PUBLIC MEETING.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 118, 20 May 1871, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING.

A very large meeting was held, last night in the Provincial Hall to; take into consideration the desirability of raising a loan for supplying the town with gas, aud extending the present waterworks.' The chair having been taken by his honor the Superintendent, Mr. Adams said that he was there at the request of the, ratepayers, to,, state his opinion with regard to the , proposed .loan. . Several applications for water had come in from various parts of the town where at present the pipes were not laid down, and these he believed would yield returns to the ''ext'eot of 20 per cent., thus' assisting [ liargelyto swell the, .sinking fund, average ia

come for the last two years, derived from the water had been £2040, but there was ,an overdraft at the batik on the Waterworks'' account of £3800, which had been :horrowed. to extend the works to portions of the '''town to which it had not originnlly' been contemplated to take them. A reduction of 25 per cent, ou the rates had been made during the past year, the result of. which was that a lar<ie number of persons now took the water who did not do so before. If we borrowed the sum required for further extension, the income to be derived from the increased number of ratepayers would, it had beeu ascertained, I more than pay tlie interest on the amount borrowed aud the sinking fund. With reference to the gas supply, the Superintendent had applied to the Geueral Government to know whether they would assist, and they had agreed to do so on condition that the gns and ordinary town rates were given as security. He thought it far better that gasworks should be erected by the Government than by a private Company, as the latter would look io making 15 or 20 per cent., while we could borrow at 7 per cent, interest, ami 2 per cent, sinking fund, and would have the further advantage of one day coming into possession of the plant. The sum required for the two undertakers would not, he thought exceed £15,000, although it was proposed to apply for £30,000. The Government had no wish Lo force this matter upon the town, but it rested with the people to say whether they approved of the scheme or not. Mr. Greenfield wonld say in general terms, that lie considered the proposed works to be necessary to the health and comfort of town. He was convinced that the money expended would return at least 15 per cent., nnd that the rates to be "fivred as security would not be interfered with in any way. At present the receipts from the waterworks were sufficient to pny the interest but not the sinking fund, aud this he believed would be remedied by the proposed extension. It was not the intent.iou of the Government to raise the whole amount authorised, but £6000, it was thought, would be ample for the water works. With reference to gas, it was a well known fact that it always yielded a large return, and this should not be allowed to go into private hands, but the people of tlie town should reap the benefit. Me had that evening received a telegram from the Provincial Secretary at Wellington stating that the cost of the recently erected gasworks there was between £12,000 and £13,000, and that the pri&e charged was 21s. per 1000 feet. If the works were uudertwken by the Government here, there would be no probability of such a rate being charged. Mr. Luckie was glad to learn that it was not contemplated to extend the waterworks unless it was perfectly clear that the addition of rates would not only pay the interest but also the sinking fund. If such a desire animated the Executive, no fear need be entertained with regard to their proposal. The existing waterworks had origjnally met with strong opposition, and many of the objections raised at the time appeared perfectly sound and just, but they had all disappeared now, and everyone would allow that the water supply was a vast boon, not only to domestic comfort, but to the health of the town. Why should not the same results follow the erection of gasworks. A vast amount of money was now spent upon kerosine and candles, but how much more satisfactory it would be to devote the thousands now spent on those articles to the working of our coal mines as would be the case if gas were substituted for them. If it were the wish of the people of the town that these works should be entered upon he would be glad to render every assistance in his power in the Council, and above all he would see that the hands of the Executive were so tied that they should not exceed certain limits in the amount to be borrowed. Mr.- Collins had been Oneof those who proposed' to form a company for supplying the town with gas, and he had certainly doue so with a view to his own advantage, but he was not at. all grieved, that the scheme had come to nothing, as he believed it would be better for the people that it should be in the hands of the Government. Mr; Adams had shown, he thought, good reasons for the extension of the" waterworks, 1 and be believed \hey would nr^ore than pay, for themselves. For these reasons he should offer no o*ppositioQ to the proposed loan, but at the same time he should like to have a decided expression of opinion from the ratepayers. , -„-', Mr. Lightband thought it. was useless for the people of. Nelson to spend their time in opposing, one another, and although he would have preferred to have seen the gasworks undertaken by a Company, he would, if it : were the' wish of the rate-, payers, do his best to get the loan •authorised by the' Assembly,* although' 'he kaewof; no-such precedent in,! Australia ,or New Zealand, „ The grayest mistakes

