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HOW TO INJURE WATERINGI PLACES.

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HOW TO INJURE WATERING PLACES. LAST year, in the middle of July, the members of the Aberystwyth Town Council began a dis- cussion which lasted the remainder of the season, on the water supplied to the town. The atten- tion of visitors was thus prominently called to the .doubts which then existed as to the quantity and quality of the water. Last Tuesday, one of the Councillors, feeling prcbably that the summer season is approaching, again started, this ruinous discussion. In draining the Flats, it seems a large number of small springs have been tapped, and the Councillor referred to is anxious to secure the water from these springs for the use of the town That more water is needed was admitted by the Surveyor, and was not disputed by any- body but are the inhabitants and visitors of Aberystwyth reduced to such a wretched plight that they must be content with the water dis- covered in cutting surface drains on a marshy piece of land ? Let the inhabitants of Aber- ystwyth after they have read the report of the proceedings at the last meeting of the Town Council ask themselves whether the water. that will flow through the drains on '^the Flats is the sort of liquid that ought to ba offered to the visitors of a high class watering place. Will the lodging house keepers, who are deeply interested in this question, ask themselves what visitors would say and do when they learnt what they were drinking, if the drainage water should be utilized. The SUKVEYOR, on being pressed, said he would not be afraid to drink the water. Very likely not. He is a brave man enough, and would, perhaps, with a little pressure, run considerable risks for the good of the town by doing more than drink dirty water. The question, however, is not whether the SURVEYOR dare drink water which has been tapped in cutting ordinary surface drains, but whether that water, apart altogether from the opinion of the SURVEYOR as to its quality, should be utilized for a flourishing Welsh water- ing place. This, it must be remembered, is not a question we have raised, nor do we think it is a question that ought to have been raised at all; but, seeing it is brought forward and discussed by the representatives of the ratepayers, we have no alternative but to deal with it. Already there are visitors in the town who will read the foolish words spoken on Tuesday, and the only hope for the town is that they will think the whole thing was a joke. Fortunately, sensible men will never believe that, any rational being actually proposed z, in sober earnest that springs discovered in digging a four foot drain, on agricultural land should be utilized for drinking purposes That this was the nature of the proposition can be seen from our report, which reveals the extraordinary fact that several sapient Councillors were disposed to treat the matter with most unbecoming gravity. Happily there is no danger of the drainage water, or any portion of it, being pumped up for the refresh- ment of visitors. The supply may run short, or it may meet the requirements, but one thing is certain, that long before anything so suicidal as the proposal made on Tuesday is carried out, a great deal more will be said about it. The foolish and ruinous discussion commenced and carried on last Tuesday by the i( True Friends of the Town will most likely be continued fortnightly during the season for the special benefit of lodging-house keepers. There surely is not a ratepayer in the town who does not see that the Councilmen who commenced the discussion last Tuesday ought to be held responsible for all its ill effects, and that, if continued, it will have ill effects we have no manner of doubt. As long as the Flats are used for supplying the town with water this ruinous annual discussion must be held. Nothing can prevent it. The SURVEYOR is not to blame. He was questioned and did his best to give satis- factory answers. He had, wisely, not tasted the water, but he would not be afraid to drink it The suggestion that the town should be supplied with the surface water from the Flats is the most frugal-minded scheme yet advanced by these long-headed rulers, and is well worthy of its source. It is some consolation to know that Aberystwyth has not yet sunk so low that it must go to the mouth of a drain for its supply of water. Pumping is a grand thing, but we cannot tolerate surface drain spring" water even for the exquisite pleasure of possessing two entire pumps!

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