The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-13 00:00:00

LONDON COURT OF CONK

VANCY.
OBSTRUCTIONS TO THE NAVIGATION OF THE THAMES.
—Yesterday, according to appointment, a Court of Con-
servancy for the County and City of London was held
at the Guildhall, for the purpose of selecting a Jury to
examine into the condition of the river Thames, within
the exact civic limits, in consequen-ee of the serious
complaints made by the gentlemen of the last Middlesex
and Surrey Conservancy Juries, that several encroach-
ments and nuisances had been made in the parts of the
river to which their supervision did not extend.
The Court was attended by the Lord Mayor, the Re-
corder, Aldermen Lucas, Sir Peter Laurie, Wilson, Farn-
comb (who was warmly congratulated on his recover),
from his serious accident), the City Solicitor, Mr. Secon-
dary Potter, the Comptroller, and other officers of the
corporation.
The following 'gentlemen were sworn in on the Jury:—
Mr. John Brown, Foreman Mr. T. C. Newman
Mr. Robert Aylwin Mr. Ralph Harris
Mr.: Richard Brain Mr. J. G. Smith
Mr: J. Q. Finnis' Mr. George Landman
Mr. llenry Drew Mr. Charles Phillips
Mr. Arthur Ryder Mr. James Hunt
Mr. A. C. Johnson Mr. Edward Keeling
Mr. Richard Buck Mr. Robert Hutchinson
Mn G. E. Brown Mr. William Curling
Mr. Robert Wrench Mr. A. C. Johnson
Mr. Benjamin Bower Mr. G. B. Harrison
Mr. George Childe Mr. G. D. Trimby.
The RECORDER charged the Jury. His Lordship
stated that the Lord Mayor and Corporation of the City
of London. had, as Conservators of the river Thames
and waters of the Medway, considered it to be their
duty, after, he believed, an interval of about twenty
years, to convene a Court of Conservancy, to inquire
into the state of the banks of the river Thames, and the
nature and extent of the obstructions which might exist
in it, within the boundaries of the City. The Lord Mayor
and Corporation were desirous to be assisted by the Jury,
in an investigation calculated to promote the public ser-
vice, the object of which was to keep the river in a free
and unobstructed condition. They had been given to
understand that several encroachments did exist. Some
of them, perhaps, were such as to present advantages
of a public nature, exceeding the amount of inconveni-
ence of which they might be productive ; others might
be attended with no incenventence at all ; while others
might be so objectionable as to endanger the lives of the
public. The alterations which it had been thought ne-
cessary to make in one part of the river for the enclosure
of the Houses of Parliament, had drawn the attention of
the Lord Mayor and the Corporation to that particular
place ; and the numerous other changes which had been
made, arising. from a variety of causes and circumstances,
were deeply interesting to the commercial part of the
community ; and the Corporation considered that they
would not properly discharge their duty to their fellow-
citizens, or to the community in general, if they did not
call in the aid of two men of high professional eminence
to assist in ascertaining the real gate of the river, and
the probable state to which it might ultimately be
brought by the alteration& which were taking place.
It was his duty to point the attention of the Jury
more immediately to the erection of the temporary land-
lug-place at Tlackfriars%bridge, where it was stated
loss of life had taken place, and which 'formed an ob-
struction of no'. ordinary kind in the river at the point
at which it iiu.s placed. The Lord Mayor and Corpora-
tion requested the Jury to look to that part of the
Thames with particular care, and to examine and ascer-
tain how far the erection was an obstruction and a nui-
sance as it had been represented to be. He had already
stated, that with respect to the public service, it was con-
sidered necessary by the Court to have the assistance of
two persons fully competent to advise upon the subject
of the navigation of the river, in which important
changes were contemplated ; but, preparatory to the
completion- of these changes, it was necessary to receive
all the information which the gentlemen of the Jury
could collect in their examination. It was the intention
of the Court to perform in the most complete manner the
obligations they considered themselves under, to make
the improvements in the river adapted to the existing
circumstances. The alterations referred as well to the
nuisances, and destruction occasioned to the fisheries
by gas and unlawful nets, as to the other causes of com-
plaint ; and the authorities were fully competent to carry
into effect any necessary change for the benefit and se-
curity of the public. His Lordship concluded by stating
that he was happy to see that the Jury were commercial
men, chosen from the immediate neighbourhood of the
river, and probably well acquainted with it, most par-
ticularly in the places to which their attention was pe-
. culiarly directed.
