The Express.
London, England, 1858-06-28 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 28, 1868.

Thames is setting itself to proeure redress with an
energy and with an adaptation of means to the end
that may be a lesson to agitators for the retirees of
any grievance. The Thames is acting upon the
principle that the only means of obtaining redress
from people in power is by making them unoom-
fortable. The Thames does not, indeed, lay hold of
people by the button ; but it Mahes them by the
nose. The Thames is making those in authority
over it and us, not merely uncomfortable, but abso-
lutely miserable. It follows them everywhere.
It assails them in the Senate, in the Courts
of Law, at their White Bait dinners. It for-
bids men of ducal rank to throw open
their bedroom windowe of a sultry night.
It distracts their thoughts in the midst of important
debates, it spoils their appetites. And the consequence
is that nothing is now talked of but the Thames
and how to purify it. Lord Chief Justice CAMP-
BELL introduces the subject, parenthetically, into a
dissertation OE mum and truss. Lord OODERICH
prelim; his exposition of a Registration of Partner-
ships Bill by a similar episode. And Mr. DISRAELI
suggests that the House had better make a 'short
Session of it in order that Government may be left at
Leisure to devote all its wisdom and all its energy to
the momentous task of restoring the Thames to a
state of sweetness and purity. The Thames is
more terrible yet than the Anti-Corn-Law League,
and is likely to obtain an earlier triumph.
Indeed, we can me only two obstacles of any moment
in the way of a speedy purification of the Thames. The
first of these is the excessive eloquence of those who
take upon themeless to denounce its actual condition.
Looking back upon the now tolerably long track of
years daring which Sanitary Reform has been ad-
vocated with unintermitting energy, we cannot help
coming to the ooschudon that it has been materially
impeded by the excessively fine writing of its lite-
rary advocate. They have been animated by a
desire to show what clever things they can
say about the state of our sewers, oar
water supply, &c. ; and they have thrown
so much imagination into their deseriptiom
they have been so graphic, so alternately
funny and pathetic, that they have fairly over
stepped the modesty of nature, and eft an impres-
sion upon the minds of the lies hinaifal masses that
Sanitary Reform was es mush a matter of moon-
shine ea the clever papers that have been written
about IL The same disposition to make the nauseous
state of the Theses a pretext far the composition of
articles and speediss, is whisk the clever points are
to the practical suggestions ea a bushel of chaff to
two grains el wheat, threaten to keep the public
half emend with its own inconvenience till
the hat weather is over, when the sub-
feet may again lase its interest. The second
obstacle in the way of every effective effort for the
purification of the Thames is the empirical half-know-
ledge, and want of masculine commanding breadth
of character, which characterise those who have
been allowed to take the lead in all questions of
Sanitary Reform. The disagreeable truth Is, that for
the date of the Thames we are mainly indebted
to the purblind mechanical experimentaliaing of

fashionable authorities on Sanitary Reform.
One illustration will suffice. They have con-
centrated all their energies upon getting the
filth of every part of the Metropolis so-
annulated in the bed of the river as a centre.
They forgot to ask themaelvea whether the Thames
was ample enough to serve as a channel for carrying
off such an accumulation of nuisances, or whether its
conditions were such as to qualify it for carrying off
any nuisances whatever. From Brentford to Wool-
wich the fall in the bed of the river is very incon-
siderable. At Woolwich, and even lower down, the
effect of the tidal flax and reflux begins to be felt,
making the stream run upwards nearly as large a
proportion of each day as it runs downwards.
Thanks to the missionary real of our Sani-
tary Reformers, every town and ♦illage on
the banks of the Brent, the Wandle, the Let, and
Bavenaboaroe is now as well drained as London, and
the filth and refuse of each is carried into these
streams. There is not an affluent of the Thames,
great or small, that does not join it in u fetid a
condition as Ranelagh Sewer and Fleet Ditch. The
accumulated nuisanoes not only of the Metropolis, '
but of all the adjacent towns and villages, is daily
carried into the bed of the Thames. The abomina-
tions of Woolwich, the Lea, and the Ravensbourne
are brought up to us by the flood tide ; the abomi-
natio= of the Brent and the Wandle ars brought
down to us by the upland waters. These
tributary freights of nastiness are added to all
that the sewers on each side of the Thames
within London disgorge into it. The downward
stream and the upward tide—antagonising forces—
keep the putrid mass suspended in the river between
Deptford and Vauxhall until it subsides to the
bottom. But there it is not allowed to rest, far the
multitudinous and ever-moving strainlisiits hasp
stirring it up. It meet be borne in mind that, owing
to the general drainage of the valley of the Thames,
the floods now run off more rapidly, and the average
volume of water in the river has been diminished.
It must also be remembered that a large quantity of
water is systematically withdrawn from the
Thames by the Water Companies, to be re-
turned to it through water-closets. Add to this the
considerable quantity of stagnant and polluted water
accumulated in docks and canals. To all these in-
fluences it is due that what is by courtesy called the
waters of the Thames between Brentford and Wool-
wich is, in fact, a thin, fetid, miasmatic mud. And
for this we are in no small degree indebted to the
precipitate rashness el thews dabblers in Sanitary
Baleen who have been so active in getting all tbe
filth of London and the surreandiag districts con-
eysd lab the bed of the Themes, without ones
trembling their hen& rrith the question how it wee
again to be got out of it.

