A letter to the Right Hon. Robert Peel ... on the supply of water to the metropolis; containing a justification of the the complaints of the housekeepers, served ... from the works of the Grand-Junction Company; and a refutation of ... an anonymous writer, under the designation of 'an Old Housekeeper' / [Robert Masters Kerrison].

  • Kerrison, Robert Masters, 1776?-1847.
Date:
1828
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to the Right Hon. Robert Peel ... on the supply of water to the metropolis; containing a justification of the the complaints of the housekeepers, served ... from the works of the Grand-Junction Company; and a refutation of ... an anonymous writer, under the designation of 'an Old Housekeeper' / [Robert Masters Kerrison]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    position on the part of Government to redress a real evil, and public spirit enough in its members to re- sist the influence of share-holders of Water Companies in Parliament, and the importunity of private friends out of it; for, without these assumptions every attempt, how- ever judicious, would be unavailing, parliamentary in- quiry nugatory, or worse than useless, and all hope of relief delusive. Presuming, Sir, on the justice and humanity which you have successfully employed in the amendment of our civil and criminal laws, I venture to suggest the following points for further inquiry and deliberate consideration; others will offer themselves to your comprehensive mind. 1. Where is the best water procurable, in sufficient abundance, for the inhabitants of this metropolis? and not, What is the worst state of water, originally good, under which human existence can be supported? 2. What is the lowest price at which water of a suita- ble quality for the service of different districts can be obtained ? and not, What is the highest which can be ex- torted from housekeepers under the present system ? 3. Have the new Companies fulfilled the engagements they entered into with Parliament as the legitimate guar- dians of the “ salus populi,” and satisfied the expectations raised or excited by a fair construction of their own pro- mises ? or, Have they abandoned their first principles, and deviated from the terms of their compact with those housekeepers who confided in such promises ? 4. Has the abandonment of their principles, and the deviation, if any, been beneficial or injurious to those who for the last ten years, have been unable to obtain wa- ter for domestic purposes, except from a single Company in each district of the metropolis ? 5. What effect has a water-rate, higher than is neces- sary for the production of the commodity where it is re-