BOROUGH COUNCIL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 174, 14 July 1908, Page 3

BOROUGH COUNCIL

The Borough Council met last uMit. Present—His Worship the Mayor (Mr. G. Tiseh) and Councillors Boon, Bullringer, Coleman, West, Collis, Mills Morey, Cattley, and Browne.

THE FIRE BOARD. v Mr '„F' Wl Howar <l. secretary to the New Plymouth Fire Board, wrote that hLV H !' ICil ' s contri wition for the year JJOB-J bad been assessed at £229 3s. I lie estimated expenditure for the year was £4<io, and preliminary expenses had amounted to £49 4s (id, making a total of £509 4s (id. The amount payable by the Government was 130 18s ! Sd, insurance comnanics £229 3s Id and Bororgh Council £229 3s, giving a' total of ..:m 4s (id. The total premiums on vhieh the companies' proportion was lev'ed was £5393 14s 2d—Referred to the Finance Committee, with power to act.

I ABATTOIRS. The Abattoirs Committee's report w\v amended to provide "that the mana»ei be required to pay to the Council tin sum of £6 Cs claimed by Messrs. Gamlin and Co. for hides cut at the abattoirs.

A WATERCOURSE BLOCKED. .. A, J- R Eoy dmv t!,c attention oi tfle Council to a landslip in Fulfordstrect behind Sirs. Roy's property. Owing to recent heavy rains this had nlled the small stream running through the property, practically blocking it. He suggested that the Council should clean out the channel, for in its present state it was doing considerable damage to the land adjacent. Cr. Morey endorsed the statements made by Mr. Roy. Referred to the engineer for his report.

MUNICIPAL LAW. Mr. H. Okey, M.P., forwarded a copy of Mr. Fisher's proposed amendment of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1900. providing a Parliamentary qualification for municipal elections. PRESS PRIVILEGES.

Cr. Boon moved that reports of comI mittee meetings be withheld from the Press until after having been considered by the Council. The committee's reports were only recommendations which could not be acted upon except by the Council, but the public did not always understand this. Cr. Collis agreed.

Cr. Bellringer said that as a safeguard the attention of the reporters

was always drawn to any recommendations which it was wise to withhold, and the pressmen never committed a breach of faith. He thought the more light the people could get on the Council's proceedings the better. For his own part, he objected to committees sitting on the day of the Council meeting or a day or two before, 30 that the reports were not seen by the members until the Council met.

Or. Coleman said he knew people were often misled by the publication of these reports, for the Council often reversed the recommendations.

The Town Clerk said he had never known the Press to disregard his request to withhold an item from publication. Cr. Collis said that was not the point. The trouble was that the decision of

the committee was not necessarily tin decision of the Council.

Cr. Boon had no desire to reflect upon the Press, but the principle was wrong. Cr. Browne said that there were occasions when publicity was premature, but he believed in giving as much as possible to the Press and the public. The motion was lost, Councillors Boon, Coleman, and Collis voting for it. THE FINANCES. The Mayor brought up the question of the proposed extension of the formation and metalling of Gill-street cast. This had been deferred irom last meeting to enable the councillors to become acquainted with the position of the Council's finance from the quarterly return of the borough treasurer. The Mayor pointed out that out of £2200 allocated for streets £1175 had already been spent, and there .were still about forty weeks of the year to go, with a weekly wage-sheet of £25 or £27. There was £1025 left, and the wages -would amount to £IOOO. He could not see his way to support any new work than could/-.be done by the Council's own staff; in fact. he had in his mind to suggest to the engineer the reduction of the stall'. Most of the streets allocation had been expended before he came into office. There was the possibility of another tunnel being required between Powderhamstfeet, similar to the Devon-street tunnel, to remedy a bad state of affairs in the watercourse in the east end. The Devon-_strcet tunnel cost £250. The letter from Mr. Roy that evening added more expense in connection with a gully in the locality. He foresaw an over-

draft. The electric light department had decided to borrow £5200, and only £2500 of that loan had been raised. He considered, however, that this Gill-street extension was important, owing to the concessions given by Mrs. Ewing, owner of adjacent land. He referred also to the fact that the asphalting and eoa-

Crete side-channelling votes had been just about expended. Cr. Mills said that as works amounting to £5lO had already been authorised there was really only £494 left.

He considered that the streets were [ being starved. ,-., Cr. Bellringer moved that the engineer elw instructed to form and metal Gill- n street from Hobson-street to Brown- H street. He urged that it was well to An t the work whilst the adjoining propertyowners were in a frame of mind to give easements for the batter on the fillings. '■ Cr. Browne referred to Cr. Mills' £ figures, and said that he and the Mayor £ w°erc duplicating the labor item. As for the Mayor's complaint about moneys expended before he took office, he eon- n sidered it was the Mayor"s duty to have made himself acquainted with the " amount of work dene and authorised by a the Council from the beginning of the . year to the time of his installation. The metal was always required for streets j just at that season. The motion was carried. !

WORKS COMMITTEE. The following recommendations were adopted:—That the borough engineer be instructed to proceed with the Pcn-darves-strect widening adjoining Mr. K. Webster's property at the first favorable opportunity; that Mr. Colson be informed that, providing the adjoining propertv-ownere consent to the work being done, the Council contemplate at some future time lowering Liardct-street about 4ft at its intersection with Pen-darves-stroet; that the letter from Mr. W. H. Jury Te repairs to Queen-street be referred' to the l>orough engineer to report upon; that the following remits lie forwarded for the Municipal Corporations Conference:—"That the laws relating to public health he, amended to make it obligatory that where a death occurs from a notifiable infectious disease, such death should be registered before the burial takes place; that the laws relating to public health he amended t» make it compulsory for auctioneers before receiving bedding or clothing for sale to require a declaration to be signed i that such bedding, etc., lias not been exposed to infection or has been properly disinfected": that Mr. Kemp's request that the earth be tipped on his land from the Brougham-street gravel reserve lie given effect to; that the water be laid'" to to Mrs. Crocker's property in , Shorthind-streel on the usual terms as to cost of connection: that the footpath V on Hie east side of Cover-street between Devon and "HI streets be kerbed and ■ channelled; that the letter from Mrs. V J. Burgess with reference to horse impounded hi referred to the borough en"ineer to report upon; that the borough engineer be authorised to purchase 2o"sacks oats as per sample from Nolan and Co. at 3s O'/ad per bushel. GENERAL.

Mr M. J. Kendall complained of tlio slate of John-street, which was now little hotter than a hop, rendering pc'lestrianism almost impossible at iurM. Cahdrivers avoided the street, and ilurin" rainv weather the residents, had to I ground hy Eliot-street to get into the town.-Referred to the Mayor and engineer to effect temporary repairs, permanent work to be reported upon by the Works Committee. It was decided to inform the petitioners that instructions had already been erected at the corner of Kins and Ejrmont streets.' The Baths Committee reported eonr.crni»jr the appointment of a custodian of the baths.-Thc report was refe red birk to the committee, to he furtliei ] 'TIK the Kast Knd Bath* Com-' reitlee recommended the appointment ol Messrs. Kivell and Messenger as citizen, representatives on the committee. Agreed to. ~ ~, f'r Colli-. wiil> a view ot makinjr the boronoh offices more comfortable, moved a f e FJcctrie Light Committee, be IX.I to have the Town Hall win, for the installation of electric ra,l «1<« in the clerical department ami i>" I Mayor "s room.