The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-30 00:00:00

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No. 22,G54.

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JA.NUARY 30, 1865.

At all Libraries. Vol. 1., in demy Bvo., with Hans of
Battles, • •

pIIYSTAL .PALACE.—TO-MORROW to
FRIDAY.—LAST FOUit DAYS of the WJZARD of
the NO ttTH and• Miss ANDERSON.--Also LAST WEEK
of MOILING UP the Palace.

THE, WEATHER.

The Sewage Report.

- -
THE HISTORY of the PRESENT AMERI-
CAN WAR, from The Commencement to the Conclu-
slon of the Campaign of 1863. By Lieut.-Col. FLETCHER,
Scots Fusilier Guards.
Richard Bentley, Publisher in Ordinary to her Majesty.

Large crowds assembled in the parks yesterday to see
the skaters.: As:might have been expected from the great
quantity of snow that has fallen since Friday, the ice is by
no means-lit to bear large numbers. 'About 5,000 persons
ventured upon the ice on the longwater in Kensington-
gardens, and during the day not fewer than 25 fell through
the ice in deep water.. The icemen of the Royal Humane
Society, with their drags; ladders, and ropes, managed to
get them out, but in so doing they were themselves several
times under the ice, which was so_ rotten as not to bear tho
weight of the apparatus and the-men. A man named Raws-
ton, of Trinity-cottage, Brunswick-street, was brought out
so much exhausted that at first it was feared he was dead.
He however recovered under the treatment of Mr. Super-
intendent Williams and the other officers of the society.

Admission, One Shilling. Children, Sixpence.

• -
ORYSTAL• PALACE.—SUMMER in
tIJJ WINTER.—LUXURIOUSLY WARM and DRY.—
ARRANGEMENTS TO-MORRUW.
Orehestral Band . 12.30
Wizard's World of Magic 2.30
Rope-Tying Trick
Great Organ
The thousand and one other attractions of the Palace in-
clude: —The New Picture gallery The Fine Arts Courts, in
variety and beauty unequalled in the world—The decorations
of the Palace, with the' great Christmas Tree Shakspere
House—Montanari Models—Swings, Roundabouts, Invigo-
rators, and other popular Athusements—Clalleries of Models
and Ships—Armour Plates and Armstrong 90-pounder lent
by official authority —The. extraordinary Chimpanzee— I he
unique Aquariums. AlLaliese things render the Crystal
Palace the one place for ii6llday enjoyment.
Admission, One- Shilling. Children under 12, Sixpence.
Open for Admission from Ten till Six o'clock, Lighted up
till halt-past Six.

