CITY COUNCIL.

Press, Volume XXVI, Issue 3404, 1 August 1876, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

Monday, July 31

The ordinary fortnightly meeting was held in the Council Chamber. Present—His Worship the Mayor and Crs Ick, Thomson, Turner, Hawkes, Bird, Jones, Gapes, and Schmidt.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed.

The Mayor said that, before the business of the sitting commenced he would like to read a few notes he had made on a matter which was at present an all absorbing topic—" Observing that there exists a somewhat widespread feeling of dissatisfaction in regard to tbe present state of the streets and footpaths, I deem it to be my duty to make a few remarks respecting the same. No one I am sure feels more acutely than the mem bers of the City Council generally, and the works committee in particular, the want of funds to enable us to combat with the severe frosts and drizzling rains we are usually subjected to at this season of the year,.and which naturally cause the Council to be deluged with letters asking for relief. By referring to the city surveyor's report, it will be seen that a very large propoition of the revenue for this year has been spent in metalling the streets and shingling the footpaths, and still they cannot be put in anything like good condition to bear the heavy traffic during the winter months. Ratepayers who grumble (and all have the right to do so) should attach the blame to the proper parties, viz, the past Provincial Councils of Canterbury. While the province has been revelling in the wealth of a huge landed estate, the dwellers in the towns, always representing a third of the population of the province, have first been induced to become municipalities and take over the management of their own affair?, and then left out in the cold as regards endowments ; consequently they are all obliged to do the best they can with the amount they can raise by rate or any other amount they can by importunity obtain from the Provincial Councils. Any statesman would have considered this his duty—to apportion the proceeds of the public estate upon some fair principle of distribution, but such an idea does not appear to hsve ever been possessed by our provincial legislators and administrators. The income of the City Council from general rates is but about £7000 per annum, which has to be applied to a variety of purposes. All the money the Council has borrowed or received from the Drainage Board has been specially obtained for drainage purposes, and therefore cannot be otherwise expendel. The difficulty however of keeping the streets in anything like decent condition during winter is not singular to Christchurch, for I observe in a recent number of the Melbourne Argus that the corporation there, with its income of some £90,000 per annum cannot do so, and yet so far as my memory serves mc, Melbourne does not cover a much larger area than Christchurch. Citizens who " rush into print" to air their grievances, shonld bear in mind that there are in Christchurch some thirty miles of streets and sixty miles of footpaths, which the Council are expected to keep in good order, whereas the funds at their disposal are totally inadequate for one fourth of that amount. Several miles of the streets of Christchurch are main roads of the province, especially those leading to the railway station, fo? which we have no special vote. The Provincial Governmentlike to shew a profit on their management of the railways, but they don't say anything about the cost of some three coats of mc al per annum on Madras and Manchester streets, which have to bear tbe bulk of the traffic whereby they make the said profit. In preparing "estimates of expenditure" and the requisite " ways and means" for the current year, the Council have been placed in a very awkward position. They had no positive information as to when the Abolition Bill would come into fore, nor how much money they would be likely to receive nnder its provisions, and certainly could not forsee that the finances of tbe country would necessitate a departure from the provisions of clause 22 of the said Bill in which it is provided tbat the costs of hospitals and charitable institutions shall be borne by the consolidated fund. Under the proposals of the present Government we are to receive £ for £ equal to the sum raised by general rate of Is in the £, say some £7000, as well as the license fees, some £3000, but we are now to be saddled with the maintenance of charitable aid and the hospital, with the promise of 5s for every £ raised by private subscriptions. At present there are abundant reasons for believing that the taking over the maintenance of these institutions will prove a " White Elephant," and should such be the case, it leaves little or nothing but rates for the council to depend upon in the future. I have obtained from the surveyor an estimate of what it would cost to properly form the streets, under three headings, viz : —l. For heavy traffic—Eight miles with a coatiag of three inches of broken metal on a foundation of large blocks of stone, at a cost of £2264 per mile, amounting to £18,112. 2. Moderately heavy traffic, eight miles of street with a coating of three inches of i broken metal only, at a cost of £1900 per mile; total, £15,200. No. 3 —Ordinary , traffic, sixteen miles of streets with a coating of shingle, at £1000 per mile ; total £16,000. Footpaths—Sixty-four miles of asphalte, 4ft < 6in wide, less about three miles now laid,

