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Evening Star, Issue 4183, 24 July 1876, Page 2

There is one feature in Mr Gordon’s report upon the proposed extension of the City waterworks which commends itself to the judgment at a glance, namely, that the '•* tension should for the present x .. ~ . , ~t -ue limited to the wants of a popuh’ „ * R w rrn pi;, p. r Of 45,000 persons. y -uancil, which rejoices in great worand the handling of large sums of money, has been contemplating-a scheme for enlarging the present works so as to make them capable of supplying a city of 100,000 inhabitants. In a young and growing town like Dunedin, it is wise, in these matters, to look ahead, but there is such a failing as far l nto futurity ; and while we have the firmest possible belief in the continued prosperity of Dunedin, and that, despite the struggles of its rivals, it will maintain its supremacy as the commercial capital of the Colony, still a good many years must be expected to elapse before it counts 100,000 inhabitants. At present the population of Dunedin and- its suburbs is only about 25,000, and to make provision for supplying 46,000 people with water, when they need it, seems just as far if 2“ V ouncU can reasonably be asked to go. Jf the larger scheme is adopted, a proportionate expenditure will be involved, to defray which money must be borrowed at a more or less high rate of interest, which will be running on even though the works be not returning a penny of interest. Why should the ratepayers lay such a useless burden upon their shoulders? There is, moreover?!* necessity for the construction of the greater works immediately for engineering reasons, since Mr Gordon expressly states that the b n °mfd f °4 th £ ® u PPIy of 4r '.<>oo persons could be made to fit m with the whole sche j e that would eventually be required in the event of the population increasing to 100,000 ft seems that if the whole of the water available in the district now used as a gathering ground were concentrated for the purpose of supplying the City, the fiuahtilv JTL be b “ eljr wants 100,000 persons. The co— ’ .. 7 , the Water of T ’ ‘ , —j/n-ce control of ”■ . - forms part of this comf consequently, the principal scheme would entail compensation to the

mill-owners and other persons deprived of their water fights, THB BoSt 6! eSlihguiSlling cnese interests, though an unknown quantity, would doubtless be heavy ; but it would have been interesting to know what :*oß»on estimates would be the cost of tue scheme, omitting this item. His report, however, does not include an estimate of the cost of either scheme, avowedly dealing with general principles only • yet* notwithstanding the absence of details, it is plaid that the difference between the two would be of the most marked character. By confining the .works to the supply of 45,000 people, the use of the Water of Leith Would be alto* gether avoided, as sufficient water could be got it the present sources were augmented by the head waters of the Waitati stream, *nd the mill-owners would thus be left uudistorted. This proposal contemplates a proper regulation of the nonsnmption of the water, upon which point Mr Gordon is He has calculated upon an allowance of suty gallons per head in summer and forty m winter. Sixty gallons is nearly double the quantity allowed in towns at Home, but as Mr Gordon justl, remarks, people here have got into the habit of using water extravagantly, and in Melbourne, where one would suppose the value of water would be belter understood, it is only by 3 ringent regulations,and the greatest care and watchfulness, that the consumption has been oug t down to a little below the summer u °- r rates above mentioned. The cnlty is to keep people from wasting a ater. They have got to be “educated” , comprehending that it has a real value, ind is not obtainable in unlimited quau«y. j hey leave their taps half turned •tr, and throw away buckets of water a though were not of the slightest* como-

queuce. The only means of effectually checking wanton waste is, as Mr Gordon suggests, for the Council to impose regulations, and rigidly enforce them. A strict supervision of fittings should be maintained; and the Council empowered to require con* sumers to have meters, if thought necessary, so that an extra charge may be made for water used above the stipulated quantity. Seeing the limited quantity available for the use of the City, such regulations will in course of time have to be adopted, willynilly.

In connection with the question of cost the Council will have to carefully consider to what extent it can prudently go in supply* ing the upper parts of the town. A supplementary report by Mr Gordon furnishes information as to the probable cost of the works needed for supplying water to these parts up to 800 ft above the sea level. Under this heading Mr Gordon goes into figures. Supposing the total population to be 45,000, of whom 35,000 lived below, and 10,000 above the present limits of supply, then the cost of the wonke required for supplying the “ highlanders ” with water would amount to about L 31,000. That is a stiff sum to spend for the benefit of even 10,000 people ; but the number of persons now re siding in these localities is so very far short of 10,000 that, however desirable the object may be in itself, the Council must needs hesitate before incurring the outlay at present, unless the cost of the rest oi the works is small enough to leave 'plenty of the loan to come and go upon. It is always to be home in mind) likewise, that for. sanitary reasons it is desirable to supply the low-lying suburbs of the town with Water before the houses on the hills, if a choice has to be made between the two. The City cannot separate itself from its suburbs in sanitary matters, although they, may be under differentJsmanicipal\'governments; and a proper supply of pure water is aU essential adjunct to every scheme for the preservation of the public health. Mr Gordon’s report will give the Counoil plenty to think about, and it trill be wise to duly weigh his Words of caution. In extending the existing works, it should lay down as a cardinal principle that the new works must pay for themselves as soon as constructed; it should, in fact, follow the same course in this respect as the company which originally owned the works would have done, and not enter upon schemes that are likely to prove commercially unprofitable.

