44 THE GARDENERS’ 
CHRONICLE. 
(Jan. 2], | 
we had so recently occasion to record. A letter, addressed 
by one of the seamen to his father and mother, on 
Thursday week, when the ship was off Torbay, shows that 
the Conqueror was all well at that time, and running up 
the Channel with a fair wind. The coincidence between 
this case and that of Captain Green, of the Reliance, who 
addressed his brother under similar circumstances from 
the Lizard, cannot fail to be remarked. The ship which 
brought the letter from the Conqueror was the American 
liner Westminster, which was in company with her during 
the greater part of the Thursday, both vessels continually 
tacking on each other’s course. The latter ship arrived 
in the Downs on Sunday last. The Conqueror left Bengal 
on the 18th September, 1842. No advices had been 
received by her owner from the Cape, but it is conjec- 
tured that she had made a very favourable passage from 
the early period of her arrival in the Channel. 
Wreck of the “Jessie Logan” Eust Indiaman.—On 
Tuesday, information was received in the City that another 
East Indiaman had been added to the melancholy cata- 
logue of losses occasioned by the late gales. The vessel 
was the Jessie Logan, the property of Mr. Logan, a mer- 
chant at Liverpool, from which port she traded with Cal- 
eutta. She was 850 tons burden, and commanded by 
Capt. Major. On Monday last, this vessel, being on her 
homeward voyage, and apparently making for Boscastle 
or Bude Brys, on the Cornish coast, became unmanage- 
able, and was driven aground off Boscastle, about 17 miles 
from Launceston. Blue lights and other signals of dis- 
tress were made ; but such was the fury of the gale and 
the violence of the surf, that none would venture to her 
assistance. At length she drifted on the rocks, and soon 
became a total wreck. She had evidently been abandoned 
by the crew and passengers ; but, from the long-boat hav- 
ing been washed on shore, there is no doubt that they 
have all perished, as, up to the present time, no informa- 
tion has been obtained respecting them. She was a North 
American-built vessel. Her cargo, consisting of rum, 
sugar, spices, and general East India produce, has been 
washed ashore on the coast; but no despatches or papers 
of any kind have been recovered. In addition to this and 
the other calamities recorded in other parts of our Paper, 
20 other vessels have been reported as wrecked on other 
parts of the Western coast, and we regret to say with 
great loss of life. 
Court of Aldermen.—A Court was held on Tuesday, 
at which the question of wood-pavement was discussed, 
with a view to its applicability to the City tl ghfe 
Sir P. Laurie, in bringing the question forward, stated, 
that he agreed with the observations of Alderman Cope- 
land, who said that the shopkeepers would find out their 
mistake in advocating the substitution of wooden for stone 
pavement, as few persons would allow their carriages and 
horses to be placed in such imminent danger, and that he 
was in the habit of going out of his way himself because 
he did not wish to risk his own or his horses? life. 
trusted that the authorities would interfere to prevent the 
further extension of the new plan of paving. Very 
lately, three women had been killed in consequence of the 
difficulty of checking the horses of omnibuses, and two 
drivers had been tried and acquitted, the jury having 
agreed that it was impossible to exercise any control over 
horses travelling over such a perilous surface. On Sun- 
day morning he had witnessed a curious sight. As the 
Blues were returning from the Horse Guards to their bar- 
racks they all dismounted in Argyll-street, in which the 
wooden pavement is laid down, and led their horses until 
they reached Portland-street, where the stone pavement 
recommenced, and, upon making inquiry, he learned that 
the extraordinary action of dismounting was occasioned by 
the severe fall of a soldier upon the wooden pavement, 
upon which a horse of any spirit could scarcely stand. 
He was on the bench when a driver of an omnibus was 
tried by Lord Denman for having run over a man in 
Coventry-street, in which the wooden pavement was 
laid down, and the prisoner was acquitted, proof having 
been given that it was impossible for the driver of an 
omnibus to pull up on sucha surface. At the last ses- 
sions, a cabman was acquitted before Baron Gurney upon 
similar grounds ; and Mr. Payne had recently held an in- 
quest upon a young female who was killed in the Poultry. 
