ASHBURTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2305, 18 December 1889, Page 2

ASHBURTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

ANNUAL MEETING. Tje annual afctsJut ty meeting of the Ashb-irton Borongh Ooucoil foe the Inatiillatlon of Mayor wts hold at noon i-.0-d.iy, Tbere weire present :— The tiajor elect (Mr D, Thorani) and Ooa (oilora H, F«Jcd!«nder, Bird, Oathb^tlaoa, Soott, Brooko and Soaly. Taere were alao present ftfea«s R. Frtedlauder, und A. Harrison (ex-Mayoo) Mr 0. B. Fooka (Town Clerk and Engineer) and Major Steward. The minutes of the last annual meeting having been rend, tho M*yor In oonolading biate»mof offioa for the last yea*, and ;i before formally entering on hla duties fot that aneulng, said that It behoved him to • oaakd v few rewwicß an to the work wnloh bad been done m the B jrongh daring the ' twelve months just ended, la the fint place a steam fire engiae had been parahasadT and he thought that everyone would agree that the money expended In the purchase bad been well laid ont. The coat to the Borough hid been comparatively small, aoi the advantage m oaie of a luge fira '■'* ooourlug would ba Inestimable. The ' next considerable item of expenditure waft the icoreaa.ng of the water supply, In osder to provide waier foe their new fire , engine, and he might e^y that they now | had a sufficient aapply to keep hilt •• -,' dozen engines going, There bad not been to maoh money dxpeudad on strictly B jrongh woika as had been the o»e m former years, but atlll no burgeis could say that the work had been neglected. The roada had never been m better order, though this was due to ■ome extent to tho favorable season.' He would aay « few worda as to the taking over of ■'' the Domain by the OonnolL The late Board had been reatrloted In their finance, the whole of their Inoome being absorbed by the Hilary of the baretaker, and ooneeqaently little ooald be do-ac towards cmylug oat any Improvements. S.noa taking It over, the Council saw that much ooald be done for » comparatively small ezpeme, and that the sum of a hundred pounds or so judloiouslf laid out would anhanoe the be»aty of the Domain m a large degreo and add to Iti attraollven?Bs — not only to the people of the Borough, but to thosa of the Oouotj a'ao Allusion wai made to the works, whloh had been undertaken by tnV* OounoU--tha oonatraotlon of swimming baths (now oompleted), the formation of a running track and of paths, and the provliloo of a crater supply for the purpoaeof irrigating tho o.ioktt ground. He was ojDViuood ihat tbo Dooialn waa oneof the b.»at horitagea whloh the Oronoll had, and that by apendiog. uay v £500 In five years It cunld be made one of the most beantifol p'aoao In Oanterbory. * Tha works now being omled ont by the iSnglnear would alao have the result of providing a nioa sheet of water In the Domain, oonverting what waa onoa a howling wildemeßß into a place of betoty.' He would klvo them an oa'lloe of tba nosnoes of the Borough for some yoars paßt, but would preface It bf. the remark that he did not think ao maoh w<:rk had been done m the Borough daring the past twelve montha as In former years.- The uverdnf ts at the dfttl of 'ho annual meetings stood as follows: —In 1885 £1416 6i lid ; m 1886 £1564 9-.4 d; m 1887 £1510 13i 7d ; In 1888;---£1506 12, 8J , m 1889 £1262 Oa 4d. In 1886, 1887 and 1888, there waa a f urthe* liability oa account of the traffio bridge and for whloh a separate aooount bad been kept. Altogether » he Council had paid on aooount of ths bridge the sum of £963, tha m ercs!; on whioh amounted to £101 16j. The principal iteuatß of expendltara . this yaor had baen £350 on aooount of the fire engine and additions to the engineer's hoaae j £150 on acoonnt of wator aapply and £150 on work« In tho domain. Therefore In all about £650 had been on matters that were out-, tide ordinary Borough expenditure. Ha. thought that they would have every reason to be satkfi-jd if the overdraft wera reduoad to the same extent next year, and as much work done. He concluded, bp aeklng thoae present to join him. In a, glass of wine. (Left silting,)