.A· ~ T R INC II A M, - Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council

PUBLIC HEALTH ACT,(11 "& 12 Viet., cap. (3).REP 0 RTTOT HY.GENERAL BOARDOF HEALTH,ON A.PRELIMINARYINQUIRYINTO THE SEWERAGE, DRAINAGE, AND SUP P LY OFWATER, AND THE SANITARY CONDITIONOF THE INHABITANTS,OF THE TOWN OF.A· ~ T R INC II A M,IN THE COUN'l'Y OF CHESTER.By ROBERT RAWLINSON, ESQ.,BUl' ERlNTENDIN G INS pECTOR.LONDON:PRINT~~D BY "'V. CLOWES &. SO~S, STAIIIFORD STREET,' OR 111-:1: MAJK>T Y'S ST A n Olf ERY OFFI CE.1851.

NOTIFICATION.THE General Board of H ealth hereby give notice, in terms of section 9thof the Public H ealth Act, that on or before the 20th of September next,bein g a period of not less than one month from the date of the publicationand deposit hereof, written stat ements may be forwarded to theBoard with respect to any matter contained iu or omitted from the accompanying R eport on the Sewerage, Drainage, and Supply of W·ater,and the Sanitary Conditi on of the Inhabitants of the Town and Townshipof ALT RINCII A M, or with respect to any amendm ent to be prollosedtherein.By order of the Board,HENRY AUSTIN, S ecretary/,GWydY1' House, Whitehall,/'5tft August, 1850.CONTENTS.PA GEl ~ TROD UCTION • • :l. Notices properly given aPreamble of P etition 4DESCRIPTION OF Tow;'. • . • 4Census of the Pa rish of Bowdon, for 18H ;,Rarly History. I)Charter . . • • • • • • • • • 6LOCAL FOR~I OF GOVERNMENT AND ACTS OF PAR LIA~IENT IN FORCE 7PRESENT C ONDITION OF TOWN 8Geology • r. 9. Metcorology • • • • !JCondition of Agricultural Land iu Suburbs 9MORTALITY, & c . • • • 9Present drainage of the Town 10H ighways and streets 11New streets, not highways • 11C ourts and all eys • . ' . 11Comm on Lod ging-houses 11Slaughter-houses 11Burial-grounds 11Water Supply. 11Analysis of Water 12PUBLIC L IG HT I NG • 12'Remarks . • • •• 13P UBLIC INQUIIlY, EVIDENCE, H EMAIlKS, ET C. 14rG ENERAl, OnSERVATlOI

A. LT RI N CK A. M• ,',!--.:..:... ~~•

PUBLIC HEALTH ACT (11 and 12 vi«, Cap. 63).R eport to the General Board of Health on a P reliminary I nquiry. into the Sewerage, D rainage, and Supply of Water, and theSanitary Condition ofthe I nhabitants, of the Town of ALTR IN­ClIAM, "in the County qf Chester. B y ROBERT R AWLINSON,Es q., Civil E ngineer, Superintending Inspector.My LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, London, July 1850.W HERE AS, in pursuance of the Public H ealth A ct, 1848,the General Board of Health , appointed {or the purposes of thatAct, have, upon the petition of not less than one-tenth of the inhabitantsrated to the relief of th e poor of and within the town ofAltrineham, in the county of Chester (the number .of th e saidpetitioners greatly exceeding' 30 in the whole), directed RobertR awlinson, a Superintending Inspector, to visit the said town,and to ma ke public inquiry, and to examine witnesses as to thesewerage, drainage, and supply of water; the state of the burialgrounds ; th e nu mber and sanitary condition of the inhabitants;and as to any local Acts of P arliament in force within such townand chapelry for paving , lighting, cleansing, watching, regulating,supplying with water, or improving the said town or havingrelation to th e purposes of the said Act; also as to the naturaldrainage areas, and the existing chapelry, 01' other local boundaries, and the boundaries which might be most advantageouslyadopted for the purposes of the said Act:Now, I, th e said Robert Rawlinson, havin g previously giventhe notices dir ected by the said Act, proceeded upon the saidinqui ry in th e manner directed by the said Act, and do now reportin writing to your H onoura ble Board upon th e several matterswith respect to which I was directed to inquire as aforesaid, andupon certain other matters, in respect of which 1 deem it expedientto report for the purposes of the said Act :-NOTICES PROPERLY GIVE N.-Messrs. Nicholls and Worthington;solicitors, proved the proper' publication and affixing theprinted notices, as the Act directs, and the inquiry took place at11 o'clock in the forenoon, at the Unicorn Inn, Altrincham, thefollowing named gentlemen being present-J. A. \Vorthington,E sq., solicitor j Edward J'oynson, E sq.; W. M. Millington,Esq.; Richard Broadbent, Esq., surgeon; R. W. Bennett, Esq. ;J ohn Woollam, Esq.; T homas Blease, Es q., surgeon; CharlesRobinson, Es q., surgeon; M r. Thomas Bal shaw; Mr. JohnPartington ; Mr. William Wa rren; M r. Isaac Turton, assistantoversee1',surveyor of highway s, and others.

4 Report to the General Board if Health, on the Town and Township if Altrincham. 5I received much assistance from the gentlemen named. W. TattonEgerton, Esq., M.P., has taken a warm interest in the improvementof the town, and there is a general anxiety to obtainthe means of carrying out proper sanitary works and regulations.In opening the court, I explained the object of the inquirynamely,that it was to obtain such information as might enableyour Honourable Board to judge of the propriety, or otherwise, ofapplying the Public Health Act to the town and township of A.Itrincham,as requested in the terms of the following petition,which had been forwarded to your Honourable Board:-in 1750, was about 1,000; in 1772 the census was accuratelytaken, when there appeared to ·be 248 families, and 1,029 inhabitants.In 1831 there were 2,708 inhabitants, and in 1841 ,3,399; but the town has been considerably increased Of late.The following table will show the relative proportion the town -ship bears to the parish of Bowdon. ., The entire parish of Bowdon contains 18,660 acres, and at thecensus of 1841 had a population of 9,473 inhabitants. I t includesthe following nine townships and two chapelries :-CENSUS of 1841.TOWNSHIP OR CHAPELRY.English HOUSES PERSONS.StatuteAcres. In- Unln- Buildhabited,habited ing .Males. Females. Total .- - ------- - - -Agden (part) Township IJ70 4 1 ·. 25 20 ' 45Altrincham Chapelry • . 520 664 20 ·. 1,~39 1,860 3,39!)Ashley Township • • 2,390 IJ3 2 ·. 208 169 377Baguley Township. • • 2,070 96 1 :I 267 238 505Bullington (part) Township 400 50 2 ·. 136 168 304Bowdon Township. • 690 106 .. 9 359 290 649Carrington Chapelry • • :1,070 95 2 ·. 277 282 559Dunham Massey Township 3,710 219 4 644 613 1, 257Hale Township . • • • 3;540 181 2 ·. 504 470 974Partington Township 1,220 83 5 ·. 243 214 457Ti.mperley Township . 1,380 185 1 2 476 471 947----- - - - - - ----Total . . 18,IJ60 11, 746 40 13 4,IJ78 4,795 9,473In 1841 the number of inhabited houses in Altrincham was6 16, in May 1849, 78 1, being an increase of 165 in eight years.At the time of this inquiry, 37 additional were in course of erection.The increase in the population since 184 1 is consideredto be 1,473; . 165 new houses-average number of inmates ineach f}~-907. Itis also estimated that there has been an increasedpopulation of one-sixth added to the old houses, amounting to 566,,making a total population up to the time of this inquiry of 4,872.The railway has been in active operation since this tim e. MallYnew houses have been erected, and from the facilities nowafford ed,a rapid increase may be anticipated.EARLY HISTOR Y.-This town is of the ancient fee of' the baronsof Dunham Massy, one of whom, Hamon de Massy (temp.Edw. I.) institu ted burgesses, and granted them a guild mercatorijab out. the year 1290. In this deed the nam es are thu s written ~Altringham, B owdon, Donpham, Tympedpgh, Baggelegh, a ndSunderland . The same Hamon, by charter (18th Edward 1.)granted a Tuesday market and a three days' fair on the 15th ofAugust; the market is still held on Tuesday, but the lairs are nowkept on the 29th A pril, the 5th and 6th August, aad on .the22nd November. Sir Peter Leycester, in his" Historical Antiquities,"says, " There are so very many small cottages erected

