CITY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 356, 3 August 1875, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

Monday, August 2. The usual weekly meeting was held in the Council Chambers. Present—His Worship the Mayor, and Crs Bishop, Calvert, Hart, Ick, Jones, Raphael, Gapes, and Schmidt. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed.. . r , The town clerk reported receipts for the week to be as follow : —From rate collector: x\ccount general city rates, 1875, £BB 11s; Waimakariri do, £l4 15s 2d; watering rate, £lO 8s lid ; deposits on contracts, £l6 15s; fines from Eesident Magistrate’s (Joint, £2

:‘tps ; quarter’s rent .fqr paddock, £2 18s 6d ; Htandafrd Insurance'Company, £9 5s 6d ; carriers’, drivers’, and kerosene licenses, £ll 5s ; rent from Market place, 7s Total receipts for week, £156 lls. Overdraft at Bank on general account, £2861 5s Id. Drainage rate' account—Dr, £242 18s. Drainage rate account—Cr, £864 3s Id. Wages, &c., to be paid on general account, £660 16s lid ; on drainage account, £lO3. A long discussion took place on some of the fire brigade accounts, after which they were passed for payment. Cr Ick referred to the large overdraft at the bank, The end of the, financial year was fast approaching, and he would like to know'-if the finance committee’"were satisfied with the manner in which the rates were coming in. The Mayor,as chhtrfiian of that committee, said -he at least was perfectly satisfied with the rate collector. The clerical work in the office was increasing rapidly, and he believed it would be necessary to shortly secure clerical assistance. It would not.alarm hirn much, judging by another province, even if a bleach of the Act were : committed.. T rr ,, Cr Raphael, as a member of tiS* fibance committee,, differed .altogether .with the Maybr. He was r thoroughly dissatisfied 'with the manner the rates were being collected—[Cr Ick: “Hear,Hear”] —and especially with the slow manner.in which the notices were being served. It was his intention to move next week that every seventh name on the roll of those whose rates were outstanding be-summonecj, and He would be no party to any breach'of "the Actbeing’Committed. ,Clr Jones could not agree with Cr, Raphael, as it would [bave been an impossibility for the officers to serve all the notices since the I4th June. .ihTAS S< < fl The Mayor said he had received a petition,- baking him to call' $ poblifc meeting. [The text of, thb ipetitionvhas ’ already appeared in the Press.]. ,He: had communicated withthe General Government as to when the second reading of the Bill for the abolition of- provinces, come on, and as he had received- a reply that the second readibg would take place on Friday next, he had, considering the importance, of this matter, called a public meeting for Thursday evening next, to be held ’id ‘ the' Oddfellows’ Hall,, He had also received a presept, on behalf of the ’ Council, of : sdme Valuable works on “ Drainage,” from Mr Hughes, and he trusted‘a vote or thanks would be passed to that gentleman for his kind present.., Cr Raphael trussed the expense l df holding the,meeting would not iaU r pnthe Council. It was“ too bad ' that th'e r ratepayers should have to pay for'a few gentlemen l airfflgitheir el oquence. n;n oslo The surveyor reported—“l, As last week two streets were advertised to be channelled, and only one was let, the works; committee recommend that the other one should be let to Mr Jarvis Beard. “ 2. The piece of channelling in Durham ' stirbet is completed, also the ! piece ’m Manchester street,- with the exception of the •culvert, which vvill be built Inafew days. 5 “ 3* The Cashel street and Hereford street channelling will shortly be completed. (< 4. The gravelling of the loadsi and footpaths progresses very slowly, owing M.-to the excessively bad state of the roads : leading to the pits, and also to the great quantity of water in the pit's.” Y «h baA The various clauses of therepbrtwere approved as read. 1 ; J - 1 JJ >Y 0(1 - ‘ The subject of the Madras street bridge, referred to the works committee lafikweek, came on for consideration. ;.: j ' V Or Bishop said the works commifcteA could not recommend any alteration, andiead a memorandum from that committee, which stated that the;proposed bridge was estimated to cost i 61466. The timber used would be of good Australian. The -abutments would be of cement and stone; The outside girders and handrailing of iron; width, 40ft, or nearly three times the width of the present bridge. The' style of the bridge would admit of stone piers being built In the river at some future time, and the whole covered with iron girders, but at present this plan would be too expensive. He thought it would be wise to adopt the plan already laid before the Council. The plans were then approved, and the works committee authorised to carry out the work. ; - Or Bishop moved— “ That the construction of Hereford street bridge shall be the next to follow that of Madras street bridge ; and the surveyor be requested to prepare plans and specification at convenience, cost not to exceed £ , exclusive of the intended contributions.” Cr Ick seconded the motion with pleasure, and dwelt on the inconvenience experienced by residents on the western side of the city when crossing this bridge. The resolution did not tie the Council down to any time, as the work was only to be carried out as soon as circumstances admitted. There was a large carriage traffic across the bridge, and very great difficulty was experienced, and danger run in passing, when Mr Lane’s carts were being loaded.', Or Raphael hoped that Cr Bishop would not press the resolution at present. He knew of one person who would derive a very great advantage by a new bridge being