The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-08 00:00:00

NEW IVESTMINSTER BRIDGE.

Before this period of the year it was confidently
anticipated that some of the beautiful arches of
New Westminster Bridge would have been in their
places, and all the first half of the structure far ad-
vanced towards its completion and opening for pub-
lic traffic. We are sorry to say, however that some
months must yet elapse before the hideous dilapida-
tion which now spans the river and seems about to
fall into it will be relieved from further duty.
Until Midsummer at least the old bridge must be
used, but after that time there is no doubt but that
the public will have a noble structure, not alone
safe for traffic, but even worthy of the group of pa-
laces on which it abuts at Westminster. The delays
'-which have arisen in the course of its construction
have been almost unavoidable and so peculiar in
their kind that it is not worth while to entor into
them here. But, from whatever cause they may
have arisen, they have always been a source of dis-
appointment and chagrin to Mr. Page, the engi-
neer and architect of the bridge—tbe same gentle-
man who has already spanned our river at Chelsea
with one of the handsomest bridges in Europe, and
who in the present work seems bent an surpassing
his own' high and well deserved reputation as the
architect of the finest and handsomest structure of
the kind extant.

As we have said, the arches are not yet in course
of erection, but within six weeks of the present
time three of those from the Surrey side will be
well advanced.. The weather just now is very un-
favourable for meddling with large masses of cast
iron, and the dense fogs which have lately pre-
vailed on the river are equally against beginning
oper,ations of such magnitude and difficulty as fix-
ing the arches across between the piers. In the
meantime the works on the bridge have not been
altogether delayed, and such progress has been
made with the other halves of the piers as will
enable the second or earlier portion of the bridge
to be completed with very little trouble hereafter.
Most of the iron arches are ready at the contrac-
tors at Battersea. Owing to their great span and
the peculiarly flat curve of each arch the crowns
are unusnally thin, and, in order to overcome this
difficulty, it has been necessary to construct the
ribs of each arch in a peculiar manner of wrought
and cast iron. The crown of the arch is therefore
made of wrought iron, so as, while giving the re-
quisite stiffness to the centre, it obviates the danger
of constant percussion from heavy loads. The
centre part of each arch thus answers the purpose
of both rib and girder. The wrought iron portions
vary in span from the centre arch, where they are
5241 feet long, by 28 inches deep, to the land arches,
where they are 43 feet 3 inches by 22 inches deep.
These centre spans are of rolled iron by 1 inch
thick, and constructed to bear with safety more
than double the strain they are ever likely to en-
counter in the ordinary course of London traffic.
The full load strain of each arch is three tons the
square inch, but all wrought iron portions are tested
with a compressive strain of 12 tons to the square
inch, or nearly 2,000 tons to the square foot. In
each arch will be 13 of these ribs, each rib being 5
feet 4 inches apart. Every 'rib and spandril wlil
contain 22 tons of eastiron and five tons of wrought,
the east bed plates for each being four tons, making
some 34 tons in all. The total amount of wrougbt
iron in the arches will be 750 tons, and of cast
3,400 tons, exclusive of the quantity used in each
pier. In addition to this there are some 300 tons
of ornamental castings for the parapet, outside
ribs, and cornice. The squandrils of each of the
outside ribs are of richly ornamented ironwork,
with quatrefoil openings. The parapet is similarly
designed, but with trefoil apertures. Mr. P age
had the benefit of Sir Charles Barry's advice in
the ornamental accessories of this iron in order
that its design might be as much as possible in
keeping with the architectural style of the new
Houses of Parliament. By this arrangement,
therefore, the new bridge will harmonize completely
with the noble suburb of palaces, to which it will
form the most important public avenue. In matters
relatin., to public works of this kind the extent of
the intended improvements is so apt. to be forgotten
that it may not be amiss here to give the general
dimensions of the new bridge as compared with
those of the old structure it is intended to replace.
The old bridge is just 1,160 feet in length, and only
44 in width. The width of its roadway
.is 26 feet,
the footpaths are 8 feet each. The height from
foundation to centre arch is 57 feet •, the depth of
its foundation below low water mark only six feet
the rise of the whole-structure being 10,, Feet above
the new bridge. The cost of this edifice—certainly,
when first built, one of the handsomest in Europe,
was £390,000, or at the rate of £7 16s. per super-
ficial foot. The area of its waterway is only
16,000 feet, while the pressure on its foundations
amounts to no less than 6 tons per foot, the whole
mass weighing upwards of 90,000 tons. As regards
improvement, the new bridge will be the very re-
verse of all this. Its extreme length from abut.
ment to abutment is 1,160 feet, its width 85—nearly
33 feet wider than the width of London-bridge.
No leas than 15 feet is allowed for each footpath,
and 50 feet for the roadway. The greatest height
of the centre arch will 22 feet above high water
mark, while the depth of the foundations is as
much as 30 feet below low water, or more than 20
feet into the London clay. The rise on the whole
bridge is to be 5 feet 3 inches, at first apparently
only half the rise of the old bridgs, though really
less than one-third, as the new bridge joins the
roadway at a much lower level. In the new bridge
there seven arches ; in the old, 13 ; yet, neverthe-
less, the waterway of the former will give a greater

