CITY COUNCIL.

Auckland Star, Volume X, Issue 2845, 10 June 1879, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

A; SPECIAL MEETING of the City Council was held yesterday afternoon for the consideration of the claims for compensation made by Messrs R. Bartley and.A. Fleming in respect of the endowment leases which they have held for some years past. There were present: His Worship the Mayor, and Councillors Thompson, Cosgrave, Masefield,.^uchannan, Crowther, Waddell, and Hay. MR BAKTLEY'S CLAIM. Mr It. Bartley wrote, asking exemption from the payment of the last year's rent of his lease of City Endowments in CookStreet (lower end), .because, as far back as the year 1808, he had been deprived of a poftibu' of his expected revenue by the, lilling up of the street by the city authorities. A secopd iHliug .had sines taken place, and the buildings that he had erected upon the lease were now from '13 to 15 feet below,tb.e level' of the throughfare. He liad spent £500 on the block, and tor the last fifteen years had paid the high rental of £28 per annum, while the. anjoining allotment had been let for £10. It .was an understood airangemcnt lf }.he writer asserted,, between the late Jolrn Williamson (then Superin-' tendent) and the lessees, that at the end of the lease the buildings could '1)6 removed, but that through an omission the clause was not inserted in the deeds. If the Council declined the year's rent that he asked, he requested permission to remove tlie buildings, • \ The Councillors agreed' thai, 'as-Mr Bartley had.no legal claim,.,the Council couToV Bamly be jiistifiedin dealing with his case as an'exceptional one." It -was therefore decided, upon the. motion of Mr Buchfjnan,', that, the, ,claim. should ,pxib bo recognised. ".",-.''„! .'„, ~./, .. ,".•■,,,■. ; ,,,i ~.,,.,j;i '•■ M;R.FLKMING TddLAJM.,,, jV , 1 Mr Fleming's"claim was for a four years' extension oJe his lease at tfce same, rent, :on the-ground of a verbal promise _ which ho avers, was made him by the old City Boafdf viz., thatif he erected brick<buildings«on the propertytb.6-lease would be extended. at its expiration; The letter of'the appli-3 cation was accompanied by a statement of his receipts from and expenditure upon the property. The totals are: Expenditure (exclusive of gas or shop fitlings), £1243105. Receipts, £929 10s; actual loss, £3141 After some discussion as to Cr. Fleming's abaenco from the meeting, which Cr. Waddel took umbrage at, the taking of evidence was commenced.

The Town Cleric was the first Witness examined. He waid that he was Chairman of the City Board when the matter which Mr Fleming referred to was considered. Mr Fleming requested the promise that if lie erected buildiugs of brick on the property he would be granted an extension of his lease. To the best of his recollection some of the members of the Board gave a verbal promise that they would consider the matter if it should come before them again. That was all he remembered of the matter. At that time the property wa3 under the administration of the Provincial Government, so that a definite promise could hardly have been made to Mr Fleming's application by the City Board, which only received from it such surplus revenue as the Provincial Government chose tp hand oveft | Mr Anderson (Gity Surveyor)iwas also examined, but his evidence was even more vhkuo ,rtnd;iadetinite than that of Mr Philips. He .believed ~fhe manner in which the,application came before the old City "Board I was this. A fire that occurred at the time burnt down the wooden buildings which Mr Fleming had erected upon his prpperty,; and the gentleman applied for leave to build 'again of wood. The City, Board, jbowever, 1 decided that the building regulations should be enforced, and he believed that there was some verbal promise that if brick;: buildings were erected tbo matter of extending the lease would be taken into consideration at its expiration. He had, however, no accurate knowledge of any such promise, nor of the source whence he gained his information. Ho might haye heard it at the Board meeting, or heard it talked about merely in tho street.

. The Council then adjourned for twenty minutes in order to permit a search being made of the minute-books for any record of the matter. -. ~ On resuming the Town Clerk reported that he had been-unable to find anything bearing upon-the.subject, Ho had, how,^ ever, come aero»s a volume of the old Board Acts o clause in one of which gave lessees the right of releasbg themselves from any city properties in the event of their building being burnt down, the ~only, formality required being two months' notice of such intention. ' After some discussion, pro ci ow,' Cr. Buchanan movjed, "That this; Council cannot entertain Mr Fleming's application. ~. Or. Crowther seconded it. , ■ i, : [..,..■ - Cr. Cosgrave proposed as au amendment, "That tho Council take-into consideration the Amount of compensation to be given to Mr-Fleming.""' ' i:;- ;: )•■-,',';''■ y':: vy y"iv The amen^enti.^aji.j^cohde^, %,.,s•.' Bay, a»d" after adine further disenßaion,,mas put to.the Hieefjntrand; losfy 'Grs,« UosgrkTe}' Hayj.in^^addejl.njohe voting for it. Cr. Cosgrave then.'moved as an amend? ment, " That Cr. Fleming's appeal for comDsß?(rti9» bQ. Referred tjWf thei meeting^of the next Council, to-be held In October. ;t?. but at the Council was opposed to any further^postponement, ol to«. 4 B}»tter* rhp eventually withdrew the proposition. The motion was then put and carripd. , ; ,,.? ~ T&BIiEV DEKINDBB'S CLAIM. A letter was read from Messrs Hesketh and Richmond stating the refusal of their client (Dr. Kinder) to1; receive £10 as • compensation for, injury dpne,, to his property in Wellington-street, and announcing his 'determination to take the, matter .into.,lthe law. courts unless, more adequate compensation were teiideretl. The matter having been fully considered,- and the opinion generally expressed, that th,e Council should, not increase the suni offered, it was 'finally decided tliat'tlie Mayor and the City SflrwyoW .should meet Dri binder's solicitors,'with a view to me amicable, settlement of the matter. . ,■ ~~ ~ ..... -.<.. ■■ '..•.,' ;■ ; ' finance. ';. $,i •,.,, Mr Farron's account for £120 was passed for payment; /', ') '1 1I! R A DA^GE^OUS HQUSB. It was agreed'that the' Committee depute to, visit an unsecure building in street, should make th.eir inspection to-daJSr. The meeting thea dissolved.