The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-15 00:00:00

THE QUEEN AT LOOl-1

GLASGOW, FRIDAY NIGHT.
The Queen, Prince Consort, and Princesses Alice
and Helena left Edinburgh at 10 this morning to
visit the Trossachs and Loch Katrine, and open the
new Glasgow Waterworks. The day was dull, with
frequent rain, and the beautiful scenery of the dis-
trict was half enveloped in the mountain mists,
but the Royal party nevertheless seemed greatly to
enjoy the visit. The ceremony of opening the
aqueduct which is to convey the water of Loch
Katrine to Glasgow, a distance of 37 miles, passed
off well in presence of a large concourse. Her
Majesty reached the tunnel upon the Loch a little
after two o'clock. She was accompanied by the
Duke of Newcastle, and was received by the Lord
Provost and magistrates of Glasgow, the Dukes of
Montrose and Atholl, the Earl of Mansfield, &c.
The Secretary to the Water Commission read an
address from the Corporation, to which the Queen
made the following reply :
" I accept with great satisfaction your loyal and
affectionate address, and thank you sincerely for
the expression of your attachment to my throne
and person, and for the cordial welcome with
which you have received me.
"It is with much gratification that I avail my-
self of this opportunity of inaugurating a work
which, both in its conception and its execution, re-
flects so much credit upon its promoters, and is
calculated to improve tho health and comfort of
the vast population which is rapidly 'increasing
round the great centre of manufacturing industry
in Scotland. Such a work is worthy of the spirit
of enterprise and the philanthropy of Glasgow,
and I trust that it will be blessed with com-
plete success. I desire that you will convey to
the great community which you represent my ear-
nest wishes for their continual prosperity and hap-
piness."

It rained very fiercely except during the per-
formance of the ceremony.
Her Majesty returned to Tlolyrood about seven
&clock.