On_the Royal Round Pond there were on the ice upwards
of 7,000 persons. There also the ice gave way, and seven
persons became immersed. They were, however, fortu-
nately rescued by the-Royal Humane Society's men. In
the Regent's-park not less than 20,000 persons crowded the
ice. The principal performance upon this ice yesterday
consisted of a new game, same 50 or 60 men and women
joining hands together, and at a
given signal starting, and
when once off none of them could stop until they came
.to
the end of the river. The weight of so many persons be-
ing suddenly concentrated at one point of necessity broke
the ice, and more than a dozen persons became immersed.
One person, Mr. Robert Stone, was a very long time in the
water before he could be rescued. On the Serpentine, Hyde-
park, there were 1,500 sliders and skaters, including several
ladies. Suddenly, owing to the strong wind, the ice parted,
and eight persons became immersed. They were extricated
by the society's icemen; and after being attended to were
able to return home. Policv-co ble Smith, No. 315, who
wass off duty, and who was •v- g, fell and cut his neck
and face in a fearful manner; He was taken to the Royal
Humane Society's house,' ancf was attended by Mr. Young,
Mr. Williams, 'and Dr. Christian, and was able to return
home. In St. James's Park there were 5,000 skaters and
sliders. Upwards of 100 immersions occurred during the
day, and three persons had their heads cut. The whole
were attended to by Dr. M'Cann, of Parliament-street.
The thermometer on Saturday night stood at 18 deg., yes-
terday at 20 deg., and last night it rose to 35 deg.
In the midland counties the frost, which set in with some
severity early last week, has been followed by a heavier
fall of snow than has been recorded for a great many years.
The first snowfall occurred on Thursday. It was followed
on Thursday night by another snowstorm, so that on Fri-
day there were lBin. of snow. In places where it had drifted
it had accumulated to the depth of many feet. In a few
situations the railway cuttings have been partially blocked
up, and on some portions of the Welsh district of the West
Midland line there has been an obstruction to the traffic ;
but generally there has been no hindrances. The inconve-
nience is felt most severely on the turnpike roads, the traffic
on which is reduced to the narrowest limits owing to the
accumulation of snow. On Saturday, although the sky
was unclouded, the sun had no effect upon the snow, ex-
cept to increase its dazzling brightness. The frost was
intense on Saturday night.
Wilts and Somerset there was a snowstorm on Fri-
On Mendip and on the Wiltshire Downs the drifts are
deep, and trafEc has almost ceased. The trains, how-
, are as yet enabled to keep tolerable time, and the lines
are much encumbered with snow.
In Yorkshire there has been more than a week of con-
tinuous hard frost. The lowest readings of the thermometer
at Walton for the week has been—Friday night week 25
deg., Saturday night 24 deg., Sunday night 27 deg., Mon-
day night 24 deg., Tuesday night 24 deg., Wednesday night
28 deg., Thursday night 31 deg., and Friday night, the
coldest this winter, 23 deg. At Welham the reading has
been 1 deg. to 2 deg. lower. On Friday night a heavy fall
of snow took place, with a strong north-east wind. The
roads are much obstructed with drifted snow, and the trains
were from the same cause mostly late on Saturday morn-

MR. and Mrs. GERMAN REED, with Mr.
JOHN PARRY. in THE RIVAL COMPOSERS. in
which the Sisters Pry will appear, with THE BARD and
HIS BIRTHDAY; and to cone ude with MRS. ROSELE AP
AT THE SEA-SI LE. By Mr. John Parry. Every Evening
(except Saturday) at Eight; Saturday Afternoon, at Three.
- —ROYAL GALLERY OF ILLUST.RA TION, It Regent-
street. Unreserved seats, ls., 25. ; stalls, S's“ stall spring
chairs, ss. ,
OPERA DI CAMERA., the SOLDIER'S LEGACY, by
Macfarren, and TOO MANY COOKS, by Offenbach. Every
TUEeDAY and T EIURSDAY, at Three.

T 6, E 0 X FORD,
OXFORD STREET, W.
The Oxford and Canterbury Hall Company (limited).

ORPHEE AUX ENFERS (Offenbach's brilliant Opera
Comique), is achieving an unprecedented success. Vide, the
Song "li.ng of Bccotia ;" " The Hymn to Bacchus ;" and
the spirited "Ililliho Chorus, by Eurydice, Diana, Cupid,
and k, horus ; the side-splitting "Couplets," by Minerva,
Diana, Venus, Cupid, Pluto, and Chorus ; and final Minuet
and Galop. Principal characters by Misses Russell, Fitz-
henry, Barrie, Tyrrell, and Walmsley; Messrs. Greene and
Lascelles.

Also, MASANIELLO, in which Mons. L ATESSIERE, the
successful new Tenore, from the Theatre Lyrique, Paris, will
make his appearance. _ _

Musical Director, Mr. F. Jonghmans.
Comedy, by Mr. WILLIAM RANDALL, Mr. GASTON
MURRAY, LITTLE 808, SESTIL LION, and all the pro-
curable Talent of the day.

