The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-18 00:00:00

NOVEMBER 18) 1851.
0671 t-Ff,
LONDON, T„
UESDAY E
S
N 7

[PRICE SD.

MUTUAL ASSURANCE.
SCOTTISH WIDOWS' FUND and LIFE
ASSURANCE SOCIETY.
Constituted by Act of Parliament.
kstablished A D. 1813.

THE COUNT]
The following is the official
corn, &c., received in the pc
Essex, from the 10th Nov.,
both inclusive :—.

PROJECTED CITY IMPROVEMENTS.
[0 wing to a press of matter the following has been
omitted :---]
A few days since a numerous auditory assembled
in the Egyptian-hall of the Mansion-house, to hear a
lecture delivered by Mr. Charles Pearson, on his plan
for improving the city of London by effecting a com-
munication between the centre of the City and the
northern, eastern, and western lines of railway, as
suggested by him in 1833, 1837, and 1845. Amongst
fly:se present we observed the Lord Mayor; Alder-
men Sir G. Carroll, Sir John Key, Sir .T. Duke,
Salomons, Wilson, Farebrother, Moon, Lawrence,
Hooper, Finnis ; the Common Sergeant, Sheriff Cot-
terell, Under-Sheriff Millard, Deputies Harrison,
Bedford, Fenning, Kebbell, Larkin, Wright, Lske,
Tyler, Stevens, Hicks, Stacey, Evans, Smith, Cock,
&c. A model of the proposed improvement, covered
from sight, was placed on a table before the chair.

