CITY COUNCIL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 203, 1 October 1914, Page 5

CITY COUNCIL.

LAST NIGHT'S MEETING. The meeting of the City Council last night was attended by the Mayor (Mr H. Holland), Crs J. E. Hay ward, A. M. Loasby, G. Scott, H. Hunter, J. McCullough, W. Millar, F. Burgoyne, J. W. Beanland, A. Morten, H. B. Sorensen, H. J. Otley, and W. H. Cooper. THE MAYOR'S STATEMENT. The Mayor stated that he had authorised the Chief Inspector to proceed to Wellington to give evidence before the Local Bills Committee, in reference to the Christchurch Markets and Fish Supply Bill. HUNTLY EELIEF FUND. Mr H. Hunter, on behalf of the Huntly Belief Committee, * applied for permission to take up a street collection in the city on Saturday, October 10. Permission was granted. Cr Otley said that, along with other citizens, he thoroughly appreciated the action taken by the Trades Councirin organising the fund. He only regretted that the Trades Council had not invited other citizens to their meeting to help.them. He was sure that, in spite of the war in which the Empire was engaged, the people would show their sympathy with the sufferers at Huntly. DYER'S ROAD DEVIATION. Mr H. G. Ell, M.P., wrote re relief works, urging that a grant should be asked from the Government for the Dyer's Pass deviation, and that the council should also make a grant. The Heathcote County Council would grant £2OO, and. thfe Mount Herbert County Council would probably make a grant also< This work would provide labour for a ; good many men. The Mayor, said that the. council was spending £IOO (including £SO from the Hyman Marks Trust) on the road from the tram terminus to Victoria Park. He could not take up the position advocated by Mr Ell, and divert the money to the Summit Road. The letter was received. PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION The Hon. F. M. B. Fisher wired: *'l understand your council is likely to adopt this form of election. If so the Government will be prepared to bring an expert electoral officer from Tasmania to assist the council in carrying out the poll. It is desired that if this method of election is to be tried it should be : tried under most favourable auspices." » Cr Hunter "said that the council was responsible for the Bill and had affirmed the principle unanimously. Cr Otley:" No, I voted against it; Cr Hunter said that he hoped that the council would affirm the -principle, abolish the wards, and«go in for proportional representation. He moved that the council affirm the principle of proportional representation. Cr Otley: We have quite enough experiments on the road just now. After consultation Cr Hunter withdrew his motion, .substituting another that the telegram be received and referred to the By-laws Committee. This was carried. ' ji RESERVES. The Reserves Committee reported as follows - : : '• Linwood -Cemetery. —The committee reported that the time was rapidly approaching when a fresh bHrial ground would have to be arranged for, either by addition to Linwood Cemetery, or by providing for a new cemetery when that is full. The town clerk stated that, assuming Linwood Cemetery to be undenominational, it would " be full in about six years, but the land allotted to some denominations had to be extended at the present time. The committee is taking ■ the matter into consideration, and hopes to be able to make a recommendation on the subject v Spiderwort. —The committee was obtaining further information before making a recommendation. Widening Page's Road, Opposite the Corner of Cuff's Road. —The committee had granted the Tramway Board permission to improve the corner of' Page's • Road, opposite Cuff's Road, by taking in a small piece of City Reserve No. 212. The area taken is only one perch, and the- committee could see no. objection to acceding to the request. Tree-planting.—The council would be pleased, to learn that the head gardener -reported that 100,000 pines had been planted this season in the Bottle Lake Reserve, most of which were from seedlings grown in the council's nursery. BY-LAWS AND FINANCE. The .By-laws and Finance Committee reported:— Building Line, Barbour Street, Lin-W.-Haigh had written, asking the council to pass a resolution, declaring that section 117 of "The Public Works Act, 1908, ; ' shall not apply to that part of Barbour Street adjoining lots 36 and "40, D.P. 27, R.S. 48. This street was three-quarters of a chain in width, which the committee considered wide enough, and in any case it was useless to attemptr to widen the street on the east side, as it was blocked by the new post office, which was erected on the corner of Ferry Road, right up to the building line. The committee, there- - diore, recommended the council to pass the following resolution:—''That the €hristchurch City Council, • being the local authority having control of Bar"bour Street, Linwood Ward, Christchurch, by resolution, declares that the provisions of section 117, sub-section (1), of the Public Works Act, 1908, shall not apply to the east side of the said street." The necessary resolution was passed. • ELECTRICITY. The Electricity Committee reported: — Meter Reading.—ln order to provide for a continuous stream of consumers to pay their accounts, the committee recommended' that meter-reading be carried.on every day. This would make the •discount period of a certain number of accounts expire daily, and so have a distinct tendency to check a rush on any particular day of the month. The necessary forms, etc., were being prepared. Monthly Acounts.—-Mr F. Baumelburg, who is at present in charge of the electricity accounts in the Treasury Department, would be moved to the Con- " Burners' Department, and carry out the same work, with any additional assistance that experience proved necessary. It was proposed that on and after November 1 consumers-' accounts.would be paid at the showroom. The daily meterreading would commence on October 15. Showroom Stock. —Arrangements had been made for stocking the showroom. WORKS AND SANITATION. * The Works and Sanitation Committee reported:— Conveniences Opposite the White Hart and Excelsior Hotels.—lt had been suggested to the committee that the vacant spaces over the underground conveniences opposite the White Hart and Ex-

