ABSTRACT
Walsingham was from an aristocratic family with homes in Norfolk and Mayfair, London. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge and thereafter went into politics. Walsingham was a nature lover and a respected expert on insects and was at one time president of the Entomology Society. His speech reflects this in emphasizing the long-distance damage to crops and trees resulting from acidic gas emissions. Changes also saw Smith’s role as Inspector elevated to Chief Inspector, with enhanced powers of investigation. The new act – and a subsequent amendment in 1881 – were successful in cutting the levels of acidic gas in the atmosphere around Britain’s urban areas. The Alkali Act of 1863 was framed and passed as the result of an inquiry made under the direction of the late Lord Derby, who moved that a Committee should be appointed to consider the effect of noxious vapours evolved in certain manufacturing processes.
