PALMERSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 34, 8 March 1879, Page 2

PALMERSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

WbuxkcDvy, March 6, 1879. Present — HisJ Worship the Mayor, and Councillors Linton, Marsh, Ferguson, Coleman and Walton. After the minutes had been read and confirmed, but before other formal business of the Council had been entered upon, the Chairman said that he had one very important matter to bring forward, and that was with regard 'to o ( DISTRICT COtTET. As all were aware, when the Minister of Justice, the Hon. Mr. Sheehan, had visited Palmerston he had been interviewed by a deputation from the Council uppn the subject, and he had then given a distinct promise that after the holding of the then coming sitting of the Court at Wanganuij a District Court would be established at Palmerston. Six months had elapsed since that promise had been given, but nothing had been done m the matter. Being fully alive to the. importance of having a District Court, and feeling convinced that if matters were allowed to go on without some pressure, there was a probability of the whole matter lapsing, he (his Worship) had written on Saturday to Mr. Johnston, and that evening had received the following reply by telegram : — " Mr. Sheohan, expected back to tjown to-morrow. Will see him and urge claim." It might be remembered that the Government had been offered the use of the Town Hall for the holding of the Court, until such time as a permanent building were creeled, and at the time of the interview with Mr. Sheehan the only difficulty m the matter seemed the wan,t of a Clerk of the Court. That want had now been supplied, and there was no reason why there should be any further delay m the' fulfijment of the promise made by Government. He would be glad of some councillor would move m a matter which was of such impovfcmse, conimerdially and otherwise, to the town and district. Councillor Lixtojt fully agreed with hie Worship as to the importance of the matter and the necessity that some decisive steps, should be taken without delay. However, as he believed that it was one of those matters which was best met by action, rather than by talking, he would move the following resolution : — "That this Council regrets that no steps have boen Btaken b,y the Minister of Justice towards establishing the District Court promised some time ago, that hi 3 Worship .the Mayor write to him on the. subject, and that our meiubsr, Mr. Johnston, be likewise requested to bring the matter under his notice." The motion was briefly seconded by Councillor Harsh, and carried unanimously. CORRESPONDENCE. A, letter was received from the Crown Lands Office m reply to one written by the Mayor", stating that tho work provided for by item No. 20, Vota 87 m the Estimates of current financial year, would be executed under the superintendence of the Public Works Department. — Received. Mr E. P. Ayiuesbury wrote asking the Council to form a footpath m front of his premises, he offering to boar half tho exponso. Councillor Matjsh was m doubt as to whether. the Council had any power to deal with the matter, inasmuch as the street alluded to was a private one. | The Ck.uuman said thab as. fclie street had been pknnprl, anil was on the transfer, at, the time at which the Borough came into existence, m his own mind he, was quite clear ad to it being taken over with other streets, and now being, under the control of the Corporation. Councillor Skrottson surggested that as Mr. Aymesbury was willing to bear half the outlay it might be well to have the \rork done. Councillor Lixton thought that before coming to euch a decision it would bo well to consider itseffept. He was of opinion that it would not be advisable to make the footpath asked for. The street was not formed, and it would be a dangerous precedent to make footpaths where no streets had bpen' formed. The Chairman concuiTed m. that vie.w, : but said the. difficulty could be obviated by a resolution being then passed to have the street f owned, By that work being done.

