26 The Mourne Water Scheme. 



It is not proposed to construct this large reservoir in the Happy 

 Valley immediately. The first object is to make the conduit 

 and establish connection between these rivers and the town, so 

 that a large amount of water could be brought in without being 

 stored — water obtained from the ordinary flow of the rivers. 

 It is estimated that the work will cost about ^750,000, and 

 having regard to the large sums which have been and are being 

 expended in towns like Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, and 

 Manchester, the expense for the quantity of water available is 

 very moderate, simply because the circumstances are very 

 favourable in this district as compared with many others. In 

 conclusion, the lecturer paid a high tribute to the care, intelli- 

 gence, foresight, and watchfulness exhibited by the Commis- 

 sioners and by their able Secretary, Mr. Hamilton, in connection 

 with the scheme and the negotiations necessary to secure its 

 authorisation by Parliament. He also spoke highly of the 

 former services to the Trust of the late Mr. Colligan, and 

 expressed the belief that the death of that gentleman was 

 deeply regretted by all his brother Commissioners, and regarded 

 by them as a real loss to the Trust. 



Professor FitzGrrald — Before calling upon any of the 

 gentlemen to take part in the discussion, I will read a letter 

 which Mr. Young has received from Professor Letts. It is as 

 follows : — " I very much regret that I cannot be at the Museum 

 this evening, and so shall miss the pleasure of hearing Mr. 

 Macassey's paper, which I am sure will be most interesting. I 

 should have liked to say a few words in the discussion following 

 the paper, because, as you know, I take a great interest in the 

 subject of the Belfast water supply, and have some very strong 

 opinions on the subject, which I have not hesitated to express. 

 As I cannot be present in person, may I ask you to read to the 

 meeting the following remarks: — In the first place, I very 

 much regret to say that the present supply, bad enough as it 

 used to be, has become decidedly worse of recent years. Taking 

 the quantities of free and albumenoid ammonia as indices of 



