CITY COUNCIL.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7813, 17 March 1891, Page 6

CITY COUNCIL.

.j. . m ■ -* Monday, March 10. The annual meeting ot the City Council was held at 7 p.m. Present—The Mayor (presiding), Crs. Goss, Reese, Cooper, Ward, Smith. Swarm, Cochrane, Barns, Gapes, Thompson, Patrick and Prudhoe. The receipts were stated as being— General account £1569 7s lOd, Cemetery account £22 17s 6d, suspense account £163 5s 9d, Interest account £234 Is 3d. Accounts to the amount of £277 16s Sd on general account were passed for payment. The debtor balance at the Bank was stated as being £4187 7s id. Correspondence was read as follows :— From tbe New Brighton Tramway Company, asking whether the Council would entertain tbe sale for cash of the Municipal Tramway, Company reserving the rights of the Council as to the transit of rubbish, &c. The Mayob said this was a very important subject, and he would ask the Council to consider the matter very carefully. When the £25,000 loan was raised it was agreed to form a tram line for three purposes, via., (1) conveyance of dust aud rubbish; (2) conveyance of night soil; (3) conveyance of funerals. It was found that the third idea could not be carried out. Then when the contracts for night soil were let, it was found that the contractor did not care to make use of the tramway. Thus, it would be seen that two out of the three objects for which the tramway was projected were impracticable. The dust and rubbish, however, were daily carried along the line, and was, he believed, a success. Tbe cost of the line was estimated at £6000, but it cost somewhere near £7600; and they were paying some £380 for interest on this account,. in addition to £30 paid to the liiuwood Town Board. The payment by the New Brighton Tramway Company amounted to £360, so that they were £50 to the bad as regarded the interest, &c, they paid. Now, if they accepted the offer now made, they would be enabled to extinguish the overdraft, amounting to £470 per year, and leave them a balance to credit, at the same time they would still retain the right of carriage of their dust and rubbish, still t_.y WOttld __V_ to pay fcke __-0. t _« 5 _~- cent, oa C-kxo moaey tney- ±_~_-L borrow_d, -_-___]___. ____•_- <__,<_. __o_- __o*»s_«__ti-- -_ _-»—_c-c oC «:__*._■ of JtSl-iO _>*;_: -tun.urn to fc__»e f.ood. _Co miuiraise tne position, be would put It tfIUS. On the One hand they would Uave as interest on tbe over—rate £470. and present d.encieacy, as stated by turn, £50, or a total ot £..}. Wowr, on tiie otii_r Hide, they would still littve to pay 5 per cent-, amounting to #330, thus leaving ft QaI&QCO in their favor of £140. There was, the Council would see, a certainty and a probability. The certainty was their having to pay 5 per cent, on the money which the line originally cost, and, secondly, the probability of their getting a better rent for the line when the present lease expired. Cr. Prudhoe moved—" That the matter be adjourned till next Council night.'' Cr. it—ESfi thought the matter should be referred to a Committee to bring up a report as to the amount which the line had cost chem.

Cr. Wood agreed with Cr. Prudhoe that the matter had better be adjourned. Cr. Gapes seconded the motion.

Cr. Gapes thought that the Council should.consider the figures referring to the cost and revenue of the tramway. Cr. Swarm would like the New Brighton Tramway Compauy to give some idea of what price they would give. Until they had this befo c them it seemed to hliu they were discussing what was fruitless. Unless they had before them some idea of what they could get for the line he considered they would be wasting their time.

The Mayor said if the Council agreed to sell the matter should be referred to thu Finance aud Works Committee to go carefully into the figures and see what the Council could aifbrd to sell for.

Cr. Cooper, thought that when the present lease had expired the line would be worth double the rent they were now receiving. It would, therefore, be their duty to look into the matter very carefully before they agreed to sell so valuable an asset.

The motion was then put and agreed to.

A request from the inhabitants of New street tor changing the name to Melrose street was agreed to, on the motion of Cr. Gapes.

