THE SYDENHAM SEWAGE SCHEME.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5762, 5 January 1897, Page 4

THE SYDENHAM SEWAGE SCHEME.

MEETING JDF .. T__E '■ CITY- . COUNCIL. -■'-. A Vapeoial meeting of .the : Christ^uirch City Council was held at 7.30 p.m. yester-; day, to consider the Sydenham sewage scheme; present — The Mayor, and Councillors Gray, Stewart, Woods, Samuels, Andrews, Kincaid, Sorensen, Smith, Prudhoe, Stapleton, Mickle and Appleby. - A considerable numbel* o£ ratepayers were also present. . The meeting had been called by the ' Mayor in response to the following requisition: — "We, th c undersigned members of the Christchurch City Council, hereby respectfully request you to call a special meeting of the Council for Monday, Jan. 4s, 1897, at 7.30 p.m. Business — To discuss the proposed nightsoil scheme of the Sydenham Borough Council." The requisition was signed by Councillors Gray, Sandstein, Stewart, Andrews and Smith. Apologies were made for the absence of Councillors Payling and Sandstein. The Mayor said that the Sydenham j Borough Council was attempting to get rid of excreta by means'of connecting with the main sewer. On a site on the South Belt, next Mr Bedpath's store, they had erected a building of brick, with a roof pomposed of. wood, felt and iron. Inside the building was a' concrete tank 7ft deep, covered with strong boards, caulked and covered with a coating of cement. At the northern end of the ' building was a small fireplace andchimney for a fire to consume any gases whicli might escape. The carts were to be taken inside the building, and the doors shut. Two jets were to be laid on from a deep well which gave a splendid supply of water. One jet was to be conducted into the top of the cart and the other into the tank, which was filled with eight hundred gallons of water. The tank was connected by a six-inch pipe, with the ..ewer, and the Sydenham authorities said... that 'it ' was : intended "t6-. thoroughly wash out the cart and sweep, away the .whole of the. contents into the sewer. They contended that there Would ■ be no escape of gas, nor anything deleterious. He had inspected the building with Councillor Stewart last week, and had taken up the position that the City Council could not do anything to stop the proceedings until- a nuisance existed. - Next day, Dec. 31, he had interviewed the City Solicitor, who, in the unavoidable absence of Councillor Stetrart, had gone with the Town Clerk and himself and inspected the building. ' They had met the Mayor aud some of the . Borough . Councillors of Sydenham, who had received them very courteously, given all the information in their power, and said that if the system proved to be a nuisance they would stop it. Mr Fisher, the city solicitor, had . given an opinion, which he had received that afternoon, and which fully bore out the view he (the Mayor) had taken of the subject. He (the Mayor) had* at a meeting of the Works Committee, asked the members if he should call a special meeting of the Council to consider the matter, and they had said that there was no need to do so. The following opinion from the city solicitors was then read : — "We are asked tb advise whether, in our view, the facts regarding the new scheme which has been adopted by the Sydenham Borough Council for disposal of its nightsoil are such as would justify the Christchurch City Council in interfering to prevent it from being carried into effect.. Our information on the subject, as you are aware, is derived from a personal inspection of the system and a conference with yourself and the Mayor and Town Clerk of Sydenham; There is a duty cast on the Sydenham Borough 'Council by statute, of disposing of the nightsoil of the borough, and the manner in which they perform this duty must be left very largely to their discretion. After, much consideration and inquiry, and with a>,view to the performance of such duty ih what they believe will prove the most efficient manner they have adopted the scheme now under discussion, which they are advised will prove more efficient and less expensive than that which has hitherto been in use. Whether they are right or not "must be left to experience to determine. No doubt the scheme is an experimental one, but the Council is entitled to make experiments and try new methods, provided that in doing so they do hot trench upon public or private rights. Men who have made a study of the subject assert, and advise the Council, thai; if proper precautions are taken aud available appliances used by skilled workmen, no nuisance, either public or private, will be created, and that tho inconvenience hoy.* suffered by the owners of property on the lines- of street leading to the nightsoil roserve, by reason oi: the passage to and fro oi' the night-carts, v.- ill, to a large extent be done away with i'o so far as ivhite- to :-oil from the borough of Sydenham. If when the scheme is brought into | operation a" permanent serious nuisance to the public is occasioned, it may bo the

