116 Failure of the Yan Yean Reservoir. 
amounting to £7,600. A singular objection, when it was 
admitted that the people of Melbourne had hitherto been 
compelled to pay at the rate of £150,000 a year for a miserable 
supply of water—£10,000 a year for a population of 100,000 
is a halfpenny per week for each individual. If we add to 
this £10,000 as interest for the first cost of Mr. Hodgkinson’s 
scheme, the cost of an efficient water supply from the Yarra, 
with all the advantages of purity, certainty, and high service, 
would have been a penny a week per head. 
Tt is a singular fact, and worthy of being recorded, that 
the raigdlil eravitation scheme, under the patronage of the 
Commissioners 's, SO expanded itself in less than twelve months, 
as to re-appear under the new estimate of £650,000. 
A good deal has been said of the advantages that the Yan 
Yean scheme possesses over its rival in its powers of indefinite 
extension. Perhaps this remarkable increase in the estimated 
cost is to be regarded as an illustration of this principle. 
4, My chief objection to the Yan Yean scheme is the very 
limited supply of water for so colossal an undertaking, and 
this serious objection did not escape the notice of the Select 
Committee, who admit that it is “accompanied with the 
drawbacks that the quality and quantity of water might by 
possibility fall short of the standard, and that in the execution 
of the work some unforeseen difficulties might have to be 
encountered.” And the chief object of this paper is to place 
before you certain data by which you may be enabled to 
judge for yourselves on this all-important point. 
Having long entertained the opinion that the Plenty, from 
its limited size, was quite unsuited to supply the city with 
water, I resolved, in December last, to visit the Yan Yean 
Water Works, and obtain all the information I could respect- 
ing them. Andas Dr. Mackenna had expressed himself much 
interested in the result of my inquiries, I invited him to 
accompany me, which he very kindly did. Mr. Taylor, the 
resident overseer of the works, aclatel showed us every 
attention, and gave us every information we desired. 
It is proper “here to mention, that when I submitted my 
first paper to you last month, it was necessarily based upon 
very limited data; but I was so impressed with the import- 
ance of the subject, and the result of my own inquiries, that 
I suggested the appointment of a Committee for the purpose 
of investigating the whole subject in a scientific manner, and 
reporting ‘to the Society. I should also add, that I had the 
honour of accompanying your Committee on their scientific 