CANTERBURY HALL.
The Oxford and Canterbury Hall Company (limited).
HODGE PODGE,

the most extraordinary Christmas Entertainment in Lon-
don the whole strength of the establishment),
every evening at hall-past Nine o'clock.
The usual Operatic Selections by Kisses Russell, Barrie,
Hays, (}olden, &c.; Messrs. Lasoelles, Harland, Beaumont,
Kimberley, &c.
Musical Director, Mr. F. Jonghmans.

Extra Comedy by Mr. and Mrs. Randal', Mr. Hilton,
Stacey, Woodman, Little Bob, &c.

R 0 YAL CAMBRIDGE MUSIC HALL,
Commercial-street, Shoreditch.
(Close to the Great Eastern TerminusN
Sole Proprietor, Mr. G. W. NTJGENT.
SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS.
Operatic Selections, &c. Prima Donna, Miss ELLISON.
The Comic strength of the Company includes ANNIE
ADAMS, NELLY POWER, J. G. FORDE, WEST, GEO.
LEYBOURNE, Mr. HERBERT, J. F. ALEXANDER and
Family; LES FRERES CAVALLINI, the great Italian
Clowns and Gymnasts, from the Cirque Napoleon, Paris,
their first appearance in England.
Permanent prices—Area, 4d. ; balcony, 6d. ; stalls, is.
Manager and Conductor, Mr. C. GAR VILLE.

MADAME TUSSAUD'S EXHIBITION.
established 29 years at the Bazaar,:Baker-street.
NEW ADDITION.—A Full-length PORTRAIT MODEL
of MULLER, taken from life, and corrected from the Cast
taken by Dcctor Donovan, is now added to the Chamber of
Physiognomy.
Open, on BoxinT Day only, from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m,; other
days from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m., and from 7 kill 10.
Admittance, One Shilling ; extra rooms, Sixpence.

ARGYLL ROOMS, Great Windmill-street,
Piccadilly.
GRAND CASINO. CONCERT. First time in England,
Gungl's new German Toy Waltz. Prince Imperial Quadrille,
Huguenots, Robert lc Diable, William Tell, and a variety of
Dance Minim
Conductor, M. LUIGI CURTI.
Admission, One Shilling.
Manager, M. GRENET.

ing. There is every appearance of continuance of frost.
A very severe gale from the E.N.E. prevailed on the
Northumberland coast on Friday night, and the sea was
very high. The only vessel which sailed on Friday was a
barque, the Holywood, bound to Carthagena, and the
Dundee and Newcastle steamship. But the steamship was
glad to get back to the shelter of the port, after encoun-
tering the gale for a few hours off the Northumberland
coast, and the pilot and some other men, who went into
the offing with the Holywood, had some difficulty in
landing. A boy could not be landed, and he will pro-
bably have to go on with the vessel to Spain. A letter
written from Hartlepool last night says :—" About eleven
o'clock a full-rigged ship, which turned out to be the Clon-
tarf, from Sunderland to Alexandria, laden, was observed
in the offing displaying a signal for assistance. Mr. Thos.
Dawson, the proprietor of the tugboats at the old har-
bour, ordered two of the boats to go out, notwithstand-
ing the heaVy sea that was running. The Apollo went
first, and encountered some very heavy seas, and before
she returned a portion of her paddleboxes was washed
away. The Amelia next followed, having in tow one of
the lifeboats. Both boats had a number of pilots on board,
to render, if necessary, assistance to the vessel. As the
latter boat was passing the new pier a heavy sea broke over
her, and carried away her gangway. The sudden shock of
so great a 'sheet'of water caused not only alarm on shore,
but appeared to unnerve those in the boat, for the steam
was shut off, and the boat was for a few minutes at a stand-
still. As the worst of the sea appeared to be in that par-
ticular locality, however, they steamed forward and joined
the other boat at the vessel. During the passage out of
the boat, the Clontarf was lying to, sideways to the wind,
and unable to turn round and put to sea. The nautical
men on the land who were looking at the position of the
vessel doubted very much her ability to get way on her to
make to sea, and were of opinion that, unless the wind
changed, she would drive ashore, or would be compelled to
make for and anchor in the roads, as it was clear she was
drawing too much water to enter the port. The wind,
however, fortunately for the ship, veered round in a more
northerly direction, and the vessel was stayed' just as one
of the boats got to her. The captain of the vessel offered

