The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-12-07 00:00:00

THE PURCHASE OF THE WATER WORKS.

In our last we gave the proceedings which took place
the preceding day in London, before Robert Stephenson,
Esq., the arbitrator mutually agreed upon to determine
the price to be paid by the corporation of Liverpool for
the purchase of the works of the two water companies in
this town. The court adjourned at a quarter to four until
the next morning, it being understood that in the interim
the corporation accountant should have access to all the
books of the Harrington Company. The proceedings
were resumed on Tuesday morning, by Mr. Cromp-
ton, who replied at great length to the arguments of Ser-
geant Wrangham ; the principal point in his argument
being to prove that after the passing of the Harrington
Company Act of 1846, giving them power to raise addi-
tional capital to the amount of £200,000, they were clearly
a ten per cent. company, and could not claim more than
the value of that revenue on their expended capital. It
was contended, on the other hand, that as the company
could not capitalise that amount before the twelve months
allowed by parliament for the Corporation to purchase the
works, this clause did not apply, especially as another
clause in the same act enabled them to divide the whole of
their profits up to the day when their works were bought
and paid for by the Corporation. In this view of the case
the arbitrator appeared to coincide. Mr. Crompton then
recapitulated the nature of the evidence which had been
adduced by the Corporation before the committee, when
prosecuting their bill relative to the defective supply, and
the bad quality of the water ; and the hopelessness of
getting a more abundant supply from the red sandstone.
He concluded by moving an adjournment to Liverpool, in
order to afford the Corporation an opportunity of ad-
ducing evidence in support of these facts.
This was opposed by the counsel for the Water Com-
pany, who argued that ample time had been afforded the
Corporation to have prepared themselves to rebut the
evidence which the company was prepared to bring for-
ward. The works, books, and documents of the company
had been invariably open to the inspection of the officers
of the Corporation, and the blame was their own if they
did not inform themselves.

The Arbitrator decided that the proceedings must be
carried out in London : he, however, would himself visit
Liverpool, and examine the state of the company's works
in detail. This arrangement met the approval of both
parties, and it was understood that Mr. Stephenson
would proceed to Liverpool during the week, and examine
such witnesses as he deemed most likely to give informa-
tion on the various points connected with this important
case.

The Bootle case was entered into on Wednesday. The
sum of £354,000 was demanded by the company for their
works,—making, with the large sum the Harrington
Company anticipatee receiving as compensation for the
prospective increase of their income, a sum considerably
above a million sterling, demanded by the two companies.
The documents adduced by the Harrington Company
shewed a very flourishing state of their affairs. During
the last few years the company's revenues have increased
enormously, in the face of a diminished expenditure for
carrying on the works. The increase in their income, for
the supply of shipping alone, being £l2OO this year in
excess of 1846. _ .

We cannot avoid expressing, in conclusion, a hope that
the Corporation will, for the good of the town, succeed in
making as good a bargain as possible; but we think they
would have done better had they followed our advice some
time since, to put themselves in communication with the
companies for the purchase of their rights.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.
(BY EXPRESS.)