The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-24 00:00:00

interest of the retail as the wholesale dealer, it behove d
the Common Council to look with favour upon this gra( it
project, calculated as it was to advance the interests s of
all. Trade in every department was harassed in its opt
rations by by the stoppages in the streets. Neither cm 3
tomers nor goods could have the facilities of passel .e
through the street which were indispensable to the su c
cessful prosecution of trade ; and if those facilities wer
not obtained, trade, both wholesale and retail, would I
banished from the City, to find a refuge in other plat(
where they could be obtained. It was an undoubte d
fact, that it was in the contemplation of some gres
of
wholesale houses to form establishments at Manchest!
and other manufacturing towns, and to convey th!: r
goods for exportation to other ports of shipment u :-
stead of bringing them to the metropolis. He wish( ADI
the corporation of London might last for ever, for he w:
is
a warm advocate of local self-government, and an u.l
compromising enemy of centralisation ; but he at ti le
same time desired that its continuance should be bast id
upon its usefulness, and that it should deserve and el a-
joy the respect of the great body of the citizens.
Mr. Ross said that as a medical man of extensive prActi, ce
among the poorer classes, he could vouch for the acchtrac
of the statements as to the wretched state of their cave r-
crowded dwellings. In the discharge of his professit)n al
duties, as well as in connexion with charitable objects,.. he
had visited the garrets and the cellars of the poor, am d
although the dwellings they occupied were unfit for th e
habitations of human beings, they were often in situa
tions which, if opened up as public thoroughfares, wool d
yield large rents for the erection of business premise: 3.
The proposal to give the mechanical classes opportunati,
of escaping from these nests of disease and hotbed of
vice, by means of cheap trains, early and late, was :-an
admirable conception, and calculated to redress one of
the greatest evils under which the crowded parts of ti ie
City laboured.
Mr. BUCKMASTER (late chairman of the board of gust r
dians of the West London Union) confirmed Mr. Ross' 's
statement, and bore testimony to the unanimity wit h'.
which the citizens hailed this project as one of the
greatest improvements of the age, beneficial alike to the
commercial interests and the sanitary condition of the
City.

Mr. KIRK and Mr. HERAPATH, also part of the depu-
tation from the petitionors of Farringdon Ward, de s-
cribed the strong feeling which existed there in favour of
the project. It had been objected by some persons that
the concentration of stations from various lines north of
the Thames in one spot would lead to the inconvenient
crowding 'of the thoroughfares in Farringdon War d.
The inhabitants thought otherwise, as these petitions
proved. They thought that the raising Holborn valley,
and the construction of the new street from Farrin jdon-
street, would diminish the present•overcrowding of Lud-
gate-hill and Fleet-street, by effecting a better distrib ca-
tion of passengers, and by turning to use Farringdol
street, which was one of the widest, yet at the same timt'
one of the least frequented, streets in the world.

Mr. HOWELL (of the firm of Ellis, Everington, and
Co.), said that, unless some measure were speedily
adopted to facilitate the access both of passengers and
goads from the provinces, the City would speedily lose
the high position it had hitherto occupied in the com-
mercial world. Already many purchasers from the mid-
land. counties were transferring their custom from
London to Manchester, in consequence of the superior
railroad facilities it afforded. He felt no enmity
against the Corporation of London. He hoped, with
a previous speaker, that they would long deserve and
enjoy the confidence of the public ; but a heavy re-
sponsibility rested upon them in this matter, and they,
ought not to allow to allow slight impediments to pre-
vent the accomplishment of this great undertaking. If
they permitted the present opportunity to escape, and
allowed houses to be built along the valley, as proposed
by the Improvement Committee, they would bitterly re-
gret their folly, to be afterwards repented, as in the cases
of Maidstone, Northampton, and many other towns.
The trade and population of the metropolis had increased
in a rapid ratio during the last few years, and the re-
venues of the corporation had increased in proportion.
The evils and their cure were thus both placed in the
hands of the Common Council, and upon them would
rest the responsibility, if they shrunk from the duty of
applying a portion of their increased revenues to redress
the augmented evils which the same causes had pro-
duced.

Mr. COPESTAKE (of the firm of Groucock, Copestake,
Moore, and Co.) and Mr. HUNTER (of the firm of Gil-
lett and Co.) severally expressed strong opinions in
favour of the project, and in which opinions they be-
lieved the leading commercial houses in the city all
concurred.