provided6Report to the General Board ifHealth, 0on the Town and Township ofAltrincham. 7here by permission of the Lords of Dunham Massy, that it is nowbecome a nest of beggars." D r. O rmerod sta tes that the manorof Altrincham descended with Dun h am Massy to the Earls ofStamford, and though within the jurisdic tion of the barony leet,a distinct cou rt leet is held by the E arl, in and for the borouzh ofAltrincham, The borough is governed by con stables, an d th~ u gha " M ay ol'" is annnally a ppointed, he h as no ma zi sterial j uris ­diction, and his du t ies a re chiefly opening the fairs ~nd expendinga yearly sum , wh ich , it is said, is left at his discret ion. It isusually devo ed to di nners for the b urgesses.The following is a translation of the charter g ra nted in thereign of E d wa rd I. :-" CHARTER o ~· HAMON DE MASSy.- T o all the Fa ithful of Christ,.who may inspect or hear thi s present charter, Ha mon de Massy, Lordo~ D oneha m, e~ erla st i n g greeting in th e Lord. K now ye that I havegiveu, and by this my present charter, for me and my heirs, have con­~rm ed to my burgesses of Altrincham, that my vill of Al trincham be afree borough; and that my bur gesses of the said borough may have aguild mercatory in the same borough, with all the privileges and freecustoms appertaining . to such guild, according to the customs of theborough of Macclesfield. And that they, throu ghout all my estate, aswell by water as by land, be quit of fair and market toll, passage, pontage,stallage, lastage, and all other servile customs. I have also grantedto my aforesaid hurgesses common of pasture and heath-turbary, withinthe boundaries of Doneham, Altringham, lind Tymperlegh, saving tome and my heir s our approv ements, and saving to me and m y heirs ther ight of enclosure of Sunderland, 'I< at our pleasure, without contradictionof any, whensoever we will to enclose it. So that my aforesaid burgessesmay, always and everywhere, have comm on of pastur e for alltheir ani mals, within the bounds of Sund erland, 0 th at th eaforesaid place of Sunderland should not be enclosed j - saving to meand my heirs all the ti me of pannage in the aforesaid Sunderland, sothat during' that time we may be able, at our pleasure, to have theaforesaid Sunderland -in defence, with out cont radiction of any. Andwhen the aforesaid Sund erland shall be enclosed, my aforesaid burgessesmay have their common as far as the hay of the aforesaid Sunderland,and not beyond. I also will that all my b urgesses, who may haveswine in th e time of pan nage, in my borough, or after the feast of theblessed J ames, and in the time of pannage, that they may give theright tac when they pasture withi n the aforesaid commons ; ami elsewherewith the ir pigs of the said borough, in the t ime of pann age theysh all not go. I have also gra nted to my aforesaid burgesses houseboldand haybold in all the woods of the aforesa id places, except thehedges and fences of my woods. I grant also to my aforesaid burgesses,that they shall not be impleaded without a port-mote of the sameborough; nor shall th ey be drawn into an y court beyond their borough,for tr ansgr essions committed withi n the boroug h. And if anyof them shall fall into mercy for any forfeit, he shall be amerced by hispeers, lind that according to the extent of his offence. I will also that• Su nderland, now Sin derland,my burgesses shall grind all their grain grown upon the land of Altringham,or sold at an inn in the same town, at my mill, for the eighteenthvessel as multure. I gr ant also that my aforesaid burgesses may maketo them selves boroughreeves and bailiffs, by the common council ofmyself, or of my bailiffs and theirs. And no plea shall be held or determinedin the said borough, save before me or my bailiff. And thatevery burgess may hold his single burgage of two perches of land inwidth and five in length, with one entire acre of land in the fields, fortwelve pence, at three terms of the year, to me and my heirs, pay ableannually, by equal portions, viz., at the Nativity of St. John the B aptist,at the Feast of All Saints, and at the Annunciation of the blessedVirgin, freely, quietly, peaceably, and honestly, with all the aforewrittenprivileges. And that each burgess shall be able to sell, pledge,or gi ve his burgage, or to bequeath it by will, to any person or personshe chooses, excepting to the servants of our lord the king and to religious men, without hindrance from any person or persons; saving to 0me and my heirs the right of our oven in the same borough. I, therefore,the aforesaid Hamon and my heirs, will warr ant the aforesaidburgages, with the acres of land adjoining thereto, and nil the abovewriuenliberties, to my aforesaid burgesses, and their heirs and assigns,against all men ill perpetuity. In testimony of which I have affixedmy seal to this pres ent charter. These being witnesses, Sir Reginaldde Grey, then Justiciar of Chester; Humphrey de Beauchamp, Richardde Massy, Knights; Gilbert de Aston, Thomas de Acton, Hugh deBaggelegh, Matthew de Hale, Henry de Don eham, John de Bowdon,and others."Som e remarks, observations, and su ggestions, will b e found inan Appendix relative to the land conveyed to th e burgesses bythis charter.There exists no local power to pave or clean se the town, exce p tunder the general Highway Act; and no power whatever withrega rd to the new streets, as th e Highway Act ex tends over oneportion of th e town only. ·0No local Act is in force, but the ge neral Act for Watching a ndLighting was adop ted in 1832. This Act is confi ned t o a po r­tion of th e cha pelry of Altrincham, comprised in the boundarie shereinafter m entioned, viz. :_ 0,. Commencing in th e road to Stockport, at the south-easterly cornerof M r. Bagshaw's garden, and along the fence on the easterl y si de andnortherly end thereof, to Mr. William Pass's gate, round Mr. W illiamPass's orchard, to Miss Bridget Boardman's garden, th ence along theeasterly side of the bowling-green and Mr. Cave's premises, and Mrs.Moverley's garden, thence along her fence and the fence of Mrs. Warburton'sgarden, to Mrs. A nn Hardey's, and along the easterly end andnortherly side of her garden to the turnpike road, across the road, andpassing on the northerly side of Mr. R obertson's premises, to and alon e­Oldfield-lane, to the extreme end of the garden wall of Old field-halfthence up the fence of Mrs. Righy, s pleasure gr ounds , and alone the'fence of M r. Broadbent' s field, and the north-westerly end of Mr. Hayworth'sgarden, Mr. oWorthington's field, roun d Mr. Poole's prop erty, tothe Knutsford turnpike-road in Dunham-lane, thence along the same

8 Report to tile General Board ofHealth, on tile Town and Toumsldp ofAltrincham, 9road . to the corner of Mr. Harrop's Hothouse-field, · and along thewesterly and southerly sides thereof, across the Back-lane to the northwesterlycorner of William Davenport's garden, thence along thesouth-easterly fence of Mr. Harrop's field to the south-westerlycorner of Miss Cliff's premises, thence to the top of Norman'splace,thence up the foot-road to Mr. Crallan's stable, thence includingMr. Crallan's garden and pleasure grounds, to the Cross-lane leading tothe Burying-lane, thence eastwardly along the same Cross-lane in frontof Mr. Crallan's property, and along Bowdon-downs to the front of Raingill's premises, thence across the road to and along tlie back of Mr.Harrop's cottages .(formerly dog-kennels) to the Mayor's-field, andalong the I1.ortherly fence thereof to the high. road leading to Ashley,thence crossmg the road at Mrs. Buldwin's house, and proceeding downthe fence of her garden to and along the back of Mr. William Royle'sgarden, to John Pickstone's garden, and from thence along the back ofand round John Rowbottom's premises to the Piufold, thence from thecorner of Samuel Royle's garden, along the south-easterly fence thereof,in a line to and including William Holt's garden at the bottom of Hamlane,thence from William Holt's corner along the southerly fence toth~ trench at Skin Pits, thence along the back of John Moss's premisesup the northerly fence to Charles Balshaw's, joiner, from thencealong the easterly and round the northerly side of Mr. Worthington'sgardens to Mr. George Gratrix's fence, from thence along the same tothe easterly corner of Mr. James Mitchell's garden, and thence up to theStockport turnpike-road.". PRESENT CONDITION OF TO\lN.-Altrincham at present con­SIStS of the market-place. Church-street, High-street, Victoriastreet,Stamford-street. Police-street, \\'ell-street, Georg-e-street,Post-office-place, and some other streets, lanes, courts, and places,with a few suburban houses and villas. Some of the old partsare overcrowded, but in general the town is open. Several newstreets have recently been laid out , and detached residences havebeen erected in the district. Latterly great facilities have beenafforded in ready and cheap means of conveyance betwixt the. town and Manchester, by means of omnibus, as also hy meansof swift boats upon the Bridgewater Canal, and more recently bvthe Altrincham branch of the South Junction and Mancheste"rRailway. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the inhabitantsshould possess a proper form of local aovernment,­that the direction and width of all new streets, ~ourts, alleys,passages, &c., ma.y be regulated.-that proper sewers and drainsmay he constructed.c-vthat all streets, courts, alleys, lanes, andpassages liable to be used by the public may at alice be pavedand regulated,-that public lighting may be accomplished to thefullest extent,-that a sufficient supply of pure water may be~btained.-alld that all necessary regulations may be carried out101' the good of the whole community, and the pecuniary benefit'of the ratepayers generally. Under active and judicious localgovernment. the town no doubt will be rapidly increased, as,naturally and artificially, the district possesses many and. singulal'advantages, .GEoLoGY.-The town stands upon the new red sandstone, orsaliferous formation, the stratification in the immediate neighbourhoodconsistino of sand, gravel, clay. marl, and peat. Thereis every natural f:cility, in contour and subsoil, for completingpropel' works of drainage,METEOUOLOGY.- The general character of the atmosphere ismoist, but by works of drainage the subsoil may be rendered dry,which will greatly improve the land, as also the climate. Theannual rainfall varies considerably, ranging from 26 to 48 inches,but the avemge may be taken from 30 to 40 inches. The prevailinzwinds are from the west, and points intermediate betwixtthis a~d south; and as the site of Altrincham is to the south ofthe Manchester manufacturing district, the atmosphere is seldomaffected by the smoke. The Bridgewater canal passes near thetown, and the tainted condition of its water was complained of atthe inquiry, as being, at times, "a very great nuisance." -CONDITION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN THE SUBURBS.­Scientific land-draining, on an extensive scale, has not yet beencarried out· and any drainaze of the town which has been done, ismost imperfect.'"Considerable areas of land are, however, cultivated.as market- gard~ns to supply the inhabitants with vege~ables, b~tmore especially the town of Manchester. Deep dramage WIllincrease the value of the land 101' agricultural purposes, as alsoadd to the general warmth and salubrity of the atmosphere.MORTALlTY.-The following is a return of the number ofdeaths in Altrincham for six years, ending March 1849 :-From 31st March, 1843 to 31st March, 1844 78" ,,1844 ,,1845 76" ,,1845 ,,1846 105" ,,1846 ,,1847 135" ,,1847 " . 1848. 122" ,,1848 ,,1849 88Average annual deathsOr about 29' 54 .deaths per 1,000.(Signed)'6)604• 100'4JNO. B. CUTLER.A mortality of 29~* per thousand for such a to\~'n as Altrinchamis very hich. It may be said, however, that taklllg the census of1841 to a~'eI'age the deaths from 1843 to 1849, gives a return inexcess. But if the extreme population is presumed to be 5,000,* It is not possible to,arrive at accurate results in the calculations ~ade; manycircumstances OCC\ll' to prevent a full knowledge of the true proportions of preventiblp-deaths, The fi~lH~s given, indicate, however, that great pecuniary loss tothe community does take place. • .

