The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-04-14 00:00:00

VALUE OF SEWER WATER.

(From the Liverpool Health of Towns' Advocate.)
If we take the population of Liverpool at 300,000 their
annual produce of sewer water would, according to Mr.
Smith's (of Deanston) data, be 7,140,485,676 gallons ; and
if use could be found for all of it, at the yearly rate of
17,920 gallons per acre, it would fertilise 398,460 acres.
So, that allowing about one-half of the saving to go to the
farmer, there would still, on Mr. Smith's data, be a re-
venue of above £270,000 a year to the town. And, be it
remembered, that this estimate tests on the assumption of
the present sewer water being used, without taking into
account the improved drainage, by which the whole soil
of the town (that to a very great extent is now otherwise
disposed of,) will be suspended in the water of the sewers,
and increase vastly its value as a fertilising agent.
By an experiment made lately in Lancashire, it was
proved that eight tons of sewer water were superior in
efficacy to fifteen of farm-yard manure, or three cwt. of
guano.

- We need hardly say that, if even a small part of this
be true, the authorities of Liverpool may have at their
command, whenever they choose, a fund amply sufficient
to defray every necessary expense in improving the sani-
tary condition of the town. The Rev. Mr. Clay, in his
report on Preston, has given a calculation in which be
shows, that to place that town in as perfect a sanitary
condition as external means well could, a sum of money
would be required, the minutz/ interest of which, to be
raised by a rate, would be £8,959 Os. Bd. For this sum
the whole town would be cleansed, every room in it ven-
tilated, every house would have a water-closet and drain ;
the needful main and secondary sewers would be laid
down, and half of the town supplied with water. To
meet this expenditure, he estimates the annual value of
sewer manure at £25,000, and the whole annual saving
from improved sanitary condition, a lower rate of insu-
rance, &c., at £22,815 more. In other words, the whole
weekly expenditure per head of the I._opulation, for
every improvement, would be about three farthings,
while the whole weekly saving per head would be
41d. This may be thought somewhat extravagant by
those who have not paid attention to the subject ; but let
us see what the Towns' Improvement Company actually
offers to do, and what it is about to do for Leicester, and,
not improbably, for Manchester also. The proposal for
Manchester is—to lay on pipes to every cottage, with a
constant available supply of water to the extent of 100
gallons per diem to each house, for a penny a week for
houses under £5 rent. To provide every cottage of the
same class with a sink, washhand-hasin, and self-acting
water-closet, for another penny a week; and, for an addi-
tional halfpenny a week, to keep the foot pavement and
roadway clean by the sweeping machine and washing with
the jet. And lastly, "to effect street sewerage and pave-
ment on terms of contract, and to seek its profit from an
undeveloped source of revenue—the application of the
refuse of the town for the purposes of agriculture."
The company expects an income of twelve per cent. on
the outlay from these sources; but offers to pay over
one-half of all dividends above 8 per cent. to the Town
Council, as an improvement fund. The Town's Improve-
ment Company has, in connexion with it many indivi-
duals who are the most competent to form a judgement
on the subject, and their proposals shew the commercial
value attached to sewer water as a source of revenue.
Captain Vetch, R.E., one of their engineers, says in his
evidence—

"If the three objects of supplying water to the town, extin-
guishing fires, and of sewering and draining, were skilfully
combined into one system, and if each town secured the benefits
of such a c mbination to the inhabitants at large, their comforts
and conveniences might be met either very cheaply, or even be
entirely defrayed by a proper application of the manure."

The-objection to the use of sewer water for agriculture
on the ground of malaria is very simply answered by the
fact stated by competent parties.—that while a top-dress-
ing of stable dung gives off gases for six days, a dressing
with sewer water ceases to do so in one day.

THE Duic OF WELLINGTON.—CompIeteIy the repre-
sentation of an old soldier ! Stiff, half-deaf, but cheerful ;
it is easy to be seen that he must have been what is ?ailed
a well-built, handsome man. The form of his head, as
well as that of his face, is principally long, the shape of
the skull not very remarkable, the front and back por-
tions rather high. His hair is quite white, and he has
rather too much for his age, particularly in a country
where baldness is more common than elsewhere, The
sockets of his eyes are wide, and it is obvious from his
appearance that he is rather to be regarded as a man of
eyes than a man of ears, on which remark the history of
his life offers the best commentary. I saw him generally
in uniform, and decorated with many orders. He still
rides, and was at the head of his regiment at the review;
and lthough the windows of his residence were broken
some years back, he still appears a favourite with the
ople, for wherever he makes his appearance. the cry
"Hurrah for the old Duke ! " is general.—Travels in
England, by Dr.Carus, Physician to the King of Saxony.