built who would.not subscribe, one sixpence towards that object. Jr, . .. Cr Hart would like the, matter delayed until at least one-half of the cost was subscribed. This was done in the case of Cashel street, and it would hardly be right to make a distinction between these two streets. He would be very "’happy to see a bridge erected in Hereford street, but trusted the principle laid down by the Council, would not be departed from. He would move as an amendment —“ That the Hereford street bridge be erected as soon as one-third of the cost shall be subscribed.” : Cr Raphael seconded the amendment. The Mayor said this was an exceptional case. He would object to the bridge if it was to be erected out of the rates; but they had £SOOO to .expend on bridges and drainage,, and no portion of it would be required, for the latter. It must be remembered that, the Council had determined not to erect any more wooden bridges, and it must.be patent, to every one that a permanent, bridge was required at that crossing. . After some further discussion, Cr Bishop in reply, said that as the Council had received £SOOO to spend in bridges, it was unfair to even ask the, inhabitants to subscribe any money towards its ebbstrubtion, though au amount of money would be subscribed by the holders of property in the neighborhood for that purpose. On being put, the amendment was carried by five to, two, and the resolution lost. Dr Hart desired to refer to the nuisance

experienced by the. residents on the North town belt from the denseness of the foliage of the trees in the plantations. He. would like-to know whether the works committee had considered the subject,.... _ _ ... Cr Bishop said had. The 'committee were aware of this nuisance, and the removal of a number of the trees this year had only been a question of expense. . Cr Jones said that some persons had evidently thought the post and rails on the belt a nuisance, and had removed them nearly all. If it were known that the trees were considered the same, perhaps a similar course might be adopted with regard to them also. A letter was read from MrE. J. Wakefield, M.H.8., Wellington, saying a Bill would presently be brought down by the Government for the re distribution of the representation of New Zealand in the General Assembly previous to,-and as a corollary of the forthcoming general elections. The results of the census of March, 1874, showed the population of the two electoral districts of Christchurch East and West to have been at that date as follows :—East, 7*765 ; West, 9,194 ; or electors, Bast, 4,194; West, 1,281; showing in bath cases a remarkable .increase since the census of 1871. As the representative of the Thamfes—with a population of 12,239, and 3,466 electors—had presented a petition praying that that district might have three additional members, it appeared to him it yyould be well if the Mayor and City Council of Christchurch would take action by petition of the inhabitants, to have increased representation. He would forward a copy of the Bill as soon as. it was supplied to members, and the results of the census of March, 1874, showing an average representation. The Mayor said he thought if would be advisable for the citizens to take some action at once. He 'would suggest that sub-com-mittees be appointed to draw up petitions, and set them in motion throughout the Bast and West Christchurch districts. Cr Hart would go into this matter heart and hand to have increased representation. He would move—“ That this Council is of opinion that steps should be taken to in 4 crease the number of representatives in the General Assembly, for the City districts, and that the Mayor, Ors Bishop, and the mover, be a committee to carry out the foregoing.” Cr Calvert seconded the motion, which was agreed to. Cr Bishop would like to point out that if Mr Wakefield was correct in his figures, the -Registrar-General was wrong in his tables of J mortality. Two letters were read from the Secretary "for Public Works stating that a voucher had been forwarded for £25 for’ half-year’s maintenance of the Government fire engine; also that it was contemplated to use the stone lying in front of the Supreme Court for works proposed by Mf Lean, and sanctioned in the estimates. A letter was read from the Chief Postmaster requesting that the interior of the Post Office might be-repainted and bolts fixed on several of the public doorways. Referred to the works committee. A letter was read from the secretary to the Gas Company saying the manager’s attention had been called to a ’letter received regarding the supply of. light to the public lamps. ~ . . . 'y j . ? Deemed to be satisfactory. A letter was read from Mr F.. Strouts, architect, saying that for the plans of the new . hotel at corner of Cathedral Square • -and Hereford street, it would be necessary to get light and air for rooms,in .the basement, by means : of areas under the footpath, and asking what limit is fixed by the Council as to the size of such areas. Consideration of this letter was deferred fora week. - . A letter was read from the hon sec to the Metropolitan Railway Extension League, Sydney, saying that a movement was on foot there to bring the railway into the centre of the city, and as he was desirous of collecting information concerning the railway facilities in the towns of New Zealand, he would like to be informed “where, in Wellington, your main station is situated, and what are the nature of, your arrangements with respect to railways generally." The town dlerk was instructed to forward the letter qn ,to Wellington, and also to send a reply to Sydney. A letter was read from Mr J. W. Hamilton, pointing to the exceedingly bad condition of the roadway on the Eastern side of Latimer square, as