The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-03-26 00:00:00

Dor.ctshirc.

COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGES
UN DE It THE LOCAL BOARD OF

IIi3ALTH ACT.

On Wednuelny last the question of compensation
for damages alleged to have been sustained to seine
premises belonging to !tles,l-s. Davi+ and i:oleloson,
22, South-street, Dorchester, was argutd before the
arbitrators at the Townhall. The arbitrators were
:Mr. Abbott, of lktlford-row, London, who appeared
for Nleasrs. Darla and llobineou ; and Mr. Bothatu,
of Salisbury, who attended on behalf of the Local
Board of Health. The applicai. (sir damages was
supported by Mr. Coombe, solicitor, and opposed
by Mr. Symonds, Town Clerk.
Mr. Connie+, in opening the case, sail that Mr.
Ocury Ilenry Davis 111111 MS. Joseph Robinson were
joint owners in fee of the house No. 22, Soutleatrts,t,
Dorchester, and also of a cottage at the Luck. The
house in the front yield"' a rent of E 2.1 a year, and the
cottage rill. The Clain, Was for compensation for
denial,' and injury done to the property by the Loral
Board of health having entered upon it, and caused is
public sewer to be mmle under it, and the conipenNat.
fur the damage thus done was estimated to considerably
exceed the sum of .1.^21). The facts were as
follows :—On the opposite side of the hou,s
in questhie is A site of lems,s cilled South-
terrace, the houses of which are constructed with an
area and basement story. l'pon proceeding ti llraiii
these houses tido the sew. r lot :.-wit in the leneral
scheme for the drainage the town, alai which was
intended to pass down Pollen's l'aase2e, on the ninth
of the house in ijumition, it was discovered that the
sewer was laid at too high • level to
drain the homes in South-terrace. It was,
however, ultimately ileterinined by the Council to
effect the drainage by a new supplemental sewer passing
across the South-street, entering upon the claimants'
premises at the south-west angle, and passing diagon-
ally across them at Use north side of the spot shown
in the plan produced. No application was made either
to Messrs. Davis or Robinson for leave to enter the
premises, and they were not aware of any interference
with their rights until the fith ,J September, when
Marsh' the present tenant of the kouse, received •
notice from the Surveyor of the Board of bis intuition
to enter the premises. Mr. Marsh took the notice to
Mr. Davis, and at the same time informed hint that,
although the notice hail only been served on Itim that
ahem-eel, yet the workmen o the Board of Health had
previeusly been at work upon the premises. Mr.
Marsh was just entering upon the occtipation of the
premises. Upon reoeiving the notice, Mr. Davis, who
takes the active pert in managing the property, served
a notice on the Surveyor, onlering him not to
trespass on the premises for the purpose of making
a sewer. Upon the Surveyor receiving the
notice, lie inspected the adjoining premises, No.
21, to see whether he could not carry the sewer
through them, hut he found he could not do so,
from the fact of their baring an underground cellar. He
accordingly told Mr. Davis that he could not find any
other suitable place for the sewer, but promising that
he should be compensated for any damage done to the
property. Although Mr. Davis cold have taken Advan-
tage of the want of notice, he did not wish to give un-
necessary trouble, and accordingly the sewer was carried
out. On the 19th November the claimants addressed A
letter to the Town Clerk, asking hint what amount of
compensation the Local Board intended offering them
for the damage they had sustained. The Board of Health
never at any time replied to that co 1111 l intiicetion, and it
was understood that they censidenal that no damage
whatever was done, because the sewer MRS underground.
The letter gave rise to discussions in the Board of Health
from time to time, and ultimately, the claimants failing
to get any return to their claim, caused a notice to be
delivered to the Town Clerk, in pursuance id the Act
of Parliament, stating that they hal amsanted Mr.
William Abbott, of Beillonl-row. London, as their arbi-
trator, and calling on the Council to appoint another
arbitrator to act with him in the matter. Shortly after
this, the Council served& notice on the claimants stating
that they had appointed Mr. Dothan' as their arbitrator.
The Board ,d Health have contended that there is no
damage done to the pr petty, whilst some of the mem-
bers of the Board have even gone so far as to say that
the prooerty is benefitted by the sewer passing under it.
The claimants asked to be compensated because their
freehold is invaded, and permanently occupied by the
Local Board, and said if they at any time wish to con-
struct a cellar under their premises. they could not do
so because no building can be erected over a sewer with-
out the consent of the Boanl of Health. The use and
enjoyment of their premises was therefore limited,
as in the event of their wishing to add to the pre-
sent house, they would be couipellul to ask the
consent of the Local Boaril before they could build on
their oven ground.besidestheir being ex posed to the chance
of noxious emanations rising fmm the sowarond the pos-
sibility of it becoming stopped up. The present trade in
the house might be materially increased, and thefrontage
of the premises being 2.-tft. 9in. would enable the owners,
by remodelling or rehuilding the house, to augment its
value, but they could not do so from the fact of the
sewer being placed under the house. The new Newer
was not a part if the original scheme, and being laid
dieginuilly it indicted the iiiiire injury on the claimants.
He then called

