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3000 cows, and estimate the compensation which would be due to themselves at 150,0007.

About a quarter of a century ago we ourselves remember to have witnessed the process of a matrimonial alliance, such as we have described, between two parties, who from the beginning of time had always been shy enough of each other, namely, the very Foul Burn alluded to, and the Links or sand-hills on the seashore between Leith and Porto Bello. These hillocks, upon which nothing but a few stunted tufts of coarse grass had ever been seen to grow, and which for ages had been blown by the wind into a variety of fantastic forms, were one morning suddenly attacked by a band of workmen, who with spades and shovels were seen busily scattering the sand about them in all directions, while Are ye daft?' was the repeated exclamation of the Mussulburgh fishwives, who, one after another, striding by with outstretched heads, swinging arms, and a creel full of cod on their inclined backs, could not contain their astonishment at seeing the dry region, which all their lives had been sterile, suddenly subjected to spade-husbandry. Indeed, when the mass was levelled, it was as barren and lifeless as the shingle of the sea; and continued so during the formation of a network of arteries and veins which in the form of drains were imprinted over its surface. However, no sooner was this latter operation concluded, than-Oh whistle, and I'll come to ye, my lad!'-the produce of the Foul Burn, like Birnham wood coming to Dunsinane, majestically made its appearance; in a few days the sand was verdant; and before the summer was over, it bore a dark-coloured, rank, luxuriant crop.

Our readers will probably have anticipated that the inference which Mr. Chadwick has drawn from this result, and from Mr. Dark's statement that he can find no sale for the refuse of London is, that the sewers of London, like those of Edinburgh, might be made to fertilize the land in their vicinity.

Mr. Chadwick states that, according to the scale of the value of that portion of the refuse of Edinburgh which has been appropriated to irrigation in the way described, the whole refuse of that city would produce an income of from 15,000l. to 20,000. a year; while, according to the same scale of value, it appears that, in the city of London, refuse to the enormous value of nearly double what is now paid for the water of the metropolis is thrown away, principally into the Thames, and partly into receptacles in the districts of the poor, where it accumulates until it is removed at a great expense. Where the levels are not convenient, Captain Vetch, of the Engineers, and other competent authorities recommend that the contents of the sewers should

be

be lifted by steam-power, as water is lifted in the drainage of the fens, and then be distributed in iron-pipes, in the same way as water is injected into the metropolis by the water-companies. Mr. Chadwick adds, that the estimated expense of this mode of cleansing and removal, as in the case of the conveyance of water into London, would not amount to a tenth part of the cost of cartage-and to show the practicability of the principle of removing refuse by water, he cites the following case:-The West Middlesex Water Company had almost concluded a contract for removing in the ordinary way about an acre of silt four feet deep, which in the course of eight or ten years had accumulated in their reservoir at Kensington, and accordingly 4007. was to be paid for this operation, which was to occupy three or four weeks. The bargain was all but sealed, when it was proposed by one of the officers that the silt should be mixed with water, stirred up, and in this liquid state washed away; and this operation was successfully effected in three or four days, at an expense of only 40l. or 50l.

In small, moderate-sized, or even in large towns, where the levels are favourable, we are much inclined to believe that Mr. Chadwick's project of removing refuse by means of water might, to a limited extent, be successfully adopted for the purpose of irrigation. It is evident, however, that many previous arrange. ments would be necessary, and that, after all, many serious difficulties would be likely to occur-for it must always be recollected that, in the case at Edinburgh, the burn being a safety-valve communicating with the sea, no accident or explosion can possibly occur -the farmer may therefore approach it or recede from it, may inject or reject its contents, at any hour, or for any period he may desire: whereas a covered sewer blindly administers all it possesses-without consideration, judgment, reflection, or mercy-its motto being Time and tide can wait for no man.' The supply of the manure and the demand for it might not therefore agree together for any length of time. Still, however, we can conceive arrangements which need not be described, by which this evil might be compensated, in which case there can be no doubt that an immense saving, especially that of cartage, would be effected-that the health of the town (in whose drains, constantly flushed clean by water, no refuse could remain) would be materially benefited-and that the produce of the land irrigated would abundantly increase.

But, although we are willing thus far to give Mr. Chadwick credit for his suggestion, and think it ought to be most seriously attended to in the case of our smaller towns, especially such as have considerable streams running through or near them, we

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must say we consider his attempt to extend the theory to London by the application of the power of steam is preposterous in principle as well as in detail.

The first idea that naturally occurs is the enormous expense and incalculable inconvenience that would be attendant upon the condemnation of nearly the whole of the existing sewers of London, which at present run downwards into the Thames. We acknowledge it may not unfairly be replied, that the very same objection might have been raised against macadamizing our oldfashioned bumping pavement against substituting wood for both -or against ruining our high-roads by the creation of railways. But admitting this first grave objection to be overruled: supposing for a moment that the old sewerage was destroyed, and that new subterranean works on completely different levels were constructed, there remain to be encountered difficulties above ground which we consider to be insurmountable.

It appears, from a parliamentary return lying before us, that the water pumped into London by the New River, Chelsea, West Middlesex, Grand Junction, East London, South London, Lambeth, and Southwark Water-Companies amounts to 4222 cubic feet per minute, day and night, throughout the year of which quantity, considerably more than (say) one-half flows through waste-pipes, &c., into the sewers: and if, according to Mr. Chadwick's project, the refuse of the streets of London, instead of being swept up and carted away, as hitherto, were daily to be washed into the gulley-drains by a water-hose, the amount of water which the companies would be required to supply must be very considerably enlarged. To this menaced flood of water, if there be added the usual contents of the sewers, it at once appears how enormous would be the amount of the mixture to be daily ejected from the metropolis via the sewers; and if, from any accident to the engines, the lifting-power, pumps, or bucketedwheels should suddenly be disabled, it is evident that a constipation of the sewerage must forthwith take place.

