MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4322, 18 January 1893, Page 2

MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Ordinary Meeting.

The usual fortnightly meeting of the Masterton Borough Council was held last evening, there being present His Worship the Mayor and Coancillors Hcssey, Dixon, Mutrie, Yates, Feist, Oullea and W. Perry,

The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed.

CORRESPONDENCE,

Mr C. Hughes made application for the transfer of -Mr W. Perry's elaugbter-houße license to himself.

From E. 8. Eichards, calling attention to the illegible condition of i tho notice board at the pound.

F. Wright gavo notice that he intended to apply for a license to keep a Registry Offico for servants, Mr J. Bentley wrote, asking to be allowed two days' extra payment for work done on the West Bush road.

William Adams wrote, asking that the name of Catherine Mowbray be substituted for his on the Burgess Koll with respect to certain property. From the Audit Office, forwarding the balance-sheet of the Masterton Borough, certified and found correct, with tho exception of one item, viz,, £3 3s to the Municipal Association, for which no provision is mado by law. RESOLUTIONS, It was-resolved that the Audit Inspector's Account be paid. The sum of f8 8s was voted as salnry to the Mayor, being the amount of the item objected to as informal by (he Audit Department. It was deoided to refer the poundkeeper's application to the Works Commiitee with power to act.

It was resolved to grant Mr F. Wright a license to keep a Registry Office on payment of the usual fee.

Tho Clerk read the Works Com mittee's Report, referring to Mr Bentley's application for two days extra pay for filling in ruts, eto. Cr Hessey said he-thought the application a fair one.

It was resolved to allow Mr Bentley tho two days' pay requested.

REPORTS.

The reports of the' Works and Finance Committees were read anc adopted.

General,

The Clerk asked that the Counci fix the amount of the Dog license foi the ensuing year,

It was resolved that the fee be ss,

Cr Onllen asked if Cr Perry had made up his mind what ho intended to ask per acre for the land required for the Ngawntawa Road.

Tho Town Clerk pointed out that it would bo necessary for Cr Perry to fill up a proper form.

The Mayor thought that it would be well'for the Works Committeo to inspect aud report on the coat of the road and the fencing required. Cr Cullon moved that the question bo referred to the Committee. Cr Hessey seconded and the- motion was carried. the drinking fountain. The Mayor said he bad a mutter to bring up. It was the question of Mr Woodroofe's fountain. For the satisfaction of the subsoribcra aud tho Town Lantls Trust he bad agreed, in his official capacity aa Mayor, to see that tho work was all right and to pay tho money over to tho contractor on ascertaining that it was properly done and after receiving the architect's certificate. It was also requested that some sort of a formal opening be made. Ho would move that the Council take the fountain over condi> tionally that the Council incurred no liability as regards maintenance.

Cr (Men seconded the motion,

Cr Dixon thought they shoult undei tako to keep it in repair aa i! was a public institution, He woult move this as an amendment,

Cr Hessey asVed who would keep it iu repair if the Council deolined, The Mayor—" Nobody." Cr Feist seconded Cr Dixon's amendment, In doing so he said it wus not to be expected that Mr Woodroofe, after tho trouble of collecting subscriptions w»s going to look after the atruoture, It was a public boon, and the Council should look after it.

Cr Perry did not see any reason why the Council should havo anything to do with Mr Woodioofe'a water supply any more than the one oi the opposite side of ibo road, To take it over would be to show preference, It was likely to be more of a nuisauce th(in a blessing to the town.

Cr Feist said ho would like to raako a remark in reply to Cr Perry. There could be no question of preference m the matter, as Mr Woodroofe's fountain bad been talked about and subscriptions taken up before Mr Dal* rymple had made a move at all,

Cr Hessey thought'they wero almost in honor bound to take over the work aa they had been the means of ohtaioing the lrnid.

