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Leader (1850-1860), 24th July 1858, Edition 2 of 2, Page 17

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      "Tthen Doctors Differ." The Metropolitan...

      the new and efficient deodorizing process which may be at present slumbering ia the brains of the chemical members of the commission , we take leave to suggest that no terrace of fifty feet in width , far less two sewers of twenty-two feet in diameter , can find space for the efficient and continuous reception , treatment , and discharge of the sewage of all London . Again , if the charcoal process , first practically applied to a sewer many years ago by Mr- Moffatt , were to find favour with the commission , a most valuable manure would be manufactured : but the establishment of manufacture at

      the plurality of points hinted at by the commission would , all the deodorizers notwithstanding , be found an obstructive nuisance , if not , as alleged by the chemists Hoffman and Witt , a . dangerous one . If the lime process in use at Leicester could by any possibility be put in practice within the limited space likely to be at command—and this is hardly credible—we should merely have a number of works turning out quantities of uselees sludge , and having made this at no small cost , -we should incur considerable additional expense in getting quit of it . Having official knowledge of the latter of these

      reports , and no doubt a pretty good guess at what the former would he , her Majesty ' s Miuisters have resolved to take action as follows : — Assuming that committee and commission being exhausted , all other means of moving in the matter are also come to an end , saving only the Metropolitan Board , they have proceeded to comply with the desire of that board , but not of the public , by revivifying its powers , and giving in addition the sinews of war—to wit , the permission tp raise and expend three millious of money , as it may see fit . By this ^ adroit pretence of yielding to public pressure , Ministers have slain a leash of birds . Theory

      of " something must be done" is stopped , for something has been done . The metropolitan ratepaying interest — unfortunate frogs , who " have elected a party of storks to rule over them in the persons of the Board of Works- —are supposed to be propitiated . The inert nobleman -who ,. ready and willing enough to iindei-take the conservation of the noblesse and their statues , would rather not be concerned in that of the dirty river , gets rid of . duties which must have made life a burden to his clever and indefatigable predecessor ; and a collection of persons who have shown no title to the

      confidence of their constituents are to be entrusted with 3 , 000 , 000 / . of the ratepayers' money , at the end of which another 3 , 000 , 000 / . will be demanded for excess in estimates and so forth . But tins will never do . A fugitive popularity may be agreeable to Ministers , so may apparent concession to deluded ratepayers ; Messrs . Thwaites and Co . may have a Seat fancy for being enthroned in Berkeley ouse , Lord John . Manners may be anxious to be rid of a bore which he adopted with the honour and pay of office : but though the Thames stink and the session be nearly overit

      , is to be hoped that the House will not tlius admit the insertion of " the thin end of the wedge . " Not a single shilling should the Board of Works be helped or empowered by Parliament to raise unless for the execution of work for which the plans have been publicly approved . Like the Boards of Directors of many joint-stock companies the Board of Works of course abominate control . Give them 3 , 000 , 000 / ., and freedom from all question or veto , and they will at once merrily commence the expenditure of 0 , 000 , 000 / . and ' defy future remonstrance .

      Ihe internal system of main intercepting sewers will cost , without allowing for excess of estimates something like 2 , 300 , 000 / . The outfall channels requisite to open these to the river near Pin-fleet , the nearest point admissible under the act , will cost about 1 , 500 , 000 / . But ns the important towns and villages on the Thames arc too influential to permit the discharge in their immediate vicinity , wo shall be compelled , if the Metropolitan Board arc , after all , allowed to indulge their weakness for a river outfall , to adopt a further extension to Sea Jtteach , or the deodorizing works so often condemned as unwholesome and unproductive . The loimer of these alternatives would cost 1 , 500 , 000 / . or 1 , 760 , 000 / . more , and probably create some isai

      new . as between Mucking ami the Chnpnmn band , lho latter , according to Mr . Cookc the projector , would cost in outlay aud capitalized expenses a sum of 1 , 158 , 000 / . If to these amounts the reader will add 547 , 000 / ., set down by the Hoard as tho capitalised annual working expenses oi the intercepting system proper , he will find we aro not iar wrong in our assertion that' the

