The Sun.
London, England, 1851-12-10 00:00:00

DECEMBER 10,

tersea, both possessing sulphates and other itnpuri- value of the soda consumed in London for the pur-
ties. According to the evidence before the House, the all mixing latter, the Battersea water, is impregnated with the mixing with water amounts to 30,0001. annu-
f The washerwoman is a more important mem-
contents of 130 public common sewers, and with all sorts baery•
economy,lith
of decomposed animal and vegetable substances. If, dint° soviet ash
than the wealthy cotton spinner. A
therefore, the Thames Dittun water be as good ass ma may be bought for 41., and, with
will last for three years; and supposing
this, the Battersea water, what a delicious beverage !that reeea shirts are washed per week, at a cost
is preparing for the unsuspecting but too confiding 'of four customers. We would advise them to look at our ' interest p ce for each shirt, the washerwoman's
in the twelve Is' •
engravings. s irts will at the end of three
years, have amounted
After giving analyses of the Thames water, the spinner has been l to nearly 81., while that of the
commissioners proceed to add that the waters were all persons living LOn y 41. It may be estimated that
sensibly tinged of a yellow or ochry tint, due chiefly 6001. a in ondon with moderate incomes, say
year, spend one-twelfth of it, or about 501., in
to suspended clay.
washing. Supposing that
Thus much as to the supply from the existing cone- vidual amounts on th the washing of each indi-
patsies on the Surrey side, and so we dismiss it, trust- whole cost of washing, e aaverage to Is. per week, the
ing that the Legislature will stop the Lambeth and London, will amounto 4s2poa_id by the inhabitants of
Southwark worthies from continuing their abomina- prices of washing in the
couseoool. per annum. The
not exceed one-half of
tions, whether obtained from Vauxhall, Battersea, or employed, do n ntry, where soft water is
h
Thames Ditton.
London; so that it appears an t ose paid in
We shall now proceed to consider what it is that millions sterling is • annual outlay of two
occasioned to the
we do want—we want a constant and abundant sup- the hardness of the London wate metropolis by
ply, at high prnsure, of a pure and wholesome water, at the large scale, as in the process ofr• In washing on
a low rate ofcharge. This short sentence, of four es- you must make the whole of the Wwatsehing clothes,
sentials, comprehends as regards water all that we re- either by means of soap or by sod a r_ detergent,
11- The labour
quire. We want "a constant and abundant supply" also of washing in hard •
water is much greater
of water instead of an intermittent and insufficient one, wear and tear of clothes is also excessive whe • h The
as at present, because by such a supply the water is water is used. It has been estimated that when
athrd
delivered purer and fresher, of a lower temperature in article of ladies' collars alone a destruction to e
the
summer, and less subject to frost in winter; and amount of 20,0001. takes place II annum y from the
because the system admitting of greater economy, is employment of hard water.
better applicable for baths, street cleaning, large So much for hard water and its disagreeables.
consumers, for the flushing of drains and sewers, for With regard to the proposed new supply, it appears
the extinction of fires, and for many other pur- that the Wandle can yield a minimum quantity of
poses. We want the supply "at high pressure," be- upwards of twenty-seven millions of gallons daily, and
cause constant service is incident to it. This metro- a maximum of forty-four millions, while the present
polis is exposed to the danger of extensive supply of Thames water is not more than nine
conflagration, and if a hurricane of wind millions.
should arise at , the time of any large ware- We have seen that the quality of the water is of the
house fire, in a direction to drive the flames best; and the quantity ample; therefore the wishes of
across the street from house to house, the havoc the public are in every respect to be gratified with
might be as great as any that has been witnessed in what they desire, and at a cheap rate. 7
modern times. If the supply be at high pressure,
one of the many advantages would be to have water
on night and day, at all times, in all mains, and all
services; and fire-plugs could be placed, of three inches
diameter in the clear, at certain intervals in all the
mains and pipeage. A hose could then in a minute
or two be screwed on and introduced inside the build-
ing where the fire actually was • the jet of water
would be continuous—it would be larger and much
stronger than could be procured by an engine, and
the fire would soon be got under. This has been
tried in Philadelphia and other places, and two-thirds
of the fires have been arrested with trifling damage.
