The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-01 00:00:00

NEWS PAPER

case,

•Wts. 4;i ,frm -0. •
4'
Jay 1-I
papers on "Our Wayside Poets" is de\ -1,
the sweet and touching vcraes of tho
May." The two stories which recently e,:3.
replaced
replaced by others sufficiently romantic to preasekaa ad tpin;th-6
is a plentiful supply of verse which does not, unfett nudely, "1
rise above the average.
THE SIXPENNY MAGAZINE.—This magazine' gives
us as usual a comprehensive table of contents, of
which tales of adventure occupy a principal port ion.
Among the other papers we have " A History of
Roads," an essay on " Rural Cemeteries," a sketch cl the
life of Addison, and a treatise on Perfumes. The reader
has certainly no reason to quarrel with the quantity of en-
tertainment given him, and its quality is so very fair that
it is difficult to guess how it can be provided at such a cost.
YOUNG ENGLAND.—This is a pleasant little
serial, intended for young people. It is plentifully illus-
trated and full of adventure, gossip, information, and
amusement.

WANTED-PURE WATER.

(Iron the Br,ilchng H'er's.)
Our •
samtary authorities have unanimously accepted pure
water as a main feature in the requirements of man. Their
effort to secure to the public the necessary element, bears
testimony to the difficulties that ever arise in a civilised and.
highly populated country, in obtaining water in its states
of purity. Pure water has been the cry that has lowered
the water comparr,
s dividends to an alarming extent, to
the shareholders. Albeit, the public weal might receive
cboenststiei dlyle,or anwdbhl
all
lnla dwd doeui trbi
realise
a,nl
that
therefrom,
ert
the fact,
establishedwater as
enters to
11°thfer
our leaden conduits, the more poisonous it may be made
before it reaches the consumer,
we have to ask most
seriously whether or not that great depreciation of stock is
not lost, so far as the public advantage that might
accrue from it, by the want of
a proper knowledge,
of the medium through which the water is conveyed.
A circular was issued, or a general notice promulgated, by
the several water companies, when the reservoirs were
covered in and the various additions and improvements
made in compliance with the new act of Parliament relat-
ing thereto, requesting the consumers to clear out their
cisterns, that they might receive the full benefit of tho
purer supply. Still it left an equally important require-
ment untouched and almost unknown. In some districts,
public attention has been aroused to the knowledge of the
requirement of which we speak, through the sudden death
by poisoning of several members of a family, with the nar-
row escape of the remainder. The cause has been traced
to the leaden pipes through which the water used by the
family has been conveyed. 'We are not about to frighten
our readers with a prognostication of sudden death to the
consumers of water that has passed through leaden 13iPes)
but ask their attention to a few facts relative to the charac-
teristics of the medium through which they receive this
universal element.

Firstly, we are informed by the highest chemical autho-
rities, that pure water so rapidly acts upon lead, that in a
very short space of time it becomes impregnated with this
metal in a soluble form. Nor are we to escape by the com-
forting assurance that the water is impure. Water that
contains carbonic acid (and what water does not in agreater
or less degree ?) equally appropriates to itself a portion of
the metallic medium through which it passes ; these are
facts from which we have no appeal. It is true that water
may contain certain constituents that will act on the lead
in a manner more favourable to a hygienic state of things ;
but do we take the trouble to ascertain if such a quality
exists in our water? We think not. The result is, there-
fore, that in the case of all new lead pipes, colic, next to
poisoning, is the result upon all who use it; and in all
cases, unless specially protected, poison, in the form of salts
of lead, is administered, whether in homcoopathic doses or
after the more liberal allopathic system, and a deleterious
effect is produced on the system and health of all who par-
take of the liquid. The effect of sulphuric acid as a cor-
rective, in the exceptional cases of which we have already
spoken, is caused by the internal surface of the lead being
changed from the metallic state into a sulphide of the metal
which is insoluble in water. T his reaction may be artificially
produced by a simple yet scientific process, the discovery of
Dr. Schwarz, of Breslau. This savant proposes the passing
through lead pipes of a solution of sulphide of potassium,
at a temperature of 212 degrees, which changes the metallic
lead into a sulphide of lead, and, thus transmuted, the
water passing through it is perfectly free from the risk of
contamination by any poisonous salt from the lead. It re-
mains for the public themselves to decide from our state-
ments of facts, whether or not they will continue to tolerate
even the skeleton of an evil that may be so easily exercised.

HIGII WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIa DAT.—Morning, 4h. 25m.—Afternoon, 4h. 42m.
To-atonnow.-Morning, 4h. 59m.—Afternoon, sh. 20m.