2i9t The Mourne Water Scheme. 



of the water as 7-5, the total waste of soap amounts daily to 

 2,925 lb., while with the Mourne water the waste would only 

 be 390 lb. In a year these figures reach the totals 1,067,625 

 and 142,350 respectively. Further, taking soap as costing 3d. 

 per lb., the annual expenditure of the total population on this 

 commodity amounts, on the above assumption, to j^i 3,340, 

 whereas with the Mourne water the cost will only be ;^i,779, 

 a saving per annum oi £\ 1,561. At this rate the money saved 

 the ratepayers in soap would very soon cover the total outlay 

 for the new scheme. In conclusion, it is my firm belief that 

 the new water supply, coupled with the new drainage scheme, 

 will have a very marked influence in lowering the death rate of 

 the city, which, as everyone present knows, is far too high, and 

 I also think that their influence will be specially felt in check- 

 ing the amount of typhoid fever which is so prevalent in the 

 town that I believe Belfast now enjoys the very unenviable 

 reputation of being the premier town in the kingdom as regards 

 the amount of this disease." 



The only remark I have to make is that I have myself been 

 frequently in those mountains, and have found that the water 

 is very tempting to drink. One is disposed to take a great 

 deal too much water without diluting it with anything else. 



Professor Everett — I feel much obliged to Mr. Macassey 

 for the remarkably interesting sketch he has given us of a 

 scheme that seems so utterly free from any weak point. I have 

 done my best to find out weak points, but I cannot see any 

 suspicion of one. I think the Commissioners have been very 

 quick about the matter. Quite recently they were discussing 

 whether the best supply would be got from the Mourne district 

 or from Lough Neagh, but they have now got everything cut 

 and dry and cariied by Parliament with wonderful complete- 

 ness. I should like to ask Mr. Macassey how many storage 

 reservoirs there are } (Mr. Macassey — One storage and one 

 service ; the numbers on the diagram are Parliamentary num- 

 bers). As to the quality of the water, anyone who has lived at 

 Newcastle can bear witness that the water there is remarkably 



