CITY COUNCIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIX, Issue 26, 31 January 1884, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

The second special meeting of the Council to consider the establishment of the earth closet system in Nelson was hell iast night. Present : The Mayor, Crs Stallard, Bunny, Moorhouse, Stringer, Bolton, Rowell, Levien, J. Harley, and T. Harley. The Mayor said that the desirability of adopting the earth closet system having been affirmed, it now remainded for the Council to decide how to set about it. He thought at the last meeting thafc fche adjournment was rather a short one, bufc now, after reading the letters which had appeared in fche public press, he was convinced thafc the Council were justified in adopting the system, as there had been no intelligent or intelligible opposition. A few of fche citizens who were present at the last meeting had, after it was over, spoken to him on the matter and urged certain objections, bub these were only what; he had heard before, and he was in hopes that they would have made sngggestions how to improve upon ifc, but there had been nothing of this kind. One letter had been written by Mr Anstice, which showed how entirely he and probably many others had missed tbe point aimed afc by fche Council. He urged fchafc he had a good water closet, but it was nofc afc bad closets fchafc fche Council aimed, bufc at all alike— good and bad. Their object was to keep all excreta out of the sewers, and prevent their being emptied on fche mud-flat and converting ib into a cesspit. There were serious complaints about the mudfiafc already. What would ifc be when the town increased 7 Besides, the longer it was lef fc and fche larger fche population grew the greater would the difficulty be in remedying ifc. Mr Anstice had written sensibly from his point of view, bufc that point of view was an ignorant one. There was another objection raised, .or perhaps he should say concession asked for, whioh he was quite prepared fco grant. There were many citizens who already provided their houses with pans, which they themselves cleaned, and utilised their contents as a fertiliser for their gardens. They asked, why should they be compelled . fco. pay another to clean their pans and be deprived of that which now was of great service fco their gardens. Now he was quite prepared to make a concession in this direction, of course under inspeotion. A very sensible letter had been addressed to fche Counoil by Mr Garrett, which he would now read. The writer expressed his approval of the scheme as a whole, but urged fche objections to which he (the Mayor) had just referred. He considered it a sensible letter, because it did nofc merely raise objections bufc suggested a remedy." He wonld suggest thab they now consider the by-laws in Committee. Cr Levien felt convinced thab the whole scheme was unworkable, and he wonld afc once move fchafc fche discussion be deferred till fchafc day sis months. He would simply pass aby law and try to make dirty people clean. He denied that there was any excremenb lodged on the mudfiat, and saw no reason for stopping the water closets draining into fche sewers. It was quite an exaggerated view to take to say thab the mudfiat was made a festering nuisance— to assert thafc, as fche Mayor did, was, he was going fco say, mere rubbish — as whatever effluvia arose therefrom were created by dead fish. The sewer in Halifax-street was a mere waste of money, which was simply expended upon burying 20,000 bricks. The expense of supE lying pans would be a very large one, and c did nob see why they should compel people te go to the expense of having them cleaned by others. He would insist upon those who had not water closets having earth closets, and leaving them to clean them themselves. For his own parb he did nofc believe there was a cleaner place in the colony than Nelson.

Cr J. Harley agreed with all that had fallen from Cr Levien. He denied that a nuisance was created by the water closets, of whioh there were actually very few draining into the sewers. He had objected to the Halifax-street sewer, nor did he see why they were to put themselves to expense to suit Mr Crewdson, who had voluntarily located himself near a stinkpot, or be led by the eloquence of another member who really was not interested. Another thing was that be objected strongly to the dictatorial manner in which the Mayor at the last meeting bad placed his scheme before the Council, The Mayor said he had felt some denbt whether he should not have stopped Cr Levien from moving his amendment as it ivaa or the very verge of negativing the previonf resolution, which the by-laws did not allow without notice of motion. He thought if they agreed to the amendment they would be acting like ohiidren, and he was surprised to hear one who had voted for establishing the system at the last meeting now proposing to shelve it altogether, and to adopt the old do nothing polioy. (Cr Levien : No Ido not propose to do nothing.) To stop the closets draining into the sewers would not remove the whole nuisance but would be a great step in the right direction, aa it w*»uld do away with the effluvia that arose from excreta, and which propagated that most deadly disease, typhoid fever. Cr Levien had contented himself with saying that it could nob be done but he had not attempted to show why it would be unworkable. Hie own opinion on the contrary was that it could be easily done. He should not like to see the Councillors make— he scarcely liked to say it— such awes ot themselves as to pass a resolution pn Friday and negative it on the next Wednesday. He did not seek to force the scheme on now hut to pass a set of by-laws laws, to publish them, and let the public think over them.

Cr Levien had had time to think over the matter since the last meeting and had talked the matter over with several people. He did not doubt the Mayor's good intentions, but he was a little too prone to form his own opinions and to refuse to listen to (hose of others. Ct Bolton wonld like to consider the bylaws this evening, and on another occasion Cr Levien oould more his resolution. At present he had given no reason why they should not go on with the discussion. He too had spoken to many people since the last meeting and had on all sides heard approval expressed. Cr Rowell hoped the Council would adopt the earth closet system. If they carried pn fche present system where were they going to gat tha water 1 The supply was very limited and aus* he carefully preserved. They would be flooded with applications for additional closets and fojr additional sewers. All the letters that had appeared in the papers were simply the outcome of personal And selfish motives, Or Levien was one of those who always put off everything until the last moment, and then when there was sickness and death all around him he would be in as big a fright as anyone and be eager to adopt the scheme he now condemned. . Cr Levien's amendment was then put and lost. Ayes _: Crs Stallard, J. Harley, Stringer, and Levien. Noes 6 : The Mayor, CrsT. Sarley, Bunny. Moorhourse, Bolton, and Rowell. The Mayor said he would now ask the members of the Council not to be factious in their opposition but to set to work and endeavor to develop a good scheme. He did not wish to force npon them one of his own, but had merely gone to some trouble to prepare something for them to discuss, and he now invited the fullest discussion. The first clause was then read, Cr J. Harley wanted to know how the Trafalgar-street difficulty would be got pver. In that street the property owners had specially subscribed andbuilt the sewer, and it would, be an injustice to tbem to stop their connection with that sewer. The Mayor: That can,be got over by a by

law. lam surprised at any sensible Councillor asking such a question. Cr Levien moved thafc no more waterclosets be allowed to drain into the sewer. Cr T. Harley rose to a point; of order. They had already ruled thafc there were to be earth closets, and it was nofc open to discuss the question of water-closets. The Mayor ruled that Cr Levien was nofc more oufc of order than was any obstructionist in the House who raised objections on every possible point, bufc he hoped this was not what Cr Levien intended. Here Crs Levien, Stringer, and J. Harley left the Chamber, and Cr Stallard having leffc previously, there was no quorum. The Mayor said he conld only characterise the action just taken by some of the Councillors as one of fche most contemptible — he would say the most contemptible — proceeding he had witnessed since he had the honor of presiding afc the Council. He trusted that no such Bcene would ever be enacted again in thafc Chamber, and he felt sure thafc those who had leffc ifc would regret their conduct when they reflected upon ifc. He had endeavored fco frame a set; of by-laws by which they could carry oufc the system they had agreed to, and the least the Councillors could have done would have been to assist in the discussion and endeavor to pub the scheme into a workable shape. Of course they could nofc proceed wifch the business now, and fche meeting would therefore stand adjourned untill next Wednesday.