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

BEDROOM CANDLES.

" PRICE'S CANDLES, which will not drop
grease when carried."—Thin, very hard candles
sold in boxes ls. and 3s. (non, are recommended as the bes
carriers.
" EXTRA HARD 5.12 CHAMBER CANDLES,"
sold in boxes 20. each. Thicker candles intended for those
who will not burn thin.
" SHERWOOD ECONOMIC BED LIGHTS,"
in packets of 36 candles for one shilling, intended for use
Where cheapness Ps a great object, will be found an improve-
ment on the ordinary candles, as they gutter less.
Special candlesticks to fit thin candles, Is. and 2s. 6d each;
reducing sockets, making them fit any candlesticks, 2d. each.
TOILET SOAPS.
Sherwood Brown Windsor Soap, with a pleasant scent.
Belmont Glycerine Soap, contains ?rice's Glycerine.
Camphor and Glycerine Soap, fo tender skins in winter.
GLYCERINE. S II ERWO ODO LE
Prin.'s Glycerine" may be Cleans gloves and removes
" had from any Chemist, in grease and other stains.
capsuled bottles, lettered Perfumed,
Price's Patent," in casuled bot-
from 6d. ties, 6d. and is. each.
upwards. Impure Glycerine
has been sold ',la the state-
ment that it is "equal to
Prices."

Retail throng
Wholesale by Prioe's Patent
Lon,

;h any Grocer.
t Candle Company (Limited),
Ldon

ORNAMENTS for the Drawing-room, Library,
.ind Dining-room, consisting of a new and eiegant assorL-
ment of VASES, Figures, Groups, Candlesticks, Obelisks, Ink-
stands, beautiful inlaid Tables, Paper weights, &a, in Italian,
Alabaster, Parian, Marble, Bronze, Derbyshire Spare.
Imported and manufactured by JAMES TENNANT,
ralogist to her Majesty, 149, Stand, W.C., London.
Mr. Tennant arranges elementary collections of SHELLS,
MINERALS, ROCKS, and FOSSILS, which will greatly
facilitate the interesting study of MINERALOGY, CON-
CHOLOGY, Ind GEOLOGY, at 2,5, 10, 20, 50, to 100 guineas
each.

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION in GEOLOGY and MINE.
RALOGY is given by Mr. TENNANA at 149. Strand W.C.

NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE.—The greatest and
most useful invention of the day, AGUA A MAR ELL A.
Messrs. JOHN GOSNELL and CO., 3, King-court, Lombard-
street, London, Pert minors to her Majesty, respectfully offer
to the public this truly marvellous Mil 1. which gradually
rest,res the human hair to its pristine hue—no matter at
what age. The Agua Amarella has none of the properties of
dyes ; it, on the contrary, is beneficial to the system, and
when the hair is once restored one application per month will
keep it in perfect colour. Price one guinea per bottle, or in
half bottles, 105.61. Testimonials from artistes of the highest
order, and from individuals of undoubted respectability, may
be seen on application. Messrs. John Gosnell and Co. have
been appointed Perfumers to her Royal Highness the Princes
of Wales.

DR. SCOTT'S LIVER AND BILLIOUS
PILLS.—A NEVER FAILING RESIEDY.—Pre-
:Hired without any mercurial ingredient, from the recipe of Dr.
;cott, of Bromley, Kent, will be found invaluable to all who
uffer from bilious and liver complaints, indigestion, wind,
'pasms, giddiness, dizzineati of the eyes, &o. For habitual
'ostiveness, as a family aperient medicine, and as a purifier
the blood, they are truly excellent; mild in their opera-
tor' and cfr.teful to he stomach, they create appe lie, pro.,
wtr 11.!esttoli, and s.ren,then the whole nervous system.
W. lambert, William-street, Charing-cross.
and by most druggists, to boxes,is. i d., mad three
times [he quantity in one, 2s. 9d. Be sure to ask Por Dr.
_Sroott, s Bilious and Liver Pills. The genuine arc a square
;34Zp.P age. With " William Lambert," engraved on the

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 Doctor Donovan, is now added to the Chamber of
Physiognomy.
Open, on Boxinz Day only, from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m,; other
days from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m., and from 7 gill 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 le Diable, William Tell, and a variety of
Dance Music.
Conductor, M. LUIGI CURTI.
Admission, One Shilling.
Manager, 31. GRENET.

DINNEFORD'S FLUID MAGNESIA.
The medical profe anion for Thirty years have approved
of this pure solution of Ma,2nesia as the best remedy for Gout
and stomach disorders of every kir d ; and as a mild aperient
it is esrecially adapted for ladies and children. Prtpared
DINNEFORD and CO., Ciemists,

172, New Bond-street, London ;
And sold throughout the world by all respectable chemists.
CAUTION.—See that " Dinneford and Co." is on each bottle
and red label over the cork.

