The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, August 29, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1089, 29 August 1912, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, August 29, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

To-morrow the burgesses of Foxton will be called upon to elect a councillor to fill the extraordinary vacancy on the Council caused by the retirement of the late Mayor and the elevation of Cr Gibbs to the civic chair. The polling booth is situated at the Council Chambers, and the polling hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The candidates are Messrs Claris and Hannah. Both aspirants are fairly well-known residents. As we have previously mentioned, Mr Claris has already served on a public body, and is. therelore, not a tyro in public life. As a ratepayer he may be relied upon to give careful consideration to any loan proposals that may be submitted to the people. In his public announcement he makes it clear that while he supports water and drainage and fire prevention proposals, such support will be given conditionally that the scheme will come within the means of the people and the supply Is drawn from a local source. We may add that the ratepayers, as a whole, will not sanction the Shannon proposal. Mr Claris is in favour of Mr Climie’s scheme, but is of opinion that before this scheme is submitted again to the ratepayers —as proposed by the Council — that the Council, in conjunction with the engineer or another expert if thought necessary, should carefully re-investigate the whole matter. This, in his opinion, may cause a little delay, but he thinks it advisable that every detail of so important a proposal should be carefully ventilated in order that those who ate to foot the bill may know exactly what to expect when sanctioning the loan. This is s uud common sense. The experience of many local bodies has been that loan proposals for certain necessary works have been too hurriedly put before the people and 100 much reliance placed upon the engineer who is not always familiar with local conditions. The result, in many cases, has led to contusion and misunderstanding both on the part ot the authority and the ratepayers. We regret that Mr Claris’ views on other phases ot municipal government, which we gathered from a conversation with him, were not staled either from the public platform or through the press, in order that those who record their votes for one or the other candidates tomorrow would get a clear indication of their fitness for the position. We are satisfied, however, that if Mr Claris is elected, the ratepayers, as a whole, will not regret their choice. With regaid to Mr Hannah, we are not in a position to judge of his fitness as he has not made any pronouncement. We believe, however, that the local Labour Party have done a good deal ol quiet work on bis behalf, and that his supporters will turn out and vote. There is a feeling in Labour circles throughout the Dominion that the parly should have more representation in municipal as well as general politics, and while we believe every section of the community is entitled to such representation, we

fail to see that it applies in the present case. Anyhow, the candidate who can whip up the largest number of supporters to the poll is the one who is going to succeed. We hope voters will throw off their indifference and make a point of recording their votes at to-morrow’s poll.

The Mayor (A. J. Gibbs Ksq.,) and Cr Coley and the Town Clerk motored to Levin yesterday with the object of inspecting the Levin Gas Works and obtaining information in respect to cost of gas production, etc. The party was met at the Council Chamber by Mr Gardener and Cr Lancaster (chairman of the lighting committee). An inspection was made of the works lasting for two hours. The manager, Mr Shaw, gave detailed particulars of the Levin works, which were noted for comparison. The information obtained will be submitted to the Council at tonight’s meeting. An inspection was also made of the nightsoil depot. Although Leviu has a splendid water supply system, it has not yet gone in for drainage. The system of dealing with nightsoil is the next best to a drainage service. Regulation pans with covers are supplied to every house. When the removal takes place a thoroughly cleansed and disinfected pan is substituted for the one taken away. A lorry is used for conveying the pans, which are all covered. The full cans are taken to a section right in the centre of the borough and the elfluent buried a spade’s depth beneath the surface of the ground. The porous soil and air deal effectively with the deposit and there is no evil smell in the neighbourhood, nor is the public health in any way endangered. The property is owned by the contractor, who provides his own horse and vehicle and is paid per month. The cost of removal to the householders is slightly in excess of what obtains locally, but the aggregate cost to the Council is less Whether a similar scheme could be inaugurated here is a matter lor consideration.