The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-05-12 00:00:00

EDGE-HILL.

Nearly at the top of Edge-hill, leading out of Padding-
ton, there is a small street, or, Imo e correctly speaking.
lane, called Upper Mason•street, the oth'r end of
opens into High-street. At the Paddington end there is
a tunnel, which was excavated by the late Mr. Wit Ham,
son. Into this tunnel all the refuse water, ashes, and
useless household stuff, from several cottages, are being
thrown. These in time will cause a tearful wench, and
germinate fever. The extent of these turmellings i, very
great, running in several directio'is. and they b-corrie dan-
gerous when no longer worked, fr irn foul air, : their
extent is very laconically expressed in a quaintly-worded
prrin.t, which Mr. WtHarnson wrote out for me wh n
living, and which he told me would enable me to pass the
workmen at any tine: i' runs-
.. Dr. Watson is not to be interrupted in his walks on my pre-
mises, either on the surface or under the surface.
J. W. E. H. 7th August, 1839."

It is so characteristic of this extrtordinary man that I put
it in evidence. At the unner end of Upper M isms
street, are the yards and (Aces of the hotis,s on the
eastern side of Mason street ; on the opposite side of this
lane is a row of c,ittazes seemingly thickly ifih4bited.
The street tuns north and south, and at the upper end
turns with a sharp bend into High-street. lirie, at the
bend, I found the remains of a mass of thick slimy mire,
the c intents, as I was told, of a small gutter, and residue
of a midden which had been emptied the tight tielore.
The coltagers complained that the smell from filth thrown
out by the inhabitant: of the [musts in the neighbourhood
is most obnoxious, and all their enienvours to keep the
street clean were without avail, in consupience Of the
inefficient drainage and gutterage of street. 1 t ave
not the least doubt that here in the slimmer a pestilent
miasma arises, highly prejudicial to the health of the in-
httb;rants. _

The condition of the tunnellings now unworked will he
very likely to prove anything but as conducive to the fu-
to e health of Edge-hill. I know fore fact, and I have
the authority of others who were tenants of houses
over these singular excavations. that some of them have
been and are used as reser•oirs or receptacle,: for the con-
tents of ashpits, &c. &c.. which, because of their almost
unlimited capacity, would seem to have the advantage of
nev r reoirring to be lor,ked atter for cycles of years.
This may be the fact ; but then. can such huge ;IA gra
dually-accumulaqrig te-ertoirs of reuse exist and r
ground, having apertures of entrance and of Yetiti!ation,
without proving prejudicial to health. Like the N,,cated
Cellars of Freemason's-row, the cessation of busy lire
witt,in their prettihets is a signal for, and c.i:tp of, the de-
velopment of foul aeunmulatioi s ot matter and air, perhaps
never ant cipait el by their eccentric excavator, yet no less
the fact, beeau-e sanitary forethought was hardly then in
fashion. Nerd I pause to assure all patties who may
happen to be ctmcerned in this s tLiular inheritaro-e of
caves and tunnels, that my observations ate only passed
upon public grounds of health al me. This point is
marked out by the aphorism of our lawgivers. v.z.. " So
Use thine own as not to injure °the, ." The pi inciple lies at
the basis, and is acted upon in all aCknovt ledgerrients by the
law of public or private nuisances. In 1-14 L-street. Edge-
hill. there is a court, of a small size, which is in sad trim.
!leaps of ashes. &c., are in corners ot this court, and the so-
litary house it contains has been la a de. raved ondition as
to its walls and impure atmosphere; own g to the leakage
through the former of liquid draining tram a privy adjoin-
ing, • tie eerier near the fireplace t-conies intolerable
(tom the stench, when the adjianiug nuisance happens to
want attention. The Hpproat h to this court is by akw
archway, prejudicial to hats. Air. Gieatrex has kindly
taken the pains t.. accompany n e bete. tool to till the re-
maining plates of Edgehill and Windsor, to which I shall
have to Olivet attention. It is always highly rat s'actory
to have a second witness of the scenes r-vealed in thi se
notices, because tiuth, strictly as,ured, is the amount
of conviction unqualified.
1 am, Sir, &e.,
G. C. WATSON, M.D.
Bedford

ROYAL MER,EV YACHT CLus —Toe toonthly meeting
for May was held on Tuesday evening last, and was nu-
merously attended. Seversl members were admitted by
ballot, and whets proposed fig,ltext month. The open-
ing cruise for the season, ofthWchts to sail in company,
was fixed to take place on Strurday, the 23rd instant.
The first club sailing match of the year was also fixed to
take place on Friday, the sth of June. A list of detaulters
in their subscriptions for last year, 1845, was brought
forward, and the members were expelled the club..