The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-10-28 00:00:00

MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL

A special meeting of the Manchester City Council was
held on Wednesday last, Major ROBERT BARNES, presiding.
The proceedings of the various committees were approved
and confirmed.

The coroner's bill, extending over a period of 17 weeks,
and which amounted to £384 10s. 24d., was ordered to be
submitte i to the finance committee.
The next business of the meeting was to receive the re-
ports of the proceedings of committees during the past year.
It appeared from the proceedings, during the year of the
scavenging committee, that the drainage of the city was in a
very satisfactory condition, there not being a single street
in the township but had a good and efficient drainage.

SUPPLY OF WATER TO MANCHESTER,

On the water works committee's report being submitted,
Mr. ALEX. PILLING said there was a statement that ap-
peared in a publication called the Atheneum, professed to
have been made before the British Association about the
24th of September last ; and it was put forth as a statement
made by the engineer of the Manchester Water Works (Mr.
Bateman), who did not acknowledge it, but rather repudiated
the statement as it stood. The statement made it appear
that the daily consumption of water by the inhabitants
of Manchester was 30,000,000 gallons, supplied from
a reservoir 150 feet above the level of Piccadilly
at its highest point. Now, that statement having been
made, it would be supposed that the inhabitants had the
quantity mentioned supplied to them. Now, he was satis-
fied that no such quantity ever came to Manchester. The
largest quantity that had ever been attempted to be brought
to Manchester, was 15,000,000, and from the making of
that attempt, the conduit, being so imperfect, had been under
repair ever since. The greatest quantity suppled to Man-
chester at present, was 8,000,000 gallons a day, and for that
he thought they might be extremely thankful, for the old
company never supplied them with more than 3,000,000 of
gallons. (Hear, hear).
Mr. Corrunx thought that the committee ought to take
care that the wants of the city were attendedto, and fully sup-
plied before they supplied those who were outside. (Hear,
hear). It appeared that the engineer, Mr. Bateman, had
received £11,450, he wished to know if that was a portion
of the per tentage he received.
Mr. Alderman PILLING : Yes, Mr. Bateman received
£ll,OOO which was due to him for his work.
Mr. COTTRILL : Was that all he had received ?

Mr. Alderman PILLING : That was all he had received
appertaining to the work he had to perform. But it was
not all clear salary to him, for'he had to employ and pay a
number of assistants, and he also had to pay an amount for
the original plans relative to the water works, from the
commencement. He had also to pay his office clerks and
his own expenses on journies to and from the works._

Mr. Corimm, said he wanted to know really and truly
what was the_amount of money paid to Mr. Bateman, and
if there was no document from which he could ascertain
that ?

The TowN CLERK said, the sum already named embraced
every farthing that had been paid to Mr. Bateman.
Mr. CorrRILL then drew the attention of the Council to
the expenses connected with obtaining the two acts,
£13,512 14s. 3d., and the legal and deputation expenses
incurred since the acts were obtained, £3,556 19s. 2d.
Now, he defied any member of the council to form an opi-
nion from the information before him, that would warrant
him in coming to a vote upon those two items.
The TowN CLERK said Mr. Cottrill must remember that
he was a member of the council when the previous reports
were presented; and it would be remembered, if not by Mr.
Cottrill, by many members of the council, that the very
items referred to had been given and explained in previous
reports to the council.
Mr. ALEx. BANcnorr deprecated the irregular discussion
which had taken place,
Mr. WOLLEY wished to know whether the council were
done with paying. Mr. Bateman, the engineer, or whether
they were to receive further items under the head of " en-
gineer's expenses ?"
The TowN CLERK said, Mr. Bateman agreed to see exe-
ecuted the works and find sufficient assistants, &c., for five
per cent. on the parliamentary estimate of the expense
of the works. The parliamentary estimate, and
nothing like it, enabled them to complete the works,
but Mr. Bateman had abided by that bargain,
he had no claim upon the corporation for the extra time expen-
ded in carrying out the works in consequence of the unforeseen
difficulties of the ground itself, and the extra expense con-
tingent upon those difficulties. And he thought it not
impossible that Mr. Bateman had expended upon the cor-
poration almost every farthing he was entitled to under the
contract, so that ho would get nothing but credit, or little
but credit for the performance of the work under the con-
tract. The works had taken years longer than Mr. Bateman
had expected, and though his services were still given to the
corporation his pay had ceased. After some further conver-
sation, the report was ordered to be entered on the minutes.
Statements of the attendances of members of the council at
the meetings of the council and committees during the past
year having been laid on the table, the council broke up.