MASTERTON BOROUGH COUfl OIL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1784, 10 September 1884, Page 2

MASTERTON BOROUGH COUfl OIL.

The ordinary meeting of the Council took place last evening. ' Present—the Mayor and Ors. Williams, Perry, Chamberlain, Gapper, Johnston, Price, Heron, and Hesßoy. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed, also "of two special meetings, CORRESPONDENCE, Outwards—To;G. Beetham, asking whatsteps were necessary to be taken to lessen the area of the l Borough .of'Masterton,. To Dr Beard acknowledging receipt of ; his letter and asking that be would report upon tho sanitary condition of. the town and to suggest any steps he thought necessary, .to check . the epidemic, " Inwards—From the secretary of the Fire Brigade as follows—" I have the honor by direction of the Fire Brigade to inform you that Mr W. Keesterhas been,elected captain and Mr T. Dixon lieutenant, and I 'am, to request, that these gentlemen may be appointed Fire Inspectors for the borough," From Messrs. Easthope, Petersen, Fannin, and others—" We, being ratepayers'of tlie Borough of Masterton, draw your attention to the dangerous state of' the Waipoua river as occasioned by the late flood, and request that steps maybe taken to prevent the. sriver from.again overflowing the towm We point out that' there exists an old flood channel running through the town, and. towards which the river is setting, and . should tho main stream once enter this channel, the consequences to the town Will be disastrous in the extreme, and we further point out that should it become a recognised fact that the town is liable to be flooded, the deterioration in the value of property will be very great indeed. We believe that much good maybe done by clearing the river bed of obstructions and planting the bank with willows, but we urge that as the danger is pressing and immediate, some Steps should be taken without delay." from Colonial Treasurer notifying chimney fire fines,

From the Chairman of the Fernridge School Committee enclosing the following resolution : " The Fernridge School Comniiatee have to draw the attention of the Borough Council to nuisance existing on the Upper Main road in the form of a slaughter house, from which a most abominable stench arises dangerous to the public health. The stream which passes the slaughter yard runs through the town of Masterton, and children no doubt drink from it,"

From Mr Redman, on behalf of certain residents on section No. 20, Small Farm Block, asking the Council to notify (in accordance with the Act) the trustees of the late M. Dixon's estate of the illegality of the street laid off through the same property. From G-. Beetham, stating he would enquire into the matter and take any steps ■ with others that would be required to enable Boroughs to lessen their size, there appearing no provision for such a change in the present Act, From Dr, Beard resigning his post as Honorary Medical Officer of Health' for the Borough and report. Prom D,. Pickering, drawing attention to a breach of the by-laws being committed by the builders at the corner of Gricket and Queen-streets in using a less guago for the iron covering to the building than the by-law demanded. Also drawing attention to the chimney. The letter was referred to the inspector of buildings. Respecting Mr Redman's letter the Mayor said to all intents and purposes the road put through the late Michael Dixon's property was a private road, and he read the clauses in the Act referring to the. same, which showed this was illegal.

It was resolved that the trustees in the estate be written to and asked how the road was laid off. .

With respect to the Fernridge school committee complaint it had already been dealt with by the sanitary and the nuisance abated.

The clerk was instructed to reply to that effect.

In the matter of the petition of certain ratepayers in Bentley's estate and the Waipoua overflow, the Mayor said the matter was already before the Council in the Works Committee's report.

G'r Heron drew the Council's atten-. tiod to the fact that the control of the river was vested in the County Council, and it would be necessary to be on the right side by getting their consent before interfering with the river,

The Mayor said although properly belonging to that body the County Council would have nothing to do with it if it came through the town, Tho Clerk said the coun'y had refused to do so on a former occasion,

Or Williams was under the impression this river question had been referred to the Works Committee. The matter was held over until the Works Committee's report came up, FJRE INSPECTOR, The Mayor read the letter from the Brigade again, and invited the Council to state its opinion as to the fitness or otherwise of the gentlemen for the position the Brigade wished them: appointed to,

Cr Heron thought the Brigade might have had the courtesy to nominate a member of that Council, and he would propose—That Mr Keester, as Captain of the Brigade be appointed a Fire Inspector, and that the Fire Brigade be respectfully asked to nominate a member ot tne Borough Council, as the other Fire Inspector to act in conjunction with him.

