TUB PUBLIC HALL QUESTION.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1343, 8 February 1881, Page 2

TUB PUBLIC HALL Q UESTION.

Ax adjourned meeting for further consideration of the position of affairs, with regard to the above-named subjeot, washeld in the Council Chambers the evenins; of Friday. The attendance did not exceed twenty. The Mayor, Mr Knox, presided. The order of business having 1 , boen &tated by the Chairman, Mr ' Laishley suggested, that as there appeared to be a fair number of the committee present, the conference provided for at last meeting-, and which ought to have taken place some time last month, should now be proceeded with. Mr F. A Whi taker did not thick theie were a sufficient numbor of the trustees present to constitute a quorum, and consequently the conference could not be held. Mr Laishley replied that three trustees were piesent, .1 number sufficient to constitute a quorum, and in conclusion, disputed Mr Whitalcer's right to be present and take part in the proceedings, he not being a trustee. Mr Wbitaker defended his right to be present, and to be heard. In the first place, ho was a member for the district, and as such: he had a right to be present to watch over and protect the public interest. Secondly, an regards the erection of the hall, he had, as one of the dis- i trict members, been instrumental in getting a sum of £100 placed upon the estimates to assist in erecting the building, and likewise an acre of ground set apart as an endowment for the purpose. Thirdly, he commanded the Volunteers, and the Volunteer Corps had contributed largely to the propobed building fund. Mr Laishley reiterated his objection, and in support thereof, refeired to the terms of the circular convening the meeting. Mr Whitaker having essayed to make a further explanation, Mr Hill appealed, to the chairman to rule whether t^>e meeting was one exclusively of Hall trustees, and if so, was the general public entitled to ' c present and take part in the proceedings The Chairman ruled that it was a public meeting, and that the public had a right to be heard. Messis Laishley, Hill, and Gaudin left the apartment, and after a few minutes absence, again made their appearance in the doorway of an adjoining apai tmeiit. Mr G wynne suggested that as no one present appeared to be in a position to give the information aimed at by the ad journment of the lar>t meeting, those present resolve themselves into a committee of the whole to consider the matter. Mr Hay demurred to that proposition, on the ground that it had not been duly notified as the purpose for which tho present meeting had been convened. Ho thought the best couise wonld bo to adjourn in the meantime, so as to enable th<3 trustees to hold the conference, as originally proposed. The lion, secretary (Mr Gelling) paid that the whole of the trustees li.Ld been notified that this meeting would be held, and, in further explanation, added that it might appear as if he had been remiss in not having made arrangements for tho conference. The fact was, it was no part of his duty to attend to these matters, although he was always willing to render what services he could, so long as he was properly instructed what to do. Mr Hay then moved, "That the meeting bo farther adjourned, and the Seotet.iry be i equated to notify to the trustees thit the conference originally pioposcd would take place.' 1 The E,ev. Mr Oalder did not believe that it would be any use troubling the trustees any futther. They had alieady had a month for their conference, and no < onference had taken place. The matter had been hanging fire since last October. vSmce that time, the chairman of the chnrch vestry had made repe«P r l applications to bring the matter to an issue, but had always been put off. Unless something definite was done at once, he .saw very little prospect of anything like finality ever being arrived at. Mr Gumming supported a similar view. No erood purpose would be .served m bringing them together another night. They had already had ample thn^, and whatever was piopo->ed to be done had bettor be done at ones. After further discussion, the motion was put and c.uried, and tho meeting was breaking up, when Messrs Hill and Laishley insisted upon a meeting of the Building Committee being held, and with that view voted that Mr G wynne take the chair. The request was acceded to, and the whole dismission re-ooened. A full half -hour was occupied disposing of points of order, a .settlement of the rights and piivileges of the contending element, and the general settlement of other vexed questions, after which, Mr Hill spoke in favour of and moved, "That in the opinion of this meeting it is not advisable to erect a Public Hall at present." Mr Coates seconded the motion. Mr Laishley spoke in Rappoit of it. The cost would, he said, bo not less than £GOO or £700, and, in the