The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-11 00:00:00

TIIE SUN, LONDON, SA_TITIIDAY m.atusilism, JULY ii, 1846

PARISH OF ST. PANCRAS,

Thuilelay, at a meeting of the vestry of St. Pancras. held
at the Vestry-rooms, Gordon-square (Mr. Churchwarden
Howarth in the chair),
Mr. Alchs and a deputation of ratepayers waited upon the
vestry, to call the attention of that body to circumstances
which had arisen in that parish, consequent on the death of
one of the assessed tax collectors, and which it was to be ap-
prehended would disqualify upwards of 1,500 borough
electors from being on the ensuing register. Mr. Aldis
stated, that although Mr. Lorant, one of the poor- rate col-
lectors, had been appointed as the successor of Mr. North-
cote by the Assessed Tax Commissioners, yet, through their
neglect, the necessary books would not be placed in the
collector's hands before the 17th or 18th of July, and it was
well known that the law compelled the payment on or be-
fore the 20th to qualify. The people were ready to pay their
rates, but there was no one to receive them, and the proba-
bility was that upwards of 1,500 electors residing in Somers-
town and part of Camden-town would be disfranchised. The
ratepayors considered the vestry, as their representatives, were
the proper persons to interfere in the matter.
Another RATEPAYER observed that he had occasion to see
Sir Benjamin Hall, one of the borough Members, that morn-
ing, and the Hon. Baronet considered the matter of very
serious importance, and had suggested, if a deputation of the
vestry were appointed, he would at once accompany them to
the Board of Stamps and Taxes, and insist upon some step
being taken to prevent the contemplated disfranchisement of
so many voters.
Mr. Lorant, the collector, was sent for, and, in answer to
questions by the vestry, said that he was anpointed by the
Assessed Tax Commissioners to succeed Mr. Northcote, and
collect his arrears, on the 26th of June, but had not yet re-
ceived the necessary books for the purpose. The amount
required to be collected was 2,400/. from 1,540 persons. He did
all he could to get the books, and was told he could not have
them before the 17th. He was in hopes to get them by
Monday next.

Mr. DOUGLAS said, that while Mr. Lorant was collecting
the assessed Taxes the poor-rates would go uncollected,
which were equally necessary for the qualification of voters.
His idea was, that the vestry should go at once to Lord
John Russell on this subject, and point out to this Lordship
the necessity for repealing the rate-paying clauses of the
Reform Bill, under present circumstances, and this strong
case. These Assessed Tax Commissioners had the power
of disfranchising, if they thought proper, half the con-
stituency of the kingdom.
After some discussion, it was resolved to appoint a deputa-
tion to wait upon Sir Benjamin Hall, and accompany the
Hon. Baronet to the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes, or
take such other measures as they deemed necessary for avert-
ing the apprehended disfranchisement of so large a number
of electors.

SALE of the ropy ABBEY ESTATE
property, which has had considerable publicity given
to it by Mr. George Robins in consequence of its antiquity,
and the fame that has now descended through very many
generations, came off (to use a sporting term) yesterday at
the Mart ; and as the value of land has been a disputed point,
and the agriculturists have been in a state approaching a
panic, it is due to them to give the result of this certain
mode of ascertaining the worth of an opinion fornied upon
such a basis : and first as to this far-famed property. The
abbey, which is decidedly the finest monastery throughout
England, and its outward form and character quite un-
approachable, is in great need of a fearful outlay within ; but
no man of good taste will deny this sacrifice with a view to
restore it to its pristine state. The description of the abbey,
with an historical account appended, is got up marvellously
well in the printed particulars, by a talented lady—(it is
whispered to be the handiwork of a Mrs. Allen, a relation of
the late possessor Mr. Gwynne). This traces the origin of
this splendid building (with a 300-feet garden) to the time
of William the Conqueror, and the perusal of it must delight
all those who value, and are deeply read in, antiquity. The
Goblin tapestry, which adorns the interior, and is estimated
at 10,0001., is not included, but is to be sold with the collec-
tion of Dutch and Flemish pictures, at tho approaching sale,
next month. The tapestry can hardly be sufficiently appre-
ciated : it is quite matchless.
Tne deinesao of Ford Abbey extends to 1,150 acres, in
farms, beautifully diversified by hill and daie, cascades and
wateiCalls. far.n-houses are let, and those in perspective
we will enumerate, in. order to judge impartially of the
result. Thus it is—
'l e farms let at £1,385
Tho abbey (unlet), gardens, and SO acres of woodland,
estimated at ,
Tae-reversion to lands out on term lease, SO acres

