The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-23 00:00:00

5. For Markets and Fairs.
And in addition to the powers to purchase land by compulsion for
the foregoing purposes, they may purchase land by agreement for
Pleasure-grounds.
It is a most singular fact, that after Parliament has, with un-
doubted wisdom, from time to time, amended its proceedings so as to
exclude any apprehension of unconscious local bias from its select
committees en private legislation, this bill proceeds at once to ignore
that important principle, and sends the landowner and others to the
quarter sessions, where, moreover, the expenses will be two or three
times as muck as the present expenses before a Parliamentary com-
mittee.
For the purposes beforementioned and others, the local board of
health racy mortgage the property o the district (cud the act is ap-
plicable to every "place" in the kingdom, whether rural or urban)
to the extent of two years' assessable value ; in other words, to about
one tenth the average value of the land and building property of the
country ; and this power of mortgage extends over not only the de-
scription of property which from its nature admits of being benefited
by what are termed "sanitary operations," essentially connected
with urban d.ellinas, but also ever agricultural land, gardens,
wharves, manufactories, railways, canals, docks, waterworks, gas-
works, and other undertakings and tenures which from their very
nature cannot be so benefited. . . . .

By clauses 100 and 103, it is proposed, in effect, to destroy pri-
vate enterprise in gasworlts and waterworks, and to sal.stitute
in its place a system of public action founded on the creation of a
debt, similar to the National Debt, in every locality requiring the
advantage of such undertakings. In short, to give to boards of
health the power of creating, by rap .d degrees, an aggregate mort-
gage debt of about one hundred millions of pounds under the present
bill alone.
By these clauses (which, however, are so involved and so ob-
scurely worded that the legal effect is very difficult to see) it is also
proposed in effect to repeal the existing rates, as authorised by Par-
liament, of all water companies. and to subject their future charges
to the uncertainties of local arbitrations, to be rai.ed whenever and
as often as the local boards shall think fit ; and likewise to enable
local boards so to operate upon water companies as to harass them
into the nominally voluntary sale of their undertakings, and even to
leave them liable to have their works and property taken by direct
cpmpulsion. The local boards are also authorised, under the plea of
giving a so. called " gratuitous supply " of water. er in event of a
company being unable or unwilling to comply with any purposely
monstrous demand of the local board, to construct works of their
own, and to enter into competitions with, and of course ruinous to,
the companies established in the district.
Similar extensive powers are also proposed to be conferred on local
boards witk respect to the supply of gas, and over gas companies.
By section 91, power is given to the local boards to negative the
construe:ion of any house with the size and details of the arrange-
ments of which it shall disagree. No architect can thus in future fol-
low his profession except by the permission of a board of health.
By section 9b, all "streets," and the word" streets " means all
private property along which there is even a private passage, are to
vest in, and be managed by, local boards.
By section 41, the General Board are to have power to practically
impose the operation of the act upon unwilling communities in all
cases in which the annual mortality exceeds twenty-three in a thou-
sand of the population. There are, however, so few towns, or even
populous villages, in which this very low rate of mortality does not
and will not continue to prevail, that in reality the enforced applica-
tion of the act may be almost everywhere effected.
It is true, the confirmation of Parliament is required to the "pro-
visional order" to be made for this purpose ; but, as is well known,
this limitation affords no secure protection against a flat already
absolutely put forth by a Government authority.
By section 30, the enormous powers thus proposed to be committed
to local boards to deal thus summarily with landowners, and to
crush branches of private enterprise, in which many millions of
pounds have been freely embarked in reliance on the faith of Parlia-
ment, arc to be wielded by persons qualified by a fifteen pound a-year
assessable value, and elected by the numerical mass of the ratepayers,
without reference to the valet of their property or holdings.
It is the, efore submitted that the bill ought not to pass into law as
it now stands, and that especially it ought not to be e committed,
till a sufficient period has been allowed for the country to become
more fully acquainted with the large, and, as it is respectfully sub-
mitted, unconstitutional powers proposed to be granted.
It is also respectfully submitted, that in the event of the bill •
being committed to the consideration of a select committee, that
such committee should be instructed to receive such evidence and
statements as may be tendered by the counsel, agents, and witnesses
of the numerous private enterprise companies whose property may
be destroyed by the bill, and other persons and parties where property
and interests are affected by the bill, as the greatest alarm prevails lest
(having reference to the bill as it now stands) any alterations which
may be made therein in their absence may be found insufficient to
preserve the private property of parties, and thus ruin may be en-
tailed on innum rabic families who have, in full reliance on the faith
of Parliament, embarked their earnings in private enterprises. It is
to this faith in Parliament that the country owes the engineering
science and skill which have produced works (as has been eloquently
observed) such as the world never saw.
It is now daily asked with increasing anxiety, why these merits
s 'errs parties should, ee:stear aftor cession, be racked w►th anxiety
lest they ehould be deprived of their private property by the General
Board of Health, to whom the Metropolis Water Supply Select Com-
m•ttee, 1852, for unansweratle reasons (stir in entire force), de-
clined to give the supervision of the water companies.
It is stated by the most experienced persons that neither the Gene-
rat Ilea-d of Health nor any operation of the Public Health Act, 1848,
have been the means of lowering mortality. On the contrary, death
in increased amours• seems to have attended their proccedings,which
the persons most capable of Judging characterise as alike wastefbl
and Inefficient. The machinery under the present bill is even worse
than that under the Act of 1848, which has produced such sad and
expensiv • results.