The Express.
London, England, 1850-03-19 00:00:00

from its animadversiess oa the dilatations of the Own-
eidetic& Os Friday hat, "it =lra! meshy" was
summoned "for the parries of the report of
the Committee es the plans the drain-1
age of Loudon." Ttds committee was appointed
about a twelvemonth &lace, and its report deals with
the plane which were mat in op to the 16th of
December last, Do that the doormat has been pre-
cisely three months ander consideration. The com-
mittee, at any rate, can scarcely be obnoxious to the
charge of having arrived at a " foregone oonelnsion."
The plane for the drainage of London sent in to,
and examined by, the erommittee &menet in number to
116. They ashram every sort of project, from
" the construetion of a grand brick sewer from
London to Bvschey Reed: down to a modest
paper containing " some seggeetions as to haute
drainage." The committee Ia one part of their
report dwell on the difficulties of their task. Look-
log at their catalogue of " plus," the complaint
scarcely seems unremovable. These plans are of
every sort sad kind. There are plans which leave
lvverything as it is., and plans which propose changes
it would take till Doomsday to accomplish. There
are pleas for emptying all the sewage of Loudon
into the Thames, plans for oi. in, it out of town by
railway, "Gnat Bea Ocean" schemes, for carry-
ing by tunnel down to Dringenoss, or the
Non light, plans for carrying at into " the artesian
bred" under a, and, to judge from one of the
descriptions, a plan for removing it by an aerial
process, or, es the report terms it, " a tunnel over the
metropolis."

The mechanical contrivances embodied in the
I plans are quite equalled in eccentricity by the
chemical proposals. The " deodorising" pro-
jects are numerous, and there an all sorts
of plans for " filtration," through tanks and
by hydraulic pressure. One gentian= sub-
mits " disinfeetng fluids," another proposes the
admixture of rare " chemical agents." Tone are also'
a great variety of suggestions conosrniog the appara-
toe to work the sewers. " Flushing "of every sort
is proposed. Ooe gentleman would bring a supply
of flustdog water from above Windsor, another pro-
pins to get it frosKingston,a third thinks itunnene-
airy to go further op the river than Batten= whilst
a fourth suggests the arrangemeat of a circle of pipes
round London, obtaining their supply from the
Regent's and Surrey Canals. The pumping pro-
jects are as numerous as those for flush-
ing. In one plan a "pneumatic apparatus
and syphon seir:rs" are proposed ; in another, "a
pneumitic apparatus, with ventilation, flushing steam
vacuum, and mill power." O. party is favourable
to "air-compressing engines," whilst another would
be content with " a antipodal drain," and a number
of others thiLk pumps unnecessary, and propose the
construction of '• soil tank," either to run all over the
town on rails calling at every man's house each morn-
ing after breakfast, or else to be kept continually
floating in barges on the "silvery Taames," to the
great =neuritic of that delightful river.
We can scarcely wonder that comparatively few of
such plans as there are considered by the ccmmissionen
worth n parsing notice. They have commented only
upon 5 out of the 110 projects laid before them, and
of these five they have contented themselves with re-
commending one, " not for adoption u a whole," but
" as containing many of the main elements of a sound
and judicious system of drainage."