Producing per year £1.875
A total of 2,8751. a year is thus shown, although only 1,3851.
is the present receipt. The result will be better shown and
appreciated by the following calculation. The actual rental,
taken at thirty-two years' purchase, is 44,3201., to which
must be added for the prospective rent of 4904 in addition
(say twenty years' purchase) this adds 9,000/. Thus it is—
The farms let at, say, 44,320/., at 32 years' purchase.
the prospective rent, 9,r?00/., at 20 ditto.

54,120/.

Now we will compare these high prices with the actual
result.

Tile fist bidcl:ng was 10,0001 , but Mr. Robins deals only-
in guineas, and the biddings proceeded thus until it
reached 52,000 guineas, at which it was knocked down to a
Mr. Gwynne, of Teignmouth (a curious coincidence this,
although no relation, it should be sold to a namesake). Now
after this matter-of-fact statement, what will the alarmists
say to this—what apology have they la store fur Oir Robert
Pqel, whom they have vilified for so many months • past? Let
them refer to the Warwickshire estate, sold by Mr. Robins a
fortnight since for 50,000 guineas to Lord Craven for 3214
years' purchase, on a rack-rent. Then look at the corrobora-
tion by the result of Ford Abbey, upwards of 102,000 gui-
neas, in two sales (and within fourteen days of one another),
at these advanced prices. It they have the slightest proper
feeling, let them hide their diminished heads, and crave Sir
Robert to forgive them. No more, I pray you, of the ruin
of the agricultural world.

LYPIATT PARK, GLOUCESTER.
This beautiful estate being announced for public sale
in our columns, by Mr. George Robins, and possessing,
as it does, unusual interest as connected with the history
of our country, we think some notice of it may not be
unacceptable to our readers. Lypiatt Park is situate
at a short remove from Stroud, and is reached from
London in three hours ; the country around is exceed-
ingly beautiful, indeed the Vale of Chalfont, which is
close to the estate, has long been deemed the most lovely
part of Gloucestershire. The residence is in the old
castellated style, partaking of the gothic order of
architecture. A portion of it bears evident signs of
great antiquity, whilst the venerable chapel and dove-
cote are fine specimens of the olden time • indeed, the
former seems as it were to have outlived all the vicissi-
tudes to which the doctrine first promulgated within its
walls has been subjected to, and to offer its holy and
peaceful appearance as an attraction to some Catholic
family to become the possessor of the estate. The
chapel is :said to have been erected in the time of
Stephen, and that its walls have never been desecrated.
Passing over the families to whom the property
belonged during the Tudor reigns, we find in the time
of James I. that Lypiatt Park was the seat of the
celebrated Sir J. Throckmorton, the projector of the
Gunpowder Plot, who at its outset held many of its
private meetings in one of the chambers of the present
mansion, which, strange to say, after a lapse of so many
years, is still preserved. The estate passed through
several hands, and in the time of Charles I. was occu-
pied by one of his adherents, and was consequently be-
sieged by the army of the Parliament, and seriously
devastated. It remained a mass of ruins for a long
period, a portion of it only being habitable until Sir
Paul Baghott became the -possessor and conceived its
restoration and extension in the olden style, and with
the assistance of Sir Jeffery Wyattville reared a most
beautiful structure ; but it was left to the present pro-
prietor to alter, improve, and bring to perfection for its
size the most elegant and complete chateau that can be
found amongst England's boasted beauties. Of the ex-
terior it is impossible to speak too. much in praise ; its
ivy-wreathed towers and walls, its oriel windows, tur-
retted embattlements and cloistered avenue, form a
tout ensemble which cannot fail to please the mind's eye
of the most fastidious in classical architecture; whilst in
the interior the effect is ore of surpassing beauty and
variety, combining taste with comfcrt, and nobility with
simplicity. From the end windows the most lovely and
diversifying scene is presented, and from those of the
noble corridor, the Monk's Garden is seen in all the
quietude and repose necessary .or contemplation. The
domain extends to 231 acres of rich land, and is diversi-
fied by hill and dale, with a singularly. beautiful eminence,
or terrace, on which the mansion is seated, and from
whence an extensive panorama is presented ; the home
grounds being ornamented by noble and thriving timber,
with a stately avenue leading in one direction, a rookery
in the distance, and, descending through a thorn grove
to a mead of surpassing quietude and richness, bounded
by a wood of noble beech trees, and of great extent,
through which a path winds impervious to the summer's
heat, catching ever and anon the most charming peeps of
the varying scene. Much interest is excited by the in-
tended sale of this property, and if report be true, more
than one Catholic family of consequence has already
been to inspect it.

