CITY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1384, 23 July 1878, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

■ Monday, Jctly 22. A special meeting of the Council wis hold at 7 p.m. Present—His Worship the Major, Crs. Tooraer, Briggs, Buddenklau, Jameson, Bird, Bickerton, and Ick. mayor’s statement. The Mayor said that the mooting had boon called that evening to receive the report of the finance committee on the collection of rates, appointment of delegate to the Municipal Conference, and for the consideration of suggestions to the conference. COIiIEOTION OF BATES. "The finance committee reported as follows ; Tour committee having considered the letter of Mr Leach, offering to collect the rates for the year 1878 on commission, referred to them by the Council, beg to report that the amounts to he collected for 1878 arc as follows : General rate, about ... ... ... .£B,OOO Drainage rate, Wai nakariri rate, Drainage Board rate, and watering rate, about ... ... ... ... 8,000 Scavengering rate, about 3 000 Asphalting rate, about 6,000 .£25,000 To collect which would, at least, cost by contract what would pay two collectors who would bo under the control of the Council, and whose services could be utilised in cases of emergency and other work, such as compiling the burgess roll, rate roll, electoral roll, rate hook, quarterly roll for scavengering rate, watering rate roll, assessment roll and notices, and many other things. The committee, therefore, would not recommend the Council to let the collecting ol the rates by contract. Yonr committee, in view of the saving to tbo Council in the rates being more speedily collected, and the labour required to prepare for the largely increased collection, recommend to tlio Council the employment of an additional collector. C. E. Bbxcius. H. Thomson, Chairman. Cr. Briggs moved the adoption of the report. Cr. Jameson wished to impress upon the finance committee the necessity for a more speedy collection of the rates tuan had prevailed hitherto. Cr. Briggs stated that the finance committee would undertake that the rates should be more speedily collected than hitherto. Cr. Ick thought that it would bo better to collect the rates on commission. Tho Mayor pointed out that the present collector did a great deal of work now outside what would bo clone by anyone on commission. There were a number of rolls to bo filled up, notices to bo copied, See., in which work the collector assisted. Councillors must recollect that about £25,000 of rates would, most probably, be collected ; now, at If per cent, tins amounted to £375 per annum, which sum would give thorn an additional officer. Sow, as to the collection of rates, he 'might tell them that there was not more than £3O outstanding of 1877 rates. He said that considering the small number of tho stall, their rate collecting would bear favourable comparison with other boroughs. Or. Briggs said that he opposed the collection of rates on commission, because if once a contract were made with u person to collect on commission, the Council parted, to a great extent, with tho power of control over him, and he

might be overbearing and insolent to ratepayers, which a salaried officer could not be. The resolution was then put and agreed to. REPRESENTATIVE TO THE MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE.

Letters wore read from Messrs Richardson and Stevens in reply to the letters written to them by the Council, asking them if they would represent the Council in the Municipal Conference. The letters stated that the writers felt that they could not attend to the duties of representatives of the Municipality as well as their duties as members of the House,

Or. Ruddenklau said that he had seen Mr Moorhouae on the subject of his acting as the representative of the City Council at the Municipal Conference after he (Cr, Ruddenklau) had ascertained that the other members who had hecn asked had declined. Mr Moorhouse had intimated his willingness to represent the City Council, and as ho had been the drafter of the first municipal ordinance, lie thought that Mr Moorhouse would represent the City Council most efficiently. Ho would move “ That Mr W. S. Moorhouse bo requested to act as the representative of the City Council at the Municipal Conference.”

Cr. Ick said that there was a very strong likeness between the two letters of the representatives of the city, which, however, might have been a coincidence. He was very glad to find that Mr Moorhouse would accept the post of representative, and ho would second the motion.

Cr. Toomer did not know how it was that the Mayor could not go. Why did he not ? Ho was the salaried officer of the Council, and he hold it was his duly, ns Mayor, to go, and not send an outsider. [Hear, hear. | Last year Mr Gapes offered to go to Wellington and pay his own expenses, but he was thrown over, and Mr Hobbs was sent. On his return the Council voted £SO for Mr Hobbs’ expenses, whilst Mr Gapes would have gone for nothing. He said this that the Mayor should go as the representative of the city, or pay some one to go in his stead. Cr. Jameson said that he regretted that the Mayor should have thought it necessary to decline for cogent reasons to go to Wellington, and have left them to go tor an outsider. He thought they would probably not bo as efficiently represented as if the Mayor would have gone, because the members of the Assembly would have their time taken up too much.

Cr. Briggs joined with the remarks of Cr. Jameson in expressing a regret that the Mayor should not have agreed to go to Wellington, The Mayor said that ho would have gone to Wellington had he felt that he possessed the confidence of the Council. He took it that the remarks made in a recent discussion were aimed at him as not possessing the confidence of the Council. He would say further that if they were represented by a member of the Assembly they would be misrepresented, or at least only partially represented, because the House met at the same time as the conference. He took it that Messrs Stevens and Richardson had put the matter in its true light, and without any disrespect to Mr Moorhouse ho thought it was necessary that they should be represented not partially but fully. He might mention now that the Government had already sold a large portion of the Sandhills reserve, which had been promised to the Council. Hence it was necessary that they should have a representative there who -would see that this matter was set right. Without, as he had said, any disrespect to Mr Moorhouse, he hoped that Cr. Jameson would see his way clear to go to Wellington to represent the Council. Cr. Jameson said he must decline.

Cr. Ruddenklau said that he thought that Mr Moorhouse woidd be a very excellent man to deal with the question brought up by his Worship, and that Ids influence would bo of very great use. The resolution was then put and carried. _ Cr. Ruddenklau then moved —“ That his Worship be requested to transmit the foregoing resolution to Mr Moorhouse, with a request that he would meet the Council with a view of conferring as to the questions coming before the conference.” Cr. Bickerton said ho would second the motion. He trusted that Mr Moorhouse would have his attention strongly drawn to tho necessity of the Government being asked to make a large endowment for Christchurch, as the city had been treated with neglect by the Provincial Government.

The motion was then put and agreed to. BBEUND 01? LICENSE FEE.

It was resolved to refund the sum of £3O paid as license fee for the Crown Hotel, to the borough of Sydenham, the same being paid in error. Tho Council then adjourned until 3 p.m. this dav.