The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1883. The Rangitata Bridge.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 995, 14 July 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1883. The Rangitata Bridge.

The telegram which was received by the Chairman of the Ashburton County Council from the Geraldine Council on Wednesday, stating that the latter body had come to a decision not to

pay their share of the cost of reconstructing the Rangitata bridge until the present structure had been tried by floods, came like a bombshell in the camp. It will be remembered that when the ceremony of opening the bridge took place, Mr C. G. Tripp, the Chairman of the Geraldine Council, spoke in enthusiastic terms of the success which had attended the undertaking, adding that he did not suppose there would be any difficulty about the payment. The battle of cylinders versus piles had been fought in the past with a good deal of asperity, but the result had amply justified the opinion of the Ashburton Council, and the hatchet might safely be buried. There is no reason to believe that Mr Tripp has changed his views, but the extraordinary resolution come to on Wednesday,shows that those views are not shared by the majority of the Council over which he presides. At the risk of being accussed of repeating a twice-told tale, it is necessary that we should recapitulate a few of the principal facts connected with the building of this bridge. When the carrying out of the work was placed by the Government in the hands of the Ashburton County Council, Mr Higginson, C.E., was appointed to prepare plans. 7,'0 erect the bridge on cylinders it was found would cost about £ 12,000, a sum which this county could not afford, and at a conference with |the Council Mr Higginson was asked if iron piles could not be used instead, and he answered in the affirmative. Accordingly he was commissioned to prepare a plan for such a bridge, and it is upon that plan that the present structure has been erected. It should be mentioned here that the first piles that were sent out from Home were so faulty that when an attempt was made to drive them a number of them broke off, and Mr Higginson condemned their use. Others were obtained, and under the direction of the County Engineer the work was brought to a successful issue, and there is no doubt that the new part of the bridge is quite as safe for traffic purposes as is the original portion. Still it must be confessed that the Geraldine County Council always stuck tenaciously to the idea that a bridge erected on iron piles would not withstand the floods which at times occur in the Rangitata river, and they left no stone unturned to support their case. At a meeting of that Council held on June 14th, 1881, a report was read from Mr Higginson, in which that gentleman stated that the experimental pile-driving had been a failure, which he considered was “ entirely owing ,to the bad material of which they are composed,” but adding, “at the same time I think their success is open to doubt, even if they had been perfectly sound.” The curious fact about this report is that it was not sent to the Ashburton County Council, whose consulting Engineer the writer was, nor to the Geraldine Council, the latter body having obtained it from the Public Works Office. Why the Government should have withheld from those most interested in the matter the knowledge that the Engineer had condemned his own plans is as extraordinary as that Mr Higginson should have written as he did. If he had any doubt as to the practicability of carrying out the designs he had himself recommended, surely his clients should have had the first intimation of it. So far from this being done, we only discovered that the Engineer had changed his opinion from the Geraldine Council, who themselves obtained the information at second-hand, having managed to ferret the report out of the pigeon-holes of the Public Works office. But apart from the fact that the successful erection of the bridge has proved the fallacy of Mr Higginson’s views on the matter, the sentence we have quoted shows that he had not been afforded an opportunity of fairly testing the question. Because some of the piles that had been driven in had broken off, “ entirely,” as he asserts, “owing to the material of which they were composed,” he is ready to condemn the system of building bridges in this way over such a river as the Rangitata. The truth is, we suspect, that Mr Higginson in this instance was, wittingly or unwittingly, playing into the hands of the Engineer-in-Chief of the Middle • Island. Mr Blair had declared himself strongly in favor of a cylinder bridge, probably because he looked forward to the possibility of its being used in the future for railway purposes, and the failure of the pile-driving was too good a point to be lost. Thanks to the faith which the Ashburton Council had in their engineer, Mr Baxter, the bridge has been constructed according to the plan originally determined on, and professional opinion has declared that it is perfectly safe for all the purposes it is likely to be put to, while the Geraldine people have to thank the Councillors on this side of the river that the work has been done for little more than half the sum that would have been spent over a cylinder bridge.

