The Sun.
London, England, 1816-01-02 00:00:00

fAVENrt*r ..1)- Re,,kii§.

. .

'r.tr.S.F.XT, MAN ?.G.F.MP,N7 qr, Tar.: i..‘1.17,4;p7cT5i
Not him!: cyol;ht! more rrPßey than ftive ork;giii
a modern Paving, Art, wisieh is, always 'imindeo
on the application 'of fliefiarfieti interested, who
propose to pave their own district at their own
expellee. • Prom among 'tlitt__itslialiitz.!hts are se.
le, ted a larce number of Commissioners, whose
'mines are inserted in the Act The Attorney who
lit,- been emplOyed to solicit tt he Rill in =l tlri;u
Bleat, usually becomes their clerk, and undl,,the
note Pavement is complete, the Attendance of the
COAmrissioner's is foll'and.frequelit. Hy degree's,
mit for the new undertaking oems unnecessary;
or according to its nittore is gradually eXtinguish-
, ed, and the care of utaintaining the Pavement
cannot but devolve anion those whose al,ity hinds
Meth to continue their attendance. Theie arc
tinally the Chairman of the Commissioners and
their Clerk, assisted by the Paviour employed,
whose advice in subordinate dettils is indispen-
sable. 'When their.proceedinas sequire the formal
santtion. of a certain number of :Commissioners,
that is obtained by the Clerkretrospectively,:and.
withourdilliculty, he haying a ready answer to
every objector ; " Why did you not itynd the
meetings yourself when summoned, and, state
your objections when the order was made ?"
This argument is .unanswerable, and is proof
enough that tbe administration Of the pavements is
badly. constitiited ; for thus -the financial, le is
hoiVti, and executive power it, all'lodged in the
slate hands, and heroines !Wile to abuse though
seldom abused ; . but this forbearance rests solely
On the massof probity diffused aiming all respect-
able people, end the value of a good conscience
and good reputation in a highly coin-
nninity. The error which renders abuse prac-
ticable consists in the large numbers of "Cominis•
shiners, ;whereby the responsibility and influence
of each hitlivithial being lessened exactly in pro.'
portion as the number islarget, no man feels
thee a duty sir a motive to apply his mind to the
business in such manner as to he able to direct
or to ebeek the proceedings of the paviour; whose
asiVi4le mot whose workmanship ought not to be
implicitly relied on, his interest being opposite to
that of the public, unless he shall have entered'
into a•coatract such as that described in the pre-
ceding litter : for, till that happens, his interest
i
consists n paving slightly, anti repairing
lessly, so that repair nosy always be 'recoiredl
sod frequently a rtlieWal of the tthole pasemetiL
1-tenee'it is, that iu this metropolis, the employ,'
ment of the paviesur creates 'more interruption'
than the fauhS he has to rialetitr, the remedy as-
iulministercd being, indeed, the worst past of the, j•
diSemie.

The Wasteful expenditure oumoney front this'
cause is a very subordinateconsiderat ton, nut! Wei
degree in which 'it may blipprli ill' catch parr it:ill:VI
lii,trict can only be understood by efeetetiatison.'
ttith better management ; for which•purpose, marl',
fol information may lie e%tracted from the Pll•lswerS.i
which were made in thr year •1814,, to an order of,
the I lotfse of Commons, calling for an anentnit of
the yearly 118Ses,pilents for paving. gild lighting.
Thu .only ateertain.lble ttistrtet w‘hitih nevelt% is
miser the most important ; •'.the City of Lotelon and the: tap:Ales of the satile,!' RE.' n be nit:,:
that MO impatationiliek,ltgainst the 11141*
of Het competent .persotts..wre
entrusted, and they tire relp4intib'te to the. City.
(liatunerlain, so t hut 111;iltillg better mut to dc-
‘iredt The amount of lesarssTene.4 on the Several
NVartk istiui;icitiha.its ate the years 181.4 1811, 1812, and 1813 ; and the atittuUl avertge
tor paring., lighting, and clertosing, is it-ss thn a'
25,0001. per 'anoint). The cleatoint: IllaY ti-r.gleeted in forttiin4 a restift, some places pa
suffice receivnig motley [hut account. POI the
pitrpose of kpliot ti °lli ng the expencitnre 0f14,0001.
between the paving and ()Liter recants to
the amount of 87;000/. (which distioglikh these,
articles) furaiSh strt6cietst than; of riti!i4 soot
43,0001: is..expentivil 'oo 44.000/. n
paving, so thitt the expetise of each may be deem-
ed!equal.
glee rental of tbe,Cit y of London, in 1310,
wa5.890,496/. according to the property tax 1-,f-
-t urns ; and doubtless has gone on increasing, as
berre tha: time; so that doe allowance is nude
plus and ntiPYr• '['brae-pence: in the pound
is ribs-
ed and expended tai lighting, and three-pence in
the pOund, or 12,500/. Per 0111111Yill*
lit another point of view, tvhiQlt way be Liserul
hereafter, the population of the City anti its li-
berties, otherwise called '` Lnntti,i t ithin and
and without the walls,,!! beittg
,sotnewltat. ttliove
• 110,000 persons, each individual, one with art- other, maybe saill,to pay ttyo,shillingsper annum
for the convenience of a good paveMent.
Bit the same rate on the rental, or con,idereti:
according to the population, cannot be expected
to 'apply universally the city, however, is not
stn tottair average ; for the ground, being more
and snoretreetopled by lltniallc Buildings and ware..
houses, instead of dwelling -houses, its population
diminished frOnt 200,000 'to' 120,000 Since the
year 1700. the pity, covering an fu'eit of
abont 740 acres, gives a density of popuhtion at
162 persons per acre; and if the population of the
ITiefropt)l4, as before described, may .be taken
'900,000 (wLiclt is tic;irly the truth) the densitY of:
popuhition in.the whole 5320. eete3-, will ass age;
r) •
160 per acre.
It is not 'to be supposed, that all,the `pave:
uterus of the metropoliN (4,)t Within the litnits
of the city of London) are In under the'
hind 'Of mairagement described in the former
part of this letter; hitt essentially they tire
cottilticted in the same manner. The gradnol
efforts' at improvement, by: the estahliShristint of
,pavement, have in each case been ininthiedto the narticular circionstances of 'the district, whether
parish, Manor, jitrit,tlielion, IniVate property,.
continuity of streets, or the like;
:for ;,11 tftcir
varieties may he found lit iny next telter orea.
Rion Occur for insisting niore apon this part .of the general subject.
For the present it will suiliee to observe, that
the. private Acts of Parliament for paatingvariotti:
purtS of the otetropolit tire. so numerous, .that
tt
general' revision is,befonte necessary, and geiteral
interfei ing as little Its possible with
-4-.1 he local authorities ; such, we may hope, dive--
been proposed iti the preceding letters; but it