HL Deb 04 July 1873 vol 216 cc1776-9
LORD RAVENSWORTH,

in rising to call attention to the defective provisions of the Alkali Act, and to present a Petition, numerously signed, upon the subject, said, that the Act was passed in the year 1863, and that its object was to diminish the quantity of noxious vapours passing from chemical works into the atmosphere, and especially to cause an effectual condensation of muriatic acid gas. This subject was one of very great importance; it affected the comfort and the health of a large portion of the community. Although there had been no public demonstration respecting the question, and no great public meeting had given expression to the grievances which those he represented complained of; yet he could inform their Lordships that within eight or ten days a Petition on the subject had received the signatures of some 500 gentlemen of high standing. Those parties complained of the defective provisions of the Alkali Act, and of the destructive effects upon public health and property which had been the result. They complained that the Act was not alone inadequate, but that matters were even worse than they were before its passing in 1863. Indeed, it appeared from the Reports of the Inspector appointed by the Board of Trade, and also from the result of an inquiry conducted with the sanction of the Board on the subject, that the mischief resulting to vegetation, and, consequently, to the health of the people, from the noxious gases generated in alkali and other works, had not been at all lessened since the passing of the Act. Of his own knowledge, speaking of the district of Tyneside between Newcastle and Shields he could say that so far from relief being afforded by the provisions of the Act, the mischief created was now ten times greater than it was before the Act passed. No one could read the last Report of the Inspector, that for 1871, which had been presented to Parliament, without arriving at the conclusion that the statute was inadequate to meet the existing evil. It appeared that the acids of sulphur, the most injurious of all, were totally untouched by the present Act, and the Inspector gave it as his opinion that it would be desirable to have a special inquiry into that subject. The Inspector stated that many complaints had been made to him of continued injury from deleterious vapours; but he believed that a great part of the injury was not done by muriatic acid, but by the sulphurous acids evolved from some of those works. Those acids were given out in great abundance, they were destructive to health and vegetation; and for a mile or two, and often more if the wind set in a particular direction, much damage was done, and the neighbourhood rendered almost uninhabitable. The sulphuric acid gas infected all the moisture in the air, and the most deleterious effect to health was the result. When the Government Inspector pronounced the present law to be defective, surely it was not too much to ask for the attention and assistance of the Government in supplying the defects of the existing Act. With regard to the nature of the remedy he would say that having, when in the other House, represented the two northern counties, he was not in favour of violent measures. The question was not one without difficulty; but the parties who suffered from these noxious vapours ought to have the power of obtaining redress. He appealed, therefore, to the Government to take into consideration what these remedial measures should be; but some means of diminishing the amount of sulphuric acids evolved from these works might certainly be devised without injury to the manufacturer. One suggestion was, that the Poor Law officers should give relief to sufferers from such works, and that they should have power to compel the offending parties to refund the money. He trusted that he had said enough to call the attention of the Government and the country to the evils that existed and the necessity of supplementing the existing law, so as to enable the Inspectors to deal with them.

THE EARL OF DERBY

said, he could bear testimony to the general accuracy of the statements of his noble Friend. In the neighbourhood of alkali works, trees were killed or stunted, and crops and vegetation generally were injured. With regard to the residents in the neighbourhood these vapours were destructive to comfort, and, as he believed, injurious to health. All this inconvenience was at a maximum within a radius of two or three miles of such works; but it was within his own knowledge that near St, Helens, in the direction in which the wind habitually blew, residences were made untenable at a greater distance—say four miles when the wind set directly in that direction. He by no means wished to be understood as saying that the Inspectors under the Act passed ten years ago had failed in their duty. He believed that the Inspectors did the utmost that the law enabled them to do, and the only means of meeting the evil pointed out was by increasing the powers with which they were armed. The Act only enabled them to deal with one particular noxious vapour—muriatic acid—and there was not only reason to believe that a good deal more of that gas escaped than was contemplated when the Act passed, but that other and still more destructive vapours were also set free to the injury of the neighbourhood. It might be asked why they did not prosecute for these nuisances. If these offensive gases came from one work there would be no difficulty in the matter, but where there were a number of works, by reason of their very number it was impossible to fix the responsibility on any one of them. Speaking as a resident in a part of the country which was subject to these annoyances, and whose health not un-frequently suffered from them, he ventured to say that a case had been made out which deserved the attention of the Government.

LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY

remarked that in the north of Cheshire sulphuric acid was usually allowed to escape only in the night time. He would join in the desire for urgency in the preparation of a remedial measure upon the subject.

THE MARQUESS OF RIPON

said, the late Lord Derby brought this subject under the consideration of the House in 1862, the consequence being that the Bill of 1863 was passed. That measure, as the noble Lord had explained, dealt only with the case of muriatic acid gas, but it undoubtedly appeared from the reports of the Inspector appointed under the Act that there were a number of other gases of a deleterious character which were deliberately excluded from the operation of the Act. It was necessary to legislate on this subject with extreme caution. The attention of his right hon. Friend the President of the Local Government Board had been already directed to the subject, and he had given instructions for an inquiry into it. At present it would be premature to say what might be the best mode of remedying the evil, but he confessed that, speaking for himself alone, he entertained considerable doubt as to the advisability of carrying out the proposal made by Earl Grey to the Select Committee of 1862. The subject would, however, receive careful consideration on the part of Her Majesty's Government during the Recess.