The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-16 00:00:00

SOCIETY OF ARTS.

Yesterday the sixth ordinary meeting in the present
or ninety. seventh session of the Society of Arts, was
held in the great room of their house in the Adelphi ;
Mr. Thomas Henry Hope, M.P., Vice-President, in
rotation, in the chair.
The minutes of the preceding meeting on the 18th
ult , having been read and confirmed,
Mr. COLE read an address of the council of the
society on its policy during the session, in pursuance
of one of the by-laws, enacted to provide a uniformity
of policy under every management.
The CHAIRMAN then informed the meeting that the
pressing engagements of Mr. Henderson prevented
his attending the society, as he had promised, for the
purpose of reading a paper on the materials used, and
the amount of labour employed, in the construction
of the building for the Exhibition of 1851. In his
absence, however, his partner, Mr. Fox, had kindly
consented to be present; ar.d though not prepared to
read a paper on the subject, ho would be most happy
to answer any question which any one present might
think proper to put.
Mr. Maxwoant then commenced the discussion,
by asking Mr. Fox to state generally the mode in
which the interior of the building was prevented from
external wet, and internal moisture, arising from the
condensation of watery vapour.
Mr. Fox, after expressing his readiness to answer
any questions on the details of the construction, and
inviting inquiry in the most courteous terms, pro-
ceeded to explain the construction of the Paxton
gutter, which we have already done in all its particulars,
and then said that the building acted precisely as a
still, the vapours ascending being condensed under
the glass, and carried off by the side channels of the
gutters. So rapid was its action in this respect, it
was found that a quantity of water thrown upon the
floors disappeared in a remarkably short space of
time. It was found, by experiment too, that buildings
of the same kind, such as conservatories, are con-
siderably drier than others.
Mr. JOSEPH GLYNN inquired what the arrangements
were to allow of the expansion and contraction of the
iron by change of temperature, and also as to the
effect of the wind with regard to the stability of the
building.
Mr. Fox first answered the question as to the
energy of the wind. He stated that in a violent gale
of wind the total effect of it on one of the long sides
of the building bad been estimated as being equiva-
lent to a weight of 19f tons, which was infinitely
surpassed by the sum of the resistances of the.otraanns:
verse girders. With regard to the expansion
contraction of the metal, it was so very inconsider-
able, that the girders were keyed bard and fast to the
columns.
evha,,r‘iyou(s)f ottr mem-
bers,
gallery
support
withanswerr
inefetoren
s, reference
questionsro the
Bfruoffime
packed with people, the extreme of pressure would be
Mr. Fox stated that, assuming them to be
closely
per square foot, which would produce a
11
pressure of 51 ton: on clef) girder, and the girders
were
proved io lo tons, and would not break under
30 t„„,. lie wished that it were practicable to try
the effect of a locomotive engine moving along one of
them, as he was sure the result would be most satis-
factory.

Several other questions having
been put to Mr. Fox,
with reference to minor matters of detail, and answered
by him with the greatest readiness, to the complete
satisfaction of the society,
Mr. \V EMTEIt moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Fox
for h:z kind a,tendance, in the 4b,er).e of his partner,
and ulso for his courtesy in placing the building at
the disposal of the society on the 31st of December
last, for the purpose of a scientific inspection.
Mr. WINKWORTH seconded the motion, which was
carried unanimously, and, after a vote of thanks to the
Chairman, the sitting terminated.

SIVIAHFIELD-MARKET.
(From the Morning Herald.)
We have observed, in various companies, and on
many occasions, of late, that the plan of the Corpo-
ration of London for establishing a new Smithfield-
market is almost entirely unknown. It will be our
duty, therefore, as far as we are able, to make it
known ; and though this cannot be done in a few
minutes, or by a few lines, we do not despair of
causing it to be thoroughly understood by a large pro-
portion of the higher and middle classes, in the course
of an article or two.