making sixty-one miles, n» per n . £22,143 ; total for both roads and f O X paths, £71,455. In order to carry out such a work, it would bo necessary to borrow some £70,000, which would mean an additional rate of about eightpcnce in tho £ The annual election of councillors will take place in about biz weeks, when there will certainly be one vacancy to fill, and this will afford an excellent opportunity for those who condemn the present stato of things, to bring forward a candidate pledged to have the streets and footpaths put inthorough order at the aforesaid cost. Personally, much as I regret our inability to cope with these works, I still think wo cannot afford to pay an additional eightpenny rate, and therefore had better go on as at present."

Cr Hawkes said he was sure he was only expressing the general feeling of councillors when he thanied his Worship for the trouble he had taken in committing to writing the views they all held on the present state ot the streets and footpaths—a state they very much regretted, but were unable, in their present position, to remedy. The Mayor desired to ask the Council whether they would object to the Drainage Board seeking to obtain the necessary authority from the Assembly over the water supply from artesian wells throughout the city. The engineer to the Board had estimated tbe waste of water here from that source to be about 240 gallons per head, or about ten times as much as was wasted by any other city with a similar population. He had brought tho matter before the Council as a committee had been appointed by tbe Board, and it was desirabla to send up the resnlt arrived at to the Assembly this week if possible.

After some remarks from Councillors, ia which the necessity of some body having control over the present waste was admitted, it was decided to postpone this question until it has been brought before the Council in proper form and discussed, the ratepayers in the meantime having the opportunity of considering whether they would wish the Drainage Board to have such a p >wer ia their hands.

The town clerk reported as follows :— Received for week ending Jaly 22nd, account of general rate, 1876, £52 Is ; Waimakariri do, £8 13s 6d ; general rate, 1876. £84 16s; Waimakariri do, £14 2s 8d ; rent of Market Place, 7s ; fines from Resident Magistrate's Court, £6; sale of debris, £13 18s 6d; Christchurch Drainage Board, £29 10s; Government grant for Fire Brigade station, £500 ; licenses, £4 ; total receipts for week, £713 8s Bd. Received for week ending July 29th general rate, 1875, £85 9s; Waimakariri do, £14 4s lOd; general rate. £166 7s; Waimaktriri do, £27 14s 6d ; rent of Market Place, 7s; fines from Resident Magistrate's Court, £10 15s; contribution to channelling, £28 Is ; Scott Brothers' purchase of old! iron, £39 0s lOd ; total receipts for week. £371 18s 2d; grand total for fortnight, £1085 4s lOd. Overdraft at Bank on general account, £4989 15s 61; drainage loan account—Cr, £12,989 8s 9d; drainage rata account Cr, £1980 17b 8d ; wages and bil'a paid by works committee for weekending July 25th, £215 15s 5d ; to be paid for week ending Wednesday, August Ist, £295 16s lOd ; bills, &c, paid and to be paid on drainage loan account, £150 2s; Fire Brigade, £166 19s lid ; Balaries to Council officials. £70 16s Bd.

