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price of 6d. per 1,000 gallons, and where a consumer did not desire
to take his water by meter, then to give legislative effect to the
Dobbs decision, and establish the Poor Rate valuation as the basis
of future charges in the metropolis. Another object of the Bill
was to apply The Water Works Clauses Act, 1847, to all the water
companies, whereby their dividend would have been limited to 10
per cent. This Board resolved to give its support to the Bill.
The Bill was however thrown out by the House of Commons on
the second reading. The Further Powers Bill of the Metropolitan
Board of Works, intituled, A Bill to confer further powers upon the
Metropolitan Board of Works with respect to applications to Parliament,
and legal proceedings relating to the Supply of Water in the
Metropolis has been read a second time in the House of Commons.
It provides that the Metropolitan Board of Works may from time
to time make applications to Parliament, and may oppose applications
made to Parliament, with respect to the supply of water in or
near the Metropolis, as defined by The Metropolis Management Act,
1855, to the companies authorised to provide such supply, and to
the undertakings of such companies, and may institute and carry
on inquiries, negotiations, and other proceedings in relation to any
such application, and prosecute and defend legal proceedings by or
against the Board, or any consumer of water in the Metropolis, &c.
The Water Works Clauses Act (1847) Amendment Bill, introduced
by Mr. Torrens in the House of Commons, is intended to declare
and explain the 68th Section of that Act, and provides that the
words "the annual value of the tenement supplied with water"
occurring therein, shall mean the net annual value, as settled from
time to time by the local authorities. In May last a deputation
from the Central Committee of the Water Consumers' Defence
Association, to which this Board had sent delegates, waited upon
the Home Secretary in support of the Bill, Sir Charles Dilke also
being present, and were informed that the Government approved of
the Bill subject to certain amendments they had prepared, and
which would make the principal clause read thus—"The words
annual value and yearly value in the Special Acts of the Companies
mentioned in Section 3 of The Metropolitan Water Act, 1871, and
the words annual value of the tenement supplied with water in the