The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-09-30 00:00:00

GAItSTON BOARD
,OF HEALTH,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES.
Sir,—The more I go into the matter of drainage, the
more am I convinced that I am right, in principle, ini my
advocacy of the tank and pipe, or tubular system, as applied
to country districts.

In confirmation of the views contained in my letter in
reference to the drainage of the t lwnship of Garston, pub-
lished on the 12th instant, I forward you two letters on
the subject, one from a gentleman, an architect of high
reputation, at Reading, late mayor of that town, and
another from a surveyor and valuer of extensive practice in
London ; both men of great practical experience. My
letter is also favourably noticed in the Land and Building
Yews, a paper of considerable circulation among engineers
and architects, showing there is at least some merit in the
propositions therein contained. lam prepared with draw-
ings illustrating the principle I propose, which I intend to
submit to the chairman of the Board of Health, in the hope
that it may lead to further discussion, and result in an ulti-
mate saving to the township. I think, if important towns,
such as Reading, can defer the adoption of drainage matters,
until a satisfactory plan has been produced, there is nothing
so urgent in the sanitary condition of Garston, as to cause
the Board of Health to rush into premature expense without
due consideration.—l am, &c., JOHN GIBBS.

Dear Sir,—ln reply to your enquiry respecting my idea
of the system of drainage, best adopted both for economy
and efficacy for adopting in a township, I beg to say that,
both as an architect of long standing, and as a member of
the Board of Health of this town since its formation, I have
had my attention continually called to the subject of drain-
age, and the different methods adopted or proposed.
In most cases, the expense has been so great, as to be a
heavy burden on the towns, and, in many cases, has not
effected the object.
In some the sewers are- too large, and, in others, the
tubular system has been carried out (as in Croydon) on too
small a scale. It is impossible to pass an opinion on any
particular locality without seeing it, as much depends on
circumstances—such as fall, outlet, subsoil—nature and
value of the property, rateable value, supply of water—what
the present system is, and whether looking at the present
11 state of the place, its rateable value, and the general feel-
ings of the ratepayers, there is sufficient to justify the sub-
ject being entertained, and if so, to what extent.
To attempt to apply the system of large sewers, and the
total abolition of cesspools, is a serious matter, and should
scarcely be entertained, except iu thickly populated dis-
tricts, and where the rateable value is high in proportion to
the area—when the benefits would be comparatively greater
and the expense comparatively less. In all eases, a good
catch cesspools, it is one to which
Is uaApmpe I
ryfeagovfeorwudreaa tbtehlree,i is
lenesdhs e
vtf ia/,
h 0
where opportunity serves, I
frequently introduce into private properties, but how far it
can be made applicable to a large district depends on posi-
tion, the facility of finding spots for their construction,
emptying, &c., which should be under proper regulation as
regards emptying periodically, by machine or othec,Fise,
these details might be worked out by those who knew the
spot. In our town several systems of drainage have been
proposed and rejected; and, on the last occasion, I, as
4ealghaevaveyteh.expecnasdtiitnugrevhonted
against Chairmanit, of theth e
groundßoard ofnf
certain
uncertain results.—_l am, dear sir, yours faithfully,
John Gibbs, Esq.
Wl4. BROWN.
154, Friar-street, Reading, Sept. 18, 1856.

Dear Sir,—l take the earliest opportunity of replying to
your note relative to the drainage of the district in which
you reside, but as I am not sufficiently acquainted with the
locality to know the kind of property to be dealt with, I
can only give a general opinion, founded on your letter
inserted in the NORTHEN TIMES, which paper I received a
few days ago. I infer from that letter that the neighbour-
hood is not likely to become a densely populated one, and
also that there will be an inconsiderable flow of water
through the drains, I, therefore, regard it as comprising so
many detached villa residences rather than attached houses,
consequently a different plan should be pursued from that
usually carried out in crowded towns. The system I have
successfully adopted and recommended for the private
drainage of such property, irrespective of the public or
street sewers, or other outfall where opportunity has offered
and where facilities have presented themselves for emptying,
is the formation of intercepting cesspools to receive the soil,
and other solid matter, upon the prineiple suggested in your
letters, the advantages of which are great where each
ocoipier has the Bole control of his drains, and the chief
and almost only inconvenience to him that of periodically
removing the accumulated soil, &c., from the cesspools, or,
as you designate it, the " tank." The public sewer question
is one which I need only say has given rise to much discus.
sion, and is apparently far from being set at rest now. I
have given some consideration to the subject, and my
opinion is, that, although sewers have been constructed too
large and almost regardless of cost, the opposite extreme
has in many instances inconsiderately run into. I believe a
sewer should, in most cases, be made of such capacity as to
admit a man along it if necessary, or that it should have a
sufficient number of manholes to allow its being readily
accessable in'the event of a stoppage; and this point requires
I
the greatest attention where the flow of water is ordinarily
deficient without an opportunity of frequent flushings,
according to the Londen mode of cleansing. The want of
water in your pale, if
have properly judged the nature of
it, would be to a considerable extent compensated for by
Preventing as much as possible all but the fluid part
saving might be effected in the main drainage of the
of the refuse entering the sewer, and a corresponding
ving
district. now far the remarks I have made may be
applicable to your case in particular, can only be determined
by persons conversant with the necessities of the township ;
but where the principle to which they refer can be intro-
duced, it is well worth serious consideration.—l remain
dear sir, yours truly, C. DUNNING.
14, Furnibals Inn. London, Sept. 20, 1866.
John Gibbs, Esq.