In his opinion the magistrates of London were bound to 
do allin their power to prevent such consequences as 
seemed to result inevitably from the use of the wooden 
pavement. Alderman Gibbs said, that, although as chair- 
man of the Sewers’ Commissioners, he was decidedly op- 
posed to the introduction of wooden pavements, he was 
outvoted on the question by those who admired it. He 
wished that the inhabitants would present petitions to the 
commissioners against the substitution of the new plan 
for the old one, and he would give them all the support 
in his power. He was sorry to inform the Court that 
there was a mania in favour of wooden pavements, and 
that, on that very day, a petition had been presented to 
the commissioners for the introduction of a specimen. 
His objections were not without foundation: inde- 
pendently of his own experience, he had» been informed 
by medical authority, that, since the wooden pavements 
had come into fashion, accidents had increased one-third. 
Alderman Wilson declared that he would not risk his car- 
riage and horses in the streets into which the wooden 
pavements had been introduced. The shopkeepers would 
soon find that Westend customers would be very cautious 
of hazarding the safety of their own persons, and the 
lives of their horses, on the wooden pavements of the 
City ; and they would also find that the wooden pave- 
ments would be much more expensive than that to which 
they had been accustomed. Alderman Copeland repeated 
what he had mentioned in the Guildhall on Saturday, and 
said he was frequently put to great inconvenience in con- 
sequence of his reluctance to run the hazard of driving 
in the City. Sir Peter Laurie hoped that the inhabitants 
would maturely deliberate upon the subject, which he, as 
a magistrate of the City, considered it to be his duty to 
bring forward in order to rouse them to exertion. 
The Scottish Monument.—At the meeting of the Ma- 
rylebone Vestry on Saturday, in reference to this monu- 
ment, the proceedings were suddenly stopped by an an- 
nouncement from the vestry clerk that he had that instant 
received a document from the Commissioners of Woods 
and Forests with reference to the Scottish monument, 
which demanded the immediate attention of the vestry. 
The document was signed by Messrs. Pemberton, Craw- 
ley, and Gardner, Solicitors to the Board of Woods and 
Forests. It stated, that having ascertained that the ex- 
cavation lately made in the Regent-circus had been made 
by the vestrymen, or under their assumed authority, for 
the purpose of laying the foundations of a monument, her 
Majesty’s Commissioners had directed their solicitors to 
give notice to the vestry that the soil and freehold of the 
Regent-circus are vested in her Majesty, and that the 
limited jurisdiction which the vestrymen possess over it, 
for the purposes of paving, cleansing, and lighting, does 
not extend to authorize the erection of a structure which 
is not designed for any of those purposes. That her 
Majesty’s Commissioners consider the erection of the in- 
tended monument upon the property of the Crown to be 
objectionable, and that they have instructed their solici- 
tors to file an information and bill for injunction in the 
Court of Chancery, for the purpose of preventing it. A 
long and angry discussion ensued, the opponents of the 
monument expressing their satisfaction at the result, and 
its supporters ding that the C had n 
legal power over the ground. Mr. Joseph suggested that 
the vestry should at once, as wise men, retrace their 
steps ; and moved a resolution, “That orders be forth- 
with issued by the ‘vestry to suspend all further pro- 
ceedings relating to the erection of the Scottish monu- 
ment inthe Regent-circus, and that notice be immedi- 
ately given to the architect to that effect.” + [Sir R. P. 
Jodrell seconded the motion, which was carried without a 
division. 
Missionaries to China.—One of the largest meetings, 
perhaps, which was ever held in Exeter-hall, took place 
on Tuesday evening, being convened by the London 
Missionary Society, to consider the means of extending 
and promoting Christianity in China. The doors were 
opened at five o’clock, and by six the hall was so full that 
policemen were stationed at the various entrances to pre- 
vent others entering. Mr. W. T. Blair, of Bath, presided. 