There are three tasks before as. The first is to
pat a stop to the conveyance of this world of impress-
Jai* into the Thames. A. long as one sewer is
allowed to disembegoe its polluted stream into du
bed of the river, the water of the Thane cannot be
kept in a wholesome state. Of the means of accom-
plishing this interruption we will speak hereafter.
The second task is to get rid of the aosamuleted
banks of pestiferous mud already deposited in the
bed of the river. Under the combined influence of
the speedy running off of flood waters, and the with-
drawing of large quantities of water from the
Thames and its 'Musts, the body of water
in the bed of the river is little likely to
be at any time in emu, mad daring th•
droughts of summer it I. certain to be
plurally defieleat. This being the ease, the
inmost plying of stemma dories the hot
mama will, so long as the mad-beaks rensaia, be
suasion to keep the river in en meavong sad
unwholesome state, oven witheateoutissal ameedens.
Thee two are weeks the preparations for commumebg
whin ought to be made with the Wet peen&
delay t bat time is required for thins—indeed Se
meddle in any way with the nuid-heake Wks
mister would be madness. Bat these is ow
thing in which immediate action is required, end
that is oar third task. Hitherto the state of the river
has produced no perceptible effect on the general
health of the Metropolis. The observations of
many yam, however, men to have established

that August and September are our unhealthy
atemthe. It t• then that we may meet to feel
the abets of the protracts' nauseam summations
from the river. Will it not be well to take pre-
cautions against the advent of this sickly sewn ? I t
has been customary in ill-drained and ill-ventilated
dwellings, in hot and moist weather, to have recourse
to chloride of lime as a disinfectant. Might it not be
advisable to institute some experiments with a view
to discover whether a partial deodorising process
might not be effected at the mouths of our largest
sewers? This would not render the great works
above adverted to unnecessary ; but it might enable
us to tide over with less of discomfort and danger
the time which most elapse before anything can be
completed.

