The Express.
London, England, 1860-09-15 00:00:00

(Stamped, ld. Additional)

nation, and only in three Instances 'did Itilbocitin Deoassary
to recent to a jury to seems the oomptemittpla.
Tie pgrrr d for the Covent-garden approach has, with one
011, been entirely cleared.
fisme extensive premises which were interfered with at
one and of the street have been rebuilt, with a considerable
frontage towards the new street, and the line of thorough-
fere will shortly be thrown open. The board have directed
their attention to the adoption of some means for obviating
the expense and inconvenience attending the breaking up of
the pavement for the repair of mains andpipes, sewers, and
other underground works. With this view, and in
the hope of obtaining valuable data for their
guidance in carrying out future improvements they are
about to form a subway under this street for the
reception of gas and water mains, electric telegraph conduc-
tors, Sm. For this e they propose to construct under
this street an arch su way seven feet six inches in height
by 12 feet in width, and also to form 14 arched Nide par
✓ages for house service pipes, together with prow,
on either side of the street. In conjunction with thee
proper sewers will be built, and convenient arrangements
made for drainage.
The board have settled the greater part of the claims for
property required for the Victoria.park approach.
During the year the board contributed to the cost of im-
provements promoted by the Commissioners of Sewers for
the City of London, and the Westminster district board,
by the purchase of property for widening and otherwise
improving the following localities :—U per, aad Lower
Thames-street, Fetter.lane, /thdge-row, -street,
Little Knight Rider-street, comer et Hlse-laiss mid Bodge-
Km, cotter of Dreartetreet and OW ibh-idreet, earner of
Lawrence-lam and Cheapeido, Primrcerntreet, corner of
Queen.street and Maiden-lane, Rochester-row, Westminster.

During the year there were 66 applieat»ni for the altera-
tion of names of streets and the numbering of house., of
which 26 weregranted and six refused, 26 being still pond-
in. Plans for the formation of new streets were submitted
to the board under their bye-law in 79 cases, of which 59
were approved and eight disapproved. Of the 12 others,
some were abandoned, or are still pending.
Toward the end of this year the new offices for the board,
which were begun in the autumn of 1880, will be finished,
and the improved passage into St. Jamee's Park, from
Spring Gardens, completed. In consequence of the strike
amixdthe workmen the building operations were much
im
e receipts of the board during the year ending lith
March, 1860, amounted to 670,10.31. 14s. 7d. ; that-is to
my, on the general account 202,2431. 10a. 9d. ; Covent-
garden approach, 105,966/. 12s. Bd. ; Southwark and West-
minster communications 99,038/. 16.. lid. ; Victoria Park
apFosch, 943/. 17s. ld. ; metropolis main drainage,
1081.13 e. Id. ; main drainage rate collection, 11,872/.
4e. ld. Total, 670,1931. 14a. 7d.
The payments of the board during the same period
amounted to 5941.145. Bd., that is to say, on the general ac-
count,
. 42:(•‘.. , 58.111;th k 6. held' ;WeseZmeinv t-g7denco mus Pnfcawctit,
143,4911. ea 71. ; Victoria-park appproach, 6,650/. 2s. 104.1. ;
metropolis main drainage, 179,6231.5 a. Wl. ; main drainage
rate collection, 1461. 7a. Cd. ; total, 594,826/. 14s. Bd.
The balance in hand on the 25th March, 1659, was
347794. 13s. • and at the same date in 1860, 388,144/.
ltd. Th Mali owing to the board at the bast-men-
tioned date in respect of aareannenta on vestries and district
boards, improvement rates, &c., amounted to 43,706/.
Ills. 10d., and the amount invested in New Three
per Cents. for the repayment of mortgage debts
was 38,7941. Bs. 841. The mortgage debts and outstandingliabilities of the board, on the gage
March last, amounted
to 1,740,494/. 3e. 9d.
This does not include the moneys borrowed on the secu-
rity of the main drainage rate, the proceeds of which are
paid into the public account at the Bank of England, and
periodically applied in extinction of the main drainage
bods.
The board held meetings on fifty different days, and the
committee meetings amounted to 114.
The board connate of 45 members, and the average num-
ber of members present at each board meeting during the
year was 32.
The attention of the board was engaged for several
months in the investigation of a claim upon them by the
War Department of the sum of 94,212/. 17s. 3d., for the
expenses incurred by the Ordnance Department in the
survey of London, ordered by the late Metropolitan Com-
missioners of Sewers. It was ultimately arranged that the
board should pay 10,000/. out of the mein drainage rate, in
satisfaction of the claim, the War Department retaining the
plates sad copyright of the survey, but undertakiug from'
time to time to supply this bowl. the Commissioners of
&WWI of the City of London, and the several vestries and
.dierstenbesedrief else aromiralk•oriiii marry OnleiMoYeher,

