CITY COUNCIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4867, 27 October 1876, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

The ordinary fortnightly meeting of the City Council was held yesterday afternoon. Present—His Worship the Mayor, Councillors Dransfield, Moeller, Cleland, Greenfield, Allen, and Rainie. The Mayor said, before proceeding to the business before the meeting, he would lay upon the table a copy of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1876, as it had now passed both Houses, and also a copy of the Wellington Loans Consolidation Act, which had also gone through the Legislative Council in a perfectly satisfactory form, with the exception of one clause, to which he would afterwards refer. It was only fitting that he should mention the great services rendered to the citizens, in connection with'this latter Bill, by the members for the city, who had lost no opportunity of urging it forward. The Deputy-Superintendent, Mr. Bunny, had also exerted himself ably in the matter. He (the Mayor) had further to state that a number of members of the Legislative Council gave a great , deal of attention to the subject, and it would not be invidious if he mentioned the name of the Hon. Colonel Whitmore, who went into the whole matter, and gave the Bill an intelligent and hearty support. Two or three members of the Upper House, however, seemed evidently afraid that the people of Wellington were not yet able to take care of themselves, and these hon. gentlemen wished that the ratepayers should not only provide water, drainage, and wharf accommodation for themselves, but for a future generation, by means of a sinking fund, whereby a sum of money should be taken from the public to lie waste and useless for any number of years to come. A sinking fund was, however, not carried, but at the close the Hon, Mr. Waterhouse managed to get in the small end of the wedge by the clause to which he had already referred The Mayor considered such a clause not only impolitic, but in as far as the Council was concerned positively unjust. He had consulted with the City Solicitor on the subject, and the memorandum now on the table, and which he believed embodied the views of the members of Council,' was the result. He should not have had another word more to say had it not been that Mr. Waterhouse, in urging the adoption of this vexatious clause, and Mr. John Hall, in supporting it, made statements so opposed to the facts, or rather figures, of the case, that he (the Mayor) felt it to be his duty to refer to them. Of course these gentlemen had been misinformed, and had no intention whatever to misrepresent the case, but it was really worth their while to obtain accurateinformation before proceeding to arraign even so humble a body as the City Council. Mr. Waterhouse stated that for many years the Council had received many thousands of pounds from the wharf, which had been devoted to municipal purposes, and Mr. Hall spoke of the Council receiving as much as £BOOO a year. Now, the actual figures were the ready answer to all this loose statement. They were these :—Eor 1872, £B6l 12s. fid.; 1873, £l6lO 7s. 3d.; 1874, £l2Ol 6s. lid.; 1875, £2456 10s. 6d.; 1876, £2769 6s. Bd.; total, £8899 3s. 9d. Eight thousand pounds odd for the risk and responsibility of the wharf their own private property. All sorts of allegations of mismanagement were also made. On this subject he might speak freely, as the reference was largely to the administration of his predecessors, and he would say that not only were the repairs of the wharf attended to, —and the charges would bear a favorable comparison with those of any other in the colony,—but that no reasonable request for change made by the shipping interest had been refused. The Council had further shown their willingness to meet the demands made upon them by consenting to the formation of a Harbor Board, and this without seeking to make that profit out of their property to which their enterprise fairly entitled them. He hoped this vexatious clause would yet be expunged from the Bill.

DENOTATION. , A deputation from the Education Board— Messrs. Gisborne, Toomath and-Ross—waited i upon the Council in reference to the requirements of the Board for carrying on education, and asking for a school site for that purpose. Mr. Gisborne introduced the deputation, and stated the position in which the Board at present stood. The Match thanked the deputation for their kindness in placing the information they had given before the Council, and assured them that the Council took a deep interest in the education of the city, and would give every attention to their statements. The deputation then withdrew. The Mayor suggested that the Council should grant the temporary use of the market reserve as a school site. ' Councillor Dranspield : We should have to fix a time during which the Board , might occupy it. The Mayor : Of course ; that is a question for the Council to decide. Councillor Georoe : I propose that wo dis--cuss the matter iu committee. Councillor Cleland : I think we should not resign possession of the reserve for a lengthened period. I see no objection to discussing the question in committee. Councillor Greenfield, supported the proposition of Councillor George, and in regard to the main question, said it was one which required consideration, inasmuch as'it would be necessary to decide how much of the reserve should be given. The City Surveyor, at the request of the Mayor, explained the position in which the Market-house stood, different parts of it .being used for different purposes. Councillor Dranspield entirely objected to the matter being discussed in committee, as it was one .of those important subjects which should be fully discussed, and upon which no member ought to be afraid to express his opinion.. The question to discuss the subject in committee was then put and carried. The Council then proceeded to the consideration of

CORRESPONDENCE. Letters distributed by order of the Council since last meeting were read, no discussion taking place. PUBLIC HEALTH. A letter was received from Dr. Jobnston, as follows: Wellington, October 25,1876 Sir, —In consequence of the prevalence of scarlatina in the city of Wellington, in some Instances of a malignant character, I respectfully address your Worship In the hope that you may be able to organise some sanitary measures for the relief of the city in case the epidemic should became of a serious kind. I would suggest that medical practitioners should be required to give early information of cases of Infectious fever attended by them; Secondly, that the Inspector of Nuisances should be instructed to inspect all premises infected and offer advice and assistance when necessary; ami thirdly, that a disinfecting room or store should bo erected in a convenient part of the city, and moans of transport provided for infected clothes, bedding, etc., for the purposes of disinfection. Trusting that your Worship will excuse my anxiety, and respectfully tendering my earnest co-operation in any sanitary steps yon may deem it necessary to take,I have, etc., Alexander Johnston, M.D; To his Worship the Mayor,. Wellington.