THE "MOUNTAIN PHEASANT" OF NEW SOUTH
WALES.—The pk.cne of feathers in the tail of the cock
bird would form the most graceful ornament for a Queen's
head-dress. Two noble feathers, somewhat like a peacock
only more brilliant and various in their colours, sur-
rounded by the most glittering silver lines of curving fea-
thers, fine as the prairie grass, and sparkling like the
waves of the ocean, ornament the tail of the male bird,
while the female is only remarkable for the elegance of
her shape, and not for the beauty of her plumage. In my
opinion, this bird is the pea fowl of this country, and not
a pheasant. Earl; in the morning, I have seen him spring
from the thickest brushwood, and wing his arrow-like
flight to the tallest tree, and there he appears to mimic
the notes of the various songsters around him. But the
most beautiful attitude that I once saw him in, beats
every thing I ever beheld of what men term politeness. I
have heard, and have read of delicate attentions paid to
our sex by men of noble and generous dispositions; but I
scarcely ever heard of such devoted attention as I one .day
witnessed in this noble bird towards his mate. I saw her
sitting in the heat of the meridian sun upon her nest, and
the cock bird seated near her, with his tail expanded, like
a bower overshadowing her ; and as the sun moved, so did
he turn his elegant parasol to guard her from his rays.
Now and then he turned his bright eye to see if she was
comfortable; and she answered his enquiry with a gentle
note and a rustle of her feathers.—Magarel Catchpole,
SIR ROBERT PEEL.—A man of about fifty years of age
—of good figure, powerfully made, and rather full; the
form of his head remarkable, on the whole, rather for
breadth than height. The relation of the three portions
of the brain, so far as I could judge from a cursory view,
somewhat prevented, too, by a considerable quantity of
grayish hair, tolerably harmonious, the middle part of the
head low, as is usual with heads of a broad form. The
countenance expresses much firmness, joined with a de-
cidedly prosaic appearance, but great sound common
sense. In'conversation with crowned heads, the expres-
sion, with all its firm reserve, passes readily to a smooth
tone, and his bodily attitude easily assumes the same ex-
pression.
His language is, however, select, comprehen-
sive, and well expressed. Whenever I had the opportu-
nity of seeing him, he was dressed in black, with white
neckhandkerchief, and without any orders. I here sub-
join, in conclusion, some remarks which were made to me
concerning his qualifications for his important duties as
Prime Minister : " Sir Robert Peel is quite fit for his sit-
uation. By birth, belonging to the people, by his early
connexion with Oxford, entirely devoted to the Conser-
vative cause, he seems to have been made for his situation
and for his age. There can be but one opinion respecting
his talents ; he possesses, at the same time, a sufficiency
of physical power, and has property enough to secure him-
self a complete independence (the English say, 'An
empty sack will not stand upright'). In his daily inter-
course, he is considered cold and stiff, and has no inti-
mate personal friends."— Travels in England, by Dr.
Carus, Physician to the King of Saxony.
ENCOUNTER WITH AN EAGLE.—Though not the he-
roic bird he is called, when hungry or acting in defence of
his young, the eagle is bold enough to attack anything, as
a Highlander still alive can testify. Some years ago, in
Sutherland, an active lad, named Munro, stimulated by
the premiums offered by the Farmers' Society, determined
to attempt robbing an eagle's nest in the neighbourhood,
which appeared to him comparatively easy of access He
took no assistant with him, that there might be no di-
vision of the prize-money, and set about scaling the rock
alone. Holding on like a cat, by projections of the rock
and some roots of ivy, he had mounted to within a few
yards of the nest, and was on the point of reaching it,
when the female eagle came home, hearing a young lamb
in her talons. Instantly, when she saw the intruder, she
dropped her game, made a rapid wheel, and attacked him.
Munro had no firm support for his feet, and was obliged
to hold with one hand to a root of ivy. The eagle fixed
one talon in his shoulder and the other in his cheek, and
thus commenced the battle. Munro had but one hand
free : to quit his hold of the ivy with the other was to in-
sure a fall of KO feet. In these circumstances of peril his
presence of mind did not forsake him. He remembered
what he called' " a wee bit knife" in his waistcoat pocket;
this he reached, opened it with his teeth, and with it at-
tacked, in his turn, the eagle, unable to extricate her
talons from his clothes and flesh, and stabbed and cut her
about the throat till he killed her. He did not carry the
adventure farther, but descended without waiting for the
return of the other eagle, faint and half blind with his
I own blood. It is several years ago, but he carries the
marks of the eagle's talons in his face and shoulder to this
day.—Quarterly Review.

STRIKES INTRODUCE MACHINERY.—Strikes lead to
the superseding of hand labour by machines. In 1831, on
the occasion of a strike at Manchester, several of the ca-
pitalists, afraid of their business being driven to other
countries, had recourse to the celebrated machinists,
Messrs. Sharp, and Co. of Manchester, requesting them
to direct the inventive talents of their partner, Mr. Ro-
berts, to the construction of a self-acting mule, in order
to emancipate the trade from the impending ruin threa-
tening it. Under assurances of the most liberal encou-
ragement in the adoption of his invention, Mr. Roberts
suspended his pursuits as an engineer, and set his fertile
genius to construct a spinning automaton. In the course
of a few months he produced a machine, called the " Self-
acting Mule." which, in 1834, was in operation in up•
wards of sixty factories; doing the work of the head
spinners so much better than they could do it themselves,
as to leave them no chance against it, * * * Mr. S.
Holme, the builder, of Liverpool, recently wrote a letter
to his workmen. in which he says :—" In no country, ex-
cept Great Britain, are hod carriers generally employed.
I never saw one in any part of the continent ; and it is
not only more convenient but more economical, in almost
every instance, to hoist up materials, or use a wheelbar-
row, than to pay men for carrying heavy loads up a ladder.
We no more need to have bricks carr ed on men's shoul-
ders than the merchant in hoisting his goods into a ware-
house need adopt such an antiquated principle; yet I
should be sorry to introduce machinery for this purpose,
in every instance, as it would throw many poor men out
of employment ; but the labourers must be prepared for
it, for the period is fast arriving when we shall be driven
to hoisting instead of carrying, and a turn-out of hod car-
riers will preciplate the measure."—Statement of F,cts
connected with the Turn-out in the Lancashire Building
7 rade.