CITY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2194, 8 March 1881, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

The ordinary meeting of the City Council took place yesterday evening. Present —His Worship the Mayor, Crs. Lambert, Cuff, Treleaven, Bishop, Oherrill, Taylor, Vincent, Hulbert, King. The debit at the Bonk was reported to be £596 6s Id.

His Worship the Mayor stated that the last telegram received by him re the Governor s visit, was to the effect that his Excellency would arrivo in the forenoon of Friday, and stay in Christchurch till Monday, on which day he proposed leaving for the South. The statement of accounts for the fortnight ending March sth was as follows :—-Receipts on general account, £746 4s 5d ; bills to bs paid, £1367 17s 2d/ Cr. Treleaven said he had been requested to apologise for tho absence of Crs. Ayers and England. A petition was read from residents in Chester street east, in reference to the occupancy of a house in that neighborhood by young womon of bad character. The petition stated that tho owner of the house had so let his house to three successive companies of girls of abandoned habits, who were a nuisance to the locality. The petition prayed that the Council would take some action in the matter.

Tho Mayor remarked that tho Council had no power to act in this particular case, but pointed out that tho Council might well exercise its power of making a by-law to meet suoh cases.

On the motion of Cr. Hulbert, seconded by Or. Lambert, the town clerk was instructed to forward tho letter to the police. Another petition on a sanitary matter was referred to the sanitary committee. Cr. Taylor presented a petition from residents of Cashel street, from Colombo street to the river, praying that the Council would not grant the Tramway Company permission to take tho tramway down that street, on the ground that the thoroughfare was too narrow.

Or. Bishop intimated that he had reason to believe the tram company would be willing to accept another route. He suggested the matter should stand over till the tramway business came on for discussion.

The suggestion was agreed to. A letter from the Treasury was read in answer to one from the Council, to the effeat that it was impossible to give the item competing the amounts deduoted from subsidies, and that tho entire cost of hospitals and charitable aid expenditure was deducted from subsidies to local bodies in strict accordance witb the provisions of the Financial Arrangements Act. The letter was received.

The Secretary read a letter from the Gas Oomp&ny acknowledging receipt of a communicatio i from the Council, and stating that he would place the matter therein referred to before the directors. A letter from Messrs Garrick and Cowlishaw was read as follows, and referred to the tramway committee, viz.: "Referring to your minute of the 22nd inst., there will be in no difficulty including this concession in the new deed and order. As, however, the term limited by the order for the commencement and completion of the work expired without any commencement having been made, and without the time having been prolonged by the separate direction of tho Ooucoil, as provided by section 15, the matter will have to be considered as a substantive application and bo made de novo."

Mr S. Dowdall wrote, complaining that he had been bothered and threatened by a city official for payment of money which ho had long since paid, and got a receipt for. Or. Thomson remarked that it would have been easy for the complainant in this instance to produoe his receipt, which it was shown he had, and settle the matter. But the fact of the matter was that many persons were fond of giving as much trouble as possible. It was evident, too, on the face of the letter, that another person was at the bottom of the oom plaint. The ratepayers—especially such as were concerned in this particular instance —would do well to assist the Council's employes instead of humbugging them. Or. Hulbert maintained that the last speaker took up a false position. Tho present case was not an isolated one. It was a matter of business—no matter who wrote the letter—and as suoh should be regarded. Cr. Ouff agreed with Or. Thomson. Some of the ratepayers appeared too ready to obstruct where they should assist. After some further discussion, the matter was reforred to the departmental committee. A letter from the Waimakariri Board of Conservators as to the collection of the rate was referred to the finance committee. Several other letters possessing no general public interest were read and considered. The city surveyor's report was read as follows : March 7th, 1881. 1. The works committee have purchased two new horses, after having had them on trial and proving them to be sound and suitable for the work. 2. As some blame seems to be attributed to me for proper precautions not having been taken for the safety of the public at the new building in course of erection in Manchester street, I will now state what has been my action in the matter. The permit granted by me for the use of a portion of the footpath provided for the footpath being covered over during the progress of the work, but this stipulation the contractor neglected to carry oat. On the 23rd of February last I called on him and requested him to have it done, bnt on the 28th I found that nothing had been dona in the matter. I, therefore, gave him twenty-four hours' notice to remove all his scaffolding, but as he that day put up the required protection I took no further action in the matter. 3. A letter has been received from Messrs Harper and Co. relating to the work on the South town belt agreed to be done by the Sydenham Borough Council. The works committee desire that the position of affairs should be fairly understood by the City Council, and, therefore, call attention to the following matters. The letter from Messrs Harper and Co. Btates that the plans were prepared and submitted to the City Burveyor for his approva', and they were approved by him. This is hardly a correct version of the affair. The proposed levels were submitted by Mr Dobs on to the City surveyor, and he (the surveyor) said he would not make any objection to them, but when the plans and sections were Bent in by the Sydenham Borough Council for approval it became apparent that the question of laying concrete channelling had been ignored, and consequently the City Council refused toapproveof the plans andspecificat'ons, for they considered t'sat the concrete channelling was the most important part of the work to be done, as the absence of that had been the cause of bad drainage and the consequent di.tsatisfaction and complaints by tho Sydenham ratepayers having frontages on the Belt. 4. The plan of Allen street nnd Eaton place has now been deposited with me, and all other requirements have been complied with, so that no objection now remains to the Council complying with the petition to take over these streets.

