The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-13 00:00:00

GENERAL COMMITTEE OF ELECTIONS.

Yesterday this committe7—Sir John Trollope (chair-
man),Palmer,e and
appointed Mr. Sot
thheer ton
following, an d another
members
0.
member3l—met
t
serve on the election committee for Clitheroe
Mr. G. A. Hamilton (chairman), Sir T. 1 :-er-bert, Sir
J. Duke, Mr. Butt, and Mr. S. Laing. The member
petitioned against is Mr. Aspinall.
The CHAIRMAN inquired whatotherbab
elecirtlitoynthpeertietiwonase
there were this session, and what pre
of their being prosecuted.
Mr. COPPOCK said, there was a petition against the
return of Mr., Bagshawe for Harwich, but he did not
think it would go on. There was a petition against the
return of Mr, Whalley for Peterborough, and another
against Captain Vernon for Chatham, and these cer-
tainly would go on. He had received instructions for
other petitions (Sligo, Liverpool, Durham, &c.) but ,
The formalities of
theythad not vet been presented.
the House of Commons required such long notice in
these matters that he was afraid the petitions not yet
presented could not be tried this session.
The CHAIRMAN observed, that in these days of tele-
graphs and railways this ought not to be, an e re-
gretted to say that this delay must be unavoi hdably
extended, as he and Sir F. Baring bad to send in their
resignations as members of that committee, and no new
members could serve in their place till' Monday next,
and it would be difficult to get members to serve on
election
committees in Augul
It is stated that in the ease of Clitheroe the inquiry
will involve a ;scrutiny likely fo last many days.