celsior Hotels might be very much improved if trees and shrubs were planted in tubs, and the committee had referred the matter to the chairman, with power to act. Maintenance of Park Roads. —A replyhad been received from the Waimairi Gounty Council, stating that it had applied for a commission to allocate the cost of maintaining these roads, between each of the local authorities interested, and also to decide which body would have the control of the roads. Insanitary Buildings.—The District Health Officer had given his certificate that buildings at 331 Barbadoes Street and 233 Edgeware Road were insanitary, and the committee recommended that notice be given the owners to carry out the required repairs. Ventilation of Underground Conveniences, Cathedral Square.—The Electrical Engineer reported that a great improvement in the ventilation could be made by erecting an 18-ineh fan, and leading the air into the uptake by means of a tapered base. The cost of the fan and fixing the tapered base was estimated at £27, and the committee had given instructions for this work to be put in hand at once. A STANDING DISGRACE. Cr Hayward asked if the council was going to do anything to remove the half-burnt building at the corner of Fitzgerald Avenue and Ferry Road, The building was most unsightly, and was a standing disgrace to the city of Christchurch. The Mayor said that it might be referred to the District Health Officer. The owner had written to him, asking him to reduce the rates —(laughter)— but had been informed* that, under the unimproved value, his rates would be the same if there was no building on the land. It was time that some drastic, steps were taken to remove the eyesore. Cr Loasby said that unless the building was insanitary they could not interfere. It might require another bylaw. Cr McCullough said that there was no one living in the house. A Councillor: Food is exposed for sale there. Cr McCullough said that was in a separate part. If the By-laws Commit - tee could act, it should do so at once. The matter was referred to the Bylaws Committee. A BREEZY INTERLUDE. A little breeze arose when Cr Otley rose and asked whether it was a fact that the council was paying £650 more for electric lighting poles, which, it bought privately, than for those which it had bought by contract. These poles ha.d been shoved down their throats and forced through The Mayor: They were not shoved down anyone's throat. - Cr Otley: They were brought forward in a yery hurried manner, anyhow. They were bought at £2 16/6 against £2 10/by contract. The Mayor said that there was duty to be taken into consideration. Cr. A. S. Taylor reproached Cr Otley for bringing up this matter in the guise of a question, and making flying shots at the committee. He could not reply to his figures offhand, but the committee could give him all possible information. , Cr Otley said that he could remember the figures, if the chairman of the committee could not. The, matter was referred to the committee. UNEMPLOYED. The Mayor said that a considerable number of men had been found work. A conference of local bodies had decided to provide £IOSO for the SumnerLyttelton Road, if the Government would provide a subsidy. The proportion to be found by Christchurch was £SOO. The Minister had agreed to find a subsidy up to £IOOO, which might not have secured the completion of the road. It would be valueless Unless the road was taken, right through. The whole length of the. new road, which would be 50 chains, would be about £2500, and it was hoped that the Minister would find £1250. He was, not favourably impressed by the road proposed, which left some sharp corners, and a grade of one in twelve. He suggested another road, which had a grade of one in fifteen, and would give a permanent road. In the original road, land would lffeve to be purchased. In the second road, all the land was public. Messrs Dickson and Dobson unhesitatingly recommended the'second road, which would probably cost £4500. He suggested that reports should be secured on the new proposition. ' A twelve foot road could be made now, and any future expenditure would be in the direction of widening the road. He moved that the council agrees to contribute £SOO towards the cost, provided ,the Government give a subsidy, and the other local bodies vote their amounts.

Cr Burgoyne said that instead of the Government subsidising the council the council was subsidising the Government. The work was a national one, and should be done by the Government. Cr Sorensen said that the difficulty was the delay necessary for the survey, which would take three weeks, while men were waiting for work. Cr--McCullough supported the resolution, and urged that the council should expedite the work as much as possible. Cr Cooper said that a 12ft road was not wide enough. The Mayor said that there were plenty of places where vehicles could pass, if necessary. Widening could be carried out in the future. Cr Scott said that the council should know what the road was going to cost. He could not understand why the council had left the Dyer's Pass Road out, towards which the citizens of Christchurch had contributed. The road proposed by the Mayor was right out of its district, and no benefit to the city. The Summit Road was used by the people of Christchurch, and was for the benefit of the city. Cr Taylor endorsed this view. The Zig-zag proposition had no merits when compared with the Dyer's Pass Road. A great deal had been done by the citizens of Christchurch for the Summit Road, and the city should not baulk at making the road suitable for all kinds of traffic. He was afraid that some of the members of the council did not appreciate the importance of that resort.-. Cr Hayward said that the citzens were interested in the Summit Road, the Hills, and the trains. The Summit Road Association had doue a gigantic work. It was a shorter route from Lyttelton to Christchurch via Governor's Bay than it was via Sumner. The other road was no use, and the council should spend its £SOO on the Dyer's Pass Road. The Mayor said that he was influenced by the fact that by his proposal £2150 would be available for the unemployed. He w,as quite convinced that from a commercial point of view, and as a reserve in the case of a breakdown in the tunnel, the Sumner road was incomparably superior to the other. The motion was carried. -The Mayor said that he would like to see a grant made to the Summit Road Association in the near future.

O Sorensen: You 'had better go slow iii the meantime. Crs:' Hear, hear. TRAMWAY ELECTIONS. On the motion of Cr Hunter the council reaffirmed a previous resolution advocating the application of the municipal franchise to Tramway Board eleci tions.