The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-25 00:00:00

POOR-LAW.

Mr. WARD presented a petition from the guardians
of Greenwich and other parishes in its neighbourhood
against the Bill for altering the charges for the relief of
the poor.
Mr. MILES presented a petition to the same effect.

THE RIVER DEE COMPANY.

Sir ROBERT PEEL presented a petition, numerously
signed, from the inhabitants of the city of Chester, com-
plaining of the state of the river Dee, and alleging
that the provisions of the Act of Parliament had not
been complied with by the Dee Company. The allega-
tions of the petition were :—" That the said river and
port afford a striking example of the danger to which
the interests of navigation may be exposed by placing
the power over the river in the hands of a joint-stock
company, whose principal interest consisted in the suc-
cessful reclaiming of land. That the area of the estuary
of the Dee between Chester and Kelstra was formerly
about 12,000 acres, covered at every spring tide ; of this
space 8,000 acres have been enclosed, or as it is termed
reclaimed, and the tidal water excluded. That about
5,000 acres of the land thus obtained on the Cheshire
side now form the Dee Company's estate ; and nearly
3,000 acres on the Flintshire shore are the property of
the adjoining landed proprietors. That the Act of Par-
liament that sanctioned this extensive encroachment
required that a depth of 16 feet at ordinary spring tides
should be maintained up to Chester, in default of which
the rental of the company was liable to be seized and
applied to the improvement of the navigation. That it
appears in evidence that this condition had not been
complied with, and that the river was in so bad a state
in December, 1844, that a vessel drawing only 84 feet of
water could not go up to Chester on a spring tide. That
the said report goes on to state that a rubble-atone dyke
or embankment extends seven miles along the Cheshire
side of the river on a line most injudiciously laid out
with regard to navigation ; that this dyke, a portion of
which is covered at half-tide, is only marked by insigni-
ficant perches or beacons ; that several vessels have
struck on it, some of which have been entirely lost; that
the river from Flint upwards, is neither lighted nor
buoyed ; that a weir or milldam, rising eleven feet
above the bed of the river, exists just above the city,
dams the water up for several miles, and prevents the
upward flood ; that loads of stones are thrown into the
river to secure the foot of the jetties i and that at Park-
gate, twelve miles below Chester, which formerly was
one of the principal mail-packet stations between Eng-
land and Ireland, a dry sandbank now extends almost
across the estuary. The petitioners most earnestly sub-
mit to the House the propriety of carrying out the mea-
sure propounded by the,Tidal Harbour Commissioners,
by the enactment of a general Conservancy Bill." The
Right Hon. Baronet said he thought this was a matter
of great importance, and he suggested that the Hon.
and Learned Member for Chester (the Attorney-
General) should move that the petition be printed, in
order that a Committee might be appointed to inquire
into the matter.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL presented a petition
to the same effect from the town-council of Chester.
The Hon. Gentleman said he should to-morrow move
that both the petitions be printed.