CITY COUNCIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 110, 8 May 1880, Page 4

CITY COUNCIL.

Thb ordinary meeting of the City Counoil •was held last evening. Present — His Worship the Mayor (in the ohiar), and Crs. Levien, Everett, Traßk, Crewdson, Cross, Little, and Hounfeell. -' The minutes of previous meeting having beeh read and confirmed, numerous payments were authorised. The Councillors then, in accordance with tbe usual custom, subscribed amongst; themselves to assist Mr Bun Crisp in giving his annual childrens' treat on the Queen's Birth3ayi ■ • ■ -■ Amongst the letters considered were the following : — Letter from Messrs Pitt and Moore, whioh Btated lhat their opinion had been asked as to the power of the Couucil to exchange a part of Hooker road (a continuation of Bridge street eastward over the hills) to Mr John Sharp for a portioD of bis land which was adjoining the road, and plans of which had been laid before tbem- Fnder lhe Municipal Corporations Act, tbe letter Btated. the "Councirhact power to alter'the course of any street, or any part of a Btreet, no longer required fo- public use, and might sell the same to owner of adjacent land. The Council also had' power to diminish the width of any. road. On examining fcho plans, however, "Messrs Pitt. and" Moore said, they found that if this road were sold and Btopped up the portion above Mr Sharp's property would be cut off, and fche only way of access would be by a circuitous road through the Botanioal Gardens, and they doubted the power of the Council to make a. road through that reserve, Consequently it appeared to them that the Hooker road would be practically stopped up, and, in theiir opinion, the' Counoil bad no power to stop up the road unless they can give better facilities, and that, therefore, the Council has no power to accede Mr Sharp's request. Letter from a number of burgesses pointing out lhat they Bad been paying rent for tbeir gas meters for about; five years, and had more than paid for their cost. The Town Clerk was instructed to reply that it was open for any consumer of gas to ourchaae a meter whenever he thought fie, but unless meters were purchased rent would he charged. Letter from Mr C. Bunny, on behalf of his client, Mr Peter Buchanm, drew attention to the dangerous crossing of the tramway- near the Saltwater bridge. Mr Bunny efcatod in his letter that his client had met with an accident at the snot referred to in consoquonce of the rails being above the road, and he intimated that in the event of a further accident Mr Buchantm would hold the Counoil liable. His Worship said that all cause of complaint had now Leen removed. Letter from the interim Secretary of the Wellington Executive Committee for the representation of the Colony at the Melbourne Exhibition, requested that the same Committee whioh acted for the Sydney Exhibilidn should, also act for the Melbonrue Exhibition. Tho Mayor was requested to communicate with the other members of the Sydney Exhibition Committee, and ask them to act as before. "* A telegram from Or T. Harley, who was at Wanganui, was read. Ifc stated, " Can't agree with such lavish expenditure on Haven road, wben necessary works of more importance were shelved, such as Collingwood bridge arid the: footpath on the Waimea road." Cr. Hounsell remarked that at their late meeting, Cr Harley agreed thab specifications for the work should be prepared. Cr Leyien thought ,Cr Harley's telegram should -be replied to, and that it should be allowed to go forth that Cr Harley was presen); when the work was agreed to unani-

