“The annual amount of the local taxation of England and Wales may at the present time be stated, in round numbers, at not less than £12,000,000;” or we may say that the local taxation of the country is one-fourth of the amount of the general taxation.
RETURN OF THE COST OF MANAGEMENT PER ANNUM ON THE TOTAL RATEABLE ANNUAL VALUE OF THE DISTRICTS.
| YEARS. | Total Rateable Annual Value of the Districts. | Cost of Management per Annum. | Rate per Cent. per Annum of Cost of Management on the Rateable Annual Value of the Districts. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | |
| 1845 | 6,320,331 | 0 | 0 | 18,591 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10½ |
| 1846 | 6,423,909 | 0 | 0 | 18,097 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7½ |
| 1847 | 6,683,896 | 0 | 0 | 24,371 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 3½ |
| 1848 | 6,783,111 | 0 | 0 | 20,008 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 10¾ |
| 1849 | 8,077,591 | 0 | 0 | 20,005 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 11¼ |
| 1850 | 8,791,967 | 0 | 0 | 23,465 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
August 7, 1851.
G. S. HATTON,
Accountant.
Of the Cleansing of the Sewers—Ventilation.
There are two modes of purifying the sewers; the one consists in removing the foul air, the other in removing the solid deposits. I shall deal first with that mode of purification which consists in the mechanical removal or chemical decomposition of the noxious gases engendered within the sewers.
This is what is termed the Ventilation of the Sewers, and forms a very important branch of the inquiry into the character and working of the underground refuse-channels, for it relates to the risk of explosions and the consequent risk of destruction to men’s lives; while, if the sewer be ill-ventilated, the surrounding atmosphere is often prejudicially affected by the escape of impure air from the subterranean channels.
A survey as to the ventilation, &c., of the sewers was made by Mr. Hawkins, Assistant-Surveyor, and Mr. Jenkins, Clerk of the Works. Four examinations took place of sewers; of those in Bloomsbury; those from Tottenham-court-road to Norfolk-street, Strand; from the Guard-room in Buckingham Palace to the Horseferry-road, Millbank; and in Grosvenor-square and the streets adjacent. There were difficulties attending the experiment. From Castle-street to Museum-street there was a drop of 4 feet in the levels, so that the examiners had to advance on their hands and knees, and it was difficult to make observations. In some places in Westminster also the water and silt were knee deep, and the lamps (three were used) splashed all over. In Bloomsbury the sewers gave no token of the presence of any gas, but in the other places its presence was very perceptible, especially in a sewer on the west side of Grosvenor-square, a very low one, in which the gas was ignited within the wire shade of one of the lamps, but without producing any effect beyond that of immediately extinguishing the light. There was also during the route, in the neighbourhood of Sir Henry Meux’s brewery and of an adjoining distillery in Vine-street, a considerable quantity of steam in the sewer, but it had no material effect upon the light.