The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-12 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EV E NIWG S Ny JANUARY 12, 1847.

the burial-ground, Park• street, passes under Shut-
lane, below the Oxford Junction tunnel, and goes uncle!.
Moor-street, High-street, Worcester-street, until it
reaches Colmore-street. In the route from Shut lane,
the house of Mr. Perry, High-street, the premises oc-
cupied by Mr. Hall, Aria's Gazelle office, and by Mr.
Fisher, part of the King's Head Inn, and the houses and
shops on the right hand side of Worcester-street, opposite
the King's Head, to the end of Colmore-street, will have
to be taken down. Here the work of demolition will
he very extensive. The whole of tho erections from
Worcester-street to Hill-street, includiug the entire of
Colmore-street, Queen street, Little Colmore-street, a
great part of Peck-lane, King-street, Pinfold-etreet,
Well-street, Vale-street, &c., will be included. The
New-street end of King-street will be widened 26 yards,
to form the principal entrance to the grand central
station, which will occupy nearly the whole of the space
above referred to from Worcester-street, bound by he
back of New-street, Lower Temple-street, and Pinfold
street. The Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Stour,
Valley branches off from this last-mentioned point under
Hill-street, the Old Wharf, Broad-street, &c., to Nineveh.
The Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Dudley RailwaY'
will join the Oxford Junction in Snow-hill, where there
will be an extensive and commodious station. The ex-
tent of the great and important changes which will be
effected by this concentration, in two central points of
the borough, of the several railways which pass through
the counties of Warwick, Stafford, Worcester, and Salop
and the mercantile advantages of public convenience
arising from this source, it is impossible to calculate. It
is no exaggeration to say that thousands of houses of the
lowest class will be cleared away, and there will be a
gratifying destruction of social evils and moral pesti•
lences, which have long been particularly offensive to the
neighbourhood in which they have been permitted to
exist. It affords us great satisfaction to state there are
no grounds to fear that the construction of the tunnels
through the centre of the town will endanger the build-
ings under which they are to pass. In the centre of the
town a shaft has been sunk to the depth of about 50 feet,
the level being about six feet lower. Another shaft has
also been sunk near the canal wharf, Easy-row, by the
contractor for the tunnel portion of the works of the
Stour Valley.

• . ,
asked ,a blessing on the feast and the whole assembly
sat down with appetites commensurate to the great de-
sign. To take a poet's license, it might be said that
thole " rugged rocks," which for ages had echoed osly
to the sounds of the deep rolling and wildly surging
waves, on this occasion responded to the joyous acelai.tn
of cultivated human voices. And nature, which here
presents herself in the most imposing form, seemed to
rejoice. After dinner the Cornish miners employed on
the work rose and sang with fine effect " Non nobis,
Domine," which was most cri6litable to:that class of men
who, amidst the severe strttigle.of'ardtkus and dangerous
labour, have found time to cultivate " the gentle melo-
dies." The day passed off with joy and pleasure, and
the completion of that immense and beautiful work is
looked to with great interest. The headings have been
through for a long time, and the mOn body of the
'tunnel
to the proper level is progressing very rapidly.
There were present Messrs. Warton and Warden, the
Rev. J. J. Vincent, Frank Foster, Esq., 11. Swinburn,
'Esq., and many of the respectable gentlemen who hold
situations upon this impgrtant contr_act, No. 8. A full
' band of music, with some splendiaffeworks, made a
finish to the scene.

REGENT'S CANAL LINE.—At the meeting of the Mary-
lebone Vestry on Saturday, Sir Peter Laurie expressed
gratification at the course adopted on the previous
Saturday with respect to the Regent's Canal Railway.
He had communicated with the Secretary of State on the
matter, and had received a letter from Mr. Phillips, in-
forming him that the views of the inhabitants of the
Regent's-park were accorded in. He had also received
a communication from Mr. Jardine, the magistrate,
stating that if the railway was carried, ho must leave the
park; and from the owner of twenty houses, stating that
if the Regent's Canal Company obtained their Bill, his
property would be ruined. The Royal Botanic Society
bad also intimated their intention of offering the most
determined opposition.
