HALIFAX-STREET.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXVIII, Issue 217, 13 September 1892, Page 3

HALIFAX-STREET.

J? TO THE EDITOB. / Sib, — Everyone m Blenheim knows moie abeut controlling flood water than any other individual m the district. Who will deny that there is more born genius (engineers and marine surveyors) m the town of Blenheim than m any other city m the world ? We have utterances about the spirit of the Bivers Act, If the Act means anything it is to do justice to all ratepayers, not banking m places to protect a few, and leave gaps to destroy other ratepayers' property, making " it useless. If Halifax-street is m the wrong place by being too far away from the river, where can a bank be built at ten times the cest that will prevent the flood water spreading over as great an extent of land. Why did tha Board a few months ago build a bank on Customhouse-street, farther away than Halifax- street from the river. I suppose that is m the right place. If the bank . was continued up Halifax-street at the same level, we should find that the devil Halifaxstreet would lie as peacefully as any other street where there was some common sense used m making it. .What crass ignorance was displayed m the construction of the Halifax-street bank.^tbe lower part sand covered by a layer of gravel and Eand, left low for flood water to flow over, then groans and curses when it was washed away. If it waß intended for a weir, why should it not ..have been built to resist the overflow (m the early days of the township we were called beavers ; I think that our Biver Board should go to the funny little beavers for a lesson m dammiDg rivera, notwithstanding iheir boasted superiority of born genius). Is there any place of the river where the bank is left low for the flood to overflow as was done m Halifax- street ? The bugbear thai frightens is that the water will rise m the town. Is the water any higher m the town than the river, if not so, how do you expect the water to leave before the river lowers. Not if you had ten Halifax streets to let it flow over. What difference does it make whether you have three inches m your houae, or another inch higher. Custom-house Street has stopped the overflow of five times the quantity of water that is possible to pass over Halifax Street, and why be so terrified at the small gap left. Can assurance any further go than a Board levying rates on ratepayers to ba used to destroy their property, and render it useless. More litigation and more hundreds wasted, and a few generations to die out before people of Blenheim will awake to the fact that the only plan is to get above the flood line with their houses and streets. To show the animus of the Biver Board when the repairs were being made, after the previous flood, to Halifax Street, there were several chains of consolidated bank that the floods had not moved. The Board set men with pick and shovel to loosen and remove the outer crust. I went across, pointing out to members what the result would be at the next flood, ' which is verified to the letter. I unhesitatingly assert if the consolidated parts had been left more than one half of the present destruction would not have occurred. All To save carting a few loads of gravel ?— I am, etc., Thomas Wall. September 12th, 1892.