MOTLEY'S PROPOSED BRIDGE OVER THE AVON.

THE above engraving exhibits a design for a bridge of 600 feet span, which Mr. Motley proposes to construct over the river Avon, at St. Vincent's Rocks, Clifton: he states that it can be built without any cent ring. At a distance of 80 to 100 feet from the verge of the rock he proposes to drive a number of iron piles, united sufficiently strong to bear a strain of several thousand tons, to which powerful tension-bars would be fastened, on the river end of which cranes of sufficient strength would be attached, and, by the aid of a moveable platform, the first portion of the bridge would be hung on the principle of a suspended bracket; this would continue to be enlarged in length and depth, and as the work would commence on both sides simultaneously, the bridge would meet in the centre, and its perfect rigidity be effected. The cost of the iron work of such a bridge, Mr. Motley states, for a span of 600 feet, and to sustain a uniform load of 1000 tons, with perfect safety, would not exceed 30,000l. A model of the bridge may be seen at the office of the Mining Journal, in Fleet-street.

LAIRD'S GALVANISED IRON SECTIONAL BOATS. Mr. Macgregor Laird has communicated to the Nautical Magazine the annexed illustration of iron-built galleys and boats he is now constructing. Mr. Laird states that this construction is a simple contrivance to enable merchant vessels to carry without inconvenience, boats that, in case of need, would save the lives of crew and passengers;-men-of-war, to carry double the number of boats in the space now occupied, discovery vessels to carry large tenders;-travellers to carry boats in the space of a moderately sized trunk;-and merchants trading to the open ports of the Pacific and Indian Oceans to send out lighters and small craft, at the usual rate of freight.

The sketches are the plans, elevations, and sections of two descriptions of boat, built on the sectional principle. The larger one (figs. 1 to 4) is a galley, 70 feet long and 12 feet beam, to be propelled by negroes with paddles.* This boat is for the use of her Majesty's Consul at Fernando Po, to enable him, without reference to calms or baffling winds, to proceed when required to any point within his district, which embraces the Bights of Benin, Biafra and Panasia, a line of coast of 1000 miles in extent, having the beautiful island of Fernando Po in the centre.

"To those of your readers who know Mr. Beecroft, and have been upon the coast, I need not remark upon the advantages, the facility of taking the boat to pieces, and reuniting her in a few hours without the assistance of mechanical or skilled labour, will give that distinguished traveller in his future geographical discoveries. And from my own experience I can truly say that if I had again to ascend any African river, I would prefer three or four of these galleys, each manned and propelled by fifty Kroomen, to the best equipped steamers that ever left England.

Commercially, steamers can only pay in civilised countries. Their excessive cost at first, and the constant outlay afterwards, has ruined all African trading expeditions into the interior; while The following letter is from Commander Bevis, R.N., to Mr. Laird :"SIR-With reference to your letter of the 8th ult., with its enclosure from Mr. Macgregor Laird, relative to a sectional boat built of galvanised iron, said to be ready for survey on the 16th ult. (but is not yet in a finished state), and desiring me to take to my assistance some competent officer at Liverpool, who has been on the coast of Africa to inspect this boat, and report upon her efficiency, I beg to report for the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that I have on several occasions inspected the boat, and once in the presence of Mr. Beecroft, the Consul at Fernando Po, there being no African officer in this neighbourhood, and find her dimensions and efficiency as follows, viz.:Length 68 feet | Builder's Measurement 12" Total weight of ironwork . ་ ༠ ས

Beam

Depth amidships

..

..

..

45 tons

44

Do. with woodwork, masts, sails,}"

all complete ....

Depth forward and aft Thickness of plates 3-16 and -inch; displacement at 1 foot water line 7.65 tons; ditto 2 feet 20 89 tons.

"There are eight sectional pieces, the heaviest of which is 16 cwt., joined together by angle-iron joints, lined with vulcanised indian rubber, the whole being secured together by screw-bolts and nuts, so that her own crew of forty or fifty men, can carry her over any neck of land, and set her up again.

Her light draft of water is estimated at 1 foot with her crew, with provisions, water, &c., for the same, at 2 feet. She is to puil thirty-eight oars, double-banked, fitted with three schooner sails, jib and square-sail, having for night protection iron stanchions covered with thin felt; she is also to be fitted with air-tight galvanised tubes as a lifeboat.

"From her light draft of water, and general lightness, she is particularly well adapted to take the bars on the coast of Africa, where there is a short breaking sea, and for proceeding up the rivers, or to go in chase of slavers, as from her construction she must pull and sail very fast.

"It is proposed by Mr. Beecroft, that this boat should be fitted with a light brass sixpounder forwards; and with her crew trained to small arms, she would be fit to go in chase of any slavers in a calm, therefore submit that this class of boat, with increased or diminished dimensions, would be of great service to the African squadron as tenders. "I am, &c.,

Liverpool, 7th March, 1850.

"THOMAS BEVIS, Commander."

galleys of this description would have done all that has been done at a twentieth of the cost, and perhaps 'ere this, have opened a regular and steady trade with the tribes in the interior.

The second boat is building for an emigrant ship (figs. 5 to 8). She is in four sections, and can be used as an ordinary boat of 26 feet long (figs. 7 and 10), as a barge 38 feet, or a galley of 50 feet (fig. 5), at which size she would carry in safety 150 people.

