The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-26 00:00:00

:h he

the
rable

Mr.

with

June 25, 1851

FOR PORT LYTTELTON, Canterbury Set-
tlement, Otago, and Wellington, New Zealand.
The first-class passenger Ship SIR GEORGE rOLLOcK, 630 tons
register, lying in the East India Docks, chartered and provisioned by
the Canterbury Association, to sail on Tuesday, the 15th July.
Rates of Passage :—Chief Cabin (a whole cabin between decks),
42/. ; Second Cabin, 22/. ; Steerage, 161.
For terms of freight, passage, or further information, apply to
Joseph Stayner, 110, Fenchnrch-street ; Filby and Co., 157, Fen-
church-street; or to Frederick Young, Manager of Shipping, Office
of the Canterbury Association, 74. Cornhill.

POR PORT LYTTELTON, Canterbury Set-
Cement, Nelson, and New Pl=rnouth, New Zealand.
The first-class passenger Ship CORNWALL, 580 tons register.
lying in the East India Docks, chartered and provisioned by the Can-
terbury Association, to sail on Tuesday, the 12th August.
Rates of Passage :—Chief Cabin (a whole cabin between decks),
42/. ; Second Cabin, 22/. ; Steerage, 16/.
• For freight, pas=ange, or further information apply to Filby and
Co., 157, Fenchurch-street ; J. Stayner, 110, Fenchurch-street ; or
..to Frederick Young, Manager of Shipping, Office of the Cauteraury
Association, 74, Comilla.

THE GREAT NORTHERN' RAILWAY.
SATURDAY TICKETS.
Notice is hereby given, that in order to allow parties in London the
opportunity of spending Sunday in the country, there will be issued
by the ordinary trains from King's-cross Station every SATUR uAY
after this date until further not ce,
AT A SINGLE FARE,
from London to all stations between Huntingdon, Lincoln, and Great
Grimsby, inclusive,
FIRST and SECOND CLASS DAY TICKETS,
which will be available for return on the following Monday only by
the ordinary trains.
By order,
SEYNIOUR CLARKE', General Manager.
Company's Offices, King's-cross Station,
London, June 25, 1851.

THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY.
Contracts for CLOTHING, and HATS, and CAPS, for One
Year, or longer, as may be afire, d upon.
The Directors of this Company are prep %red to receive Tenders for
the Supply of Clothing, and flats, and Caps, for—
INSPECTORS OF STA LIONS,
TICKET COLLECTORS,
GIJAID iS,
POLICEMEN,
PORTERS,
EN GI NE- DRIVERS, and
FIREMEN.
Parties disposed to , ender can see Patterns, and obtain printed
Forms of Tender (on which only Tenders will be received) at the
Office of the Inspector of Police in this Station, after this date.
Tenlers sealed up, marked " Tender for Clothing," and a-dressed
to the Secretary, must be lodged at this Office before Twelve o'cock
at Noon, on Tuesd y, the Bth day of July next, when parties tender-
ing must be in attendance.
N.B. The Directors do not bind themselves to accept the lowqt
tender. By order,
J. R. MONATT, Secretary.
Secretary's Office, King's cross Station,
London, June 26, 1851.

LOND uN AND NORTH-WESTERN
RAILWAY.
LAKES OF CUMBERLAND.
Tickets, available for Seven Days, by the Ordinary ?rains to Win-
dermere, will be issued at the following tares, on and after the 30th
instant.
ull particulars may be bad on inquiry
London to Windermere I First Class.% Second Class.
and Back, 3/. 3s. Od. 1 2/. ss. Od.
By order,
General Manner's Office, Euston Station,

MARK lIUISII.

C HESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAILWAY
LOANS ON DEBENTURES.
The Directors are prepared to receive Tenders for LOANS for a
period of four years, at interest after the rate of five per cent.
per annum, payable half-yearly.
Applications to be addressed to
EDWARD BROOKS, Secretary.
Euston Station, June 20th, 1851.

FURNISHING IRONMONGERY, Fenders,
and Fire-irons, Kitchen 'Ranges, Hall and Church Stoves, Tea-
urns and Kettles, Table Cutlery, Lamps, Baths of a 1 kinds, ornamen-
tal Wire-work, Tents, Iron Bedsteads, Purdonnms, &c., at the
PANCLIB AS ON ; also the largest assortment of Papier Mach& Tea-
trays and Dish covers in London. Every article warranted, marked
in plain figures, and delivered free of all carriage excesses, 200 miles.
W. MASSEY and Co., 58, Baker-street, and 5, King-street, Port-
man-square. Furnishing lists and estimates may be had on applica-
tion.

• T.
MARTIN'S HALL.
Her 3fajosty the QUEEN having honoured Herr KAUFMANN
with her command to give a MATINEE MUSICALE with his
acoustical instruments, TO-MORROW (Friday), at BUCKINGHAM
• PALACE, the public is hereby respectfully informed that the Se-
cond Concert, already announced, is POSTPONED to MONDAY,
June 30.

T" ENGLISH LAKES.
The original pictures, twenty-eight in number, of the
"LAKE SCENERY OF ENGLAND," painted during the last
three years by J. B. PYNE. Esq.,l are still on view, in the Large
Gallery at Messrs. GRAVES, 6, PALL•MALL, which has been en-
gaged for the purpose.
Admission on presentation of address card.
Illustrated Catalogue, One Shilling.

RICK CLOTHS, with Poles, Pulleys, end Lines
complete, at BENJAMIN EDGINGTON'S, 2, Duke-street,
London-,bridge[ new and second-hand.
A few used at the Exhibition In good condition.
Marquees, Tents, Flags, Sz.c.
A Warehouse at 208, Piccadilly. .4

CATHOLIC LAW AND GENERAL LIFE
ASSURANCE COMPANY,
8, NEW COVENTRY-STREET, LEICESTER-SQUARE, LONDON.
The FOURTH. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Proprie-
tors of this Company took place on the 25th instant, at the Head
Office, at One o'clock precisely. The following is extracted from the
repwrt, which is too lengthy for publication :
During the past year no claims have arisen from deaths in England,
and but two in Ireland—one for 5001. and the other for VV.—making
together 7001., which have been paid. This is far below the expected
aortality, and is especially favourable, when it is remembered how
Severely the life offices generally suffered from the epidemic of last

