CITY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2458, 21 February 1882, Page 4

CITY COUNCIL.

MOHDAT, FBBBTJABY 20. Tho rsual meeting of the Council was held Lt 7 p.m. Present—Hia Worship tl • Mayor, Crs. Hulbert, Bishop, Vincent. Cuff, lismbert, Bowman, Thomson, Ayers, Hiorns, Treleaven. The receipts for tba fortnight were stated as being C 1092 6* 7d, and the credit balance at the bank as £2740 0s 61. Tbe amount of aooouiit? passed and ordered to bo paid was £853 B*sl. , . . Cr. IV.inbcrt apologised for the absence or Or. EngUud, and Cr. Ayers for that of Cr. Xiouisson, Tho Mnyor drew tho attention or tne Council to tho proposal by Dr. Doylo that the powers ve»ted in the City Council by the Bsavd o? Fie»Uh ba withdrawn, and giving it as his rMiaun that tbe city officials did not report to the medical officer. He had written Officially to tbe medical officer, but ho had received uo answer. As the powers had been delegated to the City Council there was no snpencr Board of Health but the Central 3;<ai-i of Health at Wellington. Therefore, ho considered the City Council was » Board of Health, and he oould not but cmaidcr tho remarks made at the lioard of Health were a slui- on tho Ojuneil. He wai prepared to eiate thßt tho City Council had disohar.sed their duty in the sanitary supervision cf "tho city most efllciently. He trusted thiit aoao members of the Council would speak on i.lie matter. Three new links had been sddrd to the Mayoral ohain by the Hon. John Hall and Messis Ollivier and Each. Or. Thomson moved—" That the thanks of the OouLCil be forwarded to the Hon. John Holl ur.d Mr Oilivier and to the representative Of tbe lato Mr Lnok for the gift of the links to the Mayoral ohain." Cr. Hioms seconded the motion, whioh was

