BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1696, 10 January 1874, Page 4

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

M , „_£.- special -meeting -of - the-Cou ncil was held,, iv .the Town ' Hall yesterday after-; nboriV All "the members were present excepting Mr Glenn— the Mayor in the 'chair; ' ' • '' * i\<,.\ „. On the .motion of the Mayor, seconded ; ! '-'.by Mr Acheson", the annual statement of •;.'>;-accoantt jfor the pastj. year was received B :'afld passed. ' ' The ordinary naeeting of the Council was then : held* ■ - ; An application from Woasrs Keown and Co., for permission to draw gravel from the Recreation Reserve for the Paroa road r was . referred to the Public Works '" Committee. "■■• • ; Mr Perkins wrote, complaining of cer- ■■■<•<:> tain, reductions having been made frem z )/ Jiift bill of costs for legal services ren-'-/.-derftd to the Council. Mr Rejd made. ' ' j iexpiaiitipris as to the reasons why the .:'» 7 -VeductioiJ» had been made. After a conversation 4jw Jetter was referred to the ," j iiJMaydr to settle. . ; ;,.,,T|je following letter was read from the * lessees .of the Brunner coaL-mine : — ** To the Mayor and Councillors of Grey- *' ? mouth.. „..'•- „ •■" Gentlemen— As lesees of the Brunner Coal-mine it ia our interest and desire to r-;s ) poroperate in every, way with the Borough Copncil in procuring all needful improvement at the port, so as to offer inducements 1 fco shipping to resort more freely 1 id-it.- Wi» are, of course, anxious to develop the &>$ trade to its utmost possible extent, #ftd are prepared to do i everything in our powdr to render Greyjnouth attractive to conß.yua^pj of coal and ; ;icoke/ the trade in which must always f ; ':J &rm "a leading portion of the commerce ... . lore, , .-..;■ '. ' • • . '-, a;> " M tbis cannot be accomplished with r J out a depot and wharfage accommodation for the </special .purposes of the Mine, we ' ''take this early opportunity of asking ' "your kindly" '^-operation to obtain such. Enclosed we i*?# leave to hand you copy ofour letter of 39th ulfc. to the Superin- . '"< Ancient ; of the Kelson Province, asking * '*' %v the fulfilment ;of the pledge given by both that and the General Government in E'iwiiOFebrtiaryi 1873, to provide, the accommo, dation we require ; that letter has been forwarded to the General Government sup.HJlOported by a' strong recommendation, arid we would-respectf ully. request- of the Borough<3ffi\i)cilthe fayor, of their adding the weight of their influence with the (General f -7> Government to- have the matter expe». ditea* , . ... » '\. ■■.'■- i .•c' Meanwhile 1 ,' and. with the object of enabling us without delay to develop the «*> eo*i trade of the*port, we haye'the honor ■ f •> ■*o tmm»t that the Council may be pleased "v i a -to lease to us on favorable terms a portion ' \b'f ' the skeleton wharf, say at least three •"'-chains 'in length, * hich ifc V s hop .?, d WIU -'-' ,*- saffVtfd' Bufficient accommodation till peri : gnanent arrangements prceffected. * " We have the honor to be, ! "Gentlemen, / ct" Your very obedient servants, " p " l>. A. Hughes, ;/si.i •■!'; > i /T. CiM'Cabthy, -„,.. „, >' CHARLES CkOAKEE, rani ■• 7 w. "PerP.^H." The following is a copy of the letter referred to in the ; aboye ( aß having been wnt to the 'Superintendent of Nelson •>- - l To the Superintendent of the Province A •■so .■,.-■■ it-/' .:••..-• o! Nelson. ' - ' accordance with the ex'the^Prbviricial^ild.Gene. <"> ' *al s Gbvernimeri^ yire have 'entered upon .arranggmentsjQr aWbping^o the utmost oeitent now p^ossibK *3e#esQurceb ; ol : tte. Coal-mine, but,w,e .find ourselves At the outset embarrassed ,by the wjant of a depot f or, coal and cpke at the shipping, jplaclj^reymoutti,- without which We