ANOTHER PRACTICAL PROOF OF THE DANGER OF
LEVEL Cnossuins.—On Friday an accident occurred at
the place where the railroad crosses the highway on a
level near the station. A train had just left the station
at Ware, and gone to Hertford, and another 4 50 P.m.
train was coming up from Hertford, when a man who
hadarrived from the direction of the post-office attempted
to cross the line. The gatekeeper tried to stop him, and
received a blow in the face for his pains. Just at this
moment the train came up to the spot, and the buffer
threw the unfortunate stranger on the line, with his
legs across the raiL The consequences may be easily
imagined ; both of his legs were cut off below the knee.
He was conveyed to the Cherry Tree, under the care of
Mr. John Reilly, surgeon, who happened to be at the
station at the time of the accident. We could not ascer-
tain his place of residence, but he states his name to be
Roe.—Herts County Press.
The National having stated that the directors of the
Rouen Railway had given the privilege of travelling by
it free of all charges to the first President of the Cour
Royale of Rouen, M. Frank Carre, who fills that high
office, has addressed a letter to the National, affirming
that no such offer has been made to him, and that if it
had he should have declined it, because, being a judge,
he might at any day be called upon to decide upon cases
in which the acts and interests of the company were in-
volved, and he should have been seriously wanting in his
duty if he suffered himself to be invested with such a
privilege.
WITHDRAWAL OF COACHES.—Yesterday week, in
consequence of the opening of the rail, two coaches were
withdrawn from the Ipswich road ; one, the " Old
Ipswich," driven for 37 years by that old favourite
coachman., " Tom" Emmerson, and the other, " The
Regulator," by Robert Sewell.—Bury Herald.
EDINBURGH AND PERTH.—The town council, it will
be seen, have, by a large majority, decided to take 100
shares in this new undertaking, and to assist its progress
s establishmenta y co p ni e s
in Scotland,
by every means in its power. It is now generally re-
po rte dt ha t wt
000 oofhtvhi
oe u
sml
yo situ pt
eorwe
setred n
fu r aiitlw
to require more particular specification, are to lend it all
their influence in its progress through the Legislature,
for which every Parliamentary requisite has been pre.
pared, the arrangement with the old company for the
plans, &c., executed by its orders, having been com-
pleted last week.—Perthshire Courier.
How TO MAKE LANDED [AND RAILWAY?] PRO-
PERTY V ALUABLE.—A very curious rumour is in circu-
lation through the district of Penge, in the vicinity of
the Croydon line. It is stated that a petition or
memorial has been sent to the directors of the London,
Brighton, and South Ccast Company, from the inhabi-
tants of the above village, requesting or praying that
the benefit of a station may be extended to their imme-
diate neighbourhood. Now the rumour is, that Mr.
Schuster, who has recently rendered himself so famous
in the railway world, has purchased a large landed pro-
perty at or close by the spot where the inhabitants de-
sire to have a station, and that he is about to build ex-
tensively upon it. Can this be " cause and effect?"—
Railway Record.
ASHFORD AND HASTINGS.—The new line of railway
from Ashford to Hastings appears to be steadily pro-
gressing. Notices have been issued to all the landowners
preparatory to theurchases. for so_me of which the
company are =eau),p in treaty. The works are to be
submitted. for competition during the present month. It
is rumoured that the part from Rye to Hastings will
give way to the lino obtained last session from Rye to
Warblingl on, on the Tonbridgo wells and Hastings line,
thereby effecting a saving of seven miles of most exp n-
sive work., for which no possible compensation can be
derived in. the shape of traffic.—Dower Chronicle.
MANCHRSTER AND BOLTON.—It has been already
noticed that, owing to the recent accidents on this line,
a memorial was forwarded to the Board of Trade,
calling for an investigation into the state of the line.
