The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-03-03 00:00:00

SCENE AT A EIRE.

'Yesterday morning, between the hours of four and five
o'clock, a destructive fire, attended with greatloss of
property and danger to life, broke out on the premises
belonging to Mrs. C. De Caux, proprietress of the Essex
Tavern, High street, Aldgate, London, A police constable
observing smoke to issue through the bar shutters, alarmed
the inmates, who attempted to descend by the staircase,
but on reaching the second floor landing the smoke was
so dense as to overcome Mrs. De Caux, who is very cor-
pulent. Her family being unable to lift her, commenced
serf amlng most piteously, and at the same time vats or
spirits exploded with a noise like the discharge of fire
arms. At this juncture George Harrosn'orth arrived with
the Aldgate escape, and succeeded in ascending and
bringing down in safety the son and daughter of the land-
lady, and the barmaid and barman. Being informed that
the proprietress was lying insensible upon the landing..
this man, with the greatest coolness, again ascended and
entered the second floor window, while the smoke was
issuing half across the street. The crowd called loud'?
to him to come down, but he proceeded to crawl along
the flooring and to reach Mrs de Caux, whom he found
quite insensible. Having raised her on his back, he ear•
iied her through the smoke, and pushed her safely down
the escape, amid the enthusiastic greetings of the spec
tators. The fire was not extinguished until considers,.
ble damage was done to the upper part of the house. anci,
the bar and its contents utterly destroyed.

FIVE POUNDS REWARD.—StoIen, from the Belfast
Newsroom, a requisition to the Mayor of Belfast, request-
ing him to call a meeting to consider the subject of a
better supply of water to the town, and which requisition
was signed by a large number of the ratepayers. The
above reward will be given to any person who will give
such information as will lead to the discovery of the party
who abstracted the document in question.

TO *THOMAS DUNCAN, ESQ., ENGINEER

OF THE WATER WORKS,

Sir,—Ten years. brings about many changes—it
is a large epoch in man's limited span of existence.
Ten years ago I was the managing engineer of the
water works, with a salary of £4OO per annum.
You were then assistant to Mr. Simpson, at Green
Lane, with a modest stipend of 30s. per week, which
your worthy wife added something to, by exhibiting
the statues of "Tam O'abanter"and"SouterJohnny"
behind a piece of green baize in a small shop in
Whiteohapel. lam now endeavouring to eke out s
precarious existence by making and vending
pennyworths of blacking in a small cellar in Liver-
paol, while you are the manager of the water works
with a salary of 6001 per annum and all etcetras. I
have incurred the fearful penalty of poverty and
degradation for foolishly having told the truth.
You have earned wealth, and its accompanying
pleasures, by discreetly conciliating the good
opinions of those who hated me. But my object
in addressing you now is not to recriminate. I
have no bitter feeling towards you, although
youdid me a cruel and a wicked wrong; I should have
permitted that to have slept in oblivion, leaving you
to the stings of your own conscience. But you
have concocted another report. on the water ques-
tion, and it is with regard to the statements put
forth by you in that document, that I now intend
dealing, apart altogether from personal considera-
tion. You out Herod Hawksley in respect of the
water supply. He contends for 20 gallons per diem
for each inhabitant, but you demand 30. Why could
you not have said 50 at once? You tell your chairman
that you must have 70,000,000 gallons per week, in
order to enable you to give a constant supply,
and thus comply with the Act of Parliament.
I apprehend, however, it is no psrt of your duties
to interpret Acts of Parliament. As for your
70,000,000 gallons, I can only say that you may
succeed in running that quantity to waste, or even
much more, as has been done hitherto, but
assuredly that is the only way in which you can
get rid of even the half of it. You must presume
largely on the gullibility of the Town Council
when you venture to indoctrinate them with such
absurdities as these. I tell you now, as I have
ever said, that the wells are capable, with honest
management, of affording an ample supply of
water to a population of 600,000 people at least.
But then your engines are all out of order, and
four of them are not worth repairing, while the
bottoms are burned out of the boilers, and sundry
old women are, or pretend to be, greatly alarmed at
the prospect of a blow up.
I apprehend, sir, your memory must be at fault,
otherwise you would not have shown yourself such
a close imitator of your predecessor, Mr.
Scott, who, some ten years ago, attempted to
deceive the Town Council and the town on this
very subject. A clever piece of legerdemain, if
successfully executed, excites something like
admiration, if original ; but the clumsy imitator
who attempts the same, and who is detected in
the fact, only covers himself with ridicule and
disgrace.
In 1848, Mr. Scott, the then water engineer,
endeavoured to make it appear that there was a
great scarcity of water. This he did by pouring
the water incessantly through outlets and broken
pipes into the sewers. He, too, reported that four
of the engines were so dilapidated that they could
not work longer without undergoing most extensive
repairs and alterations ; and, to give effect to his
statements, he actually had some of them dis-
mantled in the very middle of summer.—
While the boilers were condemned in the same
manner, and almost in the same words, as
you have used yourself. You are aware what
followed I denounced these wicked proceedings
A committee was appointed to investigate the,
charges, the result proved that I was correct
Scott was . dismissed, or what was the same
thing, he.was permitted to resign, and the water
management passed into other hands. The engines
which were declared to be worthless in 1847 and
'4B, have been in constant work ever since with-
out any important repairs having been made, while,
during the same period, the yield of the wells was
increased from 21,000,000 gallons to 45,000,000,
according to your own shewing. Yet, with these
facts staring you broadly in the face, you have the
folly, in order to conciliate certain parties, to tread
in the very footsteps of Hawksley, Scott, and
Company. •
If your boilers are in the condition in which you
describe them, that clearly impugns your own
management; for at each station there are supple-
mentary boilers, so that repairs or even renewals
may be made without interrupting the ordinary
duty of the engines.
I make no account of the alarm you endeavour
to excite either as to the scarcity of well water, the
dilapidated condition of the engines, or the danger-
ous state of the boilers. It is the old cry of
" wolf, wolf," first raised by Scott, and thence taken
up by yourself. But the object is tco appa-
rent to excite apprehension.
With regard to the part which you have taken
in introducing the water from Rivington for the
use of the town, contrary to the express orders of
the water committee; on an equivocal pretext, I
shall say little at present. The committee are the
best judges of that proceeding.
Time will not at present permit me to extend,
my observations further, but you may hear from
rite again, should occasion require it.—l am, sir, &c.
JAMES WDON ALB.