THE MAYORAL CONTEST.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 11250, 15 April 1908, Page 5

THE MAYORAL CONTEST.

WATERWORKS. It was a matter of regret that the contract for the main pipe line was not yet completed, although a year over-due. Whilst this was very regrettable, the delay, whatever it was, had not been due lo the inaction of the Council since he had been a member of it. They had .used every lever they could, and the strongest language possible, to urge tlie completion,, of the work. Then came the catastrophe';, the wash-out at the headworks. It was fortunate that the damage was not so serious as at first reported. He would make it his duty to see the ecjtitract was «peedflly fulfilled. Tthey beard a great deal about the defects of the pipe line, but where, he asked, would the people of Gisborne have been dur. ing the exceptionally dry sea-son they had just passed through but for this much discussed pipe line. It Avas difficult to imagine what would have been tb? result- had Gisborne had to depend upon tank water in the customary fashion last summer. Since the town had largely extended it was only right that tlie new- areas should: be reticulated. They had had a report from the turncock, who advised that it would run into something over £2000. This report was under consideration _nd an extension on Parau street was being proceeded with. They had to decide Hhe question of ex-; tension, order the pipes and put down the mains as .quickly as possible.. Now that they had the water there was urgent need tliat public conveniences sltould be erected in the town. This could only be done now they had the water, by which the town might also be made more attractive through the erection of fountains, etc. It w&s the duty of the Council to see that this pipe line should be completed and handed over at as early a date as possible. He next came to. the . burning question of STREETS AND' ROADS. '..';. It was not' a matter for argument that many of the streets were highly unsatisfactory; many of them were unmetalled, and though they had Been settled for years they were still sandy wastes. There were many of such he knew from his own. . experience,, especially in the west end, Victoria .township, and at Kaiti. where not an ounce of metal had been put on them. Besides this, ma_hy of the streets were, as the late engineer had told them, worn. out. What was the reason for this ? The enormous diffi-: culty they experienced in getting metal., Patutahi had been the main source of metal supply, but for eyery yard of inetal ,ftom there they had; put on the streets they had to- pay . 14s- 6d. This cost was enormous. Tlie present Council last year had let contjracts for the supply of 5000yds of Patutahi metal, yet they Vore only able to obtain 3500yds, of it, a facfc that would give theni ail idea of the difficulty the .Council had; to 1 abor under. He dial not think any blame could be attached . to the eo_ti(;ractors : , they experienced equal difficulties in obtaining the. metal. .'. ■■ WAIHIRERE. i; „-,-.. ». There was another place where- they could, get metal-- Waihirere. There was a considerable 'prejudice.' he .knew respecting "'Waihirere, but this, he considered, arose from the ; fact confirmed by the engineers who knew, that the metal formerly used was taken off aa! old slip and was fairly rotten. Waihirere. metal although not the host, was better than slush and /mud. 'It would "stand well in tlie second! streets, where there were only bakers' and butchers' carts and doctors' traps. (Langhl^er.) '; Seeing this was so, the people might well ask why they were no fixrther iihead. The reason Mas because they were in a "hole" over th defective title to the land. The Council had 'been unable to, do" anything, nor could the natives. He was glad to say. however,, that at the. last meeting a neAv title had been presented, and' they were now free to go to Waihirere , for stone., (Applitise:) A iprociamation was being issued over a portion, of Waihirere, taking a portion for a quarry 'reserve. This, being the face of a cliff, would not cost much. }%e proceeded to quote from an estimate prepared by _Nfx G. Grant, which sliowed 'that it would cost £3.300 to open up the quarry and lay a. tramway. Ui the Government railway. •'.'