CITY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume II, Issue 165, 15 December 1874, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

Monday, December 14. The usual weekly meeting was hold in the Council Chamber. Present—His Worship the Mayor, and Crs Hobbs, Ick, Farr, Bishop, Raphael, Jones, and Gapes. The town clerk reported receipts for the week to bn as follows :—From rate collector account, general city rates, 1874, £l2O Is ; Waimakariri do, £2O Os 2d ; tines from R. M. Court, £3 ss; rent from marketplace, 7s. Total receipts, £ 143 13s 2d. Credit at bank on general account, £282 Os 3d ; credit on drainage account, £3603 5s 4d ; on drainage rate account, £1133 16s 2d; wages, &c, to be paid on general account, £287 Is Od ; on drainage account, £B2 11s 7d. On the town clerk placing the account for £lll, balance of the Mayor’s official expenses, before the Council to be passed, Cr Raphael said that as a member of the finance committee he knew nothing of this account. He considered that it should have been laid before that committee, and he regretted to see that it had been sent past them to the Council—a course which should not to his mind have been taken. Cr Farr did not see why the account should be referred back to the finance committee. It was part of a sura that had been voted by the Council for the Mayor’s salary, and they all knew what it meant, but he, however, thought a mistake had been made in not placing it before the Council before the annual accounts were audited and passed. He thought under those circumstances that the amount would now have to be placed in the next year’s accounts. Or Jones would vote for the amount, whether right or wrong. A certain sum had been passed to the Mayor, to be spent in official expenses. A great deal had been said about this money, which he regretted, and, as he said before, under the circumstances, he would vote for the account being passed.

Cr Bishop said that Cr Joues was taking a wrong view of the matter. An amount had been voted to the Mayor for official expenses. This account before the Council was not proved to have been spent as official expenses, and he thought the Council had no power in its present form to pass the account. He felt that it should be referred to the finance committee.

Cr Gapes thought that if the money in the account had been spent as official expenses, the items should have been placed before the finance committee. He would move—‘‘That the account for £lll, balance of official expenses to the Mayor, be referred to the finance committee.”

Or Eaphael seconded the resolution, and considered that the account should have been sent in before the 16t.1i November, and included in the annual accounts. If the account were passed now, a special vote out of next year’s rates would have to be made. He objected to the amount being placed before the Council in a lump sum. He did not, however, mean to say that the money had not been spent, but he considered that if the Council were to pass the amount before the vouchers had been placed before the finance committee and investigated by them, they would be doing a very great act of injustice to the ratepayers. Cr Jones desired to ask the Mayor if that amount had been spent in official expenses. His Worship—Yes. Cr Jones then thought that it was a most degrading thing to ask their Mayor to come down with details as to how this money had been spent. He had voted against the money being paid to the Mayor in the first instance, but he thought some of the Councillors were now trying to place their Mayor in a most humiliating position. Cr Ick had moved the amendment on the Mayor’s allowance when the resolution was brought before the Council, but the Mayor having said that the money had been spent as official expenses, be would ,not attempt to degrade him by asking him for a detailed account how each 2s 6d had been spent, and he would vote for the passing of the account. Cr Gapes thought that if the account was passed the Council would be doing an illegal act and spending the ratepayers money wrongly. The resolution was put and lost, Crs Eaphael, Gapes, and Bishop voting for, and Crs Hobbs, Ick, Farr, and Jones, against. The amount was then passed. The city surveyor reported—“l, The laying down of the Lichfield street water supply pipes will be commenced in a few days. “2. Six chains of excavation for the new sewer on the East belt is got out, and the bricklayers are ready to commence work on Thursday next, but the bricks cannot be delivered in consequence of a bridge in the Heathcote district being out of repair. “ 3. Owing to the temporary ditch on the East belt being left open all the winter, the silt pits, and the main drain itself are choked with s'lt. I have therefore put men on to clear it away.” With reference to No 1 paragraph of the report, Cr Hobbs moved—“ That the surveyor be instructed to prepare specifications and advertise for tenders for laying down pipes, &c, for the water supply iu Lichfield street."

Cr Bishop seconded the resolution, which wa s carried after some discussion. pp e - second paragraph Avas referred to the works cJ' caini^ee< No 3 paJ a g ra Ph was approved. Or Bishop said that with reference to the South drain an application had been made by the Government for permission to lay down three pipes— >o 9in and one loin—from the railway yarL?s to the dram. The matter had been considered by the works committee in connection AAdth the surveyor, and they could not recommend that permission bo granted to the Government to lay down pipes of those dimensions. He would move that the letter received from the Government be replied to to that effect. The resolution was seconded by Cr Gapes and agreed to.

