KAITANGATA NEWS.

Clutha Leader, Volume XLI, Issue 2, 14 July 1914, Page 3

KAITANGATA NEWS.

jjoji ° rK owx CWRRKSl'esnrNTgeneral. nT ok ;i little hoy named Thompson i-tm'l'i'iK t0 l ,i( ' k "I" his boots 'before t lie kitchen range brought " jntll ,-nntact with the range 'loor ?m l) ' nrrt ' that tlu> e - V( ' was St ' ri * ' nin"l- Tlie little sufferer was tot || ( > |>unedin Hospital for treatt of L.0.L., No. :|S, an.J fW \o. U', held a combined social *Vri<l:i\ evening. A very pleasant • ,\v;i- .-pent "lancing, games ~Bt\ Manv visiting brethren from Intha 11 ill eii< 1. Lovells Flat ami |.re«ent. An abundance of '""l o'ltal'les were proviileil and iloue tn. and as the rules of the itution -tri'-tly forbids the use of leverages at any such functions lia-l their fill of enjoyment bo unpleasant after effects. attempt will be made this evento rc-t"' u' ,lu> brass band, which has „ practically non-existent for some fe\Vor.-liip the Mayor and his good hav just celebrated their silver Ljr having been married 2.) years borough council last Wednesday kI the Councillors offered, their conand joined in wishing W ,l .Mrs Soilness many long years 0 f health and prosperity. On be[of himself ami Mrs Soilness, who p rese iit. the Mayor made a short but jble reply.

OBITUARY. , Frhlav evening last there passed yto hi'" l»»K rost Mr c}eor f-' e Mr " 'who. .luring his residence of over Y W rs'in Kaitangata, tool; a keen in l»'-a1 affairs, and a grest deal onB P,-tioii with the business of the (R- rnion. During the perio.l in lithe industrial crisis was so much iriilence. and the forces of Federasfenu'3 intent upon a local up- „] in laliour at the mines, Mr Mef w itli a fearlessness characteristic £ nature. promptly set to work with ml other workers and was instruct in forming the present union er which the men are now working. ,t in his manner of expressing his pons, he never failed to make himdoarly understood, and whether I opinions were acceptable or disrful to cither his employers or If-workcrs. his intentions were at times jiist and honourable. In rejig ilistre.-s George was always one pe the lead to his fellows. He was intent disciple of Isaac Walton, ami Bg the fishing season his familiar K was to be seen, in sunshine or l,ashi> plied the rod. generally, too, llsuccess equal to his ardour. Last ter Mr McGhie took a trip to Vi.- ■ but was attacked by sickness and to return home sooner than he i This sickness had prevented his inn to work, and quite recently, {h a-qiell of severe heart trouble, fe hung in the balance, yet at last ito make a good recovery; when in a weak state pneumonia inter>l and this was more than the W could en.lure. A large number tails attended his funeral on Sunjfterunmi. Deceased, who was (14 B of leaves a grief-stricken son and two daughters (all rie>l) tu mourn their loss.

IPLOYEES' BENEFIT SOCIETY. le half-yearly general meeting of ibers of the Employees' Benefit Soy was hold on Saturday evening, president (Mr M. McLennan) oocu--1 the chair, and about 20 members *M. The balance-sheet, showing tolit balance of £4: i 17s 7d on the Mil funeral fund and a credit baleof £s<> 12s 2d on the medical and agemenr (\u\<\, was adopted. The innan, in moving the adoption of the ite-shoet, referred to the heavy ima'le upon the funds and to the hi manner in which the committee tarried out their duties. Mr A. <!laml. in sei-oiiding* the motion, » attention to the need of strengthigthe fun.ls, which were rather low. If 8. Mi-Oovern asked upon whose ajritytlie committee had tried to get Kiiistrel troupe to give a concert in «J the funds. He considered that fe funds, were low it was proper to i themselves and pay a levy. He Wi that it be a recommendation »members to the committee "that No not accept assistance from any We souire, but strike a levy when •as ■ onsidered necessary.—The fen was seconded by Mr A.*McLellaml ranied.