DISSOLUTION OF THE LEAGUE.
. (From the Courrier Francais.)
' Three years and a half ago, three or four men, be-
longint to the Manchester trade, hired a small apart-
ment in a retired part of that town. We say that the
apartment was small, nevertheless it still appeared
to them too vast, for they . divided it into two,
by means of an ample curtain of red serge. It
was in this modest room, behind this curtain of red
serge, that the League was born. What did the lodgers
of this little apartment wish ? Little enough, God
knows. In reality, they just simply wished to change the
politico-economical Constitution of their country—they
wished to raze the old edifice of privileges in which was
sheltered the most powerful aristocracy in the world—
they wished to struggle, shoulder to shoulder, with this
aristoeracy,which had governed England for so many cen-
turies. Was notthis an insane enterprise? If these dreamers,
who.were plotting in favour of liberty had only had the
people on their side, it would have been something ;
but no, they were alone ! The people rather sympa,
thised with their opponents than with them. The
people were on the side of those who protected the
" national labour " with such lively solicitude I There
were, it is true, in the bosom of the labouring masses,
spirits whom privations and sufferings had soured and
driven to despair ; spirits always ready to engage in
adventurous undertakings, because they have nothing
to lose and everything to gain. It would have been
an easy matter to irritate the passions of this disin-
herited mass, and to urge them into the path of revolu-
tion. Bu' it was not thus ; it was not by the assistance
of brute force that our dreamers proposed to conquer
their liberty ; they rejected material irneufes—they
wished for nothing but moral ones. In their small and
secluded apartment they did not manfacture powder and
balls, they manufactured arguments. They wished to
enforce the adoption of economical liberty by persuasion;
they did not wish to impose it by force !
Well! This chimerical, this apparently utopian enter-
prise, has succeeded! The free-traders of Manchester,
after a struggle of seven years, have at length van-
quished their opponents. In seven years they have de-
stroyed the secular prejudices of a nation,—they have
converted a-Whom cc:min tfy T.. .... ......,a. .-.0" liberty. After
a delay of seven years, the Hons. of I,,rtia has sanc-
tioned the work begun in the little room at Manchester,
and the Prime Minisier of England has public tendered
his thanks,in the name of the country, to Richard
has
tfaosßw
justi cnl Richard a r due
emancipated
cdiieptna ,t
tet
hdh
eehnpiot
he
blessingprea
.ucitl countrytt ri
t tribune,
oi : from
nPoo
order
irt
dip
Cobden, ie promoter of the " League."
Is not this,the noblest and finest of triumphs ? What
the tribune who
misery, by be-
victory is worth the victory of the League ? What name
radiates with a stronger and purer lustre than the name
, what admirable
•economical
ce°r to obtain
freedom ?
physical force
urisnhieved
perseveranceth these
s ue t
r es what
uls .
have
There troubles,
b
something Homeric in
the work accomplished by the agitators of the League;
with this exception
that we now see displaying itself here, and accomplish-
ing prodigies—it is a more noble force—it is the
force of intelligence. The wrestlers are writers and
orators. For seven years have these champions of the
freedom of labour devoted themselves, body and soul, to
the triumph of their cause. Incessantly in the field of
battle, their leader has visited the towns, the
boroughs,
and even the poorest hamlets for the Purpose of there
diffusing the doctrines of free trade. In 1843, he held
more than forty meetings within the space of two months.
111, and exhausted by the contest, he will not consent to
enjoy a moment's repose until the day of triumph has
the League
arrived.
's ac •
a report of the last meeting of
separates, and Mr. Cobden, to whom the Whigs have,
Now that this great
nevertheless, offered a place in the new Ministry,—Mr.
Cobden modestly retires once more into private life.
We give, elsewhere,
the League. At this solemn sitting was present the
leader of the Bordeaux League for the freedom of ex-
changes, M. Duffour-Dubergier. The words addressed
by Mr. Cobden to this gentleman, the representative of
the French free-traders, will be read with pleasure.
May the wish of welcome a the leader of the English
League be speedily realised ! May France soon have
nothing more to envy England in the matter of liberty.
iwtsriliruaemtaupillihsar.beido

