summer of 1822, and shortly after the termination of the epidemic, on the 25th of November, the Mayor, in a communication to the Common Council, on subjects relative to the preser- vation of the public health, stated that a very important subject connected with the health of the city, was a sufficient supply of good water ; and that on this subject all had been done that it was practicable, under existing circumstances, to perform ; that arrangements had been made with Mr. White, a Civil Engineer of repute, to examine the several 60 sources from which a supply was likely to be obtained, and to furnish correct surveys and profiles of the heights and depressions of the country through which the water must be conveyed, and that he had been requested to report as soon as it was practicable. In 1823, the Sharon Canal Company was chartered by the State, and among its duties was that of supplying the city of New-York with pure and wholesome water. The work was not, however, undertaken. In January, 1824, Mr. White made his report, which he prefaced as follows : — " That he had the honor of receiving a request from Stephen Allen, late Mayor, to make an examination and estimate of the expense of furnishing the city with a copious supply of good and wholesome water. Agreeably to that request, I have made the necessary surveys, levels and examinations to ascertain the practica- bility of the project," &c. &c. At the same date, Benjamin Wright, Esq., reported to the Common Council on the same subject, which he prefaces as follows : — " In obedience to a request of your honorable body, communicated to me by Stephen Allen, Esq., late Mayor, in November last, de- siring me to assist Canvas White, Esq., with my advice and counsel, as to the best method of supplying the city of New-York with plenty of good water, I beg leave to make the following report," &c. Mr. White reported in favor of bringing the water of the Bronx to the city ; taking it from the River at the West- chester Cotton Factory pond. The natural flow of the River at this place, he stated to be 3,000,000 of gallons per day, in the driest season, and he proposed by artificial 61 works at the upper Rye pond, and by lowering the outlet of this pond, to obtain 3,600,000 gallons more per day ; thus furnishing a daily supply of 6,600,000 gallons. The cost of bringing the water to a reservoir near the Park, was esti- mated at $1,949,542. Mr. Wright concurred with him in this opinion. In 1825 a company was incorporated by the Legislature, and called the " New- York Water Works Company" with authority to supply the city with pure water. Canvas White, Esq., was appointed Engineer to this Company, and in his report to the Directors, he recommended taking the waters of the Bronx at Underbill's bridge ; estimated that 9,100,000 gallons of water could be delivered in the city daily, and that the expense would not exceed $1,450,000. The charter of this company proved so defective in prac- tice, that they were unable to proceed under it, and they accordingly applied to the Legislature in 1826 for an amendment, authorizing the company to take such of the waters, land and materials, by appraisement of indifferent persons, as might be required for the work. In this appli- cation, however, they were defeated, by the opposition of the Sharon Canal Company, who claimed, under their charter, all the water on the route of their canal. The Water Works Company was accordingly dissolved in 1827. In 1831, the Common Council of the city, impelled by a sense of the importance of a supply of pure and wholesome water, began to take more decided steps towards the ac- complishment of the object : a Committee of the Board of Aldermen on Fire and Water, consisting of James Palmer, Samuel Stevens and William Scott, to whom were referred 62 various communications and resolutions on the subject of supplying the city with water, presented a report adducing facts and arguments sufficient to prove the practicability of the project and the ability of the Corporation to meet the expense ; and prefaced that report as follows : — " That they approach the subject as one of vast magnitude and import- ance to an already numerous and dense population, re- quiring our municipal authorities no longer to satisfy them- selves with speeches, reports and surveys, but actually to raise the means and strike the spade into the ground, as a commencement of this all important undertaking. "* Their attention was drawn, at that time, to the Bronx River, with the ponds at its head, as the