The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-20 00:00:00

such reasons as have been alluded to, and if your Lord-
ships continue receiving these objections, you will never
have a road from London to York. Such objections
may be continually brought forward, and the Bill may
never pass in consequence of the delays which may take

place. _
The petitions were ordered to lie on the table.
THE GREAT WESTERN AND PORT DARLING-

TON RAILWAY.
Lord 1311AIJMONT then presented a petition from
the hig:a sheriff and gentry of the county of Mayo, in
favou'e of the above-mentioned undertaking.
iscount CANNING said that in pursuance of a
-notice he had given on Monday last, he now moved for
the second reading of the Metropolitan Buildings
Bill. The House would remember that the sessions
before last an Act was passed, the effect of which was
to repeal the old Building Act of 1774, which had been
found very insufficient, and to establish a well digested
and well regulated code of rules for the purpose of se-
curing to the community at large as much safety and
accommodation in houses as was dependent on a well
ordered and well regulated system of building. The
Bill passed the session before last, and of which the
country might be said now to have had the experience of
more than a year was now to be agitated. He admitted that
in some parts the defects of the Bill became apparent, and
it would be the duty of her Majesty's Government to
find some remedy for them. It was not to be expected
that it could be otherwise with a measure so minute in
its details, and affecting so many conflicting interest
of so many various kinds. The consequence was that
many recommendations of different sorts had been
addressed to Government, stating the real or supposed
difficulties of the measure, and many suggestions had
been made (some of them ridiculous enough) from
various quarters, pointing out what would
be the most proper and the safest course
which the Government could pursue.—(Hear.)
The Government had taken this matter into considera-
tion. with a view to make certain corrections, in order to
obviate mistakes in future ; and it would be his ditty to
bring those corrections under the notice of the House
on a future day. In the Act :passed in the year 1844,
certain clauses were passed empowering the appoint-
ment of district surveyors and referees, and to the latter
all matters of dispute were to be referred. Another
clause warranted the appointment of a registrar, who was
to be a barrister, and his duty would be to make de-
cisions and awards in all disputed matters; in fact, he
was to act as a sort of legal assessor. But the expe-
rience of this working of the Act had shown that many
questions had arisen of great importance, and upon
which the referees could not be got to come to one
opinion ; and on which it would be difficult for the
registrar to say which party was right.—(Hear.)
The object of the Bill was to appoint a third referee,
two being already appointed, but the third would give
an opportunity of coming to a decision upon the matters
brought before them. This appointment would, how-
ever, make no difference in the charges borne by the
public. By the former Bill the referees were not al-
lowed to exercise their calling as surveyors, but by the
present Bill they were allowed to do so. This, how-
ever, it was apprehended, would lead to no public in-
jury, for if they should have to refer to their own works,
the Commissioners of Woods and Forests would be em-
powered to call in temporary referees.—(Hear, hear.)
The salaries of the officers who would be appointed
under the Bill would be paid out of the Consolidated
Fund. The Noble Lord then went on to state the minor
clauses of the Bill, and concluded by moving the second
reading of the Bill, and expressing his intention of pro-