■greed to. A petition was reoeived from a number of ratepayer, asking for a cart bridge over the Avon in a line with Antigua stroet. Or. Bishop moved—" That the petition be referred to the works oommittee, with a reducat chat they will take it into consideration when formiDg their estimate! for the current vear." _ Or. Lambert seconded the motion, which w«e or.riiod. A letter was read from the Sydenham BJf.-ugh Council, re conference of local bodies, regarding the cost of hospitals, obaritabl ■ i:\rl, &.J., and rcqiwstinfr tho City Oounoil to 00!iV.tue the same at an e-arly date. Tiu Wayov thought the Mayor of Sydenham, us prcmoter of this matter, ought to oo»iTjn>s Vv- meeting. Thsr* wrb no donbt that tbo w'noin matter would form the subject of fresh let?;;latiou during next session. Cr. Thorr;eui. could col seo any good would arise oui of the proposed cor.fer.nco. While this W"fl so be thought they might send representatives to tbe conference, but that the Mayor doolirie to take the responsibility of convening it. He would move—" That the Council have no objection to send represents tives to tba proposed conference, but declinee to assume the responsibility of convening the same." . Or. Vincent seconded tho motion, which was screed to. A letter was read from Mr H. W. Paoker, respecting his rent for tho privil-ge of otaminp r,he belt i\< a siding. Crs. Thomson and Ayers spoke on the subjcot, arguing that Mr Packer should not have been ctll«ri upon to pay rant for a period when the Cir.y Council and Government stood in the way of his proceeding with the work of oousiractica of the siding. Cr. Hulbert pointed out that tho Council were lod to believe by Mr Puokor that he had tho c?3?Bnt of the Government, and tho payment of rout was to commence from tho date of the concesion. The consent of the G-ovornmcr.t not having been obtained, the Council liai to responsibility whatever in the dulay. The Mayor desired to point out that tbe mat'er had been decided at the last meeting of tba Council. Besides, tbo money had boen liiude, and there need not be any more about it. na the mitter hud beon disposed of. Cr. Thomson said ho would give notica of motion for the remisdton of the rent to Mr Pacher. A letter was road fro*n tbe Colonial Secretary, pointing cut that, the position of the morgue bo clcss to the Armed Constabulary dspofc v.'os prejudicial to the health of the police, aad asking the Council to remove it to a more isolated position. Cr. Ayera said the matter came before the works ooininittoe that morning, and they or.me to the conclusion that, the removal of thf. morgue v/aa no business of theirs. They httd no site or money to build a morgue, or remove tho present oi'e. Ore. Bishop and Vincent wore of opinion that the Council should have nothing whatever to do with it. They had neither power nor money to do the work. Cr. Cuff moved-" That the Government bo i-.t'orm-'d that the City Council have 1 neither means nor site at their disposal to carry cut tho suggestion contained in their Jetter as to the morgue." Or. Ayers seconded the motion. Cr. Bishop said he hoped the letter would be so worded as to express the feeling of the Council that the removal of the morgue was necessary from a sanitary point of view, whilst regretting their inability to do anything in the matter. Or. Thomson stud that the Government erected the mcrgus some three years ago, so they wero to blame if the cite selected was a bad one. The motion was then put and agreed to. A latter Wiiß re&d from the Drainage Board, pointing out that the proposed siding on the ttamway in High street, naar Tuam street, ran on tbe east side where the sewer pipes were laid, and asking that the Oounoil should insist that the siding shculd be laid on the west side. The matter was referred to the surveyor to report upon. An application was read from Mr J. B. Why for pormiesion to erect a boat shed on thf> ba;ik of tho riverThe permission was granted on similar conditions to those previously granted. An application was read from Mr F. D. W. Mrdet, on behalf of tbe Ornamental Advertising Oompaay, asking leave to erect hoardings in various parts of the city for the display of ornamental advertisements. The letter went on to say that the advertisements would bo works of art of a very high order, extcutod on wood or zino. Or. Hioms thought if revenue were to be obtained from this source it was worth while considering. Or. Ajr,ia said tbe works oommittee were not prepared to recommend the application to tho Council. Or. Lambert moved—" That the applicant be requested to furiifoh the Council with further particulars, and also designs of the proposed bcatdings, and make an offer for the conoeßcion."

Or. flioi'Uß atoonded tho motion, whioh was agreed to. A. deputation, consisting of the Mayor of Sydenham, D.-. Frankiah (chairman of Hospital etiiff), Dr. NadwiU (medical officer of !Bo«rd of Health), and Or. Vincent (chairman of tho B;crd of Health), waited on the Council T/ith reference to the erection of a Contagionj Diseases Hospital. Dr. Frankiab, who appeared as spokesman of the deputation, asked the Council to go into committee, btcause wherever a hospital of the kind was proposed to be erected an agitation w!\h «ure to be got np against it. Or. Bishop thought the matter, being of great pubi'o iatore&t, tho public should know what was being done. Tho Council then went into committee, and tho membra of the dapntution having stated their views on the matter, retired. On the Council rosuming, the Mayor reported that a resolution had been passed to the effect that the euVj.->ct bo referred to the reserves committee, to report upon next meeting. The resolution as adopted in committee was then moved by Cr. Thomson and agreed to. The report of the oily surveyor was road ai IfolloWH: 1. I have received a letter from the engineer to the Drainage Beard requesting to be allowed to connect thci tanks in High street with the sewers for flushing purposes I laid the letter before tho worlrs committee thi3 morning, and thoy recommend that in the event of our getting a water pupply 'cherae tho request be granted, an it wonM eavo expanse of building tanks specially for the purpo.-e, and avoid more rates, bat under existing circumstances the oommitteu thinks it would bo a hazardous pronoedirg to allow the t*nka to be emptied, as a fire may occur as any time. 2. I was last week requested to examine the Gloucester street infant school building, as it was supposed ti be in a dangerous condition, which i did, mid I have written to the chairman of tho Hoard of Education Btating my opinion £a»t it is unsafe, and suggesting a remedy. It

