The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-15 00:00:00

U~

extenso.

•

iii 7-7 Z
46 \I

PRICE 4•
D• STAMPED, SD.

and the heart to act upon
are we have got the spi;rii
them. You know in the old times, when religion
unfortunately was of a bigoled
character, that to
hang up a heretic and to burn him alive was called
an act of faith; an auto da fe a different charac-
ter is that which we are ready to celebrate. Let us
celebrate that great act of faith which consists in
believing that the people of this country, however
educated, the more and the more educated, will
contribute to the honour of the country and to the
safety of the empire. This is, indeed, a solemn
faith—it is a religious faith, because it is felt in the
enduring pOwers and in the diivne experience of
the human mind. It is an act of faith which we
may say perhaps former religions were not capable
of ; we find •it is altogether new to the times in
which we live to say we are ready to go on with
knowledge—that knowledge shall be its own guide ,
its own pioneer, and its own reward ; and that w e
will trust to knowledge and truth wherever they
may lead us.' A poet has said—
" This is a land of settled government,
A land of just and old renown •
Where freedom broadens slowly down,
From precedent to precedent."
Let us carry on the matter still further from
these precedents of ancient times. Let us esta-
blish the future political and social conation of
England upon this principle, namely, that 'we will
not, as far 'asis in our power, permit one single
child to be born, male or female, throughout the
-breadth of the empire, who has not the, means given
to him to develop the intelligence with which God
has endowed him, to increase by all the means in
our power the development of that intelligence ;
and in that faith I believe we shall ensure the con-
tinuance of the prosperity of this nation, and pre-
serve it from that decadence which has fallen upon
others, and which, if we fail in this dut,-. will
haps fall on us also. (Applause.)
Mr. W. COWPETt also spoke in support of 'the
resolution, and observed that his right hon. friend
Sir J.. Pakington had alluded to the certain amount
of failure which had occurred in mechanics' insti-
tutes ; perhaps the reason why they had not suc-
ceeded so well as they ought was that they had
been arranged on a rather pedantic footing. They
had been too exclusively scholastic, and there had
not been in theM that agreeable opportunity or
lounging and being comfortable which the upper
classes found in their clubs. Some people had a
particular aversion to tobacco, and thought it was
connected in some way with idle, desultory, and. ill-
conditioned habits, but he knew one of the greatest
novelists of the day (Sir E. L. Buiwer) who some-
how or other never can write without a pipe in his
mouth. (Laughter.) It might be that if Sir E.
Lytton Bulwer could not write without smoking,
the ordinary mechanic found it more easy to read
if he had a pipe in his mouth. He would allow
unintoxicating drinks to be sold. •
After some remarks from Sir J. K. SHUTTLR••
WORTH, the resolution was carried.

Mr. W. BROWN, M.P., moved a vote of thrnks to
Lord Brougha,m, -which was seconded by the Bishop
of PENNSYLVANIA, which was carried by acclama-
tion, and gracefully acknowledged by the
.noble
and learned lord. - •

A vote of thanks, to the noblemen and. gentlemen
visitors, was next carried, , which Lord J. Russell
acknowledged, and the meeting, then bloke

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE
PROMOTION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE.

LIVERPOOL, OCT. 14.
The several sections re-assembled this morning.
In the Department of Public Health, the chic
interest was in the reading of one paper by Miss
Florence Nightingale on hospital instruction, in
which she pointed out the necessity of selecting a
healthy locality remote from towns, and of paying
due attention to the influence of light and space.
She recommended, too, that the wards should be
larger in size if smaller in number than they were
in existing military hospitals, and that the beds
should not be placed against dead walls.
Mr. RAWLINSON expressed his concurrence in
the views of the writer.
Dr. FENN referred to the importance of encou-
raging female aid in hospitals, observing that,
where males only were the attendants and managers,
the institutions became dirty and unwholesome.
Some further discussion took place, in the course
of which Miss Nightingale was highly compli-
mented, both upon her paper and her exertions in
alleviating the sufferings of our sick and wounded
solfliers during the Crimean war.

It was understood that Miss Nightingale had
requested that she might have an opportunity of
correcting her paper before it was published. in

Mr. CHADWICK read an able paper "On the
Application of Sanitary Science to the Protection
of the Indian Army."

Dr. MILROY ga‘-'e testimony from his own ex-
perience as to the extensive preventibility of the
diseases ascribed purely to tropical climates.
Mr. BRACEBRIDGE also stated illustrative in-
stances.

