The Evening Star MONDAY, MARCH 29, 1920.

Evening Star, Issue 17313, 29 March 1920, Page 4

The Evening Star MONDAY, MARCH 29, 1920.

The reply of Mr M'Curdie, the City En- .„ : gineer, to strictures Water Supply, passed by us on the management of the Silverstream scheme, appeared in Saturday's issue. The first point of importance is the use made of the Flagstaff Creek water. We pointed out that only a little of this was diverted into the race, most of the water .-side-stepping the amateurish means , adopted to impound it and lead it into the race. Mr M'Curdie does not deny the : attempt to use this feeder; yet he says that Dr Champtaloup's last report on it describes it as "grossly polluted." Thus water known to be grossly polluted is being deliberately put into the southern reservoir! The Mayor and some councillors visited the district yesterday, and declared (so it is stated) that a large number of animals are polluting the catchment of Flagstaff Creek. Again municipal authority gives itself away. This most valuable part of the catchment area of the Silverstream gathering ground has been neglected. Flagstaff Creek formed part of the original scheme. Mr W. N. Blair mentions it frequently in his reports. In that of April 27, 1880, Mr Blair says (p. 2): " There is some doubt as to the character of the masonry in the Flagstaff Creek weir, and I am reporting ■pecially on the subject." In his 1877 report he gives its gathering ground as 1,100 acres, or the fourth largest in this ' ■ «cheme. The City Corporation in the .' past have betrayed their trust in allowing pollution to take place in what should - have been kept inviolate as a water re- ;■' -■* rv *- Axe they now keeping faith with t: the public in making use, to however y email a degree, of water which, by their V" -.- been allowed to become contaminatedt

Other polnta raised by Mr M'Curdle In his letter require little more in the way of answer than he himself has given them in stating them. He refers to the trouble j given by Silverstream race, chiefly by [crabs. Mr Blair, reporting in 1880 on jthe progress of the construction of the works (the race evidently being completed or nearly so by then) wrote: " The general setting out of the race is very good. • t . Taking it all through, the ground has been remarkably favorable to the works, and the ' difficulties' met with can scarcely be classed as such. They are in reality much less than is usual in similar undertakings." They appear, however, to have developed since to such an extent as to be beyond the corporation 1 * power of maintenance. During all the forty years since the race was constructed no attempt has been made to solve the difficulty by lining or pitching it, as Mr Blair suggested might be done when City finances permitted.

The City Engineer gets over the needless waste at the Silverstream Intake by stating that the Powder Creek pumps, some miles lower down, " dries the creek." "We pointed this out ourselves, and at th« same time asked if it were' sound engineering practice to resort to pumping when the same result might have been got by gravitation. The City Engineer also admits, that the silting up of the intake consumes no water. We did not allege that it did ; we merely quoted the fact as one more instance of the laissez fair policy from which the Silverstream scheme suffers. But for that policy there would have been no need to talk of resort to Lee Stream. We have indicated that water is wasted at intakes and in transit after being impounded. As to storage when it reaches the southern reservoir, we desire to mention that Mr Bkir, on pnge 3 of his 1880 report, states: " The pnddlo wall in the new service reservoir has been made sufficiently thick to serve a dam twice the size, in case the necessity for building it should arise." The southern reservoir, which will hold 20,000,000 gallons, is a service reservoir merely. It is not a- storage reservoir, and no attempt has been made to make it one. The matter has been mentioned and ridiculed, although the original consulting engineer took its feasibility for granted.

