The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-29 00:00:00

THE STATE OF THE THAMES.

A resolution was unanimously agreed to approving of
the steps taken by the chairman relative to the use of
lime at the mouth of the Westminster-bridge sewer.-
Mr. DIFFANGEB moved that, during the present offen-
sive condition of the Thames, the chairman be requested
to make the best practical arrangement for the deodoriz-
ation of the contents of the principal sowers, and to re
port the cost thereof from time to time to the board.
A desultory discussion ensued, in the course el which
a difference of opinion was expressed relative to the use
of lime and the manner in which it should he used ; and
to the Boards abdicating its functions to the chair man
Marry of the speakers expressing their readiness to reset
two or three liraes a a eck, or oftener,if necessary, to eon
eider v. hat shculd be done under the circumstances.
The motion was ultimately withdrae n and another
subztituted, authorising the engineer to consider the
question, and report the best practicable means of de-
oderising the contents of the principal sewers, at the
ordinary meeting of the Board on next Friday
week. Consequently things will remain in the pre-
sent abominable state for ten days longer without
temporary means being employed for mitigating the
nuisance complained of.

Mr. lIENRY LOWAIAN TAYLOR moved the following
resolution :

"That the resolution of the Board of the 2nd June
instant, adjourning the debate as to the adoption of so
much of the report of Messrs. Bidder, Hawksley and
Bazalgette, as relates to the high and middle level sewers
on the North side of the Thames, and so far as it relates
to the high and level sowers ou the South side, until the
first Wednesday in October next, be rescinded."
His reasons for adopting this course was that the present
aspect of the question totally differed from that which it
resented when the resolution was passed. He thought
that those members of the board who had given their
assent to the resolution on a former occasion should now

vote for his motion. The present Chief Commissioner

bad shown during the time he had been in t Ticef the
greatest ability and tact, and he trusted that he would
occupy the position he at present occupied—(sear, bear.)
—as he far preferred his views to those of the late Chief
Cummissioncr, the member for Marylebone.
Mr. DIFFANGER seconded the motion.
After a few observations the resolution was adapted,
the numbers being 30 for the rescinding, and 5 against
it.

Mr. LESLIE then rose and proposed " That the Board
reject the report cf Meesre. Bidder, Hawkesley, and
Bazelgette, on account of the engineering absurdities it
proposed." Tue hon. member then ridiculed the con-
tents of the report, and contended that the whole was
impracticable and totally inadequate to effect the
object intended.
The motion fell to the ground for want of a seconder.
Mr. WRIGHT then brought for ward his motion, viz :
" That the engineer having prepared a plan and esti-
mate for the main drainage, in accordance with the re-
commendations in the report of Messrs. Bidder, Hawk-
sley, and Bazelgette, which plan contains several alter-
native=, that the plan with the alternatives following be
adopted :
" 1. The engineers having given the board the
option of two schemes for the western district—first,
carrying the western sewage into the general intercept-
ing system ; and, second, deodorizing the western
sewage at its junction with the Thames.
" That the last alternative be adopted.
" 2. The eugineere having reeonosnenned that the low
level sewer upon the north side should be carried in a
Thames embankment between Westminster and London
bridges, to avoid the settlement of and damage to pro-
perty iu the Strand, Fteet-strete, &c.
" That the Board is willing to pay for such part of
a Thames embankment so required in suph proportion a-
the drainage scheme may be fairly eebited with, or to
undertake the construction of the embankment of such
part of the river for drainage and other purposes upon a
contribution being given by Government.
" 3. That the delivery of the sewage at the points
named shall not be deemed a final measure ; but when
the main drainage is completed, the sewage shall be de-
livered into the Thames direct, or deodor:zed before de-
livery, or used for irrigation and sewage manure, as EX
perience may determine.
" 4. That this plan and estimate be submitted to Her
Majesty's Chief Commissioner for approval by the chair-
man, members of the Board, engineer, and clerk, and
that his attention be at the same time directed to the
letter of this Board, of the 17th day of January, 1857, to
Her Majesty's then Chancellor of the Exchequer, setting
forth grounds justifying the expectation that the
Government wilt be prepared to assist the Board is
obtaining the command of the funds required fur their
operations.' "
The plan having been embodied by one of the most
eminent practical men, he thought it the duty of the
board to adopt it. The points of delivery should remain
an cpen ques:ion. If one was made near Gravesend in
five years from the present time, they would be peti-
tioning the board for the removal of the nuisance, and
therefore it was beet that it should for the present re-
main undecided. The expenditure of five or six millions
of money wee a serious responsibility, and he thought
they ought to be very careful before they Caine to any
final conclusion on the point. His great object now was

to show the public that the board intended doing
something, an 3 that being so, his resolution in efft.ct
adopted the plan and estimateq, leaving the details fin
further consideration.
CAIIPMAEL t,econded the motion.

