CIVIC BANQUETS AND THEIR COST.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2098, 24 September 1875, Page 2

CIVIC BANQUETS AND THEIR COST.

(To the Editor of the Evening Star.)

Sib,—As you have by your leader of yesterday endorsed the correctness of a telegram received from the South, that the banquet given by the Lord Mayor of London to the Mayors cost £180,000, permit me to say that in all human probability such cannot be correct, and that the cost of the banquet would be £8,000. The Corporation of London give no banquets, and cannot devote their funds for such purpose. All civic banquets, even those to royalty or to entertain royal or distinguished foreigners, are paid for out of the private purse of the Lord Major and sheriffs, and the sheriffs only contribute towards the cost of the banquet and ball on the 9th November; this banquet generally costs about £4,000, of which sum the Lord Mayor pays half and the sheriffs the other half between them ; all other dinners or entertainments are at the private cost of the Lord Mayor to whomsoever f,iven. The Lord Mayor receives an allowance from the city funds of £10,000 towards maintaining; the hospii falities of the city, and his expenses for a year average from £16,000 to £20,000. The most expensive Mayoralty that has ever been recorded about 25 years ago, when one of our rich shipowners spent £60,000 during:his term of office. Lord Mayors are generally riotr fools, and any one spending a princely fortune of £180,000 on one dinner would certainly be sent to Bedlam instead of being allowed to rule the City of London. Messrs Ring and Brimer, better known as Birch, Birch and Co., are cooks to the Mansion House, having for upwards of 50 if not IC3 years held the right to provide for all public banquets or balls given at the Mansion House, and Messrs Bathe and Breeche are the city cooks and have the same right to supply all banquets given at Guildhall.—l am, Ac, ' An Old Resident in London. Thames, Sept., 24th, 1875.

[We may mention that in referring to the sum £180,000 in the leader, we did not endorse it as Being correct, simply quoting it as the amount supplied to us by the Press Agency. We see that the same figures had also been supplied to other papers.—Ed.] ;