The Sun.
London, England, 1850-11-12 00:00:00

N OVEMBER 12, 1850.

50 degrees, and almost free from all mineral, animal,
and vegetable impregnation. In a future section of this
report I hope to be able to give the board more extended
information on this point, as also with reference to the
levels of the springs above mean tide. Thus, by gauging
and testing the streams at their sources, instead of in
their course and outfalls, we have the roalizition of the
principle laid down by the board; and this difference
will account for the variance of my results with those of
Dr. Angus Smith.
" Table of Springs and Rivulets, showing their hardness,
daily discharge, and the number of houses each is
equivalent to, at the rate of 75 gallon,t per house.

r: 7) • !" ci
7'l g
Names. •',"' 2 . 4 Remarks.
AO-, •e,
Hindhead and Black-
down :-
Holy-water .. 2 1,350,000 18,000 Will be led away
at one degree of
hardness.
Bramshot 13,399,714 178,621 One and a-half
Down-lands 1 540,000 7,200 degrees under
Headley-down .. 1 239,731 3,197 the mill wheel ;
Barford-mills 1 3,880,000 33,400 but will proba-
Devil's-jumps .. 2 360,000 15,000 bly be led away
Punchbowl .. 1 299,995 3,999 at half a degree
Cosford-house • . 1 674,928 8,999 of hardness.
Gray's-wood .. 1 84,240 1,123
Kot diet 1 32,563 434
Five other springs . 1 127,562 1,700
Hascombe-hills :-
Sweetwater-pond .. 1 1,066,795 14,223 Will be taken
Bush-bridge .. 2 529,200 7,056 away at half a
Chapel-copse 2 224,697 2,955 degree of hard-
Hascombe 2 229,116 3,988 ness.
Leith-hills :-
Totsford .. 2 1,799,798 23,977 Will be led away
Watton • • .. 2 890,956 11,979 at one deg Tee of
Rookery •• .. 2 1,436,400 19,532 hardness.
Easthampstead Plain :-
Wisltmoor • • .. 1 389,308 5,177
Broad-moor 1 176,840 2,347
Sandhurst • • .. 1 54,000 720
Ambarrow-hill .. 1 75,883 1,011
Barkham 1, 101,088 1,:147 .
Wokingham 1 599,914 7,999
Bull-brook • • .. 1 113,320 1,437
Chobham-ridges :-
Pirbright 1 810,000 10,800
Railway .. 1 440,000 6,134
Cow-moor • • .. 1 90,435 1,235
Coldingley 1 758,160 10,103
Folly • . 1 256,492 3,419
Bagshot • - • • 1 630,000 8,400
Bristow-farm .. 1 14,999 199
Farnham :-
Aqueduct .. 1 45,848 584
bfinley 1 134,928 1,798
Northfieet • . .. 1 6,426,000 85,00
Longbottom • • 1 31,809 421
Bramshill 1 43,372 578
Eversley 1 74,779 997
Castle-bottom .. 1 270,000 3,600
North:-
Farnham-hill .. 1 685,454 8,739
Total gallons .. 39,407,324 523,156 Total equivalent
in houses.

" Giving altogether 39i millions of gallons, which
might be brought to London at a. hardness certainly not
exceeding one degree. I can answer for at least 10 mil-
lions more under two degrees of hardness. I must re-
mark, that though these gauging are only off Prod as an
approximation, I consider theyb will eventually prove to
be rather under than over stated.
" Farnham, Oct. 3, 1850.

