A GROWL.—CORPORATION MUDDLINGS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5401, 19 July 1878, Page 4

A GROWL.—CORPORATION MUDDLINGS.

TO THE EDITOR OE THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES. Sir,— The Wellington Municipal Council is about to undertake important and very costly works—necessarily, no doubt. But does not the Corporation’s mode of doing small works justify the fear that the large ones will result in muddlings and losses far above the oorporate average? To me' it seems that almost everything recently done by the City Engineering Department has been done in defiance of common sense ; and I think that true engineering ought to be the perfection of: common sense.

Take road - making as a sample. Along Lambton-auay, from Woodward-street .to Molesworth-atreet, there was recently put down a very large quantity of apparently good - metal. In order to improve the slope of tho road, 6in. or Sin. of this metal waa put down, and a really firm roadway seemed likely to result. But what .was then, done? Two or three light coatings, or sprinklings, of soil would have supplied binding material, and the whole would have consolidated under traffic. Instead of this, however, the metal was at once buried with 3in. or 4in. of sand. What was gained ? During a tew warm, dry days, with a fresh northerly wind, iwe had dust-storms such ns have probably never been exceeded here. Everyone compelled to be in the streets was choked and blinded ; every shopkeeper and merchant who has perishable goods suffered heavy loss. During rain the roadway is a mass of mud, which the wheels of vehicles churn even finer, thus preparing an abundant supply of powdered sand, again to choke and blind pedestrians and to destroy more merchandise, whenever the roadway is again dried and we have a northerly breeze.

Take foothpath-making. In Courtenayplace, and more recently, in Molesworth-street, money was freely spent to make the foot-, paths unusable. If the gravel put upon them had been screened, pleasant, firm pathways‘ might have been scoured; but they were made like river beds, and walkers had to endure torture from bigj stones, or to take to the roadway, which was far less disagreeable. But if walkers are to use the roads, -at the risk of being run over, that end might • be gained without outraging common sense, by spending money for the purpose of driving them from the footpaths. , Take wharf-making. Some years ago the Wellington .wharf was sheathed, but after that expense had been incurred, it was deemed to be really economical to destroy what had been done. The sheathing-boards bad been packed closely 'edge to edge, and it was recognised that their being so packed very much increased the tendency to rot which was set up in the planking proper by. its being kept from the air and from all chance of drying, or being ventilated. In Dunedin, what used to be called the new wharf was close planked. It was soon found that the wharf was made a shallow reservoir for rain-water; and many pounds were paid as wages to men for boring many auger-holes, so that such water might escape. In Auckland, I believe, a similar inconvenience has been suffered, if a similar expense has not been incurred to remedy it. Yet experience as well as common-sense has been defied by those responsible for the plans of the Wellington wharf extension works. The planking has been set edge to edge. ( The men may be seen constantly screwing tightly home each fresh line of planking, as though not to be absolutely, water-tight would be a fatal defect. What are the- results ? First, at least 25 per cent, of; timber more than is necessary, has been used ; second, the air cannot pass between the planks to ventilate and dry them ; third, this has a necessarily injurious effect on all the beams, &c., upon which the planks rest; fourth, all the additions are more or Jess puddly during rain, and the rotting effects of water are increased. The approach to the wharf has just been widened, and the mode in which the work has been done has been praised by a newspaper which usually praises without. reason, and condemns abusively when its praise is shown to have been not warranted. But what has been done in this widening? A portion of it is necessary of wood, and has a rise to the wharf. The planks have absolutely been laid lengthwise on the slope, so that there. is no conceivable hold for horses* feet, but very conceivable cause for slipping put under the feet of every horse that goes up or down that portion of the approach. Most assuredly it would be but humane as well as economical at once to destroy and to re-do this part of the work; putting the planks crosswise, and leaving -them somewhat apart. Truly, before £500,000 or‘any other sum is borrowed for works within the city, the citizens would do.well to take counsel as to the control of future expenditure, endeavoring to get more Councillors with common sense, who can understand what is proposed to be done, if it should be not possible, to get engineers to devise plans, consistent with common sense,— I am, &c., R.X. July 16. - * -