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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4422, 22 May 1875, Page 2

Ouh Dunedin friends appear to be 11 utilising” the Premier’s visit to England. The following letter appears in the Otago Daily Times, as having been read at the City Council meeting. It is dated March 18, and is not - without general interest in the colony : —“ I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of a letter (No. 2123, of January 20th), written by the Town Clerk of Dunedin, by direction of the City Council, on the subject of the sale of Dunedin Water Works debentures, issued by the Council. In reply, I have to state that the Town Clerk’s letter only reached me on the 16th inst., after the sale of the debentures had been accepted. Mr. Larkworthy, Manager ol the Bank of New Zealand, had, however, spoken to me more than once on the matter. He stated to me the circumstances, from which I understood that owing to the issue being of less than £IOO,OOO, a quotation of the debentures upon the Stock Exchange could not be obtained, and that the loan could only be disposed of by private contract, and would consequently have to be sold considerably below the price obtained for the Auckland Water Work’s- Loan a few days previously, I advised Mr. Larkworthy that rather than submit to such a reduced price, he would telegraph out for authority to make the issue £IOO,OOO. Subsequently, however, he resolved to undertake on the part of the bank, that the issue should be for the full amount of £117,000, and that the whole of the bonds should be made similar to those sent for sale. This was, of course, a great responsibility for the bank to undertake; and it is one for which I think the Council of Dunedin should be grateful, and that they should use their best endeavors to give effect to the engagement into which the bank has virtually entered. ■ Under the circumstances stated, the bank obtained what I considered a very good price for the debentures. You must, of course, recollect that Dunedin is new as a borrower in the London market; but as you continue to pay interest punctually—and if you do not come into' the market frequently, or for too large amounts —-you may expect the credit of the. city to improve. I have very great pleasure in giving to you any assistance possible, consistently with my other duties.” Nothing could be finer in its way than the concluding portion of this letter, which was referred to the finance committee for consideration. The admonition regarding frequent borrowing and punctual payment of interest, is unsurpassed by any similar piece of advice we have read for a very long time. We trust Dunedin will profit by it; and the colony might very well take the hint.

Odk readers will recollect that we drew attention to the Liemur system of drainage, in a leading article some mouths ago, and recommended the City Council of Wellington to make inquiries regarding the working of the pneumatic system of drainage before incurring any great outlay for, underground sewerage. As a matter of course, the City Council did nothing, although reliable information might be obtained from Amsterdam and other Continental cities where it has been adopted. And here, by the way,'we may mention that the pneumatic system has been adopted in St. Petersburg, where the necessary works are in progress. But the Dunedin Council, having an eye to saving, has written to Mr. Yogel on the subject, and at the last meeting of the City Council of Dunedin, the Town Clerk, Mr. Massey, read the following letter in reply from the Premier of New Zealand; —“ I am making inquiries respecting the Liemur system of pneumatic drainage, and when I have obtained full particulars, I will communicate them to you. As far as I can gather from the inquiries I have made, the system does not seem to be a new one, or to be held in very high esteem; but you must not take this as the expression of a final opinion.” Mr. Vogel was then in London, and had consulted English engineers, whose professional conservatism is notorious. It is not a new system, and it is making way in spite of professional jealousy and ignorance.