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

THE SUN, LONDOIS, WEDNESDAY EVEA LNG, AUGITST 8, 1866.

provement was effected by carrying its intake up
the river to Lea bride beyond the tidal range.
The water was brought down an open canal by the
side of Hackney cut, and terminated in two large
reservoirs on the other side of the black Lea. This
canal and these reservoirs of about nine acres still
exist; they are marked in the most recent map by
Stanford as the " East London Waterworks canal"
and the " East London Waterworks reservoirs."
One of these reservoirs was recently emptied and was
filled again perhaps by springs or soakage. These
old reservoirs are not, it is said, used, the covered
reservoirs containing the only water fit for use ; but
the old reservoirs retain their old channels of commu-
nication with the pumping wells, and the company has
the power, in an emergency, to distribute the water
from the old reservoirs all over the region of the
cholera field. But this the company professes not to
do— and it could scarcely be the result of accident,
otherwise the diffusion of the waters of the old reser-
voirs over the area would afford a probable explana-
tion of the sudden outbreak in East London.

It is a notable circumstance that the parts north of
Victoria-park supplied by the East London Company
direct from their filter beds have not hitherto suf-
fered from cholera, notwithstanding contiguity to the
infected districts, more than other districts supplied
by other companies. This implies that the East
London water, as it leaves the filter beds, is as good
as any other water in London.

It is natural, as land is valuable in East London,
to inquire why a commercial company has for many
years retained some miles of a canal and nine acres
of reservoirs for no purpose ? Mr. Greaves replies
that the canal serves to carry off the wastes of the
filter beds, and that the company proposes to con-
vert one of the old ponds into a covered reservoir.
When this is done, and the other pond, which, we
are told, is of no use, is filled up, or has no longer
any connection with the pumping wells of the com-
pany, the public may well rest satisfied, until some
great general reform is effected in the water sup-
ply of London. In the interest of the public health
the country has a right to demand this security.

patients in the house. An entire ward has been set
apart for male patients suffering from the disease, and
they are under the care of Dr.o hampneys. The Whi te-
chapel district has been very severely visited, and
the extreme poverty of a portion of the population
has united with the pestilence to produce scenes of
the greatest misery.
Some cases of Asiatic cholera, which in a few in-
stances have proved fatal, have occurred in St.
Philip's and Redcliff Mead, two districts of Bristol,
in which sanitary reform is sadly needed. The Local
Board of Health and the guardians of the Bristol
and Clifton Unions are taking prompt measures to
stay the spread of the disease. In the few cases
where death has ensued the beds, bedclothing, and
clothes of the deceased have been destroyed and com-
pensation made, and the tenements have been white
washed. Altogether the steps taken for meeting and
staying the spread of cholera in Bristol are highly
creditable to the authorities of that city.

Execution at Stafford.

STAFFORD, Tuesday.

The last dread sentence of the law was carried
into effect at eight o'clock this morning, at Stafford,
un the body of William Collier, aged 35 years, a
small farmer, who resided at Johnston Eaves, near
Cheadle, in North Staffordshire, and who was
found guilty of the murder of a young gentleman
named Thomas Smith, the eldest son of a gentleman
of the same name, who resided on his own estate
at Whiston, at the last Stzffordshire Assizes. The
murdered gentleman was only 25 years of age, and
was much respected in the neighbourhood of his home.
Ile was known among the peasantry as the "young
squire." He lived with his father, who was the lord
of the manor, helping him to farm and manage the
large extent of land belonging to him. It will be re-
membered that the back portion of the deceased gen-
tleman's head was beaten in in a terrible manner,
apparently by some heavy blunt instrument, and
scattered about the grass near to the body were
picked up several pieces of the stock of a gun, two
gunlocks, and a broken trigger, with also a ramrod.
Subsequently Collier was observed by the wife of
one of Mr. Smith's servants to go in the direction of
a ditch in one of his fields, carrying something under
his arm, and from time to time casting furtive
glances on either side. This woman told her hus-
band of what she had seen, and he, suspecting that
all was not right, went to the mouth of the ditch,
and found the double barrel of a gun broken off at
the stock. This gun was identified as that belong-
ing to Collier, and, upon comparing with it the
trigger, locks, and ramrod found in the wood, they
were found to correspond exactly. Collier was
then arrested. A few days after his condemnation
he took farewell of his brother (who is a respectable
publican at Cheadle), and his wife and 7 children.
As may be imagined, the interview was most heart-
rending. Subsequently, however, the convict re-
covered in a great measure the composure which had
so characterised him. As he was a Catholic, he
was attended by the Rev. Canon O'Sullivan, the
recently appointed Catholic chaplain to the gaol.
It is understood that he confessed his crime to the
rev. gentleman. He also made a statement to the
chief warder of the gaol, in which he acknowledged
his crime and the justice of his sentence.
The crowd present at the execution this morning
was not so large as usual. The rain had poured
down nearly all night, and doubtless prevented many
persons in the potteries from undertaking a pedes-
trian journey to Stafford.
The hangman was Smith, of Dudley. The wretched
man had to go through the agony of being twice
suspended, for the rope, at first slipped from the
beam. When he was brought again to the drop the
spectators hooted and cried, " Shame." His con-
fession fully confirmed the evidence for the prosecu-
tion.