Fire is the great danger to be apprehended on board emigrant vessels. In an hour after a fire was discovered these boats could be joined and towing astern, and the awful scenes that took place on board the Ocean Monarch and Caleb Grimshaw avoided.

All naval officers who have served on the coast of Africa, and the Indian Seas, know the advantages of having large and fast boats. On this sectional plan, a boat 60 feet long can be stowed

237

in a length of 25 feet on the booms, and be put together in a few minutes by her crew, when her services are required to chase in she could be sent to cruise with a month's provisions and water on calms or baffling winds, or to land troops; or, fitted as a tender, blockading squadron. Droghers, lighters, and small craft of all board; a simple and cheap way of doubling the efficiency of a lowest rate of freight, and put together with the greatest facility sorts and sizes, can be sent out to all parts of the world, at the and accuracy, without the aid of mechanics or skilled labourers. I may add, that I propose making all boats for passenger-vessels superior to any system of air-chambers, and securing them from life-boats, by using Light's prepared rushes, which are much oxidation by galvanising the plates, which also saves the expense of painting."

Fig. 7.-Plan of Section at A.

Fig. 11.-B, Water-tight Bulkheads, Sections at end of Midship Sections, showing the Sections as a Deck house,

Fig. 9.-Elevation of Fore and Aft Sections, as a Cutter 26 feet long, and 8 feet beam, for ordinary ship's use.

Fig. 10.-Midship Sections, stowed on Booms, to be used as store-rooms, or water-tanks, on the voyage, containing upwards of 3000 gallons."

SUPPLY OF WATER TO THE METROPOLIS.

REPORT by the General Board of Health on the Supply of Water to the Metropolis.

We have given at length the recommendations of the Commissioners, as to the plan they propose for adoption; but the report itself requires considerable discussion, which we must, however, defer, our space being otherwise taken up.

Quality of the Water of the River Thames.

1. That for domestic use it is inferior to the average quality of waters supplied to towns.

2. That its inferiority as a supply for domestic use arises chiefly from an excess of hardness.

3. That even when taken above the reach of pollution from the sewers of the metropolis it contains an excess, varying with the season, of animal and vegetable matter.

4. That although this latter cause of inferiority may be in part removed or corrected by filtration, the excess of hardness will still remain, rendering this water especially unfit for the following uses-namely, for cleansing the skin and for ordinary purposes of washing, by occasioning an excessive consumption of soap; for the preparation of tea, by occasioning waste to the like extent; and for all culinary processes by diminishing their efficiency and increasing their expense.

5. That the quality of the water in the river Lea and of the New River is, in this respect, no better than that of the Thames water taken beyond the influence of the sewage of the metropolis.

6. That the water taken by the Lambeth Company from the Thames opposite Hungerford-market is charged with animal and vegetable impurities, apparently the effect of the discharge of sewer water, which render it wholly unfit for use, and highly dangerous to the health of the persons who drink it.

7. That of the seven principal companies by which pipe water is conveyed to the metropolis, four deliver it without previous filtration.

8. That the defects in the quality of the water at present supplied, when collected in its least objectionable condition, and the evils arising from its distribution in the unfiltered state, are all aggravated by the practice of intermittent distribution.

9. That the practice of intermittent distribution occasions, in the case of the better description of houses, the retention of the water in cisterns and butts, and in that of the poorest classes, in tubs, pitchers, and such other vessels as can be obtained; and, as a consequence of such retention, the water imbibes soot and dirt, and absorbs the polluted air of the town, and of the offensively close, crowded, and unhealthy localities and rooms in which the poor reside.

10. That from the inferiority of the water at its source as at present collected, and from the additional pollution and deterioration occasioned by the mode of its distribution, a large proportion of the population is rendered averse to the daily use of water as a beverage, and is inclined and almost forced to the use of fermented liquors and ardent spirits to an extent greatly beyond the consumption of such drinks where purer water is more accessible.

11. That the annual cost of the construction and maintenance in repair of cisterns and their supports and connected apparatus in the houses of the middle and wealthier classes often exceeds the annual water-rate.

12. The cost of the pipe water supply and the additional expense and inconvenience resulting from the present mode of its distribution cause the population in some suburban districts to resort for water to open ditches, and in other crowded localities to shallow springs or wells; sources which are subject to increasing pollution from cesspools, from badly constructed house drains and sewers, and from overcrowded graveyards.

13. That the localisation and intensity of cholera in such districts as those alluded to were promoted in a most marked manner by the use of water containing decomposing animal and vegetable matter derived from sewers, drains. and other impure sources.

14. That the districts most severely visited by epidemic cholera, as well as those afflicted by ordinary epidemic diseases, are low-lying districts where, from the defective state of the drainage, there is an excess of damp and of putrid decomposition; and that such excess of damp is aggravated by the waste of water attendant on the intermittent mode of supply; a waste which appears to exceed the whole of the annual rainfall on the inhabited area of the metropolis.

Constant Supply System.

