The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday at Noon. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1920. LAUNCHED AT LAST.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 506, 17 February 1920, Page 2

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday at Noon.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1920. LAUNCHED AT LAST.

"We nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice."

So the Pukekohe Borough Council's loan proposals, for amounts totalling £84,000, are launched at last! And the launching, contrary to general forebodings, was accomplished very neatly, without undue splash and commotion. We expected that there would be very lengthy discussion at the special meeting held oi Wednesday night to come to a formal decision on the proposals, but it turned out that there was very little argument or comment, and consequently there was nothing voluminous to -report. Though the essentials of the discussion were published in full, the report was much more brief than is generally required to chronicle an ordinary general meeting. The reason for this brevity was that the council had very wisely arranged for the various cqrP*»**&& to thresh out »*»*©»rfous points, ■Jmrrtiohise their differences, and come before the full council with proposals based on unanimity of agreement on the main issues.

At one stage it appeared as though there was going to be trouble over the question of responsibility for the electrical extensions. The lighting committee had decided that the consulting engineer (Mr. A. J. Walker) and Mr. W. Wyatt should be jointlyresponsible for this work, the former acting in a consulting capacity, ind the latter to take charge of the actual constructional work, but the Mayor (Mr. C. K. Lawrie) stoutly held that Mr. Walker should act in both consultative and surpervisory capacities, and be held solely responsible. Though he appeared to be playing a lone hand, we believe the Mayor is absolutely right in his views, and, judging by the many favourable comments we have already heard, the ratepayers endorse his attitude. Had we any say in the choice of a consulting and supervising electrical engineer, we would not necessarily have chosen Mr. Walker, above all others, as the one man best fitted to take control. But that is hardly the point. What is aimed at is for one man to be responsible, and thereby avoid the inevitable friction of dual control. And neither do we think it necessarily follows that because a man holds a certain diploma and status that he is the right man for the job. We have some reollections of a lot of money being squandered in Pukekohe on account of the advice of experts in theory being taken, and whose mistakes had afterwards to be corrected by men having, perhaps, less theoretical knowledge, but decidedly more practical experience. But all this does not, alter the fact that in any constructional work Dne man must be in control, and one man responsible to the! owners of the plant or scheme. Ana if, in the present instance, Mr. Walker is not to be that man, then he should not t.e allowed to have anything to do with the work. Mr. Wyatt made a strong point when he stated that the necessary machinery and gear would be purchased directly by the council, which body would thereby secure any discounts or other advantages of purchase that were obtainable. And no doubt this will be the case, provided that there is free and open competition among the electrical firms for the supply of plant and materials in general, which means that these things must be secured by public tender, duly advertised in various leading daily newspapers in the North and South Islands; or in the North Island at any rate. The water supply extensions and the roading improvement schemes are not likely to cause much dissension, but the same cannot be said of the drainage proposals. Owing to the close nature of the subsoil in this district generally, some people dor.bt whether, even in the event of the present borings disclosing an area of porous materia! suitable for drainage, sufficient soakage will be available for the permanent drainage of the borough. While v.-e sincerely j trust that the borings will disclose a ! soakage bed ample for all possible requirements, we still think that the sewage farm system, referred to in the course of a leading article in this journal a short time ago, should bo given some consideration. When one sees what is being done in Glasgow, having a population of three-quarters of a million, and other large cities in the United Kingdom, one wondeta why such schemes are not at least given a thought in New Zealand. If we recollect aright, a report issued by the municipal authorities of Glasgow states that by the enirchment of poor lands by the effluent of the city drains enabled the corporation, by the sale of the land at greatly enhanced figures, to pay for its drainage, and also gave a handsome profit with which the tramways were purchased. Is there no poor land near Pukekohe, with a natural hydraulic gradient leading thereto which could be utilised in a similarly profitable way? We do not say that such a scheme is practicable here, but we do suggest that such is worthy of being reported on by a competent drainage engineer. And while we are on this topic of drainage and sanitation, we may take the opportunity of endorsing Cr. J. Patterson's proposal that the covered pan sanitation.^ system should be introduced into*' Pukekohe, especially in the event of the drainage proposal being turned down. On more than one occasion we have been tempted to advocate this reform, but have refrained for the reason that we '."did i not wish to see expense incurred' for j facilities that would become unneces-i sary In the event of modern drainage i and sanitation systems being In-J stalled. «

Probably the iiiost cor. tout to..ii , >." all the proposals is that which, though of importance, is not nearly so vital to the interests of the borough as any one of the other schemes. We allude to the question of a site for the Town HalL Municipal Chambers, Fire Brigade Station, and machinery and stores depot. When all the pros and cons are summed up, we do not see that it matters two straws where the Town Hall is built, so long as it is within ten minutes' walk of the Pukekohe Post Office, and its main entrance fronts a side street, and not a main thoroughfare. Unfortunately, a fight about sites for imposing public buildings usually resolves itself into a sordid underground struggle by clashing vested interests, which spirit, if disclosed in the present case, should be fought against by the ratepayers with all the forces at their command. On the face of it, seeing that a-quarter-acre site, expressly donated years ago for a Town Hall site, is already in existence, though now too small for the purpose, we think that, provided another three-quarters of an acre of adjoining land can be obtained alongside, at a reasonable figure, this site should be retained and used, provided that the two conditions abovementioned are complied with. We think the council would be perfectly justified in taking the cheapest site, and, other things being equal, it should be less expensive to purchase three-quarters of an acre than a full acre. The council's present property might well be if and when a new site is secured and the buildings erected. Whatever wrangling there may be about the various schemes, we trust that the ratepayers as a body will not allow their judgment J& be perverted by of contending sections, actuated, maybe, partly by personal feeling and partly by vested interests. The time is fully opportune for the carrying of the loan proposals to be announced on Friday. The progress of Pukekohe, and therefore the enhancement of the value of the whole borough area depends on the loans being sanctioned. To carry the loans will mean progress; turning them down will assuredly prove a retrograde step.