10 R eport to the General Board ofH ealth, on the Town and Township ofAltrincham. IIand this , is t~~en for t?e whole p ~rio(!, th e ra te o~ mortality iss hown t? be. 2;) ' 1 pel' th ousa nd, winch IS very mud! III excess overtI~a t which IS known !O prevail in well regulated d istricts, na mely,b pCI' tho usand. 2;)' 1 pel' thousand, taken as th e basis for the{ollowing cal culation, will show the rate-payers the presumeda nnual loss to the community from what has been aptly termed'~ jl l' el'entibl e di sease." If t he average population is taken at::>,000, and th e number of deaths an nuall y in excess 10 in eachthousand, there must have been 50 deaths' annua lly, which it isI' e as~n abl e to hope proper sanit ary works would have prolonged.M edical men have calculated that for each case of preventibled eath there are, on an avcn ge, 30 cases of preventible sickness'so that 1,500 ca.ses of pre\'en~ible sickness mu st have taken plac~pel' annum during the last SIX years, The annual money lossluay be ~epl'e ~ented thus:-50 deaths annually, say one-fourthadults, which Will be , say 12, and that five veal'Sof each life ha s beencut off' at a n average annual v~lue of 30l., 1501. will thus representthe value of each adult life. E ach funeral may be valuedat 5l., and each case of sickness at ll., the sum total will stand asunder:-£. ' . s;' d.50 funerals each at 51. •250 0 012 adult lives as above, 1501.1,800 0 01,500 case s of sickness, each It. 1,500 0 0Annual money loss £ 3,550 0 0I t is no doubt difficult for persons not accustom ed to view thequ estion in thi s li ght to reconcile any such loss to their mind,but they ~1U S t r~m emb~r th at h ealth is capital to the workingm an, and If defective samtary a rrange ments 'p roduce disea se so asto p r ~v e n t ~ h e l ~bo~r of oue wee k in c?-ch yea r, the loss of thatweek s earmngs IS fairly chargeable to tins cause.PR~SENT P RAI NAGE OFTHE TOWN.--There is no gen eral systemof d ram age lJl th e town . There are several su rface and road drainstwo of which emp.ty th:~l s elr es into th e watercourse flowing fro~H al e M oss, one into I'imperley Brook, and on e at Sandiway.the la tter is in . th e turnpike road, and brlongs to the trustees ot"that road. The following is a list of the existing sewers ;_ (Length in yards.748 Sewer from Dunham-road, Church-street, circular of brickand 15 inches internal diameter.'528 Sewer from George-street to Police-street, pipe-tile 9 inchesdiamet er.231 Sewer from the Downs, tile 9 inches in diamet er.286 , I in Victori a-street , , "176 l ,in Stamford-str eet , , , ,176 , , in Shaw's-lane , , , ,352 " in Goo s~-green , , , ,286 " along railway, brick, 3 feet by 2 feet.The cottage property ge ncra lly has no form of undergrounddrainag e.HIGHWAYS AND STREETS,-One mile 115 yards of the highwayswithin th e township are paved with boulders; 4t miles and'·44 yards in length are form ed and repaired with broken stoneand gravel ; half-a-mile and 89 yards are un paved, having .asandy surface; Total length 6 miles and 2~ 1:) yard,s; of this3 505 lineal yards, or I t miles and 425 yards, IS turnpike road., NEW STREETS NOT PUBLIC HIGHWAys.-New-street, 407 linea Ivards, containing 104 houses, is neither paved, sewered, or~lrained; Chapel-street, 203 lineal yards, with 8 1 houses is notpaved 01' drained. M any of these houses are let as cO~":l0nlodaina-houses, and tile cellars of several are used as distinctdw~lli~g s. N orrnan's-place, 150 yards in length, with .16 houses,is not su ffi ciently drained. Sandiway-~lace, 170 ~a r d s 1~1 le.ngt h,with 15 houses, having one small dram. New I'own IS Withoutany regular form of road, sewer, or drain,COURTS AND ALLEYS,-There are 10 courts and alleys, containing67 houses and a resident population of about 368 pers?ns.,The se houses are, for the most part, used as common lodglllghouses, and at times the crowding is extreme.COMMON LODGING HousEs,-There were at the time of theinquiry 26 recognised common lodgi~g-houses , having, from 4 toJO bed s in each, The number of mghtly lodgers',vagrants, andothers, was estimated at 546 ; but the overcrowding frequentlyex ceeds this. All th ese hou ses are without proper means of ~entilation,drainage, or other sanitary conveni ence. T hey are m adirty and unhealthy state, many of them extremely so.SLAUG HTER-HOUSEs.-There are two slau ghter-houses, one nearth e mark et-place, used by two bu tchers, and one at Pinfold Brow,used by four butchers. T hese. slaughter-houses are withoutdrain age or a water supply; the . refuse is pl a c ('(~ upon or nearth e pre mises, and both are frequently most offensiv e, Upon anaverage, there a re slaug htrred weekly, 9 cows, ~ calves, 30 sheep,12 l a~ b s , and 4 pigs.. The proportions varyi ng with the seasons,the weekly slaug hter IS, ab out 64, or 3,328 per annum.B URIAL G ROU NDs.-The present burial grounds are, th e yardat St . G ~ 9rg e's Church and the yard at Shaw's-lane Chapel,neither of which, it was stated, can be considered as overcrowded.W ATER SUPPLy,-There is no general form of water supply,but the inhabitan ts obtain water from public and private wells andpumps. There are two public pumps and one public well. Apump has recently ~le en put down by private sub scrip~ion for t~euse of a few, but It IS also generally used by the public, It Willbe seen from th e following analysis -that all th e we11 waters a rehard, and consequently most wasteful. A proper supply of softand pure water is of the fir st importance to preserve health anden sure economy..-

12Report to tlie General Board ofHealth,ANALYSIS OF WATER.Note on Four Specimens of.Wate; from Altrinokam, by ThomasClark, Professor of Cltemtstry, m the University ofAberdeen." Three of those specimens are from wells. One of them is fromRosthern Mere. All the well waters are too hard for use that is to savthey would be unfavourable for cooking, and wasteful andotherwise disadvantageousfor the pu~poses of infus~ng .tea or o.f washing with soap.The New-street pump IS the m?st objectionable III these respects, andha.s the greatest power of curdling soap, In this latter quality theHIgh-street pump stands next. The Well-street pump curdles soapthe least of !he th ree; but even this water is far too hard to be fit forgeneral use III any town where softer water is withinreach. The wellwaters ~eem to owe the!r hardness chiefly to neutral salts of lime amimagnesia, The magnesian salts are most abundant in the High-streetand the New-st!eet pumps, and are the cause of the curdling quality uponsoap observed III those waters. There were traces of organic matter illthe Well-street and the High-street pumps, and some, though less, inthe New-street pump. The Rosthern Mere water is much softer thanthe well waters. -:\s this water appears to contain about 7~ grains ofchalk .p.er gallon, It woul? probably deposit some fur, and be softenedby.bOlhng. I h?d too little of this water to try the effect of boiling.Th~s water unboiled stands at 9;\-° hardness, whereas I conceive it is notdesirable to.mak.e use of any water above 6°. These observationssuggest the mqUlry, whether a more diligent search mizht not discoversome ot~er water within reach fitter for the use of the inhabitantsof Altrmcham. If softer water cannot be found, a trial shouldbe made whether the Rosthern Mere water could not be softened a fewdegr.ees by m~ans of lime. There was some vegetable matter in thespecimen of this water ;-HARDNESS.Actual. Latent:-Total. Alkalinity.Well·street . • 14°+ 2 = 16 - 2High-street. • 13 + 11 = 24 - ~New-street. • 15~ + 14 = 29~ - 0Rosthern Mere 9~+ 0 = 94 - 7t" Each degree of hardness stands for as much hardness as a grain ofchalk per ~a~lon woul? produce. Each degree of alkalinity, for asmuch al.kallfllty (t~at IS as much power of neutralizing sulphuric orother aCId) as a gral1~ of chalk per gallon would possess. The actualhardness ,IS d~e toTime salts. The' latent' hardness to magnesiansal!s, which III the presence of so much lime have not the power ofactmg upon s?ap unless farthe! diluted with pure water. But, althoughthese I?agneslan salts, by then presence do not cause an increased consumptronof soap, they cause the soap that is consumed to be muchmore curdled.(Signed) " THOMAS CLARK" Marescnal College, 13th lJlarclt 1850/' .PUBLIC LIGHTl~G.-The following particulars relative to thegas-work~was furnished by the Company. The town is lizhted bythe Altrmcham Gas Company, registe-ed according tg Act ofronihe Town and Township ofAltrincham.Parliament, 4th March 1846. The capital 4,000l., in 800 sharesof bl. each.The whole of this sum has been expended, and the Directorshave borrowed, agreeably to the powers given them by the deed ofsettlement to increase their capital, the sum of 3001.There was existinz previously a private gas estahlishment,which the Company purchased immediately upon their formation.But it was inadequate to supply the town; and as it was 'situated near to the market-place it was considered to be veryobjectionable, indeed a nuisance. .Several plots of land might have been procured much nearer tothe town than the present one; but as the Directors were anxiousthat no possible nuisance should arise from the works, they decidedupon the present site, which is about 840 yards from the nearestpart of the town, or near half-a-mile.The new works were opened on the 29th May 1847. Theprice of gas from the commencement up to the 24th of June last,was lOs. per 1000 cubic feet, when it was reduced to 8s. 4d.There are 60 'p ublic lamps, lighted from 29th September to25th March, less three or four night.s at full moon. This has notbeen strictly attended to; another month might in fairness beadded, though this is the understanding with the Company.The Company receive 36s. per lamp, but they merely supplythe gas. Applications have been made for a few more lamps, and10 or 12 more would, it is thought, light the present boundaryvery well.The works-one gas-holder of 40 feet diameter, capable of containing22,:>00 feet of gas; four retorts, capable of making daily20,000 feet.Length of mains 3 miles 112 yards, all included in theboundary except 840 yards, the distance of the works beyond theboundary. The quality of the gas is considered to be excellent;it is made from Cannel coal, procured from Ince Hall Coal andCannel Company.'The Public Act for lighting and watching of towns has beenadopted here; and as some parts of the township are agricultu,al,a boundary excluding those parts has been formed.There is ample room f?r extending the works for the supply ofa much greater consumption of gas.REMARKs ...:.....:.The price, 8s. 4d., is much above the averagecharge for gas, and this no doubt acts as a preventive to a full use,If the local Board can treat for the works, they may be managed,as in Manchester, for the benefit of the rat e-payers generally,and the price may be much reduced.13, .

