The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-18 00:00:00

IMPORTANT BYE-LAW.

After a discussion sp rea,ling_over three sittings,
the bye-1 Lws iu reference to the width of streets,
arc., brought up by Major Lyon, of St. Georgo'r,
Hanover-square, were thus modified :

"1. Six-woks, at the least, before any new
street shall be laid out, written notice shall be
givvn to the Metropoli'an Board of Works, at
their office, 1, Greek-street, Soho, in the county
of Middlesex, by the person or persons intending
to lay out such /kW street, stating the proposed
level and width thereof, and accompanied by a
plan of the ground, showing the local situation of
the same.

"2. Forty feet, at the least, shall be the width
of Every new street intended for carriage treffic; 20
feet, at :he least, shall be the width of every new
street intended only for foot traffic ; provided that
the said width, respectively, shall be construed to
mean the width of the carriage and footway only,
exclusive of any gardens, fore courts, open areas,
or other spaces in front of the houses or buildings
erected or intended to be erected iu any street.
"3. Every new street shall, unless the Metropo-
litan Board of Works otherwise consent in writing,
have at least two entrances of the full width of
such street, and shall be open from the ground up-
ward.

" 4.erhe measurement of the width of every street
shall be tiken at a right angle to the course thereof,
half on either side, from the centre or crown of the
roadway to the external wall or front of the intended
houses, •or buildings on each side thereof; but
where fora courts or other spaces are intended to
be left in front of the houses or buildings, then the
width of the street, as already defined, shall be
measured from the centre line up to the fence,
railing, or boundary dividing' or intended to divide
such fore courts, gardens, or spaces from the pub-
lic way.
" 5. That the carriage-way of every new street
must curve or fall from the centre or crown thereof
at the rata of three-eighths of an inch at the least
for every foot of breadth.
"6. In every Lew street the curb to each foot-
path must not be less than four nor more than eight
inches in height above the channel of the roadway,
except in the case of crossings paved or formed for
the use of foot passengers, and the slope of every
footpath towards the curb must be half an inch to
every foot of width if the footpath be unpaved, or
not less than a quarter of an mch to every foot of
width if the footpath be paved.
"7. In this bye-law the word street' shall be
interpreted to apply to and include any highway
(except the carriage way of any turnpike road), and
any road, public bridge, lane, footway, square,
court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or
not, and a part of any such highway, road, bridge,
lane, footway, square, court, alley or passage.
"8. In cass of any breach of the regulations con-
tainei in this bye-law, the offender shall be liable
for each offence t,) a penalty of 40s. ; and in case
of a continuing offence, to a further penalty of 20s.
for each day after notice thereof from the Metropo-
litan Board of Works."

Mr. HAWKES protested against the penal clause,
which he considered as oppressive and unconstitu-
tional, the only redeeming feature iu the clause
being that the local authorities would have to de-
cide upon the breaches of these bye-laws.
Mr. BEAVAN inquired if the board could proceed
finally to confirm these laws as a whole, before they
had been submitted to the Secretary of State.
The PRESIDENT replied in the negative.
DISTRICT SURVEYORS' FEES.

A report was submitted by the Superintending
Architect which stated that the number of new
buildings in 1856 in respect to which fees had been
received was 3,445, and the amount received 4, 9361.;
the number of additions, alterations, and other
works in 1856 in respect of which 5,7521. had been
received was 4,975 ; and there bad been also re-
c&ve I as fee; in nrre it in respect of 6,234 buildings,
(Lc., 9.8151., making the total number of works in
respect of which fees had been paid, 14,654. The
rep,•rt likewise sti,t d that t 'le incomes of the di4-
trict surveyors in respect of fee varied from 2001.
t ► 1,3001., but that the expenses of thei_e officers
considerable, and that the fees were often to
a great extent in arraar, and had been 2'5 per cent.
less on the whole amount dui ing 1850 under the.
new act than under the previous building aci
The rema
adjm rnnged.s buiness having been dlspos.
the ed of,
d ou

FIRE AT THE EXHIBITION OP ARTS —YeAerday morn-
fnv, between three and four o'ckelc, a fire broke out in
the new building erected for the Ex ,itntion of Art 3 at
Kcnsington Gore. The fi:Alues were first observed in the
furnace room, containing the apparatus for warming the
Schoolof Desin. The passage leading to the school,
with its roof, way alpo on fire, and the flames were mak-
ing rapid advances to other parts of the establishment,
bur; the troops having been called out they were
..
the
e4??sl
arrested. Mr. Eraidweod, in his (facial report °u
t
burned
cut done, states that the furnace room
is rnd
e
cut ; flooring, partition, and roof of passage iestreyo‘i;
and corrent3 of the School of anign of Arta much
c'a....agel by L,at au I smile.