WATER AND DRAINAGE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 141, 17 June 1913, Page 5

WATER AND DRAINAGE.

* DISCUSSION OF THE SCHEME. PUBLIC MEETING. A public meeting convened by the Borough Council was held in the Town Hall last night for the discussion of the water-supply and drainage scheme. It was attended hj about 400 people. His Worship the Mayor (Mr E. S. Parker) presided, and the majority of the Boro-ugh Couiuallors occupied seats on the platform. The proceedings., which commenced at 8 o'clock and were protracted till 11.15, did not at any time lack animatio'm, and in their later stages were extremely lively,, occasionally becoming .uproarious. Interjections were frequent throughout, and towards the end a section of the audience displayed a. noisy mood, and indulged in a good deal of pleasantry at the expense of the speakers, some of whom ! were subjected to the embarrassing j .ordeal of being "counted out" in ring- : side fashion. Finally an exciting incident occurred, a Councillor taking vigorous exception to a statement made by an ex-Councillor and threatening him with physical castigation. The Mayor, in opening/the meeting, explained' that the ratepayers were ■being invited to say on Wednesday whether—in view of the higher rate of interest charged "by the State- ' Guaranteed Advances Office, and the | exclusion of the suburbs of Islington and Riversclale from the scope of the scheme —they desired the Council to '.proceed with or abandon the project of providing the town with a watersupply and drainage system by means of a pumping plant drawing the water 'from Batty's Creek, Springlands. The discussion _ that_ followed was in the main a reiteration and amplification of the controversial matter that has already been published in these columns in the form of reports of the Borough Council's proceedings, public meetings, and correspondence. In the first"place the Town Clerk, at the request of the Mayor, read a police report on a number of statements published by "Councillor Carr with regard to the? Fire Brigade's plant. The Mayor said that he had considered the charges made by 'Councillor Carr to be so serious that he had referred them to the police. In this report Constable Cummings said that he had made inquiries, and couldl not find that there had been any wrongful interference with or malicious da.Tr"<?e to the Brigade's property. ■ With reference to the complaint that some of the hose was found at a fire in November, 1911, to have been burned with acid, the trouhle was in all probability due to the fact that the hose came into contact with, or was affected by the fumes of, the sulphuric acid used to charge the chemical engine. At-a later period the store of acid was removed from the engine-shed and after that removal no trouble in this respect was experienced. The same remarks applied to the burning of a rein. Regarding the reduction of the water pressure on the occasion of a fire in January, 1913, ' there was no doubt that some of the valves not under the direct control of the captain were opened. The pin found to be missing from the handle of' the boiler during a fire that occurred in February, 1913, had been in use for 15 years, and probably it fell out during the progress of the engine to the fire. _ As for the stoking bars that were missed from the engine, those who took them out to clean overlooked the work of replacing them. On several occasions the Brigade was handicapped by the crossing of the hose with motor-cars, but this was thoughtlessness on the part of the drivers of the cars. Sergeant Hansen, in an accompanying letter, expressed his opinion "that the. alleged offences were ptirely accidental, and in no way ■wilful or malicious.

During the reading, of the report Captain Falconer wanted to know what this had to' do with the real question at issue, and the> Mayor replied that Councillor Carr's allega- i tions were made in that connection, and could not be allowed to remain uninvestigated. The Mayor apologised for the absence of Councillor Eccles,, who, was incapacitated by an attack of influenza. He then called on Council- t lor, BmJh, as Chairman of the Water- '. Supply and Drainage Committee. _ i Councillor Birch briefly explained the pumping scheme, which., he was convinced, was the best on© available. The gravitation system was the best one in itself, but was impracticable financially. # He stated that if the present project was turned down the borough would in 'all probability have to adopt a sealed-pan system, which would cost anything from £1000 to £1800 ncr annum. Mr C. Patchett put to Councillor Birch 'a series of 'questions designed to show that no serious epidemic had occurred locally during the last 30 years, that the death-rate in Blenheim compared favorably with the records of other towns, that the artesian water of the town was of superior quality, and that the sanitary conditions as a who 7e were far from abnormal.