SUDIAN'DEATH OF A LADY IN A r 4
.JARRIAGE.—On
Wednesday evening a gentleman named Walls, his wife, and
two friends, took an airing in the vicinity of Greenwich, and
en passing the !railway terminus the lady observed to her
husband that she felt very unwell, and the coachman wai
directed to drive to the first surgeon's. The carriage drove
on to the house of Dr. Wattsford, of Crooms Hill, Greenwich
Park, and. when that gentleman went to the carriage the
lady had wired,

MR. MON CKTON MILNES AND

THE NEW GOVERNMENT.

TO THE ELECTORS AND INHABITANTS OF
THE BOROUGH OF PONTEFRACT.
Gentlemen,—The course of policy adopted by Sir
Robert Peel having entirely dissolved the powerful
political party which raised him to that direction of
public affairs in 1841, I think it right to address to you
a few remarks as to the part my sense of public duty
inclines me to take in this peculiar juncture.
As I never anticipated either the great immediate
benefit, or the extensive ultimate injury from the repeal
of the corn-laws that many others have done, I should
have preferred a settlement of the question which
should not have been attended with so great a
sacrifice of revenue, and with so much painful feeling
on the one hand, and so much triumph on the other;
but when all hope of compromise was past. I
could not consent to reject a measure which so large a
portion of the community believed to be just, when the
loss, whatever it be, must, as far as our part of the
country is concerned, fall exclusively cn my own class of
society, the demand for labour being abundant, and the
tenant-farmer free to make new terms with his landlord,
as altered circumstances may require.
But the greater part of the late Ministers had been the
stautche-t advocates of the protective system ; and we,
acting under the advice of Sir Robert Peel in 1841, op-
posed the considerable advance in the direction of free trade
then proposed by Lord John Russell ; and thus, however
conscientious may have been the change of opinion in the
late Government, it was impossible that one party could
forgive the suddenness of their conversion, or that the
other could forget their long persistence in error. They
have, therefore, incurred the natural consequences of in-
firmity of purpose, and their opponents, whose free-trade
tendencies Parliament has accepted and confirmed, are
now the Ministers of England.
This occurrence is surely not to be regretted, when
we consider that the alternative must have been the un-
certain maintenance in power of a Government too ex-
posed to insulting reproaches from former friends, who
believed themselves betrayed, and to impediments from
opponents who believed themselves overreached; and
only able to retain their places by continual appeals to
the meanest interests and the basest passions.

Lord John Russell is at the head of the most numerous
of the three parties in the House of Commons, and has
thus the fairest claim to form a Government, but it
is clear that he cannot sustain that position with
honour to himself and benefit to the nation, unless
supported by some who have hitherto been opposed to
him. It appears improbable that Sir Robert Peel,
having retired to his wealthy privacy and his hopes
of fame, will, for some time at least, attempt to organise
a npw,opposition; and it Is not certain that the colleagues
and followers, who have already endured and sacri-
ficed so much, would invite him to a fresh competition.
The Protectionists, to whom the present Government
owe their accession to power, are not the men to have
raised an Administration for the mere pleasure of over-
throwing it, and sport with the institutions of their
country without prospect of advantage to their principles
or their party. Every man, in fact, is free to act as he
thinks best; and I cannot conceal from you my convic-
tion, that it is the present duty of every true Conserva-
tive to give a fair and independent support to the Go-
vernment of Lord John Russell.

