The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1885. The Borough Council

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 139, 9 May 1885, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1885. The Borough Council

The meeting of the Borough Conncil which was held on Thursday evening last was a most important one. It will be seen by our report of the proceedings, which appears in another column, that the policy of retrenchment, made urgently necessary by the condition of the Borough finances, has been inaugurated. The salary of the Town Clerk is to be reduced to £100, the sum for which the duties were undertaken for at the inception of the Borough. The commission to be paid to the engineer will be 2£ per cent, instead of 5 per cent. The roadman's wages are reduced from 7s to 6s per diem, but an opportunity is to be given him of making up the deficiency by undertaking the lighting and custody of the street lamps. The auditors' fees are cut down from £10 10s to £4 4s. Advertising expenses are to be incurred only when absolutely necessary, as in case of contracts, &c. The expenses of the library are to be reduced, but in what maaner has yet to be decided. All overdue rates will be sued for immediately, and a raid is to be made against the owners of unregistered dogs. It is proposed to acquire a piece of land on which to erect a pound, which may be made a valuable source of revenue. The duties of Inspector of Nuisances are to be undertaken by the Town Clerk who will be relieved of the responsibility of the Treasurarship which will bo assumed by a Councillor. The first actual step made towards economy was in rejecting a proposal made to recoup the contractor of the Manchester street bridge part of his losses, by a grant of ten pounds. However much we may sympathise with the contractor, and regret the occasion of his losses, yet we feel bound to uphold the Council in their action, more especially as they really have not a farthing to devote to such a purpose. The precedent which this grant would have establised had it been passed, might have in the future being a very awkward stumbling block in their way when similar applications were made under equally deserving circumstances, but which it was desirable to refuse to consider. If the Council continues to follow the line now taken, it is not too much to expect that in three years, or even less, the funds of the Borough will be on the credit side of the ledgeT.