The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News and the Morning News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1874.

Auckland Star, Volume V, Issue 1249, 6 February 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News and the Morning News.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1874.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the. wrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance,. oi And «i« srood' that we can do

There is such a strong, and it is .to be feared too well grounded suspicion of jobbery and log-rolling about all public, questions in that we approach the subject of Mr Moriarty's water supply report with very considerable caution." 1 "'The result of the investigation by-the same gentleman relative 3b dock-site is.also anything but rei-assuring,, and the admission iaadeby :Mr Moriarty at the Council yesterday .''that on one occasion there had apparently been damming'up atthe Western Springs source to'make the flow stronger than proper," sets it beyond all .doubt that gross jobbery would be exercised here as elsewhere'if it were permitted. We I are inclined to think, however, that there are too many contending factions and opposing interests, and too inanyLgrabbing.for any bone thrown down, io give: any one clique a fair chance over the other,7 W^, must he,

oareful therefore not to let /blind prejudice

influence or protract a decision on this important question. Auckland requires a water supply, and the question of source should be settled without further delay in order that the work may.be proceeded with. Looking at Mr Moriarty's report as the opinion of ■an able engineer, given without prejudice, we must admit that it is not open to that charge of palpable unfairness which characterised his report on the dock question. He has examined all the recognised sources of supply, and his opinion, theref ore^ whatever it may, be worth, is final so faras he is concerned ; and it cannot' be said that the Council has given an undue bias to his investigations by withholding information which ought to have been laid before him. Thus the most serious, indeed fatal, objection to the dock report cannot be urged against his report on the water supply. Coming then to the . consideration of Mr Moriarty's report on its merits we find that he disapproves of the Onehunga springs source owing to the smallness of the supply, the distance, and cost of pumping, and the probability of Onehunga some day requiring the water to supply its own wants. Lake St John he condemns, both on account of its small extent and the impurity of the water. The two sources mentioned have never been regarded with much favour, and we think the public will agree in placing them on one side as subordinate to Nihotupu and the Western Springs. It must be confessed that public opinion has been strongly favourable to Nihotupu and the gravitation scheme connected with it; and the scandalous trick revealed, by Mr Moriarty regarding the damming up of Low and Motion's stream during .his recent investigations will not tend to weaken this feeling. It would afford us very genuine satisfaction to find this dodge defeat the object which it was intended to secure. But we must not permit this ' feeling to create an unreasonable bias against the WcsternSprings. The duty of the Council in the interests of the public is to ascertain