mayop
er atio ben . protectedt t
zol me unnecessary ion
nience, by obtaining good a-}oroaches. to the s-ta-
i
bcootheLondnocnavned-
time, and by providing for the re -adjustment of
the streets that might be disturbeds't hadby
bpt
uhe et-
titioned to have termini in Forringdon-North-Western, and anew m
Proposed to
be formed, called the Direct AlariCheY ste
r both of them abandoned the design, no doullo.teet'l
in
sequence of the changed appearance of things.
his
plan was referred to the commissioners appointed to
inquire into the railway plans as affecting the city of
London, consisting of Lord Canning, the Ear; of
Dalhousie, Lord Mayor Johnson, and Sir C. P.
Smith, who spoke of it as follows :—"Mr. C. Pearson
has brought under our notice a project which it
would appear has long occupied his attention, for
forming a grand central terminus in Farringdon-street.
He recommends a trunk railway, consisting of three
or four double lines, to run from Battle-bridge to his
proposed grand terminus in Farringdon-street, for the
use of such companies as shall desire to have a terminus
in the centre of the City, and shall be inclined to contri..
bute fairly to its formation. H© would carry the line of
railway between two rows of houses he proposes to
build, so as to form a wide handsome street, one
hundred feet wide and eight thousand six hundred
feet in length; the railway to be arched over,
so as to support the pavement of the street,
and be on a level with the ground-floors of the
houses," The commissioners went on to say that he
(Mr. Pearson) proposed a very ingenious arrangement
of the terminus, but that his plan was open to the
same objection as applied to all other City ;termini,
and therefore not to be recommended. The reason
assigned was, that railroads carried towards the focus
of business ought rather to be encouraged on the
southern side of the Thames, the property there being
of less value, and it not being probable that any great
improvements would be interfered with. This, how-
ever, he did not think a very sufficient or satisfactory
ground, and he would appeal to the whole company if
the district from Farringdon to Clerkenwell, through
which he proposed to carry his line of rail and street,
was not as bad as the worst rookery of the borough.
—(Hear, hear.) In place of the plan he advocated,
that recommended by Sir Willoughby Gordon, on
the ground of its being necessary for the concentra-
tion of troops in case of invasion, for a line connecting
the North-Western Railway with the West India
Docks, which he (Mr. Pearson) called the leave-out
London line, was adopted and carried out. The
events which had occurred since 1845 had strength-
ened the conviction he before entertained of the
practicability, utility, and profitable character of
the unnertaking ; and being firmly convinced that
the Improvements Committee and the Corporation
were right in adopting the resolutions he had quoted,
he had watched for the first favourable opportunity
of bringing the plan again under consideration. He
had had plans and models prepared for its illustration
at his own cost and charges, and disclaimed any per-
sonal object in the matter beyond the wish to dis-
charge his duty to the Corporation, and to promote
the interests of his fellow-citizens.—(Cheers.) He
had likewise taken care to have all the surveys and
designs ready for an application to Parliament in the
approaching session, and if the Corporation felt now
as they felt in 1845, he made no doubt they would be
successful, and that the project would be taken up by
the public, and carried into execution, even if the
railway companies principally interested in obtaining
the advantages it would afford should from any cause
be induced to withhold their countenance or support.
He was ready to abide by the report of any impartial
and independent engineers and surveyors whom the
Corporation might choose to investigate the merits of
his plan. Let there be no monopoly to one particular
company, but let a trunk line be constructed acces-
sible to all parties who should contribute towards the
expenses of its formation soul of the alterations that
would be required in the surrounding streets. Now
or never was the time, for the Government had
just determined on taking the construction of the
new street from Farringdon to Clerkenwell, which
had been left to lie unfinished for ten to fifteen
years, out of the hands of the Commissioners en-
trusted with it, and placing it in those of the Corpo-
ration of London. For himself he asked no pecuniary
advantage ; he was wholly and solely influenced by
a desire to be useful in his day and generation, and
to evince his attachment to the citizens of London, in
whose service thirty-five years of his life had been
spent.—(Cheers.) He would be content if, a few
years after the completion of the plan, the share-
holders voted to himself or his representatives what-
ever compensation they might pronounce him to hare
been deserving of.
The model alluded to by Mr. Pearson, and con-
structed under the superintendence of Mr. Stevens,
architect, son of Deputy Stevens, was then uncovered.
It was neatly framed in wood, exhibiting the disposi-
tion of the streets and buildings, and the course of
the trunk line, with termini and goods receiving-
houses in Farringdon-street. The following is the
description of it :
"The model is constructed with mathematical accu-
racy and precision to a scale, both vertical and horizon-
tal, of one inch to twenty feet.
" It comprehends the w bele of the district extending
(north and south) from Coldbath-fields Prison to Bridge-
street, Blackfriars; and (east and west) from Shoe-lane
and Saffron-hill to the Old Bailey and Turnmill-street.
The model is surrounded by a coloured map to the same
seale, showing the continuation of the improvement, and
its effects upon the adjacent locality from Chancery-
lane to Cheapside.
" To effect the suggested improvement, it is proposed
to occupy the valley of the Fleet from Holborn-bridge
to King's-cross, by constructing branch lines for pas-
sengers to the City from the Great Western and the
Northern Railroads, together with sidings running from
the main lines, and conveying meat, poultry, roots, and
vegetables (without changing carriages or traversing
the streets), to wholesale markets to be erected over the
line close to the City. These markets may, by these
means, be rendered far more commodious and more easily
and conveniently approachable than the great provision
markets which are about to be constructed in the centre
of the French metropolis, at a cost of above
a million sterling. The plan also provides extensive
receiving-houses close to the City north of Holborn.
bridge, to be built over other sidings from the main
lines, for loading the carriages with goods to be sent
direct by rail, in substitution of the railway receiving-
houses in Lad-lane, Lawrence-lane, Basing-lane, the
Old Bailey, and other narrow and confined thorough-
fares in the City, where goods are now received, un-
loaded, reloaded, and reconveyed through the over-
crowded streets and lanes in their way to the distant
railway stations at -Paddington, Camden-town, and
King's-cross.

PRESIDENT.
The Right Honourable the Earl of ROSEBERY. K.T.

VICE-PRESIDENTS.
His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, K.O.
The Most Hon. the Marquess of Tweeddale, K.T. and C.B.
Sir William Gibson Craig, Bart., of Riccarton, M.P.
The Rev. Dr. James Grant, Edinburgh.

HEAD OFFICE, EDINBURGH-5, Sc. Andrew-square.
LONDON--4, Royal Exchange-buildingS.
MANCHESTER-39, Cross-street, King-street.
GLASGOW-30, Royal Exchange-square.

ACCUMULATED INYESTED FUND
upwards of
TWO MILLIONS THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS.

ANNUAL REVENUE
upwards of
THREE HUNDR6D THOUSAND POUNDS.