Many practical difficulties having been urged against the substitution of the constant for the intermittent system of water supply in the metropolis, we have particularly examined into the working of the constant system of towns where it is established, and in some of which it has been in operation for 15 and 20 years, and we find

15. That the waste of water is so far less, instead of greater, under the system of constant supply, that although the inhabitants have unlimited command of water, and use what they please, though the actual use of water by the inhabitants is greater, the quantity delivered by the companies is less, frequently less by one-half; in consequence of there being less waste from the more perfect delivery.

16. That the water, under the system of constant supply, is delivered purer and fresher, of a lower temperature in summer, and that it is less subject to frost in winter. 17. That the inconvenience apprehended from the interruption of supply during repairs and alterations, are never experienced, the work being executed under such simple precautions that no complaint has ever been known to have been made on this

account.

18. That the interruptions of supply, which are so constantly experienced on the intermittent system from the waste in the lower districts, from the neglect of turncocks, from limitation of quantity, from inadequate or leaky butts and cisterns, or from deranged ballcocks, are scarcely ever known on the constant system.

19. That the system of constant supply admits of great economy in pipes, as they may, under that system, for the most part, be considerably smaller, and, not being subject to the violent hydraulic jerks of the intermittent system, are less liable to burst."

20. That the pipes for the house service may not only be considerably smaller and cheaper, but that the cisterns and apparatus connected therewith, which, in the smaller class of houses, now cost more than the whole public portion of the works, may be entirely dispensed with.

Quantity requisite.

In respect to the quantity of water actually supplied, and to the quantity needed for the domestic use of the metropolitan population, and for other purposes, we have to report

That in consequence of statements made by several of the companies of the quantities of water which they pumped for the use of the metropolis, quantities which appeared to be inconsistent with the known habits of the population and the apparent amount of water consumed for domestic purposes, we deemed it desirable to cause the consumption of water in different districts, by different classes of the population, to be gauged from tle cisterns and butts, and also the run through house-drains and sewers on days when there was no rainfall.

From these observations it appears

21. That, whereas it was returned, in 1832, that the average quantity of water delivered to their respective customers by the several companies was 220 gallons per house or

dwelling--and more recently, as returned to us, was stated to be 164 gallons per house or dwelling-that is, 44,000,000 gallons per diem for the whole of the metropolismaking allowances for a considerable and injurious waste of water by permeation through badly constructed channels, the results of the gaugings of the run of water through drains and sewers, on days when there is no rainfall, do not appear materially to differ from the later statements of the several companies as to the quantity of water which is actually pumped into their several districts, while from the gaugings of the quantities of water consumed from cisterns and butts during the intervals of the Intermittent delivery, and from the capacity of the storage receptacles themselves, it appears that the average daily consumption does not exceed five gallons per head on the population, and that, with all allowances for the quantities used for manufactures, steam-engines, and other purposes, the gross quantity consumed does not exceed one-half of the quantity delivered. 22. That this waste is a consequence of the present intermittent mode of supply, and does not take place to any such extent where the constant system of supply has been substituted, and probably may be prevented altogether where the house service pipes are properly provided and arranged under a system of combined works.

23. That this waste, as now ascertained by official investigation, appears to have gone on without any knowledge of its great amount on the part of the companies, although it involves a double expense of pumping, and exceeds, as above-stated, the whole of the annual rainfall on the covered area of the metropolis.

24. That this waste is of no equivalent benefit for the cleansing of house drains and sewers, inasmuch as, from the inaptitude of these works, owing to their bad construction, for the discharge of water containing matter in suspension, accumulations of decomposing matters do take place in them to the great injury of the public health; accumulations which, notwithstanding the flow of the waste water through them, require to be cleared away by hand labour, flushing, or by other means,

25. That the waste water, having sewer matter mixed up with it, permeates through the brick drains and sewers, saturates the sites of houses with polluted water, and keeps up an excess of moisture which, rising into the porous and absorbent walls and plaster of the houses, contributes to render them damp even in the driest weather.

26. That this excess of moisture is aggravated by the extremely defective drainage in the low-lying and worst-conditioned districts, where, as has been already stated, epidemic disease is almost invariably present, and where the recent visitation of epidemic cholera has been the most severe.

27. That, taking into consideration the actual domestic consumption of water by the popalation of the metropolis, regarding also the extent of the increased supplies needed for the various purposes of sanitary improvement not hitherto contemplated by companies, nor included in new schemes, all the engineering estimates put forward by private companies of the quantity of water required for the service of the population, appear to be greatly in excess.

28. That there appears to be no probable demand for a general average consumption of water exceeding the present rate for houses of the higher class-namely, about 75 gallons per house per diem; or, in all, 22,000,000 of gallons per diem, inclusive of the Increased supply which will be necessary on the abolition of cesspools; and that, esti. mating the additional requirements for baths, for street-cleansing, for large consumers, for fires, and for other purposes, the whole quantity of water needed under an improved system of distribution does not exceed 40,000,000 of gallons per diem.

29. That it appears that the resolutions of parochial meetings and the statements of the promoters of new companies, alleging a deficiency in the total amount of water already introduced, and proposing to bring in additional supplies, have beeen made in ignorance of the actual present domestic consumption of the population, and of what is really needed, according to the best information, for the execution of practical measures of sanitary improvement.

