The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-02 00:00:00

EMBANKMENT OF THE THAMES.
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Mr. BENTINCK rose to put a question to the Chief
Commissioner of Works on the subject of the Royal Com-
mission appointed to examine into plans for embanking the
river Thames within the metropolis. The hon. gentleman
referred to the reports of the various committees and com-
missions on the subject, which, in his opinion, showed con-
clusively that the scheme was impracticable, and would
only involve the country in a vast and useless expenditure.
It was also agreed that the subject was one for the Chief
Commissioner to deal with, and that it was hopeless to ex-
pect:any practical result from a commission. Those, too,
were undertakings which ought to be defrayed out of the
proceeds of metropolitan taxation only. Under those cir-
cumstances he had to ask the right hon. gentleman to state
the intentions of Government with regard to this [object.
Mr. COWPER, in reply, said his hon. friend opposite
had found very considerable blame with the Board of
Works, but he thought that the observations which had
just been made by his hon. friend would be very accept-
able to some gentlemen in this house, who were very
anxious to resuscitate in the country party feeling and
party spirit. He could, however, assure his hon. friend
that there was no ground for the observations, or the objec-
tions he had made. If the hon. gentleman meant by his
proposition that the improvements should not be carried
on, unless by the wish of the whole country, he could
assure him that he did not think the country would agree
with him. With regard to the commission to which the
hon. gentleman had referred, there was no doubt it was
one of great public importance. But he must refer to the
committee of last year, which recommended the proposed
improvements. That committee also recommended that
the expenses of carrying the improvements out should be
paid out of the coal dues, and they also recommended that
a body should be appointed to carry them out, and that body
whom they named was tho Board of Works. But although
that committee were naturally anxious about the embark-
ment of the Thames, they did not express any opinion of
their own as to what plan the improvements should be
made upon. They merely recommended the embankment,
and pointed out the sources from which the money was to
be got, and also the body that was to execute the improve-
ments. They did not lay down any plan of their own for
adoption. It appeared to him that the commission appointed
last year would not be an expensive commission, for every-
body who was appointed on it had given his services gra-
tuitously, and the only expense that would be incurred would
be those of the secretary and the stationery. It had been said
that the Crown ought not to exhibit any interest in the
matter ; but, inasmuch as the property in the foreshore was
the property of the Crown, he thought the Crown had a
right to see that the public had the benefit of a good and
and approved plan for the contemplated improvements, be-
fore it surrendered its rights. He did not think the labours
of the past commissioners had been lost, for although as yet
they had not attained their object, they had paved the
way for the improvements. The plans for those improve-
ments were-now before them, and he thought it would not
be difficult to select a plan upon which to act. With
regard to tin state of the traffic in the public streets, the-
feeling of every man who had to proceed from the West-
end to the Bank was, that he would find it much more
quick and much more convenient to him to walk than to
proceed in 'a carriage. (Hear.) The proposed embank-
ment of the Thames would improve the navigation be-
sides solving the difficulty of the low-level sewers, without
any disturbance of Fleet-street. (Hear.) He agreed with
the commissioners in thinking that the execution of the
work should be left to the Board of Works, and that the
payment of the expenses should be defrayed out of some
public property.

After a few words from Mr. AYRTON, the subject dropped

TIIE CHRISTIANS IN SYRIA.
Lord J. RUSSELL said that the last papers which he
had received relative to the affairs of Syria were a conven•
tion entered into by the five Powers with the Ottoman
Porte, and which had been laid on the table at the com-
mencement of the present session. With regard to the
negotiations that were going on, he could not consistently
with the iatcrests of the public service give any informa-
tion at present respecting them, as discussions relating to
them were going on at Beyrout, Constantinople, and Paris.
He hoped, however, that before Raster, or immediately
after, he should be able to lay on the table further papers
relative to the affairs of Syria, and those papers would con-
tain the reports of the consuls to Sir Henry Bulwer. He
would take that opportunity to answer the question put to
him last night by the hon. member for Horsham. With
regard to the part which had been taken by the French
Government the hon. member had asked him whether any
representation or note had been addressed by the Russian
Ambassador to the Porte, and whether that note had been
supported by the French Ambassador. He (Lord J. Rus •
sell) had no means then of answering the question ; but
Lord Cowley had received from M. do Thouvenel informa-
tion that the French Ambassador had not interfered in any
way in the matter, either in seconding the proposal or in
giving any opinion. The only thing that the French Am-
bassador did was to express a hope that the reforms pro-
vided by the Sultan would be speedily introduced, and that
thus the necessity of the meeting of ambassadors which bad
been proposed by Sir H. Bulwer might be so far obviated.