FOREIGN RESIDENCE AND TRAVEL.
Greatly Increased facilities have recently been given to assured
parties having occasion to go abroad ; and in the cases of many
foreign countries (including considerable prtions of North America
and Australia, New Zealand, the Cape of God Hope, &c.,) the only
extra charge now imposed by the 0 'rectors is for risk of sea voyage.
Alt information may be obtained at the Head °Mee, or at any of
the Society's numerous Agencies in England, Ireland, and Scotland.
JOHN MACKENZIE, Manager.
WILLIAM LINDESAY, Secretary.
LONDON OFFICE —4, ROYAL EXCHANGE BUILDINGS.
HUGH M'KEAN, Agent.

The LORD MAYOR said, having been requested by
their friend the City Solicitor to take the chair pro
forma upon this occasion, he did so with great plea-
sure, believing that their friend had something to ex-
hibit, and wishing to give him an opportunity of fully
explaining the objects of his proposed plan of improve-
ments. He should be most happy to do anything in
his power to advance any plan that would be for the
I general interest of the City, of the metropolis gene-
rally, and the vast and populous districts surrounding
it.—(Cheers.) Having said thus much, he would beg
to retire to his public duties, leaving it to the company
to appoint a chairman.
His Lordship then withdrew, and on the motion of
Mr. DAKIN, Sir G. Carroll took the chair.
Mr. PEARSON commenced by observing that he
should indeed be the vainest coxcomb upon earth if
he invited gentlemen to leave their business at this
hour of the day to come there merely to gratify their
sense of sight by looking at a model, however beau-
tiful it might be ; but he had to explain to that as-
sembly a project which he believed was destined to
render the most important benefits to the City, and he
must pray them to give him their attention to some
preliminary observations before he uncovered the
model. He felt very deeply the responsibility that
rested upon him for the part he had taken in this
matter, and he had therefore adopted a course unusual
with him in writing down some heads of his dis-
course, in order that they might stand on record to
be brought forward for examination at some future
day. He had no right to challenge the attention of
the corporation of London, whose servant he was,
upon a matter affecting the interest of the citizens,
unless he brought before them a project which had ,
received the closest attention, and could bear the
minutest scrutiny. It was the first duty of a public
officer implicitly to obey the orders of those for whom
he acted, and he had no sympathy with an indi-
vidual who, holding a situation under any public
body, should allow himself wantonly, impertinently, or
capriciously, to travel out of the strict line and rou-
tine of duty devolving upon him, and diverge into
other subjects with which he had no concern; but he
thought he should show to the corporation, and to
that assembly, that the circumstances under which he
addressed them fully warranted the course he had
taken. When a young man, he had been in the habit
of speaking of the city of London in florid and
glowing terms, as the first city of the first nation
in the world, and the queen of European capitals ;
he would, however, now restrict himself to a common
sense and commercial view of matters, and would set
out with the proposition that the city of London, with
an area of rather less than a square mile, contained
land and buildings valued at upwards of 40,000,0001.
sterling, the more limited district of " the walls
within" containing about three-fourths of that
amount. His second proposition was, that this enor-
mous property derived its principal value from the
fact that the City was in the centre of the metropolis
of the United Kingdom, and contained within its
walls the principal national, commercial, and mone •
tary establishments of the country, which agp the
objects of daily resort to persons of all classes,
all parts, not of the metropolis alone, but of the
kingdom at large. Every one who was in the
habit of traversing the streets of London would
agree to his next proposition, that the omnibuses
and other vehicles daily passing in the City had
increased during the last few years to a seriously
inconvenient extent.— (Cries of " Hear, hear.")
He believed that this increased number of vehicles
might be ascribed to various causes; first, the in-
creased numb. r of distant railroad termini, rendering
it necessary for all City passengers to come from the
stations to their places of destination in omnibuses or
cabs, instead of walking, as they might do if set down
at points in the centre of business ; second, the in-
creasing practice of merchants, traders, and others
carrying on business in the City, to reside out of
town, and to be daily conveyed as regularly as the
flux and reflux of the tide, through the streets to and
from their places of trade ; third, the establishment of