An opposition may—nay; must—form itself in the
course of time ; but let it be a real and not a nominal
one—an opposition either to the practical mismanage-
ment of the executive, or to an illiberal and exclusive
distiibution of the offices of state, or,to an attack upon
some institution which we reasonably value. Let us, in
a word, oppose measures which we believe to be wrong,
and not the men who have been placed in, a difficult and
responsible position, almost without an intentional effort,
by a series of singular events, and the rapid change in
the political views of a mature and experienced states-
man.

In the limitation of the hours of factory labour, in the
amendment of the tenure of land in Ireland, in the im-
provement of the poor-law, in the prosecution of ,public
education, and in the wisest treatment and reformation
of criminals, Lord John Russell has before him ques-
tions sufficient to call forth all his energies, and on which
it would be indeed grievous to see good intentions and
sagacious plans thwarted by the blindness and violence
of Parliamentary faction.
Old party distinctions have passed away, and it would
be well if old party names could be extinguished too.
Let the new Government distinguish itself by a truly
liberal, temperate, and judicious policy, and by patent,
practical reforms, and the country will forget that it in-
chides men who once offended it by their exclusive pre-
tensions and oligarchical traditions.
With these hopes, and, I may add, expectations, I
trust that I shall find myself representing your feelings
and desires, in supporting, as long as I conscientiously
can, the Administration of Lord John Russell.
RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES.
26, Pall-mall, July 8.

CLAIMING

.1 HUSBAND.

Betearros, THURSDAY_—The magistrates of the Brighton
bench were engaged a couple of hours this morning in con-
sidering a summons for sureties of the peace against a young
woman named Dinning, arising out of a claim by her to be
the wife of Captain Mercer, a half. pay naval officer, and
nephew of Vice-Admiral Sir William Powis.
Mr. Somers Clarke appeared for the complaining party, Mr.
G. Dempster for the woman. The court was crowded to
suffocation.

Mr. CLARKE detailed at length the facts of the case. It
appeared that on the evening of Midsummer's-day, Captain
Mercer, while walking with his daughter near St. Peter's
Church, By ighton, was accosted by the defendant, who
claimed him as her husband. Captain Mercer; we may
state, appears to be about sixty years of age; the woman
could not have seen half so many summers. The captain
told her she was a tool; but from that time forward she re-
peatedly intruded into his lodgings, claiming a right to do
so as his lawful wife, and she also applied for advice
to the magistrates, apparently believing that the captain
was her hu,band. Her statement was that she met the
captain at Brighton, and that after seeing him three times
she consented to become his wife, and that they accordingly
left Brighton by the first train on the morning of the
Ist October ; that they were married at the church of
St. Matthew, Bethnal-green, the same day, the captain re-
presenting his name to be Harper; that they lived together
13 days, when he left her, and she did not see him again till
she met him at Brighton. She also produced the certificate
of her marriage. This statement would be rebutted by the
producaep of a declaration, for the purpose of procuring his
half-pay;made by Captain Mercer before the Brighton bench,
on the day:when it was alleged that the marriage took place,
and by his creceipt of the money at the Custom House, and
several cirMnastances which would show incontestably that
Captain Mercer was in Brighton during the time the woman
alleged that heir husband was with her in London.
Captain Mercer and several other witnesses were then ex-
amined. The Captain proved that his wife died 25 years ago
in the West Indies—that he was in Brighton on the day the
defendant. allegg that he married her at Bethnal-green, and
hfetWref lekled that he was at home every day and
every nig-fil 'from the Ist to the 14th of October. It was
alleged by the woman he had lived with ber as her husband.
Mr. DEMPSTER said that by virtue of his discretion as an
advocate he had determined not to proceed further with the
case. _ _

Major Allen said the clergyman who married the woman
stated that Captain Mercer was the husband.
The case was then withdrawn, Mr. Dempster and the ma-
gistrates declaring their belief that the defendant had acted
under a bond fide belief that Captain Mercer was her hus-
band, but that she was mistaken.

HORRIBLE CRUELTY IN
MADAGASCAR.

