and  the  Cause  and  Prevention  of  Floods.  401 
1861,  were  given  in  the  article  by  me  on  “Arterial  Drainage 
and  Storage  of  Water,”  in  Part  I.  of  the  14th  volume  of  the 
‘ Journal,’  and  it  is  therefore  needless  to  refer  to  them  in  greater 
detail  here.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  these  Acts  give  all  the 
facilities  that  are  required  for  obtaining  the  necessary  powers  for 
dealing  with  the  tributary  streams,  watercourses,  and  drains  ; 
but  they  now  require  to  be  supplemented  by  a General  Act, 
constituting  Boards  for  dealing  with  the  main  rivers  into  which 
these  tributaries  discharge. 
In  1877,  owing  to  the  constantly  increasing  complaints  as  to 
the  damage  caused  by  flooding,  a Committee  of  the  House  of 
Lords  was  appointed,  at  the  instance  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond, 
“ to  inquire  into  the  operation  of  existing  statutes  in  regard  to 
the  formation  of  and  proceedings  by  Commissioners  of  Sewers  and 
Conservancy,  Drainage  and  River  Navigation  Boards  ; to  con- 
sider by  what  means  such  bodies  may  be  more  conveniently  and 
inexpensively  constituted,  their  procedure  improved,  and  their 
powers  enlarged  so  as  to  provide  more  efficiently  for  storage  of 
% water ; the  prevention  of  floods,  and  the  discharge  of  other 
functions  appertaining  to  such  boards.” 
A large  body  of  evidence  was  taken,  and  the  Committee 
reported  : That  floods  have  been  more  frequent  and  of  longer 
duration  in  recent  times  than  formerly  : That,  amongst  the 
causes  assigned  for  this,  prominence  was  given  by  the  witnesses 
to  the  adoption  of  the  system  of  subsoil-drainage : That,  if  the 
channels  and  outfalls  of  rivers  be  properly  cared  for,  water  flow- 
ing into  these  rivers  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  be  discharged 
in  sufficient  time  to  prevent  serious  damage  to  agricultural  lands 
by  floods : That  floods  of  moderate  duration  are  not  always 
prejudicial,  but  that  injurious  consequences  arise  when  the  water 
is  suffered  to  stagnate  upon  the  soil : That  with  regard  to  the 
Acts  now  in  force  relating  to  the  appointment  of  commissioners 
and  the  Land  Drainage  Act,  1861,  although  large  powers  of 
executing  works  and  rating  have  been  conferred  upon  the  persons 
charged  with  the  execution  of  these  general  Acts,  their  duties 
have  only  been  indicated  in  a vague  and  general  manner ; and 
that  certain  powers  are  wanting  which  are  essential  for  the 
maintenance  of  an  adequate  system  of  drainage  ; and  further, 
that  the  constitution  of  these  authorities  is  npt  compulsory,  and 
that  there  is  an  absence  of  responsibility  which  may  be  held  to 
account  in  a great  measure  for  the  present  neglected  state  of  the 
rivers.  The  Committee  further  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that 
rivers  differ  so  widely  in  their  characteristics  that  it  is  im- 
practible  to  prescribe  any  general  scheme  of  conservancy  which 
would  be  applicable  to  all  rivers  without  exception,  and  that 
the  particular  measures  which  should  be  adopted  for  keeping  the 
