The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-09-18 00:00:00

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1855.

FRO3I OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

MONDAY MORNING-.
THE past week has been a demonstration of nearly frantic
joy throughout the British Isles. Early on Monday last the
of the metropolis were roused to an ecstasy of delight

by receiving intelligence that the Allies, after a severe struggle,
on the preceding Saturday, had obtained the mastery and retained
possession of the Malakhoff Tower and batteries. As every
one had been fully informed that this dominated all the de-
fences of the city, and commanded the batteries on the south
side of the harbour of Sebastopol, no doubt was entertained
that, ere many days were over, the doomed city would be in
full possession of the Allies ; and this conviction afforded uni-
versal delight. Some diminution of the general joy was felt
on account 'of the inexplicit yet conclusive announcement of
General SIMPSON, which merely stated that "The attack of
the English against the Redan did not succeed." While men

of all ranks were anxiously canvassing the meagre brevity of

this ominous intimation, a second communication spread with
lightning speed in all directions, creating such a tumult of
excitement as has not been witnessed in the metropolis for
two-score years at least. The report this time was, that the
Russians, driven to desperation, had abandoned the town of
Sebastopol, and that the whole south side was actually in pos-
session of the Allies. At first the impression created was
that the news was too good to be true; the rumoured capture

of the stronghold immediately after the battle of the Alma

had not ceased to act as a caution on the public mind, and a
fear predominated widely that there was some exaggeration
if not absolute mis-statement in the report. The publication
of the despatches in the evening papers, which were eagerly
devoured, gave an air of stability to the rumour, and when,
about nine o'clock, the Tower guns, as well as those
of St. James's-park, gave utterance to their thundering
notes of victory, the tidings were no longer doubted,

