The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-28 00:00:00

THE THAMES.

The ordinary business of the day, which was by
no means of public interest, having been disposed of,
The CHAIRMAN said it would be in the recollection
of the Commissioners that when they first took office
under the present commission it was intimated to them
that the subject of the drainage of the tsurrey and
Kent side of the river had received very considerable
attention. During the existence of the previous com-
mission there had been a committee termed the
" Ordnance Survey Committee," four members be-
longing to which were members of the present
Court. During this time the Ordnance Survey
Committee had been engaged in that part of the
metropolis, and were constructing the network
of levels. It was thought to be extremely de-
sirable that three or more points of the river should
be connected with such levels, to ascertain the height
of the tide. The result had been the production of
a very valuable collection of facts and documents'
from which it would appear that they should even
think of constructing the lines and shortening the dis-
tances between Battersea and Deptford. The mini-
mum difference in the tide between there places was
two feet and a half. It was obvious that by
shortening the distance they would accomplish a
better fall, if that were needed. He thought he might
mention, what was, no doubt, known to the Commis-
sioners, that a valuable body of information was col-
lected by Mr. Page for the Metropolitan Improve-
ment Commission, and which was printed in their
reports. Part was original, and part contained in
other documents, &c., but he (the Chairman) re-
ferred to it as embodying a mass of valuable
matter. After making some observations upon
this subject, the Chairman said that the attention
of Captain Vetch bad been especially directed to
the formation of a scheme for the drainage of the
Southwark side of the river Thames. He wished
it to be particularly noted that all ibis occurred pre-
vious to the former Commission requesting plans to
be sent in for the drainage of the metropolis.--
(Hear, hear.) With respect to the scheme for taking
the shorter line on the north or south side of the
river, and so partially reversing the drainage, in this
there was no great novelty. So far as ten or eleven
years ago he believed that Mr. Thomas Cubitt had
proposed a scheme of that kind, which was quoted by
Mr. Walker in his evidence in 1840 on the state of
the Thames. This was not the first scheme which
included the stoppage of the drainage by the river,
because Mr. John Martin had previously completed
the scheme for drainage on both sides of the Thames.
With regard to the south side, their object had been
to obtain a fall by shortening the distance, and the
opportunity of flushing the main channel, and any
branch channel, without, as now, discharging all the
sewage into the Thames, and afterwards affording
the opportunity of distributing the sewage manure
by various lines of railway, as the wants of the
public should demand, supposing the drainage
should cut the lines of railway. -And whilst observing
upon this, and asserting his belief that they were
all very anxious to prevent as much as possible
drainage into the Thamns, he wished to observe
on what he had seen some years ago. He had then
occasion to consider the distribution of sewage into
estuaries, and although any previous reasoning was
likely to lead to the same thing, the result of that
investigation manifested the absolute necessity of re•
moving the sewage of London from the Thames. The
sewers discharged their contents into the Thames at
low water ; at that time, the water being stagnant,
the sewage was discharged into the river according
to its velocity, but on the first motion of the water
it (the sewage) had a tendency to go along both
sides of the river, and two masses of filth were thus
trailed along the banks. This was composed of
matter in chemical solution and mechanical suspen•
sion. Now, these two masses passed along both
shores, and went as far as the tide would carry
them. It had been well and properly observed by,
Sir John Burgoyne, " that the Thames being an es-
tuary, all the effects that take place in an estuary
must occur in it also." There was mud distributed about
in various directions, and if there was no town within
100 miles of the Thames, the mud would still be dis-
tributed. At the same time, there was no reason why
artificial means should be adopted to add to the
noxious qualities of this mud. It got moistened with
so much of the sewage matter as was not diluted suf-
ficiently, and this, of course, added to the disagree-
ableness of the filth on the sides of its banks. Now,
looking on shore, this deposit was sure to be disco-
vered in situations most inconvenient to the inhabi-
tants, and in places where the mud could not be
moved by the motion of the water. The Commis-
sioners were, he thought, unanimous in their opinion
that by letting this noxious matter be distributed
they would do good to the sanitary cause of the me-
tropolis.—(hear, hear.) They should recollect that
the sewage, according as the population increased,
was more abundant in the Thames than formerly.
Good as the "flushing system" was in many points
of view, it had added to this evil, inasmuch as the
matter which was previously collected and removed
by hand was now thrown into the Thames. Another
point to be considered was, that since the erection of
London-bridge there was a difference of 3j- feet in
the height of the water above bridge, and which had
been a source of considerable annoyance to the popu-
lation. Under all these points of view it seemed
essentially desirable that they (the Commissioners)
should be instrumental in removing the sewage from
the Thames. In directing attention to this scheme
he wished to say that it was the express wish of the
Commissioners to remove the sewage from that part
of the Thames. In bringing the scheme of Captain
Vetch under the notice of the public it was without
in the slightest degree prejudicing the plans sent in at
the request of their predecessors in office. Rut whilst
they were desirous of avoiding precipitate action, they
were anxious, on the other hand, not to incur unne-
cessary delay. Therefore did he propose to place
this scheme upon the same footing as the others,
and to have an estimate of its probable expense.
It was their duty to the ratepayers to adopt
the best possible plan, and that which would cost
the least money. He would now say a word relative
to the plans themselves. The public already knew
that they had been classified, but of the subsequent
proceedings in regard to them many were ignorant.
The Comn.issioners had submitted the plans to Sir
John Burgoyne, Mr. Stephenson, Captain Vetch, and
Captain Harness, in order that they might further
investigate and report upon them. He (Sir H. de la
Beebe) thought this selection of men from both the
royal and civil service must meet with the approba-
tion of all the parties interested. Without further
preface he would move the following resolution :