The plan of the Corporation, then, for effecting
which a Bill is now actually prepared and ready for
Parliament, must he thus described :-
1. It is not a Bill for perpetuating the present
Swithfield•market.
o

It not a Bill for abolishing, and removing to
a distance, the present Smithfield-market. But
3. It is a Bill for establ;Thing a new Smithfield•
market

And this is precisely what the necessities of the
case point out us the thing which ought to be done.
Nobody defends the market as it now stands. Nobody
that is rational (except the
Times and Punch claim to
be •so considered) would incur the desperate and
needless risk of carrying. or attempting to carry, the
market three or four miles away from London. 'What
remains, then, but to try to make the present market
what it ought to be, or rather, to construct si new
market near the present site, but freed from all the
evils of Smithfield as it now exists.

Adopting these common-sense views of the matter,
and acting with its usual vigour, the Corporation has
prepared and lodged a Bill, the leading features of
which may be thus described :
The new market, proposed to be established, is to
be placed between the present Smithfield-market and
the new street now making, called Victoria-street,
which is to lead from Holborn-bridge to Clerkenwell-
green. Of the present site, a small portion only, at
the top of West-street, will be included. The new
site will be obtained by taking down part of King-
street, part of West-street, and the courts and alleys
adjoining. It will be, of course, far larger than the
site of the present market. It will possess, like the
present market, the advantage of being out of the
way, and interfering in no degree with the great
thoroughfares, or the other business of the metro.
polis.
It will be gained by the removal of property and
premises of a bad and worthless kind—" knackers'
yards," and places of that description.
It will also possess the great advantage of being
placed on the side of a hill, so as to facilitate to the
utmost degree a thorough and rapid drainage.
Connected with this it should be stated that, ac,-
cording to the new plan for the general drainage of
London, the main sewer 'for conveying all the soil of
the metropolis into the marshes of Essex will pass by
Holborn-bridge, within 100 yards of the proposed
new market, thus affording means for the effectual
drainage of the whole establishment, to the full ertent
of the utmost wishes that could be formed.

That portion of the market which immediately ad-
joins Victoria-street will be allotted to the purposes
of a meat market ; thus superseding entirely the pre-
sent Newgate-market. In this manner the proximity
of the two markets—the importance of which is stated
by all the witnesses to be very great—will be pre-
served, while the live cattle, instead of proving any
annoyance to the passengers in Victoria-street, will
be kept entirely out of sight.
Still the proximity to Victoria-street itself will be
an important feature in the case. This street, when
completed, as it will now be by the Corporation, will
prove one of the most important thoroughfares in the
whole metropolis; presenting one wide open road
leading from Kent and Surrey, over Blackfriars-
bridge, crossing Fleet-street and Holborn, and then
proceeding straight up to the Great Northern Rail-
way, and opening into the New-road, within a
quarter of a mile of the terminus of the London
and North-Western Railway.
It will be evident, at a glance, to any one acquainted
with the metropolis, that it would he quite impossible
to select any other spot possessing similar advantages.
The southern droves entering London by Blackfriars-
bridge would reach the market in a little more than
a quarter of a mile ; the northern would approach by
the northern part of Victoria-street, through Clerken-
well, without touching either of the great east and
west thoroughfares, Fleet-street or Holborn. Add
to all this, that the Corporation would not dream of
opposing a new police regulation, limiting all ea►ttle-
driving in the metropolis within certain hours, ending
at nine or ten o'clock in the morning, and we are at a
loss to know what further demand any honest oppo-
nent of the present Smithfield-market system can
have to make on the Corporation.
Such is the general outline of the scheme about to
be offered to Parliament. It embraces all the follow-
ing advantages :

1. A central situation : a point dwelt upon by all
the witnesses as of the very first importance.
2. The seclusion of the market from all the other
bu,inesses of London.

3. The most complete and sufficient access from
dl the great thoroughfares and approach( s of the
metropolis.

4. The most complete and thorough system of
drainage, by which all the filth of the market ►ill
carried away, hour by hour, as fast as it is
created.

