THE WATER SUPPLY OF SYDNEY. LXXXIX, 
Mr. Keele necessarily passes very briefly over the report 
of the Royal Commission of 1867, but there is much instruc- 
tive matter to be gleaned from that great document in the 
light of contemporary and present experience. We have 
now a body of trained engineers in the public service, but 
at that time there was not one member of the Water Com- 
mission (although they were all men of attainments) who 
was qualified to make the estimates for a water supply 
scheme. The late Mr. Bennett was the most competent 
civil engineer no doubt, but it is curious to read now how 
greatly the cost of favoured projects was then under 
estimated, and how those schemes not presenting such 
attractions to the members were over estimated. On page 
40 of the report the estimated cost of the Upper Nepean 
scheme is put down at £790,029, but in the interval 
between 1869 and 1877 it rose to £863,525. Then Mr. 
Clarke came out from [ngland to report on it, and from 
the data supplied to him (see Report p. 16, 1877) made it 
£1,086,763. But the Hon. John Lucas writing to the press 
of the day in letters, subsequently printed at the Govern- 
ment Printing Office in 1876, p. 6, made his estimate 
£2,600,000, taking Mr. Moriarty’s quantities and Mr. 
Whitton’s prices. Which of these was the nearest need 
not be stated as it is known to all present. Mr. Clarke 
estimated the cost of water by the Upper Nepean scheme 
supply with 12 millions daily 3°327 pence, with 18 millions 
daily 2°45 pence per 1000 gallons, and specially favoured 
the scheme because the system was so elastic that the 
charges per 1000 gallons would come down with every 
increase in the supply. The price is still at a shilling. 
With regard to Mr. James Manning’s far seeing proposals. 
and his persistent advocacy of high level storage and gravi- 
tation, Mr. Keele has not been able in the space at his 
disposal, to do that gentleman justice. Mr. Manning, 
6—Sept. 16, 1908. 