" The annexed table of springs and rivulets gives their
hardness, according to Dr. Clerlas soap test, their daily
discharge, and the number of houses they are equivalent
to at 75 gallons per house; as addition of one-half the
average domestic consumption, as proved by an experi-
ment instituted in the district of Earl-street, London, on
la block of 1,200 houses of a fair average class, the gaug-
ings of the sewer gave 44i gallons, and the butts and
cisterns, 5l gallons per house. •
" I would remark, that where the springs flow into
ponds dammed up for the use of mills, I have taken the
samples for tests from the sprirrgs themselves, as the
evaporation alone of large surfaces of water generally
adds two and upwards degrees of hardness, and the
waters are also exposed to deterioration in colour, and,
as I have found, in taste. For instance, at Minley Pond,
itself situated between sandhills, the springs do not show
half a degree of hardness, the pond one and a half ; at
Sweetwater Pond the springs have half a degree of
hardness, the pond two degrees; at Bushbridge the
springs have one degree of hardness, the pond nearly six.
" 1 would here remark that an erroneous opinion
seems to prevail generally that Large bodies of water
should be examined for test of quality, which, in pro-
portion to their size alone, show a scale of hardness con-
tracted in their passage through loamy or other soils.
Hitherto the little springs rising in pure sands, scarcely
seen under the herbage, have been almost entirely dis-
regarded, although when gathered together they form a
volume equal in extent to that collected on the lower
levels, and of a purity and softness in no case to be
found there.

" The gauging of these springs having been taken at
the end of a drought of nearly five weeks, and at the
close of an average dry summer, I conceive they are to
be relied on with safety, as being at their usual summer
ebb. Being a perfect stranger to the district, and of
course obliged to depend very much on the testimony of
the residents as to the flow of the springs, I 1:1-.ve ad-
dressed myself to persons of all classes, gentry, farmers,
and labourers, many of whom have resided all their
lives on the same spot, and are therefore well able to
offer an opinion. 1 received much valuable information

from an herb doctor, who devotes his sole attention to
wounds and sores, and finds his remedies in herbs and
grasses, many of which grow in water, by which
means ho had come to the knowledge of these
springs. The unanimous opinion of all observing
persons is, that I gauged these springs at their
lowest. lam convinced that the greater mass of them
are, as at Farnham-hill, due to rain-fall elsewhere,—
tas con-
will
strata spirdoebraebbllye odni
srtaanhge owfheeqr
eu a
tl
haen dnahtiegrhee rc
fl etvheel ss,
not permit of the rain-fall making its appearance again
after percolation; the water then finds its level, and an
easy channel through the sands of the gathering-
grouncl6. I attribute the fact of the springs invariably
coming out under the highest and steepest bank of the
hills to the circumstance that such is the only place
where on that contour there is not the usual densely
packesi covering of gravel, through which they would
scarcely penetrate when there is an easier outlet. The
steepness of the bank itself is apparently caused by the
undermining action of the springs.
My opinion of the unfailing yield of these springs is
confirmed by the peasants, who in several instances have
of their own accord informed me that at the close of
autumn, generally in October, when there has been no
rain in this district, the springs commence rising just
e s s admitshi
fortuitous
ei
ree explanation;tust
she e.
but
te hi
after a high wind. They offer no explanation of this
apparently extraordinary circumstance, which to me,
however,
in-
dicating a storm of rain and wind elsewhere, where the
strata are of the formation alluded to. ghw
ein possibly
y a f or
tf eprobably

" Droughts of much longer duration than five weeks
seldom occur, and, should they do so, the yield of the
springs is so far iu excess of the present requirements of
the metropolis, that there is little foundation for any ap-
prolieusion of scarcity.
" To detect the presence of these springs in combina-

