November 1870, the first chaired by the new Lord Mayor, Joseph Gibbons Livingston (who was a strong supporter of M‘Neile), various motions were put, various amendments were proposed, and a number of very strongly held views were expressed. Despite the convention requiring a unanimous vote, it seems the majority (the final vote was 36 "aye" to 16 "nay") were prepared to take the view that, whatever divisive conduct M‘Neile may have displayed, he deserved recognition as a writer and orator, and agreed to place the statue amongst the other eleven local and national dignitaries (Cavanagh, 1977). The established Liverpool custom was a public unveiling, with "the most prestigious guest available invited to officiate". These were great popular occasions, wherein "extended eulogies [were] delivered by the succession of committee-members and honoured guests", reports of which were "invariably peppered with the parenthetic "cheers", "hear-hears", "applause" and, even, "loud and extended applause" from crowds that attendant reporters frequently emphasized "encompassed all classes and creeds" (Cavanagh, 1997, p.xvi). Yet, in the case of M‘Neile's statue, it was brought to Liverpool and placed on its pedestal in the dark of night, and was unveiled "without any ceremonial" in St. George's Hall, three days later, on the evening of Monday, 5 December, in the presence of the Mayor, the chairman, secretary, and other several members of the Statue Committee, several "ladies", M‘Neile's son, the Revd Edmund Hugh M‘Neile (who took over St. Paul's, Princes Park from his father) and the Revd Dyson Rycroft, Honorary Canon of Liverpool. Often, according to the established Liverpool custom, the sculptor would be present; and, on occasion, the sculptor might even deliver a short speech. In the case of M‘Neile's statue, the sculptor was the only one to speak; and, moreover, Adams had to unveil M‘Neile's statue himself. The final irony is that, of all the statues, "the only statue in St George’s Hall to cause offence because of the character of its subject, is also the only statue to have received unanimous acclaim as a work of art" (Cavanagh, 1997, p. 282): Mr. G.G. Adams, the artist who has given us the one good statue in St George’s Hall. … People may quarrel with the objects of the promoters of the memorial, but no one can withhold a tribute of admiration to the rare ability of the sculptor. (Liverpool Daily Post, 15 December 1870). Death M‘Neile died in Bournemouth on