The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-14 00:00:00

at their cost of defeating any operations that they
might deem it expedient to originate.

But it was not sufficient to have the means of
defending the Crimea, or any other vulnerable
point on her territory. To carry out her views
she should be enabled to land a large body of
troops on any point abutting on the Euxine.
Hence the liberal (!) concession to the Steam-
packet Company, all the vessels whereof should
be built expressly for war purposes, although,
according to the letter of the Board, they were
for the present to remain unarmed. If the bait
had been swallowed, if she had got the vessels,
she would be in a position to convey many thou-
sand men to the Bosphorus before any interrup-
tion could take place. England would be once
more " too late." Before her ships of war
could enter the Dardanelles the city
would be in the possession of the Rus-
sians ; and, judging from the time required for
the capture of Sebastopol, it would take not merely
weeks or months to get them out. In fact, we
committed a grave oversight in consenting to
withdraw our fleet from the Black Sea. There
they could have done no harm. But, like the
wolves of the fable, the " withdrawal of the watch
dogs" was made a sine qua non. Russia defeated
in the field, triumphed in the Cabinet. She re-
paired all her losses by diplomacy, and nothing
now remains but closely to watch her manoeuvres,
and by unceasing vigilance to repair the grave
errors into which we were betrayed. Both
France and England should have maintained
naval squadrons in the Euxine. Since that is now
impossible, powerful fleets must be kept in the
vicinity, ready to act on the first intimation of
danger.

For many months the Main Drainage
of the Metropolis has been the chief subject of
discussion at the Metropolitan Board. During
this period there have been three plans before it
—the difference between them being equivalent
to that supposed to exist between tweedledum and
tweedledee ; and, if not all originating from one
mind, all put into shape by one hand. From
this fact, and the immensity of insane palaver of
which these plans have been made the occasion, some
might be tempted to suppose the Main Drainage
of the Metropolis involved only a scheme of paltry
importance, to which a parish vestry and an ordi-
nary engineer were quite equal. We need not
inform our readers such a notion has no founda-
tion in fact. Cionfeagedly the drainage question is
one of universal importance, involving an immense
outlay,
affecting the health and welfare of mil-
lions, and demanding the choicest resources of the
beat experience to be met with for its satisfactory
solution. They would not be surprised, there-
fore, to observe that the Commission of Engineers,
appointed by government, to whom not merely the
(Misting plans, but the general subject of metro-
politan drainage haa been referred, have advertised
for plans, ate.;
furnishing of in other words, thrown open the
a suitable plan to competition.
That they will approve of the course thus
promptly taken by the Commission we cannot
'doubt, seeing it is precisely that indicated by
common sense. The praise, however, they must
sword these gentlemen is, unfortunately, the con-
demnation of the Board, which ought to have
done the same thing at the outset of its career.
'Phe vivacious, recalcitrant, and most loquacious
majority must, we fancy, by this time be heartily
ashamed of themselves, and desirous to retire to
the privacy for which they are so much better
adapted. How strangely it will read in the
annals of the Board-room in future times, when
the Board is worthy of its imposing title and
serious responsibilities, that the first elected Board,
after many months' discussion, failed to hit on so
simple a plan ! The censorious will say missing it
was a proof of reluctance to hit it, while the more
humane will be not a little disposed to question
the sanity of its members, and attribute their
election to the Londoners of that day being taken
by surprise. It is really pitiful to think that a
body of men, many of whom in their private re-
lations, are distinguished for good sense and dis-
cretion, have made such a mess of it, and com-
pletely thrown away their ohanee of being
honourably associated with abOut the grandest
work of reform with ,which the caddies of London

—" tliat great city "—are ever likely to be called
en to undertake. How are we to account for it ?
A. good deal of the blame, we fancy, must be at-
tributed to the old select or parish vestry training
they have passed through in their younger days.
Institutions, especially corrupt ones, sometimes
hold in unwitting bondage the best-intentioned

While dealing with the Main Drainage Ques-
tion, we would call attention to the following
letter, extracted from this day's Times, the writer
of which presents in brief the arguments used by
The Sun, in favour of a thoroug:u scheme, and in
deprecation of anything short of it

"Sir,—The endless discussions on the drainage of
London are enough to sicken ns in every sense of the
word. In all the corporation speeches there are not ten
words to the paint or purpose. The best judgment of
Parliament, the best engineers of the country will be re-
quired to grapple with this subject ; else the result of
any movement will be sure failure and disaster. What
has to be done must be done in a way to be beyond
doubt of results at beginning, or middle, or end, and
with no regard to expenditure. Are we to spend mil-
lions on war and destruction, and hulud reds of thousands
on such abortions as the Thames Tunnel, and then to be
debating about saving a million or two in securing a
wholesome atmosphere to the greatest and wealthiest
city in the world 1.

"The half measure of laying our filth at our neigh-
hours' door about Erith, or any place so near, would, as
such an act ought to do, recoil upon themselves. Every
east wind would bring a pestilential air over London,
worse a thousandfold than come of the present plan of
getting the soil at once under water ; besides I doubt
your power of carrying your filth to any spot on the
banks of the Thames ; every pariah and township for
miles around would have their action against London for
a nuisance. When we think, too, that every vessel coming
up the Thames must pass through the pestilential stench,
one is utterly amazed at the thing being mooted at all.
"The work to be done is a great one. Do it partially,
and you will spend 2,000,0001. and find you will want
4,000,0001. to correct the mischief you have done. Be
Romans for once in sewers and aqueducts. Do some-
thing effective, and trust John Bull for tAe cost. Give
him for once something to pay for that is .not a blunder.
Continue your sowers to the sea and make your plan
grand and complete for ever. When Londzion is entirely
cleansed, the Mechi farmers will still find manure enough
and to spare.
" Half the diseases of our plants come of over-
manuring, and if your corporation carry out their dirty
notions of dealing in soil, and occupying any part of the
banks of the Thames in the deodorising process for the
benefit of field or garden, it will only end in our eating
poisonous food, in our breathing poisonous air in stench
and cholera.
" Jan. 13."

eg J. J.
These arguments we take to be irresistible, and
we are further gratified to find the preceding re-
marks which were yesterday in type, so nearly
identical in effect with those of the writer, of
whom, by the way, we have not the slightest
knowledge. In point of fact, the common sense
of the community is at last being awakened, and
we look for unmistakeable confirmation of the
correctness of our views on' this moat important
subject from every independent quarter.