Star.
London, England, 1818-06-20 00:00:00

RIVER THAMES.

Extract from Review in the Philosophical Maga-
zine for May last, of a work on Hydraulic Architec-
t:l.s theOlCtiCUl and practical, by C. F. de.Wtssa-
s►Na, Privy Councillor to his Majesty the King of
BAVARIA:

In speaking of the river Thames, M. de Wiebeking chiefly
meats, that no proper means are used to promote the navigation
and to preserve the necessary depth of the water in the river, and
that thew to the greatest mercantile city of Europe,the finest river
I. in a state of actual neglect and degradation, the principal
cause of which is the irreeular width of its bed, which, near
Lendun Bridge, is considerably narrower then at Waterloo
Bridge, said again contracts at Westminster Bridge : whereby
the tide loses the power of removing the shoals and mud banks,
that are daily increasing and diminishing the depth of the water,
which at some not very distant period may prove fatal to the
navigation of the river.
In order to obviate these inconveniencies the Chevalier sue.
rsts, that the whole bed of the. river, ftonAVestminster Bridge
dawn to the Tower, should be reduced to a certain uniform
breadth, whi,b he fixes at 550 feet ; that London Bridge be re-
moved entirely, and that, in the construction of new bridges.
able principle be always adhered to. As to
-the removal of Lon.
don Bridge, and the great advantegea that would result from
this operation to the namigaion of the river, -all the British En-
gineers are, no dnabt, of Mr. deWiebeking's opinion ,• but is to
his project, to reduce the width of the river to 550 feet, neatly
may doubt whether, under the present circumstenees, see.b an
alteration would be advisable or even practicable, though the rea-
sons, which the Chevalier suggests for it, are founded on sound
principles and corroborated by experience. The immense saving,
which a reduced width of the river would have CUllea in the
construction of all the bridges over it, certainly would have been
a matter of great consequence; and we may safely :that, that it
before the year t 7.7,7, or the construction of Westminster Bridge,
the public mind had been as enlightened as it is at present, on
the subject of the navigatiou and management of nvers, and if
an experienced engineer had -brought forward a plan similar to
that of M. de Wiebeking's, the adoption and executive of it
would have been highly beneficial to the navigation and conser-
vancy of the river in general, to the port of London in particular,
mid to the improvement and embellishment of the city of London.
Instead of the London Docks, the Chevalier de Withrkieg is
of opinion, that it would have been route advantageous fur the
trade and commerce of the city of London, if a solid quay had
been constructed from Westminster Bridge down to London
Bridge ; and if, hi the place of one great basun, several small
basons had been excavated in different parts of the town, which.
by means of locks would have communicated with the river.
The dimensions of these small bacons he fixes to leo feet breadth,'
and to 400 or 500 feet length. al. de Wiebeking further pro-
poses to join these small ducks together by a canal parallel to,
the quay, which would prud'uce the advantage of scouring alter-:
natively, as the tide served, every one of these basons by the.
water contained in the other ones. At the side of this canal and
the docks, warehouses of different desctiptiunt could be con-
etructed, and thus the mercantile depot, would have been nearly
central Ia the 'Metropolis; besides this advantage, the water in.
the canal would have been of great use in case of fire.
The Chevalier concludes these observations with the followirg
passage (p. 140) : According to this pleas, the length of the
Bridgii of Westminster, Waterloo, Blackfriars, and Southwark,
would have been considerably keeened, and the ravine thuspro.
deoed, would have been more than sufficient f:r the building at
a sew bridge in the place of London Bridge; the great expense
of the London Docks would have ample covered the costs albs
execution of the plan, which I have thus sketched in Its outlines;
If it had been proposed and attended to at the proper time. Bet
at present, the only object which is most deserving of the public'
atteotion is the constructien of a new bridge in the place of Lon-
dorißridge, and that of a regular solid Quay along the banks of
the river, and whether, notwithstanding the excavation of the
London Looks, the smell allipbasons which I proposed would yet
be of moment and use for the trade. I therefore leave it to the
judgnaeot and to the consideration of the British engineers to de-
cide. whether this part of my plan still deserves to be attended
to, aed in whet manner the principal ideas of it, vi:. the con-
Infliction of solid banks of the Thames, the excavation of small
shipbasons and the profile 6f the New Bridge, in place of Lon-
. don Bridge, might best be determined and executed. But before
it Is possible to enter into the particulars of these projects, it is
indispensably necessary to procure more minute soundings of the
river, than these that, to the best of nay lutuwletl‘c, have yet
been nude."