After some desultory, observations from the body of the hall, Councillor Graham Griffiths addressed the gathering at considerable length, traversing the various pros and cons and concluding by strongly urging the ratepayers to adopt the scheme in the interests of progress, health, fire-prevention, and general convenience. A water and sewerage system would more than repay itself by the protection it would give to property all over the borough from fire and the saving it would effect in regard to the removal of night-soil. Only 85 houses out of the 1100 in the

"borough would not be connected with the system. Mr J. J- Gerry: Where do you get • your 1 4-5 d rate? : Isn't the security ': rate 3 l-16d? - j Councillor Griffiths said that cvi- ] dently Mr Corry did not understand > i the position. (Laughter). He pro- [ I ceeded to explain his calculations of ■ j the rate required to carry the scheme > | through. '! Mr P. Meehan: Is s it not a fact that i all the three engineers engaged dis- ! agreed as to the details ? :j Councillor Griffiths: What I said > was that all agreed as to the impracti- ; cability of getting a sewerage scheme 1j by gravitation. >| Mr J. B. Rayner remarked that ■ | Councillor Griffiths?s calculation as to » j the average payment imposed on ■ j householders for the scheme "being 30s ! j did not tally with.the estimate of the !: annual cost of £4800. There were 11100 houses, and a little arithmetic • ! would show' that Councillor Griffiths ■ j was about £3000 short. i Councillor Griffiths said that he '■ i was referring, to the small house- ! holders as a body. The owners of un--1 occupied land—such as Mr ■ Bayner s i own extensive paddocks—would be I called on to make up the balance. (Laughter). ... IMr Rayner said that his question I had not been answered. . One questioner asked if the Government did not have the power to alter and increase the rate of interest from Councillor Griffiths replied that the rate, of interest would be fixed if the j Council took the loan money up m ! two years—as it would do. { Captain Falconer said he was_ sorry !to hear the Mayor say that he did not I care whether the ratepayers voted, for ] the scheme or not—the Council would j carry it out. _ The Mayor said be did not make ■ any such utterance. What he said I was that the result of the forthcomi ing poll was not legally binding. The | Council would respect the wishes of I the ratepayers. ; Interjections following, the Mayor said that Mr Robert ' McCallum had frequently made interruptions at these meetings. He invited him to come on the stage. I Captain Falconer... a.sked whether i the Council had safeguarded itself in i regard to the water! rights possessed '> by those interested, in Batty's Creek, ior whether the cost of the scheme was i likely to be increased in this connection He understoodjbat Mr Parker I himself had a claim. Mr Parker Would ! not always be Mayor. , (Laughter) : Moreover, the spring might diminish: ''while the demand .on it might.in- ' crease in future years on account or ; : the growth of. the population. y , .- i The Mayor explained that only j three parties, including himself, pos- ■ j rased water rights. The scheme' } would draw only about onotwelttb ot ' the capacity of the creek, and he did : : not anticipate that a«v substantial •'amount of compensation^ it any, | I would have to be -paid.