The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-19 00:00:00

CITY COMMISSION OF SEWERS.

Yesterday, a court, which was very numerously at-
tended, was held for the dispatch of public business ; Mr.
Deputy Peacock in the chair.

THE SMOKE NUISANCE.

Mr. Edmond Calvert, of the firm of Calvert and Co.,
the brewers,!was again summoned for not having abated
the nuisance complained of some months back, arising
from the smoke issuing from the chimney of the brewery
in Upper Thames-street.
The CHAIRMAN (addressing Mr. Calvert) said, that
when he was summoned before the court upon a former
occasion, he had promised that he would get rid of the
nuisance as soon as possible, and that complaint having
recently been made that the smoke from the chimney in

question was as great an annoyance as erer, the court
had deemed it necessary to cause him to attend, to hear
whether he had taken any steps with a view to this
object.

Mr. CALVERT replied that he had stated upon the for-
mer occasion that he had found it totally impossible to
employ the smoke consuming furnace according to one
of the patents then suggested, and which was asserted to
be the best suited to the purpose, on account of the pe-
culiar construction of the buildings. Upon this he had
applied to Messrs. Easton and Amos to furnish him with
a report as to the practicability of adapting it, when
those gentlemen advised that another patented furnace
should be fitted. This had been in operation ever since
last May, and had proved to be utterly useless ; and it
would not even do the work of the old furnace with the
best screened coal. (Hear.) This alteration, which had
proved an entire failure, had cost between 500/ and
1,0001. (Hear.) Mr. Calvert then produced a drawing.
of his brewery, and explained in detail and with great
clearness the alterations he was about to effect, stating
that these would cost the firm 10,0001. ; but that they
could not guarantee to carry them out in less than
two years. He had had an interview with the Secretary
of State for the Home Department few days since
upon this very subject,in the course of which he had
made a similar explanation to that noble lord to that
which be had now offered to the court, and the noble
behalf
lord
a Icf oon(fcHtl uhe dea erfi,
rhmbe yatrh. saying)at
thH "you cannot do impossibili-
ties."ee
(Mr. Calvert) could say on
y
were most anxious to abate
the alleged nuisance, and in every way
.to accede to the
wishes of the commission, notwithstanding the expense
they would necessarily be compelled to incur ; but the
alterations could not be effected in a less time than that
which he had specified. (Hear, hear.) The foundation
alone for one of the furnaces would be a work of six
months. (Hear, hear.)
The CHAIRMAN—The court are very much obliged to
you for your explanation.
Deputy OBBARD felt very greatly indebted to Mr. Cal-
-1 vert for attending, and explaining what he had done in
the shape of alterations, and what he intended to do.
(Hear, hear.) He (Deputy Obbard) had lived in the
City a great many years, and felt it his duty to say that
although some new notions had lately been afloat with
I regard to the nuisance of smoke, yet the court must not,
by acting with precipitancy and rashness, destroy the
trade or profession of those who conducted their busi-
Iness in the City, especially when, as in the present in-
stance, parties were ready to make vast pecuniary sacri-
fices for the purpose of getting rid of the evil complained
of. (Hear, hear.) He had not the least doubt of the
integrity and candour of Mr. Calvert, and thought him
entitled to great credit for his exertions in carrying out
the wishes of the commission. (Cheers.)
Mr. CALVERT—We have lived in the City for between
two and three hundred years, and are old brewers in it.
Mr. H. L. TAYLOR said that Mr. Calvert knew as well
as the court did that there were certain acts of Parlia-
ment in existence which had been passed for the express
purpose of getting rid of, amongst other nuisances, the
one now complained of ; and as one of the large brew-
eries in the metropolis had succeeded in consuming their
smoke, the question was whether the commission
would perform its duty to the public if it did not inter-
fere and compel Messrs. Calvert, without further delay,
to do every thing possible to mitigate if not thoroughly
to suppress the nuisance.

The— CrwrolAN—you hear that it will take two or
three years.
Mr. H. L. TAYLOR—Messrs. Calvert were in a diffi-
culty, and he was sorry for them. He believed they
were doing a very great deal to lessen the nuisance, but
at the same time they were not doing that which the pub-
lic and the public acts of Parliament called upon them to
do. The commission must either cease to prosecute any
body or at once compel Messrs. Calvert to construct new
furnaces. (Hear.)

