CITY COUNCIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5277, 22 February 1878, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

The regular fortnightlymeeting of the City Council' was held hist■ evening, there being: present, his .Worship the Mayor (in the chair), Councillors G. Allen, Dixon. Macdonald, Logan, Allan, Hunter, Greenfield, lisher,. George, Moss, Diver, and Magiuity. formation of streets. The Town Clerk laid ou tbo table a return, in answer to a motion by Councillor George containing the City Solicitors opinion'with - reference to the formation of streets. MARKET RESERVE. Councillor Hunter wished to draw attention to a report stating that the Mayor, to a deputation from the Working Men’s Club, re a lease of the Market Deserve, had expressed himself as favorable to the proposal, but said the Council bad dissented from it. It would be remembered that at a meeting of the Coumil, when that proposal was refused, his Worship was one of those to suggest that the building might be devoted to a better pur--1,0-rhe Mayor explained that when th,e deputation waited on him he said that on the first . blush he was favorably inclined to the proposal, hut it would have to he decided by the Council. He remarked, however, at the tune, that the reserve might be made better use of. CORRESPONDENCE. _ 1 The correspondence outward and inward since last meeting was read. THE WATERWORKS.^ The Mayor read the following letter, reeaived from Mr. Saunders Wellington. February 20. Gentlemen. —I most respectfully request the payment of the sum of £2437, as awarded tn me hy Mr TU'u’tri.tt consulting engineer of the Wat-rwurics contract," the larger portion of this extra exunaiwi* . ly twelve months age. Council will see the time I have been ' Staine.l out of the money, the interest on which is a considerable amount.;! have, &c.. To the Mayor anti Councillors^ After the investigation that had taken place he (the Mayor) said he thought-they might compliment Mr. Saunders for returm.g the cheque, and mu;hb forward it back to him, as he (the Mayor) thought Mr. Saunders was entitled to receive it. , , L . . . Councillor Hunter remarked that m coneidering this question, they .should remember that a considerable demand in excess haq been made. He was speaking from memory, but believed that .£15,000 was paid on' the main contract, whereas in reality the amount should only have been; something-like £12,800. The Mayor said he had hoped the; Comadttee would have brought up its report that evening, as it was understood that some time aoo they had finished the evidence. “Councillor Hunter explained that owing to the absence of some of the members from ■Wellington they could not get a quorum together/ That, however, would not alter the figures in the slightest degree. “it was resolved, that the cheque should not be handed back until the final report of the committee had feed brought up. • Councillor: Fisher, after the motion had: been carried, expressed,,an opinion that Mr. Saunders should uot be in a hurry, as he had already received more oh the contract than he was entitled to. 7 A great deal had been said about the handsome manner in which Mr.Saunders had returned the cheque. He had only done what he would otherwise have been compelled to do, • The Mayor reported that there were 31 feet of water in the new reservoir that afternoon, ■imd the water was rising at 1 the rate of 1 foot an hour. ■ PUBLIC WORKS REPORT. The Public Works Committee reported as follows, and the clauses being read seriatim, they were severally, adopted, except clause 12, consideration of which was postponed 1 That they see no'reason for re-openUr the question of allowance to'Mr. Wilson of half-cost of footbridge in Eiddiford-street. ' 2 That in reply to the application from the KaronMakara Highway Board, for the sanction of the. Council to a proposed road from Te Aro to Karori via Both ill GuUy. erpsaing, the Town Belt, as also for a m-anV In aid o' the 'same, the following resolution was carried: —“ .That in,the,event; .of the Corporation being able to secure on rfiasopablo .terms the whole of the watershed of the Kuiwarra,stream affecting the water supple, the be prepared.to recommend the request of the Karon-Makara Highway Board to the favorable consideration of the Council. 