MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2172, 16 December 1885, Page 2

MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

The ordinary fortnightly moeting of the Masterton Borough Council was held yesteiday evening. Present-: His Worship the Mayor, and Crs Bacon, Muir, Heron, Heasey, Maßon, Gapper, Chamberlain and Perry. The minutes of the previous meeting were readand confirmed. . 1 A letter was received from the Treasury forwarding £Bl6s as payment of rates.', ' OHTOOH BTBEET.- ' A letter wa» received from Mrs flacker inquiring when 'the Council,: intended to

form the lower end of Church Street, which was in a very lamentable condition. The Mayor said Mrs Hacker was under the impression that she had been very badly treated in the matter, but on enquiry he found that such was not the case. Or Gapper said he did not think that it waß very necessary to form the street now. It would, no doubt, be a convenience to a few, but the work was very expensive. -He moved that the matter be referred to the Works Committee. Cr Chamberlain seconded. Ur Muir eaid the Works Committee had considered the matter recently,' and decided not to do anything.' He thought, however, the street might well be placed 011 the schedule to take its turn. He moved as an amendment that tho work be placed on the schedule. The Mayor seconded the motion pro forma. Cr Heron pointed out that if the work was placed on the schedule 'the matter would be taken entirely out of the hands of the Works Committee. Cr Hessey was of a similar opinion. Cr Gapper said the work had been shelved from time to time because it was of a very expressive nature. The amendment was lost and the motion carried. works" committee's report, The Town Clerk read the minutes of the meeting of the Works Committee held on the previous evening. The only matters of interest were that x the InspecNuisances had recommended the Committee to take steps tocompelownera of adjoining land in various streets to clear the streets of gorae, and to others at Manaia to remove fences to their proper boundaries. On the motion of Cr Heron, seconded by Cr Gapper, the report was adopted. private street, The Town Clerk reported that he had obtained the opinion of the Borough solicitor as to whether they had power to spend money on the formation for a private street, the opinion being that it could not legally be done, They would, however make a street, provided the ratepayers interested agreed to repay the amount by moans of a separate rate, Cr Gapper moved that the Town Clerk be instructed to send a copy of the solicitor's opinion to the ratepayers in Michael Dixon's street who petitioned the Council to form the street, They could then decide whether they will rate themselves for the work or not, Seconded by Cr Mason and carried. hew street. Messrs Lowes & lorns wrote to the Council for permission to lay out a street about-35 chains in length, running through Mr D. Donald's land. The firm would

be prepared to enter into a bond for the formation and metalling of the street, Mi'W. Lowes also attended and explained that there was not now time to form the street before the time at which the land was to be sold. The Mayor read the regulations bearing on the subject of forming new streets. Mr Lowes presumed there was no necessity for any legal expenditure in the matter. The Town Clerk said that tho Borough ■Solicitor would have to prepare the necessary bond. It was agreed that the proposal bo approved of, and that tho details be left in the hands of the Works Committee. WATER SUI'PLY, The following report was submitted by Mr R. K. Smith, Borough Engineer : Gentlemen,—ln accordance with a resolution of the Council passed at their meeting held in November, re Water Supply, instructions, were . given to Drummond and Co. to obtain the distances and levels of the following sources of water supply now under consideration, viz,. The Serpentine, Waipiripiri, and Waipoua creeks. It will bo seen by the plan herewith sent (furnished by Drummond and Co.), that the elevation of the Waipiripiri creek is only 97'39 feet above . the level of Masterton at the Post Office, the Serpentine 207 '22 feet, and the Waipipi creek 1G4'73 feet. In submitting the following report it is to be understood that the calculations are based on the assumption that the population is 10,000, and that each individual can have 30 gallons daily. The Waipiripiri creek could supply tho quantity required for domestic and flanitary purposes,' but the water could not be filtered without reducing the head of pressure considerably, besides which, the formation of the ground where the supply requires to be taken, is such that filter-beds would be difficult to construct. Another, and 1 think a fatal defect is, 'that the pressure would be insufficient for extinguishing fires. To obtain a good supply and increased pressure by going farther on in this direction, would be very expensive to construct and maintain, •

The Serpentine oreek, elevated 207.22 feet above the street at the Post Office, is well situated, but there are doubts whether the supply at certain times in the year would be sufficient This defect might be obviated by constructing a dam to hold two months' supply, or by laying a 12-inch pipe for about £ of a mile along the road on the east side of the Kaituna or Black creek, and taking a supply therefrom, and delivering it into a creek, from which it would flow direct into the Serpentine,

This source of supply is well situated for the construction of filter beds, and the hydraulic gradient is one of the best. Waipipi creek is 164'73 feet above the street level at the Post Office, Mastorton, and has an abundant supply of water, and the ground at the source iB well adapted for the construction of filter beds.' The hydraulic gradient on the ground indicated on the plan is one of the beat, and there is no engineering difficulty in the way. There is an impression, however, that-the supply in the creek, which comes from the Waipoua, might at any time return back to its original course, in which c;ise, the supply to the town might fail, After a careful examination of the locality, I do not see any immediate dagger of this, and if it should occur, a small culvert with sluice-gate from the Waipoua, which would involve but a trifling expense, would give the supply required.