The Jury then proceeded from Court to the river,
where they embarked in the City boat, attended-by the
W.L,r 111.111 IF, rot- tho pripnca of examining the various
parts in which obstructions and nuisances were said to
exist. . _

Upon their return to Court at three o'clock,
Mr. BROWN, the foreman, handed in the following
presentment :
" London :—We:whose names are hereunto sub-
scribed, being the persons duly summoned and sworn at
a Court of Conservancy of the River Thames ttnd Waters
of Medway, holden before the Right Hon. Thomas
Johnson, Lord Mayor of the City of London, and Con-
servator of the said River of Thames and Waters of Med-
way, at the Guildhall in and for the said City of London,
on Thursday, the 12th day of August, in the year of our
Lord, 1841, to inquire of certain transgressions, con-
tempts, and offences, committed on the said River of
Thames, within the said City of London, do hereby make
our presentment in manner following,—this is to say,—
" We present that certain persons, being occupiers of
the wharves on the banks of the said river between Lon-
don-bridge and the Temple, cause their barges to be placed
outside the piles in front of their wharves.
" In making this presentment against the said persons
we beg to express our opinion that much inconvenience
would be obviated by piles being driven, under the direc-
tion of the Corporation of London, in front of the said
wharves so as to define the boimdary for mooring craft
in the causeway at Paul's-wharf, as to occasion no ob-
struction to the public landing place at the said wharf.
" We hereby also present that several persons have
caused a floating pier or landing place, formed of barges,
at the north-east side of Blackfriars-bridge, and which
projects a considerable distance into the said river, and
that such floating pier or landing . place is an encroach-
ment on the said river, and also an obstruction to the na-
vigation. And we further present the said pier and
floating barges as being in a dangerous state, and not
sufficiently stable for the intended purpose.
" We present that a pier or landing.place, principally
formed of barges, hath been erected at the western side
of Southwark Bridge, and which projects from one of the
piers of the said bridge into the said river. We make
this Presentment, considering such pier or landing place
to be an encroachment upon the said river; but at the
same time we state that little, if any, obstruction is
caused thereby to the navigation of the said river, and
we also consider that such pier or lauding place, as at
present constructed, is the best adapted for the accom-
modation and safety of the public in embarking and
landing from steam-boats navigating in that part of the
said river.
" We also present that several persons have caused
floating piers, or landing-places, formed of barges, to be
erected on the banks of that part of the said river which
is situate within the City of London, at Dyer's Hall
Wharf, at Old Shades Wharf, and at Nicholson's Wharf,
and which project into the said river. We consider such
piers or landing-places to be encroachments upon the
said river.
"We present that several persons have caused a lighter,
with a barge affixed thereto, to be placed in front of Cus-
tom-house Quay, in that part of the said river which is
situate within the City of London ; and also a lighter in
front of Adelaide Wharf within the said City ; and that
such lighters are encroachments on the said river."
The presentment was signed by all the Jury.
Mr. ,liitowN, the foreman of the Jury, said that in
making this presentment of the encroachments particu-
larized, he was directed by his brother Jurymen to state
that all which were mentioned as merely encroachments
were, if properly managed and regulated, necessary for
the accommodation of the public. He was expressly de-
sired to mention that fact.
The RECORDER—You mean that their uses to the pub-
lic more than counterbalance the disadvantages arising
from the encroachments ?
Mr. BRoWN—Most decidedly.
The REconnEa--Then the objection as an encroach-
ment and a nuisance is directed against the pier at Black-
friars-bridge ?
Mr. BROWN—Certainly. We present that as a most
decided encroachment and nuisance.
Sir P. LAURIE said that he had received a letter from
the Blackfriars-bridge Pier Company, denying the truth
of the statement made to him by the gentleman who was
near losing his life at the pier, and declaring that nothing
could be more safe.—(4 laugh.)