3. That the same amount of compensation he paid ‘to the owner of town section No. 1021, for damage caused hy formation of Luxford-street, as had been paid to Mr. Luxford for similar damage, viz, £OO. 4 That the deed of grant of the use of fine Roman Catholic school tower in Eoulcott-street as a, watchtower—from Bishop Redwood to the Corporation—be, executed in. due course, on .the recommendation of the City Solicitor, , 5 That Mr, Collie’s offer of 250 cubic yards, more or less, of road' metal, now lying on the reclaimed land, be accepted at 6s. per yard. , 6. That steps end a hand-rail be erected at Donglas-Wallace-street, at an estimated cost of £2O. 7 That In reply to an application from certain residents at Oriental Bay, the committee recommend that the resolution arrived at by the Council, relative to encroachments on the roadway, be not rescinded. 8 That Mr. Millet's claim for compensation tor land taken for the purpose ot the extension of Tara-nakl-street he acceded to, on the terms as proposed by himself, viz., £3 10s. per loot frontage (12ift,), twelve months' interest, and the building to bo set back at the expense of the Corporation. 9. That notice be given to the contractor for the removal of nlghtsoil, that any infraction of the contract. as regards breach of proper hours or otherwise, will he met by the enforcement of the bond entered Into by himself and sureties. 10. That Mr. Scally's application for leave to form a private street 20 feet wide be not acceded to. 11. That the application of the Colonial Architect for a full-servlco pipe for the use of the Parliament Buildings be granted. Government agreeing to pay the cost thereof. . . 12. That steps be taken at once for the enforcement of the clauses in the leases of Town Belt sections, as regards the removal of all buildings. 13. That the necessary leial notice be at once served on the parties obstructing the formation of the Boulcott-street drain by refusing the right of entry bn their property. 11. That Mr. O’Malley’s claim of £SOO, for alleged damage done to the reclaimed land by the placing of road metal thereon, be not entertained. With reference to clause 5, the Mayor explained that he had authorised a portion of the metal to be used. Councillor Hunter thought it was very unfair to the Public Works Committee that they should not have been informed of the fact. The Mayor said it was an act of omission on his part. ' Councillor Fisher having interposed a remark on the sane subject, accused the Mayor of answering him “ brusquely.” He (Councillor Fisher) spent his time in the service of • the -city, and ought to be treated respectfully. The Mayor slated that he had made no disrespectful remarks to Councillor Fisher. NUISANCES. Councillor Hunter ) drew attention to the necessity of putting an end to the reprehensible practice which was prevalent of discharging foul matter, into the harbor. The nuisance was going oh continually night and day, and there had only been one case before the Coart. ! Inspector Monaghan stated that there were other cases pending. • - . ACCOUNTS., A list of accounts to be passed for payment was read, the total amounting to £2823 os. lOd, Of this sum, £IOB9 15s. 2d. had been sanctioned by the Public Works Committee. Councillor Hunter drew'attention to the fact that they were asked to sanction an account which had only been sent in that day, and which had not come before the Public Works Committee. He maintained that accounts of this sort should come before the committee, and should have schedules attached to them. He' did not consider that sufficient supervision was exercised in these matters. The Mayor said that the Town Clerk had drawn attention to this particular account, ■ which was one by Mr. McLean for completion of mains, and stated that he could not recommend it to be paid without a full explanation. Councillor Hunter did not desire to reflect in the slightest degree on the Town Clerk, who did, his duty well; but he thought there was no necessity for such hurry in bringing an account to be sanctioned, before the meeting at night which had only , been presented the same afternoon. Councillor Fishes concurred in the point railed by Councillor Hunter. He did not believe in any certificate of the Waterworks Engineer being accepted right off, and paid immediately it was presented. For his part, he was very anxious to e::'mine every certificate which came from that gentleman.