A letter was read Dun the town e!uk. Auckland, stating lliat it was the intention of his Council at the next sitting of the General Assembly lo apply for an Act giving them power to supply that city with gas, the powers conveyed lo apply to all corporate towns throughout the colony, and for permission (o purchase existing gas companies, and asking whether the Chrlslelnnch Oily Council would be willing to co-operate in the application and cost of such Act. if necessary.

Ordered to stand over for a week. A letter was rend from the Christchurch Gas, Coal, and Coke Company stating that at a meeting of the Board it. was resolved that for the year 187’), and until further notice, the price of gas supplied by meter should bo subject, to a reduction in price Concurrently with this reduction the charge for the public lamps would he—For small lamps, £8 10s; for large, ditto, £lO. Cr Jones thought the reduction would have been greater, and was led to believe it would have been so from what the. Gas Company gave the Council to understand.

Cr Hobbs moved—“ That the thanks of the Council he forwarded to the Gas Company, and a hope ho expressed that they maysee soon their way to make a further re duction.” Cr Ick seconded the resolution. Cr Farr felt that the company would, no doubt, have made a further reduction but for the present high price of coals. The resolution was agreed to. An application was read from Mr Thomas Douglas, asking permission to put in a closed drain from his house, corner of Peterborough street and Park tciraco, to the river. Pvcferrcd to the surveyor. A letter was read from Mr W. H. Hargreaves. calling attention to the state of the footpaths on both sides of his residence, corner of Cashel and Barbadoes streets. Eeferred to the works committee. A letter was read from Messrs Austin and Kirk, stating that they had commenced to deliver the wedge bricks, and had been stopped carting over Wilson’s bridge, as the chairman of the Hcathcotc Pioad Board said it was not yet safe for traffic. Kef erred to the works committee. The following report, on the deposit of night soil in the Sand Hills reserve, and the properties of sand as a deodoriser, was read : “Christchurch, December 12th, 1874. “To his Worship the Mayor of Christchurch. “ Sir, —We have to report that at your request we visited the night soil depot on Saturday, the 6th December. “ We understand the purport of your resolution to embrace the following questions ; “ Ist. Is the sand of the reserve a deodoriser ? “2nd. What isthqpresent state of the pits ? “3rd. Is its present condition detrimental to the health of the town and suburbs ? “ Pure sand is a very imperfect deodoriser; a substance to possess the power of deodorising and disinfecting, must contain chemical substances that will either destroy the injurious matter by combination with it, nr must act upon the material in such a way as to prevent its decomposition, or, on the other hand, it must possess the property of absorbing gases within its pores, so causing destruction by oxydation. Pure sand has neither of these properties. The sand at your reserve’ contains about 4 per cent of substances that may be mechanically washed away, and 6 per cent of substances soluble in acids. The portions would probably possess some deodorising qualities, but wot much. There is also a considerable quantity of partly decomposed fern roofs and other vegetable matter, that would also have some value—altogether, we should say, it would perhaps possess about one-tenth the deodorising power of good earth.

“ The condition of things at the reserve is undoubtedly had, most of the pits are a mass of semi-liquid petrifying matter, some even when undisturbed, giving oil a most fearful stench. When it is considered that putrifying human excreta exhales the most dangerous gases known, such a state of things cannot be looked upon as satisfactory, “ The night-soil, when thrown into the pits, is so liquid that the sand mixed with it sinks quickly to the bottom, a mass of stable manure is then thrown on the top—if this straw is pressed down in a mass in one part, so liquid is the whole, that a movement is observed to travel over the entire surface of the pit. On walking on the edge of a pit that had been covered eight' months, one’s feet sink in several inches, and the holes were quickly filled with a putrescent liquid. “ We examined the condition of the pits in the order in which they were opened. If covered two years the mass generally decomposed, but with parts in a highly putrescent condition still.

“ Covered four years the mass almost entirely decomposed and fairly dry ; but some parts were wet, and these still gave off considerable smell.

“Covered eight months perfectly liquid, and on cutting a channel through the sand bank its contents instantly began to flow out into a hole dug to receive it. Twelve months hardly altered from its original condition. Eighteen mouths still quite liquid and putrid.

“ The amount of soil taken each night to the reserve is three carts full, of about three tons each. The hospital sewage tank is emptied once a fortnight, and this placed with the other material. The first pit was opened July, 1871, and the last November 21st, 1874. “At the time of our visit the wind wrs blowing N.E., directly over Christchurch. We were not, however, able to detect any smell when a hundred yards away from the enclosure, although this would not prove that the poisonous gases were destroyed in that space, but simply that the smells were so diffused as to be inappreciable to the sense.

“After a careful consideration of the whole subject the conclusion forces itself upon us that the system of disposing of the nightsoil is a failure. Wo are not in a pos’tiou to say that up to this time the town has suffered any positive injury, but it is undeniable that an exposed putrifyiug mass such as this, lying to the windward of Hie town, must of necessity be a source of danger to the health of the inhabitants.