14 R eport to the General B oard if Health, ' o~ the T own and T oumship if Altrinctiam ,15P U BLI C INQ UIRY.ABSTRACT OF E VIDENCE AND R EMARKS UP ON IT. _ M I',Br~adb ent an d Mr, Ro bin son, surgeons, gave evidence as to thesamtary state of the town, the substance of which was as follows.::-Inthe opinion o,f the resident medical practitioners th ocondition ~ f the tO,wn might. be mu ch improved by a systematicand effective publ~c and private drainage ; by an autho rizedremoval of dunghills, cesspools, and ot her nuis ances from thevicini.ty of dwelling-houses, T yphus fever prevail s mo re 0 1'less ~n the town every yeal', and not unfrequently with greatseverIty,. as al so dysentery and oth er. compl aints of the bowels,Th~e diseases they ~ n d to originate almost always in th e lowlodging-housos, and III the duty, unpaved, undr ained, and illve ntIla te~1 squares and alleys inhabited by the working classes,from which typhus fever., often of a very malignant character,spreads to t~h e . better streets and affects the shopkeepers ando~h e rs, occaslOnmg great alarm amo ngst all classes of the inh a­bl tan~ s: T he ~own of Alt rincham, in the opinion of the medic alpr acntiouers, situated as it is upon the slope of a hill, composedof red sa n ~ and &,ra ~'e l, of great depth, and having nom anuf~ctu res carried on w l thl~ the to wn, ought to be a singularlyhealthful place; but they consider the reverse of this to be the factas regards the lower classes, arising from the neglected sta te andcondition of the town, and the want of proper sewage, pavement,and cleansmg. -- The plans furnished in this R eport will show the faulty arranrromentof the ~o tta g e s , yards, midde ns, a nd privies. H ope. sq lH~' e ,N~w- s tre et, IS an enclosed yard, unpaved and undrained, Theprl vi c~ and cesspools be.hind stand as shown. " The open .middensare pits, several yards III depth, bricked round and divided intocompartment s. The refuse of a year 0.1' more .is thrown into theseplac?s. They were full .a.t the time of my inspection. The yardwas III a very filthy condition, T he plan of cottazes in Victoriastreet shows the position of two cottazes manureheaps piO'sties• . 1.1 • " , s 0 'rmuu en, prIvy, and pum p, The sur face is filthy; the subsoil isvery porous. \- Mr. Woollam stated, "that, as a proof of the zeneral feelin«with regard to the inquiry and the introduction o"f the Ac t, h~might mention, that on his way to the meeting he was met bys~veral work~n g men, who earnestly requested him to call parhc~lar atte?tlOn to th e state of the houses in Ch apel-squ are. "fhe testimony to the great want of water was unanim ous. I twas stated, " that in one district of th e town there is only onepump for abou t )50 house s." T he evidence as to the want ofsowers and means of house dra inage is full and forcible. M I'.Chal'les Balshaw said,-" I have lately built 10 houses in Chapel-street, but in conseqnence. of the want of drains, I have been unable to let them."T he condition of Beggar's-squ are was complained of: as thename denot es, it is the residence of beggars, vagrants, and tramps..,...persons having no direct means of subsisten ce, but who astruly are maint ained by the pu blic as if a regular allowancewas paid to th em daily from some recognized fund. 'Fhe f~l ­lowing is an instance of the extent to which the Iri sh WIllgenerate nuisances around th emselves. It was stated, th at. r the tenant. of one cottage absolutely closed the window-shutte r.of the grou nd-floor room, thus depriving it of light and ventilation,that he might pile a dun ghill higher up his cottagewall: the result was, that the liquid manure exuded from thisdun ghill, found its way throuzh the crevices of the shutter andwindow and flowed into the h~use." It was stated that the Iri shwould ;esist to the uttermost any attempt to remove th eir pigsand dunghills, and it was feared that forcible means of. removi~ gthese nuisances externally would be followed by the Irish ad mittingthe piO's as inmates of their dwellings, which would be aplunge deep~r into filth, malaria, and disease. It had been fo~ndnecessary for th e parish authorities to erect a temporary hospitalsome tim e previously for the excess of fever patients.The cottages are O'enerally confined at the back, and many ofthe tenants keep pi g~ on the premises, and as th ere is no systemof drainage, and most imperfect pavement, th e surface around andneal' the houses is foul and offensive to sight and smell. Thereis seldom any form of pavement at the backs of the cottages,.orin th e courts and yards, .so that the ~urface wears ?ne\'~n,. whichretains much of th e ramfall and retuse slops until this IS evaporated01' worked up into mud, much of which filth is necessarilytrodden into the cottages. . . .There is great want of arrangemen t WIth regard to buildinggenemlly, and more particularly in reference to cottages. Thisoperates most prejudicially az ainst the interest of the owners aswell as of the tenants; as thi s first neglect renders it muchmore difficult to devise and carry out economical works of iJ.Uprovementth an would be the case if the houses in the first m­sta nce had been laid out to a regulat' plan.-There is great necessity for pub lic urinals; thos~ now existingbeing most objectionably placed. Most of the priv~e~ stan~ nearto the house doors, and are so placed as to be a positive nuisancera ther than a convenience. Their situation precludes the possibilityof their being what the name implies-privy. ­'. Many of the cottages inh~bited by the,working classes a:e ?leaninterually, and a strong desire was manifested by the majorIty ofthis class to possess the means of effectually cleansing th eirdwellings, not only internall y but externally also.The state of the Bridgewater Canal was complained of; MI'. '

16 Report to the General Board ofHealth, on the Town and Township ofAltrincluim. 17'Vool!am stated, "that there was but one opinion about it, namely,that It was a monster nuisance." Mr. Turton stated: "Theste~ch arising from the canal is \'ery bad indeed." In 1758 and17a9, when Acts were passed enabling the gl'eat Duke of Bridgewaterto construct a canal, the water of the river Medlock thepri!lcipal feeder at the Manchester end, was comparatively pure,as indeed were the waters of the several rivers and brooks of thedistri.ct-the Irwell, the Irk, the Medlock, and the Cornbrook.Partiesh 'are living who have fished in the Irwell :,but now,allt ese rlver-cou~ses pass, not water, but liquid refuse, fetid andloathsome to SIght, the exhalations from which are most dancerousto ,heah.h. Each yeal', with the growth of the swar;ingpopulations III and around Manchester, the extension of drainagein its present most objectionable form adds to the nuisanceand the danger. Natural water-courses cannot, with impunityto the unfortunate resident~ ne~I', be converted into huge cesspoolsor se~vers. .But tins will be more fully treated of inanother portion of this report under the head of" proposed works."At th~ t.ime the Bridgewater Canal was formed, the water was,as previously stated, "comparatively pure"-it was also morethan sufficient for the traffic-the use at the Runcorn Locks didnot eq~al the available ~upply at the Medlock; and this, nodoubt, mcluced James Brindley, who was originally a millwright,10. erect water-wheels at the several wharves and stations, to bedriven by water drawn from the canal, the number of whichwheels have been most injudiciously added to since his time.These machines .have been one means of causing the canal to bea much greater nuisance than it otherwise need have been as thewhole of the tainted water of the Medlock has had to be taken inat Manchester to supply the waste caused by working the waterwheels.The remedy must consist in an entire abandonment ofthe tainted sewer.-waters of Manchester, and the obtaining a supplyof fresh water, either from the Rochdale Canal, the river Mersey,neal' Stretford, 01' some other unobjectionable source. The followingletter from Mr. F. Smith will show that the Trustees ofthe late Duke of Briclaewater have the subject under their consideration:_l:>"Manchester, August 13, 1849."DEAR SIR,"I MUST apologize for not sooner answerinz your note of the 9thand for answering it as I now do, rather hastily. "I have been, and am:very much engaged."The Trustees are now erecting several steam-engines to supersede thewarehouse water-wheels at Runcorn, Preston Brook, and elsewhere, int~e hop~ and belief that, by so doing, they will be able to dispense ent,r~lyWith the Medlock; and you may remember that the Old KnotMI!I w,arehous.e water-wheel is turned by the Medlock water, conveyedto It direct, Without going into the canal; this was effected a very fewyears ago._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ...."When the engines are at proper work, I hope the Canal will beentirely free from the Medlock impurities, except in cases of high floods,which are not frequent, and when they happen, the impurities are muchdiluted with the flood-water."Robt. Rawlinson, Esq." (Signed.)" P. SMITH.GENERAL OBSERVATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.-As it is thewish of yOUl" Honourable Board that the superintending inspectorsshould, as engineers, examine each district with a view to worksof improvement, and, so far as practicable, embody in their reportspractical suggestions, I beg to offer the following generalobservations and suggestions for the consideration of the localBoard in Altrincham, should your Honourable Board see fit togrant the application of the Act.The town of Altrincham is rapidly increasing; and, therefore,it is of the utmost importance to the present and future inhabitantsthat a local governing body should be formed; and it is noless important that any new works should, in their character, becomprehensive. The geological site of the district is peculiarlyfavourable, if full advantage is taken of the means modem sciencehas now placed at the command of men for land drainage, fOI'town and house drainage, and for a full, pure, and economicwater supply. In these several works the beneficial use is morethan equivalent to tile cost, if they are properly devised, economicallyconstructed, and efficiently managed. Ignorance or hastycarelessness may, however, plan works which cannot accomplishthe purpose intended; extravagant construction may cause worksof utility to be oppressive; and inefficient management may aggravatethe nuisance intended to be removed. It should neverbe lost sight of that works .may be laid out in various erroneousforms, but there is rarely more than one right way. There maybe many degrees of extravagance in construction, but there canonly be one minimum cost; and it will require a complete Knowledgeof the subject at the outset, and continuous care in superintendenceto secure this. Efficiency in action will also depend asmuch upon the person to whose care the works are committed asto the character of t he works constructed.REMARKS ON HOUSE-DRAINS AND W ATER-CLOSETS.-As in acomplete system of water supply every house should have a watertapprovided, so each house and yard should have a drain to takeoff the refuse. A branch to the sink may be provided, with abent syphon or water-trap: into this branch, in many instances,the water from the roof will pass direct, and there should be aseparate branch for the surface drainage and water-closet. Detailedestimates have been made out for such apparatus in otherplaces, and the works executed for a cost to each house notexceeding an annual charge of 3s. 9d., or less than Id. a-week.Effective tile-drains may be laid down at a cost much below theusual charge; drain-tiles, 12 inches by 9 inches, have been laiJ-...[..1,;,59.::.;.:.1.1____c

