ABOUT BRAIN PIPES.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1006, 7 March 1883, Page 2

ABOUT BRAIN PIPES.

There was a heated discussion in the Borough Council oil Monday evening about drain pipes. The proceedings commenced by reading the following letter from Mr Clarence Dale : -To v His Worship the Mayor.—Sir,— In 1 reply to your letter of this day’s ; date tfe drain pipes, I have the honour to inform you that I am willing to supply 82 pipes* (9. inches), and ■ take back the others ; delivered to your Engineer’s order, although I consider the Council had bound themselves by the act of their servant to pa} r ■for the whole'quahtitj' delivered; However, I,have a market for the larger j portion of them, and therefore am willing ■ to cancel previous order, on condition that ; the Council take 82 nine-inch pipes, which is all I have now forsale, —I am, etc, 0. | Dade, Patea, Feb 7. ; The Mayor said that he had given.the order for this quantity of pipes. It appeared that pipes, were required for the Leicester street contract, but the Council had used stones instead, and therefore it would have been all the same if the contractor had ordered .them, as the pipes would have been thrown on the Council’s hands. ; - Cr Adams- would like to know the authority for the order. ■ The Mayor : The contract was let, and :it included this amount of drain , pipes, and the authority was given by the engineer four months ago. The engineer Asked me about it the other day, and I said that if he had ordered them we should have to take thorn. i

? Ori Adams: If the engineer ordered a ! bale of drapery would the Council have to take it ? The Mayor : If it Was in the contract. >■ Gr Adatns : Ido not see why the drain 'pipes were bought. The Mayor ; They were ordered for the, contract; : Or Adams : We have nothing to do -with^be-eoKtractr- ——— - ■ ? The Mayor : I have given ray reason 1 and there can be no further discussion, except upon a resolution. , Or McCarthy asked, that the' Mayor’s letter to Mr C. Dale be read. . The letter stated that the Council would •take certain pipes to the.amount of £ls, dr Adams ; Has that amount been paid ?

; The Mayor: No ; but we. have taken delivery and used some of the pipes. '" The following letter was then read : The Clerk Patea Borough Council. : Sir,—Tam instructed by Mr W. Cowerri,, 'on' behalf of Mr Dowden of Auckland/ auctioneer, to write to you and demand ■possession of the drain pipes sold to you bi' Mr W. Dale through .Mr, Clarence Dale, and to warn you not ,to bake, any ■payment for the same to, Mr Pale or his brother/oir any person on his behalf. The property in the pipes, which'belong to Mr Dowden,. never,passed to, Mr Dale, inasmuch as when he., purchased them he did so without any intention of pacing for them, and has not paid anything as yet. If not delivered to Mr Cowern on demand, *an action will be commenced in trover for the pipes. Yours/&c./ ELLioTT Barton, March 5. i In reply to Cr Taplin, the Clerk said the letter had been received at 4' p.m. that day. -■ ■ • >' r ' • ; Cr Taplin’: The pipes’had passed from us before,them. Cr Dixon moved That the action of the Mayor be endorsed re drain pipes,” He thought they had got out of the difficulty very well by only taking a small, order.- ■ ■

• Cr Taplin seconded. He thought they ought not to bicker about a matter that was in -the contract. The Mayor was an honourable man and he t had acted, for, the best. He considered that” the Engineer had been badly treated as the other night he had shown an authority from the Town Clerk., The order had beep given him.by/f the’ Mayor: and* the pipes obtained^': they must 1 have'had them. * ,

; Cr Adams agreed that the Mayor was an honourable man, but disagreed with, the principle of t ordering- goods ' without the authority of the Council. If they had ;been an easy-going body they might have been’ let in for £BO worth of tiles. The Engineer had : shown the , numbers and price of the pipes to the Mayor and bo said get them, knowing- that the atriount far exceeded what was authoiised by the Council'. If they had to pay accounts for goods ordered this way they were entering on a bad thing. He objected to hole and corner work, of any kind. -. '

I Tne Mayor denied anything re figures. He met the.Engineer and he asked what about the tiles. He (the, Mayor) replied that if they were wanted, he had better get them. The amount ; .waß £l2 6s, , and since then another lot amounting to £1 4s had, been got and used in Bedford-street.' ; Cr McCarthy : Then the, engineer told a lot of lies. He told me that lib went into figures. ' ‘ :

• The Mayor; The question of figures never cropped up. X knew nothing of the quantity or price of the pipes. Councillors hoar reports outside, and bring accusations against me, and now they should substantiate them. ■ ' - ; .

