CIVIC AFFAIRS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1505, 30 July 1912, Page 9

CIVIC AFFAIRS.

9 MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE OPENS. FIRST DAY OF SESSION. LOANS, MOTOR-CARS, AND ELECTIONS. The twelfth biennial conference of delegates to the Municipal • Association of New Zealand was opened in the City Council Chambers yesterday. There were about seventy delegates present from all parts of the Dominion, Tho ''Mayor of Wellington (IU..D. Jt'Lnren) presided. ' Chairman's Address. The chairman welcomed tho visiting delegates, and hoped (heir stay in the city would be a pleasant one. They were assembled as an advisory body to the general government, but he was iiot sure that it was , wise for the conference to confine its attentions to resolutions for submission to the Government. Ho thought a great deal of good might be done by discussion at the conference of certain activities of municipal administration. He could conceive of time being very profitably spent.ill the discussion of speciallyprepared papers on municipal tramway's, or municipal education. The large attendance at the conference was a proof (■hat the civic spirit in the country was very much alive, nnd that citizens were alive to matters in which they were vitally interested. There was no need for cities to be jealous of one another, ami he hoped that there would be nothing of Hid kind to interfere with the success of the conference. President's Report. The report; of the president: was adopted without discussion. The report stated that it ' , was satisfactory to find that a considerable number of the association's resolutions were given offoct to in the sessions of Parliament in 19]0 and 1911. Effort? wore made to obtain still further legislation, but the pressure of 'other business upon the attention of Parliament had bppn tco great to admit of this. The officers of :li? association, by direction of the Legisative Committee, opposed the Tramways 3ill, 1910, which nevertheless passed into law. A number of Bills had been prepareil by the association with a view to putting the resolutions of ■ past- conferences into effect. Conies of these Bills had been sent to the Government, and it was hoped that they might be thn means of getting the association's resolutions more readily placed' upon the Statute Book. Concerning Loans, , Mr. A. n. Hindmarsli, 51.P. (Wellington), moved:—"To reaffirm Clause 3 of Associations Bill, p. 2, repealing Section 25 of the Local Bodies Loans Amendment Act', 1908." He explained that tho purport of tho resolution was to repeal the clauses of the Act making it obligatory on local bodies to appoint the Public Trustee Commissioner for their sinking funds. The motion found general support, and it was carried unanimously. Mr. J. A. Nash (Palmerston North) nurfed:—"That where ratepayers fail to carry a loan for a supply of water to give a fire service, or .which, in the opin- ] ion of the local authority, is considered necessary for the health of-the inhabitants, the local authority on receiving tho consent of tho Minister may be a'uthorisoil to raise the necessary loan without the consent of the ratepayers." He explained that the remit had no reference to his borough, where there was sufficient water for all requirements,, but in some small towns ratepayers oppcKed . necessary supplies'of water, and disastrous fires and other ' ills affected the towns. '.■'.- The motion found no seconder, and it ~ 'therefore'lapsed. : '~ ~','f T he.following remit, from. Palinerstcn , North, was carried without: discussion::-. - '.■ v~Thitfo'.(ui./.aincudinenb.<, %idiit.TOcluced..intotlie various Acts dcalinj with Government inscribed ■ loa.ns to local bodies'in fchfi direction of directing the Advances Office to , supply local' bodies- each , year with a statement showing:how much hns beoii paid, oft the .original loan, and that this 'amount us shown in the statement of the public (lobt.of the pity or borough, as a set-off against the amount of in-, sdribed loans." . • ■ -... ./.'