ALTRINC HAM REPORT..PLAN OF PA -RT OF s c,~ , , ' I~ '- fII," -~yS¢!"er lUlU 0/,.J~{/t~o7V of' J3 lf Kirvg S't-r e e t-., ~ -i :c:«.. r'~ :,,ot" "'" inc~ 'in- a. Ya.ril, a:7]4.- W7imr i

, Reportsot' SuperintendingInspedDT"S of'tIu 6~alBoard 0t.lkalth.BURY,lANCA SHIRE.•, .. .JJvu}r JWV If7w, JEai:n- S""'er 12 )' !J '.Tile-.Si:" f}7 JJ P JIi7U.oJI>JJrai.n... . .J).S J JJUWTl/ Sptnrf4

PART OF AlTRI NCHAMHop e 9 P 7" -m i s e S O'1-.:O pe Tt.J[ d el e - n ~c p £ L w A L Kc f'S t a- 7n- f"" r tl '9..P r-eSTOC KPORTROA Dv c " T o R A R o A D.N..R.'I7u pirlkl&ws indUau fl", diredwn in- wkicJL.I1u tiUP'f'£ drain..< -may be laid.Ea.ih Rouse '"Uo/hare a.prr;peri.y trappeJ.. commarucaaon.. .Prina.rnaybe a1JclWhdand-Haw (Mseu .~d,,-tih.ded.G a. s k a. r t lr.. 'S Pre7nl-s esNOTE. :nu rpm. middens atz.z, are gmeral!y Yl!Q'fOul, and ai. timu TTlllTCUI!forer- wi1lz manure. I!u{yare "Ppwik tlw doorv &window,/' of' t1w ao/'oininghou.re.r. .v C T 0 R A S T R e £ TS e a.le. '".. »oFeet:SUTVo/"f:-J.lirindu:un- MHt:! HHF!.12t_E MJan.u:.' Street;". •.0 1'l ..~e 4 C~ Ltlw·t7ldJa#y

on the Town and T oumship ifAltrincham,jgwith the whole western side of the island th e atmosphere is moist ;the clouds and vapour from the Atlantic Ocean are drifted in bythe prevailing winds, and these are interc epted by the line of hillsdividing L ancashire and Yorkshire; hence the excessive quantityof rain which falls as compared with the eastern side of thecountry. The wetness of the climate is unfavoura ble to theripening of corn, but is in som e measure serviceable to pasturage;the prevailing moisture, however, reduces the generaltemperature, und is consequently alike injurious to animal as tovegeta ble lifo. Effective draining would free the land from excessivewet, and would th ereby prevent evaporation, which atpresent materially reduces th e temperature and produces fog.Much of the land in the district is at present occupied by detachedhouses, villas, &c., and here perfect drainage is of th e firstimportance; and it will be found that to attain this the powers ofthe Act should be as extensive as the boundaries of the chapelry ortownship for th e purpose of obtaining propel' outlets. The ratingclaus es of the Act have been drawn up with reference to cases of thisdescription. Land will pay on one-fourth its annual value to theestablishment charges alone ; and for this the powers of the Actmay be used by any land-owner when he wishes to avail himselfof th em. The local B oard will become surveyors of highwa ys,and in dr aining and improving these, outlets for the adjoiningland may be given at a light cost. Th e road drains may, inmany instanc es, be made to answer for outlet land drains also.In roads and footpath s the drainage cannot be downward by percolation,but over the surface to the sides ; and her e covered drainsought to be constructed with gull ey-shoots properly trapped to preventthe ingress of sand or silt. Circular tile-pipes will be found thebest for drains of all sizes from two feet diamet er downwards, to 201' It inches for land drains. For house drains 4 inches will be theleast size used . Drain tiles for land, 15 inches long, 2 inchesdiumeter, and set with loose collars at the joints, have been extensivelyused in the north ; and, as I was informed, with advan tagesover any other form of dr ain-tile. They are more readily laidth an tiles with soles, and the collar prevents the joints from beingremoved improperly apart in filling th e trenches. Tiles of thisdescription may be furnish ed on the site to be drained lor 25s. pel'thousand; and to trench th em in, 3 feet 6 inches or 4 feet in depth,will cost, including all labour and material, from 41. to 61. perstatute acre, according to th e width of the drains apart. Manycases have occurred where h eath or moorland, dear at a rent of5s. pel' acre, has, when thorough-drained and subsoiled, becomeworth 30s. or 21.; and of clay land, dear at 7s. 6d. per acre, becomingworth 31., or in localities near a town even 4l. or 51.Thorough-drainage and subsoiling improves the quantity of thecrops, as well as increases the pro ductiveness of the land; allmanures act with more enerITy; th e land stands wet and droug ht" 02

20 . Report to the General B oard ofH ealth, . on the Town and Township of A ltrineham. 21that such~ pipe will be preserved in work, open and clean fromrefl~~e sedm~ en t.; whilst ~ll past exper ience ha s proved that themore expensIve house drams of 2 feet, 18 inches and even thoseof 1.2 and 9 inches diameter, inevitably choke witil sediment and~efu s e, and ultiIfolately become blocked entirely up; because thevolume o.f wat~r ISspread out over a wider area in drains of theselar~ er dim ensions, and the whol e solid refuss is deposited in thedram, and mu ch of the thin and stagnant sheet of water soaks~way: Should th ere be the slightest imperfection in th e traps orjunctions of la!ge drains, the foul and most unwholesome gas whichIS , generated IS gradually but constantly passed into the hou ses,alik e destru ctive of health and comfort, and tendinz to producepremature death. t>The dischar ges of water throu gh pipes of small diameter andlaid at varying a ng l~ s of fall, have.been recently tested, and it hasbe.en found by experiment that a pIpe of 6 inches internal diameter1~ld at an inclin~tion of 1 in 60, and the head just filled, will ,dIscharge 75 cubic feet of water per minute' and in the lenzth of100 feet the,sectional ar ea of th e pipe occupi~d is reduced to below?n.e.half. 'I he whole volume of water such a pipe will pa ss throuzh,It in 24 ho~rs is equal to 675,000 gallons, or more than an averagedepth of rainfall, over an area of up wards of 14 acres, supposingthe whole water leave the ground in tha t time. But little moreth~n one half the rain fall is found to flow off the land, much of itbell1g ab sor? ed . 0 1' evaporated. T his volume of water will passthrough. a s ~n g l e lin e of pi p~ without branch feeders ; but by aproper Junction of branch pip es a much larger volume will bedelivered through th e main pipe, as th e velocity is increased withthe volume up to a certain point.'House and town drains have but one principal purpose to serve,na~ el y,. the perfect and speedy removal of all liquid, soluble andsemi-solid ~efu se, to s,ome common outlet or reservoir, where it maybe ~ eal t WIth for a grl cult~Hal purposes, witho ut creating a nuisanceor 111 any way endangermg health. Land drains have an irnportan~ purp?se to serve ; and that the drains may perform thisoperauou perfectly, the main out talls should be well chosen, theirlllclllla tIOn, 0 1'.gradients, th e best the distric t will afford ; the formand capacity of the dra ins such that they will not only pass off~ h e water, but remove all sand, and silt whi.ch may find its wayinto them; and th e outfa lls and branch dr ains should be so laid,that. no p erm ~ n ent lodgment of water can ever tak e plac e in anypor tIOn of their length. To thoroug hly drain a county is to raiseItS t el1l p erat llr ~ from? to 10 d (' ~r e e s, to increase the fertility ofthe land, , a~ d,.1ll a climate notoriously fickle, to insur e an earlyharvest-It IS, III fact, tantamou nt to removing the whole county.so many degrees south.NATUR AL STREAMS OR \\TATRR-COUHSES NOT To BE TURNEDINTO SEWEHS.- l t is stated in the Metropolitan Water Report,(

