GREYMOUTH IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE.

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 176, 28 February 1867, Page 2

GREYMOUTH IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE.

The weekly meeting of|he; Oreymoutli v ; Improvement Committed" Ayas^ Held 1 ori, 7 ;' V Tuesday' evening- at^jt^^^hrway Go^H ? ; offices, There were present Mqssps IVliall 1- A (cliair),- Strike, Mooye Comiakyj ; j Hughes, Masters, Davies,/Eenriok v -Fishev, ./ Kilgour, Pelling, and KcnnddyJ .'. :,-K'^* ■/._■■', Theimnutes of the lai^^beiiu^ tvowj, j read and confirmed. ?:t/ ; i'^': I Mr Moore read the byqlaws^or stand- I ing ortlersj drawn up by. the ?-06nMhittoQ ] ..appointed fur tlie piu*pasj?',-y^"TiiQy:'iwerß. .''•.' ?' adoptocl as follows :—^ 'S'>f^;o- : : ■•-': .■':'•■:. ;. '3 1. Meetings to be hej& 7 <^ery : Tue^diy^ ' •■%'s evening at eight o'cla<?k^Softhe:offices of^tho* : '« Greymouth' and S.ilt\vatQr^aihway. ' - | />2, Five members to foi'mja.g.aQriini : Vif'^Qt | siiffiqieut prcseiit b^j^li^arjtigr-piisti mgh& -,'] o'clock snoh ine6tin^ijQ;bd postponed. ; . | '.'■.-. 3. Any member absent for t\vb/c6hse<;utivo V: nights .witho«c-La^g;'- ! given;Wn'tico;^aiioh, '' ; ■-.'£& or being able to givcsa ? ?To^|6nal^[e^exsnse for '^ ,s«ch fibsence, to. forfeit iiißißeiiVand a fresh/."". ' - member to be elected at oiice* f - : ' ; ' •i' s/.. 5s 4. Any member wishing i'ttp /bring forward : '^t a motion shall give noticoj tifysweh at thb. -^ jneeti/ig the week previons^v:®": 'C ;■■:;-. -^ 5. Any member addressing^the 'ohair to, ; %|j stantljwhilst so doing, ;s:■ ; ; : ; ■ : . . ioi£* 6. All payments of the Conißn'ttee; to bo i|||i| maile by cheque only, such chetiues tp baf|pj3J passed by a quorum ,of memli&s^aiid signedyl^il by the Treasurer and one of tfic.;it/Qii;tnittec. #i| The Ohrlruian said that bbfbrejprajeed'i | iiig with the other bi;sineßs^h(e: ; iTiiigut inform the Conunittco tftat>ax-petition had been addres e1 to t!.-e Coir [toitt&e, and ■•■ha .<< -- proposed to read it. It y?a^as;follpws :--i y~ " "To \he C'hajnnan a:uV^e|nb'^'vi'pf.' tha >< Improyebicnt CommittelfcrS!?' ; : ■>;■> . : . ; "We, the; undcrsiLniied^inhabitauts; r Vof'' p Greymouth,- respectfully sh^eih^hat ;it|is ? iiot advisabl.e.'at present, tcitpSfitipnthe Govtsrument for Municipal ■ ■uioh?:li£,;.'.',.-.'.'.':. : '; . • ■■•,■.-.' ■ . .;. :"^':Cfvi'->':-i«-.'r . ' ' .'■ ' ■'■- "That the Pr(>Yinci.al Cirtye^meni have. Wfi not foi'warded theiniproveinents'pfithe town-i sip sufficient to create adesireoh^^ the part " of the ; iuhabitants fqr Municipal; tespoiu; ■.Bil)i!ity;-';v' ? . >■■;/'•; "■ ':.':' ' ' '.- ■■.'■'■:■'.. '■■■ -';.- [ ". That before they take such a; step at 1 :a3t' : the river .bajuk shoul I bo/pUed ; that Arney street bridge be purchased by thtf Go-;. ' ; , verntiieut ; the roads in the whole of tho : 'Gi-eymputhto\vnshlp be furmod' and- metalled-. i 'Mhat the Government be requested to. survey, the ; township ; also, to. guarantee rcyi ; serves, for the. siipporb of tlie Municipality^ . when^cceateid as such: " -^ That the ImproYemeht Gpnjinittee tiike. immediate steps to in^press ; on the Gpverii^ ment the iirgent necessity of - expending- . ' (without ■ delay)_ the amounts voted ; by*tio'Pi'oviucial Council for the improvement of: Greymouth./, , . / ■ i -' . " That we will accept Municipal po-wjera when the .. above improvements are coaiy pleted." ■;■■■.■-:■;•.■ -V^.;^- .''ii^'.'..- . Mr Kouricik ; all due deference ttx ; the perspng ( .wlio. had signed that petition,: he t!ip\ig]itit'a,:;m63t.extraprdinary/ihing; that tlie niembejes^;6f the.€pim.im.ttse slir>uliV:-- :- -,be asked to i stultify theniselvM They . were here '-.tp- Cany- out a distinct '-pledge.; according to the .-, resolution of a. public v nieeting, and now it appeared .they^ were asked not to. -dp that wluch they, werei. • pledged- to do. JK^sieeined: to him that this' , petition Pjpt;tuempriiil had bpeii brougiit forwardVft^thQ purpose of burk^ : : " : . ing the discussio^onvilie; nnimcipal tion, ther^e being^?iiptice s of iuotipn'!bii< that subject for this evening. Sonic of ; the .; signatures to the .pedtion had. been given in mistake as tp the) eal nature; pf ; the document. He ;niight; meirtipn:{ } pae who, the \: parb;. : he had talc n in the late ;£tibjw 'meetjiv^;'he (Mr Kenrick) was st^pnsed to ; finu : had signed the lnembrial: t^HeS/re^;:, ferred to Mr ICissliug. /The memlie^;' would remember that it vvas Mx 'EMwg ; who ppoke so. strongly in favbr pfiairc^L-. cipality, and- even urged the apppiitt|^^t of a special committee for tlie pur]^^^f obtaining municipal powers delay as possible. When .'