tion with other waters was in soma cases very easy, as
where the residents are acquainted with them, or where
they aro so large as to thrust themselves on one's 'view,
but often they have nearly eluded my most vigilant
scrutiny. Situated in the hollows of the hills, generally
collections of rainwater are to be found, girt sometimes
by dense copses with rushes and long-tangled grass. The
marshy appearance of the ground on the lower side
might, by a casual observer, be taken for the soakage of
the pond, but if a trench be dug to the outfall the run is
found to be constant, proving the presence of springs
flowing into or rising in the ponds themselves. Oa one
occasion, on questioning an intelligent labourer, he re-
marked that, when bathing in Minley-pond, he found
the water at some parts much colder than others, and
was at a loss to account for the circumstance, which
clearly indicated the position of the springs, as I found
the outfall to exceed the flow into the pond.
" So secluded are some of these sources, that their ex-
istence, on one occasion, at Chapel-cope, only became
known to a soi-disant gamekeeper (but, from his appear-
ance, I fear, a poacher occasionally) by the flight of
game to drink there after dawn. This spring yields
224,697 gallons per day, equal to the supply of 2,995
houses, and forms one of the many threads
on, i contributing I
to the desired supply. lain further of opinin which
am confirmed by all the residents, that these springs will,
when opened, that is, given a free passage to the surface,
often be doubled in volume; indeed, this has, on several
occasions, been proved to be the case by paper manufac-
turers and others who have been anxious to increase their
supply; as, for instance, at Barford Mills, where some
years ago the paper-mill could only work for three or
four hours a day, but the spring having been opened now
affords a sufficient supply for six hours work. I have
tested these waters, and all others in the district, including
wells, and those from the surface, at different staees, as
where joined by fresh tributaries, or entering a new soil,
from their outfall to their sources, and the result has
been very decisive in confirming the remark made by
Professor Way, in his able paper ()Li' The Power of Soils
to absorb Manure,' that ordinary sods consist of three
substances, sand, clay, and vegetable matter, but that
very
y thesegenera lly a fourth may be added, carbonate of lime.
When springs rise in any other than pure sands,
the water at once becomes hard to five or six degrees.
If in any case I believed a stream to have a very pure
source, I proceeded up its course, examining it at the
junction of each tributary, and have never failed in dis-
covering at length, and generally from the highest
source, the thread of soft and eweet water to be added
to the growing stream fur water supply.
" Let me point out, for example—
" The Wey, at Guildford, which has a

Degrees,

hardness of ... 9
" At Elstead 8
•• ••• •••
" Below the junction of the Bramshot river 9
" Above the junction of the Farnham

branch ... ...
" Above the junction of the Tirainshot
branch

.•• 14 ••• .04

" At Farnham ... 15
" But turning up the Bramshct river at
Headley Wood
" At Bramshot
" At Shotter Mill ... •••
" The above shows what different results two per-
sons making the same investigations might arrive at.
From Headley to Bramshot is scarcely more than two
miles ; persons unintentionally, or for want of accurate
investigation, might consider the water at Headley-
wood the sample of greatest parity to be found, and go
away with and disseminate a totally false impression. I
have reason to believe it will be generally found that the
opponents to the board's proposition have, from one
cause or the other, made this great mistake.
" The power of soils in hardening water is particularly
evident when comparing the water in a large pond to
that in a well, which becomes hard almost in proportion
to its depth. A notable instance occurs at Tomlin's
Pond, a collection of rain water with a few small springs
in it, which has a hardness of only 2 degrees, whereas
a well sunk close by for the convenience of some cot-
tagers has a hardness of Zif degrees. Again,
Minley Pond has a hardness of only If degrees, while
a well, sunk through the loam into the pure sand, has
S degrees of hardness.
" The following is a list of well and surface waters,
with their degrees of hardness:—

" WELLS.

... 5

Degrees.

Hartford-bridge Flats, 25 feet deep ... 4i
Ash-common, 80 feet deep ... ... 6i-
Pirbright-common, 20 feet deep... ... 5
Chobham Well ... ... ... ... 5
Swinley-cottage, Easthamstead-plain ... 5i
" SURFACE WATERS.

" Ash-common
" bolt-pond ...
" Dippenhall...

