r in most of the courts and
alleys of this city, that I have great difficulty in dealing with it.
You are, no doubt, aware that the water companies have been obliged
to shorten the time of supply ever since they have been compelled by
the Act of Parliament to furnish filtered water to the public; and,
as the poor have not the means of altering the present condition of
the service, and adapting it to the new arrangement, their
receptacles are never filled during the short time that the water is
on. Every contrivance is, therefore, used to secure as much water as
possible while it is flowing; but, partly from the filthy state of
the cisterns, and partly from the foetid emanations to which the
water is exposed in the over-crowded rooms in which it is kept, it is
rarely, if ever, drinkable. The poor, then, would be too glad to
avail themselves of the opportunities afforded by the public
fountains, and would, I am quite sure, hail them as boons of the
greatest value; and when it comes to be known that the water which
flows from the fountains is as pure as chemical and other
contrivances can render it, the boon will most assuredly be prized by
all.

"At present, the public wells of this city are largely used by all
classes of persons; and, knowing what I do of the composition of
these waters, I have looked with much concern at the probable
mischief that might be occasioned by them; for though they are
generally grateful to the palate, and deliriously cool, they are rich
in all kinds of filthy decomposing products, as the soakage from
sewers and cesspools, and the not less repulsive matters from the
over-crowded churchyards. What, therefore, can be of greater
importance to the public than the opportunity of drinking water which
shall not only be grateful and cool, as that from the city pumps, but
which shall have none of its lurking dangers?

"As to the quality of the water that is now supplied by the public
companies I can speak in the fullest confidence, for it is not merely
the most available for your purposes, but it is in reality the best
supply that can be obtained. I need not describe the admirable
arrangements that have been employed by the several companies for the
purification of the water, but I may state that there is not a city
in Europe that has so large a supply of