The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-14 00:00:00

THE BRIDGE-HOUSE ESTATES.

Mr. ROBERT TAYLOR withdrew a report which hadbeen
presented by the Bridge-house Committee, recommending
that advances should be made to the contractor for the
building the new bridge at Blackfriars, in respect of iron-
work prepared for but not delivered at the bridge. He said
that since this report had been drawn up the easy state of
the money market had enabled the contractor to go on with
his contract without requiring any advance, and that the
ironwork, of the value of £40,000, would now be supplied.
Mr. ROBERT TAYLOR next moved the adoption of a report
from the Bridge-house Committee, in which they recom-
mended that the management of the xecepts from the bridges
be placed in the hands of the Chamberlain of the Corpora-
tion. He said that it had been recently ascertained that
the Bridge-house Masters received £2O a year for doing
nothing, and that, without exactly denying them of their
office, their monetary matters might with propriety be trans-
ferred to the Chamberlain. The motion was adopted.

GRANTS TO PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
Upon the motion of Mr. BRASS, the sum of £lO5 was
granted to the Hospital for Sick Children, and £52 10s. to
the Wesleyan Methodist Free Day and Sunday-schools.

THE METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.
Mr. BUDKIN moved the adoption of reports from the
Markets Committee recommending the construction of ad-
ditional bullock lairs at the Metropolitan Cattle-market, at
the estimated expense of £6,000, and that the sum allowed
to the committee on account of their expenses be 'increased
to£3oo per annum. He admitted that financially the Cope-
nhagen Cattle-market had been a failure to the Corporation,
the average loss since its opening being about £5,000 per
annum, but he had every reason to believe that at the end
of this year—certainly at the end of next—that loss would
bd turned into a profit. The increased accommodation at
the lairs had been rendered necessary because of the great
increase which had taken place during the last half-year in
the number of beasts and sheep sent to the market. By the
outlay of the £6,000 about 650 additional beasts could be
accommodated. Heretofore there were no fewer than ,11
exits and entrances to the bullock lairs and 4 to the sheep
lairs, and by these means frauds were easily perpetrated,
but in future such frauds would be effectually guarded
against, because their exits and entrances would be reduced
to one of each description of lairs. The receipts for the
past half-year for the lairs showed an increase of £1,522
over the previous half-year. He was happy to state that
the undesirability of driving large numbers of animals
through the public streets of the metropolis had been duly
considered by the Markets Committee, and that they were
of opinion that public abbatoirs at Copenhagen-market
might be advantageously conducted. They had expended
for this purpose about £540 in horses, dm., and their re-
ceipts showed a profit on their expenditure. They had
slaughtered in the first week somewhere about 40 beasts,
and in the last week 278.

Mr. WoonLEv4posed the report, and moved that it be
not received. - -

._ _____ .......
Mr. Deputy DE JERSEY apprehended that a great deal o:

cattle would in future be slaughtered in the country, and,
if that were so, then there would be a decrease in the
quantity of lairage required at Copenhagen-market.
Mr. RUDKIN observed that the number of cattle coming
to the market was not likely to diminish.
The discussion was continued by Mr. Harris, Mr. Ban-
nister, Mr. Lusher, Mr. M`George, Mr. Dresser Rogers,
and Mr. Medwin.

Mr. H. L. TAYLOR said the question was a most import-
ant one, and that when the corporation were asked to lay
out thousands of pounds they ought to know what the ex-
penditure was for. He was willing to believe that the
Markets Committee had well considered their report of
that day. Sure he was that there was no other committee
of the corporation which had greater responsibility thrown
upon it, and that responsibility- had been greatly height-
ened by the fact that they had a failing concern cast upon
them. He believed that much of that failure was owing
to the lowness of the charges made by the corporation for
the accommodation afforded at the market.

Mr. KING moved as an amendment " That that part of
the recommendation which proposed to increase the allow-
ance to the committee be struck out."
Mr. JOIIN RICHARDSON seconded this amendment.

Mr. Deputy ELLIOTT, in supporting it, thought the
committee ought not to have tacked on their paltry eating
and drinking allowance to a recommendation for expending
£6,000 upon the lairs. The gravamen of the recommenda-
tion was £6,000, whereas the addition was an unhappy
and untradesmanlike way of doing business. He found on
looking over the account of the committee ..that half their
eating and drinking during the half past year was taken at
one dose. (A laugh.) Their bill at the Albion, for instance,
was £26 13s. ; at the Lamb, £2 Os. 6d. ; at the Brunswick,
£44 4s. 6d. ; at the Black Lion, £lO ; at the Black Lion
again, £2 14s. ; and then they expended at one swoop at
an entertainment on board the Maria Wood, £126 190,
(Loud laughter.) There was, therefore, an injudicious
expenditure of £126 in one day, whereas, had they acted
properly, they might from time to time have had dile and
proper nourishment at every one of their meetings. It
was this enormous expenditure for frolicsome refreshment
out of doors which did more injury to the corporation than
anything else.
Mr. FRICKER said he had been so constantly in the habit
of seeing Mr. Deputy Elliott throwing mud and dirt at the
committees of the corporation that the present attack upon
the Markets Committee occasioned him no surprise ; and
yet, if the worthy Deputy would consider for a moment, he
surely could not expect the committee to stand for a whole
winter's day in a public market without receiving some re-
freshment at the expense of the corporation.
Mr. RUDKIN defended the committee, observing that
during 12 weeks they had held no fewer than 33 meetings.
The Court divided, when there appeared—For the origi-
nal motion, 98 ; against it, 31—majority in its favour, 67.