./'he '.a^^ir->'.' Kissling's name on that niemorialiie^s^Sko ; to that gentleman and asked lus^re^EipJiisfor signing it. Mr Kissling 'rep^ed; that when he signed it he was notfk^are^hafc it contained any reference tp ffie' question ; -v of a municipality, he. only thoi^U^fit-waas-to urge the Improvement Comfljuttee M i apply to tlie Government for the^bxpendiS' tnre of the monies /voted for the djstricjti v/'i ; He moved that tlie petition^iand/^v^iS;: until ; that day/ six months. •.■ Mr Comiskey seconded the^r^piutibfi^;/ v ; Mr . Fisher : Mr Kissluig ?r^^istatea ; ;; '*'.'. what was. hot c.OTrec.t, for he % was present at the time the rn^qiibi^ti^iaS 'i v : read to" Mr Kissling. . : ': Mr Kenrick : ; Mr /Fisher kneii^^pliiie / / time lie "was /proimptyig ; 'theV j 'im.eni'6rial : w ; that there, were notices'; of niotipii 6u all the subjects meritioried. to cbnie Mfor -\ discussion ;tb-niglitrvSe considered it • improper fop '■.any ; member, to niake aise of his .knowledge of^ what went on in thei / Committee'foendeaypr to-; bring;: buteide ; '.' influencetPibear pn^e^scu^sip^ o| the / v Committee!.--- :-./ v / ; -/-/-./^'^./". / '..;■".'//;' -\j the public; were^ppppsed tp a municipality^ v^!i^{ and if we/g^jii doneit will drive uipsti' of '*'^^ the pieople/fTOmithe town. >t?j^H :; / :^-Keiiubdy ::/Bir; : Kslier scevns. /tp?'^^^B

; ; think that the ''Committee aro to be led by #^2gany one who chooses to go outside and ||gpget up a little public excitement. The Chairman : The' present was not jfe_ ; the proper time to discus 3 their own ■^opinions, but merely to consider the me- ■ Mr Hughes suggested that a public ■■peeting would best settle the question. mm The - Chairman pointed out that there ■Hhrould be -great., difficulty.- in getting a ■Ryfcinicipality in the face "of this petition. ■■Hp Honor the Superintendent might fr- ' "^-cording to the Act refuse to grant mnni■Lcipal powers if a" counter petition was pre■Fsented. : W; . Mr Hughes believed a good . many per-. K. sons had signed the memorial without. ■- knowing what it contained. He for one ■ knew many-had.done so. . (Laughter.) K- Mr Comiskey mentioned that he knew ■ Mr Morris Levy had also, signed it without reading it; ■■:; H Mr Kilgour (who here took up the mc- ■ niorial and looked over the signatures) : K " W%i Irseohere thename of some men B working on the vessel — they are not hbnsem holders ; iliere are many others who have mno inierestr iii;the place at all ; " He : con ™ sidered:that .the matter lay in in a small compass Sf^tho. ; , Committee /, was elected under , a^ distinct pledge to carry out a lnuhicipalit^ and they must either fulfil that, pledge or resign., -(Hear, hear.) The^^man said he ii:ul distinctly stated: wlieii: he took the chair that he wduliliiotbe bound; ty any resolution. It appeared. tohimjthat: if the resolutionwas binding there was no other course but to resig^iSany regard was to be paid to the foeling^Mfiif; the inabilants, as ex-];rcssed;in;-tho;memorial. He should certainiy.:resigri if::Mr Kenrick's motion was .carried. '. ''. : .-;'S -'•■■.'. ■" .'■.■':.:■■' Mr Kenrick would certainly resign if it was not. ; " :^^'j'Sv;;;^|^ i ' ' ' . : ■ [The %we^ar^iieve suggested that it might ;ina.ke masters i clearer if he read the resolution ;iva%ked, at tho public- mooting. •It was -entetefi-iiri.ithG minutes made by Mr Tyler, the; SeeEetary, as follows :— " ITiat the. Improvement Committee, for the ensuing twelve months, consist of twelve jnenibers 4jSfx^to; bo oh'oseu for 'the Government TofoisKipi; Jew the Maori. The Committee to bo. pledged to take every po's-gi-jle step JibVi obtain Municipal rights and nriYitegeß;!fw%!Greyninnt.l|^^d to resign upoa a Muliii^|ivP(bnncil r beii^uaugurated. Carried ? amanimoTis]yy' ' : MrC(fsiskey";tihpught it would be better that^rfiennck-i motion on. the notice