Tae grand question of Water Works, which has been simmering with more or less force of ebullition for the past seven years or thereabouts, is at length settled, and settled in a way that does credit to the common sense of the public. Svoner or later the community were certain to awake thoroughly to the horrible impurity of the ordinary source of water, and to the urgent need, for the sake not only of public health bot of pablic credit, of the adoption of some comprehensive scheme for securing a plentiful, permanent, cheap and convenient supply of pure water. We should doubtless have been benefited by the adoption of a scheme five years ago; a certain amount of sickness might have been prevented, and a certain number of fires would have been more quickly extinguished than they were under the uncertain well system. Bat it is probable that we have gained much more than we have lost by the delay. The wants of the Settlements are better understood, the chances of finding consumers among natives can be easier calculated, the discussion of rival schemes has narrowed the area of speculation as to what is essential and what is merely desirable, and the failure of commendable efforts on a small scale to meet the requirements of the public has proved that to be successful a Shanghai water scheme must be undertaken on a scale out of the reach of any but a powerful company or the municipality itself. The need for an unexceptionable water supply, and suggestions as to meeting it, have for many years been continually kept before the public, and thus the time might reasonably be considered ripe for a decision. Wisely decided it appears on the whole to us to have been, and every member of the community will have reason to congratulate himself on the step at length taken. We ought perhaps to except those whose duties carry them continually about the Settlements, and whose souls will be vexed for the coming couple of sears by the systematic and universal ploughing up of the streets and ronds. But this ly a small matter. Wo seo yo reason why the anticipations of the company, which are very confidently expressed, should not be realised. If they be, while the Company derives no more than a fair return from its capital expended, the community, without paying on an average any more than they do at present, and in many enses without paying so much, will have continually on their premises as much pure water as they can use. Much can be said on both sides of the question as to the relative advantages of public and private administration of Water Works. That many are of opinion that the Council should undertake the supply is evident from the fact that of all the schemes submitted only one in an exclusive manner contemplated a private company. But this scheme was so power. fully supported by some of the largest property holders in Shanghai, was so elaborately worked out, and so warmly approved by a high English authority on the subject, while at the same time it offered so many alternatives to the public, that its' success was almost assured as soon as the general proposition that Water Works were desirable and practicable was accepted. The criticisms, as reported in these columns, to which the details of the' Company's plan were subjected by those most interested in their rejection, were fair and to the point. We need not reproduce them here, nor need we do more than refer to the luminous summary of the whole matter given by Mr. Kingsmill at the meeting held on the 16th inst. The upshot of the entire discussion and of the information given in the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.