The Sun.
London, England, 1849-10-04 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN SEWERS

A special court of sewers was held yesterday, by
adjournment, at their office, Greek-street, Soho, at
ten o'clock ; Sir John Burgoyne in the chair. The
following ,commissioners were also present :—Mr.
Chadwick, Dr. Southwood Smith, the Rev. Mr.
Stone, the Rev. Mr. Murray, the Rev. Mr. Cowie,
Mr. Ilawe, Alderman Lawrence, Sir 11. de la Beebe,
Mr. Dawson, Mr. Bidwell, Mr. Baines, and Mr.
Lambert Jones.
The SECRETARY having read the minutes of the
last meeting, stated that up to the 20th of August 62
plans had been sent in, with reference to 51 of which
concise statements had been sent in. Since that date,
and up to the Ist October, 54 entirely new plans had
been sent, and also 32 additional or supplemental
ones, making a total of 116, and, including the sup-
plemental plans, 148. ,
The SECRETARY then commenced toread the names
of those who had sent in plans, when
_ _

Alderman LAWRENCE objected. Ile thought i
was not necessary that the names of those who had
sent in plans should be made known to the public.
Mr. CHADWICK said it was considered unavoidable
that the names should be read, and that course was
adopted by order of the court.
Alderman LAWRENCE said he had never known
such a course adopted before, and he thought many
of the authors of the plans would object to their names
being made public.
The Rev. Mr. COWIE said he protested against the
proceedings of the court with refence to the drainage
question. With respect to the commercial advantages
expected to be derived from the manure, he thought
that point was not at present decided, and in consi-
dering the question of the drainage of the metropolis,
it was at the very root of it that it must depend on
what was to be done with the soil. With respect to
the water question he would not say anything, be-
cause Mr. Leslie had a motion on the subject.
Thirdly, he thought the competitors who sent in
plans should be remunerated, because it was unrea-
sonable to expect that men of talent would send in
plans without remuneration. He thought it was
altogether a hasty and ill-considered proceeding. He
would, therefore, give in the following protest :
" I hereby wish. to enter my protest against the
present proceedings of the court in respect to the
general drainage question, fur the following rea-
tons :—First, That it seems to me to be the duty of the
commission to lay down rules for the guidance of
the competing engineers on general points of great
importance, viz. :—the commercial value of sewage
manure, and the mode of the disposal, whether in
a diluted or a concentrated state. On the conclu-
sion arrived at with respect to these points depend
the main features of all plans, whether there shall be
several outf ails or only one—whether the house drainage
and the surface drainage shall be united or separated.
And whereas the preliminary inquiries on these points
are not completed, and the court has no opportunity of
supplying the competing parties with the requisite data,
the diversity of the plans will only lead to further con-
fusion and delay. Secondly, That it seems to me an
essential point to bo ascertained, as preliminary, how
much additional water supply is required, and how much
can be given; having fully concurred that we cannot
expect an economic system of house drainage to answer
well unless the metropolis is more abundantly supplied
with water. That upon calling on the public at large to
give in plans, some rule should have been laid down for
the remuneration of the competing parth s. For these
reasons I fear that the present proceedings will lead to no
practical result or benefit to the metropolis, but will
rather aggravate the complaints against the commission;
and believing that the court has been hurried into these
measures by the urgency of the chief surveyor, sup-
ported by a portion of the public press, when they ought
to have bestowed more consideration on the prelimina•
ries, I beg to tender my protest against the same.
" MORGAN COWIE."
Mr. CHADWICK agreed with some of the points to
which the Hon. Member had alluded, but he could
not see that they could at that court do more than
order the plans to be classified. They had only
received the plans a few days ago, and they had not
had time to give them consideration. Ile thought a
classification might be made of the plans already
sent in, and then they could decide whether they
should be considered according to the separate classi-
fication, or consider them altogether. He would
therefore propose that the author of each plan sent in
since the 20th of August be called upon to give in a
concise statement of the main features of his plan,
both in respect to the details and principles, and then
that a special court be summoned to decide upon
them. At present they were not in a condition
entirely to support the proposition of Mr. Cowie,
although he agreed with him on some points. He
could not but regret that all that had been done by
the trial works committee had not been made known,
because if that
.had been done a great benefit would
have arisen. The surface survey and the subterra-
nean survey were the only works which had not
been completed. With respect to the amount of
remuneration, he did not see that they could consider
that question at present, although they might do so at
a future period.
Alderman LAWRENCE thought the plans should be

submitted to some eminent persons of competent
knowledge, to examine and report to the court upon
them, and unless that courre was adopted he was sure
the City would object to the decision and proceedings
of the board.
Sir HENRY DE LA BECUE thought that those who
had sent in plans latterly should be placed on the same
footing as those who first sent them in. He was of
opinion that.they ought to receive the plans merely,
and then that they should have abstracts of the new
plans and consider them; and that for that purpose
the court should be adjourned. If that was not
agreed to, he would suggest that they should form
themselves into a committee pro forma, for the pur-
pose of considering the subject. He would, there-
fore, second the motion for adjournment.
The Rev. Mr. MURRAY agreed with the proposition
cf Mr. Chadwick. He had looked at the plans which
had been sent in, and he thought there would be no
difficulty in making a classification. Of 52 plans 19
agreed in advising a double tunnel, and there were
about 21 plans which might be considered miscella-
neous, and he presumed that of the 50 plans which
remained, it was probable that something like an
arrangement in general principles, as, for instance,
whether two tunnels were necessary, would be
found. He thought the whole might be so arranged
that there would not be more than five or six classes.
Mr. Alderman LV,VRENCU said it was reported out
of doors that there was great disunion among the
members of the board, and he thought it would be
most unfair to leave the decision of the merits of the
plans in the hands of a board where the merits would
depend upon a majority or minority.
Sir 11. 1-4 LA. I3zoni thought the board was