is not very apparent what is the cause of its I unsafe condition, but I believe the late earth quakea have increased the danger. 3. The Theatre Koyal and the Gaiety have complied with the suggestion of Mio commit; eoonccming the exits, &c, and at the Gaiety Mr vVarner has introduced a very great improvement to b 3 available in case of fire It consists of some tanks containing about 3000 gallons of water, aDd a small gas engine attached, which engine can at any moment be brought into u-o and throw a stream of water to any part of the building. 4. The finance committee recommend that the insurance on the old Post Office Bhould bo reduced from £SOO to £3OO. 5. A tender has been accepted by the work? committee for street lampi for the next twelve months. Tho tendor of Meß&rs Deans was the one choeen. . 6. I found the tramway was being Hid in High street in a manner different to that shown on tho authorised plan, I therefore wrote to the Tramway Company, informing thcim of that fact, atid they then fariiished a fiesh plan, requesting the Council to accept it in lieu of _ the authorised one; but this morniug I received another letter from them statin? their wish to withdraw the last application and put in the siding near Manchester street, as shown on the original plan, but they request permission to lengthen it (the by half a chain. The correspondence is annexed hereto. 7. I have received a letter from Mr Oram, of the I?oyal Hotel, requesting permission to make some additions to the hotel in timber, in order to be in time to aocommodate the visitors to the Exhibition ; but aB this would be violating the by-law, I navo annexed the letter hereto, in order that tho Council may decide. 8 The following persons ore neglecting to comply with the terms of the building by-law : —Mr S. L. Bell, three buildings in Colombo street; Mr Arenas, Cashel street; Mr Williams, Durham Btreet; Mrs MoCaldon, Oxford terrace; Mr Patterson, Cashel street; Mr Sheriff, Stewart street. I therefore wish to know whether I am to tako legal proceedings against them. 9. Mr Way, of Park Terrace, has written requesting permission to erect a smill boat shed on the river bank opposite his house, and tbe wo.ks committee recommend that permission be granted him on condition that ha will remove it when ea'led upon to do bo C. Walkden, City Surveyor. The clauoea of the report were considered seriatim. Clause 1 wes deferred for further information after somo disoiis»io:i ; the surveyor stating that all that was required was to put in a six-inoh pipe for flushing the sowers once or twice a week. Ho al»o pointed out that probably something like 1000 or 2000 gallons would lie nil that would be required. On clause 3 being rsad, Cr. Lambert desired to state that the walls and chimnies of tho echool were in the same Bta'e eighteen month* ago. Tbe clause was approved, as abo ware clauses 3,4, and 5. On clause 6