1 THE BRUSSELS FREE TRADE CONGRESS

We have already given a summary of several speeches at
the first meeting of the Congress, ending with the remarks of
the Swiss delegate.
The Spanish delegate, or rather one of the Spanish dele-
gates, M. Figuerola, was next celled upon by M. de
Brouckere, The paper read by this representative of the
Spanish government was a most modest and a liberal
expression of the position and tendencies of Spanish corn-
merce. He described the causes which had retarded the
commercial development of his country; he pointed to the
civil wars and revolutions that had repeatedly convulsed
her; but assured the Congress that Spain, nevertheless, was
no enemy to the cause of free trade. M. Agie, President of
the Antwerp. Chamber of Commerce, moved resolu-
tions condemnatory of all restrictions and differential duties
imposed on the sale of colonial produce in Europe, or of
European manufactured goods in the colonies. M. de
Brouckere observed that there were still four or five orators
to speak to the question before the congress, but that it was
too late to bear them. Before closing the sitting, however,
he begged to read a most important proposal, emanating
from M. Corr Vandermaeren. This proposal, which was
received with loud cheering, was to establish au International
Free Trade League out of the elements for such an associa-
tion now in Brussels. The delegate from the Sardinian
'Minister of Finance spoke next. He was received by a
round of applause; and whenever his allusions touched
upon the political position of the country he represented,
the enthusiasm of his audience knew no hounds. He gave
a history of the modifications of the Sardinian tariff from
the time when 80 francs were levied on every 100 kilo-
grammes of sugar ; and when ad valorem duties, reaching
to 80 per cent.. and even 120 per cent., might be
fo Ind in her tariff. Then, imported corn paid 9 francs
per hectolitre. But with liberty in politics came liberty
in commerce, and the two were inseparable. The
Sardinian delegate was succeeded by Count Arrive-
bane, who spoke for Tuscany. He called to the mind of
the Congress that Tuscany had led the way in free trade.
Count Arrivabene was succeeded by M. Garnier, a delegate
from France, who, in an epigrammatic speech, the political
points of which elici,ted immense applause,gave a picture
of the present tariff' of France. Ile described the formid-
able position oc the French protectionists, but contended
that the agriculturists of the country were now free-traders.
Still the protectionists were determined. Had they not
heard it said in France that they had better have an invasion
of Cossacks than one of foreign oxen ? It was true, indeed,
that there had been customs' reforms in France ; they were,
howe;er, homeopathic rebrms. Were there not still fifty-
two articles on their list of articles prohibited ? and some
of these were raw materials. He called this an economic
impertinence—it was a wall of China about commerce. The
system could not last. France slept sometimes rather
heavily, but she would wake up, the Congress might depend
upon it. M. Gamier was s:coniled by M. Wolowski, of the
French Institute, who opened his address by a tribute to
the,memory of Bastiat, Leon Faucher (his brother-in-law),
Blanqui, and others,—economists' whose names were
received with marked satisfaction by the Congress. This
delegate then went bete a lengthy description of the state of
French commerce. At last M. de Brouckere was compelled
to call M. Wolowski to order, and to remind him that he
was simply reading a very long article that had been already
published in all the Belgian newspapers. M. Wolowski
having at length concluded, was succeeded by a Belgian
delegate, who amused the Congress by showing that
there were '2,700 duties upon the Belgian tariff, and
that so unmusical were their Custom-house officers
that they would not permit nightingales and linnets
to pass through the country. A Prussian delegate then
spoke on the Zollvereine ; the point of his speech was in
favour of a union of the Hanseatic towns under the Prussian
tariff. M. Peecal Duprat was invited to open the discussion
on this prolosition. This gentleman, whose presence
appeared to be most welcome to the Congress, declared that
the obstacles to the development of free trade were physical
and moral ones, and there were many of them. There were,
above all, moral ones. In the old time the difficulty of
intercommunication was a sufficient reason; the modern
obstacle was the opposition of a privileged faction, This
address, that had evidently a political object ulterior to that
of mere commercial reform, was decidedly the speech of the
day. M. Pascal Duprat was followed. by M. Van der
Broole, a Belgian agriculturist, who should have been
followed by M. Dupont, in support of the ironmasters ;
but this gentleman not being present, the Minn() was ceded
to the President of the Chamber of Commerce of
Verviers. M. Vanderbruck (Central Agricultural Society
of Belgium) d welt upon the incubus which weighed
down agriculture in that country in the shape of octroi
duties, and recommended the abolition of the system of
city dues, commercial taxes, and similar imposts on
trade. M. Mullerdorff (Chamber of Commerce, Viviers)
followed, in support of the same views, and combated the
foolish dread that free trade would destroy home manu-
factures by inundating the countries adopting it with foreign
products.

