626 TRAXSACTIONS OF THE 



Bramhall,) were named in the act, one was directed to be 

 elected at the next ensuing charter election, and the president, 

 for the time being, of the board of aldermen, was constituted a 

 member ex-officio. This board was first regularly organised on 

 the 28th April, 1852. The members constituting it at that time 

 were John D. Ward, Dudley S. Gregory, Moses B. Bramhall, 

 Thomas A. Alexander, then recently elected, and David S. 

 Manners, then president of the board of aldermen, commissioner 

 ex-offi,cio. Of this board John D. Ward, was elected presidentj 

 and as the law under which they acted required that before an}' 

 work could be undertaken, they should obtain a loan for at least 

 one-half the estimated cost of tJie whole, the attention of the 

 commission was first necessarily directed to the financial part of 

 its duties, and inquiries were instituted to ascertain where and on 

 what terms the requisite amount of money could be obtained. 

 The result of their inquiries was a conclusion to advertise for 

 proposals for a loan of $300,000, or one-half the sum required 

 for the works, for twenty-five years at an interest of six per 

 cent per annum, jiayable half yearly. When the bids for this 

 were opened on the 9th June, it v»tiS found that the sum of 

 $1,421,000 was oifered at rates varying from l-i- to Sy^Q- per 

 cent premium. The average rate of premium on the bids ac- 

 cepted was 2,006 per cent. The commii^sioners being thus 

 furnished with the means of proceeding, engaged Wm. S. Whit- 

 well, the engineer employed in making the preliminary surveys 

 and examinations, to direct and superintend the construction of 

 the works. 



Contracts were soon after entered into for the principal part 

 of the iron pipes required, for the stop-cocks and fire hydrants, 

 for excavating and refilling the trenches for water pipes in the 

 streets, and for the construction of the distributing reservoir on 

 Bergen hill; and the contractors entered almost immediately 

 upon the execution of Hie work which they had tindertaken. 

 Contracts for the pumping engine, and pipes for the rising 

 main, for the engine house, the inlet conduit, and the receiv- 

 ing reservoir at Belleville were made during the succeeding 

 winter. 



The number of contracts entered into, and the progress made 

 by the contractors in executing them, admonished the commis- 

 sioners that the remainder of the loan which they were author- 

 ized to contract would ])e required at no very distant day to 

 enable them to meet their engagements ; they therefore on the 



