The Sun.
London, England, 1828-10-31 00:00:00

TUNNEL UNDER THE MERSEY.

It is proposed to construct a Tunnel under the
Mersey, from the town of Liverpool to the op-
posite 'bank of the river, at a point -where the
stream is more than a mile wide. At first sight
the undertaking appears impracticable, on ac-
count of its magnitude, but a little consideration
will show that the scheme is far from being
visionary.
When it is proposed to form a Tunnel above
a mile in length beneath such a river as the
Mersey, Londoners, with the example of the
Thames Tunnel before them, are disposed to
express their incredulity as to the possibility of
accomplishing it. In so doing they are in-
fluenced by a consideration of the obstacles that
presented themselves in the course of am enter-
prize undertaken under eery different circum-
stances.

With respect to the Mersey, the case is quite
different. There is every reason to believe
that the bed of the river, and the substratum to
a considerable extent below it, is composed of
the red rock, almost universally found to have a
place beneath the surface in this town and its
vicinity. Borings will shortly be made for the
purpose of ascertaining how far this is the case
in the line of the intended tunnel. If it shall ap-
pear that the substratum is of the kind already de-
scribed, there can exist no doubt that the en-
terprise is perfectly fessible, and as little that it
will be attempted. The process of subterraneous
excavations through the red stone in question is
well understood, and has been recently tried here
on a very extensive scale in the Tunnel con-
structed for the Manchester and Liverpool Rail-
way. It is confidently anticipated that the tolls
of a Tunnel, such as we have described, would
be fully sufficient to ensure a fair return on a
capital of 200,0001. or 250,0001. The traffic
of the two banks of the river at the point
in question is very considerable, and may rea-
sonably be expected to increase, if additional
facilities be afforded for carrying it on.—The
communication is now kept on by means of
steam-boats, engaged in carrying passengers and
commodities from one side of the river to the
other, from morning till night, almost without
interruption.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-MOUSE.

Some days ago we gave an account of the manner
in which some parishes are in the habit of getting
up weddings between their paupers and the paupers
of other parishes, for the purpose of throwing the
burden off themselves; and we stated the particulars
of the ease of a pauper who used, the moment his
;vife died, to marry another for the parish fortune of
21. 10s. This pauper, it will be recollected, the
moment after his marriage, threw his bride upon his
own pa:;sh, and the parish officers refused to give
them a maintenance, as he had done what was a
co►rstant practice amongst his better•,--married for
money alone, and ran out the marriage portion in a
day or two; after which he refused to do any work.
The beadle of Bishop:gate parish yestrrday in-
formed the LORD MAYOR that the pauper had, not-
►►iths'anding their caution, played them a trick.
Mr. Hobler observed, that the very gross impos-
ture practised by the parish, in foisting its poor upos.
Bishopegate parish, was well culculated to excite a
similar spirit in the poor.
The beadle said, that the pauper took his wife
into the parish of St. Luke, and obliged her to feign
illness for the purpose of enshhng him to obtain
what is called the suspension of an order, a process
by which a parish becomes responsible for the sup-
port of an alien pauper, and afterwards can claim
from the pauper's parish a recompense. lie would
have received, had he succeeded in this manoeuvre,
ss. or 6s. a-week, until he should think proper to
declare his wife in health; hut the beadle suspected
him, and sent a medical man to inquire into the state
of her health.

Mr. Hobler—A;ia how was the poor woman ?
The Beadle said, that the surgeon, upon going into
the room, found the woman in bed, groaning, and
apparently in the agonies of death. Upon feeling
her pulse, however, he found that it was as good a
pulse us any in the parish.—(Loud laughter.)—
This fact was reported, and the parish of St.
Luke, of course, would not contribute. The
pauper, upon finding that his plan would not
answer, huddled his wife into the parish chair, and
sent her home to Bishopsgate; but the parish of-
ficers were astonished to perceive that she had
scarcely a stitch upon her, although she had got
clothes upon her wedding. " Where did you leave
the clothes ?" said the parish officer. " Why," said
she, " my husband thought that as I was going back
to you, I had no occasion for the clothes, and he
sold them all." (Loud laughter.)
Mr. Nobler asked what the officers intended to
do with the pauper ? The beadle said they were of
course obliged to take the poor woman into the
house ; bat as for the man, as he was determined
not to work at all in the house, they would not pro-
ceed against him. He was too clever for the autho-
rities.