and the people gave themselves up to tumultuary expressions
of delight. At all the theatres the intelligence was communi-
cated to the audiences, by the respective stage managers, and
in each instance cheered till the walls vibrated with the wild
acclaim of joy : the " National Anthem," "Partant pour la
Syrie," " See the conquering Hero comes," being instantly
performed by the orchestras, and re-demanded by the excited
audiences. Joy is rarely niggard in its expression, and as
each delighted individual earnestly and quickly communicated
the welcome news to all he met, a whirling wave of enthusi-
astic happiness was speedily in motion through all the arteries
of mighty and sensitive London. The welcome news was
speedily flashed along the electric wires, and with a speed
which rivals thought the grateful accents of the hymn of
victory were poured into the royal ear in the Highland home
of our beloved Sovereign amidst her domestic circle at Bal-
moral. Ever mindful of her people's pleasure, the QUEEN
caused the gratifying intelligence to be spread as fast as
possible in all directions. Adopting the ancient telegraph of
the country, the joyful tidings were speedily proclaimed by a
vast bonfire kindled or the summit of Craig Gobbain, under
the immediate auspices of Prince ALBERT and the Prince of
WALES, which was replied to by many an answering blaze
from the peaks along Braemar, spreading southwards and
westward through the craggy Grampians, and the rolling
Ochils, till the fiery signal was replied to by the joy-bells of
the Scottish capital. Through every town in England the
news spread and was welcomed with a kindred joy ; and long
before the echoes of the night had died away, the fall of
Sebastopol was known from the Land's End to John O'Groat's ;
and from Dingle-head to Yarmouth. A little before twelve
o'clock the whole concourse of gillies and peasantry descended
from Craig Gobbain, and, assembling before the castle windows
of Balmoral, invoked a blessing on the royal slumbers, finish-
ing with " God save the Queen" as a mountain serenade, and
concluding their lullaby with three stentorian cheers.
The first and gratifying burst of satisfaction over, the sober
inquirer, civilian as well as military, propounds to himself and
to his neighbours the questions, what has been gained by this
decisive stroke of prowess ? What will be its immediate effect
and ultimate result upon the issue of the Crimean campaign
and upon the war itself ? The first question is much more
easily answered than the second. The stronghold of Russian
power in the Black Sea, and in the south of Europe, has been
rescued from the despot's grasp, by the perseverance and ener-
getic bravery of the allied armies after a siege of three hun-
dred and twenty-seven days. After this protracted conflict,
the first great prize of the war has been won. The sanguinary
struggle has ended in a victory, no longer honoured with
merely barren laurels, as the other Crimean victories had been.
In this instance the victors can point to substantial trophies,
which include all the bastions, earthworks, and granite forts
south of the great harbour—the Malakhoff, the Great and
Little Redan, the Flagstaff, the Central Tower, and Quaran-
tine Batteries—the sea defences, including Forts Alexander,
St. Nicholas, and St. Paul; the second line of defence, con-
sisting of the Garden and Barrack Batteries, the dockyard,
harbour, and Careening Bay, together with the full cannon
sweep of Sebastopol Roads. All these are in the hands of the
allies ; but a triumph, probably not inferior in value to all
these, will be found in the entire destruction of the Russian
Black Sea fleet, which has utterly perished. In addition to
all these solid spoils of the conflict, the enemy was compelled
to evacuate the strongholds with a celerity so striking as to
prevent the possibility of his destroying the vast stores of war-
like materiel which had been concentrated in the city. Stores
so vast and valuable to the conquerors, as to have seemingly
bewildered the comprehensive faculties of General PELISSIER,
now created a Marshal, who after a casual inspection of them
writes on Monday, " The imagination would strive in vain to
realise the full extent of our victory ; nothing short of actual
inspection on the spot could supply an idea of the extent and
multiplicity of the works and material means of defence, which
very far surpass all that is recorded in the history of war."
Defences so multiform, and an arsenal so stored, were not
likely to be abandoned by the Russians without a desperate
and a deadly struggle ; and, even when their defenders could
no longer hold them, to quit them in an ordinary evacuation
of the place would have been antagonist to all the policy of
Russian tactics. To destroy what they can neither use nor
carry off, has always been a portion of the military strategy of
Russia, and this was attempted on a large scale in Sebastopol.
Long before the close of the seige operations, Prince GOBI'S-
CHAXorr declared that, if the Allies were ever successful in
capturing Sebastopol, they would find it only a " heap of
blood-stained ruins," and after his defeat in the Malakhoff he
did his utmost to reduce it to that condition. The conflict
was too sharp—the victory too decisive—to enable him to
carry his threat into execution. The assault, it now appears,
was made on four different points, viz., on the Malakhoff, the
Great Redan, the Little Redan, and on the Central Bastion. The
English portion was to storm the Great Redan, the other assaults
being undertakenby the French. All the attackswereinthefirst
instance successful. The redoubts of theMalakhoff, andthe sail-
ents of the Great and Little Redans were all of them carried
in the first impetuous onset ; the first only, of all the positions
named, proved tenable, but that fortunately was sufficient to
ensure the triumphant issue of the siege. " Six times," says
the Russian commander, "we repulsed the enemy." This,
indeed, was true; from the peculiar construction of the de-
fences of the Great Redan, after our brave soldiers had carried
the salient of this battery, it was exposed to the sweeping
storm of heavily-armed lines of earthworks, and in endeavours
to hold the position they had won and silence these earth-
works, two thousand English heroes fell before the command
to retire was obeyed. A similar cause compelled the French
also to abandon the Little Redan after they had gained a
footing similar to that obtained by the English. The Malak-
hoff was three times stormed by the French, and twice re-
taken from them, even the desperation of the Russians being
unable to repel or withstand the determined gallantry of the
third attack. From point to point the French troops advanced,
the Russians contesting every inch of ground, and resisting,
vainly, as Prince GORTSCHAKROFF writes, " to the last ex-
tremity ;" in spite of which the French flag was borne slowly
but steadfastly onward till at last it was planted securely on
the summit of the tower. The carnage in the different as-
saults was terrific, but the victory was won. The French
remained masters of this important work ; the other portions
of the allied forces returned to their entrenchments, leaving
eight or nine thousand killed and wounded on the mounds
and walls of the fortress. The Russians, driven at the Malak-
hoff Tower from their last hope of effectual resistance, re-
turned into Sebastopol.
The curtain of night now fell upon the exhausted com-
batants. The Russians, dispirited by their defeat at the
Tchernaya, had proposed to evacuate the town of Sebastopol in
the event of any decisive reverse, and before Saturday
morning had prepared the means for doing so. Reduced to
utter despair by the capture of the Malakhoff—the fort which
commanded all their works—it only remained for them to
abandon what they had so long and so resolutely struggled to
retain. The town, in fact, was ours before a street of it had
been entered by the allies. This important fact was revealed
to
the
slumbering camps of the victors during the silent
watches of that memorable night ; vast conflagrations threw
their lurid light on the sky over and around Sebastopol, and
these, accompanied by the dull rumbling concussion
of
enor.
mous and violent explosions, told too surely that the work of
voluntary destruction had commenced. Impelled by a resist-
less panic, the defeated Russians were hurriedly, and conse-
quently imperfectly, destroying the defences and the
stores they could no longer hold. While the artillery of the

