THE DRAINAGE SCHEME.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1315, 13 May 1897, Page 39

THE DRAINAGE SCHEME.

RESOLUTION CARRIED IN FAyOT/R O'F THE SPECIAL LOAN. A meeting of the Citizen’s of Wellington was held in the Opera House bn Monday to consider the proposal to raise a special loan of .£33,000 to complete the drainage scheme. The Mayor (Mr H D. Bell) presided, and tho members of the City Coufieil were present on the platform. There was a moderate attendance of the public. The Mayor explained that the meetihg could not determine anything one way or the other; that would be done at the poll, and the meeting was called merely for the discussion of the question. Having pointed out that tlie Mayor of 1896-7 was the Mayor of 1892-3, and that if they gave him any of the credit for the drainage scheme ho was prepared also to take the whole of the responsibility, Mr "Bell went on to show thfit fey a flaw in the Act of 1892 die obvious incefi'iUri of the promoters to enable -t/25,000 additional fo fee raised in the event of the insufficiency of the £ 150,000 provided in the original estimate had been frustrated. No one doubted the honesty or honour of the gentlemen, who made the original estimate, and he pointed out that the total costof the drainage sch,erne, .£172,800, would be loss than .£175,000 —-that is, less than tho .£150,000 provided by the original Act and the .£25,000 additional intended to have been authorised by the Act of 1892. He was Mayor in 1892 and 1893, but was not Mayor until he was elected again in 1>96. He did not wish to shirk any responsibility, but he was clearly not responsible for anything done in the interval during those periods. He thought the thanks of the city were due to the Government and to Parliament toy having made the Wellington CiLy Sanitation Loan Act the exceptional Act of tho short session. (Applause ) Mr Bell explained at some length the causes which had led to . the Original ei-tiirrlate being exceeded, as given in his speech to the City Council (reported in lul in the N eW 2feALAM» Times;. I he drainage scheme, added the Mayor, had been teamed on Without any ilnnece-sary fuss, or any bragging on the part of fchte officials ; and if the ratepayers voted this additional sum tho work would be completed by the end of April next. The city would then be drained into Cook Strait, and he hoped we would have said good-bye once and for all to typhoid in the city. (Applause ) Mr Bell w< nt on to correct a statement made evidently under a misapprehension by Mr Fisher with regard to Mr Mestayer’s estimate of the total coat of the scheme. What Mr Mestayer had stated, said Mr Bell, was that although by tho Sanitation Loan Act the actual amount named was .£175,000, only was available, and another .£35,090 would require to bo authorised, which would be more than sufficient to complete the scheme. It would be asked, said the Mayor, what i-< this thing going to cost us? Tho City Council had entered into an arrangement subject to the approval of tho citizens at the pail. The .£21,000 loan would fall out in 1907 ; that loan was now bearing interest at G per cent., and in 1907 certainly they would' be able to raise that money at less than 6 per cent. His des’ro was to borrow no money which would have a later course than 1907, so that tho citizens would be able to consolidate the loans, and raise money to enable them to pay off that sum at a greatly reduced ”ate of interest. Tho A.M.P. (Society was willing to lend the money now required at 4 per cent. (Applause.) The Corporation would take it as needed before 1898, and repay it in 1907. Mr Bell pointed out that the rate to meet the total cost of the two existing sewer and nigbtsoil systems was only 51d out of the Is, and though it was true that in 1892 he had said he did not believe ifc wou’d be higher than 4£d, he did not know then that the citizens would want . baths at Thorndon and Te Aro to be paid for out of revenue. He strongly appealed to the ratepayers to determine, by their votes at the poll, that the present hateful system should cease, and that there should bo an efficient and complete scheme of drainage for Wellington. The Mayor moved, “ That this meeting approves of tho proposal of the City