.. Mr. J.. W. iM'Evrnn (Peton-s) moved:— "That an alteration be made in the Muni- . cipal Corporations Act. 1903, allowing the investment of surplus loan moneys in the district fund account, or in the alternative that an amendment be made in the Banking Act, 1908, requiring tho banks to take into consideration the local authorities' accounts in credit, the excess of the debit accounts over the credit ac- • counts, if any, to be the amonnt on which interest, shall be charged as overdraft." Ho explained that the"motion' had re-" ference to the case of municipalities which had balances of unexpended loans at the bank, and which had an overdraft on tho general account. The law made it compulsory for Ipan moneys to be kept in. separate accounts. Either of the alternatives' suggested would save a deal o2 money. The motion was carried unanimously. Saving Good Land. Mr. B. Scott, M.P. (Alexander) moved: "That, in view of the fact that much valuable land in various localities has been permanently rendered useless by .dredging and mining operations, tho Mining Act, 1908, be amended to provide > for protaction from the destroying effects of dredging and other forms of mining, of all lands suitable for cultivation." Ho said he had no desiro to hamper tho mining industry, but much valuable agricultural land was being permanently destroyed, for a'relatively.small immediate- benefit to individuals. The warden had now a discretionary power to order tho replacement of tho surface soil before granting.a.license; he suggested that the Warden should be compelled to make this a condition always. The. motion was carried. ' ,' Motor Regulations. Mr. A. Murray (Napier) moved: "That the Motor Regulation Act, 190S, bo amended as follows: By repealing tha definition of tho term 'registering authority' in Section 2 tliprecf, and by substituting the o'lowiTiS". mitnoniv moans the council of any borough or county, the board of any town district (where tho samp Hops not form part of a county) , and the board of any road district, (where .tho Counties Act, 190S, is suspended)." Tlip motion was.carried. Tho effect of it is to extend tho right.to register motor cars and to receive fees therefor, to town boards and road boards. Mr. W. H. C'ollihgwood (Palmerston North) movpd: "That in order to prevent confusion, the Motor Regulations Act of 1908 be amended so as to provide that each registering body shall be compelled to use the initials comprising tho Mine of. the-registering body as an identification mark for motors, together with a number commencing at number 1." The mover said that the regulations now in uso were of little lisp to local bodie.?. Hr said in tho course of some remarks that there passed through Pnlmcrston North cars marked by the owners with the object of evading tho half sovereign tax. Mr. M'Curcly (Upper Hutt) said that this matter was now being dealt with by tho State Department. Tho motion was carried. , On the motion of Mr. W. H. Ccllingw<vj(! (l'aliiipvslon XoHh), it then, rceolved; "That the Motor Regulations Act, 190 ci, be atiip,ri-.vl, providing that all drivers of motor-Cii-s shnll bi> over sixteen ypars of age, and must he. in possession of a certificate of proficiency ns n driver." Mr. Colli .ijj-vocJ said that irresponsible boys wero now allowed to drive motorcars. The folio ring Christchurch remit wns carried: "That local authorities bo enablod to pass by-laws prohibiting a.ny perKoiis, male or fcmalo, fiom driving motorcars until lh?y have obtained a certificate of competency." On His subject of tlm speed of motorears, thn Oreytown reprrs-eiitntivp movpd: "Tint the Government should be asked to make a general provision respecting til- , speed of iiictnr-CiiTs." 'llio mover faid that it was' ridiculous that the present state of affairs should nroya.il—tliat'viu-io-iis speeds should be the limit fit various stages cf a journey. The spead_ in one local body's area could l:e a pertain rate, and?the.speed .in the adjoiu : i'tir body'sarea quite a" different' rate. The motion was carried. , ■■ . ■ On the motion of.Mr. .T. Xsisli fl'iilmpis- '. tnr. North), it was resolved.- "That the \ -Mete. KmlfltioM Act-IMBi ekojiAi ■ fa.

