The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-01-29 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY,

The inquiry was resumed this morning shortly after ten
o'clock.
The TOWN-CLERK stated that an application had been
made by Mr. Lace to the Water Committee, that certain
gentlemen should be examined, and the Water Commit-
tee had resolved that the application should be laid before
Mr. Stephenson, and that he should be empowered to se-
lect such of the parties named as he might think fit, tak-
ing into consideration the evidence and the documents
already before him, as having been given by some of the
gentlemen named on former occasions.
Mr. LACE requested the attendance and examination
of the following gentlemen : Mr. Hawkesley ; Mr.
Michael Scott; Messrs. Kennedy and Macgregor; Mr.
Duncanson ; Mr. Gale, of Gorbals ; Mr. Leather, Leeds ;
Mr. Rendel, Edinburgh ; Mr. Sterratt, Paisley ; Mr.
Spencer, Liverpool; Dr. Thomson, Glasgow ; Dr. Buck-
land, London; Dr. Lyon Playfair ; Mr. Cunningham,
Liverpool; Sir Henry de la Beche ; Profe'sor Ansted.
Mr. STEPHENSON intimated that he considered it but
fair to have Mr. Hawkesley present, and one or two other
gentlemen, but be did not consider it necessary that Pro-
fessor Ansted and other gentlemen named should be re-
quested to come down. If the matter were left to him he
would name two gentlemen on each side, and the court
could adjourn for a few days.
This was assented to, and the examination of witnesses
proceeded with.
Mr. JOHN CRUIKSHANK, of the Castle Brewery, Scot-
land-road, stated that for the last eighteen months he had
some experience of two wells on his premises, which he
found it was impossible to pump dry by an engine of ten-
horse power, working day and night for six weeks, in or-
der to get down the water. These wells were sunk forty-
five years ago. The depth of the well was 84 feet from
the level of the street, and there were four borings at the
bottom of the lodges. By increasing the bores he could
double the amount of the supply.
ROBERT BULLEN was next called. He stated that he
was acquainted with the well of Mr. Bent, in Dale-street.
There were two wells on the premises, and he had dipped
one of them. He had never known these wells to be af-
fected by any of the adjoining wells since they were bored,
about ten years ago. During the first two years that be
was acquainted with the wells there was a lack of water,
but they bored, and got sufficient. This water was used
for all brewery purposes.
THOMAS ROWLANDSON, the late Secretary to the
Liverpool Licensed Victuallers' Association, was next
called, and read a statement, in which he expressed an
opinion that an adequate supply of water might be relied
on from local sources. He entered into the question of
the supply of water in the red sandstone rock in all its
varied phases—disputing the geological opinions of Pro-
fessor Ansted and Dr. Buckland, and also expressing an
entire disbelief as to the theories of a distant source of
supply, and accumulated stores ; contending that the
supply was obtained from percolation through the sur-
face, and that though the water on the surface might be
foul, it became pure by the process of filtration.
Mr. JOHN M'NIcoL gave evidence as to the increased
supply of water which he had obtained by boring a well
which was sunk in 1844

Mr. THOS. BARTON, Mr, H. G. IRELAND, Mr. THOS.
CONNELL, and Mr. SAML. HOLT spoke to the adequate
supply and the good quality of the water derived from
the wells.

