The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-11-24 00:00:00

WATER SUPPLY

We have abstained hitherto from expressing a decided
opinion in favour of any of the schemes, which have been
proposed for the better supply of the town with water,
:0 although none have advocated more earnestly than oar-
!: selves the importance of such a supply being procured.
Before taking, or even pledging ourselves to approval of,
rt any step in a matter of so grave a nature, involving, in

whatever direction it may be-made' a large outlay of the
public money, we have felt it our duty to cause—to weigh
evidence—and, above all, to allow to those authorities

upon whom will devolve the onus of failure, and who will
undoubtedly reap the full credit of success, time and op-
portunity to examine well the materials within their reach
and the best mode of using them. We have

moreover

not hesitated in cautioning them against precipitancy of
action, and pointing out to them grounds for withholding,
for a while, their confidence in some of the authorities we
saw them consulting. We must now, however, lay aside
our reserve, and give to the public our opinions upon this
important subject.
Our readers will be aware that two schemes have been
most prominently, and it appears to us with rather unwise
urgency, placed before the consideration of the Sanatory
Committee, viz.,—Mr. Rawlinson's Bala Lake scheme,
and Mr. liawkslev's proposal to bring water from Riving-
-

going to parliament during the next session. It will per-
haps have been gathered from recent remarks, which the
subject has called from us. that our sympathies are in

tavour of the rejected scheme. Its opponent, the Ri-
vington Pike project, we regard as inadequate to afford
us the supply of water required, and as most unsafe to be

ream upon for such a purpose. The attempt to collect
such a supply amongst the swamps and ditches of Riving-
ton Pike would, moreover, t.e a very expensive one, on
account of the various compensation claims which would
require to be satisfied ; and, besides this, the objectiona-
ble feature of the liability of such supply to be cut off by
occasional severe and lengthened drought, places it, in
our estimation, hors de combat.

On the other hand, when we look at the more certainly
efficacious project of bringing the supply from Bala Lake,

we are startled with the immense cost which its adoption
must entail upon the ratepayers. We want, it must be
borne in mind, cheap water as well as abundance ; and
here is an instance, in which it is not, as in ordinary cases,

. Bala Lake scheme could not be carried out, we agree with
Mr. Ambrose Lace, for less than a million and a half
sterling; and, judging from our experience of engineering
estimates, we are more inclined to set it down at two
millions. For the mere interest upon this outlay, with-
out calculating the cost of working at all, we should have
to pay six and eightpence p:.r head upon our population of
three hundred thousand for a supply of water. Such a
consideration is well calculated to impel us to reject, for

the present at least, the idea of entertaining the project,
and induce us to look round, and endeavour at least to
ascertain whether there are not other and less expensive
means within our reach. Inc natural course then

intimated last week, is to examine first the extent of our
present resources, and the possibility which exists of in-
creasing them, so as V) serve the purposes which we have

The public—and we do not claim any exemption for
ourselves—have been in the habit of concluding that the
capability of supply by the present companies was much

less than, in reality, we find it to be. The mistake has
originated in the fact that they have confined themselves
to doing only that required from them by their acts of

all who choose to provide receptacles for it. The yield of
the Liverpool and Harrington works averages now 21
millions of gallons daily ; and the springs from which this
is drawn have never been known to fail or to lessen in
their productiveness. We are rather surprised to find,
however, from authority upon which we can rely, that the
five lodgements of this company are capable of yielding
upwards of four million gallons daily ; and that recent ex-
periments made by the company have clearly shown that

this pew might be greatly increased at a trilling cost.
We are assured, moreover, by men of experience, and
intimately acquainted with the geological strata of Liver-
pool, that this could be done without at all drawing inju-
riously upon the springs.
We are not in a condition to speak with so much cer-

tainty with respect to the yield rof the Bootle springs ;
but suppose them to be half that of the Harrington Com-
pany, to very moderate estimate, certainly,) this will give
six millions of gallons daily as the :quantity which the
companies together could supply. If to that is added the
yield of the Green lane establishment, which will be at
least another million, we thus find an immediate available
supply of upwards of 7,000,000 gallons per diem. Sup-
posing our population to be 300,000. this would give rather
more than 23 gallons per diem to every inhabitant—a
greater quantity of pure spring water than is [supplied
to the inhabitants of any other town in Great Britain.
This may not suffice to satisfy the thirst of the more
ardent hydropathists. It must be borne in mind, how-
ever, that there are fanatics on more subjects than one.
What we want is a cheap, abundant, and, if possible, an
immediate supply. Now, cheap water, we have shown,
cannot be had from Bala Lake. Abundance there is not,
and never will be, at Rivington Pike. And the most en-
thusiastic advocate of either scheme must acknowledge
that, before it could be made available, several yeai s
(four or five, at least,) must elapse; and, during that
time, who shall predict that our town will not be visited
by one or many of those calamitous conflazrations which
have obtained for it such unenviable notoriety throughout
the world, and which an immediate abundant supply of
water might have averted ?