      proposed guarantee of interest is only the thin end of a wedge whose thicker end will amount to about 6 , 000 , 000 / - It is an open question , whether the existence of London and its maintenance in health , without the slightest reference to the pleasure or convenience of its inhabitants , being an imperial necessity , the cost of these works ought not to be borne by the Consolidated \ Fund . But Mr . Bentirick and the country party were here far too many and too strong for their clever leader , and the proposition , though more than once mooted , was never seriously advanced by the Cabinet . This lielped to save the metropolitan eediles , whose occupation would have been almost wholly gone had they been relieved of

      their drainage function . But as they have been preserved to us , more by a fortuitous concourse of events than by their proper fitness , it behoves the ratepayers , who ] iave been lately deluded with the promise of only a threepenny rate for the term ( in the case of many leaseholders ) of their natural lives , to take precaution that the sixpenny rate we have shown to be imminent is spent under some sort of supervision ; if possible , not spent entirely ; and , at all events , not exceeded . It is remarka , ble that the metropolitan members , whose constituencies are so deeply interested in this matter , have not supported Sir Joseph Paxton in

      his advocacy of a sea outfall . The proposition , submitted by Mr . M'Clean last year to the engineering referees of the office of Public Works , and received by them with all the respect which could be expected of referees who had a scheme of their own , had good points too obvious to escape even unprofessional observers . In the first place such an outfall would effect au economy of 1 , 500 , 000 / . or more in sewer rates . It would end for ever the Thames grievance . Passing through , au agricultural district where its fertilizing contents would be available and welcome for purposes of irrigation , it Tvould discharge upon a nearly uninhabited coast , and there , help the growth of the new land already

      forming by the solid portions of the London sewage borne ; thither by the set of the tide . This seems to fulfil so many of the conditions of a perfect scheme , that its obscurity during the recent agitation has been to many a matter of surprise and regret . But we shall be more amazed if the Metropolitan Board of Works are permitted , while such plans exist as were only half investigated by the referees of the late First Commissioners in their haste to produce a composite design of their own , to expend irresponsibly the funds of their enormous constituency upjon works either useless , or extravagant , or positively prejudicial to public health or interests .

      Ko. 435, July 24,1858.] ^ T H E ^_ L E A...

      Ko . , July 24 , 1858 . ] ^ T H E ^_ L E A _ DJB R . 713

      The March Of Mormouism. We. Know Pretty ...

      THE MARCH OF MORMOUISM . We . know pretty well , from American sources , that Monnonisni is a great , a growing , and a troublesome fact . If the presence and the practices of the " Latter-day Saints" were coulined to transatlantic localities , we should hardly feel it worth the time to do more than bestow a passing and a wondering glance on this remarkable imposture . But we know , from our public journals , that Mornionism has planted its hoof on . our own shores , and our police-courts have lately informed us of some

      of the consequences which are the natural growth of a 'practical familiarity with Mormon teaching . Now , as any novelty , especially of doctrine , which bids fair to have even a remote influence on tho social condition of a section of the people cannot be deemed unimportant , it may be as well to take a bird ' s-eye view of Mormomsm in this country , and to bring together stray facts , to enable us to come to something like a correct understanding of the position and progress of Mormonism here . Can we place Monnonisni in the category of moribund hallucinations such as Shilohisin , or the Unknown Tongues , and can we predict for it the same ending P Is " Joe Smith" to shine for his little day like John of Munstcr , like Joanna Southcotc ,

      like Irving , nud then subside into the limbo of defunct delusions , or is he hereafter to take rank with Mahomet , and to prove the founder of a new sect us numerous and as fanatic P We shall not touch -upon the rise of Monnonisni , the gross and detected fraud in the manufacture and discovery of the " Jiook of Mormon , " or the impure life and violent death of the first Mormon prophet , " Joe Smith ; " they are matters already sufficiently known and sufficiently authenticated . But tho history of human credulity assures us that tlie exposure of imposture , however complete , is

      insufficient for its extinction—that there are some minds so constituted that when once they take up an opinion , or allow themselves to be converted to particular doctrines , no demonstration , no irrefragable proof of fallacy or imposition , no amount of obloquy or persecution can . shake their faith or induce them to hearken to the voice of truth . Mormonism , then , is a great fact . It has wonderfully progressed since the death of its founder "Joe Smith . " It has proved the strength of its convictions and faith of its followers by the abandonment of two settlements—Nauvoo and Utah ; at least the last accounts from the Great Salt Lake

