The Express.
London, England, 1860-07-12 00:00:00

11111Tt‘NMA.

Two EN rows, OLD DISrifiiiKIATCLE OP BISHOPROATK
—The irr...at MACKNEY wHI eve his renowned ENTERTAIN-
MENT —VARLEV. THE VULTURE —And BRoTHER BRUN
ANL) BILOTKEE SNEAK.

MON WALTZ AT LONDON RAMC: E.
TRW DaT —Maris 71. Him ... afternoon, Ilk. SOL
Tv-neallutir—Yenims, la. 411 m.... Aflentoos. OIL Um

LONDON, THURSDAY, JULY 12.

Tut Gas Monopoly has determined to die hard.
That its doom is sealed can no longer be doubted,
after, the report of the Select Committee over
.whist Mr. SOTHEION FJCPCOURT presided, and
which eat for three weeks continuously during the
present session. There had been two previous
select committees on the subject, the result of
whose labours, in a great masa of evidence relative
to every branch of the question, was before the
Committee of this year on the first day it sat. Not-
withstanding this advantage, it was found impos-
sible to restrain the power of professional frustra-
tion within a narrower limit than that of nineteen
days ; at the end of which time, finding it unavail-
ing for the purpose of defeating the remedial Bill,
supported by all independent interests in the
Metropolis, counsel for the Companies were in-
structed to perform what was meant to be the
imposing ceremony of withdrawing indignantly
from the contest, leaving the devoted Committee
without further molestation or admonition to
work its wicked will. Without betraying any
symptoms of being thunderstruck by this awful re-
buke, Mr. FOTOOVIIT and his colleagues continued to
of for two or three days more, and proceeded to settle,
according to their judgment, the forms and de-
tails of the measure whose essential features bad
been so elaborately investigated. The Ma-r 1111,4111

of legal dividends having been fixed by the Act
of 1847, when competition existed, at 10 per
cent., was reduced to 8 per went, competition
being now abolished by the companies themselves.
Some reduction was demanded by the promoters
of the Bill ; and instead of leaving it undecided,
counsel for the Companies had suggested that it
would be better to put it at a lower figure; yet no
sooner have the Committee done so, than the
change is made a principal ground of complaint
against them in the House of Commons. The
801 l asked for a reduction of price, and the Com-
;mitre agreed to recommend the adoption of four
shillings per thousand feet as the ordinary
standanl ; but this is declared to be ruin and rob-
bery, although, if we are not much misinformed,
compromises have been more than once negotiated
on the subject of which this condition warn to have
formed an essential part. The great grievance
of all is said to be the appointment of
inspectors, and the establishment of sum-
mary proceedings for the trial of disputes
between the producers and consumers of gas ; yet
it is clear that without resort to some such mea-
sure all legislation on the subject must be practi-
cally We need not go into further de-
tails here ; suffice it to say that the terms pro-
posed by the Committee are upon the whole
exceedingly moderate, regard being had to the
great and governing fact that the supply of artifi-
cial light to the inhabitants of London has within
the last few years ceased to he by competition, and
been converted into a strict and permanent
monopoly.

On Tuesday evening Mr. STAAILAND under-
took to prevent the further progress of the Bill in
the House of Commons, upon the ground that the
vested interest. cote ented had not yet had • full
and fair hearing before • Committee upstairs.
The candour of the objection thus raised may be
estimated by a passing admission made in the
course of a somewhat lengthy speech by the
hon. member for Boston. In his desire to
impeach the finding of the parliamentary jury,
he declared that they had gone fa* be-
yond what the promoters of the Bill had asked
for. "If the Committee had given only what
" the promoters of the Bill had asked, little or no
" harm would have been done, and the gas corn-
" parties would have been perfectly satisfied, for
" they were not opposed to what was called
" uniform legislation." Little or no harm would
hare been (bate ; then how did it happen that as
soon as the Committee were empanelled a for-
midable any of forensic forces presented briefs,
took close order, and for the space of nineteen
days contested every inch of ground claimed in
the preamble or included within the scope of the
Bill The combined Companies, who for three
years have baffled every attempt at settlement,
would, we are now told, have been perfectly satis-
fied with the Bill promoted by the associated ves-
tries of the Metropolis : then why do they not
i agree to t I Or why, after the first week's dis-
cussion, or after the second week's discussion, or
at the end of the third week's discussion, would
they come to no terms of compromise ? We say
it plainly and fearlessly,—because they do not yet
despair of being able to retain their irrespon-
sible hold over the public and private com-
fort of three millions of their fellow-subjects, and
of turning the same to account in exorbitant ease- I
tion. Mr. STANILANIP had the coolness to tell '
the House of Commons that it was quite a mis-
take to suppose that the supply of gas in Loudon
was a monopoly, because it was quite in the
power of any one who chose to make and sell as
much of that commodity as he was able. A. well
might his argue that the carriage of letters by the
Post office was not a monopoly because any young
man who has nothing else to do lacy spend his