" That it be recommended to the Court that the eng;

neer be instructed to prepare estimates fur the conside,
ration of the Commissioners far a plan of the drainage of
the Surrey aide of the Thames with ref-renee to n
covered chancel fur a general outfall, between Vaux-
hall and Deptford or thereabouts, by which the present
distance by the river will be shortened and a bettor out-
fall secured; to the continuation of the channel to and
beyond Woolwich; and to the removal of the whole
sewage of such area from that part of the Thames, due
attention having been had and being paid to those
plans sent into this Commission which relate to the
same area."
Mr. R ENDEL, in supporting the resolution, said he
felt the time had come when they ought to do some-
thing in regard to the business for which they were
appointed. He was very glad to see the present
movement, and wished it had been made earlier, but
he did not think that was possible. He believed it
was a matter of very great importance that they
should comprehend the plans which had been sent in.
He was sorry to see engineers obliged to commit
themselves to plans for which they had so little data,
and also because the Commissioners required some-
thing more than suggestions. They wanted the opi-
nions of practical men, rather than suggestions hypo-
might as well produce a re-
volution thi ciat yg
rpouwt .t Tahede
they
ywage of London had grown
in the country as to revolutionise the sewage.
It was a part of the metropolis and its arrangements,
and though they might reform to a great extent—and
it was high time to commence—a revolution would
only bring it to that condition that instead of being
a benefit, it would be a great injury to the sa-
nitary state of London. The Commission could
have ordered surveys, and have had all the neces-
sary facts, so as to be easily accessible to every indi-
vidual asked to compete. That was not done, unfor-
tunately both for those requested to compete and those
who were to consider the plans, because he had seen
enough of those plans already to say that they con-
tained an infinite number of most desirable sugges-
tions ; but such was the want of facts, that there was
not that unity of design so necessary to effect so great
an object in any of the plans that came under this
notice. This was not owing to any want of skill on
the part of the designer, hut entirely to the absence
of that information which it was the bounden duty
of the Commission to furni-h, in order to enable the
designer to make a complete plan. It was therefore
clear that while the narties furnishing those plans
might with some degree of fairness complain that the
Court had been too long in coming to a decision, it
was likewise clear, if he had made himself under-
stood, that this was rather the result of those plans
being ideas than their being engineering plans upon
which practical engineers could reason and come to a
conclusion. Ile merely stated these facts, believing they
.would be understood by those gentlemen who had sent
in the plans. He would now make a few observa-
tions on the subject more particularly under conside-
ration. He quite felt the necessity of putting the
plan now proposed upon the same footing as the
others, more particularly as he felt this had been pro-