Mr. Jowett, who said be was the Surveyor of the
Local Hoard of health, and prepared the jolans for the
supplemental sewer. The original plan intended the
sewer to go through Itollen's Passage. A difficulty
arose in draining Southoterrace, from the original sewer
being too high, which caused the supplemental sewer to
be made. 'rite supplemental sewer, lie amid, entered
the premises in question 20 feet behind the parlour, and
pasised under the chop 10 feet beneath the surface. It
IV. i nine-ineli sewer. The sewer WAS laid 9 feet two
inches heneath the pavement. The joints of the sewer
were laid in Portlanol cement. He servml a notice on
the occupier on the afternoon of the 4th of September,
but the workmen Iran on ced the work on the
morning of the 401. The tenant gave them permissitn
to enter, lie received a notice from Mr. Davis &airing
him DIA to tnsapass, lout he afterwards saw hi,, and
told him that whatever damage was alone to the pro-
perty would be made good before he certified that tlic
contractors had finished their work. In passing the
sewer under be made a 3.f00t tunnel.
Crreis-exatnineol : The notice was served on Mr.
Marsh. The sewer was not a part of the onginal plan
oof drainage. liy the imaginal plan these premises could
be easily drained. The sewer was made of atone ware
',aping, oof the beat otualitv, glazed inside and out. It
was water tight and fixed with Portland cement. Thu
tunnel was three feet in the clear, and when the sewer
was finiiheil the tunnel 1/11A rUnell in. The Fewer in
the court was tint theta tilled in, it 'being left
open for the convenience of parties to put
in their drains If the old newer had
been used, it would have coat the proprietors of the
houses about EIS/ extra for piping. The premises
were not damaged at all bj the sewer passing under
them. The soil consisted of chalk and flint. The
work lasted #l,out four days. Ile told Mr. Davis that
any damage would Ire compensated for. The tenant
teld Ilion (the surveyor) that the surface was TI.AOrUd tan
Iris satisfaction. There was no basement story to the
1.1r.e. It was 9 feet 2 inches from the sewer to the
floor. Cellars are riot generally made more than seven
feet from the surface, and kitchens seven feet six
inches. In rebuilding the house, the floor would be
put higher up. Mr. I hrd'r house adjoining is 114 inches
higher in the floor. Statinard connected for Davis. The
owners applied for leave to monnict. lie did not tie
them where they should connect, he only pointed out
to them where they could connect. The cement would
hod for ever. It was not possible that the piping would
ever break. The hoard of Health would save P. 30 by
the erection of this new sewer. The water in the well
o.of the lioouse was complained of before the sewer was
laid.
Mr. William .1. Marsh was the next witness. He
said he entered the premises in September, and carried
on the lousiness of grocer and tailor. He stored his
goods at the top of the house. Ile was never com-
pensated for any damage done to his garden, although
Mr. Jowett said lie should be compensated._ . _

Cross-examined : He was to be paid for a led of
parsnips which was destroyed. Stannard and Jewett
were both present when he was promiaed to be cau-
-1 peusated. The late tenant stored his goods in the
kitchen, as he had no family. The drains had not
interfered with his storing. The water in his well was
not bad till the works were carried out. He had
expremed no satisfaction as to the way in which the
work was performed.
Mr. G. 11. Davis said he was the joint owner of the
premises in question with Mr. J. Robinson. He re-
mesubered receiving a notice (Ma Marsh of the intention
of the Board teenier. He had no notice served on I,
and was never consulted ~ii the matter. Ile knew
nothing of the hewer being loads until Marsh called his
attention to it. He saw Mr. Jewett, and he promised
that the Board should compensate him. He pod
Stemmed for connecting his house with the sewer. The
rent of the house in Soutlestreet was MI per annum,
and that of the cottage at. the back was 1:16.
Crosaexamined : lie gave Mr. Jewett a written
notice not to trespass. The damage was caused by
the sewer being laid under Ids premises, He estimated
the damage Wine to his property at kVA/. Ile thought
the permanent value ef the house was considerably
diminished. The eettage at the back also belonged to
him. The Board 114111 never offered I any compensa-
tion. He meant the 1250 depreciation in value to
apply to both of the houses.
Mr. .1. Robinson Raid he was joint owner with the
last witness. On the sth of November he wrote a
letter, which was sigiesl by himself and Mr. Davis, asking
the Board what amount of compensatiou they
give them for the damage they had sustained. He
had never at ally time received a reply tel the letter,
nor had an offer of oinipensation been made to him.
At the time lie wrote the letter Mr. Davis and himself
had not arrived at the amount of damage sustained.
Cross-examined : He had no notice served on him
by the lkiard of their intention to enter the preniiiies.
No offer of compensation was ever made to him. They
anticipated that the Board of Health would have made
them an offer. The property was considerably depre-
tasted in value by the fewer passing under it. lie
estimated the damage done at £2OO.
Mr. J. Hicks said he was a surveyor and architect,
resoling at Doreliester. Ile knew the premises in
question, in Sonth-street, which was the principal
thoroughfare to the Great and South-Western Stations.
The f tage was 2:lft. !lin., and the depth 118 ft. The
premises could be considerably improved, but nut with-
out a basement story, The sewer prevents the base-
flout story being of sufficient depth to be of advantage.
Niue feet is a good height for • cellar or kitchen. It
would be 11111 ell lens expensive to put a cellar under the
present building than to build a store behind. A store
room was munch required fur the business of a grooet.
The sewer being mewed under the house diagon-
ally, occupies more of the premises, and is of
greater nuisance. South-street is very narrow,
and in re-building, the house should be put hack.
In re-building lie should put the house back
three or four feet. To go farther back would interfere
with the back premises. The back building could not
be catended without building over the sewer. It was
ly that the newer tilOit get clinked at some time,
awl exhalations might arise. The value of the pro.
perty was deteriorated to the amount of 10 years' put-
Anse en the net rental.
Crues-exaudued : He arrived at the value of the pro-
perty at what iiiilit happen. The prewnt occupier was
not damaged. In ascertaining the value of (globoid
property fur bus:mese pet-Pumas he tothwatxl Pare

