COUNCIL TALKS ON WATER PROBLEMS

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6851, 5 March 1929, Page 8

COUNCIL TALKS ON WATER PROBLEMS

Mayor’s Intentions.

Tihe Mayor opened discussion by relating the steps that .the council haa taken to secure a better water service for the town but unfortunately, the ratepayers had turned down the loan proposal submitted. The council, however, had decided to go on improving the reticulation out of revenue until the work was completed and to assist in that project, the rate was increased. Money from revenue had also been found to clean the dam which as a result of silt removed, now held between seven and eight millions of

; . gallons more water. There had been no ■ lack of water at Tiritea this summer. < The ratepayers suffering from a shortage, however, had not taken any con- • certed action, nor had they given any ' indication that they wanted a further loan proposal. The only mention of ' the need had been a letter from the ■ Chamber of Commerce. The council ■ fully appreciated the of the ■ position but even after _ his visit to Terrace End and a realisation of the •’ conditions that existed there, he did not feel it incumbent on himself to advise the council to give consideration •' to the matter of another loan. That was a matter entirely for the incoming council. . The Mayor added that he realised the necessity for a bolder policy and it was his intention to deal with the question during the forthcoming elections from the platform. He was extremely anxious to have the water problem settled by the ratepayers, so . that within the next two years, every householder would have a supply.that would be sufficient for the maintenv. ance of the drainage system and supply, all requirements. Eegarding Or. M. A. Eliott’s motion at the last meeting of the council, the . Mayor said he couldn’t support it, as ■ the present council was in its dying hours. Had the motion been carried, • the earliest possible date for a poll would have been the first week in May, when the council would have been out of office. . , After mature consideration of. the : problem, ho was strongly -of opinion that it would take too long to effect improvements out of revenue. He 1 would frankly tell the ratepayers that U they had the Temedy in their own hands and would urge them to support /. a loan proposal to improve the Tetieulation and make addition to the filters, • when ft was next placed before them. *»- if Te-elected he would deem it his duty -■ to deal with the matter at once. “In a raise Position.” Cr. W. L. Fitzherbert thought the Mayor had used a great deal of restraint in choosing his words. Person- , ally ho thought the council had been placed in a falso position,and he was not going to sit down and allow such a state of things to continue.. Crs. Hodgens, Tremaine and himself had taken the platform with the Mayor when the last loan was before the ratepayers, and they did their utmost to get it carried. Cr. Eliott .... • The Mayor: I hope you won’t he : personal. . Cr. Fitzherbert: I will deal with it from the council’s point of view. I : won’t be placed in a false position. Cr • Eliott didn.’t take the platform either as a councillor or as president of the . - Chamber of Commerce. Cr. Eliott: That is entirely, wrong. During my time as chairman of the Chamber I always advocated improve- ' ment in the water system. Cr. Fitzherbert: Did you take the platform? Cr. Eliott: Of the Chamber of Commerce, yes. Cr. Fitzherbert. The Manawatu Evening Standard published a veiy laudablo article recently but had it printed that article at the time the loan was before tho ratepayers, it might have carried weight. The Standard has taken up the matter at the wrong time. The speaker considered Cr. Eliott chiefly responsible for the false position. He had even allowed certain remarks to be made at the Chamber of Commerce meeting without getting up and stating what the council had tried to do. . Cr. Eliott: Tou put yourselves in - a wrong position. Cr. Fitzpatrick: Some councillors ' did their utmost to get the loan car- . ried.

Cr. Eliott said lie was a little surprised aud extremely disappointed at the remarks of the Mayor to the effect that the ratepayers had given no definite indication that thoy were short of water. The Mayor: I didn’t say that. I said the ratepayers had not given any indication of their desire that the council should place a loan proposal before them .

’ Cr. Eliott: How can you get a < mandate unless you place a loan before 1 the ratepayers? The Mayor: I want to correct a statement of yours , Cr. Eliott: I didn’t interupt you '■ and I don’t want to be intenrpted. The Mayor: But lam in charge of this meeting.

UNTIMELY PROPOSALS Cr. M. A. Eliott Alleges Conspiracy of Silence

Before the curtain was rung down on the Palmerston Norih Borough Council proceedings last evening, a great deal of talk ensued on an abortive discussion of the water shortage problem, most of the time being used in ventilating grievances and making explanations. No motion was tabled and no decision come to.

“Conspiracy of Silence.”