victorious besiegers was still playing on the place, the whole
of the Karabelnaia suburb was suddenly blown up by the
Russians, who had also set fire to the town in many places,
and were busily engaged in destroying all that remained of
their boasted fleet of war-ships—so formidable at Sinope—
objects of such anxious care and punctilious solicitude at
Vienna. The work of destruction being thus hurriedly
pushed forward by some, others were marching by a bridge
of rafts from the south to the north shore of the harbour.
This latter operation was executed with such great celerity
as to make Prince GORTSCHAEHOFF claim for it the character
of " an extraordinary success," because he only lost a hundred
men in the operation ! More singular still, the happy dis-
positioned gentlemen who indite the Russian columns
of La Nord designate this nocturnal flight as indicative of
the " energy of a great commander." "It saves Russia," they
say, "from an inextricable position into which a false interpre-
tation of the point of honour would have thrust her." What
advantage Russia may derive from such a " success," it is not
easy to conjecture ; and many will be equally at a loss to
understand the beneficial " energy" displayed by the great
commander in effecting that manoeuvre, in the execution of
which he confesses with regret he was compelled to abandon
five hundred of his wounded soldiery !
The conquest of Sebastopol effected—for, according to most
accounts, there appears little doubt in any quarter that the
events of Saturday se'nnight must inevitably lead to that
result at no distant day—the important question remains,
What is to come out of it ? Already there seems reason to
apprehend that the Russian portion of our statesmen and di-
plomatists will once more seize the opportunity of endeavouring
to let Russia down as gently as possible. The non-humiliating
doctrine of Lord JOHN' RUSSELL, Sir JAMES GRAHAM, Mr.
GLADSTONE, and other members of the " new political union,"
have made their appearance in divers forms through the me-
dium of the press. The Times having provided itself with a
" peace column," treats its readers to very gently-spiced pota-
tions of frothy sentiment, in which the plan of waiting a
" little longer " for the " good time coming" in Russian politi-
cal morals is deftly recommended. "We can now rest awhile,"
and watch the effects of the chastisement already bestowed on
the "naughty boy," who having attempted to rob his neigh-
bour's orchard was put hack and whipped; and this course the
Thunderer vouchsafes to recommend. Experience has long
ago proved that the most dangerous period for a victor to re-
pose is the moment of victory. The allied arms have been so
far crowned with success, as to put it in the power of their
armies to achieve a signal and decisivevictory—a victory which,
by humiliating and crippling the foe, will for the future render
him both harmless and obedient. To leave off short of having
accomplished this object now, is not to display magnanimity,
but to exhibit weakness. The object of the war is still far
from being achieved. Dismantling Sebastopol and the destruc-
tion of the Black Sea fleet, although in themselves in the
right direction, are far, very far from being a consummation of
the objects intended to be achieved by a successful prosecution
of the war. These, if conceded at the beginning, would have
been admitted as ample, because they would have shown that
Russia had no aggressive designs against Turkey or other
nations in the southern portions of Europe. The war when
undertaken,lowever, had a larger object in view than preserv-
ing the integrity of the Turkish empire. The war was un-
dertaken because Russia was making inroads on civilization,
and building herself up in such a manner as to make her
dangerous to Europe. It was to repress these inroads and to
diminish that dangerous strength that the allies espoused the
cause of Turkey, and the object of the combination was to
weaken and humiliate Russia. Till these have been compassed
the objects of the war cannot have been attained, and if they
are not achieved the next generation will not see the termina-
tion of the struggle which must yet ensue. This feeling ap-
pears to be the guiding one in the councils of our French
allies. In proof of which a rumour is current in Paris to the
effect that Marshal PELISSIER telegraphed for instructions to
guide him, if Prince GORTSCHAICHOFF should capitulate, an
event which the Marshal thinks far from improbable, as the
Russian army is understood to have but fifteen days' provi-
sions, and to be very short of ammunition. The import of
the Emperor's answer is said to have been : " Our conditions
are that the Russians must surrender at discretion, lay down
their arms, and give up to the allies all the fortified
places in the Crimea, including Odessa, with all the,