railway receiving houses for gods in several narrow
but importaut thoroughfares, choking up the streets,
particularly at hours when the free passage of the
streets was most needed for other purposes ; fourth,
the increased extent of the metropolitan suburbs,
whose population, numbering upwards of 2,000,000,
were principally supplied with provisions from the
City wholesale markets.—(Hear, hear.) The fifth
proposition he laid down was, that these causes of the
overcrowding of the streets were still in action, and
progressing with accumulative force. The returns of
traffic showed that the passengers by the various me-
tropolitan lines of railway exceeded week by week
the corresponding weeks of former years. The dis-
position for suburban residences was daily extending
itself to the humblest classes who valued comfort and
health, which caused an immense increase in the
number of passengers conveyed; whilst 'the goods
traffic by railroads was daily augmented as the trade
of the City increased. Again, the demands of sub-
urban districts upon our wholesale markets were mul-
tiplying as the metropolitan population increased,
which the census returns showed that it did at the
rate of 20 per cent. in each period of ten years. Be-
sides the [augmented numbers of other vehicles that
daily entered the City, it was an ascertained fact
that, during the last twenty years, omnibuses to or
through the City had increased at least 4 per cent.
annually, thus swelling their numbers in a compound
ratio. If the causes of increase continued undimi-
nished, and some aotive and efficacious means were
not taken to counteract their operation, what disas-
trous results to the City, its trade and property,
might :not be predicted as certain to be witnessed
within the next cycle of twenty or forty years.—
(Hear, hear.) It was true that the Thames steam-
boats, and the Greenwich, Croydon, and Blackwell
Railways, which daily brought tens of thousands of
passengers into or close to the focus of business in
the City, had done much to mitigate the evil, for
otherwise they would have seen London-bridge blocked
up, and some of the principal streets rendered impas-
sable.—(Hear, bear.) The widening of Canon-
street, for which the Corporation was nobly spending
500,0001. from its own funds, would give a southern
line into the City, and thus diminish the crowding
of Cheapside, but it would still leave Fleet-street,
Ludgate-hill, Newgate-street, and the northern,
eastern, and western districts of the City without any
relief.—(Hear.) He fearlessly affirmed that nothing
but the establishment of railway stations for the ad-
mission of City passengers from the North-Western,
Great Western, and Northern lines, and a cheap trunk
line for the accommodation of the inhabitants of the
suburbs in those quarters, could stay the progress of
overcrowding in the streets, which threatened so
fatally the prosperity of the City.—(Hear.) The
plan he proposed was based upon this principle, and
intended to secure these objects, as he would presently
explain. When a member of the Corporation several
years' ago, he had foreseen and foretold the state of
things at which we had now arrived, and had devised
his present project to counteract the injurious effects
he anticipated as certain to arise ; but the prejudices
that then prevailed against railroads in towns pre-
vented its adoption: In 1845 he again brought it
forward, and upwards of 2,000 of the City firms
petitioned the Court of Common Council in its
favour. On the 20th October of that year, the
Improvement Committee, composed of the leading
members of the Common Council, to whom the sub-
ject had been referred for consideration, passed a re-
solution " that in our opinion it is desirable, for the
prosperity and advantage of the citizens of London,
to have railway termini within the City," tud cn the
3d. November the committee reported their decision
to the Court of Common Council, who were pleased
to adopt the following resolutions :—" That this
Court doth agree with the committee in the report,
and that it be an instruction to the committee to ob-
tain from any companies, and lay before this Court,
plans, sections, elevations, and models, showing the
manner in which the streets, pavements, and sewers
will be affected by any contemplated alteration within
the limits of the City ; and that the cnmmittee do r-
port whether any and what arrangements have been
made to prevent monopoly, and to secure to the public
the utmost amount of railroad accommodation that
can be obtained by stations in Parringdon-street, ton'
sistentiy with a due regard to the trade of the City
and the convenience of the public. 2. That it is the
opinion of this Court that any alterations which may
be approved 4f ought to be carried out by or under
the direction of a committee of this Court, so fur ES
the clearing of the ground and the adjustment of the
streets and sewers are concerned, so that the public

