very harsh sentence. This is how the Newspaper reported the case:
"William Riley, a small boy, was charged with being in the public street for an unlawful purpose. A youngster named Connor, dirty and miserable looking said that he lived “over and against“ defendant, and defendant lived at Smithy-brow. He formed one of a group of youngsters who surrounded the house of Mr. Walsh, ironmonger, Tontine-street, last Friday evening, and committed a theft. Sent to prison for a month."
A poor child did not have the means to pay for a combative solicitor like Thomas Swift, who probably would have demolished the evidence and the testimony of the boy witness called Connor. At times it did appear to be a crime to be poor. Four other lads described as "miserable youths" had at a previous hearing also been imprisoned for a month for being part of the same group as William Riley and attempting to steal two lamps.
The November council elections had recently taken place and those qualified to vote – known as burgesses – included a few women. The Newspaper on the 8th reported that much of the election had been "devoid of all interest", although one incident had "humorously illustrated the troubles of the ignorant voter".
While in the ballot box a woman had seen a sample voting slip marked "Henry Jenkins, Surveyor, Derby" and had decided to place her cross against the name of that "mythical gentleman", instead of one of the candidates listed on the voting paper that she'd been given. Voting by ballot was still new and the Municipal Franchise Act that had given the vote to some female ratepayers in local elections had only been passed in 1869. And so it's hardly surprising that some voters were confused.
The secret ballot was supposed to have removed the corruption that had afflicted many a St Helens election. But the Newspaper in their report of the recent vote stated that corrupt payments had still been made – a claim that would lead to a libel summons being issued against the paper.
The home was a dangerous place for young children and there were many deaths from boiling water that had been briefly left unattended. This week 2-year-old Thomas Sephton died after pulling down a pan of boiling water onto himself. The little boy from Mill Street in St Helens was reported as having been "frightfully scalded" all over his body and the poor mite died on the following day. A carter called Heaton also died this week after being found in Liverpool Road under the wheel of his own cart. The horse was still standing and it was not known what had occurred.
At the beginning of 1871 the Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck announced the formation of the German Empire and began a programme of religious discrimination. As a result many German Catholics chose – or felt forced – to leave the country. A number of priests settled in Ditton and on the 9th the Exiled German Fathers – as they were known – sang and played their instruments at Prescot Catholic Church. There were two services, a mid-morning High Mass and what was described as an evening service at 3:30pm. Rather early to be called evening but no doubt they wanted to avoid the very dark winter nights. "Silver will be expected at the door", said their advert rather bluntly.
On the 6th at a meeting of the Prescot Board of Guardians it was revealed that there were four serious cases of smallpox in St Helens, all of them in the advanced stages of the disease. The four men were now in the isolation ward of the hospital attached to Whiston Workhouse. Although there was no charge for treatment, persuading sufferers to come to the hospital was always a challenge. The Chairman of the Guardians on hearing the news said: "It is too common a habit in St. Helens to keep the smallpox patients [at home] until the disease has almost killed them before sending them to the hospital."
The horse-driven ambulance was undergoing repairs and so the men had to be conveyed to Whiston by cab, which needed a thorough disinfecting afterwards. I wonder if they told the taxi man in advance (and paid him extra) that his four passengers had very contagious smallpox and that his conveyance would require deep cleaning afterwards? It was also pointed out at the meeting that the workhouse hospital was currently in an "excessively crowded state".
Greenalls had a virtual monopoly of brewing in St Helens and every six months held what was called their rent dinner at the Fleece Hotel in Church Street (pictured above in later years). It was a tradition for licensees to pay the rent on their houses twice a year and in return the brewery gave them a dinner. On the 11th over 300 turned up for their sumptuous meal and there were many toasts, including ingratiating ones to those in charge of the brewery.
Gilbert Greenall was the usual host of the event but was unable to attend and so John Whitley deputised and said: "I can remember many years since when the town was but a village, and the increase since then has been very rapid. For a few years it seemed as if things had come to a stand [still], but trade has revived again, business spread, and there are all the indications of a resumption of the rapid progress of the past."