5. The following building licenses were granted during the month of February last—Mr Ruddenklau, Cambridge terrace ; Mr Garland, Manchester street ; MrHatchard, Manchester street; Mr Calder, Montreal street; Mr Foster, Hast belt; Mr Carter, Gloucester street; Mr Carter, Taam street; Mr Dann, Manchester street; Mr Gobs, Oxford terrace ; Mr Penteney, Cashel street; Mr Fleming, High street; Mr Rollit, Colombo street; Mr Leggatt, Victoria street; Mr Hyndman, Oxford terrace; Mr Trent, Chester street; Mr Kemp, St. Asaph street. C. Walkden, City Surveyor. The letter of Messrs Harper and Co., referred to in the above, is as follows : Hereford street, Christcburch, March 3rd, 1831.

To his Worship the Mayor of Christchurcb. Sir, —We have the honor to state that we have beeD in-tructed by the Sydenham Borough Ccnueil to request the City Council to direct the city surveyor to approve of the plans prepared by Messis Dobson and Son for tho re-for-mation of tho South town belt. We would wish to point out that seotion 3 of the Sydenham Borough Council Empowering Act. 1880, has not been strictly complied with by either Conncil. Tho application for the appointment and direction by the Sydenham Borough Conncil haviDg been made previously to the coming into operation of the above-men-tioned Act, and it appears that since both Councils mutually but informally agreed that Messrs Dobson and .Son should prepare the requisite plans, specifications, &c, for thereformation of the belt. The plans were prepared and submitted to the city eurveyor for his approval, and approved of by him, but afterwards he required concrete channelling to bo added to the ordinary work of the re-formation of the belt. The Borough Council are, however, willing to carry out the work according to the above plans and specifications if the City Council will direct the work to be done without concrete channelling. If not, the Borongh Conncil will be forced to start de novo, and strictly in accordance withsection 3 ef the Act, and make a fresh application in writing to the City Conncil for an appointment and direction. The Borongh Council have been advised that concrete channelling does not constitute part of the forming or making of a street or road, as contemplated by section 2 of the Empowering

Act, and that it cannot be compelled to do the work except in a reasonable and ordinary manner. We have, Ac., Harper amd Co. Some discussion took place in reference to clause 3, the Councillors remarking that they could do nothing in the matter without the channelling were done. The clause was ultimately passed, tho Town Clerk being inetruoted to write the Sydenham Council, referring them to a former resolution on the South Town belt question, with special reference to the channelling. Tho petition of residents in Eaton place was referred to the works committee to report. The report of the surveyor as a whole was approved. Cr. Lambert reported that as the mains were not laid in the vicinity of Lincoln road and Selwyn street, no street lamp conld be erected there at present. This was for the information of Cr. Taylor, who had asked the question. Cr. Hulbert recommended that the offer of the Kaiapoi Woollen Factory to give £6O for an old boiler belonging to the Fire Brigade bo accepted. It w&b agreed to accept the tender. The sanitary oommittee reported, and their recommendations were adopted. A communication was read from Mr Superintendent Harris, drawing attention to the necessity of a water tank in the vicinity of the late fire, to which he specially referred as an evidenoe of such want. Referred to the water supply oommittee. Cr. Bishop introduced the subject of the tramway extension referred to at an earlier stage of the meeting, and stated that after consideration between the committee of the Tramway Company, the choice of a route lay between Cashel and Tuam streets. One would suit equally well with the other for the purposes of the company, and in the face of the petition from Cashel street residents, he thought it would be the best plan to deoide upon Tuam street as the route. He moved —" That the company be allowed to lay a tram line along Tuam street and Colombo street to the Linooln road, on the same terms as were oontained in the concession granted to the company for tho Ferry road line." The motion was seconded by Cr. Hulbert and oarried.

On the motion of Cr. Bishop it was agreed that the draft deed upon the table reoeive the official sanction >nd approval of the Council, the Tuam street concession to be incorporated therein.

Or. Ouff gave notice of motion for next meeting in reference to the construction of a water tank opposite ;Mr Inglis' premises, in the Triangle. This concluded the business, and the Council at 9.15 adjourned.