should require, at the rate o-r-f-I;.PeT• sheer'
In their report of last year, the board referred to the dif-
ficulties which they experienced, in consequence of the dis-
satisfaction of several of the vestries and district boards
with the apportionment of the debts of the Metropolitan
Commusioners of Sewers made by the act of 1855, and to
the masque'. steps taken by the board for effecting such
an adjustment of those debt; as they deemed equitable and
just. After prolonged communications with the vestries
and district beanie, they reapportioned the debt in respect
of the Rock loan, and introduced • bill into parliament for
the purpose of giving effect to the proposed re.appertion-
ment shortly before the termination of the cession of 1851*.
That bill having been necessarily discontinued, by the close
of the session, the board, in October last, resolved upon ex-
tending the provision@ of the measure to be introduced into
parliament, and embracing within it enactments having
reference as well to the powers and duties of vestries
and district boards as to those of this board. For
that purpose they placed themselves in communication
with the whole of those bodies, in order to ascertain their
views upon the matter. Thu board received from them
numerous suggestions upon the subject, which they referred
to • committee of their body, who expended a large amount
of time and labour in considering them and in framing
provisions adapted for supplying the deficiencies of the
existing law. They eventually prepared a bill containing
109 clauses. The chief provisions in the bill were those
relating to the apportionment and payment of the mort-
gage debts of the Metropolitan Sewers Commission for ree
gulating the assessments of the board, and insuring their
collection and payment, for enforcing the obligations of
private parties as regards the construction of sewers and
the paving new street., for the repression of various nui-
sances, and the introduction of nunierous amendments in
matters of aduenistrative detail.

Only a limited pot tion of the bill was directed to objects
exclusively affecting this board, and by far the larger part
of it related to matters appertaining to vestries and dis-
trict boards. Comiderable misapprehension seems to have
prevailed as to the scope and objects of this measure, but a
perusal of its provisions will at once show that it in very few
instances caked for new powers for this board, but merely
sought to render those given by the original act effectual
indeed, the chief feature in the the apportionment of
the debts of the Sewers Commissions was one which
almost exclusively concerned the interests of vestries and
dist:tit boards. This laborious, and at the same time
thsakless investigation, ought never to have been imposed
upon this board at all, bat acting upon a sense of duty, the
board did not shrink from the responsibility which had
devolved upon them, and in determining the incidence of
those burthens they strictly acted upon such considerations
as they deemed consonant to justice and equity.
In • redistribution of debts, which in the nature of
things could only give relief to one parish by adding to the
burthens of another, it was obviously impossible to secure
the acquiescence of all. But the board gave a fair and
attentive consideratiou to all the representations made to
them, and in the result bad the satisfaction of finding thst
the apportionment which they recommended was ratified by
the approval of the great majority of the metropolitan
parishes and district+.
The board cannot conclude this account of their labours
during the preceding year without again adverting to the
magnitude and cost of the works required for the improve-
ment of the metropolis, to the total inadequacy of the funds
at their disposal for meeting those demands, and to the
urgent necessity of providing them with additional sources
of revenue, and they entertain the earnest hope that at an
early period their repeated representations upon this sub-
ject may receive attention in the proper quarter, and result
in practical measures, by which they may be rambled
effectually to tarry out the public improvements so urgently
make&

BOARD OF TRAM, WR/TINALL, SIFT. 13. —The
Right Hon. the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council
for Trade and Plantations have received, from the Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs, a copy of a notice which ap-
peared in the Venation Gazette of the 29th ultimo, declar-
ing the port of Tre Porti to be closed as a port of entry to
commerce, with the exception of that portion of the canal
which proceed, through the canals of Pordelio and Cavil-
lino, between the free port of Venice and the principal cus-
tom-house of Tr 4 Peed.
LEWIS BRADFORD, AND HALIFAX JUNCTION
RAILWAY COMPANT.—The twenty-fifth general meting of
the shareholder' in this company was held yeatenbiy at the
Bradford station ; Edward Akroyd, Esq., of Bauk-field,
Halifax, occupied the chair. The chairman, in moving the
adoption of the report, showed that there had been a steady
and satisfactory increase in the revenue for the pest two
ran, so that the directors were enabled to make another
advance in the dividend for the half year ending June Lat.
The dividend for the half /ear ending June,lBso, was 31 per
eget., with 421. carried to the reserve fund; for the Ulf-
yew wading December, 1559, 41 per cent., with 527 L car-
ried to the =wise fund ; and for the half-year ending June,
1505, the dividend was 5 per cent., with 1,802/. carried to
the sworn fund. They had cased to become dealers la
coal, end confined themselves now to the legitimate duty of
MAIM They found the change to be fraught with advan-
tage to the shareholders, and they had every confidence
that their new undertaking would continue to yield a steadily
increasing and satisfactory revenue for the benefit of the
shareholders. The report was adopted, and a dividend of 5
per cent. was declared. Poe the first time in ten years, a
sum el , unocutting to 4001., was voted to the direc-
tive; la ioa of valuable services rendered.