The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-15 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS.

The weekly meeting of the Board was held yes-
terday--Mr. Thwaites in the chair. A letter, con-
taining the following suggestions, was read from Mr
Bonham Carter, secretary of the First Commis-
sioner of Works : Mr." lam directed by Cooper
to state that iu his opinion it is necessary to bring
before Parliament in the ensuing session that por-
tion of the new thoroughfare between Westminster-
bridge and the Mansion-house, which was omitted
from the bill introduced last year for the embank
went" of the Thames, and which, for want of time,
could not be fully considered and decided upon dur-
ingr and t
the protracted sittings of the committee of the
gin eHousee of
Commonsthe architect n
of
b i
the bill." After
r oad to some
reportdis-
cussion the following resolution, proposed by Mr.
o tl
Tite, was adopted :—" That it be referred to the en-
forthwith on the lines and levels of
the new street
b
between the embankment and the Mansion-house
referred to by the royal
commissioners, and that the
officers of the board be authorised to prepare all
such plans and specifications in refeferi ce thereto as
may be required by the ' standing orders of Parlia-
ment, to be deposited before the 30th inst." The fol-
lowing communication was made by Mr. Carter to
the board in reference to the embankment on the
south side of the Thames :—" I am also to inform
you that Mr. Cowper agrees in the main with the
report of the royal commissioners appointed to exa-
mine plans for embanking the Surrey side of the
Thames within the metropolis, so tar as their report
applies to the Ist and 2d sections of the district
brought under their notice, He considers that the
public benefit to be obtained by embanking the right
shore of the river between London and Westmins-
ter-bridge does not seem to justify an outlay of
public money; that a continuous line of quay and
river wall would improve the appearance of the
river, but that no publio thoroughfare is required
in that direction, and that trade is of too great im-
portance to be unnecessarily interfered with.
The wharf owners and occupiers object very
strongly to any embankment, and the persons con-
cerned in the navigation of barges appear quite satis-
fied with the condition of the shore. It may, in Mr.
Cowper's opinion, be desirable to grant powers
compelling the occupiers to raise their wharfs and
river walls to such a height as may be necessary to
prevent flooding from high tides. The powers for-
merly possessed by the Commissioners of Sewers
having been. transferred by the Metrepplis Local
Management Act to vestries and distrielboards,
and these powers being imperative, it is, he thinks,
a matter for consideration whether increased power
should not be conferred upon the 'Metropolitan
Board of Works. lam to add, that he is of opinion
that an embankment above Westminster-bridge is
much wanted on many accounts, but that the new.
thoroughfare which is so urgently needed may be
satisfactorily obtained by stopping the embankment
at a point where the right bank now projects into
tho river, opposite the Milbank Prison, and near
Upper Fore-street, and by widening Vauxhall-row
and High-street ; and that the further extension of
the embankment towards Battersea-park may be
lift without inconvenience for future consideration.
After a long discussion the consideration of the
proposition in reference to the embankment on the
south side was adjourned to Friday next, and the
engineer was directed to prepare forthwith the ne-
cessary survey and plans for the embankment of the
Thames from Westminster-bridge to Vauxhall, so
as to enable the board to give the necessary notices
end comply with the standing orders next session.