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that some system of meterage should be urged
upon the Companies for their adoption.
The Committee were further of opinion that
the inhabitants of the district are fully entitled to
an ample supply of pure and wholesome water,
at a reasonable price, and that, in the event of
existing companies failing to carry out the just
requirements under which their monopolies
were created, the Committee should be empowered
to confer with other local bodies South
of the Thames, as to the desirability of taking
united action to secure for the district an
independent supply.
At the time the Committee commenced
their work, the City authorities, and the Metropolitan
Board of Works, were making an
attempt to deal with the water question. They
proposed to go to Parliament, to either purchase
the existing companies, or provide an
independent supply; uniformity of rating
throughout the whole of the metropolis, and
an unintermittent supply being spoken of as
two of the leading features of their scheme.
The Committee therefore thought it desirable
that the Vestry should be in a position to make