paper s.hould,be,cbr6^te^^^rward. " They wsre^^ dearly' pi edged^i^^^ out a municipality.:J^ebeliev^^^oddeal of the discOTdt oil ;ihe subjectpn the town had ■^ arisen; from' a;; fear that a. municipality would do away with the government; cxr penditufe. /But .this was a. foolish idea, for the' money was. on the estimates. Mr Fisher : But more, money was wanted ; tliere was ftlackay street to form, and Gresson and Johnston streeir. Were the inhabitants to tax themselves for the works 1 Victoria, the rates were snpplcineiitiedby .grants in aid. Here there was nothuig-of the kind. He did not object 'ten but considered Greymqnth wis.too young at pvesant. ' Mv'Dayiesihiught it very unfortunate that the* ychaloffinn had said anything about re^iguiiig^fc He moved that the business of tlie-cv^jig be proceeded with, ]ihd th i. iJetitioii lio^over for future consideration l .^\-% : The Chairman ini.£rht..mention that tho Municipaivjvo^din: nces of Ota-jo, and t:«ratfdanap£jsve grrnts in aid. Here they tlidonpfcv/iiml he did n^t think there muc%ii(s{ianco of getting tlietn. If N \Mere of the kind lie would ' •■ai>proye'|iif a^nui)icip,alitj'. Ti; « ••' , ' '[On the motion .and. amendment being put to the meeting the amendment was caiTiedjyand the consideration of the petition - : Tlie^ (Jhairmfih hero pr(»duced a letter, , signed-^Gijijrge Simmons, protesting against ttie^ election of Mr Keurick, on the \ ground that he w.as. a government servant. It moved by Mr I)avies, and seconded : b^MrCoiniskey, ihvt no.nptice be taken pfiithi?letter in tLe iuinutes.' v Car- ' ried rtnarivmbusly. „; r • , : , Mr .Keriricjs : then proceeded to move the ; resolution^ standing in his. name— '.'That this Co^mriiittee. take immediate steps to ,j draw up a 7 p'Mitibn ready for signature, JO be ]iresented ; ,to his Honor the- Superin- r tendent, reijuesting him to declare; this town aniiiiuCipality at once, and also extend the tymndaries of the municipality, > so Wt<f include" t]jiat part of the Maori Reser^d i ijlrieady surveyed for settlement. " He might! mentioii, that on reference to the Municipal he found that, it coniaiiie*d^a;clause giving the Superintendent po^er to alter the boundaries, of any niiiiu.bip>lityi so that there would be 'no d^culty. rini getting^ the. Maori town- ' chip included^ considered it necessairy to ns^mai|iyprgnments in support of his; f 're^ojiition> ! , the reasons for desiring mumcipa^?po>yers. were, too well Appreciated: address himself chiefly to of those who were opposed. to a^jw^p^ty' He liacV'trav veiled ab6n^th^c^6nies"a good, deal, and he h*d never y^ftjiiet with an instance of any place refiisiiig-^to receive civil rights,^ and he trusted Grey moath woukVnot be' an exceptiqpi? The. only^ arguments against a municipality which he. considered of any ■ weight were those m entipned by'Mi\WhaU, and he would endeavor to vcply to tHeiK. First, Mr Whall said there was;- no township surveyed. Now if any gentleman wo.dd \valk down. to the survey- ofiice^they wouldJ,%d the town; had be^n^sju^Veyed and mapped out, and that fihe"feserves had been marked out, and set apart. The township, lie": might say, extended as far as the Lake Hotel, and hadjall been surveyed. Mr Whall's second objection was that the Government shouitl .'complete the various local \vorks before municipal powers should be undertaken ;J ;:jMr Fisher had jtist stated that ■ they could get nothing from the Goyernmentvjtand^yet the inhabitants were in the s : aifle|pc|ath told to wait until they didv ''; lir|he meantime, they were asked ! to siilwni|^to all the evils of infectious ;: nuis'arfßsv|>yithorit power to protect the t health^;p|?tiaemselves and their families. | \-X If a man cliose to place his stove-pipe or fy chimney in dangerous proximity to.ano- | ther's building^ they could do : nothing to r prevent him; He thought that these two reasons only of protecting public health and property were alone sufficient why they should use every effort to obtain the necessary powersr Mr Whall had also quoted as a. reason for opposing a munici]>ality, the legal expenses incurred at HHtajjlrim&luand Lytteltpn in the recoMr : Whall forgot to SH^^^^^^Hpßiesc difficulties had. arisen Ordinance, which had been be illegal. A/new Ordi-