year.
The number of lives assured between the Ist of June, 1549, and
the 31st of May, 1850, was more than double the number issued in
the twelve mouths preceding.
Proposals were made for 138 Policies, amounting to 52,9431.25. 6d.:
of these 123, comprising 106 lives, were accepted for 45,1251. 6s.
Sixteen Policies lapsed, representing 6,0451., upon which 3201. 3s.
Was received by the Company in the shape of premiums.
Since the commencement of the Company to the Ist of June last,
assurances were effected to the extent of 110,972/. 12s 6d., pro-
ducing in annual premiums 3,7321. I Is. 6d. Of these 54 lapsed,
amounting to 23,9901. 16s. 6d., of which the annual premiums were
7411. Is., leaving the yearly income on the Ist of June last equal to
2,991/. 15s. I Id.
Since last meeting loans were applied for to the extent of 17,7001.,
but 1,1831. Its. 10d. only was advanced.
The Directors were also highly gratified to report that within the
last four months they had considerably extended their business on
the Continent, having appointed, as Head Agent in France, Monsieur
de I'Etang, a gentleman of high standing in Paris, distinguished for
his integrity and ability in financial and in all assurance matters,
who, under the sanction and patronage of the Archbishop of Paris,
the Cardinal Archbishop of Lyons, and Monseigneur Parisis, Eveque
de Langres, has already within the last three months effected a con-
siderable amount of business, not only in Life Assurances, but in An-
nuities both Immediate and Deferred.
After various resolutions, approving of the Report, and returning
thanks to the Right Reverend Chairman, Bishop Morris, the Vice-
Chairman, Actuary, Secretary, and Medical Officers of the establish-
ment, the meeting separated, highly gratified at its present results
and future prospects.

JUVENILE CLOTHING.
MIDSUMMER HOLIDAYS.
Youth, perhaps, never feels more joyous than when it contemplates
the half-ye ,rly vacation, unless it be when lookitg forward during
the holidays to new clothes. But how much would the delight be en-
hanced, if, instead of the ceremony of measuring by the family tailor,
and hearing his recommendation of tins, that, and the other fashion
or cut, the parents would take them where they would see every pre-
vailing style adapted for all ages, and allow them to chose for them-
selves—not that they need be left altogether to select without advice,
but their natural guardians would be infinitely better satisfied if they
Saw every description of appropriate dress mode up in the first style
of elegance, instead of being obliged to take a suit when brought
home, made according to the single idea of one man, for nine times
out of ten, if it by a lucky chance happens to fit, it does not altoge-
ther please. Now it is desirable that every child at home for Ins
holidays, and every parent should know, that Messrs. E. MOSES
and SON, whore unrivalled Establishments in Aidgate and the Mi-
nories, and New Oxford-street (corner of Hart-street). are, from
their splendour of decoration, exhibitions in themselves, have, in an-
ticipation of the Midsummer Holidays, provided one of the most ex-
tensive and elegant STOCKS of CLOTHING for YOUTH that was
ever got together, combining the newest fashions and the most ele-
gant designs, the best material that can be made, and the most ex-
quisite workmanship. Besides this, hundreds of the best workmen
in the trade are on the premises, ready to make to measure, if pre-
ferred, any quantity of garments to the patterns chosen, and nothing
could be a greater treat to young people than a walk through the
Monarch Mart. To the parents it must be interesting to know that
they will be able to clothe two lads for the price usually charged by
ordinary tailors for one.
E. MOSES and SON,
London City Establishment, 154, 155, 156, and 157, Minories, 83,
84, 85, and 86, Aidgate, opposite the Church, all communicating.
London West-end Branch, 506, 507, 508, New Oxford-Street, 1,2,
and 3, Hart-street, all communicating.
. Bradford "Yorkshire" Branch, 19, Bridge-street.
Sheffield Branch, 36, Fargate.
Tailors, Clothiers, Hatters, Hosiers, Furriers, Boet and Shoe-
Makers, and General Outfitters for Ladies and Gentlemen.
The Establishments are closed from sunset Friday to sunset Sa-
turday. when business is resumed till Twelve o'clock.

IN SIX LANGUAGES— FORTIETH EDITION.
CONTAINING TEE
EASE. REMEDY FOR THE PREVENTION OF
DIS
Iltustrated by One Hundred Anatomical Coloured Engravings on
Steel.
ON PHYSICAL DISQUALIFICATIONS, GENERATIVE INCA-
PACITY, AND IMPEDIMENTS TO MARRIAGE .
A Now and Improved Edition, enlarged to 196 pages, price 2s. 6d.
by post, direct from the Establishment, 3s. 6d. in postage stamps,
All Communications being strictly con'idential, the Authors have
discontinued the publishing of Cases.
THI; SILENT FRIEND, a Medical Work on
the exhaustion and physical decay of the system, produced by
examsive indulgence, the consequences of infection, or the abuse of
mercury, with explicit directions for the use of the preventive lotion,
followed by observations on the Married State, and the disqualifica-
tions which prevent it. Illustrated by 100 Coloured Engravings. By
R. and L. PERRY and CO., 19, Berners-street, Oxford-street, Lon-
don. Published by 63,
the Authors ; and sold by Strange, 21, Pater-
and Sanger, 150, Oxford-street ; and Gor-
noster-row ; Hannay,
don, 146, Leadnnhall-street, London.
Parr I. treats of the anatomy and physiology of the re-productive
organs, and is illustrated by 28 Coloured Engravings.
PART 11. treats of the consequences resulting from excessive in-
dulgence, and their lamentable effects on the system, producing
mental and bodily weakness, nervous excitement, and generative
Incapacity. Illustrated by 10 Explanatory Engravings.
Pill 111. treats of the diseases resulting from Infection, either in
the primary or secondary form, and contains explicit directions for
their treatment. This section is illustrated by 62 Coloured Engt av-

BP.
PANT IT. contains a Remedy for the Prevention of Disease by a
simple application, by which the danger of infection is obviated.
This important part of the Work should not escape the reader's
notice.
PART V. is devoted to the consideration of marriage, and its du-
ties. The causes of unproductive union are also considered, and the
Whole subject critically and philosophically inquired into.
%la CORDIAL Beta or Sratecuri is exclusively employed in
treating nervous and sexual debility, impotence, &c., 11 s. and 335.
per bottle. The Concentrated Detersive Essence, an anti-syphilitic
remedy, for purifying the blood in cases of infection, secondary
symptoms, eruptions, and the abase of mercury, II s. and 335. per
bottle. Perry's Purifying Specific Pins, 28. gd., 48. 6d., and I is.
per 'ox a certain remedy for gonorrheca, gleet, stricture, and
chronic inflammation of the bladder. Consultation fee, if by letter,
i:. A minute detail of 4he case is required: age, habits, and posi-
ton in society. M. Packets, with advice, e had at the lieta-
blights ent only, by which the feo, is to
savbed. Messrs. Perry,
are in attendance daily at 19, Berners-street, Oxford-street, Lon-
don, ircm Farr= till Two, luta Iwo to Eight; on Bunday, from
siorm 19 911/1

Du. CUL VERWELL'S NEW WORKS.
To bo had of Sherwood, 23, Paternoster-row ; Carvalho;
,47, Fleet-street; Mann, 39, Cornhill ; or direct from the author,
Mice Ono Shilling each ; by post, Is. 6d.
ENJOYMENT OF LIFE.
"Health, Recreation, and rational Use of Time."
CONTENTS : —Early Rising—Sprißg and Summer Mornings—Ex-
tursions about the Environs of London—The Parks, Lanes, Hills,
Forests, Fields, High-roads, and other pleasant places—Country
Nips and Rambles—The Sea—London at Night—Eveningo at Home
—Music—The Drama—On Eating, Drinking, Sleeping, Bathing, Air,
lest, Ease, Occupation, &C., Sco.
11.
FRAGMENTS FROM THE MOUNTAINS. Two Volt,
Voll.
VISIT TO THE LAKES; SKETCH OF EDINBURGH, &O.

