LYTTELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1668, 25 June 1879, Page 4

LYTTELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

The Borough Council of Lyttelton met on Monday night last. There were present— The Mayor, Crs. Keed, Hawkins, McClatchie, Parsons, Weybum, Chalmers, Macdonald, Wood, and Macpherson. The minutes were read and confirmed, and the receipts since the previous meeting announced as amounting to £206 17s 3d. The correspondence of Council in pursuance of action of last meeting was then read, also inwards correspondence. Of the latter Mr Henry A. Williams* letter re a footpath near his property was left with the works committee. A matter of reputed mistake in the water rate charged to Mr W. Chambers was left with the collector to adjust; and Mrs Warne's communication complaining of storm water running on her premises at the corner of Canterbury and Winchester streets was left to the works committee. The Mayor showed the prepared Copy of lease conveying for twenty-one years ■ piece of land on Norwich Quay east of the Highland Home Boarding-house, to Mr A. Austin in terms of auction sale held recently, and it was passed to hare the seal of Council affixed, and to be properly executed. Account! amounting to £IOO 19s 6d were passed for payment. The following; report was read: —Your committee hare to report that the joint committees met at the Council Chambers for the purpoie of considering the best way of carrying on the institution for the benefit of the town. It appears from the information gained that the society cannot carry on without at least £IOO being added to their income. The Council hare the power, under clause S2B, Municipal Corporations Act, 1876, of making grants to public libraries for the instruction of the inhabitants, and would, therefore, make the following suggestions:—(l) That, taking the value of the building, libraries, &0., at say, £2OOO, the Council should pay interest on the same at the rate of 5 per cent., which would be an annual tax of £IOO, contingent upon the Colonists' Society agreeing to the following : The members of the sooiety shall transfer the whole of their property to the Corporation in trust for the townspeople, subject to conditions which should be made to cover all contingencies affecting the society's welfare as fallows :■ The management to be earned on, at now, by a committee chosen by subscribers of a stated number, with the addition of a stated number representing the Borough Council, either ex officio or by appointment of the Council, from either itself or otherwise. If the Colonißts' Society and the Council agree to the above, your committee will prepare a deed of arrangement to bo submitted toboth bodies. The Mayor then read the several letters received from the sooiety at various times, relative to the matter, and said that the report of the committee was the outcome of this correspondence. In order to bring the report before the Council in a tangible form, he moved—" That it be received/' Cr. Chalmers seconded it. He thought it would be better that a definite proposal came first from the society. The Council didn't wish to interfere in the affairs of the society, and as the latter no doubt knew just what terms should be asked, if such were submitted to the Council in a definite form it would then remain for the Council to consider and deal with the proposal. It appeared that the institution could not be taken over by the borough without appropriating £IOO per annum from the fund, which for this year, at leaßt, would mean from the proceeds of the one shilling rate, and hereafter the amount would most Ukoly have to be added in the form of an additional penny on the rate, or in all, thirteen pence in place of one shilling. Cr. Macpherson acknowledged that he was reluctant to raise any impediment in the way of sustaining the institution referred to, but would the funds bear an additional impost of £IOO per year, as contemplated in the transfer of the society's property to the borough? And it having been stated that the society is at present in a solvent condition, to what purpose iB it shown the £IOO is to be devoted ? The Mayor said that the committee of the Council had investigated the matter of income and outlay, and had estimated that to meet the bona fide expenses of the establishment mum of £IOO over and above all other sources of revenue would be required. Cr. Hawkins said that in one sense the question might be viewed as one of economy, inasmuch as the sum of the Bubsidy from the Council was restricted to £IOO per annum. Cr. Macpherson supposed it would become a perpetuity. The Mayor said he was afraid so. Cr. Chalmers regarded the weak point in the present proposal to take over the institution as being that of increasing the accommodation to the hall. He washot sure,however,thatit was really necessary to make the hail larger than any other in the town. Cr. Wood asked if it was intended to make a free library of it, and how would its present subscribers be affected by the change. How many subscribers has it ? The Mayor said that there were at present eighty subscribers or thereabouts, and -that were the report adopted it would not bring the institution under the Free Libraries Act. The £IOO deficiency now felt by the society was estimated after taking into account all Bources of income. Cr. Chalmers said he was ready to confess himself as no great favorite to gratuitous establishments of any kind, In general those who did the Having n ad the least satisfaction from them. The present case might, however, be one deserving of support. The Mayor thought the society had done quite properly in coming to the Council as they had done, and by receiving the report now would not in any way bo committing the Council. The motion to receive the report having boon Beconded, it was put and carried. A motion to adjourn the consideration of the adoption of the report until next meeting prevailed. The Mayor read the engineer's report of the state of the pumping station, showing that some trifling damage had been done to the buildings at the works by the late storm. The report was received. The Mayor asked for an extension of time to report on the matter of the bast appliance for lifting water to the higher levels at the water workß. With reference to the appointment of a Kesident Magistrate, he stated that upon Mr Macandrew's recent visit hero he had taken the opportunity to point _ out to him the inconvenience of having a magistrate for Lyttelton who did not reside at the Port. Mr Macandrew concurred in the objection, and said that such an appointment was not intended to be made. < Cr. Macdonald called the attention of Council to the storm water running from the old Dampier's Bay read down ard across the Orphanage grounds. The Mayor said that steps had been taken to abate the nuisance. Cr. Hawkins said ho wished the estates committee would at its earliest opportunity consider the question of Cmncil taking over, at a valuation, such substantial and valuable improvements put upon leasehold land by the holder, at the expiration of said lease. Ho spoke particularly with a certain lease ho held, and which would expire in 1885. Supposing that improvements to the value of, say, £2OOO to £3OOO, were put upon this property, would the Council be prepared to take over such property at a proper valuation at the expiration of the lease ? This was a most important question, inasmuch as it decided to a considerable extent whether such substantial improvements would be undertaken or rot. .. The painter Lenbach has proceeded to Friedrichsruhe in order to paint, in the name of the Emperor, a picture of Prince Bismarck, destined for the German National Gallery. The "Birmingham Post" state* that the claims of the Free Library Commit! ee on the Lancashire and the Yorkshire Fire Oflices, in which the Freo Libraries were insured, have been arranged. The amount settled to be paid by the two offices in respect of damage done to buildings, books, and statues, including some small accounts for searching and removing debris, expenses of fire engines, &c, is £20,063 ss. A terrible affair has occurred at Winketon level croßßing, situated a mile and a half from Peebles, on the railway between that town and Edinburgh. The crossing was in charge of a Burfaceman named Thomas Murray and his wife. A farmer passing along tho road found the turnpike gates shut, though no train was in sight, and, finding that no one anf'vered his call, he suspected that something was wrong. The police were sent for, and on the door of the houte being broken open a shocking scone was revealed. In a bed were Murray's four children, the youngest only a few months old, dead, and covered with blood. The mother was half sitting half lying on the floor by the bedside, with her throat cut, and life also extinct. It is believed that the unfortunate woman in a fit of temporary insanity had murdered the children, and afterwards committed suicide. The husband had left in the morning for his work as usual, and the tragedy had apparently occurred only a short time before the discovery was made.