In compliance with the prayer of the memorialists,
Captain Coddington arrived at Bolton on Friday, the
25th of December, on this mission. It was shown that
the lessees: of this line, the Leeds Company, had already
put down six miles of new rails out of the ten, and were
proceeding with the other four miles, to put that por-
tion of the line in like repair, a course which Captain
Coddington appeared to think evinced a proper desire on
the part of the lessees to secure the public against future
accident; but he is said to have recommended that,
until the four miles not yet laid with new rails are com-
pleted, trains on that part of the line should travel at a
reduced speed. His attention was called to the state of
the blriinde. Thesegesbyw bridgeshichthe areturnp fiat turnpike-roads are carried over
the u
pillars between the lines of rails, and are so
that passengers leaning incautiously out of the carriage-
windows might suffer injury from them. One of the
Bolton Company's servants was killed in that way.
Captain Coddington suggested the construction of better
bridges, and that an arrangement should be effected,
with the aid of the county magistracy, for diverting the
roads whilst the new bridges are being built.
KENT LINE.—TONBRIDGE, MAIDSTONE, AND CANTER-
BURY.—A. dangerouspo supported
y te
—Ann the county notice with this heading,
of Kent,haseading,signed b
just been put
intonuß Y.
circulation
solicitors of the London, Brighton, and South Coast
Railway. It runs thus:—"The committee of directors
entrusted with the conduct of the Bill for the Kentish
lines promoted by the London, Brighton, and South
Coast Railway Company, have authorised us to invite
the co-operation and support of the landowners and in-
habitants of the county of Kent and to state that
will be happy to receive any communications in urmti ttee
further-
ance ance of the objects of the undertaking. The corn
t and
o
will take an opportunity of circulating a statement
map, showing the course of the lines, and the
great ad
n
vantages which their scheme of railway communication
will afford to the county."—Railway Record.
n

ident of a

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT. —An acciL .. of
very deplorable character on the Eastern Counties Rail-
way, near Laken-heath station, which involved the loss
of two lives, was the subject of a coroner's inquiry yester-
day forenoon, at the Railway Tavern, adjacent to the
Brandon station. The names of the deceased were
Joseph Roderharn, aged 31, and William Talbot, aged
25, both ballastmen in the service of the company. Mr.
Ashcroft, the inspector of the permanent way, Was
present to watch the proceedings. The evidence of two
witnesses thus describes the circumstances attending the
unfortunate occurrence : At daylight on Thursday
morning a train of twelve loaded ballast trucks was pro-
ceeding along the line from Brandon towards Laken-
heath, the soil being required to keep up the permanent
way. The deceased, with several other labourers, ae.,
companied the trucks, in order to unload.them ; they
were seated on the top of the soil. The train proceeded
apparently in the usual safe manner, but on nearing
Laken-heath, the fore-aile of the truck on which the
deceased were seated, from some unknown cause, snapped
asunder in two places. The body of the machine instantly
dropped, and as the train was drawn along the next
truck mounted the one that was broken, and the poor
fellows were crushed underneath it. Fortunately the
speed was not great at the time, being not more than
ten or twelve miles an hour, and the
.engine-driver
ceiving the disaster brought the trucks almost imme-
diately to a stand-still. On the disabled waggons being
removed, the poor fellows were found to be most shock-
ingly
mutilated. Talbot had been killed on the spot.
Roderham, although his legs and arms were fractiretd.
in a shocking manner, was still alive, but
Ile. he could
reach Brandon he had breathed his last. Samuels,
the resident engineer, was sent down by this company to
inquire into the cause of the axle breaking, Piany
mined the metal minutely, found no defect in I
-difficult to
it breaking was a matter very • te•' extha-
rive at. The jury expressed themselves satisfied are
cause of -
the that
company had adopted the necessary precautions for
over
the protection of such workpeople as the deceased, and
ccidental
that the accident was the result of circumstances
married
which they had no control. A verdict et ~ A
death " was returned. The deceased wer
men. Mr. Ashcroft, on behalf of the comps:
that every attention should be paid their widowsdirected
tweek pre •
famine; which their melancholy condition woul and
SR imEruL IMPOSTURE.—One day in the suggest'
, a highly
ceding the last, a fellow, whom our informnaen
Hereford, went
respectable citizen, says is a resident of
to the house of Exell (the man who was sentenced to
transportation on Tuesday last for stealing a sheep, the
property of Lady Emily Foley), at Woolho
told
his unfortunate wife that her husband had e' andescaped
from
,iiton her for
the county prison, and desired him to call
his best suit of clothes and five shillings,
cious woman, not doubting the truth of what tehe scoun-
drelunstiVi. told her, instantly complied with her husband's
supposed request; we need scarcely Qv that
the fellow told was entirely false, and that the tale
at he committed
l 0 littXtleei robbery.—litrlford Timm

REMOVAL OF WESTMINSTER
BRIDGE.