munitions of war contained in them, and without any
damage being previously done, either to the towns or the
fortifications." This bold and resolute course of policy is-
undoubtedly the true one ; and so far as reliance can be placed.
upon anything so futile as the declaration of our own Minister,
a similar policy seems to animate the British cabinet, as it
unquestionably does the nation. On Friday last, the noble
PREMIER being on a visit to his estate of Melbourne, in Derby-
shire, was waited on by a acp”fation of the influential in
habitants of that beautiful little town and- neignuo...,
who presented to him an address of congratulation in which
the fall of Sebastopol cut a conspicuous figure. In reply,
Lord PALMEESTON said in allusion. to that circumstance,
"It is impossible to believe that the war can be brought
to any other conclusion than that which will secure to
Europe safety against the future aggressions of Russia."
These few words have created a great sensation in metropolitan
circles, and their effect has been equally magical all over
the kingdom. The people are from them taught to believe
that the flimsiness and sham of pretended hostility, bat real
friendship for Russia have been banished from the Cabinet,
and succeeded by a sentiment akin to that which animates the,
nation. Possession of Sebastopol has entirely removed the pres-
tige of the Russian military prowess—it has dispirited and,
demoralized their army—has despoiled them of mighty war-
like resources—has relieved the besieging army of great and
exhausting and dangerous toil—has placed them in a position
to avail themselves of their numerical, physical, and moral
superiority. The conflict may still be a sharp, but it can
scarcely now be a long one. True the advantage has been
gained by a sad and sorrowful amount of sacrifice. Thousands.
of our brave countrymen, and of their equally brave allies,.
have been immolated on the altar of stern duty; but to the
survivors who sorrowfully mourn over the mangled victims of
the ruthless onslaught, it must be some consolation at least to-
know that the sacrifice was not made in vain—that the blood.
so profusely shed upon the ramparts of Sebastopol has in its
crimson tide washed out the foot-marks, and swept away the
resting-places of aggressive slavery.
So completely absorbed has the mindof every one been with,
the magnitude and importance of "the victory achieved in the
Crimea, that every other topic seems forgotten, and it is with
difficulty that listeners can be found. for conversation on. any
subject foreign to the war. Even amidst this all-engrossing
appetite for war, some few are found to grumble and protest
against an abuse of patronage just perpetrated by our pure,
self-denying, and merit-loving Government. Some time ago
it was announced that Government was prepared to- expend
£5,000 on a marble statue to the Duke of Wma,rstexoN, to
be erected in St. Paul's. In pursuance of this resolution, four
distinguished sculptors, viz., Messrs. BAILEY, FOLEY, GIBSON,
and the Baron MAROCHETTI, were invited to send in com-
peting models. Two of them—GinsoN, in compliance with a
rule he has laid down for his own guidance, and MAROCHETTI
—declined to compete ; FOLEY and BAILEY produced
models—whether meritorious or not would seem to matter
little ; the mind of Government was made up in a direction
opposite to them, and its patronage was bestowed upon the•
lucky Italian Baron. The term " lucky" may with truth be
applied to this artist in its most legitimate sense. His first
public appearance in this country was at Glasgow, where, as.
in the present instance, without competing, and in defiance of
competition, he was thrust over the heads of all British sculp-
tors, and complimented with the commission to con-
struct the " Wellington Testimonial" for that city. Again
his knot of Glaswegian patrons secured for him the
equestrian statue of HER MAJESTY, which has been
recently erected there. Of the last it is impossible
for me to speak, as I have not seen it ; in regard to the former
no such ground for silence exists. As a piece of carefully-
laboured statuary it is admirable : as a specimen of tastefully
and skilfully-elaborated moddelling it is excellent ; but as a
work of art it is nought. Common-place in design, it does
not rise in any degree above the level of very ordinary
portrait sculpture, conveys no idea of dignity or grace,
and but for its magnitude would offer no salient point to
distinguish it from the herd of everyday equestrians. Yet,
such has been the good fortune of the Baron, that he has been
preferred to the execution of numerous public statues in this
country, while native artists have sighed for opportunity and
languished for lack of employment to celebrate their country's
heroes, and to enrich the country with the creations of their
intellect.