nance had remedied the defects, and rates were now being collected under it. Mr Whali had referred to their not being able' to gift grants of money from the Government. Now, he (Mr Kenrick) could tell the Committee that valuable reserves had been given to both Christchurch and Lyttslton, and large sums of money had been granted to them as well. > Why should Greyniouth be in any woi-se^osition than other places. It was quite open for them to apply to the Government for aid. It j was universally admitted as a matter of course that aid should be given to municipalities ; and there was no reason to fear that there would bo any difficulty in that respect. Again, as to the supposition that if the town were formed into a municipality, tho Government votes 'would fall through ; tho Audit Act effectually prevented the diversion of any votes from their proper purpose. There was also a | clause in the Municipal Ordinance specially providing for the expenditure of votes of the Provincial Council under the control of the Municipal Council. Clause 63 of tho Ordinance w.isas follows :— "It shall be lawful for the Superintendent, with the consent : of the Provincial Council, if he shall think fit, to commit to the sivid Municipal. Council the expenditure of .any. moneys -appropriated, and the construction <a>ul maintonaiici of streets, bridges, drains and public v, orks, * * .* * an;l to _ pay over the same to th^ (Muncipal) Council, to be appropriated in such manner and for such purposes as the (Municipal) ..Council shall direct, the plans and specifications of suoh works having first received the sauction of the Superintendent," &C Reference had been made to Hokitika having valuable reserves and the wharfage dues. Why should not Greyniouth be similarly endowed I There was the coal field, .for instance. Why should not at least a portion 'of that be applied to the purposes of a municipal endowment? The fact of Hokitika : hiving :got its reserves and revenues was ii^strong "'argument in favor of a municipality/ In conclusion, he urged the Committee to get legal powers, and then tlafy would be listened to. He would just make a, passing reference to the impertinent; protest of Mr Simmons. He was fully aware there was ail etiquette that was usually followed in the civil service with regard to public matters, but the only restriction that was placed on -the. private, action ''of government officials was that they should take no part in Provincial or General Government elections. He 'might mention as aji ropos to'the question that the Resident Magistrates of both Christchurch and Lyttelton had each : been chairman of the municipality. He had a strong reason f- r taking this . subject -up ; he had felt severely in Iris own family the effect of the absence of propiß^sanitary regulations in the town, and it "was .only by a /muni-, cipality that the citizens could get rid of the nuisances that were spreading diseose and death throughout the town. Mr Fisher wished to know who would pay the-.rates in the Maori Township—^-the occupiers or the Maoris ? Mr Kenrick, in reply, read Clause 24 of the Municiixal. Ordinance : — "The rate, whether 'general' or 'special,' shall be paid by the tenant or occupier of the Irad or premises; or, 1 in case v there be no tonav.t or occupier, by the proprietorrthfireof;" The Cha'rman (Mr Whall) would strongly oppose Mr Kenrick's motion, because it was one-sided. It simply asked that the Maori Township should be included in the muaicipalitj'—why. should other parts of the town be left out of the proposition I When he s \\\ the one-sided idea lie naturally went to the n.oxives wh^ich had inspired it. Mr- Kenrick had said that a large township had been surveyed ; yes, but it was two and a half miles -off. As to the cases of Christchurch and Lyttelton he could toll Mr Kenrick that the new Ordinrnce \ysa still being disputed at Christ church. He could see very well the motives of the mover of the resolution — it was simply to get his sec--1 ions on the Maori Reserve included in the municipality, so. that he would make his tenants improve his ; property. It woiild no doubt be a grand thing to tax ourselves, but it simply amounted to this, that we should be compelled to (16. that which we now