The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1879.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3111, 6 February 1879, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1879.

At the meeting of the Water Corporation on Tuesday night the question of future control came up, and a resolution was passed in favor of the Borough acquiring the sole management of the domestic •upply. The present Corporation is inTolved in great liabilities, with more in prospective, and the Borough is responsible for the largest share of present debts, besides its proportion of those accruing. It is also a patent fact that the residents of the Borough comprise the tafljority of those who are using the water and paying for it, the Borough's interest being allocated by arbitration as five-eighths of the whole property. This endowment of a domestic water supply is a legacy from the defunct Provincial Government. It was intended for the benefit of the whole district, but it was never supposed that it would be supplied to one section of the population gratis while another section paid high rates for the privilege. Moreover, it is admitted that while the present management obtains, these anomalies must be perpetuated, for the reason that the administrative body has insufficient powers, and while it cannot deny the benefits of a water supply to people in a locality where it is practicable to supply them, in some cases there is no equitable way of assessing the consumers for the privileges they enjoy. There are portions of the Borough to which an ample supply has been laid on at great expense for fire purposes, and the persons whose properties are thus protected pay less in proportion than others outside the area benefited by this expenditure, The solution of the difficulty seems to lie in the acquirement by the Borough of the present; water supply—with additional facilities for increasing it from other sources than the present, either by arrangement with the County or enlarging' the reservoir and diverting available creeks—and by the. Borough exercising its borrowing powers to retire existing and prospective liabilities and extend the supply wherever required, the benefits of supply to be paid for by rate levied under the powers conferred by the Municipal Corporations Act. It is unfair for the water consumers on the flat to have to sustain the whole burden of maintenance of the water supply, and it would be equally unfair to tax people on the hills for water when they are unable to avail themselves of the supply in the vray they would wish. But if the control of the supply were in the bands of the Borough, tlie Council could easily arrange for v full and complete supply to all districts within reasonable bounds. In the event of the

present supply falling .>>hort, we believe an equitable arrangement could be made with the County authorities for augmenting the supply, as at present, from ihe big water race, at a very trifling cost, and the present complicated management might be dispensed with, the control placed under the care of a Committee of the Borough Council, and the valuation and collection incorporated with the Borough work. By this means a considerable saving would be effected, the supply ' might be extended, and a considerable reduction in the rates charged be made. The want of water has been much felt of late, in view of which the Mayor, as Chairman of the Water Supply Committee, gave notice of motion at last meeting to have the standpipes which had been removed again replaced. There is no doubt that at the present season of the year a good supply of water is a great consideration, and many people are necessarily compelled to have recourse to the standpipes. Some persons may use these pipes who should be in a position to pay for the water, but the heal h and convenience of the community is a primary consideration, and this should guide members of the committee in voting. If the Borough is to acquire sole control— and it depends altogether upon the County Council to bring this about —we believe the domestic supply can be made available to all within reasonable limits. The Corporation have agreed to ask for additional water from the County race ; it has been already granted; aud we do not think the County authorities will throw any obstacles in the way of the Borough taking over the control and liabilities of the present bankrupt corporation : they can insist that the portions of the County fairly entitled to the supply are put on an equality with the residents of the Borough.