The Mayor said they had been a sort of third party, instrumental in getting the laild, and' acting as a mediator between Mr Woodroofeand the subscribers and the Government, It was a bad precedent to take over a semi-private work at all. Tbey might be asked to take over monuments or anything that people liked to erect with just as much reason, This was why he had put his motion in such a form, Cr Dixon wished to remind the Council tint Or Feist and himself had been appointed acommittoe to arrange with Mr Woodroofo about tlio erection of the fountain.

His Worship said that they had refrained from voting anything towards thecost and he considered they should have nothing to do with it, The amendment was then put and lost, Ors Dixon and Foist voting for it and the rest of the Council against it. The original motion was afterwards put and oarried,

Tho Mayor said that although they accepted no responsibility, they could proteot the structure by their by-laws as it was within the Borough. Ho would move that the by-laws be amended so tha{, any person injuring the fountain known as Woodroofe's fountain, or MrDalrymple's putnp, bo liable to a penalty of five pounds, The motion was carried. 'fbe Mayor moved, and Cr Foist seconded, that Mr Lowes'license be approved. FIRE BRIGiDEB, The Mayor said that there was a matter he should like to bring up, A fire brigado ladder m usually kept beside My Heron's Bhop, but on the night of Mr Natusch's fire it was not there. He should like Councillors to take notico of the fact and consider vhether an enquiry was necessary. It behoved thom to tako every precaution against fire, and if there was oo provision for punishing perions who removed the ladders, they would require tq take such action as would efjeotually put a Btop to it, : The .Clerk was instructed la report on the matter at the next meeting. Registry Offices. The Clerk drew tho attention of the

Council to the fact that o, nuniber of people were advertising as keepers of registry offices for servants without the license requited by the new Act, It was deoided to call ,their attention to tlio Act-. . 0 ' It tvas resolved (o grant Mrs Beilly, Custodian of the Public Library, leave of absence for six weeks, £ ■ A WATER BurrLiV fl* - " ' The Mayor said he a notice of motion before the meewfig closed. It appeared to him that the time had come when a water supply was necessary. Of course anything they might do would not bind the ratepayers, as a statement of the cost would havo to bo made out) and a voto taken on the nutter. A good surface supply oould be obtained from Messrs Williams andßeetham'sdam, and if it were brought down in pipes to the Waipena bridge, the overflow alone would be ample lor file prevention-purposes. All he proposed was that the owners should be approached on the matter by a committee of the Counoil, and asked if they were prepared to grunt a lease at a nominal rental. The water could be brought to the WMnaijun pipes and then ailowed through tho channels iu the hiitiii street. It might be argued that only the centre of the town would be benefitted, but they must remember that the Borough was now divided into wards, and each would have to pay for itself, and that tho scheme wns capable of extension iu time. At tho present time they maintained a costly Fire Brigade, and ii«d capital sank in an expensive engine which was practically useless—not fiom any fault of the Brigade—but cause there was no payers could not obtain «Pfply" of any sort, except througlnhe - and it was their duty to put the scheme before the ratepayers, who could then accept it or reject it as they thought fit. The step he proposed was simply- an initiatory one, and he gavo notice of motion because the matter required full consideration. Ho would therefore give notice that at the next meeting of the Council he would move that Messrs Williams and Beetham be interviewed on the matter. An opinion was abroad that the Counoil was opposed to any water supply, but he did not think this was the case. Disputes which bad occurred in the'' past with reference to water schemes were rather of a personal-nature, and because they did not want a half-and-half scheme, Objection might be made to the cost, but they had not to consider that, which was a matter for the ratepayers to decide, aud if the ratepayers rejected the proposal, .they (tho Council) would havo done their duty in bringing the scheme before them, lie (the Mayor) had proforred to; givO' notice verbally so that the Counoil might understand tho position, By.carrying the motion they would commit themselves to nothing but the cost of preparing an . estimate. Formal notioe ol motionjvae then given by His Worship, \ No other business comingrSirward, the Council adjourned,