A numerous and respectable meeting of the inhabit•
ants of Westminster, Pimlico, Lambeth, and the adjacent
districts, was held last evening, at seven o'clock, at the
Westminster Literary and Mechanics Institution, Great
Smith-street, Westminster, to consider the proposed erec-
tion of a bridge at Charing;cross, in lieu of Westminster-
bridge. ,
General Sir De Lacy. Evans occupied the chair.
Amongst those on the platform we observed the Dean of
Westminster, B. Hawes, Esq., M.P., I'. Wood, Esq.,
Q.C., Whateley, Esq., Q.C., Charles Cochrane, Esq.,
Rev. Mr. Ripston, H. A. Hunt, Esq., G. Trollope, Esq.,
J. Wilkinson, Esq., Carter Wood, Esq., W. Frewen,
Esq., W. Hallett, Esq., and a number of other gentlemen.
Mr. TROLLOPH, the hon. secretary, stated that letters
had been received from Mr. Antrobus, M.P., and Mr.
D'Eyncourt, M.P., expressing their inability to attend,
and their desire to support tlf determination to which
the meeting might arrive.
The CHAIRMAN, who was received with loud cheers,
'said there were several gettlementon the right and left
of him, whO might have been ailvantageously called to
the chair, ana who would have discharged its duties with
more propriety, or at least have been able to give more
effec/ to any determination to which they might come,
.than lie could. However, he had been called to that po-
sition on the present occasion in consequence of having
the honour to represent that city in Parliament, and also,
he presumed, because he was one of the Commissioners
of Westminster-bridge. It was not usual on such occa-
sions for the Chairman to enter at length into the details
of the subject to be discussed, that duty devolving upon
those who proposed and seconded the resolutions ; but
really he could not on that occasion withhold from them
some observations, in consequence of a double capacity
in which he found himself placed, independently of his
situation as Chairman. They had been called together,
not really to consider whether there should be another
bridge at some other part of the river, in the place of the
existing bridge, but to consider whether it was
politic or judicious, or just, or right, that that
bridge should be abolished, and to adopt the best means
for preventing its removal.—(Loud cheers.) He was
sure, unless there were some of the representatives pre-
sent, of what he could not help characterising as a job,
to persuade them to the contrary; they would be of
but one opinion.—(Cheers.) It was one of the most
extraordinary jobs that he had ever heard of in the
whole course of his experience.—(Hear, hear.) Many
present were, no doubt, aware of the general outline of
this matter; but, nevertheless, it was his duty to state it
clearly to them. It was now exactly one hundred years
since Parliament passed an Act authorising the con-
struction of the present bridge and the creation of funds
for its maintenance. It appeared, however, that much
wisdom was not exercised in its construction. The
piers were, he believed, originally intended for a
wooden bridge of slight weight, but in the course of its
erection the original determination was abandoned, and
it was resolved to build the bridge of stone. It was
then proposed that the piers should consist of a re-
lative substance, in order to support increased weight ;
and, he believed, that one of the scientific gentle-
men concerned, proposed that piles should be inserted
in the bed of the river to secure the slighter piers, which
would have involved an expense of from 5,000/. to
6,0001.; but the Government of that day thought it
better to save the expenditure of such a small sum—
thus acting in contradiction to the well known saying—
" penny wise and pound foolish," and consequently those
piers became insecure, on account of not being sufficient
to bear the increased weight. However, with the aid of
repairs, it remained in a good state for sixty or seventy
years. The cause of the present state of the bridge was
really attributable to the removal of old London-bridge;
the removal having given greater rapidity to the current
both during the flood and reflux of the tides. A portion
of the bottom of the river had thus been carried away,
and thereby rendered the bridge insecure; and in conse-
quence of the expenses that had been incurred in repair-
ing it, a Committee of the House of Commons was ap-
pointed last session to consider what steps should be
adopted. It consisted of several of the ablest men in the
country, and sat for six months. It included some of the
members of the Metropolitan Improvement Commission.
