HAMILTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1213, 8 April 1880, Page 2

HAMIL TON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

A^lteßTityl,?£f tjh.o Hampton. .Borough Council wafc helcr^ on Tiieaaay Qfgnt, Present: The Mayor, and Crs. Vialou, Peat, Davis, White, Mnllions, McGaitigle, Price, and Jones. The minutes of jSthd previous 1 naie6 ting were read and confirmed. *

i Mr Seddon's Claim. A report from the committee appointed^ to enquire into* Mr claim of £400' against the Borough was read. A letter was read from Messrs. Hunt »nd White, asking to be allowed to take gravel from- Borough lands near the bridge being now erected on the Hamilton East station road. The Mayor stated- there 1 were about six chains of road required gravelling, from the school fence to his house. Gr. Vialou said that applicants had, taken the contract from the Government, and he could not see the force of the Borough giving them gravel. The Mayor called Cr. Vialou to a point of order, in not having made a resolution. Cr. Jones preferred that the voice of the Council be taken on the application, rather than it should be referred to the Works Committee. The Mayor laid it down as a rule, that no Councillor should address the Council unless first submitting a resolution, and as no Councillor proposed a, resolution he proposed that the matter be adjourned to the next meeting of the Council, which was seconded by Cr. Mullions. Cr. Vialou said he would not make an amendment to-night, but to facilitate business would wait till the matter came on next meeting.

The Martha Proctor Case. A letter from the returning officer, Auckland was read stating that there is no public institution in Auckland for the admittance of homeless poor : that the claim of Martha Proctor does not call for Goverment interference, seeing that the father is on the spot, who, though he has turned her out, is, under 2nd 3rd 4th and 6th clauses of the Destitute Persons Act, not only legally liable to support her, but the child also, and may be ordered to do so under ordinary process of law, as well for her present keep, as for all reasonable expenses incurred up to date.

Wellington Exhibition. A letter Was read from Mr Wakefield. [ asking the Council to assist in furnishing exhibitions of local industry to the proposed exhibion at Wefligton. The Mayor thought the consideration of the letter should be deferred to the next sitting of the Council, Agreed to.

Auditors. A letter was read from Mr Morriss, resigning his appointment as auditor. The resignation was accepted, and oft the motion of Cr. Jones, Seconded by Or. Price, Mr Angus Campbell was appointed auditor.

Election of Councillor. The Clerk read the notification of Mr W. H. Pearce's election. That gentleman, however, was unavoidably abseut.

Gardiner's Gully. A letter was read from Mr Gardiner complaining that the main drain from Cook-street was not being carried into the river, but that abortive attempts to stop the drainage by ti-tree kids were being adopted, and complaining of the conduct of the foreman of the Works when spoken to, and of the statement made that springs existed on the brow of the gully. The letter was of a most discursive character, and when about one-third read through the Mayor and Councillors refusedto allow the time of the Cotmcil to be used up on finishing it, It therefere remained unread. Cr. Jones asked if Mr Gardiner was at the time the pipes were laid a member of the Public Works Committee. The Clerk said he was. Cr. Vialou moved — That the letter of Mr Gardiner be not received, as being too absurd to claim the attention of the Council. Carried unanimously.

Remission of Rates. The application of Mr Webber to have his rate remitted, was left to the consideration of a committee.

The Yearly Subsidies. A letter from the Colonial Treasurer was read. The Mayor said this was a most serious matter as effecting: the income of the Borough, and moved — That the consideration of the letter be referred to the Finance Committee. Seconded by Cr. Jones and carried unanimously.

Bridge Toll Collector. A letter was receivod from the toll collector, representing that his wages were only £2 per week, while the hours of service were seventeen per day — seven days a week. Cr. Vialou proposed that the wages be raised to £2 10s per week. He held a responsible position, and £2 per week was not sufficient remuneration for such long hours, and he thought that as the tolls increased the wages should be even further raised. Or. Mullions seconded, and the motion was carried unanimously.