araembd so as to provide for tho speed at which motois may cross intersections of streets ajul drive around corners of streots in cities and boroughs." An Auckland remit was carried as follows: "That tho Motor Regulations Act, 1908, bo amended to give local bodies greater power to make by-laws dealing with questions of speed, competency of drivers, brakes, etc., in. respect of all cars, whether private or plying for liire." Sanitation Rate. ■Mr. R. T. Michaels submitted an Auckland remit suggesting an amendment to Section 89 of'the Municipal Corporations Act. The law at present' makes it possible to collect a fee for the removal of refuse- from houses only, and not irom. business premises. Auckland has been charging this rate against business premises, but now the business people are refusing to pay it, and tho council has no legal right to insist. Mr. Michaels argued that it was necessary in the interests of public health to collect the refuse. He submitted, however, the following proviso for embodiment in tho Act: "Provided that in cases where, in the opinion of the council, the refuse from any building is purely 'trade refuse,' or is excessivo in quantity, tho council may, in lieu of levying such rate on such property, make a charge for such removal, which charge shall be recoverable- as a rate, or, if the owner or occupier of such property objects to such' charge, may require such owner or occupier to have such refuse removed regularly at his own cost." Municipal Elections. The conference (almost unanimously) rcjecte'U the following proposal iToin Gisuorne: "That Sub-section, i, Section 15, oi the Municipal Corporations Act, IOOiS, bo amended, and a substituting clause inserted, providiug for the extension of franchise to electors at any election or ballot in the direction of exercising a ratepayer's vote, in addition to the existing qualifications under tho Act." Auckland's remit, that the necessary amendments be made in the Municipal Corporations Amendment Act, 1910, [Section 7, and in the Local Elections and Polls Act, 1908, Section 28, to bring the machinery provided in the Legislature Aci, 1908, Section MO tn 1-13, for a scrutiny of tho 'rolls, and Section 150, for purg-" ing the roll, into operation in connection with local elections, was carried. Mr. E. P. Bunny (Lower' Hutt) moved: "That if the present mode of electing he mayor is continued, his term of office be extended to two years, so as to come into line with, that of councillors." Mr. Bunny said that a one-year term was far too short. A mayor could not get thoroughly into the running of the municipality and do the necessary work iu so-short-a spaco of time. Various speakers opposed the motion, on , the ground that if a mayor was worthy of re-Election he,conid be ro-eleet-ed at the end of tho.-year. On the other land, a mayor who was not wanted could be dispensed with, under the .present system, at the end of one year, while, under the- proposed system, he would remain in office for two years. The motion was lost by 25 votes to 23. It was proposed by Christchurch: "That the . Municipal Corporations Act bo amended, with a view to extending the period tor which a councillor is elected to three years, and that all other borough councils be asked to assist in the matter." It was'said iu support of the remit that almost every other body was elective every three years. •Mr. R., Fletcher '(Wellington) said that it was time that local bodies were brought into line. In previous years the Wellington Harbour Board's election had cost about JH7O. As the result of confusion created by alterations brought about by recent legislation, the last Wellington Harbour Board election had cost X 1250. Mr. Fletcher went on to say that by the ime a man was commencing to get useful he had to go out of office. Mr. W. J. Organ /Eastbourne) opposed tho motion, and said-that the proposal would increa.-s what was already too great —the disparity between tho term of councillors and that of Mayor. , The motion was lost.' v -.[ -The conference also rejected a proposal, moved by Mr. T. A. 11l Field (Nelson), and seconded by Mr. Mi-epd (Miramar), to amend"the Act, so as.to provide that the- period-tor which councillors arc elected should be three years, and that they should retire by rotation in the proportion ■of one-third of the number of members. The following Miramar remit lapsed for want of a seconder.—That either the term of office of councillors bo two years, and that one half retire*'annually, oi" that* the term be three years, ami one-third retire annually. ■ : \ ■ Matters of Finance; ■ Mr." J. A. Nash (Palmerston North)moved: "That the honorarium paid to tho Mayor of a' borough, should bo exempt from the income tax on the ground that it is chiefly used for purposes outside personal requirements." Mr. D. .M'Laren (Wellington) said that, anyone who had occupied a Mayoral position tknew that an.honorarium was not an income in any real sense. The motion was carried. The following, moved by Mr. E. P. Bunny (Lower Hutt), and seconded by Mr. J. A. Nash (Palmerston North), was carried without a dissentient:—That the Municipal Corporations Act, 1908, be amended so as to make expenditure on town clocks on Government buildings legal. The following, was moved - by Mr. J. A. Nash (Palmerston North):—That the Municipal Corporations Act, 1908, be amended .to allow local authorities to subsidise agricultural and pastoral associations which are not working for profit. Several speakers supported the motion, on the ground that it was a good principle to support an association which fostered the interests of the man on the land. Objections were raised that the effecting of the proposal would open the way to the extension of tho benefit to many other bodies. The motion was defeated by; a largo number of votes. ■■'