Pnrebose on the net rent:4 for such property ea this, as
the listnm, was worth 1.1110, being immovable property
anol suited for 'twines) purl.' .r. There would be
no exhalations as bong a tho scwwr was perfect. The
value of the property was certainly decreased by 111
years' purchase. The kitchen in Mr. Davis's weeps-
ti ~, is 7:t. ftin. in depth. The houses he was building
In ilrlolport had kitchens about nine feet deep.
Mr. U. M. rricktnny said that he WM an architect
residing at Weymouth. He load viewed the premises
in question, and ...miming that there seas no sewer in
the way, they could, if it sere wished, Ile remodelled
to eolventage. The sewer might interfere with an
altenition Dont might be drone,' desirable, lint that
would of courte depend upon what kind of busineis pre.
misc.) they wanted. If they constructed a basement
story. any heavy weight. suer) as rollim; Ai cask upon it,
would be halite to crack the pipe. in such GIV.O. the
impliry might not be found out immediately. MA the
sewage would get into) the surrontaling Mho'. floors
should never he more than six inches above the level of
the street. Where pipes were haul in cement, awl the
joints not pmperly 'warden!, there would he danger of
choking. lie had beard, in the roue ie of these proceed-
ings. that the pipes were laid diumamlly across the pre-
mises, whida, in his opinion was decidedly objectionable.
Premises with a basement story were 010 thirdly to he
preferred for business—indeed, it might be maid too bc
inoltspensable. It would depend upon the nature 1.1 the
business to be carried on. how far it would be &girlish.
to •as underground. If the premises were required for
a ureter, the depth required would be tt feet clear; some
other Nosiness), turd not be quite so deep. lb, appre-
homlsol that a p1.r...11 loa,ing a foadiolol. tot yoo to
*bat depth h pleased ; hut the advantages of such
freehold, having a sewer ismning feet beneath the
surface, were limited, and consequently the value wield
be greatly reduced. If a cellar Wvf4 slug. it would be
impossible to go the depth required, and eVI.II in emelt ,
ease, if the pipes burst, or were defective, there would
la exhalati ~,, s. Ile had known several inatancet oof
this.olescrip one at Wee th particularly. In
, that case the odour was intoolerable, the parties were '
obliged to) loser the premises, awl paint hunts' actually
black from the MC lotion of gas which arose ; and
before the nature 1.1 the evil could be founol out, the
the whole of the surrounding soil was charged
' with sewage matter. It was at length found out
, that the drain was defective, lie believed that • pin,
, chaser, knowing a sewer WM running diagonally across
I the premises, would not give near so much for them, as
I be would were there no sewer. In his opinion the pre.
mises, on account of the sewer, hall been depreciated in
value P. 125 to klrat
. . . . . . .

Cross-examined: The case he bad made allusion to at
Weymouth was a brick sewer running from the barracks
to the harbour, the fall of which was very conehlorable.
In that came, the water, of course, ran down hill. In
the present case, supposing the sewerage should escape,
the sewerage water to impregnate the ground, must run
no hill. The water would rise by capillary attraction.
He believed that water ilid tine in the walls of all build-
ings more or less, according to the nature of the mate'
nil, unless something was slime above the foundation to
prevent it. He hail already mid the door of &ellen
should not be more than 6 inches above the level of the
pavement. Ile was aware there were many instances
on the Eaplanalle, Weymouth, where stems hail to be
nacended to enter the shops, hut this was an inconveni•
coca to which the pertiea were obliged to submit to,
from not being able logo down to the baaement stoty on
account of the water. He believed that in the principal
streets in Weymouth, three-fourths of the shops were
entered by a single step. No one would consider it
prudent to lay the pavement stonee close upon a aewer.
In sonic soils, • sewer from the cellar was neceexary, but
In a dry spot, where thews premises were situated, a
sewer would be unnecessary. He could not pay what
the crushing resistance of the stoneware pipes that bad
been used in this drain wan; but there was
not ea much danger of their breaking to be
apprehended from any crushing power placed on
them as from a sudden jerk. If a cook of sugar were
dropped upon one ef the pipes a foot or Is inches be-
neath the surface, it would be sure to break. Sup-
posing the property in question wan his own, he might
get a decent basement for a grocer's cellar by turning
an arch over the drain to preserve the pipes, but even
in that ease the depth would not be so great as he
himself would go were no drain there. The shop door
and joists would take Up a fad, the pavement 4 inches,
and the arch 18 incins, leaving a basement story
7 feet 2 inches in the clesr. This he considered was not
sufficient. Ile was now erecting two oelhirs iii Maiden-
street, Wey th, $ feet clear. Ile considered that
the depreciation in the value of these premises trim the
drain was I:5 a year, which. at 25 or 111 years purchase,
would give £I2II or £l5ll. His grievance Ilid not ho in
the present but in the future—if lie were to purchase
the premises he would not give so much for them on
account of the drain by the sewer lie had named.
Thomas Anderson said lie resided at Weymouth,
and was agent to the Johnstone estate, lie had had
considerable experience in house property. Iron his
own experience he believed that • drain passing under
the preiiiiiies in question was detrimental to them, and
the fact that the pipes were laid down diagonally in-
centred that detriment. There was a danger of effluvia
rising from some escape of soil, and the fact of being
prevented going down more than to a certain depth would
detract very materially from the value. He hail seen
these premises. If there were two houses precisely
alike in every other respect, but one had a drain 9 feet
6 inches beneath the surface of the ground, and another
had no suchdmindie wiedd undoubtedly strike off EiMat
once as the amount in the depreciation of the former.
He should have no hesitation in doing this. In the
course of his experience he had found that tenants, and
especially the better class, • were very particular about
drums pausing under their houses.
rrow-examined : Ho was speaking from lois own ex-
perience in Weymouth. Ni. general system of drainage
list been carried out at Weymouth, het drains bad
been laid clown in St. Mary's-etrect, Maidenedreet, end
Eaststreet. But houses in Weymouth were in general
draiiml by what is called the cesepit system. The
drainage ill fiat carried into a water-tight cesspit, and
when the water overflows, it is carried into the drain.
Where the evsepita are not waterproof, the liquid len.-
tion percolates among the shingle. The drains from
the enapits to the sewers running under these houses is
what the Weymouth people object to. Various kinds
of pipes are used. Some persons use glazed and other
unglazed pipes. The value this property was re-
duced on account of the drain, provided a cellar were
dry, iii from the risks and contingencies likely to arise.
The rink was, that if a heavy weight were to come bud.
ilenly unon the pipe there would be a fracture.--Mr.
Sienna.: Mr. flicks says the damage is mu, Mr.
Crickmisy has reduced it to £12.1 or tiro, and you bare
reduced it still farther to EtiO. How do you arrive at
your depriciation of the value —Mr. Anderson mid that
supposing he wankll to take the premises on an hip
proving it would be an object to him to be able to
do as he liked with the property, but as, in consequence
of this drain, he could not go what depth he liked, lie
would imineilietely take off M. a year.- -Mr. Sy ttttt nds :
Would you take less rent on account of the ilraiu if the
himse were yours.—Mr. Anderson : I should be obliged
to iii. so. An Is-inch covering over the pipe he should
not deem sufficient for any crushing weight or sudden
jerk to pass over it.
Re-examined : The best of pipes may have faults in
them, rendering them pervious to water, or to be easily
cracked.