Or Gapper said he would second it, provided the mover would add, " that the Ooimoil also appoint a gentleman outside of the Fire Brigade." He would suggest this becauso the powers given to a Fire Inspector were so great that it was of the utmost importance that orders given in a "time of excitement, such ar existed at a fire, should be given by one outside of the Brigade who would be away from the contagion of such excitement. ■.

The Mayor explained that the

Council had granted the Brigade leave to nominate any gentlemen to the position, thinking it would be the moans of restoring the good feeling between the Brigade and Inspectors necessary for. the proper, working of the Corps. ; ' Cr Heron hoped the lieutenant would not think he meant a slight to him by not including him in the appointment. He had proposed •Mr ■Keester as fire inspector because he held the. office of captain. ' . • Cr Price seconded the proposal which was carried unanimously. The resignation of Cr Gapper takes place officially as soon as the proper document appointing Captain Keester fire inspector is prepared, signed, and sealed, which will be to-day. • An application from Ranby and Kibblewhite to have a culvert placed in Baimistoi'-streufc to carry off the. storm water from the front of their property was referred to the Works Committee. • - ■ • . •

The report of the; Gas Committee which consisted of the whole Council, was r 'read as published in our yesterday's issue and adopted, the Mayor remarking "the public would thus see nothing clandestine or that Would not meet with their approval had been done by the Council meeting in Committee." WORKS COMMITTEE'S REPORT. , Doulie'rty and Co.' aro : proceeding .slowly but satisfactorily ..with tho. Chapel-street contract, A progress payment of X2O is recommended, flenall-street has been repaired, and a box culvert put in at the junction of Dixon and Church-street. The work of replacing the metal washed out by the late flood is being piished on with; | about four m6re days will complete the I work. The re-metalling of footpaths in Lincoln road from Villa to Perrystreets, was resolved upon, also about 20 to .31 chains of footpath in Church street. Resolved—That in the opinion of this Committee the principal causes of the recent oveiflow of the Waipoua through the town were: (1) The railway bridge over the Waipoua being too short and too low; (2) The:railway embankment on the north-ease side damming up the water to a great height and preventing its escape over the large extent of low ground between the river and the terrace.

Or Heron, in moving its adoption, said tho Committee hud confined its report, in accordance with the instructions of the Council, more particularly to the cause of the overflow of the Waipoua into the town. If the report was adopted, he would propose to memorialise the Government upon any other requirements as regards the river bank protection higher up the river, Mr Bacon had offered them' 100 sacks, which they proposed filling and putting above the break in Villa-street.

Cr Price seconded the adoption of the report, and suggested a barrel or two of cement being used to bind and strengthen the protective works. The report was adopted.

The Mayor moved—" That the Public Works Committee be instructed to memorialise the Government on the protection of the town from the overflow of the Waipoua, and take what steps they think lit in so doing, and to associate with themselves Messrs Bacon, Beetham, Renall, and others who may be interested,, and submit the same to the next regular meeting of the Council,"

Cr Uapper seconded the proposal, but thought that day week would bo better.

Or HerOn said the Government had agreed to alter the plans of the railway bridge and embankment, at the Waipoua, and the engineers are proceeding therewith, so that no harm would ensue by the delay if they met in a fortnight. Besides the Council would please to remember that , the members of the works committee, although willing to devote a considerable portion of their time for the general good, had their bread to earn, and he thought none of them had fortunes. The Mayor agreed that a fortnight would be required by the committee to deal with the question, The motion was carried. The application of Messrs Easthope and others was also referred to the committee to deal with. SANITARY REPORT. Drainage.—Having been asked to furnish a report re the sanitary Btate of Masterton I must first of all say that tbis town will never be in a healthy condition (that in spito of all precautions taken epidemics will occur from time to time of typhoid fever, diptheria, scarlet fever, summer diarrhea, <k,) until a thorough flystem of drainage is undertaken and a bye-law is made which will do away with the present system of water supply from wells and creeks for household purposes, and will compel. all builders of houseß to have Abyssinian wells of sufficient depth to preyent surface water from draining into them. An efficient system of drainage ought to have been carried out in this town years ago, and until this is done it will be most difficult to prevent people from throwing house slops into back yards and gardens—a most unhealthy practice, unfortunately too prevalent in this town, but which, in some shape .or form, can hardly be avoided unless some provision is made to oarry away daily thesi Blops, etc., after the manner which is periodically done with regard to the nightsoil/ ■

