The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-19 00:00:00

CLEANLINESS fN THIS.StfiEETS

OF THE METROPOLIS.
Yesterday a Deputation from the Committee for pro-
moting the greatest attainable cleanliness in the public
thoroughfares, - Courts, and alleys ")f the metropolis,
waited upon the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, upon the
subject of calling tr meeting in the City in furtherance of
the great purposes for which the noblemen and gentle-
men, of whom the Committee is formed, have frequent!),
assembled at the West-end of the town.

Amongst the members of the Deputation, we per-
ceived Lord Viscount Rdeelagh, Sir James Hamilton,
Bart., Doctor Holt Yates, Mr. Charles Cochrane, Mr.
Holmes, Mr. DixOn, -Mr. J. E. Panter, Doctor J. B.
Thompson, Doctor Bromit, Mr. Mieart, Mr. J. S. Buck-
ingham, Mr. Robert Harvey, Mr. O'Callaghan, &c. &c.
The LORD MAYOR having in the most courteous man-
ner recaived the Deputation,
Mr. C. COCHRANE stated ;hat the object of the deputa-
tion in waiting upon his Lordship was to read to him the
substance -of resolutions which had been passed at a
meeting at the Hanover-square. Rooms, relative to the
immediate employment of the able-bodied poor, in the
hope that he would:assist by his powerful co-operation in
accomplishing an object calculated to do the most impor-
tant service to the physical and moral condition of the
public. Mr. Cochrane then referred to the leading facts
connected with and in favour of keeping the streets free
from mud and dust, according to an 'experiment which
had been most successfully tried in Regent-street and
Oxford-street, and expressed the persuasion of the Coin.
mittee, that, as his Lordship's efforts had already con-
siderably improved the streets of London as to cleanli-
ness, he would most readily aid in a great plan for more
completely carrying out the intention he had expressed
at the commencement of his mayoralty. The cleanliness
of the thoroughfares, would, it was needless to say, lead
to the moral, healthful, and as the Bishop of London
had stated, to the spiritual improvement .of the people.
The experience the Committee had had convinced them
that the most `effective way of keeping the
streets clean was to prevent the accumulation of
dirt, by removing the manure immediately it was depo-
sited by the passing cattle. Hundreds and thousands of
able-bodied labourers would thus be employed, and the
pauper would be converted into an: independent work-
man, ;and the losses to which shopkeepers were sub-
jected from the masses of mud and dust would be im-
mensely diminished by a comparatiiely insignificant out-
lay. The shopkeepers of the two great thoroughfare
at the. West-end, to which he had alluded, embraced
with delight the proposition, and the efficacy of it fir
exceeded their expectations. To obtain the 'co-opera-
tion of the authorities of the City of London to
an object se advantageous to the community would,
of course, be the most desirable of all things, and
the Committee would most willingly guarantee the pay-
ment of the expenses of the experiment if it should be
found not to meet with the approbation of those who
were- best qualified to judge. The cleansing of the
streets of the City cost, according to the statement of the
Clerk to the Commissioners of Sewers, about 4,0002 a-
year. The plan the Committee recommended would,
with all its incalculable advantages, cost no more than
from 2,000/. to 4,000/. more than that sum.
The LORD MAYOR agreed with the Committee that
the subject was one which deserved the most attentive
consideration. The public suffered great injury, in
ways which did not occur to a passing observer, from
the accumulations of mud and filth with which the
streets were so frequently choked up, and he should feel
the highest gratification in lending -his assistance to the
removal of so hideous an evil. Nothing could have been
worse than the condition in which the streets were when
he publicly noticed the intolerable nuisance; and if the
winter had been severe in frost and snow, they would
no doubt have been wholly impassable. He should
with the greatest pleasure do all in his power to
remedy the evil, which produced such injurious come-
quences, by joining in the views of the Committee, or in
any other course likely to be beneficial ; but the diffi-
culty in the way was that the City was bound by a con-
tract. He had strongly advised that the authorities
should cancel the contract, in consequence of the neglect
shown by the contractor to perform the office of cleansing
the streets ; but it was supposed that litigation might
arise from pursuing that advice. At the close of the
present contract, it would, no doubt, be a question
whether some very different plan should not be adopted,
and a public meeting to take the matter into considera-
tion would be held.

Mr. COCHRANE said that the Committee were most
decidedly of opinion that, if a public meeting were
called forthwith, at which his Lordship should preside,
their proposition—attended, as it had hitherto been, with
such complete success in the grand experiments already
made—would meet with the most powerful support.
The LORD MAYOR, after some observations from other
gentlemen, said that, in his opinion, the most advisable
course would be that he should communicate with the
Chairman of the Commissioners of Sewers of the City
upon the subject of making an experiment on the plan
adopted in Regent-street and Oxford-street, and after
the experiment should be made, it' it should be found to
be successful, that he should call a public meeting, with
the view of carrying it generally into effect all over
the City.
Some of the Committee seemed to entertain a doubt of
the acquiescence of the Chairmarrof the Commissioners
of Sewers in the City in a proposition which involved a
question of the efficacy of the system upon which that
body acted ; but
The LORD MAYOR said, he had every reason to be-
lieve that the Chairman would not hesitate, on such an
occasion, to sanction an experiment.
The suggestion of the Lord Mayor was then thankfully
adopted by the Deputation, and they retired, his Lord-
ship having stated to them that he should communicate
to them, as soon as possible, the result of his interview
with the Chairman of the Commissioners of the City
Sewers.

