A WATER SUPPLY WANTED.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 3085, 20 December 1888, Page 2

A WATER SUPPLY WANTED.

Mayor D ecliiies the ;■;. .:vi-Proposal,: -. :':;<■ ■.":'■'

■ Messrs j. Graham, L. L. HoDper, T,G. Mason, W.Dougall, and h Dixon oh; Wednesday, waited upon the Councilasadeputationfroin the loading''ratepayers, of Queon-streot and' presented;a roquisitiou-.asking the Council to provide a better water supply for the protection of the centre of the town against fire. - : ' Mr L;' Ji Hooper said no doubt they were aware that the business people' of Ma'stertbn had been'called together to consider the action of tho Fire Underwrites Association in raising the rato3 of insurance,'and that a Committee had been appointed. The Association had been written to asking : the reason of the increased

tariff and had been referred to the letter of July 12th, they had sent- to j the Borough Council, which stated that unless a better water supply wbb provided, a.gas jet kept burning under the fire engine boiler, and a horse kept in readiness in event of.fire the Association would probatly deem unnecessary, to increase the tariff of rates 25, per cent. The Committee considered the best thing they could do was to get a water supply, and they .had prepared a petition to the Council which had received lib signatures, asking the'Counoil to provide the same. On the preceding day he had.visited Wellington, and interviewed Mr Campbell,. Chairman of the Fire Underwriters' association and had obtained from him in writ. irig a promise that in the event of the town being provided with a better water supply he would send an In-; specter to report with a view to tho rates being reduced in 'proportion 'to tho deoreased risks. He found they were 'very • much annoyed that' the Council had taken no notice of their letter, and, saying it was no use barking unless they bit,, they had increased'the rates to!the present tariff. These rates, the speaker went cm to say, were so extortionate Jthat it did not pay to insure,'and' in the event of fire the Borough would suffer as well as individuals by the loss of rateable property. The fault lay.with the Council for not providing abetter Water supply. From what he could gather the' Underwriters had been informed by onoof their-townsmen Mr Caselberg that thesteam oould be got up in the fire engine in a .quarter of an hour, and in!ten 1 minutes oould be at a fire. That meant twenty-five minutes before afire could be operated on, and they naturally asked what was the use of the fire engine, At Palmerston the rates'were higher thaiv at Masterton although there the risks were greater, A water supply, high or low,; was essentially necessary to the safety of the town, and ha thought tho ratepayers were pretty unanimous in .their determination to havo it carried out. In regard to the letters which it was stated had boen sent to the Underwriters, Mr Campbell told him that' & letter had been sent him but Ibis, being anonymous the Association had declined to consider=it;.' As tojhat being the cause of the rates being raised it was «hing,of the sort, kb Mayor; Then you did not see letter. l - v.- •, . • .Mr Hooper; No, it was believed to have been destroyed.. The Mayor: That letter we' know about, ,but that, is not what was asserted by tho Daily to have been written as anyone causee that." /■ He went on to refer to what had been written in the leader of that paper when Cr Gapp.er rose to a point of order. He objected to His Worship introducing matters foreign to the business before the meeting. I Tho Mayor (in a loud and angry tone): Keep your seat, Cr Gapper J I'll allow you to speak later on. Cr Gapper resumed his Beat, but immediately afterwards, rose, and left the room.

The Mayor to Mr Hooper: Whal did thoy deem a sufficient watoi supply? ,

V; Mr Hooper: It was not for theni to considor. The rates' would be based upon the risks. If they had a high pressure supply, of course, the tariff would be a considerably lower one. ■

MrT. G. Mason said the Committee were anxious the Borough I Council should take upon their fc shoulders the responsibility of pro- ' viding "a water supply, Chapel, [, Queen, and Dixon Streets, provided two fifths of the whole rates of the Borough and were interested, and ■ he thought the Counoil should take upon ' themselves to give them a water supply. He did not oare whether it f was high, low, or" BenaH's. He thought it a sliame that Councillors sbould waste time in useloss discussion whether it ahould be 1 Renall's, or anyone else's, considering the rates they paid both for Insurance, and to the general fund ■ of the Borough. Mr J, Graham said there was only one point he desired to impress upon them, and that was the fact that , their Insurance fates 'had been inoveased3B per bent'.."Ha trusted tbey would take his remarks in the spirit thoy were meant, but there had been a certain amount of riegleot' on the part of the Council in oonneotion with the letter sent to them by the Fire- Underwriters'. Association, for whioh they (the ratepayers) had now to.pay, Something ought to have been done by/ the Counoil to' bring the. letter more prominently before those directly interested in it. The Mayor said the letter had. been replied to in due course. In reading the letter in print, it struck him as being-somewhat harsh, per-., haps, and might have been toned down in some points, but there was nothing dißcourtoquj in it. Flo then referred to the Jubilee, and the time' i it took to getready, The question for i them to consider was what they were i to dp. He assured the deputation I they had not a shilling to spend and < their overdraft was £1450 whioh was I as high as they could legally go. 'lf j they attempted to raise a loan they would nevor carry it,'andif they went 1 into any other supply than what they possessed (they had no doubt sem ] what was suggested in theDxiiv) i besides the delay they would be out- < voted. That: brought them down to I the question of what could be done. I On bejialf of himself he was prepared 1 tft do all in his power,'and if .the i deputation would meet'him; on the morrow he would show them what l was wanted, to be done, but they would have to pay for it themselves, t Mr Graham said as showingthe i advantage of haying a good, wafer \ supply' he. i'wciuia point oul-the < contrast in the rate 3 between Nelson 1 and Masterton.' In the'former for i similar risks they, were &7s 6d to the i latter's 65s and upwards.- He men- i tipried. *tbat/-to, show the. pressing ,i necessity, there was for'abetter water < supply..:: ,;;-,.:;^,-v :r i i;.Cr.Ktton,wasof opinion tiiaYitwas ' i

