The Timaru Herald. TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1903.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXIX, Issue 12143, 11 August 1903, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1903.

The Borough s Council having determined to dispense with the services ■ of the late borough.: engineer, the next step ,;was to •make, provision J or the continued -performjance, of" the" iduties -appertaining to thft yacated-'offiee: The situation: was exactly ; the : Amc 'as '.' it had been i.befbre the .latt engineer's appointment: - It; had ;then been. I agreed" thatl<the time had; arrived when [,a .duly qualified, engineer should- berengaged, .arid-that the.'post of overseer, of works' | should be allowed to lapse. The deteri minationi'was an excellent one, and nothing I that has'since happened should have caused the members ■ of'the Borough Council to change their minds. We need not examine the reasons which induced the Council to terminate the engagement of the late ■engineer, for they, do not affect tire situation in the smartest degree, nor are we aware that anyone has contended "fliat they do. It is not; our business either to attack or to defend the late engineer, though we may go so far as to say that whilst we do not impugn his professional: abilities or qualifications, fwe think that the 'Council acted wisely in the step which they took. It is" sufficient to say that ", he did not suit." but it idoes, riot follow that there is not a. suitable engineer, open to engagement in the colony, 'or that the' Council could -not jseoure his services on reasonable terms' if ;they : were to try. If the article is indeed so very! scarce jn New Zealand, which there is no reason to believe, the Council could cast their net over a much wider area by advertising in Australia. Shey would speedily obtain shoals j of applications s 'from didy qualified engineers, possessed of excellent testimonials as to; professional standing and general character. There is no reason why a judi-

eious selection should not be matte, .and the result would be very beneficial to the.' ; interests of the ratepayers and the general J ■residents of Timaru. But we may be told .] that the Borough. Council have already "secured the services of an engineer to nil i the place of the gentleman who, recently ' left, and therefore that nothing more remains to be done. The officer who is ! known as the waterworks overseer has been "appointed, and it is intended that he shall perform the double set of duties, with the ..services of an assistant in carrying -out ! the engineer's duties within the borough. , If "that really is Abe new arrangement it is "a thoroughly rotten one, and the ratepayers should luck against it vigorously. :In the. first place we would ask whether the waterworks overseer is a properly qualified engineer? Did he serve the regular term to the business and get his articles from some reputable practioner or firm of practitioners? Or is he a. product of the Government Tub'.ic -Works Department, which has given the colony some of its b,est private practitioners? Is he a member of the New Zealand; Institute of Engineers, or has he equivalent vouchers obtained in the Old Country? We admit that we have no certain knowledge on these points, but if the waterworks overseer is so equipped it .is passing strange that his qualifications have all along, been kept entirely 'out of sight. It is clear that he can take levels, and that he has learned a great deal aboull keeping the water-race in good order., . fn fact, by all accounts he has been an active useful i servant ;is overseer of the waterworks, and there will always be a superabundance of work for him to do in that'capacity. . Some people incline to. the belief that he has rather too much to do as overseer, but we never heard it hinted that his time was not fully occupied in looking after the bf rough water supply. There are therefore two reasons why he should not hold the office of Borough Engineer, and either of them fshould be; sufficient to put a stop to the 'new arrangement. The' first reason is that he-is not a properly qualified, engineer (and vwe have already said that we may be in error with regard to that point, and if so ; we apologise for having done the waterworks 'overseer an. injustice); and the second reason is. that his hands arequite full already, and that it; is.iimpossibii for him'tOiCarry on.the business' of'tie'combined offices so as to do justice- to "the public. v We have come to the conclusion that the' people of Timaru are long-suffer-ing to a most extraordinary./and perfectly unaccountable degree. It is rarely if ever that they protest vigorously against muul-_ vagaries and jobs.' The consequence is that a good many things are done that ought not; to be done, and a good many things left; undone that ought to be done. The 'character of \ the Borough Council hot stand; high in the estimation df the public. .Meti: take their places at the Council fableyVho would not have the smallest-chance,. of being there if the electors would intelligently study their own interests. 'This question of-, the appointment "of a Borough Engineer shows, the kind of'results which inevitably flow from the .'general apathy of the public with regard to, municipal.matters.. The waterworks, overseef should be. kept strictly to of looking" after the> race, the and the mains, and to seeing that the supply is amplej>=an'd that the iwater is asi clear and as'free from poisonous and filthy jmatter,, as -the circumstances of -the case wjll admit- If he does;: all that can be done" in attaining those desirable ends, he will have '■' no time' for posing as Borough. Engineer of Timaru. That a properly qualified engineer is really wanted is amply proved by the experiences of many 'years. Endless blunders were perpetrated under the.old system; levels weisp continually being .altered;. , streets, apparently finished ana metalled, were disturbed and rendered .impassable by fresh layers of clay being dumped upon them; "and finally the footpaths were kept in a miserable condition, all humps and hollows, ami. repairs were generally effected with material totally unsuitable, for the purpose. It, is reasonable to expect that'in the .course of a very few years a properly qualified .engineer would completely-revolutionise the state of the roads and paths throughout the borough, and that the cost of the improved f 'condition of things would be less than the'eost of the old system of muddte and muck. ' !.-' X.''' :' \,l ■''.':