Vol. 11.

THE LAKES OF KILLARNEY ; REMINISCENCE M 07

DUBLIN, &c.
WHAT TO EAT, DRINK, AND AVOID.
"That three seore years and ten our course may run."
A pepular review of almost every form (cause and cure) of ner-
rously-debilitated health and enfeebled constitution, that harasses
the yonng, besets the man of pleasure, business, or study, and em-
3itters old age, with tables and rules for the diet and physical rogu-
atiou or every-day life.
IV.
THE PASSIONS.
s, What passions hurt the body—what improve,
Truths as refined as Athens ever heard."
su oT : -Life's pilgrimage, from infancy to old ago. The advent
ofthe passions. Chastity and its infringements. The casualties o.
licentlousneSs
and dissipation, with illustrations, graphic, narrative,
end remediative. Advocacy of earl y marriages.;
V.

THE MARRIAGE STATE.
" To be or not to be, that is the question."
ixociwtsra:—Laws and obligations of nature, society, and re-
daien regarding marriage, to be observed by either sex. Time and
choice, 03 both sides, as to age, temperament, complexion, and
!gust, to secure healthy offspring, with the art of rearing them.
Physical defectivencSS and itS removal. Sterility and its conversion.
Oases, &c.
By R. J. CULVERWELL, M.D. (1841), M.R.C.S. (1827), L.S.A.
1124). TwentY-five years Medical and Forensic Referee in these
rwttar!. Reception hours till rive. leveninirs. seven till nine.
10 k r,vll-ni n t-st roe*

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
PORTSMOUTH, WEDNESDAL—NiIIetCCH officers and
142 me❑ belonging to the Royal yachts left Gosport this
morning by special train under the direction of Mr. Su-
perintendent Willoughby Stephens, at the expense of
her Majesty, for London, to visit the Great Exhibition.
At the Waterloo terminus omnibuses were in readiness to
convey them to the Crystal Palace, which conveyances
also took them back to the station, and they returned to
Gosport this evening.
The Centaur steam-frigate, Acting Captain Patten,
struck Rear-Admiral Fanshawe's flag last evening at
sunset.

The Sidon steam-frigate, Commander Gardner, hauled
off to the stream this morning to swing for the adjust-
ment of her compasses.
The Adder steam-tender sailed last evening for De-
von port.
The Avon steam-vessel, Second-Master Veitch com-
manding, came into harbour this morning from Devon-
port with seamen and marines paid off from the Cale-
donia, 120.
The Court and the King of the Belgians wi I arrive
at Gosport en route to Osborne, to celebrate the anni-
versary of her Majesty's coronation, on Saturday, re-
turning to town on Monday or Tuesday following, as at
prowl; arranged.

The following is the official report of the officer ap-
pointed by the Commissioners of Railways to inquire
into the circumstances attending the fatal accident
which occurred by a train of the London, Brighton, end
South Coast Railway Company running off the line
near the Palmer station, on the Brighton and Lewes
Railway, on the 6th day of June, 1851:
" Office of Commissioners of Railways, Whitehall,
16th June, 1851.
" Sir,—l have the honour to report to you, for the
information of the Commissioners, the result of my in-
quiry into the circumstances attending the fatal accident
which occurred on the afternoon of the 6th instant,
upo❑ the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway,
in consequence of a train being thrown off the line be-
tween Brighton and Lewes.
" The branch line from Brighton to Lewes is eight
miles in length; there is but one intermediate station,
called Palmer, situated as nearly as possible half-way.
From Feltner the line descends towards Lewes, for a
distance of 33- miles, at a gradient of 1 in 88, which is
succeeded by a short length of level line leading to the
Lewes junction. The company's regulations direct that
all engines should go down the descending gradient from
Palmer with the steam shut off; and they farther direct
that the speed should not be allowed at any part of the
descent to exceed 20 miles an hour. The practice, how-
ever, of the engine drivers upon the Lewes branch ap-
pears hitherto to have been to shut off steam on leaving
the Palmer station, and then to allow the trains to run
down unchecked till it became necessary to apply the
breaks on approaching the junction at Lewes. From an
experiment trit d on the sput it appears that the speed of
trains so conducted varies frcm 10 or 15 miles an hour
at the head of the incline, to 50 miles an hour at the
point where it is usual to apply the breaks.
" Midway in the descent, or about 1 miles from the
Palmer station, the line sweeps round to the left cn a
somewhat sharp curve through a deep chalk cutting. the
upright site of which prevents a driver, conducting a
trait, towards Lewes, from seeing the rails in front to a
greater distance than 200 yards. This is a point which
should be pe%sed at a moderate speed. The ordinary
trains on the Lewes branch, even if running at no higher
speed than 20 miles an hour, could not always be stopped
within 200 yards upon so steep a gradient; and from the
experiment above alluded to it appears that the usual
speed of those trains at this point is not less than 27 miles
an hour. Engine drivers are seldom judges of the speed
at which they are running; they generally underrate it;
and when the steam is shut off the smoothness of the
mo7ion and the absence of the beat of the engine, are apt

