The Sun.
London, England, 1829-06-18 00:00:00

LONDON BRIDGE COMMITTEE.

(FROM A-MORNING PAPER.)
Yesterdsy the Lords' Committee on the London
Bridge Approaches' Bill re-a-swirled at one o'clock.
It was very fully attended, but the doors were no!
opened even to Counsel.- Thrir Lordships debated
for upwards of an hour on come offers of accommo-
dation that had been made, resulting, it was under.
stood, from the intercession of Lord Wharncliffe
(S. 'Wortley). It was eventually decided—at leas;
the extraordinary result had been so decided accord-
ing to the testimony of several Lords of the Corn
matee in their statements to persons attendiug both
or an'l against the Bill—
That the present Bill will be virtually abandoned.
as far us regards its main principle and for the City's
profit, the tax levied on coals used not only by the
City, but by the country round for 50 and 60
miles;—
That the Bridge-house Elates are to be given upH
in perpetuity, in-read of for 40 years ;
That the existing Coal Duties receivable by the
City, under the (humbug) appellation " for the Or-
phans' Fund," terminable in a few years, will also
be given up ;
That the concurrent City Wine Duties will like-
wise be given up ;
That one half of the profits of the new Fleet-
marhet will also be given up for aver;—
And that all these are henceforth to be under the
management and control of the Treasury—on con-
dition that the Treasury finish the approaches to the
Bridge, and for the purpose of keeping the bridge
in repair. _ _ _

Vial-, in fact, the Corporation shall give up for
ever, to Che control of the Government, all those
estates, taxes, and the bridge-management:

Some sort of intimation-was lolwarded to the
Committee that tire Corporation on these terms
would release their hold of inch estates and taxes;
whereupon the CJmmittee adjourned till Friday
next, merely for the. purpose of receiving the formal
ratification of these conditions on the part of the
Courts of Aldermen and Common Council. The
clouds of Counsel, Attorneys, Agents, &c. who
have been in daily attendance, crowded round the
doors of the Committee-rom to hear the result, and
as Lord Wharncliffe was the first who left the room
(the memorable Painted Chamber), he was sur-
rounded with peachers, desirous of obtaining a par-
ticipation of what was, pro forma, limited to the
" preserves," of the sail venerable chamber. Hav-
ing generally stated the result of the proposed ac-
commodation, he added, addres-ing - the Counsel,
" And you need not attend oh Friday; we shall not
want Counsel, agents, nor witnesses. We shall
have no occasion to examine Mr. Hunt ; neither
Mr. Hunt nor any other witnesses need to attend.
We only re-asemb'e on Friday fcr form's sake, to
receive the formal sanction of the Common Council,
and other parties, to the arrangements that have been
determined upon."
Lord Nlclville soon afterwards left the Committee-
room, and in the passage-ways he also was made
subject to anxious questioning. Mr. Jeffrey, who
had been 'examined at'some length on several pre-
ceding days, as to amended approadies to the Bridge,
inquired whether a:clause would be introduced into the
Bill to secure the improved approaches, &c. ? Lord
Melville replied, that " there can be no alteration of
the,Bill;" so - thaL how the Treasury is to take the
place of the Corporation in the management (or
tnismanagement) of the property devoted to Lon-
don Bridge, together with London Bridge itself, did
not transpire; whether it was to be by an altera-
tion
of the present Bill, or by a short Bill generally,
vesting certain property in the Treasury for specific
purposes.
The immense crowds in the several avenues lead-
ing to the Committee-room received intelligence of
the result -with great satisfaCtion, and many asked
" How much per cent. is the City's Charter below
par ?"—while others inquired, " As alt. the City •
jockeys have daily, during the progress of this Btll,
had a grand dinner at their tavern, will they have
one to-day; .and if so, who is to pay for it?" Then
others said, " What will be told us on the 24th
(Midsummer Day), at the Common-hall Meeting ?
how will the domineering, accounts-refusing, turtle-
eating Corporation folks then meet us and address
us ?" Tite scene was- remarkable, and defies de-
scription ; therefore, adjourned till Friday next.

(Extract from a letter addressed by Mr. Hunt to
the Liverymen of the City of London.)
" 1 arrived in London on Saturday evening, and
found that numerous inquiries had been made for
me by messengers front the House of Lords, and
that orders for my attendance before the Committee
bad been repeatedly left at my house. - I attended
on Monday mornng, and sent in a note to Lord
Durham, who had presented my petition, and I at
once satisfied him and the Marquis of Londonderry
that the evidence I could give would be of the very
highest importance, and such as would cause the
Bill to be thrown out of the House of Lords alto-
gether. I distinctly stated to them that I would
lay before the Committee such a scenic of delin-
quency, such a mass of jobbing, such unquestion-
able proof of the most wanton, wicked, and pro-
fligate waste of the City money, such deception,
fraud, plunder, and robbery, committed by various
members of the worthy Corporation upon their tie-
fenceless fellow-citizens, as would not only astonish
their Lordships, but the whole world. I corn-
tnuuicated some of the infamous transactions that
I should prove. Up to this time the city gentry ap-
peared very flippant, and very confident that they
should carry their intended measures ultimately, not-
withstanding a little exposure, as they intimated
that the Duke of Wellington had promised to pull
them through, let the mire they were in be- ever so
filthy and disgusting. However, when it was come
municated to the Duke and the Noble Lords who
supported the Bill what sort of evidence I was pre-
pared to give, and that Mr. Cherles Pearson, an old
Common Councilman, was summoned to bear me
out in some of the charges of the grossest delin-
qeency, they took the alarm, and a compromise, or
rather abandonment of the City, was proposed.
The result was this—that the Biil should pass into
law as it is, with this distinct understanding, that
the whole of the Bridge House Estates should be
appropriated for the payment, as far as it would go,
of building the Bridge ; that the duties on coal and
on wine should go for the same purpose, as well as
half the income of Fleet-market ; and that the
whole management of the concern should be taken
from the Bridge Committee, and vested in the Lords
of the Treasury—in fact, that the whole job should
be taken out of the hands of the corrupt City
Jobbers, and in future be wholly and solely carried
into execution by the Government, and not by the
City Corporation.
I received this statement of the facts both from
Marquis Londonderry and Lord Durham. So you
es enern,
eGn l,.eembert, ot
utghhets e Citytheir
pigs Jobbingt:, Common
a pretty Ctu
t market-
at last. They are declared by this proceeding—
nay, they admit—that they, like the spendthrift,
are unworthy aey longer to be intrusted with the
property of others, and the Government have began
to take the management of it into their own hands.
It appears- by the evidence given by Mr. Scott,
that all the vouchers of the expenditure have been
produced for the inspection of myself and brother
Auditors ; but the fact is, there are disbursements
to the amount of upwards of 10,000/. of the last
year's expenditure, of which the vouchers have not
yet been produced. But, Gentlemen, I hope to meet
you on Midsummer-day, when I will lay a more de-
tailed account of all these matters before you. I and
my brother Auditors have discovered one thousand
pounds a year that has never been brought into the
City account, but which will, in future, be placed
to your credit.—l ant, Gentlemen, your faithful and
obedient servant, H. HUNT.

The KING patronizes the triennial meeting
of the choirs of Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester.
.The Earl of ABERDEEN visited the Duke of
NVELLiNGTON‘ yeecerday.