The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-02-10

AN EXAMPLE FOR New YoRK-DRANAGE
OF LoNDoN-We learn that the British gov
eminent have made arrangements to raise,
by guaranteeing 81 per cent on the loan,
the sum Of three millions of pounds sterling,
equal to fifteen millions of dollars to be placed
in the hands of the Commissioners of Drainage,
for the extensive works which are now contem-
plated with view to the publication of the
Thames where it washes the city Of London.
One OF the leading British journals calls 1t "a
work Of primary necessity to 100000 of souls"
and applauds this expenditure for "the interests
of the public welfare"
Now, New York proper has population of
100000, and If we take into account the numbers
who sleep in Jersey, Long Island and Staten Isl
and, but who spend their waking hours in the
business part of the city, the population may be
estimated at at least 100000 or say one-third of
the population of London. And shall not we ex-
pend proportionate amount-one million of
pounds five millions of dollars-on the purifca-
tion not of orr rivers but of the city ITSELF which
is to our million Of souls and bodies "a work Of
primary necessity" in q still stronger sense?
Now we do not want to have our two rivers
purified. Nature has done perfectly for us what
the Londoners must achieve by art imperfectly,
and at enormous expense. London is sixty
miles from the sea; the Thames at the city
averages one-quarter of mile in breadth, and
twelve feet in depth. Its muddy-puddle water,
almost stagnant, has but small current. New
20 IN fho cfr oyt
water washes its quays on either side, and is so
deep as to float the largest ships. Even at low
water there is no strand laid bare. The average
width of the two rivers which wash our island
city exceeds mile each, and the depth of the
channel is from thirtyfve to fifty feet. There u.s.
therefore, quantity of water full thirty times
as great to purify city with one-fourth the in
habitants of London; and if we take into account
the rapidity of the currents, the volume Of water
cannot be less than one hundred fold The cur
rent is SO rapid here that the filth of the sewers
is carried completely away, never to come back
Still more: at the southern point Of the island
or at the confluence of the East and North rivers,
the bay expands into circumference of twenty
five miles.
What we want therefore, is not to NEEDLE with
the water, but to avail ourselves of what nature
has done for us even on the land. There is a
natural fall from the centre ridge, or backbone
of the city, to either river; whereas many parts
of London are below the level of high water in
the Thames, and consequently are not only I'M
healthy, but almost beyond the reach of i'm
provement There is no part of New York below
the level of its rivers, and by proper system of
drainage and sewerage, at a comparatively small
expense, we can carry off not only all the filth
of the city, but also the underground water in
the low, flat localities. Great must be our
neglect and culpability, when in London, with
all its natural disadvantages for health, and all
our natural advantages, only one in every forty
five in that city dies annually, while one in
twenty-seven dies in New York, which is in the
proportion of three to five-a tremendous diff
ference. Before the system Of drainage and
sewerage was established in London it was more
unhealthy than New York is now. The ele-
waited, dry and healthy parts of New York are
more healthy than any portions Of London.
What is to prevent the whole of our EN-
pire City being far more healthy than the
British metropolis? The ground around st. Paul's
church and the HERALD Office, the site of the
Bowery theatre, Union square, Murray Hill
and the upper part of the Park, and the
Fort Washington Ridge, in the Twelfth ward,
is extremely healthy. By proper drainage the
unhealthy portions such as st. Johns park,
Washington Parade Ground, Madison square and
Tompkins square, might be rendered perfectly
healthy.
Had the whole Of New York been drained and
severed at first, as London is, the cost would
have been small. Let us now spend even one
million of dollars upon it, and see whether, with
the aid of two broad, deep and rapid rivers run
ming around, and one (the Croton) running
through it, the city will not be rendered the
healthiest on the face of the globe.
THE DIVORCE LAws-LEaIsLATN by Favor
We see that efforts are being made in the Legis-
lature to alter the laws on divorce. It is sought
to assmlate the legislation of this State to that
of Indiana and other convenient jurisdictions
where the marriage tie is treated as O mere con-
ventional arrangement, which can be adopted or
discarded at pleasure. These attempts to modify
enactments which are, If anything, too liberal,
emanate, it is scarcely necessary to say, from
libertine husbands and wanton wives, who find
the slightest restraint imposed upon their incli
nations intolerable. These persons, through their
political or other influences, find members of the
Legislature always ready to advocate their views
and to propose such measures of relief as may
suit their circumstances. In the same way we
find the collective interests Of Sing Sing and
Blackwell's Island endeavoring to legislate off