Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1910. BOROUGH DRAINAGE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXII, Issue 9734, 22 July 1910, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1910. BOROUGH DRAINAGE.

The (ieci.iiou of ilia ?vhist-erton Borough Council to place before the ratepayer;! v scheme, having for its nlf.niatr , . ob-.-ject.feiie draining , of tlt« whole of tho Borough is one of the most important that lias engaged the attoution of the Gcuufiillors for a very cousicicraMo time. Briefly, the proposal is to raise a .loan of £:j 1,000, wliicili is doomed suiliciHufc to meet tiie requirements of every street iv tho Borougl) in regard to drainage; but it must be boruo in niiuii that, in addition to the &HI.OOO loan, it will also be necessary to raise a loan .tor the extension, of tho water supply, while a still further fsutn is required as tho Borough's share for tlie proposed new bridges at the Northern Approaoh. This would brint; the total loau money required to a sum not far short of £40,000. According to the Mayor, the loan would be spread over a period of, say, three years, and such amounts utilised as were found necessary from time to time, the idea being to have the money available for use at any tinio. With tlie details of the scheme wo are not very much concerned just at present. Our Borough Engineer is recognised as being a capable man, and we have sufficient confideuco iv him to believe that any scheme he submits will have had his earnest attention, and will be complete in every essential detail. We do not believe, however, that the tim« is opportune for so extensive au undertaking nor do we believe that f .he ratepayers will entertain the proposal when the time comes for them to record their votes for or against it. It is true that tho Mayor has received the assurance of Sir Joseph Ward that the money will'be available at threo and a-half per cent.; with a one per cent, siubiug fund. Itmay be said that any scheme which has for its object the improvement "of tlie sanitary conditions of tho town should have the support of every right-thinking man aud woman in tho community. But, while that may be true in a general sense, it will be readily conceded that the Borough is not at present insanitary. On the- contrary, our present sanitary system is a good one, as may be gathered from the tact that the town is, and has been for a very

considerable period, singularly free from diseases that may be traced directly to insanitary conditions, i Although there are not wanting signs that the community is slowly but surely recovering from the depression that has been general throughout the Dominion during the past twelve months or more, the increase iv population is not so rapid that the present, system of drainage will be insufficient to meet the requirements of the Borough for at least another year or two. There is reason to suppose that at the end of that time the Borough will be in a better position to deal with a proposal of this magnitude. It may be possible thou to place before tho ratepayers with some prospect ol! kuccoss a scheme so extensivo tin that now proposed. In the meantime, wo have little hesitation in fitatlng that tho time is not opportune for ho largo an undertaking, aud we have littlo doubt, that when tlie peopo.sal is placed before the ratepayers lit will 1)0 found that v very large

majority aro opposed to it

It; in not only iv film Wairarapa that tho settlors aro pleading for railway construction to open up tho country and develop its resources. At tho recant liawera Show luncheon, tho Mayor of thai progressive town, Mr C. L. liurton, mado an earnest appeal for railway construction in his district, and backed up his npnoal by an array of very convincing fucts i\,n<.[

figures. .KirriF, an to road maintenance. On ono road Mr fJurfccn quoted, that boUveon H&wora liorougli and llawora County boundary, ovor rtcSOOO Ii:ul been spout, mil, of loans in P.IOH, itiiil thi) following 3'Oiir repairs had cost ovor .-Klr>oo. On three main linos lending to the existing main mil way route, Mio annual expenditure for tiiHinl.eimue.e was probably not, lo;;!) than £l;">00 •■. year. Assuming tout, v railway cost £0000 per milo, tho portion from Kaupokonu i to llawera would be constructed for .-$■ 73,000. !^fc ->!-S I"' 1 ' C( ' n(; - interest:, the annual cost would bo £'lh:'A), ,ju:-:t fiboiit half what it cost to maintain Mi f 3 roads. in another riding in the llawcra Count} , , the iUangatoko Kiding, about aU per acre of its total area, had been borrowed in tho course of .sixteen .yours to bo spout on the roads. "No farmers," said Mr Burton, "could be expected to staud that." Ho further pointed out that if tho district w0r , . , ! to coutinne the

present system of expensive maintenance local bodies finance must absolutely break down, because the traflio was constantly increasing, and difficulties to bo (--ncouutsred in makingtwo ends iiK'Pl- were becoming insuperable, liis. argument was: If Government were not prepared in construct these urgent Iy-noeessary lines of railway, let the County Council make them. If the latter suggestion is impracticable, why not let private entori.iri.se undertake tho work'/ In that ease restriction,- , could be h>l-

posed as ro rates aud duration of private ownership, s;o as to prevent the creation of an undesirable mouopoly. Ho urged the. Minister to realise thafr

the 'neopie wanted these railways iv their lifetime, and not after the present generation hail been long laid to rest. Tlie Ministerial reply, at. the, same function, was in the effect that he (the Minister) was not connected with tho Railway Departnieut, aud ho was not in a position to go into the details of tho question !