MUNICIPAL SQUABBLES.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1346, 7 June 1878, Page 3

MUNICIPAL SQUABBLES.

The following is the report of what we referred to in Tuesday’s issue ag a “sharp skirmish” in the Christchurch City Council, in which several Councillors took part 1 — The Mayor—Another thing I think it necessary to refer to, because the question was asked in my absence—“ By whose authority tli© Government was applied to to validate certain proceedings in connection with the assessment.” Had it been confined to that, however, I should have taken no notice of it, but the members who spoke on that point said that a good deal of the business of the Council was done outside, the inference being that tho Mayor had done a good deal of tho business without consulting the Council. I deny the charge in toto, and I challenge the Council to say that I have outstepped the bounds of my duty one iota. The answer \ can give. to the question io this :—The finance bommitt'ee commenced the objections and found that they had no time to consult the Council because everything had to be done before twelve o’clock at night. They afterwards made a written report, which they laid before the Council, and the Council adopted that report almost unanimously. I say that the action of the finance committee then became the act of the Council, and not of any particular person or committee. The next thing was the error of the town clerk in sending out the objections. Had that been suffered to go without validation the whole of the proceedings would have besiVnullified. Therefore' I consulted with the finance committee, and it was there proposed to obtain a validation order. I think I should have been very much to blarpe had X not done so. I may ask what other business except that X have now mentioned has been done outside the Council. I am not aware that I have been concerned with any other. If there has been any other, the gentleman who put that question was concerned in it —the gentleman who advertised for tenders for a contract of £2OOO upon which the Council had not been consulted. I think that that member of the Council at least should not have blamed mo for doing business outside the Council. I do uot mention this to find fault —tho matter wag afterwards corrected. Cr.'lck, tpq, jnade use of the same terms — “ That a great® deal of business was being done outside the Council,” if I can believe tho reports of the papers, aud X have consuited both.

Cr. Ick—X deny saying anything of the kind. [The Mayor here referred to the report in the “Press,” but found that it did not support his allegation]. I think T read it in the “ Star,” which would be the same as the report in the “ Times.” [The Mayor here referred to this report, but found that it coincided with that in the “ Press ”]. T don’t find fault with anybody. Those Councillors who spoke in that way hayo oono to xro'tn oyer zeal. Had the matter not been soon to, and rectified before it went further, the proceedings would have been illegal. But I cannot see that I, as Mayor, in merely correcting a verbal inaccuracy in a matter which was approved of by the Council, was outstepping the limits ot my duty. [Hear, hear.] I read the report with surprise. Ifad I not exercised that authority which I possessed—and I did so after consulting with scope of the mesv»b; vs of the Council—l should' have been to blame. There fs also another matter, and that is as to the result of what lias been called the “ assessment fiasco,” Several gentlemen have expressed to mo their surprise that no notice had been sent to the parties. My only reply to that was that the Council had complied with the Act. Ho amount of dust or moonshine can alter that fact. I have nothing to do with the legal technicalities of the case—-

every person got a notice in the very words of the Act. The question has nothing to do with the first objections, because proper notices were sent out afterwards. There was really no objection sustained against the justice of the proceeding taken by tho Council ; the objections were raised merely on technicalities.

Cr, Briggs—l should like to correct one statement made by his Worship the Mayor. You said, sir, that every person got a notice in°terms of the Act. I beg to state that lam in a position to deny that. lam aware of more than one inst ance in which tlm notice was not in terms of the Act —in which the notice bore neither date nor signature. Cr. Ick—l know two instances. I believe not the same that Cr. Briggs refers to—in which no person in the world could make any sense of the notice. The error was merely a clerical one, but it rendered the notice inoperative. Or. Bird —I think wc should he gratified with the statement, made by his Worship, of what he had done during his absence. There is one matter I should like to ask about. You spoko about telegraphic communication between the fire brigade station and the public offices.

The Mayor—l said that the Government would carry that out. Or. Bird —With regard to the cattle reserve, I think we should move in the matter at once, so as not to be forestalled by the Sydenham Council.