We want "pure and wholesome water." By this we
do not mean the tasteless distilled or rain water, but
the water most fitted for our drink and domestic use,
such as that which is free from organic or putrescible
matter, and free from constant discolouration, and that
which is perfectly bright and clear, soft and cool.
Such is the water we desire to see introduced
into this metropolis. We come now to the
last division of our sentence —" at a
low rate of charge." • We want all the foregoing ad-
vantages at the cheapest possible rate. On this head
we are confidently assured that whatever changes in
the system the Legislature may adopt this point will
form a prominent feature, and so we may with satis-
faction dismiss the matter, and feel convinced that, I
although great profits must and will arise to the
shareholder, yet we shall not hear of any now-to-be-
formed-water company having their shares increased
in value to such an enormous extent as those of the
New River Company, whose original 1001. shares are
now actually worth many thousands of pounds.
We are told that the advantages to which we have
referred and many more can be obtained by the appli-
cation of the Wandle water as the source of supply.
We have a prospectus before us of a new company
now being formed. It has been before Parliament,
and their Bill has been read a second time,
and stands referred to a Committee, at which
stage it is to be proceeded with in the
ensuing session. Their proposed supply is from
a new source of water to the south district. We
refer to " The Wandle Water and Sewerage Com-
pany," and as the title implies, the source of supply is
the River Wandle.
Although we see connected with this undertaking
such names as GURNEY, SOSIES, STONE, MILDRED,
GOWAN, and others, all in the mercantile world
deemed in regard to wealth, integrity, and social
position, the very elite of the City ; and although
we know full well they would not in any character
lend their names to an undertaking such as this
if they did not conscientiously believe that it had
great and commanding merit, yet we must be par-
doned in saying that, great and high-sounding, and
justly appreciated as their names must be, we should
not have intruded the subject. matter of this com-
pany as the means of doing a great and important
good to our suffering fellow-creatures, if we had not
for our justification far greater names, in a practical
and scientific point of view, than theirs. Our attention
was drawn to the subject of the Wandle on hearing
on the 26th ult. the admirable and indeqendent lec-
ture on the water supply delivered at the Museum of
Practical Geology, by Dr. Lycn Playfair, the justly-
celebrated chemist attached to that museum in the
department of her Majesty's Woods and Forests.
Dr. Playfair, speaking of the operation which water
had on lead ; and to illustrate the presence of lead in
water, stated that he bad prepared several bottles
of different waters, into which a piece of lead
had been immersed, and these bottles had remained
sealed up since January last. In those waters
which had acted on the immersed lead, his detective
experiments rendered the presence of lead very appa-
rent. One of the sealed bottles contained the Wandle
water, and after commenting on its well-known
quality for brightness and very remarkable softness,
clearly showed to all present that it did not act on
lead, thus proving by irresistible evidence that the as-
sertion that soft water acted injuriously on lead was THE LATE SIB JOHN GLADSTONE, BART.—This
an entire fallacy.
distinguished Baronet, whose demise we briefly recorded yes-
Dr. Playfair's experiments. are corroborated and terday, was, throughout his public life, a staunch Protec-
supported by the most eminent:chemist of the day. tionist. His life, in point of merbcrtielceeasskeildl
wasand enterprise,the eldest
We have neither directly nor indirectly any in- was pefrlbsomuanfreZeisnttoendes, TEsq.d
of Leith, by Helen,
terest in the Wandle Company, but having a great doanugl,i)ter of Walte: Neilson, Esq., of'Springfield. In 1835 he
interest in the health and comfort of a large dis- obtained a royal licence to drop the final "s" in his name,
trict comprehending half a million of souls, we have and take the name of Gladstone. He lit
haewlaaateegralloblebrtarl'teetl
been led from our zeal to do good to extend our corn- shortly before
cheefoinrelBt4h6e. reltiriesmen
proper to add that the venerable
ment on this subject far beyond the length we had con- 1
gentleman accepted the office solely on the condition that he
templated ; but having gone thus far, we shall proceed should not be considered, in doing so, to recognize the pro-
to show how it is that the Wandle has not been resorted priety of Sir Robert Peel's free-trade policy. Joseph Siri Hall,
lohEns mar-
tof
ere this, recollecting that it was one of the sources reed, first, inle77l,
married,Jaie d a
secondly,hte rc,
in 18, Anne Esq., of
of supply looked to so far back as 1834. In that year Liverpool
of I
Andrew Robertson, Esq ,Provost of Dingwall,
the late Mr. Telford, the well-known engineer, was daughter
county Ross ; and by her, who died in 1835, he has had issue
employed by the then Lords of the Treasury to make a four sons and one daughter. lie is succeeded in the title by
survey round the metropolis for the purpose of ascer- his eldest son, Thomas, born in 1804, formerly M.P. for Ips-
taining the means of introducing a supply of pure wich.- Post.
