MUNICIPAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2802, 19 January 1888, Page 2

MUNICIPAL.

Last Night's Special Meeting. The Water Supply; : , A special meeting of the Masterton Borouph Council was held last night at the Council Chambers for the purpose of considering and dealing with the following notice of motion by Cr Gapper, viz.: "That before permission be given to any person to perform any work in any of the streets in the Borough, a plan and specification' of the proposed work must be. submitted to and approved of by the Council, aiid that in the event'of any person'interfering with any of the streets of the Borough without the permission of the Council, the Borough Overseer be in-' structed to report suoh matter to the Town Olerk, and the Town Clerk' be directed, in conjunction with the Borough Solicitor, to tako immediate proceedings under clauso 240 of the Municipal Corporations. Act,\ 1886, against the., offenders." There were present: His Worship, the Mayor, Mr A. W. Betiall (in the chair), arid Councillors S.'E. Gapper, G. Heron, Thos. -Parsons, E. E. Chamberlain, T. E. Chamberlain, Walter Perry, J. Muir, J. Hessey, A. E. Elkins, and J. Carman. '.'■•'

The Town Clerk read the notice calling the meeting. ' ' The Mayor: This is no meeting. We are not legally constituted. When was the meeting to take place ? Why there's no date to that notice! .

OrT. Chamberlain: Well, wo are all here, and that is what is required. Cr Heron; Yes, and let us go on with tho business.

_ The Mayor: Yes, but I say this isn't a meeting. So far we have only been notified to convene a meeting, not to attend one. Can you find the Town Clerk's name on that post card, or the date? Cr Perry; Oh that's a mere quibble.

The Mayor: It doesn't matter, the Act says the notice shall be signed by the Town Clerk, and that thing isn't. Well, Or Gapper, I would like to hear what we are here for; you called the meeting. Cr Gapper: Your Worship is simply trying to bluff us in taking advantage of a slight flaw in the notice; Or Parsons: I think it is wrong to call the Council together at all on this occasion clause 9 of the Act gives ample power without this being necessary. ■ The Mayor: You are not speaking • to the point. The whole thing is informal from beginning to end, The " three gentlemen calling the meeting, have really signed the.resolution instead tf appending) their names to the request above it.- : '" .:■;' . Cra Parsons and Heron asked Bis ''' Worship to rule whether he would allow the motion to be taken! into' |pP disoussion or not. Councillors/would V admit'that the notices were imperfect. Cr Elkins: Who issued the notices ? .

The Town Clerk explained that they were issued in the ordinary way, and that the.er'ror was an oversight. The Mayor; Well, gentlemen, in any case you'll have to. take-the.'Act as you find it. If you read the, clause you'll. see the Council can proceed against any individual unduly interfering with their properties, through the Mayor, the Town Clerk and a Obunoillor i but not by means of a lawyer. I CrElkins:"Will you kindly rule • whether we are "to go on with. this meeting'or not? • : :, J The Mayor': This is no meeting at all. It wasn't properly convened/ Or Heron: I move that this Ooun- . oil stand adjourned. His Worship: There's no Council to adjourn, for we haven't met. (General laughter, amidst which some of the Council moved .towards the door), . The Mayor.: You need'nt go. 'l'.'Jk think we can manage to do a little more now you are here. I think it is lime this matter was'settled. To' bring about this result I have prepared a petition praying the Governor, on account of the present deadlock in Masterton to abolish the wards and so dissolve the Council. Now gentlemen . will you sign this. Cr Elkins: Well Your Worship, you sign it first and guarantee to > . resign, and I will follow suit, and with the other Councillors will put down ray name and go to the ballot. (To the Councillors; You'll sign wont you ?") Councillors 'together:- " We'll.' all sign Iwe will!! we will!!! Other Councillors: Don't sign it Elkins, ; Cr Elkins: I-kuow what I am about (to the' Mayor), you must resign with the rest of us; that is all I stipulate. The Mayor: I'm tne elect of the people. If a majority of the new Council are against me I'll go out. His Worship here, hesitating, recap- .g| itulated thes nature of the petition. ™ _ Or Hessey (to the Mayor): The fact is, you want us all to resign and you'll stick in. Ido not see why we should put the burgesses to a lot of trouble, and I am not going to do it. Several Councillors; No, we'll not sign it unless he goes out too. The Mayor': Well, if you don't cace.,. to sign the petition, I daresay the!" burgesses wont object to do it. The wards have put in such a lot of men that I cannot work them,

At this stage CisGapper called the Councillors together to his end of the Chamber, aud invited them to sign the following document : That the Town Clerk be instructed, in conjunction with the Borough solicitor to' take immediate proceedings, under clause. No. 240 of the Municipal ' Corporations Act, 1886, against A. W. Benall, David Jackeou, and Walter -fa Langley for breaking up and damaging w the public streets of •Masterton, 'con?'" trary to the wishes of the members of tho Borough Council. Councillor Gapper having appended •his m wwe, tie. Councillors pre.se.at ;

all in turn signed the instruction, with the exception of Cr Carman, who left the room saying that he objected to sign without a full discussion of the subject of it, ■• During of signing, a lively.., conversation was kept up betweeniga Worship and the Council-. • lore, muwto the satisfaction of the numerous audience which was present in the strangers'lobby. ■ His Worship: That affair will load to unauthorised expenditure, and it Won't get past me any more than the Cahfornian pump will. You'll have to pay it out of your own pockets, that'll be the meaning of it. A Councillor: The pump was left tothe discretion of the Works Committee, and they thought it necessary. The Mayor: Yes; but the expenditure wasn't legally authorised. Cr Hessey: I think we are able to , conduct work properly, and are able -' to keep to tho law, too. It is Your Worship that has broken the law. His Worship: Broken the law I Why,, Councillor Hossoy, you don't know i law when you see it. Alafge amount, of by-play was still indulged in, but Councillors, with the exception of Cr Carman, one and all signed Cr Gapper's document, instructing legal proceedings to bo taken. A move was then made to the door, and discussion was gradually carried into the sfiet, when after a few goodtemperedraharks had passed between His Worship the Councillors and the , crowd, this rather informal gathering, adjourned.