Setting aside the vague and speculative plans, the
majority of projects submitted to the committee were
based, more or less, upon the rival prop-eels so much
discussed a year ego, one of which was styled the
tunnel scheme, the other the sumph or tank project.
Of the 116 projectors, 46 favoured the tunnel, and
28 the seraph plan. The committee incline, together
with the majority, in favour of a tunnel scheme.
But it must be oeserved that their tunnel scheme is
very different from that proposed by Mr. Pmutes,
who if we remember right would form one great
tunnel 78 feet below the surface of the metropolis,
passing eleven or twelve times under the Thames.
and carrying all the sewage into a huge
reservoir, from whence it was to be pumped
up to the top of Shooters Hill! The committee
repent, as well we think they may, that " the 'e-
poxies of this scheme, even if it were unobjectionable
in other respect., which it is not, would render its
execution commercially impracticable.*
The plan which the commissioners recommend f
partial adoption is that of Mr. J. B. *CLEAN. He
proposes the discharge of the sewage into two inland
tunnels sunk on each side of the river, and running
in parallel directions to reservoirs which are to be
formed in the marshes below London. He proposes to
employ, as far as possible, the existing sewers to
afford a natural discharge into the river, blending
those sewers with new ones, where these are neves
sary, but generally following the direction of the
main thoroughfares in their construrtion. With re-
gard to the ultimate disposal of the sewage "the plan
1e full scope for any operations that may be
deemed advisable for the preparation of the sewage
manure for agricultural purposes; but it does not
render the efficiency of the entire scheme dependent
on such operations.* Under Mr. M'CLEAres plan the
overflow drainage will, after filtration and prepare-
tign for solid manure, pass into the Thames, probably
below Woolwich.

The committee say, in their report, that the great
mass of the sewage matter of London will thus be
diverted from the river; but, on the other hand, the
chairman of the commission says that if the manure
cannot be disposed of, it must be thrown into the
Thames; so that, after all, it seems questionable how
far the tunnels and the reservoirs will save the river
from pollution. However, there is no doubt a great
deal in this plan of Mr. *CLEAN which, if not new,
is at least sensible and practicable. Mr. Alderman
and Sheriff LAWRENCE is of opinion that the press,
having adopted" foregone conclu,ions,"in favour either
of sumphs or tunnels 78 feet below the surface, will
abuse the report of the committee right and left,
and very probably put a stop to all the improvements
it propose.. Mr. Sheriff LAWRENCE having, in his
" ignorance of the press" thus himself arrived at
a " foregone conclusion," we shall make no
effort whatever to undeceive him. The commission
on Friday passed a resolution that they would
" adopt such measures is may be considered expedient
for the drainage of the different portions of the metro-
polis." As this we. the duty devolved upon them
by the commission by which they are appointed, the
resolution appears peculiarly supererogatory. Bat,
if it means, as we supposed doe., that the commission
intend to follow up the paper plats by something
like business-like performance of their duties, we
would suggest that the committee that drew up this
report should be re-appointed to carry out their views
at once, as bring (with deference to the Aldermanic
Defender of the Filth) the only section of the com-
mission which seems at present to have any plan
whatever.

Ar last the despatches relating to the alleged
piracies in Borneo have been presented to parliament.
We regret to be compelled to add, that they have
every appearance of being mutilated sad garbled.
Oar readers will recollect the words used by the First
Lord of the Admiralty when moving the second read-
ing of the head money repeal bill. He said—" The
gallant officer who was lately in command of that
[the China and India] station had stated that, in his
opinion, the allowance ought not to be given for ser-
vices that were now performed, they not being of the
nature which was originally in contemplation when
the act was pawed." Among the papers presented to
parliament the reader will seek in vain for the des-
patch in which this opinion is expressed.
Maio, the last of these papers is the certificate of
the Recorder of the Court of Singapore of the number
of persons killed se board the Sakarran pathos. In
this document it is stated that " depositions of certain
witseeess were taken before me, and the depositions
("certain other witaamea, absent from the Jurisdiction
of the mid court, wen taken and reeaved under caw
missies kneed by me." These depositions are
omitted ia the papers presented to patliament; yet
they are the only means by which the English par-
liament and public can be enabled toter. a judgment
of the merits of the case. The letters of Sir JAMBS
Bettors and of the commander of the Nemesis am
mere es parte statements. Why is the judicial
evidence by which they are said to be borne out
withheld P

Yet prbled, and mutilated, and carefully *sleeted,
with a new to make out a case for Sir JANES
Bitooxs,u these papers are, they teed to make the
whole affair more suspicious than ever.
Stripped of the exaggerated and bombastic phrase
in which the Oriental Itafah speaks of the Sambas
and &karma force, it is evident that it was miserably
weak. lie estimates it at 100 to 130 bade averaging