The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-16 00:00:00

THE

CITY lIVIPROVE3IENTS.
The works connected with making the new
Queen-street to the soutns!de
street
of the
from theea
Cathedral
Cannon-street to the east
made street from
eedstrasttoef (S'ft. Paul's, in continuation of the
recently
the auspices of the Improvement Commissioneas site of Queen-street, are proceeding rapidly under
con-
nected with the Corrration of the city of London.
From Queen-street to Bow-lane the houses on the
south side of Little St. Thomas the Apostle, have
been removed, and the pavement and carriageways
laid, the new street being thirty feet wide in the road-
way, and upwards of twenty feet in the causeways.
This improvement is very striking, and gives to the
street, even in its present incomplete state a noble ap-
pearance. Four of the plots of ground on the south
side of the new street, at this spot, have been taken for
building purposes.
Along the south-side of Basing-lane, the whole
of the premises have been removed, including the
ancient " hostlerie," long known as " Gerard's
Hall." This celebrated building was renowned
for its antiquity, and its " crypt" was always
considered to be a curious relic by those inte-
re.3ted in the archwological history of the city of
London. At the present moment workmen are em-
ployed in removing the structure, which is open
to all who desire to catch a last glimpse of the
truly elegant and substantial masonry of five cen-
turies ago. Behind this building stands the Church
of St. Mildred, Bread-street, which it has been
erroneously stated is to be taken down. Such a pro-
ceeding, in fact, has never been contemplated, and this
venerable edifice will form, so far as present arrange-
ments go, at least, the angle of the two new streets,
the one from that point to St. Paul's, and the other
to Earl-street, Blackfriars.