of motion to bo considered at m.-ctiiijr on Saturday next was tor the next three months ]k v week bo struck.'' * 10 1 ■i > 1 (MI to send a letter of coilt<« Mrs ('.oorge McGhie in her follow liiir were elected members , for the next six months: — Il.vtor, R. McGovern, D. llii; Wilson, A. McLellaml. ■Mpecial eral meeting will be held SatuMay evening, when the revi- , v ii| (~, considered. H BOROUGH COUNCIL. oiont iily meeting of the above in th,. Council Chambers oil evening. Present: His WorMayor (Mr I'. Soilness), CounJ. l>on;ili|soii, R. Aitchison, J. (J. T. Gage. K. I'enmau, \V. StephenAn apology for absence was refrom Councillor Mclnues. ■ CORRESPONDENCE. wrote agreeing to allow the to tap the railway water mains er for a trough at the crossing.— Stephenson moved that the be asked to carry out the work Council's expense.—Seconded by Penman and carried. of sales of sections were reM follows Perpetual Trustees'

Agency, sale of Anderson's ' property estate; W. Oliver, sale of section 18, block 66, to M. McLennan; J. Cockburn, sale of section to Chas. Wilson.—Noted. Palmer and Sou wrote explaining delay in delivery of metal. —Received. R. Lee wrote requesting permission to sub-lease parts of the Coal Reserve. — Granted. I). Stewart and Son (solicitors) wrote stating the council's non-liability in connection with erection of picket fence fronting R. Burleigh's section.—Received. M. Mclnues wrote asking permission to erect a fence on bank of Granton main drain, also to lay pipes through lootpath on Civile terrace. He also drew attention to the fact that his fencing erected by council at the river break was not up to the agreement, but if his requests were granted he would be satisfied with the fencing.- —Each request was granted. Secretary Kaitangata School Committee wrote drawing attention to a stench arising at corner of Eddvstone and Weymouth streets. —Inspector to investigate and notices to be erected warning persons against depositing offensive matter. •lolin Jrving wrote resigning position as attendant at the weighbridge.—Accepted. It was agreed to have the weighbridge tested and call for applicants for attendant. M. Brennan wrote asking for a pathway to his house in- Cowes street. —Inspector to attend to it. Alice Lindsay wrote asking for a proper roadway to her home in Weymouth street.—lnspector to inspect and report.

T. Wilson wrote asking permission to fence'off part of Christchurch street and dig and maintain a draiu. —Refused. Department of interna] Affairs wrote asking if council had an inspector of huildings, etc.—The town clerk was appointed to act. The clerk Bruce County Council wrote inviting the co-operation of the council at a conference to consider the regulation of motor traffic, fees, etc.—Received. .1. W. Fenton wrote asking that Cowes street footpath be extended to his property.—lnspector to attend to same. W. R. Mechaelis, secretary Town Beautifying Society, wrote asking assistance of council in planting trees on Arbor Day, also suggesting districts to be planted. He also drew attention to the fact that drivers fail to chain wheels when leaving conveyances on the roads.—Councillors Aitchison, Shore and Penman were appointed to represent the council on Arbor Day, with authority to spend up to £5. The inspector was instructed to prosecute any drivers found leaving wheels unchained. Town clerk, Westport, forwarded remits for Municipal Conference.—To be left with delegate. INSPECTOR'S REPORT. The inspector's report gave a resume of the various works attended to during the month, and drew attention to the state of several works requiring attention. —'The inspector was instructed to have the footpath at the lower end of Christchurch street attended to, and also a dirty crossing below R. Gnibben 's property. GENERAL. Accounts amounting to £lol> (is Id were passed for payment. The estimates of receipts and expenditure for the year, as tabled, were approved. The limit of overdraft at the bank was fixed at £6OO. Councillor Aitchison gave notice of motion for next meeting that a general rate of Is &| in the £ be struck. RATING ON r-X IMPROVED VALUE.

