The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-20 00:00:00

sovereign, and another officer in the same force offers a
second sovereign to every man who will join a regiment
of the line with him. On the announcement being made
to the men about 20 at °ace accepted the offer, and de-
clared their willingness to join the line. By these
draughts and the rejection of a number of men by the
regimental- surgeon the force is now reduced to 500.
Recruiting is going on, but not with very successful re-
sults as yet.

THE PLANS FOR MAIN METROPOLITAN
DRAINAGE.

Two schemes for the main drainage of the metropolis
are now before the Metropolitan Commissioners of
Sewers. One, by Mr. John Rowe, surveyor to the sepa-
rate Holborn and Finsbury Commission, and late gene-
ral surveyor to the Metropolitan Commissioners for the
northern section of the metropolis. One by Mr.
Bazalgette, Messrs. Bazalgette and Haywood, en-
gineers to the Metropolitan and City Commissioners
respectively, and by Messrs. 'Stephenson and Cubitt,
consulting engineers to the Metropolitan Commis-
sioners. There is also another scheme, proposed by the
late Mr. Frank Forster, chief engineer to the Metropo-
litan Commissioners of Sewers, in conjunction with Mr.
Robert Stephenson, but which appears to have been
kept in the background—a studious reserve certainly
not compatible with the great cost of its preparation, or
consistent with the fact of its advanced state, contract
drawings having been prepared for large portions,
and three- large parts, having been let to contractors
upon public tender—or, with the preliminary fact
of its warm approval by Mr. Stephenson, its part de-
signer, by the Metropolitan Cpmmissioners, and by the
City Commissioners and their engineer, Mr. Hay-
wood. Mr. Roe proposes two gravitating lines, the
Hackney-brook, for the drainage of 712 square .miles,
and the middle level for the interception of the sewage
from 27.8 square miles, and a low level-line taking 6.54
square miles, with a joint outlet at ,2311. king-creek.
Messrs. Bazalgette and Stephenson, &0., have two gra-
vitating
lines, the Hackney-brook withim extehidoo in a,
branch from Holloway to Kilburn, for the complete ordi-
nary and blood drainage of 14 square miles; and the
middle level from Acton to the Lea, uniting with the high
level by this river, for the drainage of 10 square miles ;
and a low level ine of 11 square miles with the same
joint outlet at Barking-creek. They have also a western
section not included in Mr. Roe's scheme, for the collec-
tion of the drainage of 18 square miles by means of two
(10 feet and 12 feet) sewers (with auxiliary flood outlets)
into one sumpt near Chelsea, and its purification and
subsequent discharge into the river at that point. Mr.
Forster has two gravitating lines in his northern
scheme (excluding the western district), the Hackney-
brook and the middle level, and a main low
level with branches; 256 square miles drain by gravi-
tation, the greater part through the middle level ; and
166 square miles by pumping power terminating in one
outlet at Barking-creek. Messrs. Bazalgette, Stephen-
son, and Cubitt's south scheme comprises a main gravi-
tating line, with branches, and a main low level, with
one branch at its lower end. Each level is to drain re-
spectively twelve square miles, or a total of twenty-four
miles, one moiety of which is pumped. The whole of
the drainage and sewage of the twenty-four square
miles is discharged by the town of Greenwich into the
river Ravensbourne, at Deptford Creek. Mr. Forster's
south scheme, prepared jointly with Mr. Stephenson,
consists chiefly of a low level main, with several branches,
with lifting power and a discharge into the Thames at
Greenwich Marshes, fully two miles lower in the river
than in Mr. Bazalgette's scheme, clear of, and far below
the town of Greenwich, and with an alternative exten-
sion to below Woolwich. Floods were expressly and
amply provided for by existing outlets, and by compara-
tively inexpensive diversions, included in the estimate of
cost.—Th e .Builder.