Aldermau CIIBITT objected to the plan on the ground
that it was most t xpe nsive, and that it would be it very long

time before it could be carried out. If it was determined
to deodorize the sewage, he thought it could be done if,
Lor,don without taking the sewage a long distance to
effect that object.
Mr. DOULTON agreed with the hon. mcmher who had
just sat down, and he therefore moved the following
amendment :

"That from the evidence at present in the pos-
session of the Board, it is questionable w bother a
plan, based upon the recommendation of Messrs.
Bidder, Hawk-ley, and Bazalgette, would completely
and satit.fActorily effect the purification of the
Thames, and the drainage of the low level district,

1,,,',144 •.:1r4.;?, ...riot]. and PnV.l ati tXoeri
ment as the conceutration woolu cf tub censer,
and its discharge at two points within the tidal range of
the metropol s, it is the duty of this board to aseerTairi
its probable e ifeet upon the public health, and to prevent
the diszlarge of and odorized sewage within that
limit. That it is farther the duty of this
board to protect the interests of their constituen
by preventing the infliction of an enormous and uncer-
tain amount of taxation upon the unaided resources of
the present metropolitan ratepayers. That this board,
being informed teat the present offensive oondion of the
Thames is likely to be injurious to the public health,
is anxiously desirous of applying some immediate
remedy. That no benefit can be derived by
the metrppolis from any plan based upon the
report of Mes,rs. Bidder, Hawstey, and Bazalgette, for
a period of at least five year,,, while their recommenda-
tion that the upper and middle level sew, rs shoal
be first executed would tend to et fry the purification of
the river to a yet longer period. 'l'hat the deodorisatioi
f the sewage of towns has "been demonstrated to be
both safe and prac(icable, leaving nothing to be de-
sired in a sanitary point of view, while the principle
is one adadeting of simultaneous application a; several
points within a reanonaLl, period, and would immediately
remove the threatened injury to the public health. That
steps bo immediately taken for the erection of the nece:,-
sary apparatus upon one or more of the principal sewers
discharging in the vicinity of the New Houses of Pal
liametet."

II the rlan was adopted it would be fire yer.rs from the
present time h, fore it was c completed. It was true
that some amount of relief might be fe!t in two cr
three years ; but if the Tnamt.s continue 1 to get
worse they would be in a desperate state by that time.
It was said that steps were being taken to purify the
sewage, hut be thought if they warn to go on spending
1,500/. per week in pouriug lime down the 'ewer open-
ing, the public would so:m get tired of money
for such a purpose. (Bear.)
Mr. Watts; seconded the amendment.

Mr. BINNETr said it wa.ii his opinion that no general
plan of sewage would be successful which did not em-
brace intetcepting sewers. The nuisance could there be
ca.tr:ed away to a spot where it could be safirly deposited,
for any attempt to purify theTimmes while they continued
to pour all the impurities of London into it tuu••t alto•
titther fail. lie thought the board ought not to sepa-
rate to-day without coming to soma deficito result as to
whether the board intended or not to carry out the
plans of the engineer. The xpen,;e, be had been in •
funned, would be abut 2,300,0D0/., which was to bs
spread over 40 yearir, and consequently the urn yearly
to be ccl ect6d would arcGuat to so small a sum
that he did net think the rati.palers would have the
slightest oljeotion to the ci-;nti ibution.

Mr. Omit deprecated any further del ly. Five y€ars
bad already been frittered away in usdess talk, and ;t
was now high time action should begin.
After some further E:cusslon the board dirided, whtn
there appeared,

For the amendment
Avi,n.t it
Mdority agaiust the arneoCrnent —l3
Mr. EF_CICETT moved another amendment to the tthet
that the Board had cot yet come to any definite conciu•
slan:vrith respect to the sewerage of the mstrepli,.

