The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-05 00:00:00

many other reasons why the water should not be continued
to the town if I were permitted to g) into them. I con.
Sider it to be highly injurious water, and I know that the
town is opposed to the introduction of if, and should I he
in order in movirry, that the supp'y be stopped, I slyal do so.
The Mayor : You cannot d) so ; there are already on
the paper two motions with reference to that very point.
Mr. Bennett, in conclusion, said that as these motions
would give him the opportunity of urging more strongly
his reasons against the water, he would reserve them for
another time.

Mr. W. Earle said that he would briefly detain the
council in speaking a little common sense, a thing which
they had not lately heard. (Laughter ) ro=e for the
purpose of saying that it should not be allowed to go forth,
that the public were generally dissatisfied with the Pike
water. He had endeavoured to colhct some information
as to their feelings, and he had it from people who were
living in the low districts of the town that they were
delighted with the quantity of water supplied to them,
while they felt no inconvenience from its slight dis-
colouration. They found it perfectly wholesome, and
also found it to improve after the first few days. He
did not know where Mr. Bennett got the stuff he showed
them from-
Mr. Bennett : From Shaw street.

Mr. Earle continued : There was no complaint of the
water in his house from the domestics, though they were
always the first to complain if anything went wrong. They
told him that the water was coloured, and the same thing
occurred in the houses of his relations, but that was all.
Ho was at the workhouse the other day sending off some
lanatica to the asylum—and, upon his word, upon this
subject of the water he was not so certain that they should
not have to send somebody else too (laughter)—and there
the inmates said they had nothing to complain of the
water—that it was most excellent. Now they knew that
these people were a class of persons who would be certain
to complain if there was anything to be complained of.
(Hear, hear.) His medical man told him that when the
water first came into his house in Rodney street it was
slightly impure, but that it was becoming much better, and
that his wife told him it made much better tea. (Laugh.
ter.) At his own table, a few days since, a lady from the
lakes seeing the water before her was astonished
at the cry raised against it. As to the Cornwallis
street baths, he was there this morning, and
the water was so clear that at a depth of seven feet he
could see the smallest pebble. He, therefore, did not
know where all the mud and dirt spoken of by Alderman
Parker came from, unless, indeed, when the alderman saw
it, some dirty nymphs were bathing in it. (Laughter),
He was told that one of the largest brewers in the town,
Sampson, Smith, and Co , were satisfied that the water
was excellent for their purposes ; and when Mr. Bennett
spoke of the arrogance of the committee, he (Ur. Earle)
should say that it was very great arrogance iu Mr. Bennett
to have detained the council with the trash they bad been
accastomed to hear from him for the last year. (Laughter)
Mr J. B. Braucker observed that Mr. Bennett had taken
great pains „to vilify—he should use a strong word—the
water committee. Now, Mr. Bennett was a member
of the weter committee, and would it be belie'ved that
in committee he had given an active assent to the supply of
this very water to a district containing a very large popula•
tion, like Waterloo, Seaforth, and Walton ? He would ask
of the council and the public then to judge Mr. Bennett by
his acts, and not by his words. (Hear, hear.) Mr.
Bennett promised his very active assistance to a gentleman
who was seeking a supply of this water for a large district,
and Mr. Bennett promised him that he would do everything
in his power to obtain for him that supply. (Oh ! oh !)
He bad a better, opinion of Mr. Bennett than to suppose he
would send poisonous stuff amongst his friends—(laughter)
—bat so it vas; and the public would, therefore, judge of
him not by his words but by his acts, (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Bennett (amid cries of " spoke, spoke,") explained
that he did not give an active assent to the water being
supplied until he had first cautioned the gentleman as to its
quality. He told him he would further his views if he
wished it, but at the same time he told him that the water
from its quality was not to be desired. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. J. R. Jeffery said find it necessary to say a few
words, but I will not long det tin you, at this late hour of
the day, but I would rather detain you for a few minutes,
or even half an hour, than allow the subject to pass over in
its present position, I believe there are two reasons
assigned for the discolouration of the water,—the one is
that it arises from the rustiness of the pipes through which
the water had to pass, and the other reason, as stated by Dr.
Taylor, arose from the peat on which the water was
collected. To the first reason, I should like to ask the
water committee, how it was that the same precautionary
measures had not been adopted here to avoid the discolou-
ration, through the rustiness of the pipes. as had been done
elsewhere. Where other places had adopted that mode
of supplying water, for instance in Manchester and other