The Mayor—Tho Minister of Lands expressed himself to the effect that we undoubtedly had the first claim to it. Cr. Ruddcnklau—lt is necessary that I should say a few words. I asked the question to which his Worship the Mayor referred, and I think that what I said were facts. I consider that the Council did not know anything about the proceedings ■ which were taken, although the Council agreed to them upon tho statement of the Mayor. But when I saw some glaring cases I thought it was unjustifiable. I mean tc say that the proceedings were taken in the first instance without the consent of the Town Council. I think it was your (the Mayor’s) and the town clerk’s fault that tho mistake was made in the proceedings. Askjng the Government to validate the proceedings was done without the knowledge of tho Council, About the contract made by the sanitary committee I don’t think myself responsible for that. The chairman of the committee should be responsible, but he is absent tonight. The town clerk I think, however, is responsible, in reality: he a Imits that he made a mistake, and thought that the tenders were to be advertised for at once, I know, from my experience, what we ought to do and what we ought not to do. What I said I said conscientiously, and I did not blame you (the Mayor). But there are a great many things done here before the Council knows anything about them. This is very different from what was the case when I had the honour to be in the Council some years ago. Cr. Briggs —Or. Ruddenklau has referred to the proceedings taken by the Council in what is now called the “ assessment fiasco” lam quite prepared to take my full share in bearing any blame attached to that matter. I should be the very last person to throw blame on the shoulders of another, or to shield myself behind any permanent officer of the Council. I say that the fact of the assessment being very different from what it should have been was found out two days before we held that memorable meeting when we sat till midnight. Had we made ourselves conversant with the Act, instead of trusting to the advice of tho town clerk, it would not have been left till twelve o’clock that night. I say that the fact of the proceedings being taken so late was owing to our taking the town clerk’s advice instead of taking the a ivice of our solicitor. There was an unfortunate circumstance—another error—a clerical one of the town clerk — in not sending the notices in accordance with the Act, Those lodged with the magistrate were improperly filled up, and a number of those sent to the burgesses also were improperly filled up. The first lot sent to the burgesses may have been remedied by others being sent afterwards in some instances, but to my knowledge some of them were not. To hold the members of the City Council responsible for this would be exacting too much from them. I think the permanent officers of the Council ought to be held responsible for their opinions in these matters. There is no doubt that a great deal of blame has been sought to be cast upon the Council, and especially upon the finance committee. i hold that it was merely an inadvertence which would have been avoided had the members made themselves as conversant with the law as they possibly might have done. I say, however, that it was never intended, as I consider, that each man should be his own lawyer; for that is what it would come to. Another thing that I should wish to mention is this ;—When I came here to vote at the election of auditors on Saturday— The Mayor—l must call you to order. [Or. Briggs here sat down.] Or. Ick —I regret that three-quarters of an hour should have been wasted upon a matter which does not reflect too much credit upon the Council. The public are already painfully aware of the whole matter, and I do not see what object is to be gained by bringing it up again. I should have wished that by-gones should be by-gones. Tho Mayor —I should like to correct Or. Ruddenklau, His name appears first as adopting the report of tho finance committee. It is no use saying that the finance committee did wrong 5 if they did wrong the Council did wrong. Here is a memo; of a motion by Cr. Ruddenklau which fell to the ground for want of a seconder. With regard to the assessment, I did not wish to open up the question, which I think the Council made no mistake in. I am prepared to back my opinion that the decision in the case would not stand could there be an appeal against it. When I have said that every ratepayer received a notice several gentlemen have told me that that was putting the matter in a very different light. There is another matter which will come before the Council, perhaps in a different shape. It is this that it appears to me that certain committees take too much responsibility upon themselves. X shall instance one, and ask the gentlemen composing it not to feel offended with what I say. My friend hero (Or. ick) is rather touchy. But I think the matter has been overlooked by tho Council until it has got to tho position it now has assumed. A resolution mas passed by this Council empowering that committee to spend a certain amount of money. Does any one imagine that that allows them to spend £IOOO in Montreal street, or that contracts can bo called for by them without consulting the Council? 1 think tho specifications of all contracts must bo submitted to the Council to bo then remitted to tho committees, I find that the lighting committee have had q tender for twenty-two lainpj. ' That was all right, but I find that they have ordered twelve other new lamps, the same as the first, without calling for tenders at all. I think that the lighting committee should have followed the example of their predecessors. They prepared a plan and showed upon it where every new Jamp was to be placed, and then they got authority from the Council to put them up. I have been away and of course speak only from what I find in the minutes of the meetings held during my absence, but I cannot find that the lighting committee have laid any plan before the Council before ordering the twelve now lamps. ur. Briggs —l v think there is no lighting committee. ft has been absorbed by the works committee.

The Mayor—Yes, but it is still the lighting committe. I think the proper thing would liave been for the lighting committee to have brought up a report asking for authority in the ordinary way, also to have submitted a plan showing where the new lamps were to lie put. They should then lava obtained Jth’o sanction of the Council. With regard to the labor, the money is voted in the ordinary way for daily labor ; but in tips ought not to ho included any networks, for which the sanction of the Council should {n all oases be sought. I think all committees should follow that plan, and that no newwork should bo commenced until the Council has approved of it. Then if anything goes wrong the Council will be to blame. Cr. Ick —I have no doubt that the utmost publicity will be given to what you have said,

and I trust tho same will bo given to what I saj. I take leave to say that the lighting committee and the works committee were perfectly justified in contracting for the twelve 'new lamps. We had a plan prepared which showed where the new lamps were to bo placed. Marks indicated the corner of every street within the belts, and a number of other places within the city. We found last year, when we ordered a certain number of lamps, that we could not place them in the exact places indicated on the map because the gas mains were not there. Consequently, we fell back to places where there were mains and placed lamps on other spots where they were much required, as shown by petitions, and where the Council had agreed that they should be put. So far as this year is concerned, if you turn to the sheet —the balance-sheet of last year’s accounts—and to tho works sought to be done this year, you will find that a certain sum is put down for lighting the streets of Christchurch —£1200.