area by about 3,000 feet than
arch will have a span of 120
either side, 114 feet ; the
the ashore arches on the
sides 90 feet span each. In
arches there will be three small -culvert "arches in
the abutment on the Surrey side and one in that
at Middlesex. The cost of the new bridge in all wilt
not exceed` £235,000, or at the rate of £2 8. per
snperficial foot, s4hile the ;weight on its foundation
isshort of 21 tons,
Of course, as can be seen from a comparison of
- remove
ua of building a
d half
the h
old these dimensions, the new bridge will occupy not
r
only the site of the old structure, but as much more
ground in addition, being double the width. It
al
the
was in consequence of the facility this offered, to
asei
o traffic,
t
theexpenseo h
while the new one was constructing, that Mr. Page
determined
s t bridge—thatitmeentlep
ely n id bridges
com-
plete ohalfm -
its width—at one time, to open the completed' por-
tionplete the other half as soon after as was possible.
All the piers for the western half are now perfectly
completed and ready for the arches, but all those
for the eastern half cannot be commenced till the
old bridge has been removed. In the case of four
of the piers, however, the Ist, 2d, 4th, and 6th, the
eastern hakes pass under the archway of the pre-
sent structure, and in order to strengthen the old
piers from further sinking, as well as to forward
the work, Mr. Page has been continuing these four
piers under the old archways. Thus the general
work is not only advanced, but an immense saving
of time and money secured, as the four piers, will,
of course be of the utmost service in facilitating the
removal of the old bridge. Wherever the masonry
piers and abutments of the old bridge have been cut
away, the stone, which is of the best kind of Port-
land, has always been used in facing the abutments
of the new structure. All the exterior of the new
piers hbove high water mark are of solid granite,
and each is so continued up to the height where the
arches spring. Each of these piers will be sur-
mounted with octagonal columns of solid granite,
some of which are finished, and one has been erected.
to judge of its effect on ;part of the works at the
Surrey side of the bridge. More noble-looking
columns than these, or better suited for their pur-
pose, it would be diffieult to imagine. Each con-
sists of three immense blocks of granite, cut so as
to form one column, with moulded capitals and
bases. Some of the blocks are 10 feet high and
6 feet in diameter, and weigh 22 tons each. The
block above this part of the column weighs 12 tons,
and that which forms the base no less than 16. It
is earnestly to be hoped that before the bridge has
progressed too far to admit of it the Board of Works
will permit Mr. Page to have these columns po-
lished. The cost would be little when compared
with the advantages gained in appearance and much
increased durability of the stone. The main and
guiding piles for the eastern halves of the new piers
are now in course of being driven home, and the
staff of divers ;will shortly be again employed to
fasten the tie rods beneath the water. All these
subaqueous workmen go down when the tide is at
half ebb and work till it returns to half flow. After
that the rush of water through the half-stopped up
arches is too great, and in the bed of the river even
the strongest and most experienced divers would be
swept away. In spite of the intense coldness of the
weather the divers even now can remain under
water for five hours at one spell. After this the tide
is too strong and the men get numbed and ex-
hausted.. The other day one overstayed his time,
and the tide• swept him along and jammed him so
tight between some piles near the foundation of the
old bridge that two other divers had to go down to
release him, which they did with great difficulty.
A short time since, also, one of the workmen was
down in a diving bell, when the air tube parted
short off at the top. In an instant the water rushed
into the bell, which was so close in the river's bed
that, althoughithe man made three or four attempts
to force himself under it he was unsuccessful. For-
tunately the accident was perceived above the water,
and the bell was drawn up, though full of water,
and thus, at the last moment, its unfortunate occu-
pant was enabled to get from under it and reach
the surface almost dead from exhaustion. But, not-
withstanding these chances and the perilous nature
of the work, no fatal accidents have yet occurred to
any of the divers, though, on the contrary, some of
the ordinary labourers, who seem to run compara-
tively little risk, have been drowned, mostly
through their own carelessness.

