PROPOSED WATERWORK'S LOAN.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 858, 15 January 1879, Page 2

PROPOSED WATERWORK'S LOAN.

PI'BLIC MEETING. The public meeting held in the Volunteer Hall last evening to consider the proposal t>> borrow a further sum of L 40.000 for f ..LUH^.3K"-teiH' r «fe''a»tlS cipated it would be. Tlie hall was literally crowded in every portion, but, with the exception of small disturbances created by persons whose presence at public meetings is jieneraily made unpleasantly noticeable, the utmost good humor ami good behaviour prevailed. Shortly after S o'clock, his Worship the Mayor took tlie chair, and on the platform were seated Councillors Gibbs, Headland, Liddle, and Mainland.

The Chairman said that he occupied the dual position of chairman and spokesman. Iltr was chairman in accordance with the Aet. which specified that the Mayor should act in tiiat capacity, and he occupied the position of spokesman by virtue of his othee of Mayor of the town and the head of the Council. The position was a somewhat awkward one to occupy ; and fur would ask the meeting to act as his chairman while he was speaking, and to 'see that he obtained a fair and patient hearing- He would then act in that capacity himself, and endeavor to obtain for those who followed him a patient hearing. Having read the advertisement calling the meeting, the speaker quoted the clauses of the Oamaru Waterworks Act declaring what steps should be taken to obtain the loan, and in what manner the proceedings should be conducted. The meeting was held for the purpose of discussing the matter calmly, with a view t»> coming to a conclusion whether to vote are or nay at the poll which would have to be taken. Before proceeding to deal with the matter more particularly in hand he would give them a3 briefly as he could a history of the waterworks scheme. (This history v.-c are compelled to omit. wishing to give as fully as possible the information which the speech contained.) After speaking upon the many preliminary steps taken, "the speaker said that on March Bth, 1877, the plans and specifications submitted by the Engineer were approved, and tenders invited for the work. On April 2»>, tendon? were called for further negotiation of the loan ; on May 2. tenders for the works were opened, land* referred to the Engineer for report, and on May 14 the tender of the National Hank fur raising the loan was accepted, and ar the same meeting the tender of Mr. John Henderson, being the lowest, for the construction of the works, was also accepted. "Work was commenced under the contract on the Ist duly, 1577, j and was« tamed on until the time of the stopr.r-"'.. in December, ISTtf. The position of the contract works at the time of stoppage was as follows:—Of a total of !">-•> chains there had been completed 110 chains, and there remained to be done 2S chains ; of a total of j rr"> cutting of 2o| miles there hr.r.l been completed 14?. mites, and partially >:«rtip T d 5 miles, leaving S? miles of not" • • « and 5 miles of partially finished work of aqueducts ojte-lhird had been done ml of the reservoir works rather toon haii one-half. The fact that so largt. .; proportion of the tunnelling was already pierced was a complete answer to the absurd story circulated not many months ago that it would take three years U> finish this portion of the work, and he might add that the balance remaining to be done had now been let to a number of Italians who had been in the Mont | Cents tunnel and thoroughly understood 1 their work, and that they anticipated I completing it within five months from : that date. The delay in completing the | aqueducts was attributable to the con- ; tractor, who had kept the works insufficiently supplied with timber, for what reason he (the speaker) was of course unable to say, although he might state that the Corporation had experienced no difficulty in obtaining any quantity in the Colony. It would probably be expected that he should give at this stage some account of the circumstances attending the stoppage of the works last month. The cause was simply that the men themselves knocked off on the ground that their pay was in arrears. If this was so it was no fault of the Council, as their payments under the contract had been

missed as unsustainable, William Wallace is now being tried for stealing Ll3O 7s in notes from the person of Robert Tweloctren at Mosgiel yesterday. He was_ cleverly captured by the police as he was about to dispose of the bulk of the monej'. The Waste Lands Board to-day resolved to cut up and offer as rural land Mr. Teschemaker's and Dr. Webster's runs in Oamaru, and to re-lease eighty other runs in different parts of the country. Runs 421, Ohau ; 424, Waikaia ; 429 a, Ohau, and 426, Waikaia, are to be subdivided.