Mr. P. H. HOLLAND in a special paper, answered
the objections to water-closets, and proved that
health, cleanliness, and economy were consulted by
their use.

He began by explaining that he thought it neces-
sary to refute again the oft-refuted fallacies urged
against water-closets, because last session in this

year the corporation of the important, and supposed
intelligent town of Manchester had applied to Par-
liament to (virtually) prohibit the introduction of
these essential requisities of comfort, health, and
decency. The possible annoyance of collections of
the filthiest of all filth close to dwellings, often
under the very bedroom windows, was described as
giving off offensive and poisonous emanations, caus-
ing many hundred unnecessary deaths, not less, Mr.
Holland believes, than 1,000 a year. The absurdity
of the objectioit that it was undesirable on sanitary
grounds to introduce water-closets into the dwell-
.

ing-houses of the poor was exposed by the simple
statement that no such thing was proposed, or at
all probable, but only to convert the existing con-
veniences into water-closets, which, it is evident,
would be a most important improvement. Mr.
Holland denied that their use, occasioned anythinn.

like the waste of water Mr. Hawkesley had saia
they did, namely, 60 or 80 gallons a day ; it was
simply incredible to every one who had ever used
a closet, and pointed out a way by which the
waste might be reduced, so as never to exceed
10 gallons a day, or less ,if necessary or de-
sirable. To the objection that the introduction
of water-closets would cause obstruction of the
sewer her rclille:1 that., ..,uch evil had everywhere been
prophesied, but had never been experienced ; on
the contrary, by increasing the constancy of the
flow in rivers, and preventing the deposit in them
ever becoming dry and hard, they diminished the
chances of stoppage. Mr. Holland next proved
that the additional pollution of rivers in such a state
as that of Manchester would be an insignificant
evil compared with that produced by keeping the
filth close to the houses, and that the cost of remov-
ing the ashes, rendered useless as a manure if the
night soil be washed away, could only be a small
additional expense, and would probably be none at
all. Mr. Holland concluded by saying that the
expense of these extra poison pits was far heavier
than the largest possible cost of their removal. We
will not, however (he added), rest the case on that
issue. The health, decency, comfort, and safety of
the poor (who are the mass of the population) hung
widowhood, the
the privations and sorrows of
great
on the decision. Their lives, the pains of sickness,
dangers of early orphanage, the agony of bereave-
ment,
c continuance,
ortin profit-
able,lanee,
are not to be put in competition. with. a few
The abolition of these
pence more or less of rate.
my., believed the difficulty was a
"‘adm admitted abboemdinonateir st,o"
people were
open
crime
eaedbniing the lives, embittering.%aN-lilloeNt
allow
whether
costlytheir
existence, and
eofFortehme morality anl
and
tya os
sin
obuerfoprceo
Gploed,
.was a
practical one. The habits of the
againstNir. I'lT
theE 'TITE,
use of wiant ecrr
ocllvods
ee
at s
and the closets.
illstpe
privies. (No, no.) His experience taught him
ahaensobserved that in Ossory St. Mary
neighbourhoods,werelikelyto
Bdtehstae,o become exceedingly costly.
cesspool in the water-closet
gwere thate insteadout
Mr.
ahtcpeootilfftrbDo lowereepnlma e 1 i
beneath
tk:
it,
—and they could not have a ruder population than
a Devonshire
population—the syphon and soil pipes
were generally applied, and the
closets in repair, and cleansing
cost
out stoopf kpeaegpeisn, gltvhaes
not more than 9d. per house, while there, as else-
where, the substitution of the water-closet for the
open privy had lengthened the average duration of
human life by five years.
A gentleman from Manchester concurred with
Mr. 'rite, that in certain neighbourhoods the con-
sequence of introducing water-closets would bis,
that they would be constantly out of repair, and
the soilage remaining in the pipes and drains would
produce fever.

Mr. MARSHALL held, on the contrary, that it
would be productive of health. In Ely the Public
Health Act had been in operation for four or five
years, and such a thing as a stoppage was un-

