249 



On the Supply of Water to the Western Part of the Metro- 

 polis by the Grand Junction Water- Works Company. 



We are always ready and anxious to assist in redressing any 

 public grievance which comes within the reach of our means, 

 and the scope of our publication, but we must be left to do so 

 in our own way, and upon perfectly independent principles : 

 ** nullius jurare in verba, " is a sentiment which we have always 

 adhered to, and which, upon the present occasion especially, must 

 not be lost sight of The little pamphlet * which has given rise 

 to this article, is naturally calculated to excite much apprehen- 

 sion and alarm amongst the inhabitants of no inconsiderable 

 portion of the West-end of London. It will be our business to 

 determine whether its vehement asseverations are founded in 

 truth — ^whether they are exaggerated — whether they are " wilful 

 misrepresentations." It has been replied to by a short mani- 

 festo, circulated by the Grand Junction Company, and con- 

 taining some statements which it will also be our business to sift 

 and examine ; and lastly, we shall lay before our readers the 

 result of our own experience, observations, and experiments, 

 touching the several matters alluded to. 



The author of The Dolphin begins, as Mrs. Glasse advises, 

 by first catching his fish ; and gives some interesting and novel 

 anecdotes of its habits and propensities : — " It is a certain fish 

 of the whale tribe : the ancients consecrated it to the gods. 

 Now-a-days, its boundings and springings are looked upon as 

 sure prognostics of an approaching storm. — It swallows greedily 

 whatever scraps are thrown to it ; and is caught by a hook baited 

 with garbage. Its sides are dingy, and it spouts water from a 

 hole in the centre of its head." After this, and more of the same, 

 the author proceeds as follows : — we shall condense and abridge 

 the rest of the work, but we quote these paragraphs as a sample 

 of its style and tenor : — "^ 



Of a widely different genus is " The Dolphin " which gives 



• The Dolphin ; or. Grand Junction Nuisance : proving that seven 

 thousand Families, in Westminster and its Subiu-bs, are supplied with 

 Water, in a State offensive to the Sight, disgusting to the Imagination, 

 and destructive to Healtli. — *' There is such a thing as common sense I" 

 Abernethy. 



APRIL— JUNE, 1827. S 



