TOWN BOARD.

Patea Mail, Volume VI, Issue 533, 15 June 1880, Page 2

TOWN BOARD.

~ , A special meeting of the Carlyle.Town Board was held on Friday evening. Present Messrs Milroy, Taplin, Adams, Aitchison, Howift, Sherwood, and Dixon. NEW CHAIRMAN, This -being the first meeting of the newly constituted Board, a fresh election of chairman was necessary;; Mr Aitchison moved, and Mr Tapiin seconded, that Mr Milroy be re-appointed chairman for the ensuing year. Mr Sherwood supported the motion, and eulogised Mr Milroy’s assiduity in the discharge of his duties, f The motion was.agrced to unanimously. Mr Milroy acknowledged the re-ap-pointment as a compliment from the newly constituted Board and remarked that every member must be aware that Mr Sherwood had worked very hard, as the Board’s: first chairman,- to, :give it a : good start'when it was a new body. CRICKET GROUND REPORT. The report of the Committee appointed to enquire into the tenure under which .the cricket ground is held was *now : "considered. The committee had reported that the trustees had had'no regular appoint-' merit,. the. ground) being,' therefore, still under the Board’s control ; and had recommended' that it bo placed under the Public Domains Act. The Chairman thought the provisions of that Act would not bo suitable, as the Board’s control might be interfered with. Mr Adams would prefer a committee of management. Mr Aitchison said .the . Board had no power to frame any : byc-la\vs, under their' present powers, and hence .the necessity of ! placing the whole Recreation Ground under the Public^Domains Act, I ; Mr Sherwood moved the adoption of the report, to give the Bodid a little breathing time. As to the technical construction of statutes under, which the Board had. to work, lie thought the time had arrived when a solicitor should be appointed to advise them as to the proper interpretation of doubtful clauses. Money is frequently lost for want of proper legal opinion. The question ; sho,uld quickly';''■because' tree-planting, which depends . upon the : . management of the ground, requires immediate attention before the season slips bye. The Recreation Ground ought to bo managed independently, for the Board had its proper functions to attend to.

Mr Taplin seconded the adoption of the report, and agreed ns to the necessity of appointing a solicitor to advise the Board. Mr Sherwood suggested that the gist of the .report ,be sent . t.o the. Colonial. Secretary.-- : The motion was agreed to. A LEGAL ADVISER. The Chairman : As to appointing a solicitor, I do hot intend to take upon myself to act for the Board in any legal capacity whatever. I do; not Uunk the ratepayers thank the members one bit for wasting their time in endeavouring to save money by doing solicitors’ work. TREE PLANTING. Mr Sbcerwood ;, The report of the committee on this matter recommends that the available funds of the Board shoujd be dmjdoyed in ’ planting the Recreation Ground with trees ; this season, and in forming a small nursery for next season,. How much is available ? The Clerk ; £77 8s 9d. Mr Adams: I don’t think the whole amount would bo required for the next three or four months. Most of that money would go in compensation. to the lessee for the land proposed to bo taken' for tree planting, and about £ls or £2O would go in now fencing. After some discussion as to the amount of land proposed to be taken from the lessee, Mr Sherwood proposed that the report be referred back to the committee for amendment in certain details.

This was agreed to. ; Mr Slierwood remarked, that, the-; Government offered to give 2000 pine trees for planting, about , two years ago, to be planter! here, and he believed a grant of trees might be obtained now on .application. MU ROSS’S LEASE. The Board then resolved itself into committee for. private discussion of theder.ms of Mr Ross’s lease of the Recreation Ground,' arid whether' the lease should be acquirer! by giving him. compensation, or whether some sufficient portion be taken for planting a broad belt of trees. It was eventually arranged to leave the lease an open, question,. The matter of tree-plant-ing remains in abeyance, pending ah application to the Government for a grant of trees. ; , , BEDFORD-STREET, POND. ... , Tiie letter from the County Council (read. at last meeting), offering to lay a box culvert in Bedford-street to carry the storm water off the County road to a point beyond the present pond, if the Town Board would co-operate, was now considered.

Mr Sherwood moved that the application be complied with. He said: I cannot help expressing my surprise that the local bodies have not already seen the serious liability they have - been incurring. It is said that legal opinions have been given; but some principle of equity should guide local bodies. That storm water is doing damage not only to the owner of the property, but to others. It is unsightly. It is fruitful, of ijl-health and .it is, one of ohr duties '--to {own The sooner that pond is tapped, the better. If the water is allowed to run out and expand itself ..oyer ..a. wider area, on the sand below, it will cease'to be a nuisance. Here is a case where equity should have full;sway,,iio.matter-:what the law maybe. The Chairman ; I second this. If, iii a -year or, two; this water becomes a nuisance on the flat below, we should then be in a position tb‘take the- water on to the river' as a part of the main drainage. Mr Aitchison : We have to give the Council a positive ' undertaking that we will carry the water on. That water will form trnew baisin-for itself 'in a very few weeks. If we bad ways'and means I should like ao'see the Wafer earned to the river. I, ajn authorised by a gentleman to say : thaf be is ‘prepared to advance £4OO to the Board until nest March. He might possibly, require it to be refunded at that time. .

The motion was then adopted, on the understanding that an undertaking will be given.to; x’eriibve;the water in the event of its accumulating on the flat below the present pond. This would relieve the County .Go uncijyfronrrpqgsequentin! claims for new damage. # _ ■ This concluded the special business. \