The names of the Members were Lord John Russell, Lord
Palmerston, Lord Robert Grosvenor, Sir R. Inglis, Sir
G. Clarke, Sir 11. Douglas, Mr. Cardwell, Mr. Hawes,
Mr. Wise, Mr. Stafford O'Brien, and a great number of
other Members, vvh• had paid great attention to the sub
ject. The fourth resolution in their report which was
laid before the House stated " that, irrespective of the
approaches, the expense of a new stone bridge near the
site of the present bridge, and retaining the present
bridge for temporary use, would not exceed 360,000/.,
according:to the highest of the estimates furnished, either
in 1844 or in the present year ;" whilst the sth resolu-
tion states " that the bridge estates would furnish a clear
surplus of at least 100,000/. in aid of the funds." Such
were the decisive resolutions of that Committee.—(Hear,
hear)—from the evidence adduced before whom, it ap-
peared that no less than about 20,000,000 of people
passed over Westminster-bridge in the course of a your,
and that the increase of both persons and carriages had
been very great of late years ; in fact, that a greater
amount of traffic passed over it than over the four nth d,
bridges, with the exception of London-bridge.—(Cheers.)
In fact, the result of this evidence was, that from
4,000,000 to 5,000,000 of horses passed over the
bridge, and about 20,000,000—nearly the whole
population of this kingdom—in the course of a year.
Perhaps the bridge in its original state, too years ago,
was wide enough for the traffic that passed over it ; bet
it was not so now. Mr. Barry, ho believed, had planned
an iron bridge for the same site, to cost, some said,
260,000/., but objections had been made to it, in conse-
quence of its being considered inadequate for the im-
mense traffic, and the committee appeared to consider
a stone bridge preferable on the same site, or near it,
at a similar cost. The estates of the bridge would
realise about 170,0001., so that the expense to the Ex-
chequer would be comparatively small. The traffic over
the bridge was the greatest bridge traffic in the empire—
in fact he might say, with the exception of London-
bridge—the traffic was greater than over any other in
the whole world—(Loud cheers) ; and this being
reiterated in the recommendations of the committee to
the Legislature, to the astonishment of every one who
knew anything of Parliamentary proceedings, they were
informed that some parties during the recess, and with
the apparent sanction of the Woods and Forests, but who
they were it was hard to divine, proposed constructing a
new bridge, to wall up in fact this great communication,
and to put an end to all these important interests which
had been congregating together in its vicinity for 100
years.—(Cheers.) He had been seventeen years in Par-
liament, and he never met with anything so astounding,
so totally opposed to the recommendations of that com-
mittee, and so totally unheard of, in the history of Par-
liamentary proceedings. He was aware in making these
remarks, that he was in some degree speaking harshly
of the Hon. Gentlemen who were members of the Me-
tropolitan Commission, the head of which was LordMorpeth, for whom ho had the greatest respect, and he
was sure that they would agree with him, that every
act of Lord Morpeth's life had been guided by the most
enlightened and generous motives.--(Cheers.) But he
was perfectly convinced that his name had been m i
properly used, and that he had been imposed upon
in
the grossest manner.—(Hear, hear.) But the, had
fallen upon speculative times, in which there werean
immense number of railways and of railway
committees,
and did not know but what the project might have
originated with some of those interested in the railway
termini of the two great railways to be
constructed near
the spot from which,the proposed new bride was proposed
to branch, and who, it was possible, having a large pe-
cuniary interest in those railways, might have set their
engines at work, and having got the ear of some
influential person, induced him, at all events, to
allow the notices to appear in the
ame of the Con;mis-
sa . (VT
\.-.ear.) It was right to state that the Com-
mittee had not given any doubtful opinion, but had, as
he
had said, reiterated their opinions in favour of a
bridge on the present site. The Gallant General then
read a series of resolutions and extracts from the report,
which were to the effect that the completion of the new
Houses of Parliament was a matter concerning the com-
forts of the Members of both Houses only, whereas the
bridge was'a matter of paramount importance to hun-
dreds of thousands; that the traffic had so much in-
creased that it was difficult at times to get over it. It
was obviously immense. Sir James M'Adam had stated
in 1844, that he caused to be counted the number of
horses which passed Charing-cross annually, and that it
had been ascertained that the number amounted to
6,600,000, and though there was no record of
the proportion that passed over the bridge, he
considered that by far the larger proportion
did, particularly the heavier carriages. Then, Mr.
