NOTES ON ADMINISTRATION OF WATER SUPPLY. 69 



Spain, Italy, France and India take the leading positions in 

 regard to administration of rivers and other sources of water 

 supply, and furnish the best examples for our information 

 and guidance. But there are other nations which afford 

 corroborative evidence of the soundness of the systems which they 

 follow. For instance, in Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony, the 

 Government claims absolute ownership of the rivers, and will not 

 permit even the tributary streams to be interfered with until 

 sanction has been granted. The general principles adopted in the 

 management of the rivers in these countries bear much resemblance 

 to those acted on in France, and the result is equally satisfactory. 



In America the various states are permitted to deal with the 

 rivers and lakes within their boundaries ; but, as a general rule, 

 the British Law of Riparian Rights is still recognized. One 

 exception to this rule is furnished by Colorado, in which a law 

 was passed regarding the rivers which might be summed up in the 

 familiar expression " first come first served." The immediate 

 effect of this law was that a rush was made by speculators to 

 secure the right to every important river. In this way individuals 

 and companies obtained rights which placed them in a position to 

 utilize the waters or not as they pleased, to prevent others from 

 making use of the waters, and to make their own terms with those 

 who required supplies. It is not surprising that under these 

 conditions Colorado soon became an unrivalled field for the 

 irrigation lawyer, and that irrigation enterprise was checked and 

 even threatened with extinction. In California the operation of 

 the British Law of Riparian Rights has been at least as 

 mischievous in its effects as the attempt at legislation in Colorado. 

 With reference to this point, the following quotation from Mr. 

 Deakin's very instructive report places the question in a clear 

 light : — " According to the last message of the Governor of 

 California to its Legislature, ' rights to use water under the Civil 

 Code are undefined and unproven claims, the extent and dates 

 of which are known only to their holders or claimants,' a state of 

 affairs which necessarily involves all parties interested in doubt 

 and loss. How serious the loss is, owing to this unsatisfactory 

 condition of legislature, may be better judged when it is recollected 

 that almost the whole of the 150,000 people who inhabit Southern 

 California are directly or indirectly dependent upon irrigation for 

 their support. The value of the property in irrigation lands and 

 works threatened in this State is publicly stated at £40,000,000. 

 The injurious results of the uncertainty as to the position of 

 appropriators are discovering themslves on every hand. The 

 splendid fruits of irrigation upon desert lands have all sprung from 

 schemes commenced before this issue was raised. From that hour 

 all projects for new works or the enlargement of works in existence 