Finally, there is the matter of Lee Stream. Without question, it has a fine perennial flow. Probably its dry-weather flow never falls below 4,000,000 gallons a day. The same party who visited Silverstream on Thursday visited Lee Stream on Saturday, striking it at its intersection with the Outram-Middlemarch Toad, one of the highways to • Central Otago. An ample volume -was flowing, and, as there has been no rain for some time, the water was clear and limpid. It is not always so, for the peaty nature of part of its watershed gives it a distinctly chocolate hue after rain. The City Council circular of March 15 gives the caatchment area as 56,850 acres, or about 90 square miles. We were under the impression that it was larger, hut let that pass. This gathering ground is situated at the rear of the Maungatua Range. The Lee takes its rise in the range of hills immediately behind Waipori township, and runs a course of some 25 miles before joining the Taieri some five miles above. Out ram. The rock formation of the watershed is mica schist, and the Boil a mixture of clay and schist gravel, It is almost entirely bare tussock-clad land, cut up into small sheep runs. It runs about a sheep to acres, so there may possibly be 20,000 sheep upon it. That is -the point. It is settled country. The City Corporation possess the water rights for power purposes, but not for domestic purposes. How much is it going to cost to make these 90 square miles safe and a suitable catchment area for a pure water supply? As one gentleman tersely put it on getting a birds-eye view of the country from a vantage point: "It would be a jolly fine paddock for the Dunedin lawyers." What he meant was that compensation cases would mean almost endless litigation. Dr Gordon Macdoiuld, in his compact brochure on Dunedin's water supply some two years ago, pointed out that oat a.nd turnip-growing for stock purposes would probably be common over a large part of it in the near future. He also says: '"Two or three houses and farm steadings are built on the banks of the main stream, so that steps must be taken to prevent sewage from those houses entering the water. That sewage from them enters the stream is abundantly proven in the analysis made by Prof. Champtaloup."' Had the Dunedin Corporation, before constructing the Silverstream and other works, gone to Lee Stream for a supply in the days before the catchment area was settled, and therefore contaminated, the proposition would have been very different from what it is now.

It is the duty of every ratepayer to vote to-morrow, and in view of all that has come to our knowledge we feel on firm ground in advising them to reject the proposal.

Our readers are reminded that the poll will be taken to-morrow between the customary hours, and we strongly advise all ratepayers to make a point of recording their votes. This is not a time for those whose interests are vitally affected to show themselves apathetic.

A stop-work meeting of waterside workers all over New Zealand will be held at 8 a.m. to-morrow for the purpose of considering the terms of the agreement recently arrived at by the national conference held at Wellington. The various delegates will submit their reports of the conference to their respective 'unions, and the unions will decide on the question of taking a secret ballot regarding accepting the employers' offer of increase in wages. The local men will probably be in session for an hour or two, but work will be Tesumed on the waterfront before noon to-morrow.

There is a big demand for small vessels in all parts of New Zealand at the present time, and manufacturers in every centre are making inquiries in the south as well as in Australia with a view to buying. This is particularly tine of Auckland, because of the ever-in-creasing demand for auxiliary craft for the interisland trade. The class of vessel required by those connected with the ship-* ping industry are auxiliary schooners and steamers from 60 to 150 tons register; but very few ;\re offering. Many vessels of all sizes are being constructed! in the Auckland shipyards, but it will bo some time beforo these are ready for sea, owing to the delay occasioned in securing the necessary machinery from England. a Dunedin merchant, who has just returned from a business visit to the North, informed a- ' Star' reporter to-day that many inquiries were made during his stay in Auckland regarding, the disposal of two vessels owned by his firm. One of these vessels was recently sold to a well-known New Zealand firm at a highly satisfactory figure, but there is very little prospect of tho other being gold until the present owners can secure a much larger one to take her place. One of the chief troubles of shipping firms at present is the problem of coastal transport, and there is a fortune to be made in the sale of suitable small tonnage.

It is understood that the complete personnel of the Royal Commission on Land Tenures will shortly ho announced. This Commission is the outcome of repeated requests by the Otago Expansion League and the Chamber of Commerce, and was first proposed for the purpose of inquiring into the best methods of increasing the productiveness of Otago Central lands. The oi'der of reference may ultimately be found to include South Canterbury, and

the Commission will likely consist of Mr B. T. Sadd, Dr Cockayne, Mr Geo. Pinkney (Waikaia), Mr R, Scott (Kyebura), Mr Chas. Todd, and two other representative men.