_
to deceive them.
" On Friday, the 6th instant, a train consisting of
f ur carriages, one first-class, two second, and one third-
class, drawn by an engine with the tender foremost, left
the Brighton station for Lewes, at five minutes past
twelve; it stopped at the Felmer station, and then pro-
ce-ded to run down the incline as the driver had been
accustomed to do, with the steam shut off, but without
any breaks being applied. It swept round the curve al-
ready described at a speed which was certainly not less
than twenty•seven miles an hour, and at the end of the
curved cutting came in contact with a wooden sleeper,
the end of which rested upon the left-band rail; this
threw the train off the lice to the opposite or right-band
site, and the c-ntrifugal force, due to the combined
effect of the speed and the curve, tending in the same
direction, the train ran onwards, taking as oblique
path, crossed the opposite line of rails, and about eighty-
five yards from where it had left its own line, came is
contact with the parapet wall of a bridge which carried
the railway over a public road. The parapet wall was
swept away, and the tender, the engine, and two of the
carriages fell over into the road; the other two carriages
had fortunately become detached when the train crossed
the opposite line. Of the two carriages which fell into
the road, one was a second class, in which there were
no passengers; the other was a third-class, and there
were in it four passengers, three of whom were killed;
the fireman of the train was killed on the spot, and the
driver so seriously injured that he only survived forty-
eight hours.
" The wooden sleeper which threw this train off the
rails was one of three spare sleepers which bad been
placed at that part of the line about two months previ-
ous to the accident, for the convenience of the plate-
layers when they should require a new sleeper for the
repair of the permanent way. The three had been
stacked one above the other on the north side of the
line, about five feet from the outer rail. These sleepers
are nine feet long, ten inches wide, and five inches thick,
one of the three, happening to be a half-round balk, was
placed above the others with the round side uppermost.
It appears that a short time previous to the arrival of
this train at the spot, one end of the half-round balk
must have been lifted up and pulled round till it rested
upon the outside rail, while the other end was left bear-
ing upon the two sleepers.
" The three sleepers had been seen in their proper
places at eight o'clock that morning by a platelayer Nt h o
examined that part of the line; and a train which left
Brightio at tegyertiksepost eleven had passed the spot
without'finding'rny obstruction in the way. After that
to the time of the accident there were none of the ser-
vants of the company within sight of the spot; three
platelayers were at work about a quarter of a mile off,
but they were hid from view by the curve of the chalk
cutting.
" On reviewing all the evidence bearing upon the sub-
ject of this inquiry, it seems evident that the immediate
cause of this disaster was the circumstance of a sleeper
being left resting upon one of the rails ; and that the
act of placing the bleeper in that position cannot be at-
tributed to any of the company's servants. It is evident,
also, that the company's servants cannot, by any prac-
ticable exercise of vigilance, prevent persons mischie-
vously disposed and watching for an opportunity, from
getting unseen upon the line ; but it is equally clear,
that undue facilities for mischief are afforded to such
trespassers by the practice of leaving sleepers in secluded
spots in such close proximity to the rails ; and, in-
dependent of this, there is a strong probability, that had
the traffic on the Lewes branch been conducted with a
proper regard to public safety, the wanton act of placing
a sleeper on the rail would not have been followed by
the fatal consequences which actually ensued. It is
quite clear that too train, when it met with the obstruc-
tion, was running at a spend which was imprudent at
that spot ; and it is squally clear that the circumstance
of the engine running tender foremost had a most im-
portant influence on the result.
" The practice of running engines with the tender
foremost is objectionable. When the engine is in that

position, it is impossible for the driver, without neglect-
ing his other duties, to keep a proper look out upon the
road in front; and when the engine attains even a mo-
derate speed, the fine dust blown off from the coke ren-
ders this necessary duty extremely difficult of per-
formance. Engines, also, are specially constructed to
run in one position—namely, with the chimney end in
front, and the weight is so distributed on the wheels as
to insure the utmost attainable degree of steadiness
while running in that position. In the engine which
drew this train, the weight upon what should have been
the leading wheels was more than double that on the
trailing wheels, and that arrangement, from being an
additional security, became a positive source of danger
when•the engine came to run at a high speed with the
lightly weighted wheels in front. In addition to this, it
is to be remembered that the engine, when running in its
proper position, affords, by its weight as compared with
the tender, a much greater security against the train
being thrown off the line; besides which, it is nearly
certain that, had the engine in this instance been in
front, the iron guard which precedes the leading wheel
would have swept the end of the sleeper off the rail, and
thus rendered the mischievous act of placing it there
perfectly innocuous.
" It appears that for some time past it has been the
practice upon the London, Brighton, and South Coast
Railway to run all the short trains, whether on the main
line or on the branches, without tubing the engines ;
and that, therefore, either on the out or on the return
journey, the engines must travel tender foremost. In the
present instance there were turn-tables both at Brighton
and at Lewes, and there was therefore no necessity for
having recourse to such a dangerous practice. The prin-
cipal reason assigned by the secretary and the locomotive
superintendent to justify the proceeding was the desire
to save time, and thus conduct the short traffic trains
with fewer engines. The chairman, however, of the
London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company,
in the evidence given by him before the coroner, at the
inquest held at Lewes, on the 14th, endeavoured to
support the practice of running engines with the ten-
der foremost on other grounds. I append a certified
copy of the chairman's evidence, which the coroner
has been good enough to send to me. It will be seen
that Mr. Laing stated that he was chairman of the
hoard of directors of the London, Brighton, and South
Coast Railway Company, and that he was previously
secretary to the railway department of the Board of
Trade for several years; that it was then his duty to
receive reports from the different railway companies as
to accidents occurring on their lines, and to classify
them, and report them to Parliament every session; that
it has all along been a very general custom to run short
trains tender foremost;that millions of miles have been
run tender foremost, and that be does not recollect any
ease of accident arising from that circumstance. In giving
this evidence, the recollection of the chairman of the
London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway must have
failed him as regards his experience when secretary to
the railway department of the Board of Trade. On that
subject 1 beg to call the attention of the Commissioners
to the report of the officers of the railway department for
the year 1841, when Mr. Laing was secretary. It will
be seen that in that year a circular bearing Mr. Laing's
si;!nature was sent to all the railway companies, and that
the replies to that circular called forth the following re-
mark in the annual report:—
" Another result which appears from the returns in
the appendix is, that the practice of running tender fore-
most is universally pronounced to be dangerous, and
that a very general opinion is pronounced against pro-
pelling trains by an engine from behind when it can be
avoided. These opinions are entirely conformable to
the recommendations frequently made by the inspector-
general in his reports, and urged by this department, and
it is believed that the practice of running tender fore-
most with passenger-trains is now almost entirely dis-
continued, and that the practice of propelling passenger-
trains from behind is rarely resorted to.'

