The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1877.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 203, 28 August 1877, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1877.

During the time that the Conference 0 £ delegates from the various municipalities was sitting in Wellington we were in recemt of daily telegraphic reports of the proceed ings, but these were necessarily so disjointed and fragmentary that it was difficult to ar rive at a clear understanding of the pronosiuons that were made. On Saturday last we received an abstract of the resolutions passed suggestions made, and recommendations agreed to, and the most important of these we propose to place before our readers in aa concise a form as possible. We will commence with the proposed amendments in "This Municipal Corporations Act, 1876.'' Clauses 46 and 47 provilo respectively for amending the burgess list, and for allowing a defaulter to have his came placed on the roll on condrtion that he pays his rates before the roll is certified and signed The< P it is proposed so to amend that any person who produces a receipt for his rates may claim at any time not less than seven days prior to a municipal election to be entitled to vote, and to have his name struck off the defau Hers' roll. Clause 62 as it now stands provides thatanewly-electedCouncillormust make the prescribed declaration before the Mayor The inconvenience of this was recently demonstrated in Nelson, when, owing to the absence of the Mayor in Wellington the Councillor last elected wasSft take his seat. The recommendation of the Conference is that the declaration maybe aauseir^^ 70 '^ tW ° Councilors Clause 84 refers to the appointment of Committees, and by them of their chairmen ihis it is proposed to alter to the extent of making the Mayor ex-otficio the chairman of all Committees. If the intention of this clause is, as it appears to be, that the Mayor must necessarily be a member of every Committee, we doubt whether it will be an improvement upon the present plan, or indeed whether °t will prove practicable, as the Mayor, as a rule has p enty to do without having to take his share in the whole of the Committee which the Borough funds are to consist To these as at present stated, it is proposed to add 'all goldfields' revenue arising within the limits of .such borough." Clauses v£ 140, and 141 provide forthe raising of Joans' for special purposes, which, after their object has been advertised for a given time are to be authorised by taking ap^ll of 2K£ gesses. Ihe Conference recommends that, m thecaseofloansforpermanent improvements only owners and those whose leases have seven years to run should be allowed to vote. Ju clause 241 it is proposed to make an amendment allowing money to be borrowed for the extension as well as the construction «evPrtr O , rkS ' ° laUSe m Prides S 'every by-law repugnant to every Act or Ordinance of the General Assembly," or any Provincial Legislature for the time being in force m the borough shall be null and yo f d » This it is proposed to repeal. Deductions Faoar Subsidies. In reference to the deduction^ f rom the promised subsidies the Conference passed resolutions to the following effect:_m P ™T tt t Clause 22 of the -'Abolition of Provides . PF°" di^ that the costs of hwp teU and charitable institutions shall be Se by the consolidated fund be carried out in ita integrity (2) That in the ;Charitab e InsUutions Bill provision B hould be mlde for their maintenance by a general rate levied over the colony in the event of the coS dated fund being unable to bear the chartshat all such institutions be managed by bodies elected by the local governing bodies in the various districts where the institution exist ; and that any district nrlnn ;™ the Charitable Institutions BH?b e eSpS from taxation for similar institutions ?% I hat the amount, if any, to be contributed towards the support of hospitals should be based on the number of patients admitted from the several Municipalities, Counties, or Ivoad Board districts, and in the case of patients arriving from beyond the sea or having no fixed residence in the district 'the cost should be charged upou the whole di<i tnct. (4) That in the master of deduction iron, he subsidies, the Government should take steps to adjust it more fairly by char* i»K against those governing bodies from which no deductions have been made S sums as would be their fair proportion, with a view to the money obtained from them being paid to those bodies which have be™ required to contribute in excess of their Siproportion. AtUl Other Matters The Conference recommended that in conse(lueneoof the dutiesof the Municipalities aid governing bodieg in reference to public works" being so large as to be disproportionate to the resources at present secured 'to them Parliament should be asked to provide for the endowment of the various centres of population with areas of land, the revenues irom wluch shall be applicable to such public works i as .they are called upon to undertake•that Corporation recejpfc* shomld be exemnfc rrom stamp duty ; that the necessity of a reference to the Governor in the matter of renewal and transfer of municipal leases be digpene&d with ; that municipal reserves be vested director Jn Municipalities; that special assistance be granted by the Government towards the maintenance' of Fire Brigadesthat the Municipalities should have power to lease markets from one to three years- that all licenses, the /rgjrenuo from which is municipal property, should be issued by the Municipality; that a central Benevolent Home for the aged and iucurable should bo established in each Island 5 that legislative action be taken to confer on Borough Councils the power to compel resident owners absentees, or^their agents, to carry out such improvements on low swampy land as may

be deemed advisable for the necessity of the public health ; that the estate of anv bankrupt may be made primarily liable for rates : that in respect to slaughter-houses all private rights should be respected, and the existing rights, where there are such already established by boroughs or now in course of erection, should not be interfered with.