had been made by the Government with regard to the waterworks, and he feared that similar errors might occur in their carrying put the gasworks, for which the town would one day have to pay largely. However, this was the proper time to ventilate the subject, and to make up their minds on the proper course to pursue, and not wait till the tax-gatherer came round. Mr. Barnes said that if the ratepayers wanted to save their pockets they should oppose this scheme, for he did not believe that there would be fifty gaslights used in the whole town. With regard to the extended waterworks, he would like to know, if they did not pay at present when confined to the heart of the town, how was it likely that they would do so when extended to the more thinly-inhabited parts. He concluded an eloquent perforation by imploring the people not to go in for the loan, for if they did, when (he tax-gatherer came round, they would fiud they had nothing with which to pay, and out would go all their little traps. Mr. Percy said that nothing of a practical nature had yet beeu suggested, and therefore iu order to test the opinion of the meeting, he would move — That this meeting is of opinion that his Honor the Superintendent be requested to carry out, in accordance with the resolution of a meeting of ratepayers held on the 31st October, 1870, the measures instituted by his Honor for the construction of gasworks in the city, and also the extension of waterworks. Mr. Nathan seconded the resolution. Mr. D. Macgxegor thought that Mr. Adams had made out a very lame case for extending the waterworks, as in three years they had contrived to run into debt on their account £3000. It was said that the extension would only cost £7000, but they produced no data to prove this assertion, and Mr. Adams had already stated that out of "that sum £3000 would be required to pay off the outstanding debt. He did not condemn the use of water, but questioned very much whether it would pay. If the Government did not require the £15,000 why did they ask for it ? He would move as an amendment : — That in the opinion of this meeting it is un.idvlsable tor the Government to borrow £30,000 for Gas and Waterworks extension. His Honor the Superintendent said that the reason why £30,000 had been asked for was that it was thought undesirable that the same mistake should be made now that had occurred in fixing the original waterworks loan at too low a rate, the consequence of which had been that the Government had been compelled to run into debt for the extension already carried out. Mr. Macgregor was wrong in stating that there was a loss of £3000, it was merely that that sum had been required to carry out the extensions that had not, been originally contemplated; and we ought to be in. a position to extend the pipes still further at any time that the applications made for water were of such a nature that the additional rates to be derived would pay for the increased expense. It was not proposed to borrow the whole amount at first, but only such sums as from time to time might prove necessary. He might be asked, why not wait uutil you do want the money before applying to the Assembly for it? to which he would reply that they might not always be able to obtain the permission when they required it. With reference to the gas, he was not in a position yet to say what sum would be required, but of course before commencing, every calculation would be made, aud if it was found at all likely not to pay, it would not be undertaken. People seemed to think that the Government was anxious to waste public money, but was it not clear that it was entirely against their own interest, to be extravagant ? They were sure not to succeed in satisfying their political opponents of their desire to practice economy, but they must put up with their animadversions quietly. He wished, to be understood that the Government had no wish to force either of these loans upon the people, but it should ba remembered that it was upon the expr.essedi desire of a public meeting that he had entered into correspondence with the General Government on the subject. Mr. Haddow said that the security to be offered for this loan was entirely an exceptional one, as it was proposed to impound: the ordinary town.ratesfor that purpose, and he would ask the ratepayers whether they were prepared to be taxed to the tune bf another £2000 or £3000 a year. .7. He approved of the extension of the water supply, but thought the gas scheme very doubtful. This was quite a municipal, and not a provincial question, aiid las Jthe:; -towii had to give the, security, he thought that the Board of Works should have the spending of the money, the members' J < of: ,'tha.t. i body, being directly responsible to the ratepayers. nThe amendment; was then put ... and ciiegatiye:d,^bnly!abouti:a dozen hands being held up ,for it. The t original resolution was carried 1 ' by a very large majority. A vote,, of. thanks to ; the Chairman terminated tlie prdceedings7