well as of the approaches from Gloucester and Hereford streets ; also referring to the bad state of the footpath along the eastern side of the square. ■iA letter was read from Mr H. Wynn Williams, concurring with what was stated by Mr Hamilton in his letter, and saying that he (Mr Williams) had gone to the ex- - peuse of £9 in laying down a culvert on this road. On the motion pf Cr Hart, the letters were referred to the jvorks committee, and he must say. he was surprised that as these had been yearly epistles fo£ the last five years, and a great deal of work was required to be. done, that it was not done before. He knew that there were resolutions on the book ordering the work to be carried out. Cr Ick would remark that Cr Hart had been a member of the works committee for five or six years, and it was a wonder he did not see this work was carried out long ago. The Mayor said it was intended to do this •work with the labor gang employed last year, but the Government stopped supplies. Or Raphael said this street was really an impassable bog at present. It was resolved that the works committee be authorised to carry out the work. A letter was read, signed by S, Dowdale and M. Geoghegan, East town belt, applying for a remission of their rates on account iof losses sustained by the flood on the sth and 6th June. - • On the motion of Or Raphael, seconded by Cr Bishop, it was resolved that the rates be remitted on account of the loss suffered by the applicants at r the time of the flood. A letter was read from Mr J. Oppenheim, complaining of being assessed exorbitantly, and asking that his assessment might be reduced to. same amount as last year. Referred to the rate collector to report. A letter was read from Messrs Twentyman and Cousin, calling attention to the state of •the road between the Bank of New Zealand -comer and back entrance to their premises. '- Referred to the works committee. A letter was read from Mr Thomas Purdie, asking that ’ some shingle might be put on the footpath in ,8t Asaph street west. r Referred to the works committee. • r,;: A letter was read from Mr Wm. Prudhoe on behalf of the residents of Peacock street, enquiring on what what terms the Council would form -shingle take over that street, as a public thoroughfare, totoioU u i otuho mi in r ~ : •

I Referred to the surveyor to report. An application was read from Antoney Julie asking permission to keep his barrow standing in certain places in the city for the sale of fish. Permission was granted on the same terms as had been'to others. - - The town clerk read a draft of a Bill called the Drainage Loan Bill, 1875, which was referred to the finance committee to report. The application of Mr T. F. Haskins for an advance of salary, which had been referred to the finance committee, was further adjourned for a week. A letter was read signed by J. W. Treadwell and others calling attention to the bad state of town reserves 133 and 134. Referred to the works committee. An application was read from some inhabitants in Taylor’s lane leading to the South town belt, asking for some shingle to be laid down. Referred to the works committee. A report was read from Mr Superintendent Harris on the fire that occurred in High street on the morning of July 29th, The report was received and considered to be very satisfactory. , . ; . . • The annual report of the Superintendent of the Fire Brigade for year ending July 26th was read as follows: — “ I have to report that during the year ending July 26th the brigade have attended fourteen fires as against eleven for the same period last year. Ten of the fourteen have been buildings on fire, and this is a larger number of buildings than we have had for some time before, although the loss has been light through the prompt attention of neighbors as well as that of the brigade. “ The plant, with the exception of .the suction hose of the hand engine, is in good order. The new suction for this engine ordered some time since is I am glad to say pn board the Marmion, now due. “ I trust the Council will sopn sanction the erection of a new station in the Market place, as the present one is in a wretched state, and not fit to keep such a valuable plant in. If such a station as suggested seme time since is erected, I believe it will greatly add to the efficiency of the Brigade, Mr Craig informs me the companies are willing to contribute £2OO for this purpose, and the advantage of having a number of men living at the station needs no comment, “ I have, &c,, “ W. Harris, “ Chief Fire Inspector.” The report was received and adopted. The Fire Brigade committee, in their report, which was read, among other things thought if would be expedient to order more hose during the next twelve months, though, at the present time, the Superintendent did not consider it necessary. They recommended the £470 should be voted for the ensuing year. The vote last year was £4lB, and the expenditure, £436. . The committee hoped, before long, that the funds would allow of the market station being re-built. The report then referred to the necessity of ain organised body being formed to work the Government engine, and concluded with a recommendation that a vote of thanks be passed to the members of the brigade and fire police, for their services during the last year. L ' 1 • *1 f ■ ■* ' i The report was received. Cr Raphael said he had not seen the report for more than ten minutes, and would move that the report be referred back to the committee. • r: - -v Cr Jones moved as an amendment —“ That the report be adopted.” A long discussion took place, in which which some warm language was used, Cr Raphael in reply, referring to the report, said it was merely written to hand to the reporters, to show the public that the