Mr. BROWN—We had before us the man who was said
to have saved the gentleman's life, and he mentioned to
us that the gentleman jumped before the steamer had
reached the barge. •
A
Sir P. LAURIE—nd that the gentleman totally denied
to me. I knew that the Jury would ascertain whether
the place was as safe as possible or not.
The RECORDER then returned the thanks of the Court
to the Jury for the manner. in which they lad discharged
their duty, and stated to them that his Lordship and
the Corporation would take' immediate measures to ris
'move effectually 'such encroachments and nuisances, air
they had pointed out, and as were calculated to cause
clanger and prejudice to the public.
The Court was then dissolved.
A model of a very elegant pier, liToposed to be erected
on the north-west side of BlaCkfriar's-bridg, and which
will cause no more obstruction than the admirable one at
Southwark-bridge, was exhibited at the Guildhall. It is
bgyiveMar.dleVscarlilpietriotnh7ofenitg..ineer. We shall in a day or two
go --
AV

NEW WORK EDITED BY BOZ.-- ,e under-
stand that the entire first impression of this work was
taken by the London booksellers on the day of publica-
tion, and that another is already preparing.

IRELAND.
THE -REPEAL- ASSOCIATION.
DUBLIN, AUG. 10.—It would be worse than useless to
conceal the fact that the proceedings of this (so called)
" Loyal" body of revolutionists are beginning to excite
considerable alarm in the minds of well-dispose I and
well-affected men of all creeds and parties. The openly-
avowed determination of accepting foreign aid to carry
their insane projects into execution, and the frightful
threats of retaliation on England for her alleged misrule
of this kingdom, as declared by the rabid orators at yes-
terday's meeting, demand that the strong arm of power
should be promptly and vigorously put forward to crush
at this, its ripening, a rebellion in embryo, having for its
end and aim the not-disguised plan of the elevation of
one party at the cost or utter extirpation of the other.
From the early hoar at which I was compelled to
close my abstract of Mr. O'Connell's speech at Burgh-
quay yesterday, I was necessarily obliged to curtail the
concluding, and by far the most remarkable portion of
this inflammatory address, and in making the addenda
shall be as brief as the limits of your space and the na-
ture of the speech itself will permit.
After having reiterated his thrice-told fable of their
being no blood spilt during the progress of the recent
elections, the Hon. Gentleman proceeded to ask his
already highly wrought-up mob auditory—" Have you
not seen a paragraph in a morning paper, quoted from a
journal published in Cheltenham, and known as the
Cheltenham Journal and Stroud Llerald? I will read it
for your edification.—(Laughter.) It is headed ' Justice
to Ireland,' and thus proceeds-4 What would be justice
to Ireland ? What would be the greatest blessing that
could be conferred on Ireland ? The answer to these
questions is prompt, and comprised in a single word—
Conquest ! Conquest ! Let them try it if they dare.
—(Great cheering.) We are the Queen's subjects, more
loyal, more devoted, more true-hearted, than any others
under her sway. Yes, we are the subjects of her Ma-
jesty, and entitled to protection by the law, and if the
ruffians who would enslave both her and us approach our
shores with such intent, in the name of our Queen, and
under the banner of our country's laws, we will meet
them foot to foot, and they shall see that I—even I, who
have all my life been the advocate of peace, and shud-
dered at the unsheathing of the sword—may pant for
the hour of peril, and take my place in the front of the
battle to strike the ruffians down.—(Loud
which lasted several minutes.) Conquest ! Is it con-
quest they talk of ? Ah ! I see how it is. They fancy
it is Irish serfs they will have to govern. But from this
spot I hurl at them my defiance, and tell them that if
they come here for conquest, and that the fbrtune of
battle yields to them the mastery, it is dead bodies they
AVM have to reign over, for to the last man will we resist
the tyrants.—(Cheers.) What !- in the face of civilized
Europe—before the whole universe—within hearing of
America, where there are 22,000 Irishmen within two days
march of New York—will they dare to talk of conquest?