IMPERIAL FEET WASHING.—An example of this
pious ceremony, which humble duties are performed by the
great and powerful towards their most lowly fellow-crea-
tures recently occurred in the Austrian capital. It was alike
remarkable for the illustrious rank of the feet-washers and
the extreme longevity of some of the persons on whom the
ablution was performed. A letter in the 211lye:mine Zeitung,
dated Vienna, April 5, states, that on the preceding day
(Maunday Thursday, or, as the Germans call it, Grun Don-
nerstag), their Majesties the Emperor and Empress washed
the feet of twelve aged men and twelve aged women, who
after the ceremony were regaled with a dinner; and each re-
ceived a present of new clothing. Of the men the oldest
was 110 years of age, and the youngest 83 ; of the women,
the oldest was 106, and the youngest 84. The ceremony was,
as usual, attended by a vast concourse of spectators.
- RAILWAY ENTERPRISE. —Scarce fifteen years have
elapsed since railways became a fact to the public under-
standing. Blunders innumerable have been committed,
money has been wasted by millions, yet have they spread
in all directions over the face of the island. They have
set the pattern for half the world, and from English
workshops has a large portion of the materiel of foreign
lines been furnished, even before the permanent form has
been attained, while struggling forwards towards the
perfect state. And all this has been done, not by a go-
vernment, but by individuals. The first and foremost
work of civilisation is the making of a road. The
making of roads, which will put a final close to
the large mass of cruelty annually inflicted on horses—
which substitutes steam for muscle—is a far higher
triumph of civilisation. What railways have really
done for us in labour-saving, we have yet no statistics to
verify ; but the annual accumulation of capital thereby
must be of a large amount. What they have done to-
wards the progress of national education, in breaking
down provincial prejudice, is of still greater value.
What they will do, when they shall emerge from their
infancy, and attain their full growth, fills the heart with
hope to think of. The steam-boat has bridged the
ocean ; but it is the railway that spans the land, and
will ultimately make all men brethren.—The Railway
Record.

We understand that the Earl of Stair has it in
contemplation to construct a harbour for the loading and dis-
charging of small vessels at the Crow's-nest, about three
miles from Glenluce. Should the plan be carried out, it will
he of great service to the farmers of the neighbouring district.
A road between Glenluce and the intended harbour, with a
cross-road to connect the district of Auchenmalg, forms part
of the general plan.—Ayr Observer.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE KANSAS.—" A chief of the
Chilocathe band remarked that the Indians showed mercy to
the white men when they first came across the great water
and were weak and could but just get up the bank. The In-
dian was then like the trees, erect and strong ; the white
man like the grass, easily bent, and waving with the wind.
The white man came to the Indian four times with his hat
under his: arm, and asked the Indian to have mercy on him,
for he was poor and needy. White man say, when Indian is
poor and needy, he would have mercy on hiin as' long as grass
grows and water runs. Indian then let him come on the
land and live ; lie now wanted white . man to remember his
promise, and have mercy on the Indian, for he was poor and
needy, and not remove him any further."—Transsetnins
-the Aborigines' Protection Society.
of three fine
about eighteen months ago, was sagely delivered
EXTRAVAGANCE.—Mrs. Barger, of Petersville, Md.,
children, and the same lady, Seven children
band with four healthy chlldrenfit birth.
last month, presented her hus-
fertile, that married folks will be
in eighteen months! Middleton
Valleyafraid must
to rhea:id% ailthseor e siiol
these hard times.--Nee' York Sun.
____
g
A " SMART" Vhe a `TOTER.—The s• erstown News
tells the followin
iscapllajeoekeonthiavtendielehsdaavve
heard of for some
gt it"; e"cl'a nhiee best
'
last. A Whig and a Democrat were engaged in digging a
well, the Whig above, working the windlass, and the De-
mocrat below, filling the bucket. They had agreed that at
5 o'clock they together would go and deposit their ballot,
each for his respective party. But when the hour 'ap-
proached, the Whig quietly drew up the bucket, set it to
one side,
and went to deposit his ballot, leaving the poor
Democrat at the bottom of the well, without a possibility of
escape. Ilis chagrin may be imagined, when, on the return
of the Whig, he found the polls had closed, and he had lost
his vote. This is a warning to all politicians to keep out of
holes on election day."
HoLYROOD HOUSE.--The Palace of II
olyrood, so
long tenantless and dreary, has reary, for the last few weeks
been in a sense restored to its former grandeur, by the
presence and occupancy of her Grace the Duchess of
Hamilton, the Marquis of Douglas and his amiable
bride, the Princess of Baden, the lovely Countess of
Lincoln, and their respective attendants;- but we are
sorry to say it is soon likely to become as lonely and deso-
late as it has too long been. Her Grace the Duchess,
and the Countesses of Douglas and Lincoln, having
left it yesterday afternoon, the former for Hamilton
Palace, and the two latter on a visit to the Earl of
Wemyss. We understand that the Marquis of Douglas
and the Princess, after a short stay at Granton, intend
to proceed to the ancient residence of the -Duke of
Hamilton in the island of Arran, where, it is said,
the Marquis intends to raise an elegant mansion.
The Marquis of Breadalbane and the Marchioness
still, however, occupy their apartments at Holy rood ;
but it is supposed -they likewise will soon leave us. • It
affords us much pleasure. to add, that both these
trious families, during, their brief but e w lcome visit,
have - been boundless in their charities, and that their
absence will be severely felt by all' around them.--
Scotsman.. - • • - •