£4OO to those on board the boat to tow her to Shields

but they, considering the severe weather and wind which
they had to contend with, refused to take her for less than
. _

£5OO. A further offer was made to take her at the same
price to the Humber, but this also was declined. No terms
being come to the boats eventually left, and the vessel
steered in a southerly direction. Two or three vessels have
arrived at the port in safety, and several are observed off,
which are said to be laden." The weather was a little
moderate on the Northumberland coast on Saturday, and
several laden vessels, both steam and sailing, left the Tyne
in the afternoon, though the sea was very high. T here
was no appearance of the frost yielding. On Friday morn-
ing it was very intense, and the earth was thorougly ice-
bound. A good deal of snow fell on Saturday. The aurora
borealis was very beautiful off the Northumberland coast on
Saturday night.
A heavy snowfallltook place throughout the south-eastern
counties of Scotland on Wednesday night and Thursday
morning, accompanied with a strong north-east wind,
causing a great drift in many of the hilly districts. The
snowstorm was followed by a 'keen frost, which still con-
tinued on Saturday evening. A day or two before the snow
the lochs had begun to breeze, and catching the snow on
the surface, the ice, became very rough and heavy. The
curlers, however, turned out in large numbers, and thou-
sands betook themselves to the ice for skating and prome-
nade. In the Firth of Forth above 100 vessels took shelter
from the gale which prevailed in the North Sea all Thurs-
day and Friday. At Belhaven Sands, Dunbar, on Friday
the crew of the Vulcan, Simpson master, from Newcastle
for Aberdeen, with coal, were rescued by the Coastguard
by means of the rocket apparatus. The vessel was drifting
ashore, when Mr. Brodie, of Belhaven brickwork, observed
at daybreak its perilous condition, and sent an intimation
to the Coastguard station. He at the same time turned his
own workmen down to the beach. In about an hour the
Coastguard, under Lieut. Hamilton and Morgan, chief boat-
man, arrived. The sea was breaking astern and midships
and the men, four in number, were taking refuge in the
forecastle. The third rocket carried a line to the ship, which
was made fast to the,rigging, and the crew were taken off
one after another, the master being the last to leave. In an
hour afterwards the ship sank and afterwards 'broke up.
The Josephine, of Newburgh, from Rouen for Grange-
mouth, was on Friday morning run into off St. Abb's
Head by a brig, name unknown, and the crew.had to take
to their boat, in which they were tossed for four hours in
a high sea and amid a heavy snowstorm, till taken up by
the brig Hubertus, of Sunderland, which conveyed them
to Burntisland.

AN EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCE.—Last market
clay Mr. Richard Beale, of Frensham Mill, grove
into Alton as usual, to attend the market, accompanied by
a friend. He was driving a young and spirited horse, and
everything went well until they arrived inside the yard of
the Swan Hotel. Mr. Beale's friend alighted, and Mr.
Beale threw the reins across the horse's back. The horse
winced and rattled the bridle and bit, when he started off
with a bound, ran round the yard, and, seeing no exit ex-
cept by an open door, dashed into the back door of the
hotel, passed through the hall, and out at the front door
into the street. Of course the wheels of the dog-cart struck
the brickwork on either side of the doorway, the shock
snapped off one shaft, the harness and breaching gave
way, and allowed the !horse free exit through the hotel,
dragging one shaft with him at full speed. Mr. Beale sat
quietly in the dog-cart, and escaped perfectly unhurt, the
horse and trap parted company, and the rider came to the
ground without the slightest injury. Happily no one was
in the hall or entrance at the time, and the horse, having
passed into the street, was soon secured and taken back
into the stable yard, and on examination found also un-
injured.—Surrey and Hants News and Guildford Times.