posing its committal to-morrow. v •
Lord COLBORNE said the Bill proposed by the
Noble Viscount was still open to innumerable objections,
and would not remedy the evils intended. It was but
a small improvement on the Act of last year, which was
open to every objection. That Act was oppressive, and
those who came within its operation bitterly complained
of the expenses entailed by the official referees and other
officers appointed under the Act.
Lord CAMPBELL would not oppose the second
reading of the Bill, but he must join with his
Noble Friend in saying that the Bill passed last
year had failed altogether. He reminded their
Lordships that when it was under their considera-
tion, ho asked them the delay of another session.
He and those who had opposed the Bill foretold the
mischief it would inflict, but in vain ; however, all their
prophecies had been more than fulfilled, and his Noble
Friend had given but a faint idea of its oppressive and
defective operation. Not only were the clauses of the
Noble Viscount open to objection, but all the clauses.
In short, it was beyond his power to make the old Metro-
politan Buildings Act a goad one, and he therefore hoped
that he would remodel the Act which he introduced, and
make it an Act to supersede the old one, or to commence
de novo. That would be a better system to rely upon
until a new measure could be framed.
The Duk of BUCCLEUCII said, that with regard to
the measure of 1844, it was a considerable time before
the second reading was moved. It was a very long and
very heavy Bill, and no person seemed to wish to take
the trouble of it.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to
the particular measure of official referees, he found that
in several cases one had given one reason, and another
had given another, but as it was quite impossible to hope
for any measure, with regard to the buildings of this
metropolis, which was not open to objection, he be-
lieved that the amendment introduced by his Noble
Friend was well worthy of consideration.
Lord ASFIBURTON was quite ready to meet the
difficulties of this qusstion, and among the first of the
objects which this board had to consider was the subject
of smoke. He knew that in the large towns in the north,
for the expenditure of a few pounds, the great manufac-
turers had been enabled to obviate this serious evil,
whereas it was well known that it was only by a mere
accident that the inhabitants of the metropolis ever suc-
ceeded in seeing the sun. Now, this was a difficulty.
and a mischief that might very easily be obviated, and
he trusted the mischief would be attended to.
Lord CAMPBELL was ready to bear his testimony
to what had fallen from the Noble Lord. When he bad
the honour of filling the office of Attorney-General, he
had found it necessary to grant patents for the cone
sumption of s:noke. It aas well known that the parti-
cles of smoke were mersly inconsumed particles of fuel,
and he shcaild be. rosily to accede to my motion which
stopped such an evil.
The Earl of DALHOUSIE was glad to accede to any
proposirion which would remedy suck an evil.
The Bill was then read a second time, and the report
was ordered to be brought up to-morrow ; the House
then adjourned.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS.
(From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.

THURSDAY, IrIAR-Cll. 19.

The following Petitions for Railways were reported, and the Bills
Ordered to be brought in by the undernamed Hon. Members :
Surrey Iron Railway Company (Dissolving)—Mr. Kemble, Mr.
Antrobus, and Mr. Trotter.
itirminghain, Wolverhampton, and Dudley—Viscount Ingestre, Mr.

Muntz, and Mr. Sp64rer.
Bristol and Birmingham (Gloucester and Stonehouse Junction) —Mr.

Hudson and Mr.PhillpOtts.
Edinburgh and Bathgate—Sir J. Hope anii Mr. W. Bairns.
Glasgow, Airdrie, and Monklands Junction—Mr..oswald, Mr. De]

tistoun, and Mr. W. Willie.
Glasgow Southern Terminal—Mr. Bouverie and Mr. P. Stewart.
Leeds and Thirsk (lilnaresborough Branch Extension)—Mr 0. Dun.

combo, Sir G. Cockburn, and Mr. Aldam.
Scottish Midland Extension —Viscount Duncan and Mr. Duncan.
Horhury Bridge and Calder Railway—Mr. Beckett and Mr. Aldan,
East Dereham and Norwich—Mr. }lnv, Mr. Chute, & Mr. B. Smith.
'Shrewsbury and Herefordshire—Mr. W. 0. Gore. Mr. Ilaghe,s, Mr.
Ackcrs, and Mr. J. Bailey, jun.
Midland, Barnsley, Sheffield, Dew,bury, Leeds, and Bradford—
Viscount Morpeth and Mr. Stansfield.
Northumberland and Lancashire—Mr. Ord, Mr. Granger, and Mr.
Watson.
Buckinghamshire (Tring to Banbury)—Martinis of Chandos and Mr.
Tancred.
Reading, Guildford, and Reigate—Mr. Mangles and Mr. Wall.
Worcester and Porthdynllaen --Mr. Clive and Sir W. Wynn.
West London Improvement and Extension—Colonel A nson and Mr.
Mangles.