HOW MIRAMAR BECAME A BOROUGH

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 294, 6 September 1920, Page 6

HOW MIRAMAR BECAME A BOROUGH

CONSTRUCTING ITS. QUALIFICATIONS, Mr. R Bennett, ex-town clerk and engineer of 'Miramar borough, told those present at Saturday evening's amalgamation "smoker" how Miramar became a borough. When tho district was under tho Eoad Boanl it owed alleg\anco to the Hutt County Council, but as the County Council never bothered about spending any money in. the distrifct tho situation becaino intolerable, and the idea occurred to. Mr. F. Townsend to creato the road board district a full borough. Not 'knowing much about how to go about making 'a borough, Mr. Bennett consulted Mr. Pollen, Rien of the Colonial Treasurer's office, and he said that it was a matter of population—Jf they had a thousand population they could be a borough without ,any great difficulty. Mr. Bennett had to confess that, ho did not .'know the population, aa a census had not been, taken for some time. "You tell mo how many houses there are," said Mr Pollen, "and I'll tell you your population!" So he returned to the office to see if they had 200 houses (five persons to the house), but on consulting the chairman (Mr. Townsend) they found that they could not raise the necessary number. Then nlong came n "brain-wave." Residing at the forts, or jtiereabouts, were a large number of gentlemen "detained duping Her Majesty's pleasure"—prisoners! By counting them in they were able to get up to' Hit) required "population" and so became" a borough. Tho finding pf the Marine Court of Inquiry regarding the circumstances of the collision between the ferry steamer Duchess and the liner Ihinhine, on the morning of July 27 last, was delivered on Saturday morntog.