The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-20 00:00:00

NEW WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.

On Friday the select committee of the House of Cora-
mons of which Sir William Molesworth was chairman
concluded its inquiry on the preamble of this (Govern-
ment) bill, the important object proposed by it being to
remove the present dilapidated structure, dating from the
reign of King George 11., to build a new bridge on or
near the site thereof, and to transfer Westminster-bridge
and the estates of " the commissioners of Westminster-
bridge" to the Commissioners of her Majesty's Works
and Public Buildings, under whose superintendence
the new bridge is to be constructed. Mr. Thomas Page,
civil engineer, was then examined, and stated that the
new bridge would be formed of seven flat iron arches
upon stone piers. The width of the centre arch would
be 125 feet, of the two next on either side 115 feet, of
the two next 105 feet, and of the land arches 95 feet,
giving a total water way of 755 feet. The height of the
headway of the proposed bridge would be 20 feet, and
its width 80 feet, which he was of opinion was sufficient
for the navigation of the river. In drawing out his
plans he regarded the accommodation of the land traffic
as paramount, and his attention had been chiefly directed
to the levels of the leading streets, and there in con-
nection with the approaches to the bridge, either on the
Belgravia or Surrey side, would be very good and conve-
nient. The steepest gradient on the bridge would be 1 in
54 on the Surrey side, and 1 in 57 on the Middlesex side,
while towards the centre of the bridge it was 1 in 63.
This would be an immense improvement on the existing
gradients of the gresent bridge, which were 1 in 56,
lin 37, lin 23, and 1 in 22, and the proposed levels
would admit of the tout ensemble of the new bridge
being so arranged as to harmonise well with the façade
of the new }louses of Parliament. With reference to
the traffic over Westminster bridge, the average number
of horses drawing public carriages, omnibuses, cars, and
carts, but excluding carriage and saddle horses, was
9,600 horses passing over in 12 hours, and, allowing
each horse a ton, it would give 48,000 tons drawn over
Westminster-bridge in five days, and consequent on the
proposed improvements and difference in the ascent, the
resistance now offered by:the actual gradient of We,t-
minster-bridge to that traffic would be offered by the
gradient of the new bridge to a traffic of 120,000 tons.
From a return of the land and river traffic on the Bth
June last, it appeared that there passed over the bridge
2,305 cabs, 638 carriages, 3,065 carts, 341 horses, and
731 omnibuses. The nnmber of steamers passing
through the bridge was 157, barges 130, railway barges
and billy boys 12. The estimated cost of the pro-
posed new bridge was 150,0001., and the cost of removing
the foundations of the old bridge 15,0001. The new
bridge would be in a line and almost parallel with the
existing one, and at right angles with the Houses of
Parliament ; and it was desirable that this should be so,
both on account of the navigation of the river, and the
architectural appearance of the bridge itself. Them
would be no necessity for altering Bridge-street in raising
the road, but a part of the Ilevel of Bridge-street would
have to be altered.—Other witnesses having been ex-
amined, the committee declared the preamble of the bill
proved,

BILLINGSGATE FISHMARK ET.

(Front a Correspondent.)

The architectural part of the building of this market
is now finished, sufficiently so, at least, to show what it
is going to be.

The —eight-arched roof of fluted galvanised iron, sup-
ported on 42 iron pillars, and studded with glass sky-
lights ; the noble looking front that faces the river,
with spire and glass clock dials looking in the direction
of each cardinal point of the compass ; the gilded flying fish
for a vane ; the superb front that faces Lower Thames-
street ; the beautiful water fountain playing in the mid-
dle of the floor, and the subterranean shell fish market
down stairs, all conspire to give a light and airy appear-
ance to the construction of this building, which brings
back to the mind a peep under the canopy of the Great
Exhibition when all the goods were out.
There is still one very visible drawback, however,
that lessens the pleasures of a visit to Billingsgate Mar-
ket, when the weather is warm, and that is neither
more nor less than the absence of the scrubbing brush,
the broom, the mop, the swab, and the slashing about of
plenty of water.
Now that there is a splendid steam-engine belonging
to the market, that readily pumps up tons of water into
the fountain, I cannot, for the life of me, see where there
can be any excuse that the market does not smell as
sweet daily as there is a possibility for well-cleaned
stones, wood, and iron to be made to do. When the
market is not agreeable to the olfactory nerves, it is not
because there is a scarcity of water ; there is plenty of
that, and close at hand. Where the evil seems to rest is
in the want of system for cleansing out the market.
"Too many cooks are always sure to spoil the broth."
There are too many masters, and wherever that is the
case, there, it will be found, is a lack of discipline.
I have always been of opinion that the system adopted
to wash a ship-of-war's decks is the system that ought
to be adopted to scrub and wash out all public markets.
What they require at Billingsgate is an old boatswain,
invested with powers to dee the market properly cleaned,
and a boatswain's mate to show the crew how to do it.
At a stated hour of the day let a shrill whistle be heard
piping, and a gruff voice succeeding it, hallooing out
aloud, " All hands ahoy ! wash decks !" See then how
regularly and systematically the work would go on. In
about half an hour Billingsgate Market would be as clean
as a new pin, and so comfortable that a person might sit
at any point of it and sup a jelly or an ice cream, or
enjoy a perfumed cigar. It is quite possible that the
authorities are only waiting until the market be entirely
finished, when some such measures as those suggested
for cleansing the market will be enforced. It is to be
hoped such is the case, as any wholesome example set
at Billingsgate for cleanliness and purity will, doubtless,
be followed by all other officials of public wholesale fish
markets throughout the country.

SOUTHAMPTON, June 19.—The United States' mail
steamship Hermann, Lieutenant Higgins, United States'
Navy, commander, arrived here this morning from Bre-
men, and is appointed to leave for New York on Wed-
nesday next, taking the semi-weekly American mails.
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Com-
pany's ship Valetta, a new and beautiful paddlewheel
steamer of great speed, arrived here to-day, and, after a
trial trip in the Channel, to take place in the course of
next week, is to be despatched to Malta, to run between
that island and Marseilles, with the Indian mail. Ano-
ther vessel, of similar size, is likewise being prepared as
a consort to the Valetta, and those steamers will take
the place of the Sultan and Euxine, now on the Mar-
seilles route.
A WOMAN'S NOSE KNOCKED Opp.—A curious appli-
cation was made by a woman to the borough magistrates
a few days since. She complained that her nose had
been knocked off by a man named Charles Crane, and
to convince the magistrate that the complaint was well
founded, she brought her very identical nose, carefully
wrapped up in a silk handkerchief. Upon inquiring
further into the case, it turned out that the woman,
through a deformity of the face, had been obliged to
procure an artificial nose, which she said had cost her 61.
Crane owing her a grudge, and beinc, aware that there
was a weak point upon her face, took upon himself to
assail and knock off the very useful appendage here al-
luded to. The woman has had the foresight to have a
-spare nose made, which she kept in' Stdre,('atid it nw
came in very useful, for she was enabled thereby to
restore the "human face divine" to its primitive out-
line.—Leicester Chronicle,