CITY COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Issue 14629, 27 July 1911, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

»■■ ——— The fortnightly meeting of the City Council was held last evening and attended by the Mayor (Mr W. Burnett), Crs Stilling, Myers, M'Millan, Clark, White, Douglas, Fiddis, Murray, Campbell, Green, Todd, Hancock, Wilson, and Stewart. —Correspondence.— A requisition to the Minister of Labor was received from tobacconists and hairdressers asking that the hour ot closing their shops be altered to J o'clock on Monday. Tuesday, Thursday and Fridav evenings, and to 10 o clock on the night preceding certain holidays. The Town Clerk wrote that the requisition was forwarded pursuant to the Shops and Offices Act, 1908, which provided that the local authority must certify that the statures to the requisition represented a majority of the occupiers of all the shops within its district engaged iu the particular trade _or trades therein referred to. The requisition, the Town Clerk added, was m order, and the council approved of it in accordance with the Town Clerk s report. Mr A. Moritzson forwarded a letter in which lie brought before the council several matters in regard to the Otago Central Railway construction. Ho wrote that he thought the time had come ivhen Dunedin citizens and public bodies should interest themselves in this matter and insist that this most useful work be taken in hand again. The prosperity not only of the harbor, but of tho whole province, depended upon the continuation of this most necessary work. It was a well-known tact that irrigation would pav from the start, but hn did not think that the Otago people should be satisfied with irrigation without railway construction being taken in hand at'tho same time.—Cr Stewart explained that a mooting of citizens was to be held the following night to consider the development of the produce, and he would move that the letter be held over until the next meeting of the council.—The Mayor said that they all recognised the importance of opening up their back country. He thought that they were all wakening up at last.— The motion was carried. .—Gas Committee.— In the absence of Cr Keast, Cr Stilling moved tho adoption of the Gas Committee's report.—Cr White entered an emphatic protest against the action of the Tramways Committee in deciding to send four representatives to Wellington to oppose the regulations. He thought there should have been only three, and that the Mayor should have been one. He thought, moreover, that the whole thing was rather hastily taken up by the councils all over the Dominion, for the Government would never havo ratified such ridiculous regulations.—Cr Douglas also entered a similar protest expressing the opinion that; two representatives would have been sufficient.—Cr Stilling pointed out that Wellington bad seven representatives, Roslyn sent three, and it was a very bold thing to say that the Government did not intend to put the regulations into force.—The report was adopted. —Electric Power.— Cr Todd, before moving the adoption of the Electric Power and Lighting Committee's report, asked leave to have the clause referred back retaining the services of Mr L. O. Beal in making a survey of tho proposed new road from Berwick to Waipori Falls at a fee of £7o.—This was agreed to, and the report as amended was adopted. —Coronation Wing.— The Library Committee's report, as moved by Cr Clark, was adopted. The principal clause was the granting of authority for the erection of a wing to the existing library building to be known as the Coronation wins;, at an estimated cost, of £7OO. Cr Clark explained that the matter of providing the balance of such sum, after allowing for the Government subsidy of £2oo, was referred to the Finance Committee, who reported that .the.amount required ?ou!d bf provided' by the transfer of ibout £2OO from the special fund of loan balances.