New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-08-09

THE skwERAGE OF LONDON.
We are not aware that any one has ever dis
tinctly consIsdlcted SIR. Cowper's assertion, tnat
God made the country, and msn made the Town
And yet il lie only true 10 the secondary sense IN
which sill the appliances, instruments, ana coose
ourpces Of Civilization are the work OF Man rather
than Of God. We do Dot know much about tue
condition of Man before the Fall, or to what ex-
tent hr was what We should call civilized creature
At that tine But after the compound fracture no
utderw.p t 10 consequence of that accident which
We all feel in our bones unto this day. he GER
tainy went lImpDg about 10 a very awkward KIND
of way until he began TO feel after and mud those
RI, liefs. comforts. snd conyenleDces Of mlnd and
BODY which We call Civilization. Bet as God gave
bin the faculties of BODY aud mind necessary tor
the accomplishment Of this end, be may as Well
have the credit of some share IN the end also.
Crest cities were among the earliest fruits OF
human civilization aud they viii probably be
among the latest. They are artificial coDglomera-
TOPS, il is true but So are the men artificial who
buided and inhsbit them. Civilized man is
highly artificial animal, but he is lOOger-liyed,
more healthy aud more happy than when he
IAN wild IN uoods like noble savage as he was.
This result comes of bis understanding better the
natural bio ply steal laws of his being, and adapting
bis habits and daily life according to them more
or less perfectly So the artificial! creatures which
be has created, called cities, are truly iair aud
wholesome in proportion as be invests them with
the beauty of obedience to the divine laws lie
has to compensate for the sacrifice OF certain OF tie
advantages of rural life by such contradictions
ard con,rvaDces as be can devise to supply toelr
place. Purity Of air, abundance and sweetness OF
water, and careful elimination Of the waste and
fecueut matter which accuDulates with such fatal
rspidiiy in great cities, are the main necessities
which be must InsDsae to compass u guaro against
the material msches attic ndant IN great COLI ct ons
of human beings well-rrgulated city, indeed
should be Ike healthy individual. wisely
devised system of veins Should convey the vital
fluid TO every part Of it, parks and squares and
broad streets should act as liz luogs aud alrvessels
and q secret confederation of tubes aud drains
should silently convey Whatever IS noisome and
harmful beyond It's domain. The sncieDts under
.tood this part of civilization better than the
moderps. 1T least until very recent times The
Ctoaea Marina, built BY Appus Claudius, the De-
cemyir Of III repute,
wbe.e yu'pre eye pursued the 'p Of those small s'neins
of Virginia, yet stands one Of the most Cyclopean
remains OF ancient Rome, and. used to this day,
is one at least of the vast squeducts whose ruins
yet testify to her genuine greatness.
London the Rome of modern Europe, is at last
driven, in oIder to save Der life, to contemplate
work analogous in magnitude to those of the old
mistress Of the world. The proper drainage OF 80
mmeuse city is obviously a task Of commensurate
difficulty. London bas Justly boosted OF being the
best-dralned city in the world, and pointed to her
two thousand miles Of subterrauean passages,
through which the sewage Of tSo millions OF
inhabitants flowed 10 the sea, as prouoer wonder
than the labyrinth of Crete. But, unhappLy, It's
way to the sea lay through the Silent Highway, the
Silver Thames of the pOets, over which the CON-
merce Of the world came Ia do her hoGsge as its
Queen, and the aluence OF these fetid stIesms has
charged il into nuisance Of the most fearful nature
This evil bas been growing for centuries. Two
hundred years ago, Milton, who used 10 live in one
of tie garden. houses hich theo existed in London
for simple citizeps, speaks Of it as place
"Wh,re houses Thick and sewers annoy the air.
and a century ago the River Flee. which used TO
be one Of the sparkling and dancing copfuents Of
the Thames hsd been degraded info the Fleet
Ditch, an open sewer Of the most filthy kind. In
one Of the mOet disgusting passages Of tae Dunead
tie heroes repair Cor their Contest in swimming
"To wb.re Flee, Ditch, with dssnborains srearlA,
koB. lie srss trbuir Of dad doss - Thames;
1h- Aius Of iykes. issn 10 slaice Of nst
VIII ceepsr sable bots the silver nood'
1t has been long since covered sewer, bot has
continued to pay its tribute to Father Thames to
this day, NTH hundred other stygiaa streams,
until the royal river has become mers open sewer
Of the wors. kind itself
This evil has been greatly increased BY the very
perfection to which the drainage Of the city has
been carried of late years. Within ten years,
seven or eight hundred miles Of drains have been