CITY COUNCIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5289, 8 March 1878, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

Thursday, 7th Makoh. ' The usual fortnight!y meeting of the City Council was held last evening.' ■ Present ; His, Worship the Mayor, anti Councillors Hunter, Dixon, Allan, Logan, Diver, George, Greenfield, Maginity, Moss, I’lslier, and Macdonald. ■‘l " " MINOTE3. " " i ’ R The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confuued. ; WATERWORKS INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE. Councillor Hunter submitted the report of the Waterworks Investigation Committee, and moved that it lie laid on the table for consideration at the next meeting of the Council. . He observed chat the report being an important one he 'was desirous that Councillors .should have an opportunity of fully perusing it before coming to any decision.‘ o . The motion was agreed to,‘and the , report laid on the table accordingly. , CORRESPONDENCE. ; The-Town Clerk read a‘ list-of the. cor, respondence forwarded and received since the - last meeting.of the Council. ; ■ . STUART V. THE CORPORATION, i -iThe Mayor, reported the result of the above case, lately decided by the Compensation Court, in which an award was made to the plaintiff of the sum of £3OOO, with £SO costs. ~ TI3TT OP MR.CLARK, 0.8., REGARDING DRAINAGE. The Town Clerk read' the following litter received from. Mr. . Clark,. C.E., who had been requested to pay- a visit to Wellington in reference to the drainage of the city:—■ ■ “ Christchurch, 4th March, 1878. .' “Sir—l am in receipt of your 1 ,tter of > 27th Tebruaryiiuquiring whether I'can visit Wellington for the purpose of advising the Council - on the subject of the drainage of the city, the probable date of my visit;-and the amount of ■my fee. ' -I am now engaged on: a similar inquiry here,‘and it is probable .the questions submitted to-me will ocou y- my time for • about two weeks, at the conclusion.of which. I ■ball be happy to visit Wellington, and: place my services at the disposal of the Council. ■ .My fee.will.he £125 per week, and-expenses actually incurred, £SO being added for- time occupied in travelling ; .and I shall be glad to receive the decision of the Council at your early convenience/’ - :i/ - ' ; ' His Worship. the Mayor ■ stated that Mr. Clark’s offer had been accepted. WATERWORKS ENGINEERS’ .REPORT. The report from the Waterworks Engineer was aubmitted as follows :—“ I have the honor to report that’the wort bit present in hand'in connection ■ with the. storage reservoir is the lowering of the supply main to town. This work has hitherto been successfully carried on without in the. slightest degree interfering with the daily town supply. The confined state' of - the tunnel has caused it to be an ixceptidnally • • laborious-.task. Up to! the' present time ho ; mishap has occurred, and it may reasonably be expected that the close of the current-week will see the "work of lowering completed/ The foregoing'is ’apart frcfmthe contract, and, to an extent, prevents the completion, of, it (the oon- : fclct)/ : 'But little reiuams 1 to be done, the unfinished:twbrka chfoSy consisting of “ setting” the flood-gate, , lining . insecure portions of the tunnel with-concrete, grassing the slopeJof the dam, ahd'“cleaning up.” £l5O probablyrepresents;the labor value to a close approximation/ The stream,, still discharges a Splendid volume of water,'and the storage reservoir not only steadily maintains 3Sft. level, bu’t 1 a large surplus quantity: is of necessity daily discharged. The work generally still , continues ’ to prove highly satisfactory.” . i;‘ ' > public works’ committee’s report. ./ The report from the Public Works/Commlttee was read as follows :—“ 1. That Qdih street be metalled—on the recommendation of the Acting City Engineer.-—2. That Alma' lane be also’ metalled.—3. That no;further drainage works be undertaken until the final adoption of the .General Drainage Scheme!— 4. That the tramway be carried down, the centre of the 1 street from Charlotte-street to the railway-station, ; and that the City, Engineer be instructed to provide the contractor with the necessary levels.—s. That the continuation or. otherwise of ! .the night-soil contract, after expiry o{ ; term,-Ist July, 1878, be referred to the. whole Council.—6. That Mr*. , E.KL Bead’s application, for extra earthwork to , fill in the excavatian at his house, be acceded to. 7. That Mr. W. F. Richard’s application for ... leave toerecta balcony be acceded to, on approval by the City Engineer.—B. That the top end of Wooloombe-street be metalled . and the side-walk gravelled.—9. That in cases where the proprietors of bouses in - the , principal streets neglect to lay down pavement, the Corporation do their half on the side next the kerbing.—lo. That Mr. Niedergesaess’ application! for a lease of Town Belt Reserve Ho. D., at Bussell-terraoe, be granted for a .term of 14 years from Ist July, 1877, on the conditions as stated by him, on the approval of the City Engineer.—ll. That the proposed footpath on the east side of the Adelaide-road from JUrum-mpnd-street to the Newtown Hotel,; he not proceeded with, as costing too much money.— 12. Thatrthe application: from the; Public Works Department, that the City Engineer be allowed to complete the works now in his hands, be acceded to, they paying a proportion of his salary in consideration of the same.— 13. That a bonus of £SO be given to the late Acting City Engineer, Mr. Charles O’Neill, C.E., in consideration of. his services during the last’sixteen, months, during which he had been performing most of the duties of Chief , Engineer at the salary of an assistant.” - - Regarding- the first ■ portionof the report there was little or- no discussion. As to

