H.—3l.

pay for. Whatever is ultimately decided as to the best way of dealing with the matter, it is tofbe hoped that the drainage question will be settled before long. The drainage scheme proposed for Dannevirke has a good fall from all parts of the town to a suitable site for a septic tank and filterbeds, and the cost will not be excessive compared to the cost of drainage schemes in other towns Masting*^ There is a good sewerage system, but it is not made sufficient use of. There are about ninety houses on the line of the sewers that might connect, but have not done so Sufficient extensions of the sewer have not been made as the town has grown, and comparatively few of the houses already connected have water-closets. Certain recommendations with regard to the sanitary fittings in hotels have been sent in, and are being acted upon. The water-supply, as previously mentioned, is an individual one from artesian wells. The absence of a public water-supply gives rise to two difficulties : (1.) The well-water does not rise sufficiently high to fill storage-cisterns for supplying a flush to water-closets, and so it must be raised by rams, windmills, or hand-pumps As water-closets are gradually substituted for pan closets there will be necessity for constant attention to the filling of storage-cisterns for flushing. (2.) For the purposes of fire-extinction the sewage is dammed back at night. This is objectionable even if no fire occurs ; while if a fire does occur the objections are many and obvious, and will become greater as the sewers become more used tor sewage. If typhoid fever happened to be present in the town this method of fire-extinction might cause a serious epidemic. The sewer-outfall is three miles from the town into the Ngaruroro Kiver. This river is fast-flowing, and is not used as the source of a water-supply by any one The previous treatment of the sewage would be preferable, but I have not noticed any nuisance or offensive smell at the outfall, and there are no houses in the immediate neighbourhood Napier.— Tins town has the most complete sewerage system in the district, and practically every house in the borough is connected with the sewer. There are, however, a large proportion of pan closets still m existence, but it has been decided to insist on the substitution of waterclosets in all cases within the next two years, and to insist on immediate change where the pan closets are at present for any reason a nuisance. There are- numerous bell traps with pits not disconnected from the sewer and unventilated; the pits must, in fact, in many cases act as ventilators to the sewer, and permit the passage of sewer-gas. It has been decided to do away with the bell traps as fast as possible. I have recommended the adoption of a self-cleansing gully-trap with a 6 in. inlet and 4m. outlet m place of the catch-pits that were being substituted for the bell traps and which had no water seal. Many of the old drains have been very badly laid, few of the ioints have been made with cement, and most of the joints of the old drains are badly leaking Opportunity is being taken m every case where any alteration or addition to the house connection is being made to test the efficiency of the old drain, and, if necessary, to relay it so that it will stand tne water test. As there has been lately a large amount of drainage-work done, and there is likely to be a large amount more to be done in the course of the next two years, an assistant Sanitary Surveyor will probably be engaged. The sewer-outfall is into a tidal river, and, though it would be natural to expect that sewage-sludge would be deposited on the mudbanks and become offensive at low water, there is as a matter of fact, very little nuisance so caused except at the outfall itself Tt, t0 £ ertam alteratlon ? that are being made by reclaiming land, an extension of the sewer will £S y Th n £T?- *f nea . r f f U i e, u ? leBBother mea *s are adopted for dealing with the matter Ihe installation of a septic tank and contact-beds has been proposed, and will shortly be seriously considered. Other sanitary measures that will be considered shortly are a refuse drainTaTn dlslnfec t°r, and the provision of classes for technical instruction in plumbing and n V l f?*^ Or T l '"" Al u hOUg u in reC6nt / earS this town has fluently suffered from typhoid fever and diphtheria there have been very few cases this year. The importance of providing a drainage scheme and a public water-supply are fully recognised, and at a general poll a loan of £65 000 for «iw Th°,T WaS T!? y a la T ma i° ri *y- Unfortunately, the town is very unfavourably situated, both as regards drainage and water-supply-for the former the falls are very unfavourable for a simple scheme, and for the latter there is no suitable source near at hand and easily obtainable. The difficulties in the way have been chiefly responsible for the delay in the past of adopting aese necessary measures. It has been recently proposed to amalgamate the suburbs of Kaiti and Z H™ Z ?lu f Ugh ;- Whether this scheme is carried out for all purposes of the amalgamation or not, the places mentioned should certainly all form one health district. Town Districts. tW Ert'~ The 11 SeWered ' but there are man y houses unconnected with the sewer that should be connected. The sewer-outfall flows on to a broad gravel river-bed, and is often offensive in the summer owing to the effluent becoming confined to one channel, where the ground becomes saturated, and the sewage cannot percolate. I have recommended that the sewage be more even y distributed over the gravel bed as a first experiment, and if that does not succeed a septic tank should be put up. A public water-supply is under consideration ; the source would probably be a well sunk in the river-bed from which the water would be pumped up by a tuTbine or an oil-engine into a service reservoir on high ground adjoining the town J Clyde ( Wairoa).— As has been mentioned above, the houses here are somewhat crowded and there was no common system of removal of nightsoil and house refuse. I recommendedlhat they should adopt the double pan system of removal of nightsoil; this has been done, and a suitable site has been found for its disposal. This town is therefore the first one in the district to adopt t£ system of removal of nightsoil. House refuse is also removed once a week P Wmpukurau Village.-The sanitary measures that are necessary here are very similar to those of the adjoining Town of Waipawa. More houses need to be connected to the sTieraS system, and a water-supply should be obtained from the river as recommended in Waipawa Havelock low..—There are several nuisances existing from foul ditches and drains and surface-drains, and some of the houses are dependent for their water-supply on surface wells whfch.

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