BOROUGH OF ST. ALBANS.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2691, 22 November 1882, Page 4

BOROUGH OF ST. ALBANS.

A public meeting of the ratepayers of the bo'-ough of St. Albans, to consider the■ proposal of the Borough Council to raise a loan c ? ..'IIO,OOO for the widening, reforming, and metalling of roads within the borough, formation of footpaths, sinking of wells for watering purposes and for works incidental thereto, and for levying a special rate for defraying the interest thereon, was held last evening. About 100 persons wore preS “His Worship the Mayor occupied the chair, and said—Gentlemen—This meeting is called according to the Municipal Corjvrations Act to enable the Council to explain to the ratepayers why it proposes to borrow the sum of .£IO,OOO. Discussion can take place, but it is not by Act contemplated that a resolution upon the subject can be moved, the decision being arrived at hy £i poll to be taken at a future date, notice of which will bo given at the close or this meeting’. 1 think it will bo admitted in the first place, that moderately wide roads in a town or city are necessary to carry on the ordinary tralhc ■with comfort and safety to the inhabitants. If then such is th ' case, one glance around the borough must point to the insufficiency of the narrow roads to meet even now the trathc in the more thickly populated parts, and it inconvenient now, what must it be in the future ? It is then an urgent matter that the rrnestion should be grappled with. Land in the surrounding districts where wide roads have been laid off has reached a yr>ry price, and it will also increase here, but at the present time it is very low in comparison to what it will be in the future. “ This seems to me i to point to the necessity of immediate action in order to take these advantages while we can do so at a minimum of cost. Your Council have, therefore, determined to recommend 10 you to give it the necessary power to raise the m‘uey. I have not heard of many ' dissentients to the proposal, and none on the SQore of desirability, but simply that it will d > by-and-bye. Now I think have pointed out from the lowest point ot view, viz., the financial, the neces-sif-y of early action. But when we como to consider the question from the sanitary point, which of all others is or first importance, there _ can he no two ouinions. In the past, with a sparse population, the district has not altogether been xroe from epidemics, more especially where the houses were thickest and on narrow roads. Such, then, being the ease, surely it behoves us without any further delay to rectify the evil, and prepare the way to xuaxo the borough an attractive one toi residence. Having touched upon these two points, I shall content myselt with one only. In all modern towns, and indeed in old ones, a great deal of attention is paid to ornamentation and beauty. In tbe new cities, tbe streets being laid off wide, greater incentives are given to construct fine buildings, because they can he seen to bettor advantage, and no extra rast is entailed on the people, but in older cities where no such provision has been made the ■work of improvement is slow and expensive. How can our borough ever bo ornamental if our streets are so narrow that we cannot spare <■'■ portion of them for footpaths, without which no convenience or safety for pedestrians can exist. Surely, then, looking to these three points only (without reference to many other important ones) I think we, as oven the most prudent people, ■will be justified in raising the loan, both on account ’of actual necessity for the work, and the appropriateness of the time to purchase at the cheapest rate. Now, as to the core of the loan. Your Council do not anticipate any largo addition need he made to the rate. By the Act the first year’s interest can he charged to loan, and as the roads will be thoroughly made, the annual cost for some time will not bo heavy. Your Council think that the additional value ex-, pectedfrom the increase of residents, owing to improvements and facilities, added to the saving of repairs for some time, will very materially obviate tbe necessity for a large additional rate. We do not anticipate to raise tbe whole of the money at once, but o.nly in sums to meet tbe more urgent requirements. But even if it were all raised, the additional rate would be only fourpence, even at the present valuation, a sum so insignificant in comparison to the good it'would do, and the additional value it would add to every property, that I feel confidence in recommending to the ratepayers, when they goto the poll, to vote for the proposal. A .Ratepayer asked what roads the Council contemplated widening ? The Chairman said the total length of the roads proposed to be widened at first is 3011 chains, at .£lO per chain—.£3ols, viz.— Crescent road, 331 chains; Springfield road, 65 do; St. Albans road, 41 do; Aikman’s road, 40 do; Leinster road, 40 do ; Merivale road, 40 do; Carlton Mill road, 40 do. Total, 3041 chains. Fencing at £2 12s 6d per chain, .£939 ; conveyancing, =£4Bs ; removals and =£soo; lengthening culverts, .£l5O ; making roads, =£2oo ; metalling ditto, .£4OO, making a total of .£5769, to which must he added channelling at £3 per chain if with wood kerhing, or .£lO per chain if with concrete kerhing, each lineal chain to add IGI feet to the width of the road. A idan, showing the proposed alterations, was then submitted and explained by tbe Town Clerk.