COURT OF CHANCERY, JUNE:I9.
LADY EMILY TEMPEST.—TAYLOR v. ANTRIM.
This important cause again came before the Lone
eseasam.Loa yesterday on two petitions, the first
resented by Lord Stewart, praying his Lordship to
confirm the report of the Master, who had found the
marriage to be a proper one, and the second pre-
sented by Mrs. Taylor, praying his Lordship to re-
fuse his consent to this report, and restrain the par-
ties from solemnizing the marriage. To the first ob-
jection respecting the age of Lord Stewart, the Mas-
ter reported, that though in his opinion the disparity
of age would in some degree have been adverse, and
though the same would have strengthened the other
objections, yet of itself it did not found an object suffi-
ciently strong to refuseeo confirm the marriage, and
when he took into consideration the property of the
infant, and the mature judgment of Lord Stewart,
he considered it to be rather a recommendation. The
second objection eras too indefinite to be apprehended
or understood,. and wholly unsupported by any evi-
dence but the affidavit of Mrs. Taylor, for the per-
sons who had giien her the'information she refused
to name, not being at liberty to do so. With respect
to the objection of insanity alleged to have been in
the family of the Noble Lord, there was no ground
whatever; there had been anunfortunate indisposition
in one of the family, but it arose from an accotteke-
silent. With respect to the fortune 'of Lord Stewart,
the objection was also overruled, as it appeared that
Lord Stewart was possessed of a fortune sufficientlo
support his high station in life, andahat the infant
was also possessed of sufficient pmperty to support
betself. The whole of the objections were overruled,
and the report concluded by the Master observing,
• . on the whole he had been induced to report that
:the marriage was a proper one, and in pursuance of
'the order of his Lordship, he should proceed to re-
ceive proposals for the marriage settlement.
Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY, who read the Report, com-
mented on the decision of the Master on the various
objections.at some length. It had been contended
that from 'the public character of Lord Stewart, it
would have been perfectly easy to have brought fur-
ward evidence. But he would ask what man who
'would make any observations respecting any private
trattsaction that might have taken place while in his
private company, would dare shew, his face again?
'He regretted that it became his duty. to make• any
observations on the character of any one who ranked
so high in life, and he would abstain from doing so
ns much as possible. He could not bring himself to
'the conclusion that the Lord Chancellor would adopt
the notions of the Master. His Lordship, sitting as
Budge, must also exercise his judgment as a parent,
and therefore it did not uecorne necessary to bring
forward strict and legal evidence in such a case as
the present. Was there any parent who, when told
the person offering himself as a suitor to his child
was a profligate person, would say give me evidence
of the fact, as though he were preferring a bill of in-
dictment? Mrs. Taylor, so far from finding what she
had stated before incorrect,had found every thing more
than confizmed, and that the facts were such as would
prevent any parent giving his consent to the mar-
riage. The Master had taken each objection singly,
instead of the whole together. The Master had taken
the fortune of Lord Stewart wrongly, his permanent
fortune was only £2OOO, as the rest depended on the
will of his Sovereign, was it to be supposed that Lord
Stewart, as Ambassador at the Court of Vienna, put
the £12,000 in his pocket? No; he had heavy ex-
penses to bear out of it, After arguing at great
length, Sir Samuel concluded, with a fircible appeal
to the feelings of his Lordship, on the situation of the
young Lady.
Mr. neer followed for Lady Antrim, who, he said,
might have erred in judgment, but until some proof
was adduced that her judgment was not founded on
grounds equally as reasonable as her co-trustee, his
Lordship would not be of opinion that the objections
ought to be allowed. Mrs. Taylor did not treat the
communication of dissipation on the part of Lord
Stewart as confidential ; she merely said the persons
who informed her would nor willingly make an affi-
davit, or voluntarily come before a Court of Justice ;
they might, however, state the specific facts, without
giving their name, for by nothing but facts could the
general inferences be borne out, the whole of which
was denied by the affidavit of Lord Stewart. An
agent had been sent to Ireland to gain intelligence,
an— the result was, that the charge of insanity was
wholly disproved. A match could not be found more
advantageous than the present was, for Lord Stewart
not only possessed an establishment that any man
might be proud of, but also high honours from his
Sovereign fur his merits. After arguing at some
length, he concluded by submitting that the objec-
tions were wholly unfounded.
Sir A. PioGOIT, on behalf of Lord Stewart, argu-
ed in support of the Master's report. He had no
doubt his Lordship would act upon principles not
only rational, but practical ; and he denied that the
Court was to act in all respects in loco parentis. The
parent might, through caprice or humour, refuse the
proposal of marriage to his daughter, but not so the
Court of Chancery. Because sonic one had said
something about somebody, was that sufficient evi-
dence for the parent to act upon ? And he should
be glad to know how character was to be preserved
in this world if such informations as these were to
be made the foundation of a judicial proceeding of
the most solemn nature, and in which the Court was
to declare, a young Lady (not indeed of age, but
who would be 21 in less than two years and a half)
should have no judgment of her own. but.evas en-
tirely to be• goverr.ed by her guardians? She wee
of an age in which her affections had some claim to.
be consulted ; and he begged the Coen to consider,
that while these proceedings were going on, this
young Lady was doomed to a sort of imprisonment
until the matter was decided. The two only im-
portant points in this question were those which ware
personal to Lord Stewart, viz. the asseraionahat he
had irregular habits, .and the afflicting Inaladi.in the
family, and he would confine hirraels principallyets
those two questions. As to the first topic, he appre.
hended that a Nobleman.of the age.ollo, who had,
since the time of his youth, passed life under
public observation, who had honourably filled a mi
litany station, and who had for several years been
intrusted with the interests of his Sovereign at Fe-
reign Courts, of the greatest consequence to the
State, would act have lived so long in the world,