Those who confide in them—the men who rely upon
their good faith, and are weak-minded enough to believe
in their lenity after victory—these, and such as these,
may, and no doubt will, afford them an easy' conquest ;
but we who know them well, who feel that there is no
hope for us, no safety—but to look for none save what is
in our own valour—we, I repeat, will not be conquered
by them.—(Great applause.) Ah ! no, they will not,
they dare not do it. They talk of re-conquering Ire-
land. I wish they would attempt it,' so help me Ileav—
but no ; lam a Christian man, and as such-I cannot de-
sire the shedding of human blood. But, if the day must
come, I shall rejoice in the hour that will let me take my
stand for justice in the battle-field of her liberties."—
(Loud applause.)
A voice—Napoleon never had more recruits than you
will have.—(Cheers.)
Mr. O'CONNELL." But let us turn once more to this
notable production—' Ireland, though under the domi-
nion of England,' has never been conquered by her.'
This is truth.—(Hear.) England has succeeded in domi-
neering over us, not by the right arm of prowess, but by
reason of our interval divisions, and because we relied
too confidently on her honour and good faith. Our
brave men laid their arias down and trusted in the ho-
nour of England. She turned on them in every case, and
treacherously betrayed their .confidence. We were not
conquered then, but swindled.—(Loud cheers.) But they
have taught us a lesson. In the warfare which they pro-
claim against us, let them conquer us if they can ; but
they never again shall swindle us.—(Cheers.) Now, I
will venture to say, that if an army came here to cut
down the Queen's subjects, Wellington and his army
were not in half the peril at Waterloo that they would be
in.—(Hear, and great cheerio(%) If they coine here it
will be without the sanction of our Queen, to whom we
are devoutly attached.—(Loud cheering.) The Irish have
now cause to be more devotedly loyal than they ever had
in their lives; and, in tbc name of the Queen, I proclaim
that if an enemy came here to cut down her peaceable
and loyal subjects, Waterloo would be a cheap victory to
what they would have to encounter.—(Cheers.) But I
am only talking of a dream. Such an event cannot possi-
bly arise, except our enemies become utterly mad, and
wish to rush upon their own destruction. They dare not,
in the face of Europe and America, attempt anything so
sanguinary and atrocious, no matter how theymay be in-
clined.—(Hear, hear.) We will proceed with the Repeal
agitation without interrnission.—(Hear, and laughter.)
All Ireland is being organized, and we will never relax
our efforts to accomplish the legislative' independence
of our native land. An offer might be made to have
the Whigs come in again if we give up Repeal, but
my answer shall be the loudest " No" that ever was
heard. (Cheers.) Any one who holds back at present,
merely wishes for an excuse to do so, and I tell Irish-
men that their only security against such a party as the
Cheltenham miscreants is to become at once Repealers,
and make an effort for :their country's, regeneration.—
(Iltar, and loud cheers) I have spoken of resistance,
but it is not resistance to th'e—legil power. But if 'an il-
legal and sanguinaqparty, no matter whether they be
Saxon, Dutch, or French, toyadta Imo Queen's ist.od for
the purpose of cutting down the Queen's subjects, the
people will be found in the front of the battle, and shall
conquer or die to a man.—(Cheers.) But, as I have
said, such an event cannot arise unless the party who now
hold out those threats lose all their senses in the madness
of bigotry and fanaticism. We have the majority of
Scotland with us, we have a glorious minority in Eng-
land with us, and the paltry cowards who now hold out
those threats would be the first to fly if the hour of dan-
ger arrived. I call upon the people to arouse for Re-
peal ! We conquered Peel before, and, whilst we call
for the aid of every honest Reformer in England to con-
quer him again, our cry for Repeal shall be augmented.—
Times.

THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS.
