FIRE BRIGADE ACT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 121, 14 February 1908, Page 7

FIRE BRIGADE ACT.

; ——4 ; i ' BOARD ABOLISHED, CITY COUNCIL TO RESUME CONTBOIi Tho Wellington City Council is tho first local body to apply for exemption from tho 'provisions of'' the Fire Brigades' Act, 1907. .This,:important:decision was taken at last night's meeting of 'the Council. „ Under Claiiso 7 of'thb Act, the Governmeut has no power to refuse the application, , aud ,as a result tho Wellington Firo Board will go out ■of existence, and tho City Council will resumo the full control: of ;tho Fire Brigade and everything connected with fire, prevention 'in , -Wellington.. v The subject was introduced at last night's .meeting by'the following clause in'the report of tho By-Laws, and . Street Lighting Committee:— " That, haviDg considered the provisions of the Fire Brigades Act, 1907, tbo Committee would recom,,,..;._niend.the;Council..,;to' sanction, the continuance of the Fire Board." , , ~ A QUESTION: OF FINANCE. Councillor Godber, chairman'"of " the com-V. mitteo, said that the advantage : of retaining the Board lay lin the saving 'of money to tho' city. : The'oxiien'ses of fee prevention were to „bo . divided between, the. .Council, the' 'Government, and'the insurance companies. 1 Taking tho oxponses on the basis of last year, -£7000, that would be, in twenty-six years' (the .period, within, whidli tho firo prevention, 'property ~ .'woul'd' " Tie' ' paid for),. £182,000.: 'k' le old r system. that, burden would! ■liavo to bo borne entirely by tho Gouncil,; but-, iinder.rthe „tho Government would pay £400. a £10,400 in twenty-six 1 •years—and tbo insurance companies over £56,500 in tho same period,' -as'well as half itiio intoi'est ,and sinking fund oh tho ipropor-* ties to bo takdn over from the Council by-'' tho Board;.' Altogether, the Council would "pay £59,000 in the .period named, and wouldii savo undor the provisions of the Act about' £122,000. In this estimate ho had taken account^ofjextensions .which would, no doubtj . be roqU'ir&b i Fdri iii'si/aiiiob, '■ 'a branch Firs' Brigado building would bo roquired at' Thorndtm. Such facilities might have on-j abled the Brigade-to"reduco tho losses at thai Parliamentary fire. Tho insurance 'com-;) panics " would ii&vc to pay . -half the cost off sucli new works. Tho Council would be well! represented with three mombers on th&j Board. Ho looked with disfavour on any:! attempt, by tho i'Gofernment to usurp thOT powers and functions'of local bodies as inn this Act and the Tramways Bill. 'At th<*j ■ jyorst, .however, .the proposed step waß an/ . .bsperiihent,."and. Clause 7 of the . .Act would) enablo the Council to revert at any tirno'' 1 to the former conditions, slid restimo control! of the Firo Brigade. Tho majority pf tlia' committee, including himself, thought that" 1 the'balance of advantage lay with tho conv tinuanco of the Fire Board, and bo moved! that' the 'of; the' committed be 4 adopted. '>'• '! ' , ' , j

Councillor Cohen, who seconded the motion J said'.tlio Council would: -not lose its .building* if tho Board wero continued; The Brigadewould hp .on 'a better footing than it was i now.'-;It was all nonsense to &y that the rates vwould go up. As a matter of fact. V savmg\ of £5700 a year would result. - 1 BEfpRE MONEY, j ■ The Mayor said, that the importance'of the 1 ; subject and the responsibility that rested upon all of them in connection witli it must i bo his,excuse for speaking thus early in the discussion. ; Two questions wore involved.* na'melyy'.tlhe incidence of taxation, and tho uiaritigeM&il of local affairs. The first of those principles appeared in the'shape' of aP proposal that the insurance companies should' bo made to pay a part of the cost, of fire prevention. Now,. whero -.persons woro de-'. strous'. of'.making fthanges,• hftd were liot too sure of the' principles involved, they were always inclined to tempt tho party con- . cerntkl by means of tho wretched considcra;tionit)f'.i Mving'tji' 'taxation?'&r'.coist. It had iotteh'been'done in': this- country.' The Government had introduced monetary cotisjldera-'i' lions into questions that should have been ■ decided oil grounds of .principle. Sueh was' the case in connection with'the abolition of. provincialism. If tho taxation proposed by* the Fire Brigades Act was sound in principle, why :not impose it, and leave tho management as it Was? Tho Act vt'as an endeavour to interfere with local government.,. ,If they-looked, through the Bill, they' would\''K'id tho liMiio. of tlio Minister constantly • recurring. We're they-gointt., to ratify 'the--' introduction of the will Or- tne Minister into;' everything they had to deal with P. If it was . the ;I<ire. Brigade; this year, it would .be the; tramways next year; and Vhe water- supply, another year. Tho local governing body, would become' a '.'wretched thing, Waved en- - . the ccntral TAXATION AND CONTROL. The question must iiot be decided on the ground of saving of taxation, which, by the way, had been miscalculated by Councillor Godber. _ Tho ' Council would : have' to' pay®;" -£80,000 in tho twonty-six years' instead o# ■' £59,000. This notion of a change, in the .incidence .of. taxatiou..was,l however,'-beside i.tho .point, for, : . after.''all,, tho: cost, .of.' fire-'' prevention would, in aiiy case;'fall upon the 1 ;broad,shoulders, of the people...,lf the Council were putting on a local income tax — a! principle which might obtain' some day—and l ! : wero taxing those bodies upon their income: it would be different/ . .-Nothing. could, however,be. said ' in. favour of., the' present-' pro-! l>osals, which the manhood. of the Council! should resist. Tho Government did hot sayr.'" ' 1 We givo you the ■ power to tax, insurance l : but, they said,: " You. can 'only.i,, 'havo'Vthat .power, on condition that "you sur-i ''render your power of local administration."-L Even if tfao Council stood alone on the 1 question, it would be decidedly better te do awny with tho 13oard. v It would be better to.let.it,.bes'ssid.that, tho,Council ,would uctf , accept a bribe. ..: '.c

