AN EVENTFUL PERIOD

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXI, Issue 5365, 9 May 1901, Page 2

AN EVENTFUL PERIOD

A Chapter of Borough History

Ihs following address was delivered by Mr Hui(e Friedlander at the installation of the Mayor last evening :— Mr Mayor elect and Gentlemen,—When I was asked by the burgesses some two and a half years ago to take office once more, littie did I think, that if elected, I should occupy the h norable position of chief magistrate of this town for more than one teim, and even more remote was the idea that my terms of office would be j linked together with so many important events and historic incidents. I will with yonr psrmiß^iou just briefly refer to them, as they also, besides the inors formal matters the late Council had to deal with, ocoupied its time to some considerable extent. Foremost of all was the gloom which was c*st over the English speaking people, a grief so deeply felt, that it oan never be forgotten. Tfc waa the death of Her Moat Gracious M.jesty, who, after a most glorious reign, passed peacefully away on the 22nd of January last. Close following this sad event came tbe instructions from His Excellency the Governor, to read the proclamation, declaring Hlb Royal Highness the Prince of Wales "King Edward VII " This waa done by me from the steps of these Council Chambers, and m the presence of a large number of loyal euVjeots, amid long and hearty cheering, and good wishes for a long, wise, and prosperous reign of His Majesty and Qaeen Alexandra. The first term of my office had not ended when the startling news reaohed as of the outbreak of hostilities m South Africa. As time went on the reverses to our side appeared so serious as to call forth m the colonies aueh a strong outburst of patriotio feeling that it will live for ever In English history. We were not to be denied to help the Mother Country m its struggle, and m sending our own kith and kin we practically showed that we were patt and parcel of the British Empire, and not merely m name, boo m reality. Ashburton senc its quota, both m money and men, and, I am proud to say, that our boys have done ns credit. The rejoicings which took place when the newt reached ua of tbe relief of Ladysmith and Mafeklng must sorely be ringing m everyone's ears still. Mafeklng day can never be forgotten. j If snch a thing waa at all necessary, or could be done, the colonies were brought i still closer together wirh the Mother Country through the visit of the Imperial Tmopa, which included some Indian regiments. Ashburton did all it knew to give them a hearty welcome and make their short stay as pleasant as circumstances and the email materials at its disposal would admit. - Tho jubilee of the Canterbury province was another hieteric event which occurred during my term of office. It was celebrated with very great enthusiasm by the citizens of Ohtistchurch, where also a very success* ful Exhibition was held tn commemoration of this eveatful epoch, and an Agricultural Hail, built and opened, Is a credit to the capital of this province. Coming back to the more ordinary work done by the late Council, and during my two and a half years' term of offica, I will now, with your further kind indulgence, [ give a brief sketch I was elected In November, 1898, a&d m the beginning of the following year the initial steps were taken to raise a loan for necessary works. The first trial was a failure, but as it appeared that the proposals of the Council were not quite clear io the burgesses, the matter wa° farther ventilated, another poll taken, and the proposal to raise £7500 carried. The money was raised m two Instalments, as it was not all required at.ooce. The whole ameunt waa obtained at par, and considering the then tightness of the money market, at the reasonably low rate of interest of 4| per cent per annum. The loan is repayable m thirty five (35) years, the sinking fund being 1 3 per oenc on the whole amount borrowed. Dairies,—ln March, 1899, a conference waa held of representatives from tbe Borough Council and other Iccal bodies interested on theqaestion of theinspec ion of dairies and tha establishment of abafoirs. The Fairfieid Freezing Works were suggested as ' the abattoir/ and the C mpany w*s approached on the subject. Owing to the Hampstead Town Board's decision, that nothing should be done pending farther legislation on the subject, the matter had to be dropped for the time being. It has, however, again been revived m consequence of the Slacsghtering Act passed last session, a.nd a c inference with the neighbouring local bodies will shortly be held, and will, no donbfc, resnlt m an abattoir , being erected cr the Freezing Works being declared "an abattoir." Water Snpply.—ln September, 1889, the question of the borough wacer supply from the river, over which a considerable amount of legal correspondence had previously passed, was amicably settled, and an agreement made with the Ashburton County Council nnder which the borough takes the water at Farm i road and pays £40 per annum towards the j cost of maintenance, etc* ' In April, 1900, the Ashburton Post Office being partially destroyed by fire, tbe Council urged the Postnwßter-General to erect a new building suitable to the ' districts icquirements. Backed up by the energetic member for the district, the request was complied with, and on January 21at the Hon. J. G Ward laid the foandatfon stone of the present handsome new building. In May, I^oo, owing to the outbreak of the plague m Australia a sanitary! Committee was appointed to visit the business part of the town ad the inspector of nuisances, together with the.! police, made a house to house inspection, i resulting m a good deal of sanitary improvement being effected Dr Bilger ; acts us local medical officer of health Dr Symes, the acting district health officer, who visited Ashbarton m September last and addressed the Council on sanitary matters, reported very favourably of the sanitary condition of the borough/ In Jane, 19,C0, the Council carried a motion jbhat the lighting of tha' borough should be under municipal control, and a pommittee was set up'and empbwerid to obtain an expert's report on eleotrio lighting and of itie value and efficiency of the Ashburtou Gas Works. The latter was not given effect to on acgount of the hoavy fee asked, the former, however, was obtained, but found beyond the Council's means, and fhelved for the present. 1 need scarcely point out that during my j first term of office m 1678 I stmngly ur^ed the then Council to take ever the Afihburton Gas Worke, and had this been done, a very excellent bargain for the ratepayers would have been the resulb. It is not too late yet, as many, many years must pass by before this borough will be financially ptrong enough to provide itself with the more expensive lighting by electricity. In the meantime, if the Gas Works were purchased at a reasonable price by the Council, a handsome annual profit through continued proper manage- | tnent, would be eff cted, or the borough could be lighted more efficiently than it is at present, without any additional cost, tbe expected profit covering the expend!, tare for the extra lighting. In the same month the popular captain of the Ashburton Fire Brigade resigned, and Mr Thomas Barber was elected m his place. Mr Fooks during his eleven years of office was a most painstaking, efficient, and obliging officer, and he received the well deserved thanks for the work done by ! him, and a resolution to that effect w»s 'duly minuted. i I In July, 1900« I attendid the Municipal