... 3i
2f
... 3f

" Whitemoor...3.
" Aldershot ...
" Canal Reading-road-bridge ... 5i
" Thus we see that waters stand for purity in this dis-
trict in the following order:—
" 1. Spring issuing from pure sands.
" 2. Collections of rain water.
" 3. Water running through ordinary loamy soils.
" 4. Well waters.
" How great is the loss of capital and labour expended
on wells, which when made what has been done ? A
vast expense is incurred to dig a hole in the ground to
allow water to soak into impure from the mineral quali-
ties of the soil ; what water ?—that which fell origi-
nally soft and pure. and which might have been col
lected on roofs, or by drainage of cultivated lands and
led into a covered reservoir, and thence to the highest
room in the house. One gentleman with whom lam
acquainted spent from 3001. to 4001. in sinking a well
300 feet deep, whence he obtained water of a hardness
equal to that of London. 4001. would have drained
from 40 to 50 acres of his land and paid for a covered
reservoir, besides saving the labour of pumping and
carrying, the waste of the latter in the case of using 57
gallons per day per house, amounting to a loss of three
days' labour of one person in a week. The improve-
ment of the land drained would alone have repaid the
outlay.
" A great economy in having water laid on to the
top of a house exists from the indolent propensities of
servants, should there be two supplies, one of hard
water and another of soft near the premises, and the
servants will, I have frequently found, to save trouble,
use the former for all purposes, thus extravagantly
wasting their masters' tea and soap; the saving in the
consumption of which with soft water would soon have
paid the cost of laying pipes into every part of the house.
"I would point out the defects of storage reservoirs on
gathering grounds as now existing in some parts of this
country. They collect the crude surface waters, always
liable to discolouration and thickening from dirt brought
in by heavy rains, to deterioration in taste, to hard-
ness from contact with the soil, as also by evapora-
tion; this last, however, being trifling as compared
with the first, as we have already shown. Compare
these results with the proposition of the board. After
the ground is once saturated, the rain-fall passes im-
mediately through a natural filter of sand into the
drainage pipes, which lead it away to storage reservoirs
lined with tiles to prevent the water acquiring the mine-
' ral qualities of the soil, hence to a covered reservoir in
the neighbourhood of its distribution, safe from the
noxious influence of the impure atmosphere of a city.
The importance of covered reservoirs cannot be over-
rated when the evidence given by several eminent pro-
fessors of chymistry before the board is considered, al-
though little more than every day's experience is needed
to show that what is disagreeable on a small scale must
be very detrimental, often dangerous, in large volumes
of water. A tumbler of water cannot be exposed halt
an hour without becoming warm, vapid, and badly
tasted; and from what cause? Simply because water
has an extraordinary capacity for absorbing the impuri-