FI22 R eport to the General B oard of Health ,that, "One common' mistake, leading to excessive expen.seand inefficient work, in laying out the drain age of a town IS,to arch over some natural stream or wat er-course as a main oro.utlet sewer, ?-nd this frequently costs a ~ ~any pounds per yardIineal as a pIpe-sewer necessary for the drainage of the houseswould cost shill ings. It is a mistak e in any instance to form anatural water-c ourse into a main sewer, for the followinz reasons:-1st. The area drained by a brook or other natural w~er-coursewill, in general, be many times great er than th e area occupied bybu ildings ; th e flow of wat er will be irreg ular and uncertain; beingthe least when most required, and beiuz in exc ess when it is a. I 0nui sance rat ier than a benefit. 2ndly. The dimensions of thesewer must be capable of t.aking away the heaviest rainfall of thewhole district, and, conseque ntly . mu st be of di mensions mu chbeyond the requirementsof the town proper ; the expense will bein proportion to the dimensions. 3 rdly. The sewer must be ope n. at both ends, on account of sudde n floods; sticks, stones ,' sand,and other simila r mat erial will be washed in from.the open country,to. be deposited within the sewer in d ry weather. This rubbishWill retard and retain th e refuse from th e house-drains passed intoit; and in all dry seasons s ~lC h a main sewer will become mostfoul and dan gerous to health, probably requiring hand labour at"a g reat cost to cleanse it. T he natural water-courses of a ny district should, as much as possible, be restored to th eiror'iginalpurity by cutting off all house-drainage; .it is cheaper to con structsewers and drains entirely independe nt 'of all such means' or outlet :I st, Becau se the sewers and drains can be accurately gl'aduatedto the work th ey have to perform at all seasons and -under all circumstances ; 2ndly. B ecause the refuse may best be collected,di rect, and dealt with for agricultural pu rposes; I and 3rdly,lJ/here it may be ad vant ageous to pump the whole refuse, th atw hich properl y belongs to the town an d th e hou ses drained isa lone lifted; and where it becomes necessary" to arch over anatur al water-course 1hrough a town, su ch a tu nnel ought' not tobe contaminated with sewage refuse."IT h ,: great evil resu lting from having mad e a rtificial and naturalstreams the recipients of a town's refuse is witnessed and felt to apainful extent in th e subur bs of Manchester, and for many milesalong th e course of th e river and canal. E xtended sanitary/operationsin M anchester add to the existing mischi ef: the multiplicationof street and house-drains only paUl' down a largervol um e ofrefu se to act with tenfold virulence in river s which oug htto per for m th e beneficial du ty of purifiers. T he filth y couditionof the I rk t he I rwell, the Co rnbrook, and the canal , is most disgustin g in dryweathe r ; th e ent ire volume of these streams is onemass of fermenting corr uption 1'01" 15 or 20 miles down their course.T he water above a nd in Mancheste r is used by bleachers, pr inters,and.dyers, the refuse from whic h works is passed into thp. streams,on the Town and T ownship ofAltrinchasn.. 23In Manchester, the water thus taintedis further used for condensinga~d other pu rposes in steam engin es, and is discharged heated,back into the open or covered water-courses, which al so receive thedrainage of this larg:e town; S? that a . semi-liquid compound isformed, an .accurate Idea of which no written description can convey.A thick scu~ coats the surface, upon and over which birdswalk; t~e putrid.carcasses of d ~ ad animals, dogs, cats, &c., floatand rot III the midst ; fermentation takes place rapidly, as largebubbles of gas may be seen escaping, and a thick vapour COIIst ~ n tly hangs ?ver the en t!re area. An excess ive flood flam rainshghtly diminishes the evil, but a few dry days ren ew the mis­~hi ef. ~ooner 0,1' later the whol~ of this refuse mu st be cut off' bymterceptlllg drams from th e rivers, or the nuisance will be incr~ased.to an exten.t which must render the land in the vicinityuninhabitabl e. ThIS ought to have been the-first consideration inan improved 'system of drainaze. I ntercepting drains should bethe f rst work undertaken, and 0 not be left until 0 the la st. When .afull water-supply is carried out, and water closets have becomegeneral ; some terrible l ? ~s by di s~ase may certainly be anticipated;should the pres ent condition of tlungs be continued.REMARKS ON STREET PAVEME NTS, ROAD FORMATION, ANDSTREET' AND ROAD CLEANSING.-More experiments have pro·bably been tri ed in street-m akinz th rouzhout thi s county t hanin any ot~ er branch of e ng i nee~ ing, a ~d a truly 'good streetpavement IS a problem yet to be solved ; and if we examine allth at -is required, and what has been done, the reason of failurewill .be self-evident. A good street pavement sh ould · hav e thequality of ~ s~ooth ,a~d ~\' en s~l r face , that wheeled vehicl es.,maypass over It WIthout jolting ; It should be -capable of resistinzwear, to avoid the inconvenience and expe nse ,attendant u po~frequent repairs; and it should offer sufficient footing to horses,that they may pass over it with perfect sa fety at the usu al velocity,Freedom 'from du st and mud is only to be attained on an y roador pavement by due and well-regulated cleansing.Granite,' lim estone, or, other stone pavement, cho sen for its'hardness, is found invari abl y to become slippery from wear, if laiddown in large blocks, and eonsequently that which recommends itfor durability is fatal to its safety ; and to partiall y remedy thisdefect , on~ of the first essentials to a perfect pavement is set aside,namely, smoothness ; the stones are procured narrow, and are setapart, to gtve foothold to horses ; and thus, to avoid one defect,three others are substituted. E ach stone rests on a narrow base' andis, in a degree, isola ted or separated by a wide joint, leaving it:in a~e asur e, independent. The open joint admits wet and harboursdirt, and the space betwixt each stone cau ses the wheels to strikethe pavement , instead of passing smoothly over it. This action isdestructive al ike to pavement and vehicles, as every wheel acts thepart of a pavior's rammer; to this is added the constant j arring(

24 Report,to the General Board of Healtlt, on the Town and Township of Altrincham. ,25noise, so disagreeable to passenger'! and tradespeople. Woodpavement is not so noisy, but offers all the objections of insecurityin an aggravated degree. Pebble pavement has generally' beenbanished from all streets over which there is much traffic, and itslise ought to ,be entirely abolished, as the form of the stones isthe worst possible for comfort and wear. , ,Macadamized roads 1'01' towns have been tried on a large -scalein Birmingham; in fact, all the streets in that town and the madssurrounding it are of this description of material, and with constantcare and attention they are found to possess many advantages;when in perfect order they offer a comparatively smooth and evensurface for the wheels of carriages, and when well watered andcleansed, they also afford a secure footing to horses; thecarriagepassenger experiences less of jarring, and the shopkeeper andpedestrian less of noise. To produce and maintaina good streetsurface of broken stone, several things are necessary: the materialshould be hard, to resist wear; it should be broken to an uniformsize, that the wear may be equal, and means should be taken toform it into an even surface before the stones are separatelyrounded by the traffic; and the street or road should have a weJldrainedand solid foundation on which to place the broken material.When such a road has been formed, it requires constant attentionand care to preserve it in perfect order; it must' be, regularlywatered and swept in dry weather, and well cleansed by sweepingwith the machine in wet weather.Neglected, imperfect, and bad roads and streets are the mostexpensive. ,T hey are disagreeably dusty in dry weather, and theyare destructive alike of health and comfort in wet weather; arough and uneven road rapidly destroys the whe eled vehicleswhich pass over it, and their violent action when in motion tends,in an aggravated dpgl'ee, to the further destruction ' of the road;ruts and holes retain the wet; this softens a place already weak,and accumulates mud; and on such roads horse power is wasted,at times, to the extent of one-half, or 50 per cent. "It is ,acommon error to consider that road or street the cheapest whichcosts the least in direct expenditure;" and it is just as commonan error to consider that road 01' street the best which has costthe most in its first formation, P erfect cl eansing and constantattention and care are requisite on all roads. ,The best form of pavement I have seen is composed of smallgranite cubes, about three inches square, well squared, and setclose on a properly prepared and drained foundation, The numerousjoints afford foot-hold to horses, and, being well squared andset clo se, the surface is even for wh eeled vehicl es.WATER SUPPLY, HEIIIARKS oN.-A full supply of pure waterwill be a great advantage to the inhabitants; local wells andpumps ought to be abandoned for several reasons:- ,1. The water from ' the new red sandstone is rarely below 16degrees of 'h a rdness, and is frequently much more, as sec DI',Clark's analysis of the wells in Altrincham, A good water oughtnot to exceed four degrees, of hardness. /2. Watel' obtained from wells and pumps sunk in a town 01'near dwellings and gra\'e-yards is known to become tainted byinfiitration. f ' "3, It. is necessarily expensive and inconvenient to obtain waterfrom wells and pumps, as the following remarks, extracted fromthe M etropolitan vVater Report, will show:-, "It is commonly considered that a sufficient and even liberal arrangementis made for the poorer classes if supplies of water be broughtwithin their reach in public fountains or in stand-pipes, placed in theirstreets and courts, at which they are allowed to help themselves gratis.The notion, however, that such supplies can be gratis is wholly erroneous.As compared with what may be accomplished by a supply ofwater under natural or artificial pressure, they are highly expensive,lind to the poorest classes, who can least afford waste of that which istheir only property, namely, their labour, the arrangements in questionare the most' uppressively costly,-so costly as to act as prohibitions ofthe full and free use of such ' a quantity of the natural element as isrequisite for -health and comfort.., To illustrate this, we might take the case of a family, living atone end of a court or street, having to fetch their water from a standpipe,well, or pump, at the other end of the court or street, andactually consuming 50 gallons per diem." This would be upwards of 20 pails' full per diem, or 140 pails perweek, to be fetched from the stand-pipe or pump. The weight ofwater alone to be carried per diem would be 500 lbs. or, per week,3,500 Ibs.; 'add'one-fourth to this, as the weight of the pitcher or pail,and the actual weight carried is 4,375 Ibs. 'I'o fetch the water, andcarry such a 'weight, would probably require the amount of two days'labour in the week." In towns it generally occurs that for persons capable of performingsuch labour there is other labour to be performed, yielding wages howeverlow. Suppose the labour to be performed by the labourer's wife,and that she could otherwise gain only 6d. per diem, the expense ' offetching and carrying will be Is.~" But few of the tenements occupied by the labouring classes, orinde'ed of the upper rooms of houses occupied by the higher or middleclass, have any waste or 'return pipes,' and the whole of this wastewater would have to be carried down again, which would double theamount of labour. '" The consequence of this excess of labour is, that though the watermay be brought to the very door, or into the yard, there to be distributedgratis, the labour, i, e., the expense, acts as a restriction onthe use "'of the comrriodity to the smallest quantity that can suffice.The female may be seen with a child in one arm, which she cannotleave aloue, painfully carrying up-stairs a pail or a large jug of water.This, in consequence of the severity, or extreJ.lle inconvenience of thelabour, she makes suffice for the day, At night the husband comeshome, tired from his work, and dispenses with the means of an even-