THE OVERWORKED MINISTRY. Clause 20 ■ provided that numbers of im« (portniit- c'lbst-ons' had' to bo submitted to— whom? Tho City Council? No. The Jlmi3-: ter,-.--"Every, day -it -was •stated that tlio: 'Ministers were killing themselves with liardl ■'work. But 'WonJd\'Jlie7Mifl§tcr'rattoiid tothese matters or,* som6::o!ficiftl :•!» tho • Gov-> , eminent Build•: were auyj ■failure to appoint ofiieials, tho Government) had the lio>rer.;to r miike.;:tho appointments.: Tho control I 'of',thevbrwado was taken entirely out of tho hands 01' the Council. Supposiugjthat. jn, the uase of the Lainbton Quay lirejtlib ; superiiiteiuieiit had' n takcri ic, : upOu. : himself, .without,.*consulting '? the'r Engiujer,, say, to pull clown' buildings, the' Council have something t<> say,to him; but i£ such action were taken under tho lire hoard.) the Council would have 110 say in v'tio matter at all. ; Thenj again, , tho Council had to surrender its powers re storago of iiillammable substances.. Had the.. Council no interest in this matter? Had it:nothing to do with the..preservation of. life and property? .Ono single indiVlduiil .might' be 'tho- best individual ill the world, but it had Keen said'l thtt"it'"wSß'.h6t : ter"f6'fVt^iilidil i tß' - 'be"?uledi' by itself than by outsiders. The- usefulness! of tho electrical engineer' would be curtailed, but it was a. waste of' tinio to umiinerato'.; other;; di'fcets' iii tho Act. 'Ho (tha." Mayor) submitted that the proposal ' was mi-' .sound.'', .Councillors"would not.be wortliy' (if.; thpijwsitiori tliqy, occupied if,they'all<jWcd"au.r ; .' little monetary consideration to > bolster up; -the arguments in favour of a system in which. - the' Council surrendered its powersri/if tho t Council were given a free hand ill the matter \ of taxing insurauco companies it .would bn glacl of it, but'tho'Council did riot want thri':'pOwor if it .had to surrender its'-rights-Only.a year or,two.ago thorn was a proposal • to l reduco'..tho,:numhor 6f;'local ' bodies,! but < now the GbTOmmciit-was.rioing on-a different'" .tick- and wanted": local'"'bodies to ' dejjemlv

