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

LONDONI, WEDN.UOA/ ItVEN'INGs tireßSllBll It 10,
_lB6l.

tersea, both possessing Ralph:lto; and other impuri- , value r - o the Nada aonsufaY©d In Loedon for the per-
ties. Accordieg to the evidence before tho House, the pose of mixing with water amounts to 30,0001. anon-
' latter, the Battersea water, is impregnated with the ally. Tits washerwoman is a more important mem - contents of 130 public common sewers, and with all sorts her of society then the wealthy cotton spinner. A
, of decomposed animal and vegetable substances. It; dozen shirts may he bought for 4/, and, with
therefore, the Thames Dillon water be as good as economy, will
last fur for three years ; and supposing
this, the Battersea water, what a delicious beverage that three shirts
are washed per wsek, at a cost
is preparing for the unsuspecting but too confiding lof fourpence for each shirt the washerwoman's customers. We would advise them to look at our interest in the twelve shirts will, at the end of three
engravings.
years, have amounted toznearly 81., while that of the
After giving analyses of the Thames water, the spinner has been only
commissioners proceed to add that the waters were all persons living in London 4 withlt may be estimated that
moderate incomes, say
sensibly tinged of a yellow or ochry tint, due chiefly 6001. a year, spend one-swelfth of it, or about 50/., in
to suspended clay, washing. Supposing that the each indi-
Thus much as to the supply from the existing corn- vidual amounts on the aayserpaagiedwtboashlisn.-peorf week, the
panies on the Surrey side, and so we dismiss it, trust- whole cost of washing,
ing that the Legislature will stop the Lambeth and London, will amount to 4 900 00k per annum. The
thheereinhabitants of
Southwark worthies from continuing their abomina- prices of washing in the Co-unt,ry,
„retro
tious, whether obtained from Vauxhall, Battersea, or employed, do not exceed one-half of
London; so that it appears an anntuhael outlaytose oPaidf
twoi
hsoft water
Thames Dillon.
We shall now proceed to consider what it is that millions sterling is occasioned to
P° li
clothes, by
we do want—we want a constant and abundant sup- the hardness of the London water.
agshirbriouoar
ply, at high pressure, of a pure and wholesome water, at the large scale, as in the process of washw" a low rate ofcharge. This short sentence, of four es- you must make the whole of the water:hdeetelrgent,
sentials, comprehends as regards water all that we re- either by means of soap or by soda.
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 when hahel
as at present, because by such a supply the water is water is used. It has been estimated that in Ellie
delivered purer and fresher, of a lower temperature in article of ladies' collars alone a destruction to the
summer, and less subject frost in winter; and amount of 20,0001. takes place annually 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 disagreeablee.
consumers, for the flushing of drains and sewers, for With regard to the proposed new supply, it appears
the extinction of fres, 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 rale.
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,
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 seeond 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.

WEST OF IRELAND LAND INVEST-
MENT COMPANY.

Yesterday a deputation, consisting of Mr. Digby Sey-
mour, Sir H. O'Conor, the Chevalier Claussen, Mr. John
Murray, C.E., Mr. Wright, of Sunderland, Mr. J. N.
Higgins, Mr. Hannah, Captain Hook, and several other
gentlemen, waited upon Mr. Labouchere, at the Board
of Trade, for the purpose of laying b-fore 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. SEYMORIT, 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 whigh 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-
stant 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 charatter of the soil and
climate. In order to bring these and other crops into a
proper condition for the market, 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.
partition of flex 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 of 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 being simply to supply a deficiency
which bad 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
of 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.