committee had done work which they really had not, and the representation of work, as shown in the report, was “ false in fact,” Cr Johes called Cr Raphael to order for using the, word ” false,” and claimed his Worship’s protection. The Mayor asked Cr Raphael to retract the word, and as he refused to do so his Worship left the chair. . . . , At the request of Cr Hart, who trusted that the business before the Council would not be retarded, Cr Raphael withdrew the expression, and the Mayor resumed his seat. Or Raphael wished to amend his motion by adding that the report be referred back for the amendment of one item in it. The Mayor said that as all the Councillors had spoken to both motion and amendment, he could not allow the motion to be amended. On being put the amendment was carried, Cr Raphael being the only dissentient. The following report was read:— Report of Sanitary Committee, 24th July, 1875, “ Scavengering—The committee have taken into consideration the contract re emptying closet pans, and recommend that the contractor be empowered to make an additional charge of one penny per pan to that at present authorised by the Council, in lieu of the special charge of £3 10s per week, as authorised by resolution of the Council, dated 28th December, 1874. “ The contractor to sign a special agreement making the hours of work to read between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a,m., instead of 11 p.m. and 6 a m. “ Stagnant Water—Your committee during the week, accompanied by the inspector of nuisances; visited Peacock and Aldred streets, and found the former street unformed and some dwellinghouses on the south side of Aldred street considerably below the level of the street, and nearly the whole of the sections require a large quantity of filling to bring them up to a level sufficient for the discharge of surface water. “ The committee are aware that a very liberal offer was.made by Mr Gould to contribute towards the cost of lowering Durham street; if the several owners of the properties alluded to on the above named streets would subscribe towards this very desirable improvement, a large quantity of earth would be available for filling up the sections, if not required by the Council for other purposes. “ Your committee would desire to impress on the Council the necessity of helping the inhabitants in this locality to effect the improvements so urgently required, there being at least fifty houses literally without any drainage.” ’ The report was received, and the first clause adopted. The remaining clauses of the report were referred to the inspector of nuisances to take action. Or Bishop moved —“That the Hon B. Richardson be advised that since the last communication, the Council have had an opportunity of observing the intention of the Government to endow municipalities and road boards, and assuming the Bill will pass, and that Canterbury will be included; this

Council would leave the election of Mayor in the hands of the ratepayers without the restriction named at the last meeting. It was ruled that Or Bishop would have to give a fortnight’s notice to rescind the resolution passed by the Council on Monday last. A feeling was, however, prevalent among councillors that the Mayor should not be elected out of the Council. Cr Gapes moved—“ That considering the position of Christchurch in connexion with its suburbs, also the large and rapid increase of population, it is absolutely necessary for the health of the inhabitants that certain portions of the suburban districts to be hereafter defined should be annexed to the city, so as to form one uniform system of drainage, and that Dr Foster be instructed to dratt a petition to the General Assembly, praying that the said portions of the said district be annexed to the city of Christchurch.” ’ Cr Raphael seconded the resolution. After a slight discussion, the resolution was negatived. Or Bishop moved—“ That a special meeting of the whole Council, and chairmen of Road Boards, be appointed, to meet on Friday next, at three p.m, to consider the proposed Drainage Bill, in accordance with the resolution passed • by the Council on sth July last.” Cr Ick seconded the resolution. After some discussion, the resolution was put and agreed to. : .r Cr Raphael moved—“ That the Drainage Committee, appointed on last Monday, be discharged.” He thought the committee was a most harmless one, and might as well be discharged for all the stand they had made. Cr Tck seconded the resolution, and would do so, because the former resolution was proposed and carried in the absence of Cr Calvert, advantage of which had been taken. He would like to observe that Mr Wright had made a great mistake when he expressed pleasure at seeing the action of the majority of the Council in appointing the last committee, as they had only been appointed on that occasion by the casting vote of the Mayor. Cr Bishop was sorry to see the motion, as it showed a great deal of vacillation on the part of the Council. He would rather it had come on after the next meeting of the Conference. ' •- On the motion being put, it was declared to be lost by the casting vote of the Mayor. Crs Raphael, Calvert, Hart, and Ick, voted for"; and Crs,Bishop, Jones, Gapes, and Schmidt, against. The Usual weekly report of the inspector of nuisances was read and approved. A kerosene license was granted to A. J, White. A license was granted to J. T. Hart to hold meetings in the schoolroom attached to the Congregational Church, A driver’s licence was granted to L. Smith, and an owner’s to W. Dunn. The Council then adjourned. NOTICE OF MOTION FOR MONDAY NEXT. Cr Raphael, to move—“ That the fire brigade committee be instructed to have a proper stock book kept, detailing the plant of the brigade.”