Tie ERE is something not readily intelligible in the
present state of the HaveLocir Memorial Fund.
Three months ago one of the most important meet-
ings ever held in London to hall a great repu-
tation assembled in Drury-lane Theatre. A Royal
Duke was in the chair; distinguished Ministers of
the Crown, with renowned Generals and Admirals,
delivered enthusiastic speeches; an unparalleled
display of popular feeling took place ; and it
was unanimously declared desirable that the British
people should have an opportunity of showing their
sense of Hammes eminent services. At that
time it seemed a small thing to raise a statue to the
illustrious warrior, and the resolutions passed men-
tioned surplus funds which it was expected would
remain after providing for a material monument,
funds oat of which endowments were to be provided
for the widows and orphans of HavaLocit's soldiers.
Three months have since elapsed, and hitherto the
subscriptions for the monument, far from correspond-
ing to the brilliant professions then made, have
attained a sum which we are unwilling to mention.
The Committee of the Herithocir Memorial presents
an imposing array of names, and could not be more
comprehensive in its constitution. The Peerage, re-
presented by its temporal and spiritual heads,
Statesmanship, Diplomacy, Arms, Law, the Church
and Dissent, commercial enterprise, philanthropy,
science, the useful and elegant arts, are all there in
the persons of their moat distinguished members and
professors. Nevertheless, scarcely anything has been
done, and the work is virtually at a stand-
still. The names of City Magnates are on the
Committee ; yet the City bas not come forward as
was expected. The East India Company, indeed,
has subscribed 200 guineas to the fund, but the
Guilds and large mercantile firms are absent from
the subscription list. It was thought that the large
provincial towns would not disregard= appertain*
of claiming their title in a reputation which was
national. Yet to this date Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol,
and many other important seats of commerce and
manufactures are, with one or two exceptions, total
blanks, either as to collectional or individual sub-
scriptions.
We simply mention these facts, because they
are part of the history of a movement in which
a genuine interest is everywhere taken, and in
order that those to whom such a state of things shall
seem smeatisfastery may inquire into its COMM in
their respective localities. It would be quite beside
the mark to make any stimulating appeal to public
feeling in this matter. Nothing scald be mere spon-
taneous than the feeling of admiration, rising almost
to reverence, with which HAVELOCK% name was
hailed by his countrymen six months ago. His re-
nown owed nothing to extraneous aid—it rose as
naturally as an exhalation as the British public read
in the newspapers the letters, every CM of them of
private origin, which reached this country from hie
camp. There is not the slightest ground for sup-
posing that a lower estimate is now formed of his
services, or of that noble character from which they
derived a lustre ; there is, therefore, the more
need that the stagnant state of the Memorial
Fund should be explained. In the absence of
some definite and authoritative statement on
the subject it is almost impossible to avoid feeling
that the popular sentiment towards the late General
cannot have been properly exploit,. One would
have said last March that the Committee had only to
ask and have. May it not be that, relying on the
readiness of the public to honour lisvithoex, they
have not sufficiently considered that disposition to
wait for the initiative, which is so natural to us
individually in public affairs ? The large same
raised for the Patriotic Fand were obtained through
the agency of local Committees and by direct solidi-
anon. The Committee of the HAVELOCK Memorial,
with laudable intentions, declined to appoint or au-
thorise any person to solicit or receive subscriptions.
Bat this is a social work, and the readiest givers
like to be asked. We are not quite sure,
moreover, that, in deciding on the nature
of the Memorial, the Committee sufficiently
took into account the composite nature of the
constituency to which their appeal was to be made.
The religiose world, which in itself is quite equal to
the work of providing a Memorial for HAVELOCK,
probably never before took so much interest in the
reputation of a military hero. The Memorial Co.
mine@ includes several of its most influential leaders,
nevertheless it will hardly be said that its contribu-
tions have been in proportion to its seal, its wealth,
or its sheet in the reputatiomot thedsoessed General.
There meet be a canes fee this, and we incline to
think that if separate Minds fee the various objects
contemplated by the Committee had been assigned
for the subscriptions, so that donors might give at
their plarsereoitheeitovrarde the emenen of. statue
or `a liscnopcx endirommot liorimidierewifiows,
some obstacles wand has been • removed *lrish
have prevented the -free flew of-es •
from the professedly religious pert of the community.
There are many rich emegregatioes which would
give largely to aspire:Bohn commeaseretiesi of the
Mae of Havatocs, bat which could Dot be asked
for money for a merely military tormement.
It is, however, for the Committee who have wider-
taken to embody the sentiment of Havret.oca's
poneteymse, to say what are the particular obstacles
to their full and complete moms, and to.remove
them. Because, if from any circumstance their
labour. should seam before a Memorial—the noblest
ever reared by a nation to a warrior—hes been
provided for that General, posterity will not believe
that their failure was owing to aoy radical waat of
sympathy on the part of the public. To after
ages it will seem impossible that the present
generation of Englishmen was haliarrent to the
memory of the great-hearted man whom forty years
of neglect and discouragement could not subdue,
who in the hour of need stepped forward the daunt-
less captain me eking with a little bend against the
myriad, of the enemy, and estuaßy tuning the tide
of Wile la his country's favour. It is impossible
to doubt that if the middle enema of Great Britain
are aPPollod to in their mustard way, they will
neatly join is ea of to al) bosom to out who has
shed a hinny on them amongst wham he had hie
origin. Bet thine should be DO delay. Already good
time and valuable opportmeitise have been lost.
Names, deeds, events, in this active age
rapidly pass into history. New difficulties
arks and are surmounted ; new heroes appear,
. . . .

become Wait:ism, sad immobil mast liorrOW bu
a &art awoory, end goad ialiallias soon wear

out. The lievalkce Memorial, as Mae an offer-
ing am ever nation gave, must not be allowed to
degenerate into a lingering debt. The money does
not wish it, but is only anxious to respond to the
words of the hero on the memorable day of Bithoor :
" England shall sweep through the land. 801-1
1 " dims! in that moment your labours, your priva-
" tions, your sufferings, and your valour will not be
" forgotten by a grateful country. Yon will be
" acknowledged to be the stay and prop of British
" India in the time of her severest trial."

INDIA.

-.,
CAPTURE OF CALPEE BY SIR