MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8483, 10 July 1907, Page 6

MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

ORDINARY MEETING. The ordinary meeting of the Masterton Borough Council, held last evening, was presided over by the Mayor (Mr J. M. Coradine). There were also present —Crs J. Yarr, J. Prentice, J. C. Ewington, W. Pragnell, W. Morris, A. Haughey, F. W. Temple, and J. Elliott. An apology for absence was received from Cr J. H. Pauling. The Secretary of the Masterton Municipal Fire Brigade applied for the quarterly grant to enable the n to carry on till the new Fire Board takes office. It was decided to advance the Fire Brigade the usual quarterly grant of £25, the money to be refunded by the Fire Board when it takes office. Mr R. K. Jackson wrote, on behalf of Mr McKee, stating that he understood the Council were prepared to submit the Herbert Street contract dispute to arbitration, and if so, requesting the Council to put the matter in hand at once. The Mayor said there was no prothe contract for submitting it to arbitration. Cr Morris moved that the letter be received, but there was no seconder to the motion. It was then decided, on t';e motion of Cr Ewington seconded b\ Cr Pragnell, to hear Mr Jackson i i support of the letter. Mr Jackson, who was present at the meeting, said there was nothing to prevent Mr McKeefgoing to arbitration over the contract. He said that the work had been carried out to the satisfaction of the Engineer and adopted, and. he considered that the Council should give fair consideration to the matter. Cr Temple (to the Engineer) : Has Mr McKee got any claim in this matter. The Engineer: No, sir. On the motion of Cr Temple, it was then decided not to entertain the application. Mr Keith wrote, "on behalf of the Renall Estate .Trustees, requesting that as the contract referred to in the agreement made between the Council and the Trustees was completed, the Council should hand over the balance of the deposit held by them. He also requested payment of the sum being half cost of culvert as agreed, and asked that he be furnished with a certificate from the Borough Engineer that the contract for the road through too Ngaumutawa Block had been completed to his satisfaction. The Town Clerk stated that the certificate had baen sent, and the balance of the deposit held by the Council had been returned, less an amount for supervision. Mr Keith had objected to a.i amount being held for supervision. The Engineer stuted that an amount for supervision had been deducted in the case of Cole's Estate. The Mayor said that it was a question of the payment of half the cost of the culvert. The culvert, however, had not yet been built. The site of the culvert had been altered by the Engineer without the approval of the Council, but the En • gineer was of opinion that th? culvert would answer the same purpose in the altered position. The question was whether the Council could legally pay the amount asked for by Mr Keith. The matter wa3 referred to the Works Committee to consider and take kgal opinion if necessary. A circular was received from the Liver ..argill Wednesday Half-Holiday Association forwarding resolutions pas ad at a meeting of a tradesoer. ;,le held in Invercargill affirming the principle that the only satisfactory legislation on the weekly halfholiday question is that which gives to each district the opportunity of fixing the day that will be most convenient to that district, and that all laws shall be so altered that all factories and shopkeepers shall be enabled t<s keep the day so chosen as.a statutory half-holiday. The Council was asked to co-operate in the matter. —The circular was "laid on the table." In accordance with his notice of motion, Cr Yarr moved—"That the motion passed by the Works Committee on June 4th and adopted by the Council, with reference to drain-

age connections not being in future carried out by the Council, be rescinded, with a view to providing for those cases where, permits to make connections bad previously been issued." Cr Prentice seconded the motion, which was carried without discussion.