1 
Neglected Correspondence. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
ee Gin? : 
i your Magazine’for Nov. 1823, ‘I’ 
made some observations on Mr. 
Macadam’s turning the street-pavement 
into a ballast-road—pointing out various 
evil consequences that ‘would follow. 
Most of them have been realized; and 
many more evil consequences have been 
pointed out in your Magazine for Dec. 
1824, The dust, in particular, will be a 
most intolerable nuisance:—the wind, 
and sweeping, must render every house 
and shop ‘covered with dust, and the 
goods of the shopkeepers much injured. 
To prevent it, the answer will be, The 
street: will -be well watered: I have 
observed that very little benefit has been 
found from thisin summer; for the sun 
and wind,'and the number of carriages 
passing, dry a street in a couple of 
hours—and the dust will be increased, 
by the quick pulverization of the broken 
stones, from constant pressure of car- 
riages, equal, I should consider, two to 
one, of what the pavement produced. 
There will be another great inconve- 
niences* Owing to the wear being so 
great, every year will require a supply 
_ of fresh: ballast, six inches thick, to 
reinstate; the loss of the preceding. 
From the sludge in winter, and constant 
scraping, sweeping, watering, mending 
-and ballasting, what an amount of in- 
convenience must be felt by the inhabi- 
tants !—-not to mention the amazing 
burthen of expense that will, in conse- 
quence, be added to the paving-rates 
(though, I must admit, some part of the 
expense has been incurred before, for 
scavengering and mending the pave- 
ment). 
It ought to be well considered, before 
a parish destroys a good pavement, that 
ives such a vast benefit to all London 
as notorious to all foreigners is the 
great comfort London, in this respect, 
has, compared with any other great city 
in the world)—I say, surely every parish 
ought to wait for two or three years, 
and see the practical effect, and a clear 
proof of the benefit, before they disturb 
a good pavement, at. the risk of re- 
paving, at vast expense, and increasing 
the parish-rates to an enormous extent. 
And for, what? Merely to accommo- 
date those, gentlemen .who. keep their 
carriages, and, who, are..so very, tender, 
that they cannot bear the roughness of 
the pavement !—-and the rattling of the 
carriages over the stones, disturbs their, 
rest in the night! . L,should, not :be 
surprised if some.of these tender and 
restless gentlemen move in the House 
Monvury Maa, No. 412.—Supp. 
641 
the necessity of» Macadamizing — all 
London! 
‘Sorry should T feel at seeing such an 
alteration—calling to my recollection 
the state of London in my early days, 
London Bridge was then covered with 
houses, each story projecting over the 
other !—every street encumbered with 
sign-boards!—the pavement of the 
highway composed of large pebbles !—= 
the kennel in the middle of the street !— 
the footway paved with small pebbles, 
square stones, and irregular flints !— 
at night, very dangerous walking !— 
the spouts hanging from the roof of the 
houses, and dripping eaves in rain !— 
and in windy weather a person was in 
constant apprehension of some injuty 
from falling tiles !—the lamps strageling, 
so that you had little or no benefit from 
them!—the city very badly supplied 
with water !—very few common-sewers ! 
—no springs to carriages! - Ory 
London was considered a very un- 
healthy city, from- the’ -streets, courts’ 
and alleys being in such a state of filthi- 
ness, that there was a dread of some 
afflictive disease breaking out,in some 
parts of London, from the foul state of 
the air! ~ : sys 
At that time, every housekeeper 
paved before his house: in consequence, 
the state of the pavement may easily be 
conceived, from the various dispositions 
of mankind, who are generally influenced 
by their private interests, re 
But kind Providence, seeing our 
wretched state, sent an ingenious sur= 
veyor, who proposed to the corporation 
of the City of London a plan-to remove 
all these inconveniences. The corpo 
ration highly approved of .it—an appli- 
cation to Parliament was immediately. 
made, to empower them to levy a rate, 
for the removal of all nuisances—and 
to have the management of the whole 
pavement of the City., AOIOS 
Alderman Staines contracted to pave 
the City,and made a large fortune from 
a low station, with credit to himself, 
and incalculable public benefit, by re- 
moving all those dreadfully filthy, nui- 
sances, and giving a free, pure, clear 
circulation of air to the City of London. 
The advantage was too. great not to. be 
followed by every. parish in Londons 
so that every. parish applied) to-Parliax 
ment for an act to empower, them, to, 
act as the City of Handenlhedaennen 
Your's, &c. ap iby Wer 
* And now, itoseems, allthis is) to. be 
undone ! —— Alack,.alack t-“‘$ poor.’ old 
Crokery |! Epia. 
4N ABSTRACT 