30. That the several schemes which propose to bring in more water in addition to the quantity now wasted, and to make such additions mainly from the same sources which supply the water now generally consumed, without reference to improvements in the system of domestic distribution, and without combination with improved drainage-works for the removal of the waste water, would aggravate the existing sanitary evils, and increase the excessive charges already incurred for the defective works constructed in ignorance.

Flushing System.

Having particularly examined the statements as to the increased quantities of water required for the Aushing of drains and sewers, and the working of an improved system of drainage, we find

31. That upon a system of drainage such as that at present in use, consisting of brick house-drains and sewers, which cause accumulations of decomposing deposits, there would be required, for the intermittent removal of those accumulations by flushing, con siderable additions to the present quantities of pipe water pumped in for the supply of the metropolis, but that any system of house or main drainage which occasions the accumulation of decomposing refuse, and renders necessary the continuance of the practice of intermittent flushing, is in itself highly injurious to the public health, and ought to be prevented.

32. That recent trial works have placed beyond doubt the soundness of the conclusion of the Metropolitan Sanitary Commissioners-namely, that systematically adjusted tubular house drains and sewers are kept clear of deposit by the force of the soll ar sewer water alone, when conducted away at proper levels; and that no addition of water is required for this purpose.

Sewerage of the Metropolis.

With reference to those extensive districts of the metropolls the levels of which are below high-water mark, where the sewer water is at present penned up until it can be discharged at low water, and where putrefying deposit is accumulated in the sewers in consequence of the flow being arrested during high water, it appears

33. That it will require no addition of water, and certainly no increased expense in pumping, to cause such a continuous dow of the waste water as will prevent deposit; and that this prevention of deposit is the true object to be aimed at, and not the supply of additional quantities of water to remove, by flushing, deposit which ought not to have

been allowed to accumulate.

34. That besides the great injury to the public health from the ponding up of sewer water and the consequent conversion of large expansive sewers and reservoirs into extended cesspools; and, besides the waste of water and the expense of pumping it into the district for the removal of accumulations, the Intermittent system of draining the districts below high water mark by gravitation, without the aid of pumping for their relief, must necessitate the continued pollution of the Thames, and obstruct or delay the application of the refuse as manure.

35. That, except in extreme cases of absolute deficiency, the pumping in of additional supplies of water, before properly constructed house drains are laid down for its removal, would, by increasing damp, still further deteriorate the sanitary condition of the population, and occasion still greater dilapidations and injury to tenements.

36. That the separation of works of pipewater supply from those for the removal of waste water occasions delay in the execution of works of primary importance for sauitary improvements, as well as increased expense.

37. That it appears that while the expense of sewers and drains is reduced by an improved tubular system of drainage, the expense of earth-work, of digging, and making good, is one half of the total expense, and that, therefore, the separate laying down of watermains and drainage mains must frequently cause this last portion of the expense to be materially increased.

38. That on these grounds, and on the principles already recognised, the only way of securing systematic works with economy and efficiency, as well as with the least delay,

will be to consolidate under one and the same public management, the whole works for the supply of water, and for the drainage of the metropolis.

39. That it is essential to the economy and efficiency of all such works that the whole distributory apparatus, small as well as large, service pipes, and house drains, together with watermains, public draius, and sewers, should be laid down under one system, and kept in action under one supervision.

49. That it appears from the examination of improved works which have been in operation for a sufficient length of time to test their efficiency, and from detailed estimates made by different competent engineering officers upon house-to-house examina. tions of the worse conditioned districts, that combined works, comprising a water pipe for the service of each house, a sink, a drain, a waste pipe, and a soil-pan or watercloset apparatus, may be laid down and maintained in action at a cost not exceeding, on the average, lid. per week, or less than half the average expense of cleansing the cesspool for any single tenement.

41. That the general survey being now sufficiently advanced, such works may be executed for separate districts, without waiting for the completion of any general measure or plan of main sewers.

Provision for Supply.

Having considered the evidence in relation to the qualities of the water requisite for the supply of the metropolis, we find:

42. That, in addition to the properties of clearness and freedom from animal and vegetable matter which is apt to pass into decomposition and to prove injurious to health, one of the most essential properties of water is softness, or freedom from lime and other substances productive of what is termed hardness.

43. That, having made careful and extensive inquiries, with the aid of the department of the Ordnance geological survey, as to the most suitable sources of supply, having had those districts which appeared to be the most eligible specially examined by our engineering inspectors, with other aid, we find, upon their unanimous testimony, that from a tract of upwards of 150 square miles of gathering ground there is derivable a supply nearly double the present actual domestic consumption, of a quality varying from onetenth to one-third the hardness of Thames water, and of a purity equalling the general average of the improved soft-water supplies of the districts which have yet been brought under examination.

44. That water obtained from silicious sands, such as those which cover the tract above described, is proved to be of a quality only equalled in excellence by the water derived from mountain granite rocks, or slate rocks, or other surfaces of the primitive formations.

45. That upon the estimates which have been obtained, this water may be brought to the metropolis and delivered pure and filtered into each house on the system of constant supply at high pressure, and, at the same time, on the plan of combined works, the waste water may be removed by a proper system of drainage, at a rate not exceeding an average of 3d or 4d per week per house, or from 30 to 50 per cent. less than the present charges for defective water supply alone.

