The Sun.
London, England, 1829-12-25 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY PAPER.

CROWN LANDS, REVENOES, &e.
SIXTH REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS.

(FURTHER EXTRACTS )

ISLE OF MAN.

In pursuance of an Act of the 6th Geo. IV.
c. 34, by which the Lords of the Treasury were
authorized to purchase of his Grace the Duke
of Atholl, a certain aunuity, in respect of Duties
of Customs levied in the isle of Man, and -any
reserved sovereign rights in the said Island be-
longing to his Grace, for such sum or sums of
money, as should be deemed a fair equivalent
for the same, by arbitrators to be mutually
chosen by the Lords of the Treasury and the
Duke of. Atholl ; and their Lordships haying
agreed with his Grace for the surrender of his
interest in sundry quit rents, fines, impropriate
tithes, demesne lands, and royalties of quarries,
mines and minerals,.have been pleased to place
this property under our management, and to
direct us to instruct our officers to collect the
rents and profits thereof, and to account to us
for the same.

The gross amount of these rents and profits
appears to be about 2,400/. a-year ; of which
about 1,1001. arise from fines, and a great num-
ber of very small quit rents ; about 600/. from
tithes ; and the remainder from rents of de-
mesne lands, or royalties on the produce of
quarries or minerals ; and having, at the sug-
gestion of the Treasury, requested the opinion
of Robert Stewart, Esq., Receiver-General of
the Island, concerning the measures which
should be adopted for managing the property,
and collecting the rents, Mr. Stewart informed
us, that, after attentive inquiry, and the best
information he could obtain, no more efficient
mode could be resorted to, than that adopted
by Mr. James M'Crone, who had, before the
sale to the'Crown, collected thew,
,on behalf of
of Atholl ; and- thate-he---knew Mr;
,h(kCilhe to be a person of ability and character,
and had ascertained, that he was willing to act
for the Crown, until a permanent arrangement
could be adopted for the future management of
the property.
Under these circumstances, we applied for
and obtained the sanction of the Treasury to
appoint Mr. M'Crone to be collector of the
said rents during pleasure ; and he is now in the
performance of the duties thereof, for which he
is allowed the usual remuneration, paid to the
Receivers of the Estates of the Crown in Eng-
land and Wales; of one shilling in the pound on
the amount collected.

For the reasons stated, with respect to the
Crown Property at Alderney, we think it will
also be advisable to dispose of that in the Isle of
Man, as opportunities may occur of selling the
same to advantage ; and fir this purpose, it will
be necessary to extend, by Legislative enactments,
the powers of sale, now vested in the Lords of
the Treasury and our Board, with respect to the
other Land Revenues of the Crown under our
management, to those in Alderney, and the Isle
of V6i.

NEW QUADRANGULAR MEWS, NEAR WESTMINSTER•

ABBEY.

In consequence of numerous applications for
sites for Stable Offices, made to the Treasury
and to us, by the occupiers of some of the prin-
cipal mansions on the Crown Estate, in Privy
Gardens, Whitehall, and other parts of that
neighbourhood, we were directed to consider of
the best means of providing that most essential
accommodation : and it appeared to us, that a
portion of the, ground purchased by the Com-
missioners fur the improvement of Westminster,
lying southward of Great George-street, and
westward of the Westminster Sessions-house,
might be appropriated to this purpose ; and that
on this ground might be erected a Mews or
Stable-court, to contain accommodation suffi-
cient for all the Crown tenants in the neighbour-
hood, who were not then provided with stable
offices. We should have wished to have let this
ground in different plots, to the several Crown
tenants wanting stables, on building leases, con-
current with the respective leases of their
houses, and to have stipulated with them that
they should erect the buildings according to de-
signs and plans, to be approved by us; but as
it was desirable that the whole buildings should
be erected at once, and be of an uniform design,
and as the leases of the houses, to the use of
the occupiers of which the stables were pro,.
posed to be appropriated, had different terms
remaining unexpired, it appeared to be necessary
that the buildings should be erected under our
directions, and let to such Crown tenants as
should be willing to take them at fair rents.—
The matter having been laid by tis' before the
Treasury, their Lordships were pleased to ap-
prove of the appropriation of the before-men-
tioned ground to this purpose. But in proceed-
ing to tbrin the plan, it was found that the same
could not be advantageously carried into effect,
without -obtaining the site of certain stable
buildings on the sotitil side of Princes-street,
which were subject to a lease granted by the
Lords of the Treasury, with the consent of the
Commissioners for the improvement of West-
minster, for a term of '..13 years and three quar-
ters from Midsummer, 1812, at a pepper-eorn
rent ; and having negotiated with the proprietor
of this leaseforthe purchase of the -same at the

The plans and designs, prepared by our
ira;.litect for this building, having, by desire of
the Treasury, been laid before the Commis-
sioners for the improvement of Westminster, and
objections to the intended appropriation of the
ground, and also to the style and character of.
the proposed building, having been raised, on
the part of those Commissioners, and also by
the Dean and Chapter of 'Westminster (the
Dean of Westminster being one of those Com-
missioners), it became necessary (in order as far
as possible to obviate those objections) to
adopt a more ornamental design than had Len
at first contemplated for the front of, the said
Stable Court towards Westminster Abbey,
which caused a considerable increase in the
estimate ; and a further increase was occasioned
by the badness of the sub •soil, which was found
to require more than ordinary precaution in form-
ing the foundation of the building. The esti-
mate, finally agreed to, was 34,3571. 15s. ld.,
and the actual cost of completing the work has
amounted to 35,263/. 19s. 11d., being an ex-
cess of about 9001. beyond the estimate: which
excess was caused by the District Surveyor hav-
ing ascertained that the stables were to be occu-
pied by separate tenants, and who, therefore,
felt it to be his duty, under the provisions of the
Building Act, to consider each set of stabling as
a separate building, and to require that the
party-walls should be of greater thickness- than
had been contemplated, and that they should be
carried through the roof of the building, and
coped with stone.
Although the return, which is likely to be
realized for this expenditure will not, probably,
exceed 31. per cent. per annum, yet the Crown
property in the neighbourhood will he improved.
by the additional accommodation which has
been afforded to its tenants, by the building of
this Stable Court.