duty of the Council to take steps to have it abated, but at present there is nothing in the circumstances to justify such action, nor any case on which the law courts can be called on to interfere." Councillor Stewart said that, as chbuv man of the Sanitary Committee, he had received a petition, signed by about 250 people, about 150 of whom were ratepayers of Christchurch, urging the necessity of prompt action to stop what was sure to become an unmitigated nuisance. Councillor Stewart stated that a deputation of the petitioners had waited upon him, and he had replied to them in somewhat the same terms as the Mayor had just used. While lie sympathised strongly with the petitioners, and while he held that it was wrong for the Borough Council to create what might prove to" be a nuisance, he thought thatthe City Council could not take action in this initial stage. He thought that a better site for the building would have been down the Gasworks Eoad. The Drainage Board engineer had told him that the building had been connected only with a nine-inch pipe whicli had also to carry other excreta. He (Councillor Stewart) did not think that by the system the foul gases would, altogether be got rid of. Then there was the nuisance caused by the passing to and'fro of the carts to be considered. He understood that a deputation of the presidents was in attendance, and he thought that tkey might be heard. Councillor Gray said that as the one who had taken the initiative in having the meeting called, he thought that though .the Council could not take any decisive action, it could express an opinion. He had accordingly drafted the following motion : — "Tliat this Council views with alarm the proposal of the Sydenham Borough Council to dispose of the nightsoil of the > borough ih such close proximity to the property of a number of.' the ratepayers of the South-west Ward of this city, believing that such proposal, if carried into operation, will have the effect of largely depreciating the value of property in the neighbourhood, as well as being prejudicial to the health of the people in the vicinity." He thought that if a councillor lived opposite the proposed institution, that councillor would have raised the whole city. He knew that no councillor would like to have it opposite hia ..own door — (applause) — nor to have the whole of the nightsoil carts of the city passing his door every night. (Applause.) .He was somewhat surprised that the Sydenham Borough Council had taken the action it had without consulting the adjacent Council. The proposed institution, he pointed out, affected part of the city more than it did any part of the Borough of Sydenham. Councillor Smith seconded the motion, and said that he thought that a great deal of the opposition to the scheme arose from the manner in which it had been gone , about. In an important experiment of this nature, a local body should have given the fullest publicity to the scheme, taken the ratepayers into their confidence, published the facts upon which the system was based, and tried 'to cpnvince the ratepayers of its harmlesness. This had not been done, and the neglect had been intentional, for one of the ■_. embers of the Sydenham Borough Council had told him that it was to be done as secretly as possible. The Sydenham Borough Council knew that ' their scheme would be obnoxiousto some of the ratepayers ,.of : Christchurch;. indeed, /One-of; the ,. Sydehhanj councillor^ h^dtlold. i himithat^if che lived /.close, to i the proposed 'inatitutiony. ' he : i^-o^d.. ": have, objeetedlas .strongly.,, Smith) had inspected the Arrangement,' and thought it a tin-pot thing.. ' (Aptplause.) Fancy having a tank Bft Wide nnd 7ft deep to. receive. the excreta from 10,000 people i _ It was only as large as a good hotel would have. The brick walls were oply 4£in thick. The tank was connected by a 6in pipe with a 9in pipe, and these were very likely to be choked. Again, if the night-carts under the present arrangements were "a ' nuisance 1 ' r how much ..greater a nuisance, would they be when concentrated every night into one spot. (Applause.) He considered that expert dpinion as to the probable effect of the scheme should have been obtained before proceeding to carry it out. ;•• • ' Councillor Smith said that, in reply to a question from himself, Mr Cuthbert, engineer of the Drainage Board, had said that he did not know of any instance in which the system proposed had been carried out with, success. It was, therefore, purely an experiment.

