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85
London Water Supply. For some time there has been a
growing dissatisfaction, in many quarters, with the manner
in which the charge for water increases, while the quantity
needed and supplied is, perhaps, lessened, owing to a change
in the purposes for which the building is used. In many
parts of this parish, for instance, houses formerly occupied
as dwellings are now used, wholly or partly, as business
premises, with the result that water was supplied for all
the needs of one family, or more, at one-third the amount
now charged for two or three lavatories and other conveniences,
in consequence of the premises being worth more as
offices than as dwellings, and the water rental being based
upon the annual value of the premises supplied irrespective
of quantity. As the value of land in central London
increases for business purposes, this state of things will
become intensified. If the supply of water were in the
hands of a public body, the additional income derived from
the increased value of property would be applicable to
reducing public burdens, but so long as it is in the hands
of commercial companies this income is simply extra
revenue to be distributed among the shareholders. It is
evident that the longer the supply of water continues on its
present basis, the greater will probably be the market value
of the Water Companies Stocks and Shares, and the more
carefully the subject is considered, the more apparent does
it become that the interests of the public will be best
served by the placing of the supply of water in the hands
of a public body without any further delay.
It is a matter of common knowledge that in the year
1880, Sir R. Cross, the Home Secretary, on the advice of
an eminent valuer, entered into provisional agreements for
the purchase of the undertakings of the eight companies now