The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-29 00:00:00

OPENING OF A NEW D_RINIONG

FOUNTAIN BY EARL RUSSELL.

The ceremony of opening a drinking fountain
erected by the Metropolitan Free Drinking Foun-
tain Association, by Earl Russell, took place yes-
terday morning on Tower-hill. The noble lord
arrived shortly before one o'clock, and was received
in the office of the Master of the Mint, by Mr. H.
J. Hewitt, the secretary of the association, Profes-
sor Graham (the Master of the Mint), Mr. Samuel
Gurney, M.P., Hon. Mr. Byng, Dr. Lancaster, Dr.
Little (medical officer of the local board) Mr. Wake•
field (hon. secretary of the association), and other
gentlemen.
On arriving at the fountain, Mr. Gurney handed
to his lordship a silver cup filled with water.
Earl RUSSELL, having heartily partaken of the
water, said that it gave him great pleasure to be
present at the opening of a fountain for the benefit
of the inhabitants of that district—(cheers)—and to
deliver it over to the representative of the district
board of works. He was not going to detain them
with a long speech, but he would make a few ob-
servations. He was not going to expatiate upon
them, and still less upon the growth of large towns
where the working man could find good wages,
those who had lived in this country felt the want
of many necessities, one of which was the want of
healthy air, and another was the want of pure,
wholesome, and refreshing water. (Cheers.) One
gentleman seeing the want experienced by the in-
sufficient supply of pure water in the great town
of Liverpool—he referred to Mr. Merry—was
the first to establish free drinking fountains, when
it was found that many thousands of persons rushed
to these fountains. The question was next taken
up in the metropolis by Mr. Gurney, whose liber-
ality had been of vast benefit to the working classes
He (Mr. Gurney) had been instrumental in found-
ing the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain
Association, at the first meeting of which he (Earl
Russell) was present. This association had been
enabled to establish, by the aid and co-operation of
private individuals, eighty-five fountains ; at one of
these fountains (the Royal Exchange) it was esti-
mated that the number of persons who visited it
'amounted to 6,000 daily. If they only took half
that number they must see at once what great num-
bers of people must take advantage of these drink-
ing fountains. It was found that the fountains
were of great use in the houses of the poor people,
where pure water could not be readily obtained,
and those who had to cook, &c., experienced great
advantages in sending to the fountain for water
(cheers) seeing that it was very much purer than
other water, and that it was kept pure by filters
and machinery. These drinking fountains, he con-
sidered, ought to be an object of care on the part of
the municipal boards. They ought to establish
fountains if it would tend to the health and benefit
of the poorer classes; but this was not the case.
What had been erected were established by the
liberality of private persons. This being the case,
it was the duty of every person to support these
fountain associations. As he said before, 85 foun-
tains had been erected by the association, which
was a great number, considering the short time
it had been established; but when the number
of inhabitants of the metropolis—the two millions
of people—was taken into consideration, the num-
ber of fountains (85) established, was a mere trifle.
Every means ought to be taken to increase the
funds of the society in order to enable them to in-
crease the number of fountains. In conclusion, the
noble lord said he had great pleasure in contributing
towards the erection of a fountain, and he had still
greater pleasure in handing it over to the members
of the district board (the Tower Hamlets District
Board of Works), for the use of the inhabitants of
amidst
taerdgl
large
ibdtahes
basin
bas-reliefsercheers.
the district. He hoped that it would be kept in
good repair, and as the fountain was a pretty strong
mounted uponof
th
et two
as
tteerp-sl
iiya;
one, that it would continue to be a benefit to the
inhabitants for many years. His lordship con-
cludedvutbhapa
essoeesnh,,
surplus
eodr
andtupefountaineuotrasai
plinth
isnt et
irwhinsfagrotetfnihr composed
thesecsa surmounted
ap same
gft
haoan beautifulpolished
hth e pa granite
ve pavement.
en
metalt
trench is worked around the seetchoanured
tsptreeepvwteaont
pavement. The fountain The
fwroiTnm d
wfrhoimchbtlhowe
from the designs of,
and erected by, Wills
Brothers,of the Euston-road.
The gift of the f •
fountain having been acknow-
ledged in suitable terms by the members of the
district board, addresses were delivered by Mr.
Gurney and others.
limpid
The proceedings terminated with three hearty
streams s
ntpei.rnr:egolvi water-lions,
cheers for the noble lord at the head of the Foreign-
office.

THE STORMY PETREL,—This bird possesses a
singular amount of oil, and has the power of throwing it
from the mouth when terrified. It is said that this oil,
which is very pure, is collected largely in St. Kilda by
catching the bird on its egg, where it sits very closely,
and making it disgorge the oil into a vessel. The bird is
then released, and another taken. The inhabitants of the
Faroe Islands make a curious use of this bird when young
and very fat, by simply drawing a wick through the
hbcatlfe
and lighting it at the end which projects
beak. This unique lamp will burn for a corLaide
period—.lotitkciv's ,Naturalaaorp thralls
ra_
_e