The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-06 00:00:00

THE PUBLIC HEA LT IT AND NUISANCES
BEHOVAL BILLS—GOVERN2IIENTAL CEN-
TRa USA TION.

Yesterday a numerous and influentially-attended pub-
lic meeting of supporters of the Anti-Central Legislation
Union of nianu*acturers, traders, and others for the de-
fence of property and enterprise, was held at the London
Tavern, to consider the provisions of the Public Health
and Nuisances Removal Bills, now before Parliament.
Mr. HILLS (Deptford), in opening the proceedings,
said the meeting bad been called to explain what had
been done by the committee since the first meeting held
nit would be granted, he thought,
°Oatthtehesuyblijaec' and
itnotbeen idle in their opposition to the
bills. He had himself been two or three times before
the committee of the Rouse of Commons, but the bills
had been improved very little, if at all, by the amend-
ments introduced. In fact, he thought they were in some
respects worse than before. For instance, in one clause
it had originally been provided that any injurious and
offensive manufacture should not be carried on, and the
word " and " had been altered to the word " or," so
that nothing which was considered either injurious or
offensive could now be carried on. The clauses were still
the same with regard to the interference of the police
with any place from which offensive effluvia proceeded.
There was still no appeal from petty sessions to a jury,
while obvious and common nuisances were not separated
from what might be a great manufacture ; and if manu-
facturers generally knew the effect which the bills would
have upon them, he thought they would be energetic in
They opposition
could
see h
fromw oneat hade been n ofd
done
the country
thentr tosmthoekeetAhecrt:
w beenintroduced
which was
forwou thed only
suppressionrefer t o
to
nuisances,but s cl clause
had
which manufacturers had been put to enormous expense,
and then, when they had prepared their defence, the pro-
secution had been often abandoned. He was once in a
court where a dozen manufacturers were brought up, all
of whom were fined, on which occasion the magistrate
said that if anything could be invented by which smoke
could be consumed it must be adopted, whether it would
spoil the manufacture or not. That he thought was not
the meaning of the bill, but such was its application.
The operation of the new bills would be similar, and this
interference was going on so fast that some strong asso-
ciation ought to be got up to oppose them. First they
had the Smoke Bill, then the Nuisances Bill, then the
Public Health Bill, and now there was the Local
Management Bill for the Metropolis, which put all
the others into operation. It was impossible to legis-
late for all nuisances, merely as nuisances, without
great injustice. It was provided that any animal that
was a nuisance could not be kept, so that a poor man's
pig might be sold under the bill. That perhaps was hardly
meant, but it was a power included in the bill, and it
showed the loose manner in which the clauses had been
prepared. The association ought to be of a permanent
character, so as to meet these bills as they were brought ,
forward, and to comprehend within it manufactures
and others from all parts of the country. (Hear.)
. Mr. HOWARD read a report of the proceedings of the
committee since the public meeting held on the 6th
March, which stated, among other things, that while 85 cr
petitions had been presented against the Public Health
Bill, only one had been presented in its favour. The
committee had communicated with the Home Secretary,
Sir G. Grey, upon the subject of the bills, and intended
further to bring the subject immediately under the at-
tention of Lord Palmerston himself.
Mr. TOULMIN SMITH then moved a series of resolu-