water. He reported to their Lordships that the river ALARMING FlRE.—This morning, shortly before
Wandle afforded an ample source of supply—that it four o'clock, a fire, which at one time
thethreatened a greatdbe-
was reckoned rather better than the Verulam (which t t.r A
re ctiyo
cnk ofuo
rnproperty,dealer inate brokeworuptro inof
goods, u
housesit occupiedate atN
o.y
was an exceedingly pure water), and was indeed ex- 111
ceedingly fine. He made use of these expressions:—
129, Strand. The fire was first discovered by a policeman
, on duty, who, seeing an immense body of flame in the shop,
" h is very fine"—" the best of any"—" extremely gave the alarm, and sent off for the engines and fire-escapes.
good." It was, he said, ,4 perfectly transparent water,' Before the arrival of the engines the flames had almost
and was uniformly so; and even after a flood, in a few
'.reached
eb of b
a action
oth esectoned
rfloor,fire
wbaus tcoo owing
(lot
to the
goodlower supply
part
of fof watertb e
hours it became perfectly pure again. There was,
he said, "no necessity for filtration for the waters of house. The inmates, we are glad to learn, all made their
either the Wandle or Verulam." Dr. Bostock was escape from the upper part of the premises, passing along the
roof to the house adjoining. The whole of the stock in trade
at this time employed to analyze the Wandle water, was burn out, and the lower part of the house damaged by
and he in every respect confirmed the opinion of Mr. fire and water. Mr. Jones, the dentist,
lof wihsostooccupiinedtratig
Telford, and added, that he was very much surprised first
bein floor,deat
destroyed.
,ae!l o a e sufferer,ilo us
et Ilse
insured,w ho
but as to the stock
to find that the water of the Wandle, NEAR WANDS- in trade we could 3 not obtain any definite information.
WORTH, was chemically purer than any other part of
the river. The repairs of the Bentinck steamer, belonging to
the Oriental Steam Company, cost 35,0001.1 They have
Now, the reason of this water not having been re- contracted for a steamer of upwards of 3,000 tons, and with
sorted to ere new, is to be accounted for by the fact engines, by Penn, of 1,200-hr Tsepho.was theei. She heis to be
power
that hitherto no plan was suggested for its application byMaret
intoand C0.,8
steamer,
he I
al a ctk wCunard boats being largest
only about
pw
without the destruction of the mill-power, which
Bhorse a everso Pupower; but perhaps they estimate engine-power
would alone have required many hundreds of thou- differently on the Clyde and on the North British
sands of pounds to have purchased. Daily Mail.
The proposed plan of the Wandle Company, which THE CONVICT SMITH.—The life of this wretched
has met with the approbation of all the public man, who was convicted at the last sessions of the Central
bodtes interested in the matter, is to take the water Criminal Court, of thLdmeiirderof an
tiwnfasantacehb
itledbocfeii a woman
near near Wandsworth, at or near the spot pointed out by with whom T.
hanged, awill,liteacpopheaars, beand
saved.w At a late hour last even-
from the late Dr. Bostock, and to relieve the River,
ing a communication, addressed to the sheriffs, was received
from its sourceto this spot, of all possible impurities, by
acaTewgate from Sir George Grey, announcing the fact that,
the interposition of intercepting sewers or drains, by after a full consideration of all the circumstances laid before
which means the mill-power is not interfered with, him by the Sheriffs, he bad felt it to be his duty to recommend
Majesty that the life of the convict should be
but, on the contrary, improved. Many of the large to her
be spared,
• sentence should commuted to transportation
mill-owners, feeling the great advantage it will be to and that his
them, have petitioned Parliament in favour of the for life.
