THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam aut faciam."

Otago Daily Times, Issue 202, 1 August 1862, Page 4

THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam aut faciam."

DU.VRDI.W FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, ISG2.

Homk time back we urged in a series of articlesthe obtaining an net from the Central Legislature, for the purpose of constituting Dunediu a corporate town, with the usual Municipa* privileges. We are still certain such a course would have been the right one, indeed the only one that could be safely adopted with a city that is evidently destined, if it is not already, to be the capital town of the colony. The Provincial Council thought it better to adopt another course, and passed the Dunedin Improvement Ordinance, amending the present Municipal arrangements, and adding to the powers of the Town Hoard. The Ordinance passcl so hastily through the Council, that we were precluded from considering its detail* in our columns. It now comes back to uh, havin" received the assent of His Excellency the Governor, and wanting to come in iorce only the proclamation of the Superintendent. This we believe is to be done immediately, so tint in a few days the Ordinance will have parsed into law. Affecting as it does the interests of all who have a stake in Dunedin. a .synoptical analyst, or rather condensation of its provisions, must prove acceptable to our town readers. The Ordinance consists in all of sixty-one clauses. The preamble very truly states that "It is expedient to make further and more effectual provision for draining, cleansing, lighting, and paving the city of Dunedin, and for the sanitary improvement thereof, and in other respects to amend the " Dunedin Town Hoard Ordinance, 185-V and the 'Dunedin Roads and Streets Ordinance, 1355.'" The first clause gives the title to the measure, — the Dunedin Improvement Ordinance, iHiyl. The second provides that the Ordinance shall come in force on and after a date fixed by the Superintendent by i proclamation in the Government Gazette^ and that the members of the Town Board shall superintend the execution of the Ordinance until the election of their successors provided for under this Act. The third clause provides that repugnant portions of former Ordinances are to yield to the present Ordinance. The fourth provides that the Town Board shall, immediately after the Ordinance, coaies in force, divide Dunedin into wards or districts, and fix the boundaries thereof—the same will afterwards be alterable at the pleasure of the Board. Clauses 5 to 8 inclusive are sufficiently important to justify their being published in full. They provide for the preparation of a Ratepayer* Roll, the qualifications for membership, and for voters, and the mode of election. The date of election is fixed for the first Monday in every December. We subjoin the clauses referred to :—

5. Immediately after tlip passing of this 'Ordinance, and tLo division of the said city into Wards, as herein Itcforu directed, and yearly thereafter as the Board shall direct, the Board shall cause to be collected the

Names aud Residences of every }>enson in each Ward, who may be liable to be rate!, as hereinafter mentioned, in consideration of any lauds, buildings, and hereditaments- owned or occupied by him, and situnted within the boundaries of any such Ward ; and shall cause a list of such persons in each Ward to be made and published in one or more newspapers circulated in Dunedin, together with a notice of the time when and the place where the Board will attend to hear any objections that may be made to such lists ; and at the time and place so named the Board .shall attend, enquire into, hear and determine any such objections; and the decision of the Board ahull be final and conclusive in regard to any and every objection made against every such list; and the said lists, when thus settled and revised, shall be transcribed in a book to be called the Rate-payers' Roll, and shall be lodged with the Looks and pajicrs of the Board ; and if at any time after the completion of such Rate-payer* Roll any pernm not liable to bn placed on such Roll at the time of its completion, shall thereafter Ikcouic liable to be rated for or on account of any lauds, building*, and hereditaments owned or occupied by him within any such Ward, it shall l>e competent for such person to apply to the Board to have hw name inserted in the Ratepayers' Roll for the Ward in which such promises arc situated; and :f it shall fj.i mutlu t> npjjtar to the satisfaction of the Board that such person was net at the time of the compilii .„' or making the Rate-payers' Roll as aforesaid liable to be rated, but has since become so, and has for the spac of three mouths previous to such application lxt-n so liable, the Board shall cause the name of such applicant to be placed on the Ratepayers' Roll tor the Ward or Wards in which he is i-o qualified to vole.

6. The Members of tho Board to be elertol uiul»r the authority of this Ordinance shall be ratepayers upon the ratepayers' r.>ll fjr any of the said Wards, ac<l Khali bu cleete-l by a majority of thn votes of the nuviayers on the Ml* •payers' roll for th'j Ward for which the.v arc elected.

7. Every 'Jiale ]>erson of full ai'e vho sh ill, uni!i:r the provisions of this OiUinaticc-, b-; liaLk to l>e rated or .".-•..-,e-.scd for or on fi'vnuit of any rate levied or as-ie.^i'l b..' the Unar-I, and uiio c iinmt rhuli appear on the i a leavers' r^ll for :uiy of the Kaid Ward-*, a.s hereinbefore proviih.il, shall be deemed a ratcpnver for the purpose of any such el>-< tb'j for any Ward on the roll for which h; u.iiae n>) .ijiff-ar*.

