CITY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume II, Issue 191, 19 January 1875, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

Monday, January 18. The usual weekly meeting was held in the Council Chambers. Present—His Worship the Mayor, and Crs Bishop, Gapes, Raphael, Ick, Hart, Jones, and Calvert. The town clerk reported receipts for the week to be as follows:—From rate collector, account G. 0. rates, 1874, £9O ss; Waimakariri ditto, £ls Os lOd; quarter’s rentoof Post office, £67 15s; flues from R. M. Court, £5 ss: carriers’ and hawkers’ licenses, £l3; kerosene licenses, £8; registration cf buildings for meetings, £10; deposit on Lichfield street contract, £10; rent from market place, 7s. Total receipts, £2ll 12s IQd. Overdraft on general account, £l4 6s 9d; drainage account, Cr, £8441 13s 6d; drainage rate account, Or, £1302 9s 6d; wages, &c, to be paid oa general account, £559 2s lid; on drainage account, £96 14s 4d. Part payment of market place asphalting was received too late to be included in the weekly receipts. The Registrar dreneral’s report on the vital statistics for the month of October, 1874, was laid on the table, showing the births in Christchurch for that mouth to have been forty-one, and deaths twenty-two, or a percentage of deaths in proportion to 1000 of population of 2-13. The Mayor said that during the week, as chairman of the finance committee, he had gone into the Council’s accounts, and found they were not at present in a position to do all that would be required for fire prevention purpose, and he had waited on the different insurance companies to ask them to contribute something towards that object, and was glad to say that his representations had been met in a very favorable manner; and though not at liberty to state the amount promised, he hoped a very handsome sum would be received from the companies to subsidise that of the Council. It was the intention of the insurance agents to call a meeting shortly, to consider the subsidy that would unitedly be handed to the Council, He had also waited on Mr Maude with respect to the balance of grant to municipalities, and he had been informed by that gentleman that the amount would be probably paid in February. A deputation of gentlemen had waited upon him during the week, with whom was Mr Harman, asking him to submit to the Council the advisability of proclaiming two half holidays during the Interprovincial cricket match. He had desired to know what the Government intended doing in this respect, and had since received a letter from Mr Harman, in which that gentleman stated that his Honor the Superintendent had ordered that the Government offices should be closed halfday on Thursday and Friday during the match. Within the last few days he had received the Registrar-General’s return, which showed the death rate in Christchurch for October to have been less than those of Wellington, Nelson and Dunedin. [Hear, hear.] Before sitting down, he would like the Council to express an opinion on his proclaiming half holidays on Thursday and Friday week. Cr Ick objected to this being done, as Friday was the day on which persons brought in stock for Saturday’s sales. Crs Jones, Bishop, and Calvert also objected to the Council interfering with business people, by asking them to close on those days. It was eventually resolved—“ That the Council do not think it advisable to proclaim half holidays on the days asked.” In reply to Cr Ick, the town clerk stated that there was about £I4OO still outstanding of last year’s rates. He (Cr Ick) had asked the question, so that the finance committee might take the hint and hurry the {rate collector in this work, Cr Raphael spoke strongly on such an amount being still outstanding. It was monstrous that some ratepayers should be compelled to pay a double rate while that amount was still uncollected and unpaid by others. He wished it to be known that it was the determination of the finance committee to have this rate collected at once. Cr Ick fully endorsed all that had fallen from Cr Raphael, As that Cr had said, it was perfectly monstrous that £I4OO of rates should still be outstanding. He wanted to know if they paid their rate collector to walk round the streets with his hands in his pockets. He was quite in accord with what had been said about some of the citizens having to pay their second rate while a large number of others had not paid their first rates, and he hoped the collector would receive an intimation that action must be taken at once against all persons who bad not paid this rate. Crs Gapes and Jones also spoke on the matter, and the subject then dropped. The city surveyor reported—- “ 1. A plan and specification of that portion of the east town belt between the Ferry road and old Stanmore road will be laid before you. Tenders for the work will be advertised for on Wednesday next. “2. As that portion of the north belt up to Barbadoes street will be finished in a few days, the works committee recommend that the remainder, as well as that portion of ;the east bolt up to the river, should be at once advertised, and let on contract. “3. The work for the Lichfield street water pipes will be commenced to-morrow morning. “ 4. A fresh plan of the fire brigade station arranged to meet the requirements spoken of last Monday, will be laid before you, together with a description and estimate.” Clause No 1 of the report was, after some discussion, referred to the works committee to report next Monday. The plans and specifications accompanying the report were received and adopted, and it was decided to call for tenders for this work. Clause No 2 was approved, Cr Bishop paying the cily surveyor a very high compliment for the manner in which the work at the North town belt had been carried out. He would move—” That tenders be called for the work.” ■ Cr Raphael seconded the motion, which was agreed to. Clause No 3 was approved as read. On clause 4 being discussed, Cr Jones moved a resolution, which he subsequently withdrew until a reply is received from the insurance agents. Consideration of the clause was also postponed until then. The attention of the chairman of the works committee was called to various matters requiring attention in the city, Or Ick drew the attention of the sanitary committee to some butchers who were in the habit of draining the refuse from their yards into the street channels. He considered this matter required immediate attention. • Two tenders for valuing the city were received) and that of Mij, Huddleston e accepted. Return* to be la by Ist HWoh.