the vT.il;er would run into the aide channels the land would be drained, and the path very much improved upon its state of last ■winter. Councillor Febguson thought the suggestion a wise one, and moved — . " That tenders be invited for the formation of say three chains of road m Mr. Aymesbury's street. Seconded hy Councillor Maesh, and carried. Councillor Linton suggested that as the street under diaeussiou had never been named, it should be called Aymesbury street, I but- ! The Chairman pointed out that as there were a number of streets m the town which required naming, a matter which would be dealt with before long, lie thought, therefore, it would be more judicious to defer dealing with the matter until that time. A letter was received from Eliot Warburton, Esq., offering to take up debentures sufficient to pay for the formation and metalling the south side of Stain street from the crossing near the school to the junction near Alexandra street. Further offering to pay half the cost of making a footpath from the end of his brick wall to Collard's house — four chains and twenty six feet — thence, m the same line, from Mrs. Jackson's house to the corner of Alexandra street, leaving a space of one- chain m front of the above house, thence at right angles down Alexandra street one chain. Councillor Linton remarked that by the proposition a gap would be left before Mrs. Jackson's and ;;Mr. Collard's. He. did not think it would be wise to allow that. The Mayor pointed out that by the tracing forwarded by Mr. Warburton, the gap would oaly be m the footpath. Councillor Linton f ound that he was m error as to the proposition, and as consequently the. work asked for by- Mr. Warburton was quite m, accordance, with the debenture, scheme, he, thought it should be performed j. beside, as the gap, would only be m the formation of the footpath I<he Council had it m its power to have that work done, and charge the owners their proportion, which would not amount to nipre than ten shillings. He would therefore, move — " That Mr. E. Warburton's offer, reconstruction of a portion of Main street, and footpath alongside, he accepted." Seconded by Councillor FfißGtraoN, and earned. From Mr. Piere Warbnrton, asking permission to cut timber . for fencing on the Bprough Rpscrve, and,offering whatever remuneration the Council might deem, necessary. Councillor Linton did not think it would be wise to grant the. required permission. The time was close at hand when tenders would be let for the leasing of the Reserve, and certainly were the permission asked for conceded it would deteriorate m. value. He would move — " That tendere be called for leasing the balancs of the Public Reserve, situated on the east side of Fitzherbort street, and that the Reserve. Committee draw up specifications for lease. Seconded byjCouncillor Colejian, and carried. Mr. Henry McNeil, of the Fox ton. Road wrote, calling the attention of the Council to the disgraceful state.of the drain m front of his premises. — It w»sjre3olved that the Public Works Committee . have power to call for tenders to have all the drains cleared on the Foston road which were within the Borough. A BAD, BrBN. The following letter was received from Mr. E. Bright well :—" To the Borough Council Palmerston North — Gentlemen, — I beg to inform you that the burning of the Racecourse Reserve was an entire failure, owing, no doubt, to the. large undergrowth of thistles which has»lately sprung up. In easing the reserve have to say that I expected a good bnrn, more especially as the season so far had been most favorable. After. the lease. had been sold, an unfavorable change m the weather set m. At the first opportunity I set the bush on fire, the result being a very bad burn indeed, which will cause an additional expense m clearing and laying down m grasß of not less than £350, besides the loss of one year. Under these circumstances I cannot see my way clear to carry out the original conditions of the lease. I therefore, respectfully ask the. Council to reconsider the clause as to the duration of the lease, and that the time be twenty-one years, instead of fourteen.' If the. Council will grant this concession, I am agreeable to have a building clause inserted m the lease covenanting to plaoe> on the Reserve a building to the value of say £250. Trusting you will be able to meet me m this matter, — I have, the honor to be, your, obedient servant, E. Brightwell. Councillor Febgoton said hp was decidedly averse, to granting the. concession applied for. The Council did not guarantee a good burn ; neither, he believed, did the auctioneer, at least if he. had he. (the speaker) had not heard him. Mr. Brightwell proposed putting a house worth £250 on the ground, but that really meant nothing, and m return he asked the Council to give him an extension of seven yeare — seven of the very best years, which were worth fore more than the former fourteen. Councillor Linton knew something about bush and bush burning, and could say if the burn was as bad as was represented by. Mr. Brightwell it meant a very great loss indeed, fully oqutil to that stated. He wished to deal leniently with Mr. Brightwell m, his loss without doing an injustice to the ratepayers. He did not say what the terms asked for by Mr. Brightwell should be- but he thought that after, the Council had • fully satisfied itself that the burn had been such as represented, some little concession should be given to Mr. Brightwell to assist h im 1 m his misfortune. He did noj; say what that should be, whether Jone year, or two year*, or more or less, but he would wish to help the lessee without doing the ratepayers tin injustice. Councillor Fehgttsox was just as willing as any one to deal leniently with others, and , hold out a helping hand to those who might meet with a misfortune, and while, he would sternly oppose anything like seven years' extension being granted, he would be favorably inclined to consider the matter as proposed by Councillor Linton.. The Ciiaibman said that it was a matter that required being dealt with with extreme caution, otherwise the Council was likely to receive some hard knocks from the ratoyvvyers. There was a. great deal m Mr. BrighfcwelVs lefctor which was all]"bunkum";" still if the fire had been a bad one no doubt considerable, loss would be sustained. In dealing with the matter, aud granting an extension, the Council should not lose sight of the fact that m granting a year's tima they were giving what m course of time would represent hundreds of pounds. However, what ever might be done he should urge that Mr. Brightwell should insert » clause m his lease not that he now should erect a dwelling worth £250 but that when haviding tho land back to the Coj-poration a building to that value should be left. Councillor. Linton said that he. had been under the impression that Mr. Brightwell had a very good burn. He might be mistaken ; however still he thought it would be wise before any decision had been arrived at, or terms agreed upon, that p. sub-com-mittee pi' the Council ahomlcl Yisjl the Jand

and judge for themselves. As he had before stated, he had had considerable experience m bush work, and he would be happy to. visit the land with any councillor and report to the Council. He would therefore more — " That the Reserves Committee visit the portion of the Reserve lately burnt, and report to the Council as early as possible." Councillor Coleman seconded the resolution, which was carried. HOSPITAL ACCOMMODATION. His "Worship read a letter from the Town Clerk of Wanganni, respecting the insufficiency of hospital accommodation m that town, and inviting the Palmerston Council to send a delegate to confer about the addition to the Wanganui Hospital. Councillor Marsh repudiated the idea of the County of Miraawatu contributing money to add to the Wanganui institution. Palmer3ton had an hospital of its own, and although at the present time it was not of such a character as to be made of general use, it would not always be so. The arrangement with Wanganui, he looted upon, as merely temporary, and he deprecated funds being contributed for any permanent object. The Mayor was pretty well convinced that the object of the conference was setting a subsidy for an addition, and as it was not likely a delegate would be appointed, thought it will ,the Town Clerk should be instructed to write to that effect. The suggstion was acted upon, several Councillors commencing upon the. coolness of- the. Wanganui- Hospital Committee m first offering to take patients at so much per head, and then calmly m timating that they had not accommodation. REPORT OF RESERVES COMMITTEE. " Gentlemen — We the undersigned, your Public Reserves Committee, who were appointed to draw up, certain regulations with regard grazing of the unoccupied por;tion of- reserves and roads, within the • boroughjhay.e come to the following 1 decision, viz.: — Consideringjthafeat the late meeting of the Council, the resolution to graze the ujnder.mentioned lands, was carried by a majority, and not unanimously, we, after mature, consideration, have decided not to proceed any further .m the matter, lest such a step.,may be the. means of introducing anything bjit a good impression ii} this Council. — We have the honor to be, gentlemen, your obedient servants, James.Likton, Alexander Ferguson." report ot pubwc works committee. " Gentlemen, — We, your Public Works Committee, have the honor to report that since your last statement we have accepted the tenders of- Messrs. Collins and M'Carthy for the, formation and . footpaths., m Main street, for the suna of' 16118. The drain m Terrace street has been cut to the creek, but from the Engineer's report, which. we append, it appears that it will not answer ths purpose for which it was intended. We have, therefore, delayed the formation of Terrace. street until the means for carrying off the. water from the surface, have been decided' upon. Mi-. Charles Tricklebank offei'3 if the Council thinks well, to", allow the accumulated rubbish within the Borough, to be deposited m a clay pit, which he does not require. There is a cart road into it— We are, Gentlemen, yours obediently, James Linton, for the Committee." ' The following is the Engineer's report alluded to :— '' Gentlemen, — I examined the drain cut from end of- cleared part of Terrace street to creek m bush, and find the. contractors have cut a drain averaging nine cubic yards to the chain, and elearod the., bush about six to eight feet wide. As there, was no specification to go by, I cannot say if this is according to the. arrangement made, but the work is finished, and the men ask fpr the money agreed upon