Glasgow has hitherto 'drawn the greater portion
of its supply of water from the river Clyde, the
purity of which, never very remarkable, has lat-
terly become worse from being impregnated with
the drainage of a large mining population resident
upon its upper banks. The serious consequences
resulting from the use of impure water by the inha-
bitants were peculiarly perceptible in 1848 during
the prevalence of the cholera epidemic. At that
time it was remarked that the southern quarter of
the city, which had recently derived a supply of
pure water from the Brockburn stream, seven miles
south of Glasgow, was much less affected by the
disease than those quarters supplied by the Clyde ;
and the cause of this was clearly shown by eminent
medical authorities to be attributable to the supe-
rior quality of the water used by its inhabitants.
This and other circumstances led the Corporation
of Glasgow to take up the matter, and after some
years' active perseverance, during which two or
three Parliamentary contests were fought, a •bill
authorising the formation of the works now com-
pleted received the assent of the Legislature.
It was in the year 1806 that the original Clyde
Water Company was established. They drew their
supply from the river at Dalmarnock, about two
miles and a-half distant from the city, where engines
were erected to raise the water to the necessary level.
This was the only source of supply up to 1847,
when a new company undertook to convey water
from the Brockburn, a stream which had sufficient
elevation to dispense with the necessity of artificial
raising power, to Gorbals, the southern suburb of
Glasgow. This project was eminently successful;
but coMplaints of the impurity of the water sup-
plied to three-fourths of the city still continuing,
the Clyde Company, stirred into action by the fear
of competition, went to Parliament with a proposal
to bring water into the city from Loch Lubnaig.
Their project was professionally recommended by.
Mr. Rendell, of London, and Mr. Leslie, of Edin-
burgh, both of whom gave'engineering evidence in
its favour. The act was obtained, but from some
cause or other the works were not proceeded with.
The question was again revived in 1852, when the
Gorbals Company put forward a project for the
supply of the whole city from the Brockburn source.
This brought the Clyde Company into renewed ac-
tivity, and the Loch Lubnaig project was revived,
and a new bill preferred in place of the former act,
the powers of which had been allowed to expire.
The municipal authorities of Glasgow now
thought it time to interfere and prevent so impor-
tant a matter as the supply of water to their
densely-populated city being subject to the incon-
veniences arising from private squabbles between
competing companies. With this view, having
first consulted Mr. J. F. Bateman, an eminent
engineer, well acquainted with the requirements of
his native city, they determined to oppose
fi.taloesr olu,or the
Loth
Lubnaig project, and origioneahteK
conveyance of water from L
of supply which they contended had many advan-
tages over Loch Lubnaig
bill having been successfully The Clyde Company's
opposed, Mr. Bate-
man was instructed to complete his sur:eys.for the
Lohcihll Katrine project; andthe this having been done,
aCouncil of Glas-
gow in the session of 1853.4 for carrying out the
undertaking.
The promotersthe were however, met by
a fierce opposition from Board of Admiralty,
who contended that, by withdrawing the large
quantity of water proposed from Loch Katrine, the
navigation of the Forth would be injured, and
especially the well-known anchorage at St. Mar-
garet's Hope. This opposition deeated the bill,
but the bellies of Glasgow were not disheartened,
and, with full confidence in Mr. Bateman's calcula-
tions, they reqUested the two lamented engineers
whose deaths have caused universal regret—Mr.
Brunel and Mr. Robert Stephenson—to examine
the localities and report upon the scheme. Those
eminent men went over the ground early in 1855,
and made a joint report, in which they gave the
great weight of their united testimony in favour
of the Loch Katrine scheme, after careful compari-
son with various other projects put forward with
the same end in view. The opposition of the
Admiralty was shown to be absurd, and, armed
with this report, the bill was reintroduced into Par-
liament, and this time carried, though not without
much difficulty. One of its provisions obliged the
Corporation of Glasgow to purchase the vested
interest which the proprietors of the Clyde Com-
pany -held, estimated at nearly half-a-million of
ofs
the
ef n has
w
e
bmeoenneyre.qu'ilr'heids amount,flaorrgdeefrayingh
tase
works has been borrowed on the security of an un-
wcoesllt a
W
limited rate upon the houses and property within
the city.
The undertaking
is specially distinguished by
and beauty of the Highland
ltahkeesgrefart extentornw
hich the water is brought—
the excessive purity of the supply—the difficult
and rugged character of the monntainous country
through which the works for its conveyance have
been constructed—and the large volume of water,
no less than 50,000,000 gallons per day, which is
obtained. The lakes appropriated to the purposes
of the waterworks, and for the supply of the mill-
owners, fisheries, ane other interests on the rivers
from which water will be abstracted, are Loch
Katrine, eight or nine miles in length, with a sur-
face of 3,000 acres; Loch Venacher, four miles in
length, with an area of 900 acres; and Loch
Drunkie, with an area of about 150 acres ; having
altogether a water surface of upwards of 4,000
acres, and containing within the limits to which
they may be raised or lowered about 1,600,000,000
cubic feet of water. The drainage area of Loch
Katrine is 22,800 acres, and of Loch Venacher and
which
Loch Drunkie 23,000 acres, making a total
45,800 acres. On this the average falilitoftwi
rain ofis
between 70 and 80 inches per annum.
falls on the collecting ground of Loch Knatr
ini Katrine
about 80 inches on the average of five years' obser-
vations. If all the water which flows from the
rugged mountain sides into Loch Katrine were
simopppoluyndoefdB,
o,oitoo,wooouolder afford9o,ooo
oa regular daily
isitepdrovisideednbar gallons. The
'the° works which
sqlvithto 50,000,000 gal-
lons taovrea ghee levnh iecxhe
executed
the water by lout rain. It is ob-
tained masonry and
tthe outlet four feet lons per day for 120 day
sluice-gates
it down, if ne-
cessary,iat level,
above the ordi-
to 3 feet below that ordi-
nary summer level, and by drawing
depth in all. In like mann • t giving
7 feet in
for compensation to the • manner e. requisite storage
river Tothwhich
of a regular guaranteed qu • , consists
tained by raising Loch VeannatilitY per day, is ob-
i
above its ordinary summer level,es feet 8 inches
down 6 feet, giving 11 feet 8 inches and drawing it
raising Loch Drunkie 20 feet.
in all and by
outlets of the lakes are inter•st. The works at the
Provision is made for the dischargeing and important.
as for the daily regulated supply, of floods as well
the passage of salmon and other and for securing
constructed " salmon ladders." fish by properly
360 feet above the tide at Glasgow Loch Katrine is
which allows for the loss, of fall an elevation
of the water, and still secures a In
the conveyance
80 feet above the highest sum 'pressure of 70 or
cult of land
the city. The aqueduct from within
Glasgow is about 34 miles in 1 Loch Katrine to
I which consist of ridges of reek of efilgth, 10 or 11 of
de-
scription, forming the spurs of Bo the hardest
towers to 3,000 feet above the levele Lomond, which
Through these ridges, in a tolerably of the works.
tion, the aqueduct is carried •
straight three.
neling, the tunnels being feeteight
tprincipally by tun-
and having a fall of ten inches in in diameter,
the mile.
three deep and wide valleys the Across
by cast-iron pipes four feet. water is. conveyed
in diameter, with a fall
of five feet per mile, d
at the distance an
of about