But when it comes'to paying the bill, we find the Geraldine Council using this report of Mr Higginson as a basis on which to found a reason for evading their just liabilities. The motion that was carried at their meeting on Wednesday to the effect that they would defer the consideration of their contributing a half-share of the cost until the bridge has been tested by a flood is simply an attempt to shirk payment for a work from which they receive as much benefit as ourselves. The construction of the bridge was placed in the hands of the Ashburton Council, and even if it had proved a failure the Geraldine County would still have had to meet half the cost. Luckily, however, that consideration does not enter into the question, as the bridge is admittedly a thorough success. As to the flood test, the idea is so absolutely childish that we wonder how sensible men could have voted for it. We should like to know who is to decide as to the sufficiency of the flood. If the Geraldine Council had their way, they could defer the payment .of their just debt till Doomsday as they could always shelter themselves behind the plea that although the bridge had withstood a great flood, Providence might still send a greater one. Concerning their liability there can be no question, and the refusal to liquidate it will only result in the County being compelled to pay a good deal more money in the way of law costs.

The usual services in connection with the Baptist Church will be held at the Oddfellow’s Hall to-morrow, when the Rev. T. Bray, of Greendale, will preach morning and evening. The Plumpton ground is now ready for the Waterloo meeting. It contains 130 hares. A trial made yesterday proved very satisfactory. By the votes of nominators for the Waterloo Cup, Mr O. R. Wise has been elected Judge, and Mr J. Fpooner slipper.

A branch of Cuff and Graham’s Australasian Forwarding Agency has been opened in Ashburton under the direction of Messrs Ward and Son. This will be a great boon to those who wish to send parcels to any part of the world, the through rates being fixed very low. As will be seen by an ads’ortisement elsewhere, the Rev. H. C. M. Watson, of St John’s, Christchurch, will preach at St Stephen’s to-morrow. On Monday the anniversary meeting of the Church of England Temperance Society in Ashburton will be held in the Oddfellows’ Hall, when Mr Watson will deliver an address. The Ashburton 'Volunteers are about to be supplied with short Snider rifles, and it is necessary that the weapons now in use should be returned, as until this is done the new ones cannot be distributed. There are several volunteers who have as yet neglected to comply with this order, and it would be as well if they take this hint and return the rifles now in their possession at once. A meeting of the Ashburton Coursing Club was hold last night at the Somerset Hotel, at which there was a good attendance. The stakes in the All Aged event were paid over, but it was decided not to settle with the winner of the Puppies until enquiries had been made as to the ages of four of the competing dogs, viz., Miss Alice (the winner), Kias-me-Quick, Glasgow Collie, and Una, some doubt having arisen as to whether they fulfilled the conditions attaching to this event. At the Oddfellows’ Ball last evening an entertainment was given in the shape of a diorama of the Egyptian war, interspersed with specimenso- negro minstrelsy. I ha diorama proved to be an old acquaintance, but it was enjoyed none the less on that account by those who were present. The instrumental and vocal selections were not of a very high clsss, but the audience seemed to be amused. Another exhibition of the panorama will be given this evening.