ties of the atmosphere.
" Referring again to the plan of collecting rain-fal
by draining the sandy heaths, I question whether it
could in one case be carried out with advantage, namely.
on the higher levels; as, for instance, the crests of
the Fox Hills and Chobham Ridges, whore the strata
of'sand are of a very loose nature. I think that the
surface once broken through, the water would pass by
the pipes. The area on which this would happen is,
however, not very large. It is very desirable to ascer-
tain this point by trial works; a few acres drained
would satisfactorily settle an important question. The
same would occur in the lower levels were it not that
nature has abundantly provided a subsoil in the form of
a crust or pan about nine inches thick, composed of three
inches of closely-packed pebbles and sand resting upon
six inches of sandstone. This pan lies at a depth vary-
ing from one to three fret below the surface; in some
cases it is found beneath a few inches of sandy loam.
The pipes might be laid on the pebbles and sand in-
crusted together, which would hold the water. The pan
once broken through the water would, I fear, be lost for
ever. The cultivation of these heaths would eventually
repay a large portion of the expense of collecting a rain-
fall by drainage. Mr. Hewett, a most intelligent farmer
and land-surveyor, from whom I have obtained much
valuable information, assures me :that where this pan
conies near enough to the surface to be broken through,
which is done at an expense of 81. or 101. per acre, and
when properly manured, the cultivation pays.
" The only disadvantage attending the board's scheme,
if to such an important matter it may be deemed so, is
the expense of the large lined storage reservoirs neces-
sary to contain a six weeks' or two months' supply for a
city of the giant proportion of London; otherwise the
system is unique in simplicity and perfect adaptation for
the purpose required. So vivid was this impression on
my mind, that on developing the idea of supply from
springs, I conceived a method of adapting the principle
to my own case. Where the springs are large, I propose
to enclose them in brick or tiles, but when small and
numerous I would prefer to gather them in one stream
to be led away in pipes, 'tut this must be effected on the
pure sand, and great care must be taken to avoid the
mixture of surface-washing. In the case when leading
away a stream of springs it would bo liable to discolora-
tion from heavy rains, I propose to provide a remedy
by preparing at the point of dive' aim). from the
natural channel a new bed for a short distance at a
less inclination. The bed to be a trench with a
pipe at the bottom, and filled up with small
atones and sand, heather or heath being placed round
the pipe joints. The stream being led on this new bed
will percolate into the pipe beneath. When the extent
of the ground above the springs would expose them to
be choked up by rubbish and dirt after a storm, I would
intercept the rain-fall in contour trenches with pipes un-
derneath them also, and lay a branch to lead the water
away to the main. I have shown both these plans as
adapted in the case of Farnham-hill, and a large addition
might thus be made to flow of the springs if desirable.
Hereafter I propose to detail my arrangements of
branch lines from the spring-heads, leading to mains
terminating on Wimbledon-common, giving also an esti-
mate of the expense of the entire schemeworks, compen-
sation to mills, &c., also some general information on
the collateral advantages of a pure soft water supply—
the results of some experiments I am making on the
action of sand as a filter, and some qualitative analyses
of the springs.
" The annexed plan is that of Farnham-hill, reduced
from the Tithe Commission plan, and tested as to accu-
racy. The blue contour line represents the level of the
springs. I have gathered them together and gauged
their flow as accurately as in my power. Their daily
discharge is equal to 897,393 gallons.
" The area within the contour line is 571 acres. The
available rain-tall from 22'65 inches per annum; a mean
of 30 years' register at the Military College, Sandhurst,
allowing the usual deduction of 14 inches for evapora-
tion and absorption, is 279,858 gallons per day. The
difference then, 611,160 gallons, is the least figure in
favour of my assertion that the water in this hill is due
to rain-fall elsewhere, for the rain on this hill does not
percolate, but passes away.
"I assure the board, however, that a careful collection
of these springs would double their value, and produce
a daily discharge of 1,794,786 gallons. This then leaves
a total of 1,514,928 gallons above the available rain-fall
on the hill, supposing it all to penetrate. The plan also
shows the hill drained above the springs on the principle
already alluded to. The section of the pipes and their
outfall is calculated in proportion to the quantity of rain
likely to fall in the shortest time, according to the prin-
ciple laid down by Mr. Chadwick.
" In reference to my idea of the cause to which these
springs are due, I would mention that a notable instance
of the kind occurs in Hong-Kong, an island mountain of
not 25 miles in circumference at its base, and of 1,000 or
1,200 feet elevation above the level of the sea. The
quantity of water supplied from springs on the top of
this mountain is notoriously far beyond its rain-fall,
which latter, from the declivity of the other groune,
is at once discharged into the sea, as all who have been
there arc well awai e of. The shore of the mainland is
not further than two miles and a half, but the range of
mountains of equal and higher elevation, and which
furnish the supply, are at a distance of upwards of ten
miles. The rain-fall cannot find its way again after
percolation to the surface, and is necessitated to find its
level by crossing the sea and rising through the
springs
t,he fissures
of the granite formation of Hong-
Kong. a
are rarely known to be affected in quantity even after a
three months' drought in the island, !she thermometer
often at 88 degrees and upwards in the shade.
" The advantages I propose to derive from permanent

springs, that is, always preserving an average flow of
summer and winter, over surface drainage, are twofold :
" 1. The continuous flow from springs gives water of
better quality as to aeration and temperature.
"2. An immense saving will be effacted on the item
of storage reservoirs, and, I believe, a considerable sum
in the diminished quantity of excavation and pipage.
Assuming that the supplies from these springs do not
materially alter, no necessity can exist for storage reser-
voirs. A covered reservoir for two days'
supply might
be provided at Wimbledon•common to meet any extra-
ordinary emergency; otherwise, a main with a simple
waste-pipe into the Thames would suffice.
" Too much importance cannot be attached to a con-
stant flow of pure, cool, and soft water, brought direct
without detention from the Hindhead to the attic of the
highest house in London. How grateful will be the
daily use of cool soft water only 24 hours from a natu-
ral reservoir in the depth of the earth!
" I consider I have realised, in a remarkable manner,
the board's enunciation—' the nearer the source the
purer the supply.' The whole value of the scheme ap-
pears to me to depend on the accurate following up of
this principle.