Dr. Leifchild moved the first resolution, expressive of 
thanksgiving to God for the termination of the war between 
China and Great Britain, and for the greatly enlarged 
facilities secured, by the treaty of peace, for the introduc- 
tion of Christianity into that empire. This resolution 
was seconded by the Rev. Dr. Alder, and was carried 
unanimously. Several other resolutions were likewise 
passed, one of which, moved by the Hon. and Rev. B, 
Noel, stated that the Anglo-Chinese College was to be 
removed from Malacca to Hong-Kong, and that the Mis- 
sionary labours were to be specially directed to that 
island. The meeting did not separate till a late hour, and 
collections were made at the doors. 
Fires.—One of the most destructive fires which has 
visited the Metropolis for many years broke out on Mon- 
day evening, about seven o’clock, on the extensive floor- 
cloth manufactory of Mr. Rolls, situated within a few 
hundred yards of the canal-bridge on the Old Kent-road, 
The premises occupied a commanding situation, fronting 
the main road, and were well known to all persons 
quainted with the G ich and Dover-road. They 
are surrounded on the west by the Marlborough-road, 
and on the east by some private dwellings, known as 
Ranger-place, at the extremity of which stood the still 
more extensive factory of Mr. Goulston, also a floor-cloth 
manufacturer and japanner. In less than ten minutes 
after the fire was first discovered, Mr. Rolls’ premises 
were in flames as high as the upper windows, being 
chiefly built of wood, and filled, of course, with com- 
bustible materials. Notwithstanding the efforts of the 
fire-brigade, assisted by several engines, the fire continued 
almost uninterruptedly until the whole factory, consisting 
of painting-rooms, drying-houses, store-rooms, ware- 
houses, and the other appendages to a floor-cloth manu- 
factory, were consumed. Some private dwelling-houses at 
the side were also destroyed, together with property toa 
large amount. The fire next spread to the floor-cloth 
factory of Messrs. Goulston, adjoining the private houses, 
which, being built chiefly of wood, was soon in flames, and 
burning with great fury. Ina quarter of an hour all was de- 
stroyed. The heat from the burning buildings was at this 
time so great that water had to be thrown on the houses op-~ 
posite,to preventthem from catching. The firewas at length 
subdued for a few moments, by the falling of the roofs ; 
but, being composed principally of beams of wood, they 
soon ignited again, and were destroyed. By nine 0 clock 
the surrounding buildings were out of danger. The Kent- 
road was completely stopped, and no vehicles were allowed 
to pass. When the Dover mail came up it was found 
i) 
impossible to get the horses by, until their eyes were 
bandaged, when the coachman with some difficulty suc- 
ceeded. The damage is roughly estimated at little short 
of 20,000/., but all the property is insured. 
Accidents.—On Sunday afternoon, during the per- 
formance of divine service, an accident occurred in the 
chapel in Queen-street, Lambeth. At half-past three, 
whilst the annual sermon preached on behalf of the 
Sunday schools in connexion with the chapel was being 
delivered to a numerous congregation, a temporary gal- 
lery, erected for the accommodation of the children 
instructed in the schools, fell, carrying all who were in it 
to the ground. About fifty children were seated in it at 
the time, and many of them were seriously injured. 
Westminster.—A special meeting of the Court of 
Sewers for the city and liberty of Westminster was held 
last week, ‘to consider the steps to be taken with refer- 
ence to the report of the Poor Law Commissioners on 
the sanatory condition of the poorer classes, presented by 
Royal command to both Houses of Parliament during the - 
last session.”? A court was held on the 23d ult., when the — 
proceedings were almost wholly confined to the hearing — 
an address from the chairman, Mr. Donaldson, in reply 
to certain charges and imputations contained in the pub- 
lished report of Mr. Chadwick, secretary to the Poor 
Law Commissioners. After several gentlemen had ex- 
pressed their disapproval of the reports, Mr. Leslie 
suggested the following resolution :—‘t That the Court 
requests an investigation under the authority of Her 
Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Home Department } 
into the charges brought against the Westminster Com- \ 
missioners of Sewers in the report of the Poor Law Com- | 
missioners on the sanatory condition of the poorer classes, 
and to ascertain the best means of cleansing the streets 
and roads by aid of sewers, and also the most advanta- 
geous form of sewers for the public interests.” This 
resolution was carried by a majority of 17 to 1, the 
only dissentient being Mr. Hawkes, who approved the 
suggestion for aninquiry, but opposed the present motion, 
because, in his opinion, it attached too much importance 
to the Poor Law Report. 