for same. I may say now that the drain is cut, it is quite useless for the purposes intended, viz., to drain the water, away from Terrace street. I run the levels along the bottom of the drain cut, and found there was l'B6ft. of a rise from Terrace street to the end of the drain cut, and this after the drain being sunk some two feet at northern end of drain. To get a fall I believe we shall have to lead the drain some twenty chains or more towards the west. It will be xisele3B to carry out the.. work of formation of Terrace street until the question of the above drain is decided as by throwing up formation the water will be ponded back — I am, your obedient servant, H. J. Hayks, Engineer to the Borough. The report was received and adopted. Councillor Ferguson spoke at some length on the sdvisability of having some responsible pei'son m charge of the roads, who would occasionally furnis.h reports as to their condition. Hitherto such documents had been received, and-they w.ere found very useful. The Mator stated that the Engineer m.- . tended, carrying ouf the suggestion, besides having certain repairs attended to. As, however, all the available funds had been used, it was found they would have to wait until tho.new year, which would commence shortly, when with a fresh revenue at command a number of necessary road-work.s and repairs would be carried- out. THE SQUARE IMPROVEMENTS. Councillor Eergtjsou said he, wished %o bring under the notice of the Council the manner m which the. contract for the Square improvements was being carried out. Several persons had- spoken to him, and he thought it his duty to bring the. matter prominently forward. If some steps were not taken to compel the, specifications being adhered to, he should certainly use. all. his influence as a councillor against having any further money voted. The Mayor said that Councillor Ferguson was not m order m the remarks he had made, Any member of- the Council- had a perfect right to bring forward whatever he thought was to the interest of the ratepayers, but it was not competent for a member of the Council to hold out a threat unless certain action were taken. The. work was still m the hands of the contractor, and although to this person or to that it might. not* appear to be according to specifications, the. Council could take no cognisance of its imperfections until it had beeen handed over to them as completed. Councillor Ferguson said that as his language had been considered unparliamentary, he would apologise and withdraw it. He considered it his duty to bring, the matter forward ;he had done so ; and- he was satisfied. It was staled that the w,ork was not vet finished. Granted ; but it was plain to be seen, that it could not be finished according to specifications without a portion iboing ploughed, wa r l he did not think it likely that would ha done, Councillor.LiSTON agreed with Councillor Ferguson that, according to present appearances the wovk was riot being properly dona, and certainly unless other steps were taken portions of-ifc would be far worse than before. Still tliey were not to know howit was to be left, and he considered it wiser, to defer action until the completion of the contract. Councillor Coleman was of the same opinion. The Engineer had charge of the wovk, and it was to be presumed that he would refuse, to pass it, unless it were efficiently done. INSPECTOR OF NUISANCE. Councillor CoLEStAN drew attention to the great nepessity which existed for,the appointment of an Inspector of Nuisance. When the Corporation were possessed of gush an official the town was m a very different state, and with bo jawjeh sickness pre-

Talent he thought it was the. duty of the Council to take some steps to protect th» health of the ratepayers by sanitary measures. Councillor Lintojt thoroughly endowed the remarks of the previous! speaker. Th» town was getting into a $thy condition, and he thought the- time had now arriTed^ when the Council was able to pay m a liberal manner for officials whose services had become necessary. He did not agree with th* manner m w.hleh ths inspection of nuisance, had been carried out before, not that he, wished to. throw a reflection <on the late, officer. He considered there was no person so fitted for the office a9>he. Town Clerk. ' ; Several' other members also spoke upon. the question but it was finally agreed that its further con^ideraijion shpujd b# held qver until nex,t meeting. ' : FAST IEA^BIL^NO> His "Woeship said that befpjce adjourning he would w^ish the,Couneil to take some action with regard to the rapid manner in,' which the trains trarel through the- town ' both night and day. He felt convinced that unless there was a change thereorould be a serious accident as a conseduence. . The town was a pecuUar.one, and with the exception of Foxton, without a parallel on. the whole Coast, on, apcount of' the line passing through its principal street; yetf strange to say, he belieyed t tjie. engine went quicker on the flat through; the; town than, between there and Wanganui. '".....' . ' Councillor Lin loir nxoTed*, and Councillor. Coljtan seconded: — •" '' ; "- "That the Town Clerk writ«> to the.. Railway Bfonager, andpoint out the danger^ likely to arise.through the present high irate', of speed maintained while the Jjrain is passing through theJßorough of Palmerston."