Notwithstanding the unpropitious state of the weather
reaping has commenced on several farms in the neigh-
bourhood of this city. _ Alarms have been raised ; but,
as far as regards this and the adjoining counties, nearly
all concur in representing the various kinds of grain as
likely to prove -v4.3, preiltictive, if we should now be
favoured with fine iitt‘ather. Several breadths of land in
the midland and takrthern districts, however, are less
cheering. The app rape of the crops in the whole
district between Derby au' York will nowhere bear a
comparison with the forwarcl. abundance of the more fa-
voured districts of WorceSterShire 'and Herefordshire ;
wheat, in particular iss-,tMk'wiryl•straggling, backward,
and apparently diseaSed.-*%Woreater, Journal.
• During the last feW days the weather continued
showery. We have had, however, an occasional gleam
of sunshine, but scarcely sufficient to redeem the injury
done to the growing crops, particularly the wheat, which,
we regret to perceive, is completely prostrated in many
places in the neighbourhood ; indeed we fear the serious
apprehensions felt will, unfortunately, be too surely
realised. Similar weather has prevailed in Tipperary,
Kilkenny, and Wexford, and the same fearful results. A
favourable change took place about mid-day on Sunday;
the atmosphere cleared up, and the weather continues of
' a most cheering description.— Waterford Chronicle.
The crops of all descriptions in Somersetshire appear
in a state of profuse bearing, and fine weather is alone
wanting to secure 9 ~harvest of the most luxuriant cha-
racter.—Taunton Catrier,
Since the last no pitigress.has been made in the harvest ;
rain, and a strong fronillie south-east, has still in-
creased, scamblingVie wlleat; and though we hear the
actual damage to the crops is not increased, still a week
is gone without any improvement or any progress in
ripening, and the, wheat harvest must now be very late.
The barley and oats were very strong and good, but are
now laid flat in many situations, and the seeds getting
through them fast. The peas were very good, and many
pieces have been cut some time ,• the continued rains
have injured them considerably.—Brighton Gazette.
CHICHESTER.—The harvest is now pretty generally
begun in this neighbourhood, but the corn in some places
looks very green.
SOUTH HANTS.—Notwithstanding the showery wea-
ther, the hay harvest has been earned in fine condition.
The heavy rain on Tuesday last has thrown down the
corn in many places. Should it prove fine, harvest wil
be general here in the course of the week.— Western!
Luminary.

UNLUCKY NAMES.—On Friday last, after a
few days illness, died at Petworth, William Death, the
eldest son of Mr. Death, of that place; and on the fol-
lowing day, at Shoreham, Mr. Deadman, landlord of the
Star Inn. The surgeon who was examined at the In-
quest on the body of Mr. Deadman, stated that the death
of Mr. Deadman was caused by the breaking of a blood-
vessel.
AGE OF ANIMALS.—A bear rarely exceeds
twenty years; a dog lives twenty years; a wolf twenty;
a fox fourteen or sixteen; lions are long lived. Pom-
pey lived to the age of seventy. The average age of
cats is fifteen years; a squirrel or hare seven or eight
years; rabbits seven. Elephants have been known to
live to the great age of 400 years. When Alexander
the Great had conquered one Phoras, King of India, he
took a great elephant which had fought very valiantly
for the King, and named him Ajax, dedicated him to
the sun, and let him go with this inscription, "Alex-
ander the sun of Jupiter, hath dedieated Ajax to the
Sun." This elephant was found with this inscription
350 years after. Pigs have been known live to the
age of thirty years ;• the rhinoceros to twenty. A horse
has been known to live to the age of sixty-two, but ave-
rages twenty-five to thirty. Camels sometimes live to
the age of one hundred. Stags are long-lived. Sheep
seldom exceed the age of ten. Cows live about fifteen
years. Cuvier considers it probable that whales some-
times live one thousand years. The dolphin and por-
poise attain the age of thirty. An eagle died at Vienna
at the age of one hundred and four years. Ravens fre-
quently reached the age of one hundred. Swans have
been known to live three hundred years. Mr. Mallerton
has the skeleton of a swan that attained the age of two
hundred years. Pelicans are long-lived. A tortoise has
been known to live to the age of one hundred and seven.
WHARF AT BLACKWALL FOR STEAM.
BOATS. —A Correspondent, who mentions one or two ac-
cidents at this place, suggests that either a rail or a
guard should be placed on the spot after dark, to prevent
similar occurrences,