1824.] 
person, desirous of entering the society, 
is recommended by a member from per- 
sonal knowledge as eligible for admis- 
sion: the member delivers his recom- 
mendation in writing to the secretary, 
who submits it to the earliest meeting 
of the society; on which they proceed 
to ballot, when two dissentients exclude 
the applicant. The meetings of the so- 
ciety are held every alternate Thursday 
evening, at eight o’clock precisely ; when 
the subjects, having been previously an- 
nounced, are immediately entered upon. 
The delivery of a lecture is limited to 
two hours, and a discussion must not at 
one time extend beyond three. No 
member is allowed to speak for more 
than forty minutes, or twice in one 
evening, except in explanation ; but the 
opener is entitled to a reply. 
'--T have taken the liberty of trans- 
cribing the subjects before the society 
for the existing quarter, viz. from the 
29th of July to the 7th of October. 
ESSAYS. 
1. On the Ravages of Time. 
2. On Female Heroism. 
3. On the public Spirit of the Roman 
and British People. 
4, On the love of Life. 
5. On Contentment. 
DISCUSSIONS. 
1. Are the mental powers of the sexes 
equal ? 
2. To what cause may the downfall of 
nations principally be attributed ? 
3. Is the unlimited freedom of the press 
desirable ? 
4. Ought the disabilities under which the 
Roman Catholics labour to be removed? 
5. Ought crimes, unattended with per- 
sonal violence, to be punished with death ? 
These, Sir, are the leading features 
of the society ; and it would be a useless 
task were I to occupy your pages by 
any laboured eulogy on its beneficial 
influence. It speaks for itself; and I 
sincerely hope that institutions of a 
similar nature may spread universally— 
that the unlimited freedom of inquiry 
may be exerted,—that men may cease 
to become the dupes of the designing,— 
that they may think and act for them- 
selves, and, maintain their rights with 
firmness and with dignity. 
St. Albans, J. Harzis, Jun. 
Ist September 1824. 
—— . 
MACADAMIZING Ol7SUS STREET-PAVING. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine, 
Sin, 
OUR last number contains a few 
sensible remarks, by Mr.T. Single 
Macadamizing versus Street-paving. 
219 
on the subject of street-paving, which at 
present occupies, and in a great measure 
divides, the public opinion. It would 
appear truly unaccountable that this 
branch of our civil economy should have 
been so long misunderstood or wilfully 
perverted, were it not notorious, that 
all such departments of public duties 
are subject to the controul of select 
vestries, boards, committees, or what- 
ever other title the parties may assume : 
such committees consisting usually of 
a few active individuals in each parish 
or district, who cannot be supposed to 
be totally exempt from a wish to serve 
their own immediate friends whenever 
an opportunity occurs. 
That this has been the primary cause 
of the shameful mismanagement of the 
street-pavement of the metropolis for 
many years past cannot for a moment 
admit of doubt. And the consequence 
has very naturally followed the cause,— 
the parties, who have been fayoured with 
the contracts for such parish jobs, have, 
in almost every case, made the most of 
them by executing the work in a negli- 
gent, and oftentimes a scandalous, man- 
ner. It is not necessary to mention in- 
stances; they abound in different parts 
of the metropolis, where the pavement 
is in a disgraceful, and frequently in a 
dangerous, state; yet there appears to 
be a continual repair going on in these 
places. 
In order to understand how. such 
anomalous proceedings can go hand in 
hand, it will be necessary to examine 
briefly of what materials our street- 
paving consists. 
Mr. Single, in his paper, has stated 
some of the evils which arise from the 
bad workmanship of paviours, but not 
all, He very justly says, that “ in order 
to place the paving stones of different 
sizes together in the same mass of 
paving, theyre obliged to scratch away 
the loose ground below, till the upper 
face of the stones become nearly ho- 
rizontal, when the rammer is applied to 
cover all the defects beneath, so that,. 
in fact, the present system of paving is 
nothing more than putting the ground 
into a state of hard and soft, or hills 
and holes, and placing stones upon it to 
prevent our seeing or believing that it 
Is so.” 
Mr. Single then recommends, very 
judiciously, that all paving-stones should 
be reduced to nearly the same size, in 
order to produce a good firm pavement ; 
and that instead of loosening the soil 
below, as in the usual bungling way of 
2Y 2 paving, 
