The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-18 00:00:00

BURIAL GROUNDS.

In the new City Sewers Act are the following
clauses relating to burial grounds :—" That after any
churchyard or burial-ground shall have ceased to be
used for the interment of the dead, it shall be lawful
for the Commissioners, with the consent of the Bishop
of London, to be signified by any instrument in
writing under his hand and seal, to enter into such
arrangements as may be agreed upon with the
incumbent and churchwardens of the parish in
which such churchyard or burial-ground may
be situated for the appropriation thereof, or of any
part thereof; to public improvements, or to enlarge and
improve the public streets. That it shall be lawful
for the relative of any deceased person, with the
consent of the incumbent or other person having
the care or control of any such churchyard or.burial-
ground as aforesaid, in which the body of such
deceased person has been interred or deposited, but
subject to the regulations of the Commissioners, to
cause such body to be removed to, and interred in, any
burial ground or in any cemetery without the City,
without any faculty for that purpose. Tbat it shall
be lawful for the Commissioners, with the consent of
the Bishop of London, to cause any churchyard or
burial-ground within the City, after the same shall
have been finally closed, to be planted, paved, or
otherwise covered over, or any part thereof ; and if
the surface of such churchyard or burial-ground
shall be above the level of the adjoining ground,
to cause the same to be lowered, and for such
purpose to dig and carry away the soil of
such churchyard or burial ground. Provided
always, that if the Commissioners shall
cause any churchyard or burial-ground to be
lowered, the graves and vaults shall be as little dis-
turbed as possible; and it shall be lawful for the
relatives of any deceased person whose body may within
the last twenty years have been interred or deposited
in any grave or vault which may be so disturbed, to
cause the remains of such
,person to be removed,
carried away, and placed
i in some other church-
yard, or burial-ground, n such manner as the
Bishop of London, or such person as he may appoint,
y
shall direct, and the expenses of such removing, carry-
ing away, and placing (not exceeding iu an one
case the sum of 101.) shall be paid by the Com-
missioners, and the remains of such persons as shall
have been interred or deposited in the graves
or vaults so disturbed, which shall not be
removed or carried away, shall (except such graves
or vaults as shall be finally closed up) at the expense of
the Commissioners, be removed from such graves or
vaults, and interred in such manner as the Bishop of
London, or such person as he shall appoint, shall direct.
That if the Commissioners shall cause the soil of
any churchyard or burial-ground to be planted,
paved, or covered over, it shall be lawful for the rela-
tives of any deceased person, who may have been bu-
ried therein, or to whose memory any tomb, monu-
ment, or inscription may have been erected or placed,
to cause such tomb, monument, or inscription to be
removed or taken away, but such removal shall be at
the expense ci the person causing the same to be done.

MAKING MONEY OF lIER MAJESTY.—AR official
notification, in the form of an advertisement, appears in the
Manchester papers, commencing, " I, John Potter, Mayor of
Manchester," and goes on to announce that " all persons
who may be desirous of being present in the Exchange, on
the occasion of her Most Gimcious Majesty's visit to Man-
chester will forthwith make application to me for admission. '
Every application must be for two places, specifying the
names and addresses of both parties; as no seats can other-
wise be allotted. Admission for each person, one pound.
Should the applications exceed the number that can be ac-
Mmneer
commod
stated, a ballot for admission will take place." Our
neighbours are determined to make money by
the royal visit.—Liverpool Standard.
be been
over
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GLOUCESTER AND DEAR FOREST RAILWAY.+In
compliance with the wishes of the Severn Commissioners,
tebryn arm oßfrtuhheerlivwerit,hneaaar
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ra,y bridgehas
Opening bay of 45 feet width in the clear.