" Among other letters also referring ti this subject,
which will be found in the appendix to the same re-
port, I beg to quote one at length, inasnuch as it was
specially addressed to the London and Irighton Rail-
way Company.
" Lotter sent to ti-le London and Brighton Railway
Company, with a copy of a memorandum from Sir F.
Smith, relative to the working of the Shoreham branch.
" Board of Trade, 21st Aigust, 1841.
"' Sir,—l am directed, &c., to subjoii a copy of a
memorandum which has been addressed :o their Lord-
ships by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir F. Smith, relative to
the working of the Sherebam branch of tle London and
Brighton Railway, and to request that yui will call the
attention of the directors to the propriety of adopting
the recommendation therein contained, which appears
to their Lordships very important to thepublic safety.
" It appears that in consequence of there being no
turn-table for the engine at the Shoreham terminw, it
is the practice to run the trains from Shoreham to
Brighton with the tender foremost.
" Tho accident which occurred from this cause on
the 3d June last, on the Sheffield and Rotherham Rail-
way, and which was attended with such fatal conse-
quences, has sufficiently proved, if any proof were ne-
cessary, the danger of this practice. It therefore seems
expedient that the Lords of the Council should recom-
mend to the directors of the Brighton Railway to dis-
continue it.—l am, &c.,
(Signed)

~ , S. LAIN G.

" The Secretary of the
" ' London and Brighton Railway Company.'
" To this letter a reply was sent by ihe Secretary of
the London and Brighton Railway Company, stating
that the letter had been laid before the directors, and
that he, the secretary, was instructed to say that the re-
commendation to discontinue the prac;.ze of running the
tender foremost on the Shoreham branch should meet
with immediate attention.

"I would recommend that this dangerous practice be
finally discontinued upon the London, Brighton, and
South Coast Railway, and that the directors allow no
mistaken view of economy to lead them again to expose
the public to such unnecessary risk. I would also recom-
mend that steps be taken to compel the engine-drivers
upon the Lewes branch to comply wits the company's
regulations as to the speed of their trains in descending
the Falmer incline, and particularly that they should
use great caution in passing through the curved chalk
euttiug. I would further suggest that the practice of
leaving sleepers and other materials in close proximity
to the rails at places where the company's servants can-
not keep watch over them, should at once be discontinued.
" I have, &c.,
(Signed) "R. M. LAFFAN, Captain, R.E.
" Captain Simmons, R. F., &e., &c."
THE DIRECTORS' ANSWER.
The following answer to the above report was yester-
day issued by the directors:—
" Secretary's Office, London, June 25, 1851.
" Sit,—l beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 23d inst., enclosing a copy of Captain
Laffen's report on the late accident near the Palmer sta-
tion, on this line.
I am desired by the directors to state, that although
they observe that no recommeudatiot founded on this
report is made by the Railway Commissioners, they feel
themselves bound to advert to some of its statements,
which are of such an extraordinary character that they
cannot, in justice to themselves, allow them to pass un-
noticed.
44 While admitting that a sleeper, being either mali-
ciously or mischievously placed on the rails by some one
unconnected with the company, was the immediate cause
of the accident, Captain Laffan goes on to state, that
there is a strong probability that, had the traffic on the
Lewes branch been conducted with a proper regard to
sleeper ontherpauibi lwicosualfdetyn,otthehlwasentboene
nac
conse-
quences which actually ensued;' and he subsequently in-
t
sinuates that the directors knowingly allowed mistaken
foollfowPelacicibr'yg ath
views of economy to lead them to expose the public to
unnecessary risk.
" This is an imputation to which the directors fee l
themselves bound at once to give the most emphatic
denial, conscious as they are that, during the long period
of more than nine years, preceding the late disaster,
during which the extensive and complicated traffic on
the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway has
been worked without a single fatal accident to any pas-
senger, expense has never for one moment been consi-
dered by them in any question affecting the safety and
efficiency of the public service. Whether such an im-
putation ought to be made by a Government officer on
such grounds as Captain Laffan adduce, is a point
which they are quite willing to leave to the public opinion
of those capable of forming a judgment on questions.of
railway inaLagement.
" The first point adduced by Captain Laffan is, that
the rate of speed was excessive. Upon this point it so
happens that the testimony of a number of witnesses,
several of whom were passengers by the train, and to-
tally unconnected with the company, was unusually clear
and distinct. Captain Laffan says that the speed was
' clearly imprudent.' The Coroner, who heard all the
evidence respecting speed, sungted up to the jury in the
following teams:—
"' So tar as the line is concerned, I have always found
it an extremely well regulated line. With regard to the
speed at which the train was going on the present occa-
sion, whatever it might have been at other times, it does
not appear that there was any undue speed when the
accident happened. Some little suspicion hasbeen thrown
upon the company about it, but there is no good reason
for it. Mr. Shaw (a passenger) says it was 20 miles an
hour, and ho never wishes to travel slower. Mr. Weir
(another passenger) was reading, but it is fair to sup-
pose that if the speed had been excessive, his attention
would have been diverted from his book. Parsey says
that they cid not go very fast, but he thought very slow.'
" These are all witnesses unconnected with the com-
pany, in addition to the testimony of the guard, engine-
driver, and platelayers' who deposed on oath to a rate of
sped, variously stated at from 17 to 23 miles an hour.
The experiments referred to by Captain Lean, instead
of showing that the speed could not be less than 27
miles an hour, showed this as the maximums rate, which
could not have been exceeded under the most favourable
circumstances; while a similar experiment tried by the
Brighton jury, when a strong wind was blowing, under
circumstances more nearly resembling those of the day
of accident, showed that the train, instead of accelerating
in descending the incline by the action of gravity, was
actually brought to a stand, and required the assistance
of steam. _ . _

"However, even if the speed should be taken, for the
sake of argument, at 27 or 30 miles an hour, are the
Commissioners prepared to adopt Captain Laffsn's con-
clusion, that this is a dangerous rate of speed? Are
they prepared to say that there is any greater tendency
to quit the rail at this rate of speed on an incline, than
on a level? or that there is any peculiar danger in a
curve, which Captain Laffin calls a `somewhat sharp
one,' but which is, in reali,y, one of a mile and a quar-
ter radius? and if so, are they prepared to enforce this
restriction as to speed on the New Cross incline, on the
Sutton incline of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,
on the Shap incline of the Lancaster and Carlisle, the
Beattock incline of the Caledonian, and the innumerable
other inclines, which they must be well aware are tra-
versed every day at much higher rates of speed, and
where such a restriction could not be enforced without
deranging some of the most important lines of communi-
cation in the kingdom?
" The regulation referred to, that the speed should
not exceed twenty miles an hour down the Falmer in-
cline, was never intended, as Captain Laffan seems to
suppose, to avply to the whole descent of the incline,
which would have been an absurdity, there being no
reason, of which the directors are aware, why trains
should not run as safely at the usual speed, upon this in-
cline, as well as upon any of the other inclines referred
to, or upon any other part of the line; and the object
of the caution board simply was to prevent engine-
drivers from commencing the descent too rapidly; in
which case, if the rails were slippery, or if the breaks
worn from any cause to fail, a dangerous rate of speed
might possibly be attained before the train reached the
foot of the incline.