Southwark.—The inhabitants of St. Saviour’s, South- 
wark, held a meeting on Friday, to take into consideration 
*« the cause of the abandonment of the recently- proposed 
performance of sacred music in the church ; to consider 
the power of the bishop and clergy to prevent such per- 
formance, and the statement in the bishop’s letter as to 
the wardens having no power to grant the use of the 
church.” The requisition calling the meeting had been 
signed by upwards of 100 persons, and 103 were said to 
be present. The statement in the Bishop of Winchester’s 
letter, referred to in the notice, was as follows :—‘* With 
the minister aione, subject, of course, to his responsibility 
to the ordinary, is the right of exercising his discretion as, 
to the allowing the use of the church for any meeting — 
except for the customary meetings of vestry for parochial 
business. The minister has a perfect right to refuse the 
use of the church for such a performance as advertised ; 
and I may add that he has not only a right so to do, but 
it is his bounden duty. The churchwardens haye no 
power to grant the use of the church.” Resolutions were 
now passed expressing the regret of the parishioners at 
the bishop’s interference, referring to the precedents for per- 
formances of sacred music afforded by the annual rehearsals 
at St. Paul’s, and the musical festivals in the provinces ; and 
declaring that the chaplains of St. Saviour’s have no right, 
as the bishop imagines, to interfere in the management of 
that parish. From the facts stated in the resolution it 
appears that neither of the ministers is rector of the 
parish. The rectory, with all its rights, privileges, and 
appurtenances, was granted upon purchase, by letters 
patent from James J., to certain inhabitants in trust for 
the wardens, who for the time are the rectors, and are 
authorized to exercise all the powers of rectors, and, 
among other things, to provide for the school, and two 
chaplains, or preachers, for the church; and further, the 
wardens are to be under the control of the Bishop of 
Winchester only in'such matters as those over which he has 
legal control. In regard to the schools, for whose benefit 
the performance was intended, it was stated that the pro- 
fessional singers engaged for the occasion had voluntarily | — 
resigned their claims for compensation ; and the rumour 
that the bishop had contributed 2007. to the charity was 
officially contradicted. 
Hammersmith.—On Monday a numerous meeting of © 
the ratepayers of Hammersmith was held in the vestry- : 
room of the church, in pursuance of a requisition to the 
churchwardens, for the purpose of taking into considera- 
tion ‘‘ the vexatious and oppressive nature of the Income- 
tax, and of the machinery—alike unequal, unfair, and 
inquisitorial, by which this odious impost is inflicted upon 
a too generous and too confiding public; and also, the 
expediency of adopting petitions to the Houses of Legis- 
lature for its immediate repeal.” The churchwarden was 
voted to the chair, when, in consequence of the vestry- 
room being incapable to hold the large number of 
inhabitants present, an adjournment took place into 
the body of the church. After a long discussion, the 
following resolutions were adopted, and ordered to be em- 
bodied ‘in petitions to both Houses of Parliament :— 
1“ That the object, the principle, and the extent of all tax- 
ation ought to be limited to the promotion of the pros- 
perity of the commonwealth, and the equal protection and 
security of every individual member of the community.” 
2. “That this vestry meeting would regard a tax upon 
Property as a legitimate impost, were each individual 
called upon to contribute towards the charge for protec 
tion a fair share of the burthen, honestly commensurate with 
the extent and value of his interests and possessions. 
3. “That a tax upon income appears, on the contrary, to be 
a tax upon individuals, in very many cases distinct from 
all property, unjustly extorting from the honest earnings 
of labourers and unremitting exertions of individuals for 
the support of their families, an equal load of burthen to 
that assessed upon the more fortunate possessor of funded 
wealth and hereditary property.’? An amendment was 
moved in the course of the proceedings, ‘That the ] 
parishioners are of opinion, that direct taxation is better | 
than indirect taxation, and that it is therefore inexpedient 3 
to petition Parliament against the Income-tax ;”’ but on t 
being put to a show of hands, three only were held up for 
a 