clause 11, referring to the footpath onthe east side of the Adelaide-road being not proceeded . with at present, - ■ Councillor Dixon stated that the work was much required, and should certainly be carried out before the winter set in. The Matob pointed out that it would be altogether uUadvisable to undertaka any expen’iro work until the Finance Committee had decided upon the ways and means. * The clause was then agreed to, as also was the following clause. Tn reference to clause 13 of the report, proposing a bonus of £SO to the late acting City Engineer, Mr. Charles O’Neill, C. 8., considerable discussion ensued. Councillor Moss moved, as an amendment,, that the bonus be increased to £l5O, and in doing io he observed that Mr, O’Neill had acted as chief engineer for the city;for over five nionths, and the amount he proposed should be paid him was only, fair under the circumstances—in, fact, if he had been paid a proper salary, he would be entitled to receive . £3OO, instead of the amount he had mentioned. Councillor Fisher seconded the amendment for the increase of the bonus to £l6O, and in doing so stated that Mr. O’Neill, _ through no fault of his own, had been, as it were, cast adrift through' the recent re-arrangement of the Council’s officers,;. He (Councillor Fisher) . had always a feeling of sympathy for a'person in that position, and especially for oho; thrown out of a situation through ho laches of his own, Besides that, the Council had the fact .before . them that he had performed the duties of chief engineer for some time, and should therefore be entitled to receive duo remuneration. - Councillor Diver thought the bonus of £l5O . as proposed was .too much, as he did not think • that Mr. O’Neill’s duties had been very much ' increased during the period in which be was engaged. Councillor Greenfield agreed with the last ’ speaker, and observed that as a member of the . Public Works Committee be could state they . -had bad some difficulty.in arriving at the decision for £SO, which ha thought quite ample nndar the circumstance*. After some remarks from Councillor Dixon in reference to the amendment, ■ Councillor Macdonald suggested, by way of compromise, that the bonus bo, fixed at the sum of £loo,' l Mr. O’Neill, as far as; he could ■ - gee, had beendn a somewhat’peculiar position, and had been carrying on works for which they’ required to pay at,the rate of £soo,per annum, and in theperformaneb of his work he appeared, t ’"ive given every satisfaction. '• 1 .’. ' < ‘ .uucillor Maginitt supported the ataeiidinput.of Councillor. Moss, as‘he thought the amount'proposed was not by any. means too 1 ■ much: ■ ■ * * ‘ . The Mayor, in a few well chosen remarks,' • here testimony to the zeal he had;observed .... ’cut* .tilwMi dfanlavad - in the diflcharos

.. ..of.,.hia duties aihce-his.acceasioa. to..office,.and .' stated, that i although he was as 1 much laverse as any one else to the system of giving bonuses, thgy Ireq'nired' toi remember.:;that; in making ,- sudden' changes)extra' expenditure, for a time, 'could frequently.hi't be avoided. Seeing the feeling of the Council on the matter, he must admit that he would like to see the proposed ; bonus altered ito £100: Y't ’• ■ r -■ ! • " .-: This amount was agreed ito by Councillor Moss, and the 'clause in the , report was amended accordingly. : ... " : ' i 5 INSPECTOR OP NUISANCES." ! A.letter was.read from Mr. M. Monaghan, Inspector of Nuisances for the city,; resigning his.position, and stating as his reason for coming, to that-. decision that r.he had found the work pertaining to the- officer was more than icould be satisfactorily performed;: by one person. <.t, "> Councillor Allen observed that it might be as well to have an assistant, engaged in the ■ work, when it could then be divided, eaoh one taking two wards. • 1 ; Councillor MAOINITT wag f sure they could not get a more efficient officer than Mr. Monaghan, and he thought the Council might ask him. to reconsider his decision. v I ! Councillor Fisher stated, he could not see why. the city of; Wellington required: twoinspeotors, when Dunedin, and . even Melbourne, . could be efficiently represented by one officer. 1 The resignation of Mr. Monaghan;was accepted without .further remark. | ‘ J ASSESSMENT APPEALS. ,t ;; i The report of the City Valuator regarding the. result of the Assessment Appeal; Court, ,w»» received and.adopted. • 1 : ... (-.'■> accounts.. r . ■ ■ ; A number of accounts, embracing payments on, contracts, Ax', were passed for payment, to the. total of £6166 Bs. 4d. ,' , CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS; : I The Town Clerk- submitted the;- following icommunication he had received from the Colonial Secretary’s office, regarding charitable, in- , stituthns ; ■ ;>

