RATEPAYERS’ ASSOCIATION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 231, 12 February 1876, Page 22

RATEPAYERS’ ASSOCIATION.

A meeting of about ten citizens was held in the Post Office Hotel on Priday. Mr. Worth was elected to the chair. Mi*. Waters stated the object of the meeting, which, he said, had been called for the purpose of considering late proceedings of the City Council, and also for considering the preserjt unsatisfactory state of the wards. There had been held two meetings of gentlemen interested in this matter ; and certain resolutions had been drawn up, which it was proposed to submit to a public meeting. The resolutions -were as follow : That this meeting highly disapproves of the action of the Council in not complying with the provisions of Clauses 208 to 210, inclusive of the Municipal Corporations Act. That this meeting is of opinion that the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act have been evaded, inasmuch as the accounts have been passed by the Mayor, in face of the refusal by the auditors to certify their accuracy; and that through this violation of the Act the ratepayers have been debarred from exercising their legal right of objecting to those parts of the accounts which are not just and true. That this meeting desires to express its condemnation of the illegal action of the City Council in not causing to be prepared (21) twenty-one days before the annual meeting a full statement of the city’ accounts for the inspection of the ratepayers ; also, in not having the said statement printed and ready to be supplied to the ratepayers fourteen days before the final meeting for passing the said accounts in accordance with the terms of the Act. That this meeting is of opinion that the method of keeping the city accounts is inefficient and confused ; that the printed statement of accounts is in several parts inaccurate, and conveys no clear idea of the financial position of the Corporation ; that the action of the auditors in refusing to certify the accounts was justifiable and praiseworthy ; and that the Council be requested to prepare forthwith for public information a true and full statement of the financial position of the Corporation in all its bearings. Considerable discussion of a desultory kind ensued. It was first proposed to adjourn the meeting sine die, in consequence of there being so small an attendance, and in tlie hope that at some future time the ratepayers might have less to occupy their attention in other directions. Ultimately, however, it was decided, on the motion of Mr. Waters, that the committee of the Ratepayers’ Association should meet the ratepayers of Thorndon and Te Aro on Tuesday and Thursday evenings next, and that thereafter, on a day to be resolved upon, a public meeting should he held in the Odd Fellows’ Hall. The meeting then adjourned. On Tuesday evening a- meeting of ratepayers, called by the committee of the. Wellington Ratepayers’ Protection Association for the purpose of discussing municipal matters generally, was held at the Princess Hotel. There were twenty persons present, and the Hon. G-. M. Waterhouse, M.L.C., was voted to the chair. Mr. Henry Anderson explained the object of the meeting ; read and explained the resolutions adopted by the committee in reference to the transactions of the Council re annual accounts, auditors’ report, &e.; and after indulging in a good deal of abuse against the Council, and commending the city auditors to the eternal gratitude of the ratepayers, concluded by moving that the meeting adopt the resolutions. This having been seconded, and no person appearing' disposed to discuss the matter further, The Chairman proceeded to make a few remarks before putting the motion. He said he had not intended to take part in the meeting, hut simply attended, as he considered it the duty of every person who had the interest of the city at heart to attend such meetings, and lend his aid towards carrying out to a good result movements of the ratepayers. Until hearing the resolutions read he had not been aware of what would be the character of the business brought before the meeting ; but having heard the resolutions, he might say he perfectly agreed with what was contained in them. But at the same time he thought there were many matters connected with the management of the affairs of the city which required looking to besides those referred to in the resolutions, and he trusted that such matters would likewise engage the attention of the ratepayers. (Cheers.) He agreed with much in the remarks which had been made with regard to the independent course taken by the auditors in their recent report, but he could not. speak with such unmixed feelings of laudation as had been given expression to, for the simple reason that he considered the auditors had merely done their duty, and would have deserved most serious condemnation by the community had they done otherwise. While he could praise them for what they had done, he must condemn them for not having done it before : they had taken the action now that they should have taken years ago. However, he trusted the result of the demonstration of public opinion in connection with the matter would prevent anything of the kind occurring in future. Amongst other matters which it appeared to him deserved the consideration of

