alone, and the inhabitants were strictly watched to prevent their passing any sewage-matter into these drains. The introduction of the water-closet, however, gradually increased the water which overflowed from the old cesspools to such an extent that it was impossible to prevent overflows of this description, and systems of drainage were designed to carry off the whole, both sewage and rain-water. A very composite system of drainage then arose. Generally, the bed of some stream or natural rivulet passing through the town was covered over, and the whole filth passed into that along with the rainfall of the district. This soon was found unsatisfactory, because the flood-waters of the stream were not to be relied on to keep the channel clean, and so the filth remained festering underneath the ground, giving off deadly gases in the midst of the population. The next arrangement which succeeded to that system was to plan large drains for the rain and surface-water, and sewage, and still keeping the idea of the size of the bed of a natural stream before them, engineers thought it necessary to make all the main drains large enough for a man to pass through them, and keep them clean. Seeing the vast quantity of sand and grit that was occasionally washed off the streets, something might be said in defence of this system. Vast numbers of these great main sewers still exist. Into these sewers all the smaller house-drains were to enter, and the surface-water through streetgratings as well. The ordinary water used for domestic purposes, and the occasional rainfalls, were relied upon to flush those large main sewers; but their great size made this an exceedingly difficult and uncertain process, and they, in fact, became only cesspools elongated. In dry weather, the filth was retained in them to such an extent, that after heavy rains, chemical analysis shewed that the water which was discharged contained frequently twenty times the amount of human fæcal matter per gallon more than it did in dry weather. This state of matters, added to the fact that long-continued dry weather was always attended by an increase of deaths from typhus and other fevers, clearly shewed that something more must be done. A further step was then taken by sanitary engineers. The idea of men passing up the drains was set aside, and the smallest possible drains were constructed, until these have arrived at such dimensions as an 18 inch main drain for a town of 10,000 inhabitants. The rainfall was still to be relied on to a certain extent for flushing purposes, but a supplementary assistance was to be given at some points by flushing with water from the ordinary regular supply of the town. As these smaller drains were not sufficient to carry off all the surface and rain-water, as well as the sewage, overflow weirs have been provided at certain points, where the excess must go over, and pass away into some other channel. This is the system now most generally adopted, and is better than its predecessors; but we believe that it, in its turn, must give way to something better, and that before many years. The necessity of dealing with the sewage at the main outfall, and the utilisation of it for agricultural fertilisation, while, in nine cases out of ten, pumping must be employed to lift the sewage of a town at the discharging point for such a purpose, have gradually forced upon us the conviction that the sewage and household water must be kept quite distinct from the surface-water and rainfall.

The outfall of the sewage drain, and subsequent disposal of the filth, are in reality the first things to be considered. Hitherto, engineers in general have taken the nearest stream, and polluted it to

such an extent, that perpetual lawsuits, nuisances, and diseases have been the result. Fever of the worst class is certain to follow the drinking of water tainted in this manner, and there is scarcely a stream in the interior of the country which has not been injured more or less from this cause.

