The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-08 00:00:00

The Great Sewer at Kingston,

The river Thames, from Staines to Yantlett Creek, is in
the care and custody of the corporation of London, in their
capacity of Conservators of the Thames. Some few years
ago the attention of that portion of the metropolis through
which the Thames flows was directed to the noxious exha-
lations which in hot weather proceeded from the bosom of
the old river, and it was found necessary that something
should be done to check the frightfully pestiferous condition
into which the Thames was rapidly subsiding. Had the river
merely occasioned offence to a few thousand of the ordinary
lieges, it might possibly have been allowed to flow on un-
checked, spreading death and destruction along its margin.
But, as chance would have it, the palace of the Legis-
lature was built upon its brink, so that the senses of noble
senators and of representative men, who were stived up
in committee all the summer through, were grievously
offended by the pollution of the river. Numerous tempo-
rary expedients were tried without avail. It was in vain
that thousands of bushels of limo were thrown into the
turbid stream. The effect of the disinfectants was nif, and
the steamers went on churning up the unhealthy compound
until a threatened plague called for strenuous measures.
After a time Parliament interfered, and the intervention of
the Commissioners of Sewers was sought. It was found
that day by day the state of the river got worse, and that
this growing unwholesomeness was occasioned by the in-
cessant emptying into its waters of innumerable sowers.
Then was devised the great system of drainage which, at a
cost of some millions sterling, is now being carried out—a
scheme so grand and comprehensive that it puts all the
boasted drainage of ancient [tome to the blush. Not a me-
tropolitan sewer was henceforth to empty its foul contents
into the Thames, but all was to bo deodorised or conveyed
down miles away somewhere beyond Barking Reach. So
far a great good at an enormous cost was to be achteved,
and the river was to become pure and limpid, such as trout
and salmon might disport in, as in the days when sewers
and steamboats were alike unheard of, Suddenly it became
known that Kingston and Surbiton, places where the popu-
lation is increasing with greater rapidity than in any other
metropolitan suburb, were making grand preparations for
discharging all their sewage into the Thames I So that, in
fact, while the stream below was to be kept uncontaminated
from local nastiness, the good folks of Kingston were to
get rid of all their sewage by calmly discharging it into the
river, to flow down with the stream to Teddington, and
thence up and down with each succeeding ebb and flow of
the tide, Now, although this was a very simple way of eas-
ing Kingston of a nuisance, it did not seem consistent with
the exertions of the Board of Sewers to purify the Thames.
Besides, if Kingston were to do this, why not Thames
Bitten, Moulsey, Hampton, Sunbury, Walton, and other
of the rapidly growing places aloug the banks of the river ?
Small as the evil might be at first, it was evidently a grow•
ing one ; and unless checked in time its effect would bo to
thwart every (Aloft which had been made to render the
Thames a sweet and wholesome river. Accordingly, as
there happened to be a new Conservancy Bill before Parlia-
ment, the promoters introduced a clause to meet these cases,
by preventing the enlargement of any existing sewer in
parts of the river beyond the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan
Board of Works. The Kingston people, however, were very
anxious to carry out their " little game," and they prevailed
upon Mr Hutt, the Vice President of the Board of Trade,
so to amend this clause as to exempt Kingston from its
operation. Other members of Parliament resisted this, and
the bill went safely through the House of Commons. In
the Lords, however, the entire clause was rejected on a
technical ground of want of proper notice ; so that the bill
as passed contains no enactment on the subject, Meantime
the Conservators of the Thames have obtained an injunc-
tion to prevent the corporation of Kingston proceeding
further with their sewage works until the trial of a cause
set down for hearing at Michaelmas- The question as it
stands is a difficult one, Bat we trust that our authorities
swill told 69410 oiler 1110C19 of getting rid of their uewaao

a.m.

than by polluting the river. It must be remembers tha
there are places higher up the river than we are, and whit t
we can do with impunity ethers will claim to do also. Ms
result will be that the Thames above Teddington be
little better eventually than an enormous cesspool.
invite V V.O
the attention of the authorities to the possibility of
adopting some system of deodorization, and the subsequi eat
sale of the sewage matter for purposes of cultivation,_
West Surrey Times,

The Explosion at Chilworth Powder lti lig.

On Saturday evening, at six o'clock, an inquest on the
bodies of John Farnfield and Charles Mansell, the unft tr-
tunate men who were killed by the late explosion, v
as
opened by Mr C. JI Woods, coroner for the Western di vi-
sion, Surrey, at the Percy Arms:lnn.
The room in which the inquiry was conducted aft yrded
ample evidence of the violence of the explosion. Ji
windows were so completely demolished as to leave it quite
open to the elements, and the wind swept through it from
end to end, In other parts of the house the ceilings were
cracked and the walls riven as if by the shock of an to eh-
quake, and outside huge beams, charred and blachr !nod,
which had been hurled from the exploded mill a distance of
a quarter of a mile were lying about, mementoes o f the
sudden and tragical disaster.
The Coroner made a few preliminary observationel
After which the Jury proceeded to view the bodi es and
the scene of the explosion. On their return the fol lowing
evidence was taken :
James William Upfold, foreman of Mr Sharp's gun-
powder works, deposed that he knew the deceased Pe"
sons, who were in the same employ. The last time that
he saw them alive was about ten minutes past eleven
o'clock on Friday morning, when they were both titan' hind
at the door of the press-house talking to him. As he left
them he turned round and went into the press..ho•oe.
They had both been engaged in the press-house from 8 even
o'clock on Friday morning, and witness had no occasion to
visit the building in his capacity as foreman. It Was hillduty to inspect the workmen on the premises, an he
usually went round between seven and eight o'clock, for
that purpose, The hour for commencing work in the 733i11s
was seven o'clock, and there was no general inspe:tion
of the men prior to their commencing work, neither,
were there any written or printed rules for the regulations 1
the establishment. The men were compelled to changed r
ordinary dress and put on a dress specially adapted for
working in the mills, before any of them were alloyed to
enter any portion of the works, and a small building e3lle(i
the " wash-up house," was used for the purpose. l'he,r-
-n
was no person, however, employed to see that this regula-
tion was carried out at the moment the men entered the
premises. There were no other regulations besides e3eae
mentioned, except general instructions as to the obsery
ft
of carefulness, and in relation to washing when the men je
the premises, which, however, was not compulsory. Th,e,,r,„-
were no other persons besides-the deceased employed in
press-house on Friday, and after ho left them witness Pre:
ceeded to his own house, about a quarter of a mile distnu:'
and had just got inside when the explosion took place'
caused him to return immediately, when he found the press'
t: house had exploded and disappeared and the two wen we
not to be seen. He immediately set a party of men to °roc;
and the body of Farnfield was shortly discovered about t
yards up the meadow, and that of Mansell in a ditch abant..
80 yards be'lw the press-house. Farnfield was Lunch
tared and both arms were off. There was not a particle
ode
clothing upon either of the bodies, If the men had chnng h
their ordinary clothing it would have been left in the was
up house, but this had been destroyed, and all the clothincog
it contained. One shoe belonging to Farnfield has sin,„
the wore
been found. Mansell had been employed upon
for the past two years, and Farnfield almost from his in
fancy. The machinery in the press-room was new, else
the hydraulic press, which had been in work about se
years. When witness saw the deceased men at
the press-house they had their working dresses ma. rlled
At this stage of the proceedings the inquiry was adja
for a few days. the door or