A public meeting also took place on that day in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens on behalf of the Financial Reform Association, which attracted 500 people. Many of the top men in the town were present – although, perhaps, I should call them the wealthiest. The Association's motto was "Economical Government, Just Taxation and Perfect Freedom of Trade" and so the people with money were calling on the government to cut its expenditure and thus reduce its need for high taxation. The meeting's Chairman was Lt Col David Gamble, the owner of a Gerards Bridge chemical works and landowner, who probably had a particularly hefty tax bill.
And finally a tea party and ball always seems an odd combination but they were quite common in St Helens in the 1870s and by "ball" they probably really meant "dance". Such an event was organised by Lowe House Church in the Volunteer Hall on the 12th, with the proceeds going towards the running of their church schools.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the trowel stealing amongst the labourers that were building the new town hall, the bigotry of the pit brow lasses at Ravenhead Colliery and the less than free and easy life of a St Helens carter.
"No other official act of any public or representative man has ever been of such deep importance to the community at large as the fixing of a corner-stone of a monument which, so long as it rears its head aloft, will mark the period at which this town sprang into a place amongst the oldest municipalities of the land." The Wigan Observer made a point in the headline to their report of the stone laying that was published on the following day of saying it had been sent to them by "special telegram".
A procession comprising the mayor, councillors, clergy and other important folk had formed outside the old Town Hall buildings. Special guest was Charles Turner – one of the two MPs in the South West Lancashire constituency that included St Helens – as well as the mayors of Wigan, Southport, and Bootle. The all-male procession wended its way to the site of the new Town Hall in what was then part of Cotham Street.
A number of ladies occupied a special viewing grandstand that had been erected for the occasion where they observed the ceremony and listened to the mayor describe the town's meteoric rise from a population of 7,000 in 1801 to 49,000 in 1871. A grand banquet followed the ceremony and in the evening a ball was held.
I mentioned William Walsh in June. The Tontine Street ironmonger had been cleared of committing a breach of the peace after fighting with a man that had pinched one of his frying pans. This week a child was accused of being part of a group of young thieves that had stolen an unspecified item from Walsh – and the lad received a very harsh sentence. This is how the Newspaper reported the case:
"William Riley, a small boy, was charged with being in the public street for an unlawful purpose. A youngster named Connor, dirty and miserable looking said that he lived “over and against“ defendant, and defendant lived at Smithy-brow. He formed one of a group of youngsters who surrounded the house of Mr. Walsh, ironmonger, Tontine-street, last Friday evening, and committed a theft. Sent to prison for a month."
A poor child did not have the means to pay for a combative solicitor like Thomas Swift, who probably would have demolished the evidence and the testimony of the boy witness called Connor. At times it did appear to be a crime to be poor. Four other lads described as "miserable youths" had at a previous hearing also been imprisoned for a month for being part of the same group as William Riley and attempting to steal two lamps.
The November council elections had recently taken place and those qualified to vote – known as burgesses – included a few women. The Newspaper on the 8th reported that much of the election had been "devoid of all interest", although one incident had "humorously illustrated the troubles of the ignorant voter".
While in the ballot box a woman had seen a sample voting slip marked "Henry Jenkins, Surveyor, Derby" and had decided to place her cross against the name of that "mythical gentleman", instead of one of the candidates listed on the voting paper that she'd been given. Voting by ballot was still new and the Municipal Franchise Act that had given the vote to some female ratepayers in local elections had only been passed in 1869. And so it's hardly surprising that some voters were confused.
The secret ballot was supposed to have removed the corruption that had afflicted many a St Helens election. But the Newspaper in their report of the recent vote stated that corrupt payments had still been made – a claim that would lead to a libel summons being issued against the paper.
The home was a dangerous place for young children and there were many deaths from boiling water that had been briefly left unattended. This week 2-year-old Thomas Sephton died after pulling down a pan of boiling water onto himself. The little boy from Mill Street in St Helens was reported as having been "frightfully scalded" all over his body and the poor mite died on the following day. A carter called Heaton also died this week after being found in Liverpool Road under the wheel of his own cart. The horse was still standing and it was not known what had occurred.
