A CHRISTCHURCH COMEDY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 165, 6 April 1908, Page 6

A CHRISTCHURCH COMEDY.

; 9 —~—— : :: MUNICIPAL "STILL." !, ■ (BT 'I'ELEGBAPH. —SPECIAL COEIIESPONDENT.) . Christchurch, April 5. Tlio Customs office has seriously hurt the feelings of the Mayor and Town Clork. For the purpose of obtaining distilled water for use .in the storago batteries at ! tho destructor, a still is used. A feiv days ago, says . tho " Times," the Customs Department wrote stating that the Council must take out' a • license for the use of the still, and that two sureties must be. provided in bonds of £500 each that the still, would not be. used illicitly. Regarding the municipal good name as the best security possible, the Town Clerk, suspected some flippancy, audi wrote asking if tho demand was seriously intended. Ho,received a reply:confirming the original letter, — and stating that; the license and the sureties were absolutely/necessary. : ~ > A reporter' vreut rouud't-o see the alleged "still," which,, lie was told, had been inspected by an officer, of the Customs .Depart-: , ment., A " still." in, its simplest form, consists of .a kettle and,a cooling apparatus. In. this, case the kett]e ; is one of the . big steamboilers, a pipe, being taken to a convenient comer of the builduig" liigli over the floor, where the . rubbish ,is dumped to be fed tothe dostructor. Here, on a little .brackot, has been placed a cistern, originally,a sanitary pan,, and inside that there is a roughly- ! made coil of lead piping through which the' ;. steam passes. The cistern; is kept full of cold water, and the condensed steam tricklca from the end of tho , . The engineer who: showed' it to the' reporter said that lie. really'did not ; tliinly he, or anyone else, could mrike whisky in the... I still—at all events, not very good whisky. 7 '