26 Report to the General Board ofHealth, on the Town and Township ofAltrincham. '27ing's, and even a morning's ablution, rather than be at the trouble offetchi.n~ th~ w,ater; and bad weather, rain, or snow, frequently secondthe disinclination, Instead of the labour of the poor spent in the se andthe like exertions costing them nothing, and being the easiest spared, asthe comII?on theory of the provision by gratis fountains and stand-pipesassumes, their labour, not only in consideration of the exhaustion byother and more profitable work, but of the casualties from sickness,helplessness, and decrepitude, requires to be most carefully economisedby arrangements on a larger scale. When it is known that (in theabsence of cheaper means of elevation by natural pressure) 30,000 or40,000 pails' full of water may be lifted upwards of 50 feet high' for Is.by the application of steam power, it will be perceived that it amountsto-pecuniary waste on the largest scale to continue to impose such auamount of labour on 30,000 or 40,000 females, apart from any considerationof the cruel inconveniences which such a labour must impose."Public men, and even ' engineers, regard large aqueducts withcopious and visible discharges of water by fountains as conclusiveevidence of the fulness and completeness of supplies of water. But thefinest river may be at the very doors of-a large proportion of the populationof a city-as is the case, indeed, with the Thames and its tributaries-e-andyet the supplies to the inhabitants, and especially to theresid ents of upper tenements, may, from the want of prop er distributoryapparatus, be as restricted as if such river were, at a distance. In allcontinentabcities, where the supply to upper rooms is by, hand labour,the actual consumption is extremely small. We believe that in Paristhe domestic consumption does not exceed two gallons 'per head on thepopulation, even.in well-conditioned districts. f I ,. I ' ," The' waste of labour in lifting water supplies from a well by themachinery of a common pump is similar to that above described. Theexpynse of sinking and forming the well, of the pump itself, machinery,interest, care and repairs, usually is about four times the rate of contributionrequisite for the large distributory apparatus, which is movedby an immen se steam- engine of several hundred horse power, one ofthe highest combinations of science and art." The system of gratuitous distribution, by intermittent,' or even byconstant supplies at stand-pipes or fountains. is open to the furtherobjection, that whilst from the labour it imposes it is expensive to theparties intended to be benefited, it subjects the .rest of the inhabitants toadditional expense in erecting and maintaining these places of supply!" T hat the convenient distribution of water governs the habits ofhouseholds of the higher and middle classes is shown by the fact, thatwhen the delivery of-the water is interrupted hyany defect in the distributory apparatus, or by frost, and additional labour is interposed inthe way of obt aining water, the house cleansings and washings arediminished in frequency, and every presumption is afforded' that if itwere at all limes and in all weathers requisite to send to J a distance forwater, the habits of household, and even personal cleanlin ess in suchdwellin gs, would be deteriorated. The extension of con veniences forcleanliness and decency must precede the establishment of cleanly anddecent habits among the labouring population." .I have not had the time ·necessary to devi se any scheme ofWater supply, or to examine the natural capabilities of th e district;but should the local Board not be able to treat with theManchester Corporation for a branch from their works, I havelittle doubt as to a local supply being obtained: if not from Rosthern Mere, as proposed at the inquiry, (the water of which, accordinzto Dr, Clark's analysis, is favourable,) yet from impoundingreserv;irs. But this question I must leave for the considerationof the local Board should the Act be applied.PUBLIC WALKS AND RECREATION GROUNDs.-There are nopublic walks or ' recreation grounds, but it will be seen by theA ppendix, that certain land is at present in the possession of th efreeholders or charterers; whether this can be appropriated to suchl\ use, or may in any other form be rendered beneficiallyuseful forthe general public, will remain with the local authority.,,SUMMARY Of CONCLUSIONS AND RE

I,I·28 . Report to the General Board oj Health,b. Efficient drainage of house, court privy &c at onepenny. ' , .,? Improved pavement of public footways, 'a t the sameprice a s t~e present pebble pavements.d. Efficient cleansing of the surface of streets and courts,at one halfpenny. .. IX. That, irresp ective of the additional comfo~t a ~d thel~pr~vementto the public health, the whole of. thes~ 'cha"ges\\ ou probably be less than the existing direct and indirectcost.r~' That the whole of the sewage of the town may be aptop let10 lthe garden and meadow-land with milch -adva nta gesuc 1 an d. ' ,if 'the localXI. That it would be highly advanta~eousBoard c.ould purchase the gas-works, that the public li htinmay be in the power of the rate-payers. g gWHER~UPO~ I BEG' R~SPECTFULLY TO ~EC;~ :M E ND :-1. ' ~h a t the ~ublic 1:le~lth Act (1848), except the sectionnur~be, ~~ , 5~ m th e ' cOpies of that Act printed b Her~aJesty s printers, should be applied to the ' tow~ andc apelry of Altrincham, in the county of Chesterh 2. ~hat th? local Board of Health, to be el~c ted undert e said Pubhc.Health Act, shall 'consist of nineThe General Board oj Health,~c. ~c. ~c .ersonsalnd th.adt dt~e ~ntIr e number shall be elected for the '~hole oft ie sal istrict,3. That one-third in number of the said local Board shallgo out of office on the 25th day of March in each " bquent~y to that in which the said first election take;eut su se­, 4. ' That every persoll, at t he time of his electionPa:cl;'.bel'offiofbthe.said local Board,.and so long as he shall ti m l;',?­~ .con lIIue IIIP ce, y virtue of such I;' ll;' c t l o ~J, sha ll be resident, a s in the sa idublic Health ' Act (1848) IS required , and . b e se rse . d an dpo ssl;'ssed0 f real or personal esta te or both to the valuam o u ~ t of not les s th an one thou ~and po u~d s ' or shall ~rso ~ e sldent , and rated to the reli ef of the poo:' .in the sai(~parish upon an annual va lue of not less than twent fipounds. I y- veI have th'e honor to be,. ' , ." , Your very obedient servant,ROBERT RAWLINSON,My Lords and Gentlemen .SujJerintending Inspector..' \on the Toum and T ownship oj'Altrincham.APPENDIX.IN emhodying the followin g remarks, which were furnished as evidenceat the inquiry, I fully concur in the recommendations relativeto the mayor's property. At the inqniry the snbject was namedhy :1\[1'. Joynson and others; they thought if the land could be laidout for bnilding purposes as suggested, a much larger rental wouldbe obtained, and if this could be used for public purposes, much goodl\Iight result to the inhabitants and rate-payers generally. . A park or,recreation ground might be obtained and sct apart for public use. Publicbaths might be erected and maintained; a public library might alsobc established; and a school or schools be endowed or assisted. Thishowever will be entirely in the hands of the local Board. Mr. Joynsoustated, " they had reason to believe that Lord Stamford, whose ancestorsleft the property in question to the mayor and burgesses, would,have no objection to its being made available for the improvement ofthe town." Mr. Turton said, "the income from the land was at presentof no use whatever, for it was -spent in eating and drinking." Mr.Bennett th en referred to the poor's land, which, he stated, "was 'vestedin trustees for the benefit of the poor expressly." The meeting wasstrongly of opinion, that if this land was laid out for building purposes,its value would be greatly increased. Mr. Turton stated, "that therewere nine acres of the poor's land, and thirteen acres of the mayor'sland."In advocating any alteration in the man agement of this land, or an y,different application of the funds to be obtained from it, it is consideredthat, if vested in a local Board elected by the rate-payers as the PublicH ealth Act directs, the income will be secured for public and beneficialpurposes. I cannot help remarking, however, that charitable endowmentsand corp orate estates have not necessarily a beneficial influence;numerous ins tances might be adduced where the consequences are thereverse ; charity may dem oralize, and an endowment may corrupt; if theone is thoughtlessly applied and the other is viciously administered,these are th e inevitable results. T he affairs of Manchester are muchbetter and more beneficially managed, where the re is no corporate eslate,than those of cities and boroughs having; large annual incomes, 'whichare spent in civic pride, pomp, and feasting.REMARKS ON ,T H E IMPROVEMENT OF ALTRlNClIAM, which hadbeen drawn up and printed fOT local use and information." This neat and clean little town is now suffering (as .Manchester didfor at least a century), from h:wing outgrown the feudal usages andregulations under which it has hitherto been governed. In the reign ofEdward I. (about the year 1290), Sir Hamon de Massy, baron ufDunham Massy, granted a charter to Altrincham, making it a freeborough; and granting to the burgesses 'a Gild Mercatory [a societvor corporation for free traffic ill merchandise] in the same burgh, with ailthe liberties of free customs belon ging to such a gild, according to thecustoms of the bur gh of Macclesfield.' The lord exempts his burgessesof Altrillcham, throughout the whole of his land, from all toll, bridge ur