Bill. ROYAL SAPPERS MINERS: AND MI —WOOLWICH, DEC.
9.—The second company, under the command of Captain
The water is to be raised to Wimbledon-common,
at a hei Freetb, Royal Engineers, have received marching
orders,
ht of 160 feet above Trinity high watermark. the baggage left Woolwich this morntng,under anes an
rta
sufficient to distribute the for Nine Elms, to be conveyed by railway to
Portsmouth.,
This elevation will be
water at a constant and high pressure service The officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the com-
throughout the district, and, at the Elephant and pang, will
i h'stlmeersa,Vefor Woolwich tomorrow, by one of the Wool-
Castle, at an altitude of 110 feet ; but it will Vauxhall pier, en route to Portsmouth.
not be distributed until it has passed through a ROBBERIES AT JULLIEN'S CONCERTS.—Yesterday
new system of filtration, when, according to the cal-
l*t informationon o lcewFas received at the chief office of the Metropo-
ce, Great Scotland-yare, of the following
culation of the Government Commissioners, such riobberries havingor been gen-
water as the Wandle will, after boiling, have no more Haman
while in .lp
the Mc
rnOridtted
fon
Jullien'sthe persona_ofconcerts, at
than from one and a half to two degrees of hard- , Drury-lane Theatre. On thea 4th inst. inst. agentleman was
ness, which must alone be a matter of great econo- robbed of athree-qnaiter plate gold lever watch with steZts
.
mical importance to the rich and the poor, on account hands, maker, Spirtz and Son, No. 1,110. On thleadbyt,s
gold
of the great saving in the consumption of tea and soap. anothert gentleman was robbed of a doable cased
.•vmeteali nopgod, No.
M. Soyer bore testimony to the importance of soft ' 2woa,)cli;ijseh%oelled in two holAesisomaokner,the _ .
3oi inst , Ironso the
water in making tea, the great beverage of the popu- ! per-son of Pasggaetnetleetmreaent., a patent lever silver watch, capped
lation, stating that from actual experiments he bad and jewelled, maker's name Willi,in Downs.
—This vessel
ascertained that there would be a saving of at least Loss or THE ROBERT BRADFORD.
the South
one-third the quantity of tea by the use of soft water was wrecked at Porthdafarch, two milesnin fromi commander,
—five cups instead of three would be made, with more ; Stack, near Ifolyhead, yesterdaysiToocrrewg.
were drowned, and
flavour and strength. There would be equall Captain J. Gloag, and eleven of
lot.
it
is
feared
that
there
of go was . y great , the greater portion
on board, as Captain Gloag had apprised
advantages in regard to the cooking of meatand
vege- ! were passengerssoinreatat h passengers had been engaged. She must
tables in general, for "the true flavour cannot be the owners
extraordinary run, as the last advices from her
extracted by hard water." have made an
of October, and announced that she was
Dr. Lyon Playfair, in his lecture to which we
, were dated the end .
loading. There is
then probability thatshe
every
have referred, stated that before 100 gallons of London advices from the Cape.
) pipe-water can be made detergent, 30 ounces of soap . FATAL ACCIDENT IN THE LONDON DOCKS..---YeS-
must be consumed. The average consumption of terday a melancholy and fatal accident took place in the
soap throughout England is 7i lbs. per head of the London Docks, under the following circumstances. It seems
population, whereas the consumption in London is that two men were engaged on a small swinging-stage
151bs, per head. The loss to the inhabitants of the erected at the side of a vessel lying in the Old Wapping basin,
metropolis from this cause alone;—namely, the extra ' Painting the starboard gunwales, when the tackle by some
eans y, and te two were itated into the
consumption of soap —is probably not less than , water.gave wa
An instant alarm wasmen raised,prec andipthe drags were
200,0001. per annum. We try to economise in soap soon brought to the spot. One man was rescued, but the
ill 14911(1014 by adding SOU to /often the water. The . other was ttiat9xiunately drowned.

