The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-17 00:00:00

late upon their merits. It cannot be. denied that
BISMARCK is a consummate actor, and that
he shows zeal. and discernment worthy of a
better cause, but of what avail are these qualities
to the progress of the people whom he rules over?
They are forced to ply their trades in his opinion,
and assist him in the execution of his schemes
whether they are willing or not so to do. What,
then, is the use of drawing up programmes like this
Electoral Law, when we know very well that no-
thing will be carried into effect that the Government
does not approve of ? Thus we find that the " right
of election is to be exercised by personally de-
positing an unsigned voting paper in a box to
be provided for the purpose?" but will not the effect
of this concession be really invalidated by the course
pursued towards the Deputies when they are elected.
We know from past experience that whenever any
questions of vital importance arose which called for
a definite expression of opinion from the Chamber
of Deputies, that the Ministers were sure to de-
nounce those who acted contrary to their wishes, and
were not sparing of their abuse in replying to them.
It seems but lost labour to allow every Prussian
who has completed his twenty-fifth year to
vote, and to introduce vote by ballot, when tyranny
and despotism are so rampant in high places, and
when no real expression of opinion on the part of
the people is allowed to beigiven. Will the Govern-
ment that prevented the festival at Cologne, and
abruptly dissolved the Chambers, that carried on
the administration of the country without the
Budget being passed, and trampled on the statutes
of the Constitution, now return from the errors of
their ways and become the generous dispensers of
a just policy ? No such transformation is,
we fear, in store for Prussia, and the people
must reap what they have sown in permitting
an unscrupulous Minister to have his own way to so
great an extent, and allowing themselves to be led
away by the illusion of military glory so far that
they have lost sight of their real interests at home
and their integrity abroad. The period of the
Danish war was the turning point in Prussian free-
dom, and they suffered that opportunity to be lost,
so intent were they upon seeking for an aggrandise-
ment of territory, and of manifesting their impor-
tance in the sight of the nations of Europe, a deci-
sion that is likely to cost them dear.

The importance of a good supply of pure water
to the inhabitants of a great city is becoming more
and more generally recognised. Unfortunately, in
spite of our sanitary and scientific knowledge, the
population of the metropolis has a good deal to com-
plain of in this respect, and until we give up the
systematic poisoning of our rivers by sewage we
cannot hope to escape the evil consequences of
drinking unwholesome water. We are glad to find
that the Liverpool authorities are taking active
steps for the better supply of water to the town.
Liverpool has long enjoyed pre-eminence among
our ports and cities, but it can, unfortunately, also

claim a rate of mortaility considerably higher than
that of any other great town in the kingdom. It
is, of course, extremely populous, and many cir-
cumstances tend to deteriorate the public health,
but when once the inhabitants have fairly made up
their minds that something can be done to diminish
the mortality, and have addressed themselves
in earnest to the improvement of their
sanitary condition, we shall, no doubt,
see the death rate of Liverpool rapidly
decline. Pure air it may be difficult for the resi-
dents in the poorer and more crowded parts of the
city to obtain, though something might be done in
this respect, but pure water has been so abundantly
proved to be of primary importance in a sanitary
point of view that the question of a good and ample
water supply may well engage the attention of all
interested in the health of the city. The visitation
of cholera, though happily not severe in Liverpool,
has been sufficiently marked to excite considerable
apprehension, and to arouse men from their habitual

indifference on sanitary matters ; and, accordingly,
we find that the water supply of Liverpool has of
late been anxiously discussed. There have been
two very adventurous projects submitted to the
Town Council, either of which would entail con-
siderable outlay and exertion. The one is to draw
a supply from the Cumberland Lakes, the other
from the Bala Lake in North Wales. The engineer
to the Corporation has reported in favour of the
Bala Lake, and the estimated expenditure is
about a million and a half. A special meeting
of the Town Council was held a day or two ago
to consider the subject, when an animated discus-
sion took place on the merits of the respective
schemes. The supply of water to Liverpool is at
present obtained from the Rivington works, and
from wells sunk in the red sandstone rock under-

lying the town. It was contended by the opponents
of the new scheme that the Rivington works
had already cost £2,000,000, and that the supply
obtained from them, with the assistance of the
wells, was quite sufficient for the wants of
the town. LiVerpool, they urged, had already
spent much more for its water supply than
Manchester and Glasgow, and quite as much in
proportion as London. This argument, however, is a
very unsound one, since the question is not what
amount each town or city should spend to
keep pace with others, but what expenditure
the necessities of its population may require.
It is obvious that some towns from their geogra-
phical position may have to spend a great deal
more in obtaining pure water than others, though
we should certainly imagine that good water was
to be had nearer Liverpool than the Welsh or Cum-
berland Lakes. Liverpool is rich enough to afford
whatever expenditure is necessary, and the money
could not be better laid out than in securing a good
water supply for the increasing population of the
city, which now numbers half-a-million, and in
eight or ten years will, according to the present rate
of increase, be considerably larger. Besides this,
the gradual extension of the town will tend to
deteriorate the existing wells, so that it will not do
to depend too much upon them. The conclu.
sor e o f
supply before proceeding
sion at which the Council ultimately arrived
was that engineers of talent and experience should
be employed to
investigateto the
the consideration s
of
local u
larger and more distant operations.
01 may very well be
The example of Liverpool
followed in London, and it would be well if com-

petent persons were employed
in
water
investigating
the whole question of our metropolitan
supply.
It has been proposed to sink wells belowwitthhe
theLo cer-
tainty London
clay, at a great cost, no doubt,
but
of obtaining pure water. It has also
been suggested to bring water from a very great
distance to London. The whole question is of
such great importance that it deserves to be fully
discussed and examined in every possible aspect.
We do not need the experience of an epidemic to
show us that the habitual consumption of impure
water is a strong predisposing cause of disease, and
that we can never get a healthy population
in districts in which the water supply is impure
or insufficient. The resource which medical men
at present advise is for poor persons to boil the
water they drink ; but it speaks very tadly for our
metropolitan authorities if they are willing to rest
satisfied with such a state of things. We boast
not unreasonably of the skill of our engineers and ,