a
m

"The plan likewise provides a great trunk line of
double rails to bring omnibus passengers by rail from
Paddington and the northern suburbs of the metropolis
to the vicinity of Farringdon-street. This lino will be
so arranged that, with profit and without obstruction or
inconvenience in the streets, 20,000 of the clerks, agents,
small tradesmen, warehouse porters, artisans, mechanics,
and others who resort daily to the City for the pur-
poses of trade, may be conveyed every morning and
evening to and from the country, within a radius of seven
miles, at a yearly charge of 31. each.
" The suggested railway (as the model shows) is un-
like all other railways in town. With all the multitu-
dinous useful objects it proposes to accomplish, it is not
either unsightly, dangerous, or injurious. It interrupts
no thoroughfares; it intercepts no prospects; it inter-
feres with no drainage and no ventilation in the public
streets. It does not, like the Blackwell Railway, soar
above the roofs of the adjoining houses; nor does it, as
at Liverpool, undermine their foundations. It will not
cross other lines, as the railways now constructing in
Birmingham will do, alternately overleaping each other,
somrtimes mounting on a viaduct forty feet high, and
sometimes quarrying into rocks thirty feet deep. It will
not cross over roads as at Hampstead, or over streets as
at the Minories. It will not leave filthy wastes at the
sides, like the Greenwich and South-Western lines.
" The proposed plan will either entirely remove all
that is ugly, or place it underground and out of sight;
Conspi-
cuous. it will raise all that is beautiful and render it
o
The site on which the main line is t be -
structed seems to have been formed by
nature andcorne:
served by man for the express purpose to which it is now
proposed to apply it.
" The proposed project, if carried into execution, in-
stead of impeding will greatly facilitate all other modes
of inter-communication; it proposes to lay the several
street
lines of railway under a new to be constructed 100
feet wide, and intersecting the metropolis King's-
cross to Holborn-bridge. It likewise providefroui trans-
verseKing's-_
streets on the high level,
and so unite the s
of the metropolis, east and
west, which are now sepa-
rated by the ravine that yawns between them. Ile pro-
posed plan will raise the valley at Holborn-bridge 17
feet 6 inches, and place Holborn-hill, and
Skinner-street upon a level plane. It will likewise re•
movo the obstructions of New ate-street by taking
away the carcase market to a spot where there will
be ample space, and where the meat and other ar-
ticles will be brought in by underground railroad con-
vey ance.
" The plan will likewise effect an underground con-
nexion between tha Post-office and the railway stations,
by which the use of Post-office vans will be superseded,
and in the space of three minutes the letter-bags may
be passed to and from the station, so that half an hour
at least may be daily saved in every post that arrives at
or leaves London, as far as three-fourths of the United
Kingdom is concerned.
" The model shows how Farringdon-market, which
cost upwards of 200,0001., and produces nothing, may
be rendered of great value, and how the site of
,the Fleet
Prison, which has been so long unused, may be made
to produce valuable ground-rents, and assist in relieving
the overcrowded state of the Old Bailey and Ludgate-

5 I

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mo deel likewisel
xpie
'thdeemn
great exertion of combined forces," "
,n may be multiplied and so re-arras ec-II"
will admit of four times the number of pas-
sengers the railroads can bring being distributed, not
,y without producing inconvenience to the street
traffic of the City, but actually diminishing to a very
great extent the obstructions which now impede our
thoroughfares.
" In order to illustrate with more clearness and preci-
sion than could be otherwise done thoeffect which railway
traffic has upon the ordinary transit of vehicles and foot' -
passengers through the public streets, the carriage roads('
and pavements, shown on the model, exhibit numerous
carriage and foot passengers, made precisely to scale,
and arranged in point of Lumbers by a table prepared
from the reports of traffic tables ac all the metropolitan
railway stations."
Mr. PEARSON dwelt at considerable length on the
principal features of the model,,pointing out the ed-
vantges in the public economy of London which
wool() follow from the removal of Newgate market,
the erection a meat and vegc•table markts more than
four times a ix!ensive, the providing passenger sta-
tions and goods receiving houses on the most exten-
sive scale, and the opening up new lines of street from
north to south and east to wet, relieving the now
choked up thoroughfares. "Wto,n he had concluded
his audience had an opprtut,ity of gratifying their
curiosity by examining the model, of which most of
the company availed themselves.
0