At the beginning of 1871 the Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck announced the formation of the German Empire and began a programme of religious discrimination. As a result many German Catholics chose – or felt forced – to leave the country. A number of priests settled in Ditton and on the 9th the Exiled German Fathers – as they were known – sang and played their instruments at Prescot Catholic Church. There were two services, a mid-morning High Mass and what was described as an evening service at 3:30pm. Rather early to be called evening but no doubt they wanted to avoid the very dark winter nights. "Silver will be expected at the door", said their advert rather bluntly.
On the 6th at a meeting of the Prescot Board of Guardians it was revealed that there were four serious cases of smallpox in St Helens, all of them in the advanced stages of the disease. The four men were now in the isolation ward of the hospital attached to Whiston Workhouse. Although there was no charge for treatment, persuading sufferers to come to the hospital was always a challenge. The Chairman of the Guardians on hearing the news said: "It is too common a habit in St. Helens to keep the smallpox patients [at home] until the disease has almost killed them before sending them to the hospital."
The horse-driven ambulance was undergoing repairs and so the men had to be conveyed to Whiston by cab, which needed a thorough disinfecting afterwards. I wonder if they told the taxi man in advance (and paid him extra) that his four passengers had very contagious smallpox and that his conveyance would require deep cleaning afterwards? It was also pointed out at the meeting that the workhouse hospital was currently in an "excessively crowded state".
Gilbert Greenall was the usual host of the event but was unable to attend and so John Whitley deputised and said: "I can remember many years since when the town was but a village, and the increase since then has been very rapid. For a few years it seemed as if things had come to a stand [still], but trade has revived again, business spread, and there are all the indications of a resumption of the rapid progress of the past."
A public meeting also took place on that day in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens on behalf of the Financial Reform Association, which attracted 500 people. Many of the top men in the town were present – although, perhaps, I should call them the wealthiest. The Association's motto was "Economical Government, Just Taxation and Perfect Freedom of Trade" and so the people with money were calling on the government to cut its expenditure and thus reduce its need for high taxation. The meeting's Chairman was Lt Col David Gamble, the owner of a Gerards Bridge chemical works and landowner, who probably had a particularly hefty tax bill.
And finally a tea party and ball always seems an odd combination but they were quite common in St Helens in the 1870s and by "ball" they probably really meant "dance". Such an event was organised by Lowe House Church in the Volunteer Hall on the 12th, with the proceeds going towards the running of their church schools.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the trowel stealing amongst the labourers that were building the new town hall, the bigotry of the pit brow lasses at Ravenhead Colliery and the less than free and easy life of a St Helens carter.
This week's many stories include the laying of the new Town Hall's foundation stone, an outbreak of smallpox in St Helens, the exiled German Fathers perform at Prescot, a small boy is sent to prison for a month, Greenall's rent dinner takes place and the secret ballot that was causing confusion in the local elections.
November 6th was a big day in the history of St Helens when the new Town Hall's foundation or memorial stone was laid. The St Helens Newspaper said:
"An event of rare public interest to the inhabitants of St. Helens, and fraught with grave significance as regards the past and future of the town, took place on Thursday, when John Marsh, Esq., the Mayor, laid the proposed memorial stone of our Town Hall.
"No other official act of any public or representative man has ever been of such deep importance to the community at large as the fixing of a corner-stone of a monument which, so long as it rears its head aloft, will mark the period at which this town sprang into a place amongst the oldest municipalities of the land."
The Wigan Observer made a point in the headline to their report of the stone laying that was published on the following day of saying it had been sent to them by "special telegram".
A procession comprising the mayor, councillors, clergy and other important folk had formed outside the old Town Hall buildings.
Special guest was Charles Turner – one of the two MPs in the South West Lancashire constituency that included St Helens – as well as the mayors of Wigan, Southport, and Bootle.
