BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 May 1917, Page 4

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the New Plymouth Borough Council 'was held last liight. Present: The Mayor (Mr. C. 11. Burgess)'., Crs. G. W. Browne, R, ,T. Deare, W. A. Collis, E. Griffiths, W. Short, F, J. Hill, -J. W. Ilayden, and J. Clarke. COMMITTEES' REPORTS. The reports of the various committees and of the officers, as already published, were adopted. WAIWAKAIHO BRIDGE. The Taranaki County Council wrote that it seemed doubtful if they were responsible for the maintenance of the approaches to the Waiwakaiho bridge, as their agreement with the Borough Council referred to the bridge only and not to the approaches.

In connection with this matter the reply of the borough engineer to t)ie foregoing communication was read,, in which it was stated that the Borough Council had not raised tile questioa ot maintaining the approaches to the bridge, but merely that of tha wing wall of the bridge. The object of havidg wing walls was to avoid undue length of bridging and the wat thereof, where earth could well be used, which required no maintenance and little more than the initial expenditure. To erect a bridgo without wing walls would, in 09 cases out of 100, lead to expenditure for washouts, hence these wings were erected to protect the toe of an embankment or retain the earth fill which was the approach to tho bridge. If'the county objected to being a party to the cost at iho western end the borough would object to being a party to paying a proportion of the cost of the eastern end, which would lead to an absurdity! However, there were stronger grounds to rest upon. Prior to the contractor underpinning the western abutment, the .approach of the bridge consisted of an ■r.rth embankment protected by boulder v.liing. In the course of tho work the . iiing was removed, 'with the result .. i, the footpath gave way where tho .-.:er-tables discharged. The damage, therefore, was wholly attributable to the removal of the pitching and the flume, and the County Council was responsible for this. On tho motion of the Mayor the matter was left in tho hands of the engineer. VALUATION. The Valuer-General wrote that his Department were considering whether they could comply with the Council's wish that a re-valuation of the borough should be made. It wag decided to invite applications ;

for the position of town valuer for ti"" current year. DIPHTHERIA EPIDEMIC. The sanitary inspector (Mr. R. Day)' reported that in his opinion the diphtheria epidemic would never bo stamped out under present conditions. At present medical cases were reported to the Health Department) and certain precautions were taken; but the cause of the infection was to bo traced to the dozens of Bore tliroats treated at home for a day or two and the children then sent back to school. Likewise, contacts were kept at home for a certain period, but were allowed to run about at large. It was evident that the schools and picture theatres were the main places ot infection, wliilo the homes of the children were not always in a sanitary condition. He recommended that the following steps be taken:—(l) Examine all cases of sore throats at schools, take swabs, and prosecute parents of diphtheric children; (2) that the isolation oi contacts be carried out in a thorough manner; (3) have the people understand that every sore throat is suspicious and should be immediately examined. No doubt there were many difficulties in the way, notably the want of proper accommodation for a 'bacteriological laboratory, but something must be done, and there was no doubt that, with {proper measures, in a place like this the disease could be stamped out. The Bame r» marks applied to whooping-cough. The Hospital and Charitable Aid Board forwarded copy of report from theit Inspector, recommending that the Council should review the system of removing nightsoil in tlio daytime. The borough engineer reported on thie matter, stating that few complaints had been received, and that he disagreed with the infereueo that the removal oi nightsoil in the daytime was a greater cause of diphtheria than if it took place during the darkness. Prom past expert-, ence it had been found that this disease spread owing to neglect in seeking medii cal advice in the early stages, and home treatment for sore throats. Comparing the period January 1 to May 18, lfllfl with the same period this year, then had been a decrease of 2+ cases. The Improvement eould not be altogether at tributed to the daylight nightsoil removal, but on the face of it tnat system had great advantages. It was pointed out by several councillors that the Health Department had approved of the Council's method of dealing with the nightsoil, and the opinion was generally expressed that the reduction this year as compared with last w;u mainly due to the steps that had been taken. Councillors generally expressed Lhe opinion that the infection of children was principally caused by the neglect and carelessness of parents.

On |the notion of Cr. Hayden, seconded by Cr. Beare. ifc was Tesolved to forward copies oif the above letters and reports to the 'Health Department. GENEBA.U The Rev. W. A. Sinclair invited members of tho Council to attend the levelling of a roll of honor bearing t 1 "! names of the young men of the- Whjt* ley Memorial Church Kvlio jiaUA j ( ---; down their lives for thoir country. the ceremony to be performed liy the Mayor at tho morning service on Sunday, June s.—Tnvitation accepted. The Taranaki County Council intimated that they had decided to apply to the Public Works Department for a warrant directing: (1) That the Dornlto bound* ary road bo under the exclusive control of the Borough Council; (2) that the Frank-ley, Tnkapa, Tarahua, Carrington, and Avenue roads be under tho excilusive control of the County Councils (3) that tho borough and" county each contribute one-half of the cost of maintaining the aforesaid roads,—Approved. The borough engineer, reporting on a closed portion of Holdsworthy Road, of which Mr. Heslop Barnctt desired to obtain the freehold, stated that he saw, no objection to Mr. Barnett's proposal.—* Approved. Tho Fran-kley Road Settlers' Aasocia* tion asked if the Council Intended to expend £4off on tho Doralto Road, and recommended that the bridge be tarred and painted.—The borough engineer reported that the schedule provided for £l9O for metalling the road. A report) on the road would be .prepared and submitted shortly. A sub-committee consisting of ithe Mayor and Crs, Haydcii and Hill was appointed 1 to consider the matter ol! furnishing and arranging tho Council chamber.