present position of financial affairs, it would be out of place for the district to think of incurring such an expenditure. After another point of order had been Ccinvased, which the chairman disposed of by ruling that Mr Whitaker had been duly elected a trustee at a meeting held some time ago, the last named gentleman objected to the motion being received as nit) a nrc-> of the meeting. The position occupied by the trustees w.vb of a fiduciary character. It was not for them to say whether or not a certain thing should be done. They were elected to assist in doing a certain thing, and that was the erection of a Public Hall. Then again, he wished to know what effort these gentlemen had made to carry out the trust reposed in them. They had never asked him (Mr W.) what he would be pieparecl to contribute towards the erection, and he named others in the same position. If it was possible for the church vestry to put up a Hall it was surely equally possible for the public. Before disposing of their trust in the way proposed by the motion, it was incumbent on them to show what they had clone towards carrring out the trust reposed in them. The Chairman thought it was unreasonable for them to talk about abandoning the proposal to go on with the Hall, The financial prospects of the place were not so hopeless as some of the speakers had attempted to make out. Qn the contrary, there were evident signs of returning prosperity, and if they would only put their shoulders to the wheel, he had no doubt but that the thing would be accomplished. Captain Dawson's opinion was that the Oddfellows' Hall was quite sufficient for all the requirements of the place. Ha,d the proposed Hall been built t\\»q years, ago when th.c aubjeofc was first mooted, it woul,d have succeeded much better thai} it would do at present. The present financial position of the plaoQ would make it very difficult for them to get the sum proposed to be raised by subscription. Mr Knox strongly objected tQ $a,e erection being left in. the h an( *a ojE the; church vestry. < Jt would hp ac.cpu.nted, by some sectarian building, jy*d, h,e Ifigw qf m.any wEq entei'ta^edJoQnsojeEttqus scruples public} meetings' being held m §mk a building. On the general merits of the question he said that tliQ tout; fcad/bssß *Ppoiftfojd. fey

back as 1879, and up to f(he present^ tinf& they appeared to have remained dormant without having even attempted to do any tiling. It was a shame that such should have been the case, and it was high time they should be wakened up to the sense of their duty. They were not prepared to hand the affair over to private speculation. They had as a district been long enough in the hands of one or two individuals to their cost. The building need not exceed a sum of £500, and if the church got it into their hands, 'they would spend the £150 on a' mere school-room. Towards the expen a e of the Hall, they had got an acre of land and in all likelihood, Government would give them a further grant — a sum t>f money towards the erection. Then again tho Volunteers hid never been asked what they would give by way of subscription. He saw no very great difficulty in carrying out the project, and it would be absurd to think of passing the resolution submitted. Mr Calder said it. was not true that no effort had been made, to raise the money required. Within twenty-four hours after the thing had been ananired, he had written home to England soliciting assistance, and likewise to persons resident' in the colony. The statement was mconrect, that the church proposed to put up a building that would cost not more than £150. They only proposed appropriating that sum as part of the cost. They estimated the total cost at £250 or £300. The church was m. a much better position than the public was for arranging financially. It could command money at a cheaper rate spread over a longer term of years than the public could, and what they proposed doing was to construct a building large -and capacious enough for the Cavalry Corps, and getting the whole thing completed in the course of three months. He could not understand the remark made by the previous speaker to the effect that there were people who had scruples against meeting in a building because it had been erected by the Church. The preposition was to his mind wholly uuexplicable. The Church vestrymen were their fellow citizens, men with whom they were daily coming in contact, transacting business with them and fulfilling all the conditions imposed by the social and commercial relations, and yet they had scruples against cong egating in a building erected by these men, simply because it was so erected in their character of churchwardens. It was an extraordinary objection. He (Mr C), in his own capacity was thoroughly liberal. He was in the habit of mixing with, all classes and creeds. With men, which perhaps, in his own