Although we see connected with this undertaking
such names as GURNEY, SORES, STONE, MILDRED,
Goweiv, 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
❑ot 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. Lyon 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 had
,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 IVandle
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
an entire fallacy.
Dr. Playfair's experiments are corroborated and
supported by the most eminent
-chemist of the day.
We have neither directly nor indirectly any in-
'.erest in the Wandle Compan but hay'

THE LATE SIN JOHN GLADSTONE, BART.—This
distinguished Baronet, whose demise we briefly recorded yes-
terday, was, throughout his public life, a staunch Protec-
tionist. His life, in point of mercantile shill and enterprise,
was perhaps unprecedented. The deceased was the eldest
son of Thomas Gladstones, Esq„,_ of Leith, by Helen,

. .
...Lulu company, bit). .suing a great
---daughter of Walter Neilson, Esq.,
interest in the health and comfort of a large die- obtained OtSpringfield. In 1835 he
aroyal 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 was created a baronet
been led from our zeal to do good to extend our corn- shortly before the retirement of the late Sir Robert Peel
meat on this subject far beyond the length we bad con- freonntl. I eoninutene ' aicnc elpBt4e6d theirt oisffinctols)oelrelytoeanddthtehcaotntdhietiovnettratbillee
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. Sir John mar-
to ere this, recollecting that it was one of the sources ried, first, in 1772, Jane, daughter of Joseph Hall, Esq., of
of supply looked to so far back as 1834. In that year Liverpool. d
rmewariti eodb,ertsseocnon secondly, in
ProvostlBlo, Aot.n3l
the late Mr. Telford, the well-known engineer, was _
daughterof Ile
county Ross ; and by her, who'diedt 1835, he has hadn issuea
employed by the then Lords of the Treasury to make a four sons and one daughter. He is succeeded in the title by
survey round the metropolis for the purpose of aster- his eldest son, Thomas, born hi 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 threatened a great de.
ttrucrnktfo property, broke out in the house occupied by
was reckoned rather better than the Verulam (which
afi eer inw u waterprooffirstcfisefmooerdesa situatea
eilaetett on.
was an exceedingly pure water), and was indeed ex- liar.l2, Strand. r'll[:-hdee dealer
ceedingly fine. He made use of these
,expressions : on duty, who, seeing an immense body of flame in the shop,
"if 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, "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 the second floor, but owing to a good supply of water
hours it became perfectly pure again. There was
the action of the fire was confined to the lower part of the
he said, " no necessity for filtration for the waters of
mh
house.
e freetlnemnatese,rweartaref
tglead to learn, all made their
nkalion
either the Wandle or Verulam." Dr. Bostock was roof p
to them house it:toil:ling. o
Thepwiroleseogbassesitoge
s
at this time employed to analyze the Wandle water, was burn out, and the lower part of the house damaged trade
edby
and be in every respect confirmed the opinion of Mr. fire and water. Mr. Jones, the dentist, who occupied the
Using
floor, is also a sufferer,
Telford, and added, that he was very much surprised the hared of his stock in trade
heing destroyed. The house is in, but as to the stock
to find that the water of the Wandle, NEAR WAN DS-
WORTH, was chemically purer than any other part of in trade we could not obtain any definite information.
the river. The repairs of the Bentinck steamer, belonging to
the Oriental Steam Company, cost 35,0001. I They have
Now, the reason of this water not having been re- contracted for a steamer of upwardsy of 3000 tons,and with
sorted to ere new, is to be accounted for by the fact engines, by Penn, of 1,200-horse power. She is to be built
that hitherto no plan was suggested for its application by Mare and Co., Blackwell. This is the largest power
without the destruction of the mill-power, which ever put into a steamer, the Cunard boats being only about
Bp horse power ; but perhaps they estimate engine-power would alone have required many hundreds of thou- differently on the Clyde and on the Thames.— Notth 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
bodies interested in the matter, is to take the water Criminal Court, of the murder of an infant child of a woman
near Wandsworth, at or near the spot pointed out by with whom he cohabited, and who was sentenced to be
the late Dr. Bostock, and to relieve the River, hanged, will, it appears, be saved. At a late hour last even-