largely on Ministers. It. would be exceedingly foolish if for one moment the Council 'encouraged the idea that there should ,bo any.• taking away from"" local bodies of ad-ministtativo-"powers/ Even if the . Council were going, -r save money, thereby—and that . ho denied-;lie proposal should bo rejected.- " VJHERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS?" Councillor Luke supported the views , of the Mayor. For his he would always ■"-' ( bd. against ,:»ny encroachment' on "the powers of the Council. If the Govprnmfcht gave tho .y" Council life' powor ; to.'Jevy : oii "certain' businesses,' to * support Fire■■.■ Brigade, they ■could bo granted rep ... entation on; the Firo : ; BrigadosCommittee^. it' to .hand/over the • 'control the wholo: ,'iig to was the last thing tho < ,"ncil it y/ltT'clo. He f could .not; understand ,'mcn" I'.jcjt. Ed: Jjy/ tho citizcns ; of Wellingtoj .;> ii Y^-.-.tlio'con-trol of. the: citizensj'-i'ffairs nominated - .body.;: ..'Whero w i th<i democrats. of tho Council? Evenjf ..here; would, be a saving of .expense to ti. ■ city, it should not bo done. ..The next Miing would bo the Government taking .over/.' by somo. means, the tramways, and then the! water "tpply would . f0110w.'.,,, ... , , . , ■ Councillor; M'Laren thanked the Mayor for giving tho Couhci' a lead in tho matter. Tho proposal or A • Government tothrow part-of the cost i fire , prevention ,on the . insurance compa" y seomed to indicate . that ■ tho-opinion ..was ild that it'was .rizht for :.• those concerns to-bo,_taxed for the purpose, '. and he thought the Council should be giy.enj ..the right to tax them. A Fird:'Board n).',yt bo a'proper tiling where; it-had to deal v nth ndjoiniug districts .that .were under different local governing bodies, , but. a city like Wellington should be under one local governing ■ body. . There had been too many local bodies in New Zealand.— . . Councillor Hindmarsh contended that the :• land-should-bear the. cost of firo; prevention. The'insurance companies would merely pass • on:.; the taxation. , It, was always ;'safo to •throw the taxation on the'land, for' a'land tax was' the, only one that would not' fail on production.:- < . .•■■. INSURANCE INFLUENCES ACAINST ' ' EXPENDITURE. , Councillor Shirtcliffo agreed with what had. been said by thp..Mayor. Fire prevention • was ;iri : :bis opinion one of ' tho ' most- • important , works a. local body, could under- 1 take, and that , work : shoUld not be taken . out of the hands: of the"Council and handed : / over :to a' divided .body. . Although he'was "one of the Council's delegates on tho Board," . he : still opposed. the Act ' 'and the; creation of the board. lie did :iiot believe in any interference with powers cf the'.Council,, but he opposed the :Fire; Board' chiefly on : the ground " that the work could be more efficiently, performed by ;the Council. It. was tho business -of insurance companies to collect, such premiums as w.ould pay them . on risks;, not their duty;, to reduce ' thorn. It wont without saying that the represenV tatives of tho companies on the Board would advocate the least possible expenditure, that • could be' done with; To have, on the. Board .representatives, whoser business it would bo to cut down expenditure would be; very un- ■ satisfactory.' ! ' COUNCIL ACCUSED OF NEGLECT. ■ Councillor Ballinger argued that thoso who . Insured, but were' not ratepayers, got off .. scot-free under 1 the .old system, and that '.'/' should not. be so. .'The ppwer of an inspector 'o "pull down a building .during a fire was '.. aot new, though! it had been, exercised heretofore 'by a municipal oflicer. The talk of , jho property being taken, away from the city ,'ifras a mere bugbear/as the Board ' woiild simply hold the property .for-the city. ; He. ivouldf vote for the, adoption of the report.'. .The:, Council., to 'establish a■necessary fire station at Thorndon, and ho did not think, the ~ Board would manage ■ things worse than the Council had done. , Councillor-Smith said the proposals regarding the fire prevention property of the Council appeared /to him to be fair. It was adi mitted on all hands that the Council had not done as well as it should have done in the matter • of\ firo; : prevention, notably at the Thorndon end'of city.' .' _ ':■;■'." . Tho Mayor: Can Councillor Smith give us an example of a fire that would have been , put out any sooner if we had had a fire . station there? . _ '. ...V. ■ ; '-CounciUor Smithy said that , he could givo no specific instance;'but certainly the quicker tho men could . get .to a fire the more/property they ;• might save. ; He' believed the . financial advantages^'of the Act were underestimated,:>and that'the .people of. the. city ■ generally were, in favour .of administration by Fire 'Board. /! ". ;. ■::,: 'y, Councillor Bissj held .that because smaller places had gone in for Fire, Boards that'was no reason why the City Council should fav-l on'r the retention of the Board in Wellington.' , Feilding, Palmerston North, and other towns -' had; adopted tho propbsal because' they had .not,.money: : 'to..-spare,' anil were glad to get ■rid of tho responsibility. :Ho would.say: "Let the other towns try the experiment." In his opinion the Boards would not* be a suc- • cess. . ■Councillor Hales -strongly opposed the committers recommendation.. THE COUNCIL'S DEGISIOM. Upon a division being taken, the motion ■ to adopt the, committee's recommendation was defeated by 9 to 4. The voting was as follows:—Ayes: Councillors Ballinger, Cohen, . .Godber, and.Smith. Noes: The Mayor, Coun- . cillors Biss," Fletcher,; : Hales, . Hindmarsh, Luke, M'Laren, Morrah, akd Shirtcliffe..: . • 'The Mayor then moved: '.. i v. . ■.' ."That-application .bo made.to the Gov 7 ernor-iri-Council for an. order, declaring that the city of 'Wellington shall cease to be a . fire district." '.-. ' - . ■' This motion was' carriM' 1 without further , icbate.