MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1517, 24 October 1883, Page 2

MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

The usual monthly meeting of the pquncii was held last evening, Present —||is typrsjjip the Mayqp, Crs Qappeu, Berry, Lqwejj, Oktiiher|aii}. WijiiafflS, Pfice, and Hesspy. The minutes} qf the previous meetjng were confirmed and correspqndence VPftflt COMPLAINT AGAINST TIIE I'OUNDKEEI'BR, Mr H, Bontley wroto statins; that ho went to the pound punctually at 12 on the date on which the complaint was made, and found one person in attendfljiee, Constable Leahy, and the horse wag (July solfl to hiijj, Ifter ];e had soifl tlje horse Messrs Clmstiansei} anil Hoffiens cam? up and complained that tliey had found a notice pqstqd oji flie pound to the effect that the ljorso' ljad been yeleasec), and tliat there would be )io safe, tjicy thorpby ippted frqni attending the sale ai)d fte lforse, He (Mr Beiitley) went with t!).ep} tq see tjie bi)t ij; \yas not to bo found, He had jiovep postpd up any notice or authorised any person to do so, He had fed the horse at 8 o'clock fllfit nipping, and was not again at the pout)d till |je went to liok} tj)e sqlp. The Mayor ij!)k] he considered 3, geyiQi(s offencp Jjad been coitiiflittpd by BOfflo person in posting up such a notice and forging the poundkeoper's name to it, Ho moved that a reward of £5 be offered for the conviction of the person who posted such notice, Cr Lowes seconded and at the same time would add that the Council considered Mr Bentley's explanation perlljis was qp'ieij 01} (fiv)stqn; 4, noes 2, Cr Gapper moved that the reply of the poundkeeper be sent to the complainants and that they be asked to substantiate thoir chargp. Cr Williams seconded,—Carried, MR TOOMATII'S NUISANCE, Toou)at]| gating that the Mayor had undertfiken |q see that the waterholo on his land was filled up and the nuisance abated. The Mayor stated he had undertaken to have this work done at Mr Toomath's. cost, Op Lowes inquired if his Worship had Mr Toonifttlj'f) consent to pay for the work In writing, The Mayor said lie would be careful to make no mistake about the payment, PUBLIC HOLIDAY. The secretary of the Pastoral Sooiety wrote asking the Council to proclaim the show day a public holiday. This was agreed to. MR M'CARTHY'S VERANDAH, Mr McCarthy wrote, asking to be allowed to erect a verandah in Bannis-ter-street as far as the first window of his shop in that street, After considerable discussion, the Jlayq? rifled that no motion could be taken on this matter unfjl the previous resolution forbidding verandahs on half chain streets was rescinded. Cr Price intimated his intention of giving notice of motion on the sul> ject. PROSPECTING. • The Secretary of the Greytowfi Prospectiug Association wrote to the Mayor, asking him to call a public' Meeting, or to ask the Council to appoint ij, committee to co-operate with the Greytown 'Association in thoroughly prospecting the ranges in the rarapa for piiherals. The Mayor stated a copy of th®