J_roui the Domain Board, stating that they did not consider, as regarded tbe letter of Mr Sauderson, that they ought to be called upon to reply to the criticisms of a disappointed candidate for the post-, tion of head gardener. But as the Mayor had stated that other Individuals had spoken to him on the subject, a member of the Board had accompanied his Worship oh a visit to the plantation. The Board desired to remind the Council that the Board were not growing trees for profit, bat for the ornamentation of the Domain. The cutting down and thlnnlug out were done to open up views of tbe Park. The Mayo it said that he had gone round the Park with Mr J. H. Baker and the head gardener. The reason adduced for cutting down the large trees near the bathing place, which had been referred to adversely, was explained as being necessary to give light and air to the propagating houses of che Board. As regarded the; taking out of the outer row of trees on the: Biccacton road he (the Mayor) thought the Chairman of the Board would not be disappointed when he said he expected a howl of disapprobation from the public. The removal he thought the, Council should protest against before it was too late. It appeared to him that Mr Sanderson looked at this matter from the point of view of preserving trees with a view to the timber being valuable In tne future, whilst the Domain Board were lookiug to the grouping together of trees for ornamental purposes. The letter was received. The joint Committee appointed to consider the application for a site to build a gublic bath reported as follows:—" Your ommlttee begs to report that Mr Garrard's application for a lease of part of river reserve as a site to build a public bath has been duly considered, and a legal opinion obtained as to the Council's power to let the said reserve for the purpose.; Your Committee finds that the Council cannot use the reserve for any other pur-' poses than those set forth In the Act handing them over to the Municipality." The report was received and adopted. Cr. Swarm asked whether the Mayor had taken any steps to ascertain whether a license could not be granted the same as to the boat-sheds. The Mayor said he had. The reserve could only be used for the purpose of a public garden or promenade, unless a special Act of Parliament were obtained to enable the Council' to lease It for anything else. Cr. Cooper moved—"That steps be taken by the Council to obtain a special Act of Parliament to enable the site in question to be leased as public baths." Cr. Wood seconded the motion. Cr. Goss wished to know what the cost of obtaining a special Act of Parliament would be. ... The Mayor said that he had been assured that the amount of the cost would be but small. ' ■■ Cr. R_B3_ would oppose the resolution. The reserves did not belong to the city of Christchurch, but to Canterbury. If Mr Garrard wanted a site for a bath he could tret a quarter acre of land in a central site. One of the greatest beauties of their city was the river flowing through it fringed with these beautiful plantations. If they gave away any part of these reserves they would do an act for which they would be j sorry. Cr. Swarm thought that it was the duty of the Municipality to get public bath». and if it were necessary then they should go to Parliament and get power to alter the purposes of these reserves. They must progress with the time. Let them look at the boatsheds and remember the thousands who enjoyed themselves on the river. If they had carried out Cr. Reese's idea they would have left this part of the 1 river a waste. The motion was then put and carried, Cr. Reese dissenting. Cr. Reese said the Reserves Committee had received a tender from Mr Parish for £7115s a year for the Bottle Lake reserve and they wished to ask the Council to empower the Committee to accept the tender. They would have to erec* fencing ■but the extra rent offered by ]_rJPi_*l_bcompared with the £50 a year they Bad. received up to now, would cover the cost; during the five years of- Mr_Parißha: tenancy. He now moved —. That Mr Parish s tender be accepted. 1 * Cr. Pbudkob seconded the motion, which was carried. • The report of the Committee on diseased meat and tainted milk was read and on the motion of the Ma yob was adopted. The report and tho discussion appears _-_.__.V7__f-'__-_ A petition was received, signed by about twenty-four ratepayers, asking the Council to re-conaider tbe action taken In refusing the license of B. Dtwtf, ■ < Cr. TnoaisoN moied--'* 4 That thepetition. be __TerT-_ to _-© By-l_w Committee.'* Crs. Goes and Gap ss both pointed out

that the Committee had consldet«£t_. mattes* moat thoroughly, and there iff really no good in referring It back Li!* Committee. **% The motion was not seconded. Ma *P» brought under the nc*w v the Council the question of theCoS* turn hearse, and asked what had befffi l ' done with It. They had already pK> £90 by way of interest on Its cost* **•• Cr. Pruobob moved—" That the(_„ advertise for tenders for the p_n_&_4 che Corporation hearse." * ,urc, *a»tqCr. Thomson seconded the Bottl _ which was carried. - i ««9^ The Mayor stated that the Cityg fl _. tors had been consulted re the tn£_* by-law, and had altered the penalty & therein by fixing the penaltvas an_wS_> Tramways Act at 40s; read the bylaw through, and did not _?* gest any other alterations thanthli? [erred to in their letter. ** •* The clauses of the by-law wen -__ sldered seriatim and passed, and a „n_r! meeting of the Council fixed for ApSfiL?to conuim the same. ~ **«-»» Cr. Reese moved-" That his Wonu the Mayor invite theß_roui*h C__«S? 9t Sydenham and St. Albans, JSPS rown Board of Linwood to send twa * their members to a conference, to bah_! in the City Council Chambers on.Wtf-_ -ay, April 29th, with a view to eoS proposals for the amalgamation of SS -bove-mentioned foregoing bodies _a forming one city. (2) That CoaneuK Prudhoe, Goss, Wood, Gapes, aodtS mover be a Committee to assist his W_? ship the Mayor to prepare the resolaUoM tor the conference. WM *' Cr. Swarm seconded the motion, whisk was ajrreed to. **** -_. Cr *'f»apes was appointed iv place of nWood as delegate to the Confere-cete faheld on Mvrcti *3rd, Cr. Wood «£__ that he should be absent. Mo * After grauting several licenses th. Council adjourned for three week* S2 MtSda^ I*'1 *' Mee " ag faUiUK 0a ***»