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38
inhabitants of Battersea, is now engaging the attention of
Parliament. The water companies have bills in the House of
Commons and the London County Council has introduced
measures giving it control over the water supply. In my
report for last year the subject was very fully discussed, and
as the matter is one in which every public man should take
a strong personal interest, a condensed account of the present
position of the question is here given.
This most important subject has been under consideration
by a Royal Commission which sat during 1892 and 1893. The
Chairman was Lord Balfour of Burleigh; Sir Archibald Geikie,
Professor Dewar, Dr. Ogle, Mr. Mansergh, Mr. Hill, and Sir
George Bruce constituted the Committee, all men of eminence
and selected for their intimate knowledge of the subject. No
Commissioner was in any way connected with either of the
London Water Companies, and Mr. Mansergh is the Engineer
who is now bringing water to Birmingham from Wales, while
Mr. Hill is supplying Manchester from Thirlmere.
The witnesses examined include nearly one hundred of the
leading sanitarians and engineers, together with representatives
of the great public bodies of the Metropolis and elsewhere,
the Local Government Board, the London County Council,
the Corporation of London, and the various Water Companies
and others having interests in the Water Supply of the
Metropolis.
Briefly reviewing the inquiry, the main question referred
to and considered by the Commission was whether the water of
the Thames and Lea Valleys was good, and whether enough of it
could be obtained for the London of the future without injury
to the interests of other districts in those watersheds. They
find, as the Companies always maintained, that "the water as
supplied to the consumer in London is of a very high standard
of excellence and of purity, and that it is suitable in quality for
all household purposes," and also that the Thames and Lea