DRAINAGE BOARD.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1387, 26 July 1878, Page 3

DRAINAGE BOARD.

0 The ordinary meeting of the Christchurch District Drainage Board was held this morning. Present—Messrs Tancred (chairman), Duncan, Hall, Blakiston, Harman, and Hobbs. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. engineer's report. The following report was read : As directed by the Board. I have invited tenders for a supply of sewer pipes sufficient to carry on the work while the brick sewers are being built. In anticipation of difficulty in building tho deep sewers in Tuam street east and the East belt, I would recommend the Board to request Mr Clark to get the permanent pumping machinery sent out as coon as possible. By this means the pumping during construction of the work would be done much more economically. I would also request the Board to authorise me to procure the engines necessary to work the pixmps on hand. I have procured from the solicitors their opinion as to the right of the Board over the South city drain, and submit their reply. A number of men are employed to deepen and straighten the St. Alban's creek by_ which the water Will be much lowered in that district. All obstructions having now been cleared out of the bed of the Heathcote river and the water considerably lowered, I would propose to let the annual clearing of the lower portion as authorised by the Board some months. C. Napier Bell, Engineer. With reference to the first paragraph, the Engineer explained that the tenders had been called for at Auckland and at Dunediu. They would be returnable in August. With reference to tho second paragraph, Mr Bell said that the sewers in Tuam street would be on the shingle, and the amount of water would probably be so great that the work would be stopped. There must be an outlet; as there was none naturally, the pumping must make one. The pumps the Board had at present would probably be insufficient to keep the work clear. The pumping machinery to be imported would work very economically. Mr Duncan asked what the cost of the pumps would be. Mr Bell was understood to say that the cost would be about £3OOO. It was resolved that the necessary steps should be taken for getting the machinery, through Mr Clark, and that the Chairman arrange with the bank as to the payment. The Engineer said he had on hand two fine pumps, but required engines for them. He I was authorised to procure them. [Mr Tancred here vacated the chair, which was taken by Mr Harman.] With regard to the third paragraph, no action was taken. The next paragraph was considered satisfactory. With regard to the last paragraph, some discussion took place as to the best time for clearing the river. Mr Harman was of opinion that the weeds should be attacked when they were in their most vigorous growth. The Engineer explained that the contractor would have to keep the river clear all the year round. The report as a whole was then adopted. TERRY ROAD BEAVER. Mr Duncan asked whether the proposed position of the Ferry road storm-water sewer could not be altered from the centre of the road to the side. The Engineer said that the objection to altering the position was that the residents on one side of the road would be injured in order to favour those on the other side. Mr Hobbs would oppose the alteration. He might Btate that he was convinced that if the crown of the road and the road itself was lowered the residents would find that a great improvement. He would suggest that the Heathcote Eoad Board should be invited to meet the Drainage Board and discuss the whole question. Mr Duncan then moved " That a committee, consisting of Messrs Harman, Hobbs, and himself, with Mr Bell, be appointed to confer with the Heathcote Road Board relative to the position of the Ferry road sewer, to report to a special meeting." SPECIAL MEETING. Mr Duncan moved, " That a special meeting of the Board be called for Friday next, for the purpose of receiving the report of the committee and for the consideration of tenders for the Ferry road drain." The motion was seconded and agreed to. OPBIDON. A letter was read from Mr J. T. Harrop, plork to the Bpreydoa Boatf Board, ipfoniag

