SYDENHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1349, 11 June 1878, Page 3

SYDENHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL.

An ordinary meeting of this Council was held last night. Present—His Worship the Mayor, and Councillors Whitelaw, Yennal, Hall, Brown, Scott and Jones. PUBLIC HEALTH. The following letter from the City Council was read: — His Worship the Mayor of Sydenham. Sir, —I have the honor, by direction of the City Council, to say that it is considered neceisary that the Public Health Act, 1876, and Amendment Act, 1877, should receive the careful consideration of the city and suburbs with with the view of so amending them that they may be made more workable and agreeable to the views of the local bodies who were originally intended to carry out the Act. With this vi w you are respectfully asked to appoint a delegate from your body to meet the sanitary committee of this Council to consider what amendments to the said Act are necessary, in order that they may be brought before the Assembly as early as possible in the session. The Conference will take placeon“Thursday, 20th instant, at 2 o’clock. An early reply will oblige, I have, &c., F. T. Haskins. A resolution was carried to the effect that his Worship the Mayor be the delegate to the proposed conference, and that the Sydenham Council affirms the desirability of a central authority being established. CATTLE MARKET RESERVE. The Under-Secretary of Crown Lands wrote:— In reply to your letters of the 4th, 16th, and 18th instant, addressed.to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary and the Hon. Mr Fisher respectively, I am directed by the Hon. Minister of Lands to inform you that it is not proposed at present to deal with the five acres of land within the Borough of Sydenham, which was purchased by the late Superintendent of Canterbury as a cattle market reserve. The Council resolved to apply to Government for the control of the land until it is finally dealt with. RAILWAY FOOTBRIDGE. The Commissioner of Railways, Mr Conyers, wrote : Adverting to your letters addressed to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington, dated respectively February 18th and May 4th, requesting the consideration of the Government as to whether a footbridge could not be erected across the railway in or near a line near Madras street, I have been directed by tho Hon. the Minister for Public Works to inform you in reply, that there are no funds available at present for this purpose. The Council resolved to apply to the Government to vote the necessary money, as the absence of such a bridge is a matter of great inconvenience to many persons.

INDIAN FAMINE SUBSCRIPTIONS. The following was read ; Colonial Secretary’s Office, Wellington, 28th May, 1878. Sir, —The Secretary of State for the Colonies, in a despatch addressed to his Excellency the Governor, dated the 14th February, after expressing his satisfaction at the munificence which has been displayed in so many of Her Majesty’s colonial possessions in tho contributions which have been made towards the funds for the relief of the sufferers by famine in India, requests that he may be informed what have been the actual amounts contributed by the colony of New Zealand. I am accordingly directed by the Colonial Secretary to request your Worship to be so goo i as to state what was tho total amount contributed by the borough of which you are the Mayor, as this Government have no certain means of obtaining the information desired by the Secretary of State except by applying to each Municipality. I have, &c., G. S. Cooper.

The clerk was directed to inform the Colonial Secretary that all contributions in Christchurch and the neighbourhood were included in one fund, EXPLANATION. The following was read from the Commissioner of Audit: — Audit Office, May 28th, 1878. Sir, —In reply to your letter of the 22nd inst. I have the honor to state that on referring to the copy of the award, which you were so good as to send mo, there appears to be the clerical error you point out. 1 he figures you will remember were given me, and agreed to by both sides as correct, and the distribution is correct. The £45,416 I3s is clearly an error for £35,000 13s and was intended so to stand in the award. I have, &c., James Edward Fitz Gerald. Commissioner of Audit. The clerk was directed to acknowledge the letter. DOG REGISTRATION. Mr Brol>am, police superintendent, informed the Council that the Governor alone has power to appoint persons to register dogs, and places for registering the same. It was resolved to nominate the person, and place determined upon at the last meeting. STREETS DEDICATED. The Spreydon Road Board clerk, Mr Harrap, wrote as follows : I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of jour letter re dedication of roads, and to inform jou that I believe the road known as Smart’s

road, on section 238 and the Addington streets, have been dedicated, but cannot say where the deeds are to be obtained.

