BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1055, 4 July 1883, Page 2

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

The ordinary monthly meeting of the above Council was held at their Chambers on Monday evening, and a more stormy meeting has not been held in Patea for some time. There were present—The Mayor, and Crs Dixon, Aitchison, Paul, Adams, Williams, McCarthy, Mahony, Taplin. ; The first jar that occurred in the usually smooth-moving machinery of this august body was while the minutes of the previous meeting were being read. In these it appeared that it had been agreed by. the' Gouncir.that a claim of Mr Wood for compensation be left over till the present meeting. Cr Adams : I have no recollection of; Wood’s claim being left over till .this; evening. : | The Mayor: It was agreed to by the! Council. 1 ; Cr Adams: There is no resolution tof that effect. ; The Mayor: Why didn’t yon object; then ? ; , : / -' ' J ' . Or Adams: I object now. j Cr Aitchison said that Mr Wood ; attended the last meeting;/™ person, and seemed to press his claim very hard,: but as it was late in the evening then, the Mayor suggested iDatter be postponed till this evening, to which no one objected. The minutes were then put and confirmed, Or Adams dissenting. , n CORRESPONDENCE. . -Letters were read-rrs;v> /y From Major>-Noake, stating.that he; had no objection to ,a- .draintunning through sec. -jf'.. a compensation of; say £6 were allowed,;, The Mayor moved—That the offer of Major Noake to allow a covered drain to be taken through his property, for the sum of £5, be agreed to, payment to be made on completion of the worV’ He did not need to say much on this motion. The work was necessary, and although the compensation might look large, if arbitrators were appointed it would cost the Council much more. Or McCarthy seconded. In doing; so he thought that as they had to go through this property to get to Captain. Wray’s, and as no compensation was asked for the latter, he thought the amount was not too much. Cr Aitchison: It seems to me a small amount for allowing property to be cut about. The demand is small, and I think we should accept it. Resolution carried, (Cr Barton here entered the room, and after making the usual declaration, to.qk his seat. ) Captain Wray, stating that, the drain through his property were cleared out so ns to , do as little damage as possible, he would not claim any compensation ; also asking for sand in Victoria street to be removed, and Lincoln street formed as far as his gate, further stating that the contractors for gravel were still carting oyer his. property, instead of on a road which the Council had promised should be made. The Engineer said he had explained that the work in connection with

Lincoln street could not be done at present—until the drainage was completed. Or Adams ; How much would it take to form the street ? The Engineer : About £lO. The Mayor: With .regard to the cutting in Victioria' street, it is from this that the Engineer proposes that the filling in Egmont street shall be completed. .If w.e, do this work, we do it for onr own benefit, as well as Captain Wray’s; Or McCarthy : How mneb would the work in Victoria street cost? The Engineer: The two streets would cost about £l6. There is about 4000 yards of sand to bo procured to complete Egmpnt-street north,.and T propose that it come from Victoria street. Cr Aitchison: Whatever is done with the sand I fail to see why this street should be treated differently to Others. Wherever there is a cutting in other streets it is sloped in a safe position and in some cases fascined or cla-yedlsb • will not come down on to theTootpathi Apart from Captain Wray. individual, I fail to see how the Council could leave that work as it is, and. I hardly- think the • work should be lopked upon in the light of compensation for the drain. ,In veply, to a. question whether ,a road to the gravel pit had been made, the Engineer stated that the contractors had been unable to cart on the road and that, he had gone unofficially to .Captain Wray and obtained leave to cart gravel over the same ground as formerly. Cr Aitchison: By that action the ;Conncjl get snubbed when they were not to blame. They , bad authorised' the road to be made'and I think that unless some very strong.reason could be shown it should have been carried out.

Cr Adams thought that one private individual had a-perfect right to go to another and get permission for anything. ■ The Engineer bad stated he was not acting on behalf of the Council. Cr Aitchison maintained that this was a public matter, and that the Engineer was acting in a public capacity. Cr Taplin moved ‘‘ That the drain through 1 Captain- Wray’s property be made and that the Council accede to his request in making Lincoln street to a to -be hereafter decided, and the removal of the- sand hill in Victoria street, always provided that a sum not exceeding £2O be expended in the said work.” The mover thought it. appeared plain from what had been laid before them that the drain had to be taken through. It also appeared-that the Lincoln street work was necessary, and that the removal of sand in Victoria street was required. He thought Captain Wray’s request a very reasonable one, and that without any more quibbling they should close the whole thing. Cr Dixon seconded the motion and supplemented 7 Cr Taplin’s remarks. He thought it only fair and just that they should accede to Capt Wray’s request. Cr Paul would like to ask if £2O would finish Victoria street to Smith’s gate. The Mayor; This only refers to the cutting. Or Paul did not see at all that the road should be stopped at the cutting. The Mayor: That is outside the present question-.. Cr Adams agreed with Cr Paul, but there were no funds. Cr Aitchison would vote for the resolution, but vhe scarcely agreed with the way it was worded. The work should bo kept separate from compensation. The work Wiis necessary, and should inall fairness be done, - Resolution carried. With regard to the ; trespass by the contractors; for gravel while the Council had authorised; the construction of a road in a different direction, the Mayor said : It seenis that the contractors found that the old way was much' morepreferable, -so they continued using it, and have-not made the new road.