the Board that he had collected the whole of the drainage rate for that district which he could recover. The amount of the rate was £476 lis 10id, of which £471 4s 8d had been collected, £1 13s 4d had been remitted, and £3 13s 10Jd could not be recovered. The letter was declared to be satisfactory. SOUTH TOWN BELT. Messrs Baxter and Coker, under date 11th July, called attention again to the filthy state of the drain running through their sections on the South town belt, and threatened to fill the drain in if not attended to immediately. Mr Baxter, under date 22nd July, reiterated the former letter. Mr Hobbs proposed that the attention of the writers be called to clauses 42 and 43 of the Christchurch District Drainage Act. The motion was agreed to. MIDDLETON LANE. A letter wbb read from Miss Lohse calling attention to the necessity of a drain being dug at the upper fpart of the Middleton lane, Upper Eiccarton. The matter was referred to the Eiccarton Eoad Board. CANAL RESERVE DITOn. A letter was read from Mr W. Dunlop, of the River Styx, bringing under the notice of the Board the bad state of the Canal Reserve ditch, from Mr Eeece's property to the Eiver Styx, and stating that he could not drain his land properly until this matter had been attended to. The Board referred this matter to their engineer with power to act. FINANCE. Accounts were passed for payment as follows :—Loan account, £267 5s 3d; rate account, £157 18s sd. The meeting then adjourned. BOARD OP GOVERNORS. The usual monthly meeting of the Board of Governors of Canterbury College was held yesterday at 11 o'clock. Present —Messrs W. Montgomery (chairman), H. J. Tancred, H. R. Webb, Dr. Coward, Rev. O. Eraser, J. D. Enys, Hon. John Hall, J. N. Tosswill, R. W. Fereday, J. C. Colborne-Veel, Hamilton, Malet, E. C. J. Stevens, and C. C. Bowen. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. ELECTION OF GOVERNOR. Mr Edward Wakefield, of Timaru, was elected .as a member of the Board of Governors. GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS. The Board considered clause No. 6 of the College committee's report, recommending the establishment of five open scholarships for the Girls' High School, of the value of £2O each, tenable for one year. A resolution was passed at the previous meeting of the Board adopting the recommendation of the committee as to the establishment of the scholarships, and it was the question of how these scholarships should be competed for, with regard to the question of the age of the candidates, &c, which had now to be considered. A letter was read from the lady principal of the Girls' High School, recommending that the exhibitions should be confined to girls whose names were on the books of that school. Rev. C. Fraser moved, and Dr. Coward seconded—" That the letter from the lady principal be referred to the College committee, and that the consideration of clause 6 of the report of the committee be deferred to the next meeting of the Board." Mr H. R. Webb spoke in favor of the postponement of the matter. Mr J. W. Hamilton was in favor of open scholarships, and that no scholarships should be given to girls under the age of fourteen. The motion was put, and carried by a large majority. ANNUAL REPORTS. Rev. C. Fraser, in pursuance of the notice of motion standing in his name, moved—- " That the standing committees be requested to prepare annual reports of the work carried on in their several departments, with reports from the heads of these departments, and suggestions as to further progress." The motion was seconded by Mr Tancred, and agreed to. STANDING COMMITTEE. Eev. O. Fraser moved, Hon. John Hall seconded, and it was carried—" That the following words be added to Standing Order No. 33, ' and that all vacancies occurring in these committees in the course of the year be filled up by the Board and by ballot." The following reports were read from the College and Agricultural committees, and afterwards the Board went into committee for their consideration. REPORT OF THE COLLEGE COMMITTEE. 1. The committee reports having consulted with the architect, who made various reductions in the plans for the Boys' High School. Fresh tenders for the building were received, but as they were considerably in excess of the amount at the disposal of the Board, the committee recommends that the matter be postponed for a short time. 2. The committee recommends that all cheques be signed by the chairman and countersigned by the registrar and that in the absence of the chairman during the present session of the General Assembly, Mr Malet be authorised to sign in lieu of the chairman. 3. That Mr Malet be requested to supervise the correspondence during the absence of the chairman during the ensuing session of the General Assembly. 4. That six exhibitions of the annual value of £2O be offered to matricnlated students attending classes in the Canterbury College. The examination to be held at the close of the session in October in each. year. The successful competitor to receive half the amount at the end of each term in the following year, provided they give regular and orderly attendance at the classes in the College. The exhibition to be given for one year only. The committee recommends that the seal of the Canterbury College be the old provincial seal, encircled with a garter inscribed ' The Seal of Canterbury College, 1873,' but that the present seal be used until the new one be procured from England." SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE. The committee recommends the acceptance of D. Keese's tender for the farm buildings at Lincoln, for the sum of ,£10,72213s 4d. The report having been considered in committee clause by clause, the chairman reported progress, and the Board resumed. The Rev. C. Fraser moved —" That the resolution of the College committee as amended be adopted." Dr. Coward seconded the resolution. Mr Hamilton moved as an amendment — " That in clause 4 of the College committee's report that the words £2O be struck out for the purpose of inserting the words £10." Mr Enys seconded the amendment, which was negatived, and the resolution was then put and carried. Mr Tosswill moved—" That the resolution of the agricultural committee be adopted." Dr. Coward seconded the motion, which was carried. TIMARU BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL. A sub-committee, consisting of Messrs Webb and Enys, was appointed to visit Timaru respecting the site of the Boys' High school, to report to the Board of Education. COOKERY CLASSES. The Chairman stated that he had telegraphed to Mr E. Wakefield, of Timaru, for information respecting the advisability of engaging the services of Miss Fidler, for the purpose of establishing a cookery class in connection with the Girls' High school. Miss Fidler had been giving a course of lectures in Timaru, which had been attended by a great many ladies, and had been successful. In reply, he had received a letter from Miss Fidler explaining her system, which letter had been read in committee. It was moved by Mr Tosswill—" That the letter be referred to the college committee, and that they be empowered to make temporary arrangements with her for giving lectures and to incur necessary expenses." Mr Hamilton seconded the motion, which was carried. Mr Hamilton moved—" That the chairman be authorised to affix the seal to the contract for College and Homestead buildings." Mr Malet seconded the motion, which was carried.

