The New Zealand Herald SPECTEMUR AGENDO. AUCKLAND, THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1865.

New Zealand Herald, Volume II, Issue 442, 13 April 1865, Page 4

The New Zealand Herald SPECTEMUR AGENDO.

AUCKLAND, THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1865.

" Glto every mm thine ear, but row tliy Voice: Tnka cnch miw'g renstiro, but reserve UiVj'xujrmtni. Thin above all,—To thine on-nselt 'jft ttoo; And It must fpllo-i.-, us the Tils'.ii tho d;iv, Thou caJlfet cot then Ka fslse to anv mm."

The report of tlio Enphicor-in-Chirf on tlio much talked of "Waitakerci water pcliomc, is now before the ]Hiblic. l< iY- based on minute investigation and detailed surveys, carried on for p. x-onsideraWe period. .It ought, therefore, to be a thoroughly reliable document and to exhaust, the :nibjeel. and give us a clear notion of whether the scheme is one that it would be desirous to c.'irry out-. On rending it carefully over and comparing it with that of Mr. AVrigg, ive cannot but come to the conclusion that there is no wonderful difference between them, as to the advisability of carrying out. the "WnitaKoroi scheme or its cost even. The report of Mr. "Wrigg was only a ppheral one. It professed to point out, and did point out, the abundance and excellency of the water, it also clearly staled there were considerable engineering difficulties in the wa.y, g flV e an approximate estimate of the Cost, so far as could be- from a preliminary investigation, and reeommc7)dc'd tho "Waitakerei scheme us having decided advantages over any of iho other schemes submitted to Mr. Wvies. _Mr. Weaver, when that report was submitted to him. gave a genera] consent to it. He was decidedly of opinion it was far preferable to have a gravitation scheme carried out such as this, rather Ihan one depending l on machinery at all. Does Mr. "Weaver's very careful report alter the aspect of the l case at all, does his opini6n, carefully matured and founded on careful and laborious surveys, differ from his former one. Does hejn short, condemn or approve the scheme ? The report of the Engineer-in-Chief confirms and substantiates that of Mr. in the main points. Tho difference in the estimated cost we will refer to presently. Mr. Weaver testifies to the exceeding purity and abundance of the \yater of the Nibotupu. The former is such that he brlieve3 \t will not be at all necessary to erect filtering beds, and as to tire latter, he states "there is no " reason to doubt that the Nihofupu will " yield this quantity, 5-10,000 gallons per " day, at its minimum flow in the. driest " season, and by the construction of a dam " and storage reservoir, at a comparatively " small cost, this quantity can easily be " doubled, while a still larger supply \ any " with equal facility, be obtained when the i,' requirements of a largely increased population demand it,"

We have thus tliree ijreat requisites in any ecneme for water supply, viz.. that it WtU be based on the principle of gntvitntion • secondly, that the water is very' pure, ami free from all deleterious organic or inorganic matter; and thirdly, that it exists in "re-it abundance, so as to supply the present and the future population for very many years to come. * ■

With respect to gravitation, there needs no argument to show how very much superior such a supply ia over any in which we are dependent upori the incessant work of a steam engine, and the yearly expense of it in addition to its first cost, in order to have water supplied to the higher parts of the city and suburbs. Were the waters of the Nihitupu brought to Auckland, they couM be thrown in large volumes over the highest budding,n it, by the simple force of pressure iVo machinery has to be kept in order no accidents to be guarded against; open the mam m the street, attach a ad libitum is carried to anv heHie required m the caso o f .. purity of water for the daily use of ■ city population is of the utmost important I'ealth. The constitution is but aeath ioliov.-its use It i:.- -■ cle i tained fact that the water of tiie singularly pure. The deposit of oS, derablp time, i 8 .scarcely percentib o . Motions show a very large amount flf

