THE SEWAGE DISPOSAL PROBLEM 179 



official and otherwise, of the conditions which prevailed about 

 the middle of the last century in some places. The general 

 impression appeared to be that rivers were the proper recep- 

 tacles for sewage and refuse of any kind. During summer-time 

 many of those rivers became " a boiling, stinking mass " — 

 " children amused themselves by setting alight the gas which 

 floated on the surface of the water, and blue flames arose to 

 a height of six feet." " Carcases of animals floated down the 

 rivers, or lay stranded on the banks." " One brook in Man- 

 chester was found to contain nineteen dead dogs." " The refuse 

 from tanneries, woollen mills, dye works, paper works, and 

 large quantities of putrescible sewage found their way into the 

 rivers" — and so on. It seems incredible now that those con- 

 ditions could have prevailed for so long without action being 

 taken. Complaints were, of course, made here and there, and 

 some inquiries held ; but matters went from bad to worse, until 

 at last, in 1865, the Government were compelled to appoint a 

 Royal Commission to inquire into the pollution of rivers, and 

 from that day to this the subject has been continually 

 before us. 



As already mentioned, the main object of each individual 

 was, in the first instance, to get rid of the filth and refuse 

 from the immediate neighbourhood of his own habitation. Then 

 followed the period when the filth was transferred by water- 

 carriage to street drains. To the foul condition of the street 

 drains was attributed the prevalence and spread of " fever " 

 and other diseases, and an Act was actually passed in 1847 

 giving power to local authorities to discharge their sewage 

 direct into the river or sea. In 1854 the highest public health 

 authority in England expressed it as their opinion that it was 

 better to admit sewage to the nearest watercourse than to allow 

 it to accumulate near dwellings, and it was not until 1857 that 

 experts recommended the removal of suspended matter or 

 deodorisation of the sewage before discharge into streams. In 

 1858 the pollution of rivers in England was legally prohibited. 

 In 1 861 an Act was passed requiring the sewage to be purified 

 before being discharged into streams. In 1865, as already 

 mentioned, the Royal Commission was appointed and produced 

 some valuable Reports. In 1868 it was dissolved and another 

 Commission appointed, called the Rivers Pollution Prevention 

 Commission. In 1869 a Commission was appointed to deal 