St. Peter's Church Retaining Wall. A letter was read from the Incumbent of St. Peter's, stating that the Church Committee had paid for the pillars and coping, but maintaining that the 60 feet of brickwork was a part of the retaining wall undertaken by the Council. Cr. Jones said a plan had been made of the retaining wall when the work was done, and that had been paid for. He did not understand how the Berough could be justified in paying any further Bum. In answer to Cr. Peat, the Clerk stated that the wall had cost the Council £145. Cr. Jones moved, That the contractor, having been paid the cost of the erection of the wall, the Council cannot entertain any further claim. Seconded by Cr. Peat. Cr. Vialou moved as an amendment That the snm of£6, claimed by the Church Committee, be paid for building. the retaining wall, it being a necessary part of the retaining wall. Seconded by Cr. Price. He considered that the Borough was liable as the Council hod instructed the Engineer to have tihe wall carried to its present height. If the matter had gone to law the Council would have had more to pay than £140. Cr. Jones said that in the first plans the Engineer fully provided for the safety of the property. Cr. Vialou was of the same opinion with him on the 4thFebruary last, and he could not see what alteration in the finances of the Borough had taken place to oause him to change his opinion. Cr. McGarrigle thought the claim had been settled before. The Vestry had tried it on once and now did so again, which he thought was a matter of bad taste on the part of the Vestry. It looked like " get as much as you can." Cr. Vialou denied that the Church Committee had twice made a claim for the same sum. They first applied for one amount, and having failed in that applied for the smaller ainouut,,to which they were fairly entitled, • Cr. Price said the additional height to the' wall was necessary, ami ought to be paid for by the Borough. Cr. Jones poiutyd put tli^t a previous'

teldluti<!phav»ng 1 M»roledi^hiB, the dis* Whi tlie^i^at^fr^be'^ft'f^jk committee ioo^istm^o^Or*. tToni^V McGarrigle, aud 41 report to be brought ttj) to riext-riieeting. Cr. Vialou gave notice of motion to rescind the resolution of the 4th Feb» ruarv.

Sydney Square. It was agreed, on the motion of Cr. Vialou, that as soon as the Recreation Committee completed the works on Sydney Square, the balance for which the Council was liable should" be paid.

- Valuation Charge. A letter of explanation was received from the Borough Valuator, showing the justice of Iris claim for extra work beyond the -contract for the simple work of valuation. Cr. Jones said if the Valuator had done more work than, his contract provided he had been "simply doing the duty of the clerk, and therefore should not be paid for it, and moved to that effect. — Seconded. Cr. Vialou protested that the matter having been settled at a preceding meeting, the discussion was irregular.

Continuation of Clarence-Street. A petition was read from a number of ratepayers, asking that the road leading from Clarence-street across Angleseastreet to the bridge be opened up and formed. Cr. Peat thought if the request had been simply to open the road it might have been considered. It was ordered that the petition lie on the table.

Works Committee's Report. Ihe report of the Works Committee was read and received. It was resolved to take into consideration the obtaining a better site for the East Hamilton pound. It was agreed to repair the upper part of Clarence-street. It was left to the Works Committee to put in a wooden culvert at the junction of Gallqway-street and the Cambridge road.

Mr Seddon's Claim. Cr. Jones moved— That a deputation from tliu Council, with power to act, consisting of Crs. Price and Vialou, be appointed to confer with Mr Seddon in rcterence to his claim. Seconded by Cr. Peat and carried. Cr. Vialou stated that the matter had been considered in various forms, and he had come to the conclusion that it was desirable rather than spend £300 or £400 in law, to purchase the land out-and-out. He considered the corner allotment much increased in value by the building of the bridge. Cr. McGarrigle said the committee had done all it could to get Mr Seddon to reduce his claim, but he held to the full value of the mortgage. The Council should have had the foresight to have seen what was coming, and those that voted for the substitution of earth works for the wooden spans, were responsible for this loss to the Borough.

Finance Committee. On the motion of Cr. Vialou, seconded by C. McGarrigle, it was moved that the resolution, forming the whole Council into a Finance Committee, be received. Cr. Price moved an amendment — That the F inance Committee remain as atj>resent constituted. Seconded by Cr. Peat. Cr. Vialou in reply, said there were some very knotty financial subjects to discuss, perhaps fresh loans to raise, and it required persons who understood money matters to attend to these subjects. For the amendment : Crs. Price, Jones, Davis, Peat, and White ; against : Crs. McGarrigle,, and Vialou, Mullions, and the Mayor. For the Resolution: The Mayor, Vialou, Mullions, and McG-arrigle. The amendment was declared to be carried. In the absence of Cr. Pearce the claim of Mr Jas. Coombes was again postponed. In answer to a question from Cr. JPrice, for information, it was stated that the Chairman of the Public "Works Committee had not power to take on or discharge men, but simply to draw the attention of the foreman, as any member of the committee might do, to anything wrong that he saw going on in the work.

Hamilton West Pound, The erection of a pound was referred to the Works Committee, with power to act. This concluded the business.