This plan, complete in all its parts, the Corporation
is prepared to carry at ones into effect. What other
offer is before the public ? Let us not be told of
possible sites at Holloway, Hornsey, or Highgate—
sites which will doubtless be sold by their present
owners, if a larger sum be offered than they can
nalize elsewhere. The question will still remain—
who is to form the new market ? The Corporation
has made the best offer in its power, and no other
proposal can it tender. Private speculators will surely
look at the fate of the new market at Islington, and
tremble. Practically, then, there seems to be but
little choice, but either to maintain Smithfield-
market in its present-condition, or else to accept
the offer which the Corporation of London is now
making to the public—an offer which unquestion-
ably includes all that any reasonable man can ask or
desire.

FALLACIES OF THE GENTLEMEN.
(From Punch.)
(By a Lady who unfortunately knows them only too
well.)
That women are only born► to be their slaves.
That dinner is to be reedy for them the very mi-
nute they come into the house.

That .it lady's bonnet can be put on as quickly as
a gentleman's hat.

That we can dress in a minute; and that ringing
the bell violently has the effect of making us drew
one bit the quicker.
That they can do everything so much better
than we can, from nursing the baby down to poking
the fire.

That they are " the Lords of the Creation "
(pretty lords, indeed !)
That nothing can be too good for them ; for I am
sure if you were to put a but joint before them every
day that still they would be dissatisfied, and would be
grumbling that you never gave them cold meat.
That they know our age so much better tbsn we
do ourselves. (It's so very likely !)
That they may invite whom and as many as they
please, but if we only invite our mamma to come
and stop with us, or just ask a dear unmarried sister
or two to stop with us for a month, that there's to
be no peace fur us, so long as they remain in the
how e.

That music can be learnt without practising, and
that it is necessary for theth to rush out and'to slant
the door violently the very moment we begin to opea
our voices, or to run over the last now Polka.
That sleeping after dinner promotes conversation.
That they know what dress and bonnet becomes us
so much better than we do.
That it is necessary to make a poor woman cry,
declare some men must believe that their wives cut
because a stupid shirt-button happens to be off. I
off their shirt buttons purposely, from the savage
pleasure they take in abusing them for it.
That we are not allowed to faint, or to have the
smallest fit of hysterics, without being told " not to
make a fool of ourselves."
That housekeeping does not require any money,
and if we venture to ask for any, that it is pleasant to
be met with all sorts of black looks and insinuations
as to " what we can do with it all ;" or very
agreeable to be told that we will be " the ruin of him
some day"—
(I should like to see the day !)
That the house never requires cleaning, or the
tables rubbing, or the carpets heating, or the furni-
ture renewing, or the sofas fresh covers, or, in fact,
that anything has a right to wear out, or to be spoilt,
or broken ; and, in short, that everything ought to
last for ever !

That a poor lone woman is never to have any
pleasure, but always, always, to stop at home, and
" mind her children." (I'm tired of such nonsense.)
That the wish to go to the opera is to be the cute
prelude to a quarrel.
That their daughters cm learn music, painting,
playing, dancing, vnd mil the nccruplistamcnts., with-
out the aid of a single master.
That the expenses of one's household do not in-
cretv,e with one's family, hut, rathc.r, that ten children
can be supFur!ed for the same cost es one,
That no husband is perfect, like Hercules, without
his club, and that the less a wife sees of her husband
the fonder she actually grows of him.
That it is a plea.ure for us to sit up for them.
[Our fair correspondent sa)'s she thinks the above
fallacies are enough for the pres€nt, and we certainly
agree %na
l) her; but if the gentlemen show any more
of their airs, she declares that she will give them a
lot more.]

Sr. GEORGE'S STEAM PACKET COMPANY.---On
Tuesday his Honour Master Farrar appointed Mr. Boulby
official manager of tlll4 ccopipy'l fain.