CHRISTCHURCH DRAINAGE

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 132, 10 July 1914, Page 10

CHRISTCHURCH DRAINAGE

VARIOUS ANOMMJIES. [From our own Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, July 10. A Bill is to be introduced by Mr T. H. Davey (Christchurch East) to amend the Christchurch District Drainage Act; 1907. The preamble -of the Bill states that the consolidating Act of 1907 empowered the Christchurch Drainage Board, which was established by Act in 1875, to maintain in a state of efficiency all water courses, etc., within its district, and to strike a rate for the purposes of the Act. The board's district, as defined in the Act of 1875, included the Heathcote River during a portion of its course, and the board has from time to time expended moneys in cleansing, repairing, and otherwise maintaining the river, and has levied rates to enable this work to be carried out.

When the consolidating Act of 1907 was carried it was found that certain portions of the Heathcote River, which had been included in the original description of the district, were inadvertently omitted. It is desirable to amend the description of the district so as ,to include these portions of the river, and to remqve all doubts as to its true boundaries;' and also to validate the expenditure of moneys spent and the levying of rates in respect to this expenditure. Since the passing of tho consolidating Act the board's solicitors have advised that an obvious mistake was made in the consolidating Act, and that an anomalous position had occurred in that the board is vested with the control and saddled with the responsibility of cleaning and maintaining the river from Tennyson Street to Wilson's Bridge, without having control of the river above and below these points. The purpose of the Act is to remove this anomaly. Amongst other amendments the Bill will provide for the holding of elections on the last instead of the second Tuesday in January. The experience of holding the elections on the earlier date has not been satisfactory, as the date is too near the Christmas holidays. When the consolidating Bill was before the House in 1907 it provided, as at first drafted, that "ratepayers" were qualified to be members of the board, but the House changed this to "electors," without making a similar change in the section dealing with casual vacancies. This anomaly it is also intended to remove.