THE HEALTH OF THE CITY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4172, 2 July 1875, Page 2

THE HEALTH OF THE CITY.

No. IV".

DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION"; v T In the; preceding article we alluded, to; the fact that in Italy irrigation works of any description are not allowed to bo carried on. near any large city, because _ they '.are injurious to health even when no sewage is used. The neighbourhood .of sewage irrigation, iarms is every where very disgusting in summer, or at other times in particular states of the atmosphere. No wonder that proptrty in such a neighbourhood 2is greatly lessened in. value! But this i^ not all. Detestable effluvia are no doubt sufficiently distressing, but then those in question do jmore than offend the nostrils ; they enfeeble the constitution, or they may cause death. Mr Hawkesley, a sanitary-engineer of over 25 years' standing, says that from a very-exten-sive experience of the effects uf irrigation he was led to "believe that the very end which is sought to be attained is not only not attained, but that evils of very much, greater magnitude than those which are removed are in all cases produced." - ■" When sewage water is put upon fresh land a very considerable effect is produced ; but (in the words of Mr Hawkesley) "by-and-liye, as the land becomes more and more saturated, the (effluent) water becomes less and less clear, and at last not only is the land itself spoilt, but'the water/goes off far more impure than it was upon its first application." This, he says, happened afc Groydon, at Banbury, at Carlisle, and at Rugby. In the last named town irrigation has proved a commercial failure. It may be said that these are but the opinions.of a layman. Very true, but, then, laymen can. use their senses as well as doctors^ "•■ in, ;.

Sewage irrigation may- be-good enough n» theory—it may be. even good enough in practice, but to be so, irrigated lands .must be a considerable distance from populous places. Dr "Henry Letheby, while giving evidence before the Reading Board of Health, in 1870, on being asked the chief objections to sewage irrigation, replied, "In the firafc place, wherever I have; seen it 'the;: Boil is bodden with excrementitious'matter, ■'«n«l constantly giving off, sometimesi toiaSwcafe. extent, at other times not so much, efuuvi* capable of producing disease, The neat is that the sub-soil is always charged with decomposing matters, the residue of sewage, and we know from the investigations recently of Dr Pettenkofer, who has exa> mined the question of sewage in England and Germany, and almost all overthe world," that there is no more fruitful source of disease'than a.'subsoil iwsiter'charged with. offensive matters, and altering in its level. The soil becomes-filled with offensive gases j and he (Pettenkofer) attributes typhoid fever to these emanations.- Again; we have subsoil water which runs into the neighbouring' wells; and wherever there is 'subsoil irrigation, the neighbouring wells are always offensive." YOn being asked ■ whethe"r he would recommend any one to: build houses near sewage farms, he replied, "Most certainly not To aay nothing of prejudice about it, there are. emanations whicbTar* productive of disease; and, if ordinary diseases are about the neighbourhood, they assume a typhoid character, aud therefore become more serious.". In reply to a question as to the result, of' $he general. adogtibn. of sewage irrigation, he said—" I am .perfectlysatisfied there would be a Parliamentary means of preventing it before many years— that we should be obliged to undo in point of fact that which they now propose jS^AoJ* On the came occasion, Mr VV. r; E:, ; Gf^w>y» M.R.C.S., was examined regarding the sewage farm at Croydon. He said th&V passing by the farm made him retch most' heartily." In reply to a question, as to ; condition, of the people, 'he-said— "Ever since 1867, I have been^repgjitedly called upon to attend typhoid fever in e^ery^ cottage—not' 'one has escaped."';'. A 'fcgatfl deal more of similar ev'de'nce could be p&c«ff before our readers, but we have producMa sufficient amount, we hope, to make thent think well-before committing ; themselves ta the irrigation method. ■ , : ;.'.\- . It is reasonable: to suppose ', that, those having property, on the. flat, between ■jDuuedin and the sandhills, more especially^those who live there, should have a voice in thematter. If they quietly submit ip the losses, the inconvenience, and the more than probable dangers to which they may be subjected by the arrangement in question, simply because they believe it to be oae of public utility, they will: present a spectacle .worthy the a 1 miration, as well as the imitatioa. of some of our citizens. But the chances ; m favour of having .to'.'(".retchheartily" 'no/w 'and: again when the- wind blows, over: the sandhills towirdsiilife^itjiv. and of having typhoid fever as a constant resident among them, may iuduce the inhabitants of the flat to withstand an arrangement. that would be manifestly unjuafc towards themselves. , Another i objection to irrigating the sandhills, is the fact that the flat is sufficiently wet as it is: What "will be its condition if it gets a fair share of from 000,000,000 to 700,000,000 gallons;of water yearly, in addition to its natural supply t Much of the sewnge water, if discharged on ■„ the sandhills, is sure to find its way as subsoil water towards the outskirts of the city. I We do not stop to inquire whether the soil on the sandhills be suitable for pu. poses of irrigation; for wa believe it should; tiever have neea proposed to conddct'Dune'din sewage there. We imagine that vtUevdriginators of this proposal- acted like David, wlen he came to the' conclusion that all men. are liars. The Saint lived to confess that is his haste he erred ; and if the Dunedia sewage is to , be poured so near the city as;these -well meaning people?would have-it,-, some of r them-'... may,, live to regret the part they acted Lefc the subject be well ventilated (by all means. Yet, however much it may beeifted pro and coa; we venture to.payihat^i^&Bafc ■ objection to this scheme, 'viz'.,ith ye"p Hi^pmity' of the sandhills to human dwellings, cannot; in any way be got rid off. Let it also be remembered that this is, in.the first instance,, the most: expensive o.E all the three methods of sewage' disposal;- that it may .prove a commercial failure ; and that it has all the disadvantages and dangers of the ordinary water-closet system within the. city, while ia the immediate neighbourhood of tie irrigated land it haß dangers peculiarly its own. Tta only advantage is the supposed gain that may be derived fro 11 working the farm, which can never compen'uite those whoaaproperty it will' permanently injure. We cannot believe that the citizens of Dunedio.

(who so decidedly stand against having the town sewage diverted into the Bay in its present condition) can, after considering the ■matter carefully, bo persuaded by any argu'meuts, however plausible, to allow the neighibourhood of the city to be polluted by irri_gatiug the sandhills.