Mn M w WeaV r l u]] y confirms t! 'e ,-eport of Mr. Wngg both on these vital points 3 nd

on the abimdanco of the. supply in tho driest weather. The matters in -which tho two reports vary, aa to whether k 9-inch or a 10-ineh pipe would bo heat, or whether the joints oi" tire pipes should ho turned and bored , or not, arc purely questions of engineering, which do not at all oiYeci, tho t-e:il question at issue. Engineers, as well as doctors and lawyers, will differ, and these questions being purely of a professional character, may well bo left to the engineers to settle. They arc of minor importance, except in so far that as the 10-iheh will allow of a supply of 1,080,000 yalloiis per day llowing through them, wo should certainly prefer the larger pipe, and then our increasing needs could be very amply met, without any extra expense as to the main pipes. Wo now come to the difference in the estimated cost. Mr. Weaver's estimate of this is greater than that of Mr. Wrigg. The latter was acknowledged to be imperfect and subject to alteration. It was in fact a " rough guess," while the former ia based on minute calculations and accurate and full data. Mr. Weaver's estimate, again includes £1000 for land, and provides for tho supply of an additional quantity of 230,000 gallons per diem. Taking theso f:iet» into consideration, and knowing ns we all do, how very much estimates differ when calculated even by eminent engineers who have every information at their commend, We are 1 neither surpj-ised nor nlarined at the difference in theCHtiniatesof the two "Engineers. We have only to remember- tno vas ( difference in tho tenders pv.t in for tho const ruction of the Aucklnhd and Drury Railway, and indeed for any work of a like character, Provincial or 'Municipal, to make us not attach any very groat importance to the difference between the p.sli:;-.atool" Mr. Wrigg and Mr. Weaver. The great question "in connexion with the subject is, supposing the works to cost; as much as Mr. Weaver "says, they will cost £(i 7,01!), though it is still very probable contractors may come forward and tender to do them for less, vet we nevertheless believe, as we have "all along persistently stated, that of all the schemes yet brought forward for supplying this city with what it very much requ'ircs"! an abundant supply ot' cool pure water, the Waitakerei is by far the host, and is the one we ought to adopt and. adopt at once. Wo must carefully recollect that those tilings whose first cost is the least are not always by any means the cheapest, and thf.l ia the case especially in permanent works of such a character as water supply to a daily enlarged city. Jt would be penny wise and pound foolish to adopt any doubtful scheme which would only give us a moderate supply for present use, incapable of meeting future requirements, and to throw more monev away in reinvest igating exploded scheme's would ho the height of i'ollv. We have had quite sufficient reports. We arc weary of Hi is reporting stage. Let us advance a step and proceed to action. Let us waste no more time in talking about thematter, hut set about doing it in right oar- j nest. Even if tho work is begun ni«v, We! are told eighteen months inns , : e!apso before, we can have-wateh Must we. wait longer? Must w\> have another couple of years and a considerable amount of money spent in examining aiul reporting and reinvest igat ing. I and then a couple more in carrying out j a scheme of water supply? Wo "earnestly trust not. and that the Superintendent wi'll take steps for commencing this much-needed work at the earliest possible mpKiont, and push it on as vigorously as possible, thus giving a. large nmount of employment to munucn who are in want of it, and hastening the time when the inhabitants of this city will not be compelled to drink tho drainage from very questionable reservoirs, but be able to enjoy Nature's beverage in its purity. The Superintendent is taunted with being weak enough to have the ambition to leave distinguishing proofs of his ze:il !\>r iho. public behind him. when he retires from his responsible post. It is a weakness of which any man may well be proud, and we know of no better opportunity by which he can testify his possession of it, than by letting his Superintendency be known as a period of something more than mere reporting and examining projects of public utility, as one in which the works have been actually commenced; a7iil in no case will he more justly earn the thanks of tho coiniaunitTi than by commencing the waterworks for supplying the City of -Auckland and suburbs with an abundant supply -of good wholesome water. With respect to Mr. Weaver's suggestion as to obtaining a temporary supply, we entirely concur in the advisability of some such 'step being taken. But we very decidedly object to Mr. Coiiett's (α-oposnl that this temporary and small supply shall be made a reason for not going on with the ; cvmtinoni scheme-. We want no longer to be dependent on cisterns and the drainage from t'etid pools for our water supply. Two years is quite long enough to wait. ' Adopt the temporary scheme, but carry cut at tho same time the genera! scheme. " Our people, and especially the poor, have suffered long enough and sufficiently enough from the a\?sence of pure water, 'and they have waited patiently for the expected "and gryatlynecded boon,