To-day’s telegrams from our special correspondent at Wellington contain interesting particulars concerning the political situation, the Government Life Assurance Department, the Goldfields revenue, and other matters. In the Supreme Court case - M‘Bride v. Brogden on Saturday afternoon the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, assessing the damages at L4OO.

Football matches were played on Saturday afternoon at both recreation grounds, sides being chosen from the members of the various Clubs who happened to bo present.

The recently introduced weekly hockey match came off as usual at Montecillo on Saturday afternoon, sides being picked bv Messrs T. Macfarlane and J. Richardson coptain and deputy- captain of the Hockey Club. After a determined struggle the captain’s side won by two goals to one. Bishop Nevill held a confirmation service yesterday morning at Holy Trinity Church, Port Chalmers. There were nineteen candidates—thirteen males and six females—and to these his Lordship delivered an impressive address, explaining to them the n f SKyS* ° eremony “■ 'Aid. I W-erl

I A* • ' v 1 Addison’s Flat, Westport, a party of 1 miners have just finished a tunnel 3,000 ft in length, and another party have nearly finished a tunnel which is 5,500 ft long. At the Caledonian, German Jack’s, and Giles’ Terraces, similar gigantic tunnels have been put in. Mr Broad says these tunnels “are monuments of the industry and perseverance of the miner.” At the Princess’s Theatre on Saturday evening the still popular programme of “Sweethearts” and “n U r Boys” was repeated to a very crowded house, This-even-ing the shorter piece will be replaced by the beautiful comedy “ David Garrick," which alone should be sufficient to draw a large audience. In consequence of the length of the performance the curta’n will rise at a quarter to eight o’clock, instead of the usual hour. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Law Students’ Society was held on Saturday evening. The question discussed was, “Does the will of a married woman pass property left her under her husband’s will ?” Mr Robert Dick opened the discussion in support of the affirmative, and Mr J. T. Aldridge led on the negative side. The subject proved one of such interest that it was decided to continue the discussion at the next meeting of the Society. 6

The Napier ‘ Telegraph ’ reports & Strange accident to the Te Aute train the other day. The train, when between Hapuku’s Pa and Mr Campbell’s, Poukawa, came into collision with a bull. The animal got frightened, and ran Hi front of the train, but Was Caught Up and carried on 100 yards in the front of the engine. The train was stopped, and he was liberated from his curious fix. The bull was found to be uuinjured, but did tiot walk away very fast after his rough passage. The ‘ Post’ of Thursday last states that another cleVe* Capture was made by Detective I'arrell oii the previous day. Inspector Atche?on had received a telegram from Mr T. K, Weldon, Commissioner of Police, Otago, to the effect that a warrant had been despatch ea to Wellington for the arrest of Win. George Sale, who was charged with larceny as a bailee, by appropriating a watch, ribofit 18th May last, at Dunedin. The description of Safe was forwarded, and in less than half an hour Detective Farrell “ spotted” that individual himself in the street, detecting him entirely by the' telegraphic description. Arrest and incarceration promptly followed, and Sale was brought before the Resident Magistrate and remanded.

Mi* Talbot repeated on Saturday night, at the Queen’s Theatre, bis impersonations of the principal characters in “Richard III” and “The Man of the World ” to a capital attendance. This evening a great attraction is provided in a drama new to this Colony— Mr A. Halliday’s “King o’Scots.” From a Home paper’s criticism of Mr Talbot’s performance in tins great play we take the following “Mr Talbot showed extraordinary skill in the delineation of this character, and it may bo set down as one of the best of his many great parts. All the characteristics of King James the Sixth were present in Mr Taltmt’s impersonation. His homely Scotch was exceedingly good, and he was dressed like a figure that had stepped out of some old painting He was especially happy in exhibit ng his reluctance to face or handle a drawn sword, and his acting in the tower scene, W'here he follows a classic example by overhearing the conversation of his prisoners, excited roars of laughter. Not less striking was his acting as the miser Trapbois, a part which he doubled with that of King ames. Every feeling of a sordid nature was here forcibly developed, and the second act, in which this episode occurs, proved intensely interesting. All who value good acting ought to witness Mr Talbot’s yery admirable representation of a part which few actors are able to undertake.”

The Hibemicou troupe appeared at the Temperance Hall on Saturday evening to a fair house. They commence an up-country tour by playing at Mosgiel to-night, en route for Invercargill,

At this morning’s sitting of the R.M. Court, before Mr J. Bathgate. R.M., there was only a small amount of busin ss. In the §aae of Geo. Westford v. Wm. Hooper, a claim of L2 for labor done, plaintiff was nonsuited. In Scanlan v. Webb, a claim ofi L 7 9s 4d for a quantity of paint supplied, judgment was given for the amount claimed.

We have received a copy of the llev. A. R. Fitchett.'s interesting lecture on “ The Ethics of Evolution.”

Mr M aoedo has forwarded Us a handsomely got-up card Containing the name of God eX pressed in forty-eLht different languages.

A matting of the su;norterg of Mr W. Woodland will be held at the Committee rooms, Higo street, fo-morrow (Tuesday) evening, at 8 o’clock.

The adjourned summoned meeting o' Co rt Pride of Dunedin A O F. wli be hj Id in the ruth A ustrali >n Hal', Princes street, to morrow evening, at 8 o’clock. '