THE DUKE OF ARGYLLsaid, that in rising to call the attention of the House to the Reports to the Secretary for Scotland on the pol- 2 lution of the waters of Loch Goil and Loch Long, and to ask a Question of which he had given Notice, it was necessary to make a short statement in regard to it. The Question as it appeared on the Paper might seem to affect a particular locality alone, and though there was no doubt that it did in the first instance, yet it involved a question of the greatest importance all over the Kingdom—namely, the increasing pollution of the waters around our shores. As was well known, these lochs were arms of the sea, and upon their shores a number of villa residences had been erected. For several years it had been perceived by those who resorted to these villas that in these arms of the sea the water was getting less and less pure than formerly. Not so many years ago he remembered that the water in these lochs was as pure almost as the water of the Island of Arran; but those who went 3 there to bathe had found that the water was getting dirtier and less fit for bathing every year, and likewise that it was less conducive to health. Under these circumstances, a Memorial was presented to his noble Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland last year, who very properly nominated a Commission, consisting of Dr. Littlejohn, medical officer of the Board of Supervision of Scotland, and Mr. Fletcher, a naval expert, to inquire into the whole matter. The Report of that Inquiry had now been presented to Parliament, and it was a very remarkable document. If the water was kept pure there was no city in the world that would possess such remarkable facilities in the way of a health resort as the great City of Glasgow, which was growing enormously in wealth and population. The result of the Medical and Naval Report was entirely to confirm the complaints of the dwellers by the shores of the sea lochs. The Medical Commission reported that there were three sources of pollution of these waters. The first was the sewage of Glasgow; (2) the discharge into the Clyde of the refuse of chemical works; and (3) the dredging of the river. With regard to the first, he was perfectly aware that his noble Friend had no power; but in regard to this matter he would not trouble their Lordships with any details. That was a question that involved immense engineering operations which as yet had not been fully considered. He thought the time was coming, however, when the inhabitants of Glasgow would see that it was absolutely necessary to provide some such scheme as that applied to the sewage of London. Those of their Lordships who had not been down the Clyde at this period of the year had no idea of the horrible condition of the River Clyde. For some 10 miles below Glasgow the odour was overpowering, and was almost like navigating a sewer. He believed that the City of Glasgow had not taken any steps whatever for utilizing the sewage or discharging it into any more open sea. He would not dwell upon that, however, as he was aware it involved engineering works of enormous magnitude. But there were two other sources of pollution. One was the discharge into the Clyde of the refuse from the chemical works along its banks, and the other was the dredging of the river. With regard to the refuse from the 4 chemical works, he believed his noble Friend with the aid of the Local Government Board had power to check this source of pollution, and he hoped that, so far as that source of the pollution was concerned, the remedy was already applied. The third source was one connected with some very curious statistics. Their Lordships were aware that our principal navigable rivers all round the country had been made navigable chiefly by the exertions of man. Originally very small streams, admitting only vessels of very small draught, by means of steam dredging they had been made great channels of commerce. The Clyde had been made a channel that ships of very large burden could ascend all the way to Glasgow. It would give some idea of the enormous magnitude of the operations if he told them that he was informed by an eminent engineer that in 40 years the dredging of the Clyde had resulted in the removal of 40,000,000 tons of material, which if piled up would make a pile 500 feet high, and a mile and a-half in circumference. These operations were carried out by a Trust called the Clyde Trustees, who were empowered by Act of Parliament to dredge the river. Up to the year 1862 the dredgings were applied to the soil by agreement with the various proprietors, being used on the marshy soil to raise the level of the neighbouring land, the result of which had been to produce some most valuable property. About the year 1862 the Clyde Trustees took it into their heads that this was a most expensive operation for them, and they, therefore, determined that, instead of applying the material to raising the neighbouring land, and destroying the marshes along the Clyde, they would pitch it all into the sea lochs, which were the resorts of the public for bathing. A friend of his at the time warned him that the result would be deleterious to the health of the neighbouring shores. He argued against this friend on the ground that the dredgings consisted