Rendall stated, in 1844, that no part of the Thames was
better suited for a bridge than the site of Westminster-
bridge. The approach to the existing bridge from the
Middlesex side, was along Bridge-street, almost the
whole property on the north side of which, comprised part
of the bridge estate; therefore anew bridge on the exist-
ing site could be erected with little sacrifice of that pro-
perty. As one of the representatives of Westminster,
he had no objection to the erection of half a dozen
new bridges across the Thames, but the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, undoubtedly, would. He was sure if
Lord Morpeth had read the words, " obviously immense,"
he would not have allowed his name to have gone forth
in connexion with the project. Then, again, it was little
more than twelvemonths since the Commissioners of
Woods and Forests were authorised to expend 50,0001.
to construct a new street from Westmiuster-bridge to
Pimlico—(Bear, hear)—and the parishes of St. John's
and St. Margarets, had, with great public spirit and
generosity, allocatedl3o,ooo/. in aid of its construction,
but if the new bridge were made, it could not be expected
that they would incur this expense. After expressing
his determination as a representative of that city, and as
one of the Commisioners of the bridge, (whom the pro-
moters of the new one had not thought proper to consult
—to inquire whether they considered it consonant with
their duty to support the erection of a new
bridge elsewhere,) .he should feel it his duty
in conjunction with his Hon.
.Friend (Mr. Hawes), and
no doubt with other metropolitan members, to do his
utmost to negative the measure, should it come before
Parliament, which he doubted. He resumed his seat
amidst general cheering.
The Very Rev. Dr. BucnLAND (the Dean of West-
minster) in proposing the first resolution, said he had
felt it his duty to attend the meeting, on behalf of the

PRICE SD.

soinWhbiechhalift
propertydu tytomanaidatoafint.t
(vceisiteeedrs.i)nteArensdt
'a
of psu bhl cs
convenience, of public improvements, which it was his
duty to promote ; and on behalf of the comforts and
interests of the working classes, to which it was his duty
to attend.—(Loud cheers.) With respect to the in-
jury threatened to public and private property, and to
investments of an almost incalculable amount, founded
on the faith of Parliament, pledged now a century ago,
when the bridge was completed, in 1737, he would first
address himself. During the century just passed three
generations had, on the faith of Parliament, ventured
to lay out large portions of their fortune in investments,
to which the destruction of this bridge would in a
greater or less degree prove fatal.—(Hear.) In behalf
of the Chapter, at the head of which he had recently had
the honour to be placed, he rose to state that they con-
sidered that a very large amount of their property, on
which their maintenance depended, and which they hol
inherited from their predecessors—the ancient members
of the Abbey, would be most materially injured
if the bridge were destroyed; and besides it would pre-
vent the improvement of that portion of Westminster
lying between the Thames and St. James's-park—a
region which required bate• ventilation and better drain-
age, and on which the Dean and Chapter had expended
large sums of money. These improvements would at
once be annihilated, and from 50,000 to 60,000 persons
would remain without that ventilation and drainage, and
that same lack of improvement in which they
had stood so much in need, for more than a
a century.—(Cheers.) He rose also on behalf of
the working classes, who would be much more perma-
nently injured by the removal of the bridge than pro-
prietors of scores of houses in any part of the district to
which he had referred—(Cheers)—for he had met at
least 20,000 labouring men crossing the bridge to their
residences after their work. The total number crossing
the bridge daily on foot might be computed at 63,000, or
23,000,000 in the course of the year, who would have to
go half a mile about to effect the same object, and more-
over, would have to pay a toll. It was monstrous that such
a mass of people should be put to this great inconvenience
and that those living in other parts of the metropolis
should also be seriously inconvenienced for the purpose
of carrying out a project which the public necessities did
not require.—(Cheers.) He should like to see another
bridge at Charing-cross, but why they were to be de-
barred from using the present bridge he was perfectly
unable to understand. Sir J. Rennie thought there was
an immense conflux of traffic at Westminster-bridge.