The all-male procession wended its way to the site of the new Town Hall in what was then part of Cotham Street.
A number of ladies occupied a special viewing grandstand that had been erected for the occasion where they observed the ceremony and listened to the mayor describe the town's meteoric rise from a population of 7,000 in 1801 to 49,000 in 1871.
A grand banquet followed the ceremony and in the evening a ball was held.
I mentioned William Walsh in June. The Tontine Street ironmonger had been cleared of committing a breach of the peace after fighting with a man that had pinched one of his frying pans.
This week a child was accused of being part of a group of young thieves that had stolen an unspecified item from Walsh – and the lad received a very harsh sentence. This is how the Newspaper reported the case:
"William Riley, a small boy, was charged with being in the public street for an unlawful purpose. A youngster named Connor, dirty and miserable looking said that he lived “over and against“ defendant, and defendant lived at Smithy-brow.
"He formed one of a group of youngsters who surrounded the house of Mr. Walsh, ironmonger, Tontine-street, last Friday evening, and committed a theft. Sent to prison for a month."
A poor child did not have the means to pay for a combative solicitor like Thomas Swift, who probably would have demolished the evidence and the testimony of the boy witness called Connor. At times it did appear to be a crime to be poor.
Four other lads described as "miserable youths" had at a previous hearing also been imprisoned for a month for being part of the same group as William Riley and attempting to steal two lamps.
The November council elections had recently taken place and those qualified to vote – known as burgesses – included a few women.
The Newspaper on the 8th reported that much of the election had been "devoid of all interest", although one incident had "humorously illustrated the troubles of the ignorant voter".
While in the ballot box a woman had seen a sample voting slip marked "Henry Jenkins, Surveyor, Derby" and had decided to place her cross against the name of that "mythical gentleman", instead of one of the candidates listed on the voting paper that she'd been given.
Voting by ballot was still new and the Municipal Franchise Act that had given the vote to some female ratepayers in local elections had only been passed in 1869. And so it's hardly surprising that some voters were confused.
The secret ballot was supposed to have removed the corruption that had afflicted many a St Helens election.
But the Newspaper in their report of the recent vote stated that corrupt payments had still been made – a claim that would lead to a libel summons being issued against the paper.
The home was a dangerous place for young children and there were many deaths from boiling water that had been briefly left unattended.
This week 2-year-old Thomas Sephton died after pulling down a pan of boiling water onto himself.
The little boy from Mill Street in St Helens was reported as having been "frightfully scalded" all over his body and the poor mite died on the following day.
A carter called Heaton also died this week after being found in Liverpool Road under the wheel of his own cart. The horse was still standing and it was not known what had occurred.
At the beginning of 1871 the Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck announced the formation of the German Empire and began a programme of religious discrimination. As a result many German Catholics chose – or felt forced – to leave the country.
A number of priests settled in Ditton and on the 9th the Exiled German Fathers – as they were known – sang and played their instruments at Prescot Catholic Church.
There were two services, a mid-morning High Mass and what was described as an evening service at 3:30pm.
Rather early to be called evening but no doubt they wanted to avoid the very dark winter nights. "Silver will be expected at the door", said their advert rather bluntly.
On the 6th at a meeting of the Prescot Board of Guardians it was revealed that there were four serious cases of smallpox in St Helens, all of them in the advanced stages of the disease.
The four men were now in the isolation ward of the hospital attached to Whiston Workhouse.
Although there was no charge for treatment, persuading sufferers to come to the hospital was always a challenge. The Chairman of the Guardians on hearing the news said:
"It is too common a habit in St. Helens to keep the smallpox patients [at home] until the disease has almost killed them before sending them to the hospital."
The horse-driven ambulance was undergoing repairs and so the men had to be conveyed to Whiston by cab, which needed a thorough disinfecting afterwards.
I wonder if they told the taxi man in advance (and paid him extra) that his four passengers had very contagious smallpox and that his conveyance would require deep cleaning afterwards?
