CITY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1757, 7 October 1879, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

The usual weekly meeting of the City Council took place last night. Present—His Worship the Mayor, and Crs. Gapes, King, Bishop, Vincent, Taylor, Oherrill, Cuff, Hulbert, Wyatt, England, Lambert, and Ayers. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. FINANCE. The town clerk reported the debtor balance at the Bank to be £2721 2s 7d, and following receipts for the week ending 4th October : Borough fund account, £426 9s 2d j drainage rate account, £36 lls Id ; drainage account, No. 2, £124 Is 2d. The following accounts were passed for payment, £741 6s 3d. The Mayor said he had nothing to report further than that the committee had mot to consider the question of Town Hall designs, and Mr Maddioon was present. Any question arising out of that subject had better be taken in committee at the termination of the meeting. NOTICES OF MOTION. The following notices of motion were given : Or. Gapes to move—“ That an architect be engaged to modify design for Town Hall and Municipal Buildings which is under the motto of ‘ Well considered,’ and in such modification to so arrange both the Victoria and Colombo street elevations for small shop and ofiloe fronts as the case may be, and also slight internal brick partitions for such rooms as space will allow, in addition to Town Hall and supper room on the ground floor. Such rooms to be for letting at a rental for the purpose of making the said buildings reproductive, and meeting interest, &c., on borrowed capital, and that the upper floor consist of Council chamber and other necessary offices. Further, should the ratepayers consider at any future period that the revenue of the city would afford the annual amount necessary to meet interest, &0., upon loan, the said fronts and partitions could be removed, and the building converted into its original intended design.” Or. England, to move—“ That hereafter, before any private street, court, or alley, laid off after this date, shall be built upon, and before the city surveyor shall give authority to any person to build on any land abutting upon such private streets, courts, or alleys, the original owner laying off the same for building sites, shall first have the said private streets, courts, or alleys, formed and shingled, as_ the Council shall direct. And in accordance with the Municipal Council Acts and amendments, the Council shall take over all such private streets, courts, or alleys, on the city surveyor certifying that the provisions of the said Acts and amendments have been complied with; and that all resolutions bearing on the subject on the minutes of the Council bo rescinded.” Cr. Cuff to move—“ That in future the sum paid to the Mayor for official expenditure during his term of office shall be any sum payable from time to time, in such amounts as may be voted by the Council.” COBEBSPONDENCE. A letter was read from B. J. H. Carew respecting some alterations ho wishes to make in his premises. The matter was referred to the city surveyor. Mr D. Parkhurst wrote, applying for a thirty years’ lease of two acres of Christchurch Municipal Reserve, near his property, part of rural section No. 557, on the New Brighton road, for which he was willing to pay 20s per acre per annum. If the application was granted, it was his intention to plant the land with trees and fence it in. The matter was referred to the works committee to report on. A letter was read from the West Christchurch School Committee, calling the attention of the Council to the state of the side channels leading to the back entrance of the District School, and respectfully requesting they might be cleaned and repaired, as the accumulation of the stagnant water is very injurious to the health of the children. Referred to the sanitary committee to take action upon if necessary. suetbyoe’s ekpoet. The City Surveyor reported that— The shingling of Oxford terrace is completed. Fifty-five men are now employed on Lower High street. I have received orders for 1100 loads of the spare earth from this street. The stonebreakers will have no stone to break after this week, as the contracts for rubble will be completed. I have used up all the small broken metal I had on Colombo street and Cathedral square. The following building licenses were issued during September Mr Harrington, Montreal street; Mr Gilmour, Lichfield street; Mr Willis, St. Asaph street; Mr Andrews, Salisbury street; Mr Stafford, William street; Mr Sullivan, Durham street; Mr Palmer, Montreal street; Mr Hill, Armagh street; Mr Anderson, Barbadoes street ; Mr Shells, Conference street; Mr Dawson, Kilmore street; Mr Jane, Gloucester street. C. Walkden, City Surveyor. Or. Gapes brought under the notice of the Council the question of the desirability of permitting the works committee to order a supply of road metal upon what they considered advantageous terms. The matter was referred to the finance committee. The surveyor’s report as a whole was received and adopted. EEPOET OF WATER SUPPLY COMMITTEE. That your committee resolved to ask the Council to allow them to call in the assistance of an advising engineer, with a view to his assisting them in the consideration of the scheme adopted by the Council, in order to make preparations to lay the same before the ratepayers. your committee unanimously resolved to ask the Council to all ow them to appoint Mr Edward Dobson as advising engineer. With a view of submitting to your consideration the terms on which Mr Dobson would consent to act, they waited upon that gentleman to ascertain from him his terms, and to see if they could enter into any special arrangements with him. Mr Dobson refused positively to have anything to do with the adopted scheme. Mr Dobson’s grounds of objection to the adopted scheme as stated to your committee were on the following grounds:— That as a ratepayer ho was personally against it. That the scheme, if carried out, it would not yield a dividend on the amount expended. That in his opinion the proper course to adopt was (Ist) to reticulate the town with pipes capable of withstanding pressure (2nd), to

