Improvements in London an...
The Times, 1824-02-21T00:00:00

Yestcrdayagmeeting of tteDlerha ats, nlers,Traders, and In- habitants of the cities of London and Westminister, Dnd the adjacent counties, was beld at the City'of Lodndo Tavern, for thepurpose of agreeitg to suchT resolutions, at?d adoDting such nicasures, as shall be deemed most expedient, with the view to the imsrovement of thc streets and avenue of the cities of London and Westminster, ftie borough of Southwark, and the adjpcent counties. At one oclock on tne motion of Mr. Alderman WOOD, theebair was taken by CIAs.tTSL BARCLAY i fs,Sq, The CHAIRseAM in openinjthg hbusiness of the day, remxrked, that a stringof resolutions had been prepared by some gentlement who had undertaken thepretsninhry arrangements, anrd which when read, wouId better explain thtuL le could do the object whici3 they were assembled to consider. 'r. ROB:RT SLADE hoped tbat the imnortance of the subject, which was nothing less than the improvement of the mnetropolis of the British empire, would be a'sufficient apology for his rising to call their attention to the resolutions which were prepared for the 6onsideration of the meeting. He trusted that so rnTortant a eub- J*ect woald be deemed a sufficient justification for conveninrg their fellow-citizens, and he anticipated that the result would-be equally. gratifying to them. They must all feel the importanee of at- tempting. on a suitable scale, the improvement of the city of London i the necessity for such a step must be equally ap- parent to all, and he therefore thought that he must hav.e theirx frill approbation in laying down this broad proposition-that th eprec sent state of the metropolis, in many of its avenues and streets, leac totallv inadequate to the accommodation and convenience of the in- creasid and Increasing population of the town, and its increased and. increasing business, (Hear.) This being an admitted proposition, what was the remedy ? The tax upon coals was about to be sub- mitted for the revision of Parliament, and it was one whlch had al- ready been recognized by the Legislature as ait anricleupon wbich a fund might be raised for local improvements. If they recurred to the time of thre fire of London, they wrould find that then a tmx of Is per chaldrou was first laid on, for the specific purpose of re-. building the cli. rC7es and other edifices eetroyed by the conflagra- tion,; it wac from thence clearthat the Legislature thought such a tax a fit mode of carrying into effect local repairs. The Irish eegislature had, rany years ago, adopted, at the public expense, a plan for the imprOVemerstofthe city of lublin. In the year 1782 they passed.an act, appointing 'Nide street commissioner5," and appropriating t tax of Is. per ton upon coals, for the improvementofthemetrqpols; and the consequentee was, that through the operation of that act, Dublin became ultimately improved to agreaterextant than any other city in Europe. Hehad often occasion within th'last40yearstovmsmt the Irish metropolis, which he remembered in its early state of dis- grace, and had since repeatedly seen and admired in its extent of local embellishment-its fine quays running in a line ef four miles whlere mud and marshes were previously situate. Why, the., shoulb. rhe British mnetropolis be alone neglected ? The worthy genwemaln then recapitulated the history of the English duty on coals, poi.1th1K out the time and mode ott' its successive augmentation untut it amounted, upon the citizens of London, to a tax of 9s. 4d. per chat- droi. lIe hoped the Legislature, if they did not repeal the whole of this tax, would at least strike off 6s. of its amount, leaving |3s. 4d.. and out of the latter, afftrding Is. or Is. 6d., for carrying inta effect the local improvenments which the citizens of London cailed fQr. He said that there was the utmost harmony between the gentlemen who had convened the meeting, and the petitioners for the repeal of the coal tax, there not beinz, when duly considered, the least inconsistenc3- between the object of the one and the other. In following up tbe business of the present meeting, and to obviate the possibility of any surmise that private objects and not great public | improvements were in contemplation, and it was not intended to i point out, or to recommend to the Legislature, any particular plans I of local iuiprovement-it was merely meant to leave the whole I of the arrangements to the Iegislature, and the public commissioners [ appointed, if anv should be appointed, to carry the act into execu- tion. (Hear, hear.) Some might think that the removal of the duty on coaLs wontld he attend ed with bad consequences to the citi- zens of' London. by its affording an encouragement to the great ma- nufacturers of Birmningham, and Sheffield to remove tothemetropolis, I and add, b:- their works, to the mass of smoke which was at present so mucl complained of. This was, he thought, a chimerical appre- hension, for the local advantages of these great manufa-turers were too raluable to permit the slightest chance of emigration.. As no time was to be lost in promenting the business