A Councillor asked that the engineer should speak, but the Mayor objected. Cr Adams : How can they be substantiated unless by word of mouth. Cr McCarthy : The engineer should be allowed to defend himself. The Mayor : He is not a Councillor. After some further remarks the Mayor asked the engineer whether it was true that he (engineer) and himself (Mayor) went into a. calculation before the order was given. -.... .., ->■ _ > The Engineer—There' was no calculawith- regard to but-the number and cost ..were, shown.. t . , t .. . The Mayor—Have you got any record. 5 The Engineer Yes. (Handing his ■pocket,,bdok;to: the Mayor).' v; ! The Mayor—This you say you showed itb me;' - ~ The Engineer—Yeg, and you asked if that was the same price as before. -■ J % The Mayor replied that he had no re.collection of any conversation about the price of the pipes Cr Adams moved, “ That the action of the Mayor be not agreed to.” He;-could !not allow a transaction like this to pass without putting his objection on record. , Cr McCarthy, seconded. Cr Taplin -said that - the amendment under the circumstances was almost tantamount to a r vote of ho confidence in their They; had power - not to pass ;the account, and they had taken advantage of it. fi

Cr Gibson thought that the amendment was not in seriousness, except to show the disapproval of the .mover. It was plain to him that information had been given to Mr;. Dale bfv thequantityiahd’ sizes of pipes required for the streets, and, on the strength of that, pipes had been ordered, almost enough to do the whole,drainage, of the town. The contracts were* let * three or four months ago, and the information had been given; by somebody w.ell acquainted with the streets. They should, accept the Mayor’s explanation, and congratulate themselves on having taken only just the amount of pipes necessary. ' The Mayor said lie could refale'what’ ;the Engineer said. He, the engineer, went to Dale and. told him that he must have the- ' They Mr •Honeyfield and had never been ordered for the Borough, but the engineer insisted on having the whole of them.. Mr Dale, would bear this out in writing if necessary.

Cr Adams : Not much reliance could be, placed upon that. The Mayor ; Quite as much as the statements flying about the town accusing me of being mixed up in this business. A clause in a recent'report of the engineer. was read, shpwing that 900 feet of din.‘pipes were' required, which clause had been adopted by the Council. . Cr Adams did not think that, sufficient authority. The Mayor was glad to see a spirit of .enquiry amongst'councillors. ■ There were* r'tTiingn in tlm imiim'li. llmmilu tyhieh had not been authorised.There was £l2 worth of .linoleum on the. floor of that room,; ordered without authority. The Clerk.: There was authority. Cr Adams : Authority was given to get furniture for the room. ■ The Mayor: That is the : . way yon get 'out of it. , . 4 ~ . Cr Adams’ amendment - was. then put •and lost, on .a .division, the. mover and seconder only' for it. The' Mayor' [declined ! to vote, as-it was a personal matter. The motion was put and carried by 5 to 3, Cr Barton’s name being amongst the rioes. ‘ ’ - • W 5 Consideration of * Mr Barton’s letter wan then proceeded with’. / . Cr, McCarthy thought itwas notwortb bothering, about. A . Cr Mahony moved “ That 3tlr Barton bt [informed that the Council, cannot entgritain the request stated in his letter.’’ Ho’ ‘ ? thought the purchase was legal, as it was impossible; that 'tfie owner ; of-Ahe ; *pipes [knew what Mr Dale’s were when he purchase^them. ; | Cr McCarthy seconded,. s ’ Cr Barton explained the law bearing upon the subject. ■ v : ■ -’V : - -Cr Taplin said that only a judgment of the Court would be a proper, warning. _ , Cr Adams considered dbat’they should not assist at any shady'transaction.:. He. ■should propose that the account Be not ■ paid until the Court Who the ' raoney helongs ,to., ~ . Cr .Gibson moved, Cr Taplin seconded, ‘‘ That Mr Barton’s': letter lie upon the' table.” * / /' Ghe Mayor said that his eyes had been opened as to whom property belonged. He had gone into a store and bought a. suit 'of' clothes, and he, never troubled himself as'to whether thepafty he bonghtr them, from was gqing ; to pay for them.' 1 If it could be proved that Mr Dale stole the pipes, there might be some claim, but he thought, the purchase.a legal one. _ : Cr Adams: Blit this is an. underhand business. .Clarence Dale’s name is advanced when all the time the pipes are W. Dale’s. . ' The amendment was put and carried. .