THE PONS ASINORUM.
&mime men," Says a contemporary, " are of opinion that the lightening of Blackfriars Bridge, and the removal of the por- tion of the side-walls over the defective piers, will prevent their further sinking, and render the bridge perfectly able to bear the enormous weight of traffic constantly passing over it." This ap- pears to be a very doubtful conclusion, and it is important that it should not be suffered to rest on assumption or half-inquiry. It is not the first time that Blackfriars Bridge has been tinkered and pronounced quite fit to bear " the enormous traffic constantly passing over it," and the expectation has been oftener than once disappointed. It is more than doubtful whether the sinking of the bridge should be ascribed altogether to the weight of the struc- ture itself; and if not, then mere lightening will not suffice to arrest the sinking. Prima facie, to lighten the structure is to weaken its own power of resisting pressure ; and a fragile bridge would not be better than a sinking bridge. Indeed, the building might effect both operations at once—sink and break together. The perpetual sinking indicates radically bad foundations; and if that radical defect be not mended, these tinkerings are nothing more than a costly procrastination of the inevitable issue—a total rebuilding. It will be most descreditable to the Metropolis if its bridges are still left to the bad alternative of being, with one ex- ception, either closed by a toll or suspicidus as to safety.
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