Or. Bishop, chairman of the tramway committee, gave an explanation of the matter, and stated that the oommittee wero in favour of tbo lengthening of the siding being granted. It was resolved that the required permission be given to lengthen tho siding as requested. On clause 7 it wa9 resolved that Mr Oram bo informed that tbe Oounoil cannot allow of a violation of the by-law. The surveyor, respecting the next clause, stated that, the breaches of the building bylaws complained of were in all but one instance neglect of payment of building fees. The remaining one was a oaen in whioh no license had been obtained at all. It was res&lved that the surveyor be in structed to enforce the by-law. In reply to a question from Cr. Vincent, Cr. Bowman stated that ho had not accompanied the ohairman of the directors of the Tramway Company over tbe lines to see the ooudition of the roads, and thct it was not oorroot that ho expressed himself satisfied with the state of tbe streets. Or. Bowm»:i suggested that the works committee should interview the Tramway Company with a view of passengers landing from tbe trains in a less dangerous monnor than now was tho ciß9 in Cathedral square. Cr. Bishop slid the matter bad been discussed by the tramway committee, but they had not been able to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion on tho subject, the Council not being able to grant any concession over the west tide of Cathedral square. In reply to a question from Cr. Hulbert as to why Wilson's right-of-way was not proceeded with, The surveyor stated that ho was unable to proceed with the work until the money waß paid in. The Town Olerk stated that he had endeavoured to obtain tho money from Mr Wilson, but had not been sucoesßful. Now tho Oounoil were prooeodiue: under tho by-Jaw, and Mr Wilson would have to pay all the cost instead of half. Cr. Thomson moved—" That this Council protest against the resumption by the Board of Health of the powers reoontly delegated to tho City Council." Ths motion was seconded by Cr. Lambert and carried unanimously, without discussion. Cr. Hulbert moved —"That the water supply committee take into their consideration the question of an efficisnt water supply for the city of Christchurch." He went on to argue at seme length tho necessity of an increased water supply, on the ground of protection from fire. At present their system cost them £IOOO a year, irrespective of £350 voted recently for fire alarms, From a sanitary point of view it was highly neccsiary to have an increased water eupply to flush their sewers, in order to render their oootly drainage system a success. The flushing of side channels by the inefficient mode of tbe carts oost £227 pur annum. The street watering, too, was moßt inefficient, though a special rate of lid in the £ had to be paid. With an increased water supply tho expense now incurred would bo lessened, a larger area of streets watered, and tho roads preserved. The total amount expended fcr prevention of fire, streot watering, &-.., amountod to £2045 lis 103, exclusive of interest and depreciation of plant, &3. Then thero was the revenue to be derived from salo of water aB a motivo power. In Oamara the revenue estimated to bo reoeived from sale of water was £ISOO per annum, and a largo extension of the works was required. One firm alone in Oimaru paid £250 per annum for use of water. If the oommittee oould introduce a common sense sobonie, embracing the whole of the streets of the city, and within their means, proper precautions being takon to put it before the public, he thought they would get it passed. Or. Thomson raised tho question whether the water supply committee was still in existence.

The town clerk referred to the list of committees for the year, and found that the water supply committee was appointed i\t the heginning of the present year, comprising Crs. Vinoent, Thomson and Hiorns. Or. Bishop soconded the motion of Or. Hulbert. He thought that the feeling was gaining ground that an increased water supply, both for fire prevention and domestic ujos, was necessary. Or. Thomson arked that another member should bo appointed on the water supply in his place, becnuso he should be absent from Ohristohurch for some time. He thought that the propß9?r and eooocder should have given the committee some idea of the scheme that was to be carried out, whether a gravitation soherne, or by a turbine wheel, and the source from which the wator was to bo obtained. It was no use blinking the faot that even if the right whioh exisLod over the souroo proposed was purchasable, the power to be obtained wa* not sufficient, s> that they must look elsewhere. Or. Hioruß Buid th&t unless they get a water eupply, the drainage eohemo, which had boon 10 expensive, would be practically useless. Or. Cuff thought tho discussion on the question whether the water supply matter should be relegated to the committee to report upon was useless. Or. Vincent thought a good soheme, on the American principle, using stoim enginos, could be got for somo £60,000. Cr. Ayers pointed out that if a revenue was desired to bo obtained from the sale of water a gravitation scheme must be adopted. He was .very strocglj in favor of a simple gravitation schome. Or. L'itnbort was in favor of a water supply, and stated that Cr. England was also of the same opinion. Or. Hulbert brirfly replied, and said he was of opioion that the committee should have purer, limited perhaps to a certain sum, to call in professional assistance if required. The Mayor thought if a good soheme, including the whole area of Christohuroh, was proposed the ratepayers would agree to it. The motion was put and agreed to. On the motion of Or. Ayors, the name of Or. Hulbert was added to the wft'or supply committee, and elso that of Or. England, subject to his oonotiuU

Or. Hioms brought before tba Council a proposal from the resident* in a street near Ward's brewery to purchase certain sections and hand them over to the Council on condition of the Council widening the street. The question of remetalling Gloucester itroot was referred to the surveyor.

Tho tramway by-law stood over till a future meeting. A number of licenses were granted, and the Council adjourned.