The Lyttelton Times.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 687, 8 June 1859, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times.

C J Wednesday, June 8. The fact that a supply of water exists beneath the feet of the,people of Lytteltonis placed beyond question by the late sinking of two wells' in separate portions of the town, at the expense of the Government. With a knowledge of this fact, boring apparatus may be. dispensed with for the future, :and ' prospecting' for water may be advantageously turned into a system of bon&Jide well-sinking. If we were asked to suggest the proper means for keeping a "supply for the future, we should recommend that the wells at present in existence should lie put in thorough repair, and fitted with pumps where possible; that a series of wells should be sunk in convenient/spots at about the 80-feet line above the water level; that a small tank or reservoir should be constructed high up each gulley, ..for the use of the lipper parts of the town f .and that the facilities which,any springs may exhibit at a little distance from the town should be, deve] oped for the use of shippings so as to prevent a drain upon r; the pump's of the beach. A scheme at least/as comprehensive as this is required, if not for the .necessities of the present day, at least for that of the future; and something must be done at once.""For if a large proportion of the inhabitants are in a position in .which they cannot help themselves, but must rely upon a public source for their supply oi water, it is the duty of the Government to see that such a supply is obtainable to the whole 'amount required. ' This is really the position of the case, and we call attention again to the subject because all that has been done is not yet enough. The supply of water and sanitary affairs are commonly considered together; and it will be well to do so in the present case. The drainage of the town is ,a most - important subject, demanding the attention of all those who regard the health of the community. Lyttelton, lying upon a steep slope towards the sea, presents a; seemingly easy subject for drainage; anfl so it. is naturally; but the artifice of man lias perplexed somewhat the arrangements of nature. The evident means for' conveying , away;, the surface water, and what that water may" carry with it, are the watercourses in the gullies.;; It is evident that these gullies.are-the best:possible drains for all purposes;, most .convenient, most accessible, and lying always lower than all houses round about. If it were possible, and of course it is possible, so far to intrude upon private property as" to have thesei' gullies boxed in and made common sewers of, say from the beach up to the line of Exeter Street, there would be a cheap drain formed, accessible from four-fifths'of all the houses in the town.. This sewer would not be dangerous to health, as the open gullies now are: and the)' would have the great advantage, which artificial sewers would never possess, of being' flushed naturally after almost'every shower of rain, 1 very littWof which operation on these steep inclines, would: suffice to cleanse, a properly constructed . smooth-surfaced sewer. What are ,the :gullies now? They are not streams for any practical purpose. Tbev invite the collection of all gutter-water and filth. Being rough in their beds, they allow dirty .water to stagnate in pools, and eject tlw component gases "back into the town which empties its filth into them. At present the police are constantly and vainly endeavouring to counteract the natural tendency of all things •to i fall/into Jthese^ gutters, by fining toe proprietor'of the gutter where they fall; P°" c® regulations don't succeed, for nature has re£U£ lations of her own to the contrary. Wf

iraao'ine the proprietors;of the; land through which these gullies run would be delighted to have such a scheme as we propose carried out ; no space would, be lost;,'for the, rough stony bed already occupies'more -than the room, required; and in every other ..particular we think the land would be.benefitted. But' the work .should on all accounts' be a public or municipal one. The expense would not be g-reat:' in many instances the work is already done. ', " '

We 'need not go further' into detail. The connection of, the comparatively few houses which stand at a distance from the gulley, and the arrangements for cross streets, are questions for practical consideration which would outer into, any scheme of drainage. We wish now only' to point out how nature, properly handled, may be made to help instead of hindering the cleansing process.