" The other point taken by Captain Laffan, in his re-
port, is, that • the circumstance of the engine running
tender foremost had a most important influence in the
result,' and generally that ' the practice of running en-
gines with the tender foremost is most objectionable.'
" As regards the question, whether in this particular
case the probability of escape from the accident would
have been materially increased if the engine had been
foremost, this must remain matter of opinion. The di-
rectors have against them the opinion of Captain Laffan;
they have for them the opinions of Mr. Woods and Mr.
Fenton. as well as of their own locomotive superinten-
dent, Mr. Craven—gentlemen probably as well qualified
as any in the kingdom to form a sound opinion on all
practical questions connected with locomotives, of whom
the two former are totally unconnected with the com-
pany, and whose presence at the inquiry was so entirely
accidental, that in one instance the directors were not
even aware that the witness was about to give evidence,
until he appeared in court, on the summons of the co-
roner. These gentlemen think, that what Captain Laffan
considers nearly certain,' namely, trat the iron guard
which precedts the leading wheels, would have swept
' the end of the sleeper off the rail, would, under the cir-
cumstances of the case, have been highly improbable;
and while Captain Laffan adducesi
i no instances in sup-
support of his opinion, theirs s fortified by the nume-
rous practical instances, n which the guards have failed
to remove similar obstructions, and engines have conse-
quently been thrown off the rails.
" The general question, however, is more important;
whether, in the existing state of railway experience, the
directors or their officers can be justly charged with
reckless disregard of the public safety, because a short
train of three or four carriages, running at a slow speed,
was run occasionally with the tender foremost. Captain
Laffan observes, that • it appears that for some time past
it has been the practice upon the London, Brighton, and
South Coast Railway, to run all the short trains, whether
on the main line or on the branches, without turning the
engines; and that, therefore, either on the out, or on the
return journey,. the e
engines must travel tender foremost.'
This assertion is entirely incorrect, and, as in the case
of the alleged sharpness of the curve, merely proves the
vagueness of the information upon which facts suppestd
to bear adversely on i
the company have been assumed
throughcut the officialinquiry The real fact is, that of
the numerous trains, short and long, riming upon the

Brighton and South. Coast, and Creydon and Epsom
lines, with their branches, amounting in all to 169 trains
per day, it has only been the practice to run tender
foremost, except on special emergencies, with one short
train making ten trips a day in and out of Brighton,
timed to run at a speed in no case exceeding 25 miles an
hour.
" The principal argument adduced by Captain Laffan
seems to be that the chairman of the company, in
giving his evidence before the jury, to the Effect that,
with a very extensive experience of the causes of acci-
dents on railways, he never recollected one rising from
running tender foremost, although millions of miles had
been thus run annually; forgot the fact that in 1841 a
circular had been issued with his signature, by the
railway department, pronouncing the practice dange-
rous. This fact appears to be very immaterial, except
as proving what has actually been the case, that the
circular in question (which was issued in the infancy of
information 'on railway matters, when a very different
mode of connecting the engine and tender prevailed from
that at present in use, and when many of the most or-
dinary practices on railways, as, for instance, a speed
of thirty miles an hour on an incline of 1 in 100, were
considered as bugbears), has been treated as a dead let-
ter by all 'parties, and that no accidents have occurred
during a period of ten years to draw attention to it.
During the whole of this period the Commissioners
must be perfectly well aware that the practice of run-
ning short trains at moderate speeds, with the tender
foremost, has been resorted to every day on
all the principal railways; and that some of
the largest passenger traffic in the kingdom, such as
that of the Greenwich Railway, has been constantly
conducted on this principle. Has a single accident
ever occurred, or have the Railway Commissioners ever
during the last ten years, offered a single objection?
Nay more, have not the Commissioners repeatedly sanc-
tioned the practice by allowing lines to be opened before
any engine turn-table was completed, and consequently
whea all trains were run of necessity one way tender
foremost? Did they not do this only a few months ago,
in the case of the Ashford and Hastings Railway, not-
withstanding an objection made by this company, under
a clause of an Act of Parliament, requiring the Hastings
station to be completed before any portion of the line
was opened; and has not the consequence been, that
trains have run over that line, with the tender foremost
by the express sanction of the Commissioners, and that
for greater distances, over steeper inclines, round sharper
curves, and at higher speeds than the short train in
question has ever run on the Brighton Railway?
" If these be facts, is it right or fair for a Government
officer, in a report published by authority of Parliament,
to charge directors with knowingly endangering the
lives of the public, from motives of mistaken economy,
by doing that which every railway company in the king-
dom has done every day for the last ten years, without
accident, and with the acquiescence, and in some in-
stances with the express sanction of the Railway Com-
missioners?
" So far from motives of economy having actuated the
directors with regard to the short train in question, it
was put on, without any expectation of profit, in order
to increase the punctuality, and consequently the safety,
of the principal long trains, by relieving them from the
necessity of stopping at some of the small stations near
Brighton; and although the description of tank engine,
specially constructed to run with either end first, has
only been generally introduced on railways for about
twelve months, the company have already constructed
three, and have three more nearly finished, in order to
be provided with the most approved form of machine for
running short and branch trains.
" As regards the other reasons assigned by Captain
Laffan for considering it dangerous to run tender fore•
most it may be sufficient to refer to the evidence of Mr.
Woods and Mr. Fenton, and to the facts ascertained by
actual experiment. It was proved by actually weighing
an engine and tender, similar to those which met with
the accident, that instead ' of the engine, when running
in its proper position, affording by its great weight, as
compared with the tender, a much greater security
against the train being thrown off the line,' the weight
on the front wheels of:the tender, which encountered the
obstruction, was as nearly as possible the same as it
would have been on the leading wheels of the engine.
" Whether an obstacle like a sleeper could be dis-
cerned as readily with the tender as with the engine
first, and whether the dust from the coke is an impedi-
ment to the look-out at moderate rates of speed, are points
upon which any one who has ever ridden upon an en-
gine can judge for himself, whether the opinion of Cap-
tain Laffan, or the evidence of :experienced engine-
drivers, deserves most weight. The tender obviously
affords less obstruction to the view in front than the en-
gine; and although the engine-driver cannot constantly
keep a look-out while attending to his other duties,
whether tender or engine be foremost, it must be re-
membered that he is always attended by a fireman,
whose duty it is to look out when the engine-driver
is otherwise engaged. At any rate in the present in-
stance it is clear that as the steam was found in evidence
to have been shut off for some time before the accident,
the engine-driver and fireman could not have been pre-
vented by other duties from keeping a proper look-out.
" It appears singular, that in stating objections which
have never occurred to practical men in running tender
foremost, Captain Laffan has omitted all mention of the
real objections which have induced railway companies to
avoid the practice as far as possible in the case of heavy
trains running at high rates of speed, namely, that the
draught of air and consequently the efficiency of the
engine are diminished, and that at a very high velocity
propulsion is not generally considered so desirable as
traction, although as regards this latter point it is re-
markable' that one of the latest forms of engine recently
introduced for running at high speeds, namely, that of
Crampton's patent, places the driving wheels of the en-
gine at the extreme hinder end, thus assimilating its ac-
tion in a great measure to that of an engine running
tender foremost.
" Without entering, however, any further on those
questions of scientific speculation, the directors appeal
confidently to public opinion, whether the fact of an uni-
versal concurrence of opinion among railway authorities,
fortified by the constant practice of the last ten years on
all the principal lines of the kingdom, without an acci-
dent, is not sufficient to exonerate them from the impu-
tation of having knowingly sanctioned a dangerous
course in running a train between Brighton and Lewes,
on the same principle on which trains have been run
every quarter of an hour of the day on metropolitan
lines carrying the largest passenger traffi in the kingdom.
" They will also appeal confidently to public opinion,
whether it is conducive to public interests and public
safety, that when an accident does occur from such a
cause as the malicious placing of an obstruction on the
line, attention should be diverted as far as possible by
the weight of official authority from the reprehensible
nature of such an act, in order to inflict ex post facto
censure on arrangements which were carried on fur a
long series of years previously, under the very eyes of
that authority without objection, and in many cases
with direct sanction; and whether boards of directors
should ho exposed to the most injurious imputations be-
cause they have not anticipated suggestions made, after
the event, by parties unacquainted with the practical
working of railways, and which no Government board
would venture to enforce, with the certainty that, by so
doing, the existing public communications of the country
would be obstructed. I have the honour to be, Sir, your
obedient servant,
" FRED. SLIGHT, Secretary.
" Capt. Simmons, R.E., Secretary to the
Commissioners of Railways."

RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS.
LONDON AND NORTD-WESTERN RAILWAY. —Return of
Traffic for the week ending June 22:
Passengers, parcels, &c. £12,433 7 6
Merchandise 15,636 6 0
Cattle ... 941 211

Total ... ... ... £59,010 16 5
Corresponding week last year 47,987 5 4

Note.—The returns as published are exclusive of the
traffic of the Huddersfield Canal and Shropshire Union, North
Union, Preston and Wyre, South Junction, Manchester and
Buxton, and Buckinghamshire Railways, and of the propor-
tion of traffic deducted under agreement with the North
Staffordshire Company.

NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE RAILWAY.— (Miles open, 112.)
Return of traffic for the week ending June 15 :
Railway and canal ... £2,817 0 O•
Corresponding week last year ... 4,476 0 0
Note. —The above is exclusive of the receipts available
under the agreement with the London and North-Western
Railway Company.
• Annual stoppage of canal for repairs (eight days).
SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY. - Gross traffic receipts for
the week ending June 21:—
£14,690 4 11
Passengers
Carrying account .. 2,334 13 6

Total ... Z 17,024 18 5
Corresponding week last year... 13,776 8 7
LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAILWAY. (260 miles
open.)—Traffic for week ending June 22...£16,521 13 2
Corresponding week in last year, (227*
.. ...£15,067 10 10
miles open)
CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAILWAY..-..Traffie for the
week ending June 22:
MAIN LINZ.
Passengers ... .£1,828 15 3
Parcels, H. C. and D. ... 44 0 0
Goods, cattle, &c. ... 517 18 11
Mails ..• ... 575 0 0

Total .. £2,965 14 2
MOLD.

Passengers .£4l 12 1
Parcels, H. C. and D. ••• 2 3 8
Goods, cattle, 87 9 6

Total ••• ... •• II £l3l 5 3
STEAM-BOATS.

Passengers ... ... ... £267 6 2
Parcels, H. C. and D. ... ... 14 2 4

Total ... ... ... £2Bl 7 6

How TUE WHIGS GET RID OF THE PUBLIC
Lord Seymour,, in ans s er to a question from Mr. Hume as
to the disposal of a sum of 1,2601., " explained that the Tote
was for getting rid of the dust, of which the House hadhadin
former years so much complained " Now, it strikes us,
Whigs had more dust than they knew what to do with, that
the easiest way of washing their hands of it would have been
by remitting the duty on soap,--Punch. if the

REPORT of the GOVERN2IIENT CONMISSION.
We have just received a copy of the report made to
the Government by Thomas Graham, Esq., F.R.S.; W.
A. Miller, M.D., F.R.S.; and A. W. Huffman, Ph.D.,
F.R.S., who had been requested by Sir George Grey,
on the `233 January last, to report on the tllowing
points:—
tqhuealmiteytroofpothlies?various waters
which\\' hat r
ei s n
ot hchemical
we
supplied
uppl
ied to W
hat is the chemical quality of the water derived
from the sources whence the Board of Health propose to
supply the metropolis?
What is the chemical quality
of the water proposed to
bz supplied from Watford?
Whether, if the quality of the water now supplied be
objectionable, any remedy can be applied by filtration,
or otherwise, wittiout abandoning the present sources of
supply?
"Whether, if soft water were to be obtained in suffi-
cient quantity for the supply of the metropolis, any
comparative inconvenience would arise from the use
of such water under the present system of distribution,
and if so, whether available means may be found of ob-
viating it?

What are the properties to be preferred in the water
selected for the supply of the metropolis?
The reporter enters fully and minutely into all the
questions thus proposed to the Commissioners, and con-
tains much scientific information as to the condition and
degrees of purity and softness to be found in the various
sources, actual and proposed, of the metropolitan water
supply, together with the results of the various chemical
analyses to which the water was subjected. Our limits
will not permit us to do more than to give the general
results of their inquiry, as stated in their answer to the
last query, in which it will be seen that they strongly
recommend the water to be derived from the Watford
distzict:—

OF THE PR')PERTIES TO BE PREFERRED IN THE WATER
SELECTED FOR ThE SUPPLY of THE METROPOLIS.
The properties which we would esteem of the most
value in water to be supplied to the metropolis are:-
1. Freedom from putrescible organic matter.
2.Freedomy
andf romy
ec
go
en
tsat ab ni
et ,moar t
teevre, nwoi ct
he a
perfectsion al discolo-
ration
bright-
ness and clearness.
3. Softness,
4. Coolness.
The nearer the sources of rivers are approached, the
more fully are they likely to possess the two first re-
quirements, freedom from organic impregnations and
from colour. The New River water may be instanced
as offering the most favourable exhibition of the good
qualities possessed by any portion of the present me-
tropolitan supply. Taken from the Lea, above Ware,
this water has a superiority, which is generally ad-
mitted, over the supplies from the Thames, which would
no doubt be further increased by the removal of the
llertford drainage, by recourse for additional water to
the higher tributaries of the Lea, as proposed by the
River Lea Trustees, and by shortening the chanel of the
New River by about 12 miles, which is also contem-
plated. But it is only by proceeding to the actual
sources of rivers that the water of the latter can be pro-
tected completely from field and house drainage. Hence
the general disposition to abandon rivers as sources of
town supply, and to allow them to remain as they must
always be, the natural and indispensable channels of
drainage, and the occasional means of fertilizing irri-
gation. _