8. ThCTt^iiHill^thrtfMein^i-sol'tlif'lidanlforeaeh YV:v'l f wh(»•«-• election s-hall !*.■ njrwle in iu;uiiit;r as fol-low.*:-Tin- Clerk t> the Board slull prepare a book for £.u;!i Wnr.i, .'u:l shrill mrwt a Clerk to atf-:>'l at .•■oiuf fuiivefii"!iit \)}:v'v in ur ;« ij-ic.-:it t»> each Ward, ujj"ii the tir.H M<»n<hy in the iwmlh of J)e<:vmW in f-M'i-y yt-.'ir, .i!) 1 t!i«.- ii:iS'-i»'i\«.-rs in «.-uoii War 1 inu.niinif to v>U; in mu-Ii <.!.■_•: iuji siuill aj>jicar }>ur*on;«l]y ,'it mi<oj l'l:ice, iiiiU th-,- lriim .t v! liji; j>urson.i v.,ti;,l ioi ;.'inJ tin; ilium .-: ol sit.:h voV-r.-i .s.'iali !».• in-vTilrt-il in t<he siid I»<kA I y the (Jit! k, :i:i<l -ulis'Tiix-i l»y e.».c!i Vntfi-. Clauses nine to fourteen, iMclusive, specify the urmnor in which the election is to {>•_• con-ilu-'tcl, thu particulars of which it will be time enough to detail when the election is at h;uitl. One of the three member? for each Ward in to retire annually, but to be eligible for re-election. A \ery curious condition h added, it is u>u:il to jnake members retire in rotation, commer.ji.'^ wi?li tho*e who polled least votes. Isut here the retiring members are to be selected by ballot amongst the mern-bi-rs of th'j Jsoard- -a course which, besides leading to a deal yt' ill feeling, will hnve the eilect of keeping sonio meml>ers in office jxTfK'tually. In fru:t, there only requires to be a confederacy vi n majority of the members to defy the ratepayers, and to keep everything in their own hands, despite all that could be done to oppose them. It is a pity this provision, the scope of which was probably not foreseen, should have found its way into the Ordinance.

The sixteenth Clause provides (or filling up vacancies caused by death, disqualification, or other cause-. The seventeenth Clause provides that general meetings shall be laid in the months of January, April, July, and October, "for putting the powers committed to the Board in execution." This explanation isomewhat vague, as it is to be presumed that at the ordinary meetings the " {Knvers committed to the Board" will be acted on. The eighteenth Clause provides that if the electors of any of the wards refuse, or neglect to elect members, the Board may nominate members to fill th-j vacant neats. The nineteenth specifies the general powers of the Board, as follows : —

fgSnve awl exc-qit as herein otherwise provided, tlic Il'ianl shall h:tv.', :i:i 1 cither hv themselves or hv Commute-* of th<ir number duly authorised, sh:j] fXM-uti nil the jxmvr-• ai..> duties vested in or iuijMsed,.u tin.- !».Kir;l hy th-s <»r '.inane.-, am! the s.iid recited Ordinaire*, in >o far as not hereby repealed, and Hh;ili -ijipoiaf all person* iujJ officers whom h may he ne<:e.\.sa: y to employ in the execution of this Ordiu.-.nee, :m<! the said other Ordinances, and to nm-ve or suspend them at pleasure, and fix and reflate their salaries and wa«fc.«, and to eMimau>, a^'-s levy, rr.i--, and a;)j>sy, or imu.« t> Jw estimated, assessed, levied, mid applied, the mm-3 of money hereinaftor antbori.-e.i to he jas.-s^J, levied, raised, and applied.

Clauses twenty and twenty-one respectively enjoin the duties of cleansing and li"htin*' the streets on the Board. Clause twenty-two empowers the Hoard 4< to make and enact, and from time to time to alter, amend, and repeal, rules, regulations, and bye-laws relating to the cleansing, lighting, paving, causewaying, metalling, and repairing of streets; the making and repairing of common sewers, drains, privies, and urinals c and preventing and suppressing of nuisances, annoyances, arid obstructions, and the promotion of health within Dunedin; and the proper management of the Fire Engine establishment."