" On consideration of the original proposal, there is
only one more point I shall at present touch upon,
namely, the great and scarcely estimable benefits of
land drainage, not only to the soil, but to the inhabi-
tants of the district. From the rainfall, a depth in the
year of 22.65 inches (allowing seven to be absorbed),
there remains nearly 15 inches, or 1,529 tons of water
on every acre, impeding cultivation by diminishing the
temperature of the soil, by not allowing a proper circu-
lation of air in it, and by causing a perpetual evapora-
tion, not only injurious to health in itself, but exces-
sively wasteful of the heat of the atmosphere, a loss
which in our damp climate is a very serious considera-
tion indeed, and it is only when the whole country shall
have been perfectly drained that this stigma of unne-
cessary and dangerous damp will be effaced from our
registers of temperature.
" Again, experience has satisfactorily shown (vide the
report on the water supply) that the low temperature of
undrained land is the chief cause of scanty and poor
crops, and inferior growth of timber. In an economical
point of view it is most necessary, then, to remove this
noxious agency.
" Having given the results of my observations in de-
tail, it may be now proper that I should state my opi-
nion of their variance as compared with the conclusions
enumerated in the report, which difference I attribute
to the limited investigation of the subject.
" Generally, in all points as applied to the quality of
water, its advantages in economy, its beneficial influence
on health, &c., my experience not only distinctly con-
firms the views of the board, but has elicited farther
illustrations, in respect to which I hope shortly to have
the honour of addressing them. This information I have
collected from persons of all classes, medical men, manu-
facturers, farmers, tradesmen, peasants, &c., ail et
whom, in their different spheres, have given me valuable
evidence on the subject in question.
" The results of my experience are as follows:
" I. With respect to the quantity and quality of water
to be derived from the gathering grounds, in whatever
method of collection.—

" The report gives 28,000.000 of and under three de-
grees of hardness.
" My results give 40,000,000 of and under one de-
gree, and 10,000,000 of and under two degrees of
hardness.

" This improved quality is gained by my development
of the principle of taking the water from its source
(that is, where it issues from pure sandi), and leading
it away before it can be affected by contact with soils.
I beg to express my conviction that the purity will
depend entirely on the careful execution of the work; it
would give, to recapitulate its qualities, 40,000,000 of
water—

" Of primitive purity;
" Perfect as to aeration;
"Of a grateful temperature, about 50 degrees;
" Brilliant in colour;
" Soft almost as distilled water,
" And almost free from all mineral, animal, and vege-
table impregnation, sufficing for the supply, at the esti-
mate of 75 gallons per house, of 523,126 houses.
The 10,000,000 of and under 2 degrees of hardness
are derivable from sources rising in sands not quite pure.
" 11. By the direct means of collection from springs,
instead of the extensive system of land drainage origi-
nally contemplated, very considerable saving of expense
would be effected.
" 1. In the less quantity of pipage required, and, con-

sequently, of labour expended. _
t• 2. Oa the item of the large extent of storage re-
servoirs, originally required to provide for summer
months, periods of drought, and which, by my plan,
would be necessary.
_ _

" 3. On the reduced claims for compensation, especially
as no breadth of land would be required to be taken up.
In fact, after collection, o❑ descending into the lower

levels, the maina would lead along and just outside the
lines of railway. A mere underground right of way—
a pipe-hying. easement—would be required.
" A resume of the above then gives, in favour of the
plan proposed,—
" I. Greater certainty ci supply.
" 11. Superior quality.
" 111. Greater abundance.
"IV. Greater speed of execution of work and appli-
cation for service.
" V. Greater economy.
" Should the future exigencies of the metropolis require
an increased supply, it may still be derived not only
from land drainage of rain-fall en the pure sands be-
neath the level of the sources now proposed, but also to a
great extent above them.
In conclusion, I would remark that it might be con-
sidered desirable to allow the towns of Guildford, Rich-
mond, &c., and the different villages on the line of
water supply to London, to partake of the advantages
proposed for that city. The first of these suffers severely
from hard and expensive water. Of course they would
have to pay their proportion of the rate to be levied to
meet the expense of the works, which I hope shortly to
be able to show will not, for an increased, continuous,
pure supply of soft water, at high pressure, exceed a
fraction of the sum now levied by the water companies
for an impure, hard, and defective one.
" I have the honour to be, my Lords and Gentlemen,
" Yours obediently,
" WILLIAM NAPIEII.

" The Gereral Board of Health,
Uwydyr-house, Whitehall."