46. That the saving of soap, from the use of soft water in the operation of washing (the expense of washing linen and other clothes being estimated at an average of 1s. per head per week to be nearly 5,000,000l. per annum on the population of the metropolis) would be probably equivalent to the whole of the money expended at present in the water supply.

47. That the saving in tea from the use of soft water may be estimated at about onethird of the tea consumed in the metropolis.

48. That other culinary operations would be much facilitated by the use of soft water. 49. That soft water is peculiarly suitable for baths, as well as for washing.

50. That soft water would prevent those incrustations and deposits in boilers and pipes which render hard water unsuitable for manufacturing purposes.

Recommendations of the Commission.

We therefore advise the rejection of all the schemes promoted by water companies, or by parochial vestries and associations, which adopt, as sources of supply, the Thames and its tributaries of the same degree of hardness, wells, and springs from the chalk or other formations which impart the quality of hardness.

And further, whilst we believe that Thames water taken up beyond the influence of the metropolitan drainage, and filtered, may be used without injury to the public health, and may be employed temporarily until other sources can be laid under contribution, we advise that Thames water, and other water of like quality as to hardness, be as early as practicable abandoned.

In respect to the existing companies which have no property in any of the sources of water supply, but whose capital is invested in engines and distributory apparatus, we recommend that their plants should be purchased, but we are not prepared to recommend any pre-appointed terms of purchase; and we find

51. That, if the management of the water supply be consolidated, five if not six out of the seven principal pumping establishments may be discontinued, and an expenditure of from 80,000l. to 100,000l. per annum saved by consolidating the management of these works and connecting them with combined works of drainage and sewerage, and that further reductions may be made in the expenses of these latter establishments.

Having considered, as required under the Metropolitan Sanitary Commission, the means of supplying water to extinguish fires, and having examined the practical experi. ence of improved works in relations thereto in other towus, we find

52. That the tradequacy of the supplies of water under the intermittent system occasions great danger to life and property, but that by arrangements which are practicable under a system of constant supply at high pressure, the whole force of the water in the mains may be brought to bear at any point for extinguishing fire in from one to five minutes, or in about one-fourth the time that it takes the best appointed fire-engines Bow to gain the spot and be in action after the alarm of fire has been given.

53. That, judging from the experience of various places where improved arrangements have been put in practice, it appears that by the general adoption of these arrangements more than two-thirds of the fires which now occur in the metropolis may be extinguished before any extensive damage takes place.

54. That the insurance risks on life and property may be diminished in a yet greater proportion.

55. That the crime of incendiarism may be checked, and that these consequences alone, were there no other advantages to be obtained, would render it worth while to make the change from the intermittent to the constant system.

56. That these advantages may be best given by the same means by which a more perfect and cheaper surface cleansing of courts, alleys, foot-pavements, and carriage-ways than that by hand may be effected-namely, by jets of water distributed under high pressure.

Proposed Plan for the Metropolis.

Having considered the most eligible administrative provisions for the execution of the required works, we concur in the principles recommended by the commission of inquiry as to the best means of improving the health of towns, and confirmed by Parliament in the Public Health Aet, viz.:

57. That the works of water supply, and those for drainage, or the removal of soll or waste water, should be carried into effect by one and the same administrative body.

58. But that the magnitude of the metropolis, the diversity of its local jurisdictions, and its position as the seat of government, and the occasional residence of persons from all parts of the empire, the large minorities requiring protection, and the unaccustomed magnitude of the requisite outlay, render distinct and special provisions necessary for it,

• The district from which the proposed supply is to be taken is Bagshot Heath.

and that the amendments required may be most speedily, safely, and economically executed by special or by provisional arrangements.

59. That a general survey under the direction of the engineers of the Board of Ordnance, and other surveys, trial works, and preparations essential to the safe and economical executions of combined works of water supply having been completed, under the direction of the consolidated Metropolitan Sewers Commission, such combined works may now be executed and maintained at a lower rate of charge per house than has heretofore been incurred for any of their various branches executed separately.

60. That the initiation and executive direction of such works by members, however highly qualified, giving casual attendance at meetings held weekly or fortnightly, causes grievous delay, and that in cases which measures for preventing disease or arresting its progress require the utmost promptitude.

61. That, considering the great loss and suffering incurred by the delay in carrying the required works into execution, it will be expedient to confide their further preparation and superintendence to a few competent and responsible officers, of whom a certain portion should be paid, giving their whole time and attention to the subject. That the whole of these works be carried into execution by contract upon open tenders, not merely for the construction of the works, but for maintaining them in good action and repair for terms of years.

62. That ths means provided by the Public Health Act for giving publicity to plans and estimates of intended works, with opportunities of suggestion and appeal, be extended to the works proposed for the sanitary improvement of the metropolis.

63. That the proper execution of the works will be best guaranteed, the responsibility of the persons charged with their execution best insured, and the interest of the poorest classes of the population (the inhabitants of the most depressed districts, who, though they pay no direct local rates, pay heavy rents), will be best guarded in the special case of the metropolis, at all events provisionally, by the direct control of Parliament; the importance of the proposed measures to the health, convenience, and comfort of large masses of the population, the magnitude of the required constructions, the amount of outlay, and the dangers of failure and waste as well as delay being, from experience of separate works already constructed, such as to render it necessary that the highest order of continued and undivided attention and responsibility shonld be secured for the execution of such works as this Report recommends.