It was also pointed out at the meeting that the workhouse hospital was currently in an "excessively crowded state".
Greenalls had a virtual monopoly of brewing in St Helens and every six months held what was called their rent dinner at the Fleece Hotel in Church Street (pictured above in later years).
It was a tradition for licensees to pay the rent on their houses twice a year and in return the brewery gave them a dinner.
On the 11th over 300 turned up for their sumptuous meal and there were many toasts, including ingratiating ones to those in charge of the brewery.
Gilbert Greenall was the usual host of the event but was unable to attend and so John Whitley deputised and said:
"I can remember many years since when the town was but a village, and the increase since then has been very rapid. For a few years it seemed as if things had come to a stand [still], but trade has revived again, business spread, and there are all the indications of a resumption of the rapid progress of the past."
A public meeting also took place on that day in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens on behalf of the Financial Reform Association, which attracted 500 people.
Many of the top men in the town were present – although, perhaps, I should call them the wealthiest.
The Association's motto was "Economical Government, Just Taxation and Perfect Freedom of Trade" and so the people with money were calling on the government to cut its expenditure and thus reduce its need for high taxation.
The meeting's Chairman was Lt Col David Gamble, the owner of a Gerards Bridge chemical works and landowner, who probably had a particularly hefty tax bill.
And finally a tea party and ball always seems an odd combination but they were quite common in St Helens in the 1870s and by "ball" they probably really meant "dance".
Such an event was organised by Lowe House Church in the Volunteer Hall on the 12th, with the proceeds going towards the running of their church schools.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the trowel stealing amongst the labourers building the new town hall, the bigotry of the pit brow lasses at Ravenhead Colliery and the less than free and easy life of a St Helens carter.
"An event of rare public interest to the inhabitants of St. Helens, and fraught with grave significance as regards the past and future of the town, took place on Thursday, when John Marsh, Esq., the Mayor, laid the proposed memorial stone of our Town Hall.
"No other official act of any public or representative man has ever been of such deep importance to the community at large as the fixing of a corner-stone of a monument which, so long as it rears its head aloft, will mark the period at which this town sprang into a place amongst the oldest municipalities of the land."
The Wigan Observer made a point in the headline to their report of the stone laying that was published on the following day of saying it had been sent to them by "special telegram".
A procession comprising the mayor, councillors, clergy and other important folk had formed outside the old Town Hall buildings.
Special guest was Charles Turner – one of the two MPs in the South West Lancashire constituency that included St Helens – as well as the mayors of Wigan, Southport, and Bootle.
The all-male procession wended its way to the site of the new Town Hall in what was then part of Cotham Street.
A number of ladies occupied a special viewing grandstand that had been erected for the occasion where they observed the ceremony and listened to the mayor describe the town's meteoric rise from a population of 7,000 in 1801 to 49,000 in 1871.
A grand banquet followed the ceremony and in the evening a ball was held.
I mentioned William Walsh in June. The Tontine Street ironmonger had been cleared of committing a breach of the peace after fighting with a man that had pinched one of his frying pans.
This week a child was accused of being part of a group of young thieves that had stolen an unspecified item from Walsh – and the lad received a very harsh sentence. This is how the Newspaper reported the case:
"William Riley, a small boy, was charged with being in the public street for an unlawful purpose. A youngster named Connor, dirty and miserable looking said that he lived “over and against“ defendant, and defendant lived at Smithy-brow.
"He formed one of a group of youngsters who surrounded the house of Mr. Walsh, ironmonger, Tontine-street, last Friday evening, and committed a theft. Sent to prison for a month."
A poor child did not have the means to pay for a combative solicitor like Thomas Swift, who probably would have demolished the evidence and the testimony of the boy witness called Connor. At times it did appear to be a crime to be poor.
Four other lads described as "miserable youths" had at a previous hearing also been imprisoned for a month for being part of the same group as William Riley and attempting to steal two lamps.
The November council elections had recently taken place and those qualified to vote – known as burgesses – included a few women.
