The Express.
London, England, 1864-03-03 00:00:00

P!INCICSETIL

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ranee Mesdanien Kenton sad Kato Salle,—THE COY CDV
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ford. and Drummond: Mesdames Yarnold and Mlles—And
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LONDON, THURSDAY, MARCH 3.

TI!E Report of the Joint Committee on Metro-
politan Communications will of course be viewed
by those more immediately concerned with favour
er disfavour, as it suits their own immediate views
and interests. It eliminates certain schemes which
in the opinion of the Committee were not likely to
obtain success, thereby saving cost to the parties
and trouble to Parliament. It allows other projects
to go forward for consideration, indicating gene-
rally the mode in which they should be dealt
with, but without laying down any compulsory
plan for absolute adoption. In the interest of the
public we may express a belief that the Committee
has desired to do its best, and that its decisions
have been arrived at fairly. Whether it has
judged rightly in all cases is another question,
and one upon which it would, probably, be impossi-
ble to obtain an universal concurrence of opinion.
The Committee has commenced by reporting
that nine of the schemes submitted to their con-
sideration should not be proceeded with. These
nine schemes are very various in their character,
and it would be difficult to conceive any principle
en which the Committee had reported against these
several projects in one group, if they had not
assigned reasons for their decision in each case.
How far those reasons are satisfactory is a separate
consideration ; in all the cases they can scarcely
be regarded as consistent.
The Committee then report as to eleven other
bills which may be permitted to be proceeded with.
These, however, are chiefly extensions of existing
lines in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, or
bills for additional powers or additional capital.
Very little interest attaches to any of them.
The Committee then recommend that the
Metropolitan and St. John's-wood Railway (a
line from Baker-street to the Finchley-road
Station of the North London) should be allowed to
proceed. "Itis a line which paases through a
" not very populous, but increasing district, with-
" out interfering with much property, and in no way
" competing with any other scheme." This line
we have always spoken of aa a useful adjunct to
the Metropolitan system, and it is no doubt de-
sirable that it should pass.

They then recommend the Hampstead, Midland,
Borth Western, and Charing-cross Junction. This
is a line promoted by some Manchester interests,
to pass from the line of the Hampstead-road Sta-
tion of the London and North Western Railway,
under Tottenham-court-road to St. Giles's, and
from thence, under a new street, to St. Martin's.
lane, and so toCharing-cross. The Committee seem
to havebeen influenced in their favourable report as
to this line by the consideration that it would form a
new street through St. Giles's ; but it is a re-
markable fact that they have thrown out other
lines which proposed new streets through equally
dense localities, and have postponed several lines
which carried out much more comprehensively the
mine object of bringing the railways north of tho
Thames into communication with those upon the
south of it. The Committee, moreover, in this case
do not seem to have taken into consideration that
this particular railway has been most strenuoualy
opposed by the landowners and householders of
the district thrcugh which it passes, whilst other
lines, laid out with the same design, have been
considered unobjectionable. It will probably be
thought that, at least, the Committee ought to
have allowed the schemes competing with this line,
which were viewed with more public favour, and
which appeared to be equally, if not more, calcn-
hted to effect the object, to go forward.
Having thus provided for a railway communica-
tion between north and south of London at its
western end, i.e., from the North-Western to the
Charing-cross Railway, the Committee go on to re-
port upon a communication from the east to the
west of the metropolis. And here, as there were
several competing schemes, they propose a fusion
of the various interests, and recommend that the
engineers of the lines proceeding from Tower-hill to
Victoria Station and Kensington, by means of
Mew Cannon-street and the Thames Embank-
ment, should consult together, with the sur-
veyors of the City and the Metropolitan
Board of Works, "with a view to devise the most
" perfect line of which their plans admit." This
sounds very well in theory, but, we fear, would
ha in practice. The difficulty, however, we ap-
prehend, will be virtually removed by the fact,
that the competing scheme to that which is known
as the Metropolitan Inner Circla w.ll not Le
persisted in.

What the Committee, then, have virtually re-
commended fur adoption is, lint, a line of railway
tauderzround from Charing-cross to the London
and North Western, under St. Martin's-lane, st.
Giles**, and Tottenham-court-road ; second, an
underground railway from the Kensington Station
I. Brotnpton, the Victoria Station, Westminster.
bridge, thence by the Embankment to Black-
friars, up New Cannon-street and Eastcheap to
Tower-hill ; sad third, a line from the Blackwell
Railway, under the basin of the London Docks,
through the Thames Tunnel, and thence to the