MUNICIPAL MATTERS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2776, 20 May 1916, Page 6

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

ASSOCIATION'S DESIRES

VARIETY OF RESOLUTIONS A. meeting of'the executive and. Legislative Committee of the Municipal Association of.New Zealand was held yesterday. Tie, Mayor of Wellington (Mr. J„ P.'- Luke) ; v presided, and- there; were pre-, sent also: ITessrs. .-H. - Holland • (Christchurch), J. W. M'Ewen (Petone), C. C u Crump (Onslow), A. . M'Curdy ' (Upper Hutt), H, Baldwin (Lower Hutt), R. Bould (Jonnsonville), J. J. Clark (Dunedin), B. G. H. Burn (Karori), T. Pilcher (Eastbourne), F. Townsend (Miramar), and J. M. Coradine (Mastorton), ' , Laws; for Motors. Tho following "motor'? remits were carried:—''That a i Dominion by-law should be passed regulating the speed of motor "That; it., should be made compulsory that in motor-cycles ■' the ; muffler should be used". . .. - ~. .. "That ,tho definition';of 'registering authority' should;, be. extended jto include boroughs having a population of, 3000 or over." , Subdivision Pians.' \- It was resolved:— "That where any land is subdivided for salo or' lease or other disposition, a plan of such subdivision showing roads and reserves proposed to be made shall be prepared oy a licensed surveyor, and approved by the counoil before any part of the land is disposed of, or,.offered or advertised\for disposition." "Every person, • who, being an owner of any such land, disposes of same before such plan i 6 prepared and approved shall be guilty of an offence." "In no case shall the plan of any such subdivision be deposited under the Land' Transfer, Act, *1908, or the Deeds Begistratiori. Act, 1908, nor shall 'the transfer of any allotment or subdivision shown on suoh plan be registered unless the plan has been duly approved of in terms of this section." ' Voting and Polling. The following Christcliurch motion was defeated: "That the Municipal Association should bo asked to consider the advisability of promoting a Bill providing for compulsory voting at municipal and other local elections." > The order paper contained a motion from Birkenhead, as follows:—"That the law should be, amended in the direction of making it compulsory for any elector voting at local elections to vote for the full number of candidates required, and that -where the franchise is not exercised for the necessary complement of candidates the ballot pager be informal."—Tho motion, was lost. • . . V Miramar secured the passing of a.resolution' favouring borough; councils having' the-power to .establish lulling booths outeide'theirboundai'ies.' '/.* ' Other Business. On .the suggestion of New" Brighton, it: was moved :" "That cities', nnd' boroughs' should be allowed to acquire, any strips' qf land that have been Bet aside by owners as and which' tho ,loci\l authority deems to lie, of public convenience,,, as siioh; : so as to give the local authority control over . same." —The motion was-lost. , ; ,

: Respecting accident insiirprico funds, it was -.agreed that borough councils .should bo empowered to establish these funds.. A EimilaT opinion has been expressed by two municipal conferences..

Christc'luirch failed to secure tho carriage of the following remit! "That local bodies should be given power "to" take a referendum on any question they wish to submit to the electors, and. further, that any 10 per cent, of the electors should (with reasonable safeguards)-..b0 em'pow--ered to demand a poll on any municipal proposal sot forth in the requisition."