-a Thursday a Court of Common. Council was
held at the Egyptian Hall in the Mansion-hou!e, the
nev.ly elected Lord Mayor in the chair.
In opening the proceedings,
The LORD Mavon said that it afforded him much
pleasure to in( et the gentlemen, present upon so early
a day after big election, upon a subject of importance
to the citizens of London. It had been his lot for
several years to meet many of those present upon the
floor of the Council Chamber, and he trusted that he
should always be able to maintain for them that free-
doom for the expression of their opinions which he
had always experienced, and which he felt it to be
his duty as well as his privilege to maintain.—
(Cheers.) He hoped that he should always have the
assistance of the Court in thus endeavouring to main-
tain their ancient rights and. privileges,
hoped to be able to hand down unimpaired which he
to his suc-
cessor.—(Hear, hear.)
otfhe a merely
routine character, foimer
Court, I%IR. CHARLES PEARSON'S PLAN FOR IMPROVING
irlIE
METROPOLIS.
A
finewiettetsterosf
era
ntdh et h
e reading
disposal of o
ft the

Mr. WOODTHORPE read the followingrequisition :
" To THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD MAYOR.
" We, the undersigned members of the Court of Com-
mon Council, request your Lordship will convene a
Court on an early day to consider Mr. Charles Pearson'a
comprehensive plan for improving the metropolis, parti-
cularly the city of London, by levelling the intended
new street from Farringdon-street to Clerkena ell, by
raising it on a level with the high ground of the adja-
cent streets, and extending it to King's-cross; by con-
structing a trunk railway on a well lighted and ventilated
sub-way under the surface of the street, connecting the
northern railways and northern'suburbs of the.metropolia
with termini in Farringdon-street and the new street;
by lifting Holborn valley
seventeen feet, nearly on a level
with Holborn-hill and :Snow-hill; and by removing the
wholesale meat and vegetable markets, and the railway
on
rvo
drt
nre
rwn r eaai f
rs
cot streets
We
t en willd
likewise
the be relieved
northern
request o
sfti a carriers' receiving-houses, from their present confined
and inconvenient situations to spacious sites in the new
street, by which means, as Mr. Pearson asserts, the
oer
icaordd raed
the railway waggons and tho omnibuses from the
h
tropolis, which now throng the City and impede the
y tr
b ulyarorbgusre
opfo
theLordshiprti o nm of
me-
tropolis, .
will insert on the summons convening the meeting no-
tices of the specific motions it may be intended to pro-
pose for the consideration of the Court."
The motions alluded to were as follow :
"By Mr. Thomas Dakin—' To present a memorial
from Mr. Charles Pearson upon the subject of the rail-
way terminus.'
" By Mr. Deputy Harrison—' That it be referred to
a Ward Committee, now to be appointed, to consider in
detail the railway terminus and City improvement plan
proposed by Mr. C. Pearson, in connexion with the re-
solution of this Court of the Sd of November, 1845, and
to inquire into the desirability, practicability, and cost
thereof, and to report their opinion to this Court; and
that, pending the foregoing inquiry, the committee be
empowered to give the necessary Parliamentary notices
in the Gazette and the newspapers, to enable the Court
to act thereon in the approaching session, if, after re-
ceiving the report of the committee, they shall determine
to do so."

Mr. DAHIN, on being called upon, said that he had
no doubt but that it would save time if the memorial
which he had but a few minutes before received, were
at once read.

