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43
SHEWETH:—
THAT your Memorialists are a Vestry constituted under an Act
made and passed in the 18th and 19th year of the reign of Her
present Majesty, entituled "An Act for the better Local
Management of the Metropolis," and by subsequent Acts
extending and amending the same, whereby your Memorialists
are made a body corporate, and are entrusted with the performance
of certain duties in relation to the government and
public concerns of the parishes under their jurisdiction.
THAT your Memorialists have for some years past received serious
complaints from ratepayers in various parts of the United
Parish of inconvenience and damage sustained by reason of
the flooding of basements along the lines of the main sewers
under the control of your Council.
THAT as the result of an enquiry into the cause of such floodings
your Memorialists find that whenever heavy rains occur at or
near the time of high water in the Thames, the main line
sewers become so fully charged as to be unable to afford an
outlet for the surface water from the local sewers in this
parish, and that as the water accumulates from the higher
ground it flows back from the main line sewers through the
local service into the areas and basements of many of the
houses and buildings in this comparatively low-lying parish.
THAT on the 13th December, 1884, your Memorialists called the
attention of the Metropolitan Board of Works, by letter, to
the frequency with which basements were then flooded in
various parts of the parish, apparently in consequence of the
insufficient capacity of the main line sewers, and requested
that Board to provide an efficient remedy at the earliest
possible date.
THAT on the 10th March, 1885, your Memorialists received a
reply from the Metropolitan Board of Works referring to the
relief sewer then in course of construction along Piccadilly
" for the purpose of taking storm water from the main King's
Scholars' Pond Sewer," whereby it was expected that the
sewers of this parish would be relieved.
THAT after further overflows had been brought to the notice of
your memorialists, renewed representations were made to the
Metropolitan Board of Works by letter on 22nd May, 1886.
THAT in December, 1886, your Memorialists, by a Sub-Committee,
waited upon the Engineer to the said Board to point out that
the expectations of the relief to be afforded by the newly
constructed sewer had not been realised ; and that the said
Engineer then explained that such failure was only temporary,
and would be speedily remedied.
THAT the parish under the jurisdiction of your Memorialists has
nevertheless been since subjected to a recurrence of the