. Tlie eg^i-, taate further provided that tlie'.' inetal could be brought* out. to the Government railway station for 2s 10d per yard 1 , rail-! age to Gisborne Is lOd, and spread- of metal within a male of the Gisborne railway station lOd, thus costing a total of 5s 6d per y_jxL He would say that il they could get such metal," even though it was second-class, andi placed on the roads at 5s 6d per ; yard, they would have accomiplished a very .great thing. Whilst a year's supply of 14,500 yards of Waihirere metal would cost £4000, ah equal quantity of Patutahi metal would cosit. £10,500. or £6500 more, and they could not possibly bring the' quantity in from Patutahi. There was, he added, a proposal before the- County Council to bring metal in by a tram line, by wliich they were promised they could obtain 6tone at 7s ?d per yard. He thought* they should welcome any such proposal.' The time was coming, however, when the boiough should acquire a quarry of its own, sine© the supply at Patutahi was only limited, and- they should therefore go in foi" Waihirere "bald headed." He had been informed by a .thoroughly practical man that there was metal even better than Waihirere four miles, from the borough. He wais not in a positdon to disclose' the locality. If this was so, it Mould be an unestimable boon. The matter of what he Called the shocking state of the footpaths in the borough was also dealt with, tlie doctor explaining that the Council had recently acquired a gravel pit along the railway, and it should be their duty to tap that and 1 develop it as soon as they could. At present. ( for some unexplairiable reason, the Council was completely blocked in its supply of river gravel. To . come down to particulars, he said the Council had recently, fixed .up another section of Gladstone road!, which cost a great deal of money for Patutahi metal, was very satisfactory, and he looked to the time when they would have Gladstone road to Carnarvon street, and also Read's Quay, metalled and asphalted. The Wainiii load '.'and Ormond road were also in a. bad condition. It was not a question of money, but absence of material ; therefore they sliould go in for obtaining . a [supply. Whilst the Council had erected 17 new lamps hist year, they had' been unable to carry out their intentions in Ormond road, owing to the absence of gas mains. They should have more lamps as . they could get them. MUNICIPAL GASWORKS, . The ' question of the acquisition of the gasworks had recently been raised. Whilst tlie borough owned its water supply, so they should own their gils. The supply of gas had, he realised, to be re!gnlated by the cost of coal, but if they purcluised tlie works they would be able to light their .streets and. obtain tar, of Avhicli they were large consumers, at cost price. Whilst- it wis a big .thing, he did not think that if the Council approached the directors of tho Gas Company in a reasonable >yay, they would be met unreasonably. •- From what he coulcl learn, they would meet them in a reason- 1 able spirit in the negotiations. ' ' I BRIDGES. Speaking of bridges, Dr Williams referred to the erection of the new Roebuck road bridge, wliich was, he thought, of great benefit, of which the old Council might well be proud. There was another bridge needed, however, and tliat was the connecting up of Kaiti and Wliataupoko. Even tluough only a stock bridge- wag built, it would be a great convenience. ' That was a matter for a social loan, but he considered that when they went in for a bridge, they sliould have a v/roper one. CHRONIC INVALIDS. Coming to the matters «of hospital and charitable aid. Dr Williams said the local institution was, though small, a good one. There was need for the accomnio'dation of .cases of chronic disease. > It wns "not right that they sliould expect the Jiospita.il to deal with them. ''.There' were people wlio sliould receive attention, even though tlie Board started with only a bouse and staff of nurses. He would see that something should 1 be done. Another matter was tlie need for extending the provisions now made for old men to the other sex. (Applause.) He knew of one pathetic case. A penniless old woman whom no one wanted, her people were away, and it was up to them, to try and get something done. Whether they appointed him Mayor or not. he would endeavor to see that something wag done for these -unfortunate women. (Applause.)