The memorial contained in a compressed form the
various facts and argument so often reiterated by
Mr. Pearson, and which have so recently been re-
ported in the ordinary channels of information. The
memorial concluded with the following paragraphs :
" Your mernuiialkt humbly prays your Hon. Court
to refer this matter to a eJrnmitter, befero whom he may
be allowed to prove the foregoing facts, or such of them
as may be thought important to the inquiry—your me-
morialist undertaking likewise to prove that a commit-
tee of citiz,ns, influenced by public and not pecuniary
considerations, aro willing, pending the inquiry, to take
upon themselves to provide for all necessary proceed-
ings, preparatory to the approaching session, and to keep
the control thereof in their own hands, ready to be deli-
vered over to public commissioners or the corporation,
if it shall be thought desirable to carry out the projected
improvements in the manner suggested in the Railway
Commissioners' report. Your memorialist likewise un-
dertakes to lay before any committee that may be ap-
pointed by your lion. Court, the evidence of competent,
practical, professional men, to prove that the whole of
the objects specified in the requisition may be accom-
plished, and that the neceseary works may be completed
ready for action within three years from the date of
their commencement, and that not a single sewer or
street need be stopped in the progress of the works until
other drains and other streets are provided to divert the
sewers and accommodate the inhabitants and passengers
in the several thoroughfares both by vehicles and on
foot. Your memorialist further undertakes to prove by
satisfactory testimony, that if the railroad companies
principally interested shall be willing to lease the pro-
jected lines and stations at moderate tolls (far less than
the sums now paid by City passengers to their distant
stations by the ordinary modes of conveyance), a fund may
bo raised from this source and from ground rents of
surplus ground more than sufficient to defray the entire
cost cf constructing the railroad and stations and re-
adjusting the adjacent streets; and that if the existing
railroad companies shall wholly or partially reject such
a proposal, a company may be formed to execute the
truck line to the northern suburbs of London, which by
means of low faros and constant trains, will amply repay
for the outlay of the required capital, if aided out of
public funds with means to defray the cost of raising
Holborn valley, and improving the streets to an extent
commensurate with the advantages the public will de-
rive from the accommodation."
Mr. Alderman SIDNEY said he wished to ask whe-
ther he rightly understood the Solicitor that there
was some company formed prepared to carry the
undertaking into execution if approved by the
Court ? lie also desired to know what was the
estimated cost ?

The CITY SOLICITOR replied—He assured the
Court, upon his honour, that there had been no com-
pany formed for the purpose, and that he had had no
communication with any of the existing companies.
He had deemed it his duty, as an officer of the Cor-
poration, carefully to abstain from implicating himself
or the undertaking with any company or individual
as a pecuniary speculation. He was also anxious
that the Corporation should equally abstain from doing
any act which might wear the appearance of pledging
itself to any course of action until the cotumittee to
whom it might be referred should have time and op-
portunity to examine and report upon the whole
measure. As to the expense he would answer the
Honourable Alderman's question with equal frank-
ness. lie had some years since employed surveyors of
character and experience to estimate the cost and the
returns. They had surveyed, measured, and valued
every property in the line, and they reported the
probable amount of the balance of cost after the sale
of the groundrents from the surplus
small a sum that he was almost ashamed todstatestid.
They were of opinion that 500,000/. be
" for the
ficient to defray the cost after taking creditsto.
ground at ;43
surplus ground for markets and building i
stanldr.tDheeppuestiytillena
he
placed.waaatthe residence of
27th of October last he attended Deputy Harrison) for
iunatwsholiehwished the
the solicitor, and then hel
He looke
atto combine so many advan-
tthhee
Cfiresutrtti.me saw thedp an(itanwditthhegrmeoadteiluttheernesbt,efaourde
thought that it seemedis
opinion that the corporation
tages that it was
.h
He thought, further,
up.
present it
twas the time for them to do
do q:, immediately the op-
portunity
oettrievab. ly lost.—(Hear, hear.)
thatough tth e
might
for to
of
theytake
hd
ei di
irretrievably
Mr. Deputy Harrison then proceeded to defend the
City Solicitor from the attacks of some members of
the Court, who had considered he had no right to in •
terfere with matters not immediately connected with
his own department, when after a powerful appeal he
moved

" That the matter be referred to a ward committee,
and that the said committee give the necessary Parlia-
mentary notices, &c."
Mr. W. A. ROSE seconded the motion.
Alderman SYDNEY rose to propose that all the words
after the first paragraph which had reference to the
committee, " being empowered to give the necessary,
Parliamentary notices in the Gazette and newspspert.7,e
should be omitted. The worthy alderman gnar_erhed
I still he
Solicitor every credit for his skill, while heiseeo id
that the plan was deserving of every
before they
thought it right to ask the Court
might
o
perhaps be doing
agreed to go too far, as they
fdutyp•—alear.)
much more than their taunici
secondedPa the amendment.
e upsrea
Alderman CURITT, M.P.,
-e doubts both as to the
He did so because he had grave doubts
feasibility and practicability of e,
scheme. He thought