At a meeting of the commissioners, held in October of the same year, both parties mustered their forces, and divided, in the first place, upon the question of who should be chairman, and 13 votes were given for Sir John Pakington and 11 for Mr. Hyett. It was then proposed by Mr. Lea that an application should be again made to Parliament, similar to the one of the preceding session. It was represented that the Commission was in debt to the contractors, principally because of the great expense incurred in useless dredging, and that more money must be raised. After a very stormy debate the renewed application was agreed to by the chairman’s casting vote only, and so also were other necessary resolutions. In minor matters the opposition had a majority. In February, 1849, the “preliminary inquiry” took place into the merits of this measure. The surveyors appointed by the Admiralty on this occasion being Captain Bethune and Mr. Veitch, C.E. These gentlemen again reported unfavourably of the scheme as proposed by the Commission, professing themselves desirous of seeing the river so altered below Gloucester as to bring the tide up to Worcester! It was understood that the great fight would again take place on the second reading, which came on on the 23rd April, 1849. The Admiralty, Board of Trade, and Government generally, Sir Robert Peel, &c., supported the second reading; but the private interests in opposition prevailed, and the bill was once more thrown out; this time by a majority of 34—191 voting against it, and 134 in its favour. In the session of 1850 a select committee was appointed into the working of these “preliminary inquiries,” and in consequence of the evidence given by Mr. Edward Leader Williams and others, proving that they only added to the expenses of passing a bill, without performing one act of utility which might not be better done by the inquiry before the committee of the House, they were abolished, and Parliament returned to its old practice in these matters. Since that time the Commissioners have been resting on their oars, feeling it useless to go to Parliament again if they had the same opposition to encounter, and trusting that the Admiralty might be induced to take up the improvement of the river, both above and below Gloucester, as a project of great national importance. They have, indeed, directed a survey of the whole river to be made, and Mr. Walker has made a “hasty” report thereon, in which he says as little as possible as to the river above Gloucester, and makes impracticable suggestions as to its improvement below.