This being the whole of the claimant's case, an ad.
journment for e quarter of an hour took plea:. On
their re.aasenibling,
. . . . . . .

Mr. Symonds ri7Clied on the evidence that had been
given, and opened the case for the defence. He en-
pressed his mitonisliment And disappointment it the
evidence adduced, upon which his friend, Mr. l'oomble
had sought to set up his claim. Thu case, under the
Act of Parliament, divided itself into two parts—first,
Was there any damage, in fact; and, secondly, the
amount of compeneation to which the parties were
entitled for such damage, if any had been done. Now.
the whole of his friend's first propoeition was, that no
damage, in fact, had been done ; the damage which he
bad referred to was • prospective one which might fea-
sibly happen at loins future period, but which possibly
might not happen ; but which, it was evident, was a
matter of more speculation. His friend had evidently ,
relied a good deal throughout his case, upon the idea
that • man ought to do what he liked with his own,
but which, in thiakeee, he wan prevented. The 144th sec.
of the Act pointed out the way of dealing with questions
of compensation. The clause stated that "compensation
shall be made out of the special or general district rate
to all persons sustaining damage by reasons of works
carried out by ouch special or general district rate, under
this act." Now, it was clear from the wording I if this
CILIUM that the compensation must be made when the
damage had arisen, and met from any speculative
damage lying in the future, and which might possibly
never occur, lie must confees lie was not prepared
to find his friend confine himself to a case 1 this de.
scription. His own opinion clearly was, that this was
not a claim capable of being sustained. The parties
ought, at all events, to have waited till • case of real
damage—not • speculative one—did exist, tinf.poeing
that in the execution of the works • real damage bad
arisen to any part of the building, then, in such case,
he had no doubt the Board 14 Health must have made
it good. A good deal of rtress had been laid upon the
fact, in this case, by his friend, that no notice was given
to Mr. nava before entering on the prernives to du the
work. But the truth was, no notice was necessary. The
possession was that of tenant, and he VIM the only
person to complain of an entry being nrade without
notice ; sod he was the only party who could sue any
one for any trespass. The owner could not prevent
the entry even, had the tenant given leave. Why the
tenant could even sustain an action at law against the
landlord for entering on the premises to execute
works. It wing true the 4.5 th sec. of the Act provided
that the Board could not enter on the land until notice
had been given, but surely it was competent on the
part of the tenant, hael he chosen, to waive that claim
for notice, and so far as Mr. Taylor was renamed, lie
did waive the notice and give leave for entry. Nor hail
Mr. Marsh complained. It was true he said something
about destroying some parsnips, for which he was
undoubtedly entitled to compensation. The question
then mils in this case, for what were they liable. The
tenant did not couiplain—he never hail complained.
After the work was fiiiiiihed, lie was asked "bas the
contractor restored everything to its proper position to
your satisfaction r and mem his expression of satis-
faction and the report of the Surveyor, his nioney for
performing the work was paid him. It was clear then
no damage lied been sustained at present. The tenant
was well satisfied. Nor luid the claimants--notwitle
standing Mr. Hick's amertion that they had reduced
the value id the property I:2llo—sustained any damage
in rent, as since the work lied been done the rent had
been raised from .12i to re, it year.—Mr. Coombs: The
notice for raising the rent wins given before the works
were executeel.—Mr. Symonds did not care when the
agreemalit WU made. The fact was sufficient to prove
incontestibly that there had been no depreciation in the
not to the value of one single farthing. There was
no present appreciable damage, but then, the claimants
said, forsooth, "but we may pull theut down and let
them out for some very important business, when there
will be the damage we now atate." Ile hail been very
curious to ascertain what that depreciation would be even
in such cam), and he asked Mr. Hicks what would he the
cost of erecting the new premiscs for carrying on the
important business which had been suggested, and lit
stated that the cost would be MO. Now he (Mr.
Symonds) thought they might always fairly calculate all
architect's entlO to anemia to I:1,000, for which, accord-
ing to Mr. Hick's calculation, they would obtain a rent
of a year, provided there was not this obnoxious
drain. They now fed re, a year, and if they had only
0 per cent. on the outlay on the prospective new
premises, that would make the rent amount to £75 a
year, being £5 wore than it was contumplitted asking.