Council as set forth in the advertisement for raising the proposed loa» of .£33,000 and the security thereof.” Councillor Fraser supported the motion. ITe Said it would bo a wrong' thing to spoil the ship for a hap’orth of tar. Every ship that ca-me brought them 30 or 40 more inhabitants, and they must toe the mark and see the thing through. The Mayor, after asking if anybody wished to to the motion, and eliciting no response, iii7'ited questions. Several were vrfiUen and handed up. Mr Petherick asked If the Drainage Board -was prepared to.-.give a pledge that the •£33,000 would complete the drainage scheme ; stnci if they would give a similar pledge that ibtf £35,000 earmarked to complete the drainage EfO'fie.me between the city and suburbs would also prove sUfacieiit. The Mayor said, with regard to the first question, Messrs Mestayer, Higginson andFerguson had given their assurance that that would be sufficient ; beyond that he could not gay. These gentlomen had announced their willingness to take the responsibility of superintending the completion of. the sCEie.mO without additional salary. With regard to the second question, the raising of £'20,000 was authorised to assist ratepayers who were obliged to make connections. So far, however, only £3OOO had been availed of for that purpose. A ratepayer asked if it was n<st ft fact that the Mayor had given a promise that persons making connection^with the sewer prior to tho drainage scheme coming into force should have .new connections made free of cost. (Applause.) The Mayor denied that he had given any such promise, and referred his questioner to the newspapers and to a written statement which ho had read to a meeting of 1892 for confirmation of his statement. The proposal tbrit these connections should be made free was in the original proposals of the engineers, and road by hini at a-meeting, but was not a suggestion of his. if' afterwards became embodied in the Act of Parliament when he was no longer Mayor. Anyone could if they # chose avail themselves of this legal enactment to resibt payment of tho cost of such e'e/nnee lions. | In reply to » Question as to whothor the | lion G. McLeahi siiid in tho Upper House that tho proposed extension of tho loan was fi terrible scandal,” the Mayo'? said he didn’t know and he didn’t care. A ratepayer asked why the drainage authorities wore continually opening up Park street and Tinakori road. The Mayor explained that where the houses were wide apart and connections being continually made this could not bo avoided. A ratepayer wanted Mr Bell to re-read tho remarks of the engineers in regard to tho free connections. The Mayor asked them to remember that be was not in the pulpit. However, as the meeting seemed to be in favour of tho request, he would comply with it. A ratepayer in the gallery asked several questions as to whether landlords had any *• recourse again'st the ipuC dixit of the engineer.” . . . The Major said their inspector at the tune appeared to have been a fool, inasmuch aS ho h‘ad authorised connections which were ftga'inst the by-law and placed a number of residents outside the by-law. A Voice..:. " Then the Council ought to be responsible !” “(Applause )■ The Mayor said he could not express an opinion as to that. He could only tell them the facts. The man in the gallery: “ Well, you have got the Council down theie, and you had better arrange it. If you don’t do something we’ll have to block the loan.” The Mayor: “It matters not to mo, it matters not to you, bub it is a matter of very gredt gravity to tbis city.” It was wrong for any Mari to say that just because ho d.dn’t agree with a statement of the Mayor. Councillor Fraser explained that it had cost him £ JO or £lO to put down a new drain. The Mayor said that if those present wore not satisfied with his answers lie could not help it. Ho bad given a truthful answer, and that was all he could give. A questioner complained of the smoke from the Destructor annoying people in the neighbourhood, and asked if tho Council would not do something to lesson the nuisance. Ihe Mayor said arrangements were already being made by menus of smoke-consumers to j give relief to residents in that loculi 1 y- Additions to the Destructor, which would get over tho difficulty, would bo an undertaking which they would have to co isidec in tho future. In reply to Mr Wilson, tho Mayor said if one district were given preference to another in regard to ventilating “swallows,” it was a matter for which they ought to blame the representatives of the wards concerned. The Mayor was about to put the question when a man in tho gallery proceeded to traverse bis previous statement in regard to the connection question. His Worship remarked that it was regrettable to seo a deliberate statement of tho Mayor of the town challenged by a ratepayer who was prepared with no proof of his assertions. , , , . After a sharp passage of arms had taken place between an occupant of the gallery and the Mayor, the former persisting in asking a question as to whether £33,000 would complete the scheme, ending in the latter rapping out “ I have answered it, sir, I have nothing further to say,” a show of bauds was called for on tho motion. A large number of hands wore held up in its favour, and only two or three against, and it was declared carrie l . A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the meeting.