NEWSPAPER

~....M.
_
!,pipP4t,Ao /.i'',_ •
‘,..,.,.., _.--,1......,,,0 ,ez
known. There was no difficulty in stipiCip. lig-i--3b-""Nte..4, A`''-
- -
with water; and as to pollution of theltver;ll le%
Was nothing of the kind. The sewage drainage
p.i-sed through drain pities, but before it reached
the river it was subjected to a process of upward
filtration through sand and charcoal, which ren-
dered it perfectly innocuous before it reached its
outfall. ft was altogether a mistake to suppose -
that the sewage when it reached the river poisoned
the fish. The best and largest fish were always to
be found at the mouth of the sewer. (A laugh.)
He denied, too, that the habits of the lower orders
-were against- the substitution of the water-closet _
for the privy, and asserted that, as far as his- expe-
rience went, they were most grateful for it where-
ever it had been carried out. The result in Ely
lad been to reduce the mortality from 26 to 17.
Mr. ROBINSON said 50,000 water-closets now in
-use had been introduced under his superintendence,
and he had never known instances of failure ex-
cept in eases where the governing body declared
their opinion that they would not answer. When •
the governing body hid faith in the change it in, .
variably succeeded, and there was not the slightest
difficulty. He spoke of the common earthenware
soil pipe, with syphon trap, which were far more
effective than the more expensive closets with the
D trap. He denied the statement that the soil
pipe and syphon could not be safely introduced in
closets inside as well as outside the house. In pri-
sons they were used in cells 10 feet by 7, and never
got out of repair, nor was there the.sliihtest nui-
sance arising from them. lie referred also to the
beneficial effects in Carlisle, Aln wick,
_and else-
where
from the improvements in this respect which
had been introduced..

Dr. FARR considered the statement of Mr. Marshall
so important that he thought it would be wise to
send a deputation to Ely to inquire into the facts
and report upon them to the towns of Lancashire.
The saving of life in Liverpool resulting from sani-
tary improvements was 3,000 a year.
Several gentlemen of Liverpool and other towns
bore testimony to the grateful feelings with which
the poorer classes regarded the substitution of
water-closets for open privies.