also been sent to him, ■which, he had mislaid, but * np doubt they h,ac| all read the report in the DaJIY. ' '.'lt was/xesolved—That the Council take no aotion in the matter. 'Or Lowest said he could not see that the letter was a matter for the Council. It was, quite'open for tho Mayor or any person'to call a public meeting to discuss tho-letter, but it was not in the Council's province to initiate a prospering committee, He'had no doubt that some day gold would be found, and he would not throw cold water on any efforts in that direction; but to ask the Council to take up the matter was out of the question He moved that the letter be acknowledged and kid on the table, This was seconded and carried. . NURSERY ROAD. The applicants for work on this road wrote, agreeing to subscribe one third of the cost of the same, but would prefer to give the amount in labor. It was resolved that specifications be drawn; up tot failed foijs tho wot, to be : openessli flje meeting. . < <f WORKS COMMITTEE. , & The Overseer's report 1 and i dealt with at follows: —Owing to the bad ! weather .-I hare not been able to finish ! metalling Bentley-atreet, I have formed and metalled part of the footpath in Dixon atreot, and am now forming the part in Bannister-street. I recommend that about five ohaint of water table on the east aide of Bannister-stwot be cleared out.. (It wm rjsfllved that this be done.) I recommend that the o&lvert at the junction of Cole-alveet and Ghapel-streot be Men up and a larger one put in. (It won resolved that the matter stand over till it was seen whether the overflow was oaueed by the surface water or the overflow of the oreek on Mr Wrigley'e land.) It!was resolved tfl reeommend that the Town 01 wk be instructed to wrltejto the trustees of the Bishop's Reserve with a view of getting a road through to Akuh road with Ngatnatftfg and tl|e yppev jpiain.' was adopted, • NUISANCE, Til o JJixQn's creak coring out, sijso |hflt many persons drained slops and soapsuds into: this oreek, aud he complained that there was no bylaw to meet this particular offence. Or Williams did not see that the creek was a nuisanco where it was complained of. He' had ls(>n paying pyjekofcin t|)o paddock' tlU'QUgll wTtich . tiie portion flowed that the inspector reported upon, and ho never noticed any nulaanoe there, It was resolved that Mr Dixon have notice given him to clear ont thejereek on his property forthwith, wm Of MAR. (Pile TopCM was granted leavo qf absenoe fov four or' five days. RETURN WANTED. Cr Price moved that a return be laid on tho table of all plaoes and localities visited regularly by the nightman in his rounds, Cr Williams sejqnfled. He knew t||at tj|e ijiglltnp dill pt qali at all ipqses, ' ■ Tl)e Mayor sajd he was glad Cr Price l|ad brought up the matter. He believed there were still places in the Borough without the regulation boxes. .Or Gapper asked if tho'nightman tad'any rules printod or written to guide him in his duties I The clerk replied he had not, but that he was bound by the conditions of a contract. Cr Pfero)} did not see the necessity of tjje irfqticin, qs jf fjny nuisance existed it the Inspector's duty to Report it, *'.' ' ' Cr Lowes said if any persons required the services of the nightman and ho to attend they could complain to the Ooufjci], f jiicj) t])on take actiqn in tip mi^er. Cr Ppjce it should be compulsory for tjie nightman to visit every Loiise in the Borough, and that persons should i}qt be flowed tq deposit \he motion wfls lost on division.— Aves 3, pqes g, VJLU-STREET. Adjourned mqtion: That this street be constructed according to the plans and speolfioations on the table (i.e. with footpaths). Cr Lowes, as the mover of the adjournment of the debate at the last meeting said he did not intend to take up the time of the Council by repeating his arguments. He was quite willing to alfoy the pe.qple to decide for themselves, ana he believed Or Gapper had obtained the signatures of many of thoso interested to a petition asking that the paths be made and offering to pay' their share of the cost according to the scale laid down by the Council. Cr Gapper said he believed he had the signatures of two-thirds of the prqpefty owners in the street, and more .would have signed but they considered, that though they wanted the path they should not bavo to pay for it as they had paid rates for the past six years without benefit. , The Mayor could not agree with this view. If the property owners required - the path they should not object to; pay a small share towards the cost of it, Cr Heron without wishing to doubt Cr Gapper's veracity asked, the clerk whether the names given constituted two-thirds of the owners," (After search the Clerk replied that Cr Gapper's li&t' comprised 11 out, of 25 owners interested,) The Mayor wished to make it clear to the public that the Council had full po.wer to make footpaths in any part of the borough without consulting the property owners at all, and then charge them with fall cost of the same. The bylaw was made to. fix the cost on a uniform scale, The property owners were consulted as a matter of courtesy. Cr Williams spoke strongly in favor 1 of making the path. He had visited the locality, and from what .-he saw he 1 concluded that the paths'could be ' made at the same time as the road, at ' no greater cost, as one work would assist the other. He thought also patching should be a thing of the past, | When they made a street they should j make it in a proper and finished i manner. He thought as so many of the owners had promised to pay their ] share of tlie cost the rest should be ] made t&'do 80/ and'the work finished t

in a complete manner, He "would support the motion.

