in Melbourne. 



199 



toward the Resei'voir, and now tell all who are interested — ■ 

 as who is not ?— that if active measures are not soon taken 

 to remedy the evil, our water supply, nov/ so pure and 

 sweet, will one day become a poison. When the time comes 

 — it may not be in our day (we shall poison our children, 

 but may escape ourselves) — the evil will be past remedy. 



I fancy that I can advance these propositions with a 

 tolerably good grace, as from the opening of the supply I 

 have been an advocate of the Yan Yean. I battled for it 

 when all I got for my pains was ungenerous detraction from 

 some, and silly banter from others, because I knew it to be 

 good. I analysed it many times ; visited the place myself ; 

 sampled private taps, public hydrants, and the reservoir 

 itself. It was always wholesome. It had no inherent fault 

 the removal of which would not have been of doubtful 

 policy even if it had been practicable. I always maintained 

 that it would go on improving ; and to show concisely some 

 of this improvement that has already taken place, I append, 

 side by side, an analysis of my own in 18-58, the best of 

 several made in that year, and that lately published by 

 Mr.. Johnson. 





Gibbons, 

 1858. 



Gibbons, 

 1868. 



Johnson, 

 1869. 



Organic matter . 

 Soluble Salts 

 Earthy compounds 



Silica 



Iron and Alumina 



Total Eesidue 



2-82 

 3-56 

 1.22 

 2-12 

 2-14 



2-152 

 • 6-584 



1-65 

 4-45 



[ 2-20 



11.86 



8-736 8-30 



I have not perhaps yet sufficiently shown what I mean 

 by the apparent paradox when I say that the water is pure 

 now, or was but lately, that it is exposed to contamination, 

 and that in time there will be little chance of a remedy. If 

 it were merely that the reservoir was getting saturated, 

 there might be hope, for the worse it got in that way 

 the sooner fallow, fresh air, and sunlight would purify 

 it. But if my former remarks on the soakage of 

 sewage have received attention, my meaning will become 

 plain. It is this — That Whittlesea drainage is " going " to 

 the reservoir there is no room to doubt. It may be disputed, 

 that goes for nothing. Messrs. Girdlestone and Richardson 