1:e thought, therefere. that the logical conclusion to
come to on this argument was that, in reality, no
damage lad been austeined. Dui snore than this, be
should he nide to show that, in the opinion of other
gehtlemen who, with all due deference to thine whe
had been called. were mere experienced in these metier,,
and therefore the better able to give a correct opinion.
that the drein was not calculated, in the !Not degree, to
depreciate the villa° of the property. liii friend, on the
eppeeite side, lie theught. had ndher overproved
hi. case. Al first the damage was extimated at
1210. Then it came down to £125 or VW. end
lastly, Mr. Anderson reilneed it to Is. is week. But
though they hail made three etetementx, they had not
tauten env syetentatic method of arriving at the remits.
If the el:therm.% had Nene there, and said, " We cannot
got a tenant to go bite the itremites at the existirtg
rental we shall he obliged to reduce the rental II •
yeer." then there wenl,l be a care for compenantion.
But lie was at a los. bow they could come there and ask
for consternation on ensue epersilative notions that did
not now exist, and which pellets* never would exist,
except in theory. One of Mr. Cl.llllell witnesees
bad completely proved the case for the defence.
Ile had proved not only that there had been no &tune
MllStßilled, but also that there bad not been any claim
for damege on the part of the tenant, who wonld lIATC
been entitled to claim, heel any damage been done. He
phould In addition to this, call before them other gentle.
soon who hail had much experience in these matters,
who would also show not only that no (Lune"tte was dime
to the building Ir 4 it at present existed hut, it also, that
thwre WAAis,, fb1111,?..- 4,4,1• in reference to any ern ••••ti VC
alteration 4, and iltt,t what had been done in Iterate:ter
was in itecordnitat with the nstutl wise. a ef Dearila of
Health in other towns, where no ennipeneatien was ewer ,
dreamed about. His friend had alluded to the fact that
this 'sewer leas a etipplementel Fewer to the general
ethente originally laid stern on the plan, which ought
not to have been deviated from ; hnt lie Afield show
that this supplemental sewer wow an advantage to the
elaitioand:, tool a great saving of expense, inasmuch as
Bier had not now to make exeavations and purchase
materiel for carrying the sewage of the premiers into
the drain in Itolleit'x 'weeny. They bed been saved
an expense which, they now construed into a grievance. ,
He thought it rather ungraeioux in his friend to cren•
plain that the Beard, by adopting, the eupplemental
sewer, heti saved the town an expense of VlO. The
45th sectien of the Act pee them the power to open
sewers wherever they pleased, by snaking compensation
to the parties through whom premises the sewer pawed
fer dttmage done; but who was to speculate upon what
might happen 50 years hence? The Board said it was
more convenient for the ratepayer* to spend shillings
than poen& ; and the town, in saving expense to them
pelves, bad saved an expense to the appli•
canto, for which they now turned round upon them
for compensation. First of all, their wrote to the Tows.
Council to ask them to make an effer for compensation
for damages ; and, no doubt, if the Town Connell hail
I bean weak enough to make them an offer, they would
have been able to snake very easy terms with them.
But as the Council did net inake an offer, instead of
fixing their damages under LW, that the case
might ho tried berme the snagistrates, they timid,
" We'll fix it at above and thus they had driven
the town into this expensive mode of proceeding. which
if he did not greatly mistake, they would ultimately
find most oppreettive to tliemselvee. Ile thought that
any one who had heard only the evidence en the other
able. would not be inclined to say that they were
entitlNl to 1:20. or even In one farthing's compensation.
' that even after he had called his witnewes, which would
I place the applicant* even in a wow position, the arbi-
trators should deem that some slight compensation
necessary, he maintained that, inasmuch as they had
I not laid their claim under L'2ll to avoid the costa, She
expense of arbitration should le ordered kt le paid by
the claimants. After some further remarks, Mr.
Syne-nide called
Joshua fieorge Poole, who said lie bad been the Town
Surveyor at Southampton ever since the Doan! of
of Health Act had been applied to that town in 1850.
The works at Southampton were iit a very advanced
stage. The ardent of drainage aulepted was from the
back of the latuaes. but even an that cane there were
I many exceptiona. In many eases the drains have to pass
under the houses—he had counted on his plena 135 such
cases. The subsoil was the ordinary soil, clay soil
gravel. Many of the houses under which drains hied
peened hail cellars. When the sewers Pad been made
in that way, the surface had been covered by the Board,
but he had never heard of any cane of compeneation ;sso
had never heard of any claim for compensation being
111/I.le, either by tenant or landlonl. If any damage
bed been done to the fabric on accotant of the drainage,
upon a complaint being made. Le, as the officer of the
Board, had lied the damage made good. Ho had been
to view the premises in question, and hail had pointed
out to I the course of the sewer. Assuming that the
pipet., as etated, were of the best quality, and laid in
Lenient, 9 feet 6 inches below the ground floor, he did
not consider any damage had been done to those pre-
mises. If the pipes are of the best quality, and properly
laid and jointed, he did not think it at all probable that
exhalations would moved front the drain any more than
they would front a glees bottle. He had hail a good
deal of experience in matters of this description,together
with the ordinary experience of a surveyor in the gene-
ral way. laxmlng at the plans, he should say the
supplemental sewer was necessary in the present ewes.
The proper way of estimating the present damage was
the loss in the amount of rental owites to the drain being
carted out. There not being a loss orrental, would cer-
tainly negative the supposition that there bad been any
Ilatnage done in respect to the drain—and he watt at is
lose to ascertain from what grounds rompenaation could
be demanded. At Southampton the proceedings of the
Board of Health bad been *micelle! canvassed. Capt.
Diailby made a claim on account,/ a sewer, and appointed
an arbitrator. The Board refused to entertain the sub-
ject, and neglected to appoint one, and accordingly they
were obliged, in accordance with 6110 Act, hi pay the
amount asaintsed by Captain Duality's arbitrator iii
default.

