46 On Railway Working Expenses in Victoria. 



the influence of daylight these gases combine ; but hydro- 

 genium combines with chlorine in the dark. Hydrogenium 

 reduces persalts to the state of the protosalts of iron. It 

 converts red prussiate into yellow prussiate of potassium, 

 and it has generally considerable deoxidizing power. 



The results of Dr. Graham's precise experiments allow of 

 a computation of the specific gravity of hydrogenium as it 

 exists in the alloy. According to his latest figures, its gravity 

 may be taken at ■? ; it is therefore of greater specific 

 gravity than lithium (taken at 'SO); indeed the collective 

 evidence is so much in favour of regarding the combination 

 as an alloy, that the case may be regarded as parallel to 

 that of the fluorides. We know fluorine very well in its 

 combinations ; but we cannot yet properly succeed in isolat- 

 ing fluorine from fluor spar or any other of its compounds, 

 so as to obtain a private interview with it, and in the same 

 way we now know hydrogenium as a metal alloyed with 

 palladium, although we cannot yet isolate little silvery 

 globules of the hydrogenium itself 



Art. XIV. — On the Melbourne Great Telescope. By 

 A. Le Sueur, Esq. 



[Bead 11th July, 1870.] 

 In this paper Mr. Le Sueur showed that the disparagement 

 of the Melbourne Great Telescope by Mr. Severn in his late 

 paper was unfounded, and arose from ignorance of the 

 subject. 



Art. XV. — On Raihuay 'Working Expenses in Victoria. 

 By F. C. Christy, Esq., C.E. 



[Bead loth August, 1870.] 



In this paper Mr. Christy adduced evidence to show that 

 the Victorian Government Railways were worked at half the 

 cost of working American lines, and from 1 3 to 80 per cent, 

 lower than English lines. This he attributed to the 

 superiority of the road bed, of the rolling stock, of the 

 climate, and to the excellent system of repairing promptly 

 and economically. 