Again, where the sewage has been emptied into the sea, tide-locked drains are objectionable, and the sewage, when mixed with salt water, generally gives off more stench than ever. We may briefly say that all attempts at deodorisation by chemical processes have hitherto failed, and as far as our present knowledge goes, are not to be relied upon. The utilisation of the sewage on the fields by irrigation is, therefore, the true solution of the problem, and we must arrive at the simplest, cheapest, most certain, and most perfect system of accomplishing this. When sewage and rainfall all go together in the same drains, as they do in all the older systems, all is uncertainty; while, were the two separated, rain and surface-water can be discharged at any point into the natural water-courses of the country, and a fixed quantity of sewage, with household and flushing water, would be passed to the main outlet, to be there dealt with. The opponents of this system say that it is too expensive and troublesome to plan; that it is unnecessary, as it is suffi cient if engineers provide for the dry-weather flow of the sewage, and use that for irrigation; and that when the overflows come into action in floods, the whole is so much diluted, that no harm is done to any one. The advocates of this double system of drainage say that the total separation of the two is the most sanitary system, because the streetgratings and rain-water pipes, which at present let down the rain-water into the sewage-drains, act, in fact, as so many ventilating shafts, and discharge the stench in the midst of the inhabitants; while, under a separate system, the sewage-pipe would be entirely sealed up, and only ventilated at such places as could safely be done; that the rain-water as a flushing-power ought to be entirely discarded, as it fails in dry weather, just when it is most wanted; that in wet weather, and winter again, when the discharging of the sewage on to the surface of land is carried out, the great quantity of water sent down through the drains by the present system is agriculturally a serious injury; that when pumping has to be employed for lifting the liquid for irrigation, as it is in most cases, all is uncertainty, and that no machinery can be economical and efficient under such circumstances, and that the planning of the irrigation also becomes difficult to manage, and irregular. With regard to the expense, it is further maintained that, as the rain-water and surface-water can be discharged at the nearest point, all the drains may be much lessened in size; and further, that the flushingpower of the water in the sewage-drains will be much more efficient, while the corresponding lessening of the expense in carrying out the process of utilisation will completely compensate any additional outlet that may be incurred in laying the drains in towns. If we take the case, which is a common one, of a population of 10,000 people living upon a square mile, the first-mentioned system, where rain and sewage water go together, would require pumping-machinery, in dry weather, of, say, five horse-power, to lift the liquid; and it would further be necessary, for wet weather, to have in reserve a lifting-power of 150 horses; while, on the separate system, where the sewage alone would have to be dealt with, the five horse-power engine would be regularly and constantly employed, and its work would be almost entirely confined to the daytime, whereas the other must be ready at any time, and

It is obvious, however, to any one perusing the above paragraphs, that they are exceedingly vague, and form but little guide to any one who must go into the question of whether money invested in utilisation of sewage-schemes will pay an adequate return upon the outlay. The uncertainty attending the dilution of the sewage; the necessity of making the earth take it at all seasons; the distance that the liquid has to be pumped-have all been such difficulties in the way, that the commission could not well arrive at any other result than they have done.

The presumption would therefore seem to be a very strong one, that, until we arrive at fixed quantities, no reliable principles can be laid down that would 'in all cases enable us to overcome the difficulties attending the sanitary management and utilisation of sewage.

SEWARD, WILLIAM HENRY, American statesman, was born at Florida, New York, May 16, 1801, of Welsh and Irish descent. His father was a physician and merchant, who, after accumulating a moderate fortune, was appointed judge of one of the inferior courts. S. entered Union College at 15; in 1819, he visited the south, and was engaged for six months as a school teacher in Georgia. Called to the bar in 1822, he settled at Auburn, Western New York, and became the partner and son-in-law of Judge Miller. In 1825, his political abilities were manifested in an oration delivered at Syracuse, and in 1828 he was chosen president of a state convention. At this period, New York was the centre of a wide-spread excitement against Freemasons, and S., as a leading anti-mason, was elected to the state senate. In 1833, he visited Europe, and wrote a series of letters, which were published in the Albany Evening Journal. In 1834, he was a candidate for the office of governor of New York, but was defeated by the democratic candidate. About this time he received the lucrative appointment of agent of the Holland Land Company, which gave him wealth and influence. In 1838, he was elected governor of New York. In this position, he recommended the increase of education, internal improvements, a liberal policy toward foreign immigrants, and took the side of abolition in the growing controversies on slavery. In 1849, he was elected to the senate of the United States, where he became the acknowledged leader of his party, and in the debate on the admission of California he promulgated what was called his 'higher-law' doctrine, in saying that there was a higher law than the Constitution which regulated the authority of Congress over the national domain -the law of God, and the interests of humanity.'

declared that there was an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces,' and that the United States must become either entirely slave or entirely free.' In 1859, he revisited Europe, and extended his tour to Egypt and the Holy Land, and in 1860 was the most prominent candidate of the republican party for nomination for the presidency. Mr S. accepted the important post of Secretary of State under President Lincoln, and guided the diplomacy of the Federal government through the perils of the War of Secession with an almost unparalleled energy and success. On the invasion of Mexico by the French in 1862 he persisted in recognising the government of Juarez. In 1865 he declared the attempt to establish a foreign and imperial government in Mexico to be disallowable and impracticable. The French army was accordingly withdrawn in 1866, and Napoleon III. humiliated by the failure of his. enterprise. On the 14th of April, 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, and at the same time another assassin, named Payne, penetrated to the room of Mr S., dangerously wounded his son, and with a poignard inflicted wounds upon Mr S. which were at first believed to be fatal, but from which he slowly recovered. He retained office under Andrew Johnson, and supported his policy relating to reconstruction against the almost unanimous sentiment of the Republican party, thus giving great offence to his former friends. In 1868-1869 he made a voyage to Alaska, the purchase of which he successfully advocated, and visited California and Mexico on the route. In 1870-1871 he visited Japan, China, and Egypt, being everywhere received with distinguished honors. The Mikado of Japan gave him a private audience, an honour never before accorded to a foreigner. S. is universally admitted to be one of the ablest and most accomplished of living American statesmen. Mr S. has written a life of John Quincy Adams, a life of De Witt Clinton, and numerous speeches.