The next clause empowers the board to fix Penalties for breach of bye-laws, the same not to exceed forty shillings for each offence, and five shillings for every day's continuation of such offence. So that by paying five shillings a day the offender may be able to set any byelaw at defiance. Clause twenty-four makes it necessary that the bye-laws should be published once in the Dunedin newspapers. This provision the Government will doubtless endeavor to get rescinded, as it must materially clash with their ideas of keeping the Press under proper control,

Clause twenty-five specifies the duties of the Inspectors of lighting and cleansing. Clause twenty-six gives the board power to order the cleansing of house or premises in a filthy or unwholesome condition upon the certificate of the government medical officer or two ordinary medical men. Clause twenty-seven provides that offensive trades are to bo subject to regulation. Clauses twenty-eight and twenty-nine empower the Superintendent to muse plans of a system of sewerage tv be prepared but give the Board the management and control of the works. Clauses thirty to thirty-four inclusive refer to details connected with the two previous clauses and the management of the sewerage. Uaaues thirty-five and thirty-six give

the Board the power to require that proper drainage be supplied to dwelling-houses. Thirty-seven requires the furnishing of proper conveniences to dwelling houses, with penalties for neglect of same. Clause thirty-eight is sufficiently important to be published in full.

The level of the streets shall he fixed by the Board 5 and fourteen days at the least before beginning to dig or ln-y out the foundation for any new house, or to rebuild any hous°, the person intending so to bniM or rebuild shall give to the Board written notice thereof, together with the level or intended level of the cellars or lowest floor, and the situation and construction of the piivies and cesspools, to be constructed or used in connection with such house. And it shall not be lawful to k'irin such works until the particulars so required to ba stated have been approve! by the Board ; and in default of such notice, or if any such house* privy, or cesspool be built or rebuilt without Buch approval, or in any resjKJCt contrary to the provision 9 of this Ordinance, the offender shall be liable in a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds ; and the Board may, if they think fit, cause such house, privy, or cisixpool to be altcrc'l, pulled down, or otherwise dealt with as the cose may require, and the expenses in. curred in so doing shall l>e recoverable from the offender: Provided always, that if the Hoard fail to signify their approval or disapproval of tha said particulars fur the space of fourteen days alter receiving such notice, it shall be lawful to proceed according to such notice, if the same be otherwise iv accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, or any other Actur Ordinance in force at the time.

Clauses thirty-nine to forty-two inclusive, authorise the Board to procure fire engines j and organise a Fire Brigade, the expenses to j he raised from the votes for miscellaneous ! expenses hereinafter authorised to be levied, j It is to be hoped the Board will immediately j ruake use of these clauses, and provide efficient i means for the extinguishment and prevention ■ of fire. Clauses forty-three to forty-six inclu- i wive, refer to supplying the city with per- j nianent wholesome water for private use, for ! baths and wash houses, and for manufacturing purposes, which the Board is empowered to do. j Clause forty-seven authorises the laying out • and maintenance of public pleasure gardens, i Clause forty-eight, also an important one, give- the board authority to license carters ! within tli2 City of Dune Jin, and to form i bye-laws for their guidance, the penalty j for breaking which is not to exceed five I pounds. •; Clause forty-nine provides for the assess- t i merit of property for general purposes, and j ; for the specific objects of lighting and cleans- ! ; \u'z : clause fifty gives the Board power to exempt particular streets; clause fifty-one; ! authorises a special district assessment for i sewers and special work*, in particular locali- . tie* ; and clause fifty-two gives power for the ; Board at the rt juest of not less than two i thirds of the ratepayers in any street or part iof a street, in public meeting assembled, to ; undertake specific works on receiving security for the expense of such works, or a part ! iof the expense a-s may be deemed ! ri'l*i-s.-tb'e. Clause fifty-three gives the right \ •of appeal from the decision of the Board to ! three or more Justices of the Peace, whose de- ! S cisiun shall be final. Fourteen days* notice ' ;of appeal must be given by the appellant. j

Clause Fifty-four gives the Hoard the very ! important power of borrowing money for j general purposes, to the extent of L 12,000 ' and to assign the assessments as security', j Clause fifty-five authorizes the raisin" in a • similar manner of :t further sum of not more 1 thnn LSOOO ibr the construction of sewers or i other permanent works; and Clause fifty-six ; secures the members of the Board from per- ! sonal liability. Clause fifty-seven provides \ that no penalty under this Ordinance shall exceed LJOO, and that all penalties shall be I recoverable in a summary way. Clause fifty- ; eight defines how notices shall be served on i the owners and occupiers of premises. Clause i fifty-nine refers to the manner in which the ; consent of the Superintendent, or of the j IJojird, shiill be given when required by the I provisions of the Ordinance. Clause sixty ! provides that the law regarding nuisances | shall in no way be nilected by this Ordinance; j rind Clause sixty one (the last) is devoted to \ the interpretation of terms. '