D •s it lotted, whicli.hi-waß , 'I to forward,"' fronSwhioh; < ' ■■;'; gathered that .''■ to take i, not 1 make tt^dubtiqiiyiiit * Mr Koimll's B^ply^;;fe v n they would listen; lo'tvoiilil; be a high': 4y ; t ie pressure' 'to; it time tlioengiiie'took; tb'get up steam, •; y ■ g they laborodi sr of haiiiig-.no one in charge of' itwho:. >K :o hud .experience;!)/ steam fire engines;' •C£? That: would remedy''itself in lihie, -s& : it If the Councilrexpended^lOOron 1 is the ;present • schema 'they':'had;no; i guarantee that the • insurance rates ;T i 10 would lie loweredi. If they n on it the Insurance';.people id turn' round and. ky tho Waipdua l;- ; i'i 1, might' run dry. Nothing:short of ! ;o £IO,OOO or £15,000 would do any ■ ■ id good. They Avere the lowest rated. ;.-.■ Ie Borough in the Colonyj but it was at-;: ■■; 0 the expense of,health and •comfort' : id and lie should be in favor""of a water lb and drainage Bclieme.:. f ; - ~.:," ig ' Mr Hooper said it.was'allveri-' ' a well for Cr Fitton to throw cold :e on the petition just'because hewasvi'V''' n aii, insurance ageut and had got a : ; v rf letter whioli he could not show. The v :e Underwriters told him; that they had ; . ';;' Id simply raised the rates on account of.'. * ' ■ : ; id the insufficient supply: of wateryand ': ie stated that at one fire the Jubilee was ■■■;•'. .0 pumping up mud half the time/ d- They distinctly told him that if the ' iy supply was adequate tlie rates would; i'. be reduced accordingly/ With regard '' sf to borrowing ,£9,000 for "a high :, iii pressure water supply, he' washot.., • t. satisfied."■ He,' would-Vote - dead::,.':': ie against it, not because it would • not ■: • jr be beneficial to the town, but for the V 7 i-; purpose 'required, a leas expensive vJ io scheme would do.; He believed.that V* io if the Council had left: the Mayor" '■'■ .y iy alone, he would have suiit'the water ' ie down free. Ho believed that it : wajj':C ir originally Mr Benall's'-intentionjjfc .'■."■ ie hand down posterity Buoh id taking at his own cost. /'.;.: it - ' Cr Hessoy said the deputation had it not come there to oriticise.the action ~ it of the Council, ie The Mayor: Don't interrupt sir. ' sr CrHessey: I have every right 16 - )f interrupt. . v. ,li The Mayor: Go on Mr Hooper.' ;'';: 3r Mr Hooper said Mr Hessey did not.' >,?: Id suffer by the inoreased rates. It was in the business people of the m were sat upon by"'the. outsiders : *' ie on the Council, not on■■the question' ■ ; ; 3r of a water Bupply:Wune : but ono that" ; . :; . y Id of gasr Tliose Councillors asked : of : > re what benefit was gas'to; them: He' ~: : l ' ■ i- would, ask in reply'what would they : . : it do without thetown?. Where 1 could ; % it they sell'their produce? Theycouid > -';'j ;r not compete aiid they-,: v ' re ought' to do everything they could to '•■ A sr support the town, i :. ; " ''. ;;: ' ;\ Iy CrHessey said the. only thing; the i, Council wanted was some legal •e standiug."' The Council : was v responsible for the way; the''roads A> ; d were left should any accidentoccur; Hk&k id The;Maybr N6I:; Tbe ; Courioil'j|k i [r not resppiißibie; .■; \v "- y : ,d Or Hessey said C- Rcuall to comply with the ] to did notobjeotitphisscheme witirthal?::':: !' ie proviso,;but v Mr'Benallwasceiebrated N ! ? s for never completing: anything* f ; undertook.. They did ' : i \i :e bably,'as,mMh^ashe;^^ Weuall's id oounnitteaiwhp/went^ Keuall to the head of the mill lead' w to learn what he proposed doing and is when they reached'the Waipbu'a Mr n Benall said if the borough' made use ie of the water they would have' to ; /■> m mak<* protective works; if required. ' : ir That, he did not Bay was unjust,' , )f provided things were on a legal foot- .'. p ing. AtKuripuui,' where the rate-' ;, id payers were not interested ina water ■•■•' supply question,Mr Reniill said'he ~> y to going to bring in a water supply, -f'' j and those interested would have to : ' . pay, but at the Theatre ho tolddfc '' it different tale, and said he.would giyP' d it. It was all. very, well .for. . Mrßonallto come there and say :'■ it what he had done, but ho wanted if ■' t done legally aud whether they called upon him to resign or not ho : ; n for one would never pass Mr toenail's ; -" e schonie until it was legal. Why'did •; • '.[ a notMrßenallacoept'the £lO offered "' e privately by Councillors towards- a . r oulvert if he was going to deal in a fair and straighforward mannerly .- the ratepayers, It was getting'the li thin end of the wedge in to throw ' r tho onus on the Council. ■ It v : ' - was said he would have given ; ' :, the water free. Who had a. - 1 better- right; His property had'.'.' , b acquired its value bv the work and' : < s toil of the people, 'Whilst he sat ■:' l down and watched other people'he - : i r waß acquiring wealth. It was what" :: t Mr George called '" the'unearned :/ v 3 inoremeut." If Mrßenall i mafreowatorsupplyitwasnothinP j less than he should. Be had fre- ' s quently told thorn he would '■"•'■ •at publio meetings where no M i one but Mr Eenall had a fair ' I hearing. Before they expended the; . borough funds Met thorn ' ,t '> ' legal status. How did they know but i what the burgesses would take them to ; task and make them lefund. It was i a favorito threit of Mr Jleuall's. If ! Mr Renall had boen a reasonable i man instead of the bully that ho was I they might have settled matters. i With regard to the Insurance officespromises, he had no faith in them, i They repudiated a debt of £2O for ■ pumping. The Waipoua might run ' dry. A summer or two ago there i was not a bucketful of water in the : mill lead, i The Mayor; It's faho.' It is never dry at the mill lead Cr Hessey concluded by stating his conviction that tho Insurance offices would not rodnoe tho rates if Mr ißenall's scheme was adopted, The Mayor said no one could lfplyi* to such a speech without a bitter™ Beiise of degradation. It was a tissue of falsehoods from beginning to end. all he evor said to CrHessey and the ' others was the Waipoua was washing the head at the mill lead and it would bo only fair of tho Council, if they used the water, to pay J its share of the cost. " CrHessey: It would not have been legal.. ,The Mayor: Don'tintenupt. Cr Hessey does not know what legal or illegal means." Mr Hooper had fairly delineated the plan he had proposed to himself to respect to bringing in « the water free.. If what he (tho BpealnSr). had done had been lllogal why did they not get him fined. Cr Hessey: Because you would 'not put tho resolution to the Council. t Tho Mayoi There was no resoluI lion before the Council. So much foi youi voracity. Ho then went on to narrate the oiroumetances tho councillors had taken in proseoutmg , him. He concluded by informing tho deputation they would be able to 'do', - nothing with tho Conned, bnt he fak' would meet the Committee the next W inoruiug and' take them up to tho \ stieam and show thorn what he pro- < v * pobed doing.' ' Cr Cullen advocated a system of wells <, together with Mr I&n&ll's sopply. He did not belfcft tlr?

