The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-28 00:00:00

AMENDMENT BILL.

The Earl of DERBY, in moving the second reading
of this bill, said that the bill was of considerable
importance, and as those who were aware of the t e
of the river would acknowledge, one of great urgency.
The bill was of that kind that it did not involve the ne-
cessity of entering into a discussion of the various
schemes which had been proposed for the purification of
the river. The first question to be considered was as to
the mode of raising the necessary funds for purifying the
Thames. It was said on the one hand that it was unfair
to the metropolis to call on it to bear alone the expense
of this work, and on the other it was conten,led that it
would be un air to the community at large that any por-
tion of the expense should be borne by the general pub-
lic. If Government contributed aid from from the public
funds for this woek in the metropolis he did not see how
they could refuse timiier aid to E iinburgh, Dublin, and
other large towns. He believed that works similar to
these which it was intended to apple to the metropolis
had been carried out on a similar scale in Leicester, and
he believed were about being carried out in Glasgow. It
did not seem to hiin that the work was beyond the re-
sources of a greet and wealthy metropolis like London.
If the principle was adopted that the metropolis shou,d
pay fur the work, it followed almost as a necesary car-
sequence that the contrel and direction of the works
should be entrusted to persons who had the confidence
of the metropolis itself, and as there existed a beard
elected by the ratepayers c f the metropolis it seemed to
the House of Commons that they should be the persons
to carry out the intentions of Parliament with regard to
the purification of the ricer. That board since its original
c nstituiion had not been very effective or operative,
but it must be said that the Metropolitan B tard of
Works had neither an absolute discretion nor the means
of carrying out the works—they and the Gevernment
authorities holding dtffsrent opir ions as to the best mode
ofeproceeling. Ho thought that it a board cf this kind
was constituted at all it was necessary in the first place
that they should be entrusted with sufficient funds for
effsc ing the purposes they had to perform, and in the
next place that, subjeet to the responsibility which they
owed to the ratepayers, they should be interfered with
as little as poss.,' le by any extraneous authority.
It was thought more wise not to encumber the board
wi h any limitation as to where the outfall was to take
place, but to leave the utmost possible latitude to the
board. There could be little doubt be believed, that the
nuisance of the river bad been aggravated by the opera-
tions on the sewers for sanitary purposes, which had
taken place last year. Those operations bad no doubt
improved the sewers of London, but by collecting all
the filth of the tnetrop-lis, ald pouring it into the river,
the river became a public nuisance. The Beard of Works
were by this bill coustitu ed the sole authority for execut-
ing the works for the purification of the river. It was
generally understood, though there was no express provi-
sion to that effect in toe bill, that the ntodus Pperandi
was to be by means of in.ercepting sewers, whereby the
sewage was nut to be allowed to to 1 into the river until it
had undergone the process of doodorisetion. It would be
most desirable if the two processes of deodorisation and
of preservieg the fertilising properties of the sewage
could be combined, and theattention of science ought to
be at once directed t r this subject, for it seemed an incre-
dible fact, that whilst they were purchasing and impart-
ing manures at great expense from distant countries,
they were poisoning and polluting the Thames by throw-
ing into it vast quantities r f manure, the value of which
could hardly be exaggerated. (Hear.) In order to enable
the board to carry out these great works provision was
made iu the bill for raising by a rate of 31. in the pound
on the various districts of the metropolis a sum of
3,000,0001. The bill proposed to a cerain extent, to
pledge the credit of the government, so as to enable the
board to borrow, on security of the rates, on inure ads
vantageeus terms than they would otherwise be ab'e to
do It also provided that the Exchequer Loan Commis-
sioners should be empowered to advance from time to
time, sums of money on security ~f the rates. These were
the simple provisions of the 1 ill as sent up from the other
house and they were of such a nature that he apprehended
it would be impossible for their lordships to introduce
any amendments, because the whole bill was one of a pe-
cuniary character, making pecuniary arrangements for
carrying out this great work. At the same terse he did
not suppose that their lordships would be disposed to
obstruct a work which all admitted to be necessary at
the present moment—a work which would be carried out
through the instrumentality of the Metropolitan Board,
under the control of popular opinion and the overseeing
of the ratepayers, and also under the control of the Go-
vernment, in regard to the execution of the works. It
must be admitted that this to a certain extent was an
experiment. But the Beard of Works had fully consi-
dered the question for two or three years ; they bad the
astdetance of very able engineers ; and they "Preeloed
confidence that by the plan which they intendec_tovaentpt
~
they should be enabled to restore the river, a
to some portion of that parity
which it possestsaed several
years ago, and which had been so lamentably interfered
with by the present system of sewage. He therefore
asked their lordships tiegive a second reading to this bill.
The Duke t f NEWCASTLE said that though the bill
did nut contain ary scheme, it practically adopted one,
by imposing the duty upon the Metro)), liters Board, who
had th it own scheme.
Without determining whether
their scheme or some other was the best, be was glad
that anything should be done ; for even a step in the
wrong direction would lead to something better. He
concurred in the propriety of the expense being thrown
en the metropolis; but as to the popular principle being
adopted, it was the very minimum of that principle.
The representation of the ratepayers by the Metropolitan
Board was the very minimum of representation, The
members were chosen by vestries, not by the ratepayers;
and there was a second and even a third election, by
which the number was reduced to 43. By this wears
the amount of responsibility to the ratepayers was Ex-
tremely small. Having conferred these large power-
on the board they would soon find it necessary to alter
the constitution of the body, so as to have a proper re-
prese 'station of the whole metropolis. One great vice
of the preseut board was its large number. He feareo
that a body of forty-three gentlemen would never arrive
at any satin factory conclusi n, and that they would con-
tinue to deserve the nick-name they bad gained—
"the Board of Words." He regretted that the bill (Ito
not contain some provision empowering the board to ap-
point 0 ummitteee of six or even three members. 1,. the
original bill Government reserved a right of inspection
and control ; but that provision bad been removed. Be
regretted to find that clauses had been introduced re-
serving ail the r ghts cf the conservators of the Thames,
thereby giving the sole power over the river to a boa)
representing a small portion of the metropolis. To,
Government bad rightly abandoned its own power
rats rfereece, but a contra Eked veto was now given to the
Lord Mayor aed C.trporation of Loudon. The Lord
Nlayor recently stated that he had long prayed that it
might fill that office when Lord Derby was Prime Mb
nieter—(a laugh)—but in the i e' ht of his piety he could
never have contemplated such extraordinary power,
being conferred on himself and colleagues. By the pro-
visions of the bill the corporation would have power t,
thwart everything that was done by the Metropolitan
Board. He hope I the Government would reconsider
those clauses.

Lord CRANWORTLI said that it would be e xtreme!,
or just to those living down tht, river that the Legislator
should, as it were, indicate the point at which the sewag •
of London should be discharw d into the river. The
it
habitants of Erith and other places found the nuisanc,
•uffic ently great already. There was a clause to the e ff,e•
that the board bhonld not create a nuisance, but lie feareo
that this would not be prevented by decdcritation,
..._.Earl GRANVILLE *AB _ tlakierStOc d to tv_thst the.