The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-27 00:00:00

THE STATE OF THE SERPENTINE.

A deputation, consisting of the following gentle-
men, viz., Sir John Shelley, Bart., M.P., Sir W.
M. T. Farquhar, Bart., M.P., Dr. Lai-ll:ester, Dr.
Woolley, Mr. A. Hayman (firm of Ilayman and
Burnett, Sloane-street), Mr. J. Rennie, and Mr.
John Lilwall, had an interview on Saturday with
the Right Hon, W. F. Cowper, M.P., Chief Com-
missioner of her Majesty's Woods and Forests, at
the office, Whitehall-place, in reference to the con-
tinued bad state of the Serpentine.
Sir J. SHELLEY briefly introduced the deputa-
tion, and called upon Mr. Lilwall (who had acted
since 1848 in the capacity of hon. secretary to the
Serpentine improvement committee) to explain the
objects of the deputation.
Mr. LILIVALL then entered at some length into
the various steps which have been taken during the
last ten or twelve years on the subject of the state
of the Serpentine. The object of the present depu-
tation was twofold; Ist, re ;pectfally to protest
against the expenditure of X 17,000 of public money
upon the formation of a filtering bed and other
works in Kensignton.gardens, which were useless
as respected the purpose in view, and would be
found an intolerable nuisance for all time, and one
of the greatest eyesores in a park renowned for its
beauty. The second object was to draw the Chief
Commissioner's attention to the urgent necessity
there was to fill up the deep holes in the Ser-
pentine—now so dangerous—and to reduce the
bed of the river to a graduated depth of '
from three feet at the edge to about five or six feet
in the centre. At present the bed of the lake was 0
irregular that persons often gotprecipit at ed intoholes
over their beads by a single step forwards, when
their other leg was standing in water little more
than knee-deep.
Dr. WooLLEY had himself used the term " green
pea-soup" in reference to the water cf the Serpen-
tine. He had known many cases in which persons
had been overcome by its exhalations. One in-
stance was that of a man named Bull (one of the
Royal Humane Society's officers), who had fallen
down twice while on duty in a boat, and did not re-
cover his consciousness for many hours, despite
every remedy that could be applied. Up to 1853,
when he resigned from ill-health, the Serpentine
was most foul, and every year added to its impuri-
ties. He characterised the bottom of the Serpen-
tine as nothing more nor less than a man-trap.
About half-way between the end of the river and
the receiving-house was an old gravel-pit, with an
immense depth of slimy mud in it. Many deaths
had occurred in it. In corroboration of what was
stated by Mr. Lilwall, he had known many deaths
arising from the mud acting on and choking up the
air passages of the lungs. In his opinion the works
now under operation were utterly inadequate to re-
medy the impurities of the Serpentine.
The Chief Commissioner said he was very. glad
to have seen the deputation. The question had
been under discussion for upwards of ten years,
and it was quite true nothing had yet been
done. No doubt the plan now being carried out
in Kensington-gardens had many disadvantages,
and would at the best but partially remedy the
evil. The Metropolitan Board of Works had,
however, undertaken to commence the sewer, which
would carry off much of the impurity which
now found its way into the Serpentine; but until
that was completed there was no means of diverging
the sewage matter. There were undoubtedly many
evils to be remedied. his predecessor had called
in the highest authority—(murmurs of dissent)—
at least he was one of the highest authorities, and
backed by the opinion of the late Mr. It. Stephen-
( son ; therefore the Government did not act preci-
pitately. Mr. Hawksley's plan did but meet one
portion of the difficulty. At best it was but an in-
sufficient scheme. It was quite the duty of the
House of Commons to see into the matter, especi-
ally when dealing with a park which is one of the
greatest ornaments of the metropolis. As to himself,
he had no responsibility for that which had been
done ; yet still he did not think it a good plan, nor
should he ever have thought of adopting such plan.
His hands, however, were tied.
Sir M. FARQUHAR inquired whether it would
not be possible to stop the present operations in
Kensington-gardens.
The CHIEF COMMISSIONER feared there would be
some difficulty in doing so.
Mr. LILLWALL suggested that the difference be-
tween the large amount named for carrying out the
filtering scheme (L 17,000), and the smaller sum
which would secure the necessary volume of fresh
water (111,000) would surely allow an ample mar-
gin to cover the loss attending the quashing the
present works.
The deputation then thanked the Chief Commis-
sioner for his courtesy, and withdrew.

