The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1889.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3196, 4 May 1889, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1889.

The Iron Roof Question.

The Masterton Borough Council will have to deal with a very important subject at the special meeting which lias been convened for Tuesday next. Some ten years ago, when the town had just been created a borough, the

city fathers probably had an eye to the growth of the place, and they accordingly made a number of provisions for the management of its civic affairs, which were in many respects highly creditable to them. Among others they passed a by-law according to which every building within what is known in the Building Regulations as " Number One Dis'trict" must be covered with incombustible material by the 81st May of

She now current year., The exacl

reading of the section of the clause, as embodied in the by-laws adopteJ on the 22nd of November, 1887, is as follows; -"All shingle roofs al

present within this district shall be

replaced with incombustible material on or before, the 81st day of May, one thousand eight hundred and eighty nine, except in cases where buildings are detached by not less than fifty feet from any other building," This simply means that no less than 150 buildings in the principal part of the town must be recovered before the end of the; present month. The Council of ten

yearß ago, no doubt, meant to give ample warning, to property-holders when it fixed upon the 81st May, 1899, as the time by which these

changes were to be carrjsd out. It is to be feared, hpwever, that too much time was given, and that, as a natural consequence the whole sub-'

ject, which was then hung up, ; was forgotten by everybody but the Town Clerk and one 'or two Councillors, until now, when a heavy expenditure stares a large number of burgesses in the face. We .are not prepared to say what the Council should do in the matter, On the ope hand there is a by-law to be carried out which is calculated to ensure greater safety to a large amount of private property, and a lower rate "of insurance premiums, but which would necessitate the expenditure' of a large amount of money, whioh many of

j those who are most interested can ill afford to spare at the present time;; while on the' other. there is apparently a way onj pf the difficulty1 under clause 72, which reads \—. ■ ')

If, in the opinion .of the Borough Council, a full compliance jnth'-these regulations, or of .slny of them in respect 1 to any proposed .rep'arrs,''br additims'to 'any ousting' .'b'uiltjing .would needlessly affect with ibiury.the course and 'o'pefjiioriB 1 ' of ■ busihess, or m attended with great loss and inpo.nyeaien' v o (o w>y nerion'- without corresponding benefit

to :the-community,; the Borough iConnoii mayi oa>;apeoial, application,- relax or modify the same, provided. that suoh other terms as they may impose be complied with |>y the applicant; and further provided that in case of any proposed departure from the existing regulations nolioe 0} the same shall bo advertised by the'applicant for at leaet seven days before the application shall bo considered by the Council.

The Council could, it appears to us, take advantage of this clause if it should appear desirable to do so; but we hardly think that it would be prepared to apply it in a wholesale manner, Some aotion is undoubtedly necessary, for if nothing is done before the end of the month, overy house.owner in No. 1 district whose house is found to be covered with shingles at that time would be liable to an initial fine of a sum not exceeding £5, and £5 for. every day until he had complied with the provisions, of the by-law. As (he immediate enforcement of the by-law would be a great hardship, it would perhaps be as well if the Council suspended its operations for, say, six months,