THE LATE POLISH ANNIVERSARY

IN PARIS.

We have been requested by a friend of the Polish
cause to give insertion to the following letter,
addressed to a contemporary :
Sir, --- Your Paris correspondent on Saturday,
notwithstanding previous proofs offered to him of
the incorrectness of his information on Polish mat-
ters, has again been misled, and I must therefore
beg your permission to rectify his assertions.
He states, that on the late Polish anniversary at
Paris, on the 29th November, "no religious service
was attempted ;" that "a hint ecclesiastical was
probably given by the authorities ;" " that it proved
the intimate alliance between Russia and France ;"
that " a sort of amnesty has been accepted by
Prince Czartoryski ;" that, owing to the Prince's
absence from Paris, "no more than fifteen Poles
had met in the library of Count Zamoyski," and
that it " was a complete failure."
Now, Sir, it is difficult to place more erroneous
statements in so few words. The facts are these :
—The Poles at Paris on the 29th of November first
met as usual at the Church of the Assumption,
Rue St. Honore; high mass was accompanied by
the singing of the pupils of the four schools, in
which upwards of four hundred Polish children of
both sexes are boarded and educated ; the Abbe
Jelowicki, in his sermon alluding to the gigantic
obstacles in the way of our wishes and expecta-
tions, reminded his auditors that faith removes
mountains, and pledged himself that they would
perform miracles provided they were strong in
faith ; they next met at the Polish library, which
is in no way " Count Zamoyski's library," but is
an institution open to the public, and situated in a
house purchased for it in 1351, by a subscription
among Poles ; instead of the annual speech de-
livered by Prince Czartoryski the Prince being
on a visit to his daughter in Prussian Poland—an
address was read by Mr. Morawski, late Minister
of Foreign Affairs in Poland ; but so far from the
Prince having accepted an amnesty of any sort, a
letter from him was read to the meeting by his
son, in which the Prince expresses his regret
that he was prevented from attending, and not
only insists upon the principles which have been
the rule and honour of his long career, but seizes
the opportunity for throwing out suggestions
as to what he considers the best course to follow
in the various matters which at present en-
gage the attention of his countrymen under Rus-
sian rule, namely, the suppression of serfdom and
the improvement of the condition of the labouring
class.

Your correspondent having called the Poles who
met at Paris " disaffected dreamers in a line of
hopeless patriotism, " I beg leave to remind him of
a well-known speech, in which the present Czar of
Russia in 1856 did not think it superfluous to warn
the poles at Warsaw against such " dreams," and
in support of the warning added, " curje saurai
sevir." It is but just to acknowledge that, though
certainly of a more humane and perhaps more
liberal disposition than his predecessor, he has
kept that promise. It may be that he could not
prevent his agents, trained in that predecessor's
school, from committing acts which, under a bene-
volent rule, could hardly have been expected ; but
the following particulars are, at any rate, worth
recording. The property of a minor, young Prince
Sauguszko, bequeathed to him by his °randfather,
has been confiscated by an Imperial ukase, issued
in 1856, for no offence of his own, and though him-
self born a subject of Austria ; the crime of the
father in having served in the Polish army, in
.
1831, being thus visited upon the son. In 1858', in
several parishes, amongst others at Porozolvo and
Pavlow, wholesale flogging of the parishioners
(followed by several immediate deaths) was admi-
nistered in the course of the slow butunrelenting
pressure exercised by the authorities for realising
the favourite scheme of the Russian Czarism :
" One racs, the Russian race---one church, the
Emperor's church."---I have the honour, to be sir,
AN OBSTINATE DREAMER.

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