26 " miles from Loch Katrine, near Mugdock
Castle, a largo reservoir of about 70 acres in ex-
tent, and containing 500,000,000 gallons of water,
has been constructed. From this reservoir, the
surface of which is 311 feet above the sea, the
water is taken to the city by two lines of
cast-iron pipes, each 3 feet in diameter, one
being about 7, and the other 8 miles in length.
Of the 26 miles which lie between Loch Katrine
and the service reservoir, 13 miles are tunnelling,
31 miles are iron piping, and the remainder, where
the ground has been cut open, is an arched aque-
duct of eight feet in diameter, having the same in-
clination as the tunnels. Where the ground has
been excavated it is filled in again over the aque-
duct, which is covered throughout, and the surface
restored to its original condition. There are in the
whole work 70 distinct tunnels, upon which 44 ver-
tical shafts have been sunk for facilitating and ex-
pediting the completion of the work. The first
tunnel commences immediately upon the aqueduct
leaving Loch Katrine. It is 2,325 yards in length,
GOO feet below the summit of the hill, and has been
worked in addition to the open ends by 12 shafts,
five of whic'l are nearly 500 feet deep. This tun-
nel is in gneiss and mica slate. The last tunnel is
at the southern extremity of the aqueduct, just
before it enters the service reservoir. It is 2,650
yards in length, almost wholly through whinstone,
at a depth of 250 feet below the summit of the hill.
Besides these, which are the two longest tunnels,
there are, at intermediate places, others of 700, 800,
1,100, and 1,400 yards in length. The rock tun-
nelled through was in most parts of the most ob-
durate description. For several miles along the side
of Loch Chon, where the work passed through a
succession of ridges of mica slate largely mixed with
quartz veins, the progress did not exceed three lineal
yards in a month, although the work was carried on
day and night. In the Loch Katrine tunnel, and
generally in the mica slate, the ordinary average pro-
gress was about five yards in a month. In drilling the
holes for blasting the rock with gunpowder, a fresh
drill or chisel was required for every inch in depth
upon the average. About 60 drills were constantly
in use at each face, and the cost of gunpowder alone
was from 275. to 30s. per lineal yard. The charac-
ter of the rock, however (as had been clearly fore-
seen when the work was determined upon), was
such that no water occurred in any of the tunnels
or workings so long as they were in the mica slate
and clay slate, and there was therefore none of the
inconvenience, delay, and cost frtm the presence of
water which usually attend extensive tunnelling.
When the works left the slate rocks and entered
the old red sandstone, tunnelling was avoided
as much as possible from lea: of water ; but
even in this formation it was met with in much
less quantity than it had been anticipated. Not
to speak of smaller constructions, there are 25
important iron and masonry aqueducts over rivers
and ravines, some 60 and 80 feet in height, with
arches of 30 feet, 50 and 90 feet in span ; and in
addition to about 46 miles of new pipes within the
city for distributing the water to the inhabitants,
there are about 20 miles of large cast-iron pipes of
three feet, three feet six inches, and four feet in
diameter for conveying the water to the city.
The number of people employed, exclusive of
iron founders and mechanics, has generally been
about 3,00 a • and for the greater part of these
huts and roads and all other accommodation had
to be provided—the country for the most part
being of the wildest and most inaccessible description.
The accuracy with which the works have been
executed is most creditable to the resident engineers
and inspectors, among whom should especially be
mentioned Mr. George H. Hill, Mr. James Gale,
and Mr. Alfred Moore. The difference between the
levels taken for Parliamentary purposes and those
subsequently taken when the works were set out for
construction, was only 1-50th part of a foot, or
about of an inch in the 26 miles between Loch
Katrine and the Mugdock Reservoir ; and so truly
have the tunnels been driven, that the junctions
can only be distinguished by the different directions
of the drill holes. The works have been completed
for the conveyance of water to the city within three
years and a half of the time they were first com-
menced, and within the time originally contem-
plated, and at a total engineering cost of about
£630,000, being about 10 per cent. beyond the
Parliamentary estimate, after allowing for addi-
tional works.

TDB QUEEN'S RETURN FROM
BALMORAL.