The contemplated improvement of the New River ap-
pear to embody a portion of the comprehensive scheme
of Captain Vetch, who, after a careful survey under-
taken by direction of the late Metropolitan Board of
Sewers, recommended the appropriation of the unob-
jectionable chalk streams on either side of the Thames
as the future sources of supply ; abandoning the river
itself for its purer tributaries, and giving a preference
to those streams which enter the Thames below
London, so as to retain the volume, and scouring
power, and with these the salubrity of the upper
part of the river unimpaired. To this last object Cap-
tain Vetch attached great importance with reference to
the prospective increase of the metropolis, which he re-
minds us has doubled its population within forty
years. The eminent engineer, Mr. Telford, to
whom the question of the metropolitan supply was
referred by Government after the water inquiry
and report in 1828, had previously recommended,
after a prolonged investigation, to bring the water from
the river Verulam, near Watford, for the supply of
the districts on the north side of the Thames, and
from the river Wandle for the supply of the districts
on the south side. In 1840 a further step was taken
in the same direction, " The London and Westmin-
ster Water Works Company" being at that time estab-
lished for supplying the metropolis with water from the
springs in the chalk, near Watford. This company pro-
ceeded up 3n a report by Mr. Robert Stephenson, which
appears to be founded on sound scientific principles and
great local knowledge. Mr. Stephenson concludes that
the necessary supply for London, could be obtained. and
conveyed from that source, and speaks in the highest
terms of its quality. He expresses his surprise, that
with the exception of the abortive project to obtain water
by perforating the London clay, all precedine, proposals,
"including Mr. Telford's, should have contemplated using
the water of streams which are all subject to be affected
by the surface drainage of a more or less extensive tract
of country, and consequently only a very few degrees
better than that already in use."
Our great engineers have thus returned step by step
to the original idea of Sir Hugh Middleton, who had
recourse to the pure fountain heads of Hertfordshire for
the supply first brought by him to London by the New
River, acting, no doubt, upon the traditions of an-
tiquity and the example of the Roman hydraulic works,
which are still unrivalled. Of the two divisions of Hert-
fordshire which are drained respectively by the Colne
and the Lea, the former, or north-western district, con-
taining Watford, appears to exceed, in available water
sources, the latter, or north-eastern district, the field
which is already occupied by the New River Company.
The inhabitants of London appear to have within
their reach, in these chalk strata, a supply of water,
which is asserted, on good authority, to be inexhaus-
tible, and which may be considered as everywhere of
an uniform composition and quality. The rain falling
upon the downs and elevated ridges is rapidly absorbed
by the soil, and eaters the chalk beds, through the
porous and amply aerated channels of which it circu-
lates, much of it probably for centuries, before subsiding
to the lower level of the valley springs. Hence a full
decomposition of any alterable organic matter, and the
assumption by the water of a constant and uniform
character.
The chalk spring-water unites the greater number of
the desirable qualities already enumerated. It con-
tains absolutely nothing of organic origin capable
of further alteration or decomposition, and is therefore
wholly unobjectionable, on the ground of organic con-
stituents. Its clearness and brilliancy also appear
perfect, from the complete absence of suspended matter,
and aro highly attractive. Possessing at all seasons
the mean temperature of the year, the same water
has an agreeable coolness and freshness, which might
certainly be preserved in a great degree by proper
means of conveyance and distribution. The only other
quality desired in a town supply was softness. The
chalk spring water is not naturally a soft water. In
this respect it is inferior to the present supply, in one
sense, being one-fourth harder; but it will be remem-
bered that the hardness of both is principally of the
temporary kind, and that, after boiling, the advantage
is with the spring water. It is, however, in the faci-
lity and completeness of the removal of this hard-
ness, that the superiority of the spring over the
river water is most apparent. The softening operation,
by the use of lime, is applicable in all seasons to the
spring water, which, indeed, adapts itself with singular
felicity to that process, the carbonate of lime always
precipitating with rapidity, and so completely as not
to create a necessity for filtration. The chalk spring
waters can thus be commanded with certainty, under
three degrees of hardness, which is probably the extreme
limit attainable anywhere in England for a great
supply, The lower price of lime in the chalk districts,
and the reduction in the labour of mixing, must also
bring the cost of the process considerably within
the estimate formed at the Chelsea Works, and
would not, we believe, form a greater addition than a
sum equal to two per cent. upon the present price of water.
Tnis is without allowing anything to be obtained in return
for the precipitated chalk, which would certainly have
some market value.

..........
The chalk spring water after being softened is an ex-
tremely
pure water. It appears to be considerably su-
perior even to the soft water from the streams of the
surrey Sands. The chalk water alone is uniform in its
excellence at all times, the sources of it lying beyond the
influence of weather or season. In the judgment of the
Commissioners, this softened chalk water is entitled,
from its chemical quality, to a preference over all others
for the future supply of the metropolis.
It is no longer possible to oisregard the chemical means
of removing hardness, or to represent them as ina'
practicable on a great scale; they place the gees'
tion of water-supply upon
an entirely new
COD-
Efficient as these means already, are,
fidently look to their further improven3;se
the eye of
the large results of practice come underwhen
Another mode
the engineer and scientific observer,
of partial softening, without the consumption of lime or
any other material, by the united c e of air and
action
bonated water,
granular carbonate of lime upon thema
has been already referred to, which probably soon
.A. an ayuxiliary to Dr.
have its powers tested, either. -
Clark's process, or as a substitute for that process, when
a less considerable softening is required.
advantage of artificial softening for the
An incidental li change in quality can be ra-
London supply
"'at hdaets i red. It may be advisable oaft ur-
dilated to any
first with a hardness of five or six de-
grees,nish the wateri:saoi
at first
above the point at which
which 1
any action
lead need be apprehended, and there-
upon
1 with the cistern storage of water,
for© compatib e
which the actual system of supply requires. The cir-
cumstance that this residuary hardness after liming
yields readily to boiling, combined with the absence
from the spring water of all colouring impurity, would
insure that water a decided preference for washing and
most other applications, even were it no further
softened. But it might be reduced, we believe with

,
perfect safety to throe aegrees of hardness, as soon as
the 040 and White 91 the consumers Were acconarao-