MESSRS. WOOD .111 VD ROGERS' BOAT.
LOWERING APPARATUS.
Messrs. Wood and Rogers—the latter gentleman
being connected with the extensive ship-building
establishment of Messrs. Green at Black wall—
have recently registered a simple and apparently,
very efficient apparatus for the instantaneous lower-
ing of ships' boats in case of sudden emergency at
sea. The invention consists of a series of four iron
rods or bolts running along the inside of the boat
on both sides under the " thwarts,".and communi-
cating with a central shaft and lever, by means of
which they can be shot backwards and forwards at
pleasure. The extreme ends of these bolts run
through " slot" holes at stem and stern, each catch-
ing an end ring of the double sling by which the
boat is suspended from the davits. Supposing an
occasion, such as a man overboard, or any sudden
marine casualty, to arise, the men would jump in,
and the boat would be lowered in the ordinary man-
ner to within nine inches or a foot of the water,
when one of the men acting on the central lever
would suddenly withdraw the bolts, fore and aft,
and the boat would drop full keel into the water.
A. collateral advantage of this arrangement is that
the slings being double, and catching the boat at
both sides, there would be no danger of its turning
over through the men jumping hurriedly in, as is
too often the ease with boats slung in the ordinary
manner. Experiments were made on Saturday
last by order of the Admiralty, and under the in-
spection of Admiral Bullock and Commander
Polley of the Black Eagle, and there were also pre-
sent Captains Guthrie and Stead of the P. and 0.
Steam Packet Company, and Mr. Marshall of the
R. M. Steam Packet Company, with about half a
dozen other gentlemen who take an interest in ma-
rine inventions. The party proceeded down
the
river in a steam tug, to both quarters of which
boats had been slung by Messrs. Wood and Rogers'
method; during the run down stream these boats
were cast off several times with men on board, wfth
remarkable facility and expedition. All the nau-
tical authorities present were quite satisfied with
the simplicity and utility of the invention, Ad-
miral Bullock . especially expressing himself in
strong terms of commendation. For ourselves ii
seemed to answer the purpose intended perfectly
we would merely suggest that as the invention, to
be useful, must be available at a moment's notice,
and as iron rods will rust from exposure to the wea-
ther, the bolts should run in a sheath, so as to be
always clean and to run freely backward and for-
ward when required. We mentioned this point to
the inventor, who replied that the iron would be
galvanised, and consequently not liable to rust.
Still it is better to make sure ; and when we re-
collect that the late Captain Harrison lost his life
through the " brails" of his boat's sail not working
freely, it cannot be deemed superfluous to provide
against the slightest possibility of a hitch in opera-
tions where the saving of a man's life might de-
pend on the instantaneous loweriK.,, of a boat into
the water. 'With this little addition we are of opi-
nion that Messrs. Wood and Rogers' invention
would completely answer its purpose.

PRUSSIA AND TIIE IT-1.1.1AN
QUE,STION.

---o-

The Independance BelJe publishes the following
despatch, addressed by the &iron von Schleinitz,
the Prussian Minister of Foreign Atlhirs, to Count
Bernstorfl, the Prussian Minister at London, and
relating to the conditions of Prussia's accession to
the congress proposed last year :
Berlin, Nov. 25, 1859.

Her Britannic Majesty's chargé d'affaires has
do! e me the honour of reading to me a despatch, a
copy of which he lett me, addressed by Lord John
Russell to him, under date of the 14th instant, eon—
cereing the speedy assembling of a congress to
settle the Italian question.
After stating in that document, a copy of which
I enclose, that in the eyes of the British Govern-
ment it is understood that a congress like the one
in question will be able to occupy itself with the
situation of Central Italy, and will not bebound to
adopt this or that plan for the regulation of the
affairs of the peninsula, the Chief Secretary of State
believes it his duty to direct our attention mere
particularly to an important point, on the solution
of which he declares the Government of her Bri-
tannic Majesty will make its participation in the
congress mainly depend.
This point, which appears to have already been
the previous object of an interchange of communi-
cations between the Cabients of London and Paris,
and on the subject of which the English Govern-
ment desires to know the intentions of the two
great Powers, which, like England, abstained from
taking part in the late war, is introduced by Lord
John Russell in saying that her Britannic Majesty
cannot send a representative to a congress at whieh
a sanction might be given or required to a proposal
for imposing by force a Government or a constitu-
tion on Tuscany, on Modena, or on any other per-,
tion of Central Italy.
Your excellency is already acquainted, gene-
rally at least, with our mode of viewing the sub-
ject of a congress, in case an agreement should
be arrived at for submitting to such an assembly
the thorny questions raised by the late war and
the events connected therewith. Inclined to enter
into any negotiation calculated in our estimation
to re-establish on durable bases the peace of the
peninsula, disinterested on a question that only.
concerns us as affecting the general political equi-
librium, it appears to us that, for the sake of the
object itself which it is proposed to attain, we ought
to reserve to ourselves a freedom of examination
and discussion.

If her Britannic Majesty's G%vernment believes
it its duty to lay down, previous to the delibera-
tions of the congress and for that which concerns it,
the principle ofnon-intervention, we shall certainly
not think of contesting its right to trace out for
itself this or any othEr line of conduct. But we are
bound to claim for ourselves the latitude we accord
to others, and I shall not conceal from you, count,
that in our eyes we should be rather exposing our-
selves to the risk of complicating and impeding the
task assigned to the congress by laying down gene-
ral and absolute principles beforehand.
Besides, a reservation, such as the English cabinet
appears desirous of making in favour of the prin-
ciple of non-intervention, seems to us less necessary,
since, in a congress consisting of sovereign and in-
dependent states, the majority, however consider-
able it may be, can never impose its will on the
minority, and so the fre,.-3i.icussion rightly claimed
by Lord J. Russell for the whole of that assembly
belongs as a matter of perfect right to each of the
powers of which it consists.
It affords us pleasure then to hope, Monsieur le
Comte, that when the European Congress, called
upon to settle the questions raised by the state of
Italy, shall meet, mutual concessions of pretensions
which at the outset appear irreconcileable will lead
to an understandiig as to the means for re-esta-
blishing on permanent bases of order and prosperity
the Italian peoples, and that this object will be at-
tained without resorting to extremities, which no
one would regret more than ourselves. But what-
ever may be our opinions on this head, we are
bound to decline all previous engagement and to
reserve in favour of ourselves the same liberty that
we are the first to acknowledge as the right of
others.

V.
I beg your excellency to have the goodness to
read the present despatch to, and leave a copy of
it with, her Britannic Majesty's Principal Secre-
tary of State.
Receive, &e., (Signed) -VON SCIILEINITZ.