Association Conference at Wellington, and reported to the Council at some considerable length on the important work done by the Conference Tn October fo'!ow*ri2 at- the pufgssHon of this Council, a Beautifying Society wae established, and although it was rather late m the season before active opera' I ns could be commenced, fairly good work has been done by the Society m improving the condition of Bating Square East. In December last the much needed new water cart of the latest improved pattern was ordered and wasdeliveredb February. It cost £80, and works satisfactorily. During the same month a tender was I accepted for the erection of the n*w municipal offices at a cost of about £1025. There cannot be any question that the building is urgently needed, and when aompleted the office work of tha Council, which has, with the growth of the town, considerably Increased, will be done by the clerk wi'h greater comfort to himself and the ABhburton pubic generally In the first month of the present century the salary of our curator, the wages of our foreman, and the members of oar labour gang were all increased. Finance.— When I took office In De» cember, 1898, the overdraft at the Bank stoed at £1724 4 at present i \> £1022 The principal works carded cue during the last eighteen months and the moneys expended are as follows, viz •-— About 700 chains new concrete £ « d channelling, and repairing old channels 2800 0 0 Building {ofßoes and foreman's cottage) to date ... M 875 <9 0 Asphalting and tarring 450 chains „ 625 0 0 Formation, metalling new streets, etc — «. ... 750 0 0 Other worki ... .„- „„. 1275 0 0 Leaving balance of loan on hand ,„, ... _ 1175 0 0 Total loau .„ *„ 7500 13 0 Streets.—l thi.ik the time hat arrived when our prinofpal streets should be gradually remetalled with broken atone*. The first coeb would unquestionably be much larger than by continuing to use the river bed shingle. If this suggestion is adopted a ntone breaking machine and a steam road roller ought to be procured. A reliable engineer would have to be appointed to take charge of both. His services would also be (utilised for the steam fire engine, and a saving of the salary paid to the present engineer, effected. The stieam road rolier could be obtained on the deferred payment) system, say £100 per annum which will bo an easy way to finance the purchase. I am also confident! that & very good revenue could be made by the Council from hiring the roller when Dot m use to the adjoining local bodies some of them have already expressed te the Ash burton County Council their willingness to pay a reasonable sum for the use of one, I recommend this matter to the f&vnuvable oonsideration 0! my worthy successor and the new Council L*sr, but by no means least, the work I have taken part m, was the starting 0! the Freezing Works about three miles ifrom Ashburtom Although it. was not a work which cams within the sphere of the Council, yet I thought it would bs no dlnadvantage to have this important industry close at our doors, The benefit, which is being directly and indirectly derived by ail classes of the community within this district is, I think a conclusive proof that the step taken was one m the right dtreotionr It will also be found, that now, the * Slaughtering Act of 1900' has come into force, the worka are most conveniently situated and most suitable to carry out the provisions of the Act aforesaid, without this borough and the adjoining local bodies having to erect costly abattoirs Before £ conclude, I consider it my duty to refer to the Council's officials. Ib was at my suggestion, m 1888, when the then Council amalgamated the offices of engineer and town clerk, A substantial annual saving m the expenditure was thus effected. Bud what) was an advantage to the borough then m this reepect, is to my mind a drawback now. Tha Connail's work, both in' and out of doors, has largely increased. Our worthy engineer is not any longer the active man he wai then. In fact he hag arrivad at that time of life when m my humble opinion he ought to enjoy his well earned rest. One cannot reasonably expect a man of that ripe age Mr Foofes hag attained to be able to do the work of a man of forty. A thorough supervision of the work to be done and over the Counoil's men is essential to conserve the interest of the ratepayers, so that they reo ive the fullest benefit from the constantly increasing annnalexpenditure of theborosigh's funds. This also ought to receive the new Council's attention. la connection with this matter I wish especially to recommend to your favourable consideration the services of Mr fi Fooka. He is an able and excellent officer, obliging and strictly honest, and has always done the clerical work expeditiously and well Should the offices again be separated, I trust that the members of the Council will most favourably consider Mr H Fooks' claim, should he be one of the (applicants. And now, gentlemen, m conclusion, I wish to thank the members of the Council and its officers for the great courtesy Ishey have always extended, and the valuable assistance given tome. A general, bowevar good he may be, cannot do very much < unless. b.e is supported by his staff and men. I have had that pleasure and privilege, and the la,rge amount, and let'us hope 'good' work that wae done daring rrsy term of office mast be. credited to them as well ks to the general, There is plenty of work to do yet, for the oooupUrs of the seats at this Council's table Oar town is a rising one, and it will be the duty of the Council to keep pace with its requirements and with the times, and strive to make it <the model j borough of this, our adopted country My hearty and practical support m any under* taking for the advancement and good of Ashburton will at all times bs at your disposal.