§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUEL (Yorkshire, Cleveland)To ask the hon. Member for Chorley, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, if he will state on what date the repairs to the fountains in Kensington Gardens, which are now being again undertaken, were first begun; in what those repairs consisted; when 359 they are likely to be completed; whether the repairs have been carried out by a contractor or by the Office of Works; what was the cost originally estimated; and what is likely to be the actual cost.
(Answered by Lord Balcarres.) The hon. Member is under some misapprehension as to repairs to the fountains in Kensington Gardens "now being again undertaken. "All works were completed some three months back. The fountains were started in April of this year, and have continued playing since. The renewal of the deep-well pumps, the removal of old boilers and the supply of new, and the rebuilding of the engines commenced in 1903. It has been necessary to deal with the service in sections. The works have been carried out by contractors, the original cost being estimated at £2,448 and the actual cost being £2,583.