In reply to a question from Or McCarthy as to whose fault it was that the contractors used this road, the Mayor explained that the mistake arose through the plan used by the Engineer being an old one, and the direction of the road being altered in the registered plan. . The Mayor: The contractor spoke to me about this matter and I advised him to go to Captain Wr.ay and offer him £1 per week for permission to cart over the section. Moved by Cr. Adams “ That Captain W ray be informed tiiiit- it was a private arrangement ~p.n the pai t. of the Engineer in - the gravel contractor to cart over his land, as a sum of money ;Was voted by the Council to make the road oh the proper line.” Seconded by*, Cr Altcbispn. Cr Adams thought this, would enlighten Captain Wray as he seemed to be under the impression that the Engineer was acting’* - under the mstiuctions of the Council in the matter. Resolution carried. From Messrs Dixon and Mahony, trustees in the estate of Peter Larsen, deceased, asking for a transfer of some sections, to G. Bennicke. Application granted. From Mr Cowern forwarding account sales of lenses sold on I.6th June. , From Mr J. Smith stating he had a supply of pipes from 4iui to I2in, and also stating he was in a position to supply the Council if required. Cr Mahony asked if Mr Sherwood had made a start with his pipes or if he had made any progress. The Mayor did not think they, could couple this matter with Mr Sherwood’s contract. The Mayoy (tp th,e Engineer) : Have you inspected these pipes. The Engineer ; Yes. Mr Smith has 12in, 4in, 6in, and I also think some 9in pipes. They are a very great improvement on the liast, but still they are not so good as the Wellington ones. Cr Adams moved and Cr Dixon seconded and it was carried, “ That Mr Smith be asked to forward a price list and sample of pipes to the Council for approval.”

WORKS COMMITTEE REPORT. The report of the Works Committee which merely related to labour employed was received. : INSPECTOR OF NUISANCES REPORT. The Inspector of Nuisances reported that the borough was in a cleanly state, and that he shortly intended bringing several persons “ to account ” for not having,their gorse fences trimmed. Or Aitchison : There is one thing in connection with the Inspector of Nuisances, who is also poundkeeper. 1 have been informed that animals in the pound have been tormented by boys, who nearly drive them mad. lam informed that the quietest animal put in there one day,- may by the next have become perfectly mad. I have also been told that these boys have actually been in the habit of firing shots, propelled by gunpowder, into the animals. There should be a stop pnt to this. The Mayor stated that he had actually seen the animals tormented himself. Mr Jacomb had staled that he had never been able ip catch the boys. Cr Paul said he had also seen the boys, and had hunted them away himself.- . engineer’s report. The Engineer reported as follows: —• 1. The large sump for the. main drainage near Bridge, with outlet to river and connection with water-table on west side, also extension of water-shoot on north side'of Bridge, were completed, and in addition three timber sumps made. 2. Timber crossings have been placed in Bedford street at junction with Cornwall street; also timber culverts at Kent street, to regulate flood water until the main drainage is carried out. 3. Bedford street continuation was taken over early in the month, subject to a small reduction on the final payment, to enable the water channelling to be repaired when the weather became suitable. 4. The Egmont and Devon street contract Was completed about the 15th. Unless these streets are intended to be gravelled, it would be advisable to bow grass-seed on them. " 5. I anticipate the metalling contract for Bedford street completed in a week from now, should the weather continue favourable.

6. I recommend that an additional depth of Sin. of gravel be placed on Bedford street, from Odger’s hotel to the Masonic hotel, 20ft wide. This is advisable to keep the grade to the permanent level and the formation to the proper shape, as the gravel now being put on will be swallowed up in the soft ground, which is certain to sink. The number of cubic yards required would be.300, which at present contract rate would cost about £SO.

7. I have, in compliance with instructions from the Chairman of the Works Committee, prepared a specification for the remainder of the sumps required for the main drainage as far as at present contemplated. 8. The ruling of His Worship the Mayor }a tter ly * n the Council that the Engineer, although ho asks permission is not to speak unless in reply to a question, if a correct ruling is certainly unfair, seeing the number of random statements made at meetings damaging to my reputation without the chance of repudiating them. 9. Without wishing in any way to dictate to the Council what should bo done I take the liberty of giving my opinion that now is the time to put'on day labour to prevent an exodus of the labouring population which would be a serious matter to tradespeople and cause a lamentable depreciation in property. There, are many useful and necessary works , which could be at once undertaken if the ,Council can find the means.

10.—I suggest that: the; Council authorise me to expend such portion of the L2O held from the ..contractor on Bedford-street, as maybe necessary to put the water channels in repair when the weather is favourable for the work. ;■ ' 1 As the night was far advanced when the re-; port came up for discussion, only those clauses of importance were considered. Clause 4. —Not acted upon. Clause 6.—-Held over. Clause B.—Struck out. Clause 9.—Held over. Clause 10. —Adopted, accounts. , . The following accounts were passed for payment York and Cornfoot, L24Bs 8d ; Mahony, L 26 13s; S Taplin, Ll9 10s; KB Scott, L 8 2s 6d ; Jas Smith, L47s 6d ; T By ton, L 6 5s ; Mrs Carradus, 15s ; W Back) 11s ; T Parnell; L 3 17s ; H Bayliss, L2 16s ; M O’Meara, L 9 12s ; Patea Harbour Board, L4O ; Patea Mail, 19s 6d; Gr D Hamerton, L 5 2s Id. - • The Council ;then adjourned till the following evening; A report of the latter meeting will appear in our next issue.