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THE CATCHMENT BASINS OF RIVERS
When.Bramah about3s years ago invented the
watercloset he little dreamt of the great sanitary and
agricultural revolution he was inaugurating. We all
know upon what trivial events momentous changes
sometimes depend; but possibly in the whole history
of our material progress no such example of this trite
saying can be found than is afforded by the intro-
duction of this useful appliance. Before its intro-
duction the house drains were in no manner connected
with the public sewers; the sewage flowed into cess-
pools which riddled oui4asements and perpetually
gave forth deadly. gases, which filled our houses and
killed us with fevers, while the main sewers only
took off the surface drainage. They, were simply
the conductors of the watershed of towns,. and any
attempt to turn the house drains into them was
resisted by the Commissioners of Sewers. The rain-
fall throw them found its way to the river, and the
sewage to the land, which was removed at stated
times by a service of nightmen, as it is at present in
Paris and other large Continental cities, after doing
all the mischief it could to the household, and after
losing as much as possible of its own virtue for the
purposes of the soil. When the hydraulic appliance
of Bramah come slowly into operation, the cesspools
could no longer hold the largely diluted sewage,
and the evil became so great that the custom arose
of flushing the house drains into the main sewers.
This was clearly contrary to law, but it was winked
at by the authorities ; it was a great public necessity,
in fact, which put all old arrangements aside, and
slowly the whole sewage of the metropolis was con-
duCted into the Thames. Those who remember the
river 30 years ago can- remember a comparatively
pure stream, up which salmon used to work to their
spawning grounds. Shortly, however, its colour
began to change from year to year, and at last it
became so foul in 1859 that white paper thrown
into the stream was immediately blotted out by
the dirty water, and the committee rooms of the
Houses of Parliament became unbearable in conse-
quence of the stench it gave forth. Chief Justice
Hale laid it down as law, that " every man was to
keep his own dirt at home ;" we did this, and pro-
bably should have gone on doing so until this day
had it not been for Bramah ; he washed it up before
our very eyes and noses in the river, and, more dis-
gusting still, he made us drink of it, and forthwith
we commenced mighty works to take it down to
the ocean. But other towns higher up the valley
Of the Thames having acquired powers under the
newly-constituted local Boarks of Health, took
example by the metropolis, and transferred
their cesspools into the stream, and thus com-
menced again the poisoning process we have
taken so much trouble to abolish. Every day
sewage is flowing down into our drinking water
from the 800,000 persons located in the valley of
the Thames above] London. The gross absurdity of
thus going to the expense of millions to get rid of
our own sewage, that we may have the pleasure of
drinking that of the 53 towns and villages of the
upper Thames, must have struck everyone. It is
quite certain that the maxim—" everyone for him-
self "—must in its narrower interpretation give way
to some scheme for dealing with the difficulties
thrown upon us by the independent action of local
Boards having jurisdiction over restricted areas only.
The Thames valley, containing perhaps the most
important elements of the problem to be solved, has
attracted the greatest amount of attention. Dr.
Ackland, of Oxford, has for some time advocated
the necessity of appointing some authority to control
the catchment basins of rivers, and, in_conjunction
with other gentlemen, presented a memorial to Sir
George Grey two years since with respect to the
particular catchment basin of the Thames. The
evidence he gives of the report before us of the con-
dition of the river near Oxford is certainly disgust-
ing. He states that in one place the deposits of
sewage have diminished the depth of the river by
6ft., " a disengagement of gas takes place at the
bottom of the water, and large masses of black sew-
age which have been deposited are thrown up to the
surface," masses of human ordure totally unchanged
are seen floating down the river for several miles.
Every year the other large towns on the Thames,—
Abingdon, Wallingford, Reading, Windsor, Eton,
Walton-on-Thames, Richmond, Brentford, &c., are
obtaining powers to drain into the Thames. Each
town thinks only of getting rid of its own refuse,
quite regardless of the nuisance it is creating for the
other towns lower down the stream. It is quite
clear that no genuine system of fluvial purification
can be carried out as long as mere local interests
are allowed to be consulted.
Mr. Rawlinson, the principal inspector in the
Local Government Act-office, who has inspected
the rivers of Lancashire and parts of Yorkshire,
says (3,993) " They are foul almost from source
to estuary." The rivers Irwell, Medlock, Irk, and
the Bridgwater Canal are more offensive from sew-
age than the Thames. The Medlock at Manchester
is covered with a black scum so thick that birds are
able to walk over it ! The rivers and streams in
Lancashire and Yorkshire are fearfully abused.
There are river beds in Lancashire and Yorkshire
that are raised 10 or 15 feet by sewage, ashes, and
other refuse. " There are," says Mr. Rawlinson,
" bridges under which a dog can scarcely creep, and
I have had evidence from inhabitants that they have
driven loaded carts under these same bridges."
In the neighbourhood of Birmingham the streams
have been silted up many feet in the same manner.
The want of some central authority to deal with the
watersheds of districts is illustrated by the case of
Salford. The inhabitants of this town wished to
carry their sewage by tunnel three or four miles
from Manchester at an expense of £BO,OOO, but
were prevented from doing so by the refusal of other
towns to co-operate. "Of what use is it," they
say, " to expend large sums when Manchester and