The report of the surveyor was read as follows:—

"1. In compliance with Cr Turner's resolution respecting bridges, I beg to report that hitherto the supervision of the bridges has been exercised by myself, with one or two exceptions, when not having time per* aon ally to see to them, I have sent the carpenter to do so. I have not thought it necessary to examine them oftenertban once a month, although really they have been seen oftener, as I never pass over a bridge without giving it some scrutiny. In future I will make a point of examining them once a fortnight, and when anything connected with the bridges requires attention I will report it to the Council. Within the last two years I have condemned and pulled down as unsafe fifteen bridges, i. c., four over the river and eleven over the smaller watercourses in the city. These fifteen bridges have been replaced by new ones in some instances, and in others by brick or wooden culverts. Manchester street bridge, which is not included in the above number, is now under repair, and I hope will again be open for traffic in a few days. The reptirs to this bridge will cost about £60. and will render the bridge safe for two or perhaps three years longer ; but as decay has commenced all over the bridge, it is difficult to say positively how long it will stand. The principal cause of the decay to the part now being repaired is, that instead of the bridge having solid beans they are composed of three inch planks bolted together, and the wet getting in between tho planks has caused them to rot, The seemingly long time this bridge has been closed is owing to the following circumstances :— In tbe first place the men could not be spared from other work to commence it, and in the next place T could not determine what the bridge required until the planking was taken off, and after this was done a couple of days' unavoidable delay took place in procuring the necessary timber. "2. Tbe means of egreßß from the Music Hall has been improved by an additional Btaircase, 4ft wide, from the gallery. As far as regards the condition and strength of the material of which the building is oimposed, I consider it quite equal to the demand upon it, if the building is only to contain the number of persons for which it is designed. "3. It will be necessary to repair the roof of the Besident Magistrate's Court, aa tho shingling is in a very rotten state.

" 4, Dr Frankish was lately thrown out of his buggy, in consequence of the unfinished state of Madras street. I would therefore beg to suggest to the Council the necessity of stopping the channelling of tbe streets for two or three weeks, to enable mc to follow up the channelling with the consequent alteration of the footpaths and roads, more quickly. With the men I have at present I cannot do more than proceed with the earthwork as fast as the channelling, and as the channelling is now six miles in advance of tbe other work, there is no chance of my being able to overtake it unless the channel work is stopped for a time. " 5. The works committee have requested mc to lay before the Council a statement of what has been done within the last six months, to render the roads and footpaths of the city in as good a condition as possible during the winter months —7750 cubic yards of shingle have been brought into the city at a cast of £IS'37 ; 7«00 cubic yards of broken metal have also been obtained, at a cost of £3500 ; carting and spreading the above, including picking up roads, £650; total, £6f 87. The amount of rates for this year is £73*6, so that it will be seen that 5 Gths of tbe entire rates have already been expended on the above work. The whole of the above quantity has been spread on the streets, with the exception of about 300 cubic yards, which is retained in stock for repairs. Broken stone and shingle is still being brought into the city as fast aa it can be obtained. At tbe commencement of the winter orders were given for the road scraper to be used as much as possible. This has been done whenever the weather and the state of the roads permitted ; the scraper was need freely last winter, but it was found that the remedy was as bad as tbe disease, as the mud collected by the scraper was often in such a liquid state that it could not be carted away with the appliances at the Council's command. It ia impossible to use the scraper on roads where shingle or metal has been lately Bpread, consequently the only meat s of cleaning that portion of the road which geta worn smooth first wonld be by hand, and that would be a very expensive proces*. I must now repeat what I reported twelve months' back, namely, that there arc no properly made roads in the city, they are mera tracks foimed of vegetable soil with a spiickling of shingle on tbe centre, and, consequently, ni.fit to carry the heavy traffic which they are now so! jected to Unless a great expense is incurred to put the roads in order, tbe present state of things will exist forytars to come, as the vegetable soil is constantly rising through the swingle and broken stone and becomes mud, and until it

