The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-08 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 8. 1855

of the Committee of Ways and Means do take the chair
for that day only; and, in the event of Mr. Speaker's ab-
sence coatinuin„; for more thau one it ti,e nuns°
shall think fit and shall so order it, take the chair in like
manner on any subsequent day during such absence."
Mr. FITZROY then took the chair.
THE SPIRIT DITTIES.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in moving
the postponement of the Committee of Ways and Means
to Wednesday, wished to make a short statement with re-
spect to the Spirit Duties Bill, which was on the paper for
Friday. The house was aware that the bill, as it now
stood, proposed to extend the drawback on malt spirits to
England and Ireland as well as to Scotland ; the present
state of the law in this respect had given rise to consider-
able dissatisfaction, and the subject had been several times
examined into by committees of that house, and often de-
bated. He was very anxious to bring about a final and
satisfactory settlement of the question, and he had under
his consideration a plan for permitting distillation of
spii its from malt in bond; the effect of this change would
be that, instead of a duty being paid in the first instance,
and then a drawback being allowed for what had been
paid on the malt, the distillation would take place in bond
and only one payment be made; in order to take a per-
fectly just view of the subject, it would be necessary to
make a. small addition to the existing duties to compen-
sate for the duty of 2d. on malt used in distillation. It
would not be convenient to introduce the change into the
present bill, but if the house gave its assent he was dis-
posed, in the cpurse of the session, to introduce another
bill to carry out the arrangement. He hoped this expla-
nation would be satisfactory to the gentlemen connected
with the trade cow in London, and that the objection
being removed they would withdraw their opposition to
the further proress of the bill.
MACARINEY, on the part of the Irish distillers,
begged to ()iciness their complete satisfaction with the
arrangement proposed by the right hon. baronet.
Mr. HASTIE on the part of the Scotch distillers, ex-
pressed similar satisfaction.

REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS (SCOTLAND) BILL.
This bill passed through committee.
The Parliamentary Representation (Scotland) Bill and
the Intestacy (Scotland) Bill were read a third time and
passed.
BURIAL GROUNDS (SCOTLAND) BILL.
This bill passed through committee.
&ETROPOLIS SEWERS.
On the motion of Viscount EBRINGTON, the following
returns were agreed to : Copies of reports of surveyors of
Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers, made in con-
formity with the directions of the General Committee of
the Commissioners on the 18th day of Feb., 1851, as to the
difficulties experienced by the surveyors in executing im-
proved works of house drainage, and also of water supply
and house drainage combined.
METROPOLITAN BUILDINGS BILL.
On the motion of Sir W. MOLESWORTH, the following
members were appointed a select committee on this bill:—
Lord .1. Manners, Lord R. Grosvenor, Mr. Brand, Sir J.
Shelley, Sir W. Clay, Sir J. Paxton, Mr. W. Williams,
Mr. Alderman Cubitt, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Locke, and Sir
W. Molesworth ; five to be the quorum.
HOUSE DRAINAGE IN THE METROPOLIS.
Viscount EBRINGTON moved for leave to bring in a
bill to empower the Commissioners of Sewers to expend
on house drainage a certain sum out of the moneys bor-
rowed by them on the security of the rates, and also to
give to the said commissioners certain other powers ;for
the same purpose. The noble lord said there were only
about six weeks left to prepare for the period which had
generally proved most dangerous to the public health.
To illustrate the benefits which were derivable from house
drainage, he would refer to the case of Lambeth-square,
situated on the south side of the Thames. In that
square the cholera committed fearful ravages in 1818.
In the autumn of 1852, proper conveniences were
provided, and a good supply of water was secured,
at an expense altogether of five or six pounds per house.
From that time to the present not a single life had been
lost through cholera, though the whole of the neighbour-
hood had suffered severely, and the houses which previ-
ously let at 261. a year had since been eagerly taken at 281.
Experience showed that even where there was not time to
carry out a proper system of drainage, much good might
be done in the same direction. He held in his hand state-
ments with regard to the effects which had been produced
in the City of London by the cleansing of those places
which were the chief causes of disease in the metropolis,
and by the use of deofiorising and purifying appliances.
The practic d result of the course pursued was that the
mortality of the City was, under the energetic superinten-
dence of Mr. Seymour, the officer of health under the cor-
poration, reduced from one-twentieth to one-fiftieth part
of the mortality of the whole metropolis. Under these
circumstances, what he desired was to bring in a bill, first,
to enable the Commissioners of Sewers to apply a sum not
exceeding 25,0001., which would, it was thought, be suffi-
cient to put in a tolerably est) state some five thousand
houses, where there was every reason to fear many deaths,
if not from cholera, from some other epidemic, would other-
wise occur during the approaching hot season; and, se-
condly, to remove some of the legal and technical obstruc-
tions which at-present prevented the application of the
provisions inserted in the Metropolitan Sewers Act to meet
this numerous and distressing class of cases. He was con-
vinced that the sum which he proposed should be expended
would be speedily recovered. If the palliative measure
which he now proposed were adopted, the effect would, he
believed, be to save thousands of lives ; and if nothing of
the sort were done—if they allowed themselves there, as
they had done in the case of Balaklava, to be enslaved by
routine—and if, in consequence, no precautionary measure
were adopted, he should have the melancholy satisfaction
of having devolved on the Government the responsibility
of preventible deaths.
Sir J. V. SW ELLEY had no wish to oppose the intro-
duction of the bill, but must remind his noble friend that
the money in the hands of the Commissioners of Sewers
was raised for the specific purpose of carrying out arterial
drainage. Moreover, until he saw the bill, he of course
could not tell how his noble friend proposed to invest the
commissioners with the power of entering private dwel-
lings, until some one had complained of a nuisance.
Viscount EBRINGTON said he fully intended that the
money should be recoverable. The measure was to be
viewed entirely as one having reference to an emergency.
Leave was then given to bring in the bill.
The house adjourned at half-past 11.