He thought that the present site of the bridge was so
affected by its present coffer dams that it would be im•
politic to rebuild it upon it. If it was erected about 150
yards from its present site, as far as Derby-street, only
about twelve houses in Parliament-street would be
affected, and the best situation possible would be ob-
tained. The Right Rev. Gentleman concluded by pro-
posing the first resolution, which was to the following
effect:— _ _

" That the proposed abolition of Westminster-bridge
and the application of funds appropriated by Parliament
for its maintenance to the erection of another bridge
near Charing-cross is unjust and injurious tizs the public,
to the parishes of St. Margaret and St. John, and to in-
dividuals, for the following principal reasons :
" Because it would abruptly close the long-established
thoroughfare from Surrey to the city of Westminster,
St. James's-park, and the daily increasing neighbour-
hood of Pimlico and Chelsea, and leave no communica-
tion whatever across the river west of Charing-cross free
of toll ; and also, because the cost of approaches to a
bridge on another site alone would suffice for the erec-
tion of a new bridge on or close to the present site.
" Because it wilt entirely put a stop to the opening of
new streets through the notoriously crowded, ill-drained,
and dilapidated portions of these parishes (one of which
streets has already received the sanction of Parliament)
and prevent all improvements therein.
" Because the streets in connexion with the present
bridge were laid out by Commissioners appointed by
Parliament, and a very large amount of property has
been therein created under an implied agreement that a
bridge should be maintained by Parliament on this spot
for ever, and that the substitution of a bridge on a dis-
tant site (involving as enormous depreciation in the
value of such property, and almost ruiu to many indi-
viduals) would be a breach of faith which ought not to
receive the sanction of the Legislature."
Mr. WHATELEY, Q.O ,seconded the resolution. He
could not understand how any person could for a moment
assign any reason for removing Westminster-bridge; who
was desirous of making a bridge to Charing-cross?—
(Cheers.) What, he would ask, was to become of the
property at both ends of the present bridge if it was to
be removed, and its site changed to Charing-cross?—
(Cheers.) Why the owners of it would all be ruined,
and the inhabitants of Charing-cross would not only not
be benefitted, but greatly inconvenienced. It used to
be said that the world was made for those who rode in
coaches.—(Laughter.) He hoped there were better
feelings existing now.—(Cheers.) He hoped that the
feeling that existed at the present moment was, that the
poor man, who had to carry his tools to his work, ought
to have the nearest way of doing so, and not be com-
pelled to go upwards of a mile out of his way—(Cheers)
—which would be the result if Westminster-bridge was
to be abolished.—(Cheers.) He had no objection to the
erection of a bridge to Charing-cross, provided it was
found to be necessary.—(Cheers, and cries of "It is
not ")—but ho objected in told to the removal
of Westminster-bridge.—(Cheers.) If the site of that
bridge was important, as it was undoubtedly considered
a hundred years ago, how much more important he
would ask was that site at the present day ?—(Great
cheering.) Buildings had risen up in every direction
about it, to whom its removal would bo total ruin.—
(Cheers.) Added to which, what he would ask, was to
become of the great street for the improvement of West
minster for which an Act of Parliament had been
obtained, and the construction of which would be at-
tended of such benefits to the "city in which they then
were?— (Great cheering.) For what was that
great plan of improvement to be sacrificed
which, there could be no doubt it would be, if Westmin-
ster-bridge was to be removed?—(Cheers.) No one,he
believed, could answer that question, unless it was some
party connected with a railway terminus.—(Great
laughter.) Mr. Barry, the architect of a building that
would carry his name to posterity, so far from being
unfavourable to the continuance of the bridge on its pre-
sent site, was anxious for its continuance there, as was
proved by the plan of the iron bridge that be had pro-
posed.—(Cheers.) The report of the Committee of the
House of Commons was in favour of its present position,
and why that report was to be stultified, he could not,
for the life and soul of him, tell.—(Cheers.) 'the Hon.
and Learned Gentleman concluded by most cordially
and heartily seconding the resolution.
