THE Evening Star. FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1869.

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 1969, 27 August 1869, Page 2

THE Evening Star. FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1869.

Now that attention has been turned to the necessity for draining Dunedin, the subject must not be allowed to rest. To attempt to drain it effectually is scarcely within the present means of the Corporation. But much may be done to forward the work, and to prevent the evils that have a tendency to result from inattention to sanitary laws. The letters from numerous inhabitants of the City that have appeared in the newspapers, shew that there are many places that may be considered nurseries

for death in different parts of the town and neighborhood. Swamps, where vegetable and animal x’efuse accumulates, rots and decays,—these are hotbeds of disease, spreading miasma over the district, and visiting the consequences of neglect upon all classes, rich and poor. Although something has been done since the report of the Sanitary Commission in 1865, no energetic action on an extended scale has been entered upon. It seems to be the fate of enquiries of that character to end with themselves. Painstaking as were the Commissioners, and exhaustive as was their report, those who now rule the destinies of the City, have mounted another hobby, and past labors seem in danger of being forgotten. But drainage is of the highest importance. It acts beneficially upon both the material and moral welfare of the City. There is not an old resident of Dunedin who has not suffered in one form or other from defective drainage. If blessed with a frame so robust as to have withstood the influence of the subtle poisons that have from time to time assailed his health, he has had to mourn the loss of relatives or friends, who have been attacked by zymotic diseases and died. If he himself has not had to incur the expense of professional assistance to cure sickness, he has seen his friends subjected to heavy and unavoidable charges for medical attendance, has watched them in their weary wasting and slow recovery, and knows that any tax for drainage would be cheap, compared with the loss of wealth through enforced idleness and the positive outlay incurred to restore health. But the worst feature in procrastinating |the adoption of measures after full enquiry is, that all the information so elaborately gathered on the subject is likely to be forgotten. It would therefore be an advantageous arrangement if some of our City Council would make this subject a specialty, and, without neglecting due attention to other duties, would master each detail of the drainage question. This seems the more necessary, as specious suggestions crop up from time to time that are exhaustively discussed in the Sanatory Report. By such a plan only can so important a subject be prosecuted to a satisfactory termination in an elective body, the members of which are liable to be changed in the course of short periods. The Committee appointed for the purpose of considering the drainage question, have a most onerous duty to perform, An error in judgment, if adopted as the basis of future action might lead to most disastrous consequences. Should the gas works prove a failure, the loss may be calculated within a few thousands, Should a road cost a few hundreds more than the estimate, the result is only the postponement of the formation of another fora few months. But if a mistake be made in the sanitary regulations of the City none can foresee the consequences. The subject is as pressing in urgency now as in 18Go. Notwithstanding the water supply, it is not so extensively available for sanitary purposes as was anticipated, and although this will be to a great extent remedied as the means of spreading the supply increase, much has got to be done in utilizing it. So long as there are swamps undrained, cesspools poisoning the soil, vegetable and animal refuse fermenting, putrefying, and poisoning the air, there is a positive invitation to contagious diseases to settle amongst us. Melbourne has had to contend with similar difficulties, and has disregarded similar warnings. In many respects the sanitary advantages of Melbourne are superior to those of Dunedin. Its streets are wider, its soil drier, and the country presents but few impediments to the free progress of wind. But drainage has been its difficulty, and small-pox has apparently taken root there. Its presence here must be guarded against. It may not be a disease induced by want of drainage, but there is this peculiarity attending living in disregard of sanitary laws : the human constitution becomes predisposed to disease, and less able to resist when attacked. To live in a polluted atmosphere is to meet death halfway.