THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, JULY 24, 1880.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2002, 24 July 1880, Page 2

THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, JULY 24, 1880.

It will bo remembered that some little time back Hardly a meeting of the City Council passed ever without inquiry being made as to the progress of the boring of the Victoria street well. This well, it may be noted, was one of three which it was intended to put down to to the lower stratum, so as to increase the water supply of the city for fire extinction purposes. No doubt the Council meant well in doing this, but, as we shall show, they have not only failed to get the increased supply, but they have wasted over £IOO of the ratepayers' money. In the first place they decided that the work should be done by the Council itself in lieu of taking a tender, for the tenders received were so high tbat the Council came to the conclusion that money might be saved in this direction. So far the matter was under the supervision of the works committee. It was next decided to call into requisition certain scientific acquirements possessed by one of the members of the City Council. But the fates seemed opposed altogether to the success of the undertaking. The member in question duly appeared, armed with the materials for breaking up the hard formation and letting loose the water springs. But as we are told that spirits may be called from the vasty deep and yet refuse to come, so did the stream of water which was to supply unlimited fire engines refuse to issue forth, even when persuaded by municipal dynamite cartridges. But there had, before this, appeared on the scene two gentlemen connected with the laboratory of the Canterbury College. These gentlemen had prepared a charge, but found that tlie City Councillor referred to had already one in the well, and was so fully confident of the success of his manoeuvres that the Canterbury College Professor retired bafiled from the encounter. However, as an experiment, he discharged his cartridge in a well in the vicinity with every success. The municipal cartridge in the Victoria street well, however, was not so lucky; it merely succeeded in shattering the tube and completely blocking the passage. So, after some weeks of labour and the expenditure of over one hundred pounds, affairs in that quarter are wors9 than they were before. It seems strange that the process of sinking a well to the second stratum should, under the auspices of the City Council, have entailed a loss of one hundred pounds with no return whatever. It is a sad reflection that municipal science has resulted in such a dead loss. The Council may grapple successfully with the financns of the Municipality, they may wrestle with the Drainage Board, and try for a fall with the Sydenham Council over the South Town Belt question: but let them beware of a too vaulting ambition, and let them avoid above everything dynamite cartridges and engineering operations.