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

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.

Cover
Title Page
Cover

23/48 page 15

Junction Water Company ; such of them as refer to high charges in districts previously supplied by the old Com- panies, that is to say, the New River and Chelsea, are equally applicable to the West Middlesex, whose pro- mises of abundance, cheapness, and facility of high ser- vice without extra charge, on account of the superiority of their machinery (constructed at the time of making such promises), were quite as flattering, and made with the same appearance of sincerity.* A promise, Sir, is a moral obligation, upon which one of our best writers on this subject, Dr. Paley, remarks :— “ Men act from expectation. Expectation is, in most cases, determined by the assurances and engagements which we receive from others. If no dependence could be placed on these assurances, it would be impossible to know what judgment to form of many future events, or how to regu- late our conduct with respect to tliem.”f Upon the faith of the promises already alluded to, a contract was made between the tenants of the new and the newer Water Companies and the Directors, acting in behalf of the other proprietors, under the sanction of Parliament. The obligations were reciprocal, and a con- tract was thus formed. A contract, Sir, is a mutual promise, and it is laid down as a maxim by the same high authority, that “ The obligation of promises is to be measured by the expecta- tion which the promiser any how voluntarily and know- ingly excites.” A contract, therefore, is defined in these words :—“ Whatever is expected by one side, and known to be so expected by the other, is to be deemed a part or condition of the contract.” * See Mr. Weale’s pamphlet, “ The Case of the Water Companies stated and examinedin which copies of their prospectus and circular notices will be found, and the Minutes of Evidence taken before the Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1821, page 70 et seg. t See Moral Philosophy, vol. i. Promises.

Licence and re-use

Contents