WIDENING OF PRINCES STREET.

Evening Star, Issue 3816, 18 May 1875, Page 2

WIDENING OF PRINCES STREET.

The public meeting in the Temperance Hall last nigfht, to consider the arbitrators’ award iv re Princes street, was attended by nearly a thousand persons, the hall being crowded in every part The Mayor presided.

Mr John Cargill, in moving the first resolution—- “ That this meeting, whilst recognising the ad. vantage to the City which would be gained by the widening of Princes street, considers that the City Council should not at present take any further action towards widening the sail street, as all the leases (except two) of the Church tenants will expire on the 4th of April next, when such tenants will be bound to vacate possession on getting paypi6nt of th© valu© of tlioir buildings, simply; and inasmuch as the circumstances connected with the recent arbitration are highly unsatisfactory, and the amounts awarded are oppressively excessive and unjust ” —said there could be no question with reasonable men that tho widening of Princes street was an object of vexr great importance to the City, proTided it could be carried out at a reasonable cost. He then proceeded to show that the suggestion Cor widening the street was originally made in 1863 by the then City Engineer, MrMillar; that it was apapproved of by the then Town Board and the Provincial Government; that the latter went into the matter very cordially, and altered the plan of reclamabon and the streets they had laid out on it, and provided a strip of land extending the whole length of the reclamation for the purpose of allowmg tins widening to be made; that the Government turned back the University and their own buildings 33ft, and when the land opposite the Southern Market Reserve was sold the purchasers had their frontages moved book the same distance; that the Provincial Council gave their sanction to the scheme; and that the Church trustees, on being communicated with, expressed themselves perfectly willing to move back when the time cam* on receiving an amount of land equal to that they gave up for the purpose. These matters ® mentioned to show that the widening of the street was no new idea. After tracing the action which led to the Corporation taking up the matter referring it to arbitration, he informed the meeting what would have been its position if the Corporation had waited until after the 7th of May next, when the leases fell in. Why the tenants would merely have received the value of the buildings on the ground. What reason there was for forestalling the matter a year and paying, as in M* Edmond's case, LB.OOO for moving back S3ft, he comd not understand. He was mort unwilling, ■*»«* he believed his fellow-citizens would be the some, to he taxed to pay such a valuation as that. — (Cheers.) One of two things must have happened; either the Arbitrators had shown themselves very unfit for such a duty—(applause)—or else they had a wrong issue put to them, and therefore were not to blame.—(Hear.) If they had a wrong issue put to them, then the matter rested entirely with the Corporation, and with the legal advisers of the CorE oration. All he could say was that he did not heeve the City rates could be legally spent in widening the street.—(Loud cheers.) Mr A. Sligo seconded the resolution, but did not agree with that part of it which affirmed the great advantage to he mined by widening Princes street. —(Applause.) It was a generally entertained opinion that the street from the Bank 0 f New Zealand to the Octagon was in great need of being widened. This widening scheme, if carried out, had a ooUateral advantage: it would be the m**™ of introducing not only capital but capitalists.— (Loud laughter.) But speaking seriously, he believed were the City polled, and the question asked whether it was necessary to widen the street ai all, a very large majority would say it was not. Although himself believing the matter had now gone too far to admit of the work not being carried oul 111 if*?? 0 wa y» y®t, under the present circumstance! and the way in which it was proposed to carry ii out, h* thought the citizens were justified in all possible steps within the bounds of righteous' neasand justice to stop the payment of the award, —(Cheers.) The generally-expressed opinion wat r-hfl. arbitration had Tint. h**n a fair one. and reason given tor that opinion was that the tenant! had not only appointed their own arbitrators, bul nad bad a largo share in the appointment of th« Corporation arbitrators. There was no doubt Mi Fish must have had a share in the appointment ei the Corporation arbitrators.—(Hear, hear.) It wai further said that not only did the tenants appoint their own and the Corporation arbitrators, but thal the umpire was also appointed at their dictation If this was correct, he thought it was fair for tht citizens to take action and obtain justice for them' selves, and see that they were not called upon to p«\ H lO ? 0 ought. If the work is carried oul !t should he done at the least possible expense. I borne interruption was here caused by a wellknown character named Lloyd ascending the plat form; and he would persist in speaking, though th< meeting os stoutly refused to hear him. Ultimatelj the difficulty was solved by Mr Dunning runnina him off the platform; and in the. body of the hall he W P^ “i tumbled about, that for toe remainder of toe night he thought it vise to keep quiet.J Leary, in supporting the motion, was at one with toe last speaker in disagreeing with that por tion of it which affirmed that it was desirable to widen Princes street. His opinion was that if a proper issue had been put to the arbitrators theii award would have been much smaller Hum what it Tlio basis of the award was such that no one could hardly bo surprised at the result. Not a single point on toe part of the tenants had been left out, and he could not find in the deed of submission a solitary thing in which toe interests of toe Corporation had been looked after. He argued, if there was to be any widening at all, it should be between the Bank of New Zealand and toe Octagon, cut there were other and more pressing works that required to be gone on with—footpaths, making streets, and, most important of aJI, drainage. Mr T. L. Shepherd moved, and Mr Jakes Martin seconded, as an amendment, that toe words in the original motion—“ while recognising the advantages to the city to be gained by wideaing Princes street "—should be left out. The resolution having been supported by MrJ. G. o. Grant, B- B. Cargill pointed out that toe amendment did not raise a fair issue. Ho agreed that the widening of Princes street, which he held would be an ornament and improvement to the Cily, should only be carried eut at a cost proportionate to its work. That it should cost toe sum that had been ■ iT 6 P ub ßc during toe last few days he denied in torn. The necessary cost should not have been a fifth —nay more, a tenth part of that. The proper eost of widening the part of the street known as the Manse reserve, instead of being L 60.000, ought not to be more than 1/5,000, —(Loud cheers.) The widening of the street was a bargain they were bound to carry out; but he maintained that the whole cost of widening the street right through, inoludiug everything, ought not to bo more than Llo,ooo.—(Applause.) He hoped, therefore, that they would not mix up these two questions, and upon a mere representation that they were necessarily running into an uncalled for expenditure, refuse to express approval of an understanding which bad existed for the last thirteen years.—(Applause.) Mr Shepherd’s amendment was then negatived, and toe original motion agreed to unanimously. MrC. Hudson made quite a characteristic speech m moving—" That this meeting, being advised that the action of the City Council in reference to the widening of Princes street, is ultra vires, and therefore illegal, resolves that a committee bo appointed to collect subscriptions, and to take such action as they may be advised to restrain the Council from misappropriating the funds of too citizens. Such committee to consist of Messrs John Cargill, John Beith, B, E. Murray, Beveridge, James Sligo, Eobin, and the mover." He said that the deed of submission was drawn up by toe ten-mts’ solicitor, that drawn up by the Corporation’s solicitors having been objected to by the former. Of course, mend Fish had some influence with toe Council. Had it not been for the way that deed was drawn up, the amount would not have been half or a quarter what it was.—(Cheers). He had not the slightest hesitation in saying that the citizens had • been robbed—(cheers ana interruption}—that they had been most unfairly dealt with. Now, Mr Pish was an honorable man. Two or three years ago when this question was mooted in the Council, Mr Fish opposed it. Probably his reasons were good and just. But he had ouly a shanty on hi* section then, and he would get very little compensation for it.—(Cheers and hisses). The question at that time yj BB Mr Pish was induced to shelve it. He (Mr Hudson) did not know whether he got any extension of his lease. Probably he did. At all events he put up a brick front, and in he goes for the widening ol Princes street.—(Cheers and laughCouncil « "ill cost L12,000t0 Xi 14,000, and of this very modest amount he puts in a claim for L7,ooo.—(Loud laughter). But Mr hj ish was an honorable man.—(Renewed laughter) But toe Council and toe Corporation had been enriched.MLaughter.) The Corporation had been hoodwinked. Therefore he thought it would be lust to repudiate the bargain, and would willingly bear a share of toe expense of upsetting it. Mr Eobin said that, finding the whole affair so shrouded in mist and darkness, he could conscientiously second the resolution appointing a commattee to inquire into the matter. So much darkness and mist hung over it, that ho had been credibly informed one or two of too City Councillore, after toe arbitrators were appointed, were actually in utter ignorance of the fart laid before toe

