THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1879.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1822, 23 December 1879, Page 2

THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1879.

The Water Supply Committee appear to entertain very curious ideas as to their duties. Last night a report was road from them, bringing up a resolution passed at a meeting hold that day, to the effect that the task of compiling the information to bo put before tho ratepayers should ho delegated to a member of the Council. Apart from tho fact that such a task is far too onerous and responsible to put upon any individual member, it must also bo remembered that the gentleman thus honored was not oven a member of tho water supply committee. The whole duty, as we take it, of the committee was simply to prepare this information from |tho data supplied to them by the engineers. They had

no selection of scheme to make ; that had already been done. They simjdy came into a legacy of the cut and dried scheme bequeathed to them by their predecessors, and their appointment was made by the Council to put that before the ratepayers in such a form as would enable the ratepayers to vote on it. To delegate these powers as they proposed to do last night, was simply to confess their inability to deal with the question. There can bo no other conclusion arrived at, because this was the solo reason of their appointment. Tho ratepayers, as was justly said during tho debate last night, look to tho Council to place before them such information and data as shall enable them to make up their minds intelligently and with a knowledge of what they are voting for, as to tho question to bo submitted to them. The Council again, for reasons well understood, and to prevent waste of time, delegated tho task to tho committee. The ratepayers therefore have a right to expect from that committee the result of their deliberations, and not that they should resign their trust to one member of tho Council who does not even happen to be a member of tho committee. If tho members find tho task they have undertaken too great for them, then they should come to tho Council and ask to bo relieved of the responsibility. There can bo no mistake about tho position. It is plainly to ho seen that only two courses are open to tho committee, either to carry out tho object for which they were appointed, or allow others to do so. But tho late chairman of tho water supply committee wont even further than tho Water Supply Committee. His proposition va l that the Mayor should undertake tho task of preparing tho scheme for submission to the ratepayers. In what way Councillor Gapes can make out that such a grave responsibility should bo thrust upon tho Mayor, wo are at a loss to understand. Tho Mayor has absolutely nothing whatever to do with the committee, nor has he, except as a member of Council, taken any part in their deliberations. To ask tho Mayor, therefore, to undertake tho very important duty of putting before tho ratepayers.tho details of tho proposed scheme is quite as absurd as delegating it to a private member of the Council. It seems very much like a wish to place tho Mayor in a very invidious and awkward position, because the supporters of the scheme might say that he had not used different arguments or had not adduced proper information so as to prepossess the ratepayers in its favor. On the other hand, tho opponents of the scheme might consider that, considering his positionasMayor, he hadactod too much in tho character of a partisan in placing the scheme before tho public. It is hard to understand tho reasons adduced by Councillor Gapes in support of his extraordinary proposal. He stated that tho labors of tho committee were at an end when they reported in favor of Mr. White’s scheme going to tho public. As we have pointed out time after time, there was really no necessity for them to do this at all. The Council had approved of the scheme, and all the committee had to do was to collate such information as to the revenue of waterworks, cost per head, anticipated supply, &c., so that the ratepayers could see whether tho proposal was one which had a chance of being successful financially. As regarded the engineering part of the business, the public would be guided by tho reports of tho various professional men that have from time to time been employed. Take away the task of putting the information alluded to into shape, and there remains positively nothing at all for tho committee to do. Wo therefore agree with the action pursued by the Council in remitting the subject to the committee once more, and wo hope they will now seriously sot their minds to deal with it.

There is just one other point in connection with the water supply matter to which wo wish to refer. The accounts of the two engineers were before the Council last night, and no doubt, our readers will be, as probably some of the councillors were, rather astonished at the total. "Wo do not desire to find fault unnecessarily, but wo consider it only right, when for economical reasons many necessary works are neglected, to call attention to what wo conside undue expenditure. One of the professional gentlemen employed contented himself with sending in to the Council his report in manuscript. Ho rightly judged that as it was of considerable importanco it would obtain publicity through the columns of the local papers. The other gentleman furnished a very elaborate report, but in contradistinction to his learned associate ho had his printed and bound most elaborately. As our readers will doubtless remember, both reports wore published in the papers, so that the required publicity was obtained far more so than by printing their reports inanotherform. Now this item of printing the report, which be it remembered was not sanctioned by the Council, nor, so far as the minutes show, by the committee, has cost the ratepayers close on £4O. This is for Mr. Blackwell’s report only. If it is intended that Mr. Hubbard’s shall be printed, this will still further swell the total. The times are too hard, and our financial position too critical to allow of such unnecessary expenses as these. The whole item will cost some £6O. That this expenditure was quite unnecessary is proved by the fact that the information supplied has been published throughout the length and the breadth of the Canterbury provincial district by means of that best of disseminators —the press. "We had hoped some remarks would have been made last night upon this subject, but this not being the case, wo have deemed it our duty to place the case before the public.