THE FERRY ROAD DRAIN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 840, 4 February 1871, Page 2

THE FERRY ROAD DRAIN.

A public mealing of the residents of the Heatlici te district was held Jaat evening at the Road Board < >ffice, at 7 o'clock, for the purpose of considering the ■■ ropriety of taking immediate Btepa to compel the City Council to abate the nuisance arising from the Ferry Road Drain. On the motion of Mr "opkins, seconded by Mr i lliviee Mr J. T. fisuer was voted to the chair. ' The chairman having read the advertisement convening the meeting, called upon Mr Ollivier to'open the proceed ings. «r Oixiviek said that although not the author of the advertisement convening the meeting, he co thoroughly approved of it, that he had no hesitation in complying with the chairman's request. He then proceeded to '. detail the iteps that had been

taken respecting the matter since their last meeting about twelve months since. He alluded to the Attorney-General's opinion, and said that he was perfectly satisfied that the Attorney-General was clearly of opinion that the City Council had no right to inflict such a nuisance on them as had been done by emptying the sewage of Christchurch into the Ferry Road Drain. He contended that the matter affected not only the Heathcote District, but the very vitality and health of the inhabitants of Christchurch, and he aaid that they had a perfect right to go to the Supreme Court, and ask for an injunction to restrain the City Council from sending down amongst them the filth and abominations^of the city. Now, after all the delay that had taken place, the City Council wished to soften down the residents on the Heathcote district, and they had accordingly put up a dam and erected a trap and hid promised to bring up an exhaustive report on deodorization. (Laughter.) He contended that the effect of the dam would be — that the moment it was opened up, the accumulated filth of the City would be brought down and create an evil ten times greater than that which prevailed before. (Hear, hear.) He ridiculed the idea of the City Council entering upon the question of deodorization,and would ask — did they believe in it ? | Hear, hear. Mr Parish : " Not all the drugs in creation would do it." Laughter.] He then spoke of the deleterious effects to health which had arisen from the miasma coming from the drain, j and he said that the nuisance did not come | from breweries alone, but from all parts of the the City; it was, therefore, absurd for the City Council to go to the brewers and tell them to deodorize the refuse that flowed from their breweries. He would now ask — what was to t c done in this case ? Were they to wait till some of their children fell victims to the extortionate desire of the City Council to send down its filth amongst them? (No, no.) He had no confidence in the City Council, because, if they really wished to remedy the evil complained of, why did they not at once emp'oy the highest talent that could be obtained in order to gr-pple with the question of the sewage of the city ? Instead of doing that, they desired Mr Cuff, the City Surveyor, at his leisure to take levels, and do other work when he had time to do it. What had the City Council done when their chairman (Mr Fisher) had, in obedience to the wishes of the ratepayers, brought before them the resolution passed at a public meeting ? Why, Mr bishop counselled the Council to be careful what they did, or they would bind their successors. Seeing all this, and seeing that the City Council had done nothing, he felt satisfied that nothing was left for the ratepayers to do but to go to the Supreme Court, and ask that the City Council might be restrained from perpetuating a nuisance which was affecting the health — nay, the very lives of themselves, their wives and their children. It was only within the last few years that the nuisance had existed, since the laying down of the side channels, by means of which, and the eupply of artesian water, they poured down upon the residents of the Heathcote, the poisonous filth of the city. Once more, he would urge upon them the necessity of going at once to the Supreme Court, and get the drain closed up at once, or if they •il lowed the use of the drain to the city, it should be only for a limited time, and then upon the express condition that the abominations of Christchurch should not be allowed to run down that drain. So strongly did he feel upon the matter, that if he had the physical power to do it he would at once fill up that drain, because he felt satisfied that, he had a legal and a moral right, together with the right, as a citizen of the world, to prevent the nuisance complained of. He bugged to move the adoption of the following memorial: — '' To the Chairman and the Members of the Heathcote Road Board. j " Gentlemen, — We, the undersigned ratepayers of the Heathcote district, desire to impress upon the Board the necessity for immediate action being taken to restrain the i 'hristchurch City Council from any longer making use of the Ferry Road Drain as a sewer, and therefore request you will at once, and without notice, direct counsel to take such proceedings as are required in the Supreme Court, to close up the drain absolutely, and to limit its use as an ordinary roadside water channel. " We observe from the reports of the meeting of the City Couno Hors, that they evade h definite arrangement, that they decline to enter into any obligation which shall afford to the ratepayers of this district positive relief from the serious annoyance they are daily enduring. Indeed they go further, for they have declared themselves unwilling to pledge tkeir Council to any course of action which may be binding on their successors, while at the same time the complaints of the citizens of unwholesome sewage, nearly as foul as the Ferry Road Drain, are immediately met by deepening channels, or by the construction of new wells, to enable a greater flow of water to carry off the sewage in question, either to the River Avon or else to the River Heathcote, by the Ferry Road Drain. "They complain that we are unreasonable because we are unwilling to be poisoned by the abominations of the City, and so we are to be made the victims, for the purpose of enabling the great chemical wisdom of the City Council to expend itself in childlike • fforlß at deodoriaation, and in the construction of experimental dams and covered traps, which only increase our sufferings instead of removing them. The most trivial subjects are of more, importance in the estimate of (he City Council, than this vital question of its arterial drainage, and therefore it is to be put aside until that more convenient day that never comes. We therefore earnestly pray that you will at once proceed with this matter/ and accepting no more compromises or evasions, move the Supreme Court to define without delay the right of the City Council, if it has any, to .pour its sewage into the River through an artificial drain j and to the

