Borough Legal Expenses.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7762, 14 March 1905, Page 2

Borough Legal Expenses.

At Monday night's meeting of l lie lilorotigh Council a letter was read from .Messrs Govett and tluil! mn, borough solicitors, Inking exception to tthe publication olf reports calculates! to do them injury. They, knew that their charges were fllir and reasonable, and thought before any reports were allowed to be inserted in the papers they should be given an opportunity of explaining uny items that, at lirst sijjht <i|>pearod high. If Iheir explanation wus considered unsatisfactory then they would have no objection to the widest publicity. 'llK'y went 011 to explain their bill of costs, pointing 'out fhut owing to the loan and many ■borough improvements there had been an abnoimul amount of work done, and of course the legal charges were higher accordingly by comparison with previous years. When once works in hand Were completed it would be seen that legal charges [Would bo of comparatively small amount. I The Mayor explained thut the matter of legal costs had come up at the Works Committee meeting. No (exception was taken to any of the solicitors' charges, which were prot bably fair and reasonable enough iii detail, but the total of the legal expenses for tho year was considered heavy, and with a view to reducing tho expenditure in tills direction the |committee passed a motion, moved by himself, recommending to the incoming Council' that the Town i Clerk bo appointed legal adviser to tlm Council at a remuneration to |'be agreed 11 pun. No reflection whatever on tl',o Council's solicitors was intended. In moving the motion it I had struck liim that in many instances tho Town Clerk could make out the whole of th'o summonses, etc.-, 'and not harrass the ratepayers, who .were bound to pay for every summons issued from a lawyer's office. Then the costs for writing ]el--1 lers, etc.. Would bo saved the ratepayers. as the work would be done in the Council ollice, Onlv the other day a ratepayer had been kicking ,up a row because he had to pay tho solicitors' charge in a summons. Tho 1 C" 1 ' 1 1 tile:] report nnd coinin'enC in ono jot the newspapers gave a wrong i 111- ! pression as to the Council s action and reasons. Several councillors bore out tho explanation that the change was in 110 way meant as a reflection on Messrs Oovett anil Quilliam, and the „ I W 7L CI 7 k »? S instru «*«l to write a letter to this effect.