With the additional increase approved of by the Wellington Hospital.and Charitable Aid Board last week, the salaries and wages of the hospital staff from the year ended March, 1914, to date, have beea increased by over 100 per cent. The increase in 1920-21 pay roll amounts to £5,847, or an increase of 19.29 per cent. over the rates ruling in 1919-20. This sum is' distributed as follows:—Medical superintendent, matron, nursing staff, dental department, and dispensary, £3,232; porters, etc., £333; house steward and clerical, £65: engineer and outdoor staff. £1,170; maids. £466; laundry, £376; head office, public health, and district nurse, £115; charitable aid an& Ohiro Home, £3O; total, £5,847. A strange 6ight was to be seen last week between Methven and Tlakaia—a railway engine without coal. The driver had evidently under-estimated his stock, and the train came to a standstill. Hurried calls were made on threshing plants working in the vicinity, and a r ew bage were secured, sufficient to enablo the train- to reach a caal depot. The same day near Dromore an engine of a mixed train completely broke down through leaking tubes, and an engine had to be sent to the rescue from Ashburton.

A case was recently brought under the notice of a Wellington iournal in which a resident purchased an article of furniture, to find attached theieto the Hew Zealand manufacturer's price docket (per dozen). Dividing the amount by 12, he found that the manufacturer's price worked out at 6s 9d each. The price paid by the Wellington resident, however, was 265. The following day a friend purchased a similar article, but the pi'ice had advanced to 28s 6d. In the. course of his remarks at the annual meeting of the Otago Rugby Union on Saturday evening the president" (Mr H. Harrisl made reference to the agitation which had been raised in Auckland to have certain alterations made in the laws of the game, and detailed the decisions that had been cojue to at the conference of delegates from New Zealand, New South Wales, and Queensland, when the various suggested alterations had been fully considered. Delegates from South Africa had been invited to attend the conference at Sydney, but sufficient time was not given to permit them to be present. It had been decided that tho New Zealand delegates to the conference were to oppose aiiything that might bring about secession from the English Union. The suggested alterations, as adopted by the conference, had been forwarded to the English Union] with a request that they should be embodied in the laws of the game. The conference had further decided that, if the English Union would not agree to adopt the alterations, that body should give New Zealand and Australia, permission to embody them in their laws of the game. The suggested alterations had not vet been considered by the governing body "in England. Another suggestion made at tne Sydney conference was that an international hoard should be established, on which New Zealand. Xew South Wales, and Queensland should be given direct representation. At the present time these three southern unions had but •one representative on the International Board. It was the International Board who would have the power to make the alterations, and the southern unions would be able to take part with greater weight in discussimr the proposed alterations if thev could get a larger representation. The speaker concluded by stating that it was npw practically decided that a team from South Africa would visit New Zealand in 1921. A Sydney cable states that advices have heeu received of a hurricane at the Lovalty Islands on February 11-12, which caused extensive damage to the cocoanut plantations.

It is understood that the question of appointing Mr W. H. MacKenzie tramways manager will come up for consideration "at Wednesday night's meeting of tho CityCouncil. Mr MacKenzie has been acting m the position for some considerable time past.

A boy aged 14-jt years was charged in the Juvenile Court this morning with.stealing £3 7s 6d and £1 in money, the property of Jane Neil. He pleaded guiltv. The senior sergeant said that accused entered the complainant's house by the bathroom window on two occasions, and stole the money from a bedroom. The lad said he spent the money on lollies and "pictures." He treated a number of other boys. The Magistrate ordered the lad to come up for sentence if called upon, a condition being that he was placed under the control of the Rev.' Mr Axelsen and the father made good the money stolon. The lad waa also ordered to be soundly thrashed.