Mr. S. HOLME was next called upon, and stated a few
facts connected with the well on his own premises, sunk
in December, 1839. After making some further state-
ments, Mr. Holme said he did not hesitate to say, from
great experience, that there was a great quantity of water
in the red sandstone rock, but the question was where
they were to get the best and the cheapest supply ? He
would then speak of a well at his own residence at Mosley-
hill, which was on the very apex of the hill, which was the
highest point of land in Liverpool. The well was 144 feet
deep, and he was obliged to pump it by a small engine to
supply his house ; they could only pump it three times a
week, and his neighbour's well had to be deepened
within the last three weeks. This he attributed to the
operations of the Windsor well; and, as a large owner of
property in Liverpool, he protested against the principle,
that any public company or corporation had a right to
deprive any person of the water which was under his pre-
mises, and apply that water to public purposes, without
making adequate compensation to the individual from
whom the water was taken ; and Mr. Stephenson would
hear him out in the assertion, that if they abandoned the
Rivington plan and adopted the plan of Messrs. Simpson
and Newlands, the Corporation would be called upon,
under general clauses of the Waterworks Act, to give
compensation to every individual whose water was taken
from him. (Cries of " question.") Mr. Holme noticed
the theories of Mr. Gage, and proceeded to argue that ex-
cessive pumping for all the purposes of the town would
exhaust at one time or other the various wells, and leave
them at the mercy of conflagrations. He next proceeded
to show that the plan of Messrs. Simpson and Newlands
would be more expensive to carry out than the Rivington
Pike scheme. Mr. Holme was proceeding at considerable
length into this question, and was about giving some
estimates as to the cost of pumping, &c., when Mr. Ste-
phenson interposed, and said he had the estimates before
him, and he would have to ascertain their accuracy.
Mr. NEWLANDS complained that Mr. Gage and Mr.
Holme had misquoted his report—compensation was
provided for in the estimates.
THOMAS GERMAN, engine-keeper at the Bootle water
works, was next called, and detailed the progress of these
works from the commencement, some forty years ago,
until brought to their present state, when they had three
engines, two of which worked day and night. The quan-
tity of water flowing from the borings and wells had not
lessened, but the additional borings were made to meet
the increased demand for water.

Mr. Thomas BOLD stated that he had taken the trou-
ble to get a list of the wells in the neighbourhood of
Green-lane, and be had got a list of 42 wells, out of
which 18 had been dried twice, 24 were dried in 1846, and
deepened, and of these 18 were dried again in 1849, and
15 deepened a second time. At the top of the hill the
average depth of the wells was from 21 to 32 yards ; in
the lower part of the village, the average was from le to
12. The whole of these wells were within a mile and a
half of the Green-lane works. Some of these wells were
never known to run dry before the Green-lane works
were established. The oscillation was attributable to the
different powers, be thought, at which they worked at
Green-lane.

Mr. STEPHENSON then intimated that he thought it
would be desirable to have Mr. Scott and Mr. Hawksley
called ; but he did not think it at all necessary to have
the evidence of Professor Ansted and other gentlemen
named. As Mr. Hawksley and Mr. Scott could not
attend for a day or two, and as be had to go to London,
he would adjourn the inquiry.
Eventually, the inquiry was adjourned till Friday next,
the Ist of February.

Onteral

ffifsrtllanv.

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The fund for promoting female emigration has now
reached nearly £20,000.

The workhOuse of Kenmure was on fire last week, but
the damage was not of any moment.

A white blackbird was shot near Beningbrough last
week.

On Monday three boys were drowned in the river
Wear, at Durham, through the breaking in of the ice.
The " Enchanted Isle' of Mr. Brough has met with
oat suceess at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Lord Jeffreys, one of the judges of the Court of Sessions,
died on Saturday evening Edinburgh.

No fewer thin twelve individuals were found in the
streets of London, overpowered by the intense cold, one
night recently.

The Brazilian merchants are highly indignant at the
flagrant breach of trust committed by the West India
Company, in respect of the Brazil mail contract.
Mr. Sam. Jones Lloyd has, it is said, retired from the
celebrated banking concern of which he has so long been
the head.
Ou Saturday morning week, the body of a man named
Cuthbertson, was found dead in the snow near Lang-
holme, Dumfriesshire.

About noon on Tuesday, five young men, confined in
Loughborough House of Detention, contrived to make
their escape. Three of them have been recaptured.

The inhabitants of Worcester have determined to raise
£l5OO to erect a monumental window in the cathedral to
the memory of good Queen Adelaide.
A vessel of large size and tonnage, which has just ar-
rived at London from Bombay, has brought the large
quantity of 3136 bags of cotton of East India produce.
Buchanan House, on the shores of Loch Lomond, the
Scottish seat of the Duke of Montrose, was destroyed by
fire on Tuesday. The loss is partly covered by insurance.
The Shrewsbury Chronicle relates a fatal affray, which
ensued from snowballing. The parties quarrelled, and
two of them were stabbed. One, named Abel Hume, has
died. The inquest stands adjourned.
THE BOHEMIAN CHATTERER.—Two of these very rare
birds--at least in this country—were shot on Saturday
last, by Mr. Richard Buckley, Waterside, Greenfield,
Saddlewortb.