It was resolved, on the motion of the Bev. C. Frasor, seconded by Mr Hamilton—" That tfce correspondence from Mr Macandrew, respecting the agricultural school, be referred to the agricultural committee." It was resolved, on the motion of Mr Malet, lecoaded by Mr Webb—" That tbe

college committee be authorised to procure the college seal from England." SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE. The following correspondence was read: — Immigration Office, Wellington, 12th July, 1878 Sir, —I enclose for your inform tion extracts from recent correspondence with the AgentGeneral in London with reference to young men in ireat Britain availing themselves of the facilities afforded by the school of agriculture at ( hristchureh acquiring a practical knowledge of agricultural pursuits in this colony. I have the honor to be, sir, Your obedient servant, J. MAC ANDREW. W. Montgomery, Esq., M.H.E., chairman of Board of Governors, Canterbury ' ollege. [Extract from a letter to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration from the AgentGeneral for New Zealand, London, 2lst May, 1878 :] # # # * # As what I have written before may not have beeu sufficiently precise, I now venture to submit a more detailed plan. Let the Government put apart a tract of good agricultural land of from 30,000 to 50,000 acres in extent. It need not be in one block—several blocks would answer equally well. Let the land be surveyed and authorise mc to dispose of this land to emigiMnts of a desirable character. I feel sure I "could procure excellent emigrants. In fairness to the people already in the colony, I am of opinion that a larger price should be paid for this land by purchasers here than they would have to do if they risked a visit to the colony before purchasing. I think so much an aciv shou d be added to the price which would have to be paid in the colony. 1 hese payments should be deferred on the usual rates of intere-t, and the terms might be made to include passage money. For example, a family desire ■> to emigrate and wants 200 acres. The cost of the land, with deferred payments, let us say, represents X, and the cost of the passage say Y. These added together ._ after deducting the cash payment, could be divided over a term of years, or it might be required that the pas-age be paid in full, and a less cash deposit be required on the land. As the possession of capital to work the land would be a necessity, it might be stipulated that the emigrant should remit through the Government a certain amount to be available for his use after his arrival.

Under these terms some young men might be allowed to emigrate. To meet the case of young men possessing strength and capital, but wanting experience and knowledge, I venture to suggest as an experiment that a few, say twenty, be received at the agricultural school which is, I believe, to be formed in Canterbury, on terms which will comprise a payment for their education and for a piece of land at the end of the time when they may have gained sufficient knowledge to practically deal with it.

Extract from a letter to the, Agent-General for New Zealand, London, from the Hon. Minister for Immigration, Wellington, 12th July, 1878.

As regards the proposed agricultural school at Cante r bury, I am not aware as to how far it yet assumed a practical exigence. I believe, however, that it might most advantageously meet the case of young men such as those to whom you refer, and I shall take care that your suggestion is communicated to the promoters of the proposed school. This terminated the business, and the Board adjourned _____