24

The amendment was put and lost.
Mr. Alderman CUBITT then moved au an-indolent to

toe effect thati be referred to the engineer to erguire
into the feasibility of constructing deoderizing works at
the mouths of each of the 40 outlets of the existing

sewers.
This amendment was also lost.
A division on the original question—the adoption o f
the engineer's report—was then taken, when there
appeared :
For the original motion
Against it 8
Majority . —ls

The report of Mr. BA ;Ig«, tte was then adopted.
Thu board shortly afterwards adjourned.

LITERATURE.

History of the Life of Arthur Duke of Wellington ;
from the French of M. Brialmont, with emenda-
tions and additions by the Rev. G, R. Gleig,
M.A. In three volumes. Vol. I. and 11.
Longman.
The work before us is something of a literary
curiosity, possessing al especial attract:on for the
historical student, and the unbiassed seeker for the
tiuth on both sides. The age it treats of has long
since become a part of history. The great men
who wielded the sword, or thundered in the senate,
have long since bid farewell to the battle-field and
the siege,:er the fierse rivalry of political contests.
But though another generation may criticise with
calmness the actions and principles of its prede-
cessor, the feeling of nationality must unconsciously
intervene, and colour the views of English, French,
Spanish, or Prussian, as they trace the part played
by their own country in the war of nation's.
Though every generous spirit will look with the
same admiration on the charge of the French
cavalry and the resistance of thelnglieh squares, on
the defence of St. Sebastian and the retreat of
Corunna, a really fair and correct account of
the general plans and conduct of the campaigns
will be far more difficult to ob'.aie, than an impartial
tribute to the valour that ennobles courage,
the heroism that conquers defeat. It is in such
a case that a work, "compiled by one who claims
kindred neither with the victors nor with the
vanquished," .has an especial value. M. Brialmont,
captain on the staff of the Belgian army, naturally
familiar with military questions from his position,
has evidently devoted to the completion of his
history much time, labour, and iesearch. In some
respects his work is limited in its interest by the
fact of its being almost entirely a military history,
but this feature will heighten its attractions to those
who regard the subject in a military point of view.
The careful details of the relative positions of the
combatants in every engagement, the facilities or
impediments which the nature of the ground offered,
the plan of the attack, its strength or weakness, the
oversights, the petty negligences which turned the
scale, the abilities of the rival commanders, the
jealousies and misunderstandings that interfered,
all are carefully chronicled and fully examined—
the opinions of great military authorities being
sometimes cited. Maps and plans of all the
campaigns are given, which will greatly assist the
reader's comprehension of the relative positions of
the belligerents. It will be remembered that the
work before us was iisued in the original French a
short time since. -It is now presented to the
English public in a more accessible form under the
auspices of the Rev. Mr. Gleig, Chaplain-General
to the Forces, already known as an essayist and
military critic. There was a time, he tells us,
when the idea of becoming a biographer of the
Duke haunted hiin. He mentioned it to the Duke
himself. But on his justly objecting that the time
had not come when such a memoir could be pub-
lished with due, regard to the feelings and
reputation of others, Mr. Gleig abandoned the
project. Although the subsequent appearance of
the duke's despatches have in some degree altered
the circumstances, the time has not yet arrived, in
Mr. Gleig's opinion, when a full and complete
biography of the great soldier can with propriety,
and fitting respect for the living and the dead, be
given to the public. On the appearance of M.
Brialmont's history, it was proposed to him to
translate it, and endeavour to add to its interest.
This task, after some hesitation, he undertook, and
has acquitted himself of it with credit. It has been,
he tells Its, easy to follow the duke's military career
with M. Brialmones assistance, but, in tracing
his civil and political life, the historian gives little
help, and consequently the, translator has contented
himself for the present with narrating the events
of his military life nearly in the words of the Bel-
gian biographer. The other volume demands
from him so much more time and care, that
, he has judged it best to avail himself of the natural
division in the life of the great duke, and publish
the earlier portion of the work by itself. Few will
be disrosed to deny that this arrangement was
judicious, as it presents the military history in a
complete form, and neither division will suffer from
being read alone. Mr. Gleig has seldom had occa-
sion to differ frein M. Brialmont, the chief subject
of hi remonstrance being the charse!er of the
.British soldier, which is unfaitly represented by
M. Brialmont, who judged only from the duke's
despatches, in which, with characteristic decision,
tie censures every breach of discipline, and iu
which, according to Mr. Gleig, he otsen expressed
himself more strongly than he felt. The difficul-
ties with which he had to contend are strongly
painted by M. Brialmont, especially in the con-
duct-of the Peninsular war, earned on in that
country, in which, according to Henry IV.,
"large arinir.s are always starved, and small armies
always beaten." His summary of the results of
the Peninsular war is interesting:—
" It has been calculated that the war in the Peninsula
coat England upwards of a hundred millions sterling, ex-
clusive of the large subsidies which she furnished to the
Spanish and Portuguese Governments. It is right, how-
ever, in crder to rogues these sacrifices to their proper
value, that we shoul,i balance against them the successive
repayments of advances in treasure made upon letters of
exchange, in goods received from America, or in bills upon
the public treasuries of Peru and Mexico, which for the
most part were faithfully paid. We must likewise take
into account the many openings which the war created to
English industry anal commerce, both in America and the
Peninsula, which, if the Spaniards had not risen against
Napoleon, would have had no existence. Be this, how-
ever, as it may, it is certain that England never made so
great an effort upon the Continent. Hor troops fought
nine pitched battles, besides numerous combats; all
honourahle for them, and almost all ending in favour of
the Spanish cause. They captured four important places,
and undertook the siege of several others. They killed,
wotinfle,i, anti ffirt.lo p• i,,,,,p,,,, ,tquit, '209,0'0 rreuehmen,
and left upon different fields of battle, 40,000 of their
comrades. Undeniable proofs these of their heroism, per-
severance, and endurance.
" The English fleet disquieted the enemy by continual
descents upon his coasts; and yet, notwithstandiug these.
sacrifices, Great Britain was still able to supply the wants
of the Portuguese army, of which the organisation and
discipline were effected entirely by her officers. As to the
armies of Spain, Wellington was obliged to furnish to them
provisions, arms, ammunition, and everything else, 'ea
often as he desired to bring them into play. This was
especially the case in the campaigns of 1812, 1813, and
lel', during which alone the national troops obtained any
UWll4lll'O of success."
rho chief attraction of the work, no doubt, erists
in its fair and meritorious impartiality—au impar-
tilily which gives praise to both sides--which can
appreciate the magnificence of Napoleon's designs
no less than the steady opposition which baffled
them, and which, regardless of popular opinion,
often censures men and measures that have been
eluded, and praises those whom the fickleness of
public favour has condemned. A keen and search-
tug investigation into the excuses or defences put
Forward by partisans does not suffer false pretences
or elaborate arguments to escape. Whether all
M. Blialtnont'e plans and criticisms would be of
equal value on toe field of battle as on the library
bible, must be left for military strategists to de-
cide, but there can be little doubt that he has pro-
duced a valuable contribution to biographical lite-
rature, and has acquitted himself of an arduous
and elaborate undo taking without depreciating the
[writs of the dead, or wounding the national sensi-
bilities of the living.

