Obituary Notices. 
xliii 
the schemes of other engineers. He made an excellent witness, and 
took care to he always well prepared, and was very ready in picking 
up any flaw in his opponent’s case that might emerge in the course 
of the inquiry. 
He had special experience in the construction of reservoir em- 
bankments, and had a remarkably quick eye in detecting faults of 
construction in any piece of work. He had a high ideal of what 
work ought to be, and it was always his aim, by careful preparation 
of specifications and close supervision during execution, to attain 
perfection as far as possible. It may safely be said that the works 
that have been carried out under his charge bear witness of the 
thoroughness of his supervision. Since his father gave up active 
work in 1880 he took chief charge of the maintenance of the Edin- 
burgh Waterworks, which are varied and extensive, there being 
no less than twelve reservoirs, some of great magnitude, and neces- 
sarily include a great length of piping over an extensive area of 
distribution. 
That his services were highly appreciated will be gathered from 
the minute of the meeting on 14th December of the Edinburgh 
Water Trustees, of which the following is an excerpt : — 
“ Prior to considering the business before the meeting, the Convener referred 
to the loss the Trust has sustained by the death, on the 7th instant, of 
Mr Alexander Leslie, C.E., senior partner of the firm of Messrs J. & A. Leslie 
& Reid, the Trustees’ Engineers. During his long connection with the Trust, 
Mr Leslie, he said, had been distinguished by the zeal and ability which he 
displayed in regard to its affairs, and by his thorough independence and 
honesty of purpose, and the faithful manner in which he discharged his duty 
to the Trustees and to the public.” 
He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and of the 
Geological Society of London, and was President for two years of 
the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, and only demitted office a few 
weeks before his death, when he gave a very interesting address on 
the more modern system adopted for the examination of water, 
making special reference to the bacteriological aspect of the ques- 
tion. Expression was given to the feelings of that Society by his 
successor in the Chair in the following terms : — 
“ At the meeting of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts last night, the 
President (Dr William Taylor) moved that the meeting be adjourned out of 
