The Sun.
London, England, 1830-10-28 00:00:00

Sift,—A letter in your Paper of the 24th ult.,
headed " Disgraceful State of the Strand," and
signed " Viator," has only now accidentally met my
eye, and but for one or two errors into which he
has no doubt unwittingly fllen, and which, I fear,
if uncorrected will retard the advancement of one
of our greatest metropolitan comforts—the improve.
tent of the footways, I shouid have left it to the
slow but certain progress of time and exrrience,
to show the utter groundlessness and futility of
some of his complaints.
When speaking of the Scotch stone recently used
in paving part of the footway in the Strand," Viator"
erroneously describes it as an " untried stone," and
attributes to it a variety of bad properties, not one
of which, to my positive knowledge, does it possess;
but as facts are better titan assertions, I beg to say
that in the years 1824 and 1823, whilst I discharged
the duties of Surveyor of Pavements in the parish
of St. Mary,-Newington, Surrey, I employed nearly
.30,000 feet of this stone in paving the footways of
that parish, and I owe it to the interests of the pub•
lie to decline, that the advantages which . have re-
sulted to the parish from the use of that material,
have more than realized the most sanguine expects
tints I had formed of it. In fact, six years' experi-
ence has satisfied 'my mind, as well as that of the
local authorities in that quarter, that in the quali-
ties of strength and durability it cannot be equalled
by any other paving stone that has yet been brought
to London; and it may be art additional confirmation
of this fact to state, that to this time my successor

•
in office uses it in preference to Yorkshire stone. •
But I beg the at►ention of the more fastidious of
your readers to the footpath on the east side of the
road from Newington Butts to Kennington Common,
which was paved with this stone nearly 'six years
ago, and which will be found at this d►►y to exhibit
a surface us fresh and unimpaired as when first laid
down.

In fine, Mr. Editor, the tests to which it has long
been subjected in Newington parish, have proved
beyond doubt that it neither absorbs nor retains
wet—that on the cessation of rain it dries in half
the time of Yolkshire stone; anti, moreover, that it
is not in the least degree affected by frost, so that
the surface never becomes slippery or uneven.
These, Sir, you will admit, arc qualities that stamp
a high %%due on the stone, and must render it all
acquisition wherever the comfort of pedestrians and
economy of parishioners are the objects in view.
Trusting to your usual candour and solicitude for
the public good, to permit the insertion of this in
in your Paper,
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
Great Dover-street, Borough, W. W. RAWLINS.
Oct. 27, 1830.

THE LATE MR. THOMAS KINNEAR.

(From the Caledonian Mercury.)

No circumstance that could have happened in
the mercantile world has created a greater sensation
here than the sudden death of this highly respected
and greatly lamented individual. When he adopted
the resolution two years ago of leaving Edinburgh,
and launching into the more extensive career of
business which the metropolis of the empire afforded,
the circumstance was a source of regret to a very
numerous circle of personal friends, :nost of whom
looked up to him with confidence for advice and tie-
sistance, either as mercantile men or as private
friends. By many of these friends, also, his abandon-
ment of the country of his fathers, and the direction
of an establishment which had flourished for nearly
a century, and standing at the bend of the private
bankers of this city, to add another to the host of
competitors so able, acute, and wealthy us the
London bankers of the present (lay, was regarded
us an act of some temerity. His perfect acquaint-
ance, however, with the wants and necessities of
the banking interest in Scotland enabled him at
once to chalk out a line of business for himself ; and
the eminent success which has attended his esta-
blishment during the two short years of its exist-
ence is an evidence both of the soundness of his
views, and the correctness of his calculations.
His very sudden death has, we observe, given
rise to a variety of unfavourable rumours, some of
which have found their way into the London jour-
nals, such us that he was what is termed a Bull on
the Stock Exchange to the extent of 800,000/.
Consols; that he had placed his capital with reference
rather to a high rate of interest than to the good-
ness of the security, by which it was believed he had
lost very large sums, which preyed deeply on his
mind, and led him to self-destruction. We were
sorry to perceive the Times, a journal above all
others looked up to for the correctness of its mer-
cantile intelligence, and which therefore ought to
be the more guarded in such matters, considering
the mischief likely to arise from unfounded surmises,
giving currency to these last rumours in its paper of
Friday. We have only now to state, which we do
on the very best authority—that there is not a
shadow of foundation fur any of these reports. The
loss of such a - man to his family and relations is
sufficiently afflicting without having the calamity
embittered by false and unfounded reports. Mr.
Kinnear's uniform correctness of conduct in all the
social relations, and his strong feeling of religious
duty, made his friends here perfectly confident that
there was no ground for the imputation of his having
destroyed himself, and the result of the Coroner 'a
Inquest which was held on the body on Thursday
and Friday justifies that confidence. We extract
from The Sun of the latter evening the following
paragraphs relative to the melancholy event :
" Some of our morning contemporaries have
given circulation to some unfounded reports touch-
ing the lamented death of Mr. Thomas Kinnear, of
the highly respectable banking firm of Kinnear and
Co. There is no truth whatever in the surmise
that the death of that gentleman was occasioned by
violence, though it was as sudden as unexpected:—
Mr. Kinnear was in excellent health on Tuesday
evening, and was summoned on the Jury in the
Court of King's Bench, on Wednesday, when in
the course of the morning he was found dead in his
room. An inquest was held last night, and adjourned
over till tomorrow, that the body might be opened.
The opinion of the Jury, in the total absence of any
other visible cause, was that Mr. Kinnear died of
apoplexy. Mrs. Kinnear and family were at the
time residing at Brighton, and have now to mourn
the loss of a gentleman, who was not more beloved
in all the relations of private life, than he was uni-
versally respected in his public character. With
regard to the respectability of the house of which
he was the head it is unnecessary to say a word.—
Its solvency is as unquestionable us its honour is
high."
" We have just learned that five eminent medical
gentlemen present et the post modem examination
on the body of the lute Mr. Kinnear, have signed an
official report that death was occasioned by the
rupture of a blood vessel into the stomach.' The
names of the gentlemen were, Dr. Charles Pater-
son, Dr. Sigmond, Mr. Lovegrove, Mr. Buckland,
and Mr. Alfred Hamilton."
Mr. Kinnear was in the prime of life, being under
forty years of age. He was married to a daughter
of Benjamin Gott, Esq. of Leeds, by whom he has
left a family of eight children. A lady who under-
took to break the melancholy intelligence to Mrs.
Kinnear, at Brighton, mentioned to her that he was
dangerously ill, in consequence of which she imme-
diately ordered the buries to her carriage, and at-