WATER SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXI, Issue 31, 12 April 1862, Page 6

WATER SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE.

[From the Nelson Examine)', March 22.] In the last session of our Provincial Council, two Select Committees, moved for by private members, reported upon two subjects of the very first importance to the inhabitants of the Town of Nelson, and of interest to the province generally. The first of these subjects was the construction of a Dry Dock, or Patent Slip, in our harbour, and the recommendation of the Committee, that the Government should guarantee 10 per cent, interest on £10,000, expended by any individual or company in constructing a Dry Dock or Slip in Nelson harbour, was adopted by the Council and the Government, and an Act was passed to give effect to it. "What the Governme*Qt haß since done to bring the measure into operation, we are at present uninformed, but aa the Council will meet again in a few weeks, the public will then, doubtless, learn the steps taken by the Government to make known, in the proper quarters, the assistance they were ready to give to any persons willing to undertake the work, and the prospect there is of seeing it speedily begun. The other subject reported upon by a Committee of the Council, to which we have above referred, was of a different character to the one we have spoken of, and did not appeal so directly to the interests of the province at large, and it encountered, therefore, the hostility of many of the representatives of the country districts, who could see no advantage that was to accrue from it to their constituents, while some of those who were directly interested

in the measure proposed, regarded it with indifference. To increase the trade of our port, to make the town of Nelson the chief •workshop of New Zealand, were clear advantages to country producers, as well as to town mechanics and traders, but a measure to promote the health of the toAvn, to render it less liable to destruction from lire, was considered a matter of only secondary importance by those who resided beyond its limits, and a bill, introduced on the strength of a report made by a Select Committee, to " Authorise the Superintendent to guarantee Interest on Capital to be expended in Providing the City of Nelson with Pure "Water," was lost on its second reading by a majority of nine to five votes. Of the members comprising this majority, eight represented country constituencies, the Provincial Solicitor being the sole representative of the town ; while, in the minority, only two town members voted, two being absent at Auckland, and a third confined by illness at home. ' The Select Committee which sat on the Water Supply, went thoroughly into the question, and took all the evidence available on the subject, both as regarded the cost of the under baking and the revenue that it would probably yield. On the first point, the testimony of the witnesses who gave evidence before the Committee appeared to be somewhat conflicting, for, while some of them gave it as their opinion that the work might be done for £5,000, Mr. FitzGibbon, whom we must regard as the best authority on the subject, estimated the entire cost at £16,000. It is true that in this higher estimate many considerations were embraced, and a more efficient service was contemplated, than were included in the lesser calculations, and the Select Committee very wisely took Mr. EitzGibbon's calculation as the basis of their report, and adopted his estimate of £16,000 as the cost of the work, and that, we think, might safely be regarded as a sum sufficient to cover all expenses of construction, and defray the cost of the first year's working. The report of the Committee thus briefly stated Mr. PitzGibbon's proposal : — The formation of a reservoir in Brook-streefc valley, four acres in area, with an average depth of twelve feet, at an elevation of about 200 feet above high-water mark. This reservoir would contain two months' supply of water for a population of 7,000, at the rate of thirty gallons per head per diem ; delivery into the town being proposed to be effected by means of a main pipe six inches in diameter, and supply pipes of four and three inches diameter. The portion of the town which it is proposed to supply, in the first instance, is comprised within the following boundaries : on the north, the Maitai river; on the east, the Maitai river and Brook-street ; on the south, ManukaBtreet, the Gaol, and the south side of Trafalgarsquare j on the west, Waimea-street, with an extension along the Haven-road to the Fort. And the, revenue, which would probably be immediately derivable from the supply of water within the limits of the town described, Mr. EitzGibbon calculated as follows : — 450 tenements, including Government and other public buildings, breweries, hotels, livery stables, &c., taken at a presumed average annual rental of £40, with a rate of 6 per cent, on such £ rental, give 1,080 Supply of shipping, say 150 ■ tons per month, or 1,800 tons per annum, at ss. per ton, the present charge being' 10a. * 450 The Board of Works, for publio purposes, fire hydrants, &c, say ... 100 £1,630 On this the Select Committee observed : — Taking these calculations to be substantially correct, which the evidence taken by the Committee leads them to believe, there is a reasonable prospect that the undertaking would, at its commencement, yield a return approaching 10 per cent, upon the capital required ; whilst, taking into consideration the probable increase in the number of houses, and of the shipping of the port, the Committee conceive that a more favourable return may fairly be expected in the future. Singular to say, the Council, after adopting unanimously the report of the Select Committee, containing the passage above quoted, threw out the bill founded upon it ; which was nothing less than a disclaimer of the report to which they had only a few days before given their assent. The grounds of objection to the Bill were simply economical ones. The report recommended that the Government should guarantee ten per cent, interest on the cost of the undertaking for a specific number of years, and the majority of the Council were of opinion that this would be pledging the revenue of the province to an extent beyond what it could afford. The opinion expressed by several of the members who spoke on the subject, was pretty much that of the Superintendent, as expressed by him in the speech with which he closed the Council : — Amongst the various measures which have received your consideration was that of supplying the town with pure water by means of water works. This interesting subject has received the careful attention of the Government, and I may alao remark that the requisite reserves of land were sometime since made by me for that purpose. It is, however, in my opinion very doubtful whether, so long as Nelson has its present abundant supply of springs and streams, any undertaking on commercial principles would satisfactorily accomplish the contemplated object without a considerable subsidy from the publio revenue, or the imposition of a forced rate upon the inhabitants. The latter course I should regard as exceedingly oppressive and unjust under existing circumstances,' and is one to which I could not give my assent, without a clearly expressed opinion on the part of the inhabitants generally, of their desire to be taxed for that purpose. Moreover, the passing of such an extreme measure would have pledged a considerable portion of the future revenue of the province to those who might advance capital for the construction of the requisite works. This, in my judgment, would be, as long as the New Provinces Act is permitted to exist, not only unwise but decidedly wrong, inasmuch as the lapse of a few months may lead to a further division of the province, should insufficient reflection precipitate an expedient so dangerous to our common success, and thereby take from us the means required for upholding the public credit. Ab the necessity of a supply of water for the town becomes greater yearly, and as there are special reasons why the public health should be guarded in every possible way, arising out* of the reported presence of Asiatic cholera both in South Australia, and at Newcastle, in New South Wales, we shall discuss the question on an early day, and endeavour to show that the work is feasible in itself, and that it can be accomplished without that loss to the revenue which its opponents Affected to believe would remult from it.