the ratepayers, the most important perhaps was the question of the water supply to the city. If people paid heavy rates they had a right to expect a supply of drinking water good in quality and abundant in quantity —(hear, hear) —hut he believed he was right in stating that the quality of the water supply was such that it was injurious to health to drink it, and it was deficient in quantity. He knew of nothing more refreshing than a glass of clear, fresh, pure water; but if a person wanted to experience the comfort of a draught of wholesome water, he could not obtain the luxury by drinking of the tap supply from the reservoir connected with the city of - ton. The water laid on to his premises was bad, and on inquiry he found that the supply in the centre of the town was equally had in point of quality. Mr. Levin, the hath proprietor, informed him that day that the water could not be used first thing in the morning and even when the tap had been allowed to to run, then the water was unfit to drink. He was perfectly convinced that the water supplied to the citizens was injurious to health ; and it was a shame on the part of the Corporation that water of such a quality should be supplied. Then, as to quantity. In Glasgow something' like 45gals. per head of the. whole population per day was supplied, and in American cities the supply was something like 7 Ogals. per head per day ; and surely here the ratepayers had a right to expect an abundant supply ; but instead of this everyone was told that to ensure a sufficient supply for household purposes, he must keep a supply on the premises. It was said the deficiency was owing' to the fact of no receiving reservoir having’ been constructed ; that which had been constructed being intended for use solely as a distributing reservoir. Be that as it may, this was a matter intimately connected with the welfare of the city of "Wellington ; and he thought the ratepayers, who were paying somewhat excessive rates, would agree with him that they were entitled to a supply of water better in quality and larger in quantity than that they were receiving at the present time. (Cheers.) But there was inefficient management in other matters, drainage for instance. He would ask whether the state of the city was creditable, or whether the state of the drainage was not such as to create alarm? It was true there was an Inspector of Nuisances; but he (Mr. Waterhouse) was not satisfied in his own mind that the appointment of that gentleman had had the result of materially decreasing the nuisances. From, the scents that assailed one’s nostrils in all parts of the town, it seemed to him that either the officer had no sense of smell, or if he had, it was absolutely necessary to take him by the scruff of the neck and push his nose into a nuisance in order to show him whex'e it was. The drainage percolated into the streets from back premises, and generally the state of the town was such that it should not he tolerated in any civilised community. Then again, as regarded the ordinary drainage of the city, there was no city in New Zealand which ought to be so healthy as Wellington ; yet with the exception of Christchurch it was the most unhealthy. There was no reason why the sanitary condition of the city should not be improved. It might be said the cost would be large, and the performance of the work would involve a great outlay; but let the Corporation proceed to get plans and estimates, and if further borrowing powers were wanted —though he believed the Council now had borrowing powers to the extent of £30,000 —let them go to the Legislature, and the Legislature no doubt would allow them to borrow the sum required to improve the drainage. It was a disgrace to the capital city of New Zealand that next to Christchurch it should be the most unhealthy place in all the colony. True, they could not expect the members of the Corporation themselves to go and poke their noses into every nuisance, or interfere with contractors ; their duty was that of general supervision and control; but surely the ratepayers had a rig'ht to expect that the Corporation would employ efficient officers and servants to carry out the municipal works. He could not help arriving' at the conclusion that the Corporation was not efficiently served. A person who read the papers could not help arriving at that conclusion ; therefore, in that respect the Council was to blame. As to the Town Clerk, he (Mr. Waterhouse) had not the pleasure of knowing him, and therefore had some hesitancy in speaking of him ; but occasionally one had to speak out his opinion, and he should fearlessly speak his. The Town Clerk was practically the Corporation. He. was the permanent executive head of the municipality. The Mayor, of course, was only appointed for a limited period, and so were the other members of the Corporation ; but the Clerk was permanent, and he should be responsible. In all towns it would be found that where an efficient man occupied the post everything went on smoothly and properly, but if the Clerk were not thoroughly efficient, things were allowed to drift into an unsatisfactory position. He .referred to the auditors’ report, and the fact that in a case in the police court, the other day, some appeals very unjustly fell to the ground, owing to the ratebook not having been signed, as reasons for his belief that however deserving he might be in other respects, the Town Clerk was not altogether adapted for the position he held. It might be otherwise, hut he was .speaking upon the facts which came before him in the newspapers. He reiterated that the Corporation should see that its officers were up to. a high standard of efficiency ; and. if they cud not see to this, then.the responsibility of mismanagement fell directly upon themselves. Mr. Urwin desired to say a few words regarding the Ratepayers’ Association. He explained that the object of the g'entlemen who formed the Association was simply to create what they believed would be a healthy check upon the City Council,, and it was never intended to be antagonistic to that body. Referring to an article in the New Zealand Times that morning, he said he thought the remarks about

the Association were quite unjustifiable, although they might have very well suited those parties who were connected with that journal. The fact was, the Association should be supported by the Press, and. not abused by it. As to the meeting taking place m taprooms, the committee had for some time past been endeavoring to get a. room. They had met time after time m the kitchen of the Odd Fellows’ Hall, until people became disgusted with it, and would put up with the inconvenience no longer, so that they had been obliged to get something better. Then there was a remark about pewter pots ; but he assured the meeting lie was present on the occasion referred to, and there had been no drinking done that he knew of. After a few remarks from one or two ratepayers, the motion for the resolution was Mr. Henry Anderson then, moved—That this meeting now adjourn till eight o clock on Thursday evening, at which hour the committee of the Wellington Ratepayers’ Protection Association will meet the Te Aro ratepayers at the Victoria Hotel, and submit the resolutions already adopted this evening', and also to make final arrangements for holding a public meeting of the ratepayers at the Odd Fellows Hall on a date to be announced. This was seconded and carried. The Chairman, in reference to the article in the Times, said the insinuation as to the movement being that of a clique, could easily be met, for the committee was desirous all classes should join in. The public, therefore, had an opportunity of taking the matter out of the hands of a clique. He trusted the result would be that efficient action would be taken to regulate municipal matters. A vote of thanks to tlie chairman concluded the proceedings.