The Express.
London, England, 1863-07-27 00:00:00

THIRD REPORT

By the select committee appointed to inquire whether any,
and, if any, which of the schemes now before parliament
for the construction of lines of railway within the limits
of the metropolis can be proceeded with in the present
session without the risk of interfering with the future
adoption of a comprehensive plea of metropolitan rail-
way communication ; and to consider what provision can
be made for the securing such a comprehensive system,
' with the greatest advantage to the public, and the least
inconvenience to the local arrangements of the metropo-
lis ; and to report to the house : sad to whim leave was
given to report from time to time to the house.
Ordered to report,—That the committee have met, and
have considered the subject matter referred to them, and
have examined several of the °Moira of the Bard of Trade ;
the managers or the representatives of the prirscipsl rail
way companies having stations in the metropolis ; several
engineers engaged is the construction of railways; the
chairman and engineer of the Metropolitan Bosnia Works,
and the surveyor of the Commission of Sewers of the City.
The committee, having considered the evidence, are of
opinion-
1. That in determining the regulations which it may be
expedient to apply to railways within the metropolis (here-
inafter ailed the metropolitan railway district), it is desi-
rable that the limits of the metropolis prescribed to the royal
commissioners of 1846 should be extended, those limits being
the Edgeware-road from Oxford-street to the intersection of
the New-road ; the New-road and City-road to Finsbury-
square ; Bishopegatastreot ; Loudon-bridge ; High-
_ . _ . . . .