There is no more important consideration for the Corn.
mittee than this fact that, whereas the adoption of either
the Rivington Pike or the Bala scheme Would involve
several years of continued endurance of our present defi-
ciency. of supply, and its deplorable consequences upon
the security of the property and health of our population,
the supply from the facilities possessed by the existing
companies, could be brought at once into operation—even
as early as the first of January, when the Sanatory Com-
mittee enters upon the discharge of its important duties.

The proper siep, therefore, to be adcpted by the Sana-
tory Committee, we submit, would be forthwith to place
themselves in communication with the companies for a
purchase of their works. In any' case, that step must
ultimately be taken ; for Parliament will surely make it
a sine qua non in the granting of any new acts, that lull
justice has been done to the owners of existing rights.
The Water Company ought to be met at once in
a liberal spirit, and called upon to sell their works,
according to the terms of their Act of Parliament.
It is idle for any individual to talk about the exorbitant
price demanded. The price which they may demand is
of little consequence. They are compelled to take the
value of their works, the amount to be ascertained by

competent arbitrators. This we repeat they are folly en-
titled to ; and the Council can have no objections to sub-
mit such question of price to the ordeal of arbi!ration.
There ought to be no second opinion on the subject.
In making the foregoing remarks we have been actuated
by but one motive; viz. the desire of seeing the town put

in- possession of a'greatly increased supply of good water
at the least possible cost and with the least possible de-
lay. Should the Committee act upon our suggestions
with promptitude they will, we are sure, earn for them-

. .
selves the gratitude of the whole community ; by acting
otherwise they must calculate on a different result. Hav-
e the Committee could
They would glean expe-
rience themselves in matters connected with water works;

ing adopted the proposed cc
afford to take breathing time

and they would not be precluded hereafter from adopting
any other more comprehensive scheme which might pre-

LIVERPOOL LYING-IN HOSPITAL

The fifth annual meeting of the sul-fcribers and friend
nttor;tar .Coe hold nn Vlic.lnPeAsto last_ ii

the Board-room, Pembroke-place ; John Howard, Esq.,
occupying the chair. The report (an ' ably drawn up
document), which was read by Mr. James Stonehouse,
the secretary, entered at large into the advantages of the
institution, and the increasing favour with which it is
being regarthd by the public, as evidenced by the in-
creay.d number of applicants for its bounty, which, how-
ever, the committee are compelled in many cases to reject,
from the want of means at their disposal. Such being
the case, they have carefully selected the most deserving
and urgent cases for relief, visiting the applicants in their
houses occasionally to ascertain the circumstance. This
practice has brought before the eyes of the committee
many sad cases of destitution. Women about to become
mothers have been found in wretched habitations, unpre-
pared with any necessaries for the coming event—in some
cases but half clad themselves, and often almost destitute.
Towards such objects the advantages which a lying-iu
hospital, sufficiently endowed, c‘,uld have afforded, the
committee regret that they have not been able to afford to
the extent of their wishes; yet with the limited means at
hand, they have effected much good, whilst the sight of
the distress which has come under their eyes has l.rompted
them to an effort to improve the usefulness of the insti-
tution.

Amongst their other efforts, they advert to the recent
establishment of a register for monthly and wet nurses,
which is kept in the hospital, and is likely to be of great
public convenience. Such nurses, on paying a small fee,
and being examined strictly by the medical officers, are
recommended, if found worthy characters, to parties re-
quiring their services. The school. for nurses and mid-
•wivra is prosperous, and gives satisfaction.
The removal of the institution from Horatio street has
.caused a debt to the treasurer of £lB6 to be incurred, but
it is hoped that increased exertions on the part of the
friends of the institution would enable the committee to
pay off the debt in a brief time. At some future period
they also announce their intention to bring forward a pro-
posal for the erection of a more suitable building for the
purposes of the charity. To enable them to carry out
their views, they have been promised the co-operation of
the Rev. Canon 111`Neile, the Rev. W. Cordeaux, the
Rev. W. Falloon, the Rev. F. Barker, and the Rev. J.
Kelly, who have undertaken to preach sermons in behalf
of the institution, the first of which is to be delivered on
the 16th December, by the Rev. Canon 111'Neile, at St.
Silas's Church ; and when they consider that the charity
opens its arms to all, they trust to receive the support of

ail denominations. To the Ladies' Committee the insti-
tution is greatly indebted for their valuable services, in
having, in addition to those services, contributed towards
a bazaar, the funds of which have been devoted towards
giving relief to poor patients when going out of hospital.
r. Troutbeck, of Ilanovei-street, has also kindly allowed
his workmen to clean the walls free of charge; the late
Mr. Calloway presented them with the amount of his
printing and gilding account ; Mr. Bennett, of Sir Tho-
mas's-buildings, has given them an excellent new iron
bedstead, and Mrs. Josiah Booker, a basket of elegant
fancy worked articles for the bazaar. The report speaks
most highly of the matron, Mrs. Faitbairn.
During the past year there had been relieved, as in-
terior patients, 56 English, 5 Scotch, 44 Irish, and b
Webb married females, their ages varying frogs 17 lo 39