Mr Garrick thought that more information was necessary, such as the extent of acreage to he taken, and the price at which the owners were agreeable to part with same. He had been told that £4OO per acre would be taken, but ho thought, as some of the land had cost .£IOOO per acre, and other land was not worth £IOO per acre, that more information should be given. For his part, he thought that £20,000 would not be sufficient for it. [Hear, hear.] Ho was in favor of the roads being widened, but ho wished to know what ho had to pay for it. Mr C. W. Turner said the estimate given was based on an almost house to house canvass. As to the Crescent road, there was no doubt it urgently needed widening. Nearly the whole of the residents in the Springfield road were in favor of soiling the land required at £IOO per acre. [A Voice — “ I was not consulted.”] Well, a committee had been appointed to canvass the diairict and had seen many. This was a ratepayers’ question, and for them to decide. The amount was based on calculations in Springfield road, Knigbtstown, and St. Albans lane. [A Voiee —“ Will the Mayor take £IOO an acre for bis land in St. St. Albans lane?”] The Chairman —He hadn’t thought about it yet. [Laughter.] Mr Garrick contended that Mr Turner, the spokesman of the Council, should have furnished the meeting with more definite information. The estimated cost was a fallacy, and palpably absurd. Was it to be thought that Messrs Matson, Walton, Studholme, and others would sell their land at £IOO an acre. Why, he (the speaker) would buy a lot of it to-morrow at £BOO an acre. [Cheers.] Mr Turner said it would have been absurd to go through all tbo preliminaries asked by Mr Garrick. If the Council got permission from the ratepayers, and could do the work for £IO,OOO, it would he done ; if not—not. No doubt Mr Garrick would gut a fancy price on his land. So far as rcsoent, Springfield, and the St. Albans roads were concerned, it was absolutely necessary the roads should be widened, whilst the land could ho obtained at a reasonable price. Mr Garrick said, if the Council will commit themselves to say that they will widen these three roads, why, then, let them say so. lie wonldbo rated to widen these roads, and he would not object; but he wanted to know exactly what was intended to be done, and if there was a probability of the proposed loan effecting the work. Besides theconditions of the 139th section of the Act provided that the work to be done should be specifically advertised. Nov/ this had not been done. [Clause road.] He contended that the Council had not given the meeting the desired information. Why, oven the Mayor confessed ho had not thought about it. A Ratepayer—We have heard that Mr Peacock would got £IOOO an acre for his land. Will he be prepared to take £4OO an acre ? The Chairman replied that he would sell his land for £4OO an acre. [Cheers.] Mr Turner did not think it good taste for a leading lawyer to come and argue points of law before a mixed meeting. [“Oh!”] Ho said it was a necessary and a desirable thing to he done, and the Council would do all in its power to keep the rates within a Is in the £. The Mayor would rather give £IOO than have his property interfered with, but he should not object when the public good was concerned. Wide streets would lead to increased settlements and a larger rate Mr Garrick characterised Mr Turner’s remarks upon the legal profession as simply impertinent. The questions the meeting had a right to demand answered were “ will the £IO,OOO do all that the Council say it will;” and, “ Were they to sanction its being borrowed before they received that answer.” Mr J. L. Wilson said that it would cost £IB,OOO to widen all the half-chain roads in the borough. He thought the work should be done, but that those benefited thereby should pay a special rate therefor. [Hear, tear.] Mr Garrick thought if the chairman was

so sanguine about the -work being done, that he bo asked to do it for the money. [Cheers.] The Chairman —I cannot take a contract. Mr Mearos thought the three roads mentioned by Mr Turner ought to bo widened. They had returned the Council; let them have confidence in them. [“ Oh !”] _ • Further discussion ensued, in which Mr Garrick suggested that the meeting should adjourn for a fortnight, and then the Council come down to the meeting with something definite. Mr Turner reviewed Mr Wilson’s proposals, and condemned them. Ultimately the Chairman announced that a poll of the ratepayers for the acceptance or rejection of the proposals of the Council would take place on November 30th, from 0 a.m. till 6 p.m. The meeting then broke up.