continuous service of the non-commissioned officers and to improve their prospects; that so he may be able to ensure the stability of our battalions in the field and their good conduct and discipline in quarters. LIVERPOOL CORPORATION WATERWORKS. LAYING OF THE FIRST STONE. Llanwddyn, Thursday, July 14th, 1881. The Liverpool Daily Post of Friday, July 15th, 1881, gives the following report of the proceedings: The foundation-stone of the embankmeut across the Valley of the Vyrnwy, or, in the vernacular, the Valley of the Banw, was laid yesterday by LORD Powis, in the presence of a large assembly of the general public and those interested in the event. The Mayor of Liverpool issued invitations to a large number of noblemen and gentlemen, most of whom accepted. High up on the side of a steep declivity, almost directly over the doomed village of Llanwddyn (which is to be transplanted or submerged by the great waterworks), the side of a rock was excavated and the foundation stone of the embankment-a ponderous slab of Welsh granite-was swung from a derrick over its resting place until it was lowered into position and set in its place by Lord Powis. The inscription on this stone was as follows: CORPORATION OF LIVERPOOL. VYRNWY WATERWORKS. THIS FIRST STONE WAS LAID ON THE 14TH JULY, 1881, EDWARD JAMES, THIRD EARL OF POWIS. ANTHONY BOWER, CHAIRMAN OF THE WATER COMMITtee. THE ACT OF PARLIAMENT AUTHORISING THE CONSTRUCTION THE VYRNWY WATERWORKS RECEIVED THE ROYAL OF THE LATE JOHN HAYS WILSON, CHAIRMAN OF THE WATER COMMITTEE. At two o'clock, when the members of the Corporation and their guests had arrived, the ceremony of laying the stone was immediately proceeded with, and a few minutes afterwards Lord Powis, amid the thundering reverberations of cannon and the enthusiastic cheers of the multitude, declared the first stone of the embankment of one of the greatest engineering works in the world to be "well and truly laid." The Mayor (Mr. W. B. Forwood), wearing his chain of office, advanced to the platform along with Lord Powis, and was followed immediately by Mr. Thomas Hawksley (the senior engineer of the works), Mr. Deacon, Mr. Rayner (the Town Clerk), and most of the members of the Corporation. Upon ascending the platform, the MAYOR said :— My Lord, it is my privilege to invite you on behalf of the Corporation of Liverpool, to lay this the first stone of the great masonry embankment of the Vyrnwy Waterworks. This noble embankment, spanning this rocky defile, will ingather the waters of the river Vyrnwy, "whose runnels murmur o'er the shining stones," and transform this valley, which looks so beautiful in its wild and weird solitude, into a lake which, for extent and grandeur of its surrounding scenery, will be unequalled in Wales, and whose plenteous waters will carry the blessings of health and comfort to the teeming population of South-west Lancashire. Thus this desolate valley—lying hidden away in these mountain recesses from the "madding crowd," or even the hum of civilisation-brought to minister to the wants of a great population, will speak in tones of telling eloquence of the oneness of creation and the power of science to link together its component parts and unite them for the advantage of mankind. I now, my Lord, present you with this trowel and mallet with which to lay this stone. It will be a memorial to all time that the municipality of Liverpool, in undertaking this great work, appreciates not only the necessities of the day, but had the foresight to provide for those of the distant future. May the waters which shall flow from Lake Vyrnwy, under God's blessing, convey in their crystal purity and great abundance the germs of health and prosperity to our people. Mr. Hawksley here presented a trowel and Mr. George F. Deacon a mallet. The trowel bore the following inscription: "Corporation of Liverpool, Vyrnwy Waterworks.-This trowel was presented by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of Liverpool to the Right Hon. Edward James, third Earl of Powis, on the occasion of his laying the first stone of the Vyrnwy Waterworks, on the 14th of July, 1881." THE MAYOR, in handing to Lord Powis the mallet and trowel, said that in undertaking this great work his Lordship had appreciated the importance of providing for the future necessities of a great population, and of bringing the blessings of health and prosperity to Liverpool. LORD POWIS then laid the stone, and when he turned to the mass of people assembled and said, "I declare this stone to be well and truly laid," the response was a mighty roar of cheers, and the repeated booming and re-echoing of cannons along the valley. LORD POWIS, who was received with immense. cheering, then said:- Mayor of Liverpool, Ladies, and Gentlemen, I congratulate you on the auspicious day which you have for this great undertaking, which will worthily commemorate the new title by which Liverpool is now distinguished since the ancient borough was converted into a city. This undertaking, like the creation of the new see which has taken place, will tend much to the moral welfare as well as to the material comfort of the people, for no material comfort can be looked for unless the conditions |