tenants occupying the Church Be. “ NamO ° nly 6107611 “onths to run.—(Cries of gggstaatfpsa^afsjafi toe citizens' work. He felt thoioughhTconsdouS jrftlun his own heart that he had drae Wdutr to those who returned him both in the OifC and the Provincial Council any time that he always endeavoured to set his face apmst this monstrous piece of iniquity, os he aSS the scheme for widening the street. He oppoSd it principally for the reason that he saw there immenss amount of money required to bc «?Jnf throughout the various Wardsrt the City in offi to make it fit for people to lire in. And when tMs scheme was finally determined upon hi the Council he entered a protest against it as a thoroughly less work, and os a waste of money,—(Applause 1 Mr J . H. Harris concurred with the reflation that a committee should be appointed to invest!, gate this very extraordinary affair.—(Hear.) It was a matter which demanded the closest scrutiny, it was one which very few of the citizens individually knew very much about, and he believed the more they did know of it the more they would be dis* gusted with the proceedings. The necessity that “ii. once exist for widening Princes street south was not so great as it was some years ago i therefore he thought there were many other works of greater importance which ought to be earned out at once, and the widening of Princes street south might stand over until they had money to spend without borrowing. There was a bargain tmt the street should some day or other be widened, and ho would never be for repudiating a bargain fairly entered into. Still, he believed; if a proper course had been taken the street* might have been widened, when the leases f —„s’ *K* t t nt A of , 1 ? 10 Propow*! cost. He did not agree with what had been stated in the Press—that to resist the award would perhaps cost more than the amount of the award The tenants knew there were legal difficulties in the way of carrying out the scheme, and there was no doubt the Corooration had acted beyond the powers which they possessed. a sPj wu ®)> But could they successfully resist the claims that the awards would give rise to? i J A . m , or * important question was this—they “* honorably repudiate. If it came to that, they had better pay the LAO, OOO rather than lose their good name.—(dries of - No.") If the citizens manfully and to a man reserted this claim—made U P minds that they would not agree to this arbitration—they would hear very Uttle more H J hey J 1 * 4 b .o*T°wing powers to the extent of a quarter of a million it would be far better to use them, and expend the money in treeing the town from the nuisances which now exist, and in rendering it a healthy instead of an nnTw«ifß T town. For this purpose it would be better to borrow money at a high interest rather than spend L40,(W0 at the present tune in widening Princes street.—(Loud applause.) The resolution was then put and agreed to unanlmously. The meeting closed with a vote of tomUr. to the Mayor. «»***•