It having been suggested that the deputation should he heard, The Mayor said that it should properly have been heard first. However, the petition had not come . to him. Councillor Stewart had it, but the deputation could be heard now. The deputation was then introduced, and Mr. Turner said that they had come to protest against the action of the Sydenham Borough Council, and to ask the protection of the City Council. They thought; the scheme the vilest and most barbarous ever introduced 1 into Christchurch.- They had lived there and paid rates for several years, and for the Sydenham Borough Council to establish a nuisance box in their midstiwas intolerable. If thO/.Sydenhairi. Borough Council fished to > (&rrjr out aaexpef iment •for •the^b^neiß.t^pf-^heir; ratepayers '.they should , go „ ', iritoV ; tKefc.Vpwn- ". 'bbrpftglij and not come to the : borders of ; the city; At; a,; meeting- of the t Sydenham Borough Council, Councillor Large, one of the chief promoters of the scheme^ had said that it was absolutely necessary to keep.it. .secret. It was admitted that the present night-cart system was a great. nuisance, I but it was looked upon as a necessary one.. If it were a nuisance now what would, it be when it was centralised^ and all the carts from a district of ■ 10,000 people gathered togother in one spot. ..As to expert knowledge, the Sydenham Council admitted that all the expert knowledge brought to bear. Upon it was the knowledge of Councillors Large and „ Billcliff, who had ,been |appointed a sub-committee "to consider a scheme. Eight opposite the place was a , nursing home for sick people, and was there; any probability that they would be able to open the windows.. of that house on any night diiring the next year ? The establishment of this nuisance would depreciate the value of property in its vicinity at least 50 per cent. It was not a favour which the deputation was asking, but' a right. The present policy of the Sydenham Council seemed to -be: -Let the nuisance exist first; kill a few people; and then stop the nuisance. The structure put up was the most trumpery one imaginable. The ratepayers of the ward meant to agitate and fight, and they asked the City Council to back them up. They had the public Press on their side, and. also the ratepayers of Sydenham. If the matter were put to the referendum in Sydenliam, it would be almost unanimously carried that it was unjust forthe Borough Council to put such a nuisance there. Mi* E. G. Staveley said that he endorsed all that Mr Turner had said. It seemed to him wrong to put a depot of that kind in--the middle of a population of 20,000 people. If such a scheme were adopted in the city, the depot would certainly not be put in Cathedral Square. . It seemed a strange anomaly that inspectors should be sent round to the warehouses of the company which he represented, to see that there was no nuisance there, and that the local body having charge of the locality should put a nuisance in their very midst. Mr .Buxton said that it would be a. disgrace to the city if the Sydenham Borough Council were allowed to succeed in their cowardly attempt to force an abominable

nuisance on the people of one part of Christchurch. Mr Willis also protested against the erection of an experimental excreta station in such a position. Besides the nursing home mentioned by one of the speakers, there were three others within gunshot. He pointed out that the bricks of the building were hot cemented, and said that the noxious gasses could pass through them. The chimney of the fireplace was much too low. The Sydenham Borough Council should have placed the station in Sydenham vPark, and have connected it with a 12in sewer pipe, instead of with a 9in pipe as at the present site. In reply to Councillor Stewart, Mr Turner said that all the closets at Messrs Skelton, Frostick's factory had been connected with a 4in pipe. The distance was only about a chain, and there was a fall of about three feet in 'that. The pipes were twice choked up, and? a 6in pipe, with strong flushing power, had to be put in. Councillors Woods, Sorensen and Andrews supported the motion, and condemned the action of the Sydenham Borough Council. Councillor Andrews said that the station would be nothing but a fever-bed. The walls were not calculated to keep in the foul gases. s Councillor