, , M i YOR l hou S ht public was in.M to the author of the letter for veutilat- “? at ter, and suggested that it shouid be referred to the Public Works Committee, with power to act when it was necesSey 1 Caße ° £ feVer ’ 10 6Xpend a 3mallsum of CounciUorDßANSFiELDmoved without notice' that during the summer months three members of the Council be a committee to lay down drains where deemed nepessary, except in cases whefe the coat should not exceed £25, when such cases could 'be reported to -the Public Works Committee, to be dealt with in the ordinary way. r' The Mayor put his suggestion into a motion, to the effect that the Public Works Committee be empowered to deal with all matters referred' to in the committee, and the motion was earned. . Some discussion of a desultory character ensued, and ultimately it was agreed to carrr Councillor Dransfield’s motion also. J WATERWORKS EXTENSION. .An reply to Councillor DransfleLD, it was stated that the specifications had not been submitted to Mr. Travers, and some discussion arose as to whether the tenders should be opened, or ~f t, °7^io r ‘wenty-four hours, there being a slight difference between the general rules and the specifications. It was ultimately decided to open the tenders, which were as follows ; Richard Dixon, of Auckland, £29,292 - J Saunders, £17.195; John Henderson, £25.91 5J. Lookie, £22,931 ; W. P. Oakes, £21,862. * Councillor Dransfield moved, and Councillor Cleland seconded, that the lowest; tender, that of Mr. Saunders, be accepted. The motion was carried. OTHER TENDERS. The time was extended for tendering for the performance of works on Lambton-qnay_ Ingestre-street, Little Taranaki-street,. and’ Ghuznee-street. PUBLIC WORKS. The Public Works Committee’s report was read as follows : 1. On the application of Mr. Gisborne, n drainage of his premises in Bouloott-street. your committee are unable to find any reason for suggesting a chan corn their recommendation of the 4th July last viz. that on the residents in the street paying a portion ofthe cost a drain will be laid down. 2 A on J he ? p P llcatianof Mr - Kayle, « drainage of north side of Ingestre-street, the committee recommend that the Surveyor be instructed to-lay down a tile dram. . 3. The consideration of a petition for the drainage of the east side of Cuba-street, between Ghuznee and Ingestre streets, was deferred until the Surveyor has proceeded with the formation of a drain at the corner of Ghuznee and Cuba streets, according to ihstructions in our report of 10th inst. 4. On letter from Mr. Roxburgh, of the 17th inst.. complaining of the unfinished state of Ingestre-street, between'Willis and Wbolcombe streets, and suggesting certain alterations, the committee cannot recommend that this request be granted at present. 6. A petition, re covering in drain, Tinakori-road. was referred to the Council. * 6. On a letter received from Mr. TV. S. Reid, of 19th inst., complaining of the depositing of rubbish at the western end of Hobson-street, the Inspector of Nuisances has been instructed to attend to the matter, and to get the rubbish .removed if necessary. 7. An application for a supply of water to a steam laundry, in Kent-terrace has been received, but the committee cannot in present circumstances. recommend that it be granted ' - ..i 8. It having been brought under the notice of the committee that coffins containing the: bodies; of children who have died of scarlet fever or other contagious disesses have been carried to the cemetery In licensed cabs, the Town Clerk has been instructed toadvertise that such a practice is dangerous to thepublic health, and cautioning the owners of licensed cabs against permitting it. 9. The Surveyor has been Instructed as follows, viz —To report on drainago around Sussex-square, and if urgent to clear out the drain; to report re formation of 'Wright-street: to call for tenders for a tile drain In Little Taranaki-street, to connect with the Taranaki-street drain about to be laid through the Maori pa; to charge on longest frontage to private streets, when making out accounts where a person has two frontages to one allotment, and not on both frontages. •

With regard to the open drain in Tinakoriroad, it was decided, on the motion'of Councillor Clelahd, to call for tenders for covering that drain. Councillor Deanspield read the following motion, which he wished to bring on without notice: —That a committee be appointed to wait upon the Minister for Public Works, asking him give the services' of a competent engineer to advise the Council as to the best method of draining the city. The Matoe said it was desirable that notice should be given of such a motion, more especially as a committee of the Council had already engaged a professional gentleman on work such as that contemplated by the mover. Councillor Deans field then intimated that he gave it as a notice of motion. IN COMMITTEE. The Council then went into committee to further consider the request made by the deputation from the Education Board.