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23
in immediate communication with the Company.
This resulted in a determination of the Directors
that the basin should be effectually cleansed. On
the 13th of February it was emptied and remained
empty until the 18th, during which period about
4000 tons of mud were removed. The process
however did not extend to more than about three
quarters of the channel. In order to cleanse the
remaining portion, the water was again let off at
Whitsuntide. With the exception of a comparatively
shallow stratum of mud which has been
deposited in the portion formerly excavated, the
channel is now in a satisfactory condition; the
state of the water is wholly unobjectionable, and
contrasts strikingly with its foulness a year ago.
II. The Serpentine.
The plan for cleansing the Serpentine referred
to in my last report, which was proposed by
Mr. Page and adopted by Lord John Manners,
then Chief Commissioner of Works, was unfortunately
not submitted to Parliament owing to the
occurrence of a change of Goverment before the
civil estimates were voted. This plan consisted
in deepening the channel by the removal of the
mud, obtaining a regular supply of water, and
covering the bottom with a layer of gravel. On
the 7th of July last, the late Mr. Fitzroy having