Cr. Eliott: There was a conspiracy of silence with my motion last Council meeting. The Mayor: No such thing ! Cr. Eliott: Do you say the matter was never discussed at the reserves committee meeting ? The Mayor: It was not discussed, nor was any line of action decided on. Cr. Eliott (incredulously): Alright, I am satisfied about that.

Tho Mayor (warmly): Not a single member of the Council ...

Cr. Eliott: Why did you tell a member of the Press there would bo no discussion ?

The Mayor (heatedly): I did not. / Cr. Fitzherbert (to Cr. Eliott): If your motion had been seconded at the last Council meeting, I would have made the same remarks as I am making now.

Cr. Eliott: What I am surprised about is that personal feeling should have en tered into the matter at all. It is far too important for that. The Council should take a broad view and see the need for an immediate improvement in the water supply. The Mayor, he added, suggested that they should wait until May, bui in the meantime, the people must suffer. Sines the Mayor made the statement that hoses could be used freely, they had been used, with tho result that Terrace End was cut off. A hose had been used in Church street to such an extent that 'earth was washed from the garden across the footpath. It was scandalous that people should use the hose like that.

The Mayor: I saw that myself. Cr. Eliott: Apparently my motion was resented from personal feeling. Cr. Fitzherbert: There was nothing personal about it. ,Cr. Eliott: You saw where the Mayor admitted it.

The Mayor: I didn’t. Cr. Eliott: It will take nine years to give the necessary improvements out of rates, ffhe Mayor admits now that it will be necessary to get a loan and I am glad my motion has aroused him to action.

The Mayor: It has not. I told the Press I was going to deal with the matter during the coming elections. I made., no statement that residents could use uie hose freely. I said the restrictions were not in force, but appealed to them to be sparing. Cr. Hodgens: That is so.

Question of Corrosion. Cr. Tremaine associated himself with the repudiation of the alleged conspiracy of silence. He didn’t second the motion, because he knew Cr. Mansford was bringing down his request for a report on artesian wells and ic was the speaker’s intention to support Cr. Hansford in preference to a loan proposal in the dying stages of the Council. Cr. Tremaine asked if anyone knew how much corrosion had gone on inside the older mains of the town. The Mayor thought it must be considerable. Cr. Tremaine said he would like to see a section of an old main and the engineer informed the Council that the pipes at the corner of Church and Summerhays streets would bo laid bare very soon, when the Council would have an opportunity of seeing in what con-dit-ian the old pipes were. This the Council decided to do. Question for Election Time.

Cr. Hodgens remarked at this stage that had he realised that Cr. Eliott’s motion would go unsecondcd ho would have filled the breach pro forma, in order to oppose it. It seemed more like a proposal by a dying Council to commit an incoming body. The latter might easily knock the proposal on the head. It was far better to make tho question one for discussion with the ratepayers at election time. Cr. Hodgens added that he couldn’t understand the attitude of the Evening Standard. On several occasions he had drawn tho Council's attention to the bias shown by the evening paper. He recalled that when Mr. Nathan was Mayor, the Standard, irrespective of whether the matter was for boosting the town or not, willy-nilly came out and opposed schemes. The Standlard since then had sat quiet, soft[pedalling. What attitude.did it adopt, ho asked, during tho last loan poll ? Tho Standard seemed to bark up the tree at the wrong time. However, ho hoped the Council would give the Standard another chance of standing up for the prosperity and progress of Palmerston North. Cr. D. W. Low also denied the conspiracy of silence alleged. The notice of motion had been handed around members of the reserves committee. Cr. *Eliott: Why should it be ? It had no right to go around the committee. | Tho Mayor: As much right as the Standard had to it, in any case. I Sticks to His Well. Cr. Mansford said he intended to

stick to his artesian well schemo until the report asked for proved him wrong.

Cr. Milverton said he wanted to sec the town reticulated better before he would support, any loan. There was a suspicion in the town that the water shortage was manoeuvred as propaganda for tho loan. Until that suspicion was cleared up, no loan would be carried. Was it true that tho Council was deliberately preventing people from getting a good supply ? The Mayor said there was no such intention. *

The engineer (Mr. J. It. Hughes) was indignant at Cr. Milverton. “He alleges,” said the engineer, “that I have manipulated the valves to make things bad at Terrace End. One valve was closed to divert water from West End to Terrace End.’

Cr. Milverton rose again to speak, but the Mayor informed him he had exceeded his time limit and closed the discussion.