In drawing a comparison between the Serpentine as a course of supply, and the Waipipi, 1 am still of opinion that the last is best, and it will be seen from the accompanying approximate estimate of the cost, that the difference in that respect is small,

Before the Council commit themselves to any practical scheme 1 would suggest that a Committee, if not the whole of the Council, should examine both routes. (The estimates are as follows Serpentine, £8,579 17b 3d ; Waipipi, £7,475 2s 3d.) Or Chamberlain said that the water in the Waipipi was totally unfit for use at the present time, arid it would probably dry ■up altogether before long, They could not use it for malting tea!'' " The subject was allowed to stand over to*a later of the meeting. ' INSPECTOR OF NUISANCE'S BEPOBT. The Inspector of Nuisances reported that he had inquired into Mr M'Mullin's complaint of a nuisance caused by his neighbours, andrecommendedits removal; also that he saw no nuisance auch as was complained of by Messrs Smith and Hogg. He saw that a certain sink was formerly emptied in the afternoon, but that had been stopped. ' > Th« Mayor Hid that th«y hid no doubt.

all had seenin thepapers that Asiatic cholera had made its appearance in Australia, and it behoved them to take every precaution in the matter of health. ,Mr Hogg who attended said that the nuisance was only felt at times, when a mass of filth .was evidently poured in through a small drain. Cr Bacon supported Mr Hogg's statement. He thought the -Inspector must be blind to a stink, for the smell was one that could be felt. They talked about Asiatic cholera, but if they allowed this nuisance to exist they would soon manufacture a cholera of their own. s The Mayor said they once had a sanitary Committee, and he thought they should have one again. - Or Muir moved that the matter be referred back to thelnspector of Nuisances, with instructions to trace the drain to its source and take immediate action to stop. it, Seconded by Cr Chamberlain add carried. . ■ accounts. ' Two small accounts, amounting to £l2 were passed for payment. WATER SUPPLY. . \ ' ' The Mayor moved the following motion of which he had given notice" That in the opinion of the Council the time has arrived for obtaining a water supply, and that a public meeting of the burgesses be held to consider the advisableness of raising a loan for the purpose, aud. to consider the report of the Engineer." In supporting the motion, he said they now had the data before them,- and he was half afraid to proceed. By a water Bupply they would improve the health of the town, and they would have a strong check against fires, He was not satisfied with the report of the Engineer, The question for them to consider was, however, whether the timo had come to lay the the matter before the ratepayers, Cr Muir seconded the motion, but said that the Engineer's estimate rather took the wind out of their sails; as he never expected to find that the cost would be over £BOOO. Cr Perry intimated that he should vote against the motion. Cr Heron would remind the Council that tlie sum mentioned by the Engineer did not include drainage. The total would probably come to about £20,000. Cr Gapper 'thought the matter should go before the ratepayers, though his own opinion was that they were not sufficiently advanced to justify them to undertake the work. Cr Perry asked whether it would not be a waste of money to call the ratepayers together, Cr Hessey said he should not object to a water supply, but there was nothing to show that either of the sources reported on by the Engineer was permanent. The motion was then put and lost, only

the Mayor and Crs Bacon and Muir voting for it. LICENSING rURLIC BUILDINGS, _ Or Mason moved that a Committee consisting of Crs Gapper, Bacon and the mover be appointed to prepare a by-law to regulate the licensing of -public buildings. He considered that the present uniform charge operated unfairly, and that smaller building should pay a smaller fee. • Agreed to. THE INSTITUTE. Cr Muir moved " That the management ot the Institute be undertaken by the Council on and after the 31st March next. He brought the matter forward as a public duty. The iricomo of the Institute last year amounted to £250, while the amount from subscription only amounted to £so—in other words, what was the chief income in other places was not sufficient to pay for lighting. They had _a good supply of books, but it seemed to him that there was something radically wrong. They should have a fair surplus of income over expenditure. It did not look well for the Institute that they should only have about 40 or 50 subscribers. Successive committees, when they wanted money, in place of enlarging their list's, had got into the habit of deputationizing either the Council or the Town Lands Trust. As the Council was responsible for the management, they should, under the circumstances, carry it on themselves. The small amount paid to the Secretary was insufficient to allow that officer to do all he should do. The offices of Secretary and Librarian should be combined. He had no fault, to find with the present librarian, for the way tlw Institute was kept was beyond all praise. They should, however, have more canvassing, so that they might reduce the rate, 'lt was not worth while to spend £260 a year for the sake of providing books for only 40 or 50 people. Cr Heron seconded the motion.

The Mayor said he hardly knew. what position ho was placed in concerning the matter, as he was Chairman of the Library Committee, and the motion was in a way a reflection on himself, Or Gapper, he noticed, was in the Bame fix. He would draw attention to tho fact that the Works Committee would not undertake the duties of a Sanitary Cammitteo on tho plea that they had already a great deal to do, They also had Gas and Financo Committees, and would they find another one that would undertaie the management of the library ? He quite agreed with Cr Muir that the expenditure was out of proportion to >the subscribers, but they could not very well do without the present expenses, He saw many desirable improvements that could be made, but it waR a question of carrying them into effect, It certainly did nqt 'redound to the credit of the burgessos that so few of them were subscribers,

The motion was carried unanimously. The Council then adjourned,