all the other towns above will continue to foul the
river ?" The river at Birmingham contains in dry
weather as much sewage as water. Birmingham
once boasted of being one of the healthiest towns
in England, but this distinction it has long lost, as
its mortality is now much higher than that of the
metropolis, and it always suffers from a type of
fever. The river Aire, which passes through Leeds
and Bradford, is as foul as the Medlock. Passen-
gers crossing the canal in trains are obliged to shut
the windows in consequence of foul air (4,115).
The Clyde at Glasgow is worse even than the
Thames. We might perhaps expect to find
filth in the rivers of manufacturing towns, but it
is observable that places famed of old for hygi-
enic advantages are now being poisoned by the
practice of throwing the sewage into the river.
The case of Bath is particularly strong. The river
Avon, near that city, is nearly a stagnant stream,
and is quite poisoned from this cause, and so great
is the deposit of sewage in it that the navigation is
impeded. It is not quite so bad at Bristol, as a
portion of the sewage of the town is diverted into
the tidal river, but the floating harbour which runs
through the old town is quite pestiferous. The per-
verse arrangements which obtain in many of our
watering-places are very observable. In many cases
the outlet of the drains is into the sea. The sewage
of Exmouth passes, by an open drain, along the
foreshore as far as low-water mark, which is within
70 yards' distance of the public bathing place. At
Brighton the ladies are subjected to a similar ob-
noxious arrangement. At Southsea, again, the
mouths of the sewage pipes open close to the pier
and to the bathing machines. The county surveyor
for Somersetshire, who has paid much attention to
the drainage of towns, gives a moat deplorable
account of the condition of some of the western
towns. In the rising watering-place of Weston-
super-Mare all the sewage runs
into one of the
rhynes, or open ditches which drain the
marsh land
of the district. The water in it is so foul t won
cattle will not drink it. The river Tone is p
by the sewage of Taunton. The river Frome in many

PRICE 4d.
STAMPED sd.

