The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-19 00:00:00

THE STATE OF THE THAMES.

Mr. R. D. MANGLES said that when he asked a
question a few nights ago on this subject, the noble lord
(Lord J. Manner-) had told him the matter ro,ted with
the Metropolitan Board of Works ; when that body was
first established, he, no doubt in common with others,
paid the greatest attention to their proceedings, but after
a time he found they were of so futile and miserable a
character, that he ceased to take the least interest in
them. The public papers had even ceased to report
them, and left them to their own devices. He was in•
formed that the plan this board had as yet devised to
abate the existing nuisance was to discharge the whole
sewage of London into the middle of the Thames, instead
of at the side.. As a proof of the practical wisdom of
this body they were at that moment sitting in discharge
of their functions—(a laugh)—for their meeting that
morning the following notice of motion had been given
by Mr. Wright :—" To call attention to the polluted
state of the river, and to move that the board will, on a
day t) be appointed, proc,ed to inspect it in a steamer to
be hired for the purpose." When the whole community
was nearly poisoned these gentlemen had only got as far
as talking of inspection. If they went he hoped they would
take a sufficient quantity of brandy with them. It was a
great mistake to place a matter of such consequence in the
h +ads of a municipal body. It was an imperial question,
and they ought not to be ashamed to retrace their step..
This was the greatest and the richest metropolis in the
world, and was it possible they c )uld not succeed in free-
ing themselves from their fi!th 1 (A laugh.) It was no
joking matter ; if cholera was to
dreadful.
t in thisre
ful.ho t
weather, h the mortality would something
When he was a young man the Thames salmon was
celebrated, but now there was not a salmon in the
river, and all the fish were dying. They had lately
erected a noble mansion for the first gentleman in
Englind, the right hon. gentleman in the chair. It
was now nearly finished, but would any hon. gentleman
think it right pr decent to ask him to reside in such an
attno,ph, re 1 (Hear, hear). No gentleman would place
his worst enemy there. They had spent three hundred
millions on railroads, and was it to be said that they
could not spend four or five on the river He begged
to ask the Chief Commissioner of Works what steps he
had taken, or proposed to take, to preserve the health
of the members of the two houses of parliament from
being destroyed by the [resent pestilential condition of
the river Tham, 0,

Alderman CUBITT, as f a member of the Bard of
Works, wished to offer a
ti.ni of them. The fault wasLw observations in viridica-
with parliament- (Hear.)
Parliament invented
a scheme appointed the Board of whichwo:ksimpracticable,
was imacticable,
ha
plan
which
wa9
a tog
oceadri.oyneitirotult:
scheme The
was prepared
good. T
Works,plian whom
n vw
the act ; he naturally shrunk from the responsibility,
and referred the matter to two
ported against it, and the Chief Commissioner
the plan. The board then directed its e submitted to the Chief
s
Commissioner of a site
en t
back
a by
ck
engineers.eg They re•
neers to pre-
pare anothtr plan, which was submitted to
responsibi-
lity the Chief
i
C.,nimiseioner. He again shrank from thi t
lity of a veto, and referred the pl,n to three engineers.
They considered that as the metropolis was sure to in-
crease, the proposed culverts should be big enough to
carry of the sewage off a city three tioaei as large. The
report of the engineers was sent back to the board.
The estimate for the work was five or six millions, but
the board were informed that it would be nearer ten Or
eleven, which the boarl would have to raise by a rate
on the metropolitan district. With regard to the plin
proposed by parliament, he bad very great doubts
as to its success. If they were to send the SO millions
of gallons of water Jr-awn frem the Thames nest , f
London, soele 30 miles down, he feared the effect on
the river in dry weather. The que,tion then came, what
was to be done ? He thought they ought to dni,,e
some plan by which every gall )u of water would be re-
turned to the river as clear as it came fr o.n it. He had
no doubt such a pan c,uld be found. It would be fair
enough to blame the Beard cf Works for not having de-
vised a plan if they bad been authorised to consider the
„..

ques!ion. at all. Within the last few weeks a committee
bad been sitting cn the subject. A plan of Mr. Golds-
worthy Gurney had been laid before them which he (Nlr.
Cubitt) felt convinced would be a groat auxiliary to any
scheme, although it would not do alone.
Mr. WARREN would trespass on the house for a few
minutes Re had given notice of bis intention to call the
attention of the house to the inability of the Metropli-
tan Board of Works, in respect of preventing the sewage
)1 the metropolis from flowing or passing into the River
Thames in or near to the metropolis, but the hon. mem-
ber for Guildford had anticipated him. The right hon.
baronet opposite (Sir B. Hall) had carried through Par-
, liament the bill for the establishment of the Board of