Most of the parties in Little Friday-street, Friday-
street, Great and Little Distaff-lanes, Carter-lane,
and St. Paul's Churchyard have been settled with as
to their claims for compensation, by the Corporation,
but five or six other claimants remain for hearing
until after the summer recess, so that it will be at
least Michaelmas before they receive their final no-
tices to quit the premises, and Christmas before the
line of street from the statue of King William, at
Eastcheap to St. Paul's Churchyard is opened to the
public.
Connected with this great work, of so much im-
portance as it uwill readily be conceded to be to the
citizens of London and the general public, perhaps
some few statistics as to the cost of a portion of it,
gathered from authentic sources, may not not prove
altogether uninteresting. From the several reports
of the committees we glean, that in prosecution
of the powers vested in them by the Act of Parlia-
ment, 13 and 14 of her present Majesty's reign, for
continuing the improvement from Queen-street to St.
Paul's Churchyard, they bad received claims from
freeholders, lessees, and occupiers of property, to the
amount of 113,0901. 10s., which claims, after long
and laborious examination on the part of the com-
mittee, had been settled at 85,538/. 103. The
remainder ,of the claims for property on the line
including several houses in Great Trinity-lane, re-
quired for the cross street to Earl-street, Blackfriars
(with the exception of a small number of houses in
Old Change), have also been disposed of at a sum
considerably less than that demanded, so that upon
the whole the settlement may be regarded as very
satisfactorily adjusted. It is expected that the entire
cost of the purchase of the interests of all parties in
this new line of street will not be less than half a mil-
lion sterling.
Besides these arrangements, the committee have
completed the purchase, during the past year, of pro-
perty from the east side of Lawrence Pountney-hill
to King William-streeet, for 42,9641., the sum
claimed being 67,0621. 103. 3d.; for the improvement
in the neighbourhood of Ship Tavern-passage, Grace-
church-street, for the sum of 2,7411. 10s., the claims
being 5,7381. 10s. 7d.; and for the purchase of the
Waxchandlers' Hall for 4,014/., claim 6,5001. A
treaty with the pariah of St. Martin Ongar, for
widening the entrance to Martin's-lane, Cannon-
street, has also been effected, on terms satisfactory to
all parties, agreements being entered into also with
the pariah of St. John the Baptist, Dowgate, for set-
ting back the railing of their burial-ground to a suf-
ficient extent to complete the line of improvement in
that neighbourhood ; and with the parish of St.
Thomas Apostle, for improvements connected with
their burial-ground in Queen-street. With regard
to the improvement so long called for, at that dan-
gerous spot, the corner of Fenchurch-street and
Gracechurch-street, proposed to be effected by the
removal of the parish church of St. Benet Grace-
church, it is to be regretted that the committee are
compelled to state, "that, after repeated meetings
with the parishioners, they have not yet been able to
arrange the matter," so that the subject still remains
under consideration.
As to the "Clerkenwell Improvement," the :state-
ment made by the committee may tend, in some de-
gree, at least, to explain the cause of the delay in the
prosecution of the works, which has of late been the
cause of no small amount of remonstrance on the part
of parties occupying property in that locality. The
committee remark that " they were occupied for a
considerable time in the early part of the year with
the detail of the arrangements between the Corpora-
tion and the Commissioners for the Clerkenwell
provetnent, for carrying out that measure in their
stead, and having alternately agreed upon the same,
a Bill was brought into Parliament during the last
session for the:purpose, which passed both Houses, and
received the royal assent on the first day of August,
1851, and was referred to the committee for execu-
tion. Under this Act they, in the first instance,
directed the comptroller, City Solicitor, and City
architect, to ascertain the outstanding claims
against the Commissioners, that they might be ad-
justed, and the books, papers, and docu-
ments belonging to them were handed over
to the committee, who referred the whole to
Mr. B. Scott, principal clerk to the Chamber-
lain to examine the accounts delivered in by the late
Commissioners. Mr. Scott subsequently reported
that he found the same in a very incomplete and un-
satisfactory state ; whereupon the committee were
compelled to meet from time to time to afford the
officers of the late Commission an opportunity of
supplying evidence as to the correctness of the state-
ments put in by them. Ultimately the committee
were enabled, upon the receipt of satisfactory reports
from their officers, to sign warrants to Messrs. Bar-
chell and Parson, the solicitors of the late Commis-
sioners, and to the other parties having claims on
them, for payment of their respective accounts out of
the fund created by the Act of the 13th and 14th
of Victoria, cap. 103, authorising the raising the sum
of 88,0001. for the purpose. The claims upon the
Clerkenwell Commissioners, at the time the Corpo-
ration undertook the formation of the street,
amounted to 41,465/. 3s. 2d., which the committee
discharged. Notices were then given for the imme-
diate purchase of premises used for slaughterhouses
and other offensive trades, &c., the committee feeling
anxious that no time should be lost in proceeding
with the measure, active steps connected with which
will be taken immediately after the re-assembling of
the Court in September next.
The committee having also obtained powers, by
another Act of Parliament, which received the royal
assent on the 17th June, 1852, to " widen and im-
prove the north end of Do vvgate-h ill, Threadneedle-
street, opposite Old Broad-street;
the ; the south-east
corner of Mark-lane, and part of
north side of
Great Tower-street," the same will be forthwith
of te-hill parish St.
ex-
amined, and the claims disposed of. Of these there
are four houses, &c., in Dowgate-hill,
Thread-
needle-street, nine in Finch-lane, nine in Spread
John the Baptist upon Walbrook ; ten in
ETagle-court, four in Mark-lane, and three in Great
Tower-street. The removal of this clump of build-
ings has long been needed, and will open out a
spaciousiiisho_s thoroughfare, from the Royal Exchange to
intersect the new from Earl-street to Bow-lane, which w
It isP not ex that the newly proposed
forth-
with, though athrd's ill obliquely
street,.
of the late Cannon-street West, near to the site
be assured also of the factlong
provement will bees eere-s
work is accomplished, no doubt but that that
im-
will be carried out
effected. The pupaising
along
ere being blic may
that, immediately after that
to the e line will be continued east-
wardwill be a direct Mansion-house,communication
Paul's-churchyard, Blackfriars-bridge, without
goinAdvertisaernd
tiosno that eventually there
from Whitechapel to
any necessity
g either the Poultry,
foohrehaepasvidye,veshitc.leps
completed
or Ludgate-hill,
the improve-
mentsafcer the e
ff ee alterationsted.°err:l.

8 AST
LONDON, BRIGHTORAIL N, Al D
i 034 1 WAY. OUTII-CO
Traffic—Week ending Aug. 14, 1852
Traffic—Week ending Aug. 16, 1851 '•• 12,811 10 8
Total of the half-year, to this date, 1852 lt
1105);'417 1 '2
,680 3 10
Total of the half-year, to this date, 1851 ..1, (t
end 7 4
10
Total number of Passengers— We
Aug. 14,1852 .. 86.792 ending
...X10,722 19 s
2,088 11 0

Passengers
Goods

Total ... £12,811 10 8
Total miles open, 1852, 1731 A ; ditto, 1851, 173
74,
,radon Terminus, Aug. 16, 1852.

LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY —This morning, at 10 30,
the British and North American steam-ship Asia took her
departure from the Mersey, for New York, with a fair corn_
plenient of passengers and a full cargo, besides the usual
mails. Mr. Baring did not go out in this steamer, as was
expected.
ACCIDENT AT THE SHEFFIELD AGRICULTURAL
Snow.--We regret to state that Mr. Cresskill, the eminent
animal shied agricultural implement maker, of Beverley, sustained a
serious accident, on Tuesday, during the trial of two reaping
machines near Attercliff. He was riding about in the field
mounted
edandhotris,ree,wwihliemn. inwane
understandun guarded
that
momentthe on a fine s
r. Cro,skill dislocated his shoulder.—Sheffield Paper.

A bottle-noted shark, weighing upwards of 1 cwt.,
was brought on slicre on Thursday, at Brighton, it having
been entangled in a fishipg.ngt.