The Sun.
London, England, 1867-02-21 00:00:00

The Water Supply of London.

At the weekly meeting of the Society of Arts, held
last evening, Lord R. Montagu presiding, Mr. T.
Beggs read a lengthy and int7resting paper on
"The Water Supply of London as it affects the in-
terests of consumers." He said we must not confine
our considerations on the subject to those of the
health, comfort, and decency of the people ; there
were other reasons fur demanding an improved sup-
ply
of water, viz., the requirements for public pur-
poses. Regarding the important instance of fires,
there were at present in the metropolitan district
nearly 500,000 houses. The discipline and manage-
ment of the fire brigade were excellent, and an en-
gine could be despatched from any of their offices in
less than five minutes. But there was an inherent
defect in the system for which the fire brigade
was in no way responsible—thelength of time which
must elapse before the engine reached the edifice on
fire. In Manchester, where fire-cocks were employed,
a hose and jet could be attached to one of these ad-
mirable instruments in about the same time as was
required to start a fire-engine from one of the Lon-
donin stations ; that was to say, the connection of the
hose and jet to the fire-plug did not on the average
take more than three minutes. One half of the pro-
Why should
not London have a constant supply as well as towns
p systeme r t losty
o f fire-cocks byr e
-firecks sinLondontr might be saved if a
introduced.
were
like Nottingham, Norwich, and IVolverhampton ?
It was said that a constant, which meant an unli-
mited, supply could not be sustained, from the ex-
cessive waste that would ensue, and that all the
available resources at command would be exhausted
under a process going on nightandday. The answer
to that was, that the rate of waste where a constant
supply had been afforded was much less than in those
where an intermittent system prevailed. A number
of schemes to remedy the existing defects had been
suggested. The most practicable plan, although the
most expensive, was that which proposed that a suf-
ficient supply, since the present was not adequate to
our wants, should be obtained from the lakes of
Cumberland, for it could not be got at less distance.
The £25,000,000 which wasasked for the completion
of the necessary works would be a wise expenditure,
and the interest of the money would be less in
amount than the annual loss arising from an imper-
fect water supply like that now afforded. The ac-
cusations against the existing companies were then
answered in detail, and the paper proceeded to say
that the quality of the water given to the inhabi-
tants of London would bear comparison with that
of many of the towns where the constantsupply:sys-
tern prevailed. The privations of the poor of the
metropolis in regard to water did not arise so much
from deficiency in quantity as from waste. The
quantity consumed in London daily was 108,000,000
gallons, and of that immense consumption it might
be safely said that two-thirds out were wasted. By
saving one-half of the estimated waste there would
remain a daily surplus supply of 54,000,000 gallons
to meet the wants of an increasing population ; that
is, if we took the consumption at 18 gallons per head,
which was more than what is delivered in many of
our large manufacturing towns. Having suggested
several methods by which the waste might be cur-
tailed, the paper went on to ask in whose hands the
powers of administration in the matter ought to be
lodged. The government of a commission similar
to that which existed in Paris was not to be recom-
mended, for though it was efficacious in many re-
spects, it was commercially a failure. With regard
to vesting the authority in the Metropolitan Board,
it should be remembered that the body could not be
looked upon as a permanent institution. From the
manner of its constitution, it was irrespensible, and
judging from its antecedents, it could not be recog-
nised as a power into whose bands the administra-
tion of the water supply might safely be deposited.
What we required was the extension of the Muni-
cipal Act to the metropolis—to make every Parlia-
mentary borough a corporation, with a central body
for purposes of general government. Then we could
more profitably contract with the present companies
for the water required for all public purposes, and
such bodies elected by the ratepayers would be able
to protect the interest of all classes, by seeing that
the arrangements entered into for an efficient water
supply were properly and fully carried out. After
the reading of the paper along discussiox took place
on the question raised, and the meeting adjourned
shortly before 10 o'clock.

WAR TROPHIES. A Japanese metal cannon,
weighing 5i tons, and a mortar, weighing 22 cwt., have
arrived at the Gunwharf, Portsmouth, from Woolwich,
"a present from her Majesty to the borough of Ports-
mouth." A proper sit© is being prepared for mounting
these valuable trophies of war on the Esplanade at south-
boa.