the best source, apart from all other considerations ; and, aware of this damning up, and while professing to have checked it, Mi Moriarty gives a very strong prefei ence to the Western springs over .Nihotupu. Wo should not overlook the fact that in this opinion he supports Mr Bell, who came here a perfect stranger at the request of the Council to report specially on on this question. Mr Moriarty's reasons for his opinions are clear enough, and capable of being put to the test by any competent engineer. He says that the flow of water down the Nihotupu stream when he measured it was 1,216,000 gallons a day, which he considers "barely sufficieht'for present requirements, and must shortly fall shorb of those of the future." Against this he estimates the flow of the Western Springs 'at 2,361,312 gallons. The cost of the Nihotupu scheme he also considers to have been under-estimated. Another grave objection which he makes is the liability of the water to serious and irremediable fluctuations in. quality. .". I cannot but think," he says, "that the water.received off such a country, during freshets, or in wet seasons, must be charged to so dangerous an extent with vegetable impurities, as to be unfit for domestic use." His reasons against Nihotupu briefly summarized are, " the inadequacy of the supply from the, stream in ordinary seasons, the apparent impracticability of obtaining good sites for storage reservoirs, the liability to constant interruption of the supply through the bursting of pipes, the danger of the pipes becoming choked with sediment, and the great cost of the piping at present prices." yAny of.these," he remarks, "v. ouldbenearly sufficient (all certainly in ,my opinion are) to exclude the Nihotupu stream from favourable consideration as a source of m ater supply for this city." Of: the quality of the water obtainable from the Western Springs he speaks very favourably, but observes that " on this head reliance must be placed on the analyses of the water which have been, and will be made." The distance from the Springs to the reservoir—which he recommends should be placed on the Corporation allotments near the junction of Ponsonby Road and Karangahape Road—is two miles,'; and the pipe track along the line of road a good one, involving little claim for compensation. The quantity and purity of .the water, nearness to the city, "easy gradients for the pipe track, and the smaller cost of the wprks are such as lead Mr Moriarty to the conclusion.that "there can be no question" of this being the proper source from which to obtain Auckland's water supply. Upon the subject of compensation Mr Moriarty considers that £750 for a' Cornish boiler for Messrs Low and Motion, and an annual allowance of ££75 for working expenses, together with £500 for land taken, would be amply sufficient; and, including this amount, he estimates that a good supply of water for the present and future; wants- of Auckland cohld be, obtained from the Western Springs for £66,714. The interest oh this sum at five per cent, £3,336,, and the working expenses £3,639, would form a total annual charge of £7,075, which could be met.by a rate of Is 3d in the £ on the average rental of city property. , The above; then; as briefly, summarized as possible, is the substance of Mr Moriarty's recommendations, and :we cannot see any reason for believing that he has not discharged the trust reposed in him wijth fairness and impartiality. We have omitted reference, to ~the questions of the rival reservoirs at Ponsonby and Kyber Pass roads, upon which so much stress is laid by our contemporary the Cross this morning, for after all that is only a matter, of detail which m ould arise in the Nihotupu equally with the Western Springs scheme ; the main question iB the source. Nor is it fair to capitalize the whole of the working expenses, of ■ the Western Springs scheme in order to bring up its cost to an amount equal with that?of Nihotupu, for any water supply will involve heavy working expenses ; and although the additional expense of a pumping scheme may equal.the. expenditure in interest on a larger capital, ,it is. by no means an immaterial fact, particularly in the circumstances of Auckland, that the larger amount of capital has hot to be expended. We could not, under the law as it stands, carry out a scheme costing. £150,000, even if it were desirable to do so. Again, we conaider it unfair to censure Mr Moriarty for expressing an opinion on the cost of the J Nihotupu scheiiie without jnahmg surveys

and taking levels. It was never for a moment anticipated that he would engage on such a work, which could not be carried out accurately underfive hundred pounds or more. We presume Mr Moriarty accepted the surveys of other engineers as correct, and formed his opinion upon data so obtained, making his calculation at present prices of iron ; but as he has avoided giving even an approximate estimate of the cost of the Nihotupu scheme, condemning it on other grounds, he can hardly have laid himself open to blame on that score. We must admit-that some of the opinions now exexpressed are contrary to preconceived notions, but no one can read Mr Moriarty's report, unless , judgment is warped by prejudice, without admitting much of its force. It seems to us that the first duty; of the Council now is to make an independent: gauge of the flow of water at the Western; Springs in order to set at rest the suspicion of deception ; their second business is to ascertain what claims for com pensation are likely to arise, in order that their true position may be understood. This done we think they should come to a decided conclusion on the matter. It is childish in the extreme to employ engineers one after another and reject their reports as soon as received on mere unskilled opinion. While this question has been debated more property in • Auckland has been destroyed—mainly through the want of a good water supply—than would cover the whole cost of the proposed scheme. In the name of common sense we ask the Council to como to a decision at once and give us water.

[Since the above was in type we have received a letter endeavouring to explain the damming of the stream. We must say however that it is not satisfactory. If it was only what our correspondent alleges, why Mr Moriarty's reluctance yesterdoy to mention it ? and why did he not at once make the explanation now proffered by "Pro Bono Publico ?" It won't do. However, as we remarked above, that does not very materially affect the main issue.]