THE BENEFACTOR OF THE SKIN.-
MOLLARD'S perfumed Toilet Sulphur Soap and
Cream, highly patronised by the faculty, nobility, and gentry.
Nothing equals the properties and qualities of the Soap No.
I for ordinary toilet purposes, and of nos. 2 to 5 in all cases
of cutaneous affections or rheumatism.
Perfumed toilet cream, cold cream, and pomattun for the
hair.
Barege cream for sulphur baths, without any disagreeable
odour.
All these preparations may be had at the central depot,
221 A, Regent-street, London, W. ; and at Messrs. Newberg
and Sons, Barclay and Sons. Edwards, Keating, Sanger and
Son, Jozeaunetti, and all chemists. Pamphlets and testi-
monials tree on a plication.
Agent for Edinburgh—Mr. John M'Kay, chemist, 119,
George-street

ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray's-inn-road,
in the immediate vicinity of the Great Northern Rail-
way Terminus, King's-cross.
Patron—Her Most Gracious Majesty the QUEEN.
Vice-Patron—His Royal Highness the Prince of WALES, K.G
President—His Grace the Duke of BUCCLEUCH, K.G.
This Hospital, founded in the year 1828, the first to estab-
lish the principle of free admission to the sick poor, without
the delay and difficulty of Governors' orders, is wholly de-
pendent for support on voluntary contributions and legacies.
It affords relief to a large number of in-patients, and, in
addition to this, the average number of attendance of the
destitute sick has for a con iderable period averaged between
3,000 and 4,000 weekly.
Contributions are received by the Treasurer, Edward
and Has-
terman, Esq., Nicholas-lane; also by Messrs. Coutts Co. ;
Drummond and Co. ; Glyn and Co. ; Herries and Co. ; Ransom
and Co. ; Prescott, Grote, and Co. ; Smith, Payne, and Co. ;
Barclay and Co. ; Williams, Deacon, and Co.; Overend, Gur-
ney, and Co. ; Nisbet and Co. , Berners-street ; I. Barned and
Co., Liverpool; and at the Htal. from 10 till 5.
STAosNFpiORD 81111T13, Secretary.

SAILORS' ORPHAN GIRLS' SCHOOL and
11031. E, Hampstead. Offices, 77, Cornhill.
PATRON—The QUEEN.
TRUSTEES.
Capt. the Hon. Francis Maude, The Rev. Canon Champpsp
I
R.N. Thomas Baring, Esq., M•r•
TREASURERS.
R. C. L. Bevan, Esq. I Robert Banbury, Esq.
This Institution is designed to supply a great national
want, viz. an asylum for the orphan daughters of sailors in
the Royal, Navy and Merchants service and of Marines.
It clothes, maintains, and educates them for domestic
service, and provides a home free of expense for former
inmates while out of situations, thus shielding them from the
temptations they might otherwise be exposed to.
The Committee earnestly APPEAL for CONTRIBU-
TIONS to meet the increasi g applications through the
recent storms and loss • f life at sea, and to enable them
even' ually to obtain premises more commensurate with the
necessities of this great maritime country, which loses 2,000
sailors annually by casualties alone, without including tnose
who may perish by war.
Subscriptions thankfully received by the bankers, Messrs.
Barclay, Bevan, and Co., Lombard-street, and by the Secre-
tary, at the Offices, No. 77, Cornhill.
R. SWEETING, Hon. Sec.
CHARLES NASH, Sec.

M. SAINTINE, author of one of the most charming
of tales, " Picciola," and Honorary President of the Societe
des Gens de Lettres, died in Paris this week. M. Saintine,
in cq,njunction with M. Scribe and others, wrote several
theatrical pieces, the " Ours (et le Pacha," and " Riche
d'Amour," still retaining possession of the stage.
A GODSEND FOR THE SHETLANDERS.—By a pri-
vate letter from Shetland we learn that, since the recent
storms many of the voes (or arms of the sea running in-
land) have swarmed with the small fish known as " sil-
locks" to a degree unequalled for many years. The natives
have been bagging them by the boatload, and building them
up on the beach in heaps, literally like peat stacks in size,
preparatory to boiling them down for the oil ; and at this
process some of the people have been making as much as
£1 a day.—Aberdeen Free Press.
CIRCULAR OF CARDINAL ANTONELLI . The
Gazette de France publishes the following as a letter
which Cardinal Antonelli sent with the syllabus to the
various bishops :—" Rome, Dec. 8, 1864.—0ur very holy
lord Pius IX., Sovereign Pontiff, deeply occupied with the
welfare of souls and healthful doctrine, has never ceased'
from the commencement of his pontificate to proscribe and
condemn the chief errors and false doctrines which exist,
especially at this unhappy period, by his encyclicals and
allocutions pronounced in consistory, and by other apostolic
letters which have been published ; but as it may happen
that the whole of the pontifical acts may fail to reach each
of the ordinaries, the said Sovereign Pontiff has decided
that a syllabus of these same errors should be drawn up
and forwarded to all the bishops in the Catholic world, in
order that they may have before them all the errors and
pernicious doctrines which have been reprehended and
condemned by him. He has also ordered me to see that
the printed syllabus be forwarded to your excellency on
the occasion and at the time when the said Sovereign Pon-
tiff, in consequence of his great solicitude for the well-be-
ing and happiness of the Catholic Church and of the whole
flock which the Lord has confided to his care, has thought
proper to write another encyclical letter to all the Catholic
bishops.
While acquitting myself of this duty with the
zeal and respect due to the commands of the said pontiff, I
hasten to forward to your excellency the syllabus with
these letters. I avail mykelf with much pleasure of the
opportunity of expressing my respect and attachment to
your excellency, and humbly kiss Pair hands. The very
humble and devotQd servant of your excellency, G. Cardi-
A utti AIiTOEILL