all exhausted, aud its place supplied by shingle or stone, the roads will not be firm and hard. " Signed—C. Walkden, " City Surveyor." Clause 1 of the report was approved. On clause 2 bting read, Cr Hawkes said he had been in the Mnsio Hall the other evening when this part of the building was crammed with people, whom be was sure would not have been able to get out with safety in case of fire. Iv his opinion egress should be provided at the end of the T, or western side. He would move— *» That tbe Music Hall Company be communicated with, informing them that the Btepß taken are not to the satisfaction of the Council; that the surveyor be instructed to confer with the company, who must provide sufficient egress to his satisfaction, viz— Doors and staircase on the west side of the building—sufficient time being given to carry out the work, and that in the event of this not being done, the license will be withdrawn." Cr Gapes seconded the motion, which was agreed to. Clause 3 of the report was referred to the -works committee. In connection with clause 4, it was resolved on the motion of Cr Hawkes—" That the construction of the side channels be discontinued until such time as the formation of the footpaths has overtaken the channelling." Clause 5 was approved. At the request of Cr Hawkes, the works - committee promised to give instructions for a more general use of hand scrapers on the -city footpaths. Crs Gapes and Thomson referred to the use the asphalte crossings were being put to by many persons, the latter councillor pointing to the disgraceful condition in which the contractors of the Theatre and new hotel in Gloucester street allowed the footpath there to remain—in, he might say, a perfect *ea of mad, to the annoyance of foot passengers. The surveyor said he had observed this, aud on Saturday had told the contractor that tbe wood must be taken out of the channelling, and the nuisance at once remedied. The report was then approved as a whole. A letter was read from the Secretary for Public Works, saying that a voucher for ■£500 in aid of the erection of the Fire Brigade Btation had been forwarded to the Treasury for payment. A letter was read from Mr J. P. Jameson on behalf of the Music Hall Company, saying he had received a note from the town clerk in reply, informing him that the wooden building erected in Cathedral square had 'been so with tbe sanction of the works committee. Mr Jameson desired to submit that - the proximity of that building affected - seriously the insurance of the Music Hall, adding greatly to the risk from fire. The -bye-law had hitherto provided that outside walls shomld be substantial and of uuin- \ flammable materials. This had not been ; adhered to,"and in |addition added to this there was also the very great objection to the opening a bar for the supply of drink in that .locality. Cr Ick, as chairman of the works com_nittee, said that the Mayor and surveyor had seen no objection to a permit being given to Mr Beattie before his application was -brought before the committee. Mr Beattie faad promised that he would be responsible for any increased rate of insurance on tbe hall while his shed was allowed to remain where erected during the building of his hotel. There could not have been any serious objection to its being permitted there, as the magistrate had granted the necessary authority for vending liquor. The Mayor explained that when he was asked whether he saw any objection to the shed being erected he said he did not. Mr Beattie had offered to meet the Council in -every way they desired. Cr Hawkes thought this complaint was a most frivolous and unnecessary one on the part of the Music Hall Company. It was decided to send a reply to Mr Jameson that the Council see no necessity for nterfering in this matter. A letter was read from the Commissioner -of Police in reply, stating the action taken %y the police with two hawkers who bad •obstructed Cathedral square, and which has already been made public. In reply to Cr Turner, the town clerk said _n official letter had been forwarded to Dr Foster, who had replied verbally. Cr Turner wanted a definite opinion before -taking any action, which would fix the whole of the responsibility upon the city solicitor. The Mayor explained what he had verbally Sieard from Dr Foster bearing on this question, and said that he (Dr Foster) had already taken certain action. Cr Hawkes must again remark that this --was in his opinion one of the worst pieces of -jfietty tyranny ever exercised by any body who happened to possess a little power, and the action was a disgrace to the Council. Cr Gapes W6uld endorse to the very letter expression which had fallen from Cr Hawkes. The Mayor said he bad simply followed np the wishes of the Council in the course he _ad taken. A letter was read from a widow with a large family, saying she had lately lost her ••eldest girl, and some of her other children -were laid up with sickness, and asking that lier rates for the previous year might be remitted. She had been summoned for the The rate collector reported favorably, and fcis Worship explained that when the circumstances came to his knowledge, he -delayed any action being taken until the .-Batter had been brought before the Council. Oi the motion of Cr Gapes, seconded by Cr Schmidt, it was resolved to remit the Ijear's rate asked for. A letter was read from Mr W. Bush, en--cloaiEg receipts for rates paid, saying there -was some mistake, and requesting the Council to consider the matter.