tions in accordance with the objects of the meeting. He
was glad to see that the interest of the subject upon
which they had met continued to interest manufacturers,
for he had seldom known a second meeting, held so soon
after the first, to be so well attended as that. He was
not there, however, as a manufacturer himself, but as
one of the " others" who were invited to attend ; and if
manufacturers simply opposed the bills because they
would affect themselves, they would, he thought, find
little sympathy on the part of the public. But he
contended that the bills affected all other classes as well
as manufacturers. In fact, there was no one in England
whom they did not affect, and the best policy of the
manufacturers would be to let the whole community see
the way in which they would be affected. It was upon
that ground he took his stand in opposition to the bills.
Manufacturer were rich and could speak fir themselves,
but the bills affected as well the poor who could not speak
for themselves. He admitted that it was right to do that
which was essential for the public health, but one of his
objections was that th e:=e attempts at legislation which were
not practical, stood in the way of steps that were practi-
cal. They were proposed only for the profit of those who
enjoyed salaries and places at the public expense.
(Hoar.) His rights were interfered with that his neigh-
bour might wash his hands twice a day instead of once,
and if he were told that the liberties of the country were
to be sacrified that the hands of the poor man might be
kept a little cleaner, he said let them hold on to liberty
and let them do as their fathers had done in the other
respect. (Hear.) The Board of Health had from the
first displayed a spirit hostile to the interest of property
and private enterprise, and yet it had lately come to his
knowledge how very little was known of its operations
by those with whom it interfered. By what the %Board
of Health had done they might judge of what it would
do. It had attacked private enterprise from first to last.
The water companies had been attacked without waiting
to see whether they would fulfil the duties imposed upon
them by their acts of Parliament. The gas companies
had been attacked, and the board on their reports had
oven asserted that it was impossible for any one but
themselves to bury the people of England properly.
They actually propose to do so, and that trading compa-
nies, as they called them, should not be allowed to bury
the people of England any longer. The Ipswich Ceme-
tery Bill had passed its second reading, when they inter-
fered to prevent its final passage ; and in the same man-
ner they had interfered to prevent companies from
giving a better supply of water in different localities.
They had also interfered with drainage, but had failed
ral
sand
bn
in everything which they had undertaken. They
also
ateuenslsde to interfere with insurance com-
panies,
e,ewdahsteurethenetygheensyadiedrprinoerrioonansed enaofntdo putthiemirmrnerpatolihrettyms:
insurance
weaken proper forethought, and increase the number of
fie ne ;
d
under Government control. Their object in them variousa.
bills was to ask further powers of a sumture, and so long as they were allowed to go toal7arlia-
ment year after year they would do so. Their bills were so
long that it was impossible for them to be understood, for
with 200 or 250 clauses, members of Parliament were too
much occupied to read them, while the people of the
country could not understand them. He held in his
hand numerous letters from different parts of the coun-
try, all complaining of the want of information upon the
subject. He had also that day received two letters from
Birmingham, which some would think was a place of
some importance in a manufacturing point of view, and
entitled to some attention, both of which were utterly
opposed
,to the bills. The interference with property
and enterprise was made, upon the plea of benevolence,
to promote the moral and physical condition of the poor,
an attempt which the various bills had never yet accom-
plished. But the question was, what was to be done
with reference to the present bills ? And this brought
him again to the point that the movement against the
measures might be based upon the ground of their ge-
neral effect upon the public at large. He knew that
harm had been done by individuals saying they would
be satisfied with the alteration of certain clauses, but
out of the SGO clauses proposed by Sir B. Hall it was
selfish only to oppose one or two which affected their
own interests as manufacturers. He was certain that
the question did concern the public, and manufacturers
ought to oppose it upon general grounds. There had
recently been a decided attempt by Government to su-
persede trial by jury, by the system of summary convic-
tion, by which the poor man had been made to suffer,
while the rich man looked on with indifference. The
principle, however, was now extending still further, and
the manufacturers found that by not interfering to pro-
tect the poor they had made a rod for their own backs,
and he trusted the bills would pass entire, unless the
manufacturers would oppose them altogether as they
were now introduced, and not let a narrow clique, who
only sought for place and profit, force on changes at-
tacking the fundamental pi inciples of Magna CLarta.
Mr. C. FRANCIS seconded the motion.
Mr. J. LLOYD, representing some of the most important
companies in England, in supporting the motion, se-
verely criticised the conduct of Sir B. Hall in stopping;
witnesses before the committee when about to give evi-
dence calculated to expose the " monstrosities" of the
bills, as well as the general refusal of the committee to
bear counsel in opposition. It seemed to be sin nowa-
days to be connected with a public company, but to what
but the public companies were they indebted for th
gas, water, and other comforts. Ho hoped
would be thrown out, the bills
Mr. DICKEY supported the motion, alto ether
Mr. g r
opposed to centralisation, although he thoug property,
so farng as
particularlyit wa
v
lnll representedconcerned, wasiable
i a trol pa
irno
et
ne et .
t itself,
be
rovtle'etth.eewiraws
manufacturers would be compelled works
from the country if the bills became law, asserting that
Mr. S. HOWARD pointed out thettneguel
Berniondsey was already suffering coasiderably from the
competition of foreign leather.
Aspoken in support, and Mr. T. SMITH
in explanation,
the motion was unanimously agreed to,
and a subscription entered into for the purposes of the
Anti-Cox l Legislation Union, and the opposition to
lr.
ELTh having
the obro
The proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to the
chairman.

The discount houses did not give notice yesterday
afternoon of any reduction in their rate of allowance for
money at call, but it is expected to be lowered forthwith
from 4 per cent. to per cent.
DIORAMA or TUE RUSSIAN \VAR.—The Marionette
Theatre opened last evening with a moving diorama,
illustrating the principal erects of the gigantic contest
on the shores of the Black Sea. Commencing with a
view of Varna, whence the allied forces sailed on the
Crimean invasion in last September, the spectator is
successively introdifced to the embarkation of the
Anglo-French army, its landing at Old Fort, near
Eupatoria, the bombardment of Sebastopol by the fleet,
the heroic cavalry charge of Balaklava, and the deadly
struggle of Inkerman ; together with representations of
the interior of the hospitals at Scutari, and of the hurri-
cane in which the ill-fated Prince and so many transports
were wrecked on the iron-bound coast of the Crimea.
The pictures aro 30 in number, witnif ably executed, and
vividly delineating events which have been already
familiar to the minds of all. The interest of the enter-
tainment is greatly enhanced by the clearness and
graphic power of Mr. Knight's descriptive lecture, seve-
ral portions of which v•ere warmly applauded by the
numerous auditory, among whom we noticed several of
the gallant Guards. Some appropriate songs are intro-
duced by Mrs. Limpus with very pleasing effect. The
Diorama of the Russian War is well worth a visit for
the blended instruction and entertainment it affords o
the engrossing subject of the present day.