Mr. G. SMITH (of the firm of Smith and Son, of Wat-
ling-street) trusted the Lord Mayor would, when the
petitions were presented, impress upon the Common
Council the paramount duty of giving this measure their
ardent and zealous support. By giving additional out-
lets and inlets to commerce it would, in this age of pro-
gress, enable this city to maintain its ancient reputation
as the greatest commercial city in the world.
The LORD MAYOR said he was placed in a difficult po-
sition. As the chief magistrate of the city, and the
chairman ex officio of the Court of Common Council, it
behoved him to be careful not to commit himself to any
opinion upon this momentous question, which was about
shortly to be submitted to their deliberate consideration.
He, however, must congratulate himself upon the recep-
tion of a deputation composed of gentlemen of the class
and station he saw around him. It had been a subject
of regret, often expressed in the Common Council and
elsewhere, that gentlemen of their high standing, re-
spectability, and intelligence stood aloof from the cor-
poration. He trusted that their , presence, and the
interest they took in this great question might be ac-
cepted as a token that the corporation would receive the
benefit of their council and assistance. He could not
name a day for convening a special court as requested.
He believed that could only be done upon a requisition
the
consult Com m o
tnh
eC o
tuonwc
ni themclerk-
s frome
selves. s a.
coHmepewteonutldn,umhobwerevoefr,
upon this as a matter of form ; but he could assure the
deputation that if it could not be done, he would put
the petitions at the head of the paper of business for the
next court, for both the importance of the subject, and
the number and respectability of the petitioners, chal-
lenged the earliest and most serious attention of the cor-
poration. He must, however, take the liberty of giving
a piece of advice to the promoters of the measure, which
was to look as little as possible to the Government or the
corporation for pecuniary assistance. The Government,
he knew from experience, were very cautious how they
promised assistance for local objects. The premier would
perhaps refer to the Commissioners of Woods and
Forests, and they to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
who would in cautious terms express his regret that the
demands for reduction of taxation left him no surplus for
local improvements. The corporation, in like manner,
might fairly state that their revenues and estates were
deeply mortgaged, as was the fact. He wished, indeed,
that they had been mortgaged to carry out some bene-
ficial project like the present ; for it was impossible for
any reflective person not to see, and resolve in his own
mind, that the state of the streets of London rendered it
absolutely necessary that some great improvement should
be made, and particularly in the locality in which it was
proposed to effect this mighty change.
Mr. HALT, in thanking the Lord Mayor on behalf of
the deputation for the courteous reception and attentive
consideration of their request, said that his lordship's
last remark called for one observation. was distinctly
understood by the petitioners that the promoters of the
railway project proposed to carry it out as a commercial
undertaking by a subscribed capital, and did not ask,
either from the Government or the corporation, any
pecuniary assistance. What they asked was, that the
public authorities, out of public funds, would provide a
due portion of the charge for raising Holborn valley, and
effecting the other necessary street improvements in that
locality in the manner recommended in the Railway
Commissioners' Report of 1846.

DISCOVERY OF AN ANCIENT CHAPEL.—A most inter-
esting discovery of a beautiful Vestige of Gothic archi-
tecture, in excellent preservation, has been made be-
neath the house at the south-east corner of Leadenhall-
street, and directly opposite Aldgate pump. The arches
and vaults on We basement nave been hitherto used as
a storehouse for,;, wood and other materials, but the
extreme beauty •of the architecture, particularly the
sculpture and groi4}ng, led 40 an Anyestigation. After
the most diligent research it was ascertained to be
the remains of a chapel dedicated to St. Michael, and
is described by old historians as " next Aldgate." It
appears to be of very great antiquity, having been
built by Norman, Prior of St. Katherine of the Holy
Trinity, in the reign of Henry 1., and his Queen Ma-
tilda of Boulogne, about the year 1108, and is now
nearly 750 years old. The chapel consists of pillars and
arches ; its length from north to south is 48 feet, and its
breadth from east to west 16 feet. The walls are con-
structed with oblong blocks of chalk, similar to those of
Rochester Castle ; the arches are of stone, the keys of
which arej beautifully sculptured with knots and other
devices, and exhibit at a glance the skilful masonry of
our ancestors. The chapel has been filled with soil and
rubbish nearly to the capitals of the pillars. From the
ground to the crown of the arches is 10 feet, and, allow-
ing the shafts to be buried 16 feet, gives a height of 26
feet to the interior of the building. The iron hinges and
casements are still attached to the walls, from which cir-
cumstance it is conjectured that the structure originally
stood on the surface, but that in subsequent years the
ground outside was raised gradually until at last the
relic of past ages was completely buried. At the southern
extremity there is an appearance of an arched passage in
the direction of St. Katherine's Docks, the site of which
the priory of St. Katharine formerly occupied. The
foregoing description is necessarily brief, but a visit to
the spot would amply repay the antiquary, or other per-
sons interested in the study of the remains of past ages.
DEATH FROM DRINKING RAW SPIRITS.—Two men
died from the effects of drinking raw spirits, on Monday
last, at, Cullompton, Devonshire. It appeared that an
innkeeper of that town, named Silas Frost, entertained
some of his customers with a quantity of brandy, rum,
and gin mixed ; these men drank so freely of this mixture
that two of them died very soon afterwards. The ma-
gistrates for the borough have directed the police to look
after the innkeeper's house very strictly for the future.
JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES.--The annual report of the
registrar of joint-stock companies for the year 1852 has
been printed. It contains a list of 414 joint-stock com-
panies which were provisionally registered, and of 110
others which were completely registered during the year
1852, as well as a list of 354 of the above companies
which were provisionally registered but have not obtained
complete registration. The total amount of fees received
at the head-office in London during the year was 5,5451.
7s. Bd.; and at the branch-office in Dublin, 1071. Bs. It
is also stated that there were no prosecutions under the
act for offences during 1852, but that 78 companies have
either failed to make a return of the appointment of au-
ditors, or no auditor's report has been received with re-
spect to them. No bankruptcies likewise of joint-stock
companies took place during the year.

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