THE THIRLMERE SCHEME.
(TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR-"J SIR,—I know how valuable is your space, and how many well- known writers are glad to find a place in your columns, but I trust, as one who has taken some part in opposing the Thirlmere scheme of the Manchester Corporation, you will allow me the opportunity of making a few remarks on the letter of your corre- spondent "J. C.," which appeared on the 15th inst. This letter contains, in a condensed form, about as many fallacies as could well be compressed into as many lines. "J. C." says that the Bill passed the Lower House on its merits, and that its case of necessity was established. The Committee, according to their report, find the allegations of the preamble true, after inserting a clause which entirely alters the objects of the Bill.
The Bill of the Corporation gave power to supply Manchester and a certain district in its neighbourhood with water. The Bill, as altered by the Committee, has for its object to supply a large and undefined part of Lancashire and Westmoreland. If the necessities of Manchester justified the original Bill, it was most unjust to share the water to be obtained amongst the towns of a populous county.
"J. C." says that the reservoir will be less subject to variations of contour (level?) than is the present lake, and the valley below to injury from floods, than it is at present. So long as not more than 10,000,000 gallons a day are withdrawn, the variations of level may be inconsiderable, but until three or four times that quantity is sold, the speculation will be a heavy loss to Man- chester. As regards floods, we have high engineering authority for the opinion that all surplus water must, for security to the dam, be run off more rapidly from the reservoir than now from the lake, and thus the evil of floods will be aggravated, instead of lessened.
" J. C." says that the Bill received strong support from Kes- wick. It is true that an elaborate system of paid canvassing did obtain a large number of signatures, from that numerous but not very intelligent class whose one object it is to get "money spent in the country," and who never look much beforehand, even in this direction. Whether such support be strong or weak in its nature depends much on opinion. The reproduction of the old rubbish about "a restored Lake," and a landscape's gardener's idea of contour is hardly worth answering. Those who under- stand mountain scenery will at once perceive its irrelevancy ; with those who do not, it is useless to argue. There has been much talk about a new road by which the Corporation are to make the western shore of Thirlmere accessible. "J. C." actually states that the public are now excluded from it.
The promoters of the Water Scheme began by calling the lake inaccessible. The Parliamentary Committee, carelessly adopting their loose assertions, styled it a "preserve," and now the original suggestio fain i is hardened into the assertion above quoted, which one would hope was made in ignorance. In consequence of the large extent of unenclosed land which bounds it, the western shore of Thirlmere has always been more accessible, whether as regards access to points of view, or to the margin of the water itself, than any other lake shore in the two counties, with the exception, perhaps, of one or two lakes but little visited. To those who are too lame or too lazy to walk a mile and a half along this shore, though it is easily reached in a carriage, it may be comparatively inaccessible ; but to any one who has any business among the mountains at all, it is as I have described it.—
Previous page