COURT CIRCULAR.
WINDSOR, Nov. 11.
Her Majesty, with his Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales, drove out this morning in a pony phaeton
in Windsor Park. Colonel Buckley, Equerry in
Waiting, attended On horseback.
The younger members of the Royal Family took
their accustomed walking and pony exercises.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert went out
shooting this morning, attended by Colonel the Hon.
Charles Grey, Major-General Bowles, and Lieut.-
Colonel the Hon. A. Gordon.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester,
attended by her Lady in Waiting, and the Gentleman
in Waiting on herißoyal Highness (Lieut.-Colonel
the Hon. A. Liddell), is expected to arrive at the
Castle to-day, on a visit to the Queen.

The Lord- Chancellor and Lady Truro are also ex-
pected to arrive this evening on a visit to her Ma-
jesty and the Prince.

The Royal dinner party at the Castle this evening
will include her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent,
her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester, the
Lord Chancellor and Lady Truro, Lady Augusta
Bruce, the Lady in Waiting of the Duchess of Glou-
cester, Baroness de Speth, and Lieut.-Colonel the Hon.
A Liddell.

The Queen will hold a Privy Council to_ morrow
(Wednesday), at Windsor Castle.
A Cabinet Council was held yesterday afternoon
at the Foreign-office. The Ministers present were—
Lord John Russell, the Lord Chancellor, the
Marquis of Lansdowne, the Earl of Minto, Sir
George Grey, Viscount Palmerston, Earl Grey,
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Francis Baring,
Sir John Hobhouse, the Earl of Carlisle, the Right
Hon. 11. Labouchere, the Marquis of Clanricarde,
and the Right lion. Fox Maule.
The Council sat three hours and a-half.
The Lord Chancellor left town after the Cabinet
Council for Windsor Castle, on a visit to her Majesty.
A deputation of the Committee of the Inventors'
Patent Reform League had an interview with Sir
George Grey yesterday, at the Home-office. The
deputation consisted of Mr. F. W. Campin, Mr. V.
Price, Mr. G. Shepherd, Mr. Waller, Mr. Townley,
Mr. Mahin, and Mr. Ellis.
_ _

The Master-General of the Ordnance had an inter-
view with Lord John Russell yesterday, at his official
residence in Downing• street.
Dispatches from the Governors of the West India
Colonies, and also from the Governors of the North
American provinces, were received yesterday at the
Colonial-office.

The Observer, price sixpence, of Nov. 10, con-
tains Lord Mayor's Procession by land and water ; also the
Banquet at Guildhall, Speeches, Bill of Fare, &c., 5 cols.—
National Resistance to Papal Aggression, as shown in Lord
John Russell's Letter- Public Meetings—Dr. Cmmiog's
Lecture—Bishop of Bath and Wells' Address—Bishop of
Exeter's Reply—Celebration of Gunpowder Plot Discovery—
Incidents, Anecdotes, Sec.—Further Examination for the
Strand Robbery—Holford Burglary—The Frimley Murder
—Discharge of Mr. Sirrell, the refiner—Original Articles
on the state of Germany, and rumoured hostilities—The
Pope's Bull— New Play of the " Templar," at Princess's
Theatre—Parochial ana Vestry Meetings of St. James's—
Pancras Paving Board—Mary lebone Vestry and Address to
the Queen—Islington Refot in Association, &c. A Monday
afternoon edition of the Observer, containing the markets
and the latest intelligence, is regularly published at four
o'clock.
The Manchester Guardian states that on Friday
night an ironmonger's shop in that town had a most remark-
able escape from destruction by an explosion of fireworks,
A large pyrotechnic, called a " wheel," about two feet in
had become ignite.), and had burnt entirely away.
Idtjahnte
aledbreen placed upright between two shelves, and its
position was such that it could not turn round ; which was
most fortunate, for it was surrounded by a large collection
of rockets and other fireworks, and had close to it, in a
drawer, COlbs. of gunpowder ! All the parts of the wheel
successively exploded, sending forth a profusion of sparks,
but the whole died out without setting fire to any of the
dangerous combustibles lying around.

The Cheviots and other high grounds in the math
and north- west have this week been capped with snow.
During several nights sharp frosts have prevailed through-
out the district, and ~the northern lights have occasionally
been visible.