HARBOR MATTERS, he said, were very important. He did not tliink, however, that tlie office of Mayor sliould give a right to the holder of that office to walk into and occupy a .seat on the Harbor Board. There should be more direct election of the members of this Board, only four of whom were sent there directly by the people. He understood the Government had a Bill on the stocks which would amend the representation of Harbor Boards. He thought it right that ho should express his views on this point. The fact- that the Mayor had a seat on the Harbor Board tended, he maintained', to impart into tlie Mayoral contests a confusion' ol local interests which should not exist. It was impossible to comprehend what this district had suffered from through the absence of a decent harbor. As Tie liad remarked to some friends in Auckland recently, if they only had a portion of Auckland harbor down. here, .we would by the aid of this rich and fertile district knock Auckland ''kite high." Nature had treated this portion of tlie Dominion very niggardly with respect to harbor accommodation, and that deficiency it was tlie duty of the Board to try and amend. (Applause.) He approved of the action of the Board' in consulting' Mr Marcliant, together with the eminent English' firm, of Messrs Coode. Son and Matthews, whilst they had. also done -well in submitting these reports to the marine superintendents of the shipping companies. The more light they liad on this important subject the better. He endorsed the Harbor Board's careful action. Whilst they desired an outer harbor, they, did not want tlie experience that had obtained at Napier, where they had spent a million of money, and still had to lighter their cargoes of frozen 1 mutton and wool. It was suggested now to even consult with another engineer, and he thought this would be advisable. A Harbor Board could not, he pointed out, say whether a harbor sliould be constructed or not ; that rested with the people. The utmost the Board could do was to collect all the information available and marshal the facts. There was one auomolous feature of last year's Gisborne "Harbor Act, inasmuch as that the Gisborne ratepayers had to .contribute a Id rate, whilst their country. friends, who would equally benefit, got off rwith aid rate. There had been no proposal so far that he knew of to/ secure; iin amendment, but if there was he would try and remedy this. (Applause.) 1 PUBLIC RESERVES. !. ;'.-' Gisborne was, he said, 'very badly, 6ff in the matter of reserves. WhenV-the town was laid off no .provision had been made. He had been informed; however, that prior to tlie ..town being soldi representations wore made- and the Government decided to make a large reserve near Berry street. a mistake the land was put up for auction; only one section was sold, but that sale; through an unfortunate error, prevented a fine reserve being retained for tlie people. Better use, he urged, should' be made <rf the existing' reserves . they possessed. The recreation ground at .Carnarvon street was not a place of beauty; ib ought to be, and if he was elected, he would maike it Ms duty to see tha^oine-' tiling was done. Why should not that reserve be made a garden, 'confcunihg specimens of all the beautiful . bush plants and trees? It sliould have seats and flower gardens, and be made a credit to the town, instead of a discredit. (Applause.) Another matter that" was near his heart was the securing of a reserve for boating) parties up the Waimata river. When he had suggested /this to the Council, some of his 'friends had poohoohed the idea. They should, he still thought, do something. They should secure a nice, spot of three or . four acres within ; *l£§spnable distance ; the public then, could gb and hold their picnics without trespassing on private property. ■ \ AIM AND OB.IECT. ■ ; From the programme he had just detailed, they would see that he had' a progressive mind. All these things could only be obtained with money, and he reminded them that if they put too hea^vy a load on the backs of the community, which Was still young and growing, they might stunt its .growth. : It was necessary, tliat> great I '' care should be'exerci^d; .'and that their ardour for progr<jss should be tempered with discre tion. They '■' should see tliat they ■ ;d'id not make the rates too heavy. "Should they entrust him with their confidence, it would be his honor and pleasure to initiate as many of these things as he could, and it would be for his successors to carry them on. He thought he liad shown that his year of service had not bee'n an idle one. He claimed to have reduced the l visionary drainage schemes ,to a concrete proposal; he had, too, Urged Waihirere meeting after meeting, .find had supported other matters beneficial to the borough. In conclusion, lie assured tliem tliat it would be Ins endeavor, as- it had alwayj? been in private life, to be straight, v just, and perfectly honprable. • (Loud applause.) '.