street, Borough ;Blaclunan -street ; Borough-rood ;lanibeth-
road ; Vauxhall-road ; ; Vauxhall-bridge-
reed ; Grosvenor-plans ; and Park-lane ; sad that the sew
limits should be es follows:—Commencing at the Barking-
road station of the North Woolwich Branch Railway ;
thence along that and the Great Eastern Railway to the
Lea-bridge station ; thence in a straight line to the Swam
Sisters station, on the Great Northern Railway ; themes in ID
straight line to the eastern end of the Hampstead tunnel oe
the Hampstead and City Junction Railway ; theses slam
such railway to its junction with the West London Railway;
thence in • southern and eastern direction along the Writ
London and West London Extension Railway, scrota the
river Theme, to the junction with the London, Chatham,
and Dover Railway ; thence aloe( the Leedom Chatham,
and Dover Railway to the Brixton-road station ' • end thence
in • straight line to the Lewisham Junction station of the
Mid-Kent Railway; and thence in a straight line to the
Iteking.road station of the North Woolwich.
2. That squares sad open spaces in the metropolis shoed
not be unamismarily taken for the purposes of a railway.&
That it would be objectionable to allow the consti ac-
tion of a great cootie' station in the metropolis.
4. That in the construction of any new lines of ra,l way
within the metropolitan railway distuct, subways, covered
ways, or tunnels spew preferable, where circumstances
admit of them.
5. That, with the view of giving further effect to the
provisions in favour of the labouring ekuss contained in
the 191st staodn;; or!er, it is desirable "th it in every
bill for making any work, in the construction of which com-
PlVputer is given to take 30 or more houses inhabited
labooring
claque in any one parish or place, a clause
be insetted to enact that the company shall, not less than
four weeks before taking any such how's, make known
their iateotion to take the ram* either by personal notice
to heeds of families inhabiting the same, at the time of giv-
ing such notice, or by placards, handbills, or other general
notice placed in public view upon or within a reasonable dis-
tance from such honing, and that the company shall not
take any such houses until they have obtained the certificate
of a justice that it has been proved to his @stalactite' that
the company have made known their intention to take the
same in manner required by this provision."
6. That heavy traffic in goods, and especially in minerals,
could as • general rule DO most conveniently carried from
the railways lying north of the Thames to the railways
lying south of the Thames, by lines not poising through
the central portions of the metropolis.
7, That there should be a line of railway on the eluting
aide of the metropolis connecting the railways with and
south of the Thames.
8. That it is desirable that additional facilities should be
afforded, endless oestrous arrangements in reference to tolls
made for the pass by the railways on the western side of
the metropolui of mineral and goods traffic from some of
the northern railways to the railwajs and district of
country meth of the Thames.
9. That additional railway communication is needed in
the densely populated part of the metropolis; and it is
desirable that railway communication, where it does not
already exist, should be established between the various
main hoes of railway.
10. That the Great Eastern Railway should be allowed
to establish a more central station than it has at roust,
and be placed is communication with the lines ruanoig to
the western part of the metropolis.
11. That its Dot desirable to bring the main stations of
any of the principal long lines of railway, except the Great
Eastern, farther into London than is at preset authorised,
but that one or more milieus should he mode for carrying
ormengers from different parts of Leaden to the main sta-
tions of the long hula. Such new Haas sot to be in the
hands of any one of the present great companies, but placed
under such management es to ensure equal adveatsges to all.
12. That it would also be desirable to aoceplese an inner
circuit of railway that should abut upon, if it did not
actually joie, needy all the principal railway termini in the
metropolis, oommencing with the exteesion in an easterly
end southerly direction, of the Metropolitan Railway
from Finibutj•zircus, at the one end, and in a westerly
and southerly direction from Paddirigtoo at the other,
and connecting the extremities of those lines by a
line on the north side of the Thames ; such a continuous
line of reolway would afford means of distributing the
pameoger trellle arnviog by the maim lines of railway, and
also absorb • very large portico of the omnibus and cab
traffic, and thus eseeutielly relieve the crowded streets.
The suggested hoes might be undertaken is mine:ion with
the cortroction by the municipal authorities of the City,
or the Metropolitan Board of Works, of new streets ur-
gently required in many of the crowded parts of the metro-
polis. Coder some of these new street., and under a por-
tion of the proposed Thames Embankment (north side),
and under some of the existing wide thommaidares, new
lime of railway might be aduntsgeously and amoomically
mistreated ; and arrangements might be made by
which railway companies might, in consideration of
being allowed to construct their lines under the street• and
the Thames Embankment, without charge for the land, be
willing to undertake the construction of other parts of the
lines required for completing the circuit of communication,
which if constructed not io oounexion with such cheap liar,
would be so expensive as to be unromunerative. It would
be desirable that an outer circle of railway should be formed '
within the metropolitan railway district, in its course
intersecting and communicating with the principal lines of
railway north of the River Thames. It might be foiled
convenient to bring this outer circle, at certain points, into
commuoicatioe with the inner circle,
13. The committee are of opinion that every such sys-
tem of internal railway communication for the metropolis
should be under one management, and they are of opinion
that this might be secured without interfering with the
existing practice of allowing free competition in plans by
providing through a standing order (to be made in both
house.) : "That, in the notices for say bill for constructing
a railway, or any work in canoe:iota therewith, within the
metropolitan railway district, it should be stated that the
bill may be so altered in its coulee through parliammet se
to unite the wbole, or some portion of such railway or
work, with some one or mote other proposed or existing
railway or work."
14. It has been suggested that a commission should be
appointed to consider the whole subject of reeking railways
in the metropolis; but to this there are great objections.
The appointment of such a commission most, almost um
avoidably, lead to much delay in the actual commencement
of the works that might ultimately be decided on ; nor is it
likely that any cornmissioa could be appointed, the judg-
e meet of which would be accepted as oxiclusive by parlia-
ment ; and even if aeommiesicie should succeed in proposing
a plan for the 'ligation of railways in the metropolis which
should meet with general aomptailos, it would still remain
to be determined to whom the construction of the projected
liege should be entrusted, and how the capital required for
them should be raised.
15. The committee are of opinion that if the general
views which they have explained should be deemed eatis-
foolery by the house, some means should be taken to render
(stare legislation conformable with the principles which
have been laid down. And, with this vies, they would
nowt that is the next session, and ale in any enonendiai