The Oamaru Mail FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1241, 9 April 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 1880.

The construction of the waterworks is at length in its last stage. It is computed by the Engineer that the expiration of four months will see the Council's share ot the works completed. We are indebted to the Engineer for the following particulars : There will be about eleven miles of piping through the town. The main pipe from the reservoir will be 18 inches, and the reticulation pipes through the town 15 inches to 3 inches in diameter, the total weight being ISOO tons. There will be 100 sluice-valves fixed in connection with the mains, 50 air-valves, and 195 fire-plugs. House services will be laid on by the Corporation to the building line 3 of streets, and householders will have to bear the further expense of bringing the water into the houses.

The length of the majority of the services will be 22 feet in the chain wide streets, whilst some of them will be 44 feet long. In Thames-streeet the services will be 25 feet and 107 feet.

The 15-inch pipe will be laid in Severnstreet and Thames-street to Itchen-street, and from Itchen-street a 12-inch pipe will be laid through Tyne-street and by the Railway Station, where the pressure of water will be 10S lbs on the square inch.

At such a juncture as the present it will be interesting to glance at the position occnpietl by ratepayers in regard to this matter. It is already pretty well known that the Corporation intend to levy a special rate of Is 3d per annum in connection with the waterworks. This is the maximum amount they are empowered to levy under the 29th clause of the " Municiqal Corporations "Waterworks Act." It is not improbable that the revenue derivable from the water supply will Ive sufficient to enable them to meet the principal and interest on the loans without such special aid, and that this rate may hereafter be partially or entirely abolished. But it will be seen that"the special rate is a mere bagatelle when compared with the water rate the Council are authorised by the same Act to levy. The following shows the method to be adopted in computing the amount leviable :

On ctwellinghouses oF the assessed annual value of Ll2 10s a rate of 10s. perannum Dr>. exceeding Ll2 10s, but not exceeding LIOO a rate of 7% „ Exceeding LIOO, but not L2OO ~ 6/ ~ ■ Exceeding L2OO, but not L3OO ~ 5% ~ Exceeding L3OO ~ 4% ~ A little investigation of t-lie foregoing table -will repay the investigator. The portion of the Act of "which it is a compilation appears to he celebrated for its anomalies. If we understand it aright, the following table correctly exposes its absurdity and injustice : ££ a d Properties of annual val. of 100 — 7 0 0 „ 110 Gl2 0 „ 200-12 0 0 " „ „ 230-11 10 0 i, „ „ 300-15 0 0 „ 350-14 0 0 There is surely room here for amendment. The Act was passed in 1872, and it is surprising that, scanned as it has been by thousands of keen eyes, such glaring anomalies should not have led to the reconstruction of the clause containing them. To return to our subject. "We find that the Act prescribes that in respect of all buildings to -which water can be, but is not, laid on, situated within a distance of 100 yards from any water pipe, an amount eqxial to half the ordinaiy rate will be leviable, and that in respect of stores and warehouses notused asdwelling-housas, 2 J per cent, on the annual value will be leviable. There are other matters to which it will be necessaiy to refer later on. But there is one clause to which, perhaps, it would be "wise to draw attention now, as a knowledge of it might affect the action of householders. Clause 37 provides that any person who shall supply to any other person, or wilfully permit him to take water, unless he be a person already supplied with water by the Council, and the pipes belonging to him be, without his default, out of repair, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding L2O. It will therefore be seen that two or more householders are not at liberty to club together in order to exercise economy; that it will be necessary for all who desire to participate in the water supply to make their own arrangements to secure that object.