THE lIIVINGTON WATER WORKS.

VISIT OF THE TOWN COUNCIL.

WEDNESDAY last was one of the marked days in the history
of the extensive and interesting works, situated at and near
Rivington, for the purpose of supplying Liverpool with an
adequate quantity of pure water for sanitary and domestic
purposes, and also for the use of the shipping and other
branches of its rapidly increasing trade. Some doubts having
arisen in the public mind, and having also found expression in
the Town Council, as well as out of doors, as to the progress
made in the construction of these works and the probability
of their being made available for the purposes of a water
supply for a long time yet to come, the Water Committee
deemed the present a fair opportunity for ascertaining the
condition of the works, their gigantic magnitude and impor-
tance, and the existing state of their progress, from actual
inspection. Proceeding on this conviction, the Chairman of
the Water Committee, at the last meeting of Council, invited
the members to visit and inspect the works, and Wednesday

last was fixed on as the day on which they should proceed.
In accordance with this resolution, invitations were likewise
issued to members of the Dock Committee, of the Pilots'
Committee, and of some other public bodies, interested in the

ultimate success or failure of the Rivington water scheme ;
sand, as representative of the public interests in general,
members of the newspaper press were also freely invited to
attend.

A special train was provided to convey the party, seventy-
one in number, from the Tithebarn•street station to Bolton,
and precisely at a quarter before eight o'clock (the hour fixed
in the programme) the train started. The morning was most
auspicious, the weather being beautifully fine; and the com-
pany, elated by the aspect of the charming scenery through
which they sped, and animated by the anticipations of a day
of unmixed pleasure, arrived at the Bolton station precisely
at nine o'clock. A substantial as well as elegant breakfast
was provided in the refreshment rooms, and to this the party
did ample justice. Having partaken of the necessary refresh-
ment, the company took their places in five omnibuses, each
drawn by four horses, provided by Mr. Greenwood, postmaster,
and headed by that containing Mr. George Holt, chairman of
the Water Committee, they started for the upper section •of
the water-works operations, near Witlinall.
Shortly after leaving Bolton, the route lay through a dis-
trict undulating in outline, and lovely in its indications of
fertility and good culture, heightened by the manifestations
of an abundant and generally well-secured harvest the
only drawback upon this pleasant prospect being found in the
unmistakeable evidence of "potato disease," afforded in the
numerous fields and patches of this invaluable root which skirt
the roadside, and which, in nearly every instance, showed
traces, more or less marked, of the ravages of the " disease."
In passing from Bolton towards the higher districts of the
county, the picturesque and wild beauty of the scenery at-
tracted general attention; the heathery hill-sides and deep
intersecting ravines, together with the rugged peaks and
feathery clumps of woodland, enriched with the brilliant glow
of the mountain ash berry, and the deep green of the larch
and sycamore, lending a peculiar charm to a landscape inte-
resting alike from its appearance and associations. About half-
way between Bolton and the picturesque town of Belmont
the party, in passing by, scanned with curioas interest the
reservoir for supplying Bolton with water. This reservoir
presents to such a body of excursionists features of more than
merely visual importance. It has been for a long period in
existence, and, as such, furnishes valuable data as to the
quality of the storage water to be collected in the district,
and in that respect has been referred to by all parties advo-
cating or opposing the Rivington scheme. Further, at this
reservoir, or in connexion with it, has been constructed a rain--
gauge, which has been in operation since 1842, and which has
been referred to by all parties in the dispute, as- furnishing
the best data as to the absolute rain-fall of the' district in
which the Rivington water-works are situated.

