The Daily News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1905. BOROUGH WATER SUPPLY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7738, 14 February 1905, Page 2

The Daily News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1905. BOROUGH WATER SUPPLY.

♦ - g The citizens of New Plymouth have t every reason to be grateful that the i completion of the gravitation scheme c - for supplying the town with water e is so near completion. Considering how much the health and comfort of the inhabitants ol* a town depend on the water supply, it is little short of marvellous that the present make- V - shift has been allowed to suffice for such a long period. Certainly, it is . a matter that passes comprehension,}* 1 h'ow such an old-fashioned plant has-., ministered to the requirements of the great increase in population that has ' taken place since it was lirst iiuiug- a •*' urftted. That it has done so with ' only a few break-downs is more a■ ' matter of luck than judgment, while I the expense has been out of all pro- ® portion to the results achieved. Li- ' able at any time to come to grief, c either at the dam or engine shed, a J - constant menace to the town has existed. Moreover, in summer time A the water supplied has been exposed all day to the rays of the sun in the \ * shallows of the river, where it has 1 mossy flavour, in the race leading to U the turbine, and in the exposed reser- | 1 voir. In times of flood the turbine',* was frequently unworkable, and in < •e times of drought (fortunately few n IU and far between) the greatest econ- 1 omy was needed to be exercised just c I -when the largest supply was essential j t * lx) comfort. In what may be termed , ancient times aqueducts were ex ten- j 1 sively used, some of those artificial it ' channels being marvellous works of J 1 engineering skill. A notable iostance f of this is the Port du G*\rd inji France, which was built by the Uo- j t mans, great blocks oi * used. Its height was n one of the arcades is —a I j grand monument of the geTT»us**and ( enterprise of that age. 'r with such works as these, the con-U veyance of water for a few miles \ through glazed metal pipes is a feat jj of comparative insignificance. None \ the less, however, does the new gra- ! g - vitation scheme mark a fresh era in \\ municipal administration, besides be-'g ing a decided improvement on the f antiquated system, which it super- 1j sedes. The supply is now taken ■ from a much higher point in the ri- t _ ver. It has the advantage of pass*-'* * ing through a cool tunnel, and flows j into a covered reservoir, being finally 1 passed through an up-to-date filter j before being conveyed to the homes j of the citizens. There is no fear of ] t.. a shortage, and little, if any, danger ] of ft break-down. The water will be l far purer, and cooler than in the < past, while a plentiful supply may i —be safely relied on. There is ano- f ther very important aspect of the question, namely the satisfaction j which will be felt by every house- * holder in the knowledge that at all < times of the day and night there will < r s be ample pressure in the mains to \ cope with any outbreaks of fire that r may occur, and with such an efficient ; Fire Brigade as the town possesses < there need now be but little doubt > that one of the greatest dangers to i which such a town as ours is liable 1 will be reduced to a minimum. Added 1 to this, the new supply will have an J important influence on the health of.t the inhabitants in connection with h j the sewage scheme, so that, taking j * ail things into consideration, we may j well hail the near approach of the inauguration of the gravitation scheme with a keen sense of gratifi- . cation, and it would only be fitting to have an opening ceremony worthy of the importance of the event. : EDUCATION HOARD BYE-ELEC- < ~ TION. ' When it was known that Mr E. 0. ; Allsworth had resigned his seat on i the TaraiugUj Education Hoard it ' was felt there would be considerable ; difficulty in finding a. worthy successor, though it was not auticjpatA ed that any candidate would be forthcoming who possessed the qualifications of the late chairman for the < r . position he filled. Events ' have proved this view correct. The 1 g, nominations fop jUut vacancy closed on Saturday, and up to within a • few minutes of the houf for closing the list there. was one nomination t.o hand—that of Mr R. Haicombe, of rrenui, but before the- limit of time J elapsed a further nomination in f*iII vour of Mr Maunder was handed in. 1 Members of school committees will, therefore, have the choice of two . candidates, but it is hardly likely • that will hesitate Ui their sell. lpcUon. In i)u> first place, Mi' lialresides in a district which is' funt into considerable mitie portance, and may be said to streteji from Waitara to the northern bounr nd fl**y of the province. The large ig amount of new settlement In tills area, embracing as it does the main road to Auckland, has been unrepreseated on the board, and this is of itself a serious drawback, as many questions arise from time'to time in fc. the discussion of which the Hoard is f?/Y»atly assisted by one of its members possessing that local knowledge of circumstances that can only be acquired by one • resident in |he ioca- — lity. Besides this, Mr IFnleombt; i# and highly respected. lU* is. u>/)iy^over f in many ways likely to prove a desirable and useful member. With regard 4# .the other candidate, he. is chiefly known h# n partioularly ardent prohibitionist, lexers to -the press on this and allied subjects being probably known tfl to some of our readers'. Fie is a 5. resident of Xew PiymoujLh, as is also Mr Wade (the acting-chairman of the Hoard.) U is true he is a man of leisure, but <h»t fa a minor quafi)F fleation when weighed jn the balance with others which are more needed for the business the Hoard has to conduct. In these days if administrative work is carried out as it should be the fewer faddists " there are on pubii£ boards the betit ter. It is men of business ability, ■ common sense, and broad mind# tfraj: are urgently needed to conduct pub* He affairs', possibly such parqgons are diflicult to obtain, but those re- " sponsible for the elect ion of members to the various boards can ntvd rtbould -do their hest to promote etfir cient administration by returning the best men available. If this principle were adopted several public bodies would be re-modelled, and the r " community at large wovrld be greatly benefitted. i