“We are also strongly of opinion that some stops should be taken to destroy the existing n ass of putrifying matter. “ A. W, Bickebton, “James s. Turnbull, M.D, Edin. “H. U. Thins, M.R.C.SE.”

The report was received. Cr Ick considered the thanks of Hip Council were due to those gentlemen for their elaborate and able report, and he would

move—“ That the thanks of the Council be accorded to them." The sanitary committee would now see that the matter was a most sen, uis otic, and required immediate attention. He thought that this question should be referred to the. sanitary committee to make all necessary inquiries, obtain medical opinion, and learn the best means to have the night soil thoroughly deodorised. They could not remove the depot from the reserve, and it would be their duty now to take all necessary means to have, the soil already deposited perfectly deodorised. lie would move,—"That the sanitary comnrUoc be requestcd to report 1 o Ibis Council the best, means of allaying the nuisance arising from the deposit of night soil at the Sandhills reserve. The committee to have power to obtain such medical or scientific assistance as may be necessary ; and to furnish to this Council such further information respecting tire whole question as they may deem desirable.”

Cr Gapes seconded the motion. Or Hobbs believed that the difficulty would bo easily got over by carting soil to the reserve for the purposes of deodorisation.

Cr Jones, as one of the oldest members of the sanitary committee, while thinking the Council were very much indebted to those gentlemen for their report, still believed there was a good deal of a mayor’s nest about this reserve question—[Daughter]as from (he report there was not that “danger to he apprehended to the health of the city, such as people w r rc led to believe from the papers, lie hoped good time would be given to the committee to bring up their report. It was his opinion that nothing of this complaint would have been heard if they couid have got the. carts away out of tire streets, and ho might mention that among other alterations, it was their intention not to allow carts in the streets during the summer months, after 5 o’clock in the morning. Cr Bishop felt there must be something wrong in the way the contract was being carried out, aud this ho learnt from the report, as he knew that at one time the soil was deodorised in a very short time, so much so as to be perfectly lit for use. Ho learnt that they had dug down 2ft. Now he would say that if they dug down 2ft in any of their cemeteries they would find a much greater nuisance than existed in the reserve. Ho might tell the Council that they were just undoing in France, what the Council were going to do now, namely, to remove the cemeteries to sandy districts to have the benefit of thesand. [Cr Bishop hero read an extract from a paper, referring to his statements, which held that sand destroyed organic matter more quickly than earth.J He felt that if the contract were properly carried out, it would be found that all the purposes required would he answered. He would again repeat that in his opinion, trees should bo planted on the south-west portion of the reserve, and would like to see the trees on the North town belt, which were a nuisance there—(hear, hear)—removed and planted next season.

Or Farr was now impressed with the idea that the contract did not go far enough. The practice adopted seemed to have been to dig a large hole, and throw some sand over the deposit, which fell to the bottom, and next cover it over with a light layer of stable manure. It was his opinion that each night’s deposit should be provided for, and dealt with distinctly.

The Mayor said that, before he came to the Council that evening, he had made up his mind to give £SO for the best essay on a practical means of improving the sanitary condition of Christchurch, and £lO for the second. [Applause.] These essays would be considered and decided by a committee of seven gentlemen. He had also sent to England and Melbourne for a sample of the best earth-closets procurable, and he was in treaty with some gentlemen to procure some of the best earth-closets on an improved American system. He could produce the best authority in the world to prove that sand was not a deodoriser, and he would give £SO to any man who would walk over a pit three years old, at the Sandhills reserve, and would find him the boots to do it with. Or Farr—l’ll take your offer.

His Worship—Done. I’ll give it to you, and find the boots; and I again say that, notwithstanding anything Cr Bishop may have told us about cemeteries, I am prepared to prove, by the best authorities in the world, that sand will not deodorise.

The resolution was put and carried. On the motion of Cr Ick, it was resolved—- “ That the thanks of this Council be given to Professor Bickcrtou and Drs Turnbull and Prins for their report re the sand hills reserve.’’

It was also resolved—“ That a reply be sent to the petitioners from Avousido, stating that the subject of their petition was under consideration.”

The weekly report of the inspector of nuisances was road and approved. Or Raphael moved—‘‘That the surveyor do report to this Council as early as possible the number of streets and alleys taken over by this Council (if any), and their respective widths,”

Cr Jones seconded the motion, which was agreed to. Gr Bishop moved—“ That a committee he formed to obtain information as to the drainage of the suburbs, and iis possible effect upon Christchurch, to report with suggestions, such committee to consist of; Crs

Hart, lek, and the mover.” Cr Ick seconded the resolution, which was carried. The Council then adjourned.