- ' • j ! A Voice: You might sell your ! '"^Kie Mayor said that claims would ' have to be made within two years or i they would have no legal standing. j Mr Robert McCallum addressed the ; meeting * He said that faith was not \ \ being "kept with the ratepayers i Originally they were told that a good ! scheme would cost £65,000. Now the jestimate had crept up 'to £'2,000. • Councillor A. Curry -asked the rate- ! ! payers, and especially the workers—-' | who had only their two hands to de- ; ! r>end upon—to look i.ahead; lhe ; 1 burden of the rates ha*--been steadily •! ■I increasing, and the i; tendency was still ; upwards. The general rate repre- , sented about £4000, .the river rates ■ £1400. and the water ...and <*™™^ rate £4800—a total of .about £10,000 I —to say nothing of the ( undertaknig ito build a new hospital. His feeling I was that the town had not developed to the stage at which the big liability now contemplated would be justified. What he said to his : fellow-workers was: "Consider the: matter very ! cautiously ;if you think'you. can afford it have it, and if you don't think so, push it on one side." , Mr R. Rhodes said that he; was one of the fellow-workers. ,He would sooner pay an extra Is a week and save himself and bis wife the drudgery of dragging water across the back-yard. . : Mr Robert Allan, with dharacteristic emphasis, condemned the pumping scheme as unreliable, .out-of-date m principle, and much more costly pea-. year than its supporters were ; endeavoring to persuade.the ratepayers jit would be. •., • . ' ) Councillor Griffiths said that m rej gard to modern methods and cost he ! was quite content to be guided by ; Mr : jJ. Sturrock, the engineer. ■ IMr J. W. Humphreys,. describing j himself as a fair specimen of the small i ratepayer, expressed the conviction that it would be a great /pity to reject i the scheme. IMr P. Meehan rallied the Council- ' lors advocating the project on their . hesitancy in addressine; the meeting, j j Cries .ascended for Councillors Carr and Cooke. ■ j The Mayor said that the meeting . ' was convened by the Council as a ■ j whole. Proceeding to express his own , ; views, he strongly advised the rate- | ■ payer's to take this opportunity of bringing the town up-to-date. If they postponed what must be adopted . sonic time or other they would have to pay the engineer about £600 com-, pensation, have to pay. more for' the j loan money in the end, and lose in; other respects. The post of money land material, wages, etc.,:'was going ( up. The opponents of the scheme , \ were inconsistent. Councillor Patchett ,' opposed this means of protecting the ■ | borough from fire, and yet asked for tan expenditure of £3000 on new mains j l and other facilities. Councillor Carr ' said that it took' about 20 people to ; ' look after 12 patients in the hospital j and yet voted for, a new building, j Other critics said that the promoters ; 'of the scheme were trying to create a i boom to raise values and then unload j their properties, aJid almost in the \ same breath argued that the scheme would bring about a slump. Mr Rayner had hit tihe nail on' the head j when he showed that the owners oi empty paddocks were the people who had the most to'fear. ,Mr McCallum had a lot of land iii the .borough valued at £40 per acre •Mr McCallum: Swamp land ! The Mayor: You would be insulteci if someone else called it swamp land! (Loud laughter)Continuing, the Mayor said that Mr Allan was greatly exercised in mind, but the facts were thathe did hot pay rates, as the . Council used some of his land for the deposit ox , night-soil, and he would have to pay rates under the water and sewerage scheme. The Mayor concluded by an earnest appeal to the ratepayers to back up the majority on the Council. Mr G-. M. Brown favored the Briheme, and jmeidentally. co^nmended j the-, proposal to us© crude oil for itfs ' pu'roostfNs. Mr W. R. London 'regretted thai