But there remains to be provided for a contingency infinitely more alarming. The area of London is, we believe, nearly 60 square miles: but, taking it only at 40 square miles, and estimating that during a thunder-storm and continued rain there might fall in the space of six hours* one inch of water: that quantity, on the surface last mentioned, would amount to 92,928,000 cubic feet of water, of which the greater portion would immediately go into the sewers. Now, when it is considered that the natural flow of the Coln river amounts only to about 6000 cubic feet per *It appears, from the rain-gauge at Somerset House, that on Tuesday, the 30th of August last, nearly two inches of rain fell in two hours.

minute,

minute, that of the Exe to about 5000, and that of the Lea to about 5600, our readers will at once perceive what an overwhelming amount of fluid would within a very short space of time be added to the already enormous contents of the London sewers; and while the elements of heaven were raging over the venerable head of our metropolis-while the thunder was rolling-while the forked lightning was shivering from top to bottom one or two of our finest church-spires-and while the rain was reverberating from the pavement like myriads of fountains rising out of the groundif at this sufficiently awful moment the tell-tale wind were suddenly to inform us all that, Mr. Chadwick's 'infernal machines' having more work than they could perform, their neighbourhoods had become inundated; if the next blast were to announce to us that the main sewers were blowing up-and then, by evidence every moment becoming more and more insufferable, we were to learn that out of every gully-grate in the metropolis there was spouting up that which, like a legion of foul fiends,' no man could control; in short, if we were suddenly to find ourselves in danger of a pestilence, from which not even a cabinet council, hastily summoned for the purpose, could relieve us-we fear that this Somerset House Amendment Act' would be a theme of general execration, and that the Poor Law Commissioners, as they plashed homewards through the streets on their respective ponies, would receive viva voce and oviform evidence that, like their sewers, they were in bad odour.

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But admitting for a moment that Mr. Chadwick may be enabled to demonstrate that the contents of the London sewers, even with the extraordinary additions to them during rains and thunder-storms, could not equal the quantity of water which in many parts of England is at present raised in draining our fens; in short that, the power of steam being invincible, a sufficient number of pumps, or rather of bucketed-wheels (say 500 engines of 100-horse power each)* might be prepared to meet any contingency that could occur; yet we maintain that the amount of fluid-manure so lifted would be infinitely more than could possibly-we need not say pleasantly-be applied by irrigation-that the superabundance must go somewhere-and that, after all, the greater portion of the quantity lifted would inevitably find its way to the Thames, from which, by so much labour and expense, we had attempted to divert it.

The next topic handled is the severe privations which the labouring classes are subjected to from want of water, not only for

* In the Cornish engines it is supposed that each horse-power can raise 528 cubic feet of water per minute to a height of one foot.

ablution,

ablution, house-cleaning, and sewerage, but for drinking and culinary purposes. For instance, Mr. Mott states in his report on Manchester, that there, as elsewhere, it is the custom of owners of small cottage property in neighbourhoods where there are no pipes laid, to erect for a given number of houses a pump, which is frequently rented by one of the tenants, who taxes the rest for using it. One poor woman told him that she was required to pay one shilling a month for permission to use this pump, while the watercompanies were giving an abundant supply to houses like hers for six shillings a-year- exactly half the money. In various Scotch towns the people have to go to public wells, the supply of which is so tardy, that crowds of women and children are obliged to wait their turns,' as it is called-indeed, these wells are sometimes frequented throughout the whole night. In Edinburgh many have to travel to wells at a considerable distance, and afterwards to carry their stoups up five, six, or seven stories. But neither private nor public wells are always to be had. In many places the poor are often obliged to collect water from ditches and ponds, so impure, that even horses that have not been accustomed to drink it are apt to suffer from it. At Tranent some of the labourers use barrels drawn on carriages -others employ their children to bring it in small vessels; and during the cholera, Dr. Scott Alison reports, it became so scarce, that the poor people went into the ploughed fields to collect the rain-water retained in depressions in the ground, and even in the prints made by horses' feet.

On the foregoing facts Mr. Chadwick justly observes,—

'Supplies of water obtained by the labour of fetching and carrying it in buckets do not answer the purpose of regular supplies brought into the house without such labour, and kept ready in cisterns. The interposition of the labour of going out and bringing home water from a distance acts as an obstacle to the formation of better habits; and in the actual condition of the lower classes, conveniences of this description must precede and form the habits. Even with persons of a higher condition the habits are greatly dependent on the conveniences: it is observed that, when the supplies of water into houses of the middle class are cut off by the pipes being frozen, and it is necessary to send to a distance, the house-cleansings and washings are diminished; and every presumption is afforded that if it were at all times, and in all weathers, requisite for them to send to a distance for water, their habits of housebold cleanliness would be deteriorated. The whole family of the labouring man in the mannfacturing towns rise early, before daylight in winter time, to go to their work; they toil hard, and they return to their homes late at night it is a serious inconvenience to them to have to fetch water from the pump or the river, on every occasion that it may be wanted, whether in cold, in rain, or in snow. The minor comforts of cleanliness

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