THE. DRAINAGE OF LONDON.
It will be remembered that at the close of the year
1850 the then existing Commissioners of Sewers de-
cided upon a plan for the general drainage of London.
This plan was divided into three portions, viz.—the
northern, the southern sides of the Thames, and the
Westminster division ; and it comprised works of no
ordinary magnitude, the cost of which was estimated
at 1,080,000/. It was the intention of the commis-
sioners to commence the formation of this vast system
of intercepting sewers without delay, but a serious
difficulty has arisen, and one which, without the in-
tervention of Parliament, will prevent them from
doing more than executing smaller works, ancillary
to the greater ones hereafter to be undertaken. The
difficulty which presents itself is the absolute want
of funds, and the inability of the commissioners to
offer such security as would enable them to raise the
money, or even a portion of it. Under the old Act
the commissioners were empowered to raise a rate of
ls. in the pound, yearly, on all the rateable pro-
perty under their jurisdiction, but, during the last
session of Parliament, Mr. Henley succeeded in car-
rying a motion for the insertion of a clause in the
Act preventing the commissioners from raising a
rate of more than 3d. in the pound. This assess-
ment, if enforced throughout the whole of the dis-
trict rateable to the commission, would produce
only 103,000/ yearly ; but, as at present carried out,
it produces about 80,0001. This sum is very little
more than is necessary for the present functions
of the commission, viz., the formation of the
smaller lines of sewers, the abatement of nui-
sances from open drains and ditches, repairs,
gullies, &c., leaving but a very small amount to be
applied to the general drainage system. The com-
missioners recently attempted to borrow 80,0001. on
the security of the rates, and one of the principal in-
surance offices in London expressed its readiness to
grant the loan ; but upon an examination of the
security, it became evident that it was of compara-
tively little value, the proportion of the 3d. rate
required by the commission for its active functions
being so large as to leave a trifling residue. Ap-
plications were also made in other quarters,
but with the like success. It becomes evident,
therefore, that even if the whole of the money
which the commissioners could raise were to be at
once applied to the execution of the general drainage
system—leaving uncared-for the daily requirements
of the metropolitan districts—these works would oc-
cupy a period of 11 years in their execution; and, in
the meantine, the sanitary condition of London would
be far from progressing favourably. If the balance
remaining to the commissioners, after the due execu-
tion of all their minor functions, were to be applied,
London would remain imperfectly drained, and the
Thames perfectly polluted for 30 or 40 years to come.
Under these circumstances, nothing effectual can be
done until the assembling of Parliament, when some
extended powers of rating, and raising money must be
granted to the commission ; or else the Government
must take into their consideration the propriety of
assisting the commission to obtain the necessary funds,
by those means and upon those terms of repayment
which may be agreed upon. The utmost anxiety
exists in the minds of the commissioners to com-
mence the execution of their gigantic scheme
without delay ; but they are now prevented
from doing more than merely keeping the sewers of
London in as good condition as possible, and forming
new ones whenever they are required, in such a man •
ner as to render them hereafter portions of the more
comprehensive system. Under any circumstances,
even supposing the most favourable, the formation of
the enormous conduits which will be required to con-
vey the 120,000 tons of sewage daily flowing under
the city to the mouth of the river Rodiog, the time
required will be between four and five years ; and
the present delay, arising from the insertion of a mis-
chievous clause in the Sewers Act, will probably
cause a much longer delay. It is the intention of
the commissioners to perform works by contractors
for different portions of them. The sewage will be
collected in enormous reservoirs at Barking-creek,
to be discharged into the river at such periods of
the tide as will prevent its return to London,
or to be disposed of; if practicable, for sewage
manure, and thus converted into a source of
revenue. There is little doubt of the partial success,
at any rate, of the last proposition, as offers have
already been made to the commissioners to lease from
them certain sewage outlets, with the view of using
the soil for agricultural purposes. These offers have
been declined because the duration of the present
commission is limited, and it is deemed inexpedient to
bind their successors by any contract which might
impede them in the free construction of any system
of sewage. The recently-formed commission has, up
to the present time, given unlimited satisfaction to
the ratepayers by its effectual and prompt working
—Morning Paper.