We have received from Mr Robert Alcorn a sample of a very ingenious, and at the same time a most useful, kitchen requisite, in the shape of a “ Parer and Oorer.” The little instrument shows great ingenuity because 'of its simplicity of construction and the ease with which it can be worked. Both for paring and coring apples and other fruit, or paring potatoes, we would recommend every housewife to have one in her kitchen. Mr R. Alcorn is the sole local agent for the patentee. At a meeting of the Hunt Club held at Quill’s Hotel last evening, the following officers were elected :—President, Mr E. G. Wright; Vice Presidents, Messrs Hugo Friedlander and M. Stitt ; Master, Mr H. T. Winter; Secretary, Mr J. Cargill; Treasurer, Mr W. Hutchison ; Committee, Messrs Max Friedlander, S. Saunders, E. G. Crisp, W. Denshire, John Hunt and Dr Boss. It was also decided that the Committee should make arrangements for hunting in this district during August and September, should it be practicable. The Committee is to meet again on Tuesday next. Some specimens of quartz found in the Rakaia Gorge were brought into town yesterday and were on view privately at Messrs Friedlander's establishment. Gold was very plainly visible in the quartz, and although it would be rash to say anything at this early stage as to the value of the alleged discovery, there seems to ba reason to hope that the find will bo a good thing for this part of Canterbury. Nothing definite has been disclosed as to the precise locality where the quartz was found, but it is said that the gold-bearing country is about forty miles up the Gorge. The sittings of the Methodist Union Committee were continued at Christchurch yesterday, under the presidency of the Revs. Mr Dutton and Mr Reid respectively. The powers of Church Courts were considered, and considerable progress made in forming the basis of union or submission to the respective churches. Unanimity was practically arrived at on all important questions. In the evening at a public meeting held in the Durham street Church, the Rev. W. Morley presided, and addresses of welcome were delivered by Revs. B. Best and W. Tinsley, The following were speakers on various phases of Methodist Union ; Revs. W. Dutton, R. Bavin, I. White, and J. Wilson.

On Thursday, at Hood’s Hotel, Mount Somers, an inquest was held on the body of George Long, who committed suicide on the previous Monday evening, before Dr Trevor and a jury, of which Mr John Hood was chosen foreman. It appeared from the evidence that deceased, who was aged 27, and a native of Lough Gall, Armagh, Ireland, borrowed a gun from a friend and went out for a day’s shooting. He brought the weapon back in the afternoon, both barrels being loaded, and after tea he left the house where he was staying. The gun was in the stable and the deceased having obtained possession of it went into the garden at the back of the hotel and shot himself. The act seems to have been one of great deliberation, two handkerchiefs having been tied together, and one end attached to the trigger and the other made fast to a branch of a tree, the muzzle pointing to deceased’s breast. Death must have been instantaneous. The report was heard by several people in the township, and on going to the place the body was found lying on its back with the gun between the feet. There was nothing to show what induced the deceased to act as he did, although it was stated that he had been for a long time past very peculiar and eccentric in his manner. The verdict was that the deceased committed suicide while in a state of unsound mind. A meeting of the Committee of the Poultry Association was held at Mr Poyntz’s office last evening, Mr S. W. Alcorn in the chair. The judges who have been accepted for the various classes are as follow : - Poultry—Messrs A. Saunders, J. Wood, and W. Smith ; pigeons —D. Sh.iw, J. Wood, and S. Saunders ; canaries—T. Stapleton, A. Wadsworth, and George Jameson The following marshals were appointed :— Poultry—the Secretary and Mr J. W. Silcock ; pigeons —Messrs G, H. St. Hill and J. Perraain ; canaries—Messrs S. W. Alcorn and E. Cookson. The Secretary reported that general dissatisfaction had been expressed with the conditions under which the silver cup was to be awarded, and that, in conjunction with other members of the Committee, they had decided to make the following alterations .—Winners of first prize to count 3 points, second prize 2, highly commended 1, and commended The Secretary stated that ha had obtained a first-class lot _of canaries and other birds for distribution in the art union. The meeting adjourned to Friday, July 20th, when the whole of the Committee are requested to be in attendance to make the final arrangements re the Show. It is anticipated, from promises received, that the number of entries will far exceed those of last year, and the accommodation in the Town Hall will be taxed to its utmost. We are requested to notify that entries will close on Tuesday, 3ist inat.

During the past year 84,231 persons have visited the Christchurch Museum—--53,385 on week days, and 30,846 on Sundays. Hop Bitters does not exhaust and 'destroy, but restores, cures, and makes new. Look up. —[Advt.] 3 Mother Swan’s Worm Syrup. —lnfallible, tasteless,- harmless, cathartic ; tor feverishness, restlessness, woims, constipation, is at druggists. Moses, Moss and Co., Sydney, General Agents. 2