SEWING-MACHINE, one of the most important inventions of this century. Like the stockingframe, which in principle it closely resembles, we owe it to the ingenuity of a poor mechanic, striving to lessen the labour of his wife and other poor women. Elias Howe, a native of Massachusetts, devoted his evening leisure hours to the construction of a sewing-machine. This was about the year 1841, and his career since that period up to the present time forms a striking chapter in the annals of intelligent labour, and furnishes another proof of the saying that fact is stranger than fiction.' After incessant labour, during the latter part of which he and his family were indebted to a friend for the means of subsistence, he completed the first working sewing-machine, the patent for which was granted to him in May 1841. He did not succeed in inducing the people of his own country to see the value of his patent, and came to England, where, after patenting it here also, he met with so much discouragement that he sold the patent for £250 and a royalty of £3 per machine to a staymaker, Mr Thomas of Cheapside, London, who used it successfully in his own business, but did so little towards making it public that for several years its existence was only known to a very few individual manufacturers. When Howe reached his own country again, he found his American patent pirated by a wealthy company; but with admirable spirit he asserted his rights, and succeeded in establishing them; and it is gratifying to know that his talent, industry, and perseverance have been rewarded, for he became a wealthy man. Howe's machine worked what is called the lock-stitch, but since his invention became known, several improvements and modifications have been introduced by

Fig. 1

or shoemaker's stitch (fig. 1), the thread being held and pushed through with pincers, one pair on each side of the material to be sewn. The needle, a, is pointed at each end, and being pushed through by the pincers on one side, is taken hold of by the corresponding pair on the other, and the thread is thus pulled through backwards and forwards. Only a small length of thread can be used by this machine, hence it is of but limited application. 2. Another single-thread machine makes the runningstitch (fig. 2). In this, the needle, a, is stationary,

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 7.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 6.

curved shuttle after it has passed through the cloth This kind of stitch, though very useful for some kinds of work, is easily pulled out. 4. Fig. 4 represents Wheeler and Wilson's sewing machine, another American invention, which has acquired the greatest reputation in Great Britain. It is a double-thread machine, and besides the vertical eye-pointed needle, has a curved shuttle or hook (fig. 5, a) working below, with a revolving reel, b, inside its curve. The reel

is of metal, each side being convex externally; and so adjusted on the axle, that the edges are so near together as to admit only one thickness of the thread to pass through (fig. 6). The side view of the whole arrangement is seen in fig. 7. It fits easily within the nearly circular hook, and gives off its thread as required. The thread passes partly round the outer edge of the hook upon a slightly-grooved bevel (a, fig. 7), which forms a loop, and passes it between the needle and the the loop is held in position as thread which it carries with it in descending; ascends, and the cloth being moved on, the next the needle descent of the needle takes it through the loop and receives another below it, which renders the first one tightly locked, as in fig. 8. For such work as male and female dressmaking generally, this kind of machine is at present unrivalled, both for the efficiency of its work, and also for the neatness and

Fig. 8.

The

finish of the machines made for private use. magnitude to which the manufacture of sewing-machines has attained in the United States will appear by the return of the manufacturers for the year 1870 to the owners of the leading patents on which they pay a royalty. The Singer Manufacturing Company, 127,833; Wheeler & Wilson, 83,208; Howe, 75,156; Grover & Baker, 57,402; Weed, 35,002; Willcox Gibbs, 28,890; American Button-hole, &c., 14,573; Florence, 17,660; and all others, 24,530; a grand total of 464,254 machines made in one year.