Councillor. Liver, was glad, this,-matter had. been brought,up. After, investigation,, they had come to the conclusion that the Wateiworks Engineer had been guilty of gross negh-, gence, and under the thej should; not hurriedly pay cheques certified to by that officer. All accounts should be placed before the Public Works Committee in the ; ordinary course; ;,/■ , ; , Councillor Hunter said he had only wished to draw attention to an, irregularity, m their course of proceeding. He was anxious to tiy and get into a better system of doing things-, The Mayor pointed out that it would be very hard to say to anyone—“ We won’t pay you, because wa don’t believe in, our own officer.” , , After some further discussion, the accounts were passed for payment. BUILDING REGULATIONS. , It was agreed that a special meeting should be held to consider the building regulations. TENDERS, The tender of Mr. E. W. Mills, for cement, was accepted, at 20s. a barrel, There, weie several tenders for the supply of stone, and samples were sent with each. That of Messrs., Carswell and Pudney, at 3s. 4Jd. per cubic yard, was accepted. The stone was, from Oriental Bay, and Councillor Fisher termed it rotten rock or clay. . Councillor Hunter observed that it would be as well for the Engineer to see that, the stone used win not inferior to the sample shown. PRIVATE STREETS. Councillor George moved, That no money be expended by the Council on streets laid out by private persons, although the same may have become public highways within the meaning of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1876, until the same have been formed, metalled. kerbed, and drained by the proprietors: of the lauds adjoining the same, to the satisfaction of tho Council ; but that a committee consisting of Councillors E. Dixon, 6. Allen, J. A. Allan, Greenfield, and the mover, be a committee to report as to whether any private street, and -if so, which, shall be exempt from the operation of this resolution, and be entitled to some : subsidy fx*om the-Council; to report within six weeks.—Withdrawn. : > BO'ULCOTT STREET DRAIN.-' Councillor MaGINNITY" moved, —That ..ft be an instruction to- the Engineer to take the necessary steps to lay the' .connecting drain in Boulcott-street through the' Masonic; Hall property. This motion was' withdrawn, but , will be brought before ’ the Public Works Committee. ‘ ‘ : WATER SUPPLY. Councillor George moved,—That steps be taken to acquire 1 all the land .above the .new dam within the watershed of the stream from which ■ the town' water': supply is obtained. 'Carried. , ‘'■■,>>- : ; OFFICIAL RETURNS. Councillor Hunter moved, —That tbe;following returns be prepared, printed,,and laid bn the table of the Council : -1.) Return showing the total yearly; income of the city of Wei- , lington during) the- past, seven • years, divided tinder the proper .heads.—2. Return showing the total yearly - expenditure in the city of Wellington during the past seven years, divided, under proper' heads.—3. He turn, showing the amount authorised to be raised for waterworks, i amount actually raised,- amount'already-ex-pended, amount due ou contract, or for completing works,-and balaiice-ayailablofior farther . Return showing the -amount! authorised to be raised for draining the city of Wellington, amount actually raised, amount already,expended, amount due on contract (if ahy) entered into, and balance available' for further expenditure.—s. Return showing the .amount authorised, to be raised for extending and improving the Queen’s wharf, amouut expended, amount required to make good payment to contractor, and the amount , that will be available from all sources for further improvements after the;work,now in hand has been completed.—6. Return, showing the yearly amount paid for law coats during the past seven years.—7. Return showing the probable cost of erecting and furnishing the new offices in course of construction for the City Council. He (Councillor Hunter) did not wish, the. returns to be more minute than,, could be' avoided, so as to prevent extra trouble. _H.e explained theadvautages of having the various returns, as information upon the subjects mentioned was required. .... . ..!* : ' Councillor Fisher seconded the motion, and said he regarded such returns as very import-r ant. He might.also add that they would be a monument to the gentleman who had to prepare them. .The Mayor coincided with the importance of such information as was sought. The motion was carried unanimously. Councillor Hunter moved, That acommittee, consisting of his Worship the Mayor, and all the members of the‘Wellington City Council, be appointed to consider the question of selecting a site for a new cemetery, with a view to their reporting the result of their deliberations to the General Government, as requested by the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. Councillor Diver, in seconding the motion, said he bad intended making a similar proposition himself. It was very necessary the cemetery should not be in the heart of the city. He showed the evil of cemeteries in populated localities. .Councillor Hunter said this subject had been before the Provincial Council. It was of more pressing importance now, as the population had so increased. The motion was carried. HARBOR BOARD. Councillor Hunter moved,—That this Council is of opinion that it would not be desirable to create a Harbor Board for the city of Wellington, but that full powers should be granted to the City Council to manage all matters connected with the harbor of Port Nicholson, and that the Government be requested to introduce a Bill during the next session of Parliament conferring authority on the Council to perform all the functions devolving upon a Harbor Board. The mover reminded the Council of the perpetual disputes and antagonism between harbor boards and corporations. Of course, if they had control of the harbor, it would impose additional responsibilities on the Council, but that was a matter they should not shrink from. Councillor George seconded , the motion, 1 which was carried nem. con. The Council then resolved itself into committee. The question was put as to whether strangers should withdraw, and this motion was carried by a considerable majority, Councillors Diver, Hunter, Fisher, and Maginity forming the minority. We understand that after our reporter left the appointment of Corporation Engineer was conferred upon Mr. J. D. Baird. The sitting of the committee did not conclude till half an hour after midnight.