CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1409, 6 June 1865, Page 5

CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL.

Monday, June 5, 1865. The Council met at the usual hour, the following members being present :—Lessrs. Luck (chairman), E. B. Bishop, Lane, Burnell, Farr, and Barnard. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. The weekly pay-sheet,- amounting to £7 12s, was ordered to be paid; as were also some small accounts salaries of officials, &c. The following letters were read:— Letter from Mr. George W. Nalder, requesting payment of his bill of costs, for the services rendered by him to the Council, as their late legal adviser. The amount was £150, the Council being credited with the sum of £50 paid on account. Mr. Nalder's appointment extends over a period of about twelve months, he having been engaged as legal adviser to the Council June 13,1864. It was decided to pay Mr. Nalder £50 on account; and to request him to particularise the account. A bill from the Gas Company, for lighting the city with gas, for the period of five months, amounting to £153 4s lOd, was sent in. This sum includes the item of £1 Is for removing one of the lamps, and fixing it opposite to the Britannia Hotel. There are now nineteen gas lamps in the city besides kerosine lights. The bill was ordered to be paid. Letter from Mr. Andrews, the foreman of City Works, stating that a great number of the young trees in the plantations of the Town Belt, have been greatly injured, and, in many cases, totally destroyed, by the goats and calves, which find easy ingress into the plantations. Mr. Andrews stated that it will be impossible to save the trees unless a fence, capable of excluding the animals he had alluded to from the ground, be erected. The letter mentioned that Mr. Jackman requested the permission of the Council to make some alterations in the fences of the Town Belt, at his own expense. The writer mentioned that some alterations and necessary works had been executed near the Victoria Bridge, and in Oxford Terrace. With regard to the trees, the Chairman stated that nearly 200 trees had been almost entirely destroyed. This must have been done by wilful spoilation.

Mr. E. B. Bishop suggested that the subject be deferred. The work was merely one of ornamentation, and although he regretted the loss of the trees as the Council had gone to the expense of planting them, he thought that the Council had works of greater importance to attend to, and were not justified, in their present financial condition, in incurring any unnecessary expense. The Chairman suggested that an advertisement should he inserted in the local journals offering a reward for the detection of any person destroying the trees.

The subject dropped. Mr. Jackrnan obtained the permission he requested with regard to the fences. Mr. Barnard remarked that the time had come when the main streets and thoroughfares of the city should be put into proper condition. A small sum judiciously expended in cleansing the streets and placing upon them a thin coating of metal, would eventually save the ratepayers a large outlay, and would prove a great benefit to the public. Mr. Burnell said that be had lately had a conversation with Mr. 'Morton, the purchaser of the two sections at the corner of Hereford-street, who bad offered to place the shingle on them at the disposal of the Council. The report of the Weigh-bridge Committee was brought up and read by Mr. Lane. He stated that himself and Mr, Barnard had given the subject every consideration, and they believed that the conclusions at which they had arrived were both fair to the public, and calculated to produce a remunerative rent to the lessee of the weigh-bridue. The following is the REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE FOR FIXING THE CHARGES FOR WEIGHING OK THE WEIGH-BRIDGE. "In accordance with the wishes of the Council, your committee, after careful consideration of the subject, recommend that the charges should be as follows:— s. d. For one ton, or a fraction Jof a ton, of hay or straw, on one cart, dray, or other conveyance... ... ••• ••• 1 0 For every additional half-ton, or fraction of half a-ton, on do, do ... ... ... 0 6 For every ton, or fraction of a ton, of any other produce or goods of any kind ... 1 6 For every additional half-ton, or fraction of half a-ton 0 9

On the motion of Mr. Burnell, seconded oy Mr. Farr, the report was received and adopted. It was resolved that an advertisement relative to the tenders for hiring the Weigh-bridge for oneyear, commencing July Ist, should be inserted in the local journals, and that specifications as to the terms of occupancy should be drawn up and signed by the tenant. The specifications were agreed to. They were to the effect that the Weigh-bridge should be kept in repair, and properly adjusted, the works being preserved in working order, the approaches and the bridge to be cleanly swept,duplicate ticket-books to be provided, to be open to the inspection of the public, and the bridge to be open from eight a.m. until five p m.; the maximum charges not to exceed the scale fixed by the report of the committee ; the rent to be paid to the Town Clerk on the first day of each month. In case of the tenant being one month in arrear with the rent, the tenancy to be void. Mr. E. 15. Bishop proposed the following resolution : —" That the office of Inspector of Hackney Carriages should be, for the present, combined witli that of the Inspector of Nuisances, no extra rerau-1 aeration to be offered until the duties of the office be further defined, and the amount ascertained which is likely to be realized from the licenses." Mr. Lane had great pleasure in seconding the motion. He cordially agreed with Mr. Bishop. Mr. Barnard remarked that Inspector Pender had informed him that in Melbourne it was the custom of the City Council to employ a sergeant of police as Inspector of Hackney Carriages at a small remuneration. He (Mr. B.) thought that this was a very good suggestion. If the Council could pay a sergeant of police say £10 per annum, the office would be much more efficiently discharged than if a civilian were employed. Mr. Burnell thought that the suggestion was a very valuable one, but there was this difficulty: in Melbourne the city police were under the control of the City Council. Here our police are not subject to the City Council. He was sure that the class of persons affected by the by-law were men much more likely to be kept in order by a sergeant of police, who was acquainted with all their habits, than by a civilian, unless the latter was very strict with them. A sergeant of police would, from his position, be constantly present at all the places of amusement, and would see that proper order was observed. The Chairman undertook to sec the Commissioner of Police, and would mention the matter to him. Subject to this arrangement Mr. Bishop's motion was carried. Mr. Barrard moved—"That the Council should proceed to cleanse and repair the streets and main thoroughfares of the city in cases where such works are necessary." A small outlay and the employment of a limited number of men could easily effect the desired object. Mr. Burnell seconded the motion, but he thought , that Mr. Barnard ought to name the streets he wished to see cleansed, and also the probable expense ' of the work. m , .. 1 Mr. K. B. Bishop must, reluctantly, oppose the motion. He knew the miserable condition in which the main thoroughfares were in, but he thought, in 1 the present state of the Council finances, it would be 6 somewhat inconsistent for the Council to undertake ! such a work at a time when they were limiting their

operations In every possible manner in order.to save expense. ;. Mr. Barnard contended that the Council was now in a different position from what they were when the subject was last discussed. They had since then received £1000 from the Government, who had promised them £500 in addition, for the express purpose of expending it upon the thoroughfares. There was no occasion for drawing upon the rates ; the £500 from the Government was, as he had said, to bo spent expressly upon this work, and It was almost their duty bo to expend it. Mr. Farr supported the motion. Mr. Lane took the same view of the subject. The Chairman thought that the best plan would be to survey the roads, scrape them, and put in gravel in places where holes are found to exist. He should also suggest that the main crossings of the city should be swept; at present they were in a wretched condition. He should vote for the motion if it was carried out in a cautious and prudent manner. The motion was carried. The Town Clerk reported the receipt of £500 from tn e Government, and some smaller sums for new 80 il pans, &o. The Council adjourned until Monday next.