Continued Thursday April 27th. 1797

Bridewell Precinct April 10th. 1797

Sir

We beg you will return our thanks to the House
Committee for their communication of the 5th instant,
respecting the mode of filling up the Old Sewer; which,
though very imperfect, we transmitted without loss of
time to Mr Wright, Surveyor to the Commissioners of
Sewers; and it will certainly give us great pleasure
to have a Job, so material to our comfort and security,
effectually performedAt the same time, we think
it fair to apprize the Governors, that we do not think
ourselves liable to the consequences that may arise to our
Houses, from any future failure of that part of the old
Sewer which is now about to be filled up and abandoned

All the precaution we may be disposed to adopt, we
shall consider as purely gratuitous, and voluntary

The Covenant in our Leases to uphold our Houses,
which the Committee Seem so fond of repeating, can have
no more reference to an event of that kind, than it would
have to an Earthquake or any other extraordinary convulsion
of Nature.We built our Houses with a Regard only to
the Sewer then existing under a Parliamentary guarentee
or direction, (29 Geo 2d) that it was to be maintained and
kept in repair. The demolition or abandonment of that
Sewer and the erection of a new one, in a different situation
were not in comtemplation when we contracted to Build our
Houses, but are circumstances perfectly Novel and have
been forced upon us, greatly to our annoyance and injury,
by an imperious necessity, arising from the injudicous
and defective construction of the original Sewer; contrary
to a solemn public assurance (dated May 18th. 1779) held
out to us, as an inducement to build: Vizt that the
Sewer had been compleated and executed in the best