CITY COUNCIL.

Evening Post, Volume XLVII, Issue 146, 17 December 1897, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

There were present at tbe ordinary meeting of *he City Council last evenfng — The Mayor (Mr. J. R. Blair), Councillors Harcourt, Lindsay, Willeston, Lingard, Myers, Anderson, Barber, Smith, M'Gill, Fraser, Devine, and Higginbottom. An application from Messrs. Palliser and Jones to be allowed to deposit spoil from an excavation in Oriental Bay close to the seabeach there wa» referred to the Harbour Board with a request that that body should favourably consider it. The report of the Public Works Committee was considered. The recommendation that Mr. W. Chalmers be informed that the Council cannot repair the breastwork at his property in Parliament-street was referred back. Councillor Devine proposed that the Bell-road fencing should not be proceeded with at present. (The Committee had recommended that the work should be now ' proceeded with.) The motion was lost and the Committee's recommendation was agreed to. All the other clauses in the report were, agreed to. Councillor M'Gill complained that the Library Committee had not been called together for some time. So far as he could see there was little supervision over the Librarian. He should like to see a reorganisation of the department. Councillor Fraser spoke highly of the services rendered by the Chief Librarian, and, skid* there was no fault to find with his administration. The discussion ended after Councillor Fraser had given an assurance that the committee would be called together at regular intervals. Considerntion of the proposals by Councillor M'Gill in reference to the reorganisation of the City Surveyor's Department, and of the motion by Councillor Higginbottom as to the appointment of a chief engineer, was deferred until next meeting.