- .'-. QUESTIONS. The first question received w;i_s, ono asking whether the candidate favored the municipalisation of the control of the liquor traffic, and if he thought .-the borough of '• Gisborne should reap the benefit of licensing fees. The Chairman remarked the borough already did go. 2 . - Dr Williams added .that the bprough already reaped the benefit of ; the 'fees, and he' did not see why they should not do so. ; Why was it that during his term of office as a Councillor he haa not initiated any of the reforms mentioned in his Mayoralty address. . The doctor said he had tried to make it clear that he had done so. (Applause.) Last year he had appealed to the public on the one question, sanitation reform ; he had gone ! to the Council with that end in view., He had appealed to the ratepayers with that as his one plank. He was afraid' his eloquence was feeble, or they would have heard what he had 1 done in reducing the various schemes to the present definite proposal. Had be not striveh hard for Waihirere almost every meeting? But the fault lay with the faulty title. He had etipported other matters of benefit to the borough when they had come up. The question', he thought, was hardly fair. (Applause.) Was he in favor of handing over the 'Waikanae beach to the Beautifying Association for conversion, into a pleasure resort? — Well, that was all right, but the Beautifying Society, of which he had the honor of being a member, was really only for beautifying purposes, not to do such work as erecting breastworks, although they had- collected money for that purpose. They had in the past encountered a lot of trouble collecting, funds to do what work they had done, but if the people were prepared to put their hands into their pockets— for that was what it meant to beautify the Waikanae — he was prepared to help to carry it out. v (Applause.) Would he favor full pay to all borough employes for all Saturdays and holidays on which they were allowed to work, and for one week's leave of absence on full pay each year? — He thought some of them got a week's holiday on. full pay now, and a good bit over. As to the payment for Saturdays, and holidays on which they were allowed to work, he did not understand what was meant. Would it be possible to confine the water of. the Taruheru river in an underground channel to the outer harbor, and form a park on the .present river bed? (Laughter.) — They- might, he said, confine the river and build a carriage drive on either side, which would be very nice, but it would costa lot of money. Should the entertainment and banquetting of the Governor and Cabinet Ministers, who drew 30s a day, be paid by the ratepayers? — He considered it was right the Governor should be entertained, but he might add that the expenses of the last Governor's visit was almost all borne by private individuals. There %vas hardly any expense to the 'ratepayers. As for Cabinet Ministers, he had not had much ' experience in entertaining such people—(Voice.: But you will (laughter)— but when they did cenne here he thought it only right they should- be- given something to eat. (Laughter and applause.) Would he lease the read ends fronting the river on Whataupoko? — No. Did he favor, rating oh the unimproved value ? — This was a very big question, and a method of obtaining revenue recently adopted by other centres, few of whom had gone back to their old system. By rating on the unimproved value the burden of tlie rates fell on the land. In some respects this was a good thing. It

induced people to build, but it had its disadvantages. In Gisborne they derived large rates from banks, places of business, and hotels. Under such a system these premises would not pay nearly so much, and naturally the burden would be spread out over the borough. Thus the rates must fall heavier on small sections than at present. The whole question required to be fully gone into. If the people thought it was a good thing, he would say, "Let them have it ; I will not stand in the way." Mr Yardley asked whether the doctor favored the introduction of a better system of valuation of borough property, in view of the fact that at the present time there were a large number of persons dissatisfied with the valuations of the valuer? — He was in favor of a better system if it could be found. The questioner explained that the valuer could now either rate -on the rental value, or, if he thought that was not enough, he could put a 5 per cent, rate on the capital value. They could get no satisfaction from the Assessment Court. The valuer had too many strings to his bow. — Dr Williams replied that seemed to imply dissatisfaction not so much with the system as the valuer. If. there was a general feeling of this sort amongst the public, it was up to them to say so and approach the Council. If he were Mayor he would have no right to "sack" the valuer, but if the ratepayers were not satisfied, the Council could sack him and get another. What was his opinion on the temperance question ? (Voices : This has nothing to do with it.)