THE TOWN BOARD.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19140, 25 October 1927, Page 3

THE TOWN BOARD.

—« BEGINNINGS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. MANY DIFFICULTIES. Kight years of the control of its affairs bv a Town Board prepared Sumner for the greater responsibilities of municipal government. The experiences of that period demonstrated that the powers ami finances of the Town Board were too restricted and limited for a locality that was growing rapidly. The members of the Town Board struggled heroically to make ends meet and at the same time provide for the requirements of: ,the residents. Its members contrived to keep expenditure within bounds, but only at the sacrifice represented by necessary works being left undone or postponed. This policy could not be followed indefinitely, and ultimately the borough was sel up. Town Board Established. Prior to March, ISS3, Sumner was included in the area under the jurisdiction of the Heathcotj Koad Board, the forerunner of the present Heathcole County Council. The first Commissioners of the Sumner Town District, were: -Messrs Wiggins, Wheeler, Graham, Duckworth, and llayward. At the first, meeting Mr C. L. Wiggins, who died a month or two ago, was elected chairman, and Mr J. M. Wheeler was appointed treasurer. On April 6th it was announced that Mr J. Tolan had been appointed clerk. This position Mr Tolan resigned three months later owing to the demands of his own business. Mr A. K. Watson, Jan., succeeded to the position at a salary of £2O per annum. Mr Watson is'now a runholdcr in the Poverty Bay district.

Money Needed. In the matter of striking rates, Town Board methods, compared with the procedure followed nowadays, were somewhat sudden. Thus the minutes of a special meeting held on July 16th, ISB3, record: — That a rate of |d in the £ be made and levied, the same to be payable in one sum on the 19th July, 1883. And the minutes of later meetings refer to legal steps being taken to recover rates in arrears, so that there is no doubt whatever about the earnestness of the Town Board or as to its great need of the money! Prior to the rate being struck, the chairman had found it necessary to advance £25 so that the Board could open a banking account, a seemingly over-cautious bank manager having declined to make arrangements for an overdraft to the Board.

Receipts and Expenditure. It -was the day of small tilings, especially in revenue. This is borne out by the Board's estimates of receipts and expenditure for the year ended' March 31st, 1888. Of the total estimated receipts, £5Ol 15s lid, the sum of £26 lis lid represented subsidy duo and certain outstanding rates; dog tax was estimated to yield £8; licenses £136; land sale £SO; and the rate of Is in the £1 on £5624 was to bring in £2Bl 4s. On the expenditure side the Board had first to get rid of a "dead horse" —outstanding liabilities—amounting to £132 10s lid. It then proposed to spend, say, £6O on metal and £45 for labour; the clerk's salary, office assistance, and fees to the valuer were to account for £35; advertising and printing, £ls; auditor and returning officer, £4 4s; Licensing Committee, £3 10s; vent of office, £3 3s; bank interest, £2 Ss; land purchase and law costs, £3O; works: culvert, Christehurch road, £4B, Bury street £35, creek, £7; and(blcssed entry!) sundries, £SI. Water Supply. la view of present day proposals for the extension of the borough's water supply it is interesting to note that the Board in IS9O was taking action iu the matter of securing a water supply. The minute reads: "That arrangements be made by the Works Committee with Mr Job Osborne to bore for water on the Board's office section in accordance with the offer: 2-inch pipes, Ist 100 feet, 3s per foot; 100 to 150 ft, 4s 6d per foot; 150 to 200 ft, Gs 6d per foot; rock, extra (rate not stated). The rods were driven 322 ft, at which depth salt water was struck. The cost was over £7o—a serious consideration to a body with such limited finance, Proposals for the formation of an esplanade came before the Board at its meeting on June Ist, 1883, in a letter from Mr Appleby, of Christehurch, who offered to arrange with the owners of beach sections for the formation of the esplanade. The offer was accepted, and the Works Committee was requested to supply Mr Appleby with the necessary levels, and see the work carried out. That the work was not car-

ricd out is indicated by the fact that the matter again was before the Board in June, 1887,- when a communication was received from a number of landowners agreeing to contribute towards the formation of an esplanade. The Board's decision, as recorded, was: ''As the chance of getting the assistance of tho unemployed for this work seems small, it was decided to .apply to the Harbour Board to carry out the esplanade further seaward, and soil the area gained to defray the cost —to apply to the whol© of tho esplanade from Mouldcy's to Mrs Duckworth's." It was not till some years after the borough was constituted that tho esplanade took definite shape, during the Mayoralty of Mr Marriner.