The Democratic Pacifique publishes a long extract
from a letter, giving a horrible account of the atrocities
committed at Madagascar by the Hovas upon an English
soldier, whom they had captured. After describing a
feast by the Hovas' chiefs at the establishment of a
French traiteur, who, with another traiteur of the same nor
tion, are stated to have exulted in the victory of the Hovas
over the British and French expedition against Madagas-
car, and giving an account of the disgusting mutilations
of the bodies of the slain, the writer says:—" Whilst
this debauch was going on (two days after our defeat)
word was brought that an Englishman had just come
out of the brushwood, imploring that his life might
be spared. It appears that during the fight an
unfortunate wounded English soldier had crept into
the bushes, and remained concealed, a melancholy
witness of the mutilations inflicted upon his com.
rades. For forty•eight hours he bore the pangs of his
wound and of hunger and thirst, but, being unable to
bear up longer, he came from his hiding-place, and,
advancing towards the Hovas, showed his wound,
delivered up his musket, and entreated them to give him
a mite water. The chief, Maaaeuma, without derang-
ing himself from the banquet, sent to the governor
for orders. Rszakafidy, the governor, desired that
the man might be put to death. There were at his
table several Frenchmen, who did not even open their
mouths to ask for the life of this poor Englishman, who
had bravely fought by the side of our countrymm. Yeu
will, think, perhaps, that this unfortunate man was killed
with a stroke of the sagaye. The Roves have a different
mode of taking vengeance on a disarmed enemy. They
stripped him naked, and then five or six officers, with their
knives, and in the midst of the circle which had been
formed, began pricking him in the tenderest parts of
his body. The soldier, who was extended on the
ground, rose, as by an effort of heroism, and received
their thrusts standing. At this time there were not
less than five or six bleeding wounds of the sagaye
which he had received in battle, and the blood streamed
from the new wounds inflicted by his assailants. His
face was of a livid paleness, but it wore an air of
contempt for his butchers. The Hovas, while
these horrors were proceeding, set up shouts of
triumph. Seeing that the Englishman defied their
blows, the monsters laid hold of him and
began to tear out the nails of his hands and feet. He
bore even this bravely for a time, but at length sunk to
the ground exhausted and closed his eyes. The Hovas
then cut off his fingers and different portions of his flesh,
after which they proceeded to the last and m. ost cruel
operation. Having done this himthey stabbedin the
heart and cut off his head. Finally, they put into their
mouths portions of the flesh, removed by the horrible
operation which preceded the coup de grace, and went
off triumphantly to fix the head on a stake."

RIBANDISM IN .SLIGO.—We regret to say that Ri-
bandism is still rife in this country. It is to us mac of the
most incomprehensible systems that ever existed, and we all
know that no good has ever proceeded from it. We publish
the signs for the present quarter, to show the parties how
well their proceedings are known; and we can assure them
that there is scarcely a magistrate in the county who is not
in full possession of their signs. We do not wish to see the
people hunted down by the police and bloodhounds of the
law, and it is for the purpose of warning them we now pub •
lish-those signs. The passwords are—Question—" The sea-
son is wet." Answer—" The harvest will be late." Question
—" It will disoblige the poor." Answer—" The Lord look
on them." The quarrelling words, though they ought to be
called by another name, are—" Be calm," " I thank you for
your advice." The signs of recognition are, the two first
fingers of the left hand to the shirt collar on the right. The
countersigns are, the two first fingers of the right hand to the
tip of the left ear. The folly of all this would make us laugh
U the consequeuces were not :9 v6;415014 E9O Cliampio.

,
RAILWAY ACROSS THE MERSEY.
The following are copies of the chief points in the cor-
respondence with the Admiralty relative to the proposed
viaduct across the Mersey to be constructed by the
Grand Junction Railway Company. The papers were
printed by order of the House of Commons, and were
delivered on Saturday :

Admiralty, April 4, 1814.
Sir,—l am commanded by my Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty to acquaint you that they will give
their consent to the construction of a viaduct across the
river Mersey by the Grand Junction Railway Company,
on the following conditions :-
1. That as a compensation for the obstruction to the
stream, which must be caused by the piers of the pro-
posed bridge, all the rocky shore on the Lancaster side
must be cut away, at the expense of the railway com-
pany, up to the line A A on the plan, so as to give a
proper direction to the stream.

2. That a small portion of the Castle Rock (B) on the
Cheshire side, as well as the adjacent angle of the shore
(C), be also cut away by the company, in order to form
the shore to a regular curve, as shown in the plan.
3. That the island between the Castle Rock and the
Old Quay Canal be removed by the same parties, and
that all the above-mentioned excavations be made to the
I,,west summer level of the river.