30Report to the General Board of Health,passage money, stallage, lastage, and other servile customs. He alsogrants them common pasturage, hay turf, pannage, &c. ; requires themto grind all their corn at his mill, 'for the eighteenth vessel full, of [as]the multure or miller's toll,' Then follows this clause:-,. And ,I also grant, that m.'1 said burgesses may make to themselves Provosts orMayors [prrepositos] a7ld bailiffs, by the common advice of myselfand of my bailiffsand theirs, and that no plea ill the said burgh be held or determined, except before meor my bailiffs."" The remainder of the charter fixes the terms OIl which burgages areto be held. of the lo~d; reserves to him and .his heirs ';the privilege ofour oven 111 the said burgh;' and undertakes to maintain the riehtsthus granted to the burgesses, 'against .all people for ever.' By acharter in the 18th year of his reign, Edward I. grants to Hamon deMassy a market on Tuesday at his manor of Alhincham; and a fair ofthree days' duration, on the eve, the day, and the morrow of the Feastof the Assumption of the Blessed Mary (August 15th). Now, the passagegiven in italics in the above clause is that with which we have atpresent to do. Under it, a mayor has been annually appointed at theMichaelmns court leet of the lord ,of the barony; and though this municipalofficer, who has no magisterial jurisdiction, has very few duties(chiefly to proclaim or open the fairs), and very little real influence inthe town, he has certain privileges or perquisites, to which we mustdirect attention."" It seems that at some remote period, the then lord of the baronyand the town Or borough of Altrincham, offered to grant to the mayorthereof a yearly payment of 5l., or land of that yearly valne, at hisoption. The mayor, Iike a wise man, chose land, which now producesa yearly rental of 80l., or thereabout's. A similar offer being made atthe same time to the mayor or Ashton-under-Lyne, he chose to havethe cash, and consequently all he now receives is 5l. yearly. 'Themayor's land.' as it is called at Allrincharn, consists of three or fourfields, distant from each other, one being on the Ashley Road, anotheron Hale Moss, near the gas works, and another near Oldfield Hall.Altogether, they ~mount to 13 acres 1 rood 26 poles statute measure,and the gross rental is about 801.. which the mayor has the sole rightto receive, and to disburse at his discretion. Some are of opinion.thatthe land is somewhat over-rented, when the depreciation in the priceof agricultural produce is taken into consideration. Some portion ofit is let as high as 16l. the large Cheshire acre; and the whole averagesabout6l. the statute acre. In one case, the bondsman or surety for atenant, has had to pay 101. for him of rent due, which the tenant wasunable to pay. But the main thing is that the mayor does receivesomething like 80l. yearly, over the disbursement of which"he has thesole control; and the mayor being elected by the burgesses whochoose to attend the lord's Michaelmas leet, as jurors, it has too oftenbeen made the main qualification that the mayor-elect should be disposedto disburse largely of this fund, in the shape of good dinners anddrinking-bouts to such portion of the burgesses as take delight therein.The total number of burgesses is small, probably not more than 40 or50-(in 1402 there were about 40 freeholders, or charterers as theywere styled; in 1669, above 20 in the borough: the rest were tenantsat-wili),-of:-vhom some, notapproving of this mode of expending theon the Toum and Township of Altrincham.money, do not usually attend the court leet or its dinners. yv.e un?er~.stand that the mode of' transacting the business of the leet IS cunousso far as the jury are concerned. They have no sooner a:ssembled t~an,before the public business of the cou~t begins, there IS br?ug'ht intothe room, without command or direction from anybody, a slight refectionof bread and cheese, &c., porter, and from half-a-dozen to a dozenof wine. This being disposed of; the jury are ready for deliberation.Then, after the business of the court on that day, O!on some earl~ one,there is a dinner, to which all the bnrgesses are entitled to come withoutcost to themselves and several invitations are issued in a printed form.These two dinner; at the Easter and Michaelmas leets, cost about 30l.each, and in this way the greater part of the mayor's fund of 80~. isusually absorbed. \Ve say usually, for we must I:?ua~d.ours~lvesagamstbeing supposed to assert or imply that the practice IS invariable, The~ehave been mayors who have thought the custom' more honoured 111the breach than the observance;' and amongst other~, the late ~r.Gaskarth who served the office two years, gave a conSIderable portionof the annual sum towards the erection of a house for the deputy-constable'and Mr. Bruckshaw, a subsequent mayor, paid the remainingJlorlio~ of the debt incurred by this erection, up,,:ards of 40l. Mr.Nathaniel Pass contributed upwards of 60l. from this fund towards thelighting and watching of the town, when it was done by voluntary contributions,before gas was introduced. ~1r. Joseph Arstall, and othermayors, have applied a considerable portion of the fund to the purchaseof blankets, &c., which they distributed to the poor; and the. presentmayor, Mr. James Hall, farmer, Bowdon, gave l~l. from this .moneytowards the treat provided for the po?r of the to~n~hlp, by a public subscription,on the occasion of celebratmg the maJO!l1Y of the present EarIof Stamford. ' But these, we fear, are the exceptions to the rule; at allevents of late vears a number of mayors have been elected whose wellknownpropensities appeared to be their ~hief recommendation to thechoice of the jurors. In a pamphlet published last year by Mr. ThomasShaw Peters, of Bellington, he says, 'the good people of the town, outof pure affection for, and joy at, ' their great officer,' have been chargedwith killing by their kindness more than ~ne o~ the mayors.of theborouzh of Altrincham.' He adds, 'the inhabitants of Altnncham(or those who are concerned) will, I am sure, yet learn to p~ohi~it thismore than foolish squandering of the mayor's funds.' On mquiry, wefind that two deaths have actually resulted from this SO!t of expendit~reof the money. One recent mayor was killed by falling down stairs,after a drinking bout of-' Success to his .success?r ! '" We do not wish to dwell on these painful things, as we know thatthey have long been regarded by the more respectable inh~bitants as asort of stimna 011 those connected with them, and various efforts havebeen made to sret them altozether abolished, but hitherto without effect,althouzh more" than one to~n's meeting has expressed a strong disapprobationof such modes of expending a fund which, under judiciousmanagement and application, might be of considerable benefit to thetown."" We have gone at some length into the subject at this moment, becausethe annual election of mayor is at hand, and a judicious choicemay do something to p:event the waste of the money during the ensuing31/

32. ReRoH to,the GeneralBoard oj Health; ~·c.year. Lord .S tamfdrd's 'Mich aelmas Court Leet for the borough ofAltriuchum' is to. be held on \Vednesday next, and the burgesses willdo well ,to' attend, and elect as" I}layor:some gentleman in whom theycan have confidence that he will -to the utmost of his power, promotethe.real 'Yell-being of the town; in doing which, he will have the supportvofevery right-minded burgess and .inhabitant. • If 'such a oneshould he .elected, then it would be.desirable that, as soon liS possible;he wouldconvene a meeting of the freeholders or burgesses to take thematterinto consideration,.and atallevents:to set the example of an 'applicatipnof,tnelIT.Oney to some public purpose. ibeneficial, to the community,instead .of being squandered in orgies which only serve to make the officeof mayor itself worse than useless and ridiculous. We 'understand thatthe Earl of .Stamford contributes 51., to each or to both of the courtleet, dinners.' A small sum added to this, if necessary, would suffice ;and, the mayor, if .the remainder were expended in the improvementofthe town; need no longer have to look out and issue printed iirvitations~ to strangers and non-re sidents to join hi III at dinner• • Not only.wouldthose .respcctable .inhabitants who ' now -keep aloof .j oin ill' any suchmark. of: respect to·a,mayor who was' really doing somergodd, but theywould of ,course pay, for !heir dinners. _At present aJl g scot-free : the,m a y or ~ ~ fund ;and Lord.Stamford pay. the din ncr bilk';.: ' 'l .··· . ­:'•. " "We may here mention another subject in ' wh ich trust land is notprojlucirig byany -,n,e~n s its real annual value, and which.deserves publicconsideration.• , Wh~t .is called; , 1Jhe poor-house land : .at' Broadheath,near the 'I}ortl). hank ot: the .canal, consists of ga. 3r ; .2~p. 'statute rileasure,and' the old workhouse, now let as cottages; producing an aggregatet:gntal of. about 80l. • ~ 'f:1 e income .derived from jhis property, isa pplied)n: aid ?of 'the , p o o r~ r a teo 'The' trustees general!y,. we rbelieve,di~t~ib, !te aportion 'orit amongst the,' poor, at Christmiis, iii .coals : or:in ..m,eeting, any ,emergency 011 which ',the poor-law guardians cannotla~x.fully,!!xpend the poor-rate'''~ ' : ! , J c i (;; , .' . ' ,; .J ' I i.r: , .p .:'; 1'fmy, it has .been ,suggested that an ,Act should.be olitained -for.thePl !rpp~e (!1IP.o.ngst others) of, authoriz.ing .the sale :01' these-Iands (themayor.'s, a!~d the poor-fiouse) .u pon chief rent.s: for .building purposes ;'a measure-which would .probably increase the rental of eachjrorid200l:to 3Q9l, The, same Act ,might authorize the application of '.Ihe. income'fr ~ml :lhe ,mayor :s land (after .allowing something handsome, say 30[;,40l.,.or even 50l. for his .worship, for the m aintenancc OfQUe hospitalityand otl!er purposes): in ,improving : th e. town, :. Its present. scanty audimp erfect]sewerage 'is notori ous, and -is perhaps the greatest obstacle inthe way of the sanitary committee accomplishing their, object .of animproved ,h ealthY,condition. of thejown. ' O f' co ur~e ; the increased'incomederivable j ~!)m th e poor-houseland, under the proposed arrangement,c,o\lld onl y ~y ; a p p l ied to the relief.of the poor." , " r , i ,:. ,If ~he . (\ct is , gr ~llted to ,tjlC town, the local Board may .probably beable to an,ange. lor the beneficial , improvement ofIt he, land, so as tosecure t.he.• l:ight ~ 0(: .1ill ~pa r tilis; '1 , The -.la !}(I . was ; e.vidently;· grarited(~rig inally: to aid il},rthe goo9- goverumem of the town, and to thispurpose the income may 'now be most"usefully applied. , . . \ :,.", r .. I ;;.;.· ,r - -+-,,-='"--'--'---;-''-,----..,. .- =-=-- l . ,.:r.· I.OUl \O~ : I'eiuted by \V. CJ.O\VES and S ON~ , Stamford Street; __Forll ~r Majesty's Stationery Offlee, i'-~. •f.., ,.~~ I f