cisterns and water-butts to the dust and other worse
impurities, from which, under the old system, it is
found to suffer so much contamination, but will be
delivered into every house (and upon every floor if
required) fresh, cool well aerated, and constantly ready
to flow." And thus the vexations of ball-cocks, cisterns,
and water-butts, will be wholly got rid of. In case of
fire, hydrants are plentifully distributed. The report
further states, that  the total expense of these advan-
tages of perfect drainage, with the use of a separate
water-closet, together with an abundant supply of pure
soft water, with a separate tap for each house, will
probably be somewhat less than 3d. per week for each
house, such as those occupied by the working classes,
viz. not exceeding £10 per annum rental; being, of
course, higher for houses of greater value in proportion
to the greater accommodation required." It is remarkable
that the cost of obtaining the necessary legal powers
under the Public Health Act was not quite £67.

The Free Library of Manchester was opened on the
2nd inst. with a formal ceremony. In the upper room
of the building, about a thousand persons were
assembled, including the Earl of Shaftesbury, the Earl of
Wilton, the Bishop of Manchester, Sir Edward Bulwer
Lytton, Sir James Stephen, Mr. Charles Dickens, Mr.
Monckton Milnes, Mr. John Bright, Mr. W. Brown,
Mr. Thackeray, Mr. Charles Knight, Dr. Vaughan, and
Mr. Felkin, Mayor of Nottingham. Among the ladies
present were the Countess of Wilton and the Honourable
Misses Egerton. Sir John Potter was the chairman of
the day: his share of the proceedings consisted in
reading a history of the institution, and formally handing
the title-deeds of the building and its contents over to
the mayor in trust for the people. Appropriate resolutions
were moved and seconded, and addresses delivered
by the Earl of Shaftesbury, Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton,
Mr. Dickens, Mr. Thackeray, Sir James Stephen,
Mr. Monckton Milnes, Mr. Bright, Mr. C. Knight,
Mr. P. Cunningham, Dr. Vaughan, and the Bishop of
Manchester.

The Commissioners of Customs have issued the following
important notices, respecting the Redress to be
obtained by the owners of vessels, &c., in the case of
improper seizure:

"The commissioners of her Majesty's Customs hereby give
notice, that directions have been issued to the officers of the
customs in the United Kingdom, that whenever they seize or
stop a vessel, hoat, or goods, they are to furnish the owner, when
he is known, or his agent, with a written notice, specifying the
grounds of detention.

"The commissioners of her Majesty's Customs hereby give
notice, that they will he prepared, in any case of seizure in
London under the Customs laws, upon application being made
to them in writing, and where the owner of the goods, &c, may
he desirous of such a course, to appoint one of the members of
the Board to take the evidence on oath of the merchants or
other parties claiming the property, on the one side, and of the
detaining officers on the other, supported by that of any witnesses
that may be necessary for the proper investigation of the case,
and to report the same for the Board's decision; agreeably to
the practice at present observed in cases of complaints by
merchants and others against officers."

Bartholomew Fair was held in the first week of this
month; but this relic of ancient barbarism is now reduced
to a mere name. As lately as 1830, upwards of
200 booths for toys and gingerbread crowded the
pavements around the fair, and overflowed into the adjacent
streets. In 1852 only two stalls were to be seen. In
1830, Richardson, Saunders, Wombwell, were in the
ascendant, with their menageries, equestrian, and
melodramatic shows. Merry-Andrews, puppets, and fools in
motley, abounded in all directions—the air rang with
the din, and clangor, and thumping of drums and the
blowing of trumpets. Public-houses and drinking-
booths were open until morning, challenged the night,
and then only closed for a brief respite; while, by night
as well as by day, pickpockets, rioters, and loose persons
of both sexes, entered the arena, and woe waited upon
any unfortunate wight who appeared amongst them
without being qualified for the association, by belonging
to one or other of these classes. In 1852, not a single
show was to be seen on the ground, and the public-
houses were as quiet and orderly as upon other occasions.
This extraordinary change has been produced by mild
means adopted by the corporation, in harmony with the
advancing spirit of the age, and the improving manners
of the humbler classes. For 300 years the Lord Mayor
and aldermen had tried orders and proclamations, and
juries, and presentments, but without effect. At length
the Common Council set to work in earnest to put down
a nuisance which brought disgrace upon the corporation.
Having obtained entire control over the whole fair by
the purchase of Lord Kensington's interest, they refused
to let standings for shows and booths, they prevailed
upon the Lord Mayor and sheriffs to give up the
absurd practice of going to open the fair in grand state,
with a herald to proclaim it, and officers of state to
marshal the procession—the proclamation formerly stuck
about the streets interdicting rioting and debauchery
during the days of the fair and within its precincts were
discontinued—they did but remind the evil-disposed of
former practices which, when they ceased to be mentioned,
ceased to be remembered. The consequence of
this course of proceeding is now manifested by the
altered condition of the fair. The Lord Mayor, who
went in his private carriage to Smithfield to go through
the necessary ceremony of reading the document
reciting the charter under which the property is holden,
was surrounded by a few good-tempered fellows, who
lingered about the spot in which the  "humours of
Bartlemy fai " used to abound, and a few minutes after
the ceremony the place was again deserted.

A Museum of Practical and Ornamental Art, formed
under the auspices of the Board of Trade, and now
permanently arranged in a suite of rooms at Marlborough
House, was opened to the public on the 6th inst., and
will continue open on Mondays and Tuesdays to all
persons not students, but on these days nothing can be
removed from its case. On Wednesdays. Thursdays, and
Fridays, persons, not students, are admitted on payment
of sixpence, and any single example may be copied on
payment of another sixpence. On Saturdays the
museum is closed. The chief object which will attract
attention is the collection of fictile vases. To this
collection her Majesty has contributed her unrivalled
cabinet of Sevres china, estimated to be worth £12,000,
though consisting of only forty-five pieces. Imitating
the Queen's example, Messrs. Webb, Minton, Farrar,
T. Baring, M.P., and Copeland, have sent similar
collections and specimens of Sevres, [Indian pottery, and
British pottery, the whole representing a value of
£17,000. The manufacturer and artist can here study
ancient wonders and modern imitation's competitions
with effect. The other branches of the museum at
present classified are woven goods, metal works, glass,
furniture, and the comprehensive miscellaneous. It
will be recollected that a Treasury grant apportioned
£5000 to a committee of the Board of Trade to purchase
suitable objects for this museum's purpose out of the
Great Exhibition; and, judging by the display, the
money seems to have been judiciously spent. In addition,
there are articles, models, &c, which were bought
for the School of Design, and which have been removed
from Somerset House; and the presents from those who
take an interest in this first step in a right direction are
numerous. The collection of casts appertaining to the
renaissance school of ornament is very interesting; and
a chronological arrangement of the specimens greatly
facilitates the inspection.

A meeting of the society for the establishment of
Evening Classes for Young Men was held on the 6th
inst., at Crosby Hall, to receive the fourth annual
report; the Lord Mayor presided, and many clergymen
and gentlemen of the City were present. The Kev. C.
Mackenzie, the honorary secretary, read the report of
the committee, which urged the want of increased sup-
port from the public, and also the necessity of greater
co-operation among young men. The last year's receipts
were £450, and twenty guineas more than that amount
had been spent for the purposes of the institution,
which could but prove of essential value from the
advantages afforded to young persons who had received
but limited education in their youth, and increased their
value both to their employers and society generally.
There had been eighty-four classes during the year, in
fourteen different part's of the metropolis, which had
been attended with varied success. These classes gave
instruction in drawing, elocution, French, German,