ROYAL SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF ARTS.

April 22.-PATRICK WILSON, Esq., in the Chair.

The following communications were made :

1. On a New Method of inducing an upward Current in the Upcast Shaft of Coal-Mines, to promote Ventilation. By Mr. J. SETON RITCHIE, Edinburgh. The author adverted to the vast numbers, as workers, and dependants on them, interested in the adoption of means by which freedom from danger in coal mines may be attained; then, mentioning the theories by which mine-explosions are accounted for, he noticed the numerous methods which have been proposed for maintaining mines in a state of safety, and particularly the method in general use of inducing an upward current of the air of the mine by means of a fire at the lower part of the upcast shaft, that, as the provision of a separate shaft for the removal of the air of the mine is prevented by the great additional expense, even though mechanical appliances may appear highly calculated to maintain a powerful and steady current, difficulty exists in their application, as interfering with the free working of the produce of the mine carried on by the upcast shaft, which is further increased in making provision for continual reliance on them, as spare appliances would require to be provided. The author stated that the method now proposed is free from this obstacle. The current is induced by means of pipes heated by water circulating in them, fixed round the circumference of the shaft in such manner within the line of it, as shall shield them from injury, leaving sufficient exposure of them to communicate their heat to the air in the shaft; the furnaces for heating the circulating water being at the nearest convenient distance, at a considerably lower level than the orifice of the shaft, as on the depth at which they are placed will depend the perpendicular extent of the upper part of the shaft around which the pipes may be placed. Certainty of action could, with ordinary caution, be relied on, as, even if one of the circulations ceased, from any cause, to act, the others would during that time continue in action. A similar application might also be made at the lower orifice of the shaft, and even extended in some measure to the workings; or the fires now in use at the foot of the shaft might be retained, and the application alone made at the upper part in aid, to promote greater certainty and steadiness in the current. It was submitted that a similar application might be made of steam as of water. It was pointed out that the maintaining of the upward current in the shaft is but one section of the keeping the mine in a state of safety-that, though this will never be effected without a steady and powerful extracting current in the shaft, the latter will be of little avail, unless accompanied by carefully-laid-out air-courses throughout the mine itself, properly modified as the working advances, attention on the part of those appointed to open and close the doors which it becomes necessary to erect in them to direct the currents, and attention that that the building off of exhausted sections of the mine be as frequently as possible accomplished, that they may not become next to permanent reservoirs of noxious gases, ready to lend their aid to a general explosion.

2. Description of a Water-Meter. By Mr. F. A. BUCKNALL, New Swindon, Wilts. The author stated that the object of this meter is the measurement of the supply of water to private dwellings, breweries, &c. It consists chiefly of a fan-shaped bucket-wheel, revolving within a cylindrical case, and kept water-tight by means of packing, made of India-rubber, leather, or other elastic substance, supply and delivery pipes, and wheel and pinion gear, which is connected with an index plate. The revolving action of the meter is maintained by the gravity of the wheel being constantly greater on the one side than on the other, owing to the continuous running off of the

water from the opposite side to that at which the water is supplied. The meter is only in action during the time the water is running off.

3. Description of a New Liquor Pump, calculated to prevent the Liquor from being contaminated with Verdigris and Oil in the interior of the Pump Barrel; also applicable to the Pumping of Acids. By Mr. HAY DALL, Glasgow. The author stated the following as the disadvantages of the present system of pumping liquors-1st, That each liquor requites a separate pump. 2nd, That the liquor, in passing through the barrel of the pump, corrodes its interior, especially in the case of fermented liquors, thus producing constant decay in the barrel and valves, and also an accumulation of verdigris in brass pump-barrels, which, together with the oil or tallow used to lubricate the piston, is constantly mixing with and contaminating the liquor. The inventor stated that he had his attention frequently directed to the disgusting state of the interior of corroded pump-barrels which had been sent in for repair-that, generally, every crevice and corner of the piston and barrel where it could collect, was clogged with a poisonous and nauseous compound of stale beer and oily verdigris, ready to mix in greater or less quantity with the next liquor that would pass through it. That in the new method one pump can be made to supply any number of liquors, while the liquor never gets into contact with the pump-barrel. The pump is used solely as an air-pump to withdraw the air from the interior of a series of glass or earthenware vessels, properly arranged, and made to communicate with the liquor casks by tubes immersed in the liquor. When the cocks are properly arranged, and the pump is worked, the liquor rises and fills the vessel, never having passed through the pump barrel at all, and when the vessel is full, the pumping is stopt, and the liquor is run off into the vessels from which it is to be drunk, by a common cock.

LIST OF NEW PATENTS

GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM MAY 23, TO JUNE 20, 1850. Six Months allowed for Enrolment, unless otherwise expressed.

William Radley, chemical engineer, and Frederick Meyer, oil merchant, both of Lambeth, Surrey, for improvements in treating fatty oleaginous resinous, bituminous, and cerous bodies, in the manufacture and application of them, and of their components and subsidiary products, together with the apparatus to be employed therein to new and other useful purposes.-May 25.