country, it woujd not be considered light to go near. ; iHe would like to know how much more, fcinie would be wanted for bringing this^ffajr to a close. Time after time they, had been put off, and now agam / more time was sought ior. He would support the resolution. { I Mr Knot said thai he had been informed on good authority th.it for £600 they would be able to put up a hall as commodious as the Oddfellows' <'Hall. Before sitting down, he desired to"know what had become of the balance of the money doiivedfrom the bazaar,viz., £230. The Chairman ruled the question irregular. Mr Calder : lam quite ready to answer it if you will allow me. Chairman : I rule that it is out of order, and need not be answered. Mi" lliy wished a distinct ruling by the chair as to whether or not the motion was ultifi vires of this meetine*. The Chaiimin rnled that the motion onuld not be put, after which Mr Whitaker said ho was desirous of pouring oil on the tioubled waters into which they h.id apparently fallen, and with that view he would throw out a proposition that would, he thought, meet tho views of both partioH. He believed that the times were impioving. During the list eighteen months a serious financial depression h.id existed, and an actual lack of means been experienced more or less by the whole community. Then again the delay had arisen in consequence of plans and specifications of a too elaborate character having been prepared. They had aimed at .something that w.is too big for their boots. With £-300 at their disposal, he believe! they would be quite justified in going- on with the work. Let them thnn agree 1o this proposal- Let them fix upon a definite time. Let them say this : If, at a certain date, a contract lor the building is not let, then the money is to be handed over to tho vestry Lot a definite understanding of that kind be come to. To give the proposition a fair chance, he would suggest that the time be fixed at a date a little way ahead. Say that on the Ist October, ISBI, the money will be handed over to the vestry in the event, of the H'lll building not having been contracted for by that time. His ] oason foi fixing upon that distant date was this : For the last two years a sum of £100 had been on the Estimates as a grant in aid for building the Hall. Last year it was knocked off. He had no doubt but that that sum could be got again restored to the Estimates. He felt the district would have a just claim to it lv pursuance of its retrenchment policy, the Government had disallowed tho amount duo for disttiot Voluuteeiing purposes, dud he had no doubt but that they would be prepaiod to recognise the reasonableness of their claim for the building of the Hall. He hoped all parties would be prepared to make a concession of this kind. The proposal was, under tho circumstances, as fair a cne as ho could suggest. The Rev. Mi Caldor having 1 suggested that an earlirr date should be fixed, Mr Whitaker said that Parliament would not meet until about June, and he cuuld not undertake to have tho matter brought forward much befoie the end of June or July. His calculations were based on the following estimate: — It had at one time been estimated that a sum of £300 or £400 would be collected by public subscription. He did not think that could be done now. If they got from £<30 to £100, that would be about the outset. Say, then, they got £.100 by public subscription — £50 from the Volunteers and £100 as a Government grant. He had scoured for them, an acre of land. He had taken care to get it as an endowment, and not as a building site, ao that they were in a position to dispose of it and apply the proceeds to the building fund. Altogether, he had no doubt but that they would be enabled to start building operations, with a sum of not less tha,n £500. With a prospect of that Wnd before them, it would be wroag to give up the £150 at least ior the present. To suit Mr Coder's ytews as far as possible, he would be willing to limit the time to Ist August instead of Ist October. ' Mr Knox then moved that the erection of the proposed hall be postponed until the Ist August next, to enable the member for the district to ascertain what aid parliament will vote for the purpose, and m the event of a. contraot for the purpose of ereoting the building not being invited hy that date, the £150 together with interest aooruing thereou.be handed over to, the veitry of the Church of England. Mr Cumming inovedas an amendment, that a pubhv meeting be convened for the purpose of enabling the trustees to report that it is impossible to ereot a Public Hall building at present. On the motion an,d, amendment being put, the former was carriwl The meeting then separatee!, ° *

Shearing Sheep. — Untjl 1824 it was a punishable offence for any one to shear a sheep wifchin five^miles of the British seacoast, the lair alqo forbidding the exportationoj; wool*' ' '