BYLAWS QUESTION

Grey River Argus, Volume 04, 4 July 1917, Page 4

BYLAWS QUESTION

(From Our Special Correspondent)

After years of careful thought and consideration the Hokitika , Borough Council evolved ;> set of model^ bylaws for the good government of the boroug-h. The by-laws of all principal boroughs in the Dominion were procured, and from these were selected 150 sections which were thought would suit Hokitika. About three months asro the by-laws were finally considered by the council and duly passed into law. It was recognised that old customs and practices would in many instances have to be done away with and that certain hardships and inconveniences would be caused. Take for instanse the public billard rooms. The new by-laws compelled the proprietors to take out licenses for their rooms, and to close their premises at io p.m. instead of n p.m. as formerly.- thereby losing what in the past had been the best hour of the* day. Ido not sug-grest that this particular by-law was unnecessary, like . every other by-law passed by the Hokitika Borough Council it was re.luired. and had to be obeyed. In this particular case the police have beeri careful to see that the by-law has not been broken. . The same thing has happened where other breaches of the new by-laws have occurred. Either the police or the Boroujerh Inspector, or both, have been quick on the trail of offenders. There is. howpver, one by-law. that prohibiting fhe Hacking of carts into kerbings for the purpose of unloading- which has been considerably broken. ' At the last .meeting of the Borough CouriHl Councillor Parkhill referred to the matter. He said he understood thnt the Borouffh Inspector had decided to take action, and he wished to place before members the hardships and inconveniences that storekeepers and merchants would suffer if tne- by-law were strictly enforced. After some discussion in the course of which the Mayor ventured the opinion that on a test case the Magistrate would hold the by-law void because it was unreasonable, it was deoiaed to instruct the Borough Inspector that, - pending an amendment of the by-law, he ■was not to take action without instructions from tne council. In doing this the council is acting quite within its towers, tor the Inspector, is the servant of the council and is subject to its instructions, but the remark passed at the council table that the police should not take proceedings against me wishes of the council is surely wrong. The police are supplied with copies of the by-laws, and, if they see an offence committed, their, duty is plain. It will be interesting to watch the results. Whether the bylaw is unreasonable is open to ques,ion, but in any case the action of the council in attempting to tinker with the by-laws because one particular section does not suit a certain few is not the right way W go about it. If it is thought that the by-law cannot be enforced, let i the Magistrate have an opportunity to say" so. The police will have no difficulty nor have far to go in getting sufficient evidence upon which to lay an information.