Ihe Japanese are ever on the look-out for new lines of trade, and ready to adopt any fresh methods to extend their business. We were shown to-day a sample of a new silk that they are putting on the market. Looked at casually, it seems to be a rather heavy silk of "a good make. Examined closely, it is seen that the warp is of pure silk, and the weft of paper made in imitation of cotton thread. Silk with a cotton weft is known to the trade; it is made in England and in France. The introduction of paper for cotton is something quite new. In normal times this material would be cheaper than the regular trade article, but it is not now put forward as a cheap line. Our New Zealand merchants, we are told, are not likelv to take it at any price. But one cannot help being struck with the ingenuity that results in paper being so finely and toughly drawn as to resemble cotton."

At the end of July of last year we published two lengthy judgments' of our Court of Appeal who, by a majority, decided that that part of our Crimes Act which deals with bigamy was ultra vires as being beyond the power of our Legislative to exact. The decision of the majority of our judges was based on the case of M'Leod v. the Attorney-General of New South Wales, which, on appeal to the Privy Council, the latter held that the sentence passed on a person convicted of bigamy outside of the State to be bad in law. In a recent issue of the ' Law Times' (London), there appeared a thoughtful article, in which the writer hints that if the point is again referred Home there is a prospct of a different view being taken by the English Law Lords. Thus the writer: "The New Zealand case thus raises actually the point put hypothetically in Macleod v. the AttorneyGeneral as to the effect of an oversea Legislature purporting to make bigamy abroad an offence triable in the overseas Courts. Since this was not the actual point decided by the Privy Council, it seems possible that the Judicial Committee on some future occasion might consider it open to review. If Macleod v. the Attorney-General is to remain authoritative, legislation by "the Imperial Parliament would seem to be desirable, so that overseas Courts could at least have jurisdication to try cases of bigamy and similar offences where these offences are committed abroad by persons domiciled or resident within the territorial jurisdiction of tho Court." Although tho weather was threatening, there was a large attendance at the openair concert given by the St. Kilda Band m tho Gardens yesterday afternoon. The programme, which was carefully arranged, included the following: —March, _* Punchinello '; test selections, ' Roberto il Diavolo ' and Wagner's works ; selection, 'La Vestale'; contest selection, ' Star of the North' and 'March Homeward.' Tho playing of the various items was up to the band's usual high standard, and afforded much pleasure to those present. Progress and expansion. leagues are tho order of the day. Westland and Grey have decided to follow the lead which was first set by Ofcago and followed in turn by Southland, South Canterbury, and Canterbury. The secretary of the Canterbury Progress League has accepted an invitation to organise a Progress League on the Coast.

Though 'convicted and discharged according to the summary treatment of first offenders, a recent delinquent for drunkenness in Auckland had no fewer than 85 previous convictions. Owing to the fact that none of them had been recorded within the last six: months, he was technically a first offender, and benefited accord"sto - —-•■-■

There will bo no publication of the Evening Star' on Good Friday.

New season'B photogrophio goods; excellent stock now arriving. Oameraa from 6s. Send ypur order early to B. J. Gill, 11 and 13 Frederick street, Dunedin. 'Phono 1.144 -[Advt.j Use the Brandy your men enjoved in France—MarteH's.—[Advt.] A tailoring firm whose goods give service and satisfaction, and hate acme so for man's years past: Ansell and Co., Octagon.— [Advt] Watson's No. 10 is a little dearer than most whiskies, but i 3 worth the money!— [Advt.] Washboard slavery scientifically abolished, thanks to "No Rubbing" Laundry Help. Is packet does seven weekly washians. A. V. Thompson.—[Advt."] Our Sal© proved such an attraction that we were unablo to serve all our customers on Friday night, so we have decided to continue it until Easter. Kusbatch, jewellers.—[Advt.] " White Hciue Dollie.;' Hospital."—Variety prams, tricycles, locking horses, glass, china, hasdware. Todd's, next Plaza.—[Advt.] Blended correctly, aged correctly—Watson's No. 10 Whisky, clean, 60ft, mellow.— [Advt.] Use the Brandy your men enjoyed in France—Kartell's.—[Advt.] The most popular Hotel in TJun-ediu is the City Hotel. High-class accommodation, liquors par excellence; in fact, everything is of the best.—[Advt.]