.... ;.......

Day by Day at Luckhow. By Mrs. Case, widow of

Cel. Case, 32d Regiment. Bentley.
This volume, as may be inferred from its title, is
another of the tally records of the sufferings and the
heroism Which characterised the in otracted siege
of Luckeow. The authoress is one of those whom
that terrible singe deprived of her nearest relative,
and her records p. ssecs a mournful iuteres'. They
were written, like most of the other diaries which
have been publitbed, for the perusal of friends in
England, who would naturally be desirous of know-
ing the full par iculars and minu e details which
the pressure of anxiety and lapse of time might
very probably cause to be forotten. These friends,
when they had perused them, very naturally sug-
gested to ttie writer that so few journals had sur-
vived the siege and the wreck, that any particulars
would be rein with great interest by the relatives
of tht.se who had shared iu the dangers and dt
fence. With some reluctance she Fgteed, and
those whom death or eircumstanc a have pie vented
from receiving the desired infe!ligetice from their
friends, will be interested to find their names or
actions chronicled by at other. There is not much
that is striking in the work itstlf; but the cit cum-
stances give it a peculiar attraction, and the uni-
versal sympathy and admiration felt for the besieged
in Luckeow has not yet abated sufficiently to de-
prive it of its charm, nor have the records been so
numerous that another journal should not be wel-
comed by the public.

ANNIVEU.SABY OF BUB COUONATION.
Yet-1 day
big the -twettieth tionivernify of her Ms:
jesty's coronation, it was obstrved with the usual do
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