Westminster-bridge is to come doWn at last. We have
arrived so far in the direction of improvement. It is at
least a satisfaction to find that the question is no longer,
as to the destruction of the old nuisance, and the substi:
tution in its place of a more efficient structure ; but as
to the form the new bridge shall receive. There are
two opinions upon this subject. Many persons whose in-
terests are more directly concerned in river traffic are for
working up to the model of the Menai-bridge, and adapt-
ing the new structure to the exigencies of the river
tr;:ffic as they are at present understood. Others again
maintain—and we very cordially agree with them—that
the mere river traffic is a point of very secondary
importance as compared with the convenience of
passage for foot passengers and vehicles from
bank to bank of the river Thames. Just in the same
way as we had, some time hack, upon our iron roads the
question of broad gauge and narrow gauge, so we are
now to enter upon a discussion of high arch or low
arch. The evidence of Mr. Page, the engineer to the
Board of Works, delivered before the Westminster-
bridge Committee, appeared some time back in these
columns. This gentleman stoutly maintains the propriety
of depressing the headway of the arch in order to suit it
to the public convenience. Mr. Walker, on the other
hand, the consulting engineer to the Navigation Com-
mittee of the Port of London, adopts the opposite
view, and furnishes us with reasons for maintaining
the height of the bridge as it stands—thus, in
point of fact, sacrificing the public for the sake of a
minor interest. In our impression of Saturday there
appeared a letter under the signature of " Nauticus," in
which the case in favour of the high arch was maintained
with great earnestness. The writer wishes to make out,
that a bridge upon the good old "uphill" and "down-
hill" plan is preferable to one which offers a perfectly
level surface, or, at least, that within certain limits
the inclination is a matter of very secondary considera-
tion. The absolute figures are set at 1 in 42 against
1 in 54 ; and those who are curious in such matters may
consult the letter of " Nauticus" for the engineering rea-
sons by which he disposes of Mr. Page's calculations, and
proves that a higher or a lesser inclination is a matter
of perfect indifference. We are not engineers,
and will leave it to the gentlemen of the craft
to fight each other with their own weapons ; but
we can perfectly well appreciate the difference in
comfort between passing over London and Waterloo
bridge on the one hand, and Blackfriars and the
existing Westminster bridge on the other. It is all very
well for " Nauticus" to tell us, " that waggoners and
coachmen prefer easy inclines to a perfectly level
road, upon which, they say, the load is always on the
collar.' We cannot but think that a hill is a hill, and that
a stiffer hill is more uneasy for man and beast than one
which is less so. Not all the engineering reasons in
the world could drive it out of our heads that there is
an essential difference between the two cases in favour
of the less degree of inclination. If the bridge is to be
built according to the opinion of nineteen-twentieths of
the inhabitants of London, it will be built so as to offer
a level surface for the convenience of the passers-by, or
at least one as nearly so as the inevitable difficulties of
the case will permit.
It is a not uncommon characteristic of letters such
as the one upon which we are now commenting,
that the reader is left with the impression that
two opposite and irreconcileable conditions can be
satisfied if the views of the writer are adopted.
If " Nauticus" proves anything, he proves that
the bargemen and mariners can have high arches,
and the land passengers at the same time ac-
commodated with a low bridge. We much doubt this
conclusion—if, in truth, it be really intended—and are
perfectly prepared to maintain the cause of the land
traffic against that of the traffic by water. However
great the inconvenience may be to particular persons, it
results not from any harsh views suddenly adopted by
the public authorities to the detriment of their
interests, but from the topographical position and
growth of this immense town. London is built on either
bank of a great river, and the necessities of communica-
tion between bank and bank become as great as those
between street and street on the same side of the
stream. To this necessity must yield the lesser con-
venience, namely, that large ships laden with mer-
chandise should pass freely along the whole length
of the city, and be free to discharge their goods at
the most convenient point along the banks. This
lesser convenience, comparatively speaking, we are
compelled to give up as the town spreads out upon
either bank, and to fix a point beyond which the
interests of water traffic are sacrificed to those of
land communication. This point in the present case
is London-bridge. Beyond this point those persons
who would use the great stream for the purposes of
mercantile conveyance must adapt their operations
to the altered conditions of things. If they find
themselves crippled on one side their market is
extending on the other, and that reflection should
at least prove some consolation. For ourselves, we
would fain see the time when the banks of this
noble river above London-bridge shall no longer
be deformed by a. series of unsightly sheds and
warehouses ; and we can perceive no reason why
the present arrangements should not in course of
time give way to others more consonant with the dignity
of that great town which lays claim to be considered as
the capital of the world. Such things as the purification
and embankment of the river Thames within the limits
of London are not to be accomplished in a clay, but at
least let us work in this direction. Do not let us con-
sent to sacrifice our present convenience and the future
architectural hopes of the town to the demands of a very
small class of our fellow-citizens, who have certainly no
right to put forward any such pretension. We should
add, that in all probability their fears are exaggerated.
Science and mechanical ingenuity are not standing
still in other respects, and, if the bridge is not
raised to suit the ship, the ship will be lowered to suit
tha bridge. We have little doubt that before many
years have elapsed an entirely different character of
craft will be seen navigating the river Thames.
Even as matters stand, the great hulk of the com-
munication is carried, on in lighters, to which the
height of the bridge can be a maatter of no
importance, The navigation between Londoii and Vaux-
hall bridges requires a broad arch and a clear stream.
The one is a natural consequence of the other, and is of
far more moment—as any lighterman would tell us—
than the height of the bridges under which these craft
must pass.

TENANT-FARMERS UNDER THE INCOME TAX A CT.-
-I
esterday a parliamentary paper showed that there had
been 1,200 appeals by tenant-farmers, under the Income
Act. The number allowed was 750, and the amount of
relief granted 3,419/. ss. 71(1.
NAVAL COAST VOLUNTEERS. —The bill just brought
in by Sir Jas. Graham proposes to empower the Ad-
miralty to raise 10,000 men, to be called the " Royal
Naval Coast Volunteers." They are to be entered for
five years, and trained and exercised on shore and ship,
and in case of invasion or imminent danger called into
service ; and in that event seafaring men in public de-
partments are to be liable to serve in the navy.

N. Memo, Worcester, brewer, Aug. 2, at one—G. Clap•
ham, Whittlesea, Cambridgeshire, watchmaker and jewel.
ler, Aug. 2, at twelve.

In the Country.

