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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 952, 11 June 1881, Page 2

The Borough Council held their usual meeting on Tuesday night last, at which there were several questions of public interest discussed. It is seldom one sees the question of water supply considered during a heavy fall of rain ; and His Worship the Mayor evinced a laudable inquisitiveness to know what the Waterworks Committee intended to say in their Report re a water supply scheme for the town of Gisborne, by moving that the Committee appointed some months ago, bring up their Report “at an earl/ date.”

We do not exactly see what motive Cr. Piesse had in eliminating the word “favorably” from the Council’s wish to entertain Mr. W. Clarke’s request for permission to lay gaspipes in the township. Councillors Brown, Clayton, and Townley, we observe, also voted with the majority for expunging the word, whose presence would certainly have committed them to nothing calculated to compromise the Council in any after action they might desire to take. In fact by parity of reasoning, if the presence of the wrnrds “ favorably entertain pledged them to consider Mr. Clarke’s proposition in accordance therewith, its absence may be taken as indicative of their desire to treat it “ unfavorably ” when he shall have made it. We do not suggest that this is so. It may be that those four Councillors merely wished to leave themselves free to act independently of any foregone conclusion operating with Mr. Clarke, as influenced by an inferential pledge. But, possibly, they forgot that if there is the slightest doubt as to the permission being given, it might retard the formation of the projected Gas Company —although we are tolerably correct in saying that the Council would hardly dare to thrust itself in the face of a great public benefaction, by throwing even suggested obstacles in the way of the streets being opened for the purpose indicated. We should have thought that the bare, and not remote, prospect of having this blessing conferred on the Municipality, would have urged Councillors to a more unanimous desire to facilitate the movement than was apparent.

Councillor Piesse makes a sensible suggestion, based on a motion, that the by-law relating to the keeeping of pigs within the limits of the Roebuck Road be rescinded. We pointed out the obvious absurdity of this law w'hen it was framed, and we do not doubt that, although the Council did not decide to expunge the by-law entirely, it w’ill grant permission to keep swine in the lower portion of the town, on the guarantee of the applicant to attend to their cleanliness. There is abundant evidence of the presence of many greater nuisances than pigs, around us; but pigs need not be a nuisance at all, if placed under the authority of the Inspector of Nuisances.