At 20 minutes past two, his Honor the Mayor and the members of the Common Council, foreign Consuls, and invited guests, took their stations on the front of the Hall, which then presented a most animated spectacle, every nook and niche being crowded with spectators. The troops then passed in review order before the assembly, and were followed by the other portions of the procession, with the exception of some few detachments which filed off, and entered the Park by the southeastern gate.

By half past four o'clock, the immense cavalcade had filed off and been stationed at convenient distances in the Park, whereupon the Grand Marshal, Gilbert Hopkins, announced to the orator of the day that the Mayor was ready to hear him. Samuel Stevens, Esq., President of the Board of Water Commissioners, then advanced to the front of the platform and delivered the following address, which was listened to with the most patient attention,

Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen of the Common Council : In delivering over the Croton water, and the works on this island, I have been requested by your Committee to make such remarks as the occasion may suggest. Prom the earliest period of the history of our city, the attainment of pure and wholesome water has been a subject of the highest interest. The Tea Water Pump, situated near the corner of Pearl and Chatham streets, was, for a long period of time, the grand source of all drinkable water for the lower part of the city.