The Newspaper on the 8th reported that much of the election had been "devoid of all interest", although one incident had "humorously illustrated the troubles of the ignorant voter".
While in the ballot box a woman had seen a sample voting slip marked "Henry Jenkins, Surveyor, Derby" and had decided to place her cross against the name of that "mythical gentleman", instead of one of the candidates listed on the voting paper that she'd been given.
Voting by ballot was still new and the Municipal Franchise Act that had given the vote to some female ratepayers in local elections had only been passed in 1869. And so it's hardly surprising that some voters were confused.
The secret ballot was supposed to have removed the corruption that had afflicted many a St Helens election.
But the Newspaper in their report of the recent vote stated that corrupt payments had still been made – a claim that would lead to a libel summons being issued against the paper.
The home was a dangerous place for young children and there were many deaths from boiling water that had been briefly left unattended.
This week 2-year-old Thomas Sephton died after pulling down a pan of boiling water onto himself.
The little boy from Mill Street in St Helens was reported as having been "frightfully scalded" all over his body and the poor mite died on the following day.
A carter called Heaton also died this week after being found in Liverpool Road under the wheel of his own cart. The horse was still standing and it was not known what had occurred.
At the beginning of 1871 the Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck announced the formation of the German Empire and began a programme of religious discrimination. As a result many German Catholics chose – or felt forced – to leave the country.
A number of priests settled in Ditton and on the 9th the Exiled German Fathers – as they were known – sang and played their instruments at Prescot Catholic Church.
There were two services, a mid-morning High Mass and what was described as an evening service at 3:30pm.
Rather early to be called evening but no doubt they wanted to avoid the very dark winter nights. "Silver will be expected at the door", said their advert rather bluntly.
On the 6th at a meeting of the Prescot Board of Guardians it was revealed that there were four serious cases of smallpox in St Helens, all of them in the advanced stages of the disease.
The four men were now in the isolation ward of the hospital attached to Whiston Workhouse.
Although there was no charge for treatment, persuading sufferers to come to the hospital was always a challenge. The Chairman of the Guardians on hearing the news said:
"It is too common a habit in St. Helens to keep the smallpox patients [at home] until the disease has almost killed them before sending them to the hospital."
The horse-driven ambulance was undergoing repairs and so the men had to be conveyed to Whiston by cab, which needed a thorough disinfecting afterwards.
I wonder if they told the taxi man in advance (and paid him extra) that his four passengers had very contagious smallpox and that his conveyance would require deep cleaning afterwards?
It was also pointed out at the meeting that the workhouse hospital was currently in an "excessively crowded state".
It was a tradition for licensees to pay the rent on their houses twice a year and in return the brewery gave them a dinner.
On the 11th over 300 turned up for their sumptuous meal and there were many toasts, including ingratiating ones to those in charge of the brewery.
Gilbert Greenall was the usual host of the event but was unable to attend and so John Whitley deputised and said:
"I can remember many years since when the town was but a village, and the increase since then has been very rapid. For a few years it seemed as if things had come to a stand [still], but trade has revived again, business spread, and there are all the indications of a resumption of the rapid progress of the past."
A public meeting also took place on that day in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens on behalf of the Financial Reform Association, which attracted 500 people.
Many of the top men in the town were present – although, perhaps, I should call them the wealthiest.
The Association's motto was "Economical Government, Just Taxation and Perfect Freedom of Trade" and so the people with money were calling on the government to cut its expenditure and thus reduce its need for high taxation.
The meeting's Chairman was Lt Col David Gamble, the owner of a Gerards Bridge chemical works and landowner, who probably had a particularly hefty tax bill.
And finally a tea party and ball always seems an odd combination but they were quite common in St Helens in the 1870s and by "ball" they probably really meant "dance".
Such an event was organised by Lowe House Church in the Volunteer Hall on the 12th, with the proceeds going towards the running of their church schools.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the trowel stealing amongst the labourers building the new town hall, the bigotry of the pit brow lasses at Ravenhead Colliery and the less than free and easy life of a St Helens carter.