Having passed Belmont, and still pursuing a devrensroute
through a hilly and rising country, the party reached the 'first of
the works connected with the Rivington system ofwater supply.
This consists of a culvert-bridge for carrying the publicroad,
which has been diverted to some extent, across the Rake
Brook. From this bridge the cortege' passed rapidly forward
to the Hare and Hounds Inn, where the carriages were left,
and at which point the visitors were met by the gentlemen
having charge of the upper portion of the. works, and by Mr,
Statham, general superintendent on behalf of Mr. Hawksley.
The company now assembled comprised—His Worship the
Mayor, Councillors Anderson, Crosthwaite; Woodruff, A. C.
Stewart, Moss, Nicholson,. Godfrey, Bradley, C. Turner,
Littledale, Avison, Holt, Fernihough, James. Holme, Banner,
Mann, Jeffreys, John Gladstone; jun., Alex. Shand;- Wagstaff,
Fleming, Johnson, Hodson, Kitchen, Clint, Beckwith,
Robertson, Halhead, Hall.—Aldermen Langsdale; Bennett,
Robinson, Cooper, Shand, and S. Holme.
Among the borough officials present were Messrs:- W. Shut
tleworth, Town-clerk ; James Newlands; Borough Engineer
Lieut. Lord ; Thomas Duncan, Willer Engineer ; Mason
G. V. Tanton, Thomas Venn, Alfred Quick, and W. Statham.-
-Dock Committee : J. K. Rounthwalte, Smith, Rivkin,
Barber, Mondell, and Lockett.—Pilors' Committee: Messrs.
Wm. Potter, George Kendall, Blythe, Rowlands, and Coolie,—
There were also present Messrs. H. C. Eeloe; P. B. M`Quie,'W.-
Blackstone, and several other gentlemen.
Immediately on arriving at the Hare and fibunds, the com-
pany, leaving the vehicles, proceeded to inspect the works,:
commencing at the Rake Brook embankment. The' woria,
which are very extensive; were generally admired by the-
visitors, as judiciously planned, and carried' oat in a spirit
of corresponding energy. They will be understood by a care-
ful perusal of the 'annexed report, drawn up-by Mr: Statham :
The collecting and. storage-works of the Rivingtbn scheme
of the Liverpool Corporation: Waterworks, commence in the
RIR% oLthmtist, I&4dcamodli,,,Apizt nine miles from
Bolton and Preston, and extend thence to a distance
of eight miles) where the main pipe commencers: Near to the
commencement of the works-the river Roddleswerth takes its
rise, and runs down a precipitous valley, having lofty hills on
each side towards- Moulden water.

There is also upon this river, and entering lat the point
before•mentioned, a stream called the Rake Brook c.and, at a
few hundred yards above the j action of the river Roddles-
worth and the Rake Brook, the first important engineering
works, of theßivington scheme;-for supplying-the town of
Liverpool with water, are visible; These consist`of two large
embankments, carried each across the valleys of the river
Roddlesworth and the-Rake Brook; by which the; descending
waters of these two streams -willbe impounded and connected
together by a govt; or canal, of abbot twenty feet wide at the
bottom, and about ten feet below-the top-water level of each
of these reservoirs, thus always-preserving their waters 4o a
uniform level to the depth of tan feet below ththi highest, or
top-water mark.