Mr. HOPGOOD said he should be very sorry if the
opinions expressed, by the last speaker went forth to the
world as the opinion of the commission. (Hear, hear.)
Here was a large and important firm most anxious to
spend 10,0001. to remove an alleged nuisance, stating
that it will take two years to make the necessary altera-
tions, and therefore giving good reasons for not being
able to consume their smoke immediately. (Hear.)
Deputy HOLT was desirous of paying every court and
respect, to the honoured house of Calvert, but should in-
sist that those gentlemen took the best means in their
power to get lid of the nuisances.
Mr. KEBBEL felt very much indebted to Mr. Calvert
for the pains he had taken in explaining what alterations
had already been made. Every member of the court
ought fully to bear in mind the extreme difficulty of
carrying out extensive improvements such as those now
contemplated. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. H. L. TAYLOR said that with a view of testing
the feeling of the commission, he would move, " That
well-authenticated evidence be obtained of the nuisance
arising from the smoke issuing from the furnaces of
Messr's Calvert's premises, and that they be summoned
before a magistrate for the offence."
Deputy;CouNEv seconded the motion.
Deputy OBBARD moved as an amendment, "That
Messrs. Calvert having attended this court and explained
the nature of their furnaces, and that they are curing the
evil as fast as possible, and are willing to spend 10,0001.
to abate any nuisance whatever, that the matter stand
over for the present to enable them to make the necessary
alterations. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. HoPaood seconded the amendment.
Deputy PEWTREBB thought the amendment should
contain a specified time within which the works should
be completed.
Alderman COPELAND said that he had had the satis-
faction of turning the. Smoke Nuisance Bill out of the
House of Common three several times. (Hear, hear.)
Was the business and trade of the City to be stopped by
a proceeding such as the one now adopted against Messrs,
Calvert ? (Hear, hear.) He (Alderman Copeland) had
spent hundreds and hundreds of pounds in trying to
get rid of the smoke nuisance at his works at Stoke-upon-
Trent, and all to no purpose. (Hear, hear.) At the
Government works at Woolwich there were always to be
seen a broad pennant of smoke issuing from one of the
largest chimneys in the kingdom. He, at the solicita-
tion of Sir Edward Buxton, had been to see an appara-
tus for the consumption of smoke. The apparatus fed
the ot e
the furnace by a piece of mechanis):!2, but as to consum-
ing the smoke, that was quite outof the question. A
friend of his (Alderman Copeland) had tried to consume
withdrawn
Calvert
for hi s
motion, ti n, b
the smoke at his manufactory, and had brought down a
deleterious matter—sulphuric acid, which was ten times
givena to or having
Messrs. more injurious than smoke. (Hear, hear.)
Mr'
li
be L
amendment of Deputy Obbard was carried as an origi-
nal motion, the words being added, "And that six
months
comple-
tion of the works." This addition was for the purpose
L. Taylor
of !enabling the commission to ascertain how far the
works
had progressed during this period, which was
only nominal, it being understood that Messrs. Calvert
would be allowed the full period of two years to make
the contemplated alterations.

THE CHOLERA.
The following is an extract from the weekly report of
the medical officer :—" I append my usual tabular state-
ment of City mortality for the past week, and am sorry
t.o observe that the register contains a death by cholera
In George-court, Bennett's-hill, and I have further to
report to your hon. court as follows :—ln three several
places where premises are in a filthy and poisonous con-
dition, and where the orders of your hon. court for their
improvement or disoccupation have been utterly set at
nought, death has at length occurred in one case from
fever, and in two other cases from diarrhoea. It is
scarcely necessary to specify the names of these places
as Plumtree-court, Fire-ball-court, and Windsor-street.
The result is what might have been foretold, and requires
no comment. I would simply recommend to your hop:
court that instructions be given to your forthsohcitorthe utmost
with to proceed against these three several offenders
be-
fore the Lord Mayor, in order to recover
penalties their homicidal negligence has incurred.
The court then adjourned.

ant commenced
UNIVERSITY FOR WALES.—.A. move= . . .
a short time ago for the purpossc of estirslo3ligeta
wereunt.
varsity in Wales, and petitioifor in which it was
drawn up by the Anglo-Welsh clergy,istod for the establish-
ment
ehe:etinoantiiv.nesalol
distant
i host
tehamen
tpann*
yn
part'soi
different..f
urged that a strong necessity
of a university a t
liberal which e Yi
tut
polity might receive a
branches of literature wiotfhoturavienielinnrgrintgo,
them, the heavy expensei3 .
the College
of the kingdom to
,o a.m. it: It is now proposed that
under the title of ' University of Wales,"
of St. David, at Lampeter, the Llandovery Institution
the Brecon Collego, and the endowed grammar schools
of the principality shall be endowed and incorporated—
students from all the above to be admissible for degrees
in arts and divinity.
THE APPLE CROP IN THE WRST.—A. vast increase
has of late years taken place in the quantity of cider
made in the west of England,
aPnaartiitesuglauraalitttyenhtas bionbeeans been paid to it in Devonshire,
much improved. The crop of apples this year has been
more than an average, in fact in some parts they have
been exceedingly
of Exeter, and i abundant. In the neighbourhood
m
n the South of Devon, the trees in
any orchards_ are almost broken down with them.
Cider therefore is expected to be very, cheap. A brisk
trade has Sprung up of late with the London market,
and the app e crop in Devonshire is looked upon as one
of great importance. During the last few weeks some
cargoes have been imported at Exeter from France,
per and have Gold at le lihd.
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