do voluntarily. He was certain that in ths present state of the trade of the town the i esidents could not afford to be taxed ; indeed he was sure that the levying of rates would send many persons away. He ''denied Mr Kenrick's statement as to the grants of money to Lyttelton and Christ* hurch. Christchurch had certainly received money, but it was simply as coniperiration for town lands previously^ sold by the G o vernm ent. He mfght viifenrion with regard to the coal seam that he had already impressed on the Executive the adviaabilaty of setting apart a portion of ! the coal reserve as a municipal endowment, and the Government had recognised the necessity of doing so. He should oppose the motion both in and out of the Committee, and he Svas certain it would be impossible to get money granted to the municipality. He considered it was better to trust to his Honor the Superintieh dent and tlie Executive, who had admitted that Greyniouth had not received a fair share of the public revenue. They would get more by tin's course by,indirect ; means than if they had municipal powers. He denied that he had ever said there was any probability ••of "the votes of the Council lapsing as had j been imputed to him. In conclusion, he J trusted the subject would be postponed. ]\lr Moore thought that people should be careful about imputing motives. As he, understood Mr- Kenrick's motion it was simply brought forward to. confirm . that passed by the public lheetihg. The question for them t t6 decide was whether a municipality wojlld be of benefit to the publjcvor not. = ; (Hear, hear.) i : > Mr Kenrick : Tl^e resolution was merely to. fulfil a, pledge imposed upon this Committee by one of the' most numerously attended public meetings in Greyniouth. [f any members had accepted office in ignorance of, this pledge it was their duty nowj if/ they were not able to carry it out, to resign; ./. ■ Mr Fisher moved that Mr Kenrick s ( inotionlie on the table for future con- 1 sideratipii. •'.','■■,■■■■■» ./. , , ■-.... This was; not seconded^aud^ne original motion was put and oarried. / DEPUTATION TO THE SUPBBJpirTBNDENX. Several notices of motion were on the paper with regard: to :the njattersi tplje, brought under thl notice s' of ' the Superin^ tendent on his visit to Greyrhquth ; butit was resolved oA'the motion of Mr Ken- : nedy, that a - sub-committee s fshpuld: ibe "appointed to arrange the yaiibus subjects to be submitted to his Honor by the Committoe. V Some of these rsubjects weret "mentioned, viz., tlit! mu'chase of ■ tlw

Arney street bridge, the load' to the Arnold, piling the river, &c. Mr Kenrick moved the suspension of the standing orders to move that a subcommittee, be appointed ftr the purpose of drawing u;> a petition" to his Honor the Superintendent to declare the township a numiuipnlify. Mr Comiskey seconded the, resolution, which was carried. Mr Fisher felt, that as Mr Kenrick's motion had been carried he had only one course to adopt ; he begged to teiider his resignation. Air Da vies : Mr Fisher must resign to the public ; the Committee cannot receive his resignation. THE ANTI-MUNICIPALITY MEMORIAL. . The Chairman now enquired if any member had any motion to propose affecting the memorial. Mr Kenrick moved, and Mr Comiskey seconded, that the memorial be not received. Mr Masters thought that it was due to the subscribers to take some notice of it. Mr Fisher moved, and Mr Hughes seconded, as an amendment, that the petition be received. An animated discussion occurred as to the course to be adopted. There was a general expression of a desire to avoid discourtesy to the public who had signed the memorial, and yet it was evident that the memorial had been shelved by the carrying of xMr Kenrick's resolution. Ultimately it {was admitted that . the' memorial must be accepted^or rejected as it stood", and the resolution that it be;not received was carried. The subject of. a fire engine was discussed, aud ultimately a sub-committee was appointed to communicate with theFireßrigade at Hokitika as to the most suitable sort of engine, and to take steps for collecting the I sums subscribed by the public. Some ', matters of finance were disposed of, and after a vote of thanks to the chair the meeting separated.