Chain Stkeets.—All new streets, taken over by the Council should, in my opinion, be a chain wide at least,- and none taken over lesß than that width, as they may eventually be thickly populated. Eoads, &C.-I consider that holes in the roads, &c., whioh contain stagnant water for any length of time, into which manure and other, filth must collect, (for instance, opposite the Institute in terry street, Worksop road, and especially a Bhort street [I believe named Cross street] leading into Queen street from Dixon street, with the locality, by Naylor's, blacksmith shop) are likely to prove unhealthy when evaporation sets in, and the days are hot, and should be filled in at once. I also think that all gutters should be kept clear of weeds (which prevent the water from flowing freely and retain dung, <So,); that oulverts over these should be large enough to carry off storm, and ordinary rain, water without obstructing it as at present many of them do; and that all footpaths should be curbed so .as to make a good, well-defined gutter. Cheeks.-Some montla ago I reported 'to the Counoil that I considered that the watercress and weeds in the oreeks in summer was likely to be injurious to health, and now before the hot weather ,comes in,l.again suggest that this important subject be dealt with, (more important'on account of some people drinking this water) and that aU'creek's in'the Brirough should as to let the water tun freely through'these, and thu3 oarry quioklf'off any impurity whioh may find its way into them. .

SufroHTHt Hoc&s-SMfld 1)9 oatnde

the Borough at a good diß.'nnce from any road or public thor. ughfare, end regularly supervised hy the Inspector of Nuisancer. In Maaterton, at any rale until recently, a must unhealthy odour could be observed from one or two oi these whin the wind blew from the slaughter house to the road.

General Health of the Borough.— With regard to tho general health of the Borough, as there is no system of notification of infections diseases carried out, I have only been able to ascertain the number of deaths from these and other diseases. through the courtesy of E. W. Dadelzen, Esq, Deputy Registrar-General, who was kind enough to allow me acoesß to the Death Begistration Book, and I enclose a supplement to my report giving the principal Cause of death from July Ist, 1881, to August 31st, 1884 (a period of 38 months), excluding deaths from accident and oases in which coroners' inquests was held. I think that with the exception of nine deaths from diptheria, Masterfcon holds a very fair place as a healthy town, although a great deal, no doubt, could be done to reduce the death tatc by the people who will feed their young 'children in too many ease 3 badly, and allow them to take cold,

Causes of Death.—The chief causes of death are two: —lst, From diseases (in .almost every case functional) of the digestive -track, occurring fluting the first two years of [life, and, ho doubt, mainly caused by unwise feeding, perhaps in some cases made worse or even altogether caused by bad smells or impure water. Secondly, respiratory diseases due to oatching cold in nearly every oase these too, wire the exception of a few cases of consumption, happening in a very large proportion of instances to young children,'

; Tnere were 108 deaths in the 38 months alluded to,- 5S of these being from diseases of the digestive track, of the respiiatory organs.-and from convulsions, mostly preventable' diseases; 8 were premature-"births or infants born too weak to Jive; 1? due to diseases of the brain, heart, and kidneys, and a few deaths from other causes.

Infectious Diseikes carried off 16 persons, measles 2 (infants of 1 and 3| months) typhoid fevei, 3 (two of which contracted tho disease away from here), whooping cough, 2 (infanta of 14 and IB months), and diptheria 9, (four of whicli cases have been during the epidemio which is now rapidly subsiding the other deaths happeniug on December 26th, 1883, January 27th. 1884, Febrvary 17th, 1884, Apiil 27th, 1884, and' May 9th, 1884, Owing to the absence' bf the notification of infectious diseases, it is not' tjasy to trace tho first case of this disease, but it most probably arose de novo trorri the person Jiving m a damp locality, and being in bad health at the time. I have no reason to suspect that it was ictroduced from outside of the district. However it was started, it most probably spread through the medium of the school. There have been no deaths from scarlet fever during the 38 months, although numerous cases have been met with in-this time, . Cleanliness in person and home, perfeot drainage, pure air and water, with good plain well-cooked food, are the greatest possible enemies to the spread of contagious diseases. NUMBER AND CAUSES OF DEATHS. 1881 (July Ist to December 31st).—Causes of death-Softening of brain, 1; diseases of lungs, etc., 7; convulsions. 3; diseases of digestive organs, 2; debility from birth, 1. Total, 14. Over 70jears, no deaths; under 2 years, 7 deaths. No infectious diseases. 1882 (January Ist to December 31st).— Causes of death—Diseases of lungs, etc., 4; 'Jiseases of digestive organs, G; diseases of nervous system, 5; convulsions',' I; premature births, etc., 4; aboess, 1; disease of ear, 1; measles, 2. Total, 24. Under 2 years, IB; ovor 70 years, 1. Infectious diseases: Measles, 2,

