ONSLOW BOROUGH.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 484, 17 April 1909, Page 12

ONSLOW BOROUGH.

';'•; ■:;. loan ! : -. ■ '■.T]ta-Poll in'.connection- with the. raisino of £19, 100 for waterworks, £1100 for .drainage, and.£looo for a hall in the borough of Onslow will_be held on Wednesday. In an interview with a Dominion reporter yestorday, the Mayor (Mr,; J. G. Harkness) made an interesting statement in explanation of the proposals. ".- . ;.-' -~'..; K - •. ';-In reference; to,'the:water! scheme, he said he. thought the ratepayers wero not looking at the matter fairly, tut were afraid of heavy rates, and thought that the localities to be bonehted wore not" sufficiently populated. His answer to that was that probably within the next fomv years the, houses to be' served in the special area would be'doubled. If they increased by 150 during, that period, oh an average it would cost the ratepayers £20 pach to_put: up tank's, etc., as receptacles for. retaining rain water. \, This would equal an expenditure of £3000, which must in the course of. four.or five.years become useless.' Iherefore, his. contention was that the interest on this outlay at' 6 per cent, would probably go.a,lone'way towards paying tho ■water-rate. Anotherpbint that was overlooked_was that while'tho council was only proposing to borrow;:£l9,7oo.to eventually, complete the whole scheme, for the present the council, only required half';.' that sum. Ihorerore, tho rate would be oorrespondinHy reduced for the water area. He had been condemned because, when the loan for the area was carried in February, 1908, he stated there would be no rate for water for few years. The Mayor still maintained .that that statement >was correct, even if the loan is approved/for the simpie that before plans and specifications could be prepared for the work another nine months would elapse. : ' In connection with drainage, Mr. Harkness remarked that it had • been suggested by some that the council should have considered a scheme for 'the removal of nightsoil, but he would point out that the council, previous to his taking office as Mavor, two years ago,' took three years in considering this very proposal, and called for tenders, the lowest or which nmepenco per house per week. This would bo equal to £1.195. per year, but ho believed that by. law only 14s. 6d. per house could be charged for this service. Iherefore the difference would have had to be. paid out of district fund, which, of. course, would have been an additional burden on the ratepayers, and would reduce considerably tho efficiency of the general rate. He contended that in the propsed scheme it would not cost more than £119s. Moreover, £52 a rear would havo been required.for a 'depot. 'The present system makes provision not only for tho removal of nightsoil, but all from the houses. At present, this is tho great trouble to be contended with in many parts of the borough, where water from the housos flows on to the streets.-