— Dr Williams said that whilst this question had nothing to' do with municipal affairs, if they wanted to know his private opinion he did not mind telling them he was not a prohibitionist. He thought, however, that there were reforms iha't might come. The liquor traffic had very great glaring defects, and as a professional man he could hot shut his eyes to the fact that the consumption of alcohol caused an enormous amount of sickness. He had never taken a decided stand on the subject. He did not belong to the No-licerise party. Mr P. "Maher wanted to know why, if the doctor had confidence in Mr Grant and Mr Gibbon as engineers, did they accept the services of an outside mail (Mr Hay), to take the levels at a cost of £6 6s per mile, in the face of good engineers locally? The doctor said tlie 'question of Borough levels had been before the Council for many years, and the ., late Borough, engineer had as part of his duties to take the levels. He had hot found time to finish this work. It was, a very : : urgent thing, and they should be taken as soon as possible. .The matter was re? ferred to .the Public Works Committee;: of which he was not a member, and, had obtained an offer from Mr R. flay, of Dunedin, to do the work, which would run into about £250. .This was considered very cheap, and it had been said local' quotations were much higher. In entrusting the work - to Mr Hay, he was satisfied the ratepayers would have no cause to regret it. ; :; " 2' v '2 Mr T. ; Long enquiretl whether the doctor would favor the State ownership of the tramway and railway, and not. allow it to pass, into the hands of Mr Bees' company.— Dr Williams replied he was at a loss to know what tramways were meant. He had only referred to the Waihirere tramwav. which would belong to the borough, and the proposed Patutalii line, which would be the property of the County Council. MrW. L. Clayton, in moving a vote of thanks, said the doctor had shown a wonderful grasp of the main' subjects to be considered. On the question of drainage alone he had a better grasp of. the, incidence of taxation and the working of ;the. .sceheme than anyone in the hall. They all acknowledged the borough roads were v now in a ■ worse' condition than for years, but when they* heard the explanation, they must agree, there were excuses. They were grateful to Dr Williams for his public-spirifcedhess in offering to take the position of Mayor, which office he would fill; with; honor, ,_ as had been done foi* years by. the man who, whether they agreed with his views or not, they all recognised as honest. John. (Applause.) While some, of them considered John Townley.- had been in office' too long, they all : adi-ired the man, and' regretted his retirement." (Applause.) Dr Williams would make a worthy succe_sSor, and would fill the position with dignity, fairness, and without bias. They all knew he was a straight and honest man. They might be able to pick defects in other ways,' but for the reason of his straightforwardness lie was worthy of their support, and would retain the high honor of office set up by John TownL ley, retaining the name of Gisborne as a credit amongst the sister towns of the Dominion. As a supporter of the outer harbor scheme— in fact, the first to advocate it from the public platform. (A Voice : You are electioneering.) Yes,, lie was electioneering for the return of Dv Williams. Further interrupted^ as a supporter of the outer harbor scheme, he assured them he would not bo supporting Dr Williams unless he, too, was in favor of this important work. Mr G. E. Darton seconded the. motion. There was not, he added, much for him' to add. Mr Clayton, as usual, had said it all, and had said what he was going to say. Politics^did not enter into the present contest, and whether Conservative or Liberal, they could all join harids and ifight for, the return of the best man to the Mayoralty. They must' have a progressive man/ and opponents must agree ■ that the , doctor's programme was entirely. a progressive one, and he was a" progressive man who would carry it into effect. ••'.■' Mr T. Long supported the resolution, stating that he had gone to the meeting wjth a perfectly open mind, and had decided to support the doctor. (Applause.) The Chairman, on putting the motion of thanks, declared it. carried unanimously, with applause. A similar compliment to the Chairman terminated the meeting. : ,

