WASHINGTON AQUEDUCT.

Contract for the Receiving Reservoir.

Agreement between Daniel Stone, of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, of the first part, and Captain M. C. Meigs, of the corps of United States engineers, of the second part, acting under the authority of, and for and in behalf of the United States of America, as engineer in charge of the Washington aqueduct, witnesseth :

1. That the party of the first part, for and in consideration of the matters hereinafter referred to and set out, covenants and agrees with the party of the second part to clear, grub, muck, excavate, embank, ram, and puddle, and do all other work required for the construction of the receiving reservoir, and to do the same in conformity to the specifications hereto annexed, which are to be taken as a part of this contract, and according to the directions from time to time to be given by the engineer.

2. The principal assistant engineer, or an assistant engineer, by his direction, shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each month, make out an estimate of the quantity and value of each species of work done pursuant to this contract, at the prices contained in the annexed proposal. He shall also include the value of any extra work done in consequence of any alteration of the plan of the reservoir which may have been adopted by the said engineer in charge, when such alteration shall have caused an increased expense to the contractor; and when any such alteration shall have caused a saving of expense to the contractor, the engineer shall make a reasonable deduction therefor from the estimate so made; and if the said engineer in charge of the aqueduct shall approve said estimate, it is mutually agreed between the contracting parties that it shall be binding, and shall be paid by said engineer.

3. Within ten days after the return of any monthly estimate to the engineer in charge, nine-tenths of the sum appearing to be due, for work performed since the preceding estimate, shall be paid to the

contractor.

4. Within thirty days after the work shall have been completed, and accepted by the engineer, a final estimate therefor shall be made and approved in the manner provided for making and approving monthly estimates, and shall in like manner be paid by said engineer in charge, together with the retained per centage.

5. The work shall always be open to examination during its progress by the engineers or other persons they may depute for that purpose, and the contractor shall, at all times, at his own expense, keep open a pathway alongside of the work, so that the above mentioned persons may readily pass by the same to the work above or below it.

6. At the expiration of every two weeks' work a report shall be made by the contractor to the assistant engineer having charge of this work of the average force of men, carts, &c., employed upon it for the preceding two weeks, according to such forms as shall be supplied by the engineer.

7. It is mutually agreed between the parties to this contract, that

the work aforesaid shall be commenced within ten days after the notification of the approval of this contract, if the United States shall so soon acquire the right to the land necessary for the work, or as soon thereafter as the said right shall have been acquired; that it shall be steadily prosecuted without intermission, with such force as shall, in the opinion of the engineer, secure its final completion within six months after the contractor is put in possession of the site, unless prevented or delayed by written orders from the engineer in charge, at the end of which time it shall be fully completed and delivered up; and it is further agreed that, in the event that the said work shall not be commenced, prosecuted, and completed, or if the contractor, on being required thereto by the written order of the engineer in charge, the principal assistant engineer, or his assistant engineer, shall fail or refuse to increase the force employed on the work to such extent as, in the opinion of the engineer, shall be necessary to insure its completion in the stipulated time, or in case the contractor shall disobey any of the written orders of either of said engineers, or shall violate any of the conditions of this agreement, then, on a certificate of the fact by the principal assistant engineer made to the engineer in charge, the said engineer in charge may declare this contract forfeited, and thereupon the same shall then become null and void, and the United States shall thereupon be exonerated from every obligation thence arising; and the reserved per centage' on the contract price, as well as all materials furnished and work performed, and upon which no estimate or payment may have been made, shall be forfeited to and become the right and property of the United States, and the said engineer in charge may thereafter agree with any other person for the execution of the unfinished work, or may complete the same by day's work; and the said party of the first part shall have no appeal from the opinion and decision aforesaid, and he hereby releases all right to except to or question the same, in any place, or under any circumstances whatever; but the party of the first part shall still remain liable to the party of the second part for the damages occasioned to him by the said failure, refusal, or disobedience; and it is further agreed between the parties, that in order to secure the punctual performance of the covenants above made by the party of the first part, and to indemnify and protect the party of the second part from loss, in case of default and forfeiture of this contract, the said party of the second part shall be authorized to retain in his hands, until the completion of the contract, ten per cent. on the amount of monies at any time due to the said party of the first part.

8. The contractor for this work shall not knowingly employ any man, either as overseer, laborer, or in any situation, who shall have been dismissed, by the order of the engineer, from any other part of the work for bad workmanship, intemperance, or disorderly conduct. Nor shall he continue to employ any man who shall be declared by the engineer to be either disorderly, habitually intemperate, or a bad workman.

9. The contractor shall give his personal attention to the execution of the work hereby contracted for.

10. All buildings or fences adjacent to the reservoir shall be

pre

served, in such manner as the engineer may direct, by the contractor, who shall protect them from injury by his hands, and, as far as practicable, by any by any other persons.

11. The engineer shall have the power to prescribe the manner of preparing for, beginning, and conducting every species of work to be done under this agreement with reference to its purpose and the durability of the work, and his instructions shall be promptly obeyed; and if he shall disapprove of the quality of any work, it shall be the duty of the contractor to take down at his own expense and rebuild so much thereof as shall be disapproved of; and if the contractor shall neglect or refuse to take down and rebuild work so disapproved of, the engineer shall cause the same to be done at his cost.

12. It is understood and agreed that all orders given by an engineer which shall cause an increase or diminution in the quantity or value of the work to be performed, shall be given in writing, and that when any claim shall be made by the contractor for extra compensation for work performed under such orders, the orders shall be produced; and that all claims for extra work shall be made on or before the close of the month in which it is claimed to have been done, or it shall not be paid for at all.

13. It is further agreed that in case of the death, resignation, removal, or absence of any engineer, the United States, by its proper officers, may depute any other engineer to act in his place.

