DIVISION OF THE CITY INTO WARDS.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1431, 17 September 1878, Page 3

DIVISION OF THE CITY INTO WARDS.

An adjourned public meeting was held last night in the Oddfellows' Hall, Lichfield streot, to resume the consideration of the question of the division of the city into separate wards. Mr C. E. Briggs was voted to the chair.

The Chairman said that this was an adjourned meeting of ratepayers who were in favor of the division of the city into wards. It had been thought advisable to postpone the meeting until the result of the recent election was known. Mr Tremayne would perhaps he good enough now to take up the question where it had been droppod at the meeting held on September 2nd. Mr Tremayne explained the reasons for the adjournment of the meeting, and thought that the time had arrived when the question should be asked of the ratepayers whether they were in favor of the proposed alteration. Personally he would support the resolution for dividing the city into wards, and would move—" That the following gentlemen bo a committee, with power to add to their number, for obtaining signatures to the petition:—Messrs Tremayne, G-apes, Jones, Ayers, Atkinson, Briggs, Arnold, Pratt, and Caygill." The petition was as follows : The humble petition of the undersized burgesses of the city of Christchurch prays that your Excellency will be pleased to cause the said city of Christchurch to bo divided into wards, according to resolutions passed by the City Council on the 26th day of August last past as follows—" 1. That the city ho divided into four wards. 2. That the boundaries of each ward ho delineated by lines drawn from Antigua street to the East town belt through Hereford street, and from the North town belt to South town belt through Colombo street." Mr Pratt, in speaking to the resolution, said the question had received renewed significance since the result of the recent election was known. He thought it was scarcely so much a question for the Council as a Council to consider as for the ratepayers. The time had arrived for the ratepayers to elect the Council over again, and therefore now was the timo to get signatures. Mr Caygill cordially supportod the reßolutioß, and fully .endorsed Mr Pratt'a views, as

to the necessity for a division of the cityjinto wards, and was surprised that up to the present time nothing had been done to carry that system into effect. It was absurd that people residing in the south-east district should have the power of vetoing the wishes of persons living in the north-western. He had an impression that the Acts regulating Municipalities would have to be altered, to give the powers necessary to bring the proposed alterations into force. As matters were, a Council of nine members was numerically insufficient to carry on the business of a city like Christchurch efficiently. He was in favor of the city being divided into four wards, with six Councillors to each, and an Alderman for each ward. This would give a Council composed of twenty-eight members, which would be quito few enough to carry on the business of the city efficiently. Taking the several committees as they now stood, the finance, works, lighting, &c, it was impossible committee, composed of only three councillors, could attend both to their own private affairs and the business of the ratepayers, and do justice to each, and the Council was not large enough to afford more than three members to each committee. To carry into effect the proposed change an alteration in the Municipal Councils Act would be necessary, and the time had arrived when steps should be taken by the ratepayers in furtherance of the proposed alteration.

Mr Atkinson was in favor of the change, if it would only have the effect of doing away with such unseemly scenes as had recently taken place, and it would have that tendency, from the fact that candidates for the office of councillors would have a fewer number of ratepayers to address. The outlying districts also wanted their interests looked after, and he thought that would result from the establishment of the ward system. For these reasons he would support the resolution. The Chairman, in putting the resolution to the meeting, said that the alteration had been talked about for many years, and steps would have been taken earlier to carry it into effect, only the old Act would not admit of dividing the city into more than three wards, and such a division was impossible in a place so peculiarly laid out as Christchurch. The new Act provided there should be not more than six, nor fewer than three wards,jwbich rendered things more equal, and the division into wards easier and more practicable. It had been urged by some gentlemen, who believed in the ward system, that in the interests of the outlying districts, such as St. Albans and Phillipstown, they had taken action either too soon or too late. He did not think bo. If St. Albans or Phillipstown, or any other outlying district wished to come in subsequently they could do so by an alteration of the boundaries, which could easily be done to meet the requirements of districts wishing to be included in any ward. What was wanted was a commencement to be made, and the boundary lines could be altered from time to time as might be found necessary. Mr Tremayne's resolution, seconded by Mr Pratt, was then put and carried unanimously. The proceedings terminated with the usual vote of thanks to the chairman.

At the close of the meeting the committee met privately to devise the best means of carrying into effect the resolution which had been adopted.