Croos-examined by Mr. Coombs : Could not any whe
tiler in every instance the occupation of a portion ol
another person'ii freehold would depreciate the value at
that freehold. If there was no use for the land 10 feet
deep, it certainly would not depreciate it by the oecti•
tuition. The 13:1 eases he had spoken of at Southampton
were in accordance with the general scheme. It was
quite proper to rectify any iniotake iu a general scheme
by the resident engineer. There had been two other
applications at Southampton for damages, but those
MK% were not applicable to the one under discussion.
It wag not at all likely any exhalations
would arioe from these drains- -it was pooible; all
thinp were posaible. If then: wan a leakage in the
drain, the water would run up hill by capillary attrac-
tion, and rise tower& the Aortaee. If either of the
pipeo had a crack, there willlllo law lif nature to prevent
the fluid rioing at once, lie did not suppooe there was
a possibility of thisrising front any of these pipet. Tito
supplemental drain was put in MI a matter of economy.
He underotoixl the estimate was .C.lO alpinist Din. It was
quite proper for the Board to go the most economical
way to work.
By Mr. Abbot: lie was *peaking of the drainage of
the district. He did not ace that the blundering of the
engineer made any difference iu regard to the supple-
mental sewer. Ile did not SCO that it could make any
difference in regard to damages, whether the works
were laid down iu the general lichente, or were oupple-
wented by the re.itlent engineer.
By Mr. lkdhaut : Ile believed it quite competent for
the Board to save money by altering the original schema
where practicable.
Mr. Abbott: But would you not pay a private party
for permission to go through his premiwo, if it were not
in the original ocheistel —Certainly not. I should save
the public money, if I were the engineer, if I posoibly
could.

Mr. Abbott asked if Mr. Poole did not consider, as
a matter of right and justice, that the claimants should
receive some compensation for the drain passing through
these premises, in consequence of the saving and the
blundering of the engineer.
Mr. Symonds protested against this course of ex-
amination. lie %Sonia instruct his witnesses not to
answer, nor could he permit Mr. Abbott to sit there as
an advocate, instead of a judge.
Ily Mr. Bothani : It was by no means unusual in the
System of drainage now in general adoption to carry
pipe drainage u. der houses. The old system of brick
drainage WWI much inure likely to be defective than
pipe drainage.
Mr. Diamond said he was • surveyor and engineer
residing at Exeter, and carried on business with his
father and brother. He had been largely connected with
drainage under the Towns' Act, in several towns, amongst
which were St. Thomas', of Exeter, Sherborne, and
Burnham. He had seen the property indicated by the
plan, and had heard described where the sewer was,
, and the way in which it was carried beneath the
houses. Ile could not find that the property had
sustained any damage whatever. As • rule, they
carried drains through the public roads in preference to
private property, although the expense must be con-
sidered in the matter. A slight difference in the
expense would not induce I to go through private
property, but if the expense were serious he would not
. hesitate. Ile had carried newers beneath buildings in
many instances, and he had never heard of such • claim
as that which was mole that day. When he had
carried a sewer through private property, he had always
seen that the property Irt as left in the genie state as that
in which lie heel found it. Ile did not fear that the
exhalations would be forced through the pipes. It was
possible, but lie had never known of such a case ;
therefore, it was an extreme possibility. The escape
would be I the joints, but supposing the joints to he
properly laid in Portland cement there would not be
the alights-at chance of• escape. If there were an
! escape it would be felt in the houses occupied by persona
higher up the sewer. It was • manifest advantage
to this property to have an inclination in the
. sewer of I in 6.

(mined: The property was as secure from
any annoyaiice as it was on the lot of August, when
there was no sewer laid, with the exception of that
possible remote contingency be lush spoken of. After
pipes had been laid in the manner in which these had
been stated to have been laid, they were out of the reach
,if danger from fracture, except (ruin some extraordinary
causes. Ile did not think that any lunage was done
to the freehold by the occupation of a certain amount
of piping. Ile did not think that • person could take
down a house and rebuild it over the sewer without
the leave of the Loci' Board. Ile thought the property
WWI hampered in ramie degree by having • sewer under
it, and that it was probably lerieened in value. Ile
would ova matter of course endeavour to lay the drains
along the public roads rather than interfere with pri-
vate property. In this instanee lie should have avoided
making the drain under the property by going through
the ',image, even if lie had incurred a little extra ca-
lmer.
. . .

ite-easniined : lie had ne‘er known people coins to •
Local Board for blare to build upon. sewer, and get re-
fu.cd.

