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9
According to their expressed intentions, the Vestry gave the
matter their best and most impartial consideration, and granted
the use of the Vestry Hall for several public meetings; and, in
order to test the general feeling of the parish, they, as far as
they could, by employing canvassers to make house visitation,
and, in the result, they presented to Parliament a petition
against the Bill, signed by over 5,000 ratepayers.
The Vestry, moreover, appointed delegates to attend meetings
elsewhere, and, as a result, the Vestry feel bound to express its
opinion that the cry for reform is not that of the ratepayers
generally, but of a comparatively few agitators who have some
ulterior object in view.
The Committee of the whole Board which had the matter
under consideration, invited the Members of Parliament for the
Tower Hamlets to attend and discuss the question, and Mr.
Ritchie accepted the invitation, but Mr. Bryce was unable to do
so, and such an adtive interest and trouble did the former of
those gentlemen take in opposing the Bill, that, on its being
withdrawn, the Vestry passed a special vote of thanks to him
for the interest he had taken, and for his courteous conduct in
dealing with the matter.
The Waterworks Clauses Aft, 1847, Amendment Bill did not
pass last Session, but has been again introduced this Session,
and such an amount of public opinion has been brought to bear
on the subjeft generally, that the Vestry have every hope that
the Bill may become law, and that the question of what is the
"annual value" of property may be properly determined.
Waterworks
Clauses
Act,
Amendment
Bill.
As has before been mentioned the House of Commons Committee,
on the Metropolitan Board of Works Bill of last Session,
recommended that an opening bridge should be constructed
across the Thames, from Tower Hill to Horsleydown, and, at the
same time, suggested that the Corporation of London should
undertake the work.
Corporation
of
London
(Tower
Bridge)
Bill.
The Corporation forthwith, upon the Report becoming known,
took the necessary steps for carrying out the recommendations
of the Committee, and have introduced a Bill for liberty to build
a bascule bridge at the point suggested, the cost of which
(amounting to at least £750,000) is to be raised out of the funds
of the Bridge House Estates. When it is considered that only
a very small portion of the proposed work is situate within the
City of London, and that the ratepayers of the Metropolis will
therefore get the bridge (if the Bill pass) without cost to them, the
unselfish liberality of the Corporation is evident, and the Vestry
accordingly passed a resolution expressing its high appreciation
of the conduft of the Corporation in the matter. The ratepayers
may rely that the Vestry will use its utmost endeavours
to assist the Corporation, so far as it possibly can, to bring the
Bill to a successful issue.
The question of the re-distribution of the parliamentary representation
of the country having been brought forward, and it
being proposed to constitute Mile End Old Town a separate
Parliamentary
Representation
B