from its sourceto this spot, of all possible impurities, by jantglia
ewcogniatmeilruoi
metirn,Geaodrdgrees6erdeyto
athnne
osuhnecriiffn s,
tvicaesfraeecte
that,
the interposition of intercepting sewers or drains, by
after a full consideration of all the circumstangces laid before
which means the mill-power is not interfered with, him by the Sheriffs, he had felt it to be his duty to recommend
but, on the contrary, improved. Many of the large to her Majesty that the life of the convict should be spared, i
mill-owners, feeling the great advantage it will be to and that his sentence should be commuted to transportation
them, have petitioned Parliament in favour of the
Bill. ROYAL SAPPERS AND MINERS.--W
for life.
.9c-e-eTalließsoec:lndc9mpany, under the command of Captain
OOLWICII, DEC.
Engineers, have received marching orders, and
a, undert) an escort,
to Portsmouth.
of
frttbsme oeuotnih...
The water is to be raised to Wimbledon-common,
the baggage left Woolwich this mornt
at a height of 160 feet above Trinity high watermark.
This elevation will be sufficient to distribute the for Nine Elms, t.oebonie
mcoianavieenyeedd
ebffiycerrasi,lnwagnyd m
will leave Woolwich to-morrow, by
water at a constant and high pressure service The officers, nun
-commissioned
steamers, for Vauxhall pier, en
throughout the district, and, at the Elephant and PanY,
one of the Wool-
ROBBERIES AT JULLIEN'S CONCERTS —Yesterday
Castle, at an altitude of 110 feet ; but it will route to Portsmouth.
information was received at the chief office of the Metropo-
not be distributed until it has passed through a
liton Police Force,
been Great Scotland-yard, of the following
new system of filtration, when, according to the cal-
robberries havinggthe committed on the persons of gen-
culation of the Government Commissioners, such
tlemen while in Ipiroonmenade of Jullien's Concerts, at
water as the Wandle will, after boiling, have no more
than from one and a half to two degrees of hard- Drury-lane Theatre.
!,coldllelveor hands, maker, Spirtz andpsotnhtee 4th inst. a gentleman was
ness, which must alone be a matter of great econo- robbed of a three-quarter la
another. gentleman was robbed o(f?.a
mical importance to the rich and the poor, on account
2woa2tcliiijebwelled in two holes, maker, w a(t)cnli iwhiet hsstehiinnsdts.
of the great saving in the consumption of tea and soap.
sofopsgate- street. ,dolable cased lady's gold
M. Soyer bore testimony to the importance of soft Metcalf Hopgood, No.
water in making tea, the great beverage of the popu- \ person Also on the 3d inst , from the
lation, stating that from actual experiments he had and • a gentleman, a patent lever silver watch, capped
1 jewelled, maker's name Wilhelm Downs.
ascertained that there would be a saving of at least Loss OT
one-third the quantity of tea by the use of soft water was the South
more Stack, near li
1 _ wrecked at Porthdafarch, two miles from_ .
THE ROBERT BRADFORD.—This vessel
—five cups instead of three would be made, with yesterday morning. The commander,
flavour and strength. There would be equally great Captain J. Gloag, and eleven of the crew were drowned, and
advantages in regard to the cooking of meat and vege- the greater portion of cargo was lost, It is feared that there
tables in general, for " the true flavour cannot be
were some passengers on board, as Captain Gloag had apprised
extracted by hard water."
the owners that passengers had been engaged. She must
Dr. Lyon Playfair, in his lecture to which we have made an extraordinary run, as the last advices from her
were dated the end of October, and announced that she was
have referred, stated that before 100 gallons of London
then loading. There is every probability that she had late
pipe-water can be made detergent, 30 ounces of SOSD
must be consumed. The avera advices from the Cape.
• , FATAL ACCIDENT IN THE LONDON Docxs..--Ye-s-
-ge consumption of '
soap throughout England is 7i lbs. per head of the terday a melancholy and fatal accident took place in the
London Docks, under the folloywiinnggicnirtchuemosltdanwceasp.pinlt sbeaesmins,
population, whereas the consumption in London is that two men
sidewere engaged. on a small swinging-stage
151bs. per head. The loss to the inhabitants of the
painting the starboard gunwales, when the tackle bg
erected at the of a vessel I
metropolis from this cause 61one, —namely, the extra means gave way,. and the two men were precipitated iyntosotmhee
water. An instant alarm was raised, and
consumption of soap —: s robabl not less than
200,0001. per annum. Vie tryp
tothe drags were
soon brought to the s
economisey in soap pot. One man was
in London by adding soda to soften the water. The other was unfortunately drowned. rescued, but the