_
11r. Momley was next examined : He said he was a
surveyor and builder, residing at Dorchester. He knew
the **unhappy" house that was the subject of that din-
mission. Ile hail heard that it was very valuable, worth
V2l per year, and that the fee simple value is DM, at
30 years' purchase. He did not, however, coincide in
that opini ~,, . He should not advise his client to pur-
chase it at that into. He knew the *aurae of the siewer,
and he also knew the subsoil (if the town. It was
chalk. Ile had seen lkilleu's homage opened, and he
found that nearly all a it consisted of made ground.
He agreed in the proposition that the net rental was
the hasis of value, awl the depreciation in value 'mold
be based upon the loss of rental. He could not con-
ceive, as there was no depreciation in the value of rent,
that there was any damage done to the property what-
ever. He did net se all shale in the tear that the ex-

halations would come through the pipes, if the joints
were properly cemented. The drains were in hie
house. and he bail not found any stoppage whatever,
although thee ball been in use DivetiV six months. The
sewer had worked sffectively. lie limo the tendency
of water to flee. lett he had no fear, after bearing the
way in wideh the pipe. bad been !Merl fed. that the
exhalatien would come throtezh. He dal not think that
any damage would accrue to any lions. through the lay-
ing of the pipes. Ile should not think a house would be
damaged a farthing. lie should not consider himself
damaged in the alightest if he were in Mr. Davia's
place.
Iroan-examined : lie had been in Dorchester some
years, and hail had • great deal to do with house pro-
perty, and he well kiww the price demanded in Dor-
cheater. 11.- built game home.., on a piece of land he
bought. Ile lived in one of those unhappy bounce, the
tenant...f which wrote a round-robin to the I 'rained.
Ashur.: them to pot in a supplemental drain at the back
of the houses. Ile had never been under the neer-way
of flushing his sewers. He remembered last Sunday,
and saw the good oppoeite 111 r. flolleu's Lou... The
Rower was choked, but that was caused by outface
drainage. Of mum if one sewer became choked, the
same accident might happen to another. lie did not
wish to buy the property at the price named, or any
other. If he had to make the sewer under the premises,
lie shonl.l be guided by circumstance He thought it
was the most prudent mime for the Board to adopt, as
it was lessexpensive, greater strength, and better ground,
no that it was a great benefit to go through the private
proper:y. Ile kio w that a teuant bad asked his land-
lord to pay his ned in consequence of a drain passing
under his house, so that the sterling value of the pro.
perty bad been depreciated. If the houne were mold to
him, and all knowledge of the newer had been kept
from him till the bargain wan made. lie ahould not
think it worth while to make a claim for compensation.
A drain with stellar!. angle was inuel more liable to be
choked than a Amur drain. There wee a groat benellt
from thin drain taking • diagonal direction, as a greater
1..11 wam thereby necund. lie would not himself invite
the Hurveyor to carry a drain under Ilia 110111 C, bet if he
ever contemplated making any alteration lie did not sea
what damage could poasibly accrue. He did not knew
where the sewer IVILS shut off at the bottom of the
town. There could be no exhalat from the drain
if the joints were well stopped.
lie-exemine.l : He considered that 7 feet or 7 feet 6
inches was a aufficient height for a basement story. Hr.
I:ascombe had • basement story 7 feet inches. He
did not oonider • drain under the basement door any
detriment whatever.

Mr. ALbott : yon know the reason why the sewer
wax carried through this private property, instead of ae-
cooling to the original plan.
Mr. Mondey supposed it was in consequence of • mis-
take by the engineer, who drew the plan.
Mr. Abbott asked if Mr. blondey knew whether the
Boanl of Health took any security for the due perfor-
mance of his work. _

Mr. Mondey acid be knew nothing of the matter.
Mr. Symonds bald Mr. Abbott seemed to dwell upon
the subject of compensation, because the original plan
was departed from. This had nothing to do with it.
The question was, had the applicants sustained any
dingo, or had they not. Ile might, however, elate
what Mr. klondev could not possibly know, that the
Board if Health .did not receive anything from the engi-
neer on account id this blunder. The fact was, the
engineer brought an action against the Board for the
recovery of his money, and they were obliged to pay
it.

Mr. blonde), in reply to some questions from Mr.
Abbott, said that the property in question was not worth
more than ,Ctrin. IS c,,uld not be made a very valuable
Property on account of there being no back let, which
was a great drawback.
Mr. Coombe, in reply upon the whole question, said
he thought he might congratulate their opponents upon
the point of consistency- they had been down upon tho
applicants from beginning to end. He was, however,
very much aurprissel to hear Mr. Symonde ao continually
dwelling UP3O the fact of Mr. Jowett being their wit.
limo; and saying their witness had proved the case in
his favour. Now, Mr..lowett WAS his VISUALS, ins.-
much as he bad called him to give certain evidence,
which no other witness could have given, in order that
the caae might he put fairly before the arbitrators ; but
further than this, he was not his witness. As the 'Ar-
rant to the Hoard of Health, it wax not to be expected
that he would go against them. Mr. Symonds had ad-
dressed that court on the circumstance that they had
taken the present proceedings instead of going before
the niagistrates ; but the facts were, they had in this
find place put themselves in communication with the
Board of Health. They asked what compensation they
were disposed to give for the damage that might be ens-
tained by their act. They bad no desire to act with hos-
tility, but were they met with the same degree of fair.
neas and reciprocity to avoid coming into this
court? Nothing of the sort. The Board of
Health did nut even deign a reply to their
coinmunication. The Board of Health, without asking
leave or giving notice, trespassed on their premises, dug
a bole and carried the drain under the premises against
the protestations of the inhabitants, and contrary to
the general plan of drainage as laid down by the engi-
neer. Instead of going down the passage as originally
intended, they cut a diagonal line across his client,'
premises and took possession of their freehold. Tlizir
oppinents said they had done no damage, but was it
nothing that they were clogged and hindered by this
act—that they were no longer able to do with their
properly what they could have done before the draia
waii kid down? lie was astonished to be told by their
opponents that his clients had nothing to do with the
entry and carrying on thc works connected with this
drain. The question was not whether the man in the
bowie was satisfied ; the question to be looked at was,
, whether his clients hail the same enjoyment of their
' freehold as they had before the Board of
Ifealth came near it? And here the answer was plain
and distinct. They had not. They must now eouie to
that hall and ask permission of the Board iif Health to
erect a basement story at any future period. It would,
of course, be an extreme act of caprice and deserving
of reprobation in the highest degree for the Board to
withhold their sanction, but they really and truly
might refuse their leave to build ; at all events, they
might prevent their going the depth that was deemed
necessary, and thus interminable difficulties and litiga-
tion might ensue. Mr. Coombe, in conclusion, contended
that the Boar' of Health had acted most ungraciously
towards his clients from beginning to end. Not only
had they enkred on the premises a ithout notice, and
refused to communicate with them on the question of
I damages auatained, which common civility and courtesy
demanded, but now Mr. Syinonds came there and asked
the Court to saddle the coots on his clients.
Why, if they had gone before the magistrates
they must have confined the damage to
a sum not exceeding E2O, but lie held the rights and
privileges taken from them in constsiunce of the drain,
deteriorated the value, as had before been shown, very
considerably shove that sow.
. .

