SUDDEN STOP.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1680, 21 February 1913, Page 6

SUDDEN STOP.

CITY COUNCIL ADJOURNED. AS A, PROTEST. MOTION RULED OUT OF ORDER. A sudden stop occurred in the proceedings lit the City Council meeting last : night before tho business was half com- i pleted. In addition to the ordinary committee reports to' bo dealt with, tho supplementary order paper contained several matters of importance, and there wtro special motions of which notice had been given. Whether this formidablo order paper dismayed councillors was not clear, but tho discussions on the Finance and Property Committeo's report and tho Power Stations and Tramways Committeo's report were of such length as to indicate a stonewall. The report of the Abattoir?' Committee was passed without discussion, and thon Councillor Frcst rose to movo tho adoption of 'the report of tho Baths and City Reserves Committee. In tho first - clause > the committee recommended :— That the following resolution, pa?sed on April 18, 1912, be amended to allow of the treatment of one aero of«the said block of ten acres of Section .48, Town Belt, as hereinafter provided:~ "That with a view of making a start with a comprehensive'scheme ' to beautify the Town Belt, the •• City Engineer acting Under instructions from tho Reserves Committee has submitted a plan to include tho block of ten acres lying to tho west of Wellington Terrace, known as Section 48, Town Belt. The Committee havo approved tho plan ''and recommond tho immedi- , ate adoption of same so' ns to give the Department an opportunity of making a 6tart with the work dur--1 ing tho coming season. The estimated cost of the work, including fencing, planting, etc., is .£3OO. - The land has already been cleared i of gorse, and the .implanted.; pqr- , tions after fences arc erected can bo let for grazing purposes in small blocks." 1 and that the Ifelburne Bowling Club bo granted a lease of portion (one ■ acre) of the said Section, 48, TownBelt, for the purpose of forming , n , bowling green and croquet green on. the following conditions:— The rental to.be fixed by the City Valuer'. , > - ' ' The conditions of the leafs to b« drawn by the City Solicitor tinder , the terms of the Act. , The site to be selected by the City Engineer, and the whole of the work to be earned out to,his satis- '. faction. ; V TJhe Mayor (Mr. D. M'Laren) said h® would have to rule' this clausa out of order, and ho explained that the recommendation could not bb moved in this ■ form under the existing, standing orders. Councillor Frost was about to discuss the matter. ■ - Councillor Fletcher, however, pointed out that !the clause had already - been , ruled out of order, and that; ended the matter. . " '' Councillor Fitzgerald tlien rose to 'make some remarks, and, in spiije of the Mayor s injunction to ''Kindly take your seat," he went on to fay that there was no reason why oruncillors. should try to .embarrass Councillor Frost, and also described certain procedure as a "positivb disgrace." The Mayor asked Councillor Frost to proceed with ' the next business in the report. . ' , ' ■ Councillor Frost replied that h6- proposed first to move that' the Mayor s rilling be disagreed with. " The Mayor could liot see his way to accept this motion, and again insisted that the business should be proceeded with. Councillor Frost's next step was to movo the adjournment of tho council by way of a protest. The motion was seconded by Councillor Trevor. :' -"i . , i After some little, von,,' the matter, the Mayor expressed the hopo that the adjournment would not be carried, as such a great deal of business still re-mained-to bo dealt with. However, on being put to tho meeting, the motion was carried by 9 votes to 5, and tho meeting adiourned. • • Tho voting was as follows:—Ayes: Councillors Barber, Cohen, Fitzgora\d, Frost, 'Gcdbsr, MTCenzie, Smith, Shirtcliffe, and Trevor. Noes: The Mayor, and Ceuncillors Atkinson, Fletchcr, Fuller, and Hindmarsh. f . Councillor Frost afterwards explained to a reporter that the clause was included in tho recommendations of the committeo as the only feasible method, of dealing with the, matter. Had notice-of motion been given, the matter-would have been placed at the foot of the order paperbelow several motions that have .been on the paper meeting pfter meeting—and would never have been reached.