The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1877.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 289, 6 December 1877, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1877.

In our yesterday's Parliamentary telegrams there appeared the following modest little item:— "The Nelson Gas and Water Works Sale Bill was read the third time and passed " Probably 99 out of erery lUO who read theso words would pass them over without notice, and yet they possess a considerable amount of interest for the people of Nelson, as we shall proceed to show. In order to explain the whole matter clearly we must go back as far as 1864. In that year, the Provincial Council having decided that a good water supply was necessary to tho well being of the town, a loan of £20,000 for constructing waterworks was raised, the interest being 8 pec cent. This was a strictly Provincial loan, the province being liable for the interest on the money, which, however, was actually paid out of the water rates. In 1871 it was deemed desirable to construct gasworks, and at the same time it was found necessary to extend the waterworks, and for this purpose a Bill was passed through the Assembly authorising the Superintendent to raise a further loan of .£30,000, for the interest of which not only the gas and water rates but the geuerai rates of the town were liable. Two years ago the need of a further extension of both works was felt, and the City Council raised a third loan of £5,900 under the "Nelson City Loan Act " passed by the General Assembly. From the above it will be seen that the total cost of our Gas and Water Works up to the present date is £55,900, on £20,000 of which the interest is 8 per cent, and on the balance 6 per cent, making the total amount of interest payable £3700. This on the whole was largely in excess of the net receipts, for, while the water was paying interest aud sinking fund and showing a profit of £200 a year, the gas was losing at the rate of £800 a year, the price of ihe article manufactured has of necessity been kept up to such a figure as to prevent its being consumed as largely as it should be, and in fact there has been general dissatisfaction with the state of affairs so far as the gasworks are concerned. And any change for the better was hopeless so long as the ruinous amount of interest had to be met from year to year. It is needless now to go into details as to the extravagant cost of these works, but it is enough to specify two reasons, one being that the material wa9 purchased when irou was at an enormous price, and the other that instead of going to England, the cheapest market, for the plant, it was purchased in Melbourne at much higher rates than it would have cost at home. In 1874 an offer was made by the Provincial Government to the then City Council to hand over the whole of the works at their cost price, but, fortunately for the ratepayers, the offer was not accepted, and so a large waste of their money was avoided. Between the Provincial Government and the City Council there was a constant correspondence kept up on this subject, but no agreement could be arrived at, and at last came the abolition of the provinces, when their liabilities were takeu over by the General Governmeut. A correspondence was entered into with the Government and at last a definite offer was made by the Council to the following effect. They said, For £35,900 out of the £55,900 our rates are liable aud tbis wo conseauently accept without question, but we propose that the whole of the works should be valued, that we pay to the Government in cash the difference between that amount and the sum upon which the valuators agree, raising for that purpose a special loan if necessary, aud that upon these conditions the whole plant becomes our property. This offer was ultimately accepted by the Government and Mr George was sent over to value the plant, Mr Lightfoot acting on behalf of the Council. The result was that the whole of the works were valued at £36,322 and so upon the payment of £422, the difference between £35,900 and £.16,322 the Council will be relieved of all liability in respect of the original waterworks loan of £20,n00. It was for the purpose of legalising this transtor that the Bill mentioned in our telegrams was introduced by the Government ani read the third time on Tuesday night. For its rapid passage through the House the ratepayers of Nelsou are largely indebted to Mr Sharp who has taken a great deal of interest in this matter, and has worked hard to carry the negotiations to a satisfactory termination. Mr George's valuation was only arrived at on Friday, on which day it was telegraphed to WeUington, ou Saturday the Bill was introduced and read the first time, and on Tuesday it passed the third reading. The late Mayor and the City Council have certainly looked after the interests of their constituents in thia matter with commendable zeal, and they and tlie ratepayers are to be congratulated upon the result.

The Hon, Mr Larnach, the Colonial Treasurer, is now iij "Nelson, wljere he has come on a visit to recruit his health. ol<k old friend Mr Biggs of the Waimea Road brought for our inspection this morning his first glass of honey. It was beautifully clear, and weighed about 41bs. He has others, he tells us, of a much larger size. Many of our readers will be glad to learn that after a very severe attack of typhoid fever, lasting nearly four weeks, Mr Eell has been pronouueed out of danger. Thkhe is to be a large assemblage of legal talent at the sitting of the Supreme Court at Bleuheim next week, when two or three cases of an interesting and important nature are set down for hearing. We hear that the following members of the bar have been reatained ia the different cases ;— Messrs Travers and Gordou Allen from Wellington, Mr Conolly from Picton, and Messrs Pitt aud Acton Adams from Nelson. Mr Fell iwas also engaged, but will of course be unable to attend.

Sedentary pursuits are enfeebling. Nature never intended us to sit in a doubled up posture hal four lives, and accordingly she revenges herself upon those who do so by inflicting upon them indigestion, debility, and very frequently lumbago and kidney disease. Persons whose avocations keep them indoors behind desks and work-tables, can, however, counteract, in a great rueasure, the iU effects of auch confinement by the use of UDotrno Wolfe's Schieimh Absmatic Schnapps— [Advt.]