The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-19 00:00:00

would discover what was the matter and prescribe
the remedy. Mr. CUBITT, on examination, made
a discovery which, it appears to the uninitiated,
might have been made before—that " the works on
which the estimates for Parliament were founded
were dissimilar from those on which the estimates
were made as put in for the contracts." Still he
was obliged to take into consideration the shortness
of the time allowed for the construction, and a good
margin for risks to account for the discrepancy.
Mr. Cuurr gave it as his opinion that a viaduct
75 feet wide could be executed for £llO,OOO, rea-
sonable time being allowed for its completion, and
that if it were 80 feet wide the increased expense
need only be about £6,000. He examined the
plans of Mr. JONES, the City Architect, and Mr.
HAYWOOD, the Surveyor of the Commissioners of
Sewers, and gave his opinion in favour of the latter
as being the simpler and less costly of the two.
Mr. CUBITT advised that the committee should ob-
tain plans and specifications for the viaduct without
recurring to transverse arches, and to apply for ten-
ders without pledging themselves to the lowest.
Mr. HAYWOOD'S dignity, however, appears to have
been affronted by this suggestion, and he declined
to " prepare plans under the Consulting Engineer's
advice." He asked, however, for permission to
carry out the structural designs of the viaduct on
his own sole account and responsibility, at a cost of
£llO,OOO, or £130,000 less than the lowest of the
tenders. At first sight this appears extremely
moderate ; but the extraordinary part of the
business is, that Mr. HAYWOOD was engaged
by the Common Council Committee in the first
stages of the Holborn Valley Improvement Works,
and, according to Mr. Deputy FRY, "he greatly
assisted in the preparation of the plan and in carry-
ing the bill through Parliament." How then is it
that Mr. HAYWOOD'S tender is more than double
the original computation? The City Architect's esti-
mate is for £lBO,OOO, or more than three times the
Parliamentary estimate. Added to the other per-
plexities of the matter, Mr. HAYWOOD and Mr. JONES
are not brethren in arms, though they are rivals in
renown, and cannot work together, even to make
up.a report. When asked to consult together
they each came up with a separate report,
and the battle in fact seems to be between
these two, and although the original feeling was in
favour of Mr. JONES, Mr. HAYWOOD'S supporters
,yesterday proyed victorious, and it was decided that
the committee should arrange with, Mr. HAYWOOD
for the construction of the viaduct.

So far Holborn-hill has certainly proved the Hill
Difficulty to the would-be improvers. If this; is to
be the manner in which City improvements are to
be carried on the prospects of the new street from
Blackfriars to the Mansion House are not encourag-
ing. The citizens were bent upon carrying it out
themselves, but, according to sample, we may expect
to walk down it in the year 1900 ! We heartily ap-
prove of the prevailing desire that works of this kind
should be carried out in a manner creditable to the
City, and in keeping with the engineering capacities
of the day. But, as yet, the efforts to accomplish
the Holborn Valley Improvement quickly have
rather over-reached themselves, and between
Council, Committee, and Special Committee, with
plan estimate, specification and contract, and
tender, the much pitied cab and dray horses of the
City are not the only ones that trip and stumble in
achieving the ascent of Holborn-hill.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Thursday Evening.
General Prim is not caught yet, but, on the con-
tary, he has effected what it was said was impos-
sible—he and his followers have crossed the
Guadiana, and have been able to reach Zalamea, a
small village dear the frontiers of Portugal, at the
foot of the mountains which separate Estremadura
from Andalusia.
The )lloniteur publishes a notice to intending
French exhibitors at the Great Exhibition, in which
it is stated that some portions of the Palace will be
ready to receive products from and after the 15th
June next.

In the absence of any real information in regard
to the insurrection in Spain, I may state that
according to a letter from Madrid, the committee of
the Senate appointed to report on the demand for
bringing General Prim to trial on the charge of
sedition has decided that it will first be requisite to
have a conference with the Ministers upon the sub-
ject. Three opinions were prevalent amongst the
committee. Some of the members of it propose
that Prim should be summoned before a Council of
War. Other members say it will be better to have
him tried by the Senate, of which body he is
a member also. General Pavia, on the other
hand, demands that General Prim should be
tried by a Council of War, but says there is
no need of any permission from the Senate
for this purpose, as the law is the same for all mili-
tary men, no matter what their rank or station.
Reports are published of another trial for murder
and robbery. It took place before the Court of
Assize of the Alpes Maritimes. The accused is a
farm labourer named Icard, 24 years of age. The
crime is alleged to have been committed on the 21st
of March last year, in the environs of Nioe. The
prisoner on that day broke into the house of an old
man and his wife, named Gastaud, during their ab-
' Bence, and stole from a drawer one hundred and
sixty francs in gold. Just as he was about
to leave the house, however, he was met in
the passage by the old lady on her return. The
prisoner drew a dagger from his coat and stabbed
her with it about the head until she died. Suspicion
having fallen upon the prisoner, a search was made
at his lodgings, where a coat and trousers, stained
with blood, were found. When the police put some
questions to the prisoner, he at once admitted that
he was guilty, and, indeed, told them where he had
hidden the weapon. Blood was found upon it. The
prisoner's counsel argued that he was insane. The
plea prevailed to a certain extent, for the jury
found the prisoner guilty, but with " extenuating
circumstances," and he was sentenced to hard
labour for life.

A duel has taken place between M. Henri Roche-
fort and Prince Achille Oarat. The seconds of M.
Rochefort were M. Taxile Delord, a newspaper
writer, and M. Plumbete, manager of the Theatre
du Palais Royal. The seconds of the Prince were
M. Jerome Napoleon Patterson and M. Antonio de
Ezpelata. The challenge was given by the Prince
in consequence of an article in the Figaro throwing
ridicule upon some letters written by him, which
were produced in a recent horse-case concerning
Mdlle. Cova Pearl. The duel was with swords.
A mutually vigorous attack took place. M.
Rochefort wounded the Prince in the breast, and the
latter also gave a slight wound to M. Rochefort
upon the hip. Upon this the seconds interfered,
and thus the matter ended.

It is stated that a broker in the Rue de la Made-
leine has made a discovery which will form an epoch
in the history of the fine arts. This discovery is no
less than this :—Among his dirty old pictures he has
found a painting of the Virgin, the undoubted work
of Corrcggio. Amateurs are of opinion that the
painting embodies in a high degree the qualities of
that great master.
The Siecle to-day draws a curious contrast
between the English Government and that of Spain.
It says—" The most grave fact of the day is the
placing in a state of siege the city and county of
Dublin. That an oscillating and threatened Go-
vernment like that of Isabella 11. should adopt
at the first alarm exceptional measures is not sur-
prising, but that the Cabinet of St. James's, in a
constitutional country, should resolve to proclaim a
state of Beige, gives reason to suppose that the
situation of Ireland is alarming."

The Monitour_of this evening states that in spite