14. The United States reserves the right to suspend the work under this contract at any time; and when the work has been faithfully performed by the contractor, he will be paid in full for all the work done up to the time of such suspension.

15. Payments will be made to the contractor in drafts upon the Treasury of the United States for coin. No estimate after the first shall be paid, unless the engineer is satisfied that the hands employed upon the work have been paid for the work of the month preceding, as provided in the advertisement under which this contract is made, a copy of which is hereto annexed.

16. And it is further stipulated and agreed that no member of Congress shall be admitted to any share or part in this contract or agreement, or to any benefits to arise therefrom; and this contract shall be in all its parts subject to the terms and conditions of an act of Congress, passed on the twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight, entitled an "Act concerning public contracts.'

And this contract is also expressly understood to be subject to the terms and conditions of the joint resolution of Congress approved April 14, 1852, containing a proviso in the following terms, to wit: "Provided, Nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to auhorize any officer of the United States to bind the United States by ontract beyond the amount appropriated by Congress, or to sanction

such contract heretofore made:" Provided, also, That it is expressly understood and agreed that this contract, nor any part thereof, hall not be sublet nor assigned; but that it shall be well and truly arried out and fulfilled in good faith by the above recited party of he first part, and that all payments on account thereof shall be made

to the aforesaid party of the first part, his heirs, executors, or administrators.

17. And for the true and faithful performance of all and singular the covenants, articles, and agreements herein before particularly set forth, the subscribers hereunto bind themselves, jointly and severally, their and each of their successors, heirs, executors, and administrators. 18. Thus covenanted and agreed by the said parties this twentysixth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, (1857,) as witness their hands and seals. DANIEL STONE, [SEAL. M. C. MEIGS,

[SEAL.]

Captain of Engineers in charge of Washington Aqueduct.

(Done in quadruplicate.)

Witness: WILLIAM H. BRYAN.

WASHINGTON AQUEDUCT.

Specification for the Receiving Reservoir at Powder Mill Branch.

1. The receiving reservoir, containing about sixty acres, chiefly arable land, will be well cleared and grubbed within the flowage line. Outside of this, generally for a width of about twenty feet, the ground will be cleared and ploughed, and all timber, stumps, brush, roots, leaves, &c., throughout, will be removed or burned, as may be directed

2. From the whole surface of the ground to be covered by water, all muck, vegetable mould, &c., will be removed to such depth as may be required; and the mucking so removed will be distributed around the sides, and will form a bank. This bank will have an inner slope of two feet base to one foot rise, and its top will slope from the reservoir so as to form a road and drain.

3. Where the ground within the flowage line is such that the water would not be five feet deep upon it, it will be excavated in parts to give that depth, and the material so excavated will be made. into embankment upon other parts, which will be raised above the water level. The slopes of these excavations and embankments will have bases of two feet to a rise of one foot, except when otherwise directed.

4. After the reservoir shall have been completed, as above described, a cut will be made through the hill on the southwest side fifty feet wide at the level of the flowage line, and so much of the material thus excavated as may be necessary to form a dam across the valley of the stream, and a stone facing for the same, will be carted into it. A cut will also be made leading from the reservoir to the gate-hous, and a side cut to provide an overfall. These two, with the excavation of the pit for the gate-house, and for any other mechanical structures, the contractor for the reservoir may be required to do at his prices for other excavation.

5. All the excavation, when carried into the bank for the dam, will be spread in three-inch layers, and such parts of the bank as the engineer may deem necessary the contractor will ram or puddle.

6. The face of the dam next to the water will be protected by a riprap of stone, which will be laid in compactly and evenly, as the work

goes on.

7. Before any material is deposited upon the site of the dam the whole of the ground to be covered by its base will be carefully cleared, grubbed and cleaned out, and a puddle-ditch across it will be carefully excavated to a good water-tight material.

8. Provision will perhaps be made to carry off a portion of the water of the stream through tunnel No. 4; but the contractor for the reservoir will be required, at his own cost, to provide for the passage of a part, or, if this work is begun before the completion of the tunnel, the whole over the sides of the embankment, and in such manner that the embankment will not be injured, the plan of doing which must be approved by the engineer.

9. Should the material found in the necessary excavation be deemed of a quality not sufficiently water-tight for the dam, clay for the puddled or rammed part will be obtained from without the reservoir. It will be measured in the borrow pit, and will be estimated and paid for at the price of other excavation.

10. The contractor will be required to commence and carry on this work at such time, at such points, and in such manner as the engineer may direct.

11. Detached stone, containing less than fifteen cubic feet, will be. included in the third class of excavation, (see Item 4 of the following proposal;) all others, less than one cubic yard, will be included in soft rock, (Item No. 3.)

12. It is understood that soft or rotten rock is such as cannot be excavated by the shovel, spade, plough, or pick alone, but requires the use of the crowbar and pick to break it up, yet is not hard enough to require drilling and blasting.

Hard rock is such as requires drilling and blasting in order to be broken up.

Materials not included in the above two items will be estimated as earth or mucking.

Of this classification the engineers will be the judges; the decision of the engineer in charge will be final in case of difference between the local engineer and the contractor.

13. The price for excavation will cover the transportation to the point where it is required to be placed in the bank.

14. When earth is required to be rammed, it will be done (in courses not exceeding three inches in thickness) with a heavy maul of iron or wood, and will be packed evenly and uniformly to prevent uneven settlement. Where puddling is required, the earth will be spread in layers not exceeding six inches in depth, and each course will be well sprinkled with water and tramped, and then be cut through with a spade or shovel into the ground or course below, water being added as the cutting goes on, until it is worked into a stiff and cohesive mass, before another course is commenced. The quantity,