The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14. 1917

Gisborne Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4473, 14 February 1917, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14. 1917

It will be observed that the Borough Council has at last definitely decided t o place before the ratepayers a loan proposal on the issue that £50,000 be borrowed for the purposes of storm-water drainage. During the discussion at last night’s meeting of the Council the project met with general support, but the point arose that, in view of the financial extent of the undertaking, it would be wise if the Mayor were to prepare a satement for publication on the whole position. Apparently this suggestion was the sequel to various statements that the ratepayers might refuse to approve the loan simply on the ground that, already, the Borough rates are stiff enough. It is, unhappily, quite truo that the ratepayers of this town are. to-day, heavily rated j but for this unfortunate state of affairs they have only themselves u> blame. Had less haste been shown in J the past in rushing into some of the expensive schemes which have been undertaken, the ratepayers would, of course, now not have such a heavy burden of taxation to bear. But in this Dominion far too many local bouies have had to . pay very dearly for their experience, tln this town, for instance, the last payment in connection with the Gentle Annie proposition is still a long way off, although very little metal of any real value was ever obtained there, and there is no prospect of further supplies of any worth being secured from that quarter. Then, again,, the so-called “toy” tramway system which was installed in this town some few years back continues to prove a very expensive luxury, and, for the limited amount of advantage that has so far accrued, it

The Storm-water Drainage Proposal.

it is now only too evident that it would have saved the ratepayers some thousands of pounds under this heading alone if the scheme had been shelved in the meantime. Among later projects that have been put in hand only one promises well at' the present time —the electrical scheme. In connection with the storm-water drajnage proposal it is safe to say that, if this particular work had been incorporated with the sewerage scheme, money would have been saved to the ratepayers of this borough in the long run. We can only trust that the lessons of the past will not be forgotten when huge schemes are proposed in the future. The situation in regaid to the storm-water drainage project is very simple. It is not a “luxury’ ; it is a straight-out “necessity.” A very plain hint has been thrown out by the Health Department that if the work is not carried out many ratepayers will find that their residences will be condemned. In the circumstances the ratepayers would be foolish to refuse to sanction the proposed loan as the matter bears on the health of the community. Sooner or later, too, the “City Fathers” must arrange lor a scheme providing for the establishment of an up-to-date destructor. What a great*pity it is that the Coun- | cil cannot see its way clear to go into this question, too, at the present juncture ? It must, of course, be borne in mind that this is war time and the civic authorities must adopt a policy of “go slow” in connection with new works of all kinds. But no matter if the rates at present be fairly stiff, any undertaking such as the stormwater drainage project cannot be shelved, for the maintenance of the good health of the community is a question of extreme urgency. CWe do not think that the Mayor will have any difficulty in arousing sufficient favorable interest in this particular and very important proposal to ensure the success of the forthcoming loaji issue.