Edwin Pettitt, of Birmingham, civil engineer, for improvements in the manufacture of glass, in the method of forming or shaping and ornamenting vessels and articles of glass, and in the construction of furnaces and annealing kilns.-May 25,

John Hickman, of Walsall, Stafford, clerk, for improvements in the manufacture of cylindrical and other tubes.-May 25.

Alfred Vincent Newton, of Chancery-lane, mechanical draughtsman, for improvements In couplings for carriages, and in the attachment of wheels to axles. (A communication.)-May 28.

James Ashworth, of Rochdale, Lancaster, manufacturer, and Thomas Mitchell, of the same place, manager, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for preparing, spinning, and weaving cotton, wool, and other fibrous materials.-May 29.

Jonathan Harlow, of Birmingham, for improvements in the manufacture of bedsteads and other articles for sitting or reclining on.-May 30.

Edwyn John Jeffery Dixon, of the Royal Slate Quarries, Bryntrafood, near Bangor, North Wales, for improvements in the manufacture of sinks and other articles of slate or stone.-May 30.

Thomas Page, of Middle Scotland-yard, Middlesex, civil engineer, for improvements in the construction and means of cleansing sewers.-June 1.

Ezra Jenks Coates, of Bread-street, Cheapside, London, merchant, for improvements in the manufacture of bolts, spikes, and nails.-June 1.

Moses Poole, of the Patent Bill Office, London, gentleman, for improvements in machinery for punching metals, and in the construction of springs for carriages and other uses.-June 1.

Arthur Elliott, machine maker, of Manchester, and Henry Heys, of the same place, book-keeper, for certain improvements in machinery for manufacturing woven fabrics.

June 1.

Guillaume Ferdinand de Douhet, of Clermont Ferrand, France, gentleman, for improvements in the disoxygenation of certain bodies, and the application, separately or simultaneously, of the products therefrom to various useful purposes.-June 1.

Frank Clarke Hills and George Hills, of Deptford, Kent, manufacturing chemists, for certain improvements in manufacturing and refining sugar.-June 1.

Samuel Brown, of Lambeth, Surrey, engineer, for improvements in engines for measuring and registering the flow of fluids and substances in a fluid state, which improvements are also applicable to steam and other motive engines -June 1.

John Tucker, of the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, Kent, shipwright, for improvements in steam boilers, and in gearing, cleansing, and propelling vessels. (A communication.) -June 1.

George Hayward Ford, of St. Martin's-le-Grand, Middlesex, gentleman, for improvements in obtaining power.-June 3.

Paul d'Angely, of Paris, France, gentleman, for certain improvements in the construction of privies and urinals, and in apparatus and machinery for cleansing privies, cesspools, and other places, and in deodorising the matter extracted therefrom, and rendering it available for agricultural purposes.-June 4.

David Napier and James Murdock Napier, of the York-road, Lambeth, Surrey, engineers, for their invention of improvements in apparatus for separating fluid from

other matters.-June 4.

Theodore Cartali, of Manchester, merchant, for certain improvements in the treatment or preparation of yarns, or threads, for weaving. (A communication.)-June 4. William Watson, the younger, of Chapel Allerton, York, manufacturing chemist, for improvements in the preparation and manufacture of various materials to be used in the processes of dyeing, printing, and colouring-June 4.

John Sykes and Adam Ogden, both of Dock street, Huddersfield, York, wool cleaners and machine makers, for certain improvements in machinery for cleaning wool, cotton, sud similar fibrous substances from burrs, mores, and other extraueous matter.-June 4. Edmund Sharpe, of Lancaster, master of arts, for certain improvements in railway carriages. June 5.

William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for improvements applicable to boots, shoes, and other coverings for, or appliances to the feet.-(A communication)-July 6.

George Jackson, of Belfast, Ireland, flax-spinner, for improvements in heckling machinery.-June 6.

John McNicoll, of Liverpool, engineer, for improvements in machinery for raising and conveying weights.-June 6.

William Robertson, of Gateside-hill, Neilstone, Renfrew, Scotland, machine maker, for improvements in certain machinery used for spinning and doubling cotton, and other fibrous substances.-June 6.

James Alexander Hamilton Bell, New York, America, merchant, for improvements in dressing bran, pollard, and sharps. (A communication.)-June 6.

A grant unto William George Bicknell, of Essex-street, Strand, and James Reginald Torin Graham, of the Grove, Clapham Common, of an extension for the term of six years of letters patent granted by his late Majesty King William IV., to Miles Berry, of Chancery-lane, patent agent, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for cleaning, purifying, and drying, wheat or other grain or seeds.-June 7

William Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for certain improvements in the manufacture of cords, ropes, bands, strong cloths, quilting, sacks, and cushions, and in elastic material for stuffing the latter, in which manufacture caoutchouc forms an essential ingredient, and in the application of parts of these improvements to the manufacture of pads, stoppers, tubes, boxes, baskets, coverings, wrappers, and other like articles of utility. (A communication).-June 8. James Colman, of Stoke Mills, Stoke, near Norwich, Norfolk, mustard and starch manufacturer, for improvements in the manufacture of starch.-June 8.