After some observations from Mr. COPE,
The CHAIRMAN put the resolution to the meeting, and
declared it to be carried unanimously.
Mr. PAGE WOOD (the son of the late Sir Matthew
Wood) proposed the second resolution, which was to the
following effect
" That independently of the most important conside-
rations contained in the former resolution, and of the
questions financial, local, and architectural, involved in
the proposal for erecting the bridge near Charing-cross,
and making the approaches thereto : this meeting is of
opinion that its substitution for a bridge on the present
site would be productive of manifest 'public inconveni-
ence, because it would throw the enormous carriage
traffic of Westminster-bridge, a portion of that now
using Waterloo-bridge, and ultimately the traffic from
all the South of England railways on a spot which is now
at times impassable by reason of the immense traffic from
the City to the West-end and western suburbs of the
metropolis."
He did not see that there was any necessity for a bridge
at Charing-cross—(Cheers)—but supposing that there
was, he thought it would be the height of madness to
attempt to draw off to that locality the immense traffic
of Westminster-bridge.--(Cheers.) He was very happy
to see the Very Rev. the Dean of Westminster, and
several members of the Chapter, attending at that meet-
ing, not only for the purpose of protecting; their own
interests but that of the poor.—(Cheers.) It was but
an act of justice for him to say that they were
greatly indebted to that body for the room in which
they had met—(Cheers)—and for the liberality they
had shown to forward to the utmost the great object of
education.—(Cheers.) For they had recently spent no
less a sum than 10,000 k in support of the schools of that
parisb.—(Cheers.) If the present site of Westminster
bridge was to be removed, it would prevent hundreds of
thousands from enjoying the lungs of the metropolis ;
he alluded to St. James's park.—(Cbeers.)
Mr. JAMES WILKINSON seconded the resolution. He
was sure, if they only acted in concert, success was
certain.—(Cheers.) When first he entered that room,
he was disposed to think that the repair of the
bridge would be the best course—(Hear)—but after
the observations of the Very Reverend the Dean,
he was free to confess that the best course would be to
take down the present bridge, and erect a new one as
near its present site as possible.—(Cheers.) He had no
objection to the multiplication of bridges across the
Thames when it was shown that they were necessary to
meet the wants of the public, but such structures ought
to be erected with a due (regard to existing interests.—
(Cheers.) Of what interest such a bridge as that pro-
posed to Charing-cross could be to any one ho could
not imagine.—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then put the resolutions to the
meeting and declared it to be carried unanimously.
Mr. CARTER WOOD moved the third resolution :
" That a copy of the foregoing resolution be forwarded
to the Commissioners of Westminster-bridge, and that
the Members far the city of Westminster and the bo-
rough of Lambeth be requested, both as the members of
the Commission and our representatives in Parliament,
to oppose the appropriation of the property set apart for
maintaining the present bridge, to the erection of a
bridge on a distant site ; and that a committee be formed
to consider the best means of opposing the threatened
measure, and if expedient, in concert with other opposing
parties, that a subscription be commenced to defray the
necessary expenses."—(Cheers.)
He felt no doubt that the large mass of the manufactur-
ing and trading community would suffer the
fromgreatFst
inconvenience if the bridge was to be removed
s
present site.—(Cheers.) He had seen
enough o thei
effects of closing it for a short period to warrant him .n
asserting, that to remove it altogether would be ruinous
to parties in its particular locality.—(Cheers.) Ho be-
lieved that all that had been said
of the great disadvan-
tages that would result from removing the bridge had