Mr. AblZtt asked for all the documents to be put in.
Mr. Symonds luulded the documents numbered 1 to 4
which had been put in.
Mr. Abbott said be had heard something about a
letter wntten by the General Board to the Clerk of the
Dorchester Local Bowl.

Mr. Symonds said it had not been referred to in the
mum of thoae proceedings.
Mr. Coombe said be alluded to it in his opening
addresa.

Mr. Symonds remarked that he had had no notice to
produce it, and he had not brought it with him.
Mr. Coombs : I gave notice for all documents in
reference to the ease to be produced.
Mr. Abbott contended that the arbitrators were
entitled to all documents, and he now called for the
production of the letter in question.
Mr. Symonds said be must take time to consider the
quention. If the production of the letter was desired,
it should be called for during the progresa of the ease.
The case was now closed, and he must 'mutest against
their again opening it for the production of this letter.
Mr. Abbott maintained he had • right to call for it,
and lie ,lid so.

Mr. Symonds said he must take time to consider
whether he would give it up. His own impression was
they were not, now the eau was dosed, entitled to call
for It should have been called for at the commence-
ment of the proceedings.
Mr. Abbot said he considered that all this mischief
had arisen from the 'aches of the engineer.
Mr. Symonds replied, that if Mr. Abbot supposed the
Board had derived any benefit from any 'aches on the
part of the engineer he was greatly mistaken. The
engineer brought his action, and he was paid by the
Local Board in full, without deduction for any mistake
he might hare made.

The proceedinp then terminated, but we understand
that Mr. Abbot and Mr. Botham, after considerable dis-
cuoiion on the subject, found they could not agree on the
point at hisue, and cousequentry the case will have to
be gone through de Nor° before Mr. Bestow of the
Middle Temple, who has been selected as the umpire.

Dosser Iteciiir.sv or Alimus.--We are credibly
informed that it is the intention of the Lord Limit.
of the County to call out this regiment the early
part of next month, for the usual period of training.
TiNcLeros.--Many persons will have it that the
inhabitants of the British isles have degenerated in
strength and length of life, and become less able to
bear the rude shocks of the world than formerly.
As regards length of days, we certainly think such
an opinion is erroneous- Only a short time ago we
noticed the death of an ancient dame in Somerset.
shire, and we have now to record the death of ano-
ther female, who died in this village on the 16th
inst. in her 90th year. She was 2.1 years and 9
mouths single, 52 pars a wife, and 14 a widow.
She had 9 children, 37 grandchildren, 15 great
grandchildren, and 2 great great grandchildren.
Her name was Betty House, and certainly according
, to her name, she took good care to have • good
"house."

"Gloss way contra/ dross."—How often have we to
&delis° the ingenuity of the Chinese who excel in the
tinsel arta but we all object to the adaptation of the
beautifying ',recess to an article of diet. It is a well-
known fact that while the Chinese drink pure tea them-
elves, they apply powdered colour to the great balk of
that sent to England. This is done to inerrear their
profit at the coanseser's expense, for IT making all
growths appear of the some colour the brown ffsvourlees
Autumn leaves are pawed off at • full price with the
best, hence the disappointment so often experienced by
the consumers of the ble.ek wiry and Ureuds attractive
kinds of tea, whose "ohms is dross." The remedy for
this is Horsimait's Pure Tea without pswdered colour
on its surface, (the Green a dull olive, and the Black
not intensely dark), being the Spring growth they ere
" always yood alike." Local agents are enumerated in
our advertising columns.

IioLLoWAVII 0111tIOINT.—tkfld Heads, &we IFlreasta, In-
flamed Nipples —There ts no medical preperatlon In the world
which may be .11 thoroughly depended on In the treathient of
the above ailments an Holloway's Invaluable Ointnwtit, and
warmly a day pima In which authentic testimonials to Ha
extraordinary efficacy are not received from all parts of the
globe. Nothing eats be umpire or more rate than the Maw.*
In which they were awned. or Ite union nn the body both
locally and einstitlit.ismally. The Ointment rubies' on the
van affect. ,1 enter* thu ports rot to salt enter. Mat, and Pot
only gtta rid of the local eel but paintrau. to the source of
it, and drives It from the system.