■ "/. ADDRESS BY DR. WILLIAMS. '; There was a large attendance (including, many ladies) at His Majesty's theatre last night, 7when Dr. Williams,, a candidate for the office of Mayor of Gisborne, addressed the electors. The Hon. Captain Tucker (.County Chairman) presided, and in opening the proceedings said he did not know- how many, years, it was since it had been his pleasure to address a Gisborne audience. . He liad greait;. • pleasure in introducing a candi- ; date -orie who was well known in Gis- ' horrie, and who. came of a family closely connected with Gisborne for a. greatinany years. Whoever succeeded would have a difficult task, and oaie he wotiid not. care to take' up himself, as the successful Candidate would follow in '7- the footsteps of- one who hadV. served tliem :' long; ' faithfully, , and well for , .a great- riiunber of years— a man who had devoted himself entirely to tlie service of the people, who* had spared; himself no pains or trouble, and. who had sacrificed his own personal convenience and thought to the well-being and: business- of the . people generally. "I therefore," said the Chairman, "say that to live up to his standard, will be a somewhat, difficult task for he who shall be elected to the position. , (Voice : Dr. Williams.) Yes. Dr. Williams* perhaps; Dr. .* Williams, I trust. (Applause.) It rests with you, ladies andi gentlemen, to say. The acquaintance which, you have 'with the present candidate will enable yon to come to some conclusion as to whether be is a fit arid proper peraoh to be elected to the office. A man might be- j extremely clever and yet have some flaw I ' or defect which, perhaps would unfit him for the office. But so, far as the present candidate is ■concerned' I think the best- -testi- „ mony I can give^— if any testimony 'at all were t necessary — is that which was described' by an eminent English judge as the very highest testimony which- yoii* could give to a man, that you .know nothing against him. The answer is"* no. Had there been -anything 1 , against him I must liaive known, as 1 think I may say that had' there been anything worthy of repetition or worthy of consideration, to be said: against hini" we would have ; heard it., and I have never heard it." No doubt, ■he continued, they would expect very, great professions and promises from their candidates, but he would remind them that promises were easy to m«ike. It would be very easy for liim to promise :thenii electric light, electric- cars, and an cuter barbo* at once. But they must recollect tliat iill those things .were obtainable provided they were, prepared to pay for .them;. None of these : things, , were, in the gift of a candidate ; they would bhly be done by their putting their' hands i in their pockets. He then railed on the candidate to- address them. A HEARTY RECEPTION. Dr. Williams on rising was received with warm applause. He said he would try to express his views as, concisely as possible. He sought their suffrage, not from any vain glory or desire of self-ag-grandisement, but because he held it was the duty of every man '.when-'- called on by the citizens to strive to do his best to give effect to their wishes., "The : position of honor," he said, "is not one to be lightly sought or lightly used. .The Mayor is to be the first citizen of, your town. He is the one to whom the citizens look for guidance in public matters. The citizens confer a great trust and a great honor, the {ugliest in the./* posasession to bestow, in their selection -as Mayor, and in seeking that position I do so with «i- whole-hearted desire to prosecute the interest and advancement of the town'to the utmost, of my ability. I have no axe to grind. I stand here for progress. My one. wish: is that Gisborne may be- so guided that she may hold her liexid high anions her sisters as clean and well-ordiered, and well regulated a town as can be found tliroughout the length .and breadth of this Dominion of New Zealand. This brings, me to the first subject on which I am to address yon, the great auestion of .' SANITATION." He reminded them that when he sought and gained a .seat on the Council a year, ago he was prompted so to do by strong feelings he liad on the necessity for drainage. This had been his aim during his, year's service. The present>conditions were out of date and unhealthy , Whilst there was at> present, he acknowledged, some system of reirioving the nightsoil, there wus none regarding the slop water from their houses. Those who lived' in sections away from the river' had no option but to allow their slops to drain away on to their section ; the nuisance so created would be intensified by the copious supply of water now available, and it was v possible s\n epidemic might be caused. (A voice : ' But you're a doctor.) Whilst it was a good thing to «ure disease it was much better to prevent the spread of disease. (Applause.) It was much better to prevent a pestilence. (Applause.) He reminded them of ?the unfavorable impressions which existed outside regarding the health conditions of the town. Let them, he said, try and remove this stigma. Keen though he was on the matter of drainage, he would far sooner have none at all than a faulty system. The Council had done what it could in looking round in this direction, and he, for one, had examined closely what liad happened in other parts of the Dominion. He found that- drainage systems" were mostly iinsatisfactory in other pkices, and their object was to .".void such a state of things here. In almost every one of the larger towns drainage was a problem and an unsatisfactory problem. Little, however, was heard' regarding Wellington, wiliere they 'hall a good system which spoke well for the man who put- it in. The man who supervised that work wrts Mr Mestayer. Accordingly, upon the first meeting of the Council he liad the honor to attend he moved to obtain a i drainage report from Mr Mestayer. Gis-

borne, on account of its flat situation, could not be. drained by gravitation, consequently they luid to adopt a pumping system, and from what knowledge lie could gain and the evidence he liad gathered the Shone system was the mostsuitable. It was this system which was proposed by eminent engineers to be adopted in the lower parts of Auckland, Napier, and elsewhere. It was what Mr Midgeley Taylor, the eminent engineer specially obtained from Englandl had recommended for the low lying parts of Auckland and Napier. When they instructed Mr, Mestayer to report they requested him to provide a scheme which would dovetail in and form a. complete whole. The scheme provided for 30,000 people at-a cost of ±5125-000. This was put oa one side, and a portion, of it, a subsidiary scheme, providing for 12,000 people, <it a. cost tho engineer computed at £83,000 (the Council said £90,000 to be sure) had 1 been recently discussed by the Council. Tlie doctor, referring to a colored plan of the borough, with divi» sions showing the proposed drainage sections said it was proposed to start with a work to cost £50,000; half of which would go to provide an outfall sewer callable of dealing with a. population of 30,000. It seemed to him iwiwiise not to make such provision for tlie future. He and several of his colleagues considered it miis not right that the whole cost of the outfall sewer should fall upon three sections served' initially, but that the cost should fall generally over the whole borough. Quoting from a statement of the value of the borough, he pointed'out tliat the whole area- was set down at £90,000, whilst- areas 5, 7, 8, and 12, which were not likely to require to be .served so soon as the more congested parts was only -estimated to '■represent £360*3. A long time would elapse: before the service; 'would 'be required- to be extended over'these outlying areas. The .Council:'--, therefore proposed that these areas sliould be left out of the scheme for the Proceeding, Dr. Williamsexplained that although nothing had yet been definitely settled, it was, roughly speaking, decided to proceed- Avith the drainage of ■the areas- where theV-pepple lived. The drainage of tlie most congested areas would be* undertaken'first, but so far the Council was not .unanimous, as to who .should pay. The bulk bf the people came'lnto the areas 1; 2; and 3 (from the wharf to •■-Disraeli'-, street) to do their business, and most of ■.their., children-to 'attend school therein, therefore it was necessary to have this J portion sweet and clean. The '-.Coiviif&il^''hoped in five years''tiriie to exteiitF the scheme .and sewier other dnslt riots higher up the town and on Kaiti andl'"WMitanpoko. It was a .fair thing for the people. ■ in- the second; areas to. come in with the scheme nowv othetwise they would have to pay ii: highei) rate when they desired to take jvd-vantage of ;the 'system. After detai lirig '';the ..various rating, suggestions, lib said the ultimate proposal that the Cbunf cil Wilis' discussing- at the present -time' was whether they would put the scheme before the public .as follows:, Areas 1, 2, and .3 (to; be first served) -Is raite, areas 4, 10, and 13 (to be. served in four or five years) 9d, and areas 5, 9, 11, and:, 14 (to he served at a later period) 6d. They Would'., if ' the 'ratepayers sanctioned this, ;raise a loan of £50,000.t0 construct the 'main outfjill sewer, -erect the puanping station and to sewer the first three areas. | The people iii these three areas they I proposed' to risk should pay. When the advantages of the business .and: congest--1 ed area so:sew|ered were observed he felt certaiin the lejfiid'entj. in, the other areas, would sooli clamor for an extensioni to^ j themselves. Tlie present system of , ! dealiiigi with niightsoil' was a veiy expensive orie, costing over £1000 a year, and this expense oyer thesa initial areas would be saved. It was they, the burgesses, who had to.' say' (not the Council) whether this' proposjil for the up to date drainage of the town was to ibe adopted. He liad,on taking .his seat on the Council found drainage had been discussed on many occasioris, but from the visionary scheme to ite' induction to .the concrete proposals"'- enumerated he • claimed to liaveidone a. large share, and that he had faithfully fulfilled the mandate given him bri his election. (Applause.),