cannot ensure to vessels calling at that port a supply, without disappointment or delay. "As both the Provincial and General Governments are pledged to provide such accommodation, we would very respectfully represent the importance of providing it without delay. It is at the present time more urgently needed than it could possibly be after completion of the railway, and we have ascertained beyond doubt that vessels will not as a practice resort to Greymouth for coal or coke till such a depot is established. i "We respectfully bog reference to the votes and proceedings (Nelson) 1373, where, in paper b 3 —73, conditions between the two Governments were agreed to for the construction of the railway. Your telegram, dated sth February, 1873, signifies your acquiescence " subject only to one condition, namely, that there shall be no charge upon the coals for wharfage, or port charges of any kind, and that sufficient land for storage and other purposes of the Mine shall be provided free of cost,' to which the Hon. Colonial Secretary replied 'Government regard your stipulation regarding freedom from port charges for coal sent to Greymouth, and the reservation of sufficient land for storage and other purposes, not only as reasonable, but as essential to the development of the Brunner Coal-mine.' " It is therefore but a question of time when this accommodation Bhall be provided, and we trust that the extreme urgency of the case will be our excuse for pressing for the immediate fulfilment of the pledge given by both Governments. " Looking to the one object which is the common concern of the whole Colony, and of ourselves as lessees, viz., placing an abundant supply of native coal and coke on the New Zealand markets, we cannot urge too strongly the vital importance of providing without delay, the utmost facility for accommodating ships resorting to Greymouth for coal. The depot referred to is, of course, the_ first in importance. Next to it, there is the provision of a steam crane to facilitate the despatch of shipping. Government have undertaken to provide such in connection with the railway, and we would respectfully suggest that the port should not be, meanwhile, deprived of so indispensable an aid. " We have placed our views thus early frankly before you, because we think we best consult the wishes of the Government and the general interests of the Colony by urging forward the immediate utilisation, in a large sense, of the Brunner Coalmine. " We have the honor to be, "Sir, " Your obedient servants, " Charles Croaker " (By his attorney, W. H. Ostler; " D. A. Hughes. "T.E. M'Carthy." The letter was received. Mr Moore thought that some action should be taken at once, and that replies should be sent to the applications of both the Brunner and Greymouth Coal Companies. Both had sent ia applications, and neither had received answers. If they gave each company three chains of the'skele+on wharf, the whole of it would be occupied,, and when the Government was demolishing the present wharf in order to carry on the protective works, there wonid be no accommodation for shipping. It had been stated that the Government intended to provide the wharfage accommodation now sought for, and he thought they ought to ask the Government for a definite answer on the subject. Mr Reid preferred to see the matter referred to the Public Works Committee, rather Jthan that a motion should be hurried through without due consideration. The Mayor was of the same opinion, in order that an interview could be held with Mr Geisow and the Managers of the Coal Companies. It was resolved that the matter be referred to the Public Works Committee, to report to the next meeting of the Council. A letter was read from the Ahaura Road Board, asking the co-operation of the (Joiincil in pressing upon the General Government the necessity of having that portion of the Repfjton main road, between Square Town and the Junction, constructed before the broken w/eather set in, J It wa3 resolved to assist the Board by | every means, and that the Mayor write to the Minister of Public Works urging upon him the necessity of carrying out this work without delay. The Town Clerk laid on the table a dpaft bye-law with regard to the collection of wharfage and tonnage dues, which was referred to itha Bye-laws Committee. The report of jfche Finance Committee was read. It referred back jto ihp Council three accounts^=-one for L£B 19s j6d for invitation tickets to the Governors ban- : quet issued by the late Mayor, LI for the i use of two flags from Mr Ancher, and L4l 4s for labor incurred in making up the portion of the wharf where the Governor landed, and cleaning up the street as far as the arch. Several members took exception to the items, but as they had been ordered by the late Mayor, arid thp labor account had been paid, they were passed, , Mr Kerk wished to know what was thp Council's total liability on account of the Governor's visit. The Town Clerk said he had received accounts amounting %o L 155 15s, not including tlie L4l for making up the street =r-in round numbers the total would be L2OO, ' | Mr Hamii/eok thought a goo,d propor- J tion of this could be recovered from the Superintendent. Mr Bonar had said that we should give hima good reception, and now that Mr Bonar was Superintendent, he should give a good subsidy. TheMAYOßunderstood that the Borough of Hokitika was to- receive Ll5O on this account. MrHAWJKTQN had always understood that the subsidy was to be equally divided between the two Borough^. The Town Surveyor laid on .the table plans for the improvement of Jofinston, $resßpn, and Arney streets, and he requested tha/S no more plans for works should be required for one month, as he had to make up the town 1 valuation before the middle, of February, and hp ""had already eighteen streets in course of .coa,struction to inspect daily, It was resolved that tenders be called for the cpnstruction of Johnston, Gresson and' Afney sfreets, and that Mr R. J. Johnston.be appointed Valuator of the the year 1874

The re-appointment of the Standing Committees for the year was then gone into, with the following result : — Finance Committee. — The Mayor, Councillors Moore, Reid, and Hamilton. The Mayor chairman. Public Works Committee. — Councillors Kerr, Dupre, Coates, Acheson, and Glenn. Councillor Kerr chairman. By-law Committee. — The Mayor, Councillors Reid and Moore. Councillor Reid chairman. Mr Acheson moved, by permission, " That tenders be called for the Council's advertising for twelve months, and that all the printing required by the Town Clerk be let to the lowest tenderer for the current year."— Carried.