places is in a disgusting condition with respect to the
water and the deposit along its ' banks. Indeed,
the evidence in this respect gives most abundant
proof that our rivers are everywhere being -silted
up by deposits of cinders and stewage, and that
nobody interferes, the reason, in many cases being,
according to the evidence of Mr. Toni Taylor, the
secretary of the Local Government Board (3,897),
that the persons who create the nuisance are
themselves members of the local Boards whose
duty it is to conserve them. 'hat it is * nuisance at
Common Law to disehargO- sewag9uto a river has
been decided, but *here it is orkly:a.'public nuisance
there is no one to put the law:into o ti W-I
pera pn. . ien,
however, direct injury is done to the:property of any
individual, local boards can be restrained frOnVol-
luting streams by injunction. Indeed, seAral'Boards
of Health have been stopped in this manner. At Ux-
bridge, for instance, Col. Tower obtained an i 'Cijune_ li
tion against the Board for poisoning his fi'sh' iii the
river Coln with the sewage; at Hitchin the local
Board was restrained in a similar manner, and so
terrified were the members at the penalties threa-
tened by the law that they resigned, and there is
now no Board in the town. At Croydon the Board
have suffered six or seven injunctions, and have been
so embarrassed with their sewage that they have a
~
solutely -been forced to do what they should have
done in the first instance, and which has made them
the example to every other town in England—they
have turned it on to the land at a profit! When werememberMa remember eveit faimei ii-CO:ifi lied by his le'
bu
to consume upon his land all the manure producek
upon it, it does seem extraordinary that a reverse rule
should obtain when human beings are concerned. And
we think we are ittstiy open to tho rcproaqh_ca4
upon us by Liebig, who accuses us of wilfully cast-
ing forth into the ocean those fertilising elements
we have drawn not only from our own fields, but
from those of Europe and the whole world. But
Croydon; we say, has solved the difficulty Bramah
has slowly brought about, by the introduction of the
water-closet. His invention emptied the cesspools
into the rivers, and for a time robbed the land, for
of old their contents were returned to it in a very
disgusting and costly manner. His invention now
enables the sewage to carry itself on to the land. At
Croydon, being stopped by injunction from throw-
ing the sewage into the Wandle, the local Board
leased 240 acres of land at £4 an acre, turned
their sewage upon it, and relet it for £5 an acre.
Thus they make a clear profit of £240 a year, and
enormous crops are got off the land, which serves as
a pattern card, as it were, to the surrounding farmers
of the value of sewage. Moreover, there appears to
he good reason to believe that at least another hun-
dred acres may be profitably employed, considering
the heavy dressings placed on the land by the pre-
sent tenant. This would yield £340 a year, which
would go in diminution of the rates. It is true that
Croydon is favourably situated for the distribution
of its sewage, as it stands on a height, and it can
therefore be distributed by means of simple gravita-
tion ; but there are hundreds of towns in England

just as favourably placed ; and with this example
before their eyes, of turning this heretofore consi-
dered public nuisance into a source of profit, it is
really disgraceful that they should any longer pollute
our rivers with it. The importance of the principle
of placing entire watersheds under the control of
some central Board is most clearly set forth in the
evidence published in the volume before us, but there
appears to be a verygeneral agreement of opinion that
the functions of Boards appointed for such catchment
basins should be merely to supervise the action of
the local Boards within their district, and to enforce
obedience to the law, leaving the necessary works to
be carried out by the local Boards alone. In short,

gat fear of centralisation which is ever before the

eyes of Englishmen, and which has led to evils
almost as great in some cases as those it wishes to
avoid, is clearly evinced by all those who have
given evidence upon this very important subject.
The Committee, in their Report, have embodied

their opinions upon it in the following paragraph :

" We recommend that the important object of completely
freeing the entire basins of rivers from pollution should be
rendered p ossible by general legislative enactment, enabling
the inhabitants of such entire districts to adopt some con-
trolling power for that purpose; but it should include a pro-
vision for compelling local boards to render the sewage of
their districts innocuous by application to the land for agri-
cultural purposes. The case of the valley of the Thames
(where the purification of the river has been sought by the
expenditure of enormous sums, is, to a, considerable extent,
counteracted by the increased discharge of sewage from
towns higher up the stream) requires special and imme-
diate attention."

