LOAN PROPOSALS.

Gisborne Times, Volume VIII, Issue 482, 23 July 1902, Page 2

LOAN PROPOSALS.

OK LYSNAR'S PROPOSAL

LITIGATION THREATENED;

Ab the meeting of flic Borough Council lust night, Cr Lysnar. moved in accordance with notice, to consider questions raised oil the subject, of wirier and drainages lie -said lie was not moving in an antagonistic spirit to the scheme in hand. He desired to see water and drainage, hut not month after month and year after year go by without something being done. lie had come on to the Council with tlm express purpose of seeing the town provided with water and drainage, hut as the Council were proceeding they were only killing it. Any financier taking up, flic report of the engineer on Which the poll was granted soon would see the defects and refuse a loan. It was no wonder they had been receiving refusals. He wanted the posiiion put in a concrete form when they went to tile financiers. Mr Mcstayer suggested three alternatives ror drainage, but up to that moment the Council had not adopted any one of the schemes. By inference it, seemed that the intention was to lake the Waikanae scheme. He then adduced figures to show Unit by the septic tank system 4125,520 collide be saved, and went oil to strongly urge that principle. As to tile water he said lie would treat it without entering into the merits of the scheme. He quoted the wording that was on the voting paper, and said that tiie. amount to lie raised was much short’ of that, required. The figures of an eight-inch main had evidently been taken as having reference to a twelveinch, main. Though there had not been .sufficient provision made for works no sum had been set down for the purchase of land, which would amount to about £8001). Hither a mistake had bven .made in the voting paper, winch he had not seen until the night before the poll, or there had been a deliberate intention to mislead the ratepayers oy inducing them to vote for a scheme to cost more than they thought. If that was a mistake it should be corrected. Continuing, lie said that the .settlers had already approached him to taiio steps to prevent the erection of a dam which they feared would endanger their lives and property. He could also state that application would ‘ho made for a writ prohibiting the Council from erecting a dangerous dam at the head of Waihirere. further, that masmuclias that Council had set at defiance section .12b of the Municipal Corporations Act, and had, included tile whole of the borough and suburbs in the rating area, an application would he made to quash the poll. At this stage an indication of a Councillor slumbering was given. “ Yes,” quoth Councillor Lysnar, “he, snores!” (Laughter). “He cannot find time for matters of such moment. What 'can you expect when Councillors snore and sleep when such matters.are before them.” The Mayor said that Cr Lysnar had seen the wording of the voting paper. Or .Lvjjuttr : •* i uul lius.” ho said* " Mow pan ,you expect anything when men snore in their chairs.” Cr Harding : 11 Look at the clock.’ (Laughter.) Or Lysnar : “ You are not in the habi, of ,'ome to bed at a-quarter to ten.’ (Laughter). The Mayor: This is not tho House of Parliament, where they have rugs. Cr Lysnar again returned to tiie attack, and said that they could not expect serious attention to business when Councillors snored in their chairs. He need not tell them that they were personally liable for going contrary to the Act. In this matter uc did iook to the Mayor of the town for assistance, and he hoped for his vote to help carry tho motion. The Mayor; You won’t get it. Or Lysnar : Then I uui very sorry to hear it. At the installation His Worship had said that they should proceed very cautiously with tne loan proposals. The Mayor; That is wnat we are doing, now. ' , ,- . Or Lysnar said that he noped tnat at least these matters would be given eon sideration. The Mayor: You ask for a vote. Cr Lysnar: To consider matters. The Mayor : Wo are considering them now. Cr Harding said that ho was.asking the Council to oppose ail that the Eugineei was doing. Cr Lysnar claimed that he was taking Mr Mestayer’s own figures for it. Cr Whim-ay seconded the motion, not with pleasure, as they usually said, but as a necessity- Cr Lysnar was entitled to their thanks for tho intelligent, concise, and lucid expostiou he had made. Cr Kennedy said he hoped they were

not going to become a society to again discuss these knotty questions. Cr Lysnar hadali alongopposed MrMestayer. He was reopening tlie question on which he and Cr Whinray had goi so hopelessly beaten in the Council and at the poll. They had to proceed cautiously in regard to getting the loan, and no time was being lost. Cr Lysnar was simply now letting them have the threats that he had so loDg been making. They would have plenty of time to go into the details of the sebeme. Mr Mason heartily endorsed all that Cr Kennedy said. He twitted Cr Lysnar with having taken so long to let them knoiv what he had up his sleeve. Cr Jones said that ho was there to carry out the will of the people in regard to water and drainage. He was sorry that they were now met with threats of litigation. He challenged Cr Lysnar s figures, and said Cr Lysnar got his wrong impression by reading the matter ungrammatically. . The Mayor expressed regret at the action of Cr Lysnar, whose oojeet was to do ail he could to damage the prospects of getting the loan. If it was an ascertained fact that the; were to be opposed in getting the lane for the dam, why did Cr Lysnar want to hurry on the loan ? Tne whole thing was only a part of Cr Lysnar's attitude in doing all he could to oppose tfaj loan. The substance of the voting paperwas word for word a copy of the advertisement, which had been decided upon by the Councili C* is*

eluded. He (the Mayor) had been very careful to get the Council's authority. Continuing his remarks, the Mayor said tnai tne advent oi the railway should enable them to materially cheapen tho cost oi material, and among other details to consider was that of putting the pipeline’nearer to the railway. He believed the scheme would give them a system that would last for a long time. If they waited until they could provide a supply for eternity, tnc-y would never have

it. The step taken by Cr Lvsnar tended to damage tne Joan, and might intercept it altogether, winch was no douut tne object. There eotiiu bo nothing worse man tne .statement that they would oc opposed as to tne headwords aud uict by litigation. When they went intu details he ouioved that there would be a considerable saving on tiie original scheme, if there was litigation Cr Lysnar would be quite as liable as they were. As to the extra A 1 :,UUU, he would vote against any addition to the LTo.UUn. Ur Miller opposed tiie motion, which Was only a repetition oi what, they had from Cr Lysnar from the start. If they made any error they could go into it at the proper time, and if necessary go hack to tiie people, but he did not think they had made any error, and considered they would beat Cr Lysnar as badly on tin's as they had done at tiie poll. Cr Lysnar. in reply, declared that the Comic Hors had all gone oil tiie Pojj)t.

A vigorous dialogue then took place as to Air Mestayer’s figures. Cr -Jones slated that Cr Lysnar was being misled by the placing of a semicolon in the printed report-, which did not appear in the manuscript. Cr Lysnar claimed that he was right on Mr Mestayer’s own figures. As to the voting caper, directly he had seen it ho had, conjointly with Cr Whinray, written a letter to ibe Times, pointing out the discrepancy. Cr Miller : And von were beaten. Cr Lvsn-tr: Yes, the people voted oil false representations. Cr Jones: N O. Cr Lysnar. followed up his attack with vigor, declaring that the Council were in a mess over the matter: thathe had given them warnings they had refused to heed ; that he Had waited seven months lest it should be

-aid he was trying to injure the loan ; and that be could see it was no use trying to get the Council to fairly consider the position, tfter a speech with free interruptions (including one by Cr Miller that the speech had taken 15 minutes), the motion was put and lost, the votes in support being those of Crs Lysnar and IVhinray and the others being against it.