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evening," so that both sides were, in fact, covered with dust
the whole of the day. One parish had sixteen paving
Boards, yet a great part of the parish had no paving at all.
Lord Palmerston, who was then Leader of the Government,
claimed for the Bill that it was founded upon that principle
of local self-government which was most congenial with
the feelings of the people of this country. His lordship
continued, " I am under no apprehension that the sewerage
of the different metropolitan districts will be mismanaged
by the local bodies to which it will be confided. Everybody
who has looked at all into this matter must be perfectly
aware that it is impossible for the general commissioners of
sewers to direct simultaneously the arterial drainage of the
metropolis, and apply their attention properly to the defects
of the branch sewerage of every separate district. I will
only say that instead of the Bill being calculated to create
chaos, I think it will dispell it, and substitute for the extreme
confusion which now prevails, a system of order and
regularity from which the metropolis will derive great
benefit." That the public feeling was fully in accord with
the Government will be seen by the following extract from
o
the Times of 20th March, 1855:—
" Nothing can be plainer, more confessed, and more imperative
than the necessity for some such measure, while, at the same
time, nothing can be more obvious than the difficulties attending
the new enactment. The metropolis is at present governed, with
respect to lighting, paving, and sewerage purposes, on a system
so cumbrous, so costly, and so inefficient as to admit of no
possible defence—in fact, the absurdity of the affair, if it did not
entail quite so many and such serious evils, would be utterly
ludicrous. Not only is there no unity in London itself, but it is
actually hard to discover any such feature even in its component
parishes or streets. What the case requires is, first such a consolidation
of all the different Boards as shall secure uniformity
and efficiency of jurisdiction while terminating the waste of money
now prevailing; and secondly, such a method of appointment as
shall render the new Boards truly representative and responsible
bodies. The main point is whether it is not expedient to substitute
for the system of irresponsibility, of jobbing, and mis-management,
which now exists in the metropolis, a simple uniform system
which has been found to work well elsewhere."