Peter Armand Lecomte de Fontainemoreau, of South-street, Finsbury, London, for certain improvements in oscillating engines put in motion by steam and gas resulting from combustion. (A communication).-June 8.

Charles Warwick, of Cheapside, warehouseman, for improvements in apparatus for taking up the work of certain descriptions of knitting machinery. (A communication)-—— June 8.

Peter Armand Lecomte de Fontainemoreau, of South-street, Finsbury, for certain improvements in the manufacture of sulphate of soda, muriatic and uitric acids. (A communication).-June 11.

William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for improvements in machinery for carding cotton, wool, or other fibrous materials, and an apparatus for preparing or setting the cards of carding engines, (A communication)-June 11.

William Jackson, of Kingston-upon-Hull, soap maker, for improvements in the manufacture of soap, and in the preparation of materials for this purpose.—June 11. William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for improvements in rotary engines. (A communication).-June 11.

Robert Waddell, of Liverpool, Lancaster, engineer, for certain improvements in steam engines. (A communication)-June 11.

Alexander Parkes, of Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, experimental chemist, for improvements in smelting and treating certain metals, and in the construction and manufacture of furnaces and the materials to be used for the same, such furnaces and materials being applicable to the treatment of metals and metallic compounds, and to various other useful purposes of a like nature.-June 11.

William Pole, of Great George-street, Westminster, engineer, and David Thomson, of Belgrave-road, Pimlico, engineer, for improvements in steam-engines.-June 11.

John Henry Vries, Esq., of Norfolk-street, Strand, Middlesex, for improvements in working engines by atmospheric air.-June 11.

James Palmer Budd, of the Ystalyfera Iron Works, Swansea, merchant, for improvements in the manufacture of coke.-June 11.

John Dearman Dunnicliff, of Hyson Green, Nottingham, lace manufacturer, and John Woodhouse Bagley, of Radford, in the said county, lace maker, for certain improvements in lace aud other weaving.-June 11.

Samuel Ellis, of Sulford, engineer, for improvements in machinery or apparatus applicable to all kinds of carriages used on railways.-June 11.

Frederick Albert Gatty, of Accrington, Lancaster, manufacturing chemist, for a certain process or certain processes for obtaining a carbonate of soda and carbonate of potash.—

June 11.

William Cox, of the firm of William Cox and Co., of Manchester, cigar merchant, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for manufacturing aerated waters, or other such liquids.-June 11.

John Sidebottom, of Broadbottem, Chester, manufacturer, for improvements in looms for weaving.-June 11.

William Mac Lardy, of Manchester, machinist, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for preparing and finishing, and doubling cotton and other fibrous materials. -June 12.

Alfred Vincent Newton, of Chancery-lane, Middlesex, mechanical draughtsman, for improvements in the production of gases to be used for lighting, heating, and motive power purposes. (A communication).-June 12.

Gustavus Palmer Harding, of Bartlett's-buildings, London, artificial florist, for improvements in the manufacture of buttons and other fastenings.-June 12.

Thomas Deakin, of Balsall Heath, Worcester, Esq., for certain improvements in machinery and apparatus to be used in rolling metals and in the manufacture of metal tubes June 12.

John Stopporton, of the Isle of Man, engineer, for certain improvements in propelling vessels.-June 12.

William Edward Newton. of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for certain improvements in the construction of railways. (A communication.)-June 12.

George Allen Everitt, of the firm of Alien, Everitt, and Son, of the Kingston Metal Works, Birmingham, metal and tube manufacturers, and George Glydon, of Birmingham aforesaid, engineer and foreman to the said Allen, Everitt, and Son, for certain improvements in the manufacture of metal tubes for locomotive, marine, and other boilers.June 12.

John Manly, jun., of Birmingham, manufacturer, for certain improvements in the manufacture of nails.-June 12.

Charles Lamport, of Wortrington, Cumberland, ship-builder, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for lifting and moving weights, working chains, and pumping, which improvements are more especially adapted to ship use -June 19. Charles Greenway, of Green-street, Grosvenor-square, Middlesex, for improvements in ships' and other pumps, in anchors, and in propelling vessels.-June 19.

Benjamin Cheverton, of Camden-street, Camden-town, Middlesex, artist, for methods of imitating ivory and bone.-June 19.

Charles Hanson, of Stepney, Middlesex, engineer, for certain improvements in steamengine, steam-boilers, and safety valves, and in apparatus and machinery for propelling vessels.-June 19

Isaac Hartas, of Wretton Hall, York, farmer, for improvements in machinery for obtaining motive power. (A communication.)-June 19.

Robert Heath, of Manchester, iron merchant, and Richard Hendley Thomas, of Woolstanton, Stafford, engineer, for certain improvements in the manufacture of iron.June 19.

Ethan Baldwin, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, for a new and useful method of generating and applying steam in propelling vessels, locomotives, and stationary machinery.-June 19.

Robert Weare, of Angel-court, Throgmorton-street, clock and watch manufacturer, for certain improvements in the means and apparatus for extinguishing fire, and in galvanic batteries. June 19.

George Robarts, of Tavistock, Devon, gentleman, for certain improvements in clogs and pattens.-June 19.

Gaspard Malo, of Dunkirk, France, shipowner, for certain improvements in propelling vessels.--June 20.