serious damage of the district, the discomfort of travellers using the road, and to the imminent danger to the health, if not to the life, of the ratepayers living along its coarse and its immediate vicinity." Mr Hopkins bad very great pleasure in seconding the motion a 9 he was perfectly satisfied from reading the reports of the City Council proceedings that they intended to ; try and wear out the inhabitants of the ; Heathcote district. He might mention that there was sickness now in the district, which he believed had arisen solely from the drain. He trusted that as Mr Councillor Sawtell was present he would give some explanation ou the matter. Mr Parish supported the motion, and complained that the drain overflowed a large quantity, of valuable land, and rendered it valueless. He wondered that the present Mayor of Christchnrch did not tell the City Council of the dangerous nature of the drain when his horse raa into it and nearly killed him, his wife, and his son. (Hear, hear.) He thought that the best thing they could do was to fill in the drain at once. Mr Satttell thought that the drain was an abomination not only to the district, but also to many parts of the province. The City Council acknowledged that it was a nuisance and were anxious to abate it, but it was a thing not to be done at once. [Mr Pa ish : Start it ; start it.] Besides obtaining the necessary plans and surveys, the City Council would have to obtain increased borrowing powers from the General Assembly, and that could not be done at once. It was the intention, he believed, of the majority of the Oity Council to obtain the necessary j information, and also to obtain the requisite borrowing powers ; and he trusted that as the City Council showed a disposition to abate the nuisance to the best of their power and ability, that the Heathcote ratepayers would be satisfied. He contended that the steps recently taken by the City Council to deodorize the liquid matter coming from the city showed a desire to meet the wishes of the Heathcote ratepayers, but at the same time the Council could not definitely promise when the nuisance should be abated, and he was of opinion that it was unreasonable to require the Council to fix the time. Mr Bai/linger also spoke in support of the resolution. Mr Ollivier briefly replied, and said that all they wanted the City Council to do, was to state honestly within what reasonable time the nuisance should be abated. That Mr Sawtell said was unreasonable. What he (Mr Ollivier) wanted them to do was to go to the Supreme Court, and get the Judge to tell the City Council that within such a time the nuisance must be abated. The motion was put and carried, Mr Sawtell dissenting. Mr Makch said that he could not leave the room without tendering his very sincere thanks to Mr Ollivier for the steps he had taken in the matter. He was perfectly satisfied that by going to the Supreme Court, they would force the City Council to go into what the Press had been urging them for years to do., viz., to go into the whole question of the drainage of the city, and he was satisfied that, ultimately, not only the residents of the Heathcote district, but also the citizens of Christchurch would thank Mr Ollivier for the action he had taken. Mr Ensor also said that the thanks of the meeting were due to Mr OHivier for the steps he had taken to strengthen the hands of the Board. It was determined that the memorial to the Road Board should lie at Mr Angus' for signature. The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman.