The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1884.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 6613, 21 November 1884, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1884.

« The Waterworks are now the absorbing topic amongst our city fathers, and much gobd is expected to be derived from their personal inspection of the dam, etc., last Monday One of the proposals submitted was to make extensive repairs with concrete, at a cost of something like £250; but the opponents to this scheme rightly argue that it would be foolish to employ concrete to repair what is certainly only a temporary system. In a few years the machinery and the dam, and other woodwork will be worn out and rotten, and when the gravitation scheme from the Meeting of the Waters is adopted, an immense concrete wall at the breach would remain as a monument of their folly. That the gravitation scheme will be adopted is without a doubt, and wooden repairs will last till it is available. The course likely to be taken by tho Council is to purchase the land below the cliffs on the other side, and extend the dam about twenty feet. If the water should eat round this, a further extension is all that would be required. Of cou/se, as the dam is lengthened, greater facility for escape is given, and the lowering of the level of the water above the dam, and the lessening of the supply to the race is the consequence. This difficulty can be easily overcome by bolting on another plank to the dam, and so raising the level about six inches. Some alteration is also needed to the wire screens which are supposed to stop wood and rubbish from flowing into the race The river occasionally rises above them, and they consequently do not fulfil their functions. They will need to be raised slightly; but all these alterations, including the purchase of tho land, will not cost more than about £50. ♦

The news from Engknd respecting the frozen meat from New Zealand is very encouraging, and tho system being adopted in Wellington of sending home to friends frozen carcases of lambs and sheep is likely to make it still more popular. The Wellington papers state that so great has been tho demand made upon the company which has undertaken to execute the orders that some difficulty has been experienced in meeting it ; and that further orders for frozen lambs will have to be declined. Some 200 lambs will be forwarded by the 8.8. Ruapehu, which is to arrive in England in time for the orders to be distributed by the New Year. No better means could be adopted for popularising New Zealand frozen meat, for the article will be delivered to many families which, under ordinary circumstances, would probably not think of purchasing it from tho butchers. If agencies were started all over New Zealand to take orders for sending home joints of mutton we feel sure that the opportunities of doing so would be taken advantago#of by numbors of the settlers who may have poor relations in the old country. This novel mode of retailing meat would havo the effect of introducing it into places where it wus unknown, and do more to counteract the opposition of the English butchers than anything we know of. ♦

At the close of 1883, the number of pupils on the High School roll was 59, with an average attendance of 53. There has been a slight decrease this year, and the attendance now stands at 38. There are two schemes for augmenting the number of scholars; one is to form a preparatory class in connection with the school, and tho other is to admit girls. If tho latter plan were adopted it is probable that the classes would not be mixed, but t!iat a lady teacher would bo employed. Thoro are six scholarships open for competition, and this will slightly increnso the attendance for 1885. Tho average cost per head in 1883 was £13 3s. 2d. This amount includes an allowance for rent, building, and furniture. Tho idea of a preparatory class is not likely to be adopted, as the standard is considered to be low enough already. In other High Schools the lowest standard is the fifth or sixth, while here it is only the fourth. Tho whole coat of working the school last year was £697 12s. 3d., of which £530 10b. was for salaries.

The quick construction of the breakwater just now seems to confirm Mr. Thomson's, opinion that the present system is really a more rapid way of woiking than the rubble formation proposed by Mr. McGregor. Within the last three weeks about sixty feet have been added to the pier, and with the large supply of seasoned concrete blocks the construction should make great headway during the coming summer. Of course this progress does not affect Mr. McGregor's contention that his plan would enable work to be carried on in any weather, but the weight of such a recommendation is somewhat lessened where the weather is so settled and favorable to the present system as it usually is on the Taranaki coast. It seems a pity that Mr. Thomson did not display the same grasp of the subject and the same interest in the work at the time Mr. Peters made his statements about the unsoundness of the structure ; for as Mr. Bayly truly remarked at the last Board meeting the Harbor Board never had a chance before of properly guaging his capabilities. If instead of waiting to be a critic of Mr. McGregor's report, Mr. Thomson had criticised Mr. Peters' statements, he would probably hare still been the Consulting Engineer to the Board.