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 fit 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 the
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 fearpd he was dead.
He however recovered under the treatment of Mr Super-
intendent Williams and the other officers of the spciety.
On the Royal Round Pond there were on the ice nikwards
of 7,000 persons. There also the ice gave way, amen
persons became immersed. They were, howeverOrtu-
nately rescued by the Royal Humane Society's ink:'. In
the Regent's-park not less than 20,000 persons crowed the
ice. The principal performance upon this ice yesterday
jcooinnsinisgtehdaonfaas ntoegwetghaemr,ea,ndsoamt
when once off none of them could stop until they cant() .to
some or 60 men and women
signal startingt. tend
the end of the river. The weight of so many personi:be-
ing suddenly concentrated at one point of necessity Woke
the ice, and more than a dozen persons became imme*ed.
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 1,00 sliders and, skaters, including several
Suddenly, Awing; to-the gitong wind,e 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. Police-constable Smith, No. 315, who
was off duty, and who was skating, fell and cut his neck
and face in a fearful manner. He was taken to the Royal
Humane Society's house, and 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.
In Wilts and Somerset there was a snowstorm on Fri-
day. On Mendip and on the Wiltshire Downs the drifts are
very deep, and traffic has almost ceased. The trains, how-
ever, 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 trails
were from the same cause mostly late on Saturday morn-
ing. There is every appearance of continuance of frost.
A very sevare 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-
!l).ablvaiava.nn with the 314355e1, to_ Spain. A leitar
written from Hartlepool last night says :—" About eleven
o'olock 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 now pier a heavy sea broke over
her, and carried away her gangway. The sudden shock of
so great a sheetof 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. Jhe 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 r 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, loft 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
gf roru
nm R oinutoe n
fff o. r
sGt r aAnbgbe, s-
one after another, the master being the last to leave. In an
hour afterwards the ship sank and afterwards 'broke up.
Head by a brig, name unknown, and the crew had to take
to their boat, in which they were tossed for four hours in
mThouetJh,osewpahsineo,n
a high sea and amid a heavy snowstorm, till taken up by
ofF riNclaeyvibmurgornhin
the brig Hubertus, of Sunderland, which conveyed them
to Burntisland.

AN EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCE.—Last market
day Mr. Richard Beale, of Frensham Mill, drove
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
's friend alighted, and Mr.
across the horse's back. The horse
bridle and bit, when he started off
t\Bvheiena
iSceewd threw
ann H
rattled ot
hthel .r
e Mntshr. .0a
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 breachhig gave
way, and allowed the thorse 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 Tinto.

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 our basements 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
couldr no loriger 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, nthst 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-
mg. 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 thrownup 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 most 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 that the
cattle will not drink it. The river Tone is poisoned
by the sewage of Taunton. The river Frome in many

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 sewage, and that
nobody interferes, the reason, in many cases being,
I
according to the evidence of Mr. Mini 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. That it is a nuisance at
Common Law to discharge sewage into a river has
been decided, but where it is only a public nuisance
there is no one to put the law into operation. When,
however, direct injury is done to the property of any
individual, local boards can be restrained frOm pol-
luting streams by injunction. Indeed, several Boards
of Health have been stopped in this manner. At Ux-
bridge, for instance, Col. Tower obtained an injunc-
tion against the Board for poisoning his fish in the
river Coln with the sewage; at Ilitchin 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 ab-
solutely been forced to do what.- they should have r
done in the first instance, and"which has mine them
the example to every other town in England—they-
have turned it on to the land at a profit! When we
remember that every farmer is compelled by his lease
to consume upon his land all the manure produced
upon it, it does seem extraordinary that a reverse rule
should obtain when human beings are concerned. And
we think we are justly open to the reproach cast
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
be 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 ihto 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 very general 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,
1
that fear of centralisation whith 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."