-The•objeet of these-two -reservoirs is to impound the waters
from the watershed or gathering:ground in their vicinity; and •
to distribute so mach of the surplus water as is above the ten •
feet level, before, mentioned, down .to the larger storage re-
servoirs of Anglexark and Ririagton, retainingthe remain-
der in storefor compensation, to be given out down the river
Roddlesworth, as- required by the act of Parliament.. The
surface capacity of these two reservoirs is about fifty acres,
and holds about 200 millions of gallons. The embankments
forming them are, about 90 feet high, constructed of earth,
with a watertight puddle. wall: in the centre, of-clay properly
worked and tempered.. The Roddlesworth embankment has
been entirely completed, as far as the earthworks are con-
cerned, and the Rake Brook embankment is very-nearly so
[The process of formation, at the Rake Brook .embank-
ment is being pushed forward with all the rapidity possibly
applicable to such.nwork. It wants now about four feet of
material laid on before it- is. completed to its full height
The difficulties.to be overcome in the formation of such a-
structure may to some extent be guessed from the annexed;
details,. gathered from personal inspection.. To secure the

embankment from the possibility of leakage, a solid wall of
well-puddled clay is constructed, stretching_ ongitudinally

from one extremity of the embankment to the other. This.
puddle wall. is. carried:up from a well-secured foundation on
water-tight strata, to obtain which, a-trench has been ex-
cavated across the valley, till the solid rock or the immoveable
arid impervious clay of the district has been reached. In
the instance before us this excavation was carried, 29,feet
below the surface at the bottom of the valley. The-clay
wall is then carried up, commencing with a thickness. of. IA
feet, and gradually diminishing. in thickness- till it ter-
minutes 6 feet thick at the upper surface of the embank-
ment. This puddle wall is a feature common, to all the
embankments.; the only variety in its character being to be
found in the greater or less degree of depth. required in the
foundation, Exterior to the puddle wall, on both sides, the
embankment is strengthened by the deposit of earth and
stone, sloping upwards on the side next to the water, at an
angle of three feet to one foot of height ; and on the outer
side at an angle of two feet to one foot of height, and
finishing on the top with a width of 18. feet. In the con-
struction of the Rake Brook: embankment alone, not less than
180,000 cubic yards. of material have been used ; these have
been chiefly derived from the excavation of the goit which
connects the Roddlesworth and Rake Brook reservoirs with
the lower works, and from side cuttings.]
From the western end of the Rake Brook embankment, near
to the Hare and Hounds Inn, on to the old Bolton and Preston
turnpike-road, a goit, or canal, has been excavated, and is now
in process of completion. This goit, or canal, is about twenty
feet wide at the bottom, and six feet deep, and perfectly water-
tight throughout. It extends from the Rake Brook reservoir
to the top or northern end of the large Anglezark reservoir, a
distance of about 31 miles. The bottom of the goit has, of
course, a regular fall or inclination, all the way from the Rake
Brook reservoir to the Anglezark reservoir.
This goit will enable the Corporation to draw off all the
flood and surplus water from the Roddlesworth and Rake
Brook reservoirs into the large storage reservoirs of Anglezark
and Rivington. It will also intercept and collect in its pas.
sage all the rainfall between these two localities, which may
descend into it, and which comprise several thousand acres.
The goit passes through or near the villages and hamlets of
Withnall, Brinscall, White Coppice, &c., at which places there
are weaving, bleaching, and spinning manufactories, which
have been established here for many years, on account of the
plentiful supply of pure water which they will receive in fa.
ture from the Corporation works at regular and convenient
times, and not as heretofore in large quantities, and at uncer-
tain periods, whereby they could not very frequently be re-
tained and made available for the purposes required,

[ln this instance, Mr. Statham must mean that the manu-
factories to which he refers were attracted to the spot by the
excellence and abundance of the water. to be met with in the

neighbourhood. This water being taken possession of by
the Liverpool Corporation, the manufacturers will, in future,
receive their supply from the Liverpool Water Works, which
supply will be delivered in regulated quantities instead of in
the intermittent and irregular manner in which it has
hitherto been received.]

The scenery along the goit is of a wild and in some places
rugged and precipitous character. The goit runs for some
distance along the valley adjoining the Withnall and Angle-
zark moors, where grouse are plentiful, and whence the towns
of Chorley, Preston, and the whole Fylde district, including
Blackpool, Lytham, and Southport, and the sea beyond, can
oftentimes be distinctly seen.
The engineering works upon the goit consist of earthworks,