- Mr. Oliveira addressed the Congress, to point out to
the assembled delegates •the advantages both England and
France would derive from the reduction of the English
duties on foreign wines. He contended that this reduction
on tho part of England would be 'met in France by a cor-
responding reduction of French duties on British manu-
factures. Mr. Henry Bohn, the publisher, followed Mr.
Oliveira. and pointed out the advantages that had been
derived from the free circulation of books. Be himself
had recently given a thousand pounds for a copyright;
that, before cheap books were possible, would not have
been worth half this snm. Now he was able to send his
books to America, and successfully compete with the
American publishers. A preposition was brought for-
ward by Mr. Sarget, having reference to the establishment
of tribunals of commerce, uniformity of weights and mea-
sures, and money, as well as letters of credit and postage.
After some discussion, in the course of which the President
'observed that he thought these points too important to be
voted upon off hand, the resolution was referred to the
new International Free-trade League that had just been
founded. This league would communicate with the r:.en-
tral association of uniform measures in Paris. ne. Yates
hereupon read a paper explaining the composition of the
society which he represented. M. Duval, of the &bats,
said that the Parisian association could not get meetings
together; and he thought that the Belgian commission
had better be organised. Such an organisation in
•France was suspected, for it appeared to be pushing
her own system. M. Suzani thought that M. Dnval's
objection applied to :Belgium also. lie thought that
the English association should be supported, for in
England the decimal system was most wanted. The
President thought that if they agreed to have the
centre of operations in England, the.delegates from the
various nations of Europe should be requested to help it
from their respective countries. This was agreed to.
The next proposition, submitted to and carried by'the
,Congress
unanimously, was from the authorities of Ant-
werp, and was to the effect that what remained of the
colonial system should be abolished. The third proposi-
tion was to the effect that " the Congress desired that all
duties on rivers !mining from one country into another,
and straits separating them, should be abolished."
Carried, with one dissenting voice. The fourth proposi-
tion, suggested by M. Couvreur, was to the effect that the
passport system should be modified, and the compulsory
visas for various nations be abolished. This proposition
was carried unanimously. The fifth proposition ran thus :
—" That declarations on the importation and
exportation of merchandise .should be simplified, and
made uniform for all nations." Carried unanimously.
M. Tilliere brought up the report of the section
on the teaching of political economy. The section appealed
to the delegates to pledge themselves to use their influence
to get the elements of political economy introduced as part
of popular education in their respective countries, and to
recommend the preparation of teachers for this purpose.
The Spanish delegate reminded the Congress that in the
tan universities of. his country this, science ;was taught.
,The resolution of the committee waacarried unanimously.
Mr. Ewart, M.P., then moved, in a complimentary speech,
an address of congratulation to the King on the 26th anni-
versary of the national independence. Be begged to
assure them that his Majesty was highly esteemed in
England. Carried unanimously.
The Congress held its final sitting on Thursday. The
congratulatory address to the King of the Belgians was
carried unanimously. N. de Erouckere then introduced
two propositions to the Congress, which he proposed
should be debated before the rest, viz., one to abolish
octrois, and one to abolish the salt tax. After some dis-
cussion, the President's proposition, :" That the Congress
declares a wish that some tax be substituted for the
system of octrois, and that committees be formed in
those countries whero octrois existed to advocate their
abolition," was carried—the proposition as regards the
salt duty having been set aside, as beyond the province
of the Congress. • After several propositions had been
passed, M. Garnier's proposition was put forward.
Briefly it meant this—that the Congress expressed a hope
that a general, gradual, and total reform) of custom
duties be carried:out in all countries ; and that the Con-
gress reproves all domiciliary visits, prohibitions,
reprisals, and premiums on exportation. This proposi-
was
Con-
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gress now being at an end, M. Corr Vandermaeren read
the statutes of his International Free Trade League. He
announced that Mr. Cobden had been appointed its Eng.
lish representative. Among other foreign representatives
was M. Mons, for Spain. There was to be an international
fund, a central office in Brussels, and a subscription of 12
francs from each member, together with voluntary
subscriptions.

PAPER FROM SußrnowEns.—Near Erith a crop is about
to be gathered of about four acres of sunflower. The
seeds will be used for oil, and to feed cattle and poultry,
as in the south of France
,•,, but the chief object is to obtain
the fibre of the stalks for paper-making. If the cultiva-
tion succeeds, it will supply abundant materials for fine
that so
writing and printing papers, as well as fine and coarse for
paper hanging.
miseries there are fesw."—
A
MINOR MISER'
gst
painfullythe manunitoiytuadsethoef
inimuirnieosr
inflicted on the feet by tight or ill-fitting boots and shoes,
and not unfrequently by the neglect of the toe nails or of
incipient corns and bunions. The attention of residents or
visitors suffering from these causes is directed to the
announcement of Mr. Simms in our advertiAnhg columned
and
He is the author of a practical exposition on the feet,
his testimonials from the nobility, also Physician to Her
Majesty, medical and other gentlemen, and residentsl in this
neighbourhood, speak for themselves. consu ting Rooms,
36, Slater-street. —.dh