The Mayor—£l26o. Or. Ick —£1260 for lighting the streets and providing new lamps. When we called for tenders for the lamps, I am very happy {to say, this year we found the tenders to be so much less than wo had to pay in former years, that, whereas we had been paying from £7 up to £8 10s, we now found the tenders so low as £5 for each lamp, consequently those twenty-two lamps did not come up to the sum the Council had granted. When we found that we could get lamps at such a cheap price we considered that wo were quite justified in ordering twelve more lamps, especially when, at the same time we were receiving numerous applications for additional light in various parts of the city. When that money for public works—in which is included lighting—was asked for from the Council, I, as chairman of the works committee, asked the Council whether the amount was placed to our credit to spend to tbe best advantage, under the different heads named. I asked that twice over, and tho answer was, “Yes, certainly, it is the usual thing.” There was something done by the sanitary committee. For this a slur was cast upon them, and Cr. Bickerton pleaded that the works committee did the same thing. I replied that the money dealt with by us had always been voted at the commencement ot the year, and we had felt ourselves justified in spending up to that amount.

Cr. Briggs—And generally in exceeding it. Cr Ick—And we generally exceeded it. The Mayor will recollect that in the late Council, when such trifling matters as these were brought up it was observed that it was absurd to waste the time of the Council in such frivolous matters, and that the committees should be aPowed discretion to spend the money which had been voted in a lump sum. I cannot help thinking that the Mayor has followed in the wako of some remarks which were made, more out of humour—by way of a joke —than anything else, in regard to the lighting of Montreal street. The Mayor dissented. Cr. Ick —Only two additional lamps have been placed in Montreal street; and the nearest of them is 110 yards away from the other, and the others arc considerably more than that distance. A great deal of capital appeals to be sought to be made out of this. I think it very unjust that motives should be attributed to gentlemen who try to do their best honestly for the benefit of the ratepayers. I don’t think it conducive to good conduct that blame should be cast upon members unnecessarily. I am afraid that it is the late unpleasantness connected with the finance committee' which has caused the present endeavor to blame the works committee.

The Mayor—l have heard that facetious remarks have been made about Durham street, but I only spoke about Montreal street. I spoke of £SC J being spent in Montreal street, and nothing in Manchester street. I was merely supposing an instance. You have never touched the principle. I maintain that the principle is bad to give an order for twelve new lamps without the sanction of the Council. Our gas bbl for last month was £lOl, out of which there was £l6 for new lamps, leaving £BS for gas. This month it is £B7* That is £lO4l per annum for the lamps at present in use. There are seven new lamps in the yard, and thirty-two to be erected. I want to know how all this is to come out of £1260. You have exceeded it already. Cr. Ick—We did not spend all the money last year. The Mayor —Pardon me. There is £l4O liability on the lighting account of last year. You have now overshot the mark by more than £IOO per annum. I say let the committee bring a plan and submit it for approval. Cr. Ick—We have a plan. It is always hero. It has been here for the last twelve months.

The Mayor—l maintain that when you were going into a new contract for thirtytwo new lamps, you should have shown where they were to be placed. Or. Ick —The places were indicated upon the old plans, and those spots had been approved of by the Council. The Mayor—l am almost sure that you cannot show me where the Council has sanctioned the erection of those thh’ty-two lamps. Or. Jameson —As I understand it, the Council may have approved of those spots, but they had to wait till there was the money, I think the committee have done wrong if they have devoted more jffian yyaa allocated for that purpose. The Mayor—The last month’s hill was was £lOl. We pay £8 3a per annum for each lamp all through the year, and £9 or £l2 for the big lamps —there are only three of them. Or. Jameson —I would fuioher say that Cr. Ick is quite vi rong in supposing that a committee can work upon the money for contingencies. Or. Ick explained that the additional lamps had been ordered because the price so much less than had been calculated upon. [The plan ref or red to by Or. Ick was here produced and examined by the Mayor.] The Mayor—There are spots marked upon tlixs plan since it was prepared by Cr. Hawkes.

Of. Ick —Or, Ifawkcs was chairman of the committee only for one year. I was chairman for five or six years. The Mayor—-I say that if they will come to the Counc ;i , and say “We are going to put lamps hero and here,” the Council will adopt the ; r report. But the committee should wait till the Council has given its sanction. Or, Jameson —Another point is that if the Council of one year adopts the plans for its year, and they ere not carried out, they should drop through, unless the new Council endorses the action of its predecessors. Cr. Briggs—l think that in view of the present state of the city finance;, something should be done, because I' know that when the finance committee was going into this matter the works committee sent ; n a requisition for £13,000. Of that amount £1740 was put down for contingencies. Tito item “lighting and lamps ” is put down at £1260 for the year. If the item for contingencies is all to be exhausted in one line, what will there be left v ith which to pay for those extra works in Cathedral square, and others which are required during the currency of the year ? I think that before works not provided for or agreed to by the Council are undertaken the sanction of the Council should be asked. I th'ik the power of coimr ; (,tees in pre.-ous years has been rathe? larger than it should have been. The Mayor—lf any connc ri or likes to move a resolution he can.

Crs. Ick and B ; rd then gave notices of motion.