The scene at the Guildhall after the election of Alderman
James Lawrence for Lord Mayor was very amusing. The next business was for the Liverymen to thank the present Lord Mayor for his services. A vote to this effect was proposed by Mr. John Bennett, a Common Councilman, who made it the occasion of enumerating -all the Lord Mayor's sins. The vote he proposed was, he thought, -due to Alderman Allen (the present and outgoing Lord Mayor), in spite of those sins ; but the credit account was evidently much shorter, if, on the whole, weightier, than the debit account. Mr. Bennett admitted that the Lord Mayor had no courtesy, that he had idiosyncrasies," that he had been guilty of sins of omission, that he had been guilty of sins of -commission. But Mr. Bennett was far outdone in depreciation by others, who practically objected to thank the Lord Mayor for any- thing. Mr. Lawley said his hospitalities had been " beggarly ; " Mr. Richardson objected to his dicta on the bench, and to his oppo- sition to the Saturday half-holiday ; Mr. John Jones brought the Great Northern 1041 charge against the Lord Mayor that he had been snobbish enough Great Wegtern to refuse to preside at a charitable dinner at which it was his London & Brighton sit (lay to preside, because the tickets were too cheap. Nobody Lon. & Sonitt-WeaWrn as seems to have mentioned his (preliminary) refusal to give the prizes at the City School because the Head Master had preached a striking and liberal sermon. But, on the whole, the Lord Mayor was accused of plenty of sins, small and great. He got his majority for the vote of thanks, however, and felt, probably, about as much gratitude as a man would feel to his confessor for absolution given after a severe penance.
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