MEMOIR OF DANIEL TBBAOWELL. 335 



comfort derived to the citizens from the possession of the Boston Comm a '( Ahmv of them 

 do not see it three times in a year, and yet the man can hardly be found who would advise 

 that it should be sold, preferring to place the money that would be obtained for it in the 

 public treasury to the enjoyment of it in its present form. But the a of one half of ih. 



land of the Common will produce a sum sufficient to supply the city with water, and it is nol 

 unwarrantable to assume that, if the city was possessed of complete water-works, and the 

 citizens were called upon to relinquish them or the possession of the Common, they would 

 prefer giving up the latter as the less valuable of the two. 



"The present prosperity of the city gives the means and energy for prosecuting the sub- 

 ject rarely possessed in any period. No advantages can arise from delay, but, on the contrary, 



changes are constantly taking place which make its execution more difficult. In proof of this, 

 I will state that in 1825 power might have been obtained on the Mill-dam for rinsing the 

 water of Charles River to the city. This power since that time has been 1 ken for other pur- 

 poses, and cannot now be obtained. It was then proposed to the city government to bring t lie 

 water of Charles River down the south bank of the river to the Mill-dam, and thence to raise it 

 to the elevated parts of the city. Now the south bank of Charles River is partly occupied by 

 the Worcester Railroad, which will be a serious impediment in the way of executing the project 

 as then designed, and other circumstances of like kind might be adduced. Having thus, sir, 

 stated in a hasty and imperfect manner some of the facts connected with this subject to call 

 your attention to it, if, indeed, it has not already been fixed upon it, I know that you will 

 not dismiss it without a further investigation of its merits, and I will not suffer myself to doubt 

 for the result. " 



In the following January, 1834, Mayor Lyman sent a communication to the 

 City Council, urging an immediate consideration of the subject of introducing water 

 into the city, enforcing it with extracts from Mr. Tread well's letter, and from his 



report of 1825. 



On the 20th of March, 1837, Mr. Treadwell was again chosen by the City 

 Council the first of three commissioners to re-examine the sources and the best 

 method of supplying the city with pure water. The population had doubled in 



the last twenty years, and in the last seven years the increase had been even more 

 rapid than in any equal preceding period ; it had reached 80,000. On the supposi- 

 tion that in five years the population would be 87,000, and in ten years 105,000, 

 provision was made by the commissioners for an immediate supply of 1,600,000 

 gallons daily to be increased in five years to 2,500,000, and in ten years to 

 3,000,000 gallons. Twenty sources of water were examined, and of these Spot 

 Pond, Long Pond (Lake Cochituate), Mystic Pond, and Charles River were alone 

 deemed suitable. The route, construction, and cost of supply from each of these 

 is given. A majority of the commissioners, including Mr. Treadwell, were of opin- 

 ion that the Spot and Mystic supply should be adopted, with a combined Bystem of 



pumping and gravitation th 



o 



minority recommended that from 