A letter was read from the Heathcote Road Board in reply stating the Board had no objection to allow the Council to cut any gorac growing on the public roads near the reserve in the Heathcote district. Considered to be satisfactory. A letter was read from B. H. Bayley and Co, Southwark, England, informing the Council that their price for a patent hydrostatic watering van is £6O nett at their works, and enclosing reports relative to same. Referred to the works committee. A 'letter was read from Mr James Park stating that the Smith and Son’s patent sweeping and scraping machine ordered by the Council from him had been shipped per steamer Albion, to leave about the Bth Jan. A second letter was read from Mr Park, enclosing bill of lading and invoice, amounting to £9l ss, and he would be glad to have the surveyor’s opinion after the machine had been tested on the streets. Cr Bishop said that when the machine was landed and put together the works committee would have it tried, and report to the Council. A letter was read from James Whittington, asking that the Council would have the broken metal quarried by him and lying at the quarry, carted away and measured, and complaining of the Council’s inconsiderate treatment of him. Cr Bishop explained that the action of Whittington lately had put the Council to considerable inconvenience through his not sufficiently supplying the machine with stone. He (Whittington) also objected to have the metal broken by him measured in the usual way, but load by load. The committee had offered him to continue the work at a reduced rate ; but this he had objected to, and the Council were thus saving £l2 a week. Ultimately the letter was referred to the works committee. A letter to the superintendent of fire brigade, from foreman Piper, was read, asking that he would bring before the notice of the fire brigade committee the necessity of providing more suitable horses than at present kept at the station for the purposes of the brigade. Cr Raphael considered that this was an important matter, and required immediate consideration, as the valuable plant of the Council might require to be used on any night. Cr Bishop thought this letter should be referred to the fire brigade committee. Ha would like to mention that not only had these horses to be called out after having done a day’s hard work, but they were required to pull between two or three tons, and could not be expected to go at a lively pace. There was another thing, too, with reference to the horses at the Market place station, which prevented them pulling the engine as fast as might be desired, and that was that they were of different dispositions—one was so spirited that it took two men to hold him when he was placed in the engine, and the other took two men to drag him as far as the « shafts. [Laughter.] The latter horse was by no means suitable for the work. Cr Raphael moved—“ That the works committee b£ authorised to purchase another horse and cart for general purposes.” Cr Gapes seconded the motion, which was carried. The estimate of the watering rate wh signed by three councillors, when it wu moved by Or Hart—-“ That this Council agrees to make a separate rate of in the £, as approved of by his Honor the Superintendent under date of 7th January, 1876, for watering certain portions of streets, and directs the town clerk to give the necessary notices, as required under clause 209 of Municipal Corporations Act, 1867." Or Calvert seconded the motion, which was agreed to. The weekly report of the inspector of nuisances was read and approved. Carriers’ licenses were granted to S. Southerby and Robert Turnbull. Cr Gapes moved—“ That as there are several parts of the side channels in the city in a very bad state of drainage on account of the flatness of surface and other causes, thereby endangering the health of the inhabitants, and as our present system of channelling the streets in rotation from end to end will not reach all those bad places for a long time, it is desirable that the said parts of channelling should be formed with concrete, <kc., and that the Inspector of Nuisances be instructed to report to this Council by Monday next, those parts of the side channels that require immediate attention, with the view of the surveyor taking the proper levels and carrying out the work forthwith.” He pointed out the necessity for this work being done, if only to drain premises which had no other means of drainage, and hoped the Oounoil would pass the motion. Cr Raphael seconded the resolution. Cr Bishop opposed the resolution in its wording, though he admitted the neoessity of the streets being channelled as quickly as possible. The motion was also opposed by Cr Ick and the Mayor, as the work, if carried out in the terms of the resolution, must lead to the river, and be thus only temporary. As so many of the streets urgently required channelling, they would like to see four times as many men put on at this work, so that it might be completed as quickly as possible, [Hear, hear.] To construct short works of channelling would be simply removing the stink from one man's property to another; and if the works committee would instruct the surveyor to report what streets should be be next channelled after the present contracts were completed, so as to carry out t&e systematic system of drainage determined upon, no doubt the finance committee would find the money required for the work. Cr Gapes having replied, the motion was lost, the mover and seconder only voting for it. , Cr Bishop moved that—“ That the Provincial Government be written to asking consent to have the canal reserve for the whole length fronting the college thrown open as a public footpath, until such reserve is required for its original purpose.” He considered that now the work of Park terrace was so advanced, the footpath should be continued as a walk for the people, and this could be easily done by merely taking down the fence. Cr Hart had very great pleasure in seconding the resolution. He had often spoken of this matter, and had sometimes bepn laughed at for doing so. If the fence we?p taken down it would form a pleasant promenade. The motion was put and carried unanimously. After some discussion on an account which had been postponed for consideration at ths instance of Or Raphael, the Council adjourned.