[James Newlands], Report to the Health Committee of the Borough of Liverpool on the Sewerage and other Works, under the Sanitary Act by the Borough Engineer (1848)

Newlands imagines that streets will be hosed; that raises the problem of hydrants; he suggests these be built into lampposts. More than most other and later municipal engineers, Newlands did not limit himself to the existing built environment, but gives ample attention to how Liverpool would grow, and to how the existing town might be rebuilt. Newlands is no less technocratic, but far more concerned with the details of design. He is intensely practical; preoccupation with finding the best stopcock design keeps him away from matters of ideology. Newlands served Liverpool for two decades. His later reports, coming every few years, were less comprehensive. He has generally been seen as a highly successful local civil servant, working well both with Dry Duncan and with the town’s elected leadership.