4. That if the company think it expedient to carry
the bridge on arches, the waterway opening between the
piers be not less than 280 feet in the clear ; that the
piers be not more than twenty-five feet in thickness, with
proper cutnaters ; and that the clear headway under
the centre of each arch be not less that 100 feet above
the level of the flow of the highest tides, and that the
spring of the arches be not less than 65 feet above the
same level.

But if, instead of such arches, the company should
consent to substirute flat girders, with piers of not more
than 20 feet thickness (wr ich would be in every way
preferable), my Lords w _mid in that case be contented
with the clear space of 250 feet between the piers.
5. That in order to facilitate the warping of large
vessels through the bridge, a turret staircase from the
footway along the bridge should be made, down the
second and third piers from the Cheshire side, to a
strong wooden or iron gallery round those piers, of
about three feet wide, and one or two feet above high-
water mark; that a trackway between the river and the
abutment wall, of the usual breadth, should be left on
the Cheshire side, and that a free footpath should be
afforded along the bridge, properly protected from the
railway, and connected to the present footpaths on each
bank of the river.
6. That the excavated materials shall either be used
in the construction, or placed in the curved line desig-
nated on the plan by the letters D D D, so as to form a
wall or weir, which shall, in the first place, extend 2,000
feet to the eastward, and afterwards 800 feet fnrther (if
considered necessary by their Lordships) in order to
give a proper direction to the tidal streams, and this wall
or weir shall be securely or substantially constructed,
and carried up, at the expense of the company, to the
level of high water, and that the works of excavation
shall be carried on simultaneously with the erection of
the bridge, which shall not be opened for the use of the
railway till all the excavations shall be fully completed,
nor till the works be approved by the Lords Conserva-
tors of the Mersey.
7. That during the execution of these works neither
the navigation nor the current shall be obstructed more
than is absolutely necessary in the opinion of the acting
conservator of the river. _

8. That any damage done to passing vessels by the
works of the bridge during its execution, unless caused
by the negligence or misconduct of the pilots or persons
in charge of the vessel, shall be paid by the company.—
I am, &c.,

(Signed) H. CORRY.
J. Swift, Eq., Fenton's Hotel, St. James's-street.
G wydyr House, Whitehall, March 2S, 1846.
Sir,—Having laid before my Lords Conservators of the
River Mersey the clause you propose to insert in the
Huyton and Aston branch of the Grand Junction Rail-
way Company, relative to a bridge over the River Mersey,
at Runcorn ;

I am desired by my Lords to inform you their Lord-
ships approve of the clause; but, in addition thereto, my
Lords Conservators deem it to be necessary that you fur-
ther insert a clause in your Bill to the following effect:—
" That in the event of any improvement hereafter
taking place in the navigation of the river Mersey, east-
ward of the proposed bridge at Runcorn, for the purpose
of establishing a communication for ships or vessels with
Manchester, or any other place to the eastward of the
present viaduct of the Grand Junction Railway over the
river Mersey, near Warrington, the Grand Junction
Company, or the then owners of that railway, shall con-
sent to such arrangements for the passing through their
present viaduct over the river Mersey, near Warrington,
as my Lords Conservators shall-deem it to be expedient
to require."
(Signed) GEORGE EVANS,
Acting Conservator of the River Mersey.
To J, Swift, Esq., solicitor for the Bill,
29, George-street, May 16, 1846.
My Lords,—l take the liberty of again communicating
with your Lordships in reference to the bridge proposed
to be constructed by the Grand Junction Railway Com-
pany over the river Mersey, at Runcorn, which, accord-
ing to the clause approved by your Lordships, is to be
constructed in such manner, and with such works, as
your Lordships may direct.
Linder these circumstances, I have to request that, if
it be not inconsistent with your Lordships' views, I may
be favoured with a letter from your Lordships, which I
may submit to the committee, stating that, in your
Lordships' opinion, it is desirable that the precise mode
of c, n,tructing the bridge should be left open to the
supervision of your Lordships, rather than that clauses
should be inserted in the Bill fixing now any specific
mode of constructing such bridge, or any particular
works to be elcne by the compacy, for the improvement
of the bed of the river.
(Signed) J. SWIFT.
The Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty.