The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-09-16
LEGAL 1NTELL1aENCE.

ND one hundred feet in width. This street no "
eWteuds from the Delaware, at League Island, TO
ths northern boundary OF the present city, In one
strniebt line of an uniform width of one hundred
p This t street from Willow TO Prime street. dis
sance of only one and a half miles, is obstructei
snd Reading railroad the City railroad, and the
Southwark railroad, and by the various turnouts
0 N ne sotb of June 1885, an ordinance was passed
by the City Councils to grade, curb and macadamize
sovn avenue the portion from Columbia avenue
10 Willow street having been paved with cob0le
sSa GsptTai Passenger Rail way Company of phil
adelphia claimed the right to carry their railway
down Broad street, from Columbia avenue to
Green street and to use steam as propelling
nower The citizens protested against II, and the
SJItv Solicitor was instructed by Councils to take
ncSh IeapI Sneasnres as may be necessary TO re-
strain the threatened occupation OF Broad street for
q railway by any railway company, or by any per-
son or persons, company or companies, corpora
fion or corporations Whatever ana on the 18Th of
0ctobar granted an iniun ction, aud the Supreme
court in the year following in The Common
wealth VS.. The Central Passenger Railway q p
r. smith, 5O6) gave judgment Tor the Common
wealth, and judgment ofouster accordingly This
terminated the alleged rights of this company, but
the owners Of property on this magnificent street,
backed by the universal sentiment of their follow.
citizens were determined that this principal aven ue
Of the city should be kept free forever from all rail-
roads OF other obstructions.
To effect this object large meetings were held,
the result OF which was the laying before Ooun-
ellis the draft OF an act for the permanent i'm
provement of Broad street, which on the 25th of
January, 1866, referred to the Committee on
Bouvier, Henry Diston, Matthias W. Baldwin, T
b Peterson, and their associates, by the name of
"The Citizens Association for the Improvement
OF Broad street. in the city of Philadelphia" On
the 9th of March, MIR. Freeman presented a petit
SoIor,c non from TWO hundred and twenty owners of
on Broad street, in favor Of the removal
same day the Committee on Law made
their report, accompanied by a draft of
law prepared by them. THIS draft, with
verbal amendment or so in the second section,
made In Select Council, is in fact the act suhse-
quently passed by the Legislature, and the consti-
tutonality Of which is now contested, This was
preceded by resolution requesting the I.egisla.
ture to pass it. On the passage the resolution of
request the vote in Select Council Is to 4, and
IN the Common Council 80 to The Committee
on Law, in their report, say: "That after having
afforded the citizens an opportunity to appear be-.
fore your committee and to express their approba-
lion OF dlsapprobation of the proposed law, your
rately, and having amended the bill SO as to guard
Ine rights and work the least venience to all
so report that the proposed act Of Assembly is emf
Neny proper, and WILL in the opinion of your COM
mittee, il enacted into law rebound to the beneft
ana Iuture welfare Of the city and the citizens
"To the property owners, this measure as in
Tended to be carried out will be vastly beneficial.
Ground that has fixed value, under the ban i'm
posed by the railroad and railroad turnouts, Will
Will be benefited in the rise in valne of his pro-
Perty; the city will be benefited in the revenue
public at large will be benefited in possessing, free
and untrammelled, one of the grandest avenues in
The act before us was passed on the 23d of March,
1850 n. Laws, 299), and on the Both of the same
month another act was passed (P. Laws, 354) re-
pealing the limitations on charges for paving &c.
ana giving the power to Councils to fix the same
the seot sne ip'9 day 3f May MI Gray presented in
signed from owners of property and residents on
a brSad street. requesting Councils to carry the act
oI assembly into effect, which, on his motion, was
referred to special committee of I've from each
Suneii 10 report specially at the next meeting Of
Oounclls, and on the l4th of June the committee
tteported an ordinance appropriating certain por-
lions lions OF Broad street for the purposes of public
~ I've carr Iiage-Way or avenue, as authorized by
ne act OF Assembly, which being amended In the
SsSs nmTh 4h council, became law the 5th July,
1i%s Inns &hnls ordnance, amongst other things pro.
Nioea ior macadamized drive in the centre Of the
street , oi EtWenty;seven feet wide from Willow
street 70 flsher's lane.
rms ordinance was not satisfactory to the own
9Xs0n OF property 0P Broad street, between Columbia
meetings for the ppr ose of determining what kind
of the should be adopted Tor that portion
On the 22d of November, the representatives of
the patentees OF the Nicolson pavement petitioned
Councils for q trial of their pavement in this CITY,
and, on the 2Sth of the same month, the chairman
of the Committee on Highways reported that The
committee Uhaye examined the same, and are Of
opinion 1t is worthy OF trial. They nave also
had conference with the owners Of property on
Broad street. between Jefferson and Oxford streets,
who are willing TO put down square OF 1t in front
OF their properties, without expense to the city,
except for intersections;' and reported a resou-
tlon authorizing the same, which became law on
the Both November, and the square was laid with
the Nicolson pavement to the entire satisfaction
On the 14th December Councils passed a supple |
ment to the ordinance of the 5th july 1866 ordan-
1ng "that the privilege given to property owners
10 change the character of paving specified in |
Secton / OF the ordinance to which this is supple
mentary, shall, under the restrictions in- |
clude the centre roadway therein designated as the
s'macadamized drive," provided that the macad- |
amlZlng snail not be replaced or superseded by |
either cobble or cubica stone paving"
The very able Chief Engineer and SURVEYOR
strickland Kneass in his annual report of the 7th |
January, 1867, to Mayor McMichael, says:-WAno- |
extensively AM
meets with great favor in western clties is the
Nlcolson pavement, which was introduced in Obi. |
cago IN 1876, 81. Louis and Milwaukee in 1859, and
Where II is still being laid on their new thorough
1ares' In Chicago, Wabash avenue has Just been |
completed, and its continued use there for now
over ten years proves it 10 Ia accentabiA 7. = c,o
--.vinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Toledo |
San francisco, Elmira, and has also been laid
AZ me city OF New York within the past month
Al Is composed OF wood, with gravel screenings
Dut is entirely different in its construction from
SnS me wooden paVements which proved so great a
449LlIre IN our city some twelve years past. The
0lOcAs OF wood used are either white pine or
more common timber burnetized; and in ST. Louis
they are using the cotton wood of the west so
RIepareo' AFTER describing the pavement and |
tne nooe OF laying il, he says Gas to the strength
LII inns pavement, trial was made in San Fran
@ SiseU aho Where heavy locomotive was drawn
over IT, which by its weight tore the ordinary
pavement into ruts, upon this there was no i'm.
PIesslon Whatever. As to durability, they sneak
hn Vora0ly OF 1t in Chicago, where they have
bsvs Az .ne me Hght TO use from the patenee, and 1 |
SAaNe hn my ottce block which was laid in Ohi
Seso IN NoYember, 1856, and taken nm for exar1j |
-1SnS - ~ NoVember, 1865, after q seyera usa of |
naIIv isid a. toIh height of six inches as orgi-
Ehovving Tyaar s Ieuueld to four and half inches,
.oao .,aaE wear OF little over one.aightb Incb
Per year, while the timber is a. Ss SSIehtu lnCh