r admired fur his courage and abilities, without some'
taint, some tarnish upon his honour, if the allegations
contained in the affiaavit of Mrs. Taylor were found-
ed in fact. He very much feared that Mrs. Taylor
had been influenced by party feelings, and had shewn
too much credulity. As to the second branch of the
subject, the accusation of insanity being in the fa-
I truly, it bad been very lightly touched upon by his
Learned Friend. There was no indisposition of this
nature in the noble family. Enquiry had bees set
on foot, and it appeared that among all the branches
of this large family, consisting of many who are now
filling, and some who have filled, public 'situations
under the King's gift, there have been but two in-
stances of this mdisposition discovered ; one in 1782,
36 years ago, not followed by any instance which
had since occurred, and that solitary one accounted
I for. Lady Londonderry, in 1782, had a temporary
indisposition. She was the Lady who gave birth to
,the present Lord Stewart. A Clergyman of the
name of Cleland, a most respectable individual, and
described by the other side as agent for the family,
was acquainted with the circumstances of the
case. lie had accounted for the whole transaction,
and had attributed it to the confinement of the Mar-
chioness, and to her ill-treatment in child-bed ; so
that the instance was accompanied with this most
satisfactory explanation. There had been no recur-
rence of the malady, and Sir William Farquhar, who
had known the Marchioness for 27 years, would con-
firm the statement. With regard to the other in-
stance, Colonel Wood. had made an affidavit of the
circumstance which had happened to Mrs. Wood.—
Although this Lidy had had five children since the
calamity, there had been no recnrrerce of the ma-.
lady. Four children were born previous to the cir-
cumstance, and five subsequently, and they were all
hearty children.
The Loan CHANCELLOR stated, that he should
certainly give judgment on Monday.

COIfIe OF KING'S BENCH, JUNE 19.
AND WIFE V. Ai.DIND AND WIFE.