I. lI_TRISi'ItTIDENCE AND AMENDMENT OF THE LAW.
This department 'met in the Nisi Prius Court,
und.er tho liwpsideney of Lord Bro-_‘.glia.m ; the Lord •
who .was to have presided,
.not.; having yet arrived.
It had previously been arranged that the depart-
nic nt should be occupied in the first instance with
a. discussion on Bankruptcy Law Amendment.
Mr. G. W. HASTINGS, in- opening the proceed-
ings, said that the special committee on -Lie Bank-
ruptcy and Insolvency Laws had met on the pre-
vious day, in St. George's-hall, and had framed
certain resolutions to be presented to the section,
which he should move at the end of his remarks.
Having recounted the proceedings of the committee
which had been appointed last year, and of which
he had been the chairman, Mr. Hastings went on
to allude to the expenses of the present bank-
ruptcy- courts, which were very much greater than
should attach to any court. Above all, a court of
bankruptcy should never be an expensive court,
because it was instituted for the purpose of divid-
ing among the creditors all the property that cOuld
be laid hold of, regard being had to justice and to
the efficiency of the court. Many statements had
been made as to the expense in bankruptcy, but it
was impossible to give art accurate account. Unfor-
tunately, there was no actual and methodical record--
.of the Qxpenses in bankruptcy ; but certain state-
molts had been made which might be taken as an
approximation to the truth, and these showed that:
the expenses in bankruptcy pressed most severely on
small estates. Two important questions which sug-
gested themselves were—first, the question of coin-
liensation to officers under the old act ; and,
secondly, the salaries to the present officers under
the recent system of bankruptcy—in both cases
the officers being paid out of the funds of the
• court. He thought that there was no reason
why the present creditors in bankruptcy should
pay for annuities to officers under the old.
Acts. The bill proposed- to provide for the trans-
fer of all those annuities to the Consolidated Fund,
and he hoped that the department would express
its opinion that such a provision should be inserted
in any bill on the subject of bankruptcy brought
in by Government. (Hear.) As to salaries, the
committee proposed that they should be defrayed
out of the public funds, inasmuch as the Bankruptcy
Court, like all other courts, was a court of adminis-
tration and a court of public justice. Another evil
in the present state of the bankruptcy law was the
small control that creditors were allowed to have
over the mercantile portion of the bankruptcy, lie
was not desirous that the creditors should interfere
in the judicial portion of the bankruptcy, which
should be kept distinctly in the hands of a highly-
Raid and competent judge, but that the mercantile
part of the bankruptcy should be, as far as pos-
sible, in the hands of those interested in the dis-
tribution of the estate—the creditors._ Those per-
sons were the most likely to look after the estate
efficienctly, and to have the estate divided cheaply,
rapidly, and honestly; and if they did not look after
their own interests the consequences must recoil on
their heads in the loss of the dividend which would
otherwise accrue to them. The committee made a
feature of that in their bill, and drew a wide dis-
tinction between the judicial and mercantile ele-
ment of the administration. They proposed that
en the first meeting of creditors after, the adjudi-
cation had been filed the creditors should proceed
to the election of a creditors' assignee, who should
manage the whole mercantile portion of the bank-
rupt's estate, who might be the official assignee,
and should be the sole assignee of the bankruptcy. •
The committee proposed that the mode of the pay 7
ment of the dividend, which had been complained
of as dilatory and unsatisfactory, should be improved
and that they should endeavour to diminish the ex-
penses in court by decreasing the meetings of credi-
tors. The committee felt that there was a great want
of adequate provision for the local administration
of bankrupt law. To meet this it was proposed that
after the adjudication of bankruptcy in t he court upon
the day of election of the ercditors' assignee, the credi-
tors should proceed to elect whether they would
take the case into the, County Court, or proceed in
the Bankruptcy Court. (Hear, hear.) Having
Stated that the bill proposed to abolish the distinc-
tion between the Insolvency and Bankruptcy -
Courts, Mr. Hastings said he could not see why pro-
fessional men and traders should be dealt with dis-
tinctly, no such distinction being recognised in
Scotland. After explaining some other provisions
of the bill, as framed by the committee (which will
be best understood by the resolutions afterwards
moved by Mr. Hastings), and indicating the essen-
tial points wherein it differed from that introduced
by the Lord Chancellor, he concluded by. submit-
tmg the first resolution, which was in these
terms:—
" That in the opinion of this department, any measure
for the amendment of the bankrupt law ought to provide
the following reforms :—First, the transfer of the compen-
sations and salaries now charged on the estates under adju-
dication to the Consolidated Fund. Second, a diminution
of the entire cost of the court, b 7 a reform of the mode of •
administering justice therein. Third, a consolidation of the
statute laws relating to bankruptcy and insolvency, under a
single jurisdiction ; the abolition of the distinction in the
administration of the estates of insolvent traders andonon,
trade-c ; and the winding-up in bankruptcy of
elatrliticfsdto
ceased insolvents. Fourth, to give all due
evooulurtn.tari:ifstehtt7lteomaesnstismiphrttoeviidhiengprofeocrothotheir
.regclosa-tusteria,tiaosnfiiinr
toas pproosisiibdele,gretoatrlsoecif settlementcities for tng
the aosdf,:c:(
administration
justice in bankruptcy."
Mr. E. HEATH said that he had presided over
the conference of the mercantile representatives at •
Birmingham when the 24 resolutions on which the
bill of the committee was based were adopted, and
he was bound to say that the committee of 9, who
had prepared the bill, appeared to have most ad-
mirably and faithfully performed their duty. He
had therefore great pleasure in seconding the reso-
lution.
Mr. RAYNER, secretary to the Huddersfield Cham-
ber of Commerce, supported the resolution, and ex-
pressed his conviction that the bill of the commit-
tee would be infinitely preferred by the commercial
community at large to that of the lord Chancellor.
Indeed, he thought that the , latter might: be dis-
missed from their consideration altogether.
Mr. G. G. Lloyd, -as one of the representatives of
the Birmingham Chamber of Comnierce,kr. Whit-
well, as the representative of the Bristol Chamber
of Commerce, Mr. Lupton, President of the Leeds
Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Darlington, of the •
Bradford Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Bissington, of
the Trade Protection Society of the West Itiding,
and Mr. Lillyman, President of the Liverpool Guar-
dian Society for the Protection of Trade, on behalf
of the several societies with which they are con-
nected, expressed their entire approval of the Bill
of the committee.
After some further discussion, shared in by Mr.
RYLAND, of Birmingham, Mr. JOWETT, of Leeds,
and others,
achionjiti
Lord
•tedßoniol trrtaGllbALdssaitd that
batnotitiwrigasenouord- general,lsye
or more preposterous than the pen
paving the official assignee, theicTosnsetqumenod of
paving of f
,umanednt
at
tdeertizdr
by- which
tlv officeras that
Nothing could be
erd
luvpon the.
times to not more than amounted 5 1.0
Oot e."e0m0oll.
ar y be paid
smhooureldi.leal
estate. The official assignee
being
fixed
more absurd than that, or
maximum beyond
by salary and fee,
should not be be entitled to anything, and a
which he ought not to be allowed
mwhinicimhuhme
to ga. below
Ihe resolution was then carried unanimously, as
were also the three following, which were moved
by Mr. HASTINGS, and seconded respectively by
Mr. livrioN, Mr. DoWlillio (Vice-President of the •

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