_
On Thursday, at 9 a.m., the Queen, accompanied
by the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales; Prince
Arthur, and the Princesses Alice, Helena, and
Louisa, left Balmoral for the South. The attend-
ants on the Royal family included Lady Churchill,
the Hon. Emily Hope, Major-General Grey, Col.
Ponsonby, Col. Bruce, and Major Teesdale. The
Duke of Newcastle accompanied her Majesty as Se-
cretary of State in attendance. The weather was
most auspicious and promising, and continued beau-
tiful the whole day. The Royal party posted to
trainßan c 1
bnaeriy, n g andd i
.a
w thencenby
wo proceededengines, bgya railway,gaily
h decorated.te
Aberdeen was reachea at 1 o'clock, and Stonehaven,
where lunch was provined at the station, at 1 35.
After a stoppage of half an hour the Royal party
resumed their journey, and arrived at Perth' at 45,
and at Edinburgh punctually at the hour fixed in
the programme, 6 24. At Aberdeen, Stonehaven,
Perth,gtirling, and other points on the routeguards
of honour from the depot battalion at Aberdeen and
Glasgow awaited her Majesty, and the platforms
were thronged with the nobility and gentry of the
neighbourhood and the local magistrates. Although
the shades of evening were rapidly deepening be-
fore her Majesty's arrival at Edinburgh the attend-
ance of the inhabitants was almost as large as on
any former occasion. The route from St.-Marga-
ret's Station to Holyrood Palace, nearly a mile in
length, was lined by thlachments of the 13th Light
Dragoons, the Royal Artillery, and the West York
Rifles, backed the whole way and on both aides of
the road by a pretty broad margin of eager spec-
tators. Among. the noblemen and gentlemen
awaiting her Majesty at the station were the Duke
of Buccleuch, Viscount Melville, commanding the
Forces in North Britain, with Staff officers Colonel
M'Cleverty and Captain Jones, A.D.C. ; Captain
D'Eyncourt, of her Majesty's ship Edinburgh; the
Sheriff of Mid-Lothian, the Lord Provost of Edin-
burgh, Colonel Pitzmeyer, It.A., the Directors of
the North British Railway, &c..
On the stoppage of the train. her Majesty and
the Prince Consort stepped out of the Royal carriage,
and after a cordial greeting to Lord Melville and
the Duke of Buccleuch, ascended the staircase, fol-
lowed immediately. by the Prince of Wales, the
Princess Alice, and the junior members of the Royal
dea by
Family. Her Majesty, as well as all the members
of the Royal Family, appeared, so far as could be
fudged
a passing glance, to be in excellent health
and spirits ; and the Queen and the Princess Alice
wore shawls of Royal Stuart tartan. The baud of
the 13th Light Dragoons struck up the Queen's
Anthem as the Royal Family entered a number of
close carriages and drove through the park to Holy-
rood, while a Royal salute boomed from the Castle
guns. A guard of honour of the West York Rifles
Was mounted in front of the palace, and presented
arms as her Majesty approached, while the Royal
Anthem was played by the band of the same regi-
ment. The constables of the Abbey of Holyrood
and the Society of High Constables of Edinburgh
were drawn up at the entrance, where her Majesty
was again received by the Duke of Buccleuch, Vis-
count Melville, the Sheriff, the Lord Provost, Col.
M'Cleverty, Capt. Jones, &e., who had preceded the
Royal cortege, and by Mr. Rutherford, deputy-
keeper of Holyrood, Mr. Matheson, of her Majesty's
Works ; Mr. W. B.• Hay, Bailie .af Holyrood, &c.
The Royal dinner party was, we believe, confined
to the Royal Family, with members of her Majesty's
suite and those of his Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales.
Her Majesty and the Prince Consort left Edin-
burgh yesterday morning at 10 o'clock for Loch
Latrine, where her Majesty will formally open the
waterworks constructed there by the corporation of
Glasgow. Her Majesty will return to Edinburgh
at 6 p.m.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, at-
tended by Major Teesdale and his suite, left at the
same hour (10 o'clock) fur Buckingham Palace by
the North British Railway express train.
This (Saturday) morning, her Majesty, the
Prince Consort, and the Royal Family are to take
their departure from St. Margaret's Station for the
south, at nine o'clock. The military, in addition to
the Edinburgh Volunteer Rifle Regiment, will be
drawn up in the park, under the command of
Major Davidson, and will present arms on the
approach of the Royal cortege.
The Royal train, on leaving St. Margaret's, will
proceed to the Hayniarket Station of the Edinburgh
and Glasgow Railway, and thence along the re-
cently opened junction line, connecting the Edin-
burgh and Glasgow with the Caledonian Railway,
by which it will proceed to Carlisle en route for
Penrhyn Castle, where her Majesty will remain
till Monday.

NEWSTEAD ABBEY AND ESTATE.--it is reported
that the venerable and classic pile at Newstcad, the resi-
dence of the late Colonel-Wildman, together with the estate,
exceeding 3,000 acres in extent, shortly be brought to
the hammer in one lot. The late lamented owner of New-
stead Purchased the estate in 1818 for D-1,000, and since
then very large sums of money have been expended in
improving it, so that independent of the great increase
which has taken place in the value of landed property
during the last few years, there is every reason to expect
that it will fetch a very long price. The connection of Lord
Byron with this char ming rural retreat, will also, no doubt,
act as an additional attraction to purchasers, and cause the
biddings to be of the most spirited character. It is said that
the late Col. Wildman has left the whole of his real and
personal property to his widow for life, with remainder to
his brothers,—Xottingliam Journal,