Naval and Military Intelligence.

Advices received by our Southampton correspon-
dent, by the mail steamer Atrato, report the follow-
ing movements of her Majesty's ships of war on the
West India and Pacific stations :—The Aboukir,
80, Commander Cracroft, C.B. ; the Fawn, 17,
Commander 'Wrey ; and the Nimble, 5, Lieut.
Hallowes, were at Port Royal, Jamaica, on the 9th
inst. The Rosario, 11, Commander Palmer, left
Kingston for Honduras on the 7th, with and for the
mails. The Styx, 6, left Antigua for Barbadoes on
the 11th. The Cordelia, 11, Commander J. B.
Scott, was at Dominica on the 10th. Admiral Sir
James Hope, K.C.8., in the Duncan, 81, Capt. R.
Gibson, was expected at Barbadoes on the 20th. The
Shannon, 35, Capt. 0. J. Jones, arrived at Aspin-
wall on the Ist from Greytown, and she reported the
safe arrival of the steamship Golden Rule at San
Juan del Norte. The Phaeton, 39, Capt. G. L
Bowyer, was at Matamoras on the 28th December.
The Petrel, 11, Commander E. Madden, left Vera
Cruz on the 30th December for Matamoras. The
Wolverine, 21, Capt. A. F. R. de Homey, left Ha-
vannah for Matamoras on the Bth January. The
Leander, Commander Harvey, was at Callao on the
28th December, and the Shearwater at Islay on the
23d ; the latter vessel was to rejoin the Commodore
in a day or two. The Alert was at Valparaiso on
the 17th December. The Sutlej, flagship, with the
Admiral, was expected at Valparaiso, from Vancou-
ver's Island, about the end of December. An Ame-
rican paddle steam ram had arrived at Havannah,
and left the same day for Wilmington, to join the
squadron there. A Federal steam corvette and two
gunboats were off Brazos. The French frigate Bel-
lone, Rear-Admiral Hoy, was at Martinique on the
6th of January. The French transports Entrepre-
nante, Eure, and Rhine, and the Austrian frigate
Navarre, were at Vera Cruz.
The Rinaldo, 17 gun screw corvette, 951 tons and

200 horse-power, Commander Hon. Maurice H.
Nelson, arrived at Spithead early morn-
ingyesterday
from Jamaica, last from Falmouth, having put
into the latter port on Wednesday,
At flag-hoist time yesterday morning the 25th
the
Rinal• do.
exchanged ••
salutes with the Victory, Cap F.
Scott, C. 8., A.D.C., flagship of the Port Admiral,
Sir M. Seymour, G.C.B. The Rinaldo awaits orders
at Spithead.
The death of Major-Gen. R. S. Armstrong, R.A.,
It took
has been reported at the Horse Guards.
place on the 18th inst. at Lucerne, Switzerland. He
was in his 75th year. He served at Walcheren
15
in
1809, and in Canada from May, 1811, to July,
18.
Ile obtained his commission as second lieut. Dec. 17,
1807 ; first lieut., March 22, 1809 ; capt., Nov. 6,
1827 ; brevet major, Nov. 23, 1841 ; lieut.-col.,
Nov. 9, 1846; col., June 29,1854; major-gen., Jan.
15, 1859. A general officer's " distinguished service"
pension of £lOO per annum is vacant by his death.
The captain's " good service" pension placed at
the disposal of the First Lord of the Admiralty by
the death of Capt. R. Harris, R.N , has beeny
*con-
ferred on Capt. M. De Courcy.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.—On Saturday
there was a very good display of tulips and mignonnette at
these gardens, when the great conservatory in which the
plants were arranged was visited by many visitors and fel-
lows of the society, who were enabled to enjoy a pleasant
promenade in an atmosphere far more agreeable than that
which was to be met with out of doors.