The Sun.
London, England, 1850-11-09 00:00:00

NOVEMBER 9, 1850.

PROPOSED REMOVAL OF SMITH-
FIELD MARKET.
(From the TVerkly Dispatch)
Mr. Editor,—ln my letter of last week on the
above subj‘ct I promised to lay before your readers
some extracts from the Report of the Commissioners
appointed by her Mejesty to make inquiries relating
to Smithfield-market, end I now proceed to redeem
that pledge. Like the resolutions adopted by the
Committee of the House of Commons, it blows hot
and cold. With regard to the position of the mar-
ket, they (the Commissioners) admit the advantages
of its central situation and means of access, which,
they add, offer conveniences to the buyers scattered
over the whole of the metropolis, as well as for the
transaction of all the details of general business.
The close proximity of Newgate market is another
great convenience, and one which many butchers of
extensive trade consider iecii,pensable to the tre.n,ac-.
tion of their Itiness. The Post-office, the 13',nk of
England, and Lombard-street, where the chief part
of the country banking business is carried 'ns are
s id in a few inmates' walk of the market, knd from
the large ready -mom y transactions connected V 1 it'll it,
the its cessity tor promptly cashing the eta ques in
kick the payments are nude, and making the
remittances to the grazier, form othc r grounds
upon which the advantages of tie present site
are maintained. It is alleged by many of
the butchers, that the retention of the market
in a central part of the metropolis is essential to their
trade, inasmuch as the necessity of conveying the
animals from a distance would otherwise impede their
business. Such are the advantages of the present,
site, as admitted even by the Commissioners them-
selves, and will be considered by all impartial disin-
terested persons as strong reasons for the continuance
of the market where it is now held; but in the very
page of the Report which contains this admission,
there is the following passage :—" Within one fur-
long (220 yards) of the market, subject to all its an-
noyances, the noise of the dogs, of the cattle, and of
their drovers, as well as the filth and disturbance
caused by the collection and dispersion of this large
number of animals, are placed the Hospital of Saint 1
Bartholomew, the great Gaol of Newgate, Giltspur-
street Prison, the Central Criminal Court, St. Paul's
Cathedral, the Post-office, &c.; in short, all those
establishments from which it seems important to the
public interests and good order that a large market
for cattle should be far removed." Now every person
at all acquainted with the locality is well aware of
the fact, that althpugh a portion of the building called
St. Bartholomew's Hospital fronts Smithfield-market,
yet the whole of the wards for the reception of pa-
tients are so for in the rear that it is quite impossible
for any of them to be disturbed by the noise of the
dogs, cattle, &c. ; but in these days of mock philan-
thropy those who have no sympathy to bestow on
the afflicted and suffering poor may, nevertheless,
feel extreme anxiety that the quiet and comfort of our
criminal population should not be in the slightest de-
gree disturbed, and, accordingly, the proximity of the
market to the great Gaol of Newgate and Giltspur-
street Compter, is alleged as a ground for its removal,
as the noise of the dogs is likely to disturb the pri-
soners when at their devotions. I fancy most of the
prisoners would be very glad to be where they could
hear the noise a little better. But the market is also
said to be too near St. Paul's Cathedral, and perhaps
an occasional stray ox may have prevented some old
woman from crossing the churchyard, and entering
the Cathedral, and thus deprived the Dean and Chap-
ter of twopence, a sum which those reverend and
under-paid functionaries can ill afford to lose. Last,
but not least, the market is said to be so near the
Mansion-house. Nothing, however, is said about
Guildhall or the Court of Bankruptcy, to which the
removal of the market will drive several industrious
citizens, who are now getting a respectable living.
The Report goes on to say that the inadequacy of the
space of the present market is attested by all the wit-
nesses whom they examined on the subject; but this
inconvenience will be completely removed by the
plan proposed by Mr. Bunning. The next point in
the Report worthy of notice is the allegation that has
been so frequently made by the promoters of the Isling-
ton Cattle Market scheme, viz., the deterioration in
the flesh of the animals caused by the treatment they
receive in driving them to Smithfield, and in the
market itself. Statements on this subject were made
before the Committee of the House of Commons, and
were repeated before the Commissioners, who, how-
ever, say that, although the opinions were those of
practical men, yet the data upon which they founded
their calculations were in the opinion of the Com-
missioners too conjectural to be received with much
reliance. Much has been said about the injury to the
health of the inhabitants of Smithfield from the hold-
ing of a live cattle market there. It does not appear
that the parties who are the most interested have made
any complaint on the subject, and even the Commis-
sioners admit that the appropriation of Smithfield to
the uses of a market for live stock on two days of the
week is not productive of insalubrity to the neigh-
bourhood to any appreciable extent. But the gres.t€ st
alleged nuisance connected with the continuance of a
live cattle market in Smithfield is the driving of
cattle, sheep, &c., through the streets of the
metropolis, and this, they admit in their re-
port, cannot be remedied by removing it "to
the outskirts of the metropolis, with a conve-
nient access to the different railways," because,
although the live stock would reach it without ma-
terial inconvenience to the public, yet, in order that
they should be distributed from the market among
the different private slaughter-houses throughout the
town, it would be necessary that they should be
driven through the streets. They, however, concur
with the Markets' Improvement Committee in think-
ing that " restrictions upon driving animals within
certain hours of the day should be imposed by a
general enftctment," which can surely be done with-
out the removal of the cattle market from Smithfield,
and thus the only inconvenience of which the public
have ever complained will be got rid of. In con-
cluding their Report the Commissioners say that, " al-
though they believe their recommendati9n for the re-
moval of the Smithfield Cattle-market to be impera • '
tively demanded by considerations of public
convenience, they are not unmindful of the
loss of custom which the measure would
entail upon certain classes of retail dealers
resident in that neighbourhood. It is with sincere
regret that they recommended any change which
would be attended even with partial and temporary
loss of trade to certain individuals." It is very kind
of the Commissioners to make am allusion to the
trifling circumstance that the removal of the cattle-
market will deprive many hundred persons of their
present means of existence, for it is not denied that
if the market should be removed nearly the whole of
the inhabitants of Smithfield may shut up their shops
as soon as they please ; but the Commissioners kindly
assure the parties that "the removal of the cattle-
market from Smithfield is, in their judgment, likely
upon the whole, ultimately to enhance rather than
lower the sales of property in that part of the City,
inasmuch as its existence in that position operates as
a discouragement to the residence of persons whose
business is not immediately connected with the mar-
ket and its frequenters." The Commissioners care
not what becomes of the present occupiers cf houses
in Smithfield, so long as the nuisance of which they
complain is removed ; that is a matter which they
leave the parties interested to settle among themselves.
Honest, industrious citizens may, at their suggestion,
be deprived of the means of existence, with the conso-
latory assurance that " local diminutions of mercantile
profit are the necessary, though undesigned conse-
quences, of all extensive improvements which alter
existing traffic and communication." I have already
stated that two of the Commissioners refused to sign
his report. I shall notice their dissent, and some of
,he evidence adduced in a future letter.
CENSORIIIS.