1883 (January Ist to Decomber 31st).— Causes of death—Diseases of lungs, etc, 10; diseases of digestive organs, 13; diseases of nervous syst-m, 3; teething, s;' Urinary organs, 1; disease of heart, 1; old age, 1; chromo alcholism, 1; croup, 2 ; typhoid fever, 2; whooping cough, 2; diptheria, 1, Total, 42. -Under 2 years, 22; over 70 years, 4. Infectious diseasos : Typhoid fever, 2; whooping cough, 2: diptheria, 1. Total, 42.

1884 (to August 31st). —Diseases of digestive organs, 3; diseases of lungs, oto„ 6; diseases of brain, 1; diseases of heart, 1 j childbirth, etc., '2 ; premature birth, 3; croup, 1; convulsions, 1; diptheria, 8: typhoid fever, 1; cause not given at 73,1, Total, 28. Over 70 years, 1; under 2years, 14. Infectious diseases : Typhoid fever. 1; diptheria, 8. Total, 9, * :v

Spencer F, Beard, • Hon. Medical Officer ;of Health, Borough ef Masterton. September 6th, 1884.

The Mayor moved tht the report from the Health Officer be received and laid on the table for the information of members and considered at next meeting.—Carried.

The Inspector of Nuisances report was read.

The Mayor said he foiled to see the utility of bringing isolated cases before the Council where the Inspector had the power to deal with them, and that he should be reminded of the powers he possessed under the bye-laws, which had been ratified by the Council. ' It was resolved that a copy of that part of the report referring to the Public School should be sent to the school committee.

Cr Williams said numerous disputes had arisen between householders, and the nightsoil contractors in relation to receptacles. He thought the Sanitary Committee might suggest some box of uniform size and material, and thus put an end to these annoyances. He moved to that effect.

Cr Gapper seconded pro foma, and after discussion the motion was lost.

The Finance Committees report, was read which showed the present overdraft to be £534 .12s 6d, and accounts to the amount of £49 7s were passed for payment. The Committee also recommended that the Council be requested to provide a pair of water-tight boots for the Overseer when working in the water.

Or Heron objected to the boots. Other men had to go into water, and the Overseer had good wages. The Mayor explained that the boots would be for use in common.

The report was adopted. Under ordinary business Cr Gapper rose to an explanation. Cr Caselberg at a public meeting imputed to him (Cr Gapper) certain words he had never made use of to this effect—" At the Committee meeting of the Council, Or Gapper said the local cooperative company had amalgamated with the company represented by Olliver k Brown," Now he appealed to the Council to say whether he had made use of such words. The agonb of the company had said something of a similar import at the meeting referred to. He himself had no knowlege of the existence of a local company at the time, therefore he could not possibly have spoken about it. The Mayor said Mr Olliver had told the meeting that arrangements had been made or were pending with the local company. (The Town Clerk said that was the trfltf version), and it was only proper such an assertion should not go forth unchallenged. No doubt the:-news. papers;\yould take notice of it.

Df Beard's resignation as Medical Officer to the Borough was accepted and a voto of thanty accorded to hi»\

for hisfiiast services, and for the exhausjm report lie had furnished the Council. The meeting then adjourned. Before parting the Mayor drew the attention of Councillors to the fact that it was Cr Gapper's last appearance there under the present regulations, but he sincerely hoped to see him back with them again. Personally he had obtained much useful information and assistance from Cr Gappeiy and he must acknowledge they were considerabWieholden to him for the time and attention he had given to public affairs.—(Hear! hear 1) tCr Gapper thanked tho Mayor and mncil for the kind manner in which ey had expressed themselves. He had the fault of impulsiveness, but when he did speak-lie said all that lie had to say and came up again at the next meeting still smiling, He had taken and did take a great interest in in Municipal a flairs, and hoped to bo returned again to the honorable position of councillor.