The letter was acknowledged. Clarkson’s paddock, sandridge. At a meeting of Sandridge inhabitants, held on the 6th inst., a committee was appointed to petition the Council on the formation of roads. The petition was now road, and its prayer supported by a deputation, consisting of Messrs Benjamin Moffat, Martin, James Haig, William King, and Duckworth. Mr John Mills, who was to have been on the deputation, did not attend. As the works committee report dealt with the subject, it was at this stage read, as follows :

REPORT OF WORKS COMMITTEE FOR JUNE Bth, 1878. In addition to the ordinary work of metalling and cleansing the side channelling, now culverts have been put down in Colombo and Durham streets at their intersection with Hazledoan road. At the latter place the railway authorities having put in new cattle pits, the drainage is much improved. They have also been written to, asking them to carry the line of channelling across the railway at Colombo street. QUEEN STREET CONTRACT. Fresh tenders having been called for to complete this work, that of Mr Robert Beattie, at 17s 6d per chain, has been accepted, .and the work put in hand. STREETS IN CLARKSON’S PADDOCK. As formerly recommended, a preliminary survey, together with an estimate of the cost of formation of these streets, has been made, and a report of the same, as per copy herewith, sent to the inhabitants. No reply has yet been received, but it is understood that the suggestions made have been agreed to, and that a petition asking the Council to undertake the work is in course of preparation. HORNBROOK’S APPLICATION. It is recommended that this application for a siding from the railway be granted, at a fee of seven guineas for the current yo*r, subject to the curve being altered as marked on plan, gcott’s road. The inhabitants of this neighbourhood having written stating that they think it impracticable to get the street made to the width 'of 40ft. as requested, the committee recommended that they be again asked to make it the 40ft., having reason to think that by the inhabitants paying for it 7ft. could be purchased along the west side of the street. Should they fail in doing so the Council are recommended to declare the street public only on condition that it is formed and metalled. METALLING NEW STREETS. In view of the largo number of private streets within the borough stiil unformed, and remaining to be declared public, it is recommended that in future not less than 50 per cent, of the cost of metal ing such, in addition to the cost of their formation, be borne by owners and occupiers of properties abutting upon the same, previous to their being taken over by the Council. The report was considered clause by clause, and the paragraphs before that relating to Clarkson’s paddock were confirmed. In connection with the last-named paragraph the report alluded to in it was read. It was a lengthy document. The paragraph was then agreed to. The deputation stated that the owners of the property affected were willing to pay the necessary contributions, but wished the Council to collect these—in fact to levy a rate. The Council expressed their willingness to assist the inhabitants of Clarkson’s paddock, but informed the deputation that they could not levy a rate in the manner desired. The remaining clauses of the works committee report were then adopted. The Council resolved that the town clerk should make out an estimate of the probable cost of the formation, &c,, of the roads in Clarkson’s paddock, and serve notices upon the property owners, requesting each to pay his proportion of the expense, which would be 30s per chain frontage. The Council would then advertise for tenders for the work. FINANCES. The finance committee’s report was read and adopted. It recommended the payment of accounts to the amount of £IOO 13s 3d, and stated that £29 had been received since the last report. DEDUCTIONS FROM SUBSIDIES. Cr. Whitelaw moved —“ That the opinion of the Council’s solicitor be obtained as to whether the Financial Arrangements Act, 1877, did not repeal clause 13 of the Financial Arrangement Act, 1876, in, so far as regards the deductions from subsidies for maintenance of hospitals and charitable institutions.” The motion was seconded and agreed to. Cr. Brown moved that steps be taken, with a view to the widening of the Windmill road at Harman’s corner. The motion, which Cr. Hall said would look well at any coroner’s inquest held in consequence of accidents which might occur at the said corner, was agreed to. The Council then adjourned.