      City inform us that the whole of the inhabitants are preparing for a final rnove to Sonora , after burning down their new city . Now , we shall leave the American Government to settle their difficulty in their own . way . If the American nation think it right to coerce or hunt down a sect located on their territories and composed of many foreign nations , because its scale of morality does not square with the American standard , that is their affair , not ours . It would , however , be wholly unjust to denounce the " Mormons' * in the broad and sweeping way in which we see them denounced in

      American journals , and to declare them so mentally and morally debased as to unfit them from being ranked among civilized beings . The great blot on Mormonism is its licentiousness . The polygamist principle is its worst and darkest feature . It betrays the sensual objects of the " Saints , " and to every one who honours female chastity as a virtue , Mormonism must ever be regarded as a libel on the recorded principles of Christianity , to which it professes implicit adherence . Take awav that

      filthy stain , and Mormonism is not without results which may be envied by purer cities . Here is a picture of Utah as it existed just before the American Government sent against it the military expedition , which , under General Cumming , who appears to be doing his dut y ; with temper and judgment , has the city how in military occupation : — No cases of drunkenness appeared on the streets ; no > lists for assault and battery on the courts of the city ; no trials for larceny , petit or grand ; no marks , in those respects , of the--civilized manners of the world ; no midnight brawlers and assassins ; and no females promenading the streets , bartering their virtue for

      sustenance-Allowing for partiality , enough will be left to make us wish that a counterpart of this portrait could be found in any one city of the British Empire . But our purpose is not with Mormonism in America , but Mormonism in England . Even in England , it is not such a trifle as the uninitiated may think . It lias a set of phrases and rules based on the model of the old conventicle school ; it has a literature of its own ! . IVbra the Millennial Star , published in London , we get a glimpse into the inner life of the " Saints , " and the way they are working in this country . In the Millennial Star we find an exhortation from an old Latter-day Saint to the young Latter-day Saints , in which our Nestor , who is in a scolding mood , declares

      that—The characteristics of " some of the young" are lightmindedness , worthlessness , purposelessness , and ungodliness . They are full of emptiness , and are great in " small talk . " They oaro but little about their religion , and it is scarcely ever in their thoughts . They are not like those young men and women who stood as " pillars of the Church *' and gave vitality to the cause . These bastard Saints , instead of being full of the spirit and importance of the work—instead of manifesting towards God ' s kingdom the fervent love and faith of youth , abound with the follies , vanities , and fashions of the Gentile world . They will spend their precious hours in

      backbiting their brethren and sisters , and even dare to meddle with the doings of the Priesthood , discuss the propriety of their actions , imagine a thousand unreal things , and busily circulate their conclusions as facts . We advise all such to mend thoir ways , and would warn tbe faithful to beware of thorn , and enjoin on the officers of tho Church the duty of reproving them . This certainly is not very promising , bufc whether in the case of the Latter-day Saints or no saint at all , we wisli the old gentleman ' s meet whu

      uuruiLory uugeiiuuon may aue success . Then , with respect to the movements of Mormonism , we find Mormonism supplied with that sort of machinery which has proved so useful an ally in the cause of dissent . Mormonism has a staff of Latter-day Saints , who , as missionaries , spread themselves over the country , look sharply after the main chance , and send communications at stated periods to " President Calkin , " supposed to reside somewhero in Islington . Latter-day Saint J . 1 ) . Ross gives this account of his rovingmission : — " At Leeds the saints enjoy the spirit of

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 24, 1858, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24071858/page/17/