Consideration was adjourned for a to make fall enquiries as to any -mistake in assessment.

A letter was read from T. Btout, saying when driving in Madras Btreet, bis cab -went into a large hole ; several of the plates of his springs being broken, and enclosing - account for same. Ordered to lie on the table. A letter- was read from the manager of the Oas Company in reply, concerning the state -of the public lamps in the city, informing - the Council that the complaint should be rectified as soon as possible. Deemed to be satisfactory. Letters from the following persons had *l>een received since the last sitting of the "<3ouncil, and attended to by the works comvmittee:—J. W. Treadwell, H. E. Alport, Tillman and Ponsford, H. V. Gully, J. Meadows, Heathcote Road Board (2), Miles, Hassal, and Co, W. Ollivier and others; telegrams from town clerk, Napier, Begistrar «Gene-al (2), W. H. Hargreaves, T. G. "▼email, Messrs Holt and Co, E. Johnson, A. SBlakiston, J. Anthony, Peter Hill, Mrs A. "°epper, and H. Crooks.

The following annual report of the Fire Brigade committee was read:—

M Your committee desire to congratulate "the Council on the small number of fires •during the past year, viz, twenty; few only •of which were of any magnitude—those of "the City Hotel and other properties in the "Triangle, and Bates' chair manufactory.

" The Council will see from Mr Superin"tendent Harris's report to the committee "that the plant, See, are in good order, and "that he requests the purchase of 1000 ft of cew hose.

" The committee again call the Council's attention to the urgent necessity for seps *>eing taken to obtain a proper supply of water for fire prevention purposes. " The committee recommend the Council "to vote the fo'lowing Bums of money for the -current year's expenses of the brigade, viz— Maintenance, £470; new koße, £70 ; total, *540

" The committee recommend that a cordial jote of thaDks be passed by this Council to the officars and members of the Fire Brigade and the officers and members of the Fire Police for their valuable services during the ►past year. °

,„. . " T - D. Jokes,

The following is Mr Superintendent Harris' report:—

" I have to report that the Brigade have attended six fires, in buildings during the past quarter the one of heavy loss being Bates' chatr factory. " The total number of fires for the year ending 20th July have been, buildings, 20 ; unnecessary alarms, 2; false alarms, 1 ; gorse fence, 1 ; chimneys, 2. Total, 26. The total of last year was fourteen, ten of which were in buildings. We have had more than one fire during the year at which .water could not be obtained. This will require the Council's early attention. " W. Habbis, " Superintendent; and " Chief Fire Inspector." Cr Bird hoped that the fire brigade committee would take the necessary measures to prevent a repetition of the ringing of the bells similar to that which took place the other evening on tbe occasion of the false alarm. Tbe people who were rushing about the streets in all directions, believed from the continuous ringing, that half the town nas on fire.

Cr Jones said that the boys, whom he believed had rung the bell for the purpose of earning ss, had been summonsed.

Both reports were adopted after one paragraph had been eliminated from tbat submitted by the committee. Cr Gapes moved—"That the triangular piece of roadway, on the west side of the Market place, be formed for the convenience of omnibuses and cabs."

Or Pchmidt seconded the motion, which was agreed to as a temporary measure. The usual report of the inspector of nuisances was read.

On the motion of Cr Thomson the license of the cabman, George Webber, who had beea convicted in the R.M. Court for disorderly conduct at a house of ill-fame, and referred to in the report, was cancelled.

Cr Hawkes said that a gentleman had brought under his notice the practice of the changing of the night pans by tbe contractor's men, which might be one cause of the spreading of fever. In this instance new pans had been specially obtained, which were soon afterwards found to have been replaced by others old and filthy. Cr Gapes, as chairman of the sanitary committee, promised to make inquiries.

Several licenses were granted, and others declined, after which the Council ad-