This was an action brought to recover damages
fur an assault committed by the wife of the defen-
dant upon the wife of the plaintiff. The one party
was a carpenter, and the other a publican, and the
dispute, which was accompanied by the coarsest lan-
guaice, arose out of a jealousy which Mrs. Aiding ear
tertamed that her husband had been unfaithful, and
that Mrs. Smith was the cause of it.. It did not ap-
I pear, however, on the evidence, that any blow was
struck, although some very vulgar threats had been
I used. It was alleged by the plaintiff, that Mrs.
Smith had miscarried in consequence of the violence
,offered her, but the testimony was by no means dis-
tinct upon this point.
The Jury, after a few minutes consultation, retur-
ned a verdict for the defendant.
:Mr. Justice Bavxty observed, that it was a pity
such poor people were not better advised by their
attorney than to be induced to incur such heavy ex-
penses without any veal cause.

OLD BAILEY.
Yesterday J^4n Denadt, labourer, aged 6'2, was
put to the bar, 2nd indicted for the wiltul and deli-
berra.murder of Jane, the wife of Thomas Rogers,
on the 41st of May last, in the house of the latter.
The prisoner pleaded Not Guilty.
This was the dreadful case of the murder commit-
ted at itiestbonrne Green, the circumstances of which
were fully detailed in our Marlborough-street Police
report, some weeks since. .
The prisoner being asked for his defence, said in a
stammering manner, he would leave it all to the Jurk
and to Gon.

Mr. Justice PARK summed up the evidence, sad
the Jury, without hesitation, pronounced the priso-
ner Guilty.
The Raconniti then passed sentence that he should
be hanged en Monday next, and his body afterwards
dissected.

The plisoner was dreadfully agitated during the
whoie of the trial, but more especially while sentence
was passim; upon him. He was then obliged to be held
up. The husband of the unhappy woman whom he
murdered shook hands with him before he left the bar.
. William Eidson, George Dickinson, and John Paul-
son Ent:vide, were indicted for forging and uttering
an acceptance to a bill of exchange for the payment
k:139. _ _ . _ . •

The prosecutor is a coach-maker in Bond-street.
Oe the 4th of April, Evison called upon Mr. Powell,
brother of the prosecutor, and said he had a commis-
sion to purchase a carriage for a Mr. Smith of South-
ampton. Ile was shewn one, and agreed to purchase
it for Eljo, and said he would give a bill, which
would be accepted by Messrs. Francis and White, of
the Nine Elms, Chelsea; and he left their address,
that Messrs. Powell might satisfy themselves of their
respectability. 11Ir. Powell told him he would shew
the address to his brother. The prisoner called again
on the 6th, and asked to see the carriage. He was
then told that the inquiry had proved satisfactory,
and they would take the bill. The prisoner was asked
who would be the drawers? and he said he did not
know until Mr. Smith came to town. On the fol-
lowing day Dickinson brought a note, purporting to
come from Evison, requesting the carriage to be sent
the nest day to his house, No. I t, Lower Grosve-
nor•place, and he would pay for it. Mr. Powell took
the carriage, and met Dickinson, and on his arrival'
found Evison in the parlour, who stated that Mr.
Smith bad been taken ill at Guildford, but had sent
him the bill. Mr. Powell then proceeded to the Nine
Elms, and was told the bill was a forgery; he has-
tened back to Grosvenor-place, but found no person
there. He then proceeded to Esher, where he saw
the carriage standing opposite an inn, and the two
first-named prisoners iu a parlour, where the cloth
was laid for dinner. Ile told them the bill was a
forged one, and Evison said that he had a friend,
meaning Entwisle, who would pay his expenses, and
he could have the carriage again. Entwisle admit-
ted he came in the carnage with the other two.—
They were given into custody, and on their arrival
at the Ship at Kingston, Evison proposed to pay all
the expenses, provided Mr. Powell would carry the
business no further. Upon one of the prisoners two
bills, similar to that upon which the indictment was
grounded, were found.
Several persons gave the prisoners good characters.
, The Jury found. Evison Guilty—Death; and En-
, twisle and Dickinson Not Guilty.
The prosecutor and Jury recommended Evison to
mercy, on account of hit former good conduct.
Ramay was indis3e,ll-tn ut-