Samuels thought that something more than Councillor Gray's motion was needed. He would like the city solicitor's opinion referred back to him for further consideration. .The matter had been done by the Sydenham Council in a very quiet, way/ and the City Council should do its utmost to stop it. ■ ' Councillor Mickle supported Councillor Gray's motion,, and described the building as a very paltry structure for a very big scheme. It was astonishing to him that any men should attempt to carry out such a scheme in such a building. The only good thing about it was the water-supply, and in connection with that he thought there might be danger in putting such a large body of sewage into the sewer at one time. The chimney was far too low to carry off all objectionable fumes. Councillor Stapleton said that it was very unwise and unfeeling of the Sydenham Councillors to cast this annoyance on the people. He agreed with all that had been said, and pointed out that in Sydney a chimney for a similar purpose was 150 ft. high, and yet was a nuisance. This showed that the chimney at the station was very much too low. Councillor Appleby considered that the Sydenham Council had shown very bad taste in not taking the City Council into consideration in regard to the matter. There was, he thought, no necessity for them to have put the station on the extreme boundary of their borough. The motion -iad his en .iFe'sympathy. Councillor Prudhoe supported the motion, and said that he. had inspected the establishment,.and of all the gingerbread-struc-tures he had seen it was one of the worst. It was constructed in an absolutely disgraceful manner. Councillor. Kincaid said that he deeply., sympathised with the ratepayers of. the-South-Weßt Ward in this matter, and he hoped thatthp Sydenham Borough Council, seeing the strong feeling in the city" and the City Council, would see the propriety Of conducting their experiment in some other place. Councillor Gray; in replying, said he had heard that the Sydenham Borough Council had been, offered the. Drainage. Bpard. sew.age ,farij_ ;f or. depositing their' . nightsoil, but h^deqlined .it. V He. pointed/ IttuvrWith ;re^ . opinion, Tthat in the _-• case., of^.opposition, to -an . application for "• a slaughterhouse license for premises near, dwellings, it was not necessary to wait till the nuisance was actually begun. He was afraid that in this matter the -Sydenham Borough Council could not go back; as it had burned its boats, he understood, by purchasing the nightsoil contractor's' plant' and making arrangements for horsing 'the' carts. If the Sydenham Council had to retrace 'their steps, as they doubtless would, they would : find it had cost them a considerable sum. The motion was then carried unanimously. '..''*'• Councillor Smith moved — "That the District Drainage Board be urgently requested to prevent the use of the tank in carrying out the sewage scheme until tbe ratepayers, whose interests . are vitally affected, have had an opportunity of fully considering the plans of the proposed scheme, arid of taking expert evidence as to the danger to the health of the people in the neighbourhood if the scheme is carried into effect." He said that it Was J absolutely necessary to stop these works at ■' once to give the ratepayers, both of Christchurch and Sydenham, time to consider the matter. The Sydenham Borough Council could not go a single inch ' further without the consent of. the .Drainage Board ; .that body could stop the' thing' if it would. He had, he said, heard that Mr Cuthberb had . at first stipulated that the tank should be 12ft across, and only on strdhg pressure had consented to Bft. ( Councillor Stewart seconded the motion. He remarked that though the Drainage Board had given consent to the connection, it could withhold it. ' In' reply to v Councillor ! - Andrews, the -j Mayor saidv-that the.v{Mrmi&si6n'''of-'-.'tlie--braina^e Board,' for the Sydenham ; Borough ; Council to : u_e; the sewer for excreta, had! been given four years ago. Mr Cuthbert | had assured him that if he were convinced that a nuisance was caused he would stop it at once. The motion was carried unanimously. '•'- ' • The Mayor, and Councillors Stewart, Smith, Gray and Mickle were appointed a deputation to wait the DrainageBoard in connection with the subject; • The meeting then closed.