The Express.
London, England, 1863-11-06 00:00:00

MAT.ll.Alqcgr;

THIS EMUS. ors MA&Y ANNE—COOL AS A CUCUMBER.
Chair Mathews Mae F. Wright and Mrs. L Fits.
wollara.—THE GOLDEN FLEECE. Mr. sad Mrs. Quetta
Mathews.—And MY HUSBAND'S GHOST. Hr. Clark.

LYCZFI!:

Tilts Nveereo, UNCLE. BABY. Mr. Wlddicomb and
Mist C. Lectemq—BlL DEMO:4IO. a Love Mory. Mears.
Ireehtsr. Bron&m, Imery, Charles. sad Jordan ; Mews
Term Lavenue, sod BYwaW. sad Mrs. Lee.

1141ITANNIA,

Tan Ennuis, THE DTIA-01; LOMB XV. Mrs. S. Lane.
—THE ORSAT GHOST RIRECT. Ream. Reynolds and
Conte ; Mao. (Nuked and Yareold,-81nglag by /Az. Randall
and lime. Pleon.—And PRIDE AND I'ASSION.

HIM WA AT LONDON BMOC.
TN! DL[ ...MINIM Altman. lob. 26m.
T 0410111022.. 10a. Um ....Aitorame. Ilk. 27m.

LONDON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6.

Tee special meeting of the Common Council,
which has been summoned for to-day, for the pur-
pose taking the initiatory steps towards the
settlement of "the Holborn-valley question," will
have before it at least one complete design, well
calculated to effect the object sought, and to over-
come the physical and commercial difficulties which
stand in the way. In our recent article on the sub-
ject we examined a plan which bad been proposed
by Mr. Marrable, architect to the Board of Works,
at the desire of that body ; and while acknowledging
its general beauty and usefulness, we ventured to
point out one defect which it shared with all the
other designs which had been submitted, either to
the Metropolitan Board or theoorporation. That de-
fect was that the elevation of only one-half of Holborn
main street was provided for, and that besides the
unsightliness of such an arrangement, the further
mischief would be incurred of virtually ruining the
other half of the street for all commercial puaposes.
We are happy now in being able to state
that since then Mr. Marrable has prepared an
amended design, according to which the main street
will be raised to the necessary elevation across its
entire breadth, so that both sides of the street will
share equally in the benefits of the contemplated
improvement. Mr. Marrable now proposes a per-
fect street, raised upon arches, in the same way as
a railway viaduct, 1,200 feet in length, and having
a uniform breadth of 70 feet from house to house.
The elevation will commence at Hatton-garden,
and terminate on the City side, close to St. Sepul-
chre's church, and nearly opposite to Seacoal-lane.
The breadth may at first sight appear insufficient,
and it certainly will be ten feet less than that of
Regent-street ; bat there is an objection in streets
where the traffic of foot passengers is great to too
wide crossings, and allowing for fifteen feet on each
side for the flagways, the'actual apace here allotted
will allow of the free transit of two double rows
of vehicles. Mr. Marrable proposes to make the
roadway a dead level between the points indicated,
and to purchase and take down the houses on both
sides of the way. His present plan does not
include any architectual designs for the houses, and
we think the omission a judicious one. We have
already Moorgate and King William-streets built
uniformly after the design of Sir R. Smirke, and
the result is, it must be confessed, a great monotony
of appearance. On the other band, the buildings
in Cannon-street have been left, under certain re-
strictions, to the fancy of the leaseholders, and the
result has been the erection of one of the finest and
most picturesque streets in London. In Holborn,
should Mr. Marrable's plan be adopted, the cleared
ground will be let out on building leases, and, with
certain restrictions as to the class and height
of houses, the buildings will be left entirely
to the interests of the tenants, and the rapidly
improving architectural taste of the age. The
most perfect specimen in existence of the effect
of a uniformity of design in street architecture is
to be found in the recent Paris improvements, and
it is impossible to deny that, with all the magni-
ficence, the eye soon wearies in gazing at the long
unbroken white lines of the Rue Rivoli and the
other recently-erected streets. The new Holborn-
street will be paved with solid cubes of granite, and
the arches underneath, which will be floored with
concrete and made perfectly water-tight, will be
allotted to the houses at the sides, as stores and
oellerage. The only crossway of any importance
which will have tobe provided for will be the egress
from Shoe-lane into Holborn, and this will be
effected by an ascending gradient of 1 in 23. Fol-
lowing the plan pursued in the construction of the
London, Chatham and Dover and Charing-cross
Railway viaducts, the arches upon which the Holborn
viaduct is to be raised will have a passage or "sub-
way " along the centre, thus affording access at all
times to the sewers and gas and waterpipes without
the disagreeable operation to which London
citizens have so often to submit, of tending up the
pavement and bringing the traffic to a dead lock
for an indefinite period. The " dip "of the valley '
at the junction of Farringdon and Victoria streets
will be spanned by a single arch, and in this way a
wide, perfect, and level street will be made to
extend from Hatton-garden to St. Sepulchre's, and
all the dangers and inconvenience/1 of the present
mode of transit will be completely obviated. As •
supplement to his main design, and in order to give
a second channel for the enormous traffic which is
unceasingly going on between eastern and western
London, Mr. Marrable has sketched out a new
street NO feet in length, commencing at
the site of the new dead meat market, and effecting
a clear passage through to Hatton-garden, besides
making an independent communication between
Victoria-street and the east of London. To obviate
the inconveniences of the descent of Victoria-street
into Holborn Valley, it is proposed to construct a
double roadway in the former, with an ascending
gradient of 1 in 42 on one side, and a descending
one of the same figures on the other, to be divided
by a stone screen, the monotony of which will be
relieved by architectural decorations. We feel
some difficulty in making this portion of the design
clear by a written description, but it will be some-
thing on the principle of a winding staircase, and,
whether approved of or not, will not materially
affect the main object of raising and levelling Hol-
born Valley.

The interruption of the traffic in such a street as
Holborn must, of course, be a serious consideration,
but Mr. Marrable provides against it by taking a
hint from Mr. Page in the construction of Westminster-
bridge. He proposes to pull down only one side of
the street in the first instance, and to build his