“The Government on taking office found ■that the hospitals and charitable institutions throughout tlia colony were being managed upon no fixed principle or system, and that it was absolutely necessary to;place them on a more satisfactory footing. Up to the'end.of December, and till the new Financial Arrangements Bill took, effect, it was impossible to ■ change the existing state of tbings,;but. from that date the; principle Government have endeavored to bring into operation is t ppe which is at once comprehensible, uniform, -•and practical. In the larger towns Government have hitherto maintained a moat unsatisfactory control, and paid the expenditure ; recovering it,.however, from the subsidies payable to the boroughs and adjacent counties. In the' outlying localities and at Hokitika a grant-in-aid, differing in sorab. instances, but commonly 20s. for ,20s. of , subscriptions, has been given, the hospital being/managed by ia committee appointed by the. subscribers.. It is proposed for the future, wherever possible,,to place the hospitals and charitable aid pf ; the largo towns under the direct, control and management of the municipalities, and to subsidise them to the extent of 20s. .for every 20s. of paid-up subscriptions and of mnneys contributed from the borough fund,; aud to make no deductions, whatever from the! subsidies. There: would, however, remain the question of contribution by the surrounding counties .towards the maintenance of the hospital, many of the patients admitted being Resident outside the boroughs. This might probably be adjusted by making a charge upon the counties of a pro rata sum per head for county; patients and paupers, and if thjs, or any other mode which shall be found satisfactory of removing what appears to be an unfair charge upon the borough funds can be arranged between the . councils; ;a more equitable system of. contributionwould be established than the present one of deductions from the subsidies payable "to each local body. It will be necessary; of. course,, to satisfy the Colonial - Secretary, as hitherto, i, (as: to the amount of the voluntary subscriptions, but Government do: not desire .to interfere in any way with.the local management of these institutions.” The consideration; of this matter, was postponed until a future meeting of the Oouncil, and was-meanwhile referred to a committee i consisting of Crs, Diver, Dixon, Allen, and George. . , = . ■ t. •,1 ; REPAIRS TO TEE WHARF. ! Councillor Allen moved; —That the Wharf Engineer be. requested .to examine and report on What repairs are required to make good the •defects existing in-the-structure, and an approximate cost of such work. ... The-motion was agreed to. > r WHARF COMMITTEE’S REPORTS. I ’ Councillor ’ Macdonald : moved,—That the Wharf Committee report : to the Council at each meeting all resolutions and recommendations passed by them,' and that no resolution or recommendation be given'effect to: until it has been agreed to by the Council. Further, that such reports shall be printed anjl distributed to each Councillor twenty-four'hours before the Council meets. He pointed out that 1 frequently • the expenditure of large sums of money : was agreed upon by the committee, aiid the Council within a space of twenty Jour hours or so afterwards found itself in the position of being unable to upset .the decision ; a state of things which, he submitted, required . amendment. All matters dealihg,with the expenditure of large sums deserved the serious consideration of the Council, and therefore his desire to see .the' present system altered, which he considered as altogether wrong in principle.-, n, ... Councillor Diver stated that he hardly saw. any necessity for, the, motion, as the Wharf Committee’s report : was always open to the consideration of the whole Council, i Councillor ALLEN.supported the. motion. Councillor , George, although agreeing that some alteration , in ; the ~sy stem Thitherto in vogue was necessary, thought it would be inconvenient to pass, the ,motion in the form In' which it, had been; submitted. Probably the intimation which had been given would lead to an alteration being effected in the future. Councillor Macdonald stated ho would, with., the permission of the Council, withdraw the motion for the present, but would take the earliest opportunity of bringing the whole subject under the notice of the Wharf Committee. , The motion was then withdrawn, ■ THE BUILDING ; RBGCRATIONS, 1 .... A special 'meeting of: the Council was here formally held, for the purpose of confirming the proposed alterations in the, building regulations. The amendments as reported were agreed to without any discussion. This completed the business, and the Council then adjourned. , . . ;