it which is accustomed, more or less, to frequent the Lake District, to what is now going on.
As a general principle, it may be conceded that a sufficient supply of water for the inhabitants of large towns, has, of late years, been recognised as a matter of such importance that considerations of taste and sentiment, or individual preference, must not be allowed to stand in the way of arrangements proved to be necessary for attaining the object; but Parliament has wisely decided that, before the necessary powers are granted, an opportunity shall be offered for canvassing each scheme on its own merits, and as to its bearings on public and private interests generally.
Among the points to be considered in this connection, the following may be enumerated: ist. In what capacity do the parties, claiming extraordinary powers, come forward? (For example, a local government of any kind, acting as a Board of Health, and being responsible as such for the sanitary condition of a town, has, prima facie, a different standing to a mere Water Company, however useful the ends sought by the latter may be). 2nd. Is the need of an increased water supply for the particular town, or district, an urgent one? 3rd. Is the source from whence it is proposed to obtain such increased supply the only one available? or, is there no other source whence an adequate supply can be obtained, at a smaller sacrifice of public and private interests?
A statement of the position of the Corporation of Manchester, as purveyors of water, may throw some light on these questions.
In the first place, in official statements put forth by the Waterworks Committee, no attempt is made to disguise the