Or Heron said :if the majority of the owners had petitioned he would have supported it. H<i,was of opinion that the people should, as a matter of courtesy and fairness, be consulted before making a footpath which they would be compelled to pay for, His Worship said he should vote against the motion on the principle that the programme laid down by the Council should bo adherred to. _ Cr Price did not see that the Council having adopted a programme could diverge from it without injury to other parts of the borough. If it could be shown that both works could be done at the same cost he would support the motion, but not otherwise. Cr Gapper contended that with the subsidy from the owhers of 17s 6d per chain for the footpath both works could be done for the estimate of the Council, and for the safety of life and property it was necessary to make ,to path when the road was formed; The footpath would ny case have to be partly made in :>;makiii£! the road, aud it was better to make a good job of it at once. Cr Lowes wag about to speak to the motion when his Worship the Mayor pointed out that as he was interested in the matter the 75th clause of the Aofc forbade his speaking or voting upon it under a penalty of iSO. Cr Lowes, while bowing- to the ruling of the Act, pointed out its absurdity in a oaso like that under discussion, He asked if Councillors could not vote for works in streets in which they were, interested, what were they to do when a question of repairs to Queen-street; came before them | They wero all more or less interested in that street. Were they to refrain from doing any work in it for that reason J The Mayor i Well, such is the law, and I merely direct attention to it. The motion was then put and lost on Jivjsioiv Ayes, 4 - Qrs Prioe, Williams, Hcwy, and Gapper, Cr JflTO wt voting. ' Noes, 4—The Mayor, and Crs Heron, Perry, and Chamberlain. The Mayor gave his casting voto with the noes, and doolared the motion lost. Cr Heron then moved tV\t Yillastreet be made, cyily as far as Hp WQ ved this to test Ik feeling of the Counoil, as ho had heard comments to the effeot that th« street was not required to be taken furthor, Cr Gapper seconded.—Carried. Cr Gapper said it had hepn carried that the street w!\s tfi ha made, but not 1m WtQ 1)8 made. He presumed that it was to bo in accordance with the plans and specifications laid on the table, Cr Heron; No, The Mayor: I did not take it so. . After some further argument the Mayor ruled Cr Gapper out of order. Cr Heron in explanation said he thought it fully understood that the previous resolution settled the question of tl|B fqptpath. To make the matter perfectly cleav- he would move, That tenders be called for formation and metalling of Villa-street carriage way as far as Hope-stroet. Or Chamberlain seoonded. The motion was put and earned on the voices, Cr Gapper called for a division which was taken as follows Ayes 7, The Mayor, and Crs Heron, Price, Chamberlain, Williams, Hessey, and Perry. Noes 1, Cr Gapper, Cr Lowes again refrained from voting laughingly rerhivvkiflg that he "dared not." " STREET LEVELS. The Mayor called attention to the fact that in making Villa-street some cuttings would bo made and notice would have to bo given under the Act to persons affectecji' to enable them to make objections to the same if they desired to do so, Cr Gapper ridiculed the precaution, instancing the cutting at the lower end of Queen-strget, about which nothing had been said, The Mayor pointed out that this did not alter the law nor relieve the Council of its responsibility, He moved that the legal notice be given and tho Counoil meet that night five weeks to hear and determine objections to the proposed street level.Carried, A BREEZE. Cr Gapper wished to know by whose authority two trees had been cut down and removed off the recently-purchasod borough gravel reserve. The Mayor stated that ho had given permission to the overseer to take the trees for firewood. He had understood from Mr Croad that Pr Gapper had also given permission. Cr Gapper; Can you make that assertion in a Court of Justice 1 The Mayor; Yes. Certainly I Cr Gapper: Then I shall sue you for defalcation' of character for making kuch 'a statement ftboiit we. It is utterly untrue. I deny it in toto. I told Croad to write to the Council as it was illegal to give away the borough property The Mayor said if he had done wrong he was prepared to take the censure of the council, Cr Gapper might have waited for a better opportunity to attack him instead ofcreating a scene about two paltry trees. Cr Gapper's enmity arose not from these trees but from the fact that he (the Mayor) had been compelled in what he considered to be the interest of the Borough, to oppose him in many matters of late. _ Or Gapper declared his intention of citing the Overseer before the Council to prove he did not give him permission to cut the trees down, and moved that the Mayor's words be taken down. Cr Heron moved—That the Council stand adjourned. Cr Price handed in the following notice of motion, and after a few more words between the Mayor and Cr Capper the Council adjourned:— NOTICE OP MOTION. Cr Price.—That permission be given' to Mr McCarthy to erect a verandah in terms of the application contained in his letter, dated October 22, 1883. That a committee be appointed to prepare a schedule of the duties of the : Inspector of Nuisances, and to report at the next meeting.