The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-12 00:00:00

TILE SEI?PENTINE.

The select committee appointed by the House of Com-
mons to inquire into the best mode of purifying the Serpen-
tine resumed their investigation this morning in Committee
Room 16—Mr. Cowper, First Commissioner of Works, in
tho chair.

Mr. Simpson, C.E., of the Chelsea and Lambeth Water
Companies, was recalled, and said that upon two occasions
considerable quantities of mud were excavated from the
Serpentine, and after it bad been dried spread over the
grass as manure. The bulk of the drainage of the adjoin-
ing district had been cut off by the construction of the tunnel
sewer near to Edgware-road, and it would be useless now
to collect the drainage of the park. The Serpentine for a
long time has never been self-supporting. The Chelsea
Water Company had supplied large quantities of water for
some years past.

By Mr. Locke—The quantity of water supplied in the
year 1850 was 99,000,000 gallons; in 1851, 72,000,000; in
1852, 72,000,000; in 1853, 61,000,000; in 1854, 58,000,000;
in 1855, 48,000,000; in 1856, 60,000,000; in 1857,
42,000,000; in 1858, 21,000,0011; in 1859, 38,000,000; and
in the year ending the Ist of March, 1860, 20,000,000. A
small quantity was afterwards taken out to water
the roads with in the parks. The actual amount left
them in the last year was 18,000,000 gallons. Con-
sidering all things, he was not prepared to recom-
mend the abandoning the proposed system of filtration
in favour of the proposal for pumping up the water from
Duck Island. Because, if such a quantity of water was
taken from that place it would soon exhaust the natural
supply, and the sewage would [then find its way there,
which he considered would be a very great evil. It would
be impossible to pump a million or a million and a half
daily from the place without admitting the sewage of
Westminster.

By Sir J. Shelly—lf that :quantity of water had been
pumped from Duck Island for any length of time, the present
state of the water would shake him in that opinion. The
engine he had seen he did not think was capable of pump-
ing that quantity per diem.

By Captain Arciidall—Supposing there was no diminu-

tion in the supply of water at Duck Island, he should
think it would not be good enough to put into the Serpen-
tine. The principal cause of the bad water in the Serpen-
tine he attributed to vegetable impurity. At the upper
part of the river he had seen the water quite black, caused
by the admission of sewage.
Mr Jas. Easton, CE., a partner of,the firm of Easton and
Amos, was next called—He said that he had been consulted
frequently by the Commissioner of Works as to the supply
of water. His firm was at present under contract to supply
all the Government offices ana the Houses of Parliament
with water. He had also been consulted as to the state of
the water in the Serpentine. In 1848 he made a report as
to the state of the river, estimating the cost of the works for
improving the water, and that in St. James's-park at £30,000.
He was again consulted by Sir Benjamin Hall, when he
was First Commissioner of Public Works. His firm at
present supplied the water in St. James's Park. There
was a sufficient quantity in the well from which the water
was pumped to supply the Palace Gardens, St. James's
Park, and the Serpentine. He had sent in an estimate to
Lord John Manners, when he was First Commissioner of
Works, to supply the Serpentine, and the ornamental water
in Kensington-gardens. The cost of so doing he put
down at £5,850.
This witness's examination occupied the attention of the
committee up to its adjournment.