of sand and gravel, and would sink to the bottom, and do no harm to anyone. His friend, however, was right. During the last 20 years 26,000,000 tons of dredgings had been thrown into these lochs for the purpose of filling up certain deep holes. It turned out, however, that, notwithstanding this enormous mass of material had been poured 5 in, there was no apparent filling up of the holes, and the result obviously was that all this deleterious stuff had been diffused over a wide surface, and had deposited itself along the shores, fouling and rendering them unfit for bathing purposes. This was clearly ascertained by the Report just presented. He simply wanted his noble Friend to stop this operation, and in his opinion it was in his power to do so; because, so far as he could read the Act under which the Clyde Trustees acted, they had no power whatever to pitch this material into the open sea to the detriment of their neighbours down the Clyde, though they were empowered to deposit the dredgings for the purpose of making embankments, and improving the river. He did not know whether the Executive Government had the right to suspend an Act of Parliament, and give these powers to the Clyde Trustees; but if the noble Lord was able, by the mere withdrawal of a permission, to put a stop to this depositing the dredging, the Trustees would have to dispose of it according to the Act of Parliament. He took a deep interest in the prosperity of the City of Glasgow; but it was clear that the Clyde Trustees could not be allowed to pollute these lochs to the detriment of thousands of people on the shores. Nothing could be stronger than the words of the Report as to the nuisance caused, and also as to the fact that the soundings in the lochs had not been materially altered. With regard to the burden that would be thrown on the City of Glasgow if this practice was stopped, if any difficulty was made on the part of the landed proprietors, there was an enormous amount of land left dry at low water upon which the material dredged up might be deposited. It was perfectly feasible and easy to dispose of it in this manner. Great injury was being done to the public, and serious damage was caused to those who lived on the shores in the neighbourhood by the present state of affairs. He trusted, therefore, that his noble Friend would take immediate steps to inquire into the legality of the present method adopted by Trustees, and, if possible, to put an end to it.
THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (The Marquess of LOTHIAN)observed that the question raised by the noble Duke was one of very great importance, 6 affecting, as it did, the whole rivers of the United Kingdom. He did not, however, think it necessary to go into the general question of river pollution, but would confine himself to the point of the River Clyde, because the enormous and rapidly increasing population on the banks of the Clyde made it a matter of the greatest importance that that river should be purified from its present insanitary state. The noble Duke had said that the City of Glasgow had never taken any steps whatever to improve the state of the Clyde; but his own impression was that in 1876 the City of Glasgow expended £11,000, upon the Report of Sir John Hawkshaw, for introducing a different system of drainage. The city introduced a Bill into Parliament in regard to it, and only withdrew it in consequence of the very strong opposition brought to bear against the scheme. That showed that the City of Glasgow had done something in the matter. Last year he had received strong representations upon the subject of the pollution of the Clyde from the inhabitants on the shores, and he had considered himself justified in directing that a Report should be drawn up. He had given directions to Mr. Fletcher and Dr. Littlejohn to inquire into the matter, and report to him; and he had also requested the Admiralty to give what assistance was in their power. The result of the Report had entirely justified the complaints made by the residents on the shores of the Clyde as to the insanitary condition of the river and the evil results of the dredging and the want of proper drainage. The noble Duke had said that there were three causes of the pollution. The Report specified six; but he thought the noble Duke had acted wisely in confining himself to the first three—namely, the sewage pollution, the refuse from alkali works, and the dredging. With regard to the first, he was afraid that his power did not go so far as to prevent the evil; with regard to the chemical pollution, he believed that new discoveries had shown that the waste which now polluted the lochs could be made use of, and might become a source of wealth. With regard to the dredging, he would make a point of inquiring by what authority this practice of getting rid of the results had been continued. He had always understood that the Clyde Trustees were 7 acting strictly within their legal rights in acting as they had done; but as the noble Duke had raised the question, he would seek the advice of the competent authorities upon the matter. He was firmly convinced of the necessity of making some change, in order to purify the Clyde, and he should not hesitate to take all the means in his power to that end.