places, they had taken the precaution of having all the
pipes enamelled, which could have been done here, at a
cost not exceeding 7s per ton, and there the water So supplied
three days after, had been found to be as pure since as it was
before the the supply had been obtained. Now I think that
a great deal of this disunion might hive been avoided, had
but a precautionary measure been adopted ; but with regard
to the discolouration from the peat, no such precautionary
measure could have been taken, as Dr. Taylor had said it
could not be helped. A day or two since, a member of the
water committee, while addressing his constituents at a
ward meeting, and who had just left the bathe, called upon
them to go to the baths and inspect the water for themselves,
bat some gentlemen present, who really appeared to know
something about the subject, wished to know if the water at
the baths was the Pike water, and how it had been supplied,
The gentleman was not prepared to answer that question,
but he wished his hearers to understand that it was the Pike
water that was then flowing into the baths. But Aldermen
Parker had gone and inspected the water, and Alderman
Parker has told you what he found there. If it is as he
has infermed you, an I as he has el, scribed it, I say it is the
duty of this council to go and see for themselves—(hear)
and they had also a right to see what water it was that was
ia the baths, whether it was the pure Rivins,,ton water, or the
Rivington water mixed with the old red sand stone water: I
do ask the water committee, if they have not faith, which I
have not, in the Pike water—if they have not faith in its
purity and goodness, and are sincere in what they say to
the consumers of it, I ask them to have it turned on ia its
entirety, and not let us have the Rivington and the red
sandstone mixed together. It has been so mixed, bit we
do not know in what proportions ;—I say, let us have it in
its entirety, and if they do that, I tell the committee that
the judgment of the public will be that the Rivington water
is not what it ought to be. I believe myself that it is not.
Now, if the proceedings of this committee, which have been
read, a d which contain a great deal of information, should
be publiehed, nothing that has as yet been said would tend
to excite alarm more than they would. Tay would there
find recorded mistake after mistake—that the water was
not permitted to run through lead pipes into lead cisterns,
as it had a tendency to promote the decomposition
of the lead. It was not my intention to have
a idressed the council on the minutes of the water
committee, but should have delayed saying anything
until the memorial had been presented, when I intended to
have offered some observations, and should not have done
so but for the remarks of one gentleman, who, when speak-
ing of the purity of the water, held up a glass and said,
" Look at it." I have no doubt but that the water so held
up we': the mixture of sandstone and P,ke water as now
supplied ; I have no donbt but that that is now received,
and if it was tasted of by those gentlemen who only drink
water at their tables, I have no doubt but that they would
say that it had a peaty taste—an oily taste, and was ex
tremely vapid, and would agree with me ia saying it was
not such as should be introduced into a town like Liverpool.
(Hear, hear). I shall not detain the council by offering
any furtheri remarks on the present occasion, but shall re-
serve any further comment until such time as the memorial
is presented.
Mr. Robertson Gladstone said, I wish to ask one question
before this discussion is closed. From the accounts
I observe that there is an item of £145 17a 10d charged
by the committee for the purchase of boats for
one of the reservoirs. I wish to know if any of the
committee can tell me what the boats are intended for, as,
for my own part, I do not know, unless it be for the
committee to go fishing in. (Laughter.)
Ma. Alderman Cooper : The boats are intended to convey
the stones and materials from one aide to the other, for the
repairs of the embankment, and thus save the expense of
carting. ("tear, hear.) I wish to ask Mr. Bennett if ever
water was perfect. (Laughter.) What I
tloltdold:imhimwamy
was
that there was a plug at the end of the lane,
and that might account for its being clearer. (Loud
cries of " Spoke, spoke.") I wish to tell Mr. Bennett, as
he has called atm me to retire from the water committee,
that so soon as I see that I have not the oonlidence of the
committee, I will resign my trust, and then let Mr, Bennett
try his hand at it, so as to give entire satisfaction to tae
public. (Hear, hear.) I will only state that during the last
14days we have had the Pike water introduced into Aigburth
end I have never heard of a single complaint against it.
(Hear, hear.) ludee I, it was in my own house, and my family
did not know that they had it. For my part, I believe, that
all the people are satisfied. I have gone through the town,
I have visited seventy poor persons in the course of a day,
and not heard a eomPlaint but since there has been
an increase in the supply, I have heard matey in the
courts and passages, say that it was a great blessing con
ferred upon them, and express their thanks, not only for the
quantity; but have never complained of the quality. (Hear,
hear )
The general proceedings cf the committee were then
confirmed.
On the motion of Mr Robertson Gladstone, the council
then adjourned until Monday next at eleven o'clock,