the gravitation principle was not more ; fully explained. . Persistent calls for "Carr" anc ; "Cooke" followed. j Councillor Carr: Let the wowser sermon come first. (Laughter). Councillor Cooke, in an entertaining speech, strongly advocated the scheme. The opponents of the project were those who were trying tc keep the ratepayers in the dark. Foi one thing, they had grossly exaggerated the cost of the house connections. He produced information he had received from the Picton Town Clerk tc the effect that the contract price oi completely equipping three cottages ' in Picfcon was £50—about £16 each. \ Mr Loudon asked whether Invercargill was not considering the advisable^ ness of scrap-heaping its pumping plant and going in for gravitation. Councillor Cooke read a telegram of reply from the Mayor of Invercargill saying that the pumping scheme was satisfactory, that it was established i 25 years ago, and that another well was required.

i A speaker in the body of the hall : said that if Superintendent Hugo of • Wellington had telegraphed—as had been said—that the scheme proposed for Blenheim would not be efficient \ for fire-fighting purposes his advice could be thoroughly depenedd upon. I A pressure of 401bs per square inch in ; tbe suburbs would be of little use in case of fire. : Councillor Carr, who was received ; with much demonstration, spoke at • considerable length in opposition to the scheme. His criticism was for the most part an amplification of his ; several public utterances on the sub- ■ ject and his press correspondence. He quoted at length from a large amount of engineering data he had received from other towns, and then proceed- ; ed to show by comparative figures that Blenheim was already one of the most heavily rated boroughs in New Zealand. If the burden was to be increased by a water-supply and sewerage scheme that was founded on prin- | ciples tried and condemned elsewhere, and whose cost would be an ever^increasing factor, the population would shift out to Springlands and other suburbs. H© replied briefly to the I published-letter from Mr J. Sturrock, ' Borough Engineer, in which some seventeen arguments, categorically : arranged, were aimed at his criticism ■of the scheme. He analysed some of ; these statements and described them :as absurdities. He thought that the borough might well improve conditions by .undertaking the removal of | garbage and night-soil; but it would j commit a grave error if it adopted the ' present p-ro'ieet.

; Mr R. McArtney gave it as his coni viction that Blenheim, with its popu--1 lation of only 4000, could not afford ■to saddle the proposed loan, and re--1 minded the residents of Dr Cleghorn's advice that the local artesian supply : was the best in the world, and the 1 open-drain system was a perfectly safe ■ one if the sun and the wind wei-e alj lowed to get at it. i Mr E. H. Penny, who was subjected to much' interruption on the score of his residence outside the borough, appealed to the ratepayers to vote for the scheme and for their own credit. ; Messrs A. McCallum, O. Patchett, and D. Watson spoke under difficulties, and much of what they said was inaudible.

The last-mentioned speaker was persistently "counted out," and only just managed to make it clear that he supported the scheme on health grounds. Mr J. J. Corry, ex-Mayor, paid a tribute to Mr Carr's citizenship, and urged that that gentleman should be treated with respect. He went on t<> express his opinion that the Council was taking the wrong course, and that it should have called for tenders, ascertained the actual cost of the scheme, and then submitted the question to the: ratepayers. As it was the promoters of the scheme were asking for practically a free hand to go on. spending money. The Mayor had tried to make -them believe that the Islington and Riversdale people would not be called on to pay rates. That was an untruth. The Mayor: Stick to the truth, and give what I really did say. Mr Corry said that he desired to see the town equipped with a water and drainage scheme, but under the circumstances he could not advise them to reply in the affirmative to this ambiguous ballot paper. He combatted Councillor Griffiths'® jstatements as to the rate to which the ratepayers would be committed; and said that .the security rate was what they had to consider. The scheme would not be obtained for nothing, and it was for the ratepayers to count the cost. Mr W. J. Girling replied, to Mr Corry's remarks as to the unlimited power sought by the Council in regard to expenditure. The fact was that the Council had agreed to call for tenders in the event of the ratepayers voting in the affirmative on Wednesday and to abandon the whole project if the cost was found to exceed £72,----000. He proceeded to point out that it would be better for a. ratepayer to pay £2 10s or less a y%ar to the Council for up-to-date water and sewerage conveniences than to spend £50 on a windmill and other requirements that would require continual repair. Councillor Carr had tried to show that this borough, was heavily rated as things were. What was the reason? The valuation® were at fault. Mr Girling then made a remark as to Cbiinoillor Carr's property in this connection. A scene followed, Councillor Carr jumping from his seat on the platform and heatedly resenting the observation. Facing Mr Girling, he bluntly accused him, amidst much excitement, of distorting the truth, and, assuming a threatening attitude, compelled him to back away from his standing place. The disorder lasted for a few minutes, and an attempt made by Councillor Griffiths to restore decorum failed. Eventually Councillor Carr resumed his seat. Mr Girling said that reference to the Town Clerk would prove the truth oF his assertions. i Councillor Carr came forward again, whereiipon Councillor' Griffiths hurriedly moved a vote of thanks to the chair, and the gathering dispersed, buzzing with excitement.