F. Rufford, Stourbridge, banker, 'Aug. 13, at ten, at the
Court, Birmingham—W. Marson, Wolverhampton, draper,
Aug. 6, at ten, at the Court, Birmingham—E. Goldsmith,
Nottingham, tailor, Aug. 12, at the Court, Nottingham—
W. Butterworth, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, grocer, Aug.
12, at ten, at the Court, Nottingham—J. Patterson, Ather-
stone, Warwickshire, market-gendener, Aug. 6, at ten, at the
Court, Birmingham—H. H. Ross, Liverpool, draper, Aug. 4,
at eleven, at the Court, Liverpool—J. Power, Liverpool, mer-
chant, Aug. 4, at eleven, at the Court, Liverpool—D. Dale,
Kidsgrove, near Tunstall, Staffordshire, builder, Aug. 24, at
twelve, at the Court Birmingham—W. Coleman, Coventry,
chemist, Aug. 24, at twelve, at the Court, Birmingham—
W. Latham, Shelton, Stoke-upon-Trent, boot and shoe-
maker, Aug. 24, at twelve, at the Court, Birmingham—
W. Wood, jun., Birmingham, builder, Aug. 24, at twelve,
at the Court, Birmingham—J. Muckleston, jun., Shrews-
bury, grocer, Aug. 2, at twelve, at the Court, Birmingham
—T. Brock, Kingston-upon-Hull, coal and potabe mer-
chant, Aug. 3, at Calf-past twelve, at the Court, Leeds—
G. Hirst Kirkburtm, Yorkshire, manufacturer, Aug. 2, at
half-past eleven, at the Court, Leeds.
PAYMENTS OF DIVIDENDS.

Polden and Lafat-gue, Gould-square, QPo;ners, 4d., on
Tuesday, July 11, or any subsequent Tuesday, between
eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall
Chambers, Basingiall-street.
E. and H. Martyr, Aldgate, High-street, woollen-drapers,
24d., on Tuesday, July 11, or any subsequent Tuesday,
between eleven acid two, at the office of Mr. Pennell,
Guildhall Chambers, Basinghall-street.
G. W. Craddock, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, scrivener,
3s. 1041, any Thtxsday, between eleven eleven and three,
at the °Nee of Mr. Christie, Birmingham.
J. Scott, Nottingham, grocer, 4s. 6d., on Saturday, July
16, and three subsequent Saturdays, between eleven and
three, at the office of Mr. Harris, Nottingham.
Hindes and Derham, Leeds and Dolphinholme, worsted-
spinners, third diridend. of 5d., on any Monday or Tuesday
on and after July 4, between eleven and two, at the office
of Mr. Hope, Leeds.
C. Hare, Huddersfield, chemist, Is. 6d., on any Monday
or Tuesday on or after July 4, between eleven and two, at
the office of Mr. Rope, Leeds.
T. Carter, Preston, corn-merchant, 4s. 3d., on Tuesday,
July 12, and every following Tuesday, between ten and
one, at the office cf Mr. Lee, Manchester.
J. Gouldesbroigh, Manchester, manufacturer, third
dividend of ls. 4d., on Tuesday, July 12, and every fol-
lowing Tuesday, btween ten and one, at the office of Mr.
Lee, Manchester.
G. Fielder, Saddleworth, Yorkshire, woolstapler, 2
on Tuesday, July 12, and every following Tuesday, be-
tween ten and one, at the office of Mr. Lee, Manchester.
G. Smith, Manchester, hatter, 2s. 3d., on Tuesday, July
12, and every
of Mr. Lee,veryfollowi Manchester.
J. ache
Tuesday,ser.
between ten and one, at
the office
J. Ness, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, grocer, 77d., on Satur-
day, July 16, or any following Saturday, between ten and
three, at the office of Mr. Wakley, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
A. Harrison, Friar's Goose Alkali Works, near Gates-
head, alkali-manufacturer, 2s. 30., on Saturday, July 16,
or any following Saturday, between ten and three, at the
office of Mr. Wakley, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
NOTICES OF CERTIFICATES.
At the Court, Basinghall-street.

T. D. Steam, Ipswich, plumber and painter, Aug. 2, al
half-past twelve.

In the Country.

W. Pulford, Low Sutton, Lincolnshire, cordwainer,
Aug. 12, at ten, at the Court, Nottingham—J. Roberts,
Stratford-upon-Avon, builder, Aug. 17, at twelve, at the
Court, Birmingham—T. Brock, Kingston-upon-Hull, coal
merchant, Aug. 3, at half-past twelve, at the Town-hall,
Kingston-upon-Hull.
CERTIFICATES GRANTED.

W. H. Gough, Barton, Gloucestershire, builder, certi-
ficate of the second class—W. Minchener, heapside, City,
warehouseman, certificate of the second class—R. Smith,
Preston, corn merchant, certificate of the second class,
after twelve calendar months from Aug. 9—J. Browne,
Birmingham, licensed victualler, certificate of the second
class.