of the meeting, hsr would conclude by reading a striug of resolutions which had been prOytsred by the committee. T bcresolutions were then read. They contained an historical nar', rative of the principle upon which the coal duties were established, and praved that Parliamerit would appropriate out of such portion of these dutics as was retained, Is. or is. 6d. per chaldron, for the local improvement of the metropolis. Petitions to Parliament, and to the Common Courcil of the city of London, founded upon the resolutions, were also read. Mr. Alderman Tieo SrPsoz rose to second the resolutions. He expressed his COnViCtiOn that not a single person could be frnmd.whlo did not complain of the great danger and inconvenience felt by the present disgrraceful and confuted condition of many parts of the city of London-retail traders, in particular, suffered from that circ=in- stance, as did likewise persons from the west end of the town and the environs who had business at the Bank, or the other pubolic es- tablishments within the city. If theLegislature recognized the prayer of the petition, then he had no doubt an adequate fond could be raised by a mortgage of the tax, which would enable the cbmmis- sioners to proceed. with all convenient despatch to make the Ibel ap- pearance of the city of London as remarkable for its enibellish- ments, as its citizens were for their wealth and public spirit. (Hear hear.) He entirely approved of the mode in which it was intended to meet the expense-a mode which, they would recollect. would, from the smxallness of the amount of their consumptiorn, fahlllightly upon the poor. while the principal consumrers, the large manuf'actu- rers and brewers, would be found most ready to meet the charge. MAr. YouNG asked whether the object of the meeting did not clash with the general desire of the citizens of London to get ridi of the rehztle of the coal-d,ty ? Ile merely asked for infor- mation, as he was friendly to any fair plan for thepromotion of ptb- lic improvements. Tire CHAIRaMAN replied, that the feeling of the committee was this-that the Government mneant to reLtin at all events a porton of the coal-duties, and that tinder such circumstances it would be expe- dient for them to endeavour to obtain a part of the tax so retained, for the original purpose for which the tax vwas first laid on-namely, local Improvements. (Hear, hear.) lUr. Alderman MlroOD also recapitulated the statement of the ori- ginal purpose and gradual diversion of the coal-duties, to the great oppression and injury of the citizens of Lonion. He was, however, greatdv afraid that the Minister did not mea.n to reduce. any part, much less the whole, of the coal-duties. The question their was, could they secure a part for local embelUishments? Ten mil- lions of the coal-duties had already been mnisapplied from the original intention of the act of Parlianent, and it was time for them to see if they could not prevail uDon the Government to grant them a little, for clearing away the nuisances which dis- graced the great metropolis of the British empire. On a late occa- sion, he was one of a deputation that applied to the Minister for a grantfroni this fund to repair Blackfriars-bridge, but the answer was, " Wl ouid you have us give you money granted for public pur- poses to carry on private works?" The deputation said, ' But the fund was originally intended for local improvements in the nme- tropolis." " Well," rejoined the Minister, " wvhen you come for general purposes, and not for Blackfriars-bridge, we can consider what you niav have to offer." Now was the time, then, for pre.sing the general qruestton upon the attention of Government. Mr. Alderman THosrrsox said, that despatch was necessary, ag the Chancellor of the Exchequer intended' on Alonday next to subniit his plan of finrince to the House of Comnions: it was nciltni- bent upon them to press this subjecton the attention of Governm6ent before the business of finance was finally deterrmined. Hear.) OyVILL IAM 31 II I.J,A.MIS W11CUUU JI I'1- i"11- i'- ca; improvement. ani in the principle that local uAiou a properly applicable for 5uch an object. The necessity of something being done in this way for the metropolis was disgracefully apparent. Any body who lookeA1 at Exeter 'Change, and 130 or 140 similar in- terruptions to the straight line of the most frequented streets, must at once see that improvement ought to be no longer delayed. He cx- pressed his full satisfaction that, from the nature of the applicaVPOn, not the slightest idea of the accornplishment of any private ob3jcr could be insinuated, the whole plan being one both necessary abd well calculated for the promotion of a great national object. After a short conversation between Air. SAmUEL DIXON-, lvr. Alderman IVOOD, and other gentlemen, respecting the ultimate ob- ject of those who were charged with the busincs5 of the meeting, the resolutions and petitions were unanimously agreed to, and thanl-s were voted to MIr. Slade and to the Chairman for their services UDOPn the occasion.-The meeting was respectably but thinly attentiet. JM,PAR6MRXTS im LmvDoramd wzJsTMIrvSTE$r