pressure, so as to obtain water for fire extinction purposes, and for flushing only. Yet Mr Dobson admitted that in tenor twenty years time from now would bo time enough to adopt a gravitation scheme, and that when the time comes for the adoption of a gravitation scheme no plan could be devised that would better meet the requirements of the city than a slight modification of White’s scheme, and that the money already spent, if it had been double the amount, had been judiciously expended on it, and settled where the supply of water was to te obtained. That when this scheme was carried out there would be an abundant supply of water at a pressure sufficient for all purposes. Your committee ask the Council for authority to engage professional assistance to report on Mr White’s scheme adopted by the Council, and to prepare the necessary technical information that will be required to put the question of a loan before the ratepayers in a satisfactory and intelligible form. James Gapes, Chairman. October 6th, 1879 After some discussion, it was moved by Cr. Bishop, and seconded by Cr. King—“ That the town clerk advertise for a competent hydraulic engineer to advise the Council on the water supply scheme of Mr White; applications to be sent in by the next meeting of the Council.” The motion was agreed to, THE MEW CLOCK. Cr. Cherrill, in moving the resolution standing in his name, said he wished it to be understood that the illegality he had spoken of in connection with the erection of the clock given to the Council, referred to its being put up on ground not belonging to the Council. The ground on which the East Christchurch school stood was the freehold of the Government, and to put the clock up there would be to virtually give it back to the Government, With this explanation he would move—“ That, in the opinion of this Council, the action taken by the late City Council, relative to the erection of the clock and tower presented to the city by the General Government, was illegal, and that it will bo undesirable to carry out the arrangements made ; and that the disposition of the clock and tower presented to the city by the Government be left in abeyance till the decision of the ratepayers has been taken re the new municipal buildings, and that the resolution dated Blh September, 1879, minute No. 6, be revoked.” Cr. Cuff seconded the resolution. Cr. Hulbert said that the importer of the clock had informed him that it was unsuitable for a large building, hence it was not advisable to erect it in the now town hall. The Mayor spoke at some length in defence of the choice made by the late Council of the proposed locality of the clock and tower. Cr. England considered Latimer square would be a most eligible place to erect the clock and tower. Cr. Gapes agreed with Cr. England. Or. Taylor opposed the present erection of the clock on economical grounds, unless the ratepayers were willing to second the Council pecuniarily. Cr. Hulbert expressed the same opinion, and hoped Cr. Cherrill would withdraw his resolution. Cr. Bishop was in favor of Latimer square. No harm would accrue from a little delay in the erection of the clock, especially as they paid nothing for its storage. The Sydenham Borough Council he believed, would like to take the clock off their hands, and that might be a solution of the difficulty. Cr. Cherrill said ho had no objection to withdraw the first part of his resolution in deference to the expressions of opinion he had heard. The motion having been put and carried that Or. Cherrill bo permitted to amend his resolution, it was then put as follows: “ That the disposition of the clock and tower presented to the city by the Government be left in abeyance till the decision of the ratepayers has been taken re the new municipal buildings, and that the resolution dated Bth September, 1879, minute No. 6, be revoked.” The resolution as amended was then put and carried. EAST BELT BBIDQB. Cr. Cuff asked for information upon the subject of why a settlement had not been made with the contractor for the East belt bridge. The Mayor read the resolution of the late Council bearing on the matter. • The City Surveyor detailed the history of the bridge from its commencement, and said that the delay in settling with the contractor had arisen from his own procrastination, and the fines and forfeitures he had rendered himself liable to wore the consequences of it. Cr. Ayers put it that as the matter had been withdrawn from arbitration it was advisable for the Council to come to a speedy settlement with the contractor. The Mayor corrected Or. Ayers on this point. Cr. Taylor thought the present Council should endorse the action of the late Council. He considered the contractor had acted very ungenerously altogether, and should take the consequences of his own dilatoriness. The Town Clerk read from the minute book the action which had been taken by the works committee, to whom the settlement of the matter had been referred. Or. Cuff gave notice of motion for the second next meeting of the Council—“ That the matter be referred to the works committee to recommend a settlement, and that the resolution of August the 28th, be rescinded.” LEAVE OP ABSENCE. Leave of absence from the Council was given to Or. Cherrill for one month. The Council then went into committee, and subsequently adjourned.