WEST OF IRELAND LAND INVEST..
MENT COMPANY.
Yesterday a deputation, consisting of Mr. Digby Sey-
mour, Sir R. O'Conor, the Chevalier Claussen, Mr. John
Murray, C.E., Mr. *right, of Sunderland, Mr. J. N.
Higgins, Mr. Hannah, Captain Hook, and several other
gentlemen, waited upon Mr. Labouchere, at the Board
a' Trade, for the purpose of laying before the Govern-
ment a statement of the views and objects of the pro-
moters, and of soliciting the grant of a royal charter of
incorporation.
Mr. D. SEYMORII, having introduced the other gentle-
men of the deputation, stated that their object was to
purchase some very extensive tracts of land in the west
of Ireland, which were at present in the market, and
which might be purchased at prices little, if anything,
higher than that which emigrants were compelled to pay
in many of the Transatlantic settlements. The opera-
tion of the Encumbered Estates Act had already gone far
towards removing the legal difficulties which had previ-
ously existed in the transfer of landed property in Ire-
land, and it was considered that the introduction
of capital and well-directed energy, under the auspices
of the proposed company, affording the means of con-
staid employment to the poor of all ages and both
sexes, would ultimately remove the objections which
were so generally entertained by English capitalists to
make permanent investments in that country. The land
which the promoters wished to obtain under the provi-
sions of a charter was principally situated in the coun-
ties of Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon; and while they
proposed to introduce and to afford every possible en-
couragement to the introduction of the most approved
system of farming, grazing, and other agricultural ope-
rations, they at the same time were anxious to incorpo-
rate in their rotation the extended cultivation of flax,
sugar, beet-root, chicory, and other crops, which would
be found best adapted to the character of the soil and
climate. In order to bring these and other crops into a
proper condition for the haarket, they proposed to erect
suitable sheds and buildings, where the various pro-
cesses of preparation required might be carried on,
thus affording the means of constant and remunerative
employment to the labouring classes. The flax
would be brought into a state similar to that
in which it was imported from foreign countries,
and sugar would be extracted from the beet-root,
the refuse being appropriated, with those portions of the
flax crop not required for use by the manufacturers, to
the feeding of cattle. The fact that at present a sum of
between eight and nine millions was annually sent out
of the country for the purchase of foreign flax, was a
circumstance which proved in the most convincing man-
ner the extent of the exisisting markets, while there
was no doubt that the recent improvements in the pre-
paration of flax by the Chevalier Claussen (who had
promised to give them every support in his power)
would have the effect of opening up new and extensive
markets both in Manchester and the woollen districts
of England. The importance of supplying the existing
deficiency in the supply of the raw material required for
the manufacturers ot this country, and with it the de-
velopment of the industrial resources of Ireland, had
been for several years past seen by the Government,
and grants of money had been and were still made
to the Belfast Flax Society for the purpose
of extending the cultivation of flax in the
southern and western parts of the country.
The operations of the company would not therefore in-
terfere in the slightest degree with any existing British
interest—the object bring simply to supply a deficiency
which had long existed, and which private enterprise
and capital had been hitherto found totally inadequate
to supply. The same argument, to a great extent, ap-
plied to the production of sugar from home-grown beet-
root. Under these circumstances, and considering the
present unfavourable state of the country for encourag-
ing private enterprise and capital, he trusted on behalf
ot the promoters that the Government would be disposed
so far to give their countenance and support to the un-
dertaking, as to recommend the Crown to grant them a
charter of incorporation.
The deputation was very courteously received by the
Right Honourable Gentleman, and upon retiring were in-
formed that he would take an early opportunity of con-
sulting with his colleagues on the subject, and would
inform the deputation of the final result.