mouely. He proposed that the telegram should be replied to, stating that Cr Harley had already acquiesced, and the proposal was adopted. Crs Everett, Trask, and Cross also spoke, referring to Cr Harley's telegram, and remarking that he spoke in favor of the work at the last meoting. A letter from t.he Chairman of the Waimea County Counoil stated that tbat body bad voted £100 to the Hospital, and requested the City Council to make a similar vote, where* upon a voucher for £100 was prepared and passed. A letter from Mrs Miller was then read, in which notico was given that four oases of scarlet fever had occurred in her house, bufc that three of the cases h<*d reoovered. Letter from Mr Topliss, Hon. Sec. of the Nelson Cricket Club, requested the Counoil to employ tho prison labor in draining and improving Victory Square during the winter.* The Mayor said that the prisoners had beep employed on a very important work, and be feared that the Council could not afc present hold out much hope of the request being aocoeded to. However, it was agreed that thje letter should be taken into consideration ai a future time. A petition from a number of residents of Collingwood street was then read. Jt requested that a 15-inch drain should be la'ii down from Hardy street connecting with the Bridge street sewer, acd that, another one extending from New Btreet along Collingwood street to Bridge street should be laid down, f Cr Little said that probably Councillors were not; aware that all the present drainage in this locality was into casa - pool**, and that the inhabitants had no means of getting rid of their waste water, and ho was afraid unless some drainage was provided tLaLt there would be an epidemic next summer. ■ Cr Everett said he should not object to any useful work, bufc he thought; if this drain were made, the people should be bound to connect their premises with ifc. Other Councillors spoke on the matter, all agreeing that if the drain were laid no closets should be drained into it. It was ultimately agreed that the Surveyor should furnish an estimate as to the work by next meeting. A haokney carriage driver's license was granted to James Gardener. , The report of tbe Gas and Water Committee stated tbat they were of opinion that the application of residents in Alton street for a gas main to be extended along that street should be acceded to, as they considered tbo expenditure would be remunerative, arid that they had accordingly instructed the Surveyor. Their action was endorsed by the Council. They also reported as to an offer from Mr George, manager of the. Wellington gasworks, and who had offered to Bupply certain gas plant on most advantageous tortus, and they recommended that the Surveyor should be requested to visit Wellington in erder to inspect the plant with a view to its purchase. It was then stated that Mr George had offered to sell them an exhaust, which was found too small for the Wellington works, and which was just the thing required for the Nelson gasworks. Their recommendation was then agreed to. The Surveyor then laid on the table the plans '[for the proposed widening of ttie Haven road, together with an estimate of the cost of tbe work. It appeared that the length of the whole work was 21 chains, that tho average depth of filling would be about Bft. lin., and the avorago width about 22 feet. The estimates. were for wall built of heart 'of totara, and also of Adele Island stone. A very great deal of discussion followed, all the Councillors expressing a desire to let the work in such a manner as would, most benefit the large number of unemployed men. The Surveyor, in his report,' had suggested giving piece work to the unemployed, but the

difficulty of the wall and keeping it backed up as it progressed was discussed, and ultimately it was agreed to call for tenders for a sufficient quantity of atone to construct fifteen chains of wall, and that such tenders should be received afc a special meeting of the Council to bo held on Thursday evening next, and ifc wus understood tbat the filling in for the same distance should be afterwards let in two contr«ots, and that the time allowed should bo made very short, in order to compel the contractors to engage as muoh labor as possible. This course being adopted as tbe besfc devisable in order to give employment to those at present unable to got work. Cr Everett then suggested that tha Works' Committoo should bring before the Council any works at once, that they might give work to the unemployed. I Cr Little called attention to the Collingwood street bridge, the closing of which he. asserted had caused the greatest inconvenience io many. He suggested that they should obfcajn the opinion of an expert as to whether it was possible to repair fche structure. He also complained of the Normanby Bridge and the parallel beams protecting the footpaths. Ife said these beams occasioned an accident the other day. Considerable discussion ensued.' Cr Everett proposed, in order to settle tbe matter, that Mr John -Scotfc should be requested to inspect the Collingwood Bridge, in conjunction with the Surveyor, and that they report at the meeting on Thursday next. This motion was ultimately adopted. Cr Little said Mr M. Hunt had complained to him that a breakwater was needed near the bridi-o across * tho brook in Nile street, and that he expected tbo first flood would wash into his garden unless the work was done. The Surveyor was instructed to do tjie work. Cr Little then called attention to the necessity for a footpath being constructed at the upper end of Hardy street ; directed attention to tbs dangerous state of a drain at the foot of Russell street, near the Steamboat Tavern ; to the state of the drains from some ■houses a little to the westward of the Steamboat Tavern; and also to a nuisance around the Syrnons Memorial, caused by the water. .Cr Crewdson called attention to fche necessity of forming a portion of Wellington street, and after some conversation about the Hooker Eoad, the Counoil adjourned.

A few weeks ago we (N.Z. Times') related an account of tbe extraordinary measures adopted by a gentleman named Patrick Flaherty to recover an alleged- debt, he haviDg purchased a slate and covered one side of it with a description of bis claim, affixed a shilling postage stamp to the corner, and then handed the slate to. the clerk of the R.M., Court. Yesterday he returned to the Court and asked for the slate, and baying received it, he filled in the • other side, this time making a claim for the modest sum of £1000, compensation for being struck ;hy somebody. This was too much for the clerk, who at once sent for a constable, and gave poor Pat into custody on suspicion of lunacy. He was subsequently examined by Drs. Collins and Kemp, the result beiog his committal to the Lunatic Asylumn for an indefinite period. As an example of the possibility of shipping Australian potatoes to England in good condition the Warrambool Standard states that Captain Powell, of the Lusitania, took a quantity with him on bis last voyage. Some were used every day on board, and the remainder reached England in such a sound state that Captain Powell presented bags to the directors of the Orient Company, who said they never tasted better potatoes iv their lives,, The potatoes were shipped in bags care being taken to give tbem plenty of room I and air. Much, of course, must depend on the time of year on which they are placed on board.