borougli could stand the strain of a loan. £lt)0 expended in well sinlting would ',bo money wolljaiil out, As *4* - fai\as what Cr Ilessey said about ilio ™ Mayor "bullying" lie had had a •:' good deal of business with MtEonall and never found bim a bully. Or Hessey; You're ouo of his pets. Cr (Men said lie must give tho Mayor credit, when ho had a fool he knew how to deal with him. ' Cr Fittou asked how it was the insurance rates had been raised 'outside tho town. That could not bo on account of the water supply. Ho oxpressed his willingness to subscribo to luring tho diamond drill and testing for artesian wator. I After somo further discussion, Cr i Cullen moved, That the Mayor be a committee to a«t with tho deputation in bringing forward a water supply, subjeot to tho approval of the Works Committee, . Or Hcssoy: He has promised to do that already. The Mayor said the next Council M meeting would not tako placo until ™ January 8. All they wanted was / permission for him to bring the water down and it would bo there in a week's time. Do was fully convinced the Council would do nothing. He had a dogged majority to contend against. He would takethe Comtmtteo up and and they could deal with tho Council afterwards, Cr Cullou asked the Major to put his motion, but ho declined to do so, Btating the works committee wero dead against him and he would not work with them.

Cr H essey then left the room, Cr Carman wished to move "That, 4 the Council place no obstruction in V tho waj of the Mayor bringing (town water through Queen-street into his mill lead," but as there was no quorum present it could not be put. .j£ Mr Hooper said he thought it a disrespectful way of treating a deputation. The Mayor: It should be a warning, to you. You put them in the Council. " Mr Mason said he must say thai as a deputation they had been scandalously insulted. Several Councillors had absented themselves whilst two had turned their backs on them. Ho thanked the Councillors ami tho deputation then withdrew. This concluded the proceedings.