SYDENHAM MUNICIPAL ELECTION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LIX, Issue 6869, 6 March 1883, Page 5

SYDENHAM MUNICIPAL ELECTION.

Public Mbbtiko. A public meeting of the ratepayers of the Borough ol Sydenham was held in the Oddfellows' H»U, Colombo road, lost evening, in order to give the candidates for the vacant seat on the Boreugh Oouuoil an opportunity of expressing their opinions on municipal matters. About 160 persons wore present, and the ohftir was oooupied by his Worship tho Mayor, who read a requisition, signed by 80 ratepayers, requesting him to convene the meating. Ho also read ft letter from Mr N. K. Bowden, one of the candidates, expressing regret that* previous engagement pwvented him from being present, and requesting tho Mayor to apologue for his absence. The Chairman then called on the candidates to address the meeting. ... Mr Langdown said that he had been on tho Borough Council for five yea*, and on theHeathooteßoad Board for three years, and during that Urn* he had, ho hoped, done bis best to gain the confidence of tho ratapayers* Ho w»» one of thelargesfc ratepayers m tho Borough, and must therefore have* eon* siderablo stake in <*» •*"*•.■ « eleoted.bo would try and aefc to tb » future as he had done in the past H? wowld »<>* J*o» Wb , with wy mow remarks, but would be glad to answer any questions. . In answer to questions, Mr fcangdown •aid that bo was In fawn* p! o»u>neUlog Colombo street,« well u newly «U the other streets in the Borough. He thought* how. ew, that Gasworks road required to be j widened before it was ohftoneOed. Hi wu | decidedly in favour of estabUshlHg some system of fire prevention in the Borough. He oonsidered that » swimming bath lib the i school was most B « c " , *s r '. . . . . ~ ! Mr Lee said that he had not had the DrivUege of bating wrved the burgesses on, the Borough Council, but his career was sufficiently well known to enable them to judge of his <**^*%, H t &0 ? J * i £ • **•** saving would be effeotedin keeping the streets in repair if they were propsrly constructed at I firei/All road-makers in Oiaterbury, not in 1 iydenh»m done, bad taken the top soil from i the side of the road and pat it on the centre,! the mult being tn»t «» Wn* > we» always j either all mud or til dost. There had not been as vet, »f «ne» » <** Borough Oouneil who thoroughly undemtood the subject. Now, he ww »"» po»M»*o» of a system by

whioh the shingle spread oo the roads could b« made into m strong and durable a ratting m the t>eit broken metaL If electa lit would um this system for the benefit of to* ratepayer*. (Applause.) Under the artttent •yitem of management, the tide chaimeli were a constant source of expense, Ho leu than tii moo were employed In patting back during one part of the year what they took away during the other pert. There would bo no stench emitted from the channels eo long u there was running water in them, unless tbey were stirred. (Laughter.) He thought that if the sediment were leit undisturbed, so hum would result from it 10 long m thero was a runnings stream above, There* fore, the aide channels should neve* be touched. He wee, however, in favour of making a permanent job of putting in concrete channels. These would cost on the ESS 0 * • 3 1. ,t6m » he eitimated, £7 a chain, or £6W a mile. Ho would ehow them how a considerable laving could be effeoted. For instance, do timber need be need, and that would lave £64 a mile. Ihe labour requited now coifc tbe ratepayere £% 8i per chain. By the eyitom he would initiate the work would be done in two-thirds the time, and so •ave a third of the cost. The total cost of laying down channelling by hie eyitom would bo £<W2 1 eo that aix miles could be made for leie than the ooit of five. He would noli, of course, make all the details of his plan public, for if be was rejected, he was not going to let another man work on bis brains. Ho had been the first man, he believed, to bring before the publio the question of a water■apply. That was in 1864, when he was a candidate for the City Council. He was pooh-poohed at, but the importance of the water-supply question had been acknowledged since. Out of all those who had attempted to deal with the matter, some had not gone far enough and the others had gone too far. This was because they were not engineer! by nature. Now, 16 years ago he had pridiotcd that the protective works then erected at the Waimakariri would be destroyed by the first fresh, and to it came to pass. (Applause.) Ihe road had to be abandoned altogether, so they would see the advantage of elootins a man who possessed some practical knowledge. He considered that Sydenham had oxoept'onal advantages for getting a water supply) but he was not going to give details of his reasons, as he objected to other men working with hie brains. It would be usoleis to get a Sire Brigade uolese they had a watsr supply, and he considered that the partite most benefited—the Insurance Companion—should bear a large proportion of the cost. (Applause.) In answer to questions, Mr Lee said that if thti Borough had a water supply, it would bo easy enough to fill a hole large enough for a iwiinmiog bath. He would treat shingle ii such n manner that in six days it would form a hard, durable coating for footpaths. The eost would, in the long ran, be much less than that of asphalt. He would nst giro one locality e preference to another in regard to side channelling, but where the work should commence, and where it should finish, should be left to the discretion of the members of the Council. He thought Colombo street, aa being the principal business thoroughfare of Sydenham, ai well aa the most thickly populated street, had a special claim to be channelled. By doing away with the present " tin pot" system of cleaning the channels about £4OO a year would be saved. This, supplemented by grants from the general Borough funds, would enable two or three miles of channelling to be constructed every year. He did not think that new Borough offices should be built unless the Borough could afford to pay for them. He thought the Council should take steps to have the fences whioh had been erected across the road reserves on the banks of the Heathoote removed. He was in favour of adopting the ward system. Some further questions having been asked and answered, the meeting concluded with a rote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding, moved by Mr Lee, and seconded by Mr LangdOWn.