In accordance with notice of motion I tabled at the previous meeting, Counr | i-illor Donaldson moved: "That this ! council adopt the unimproved value system of rating in place of trie improved value system. - ' hi speaking to the I motion Councillor Donaldson said that 1 to his mind, in respect to the rating . question, something wanted to be done. : Parts of the borough were in a very congested state. They have now got into a rut and were very nearly fossilised. Things bad now come to such a pass * that no married man need apply for j work in Kaitangata. If he did he I found nowhere to bring his wife and children to, so the result was that he stayed here for a little while and then j went away back to his home. Single ; men come here and work and, like the married ones, were soon off again. What houses there were are full up, and in the ■ best parts of the town are plenty of vacant sections with high prices put j upon them, and many cannot even be bought. No wonder we had a floating population. To get a section at a j reasonable figure one had to go out to the outskirts of the town, and then what followed? A house is builty and application is made, as ean be seen to-night by I looking over applications upon the table, for a road and a footpath to this home. Those people owning a number of tions alongside this man immediately raised the price of their properties, yet they did no more than formerly to justify the rise. They bought this land early and got it at an easy figure. What for.' Why, for a speculation; certainly not to build upon. The council had in many cases like this had occasion to spend pounds in making chains of roading where a great deal less might otherwise have been necessary. This was the sort of thing that brought us to ask ourselves, "Are we rating as we should do? Is each property owner receiving benefits proportionate to the amount of rates be is paying?" I say "No," declared Councillor Donaldson. "By the extra benefits gained by those holding vacant sections for speculation purposes these sectionsjkeep rising in price, but no houses are built upon them; yet the population must increase, and then the high rent question arises. There is- no need to ask why rents are so high if I I ean buy a section for £2O, let it lie for ! a few years, and when someone comes to buy it I ask £IOO for it. No matter, what is paid for the section in the first place, I gain the difference. One might well ask what" owners of vacant sections ' have done to increase values, especially ' when he bears of sales at £BO. To get

this, figure they themselves should pay to improve them to that amount. We have many sections here that cost £7 10s, and now you cannot even buy them for £BO. This sort of thing is a bar to an increase in our population, and those who o\fn houses can ask and get what rent they please. So the more houses that are erected the better for Kaitangata in every way—residential, business or otherwise. We could do all the business transacted in the borough in a smaller area than we have now; in fact two streets could nicely hold all the shops. Were the people's homes not so widely separated Kaitangata could have better streets, first-class drainage and no large overdraft to contend with, but the way things are at present we can too easily get to our limit. The remedy for the existing evil is to apply the rating on the unimproved system and make/ those pay better who would trade in sections, and assist those who have too long had to help to put up the values of vacant land, f may now tell you, gentlemen, that if this motion is not carried A will advocate that we raise a loan to erect houses for the workers and let them get a good home to live in', and then our population will not float about as it has in the past and is doing now." Councillor Donaldson concluded his remarks by stating the three different systems of rating that may be adopted-by the borough. Jf the motion were defeated he was going to apply the usual petition course to get a vote of the ratepayers to decide the question.

Councillor Shore said that as it would require a seconder before the motion could be discussed he would second the mot ion pro forma. Councillor Penman put several questions to Councillor Donaldson, who answered them in a more gentlemanly manner than thev were asked.

The Mayor, Councillors Stephenson, Gage and Aitchison considered that the time was not yet ripe for the change. One ratepayer present asked and was given permission to speak,, but he did not get very far when he was stopped by the Mayor, who advised him to wait till the business was finished and then he could sell as many sections as he liked —the whole 16 if he wished to.

The motion was then put to the meet ing and lost.