MEETING OF BURGESSES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 5013, 14 March 1877, Page 3

MEETING OF BURGESSES.

A meeting of burgesses oonrened by his Worship the Mayor, was held last erening, at the Oddfellows’ Hall, Lichfield street, for the purpose of considering the question of the proposed purchase of Mr Morten’s land, at the comer of Colombo and Hereford streets, with a riew of widening the former street, and erecting a Town HaU npon the land, the tame haring been determined npon by the City Council. The meeting was called for term o’slock, but it was half-past when the proceedings commenced. There was a very good attendance of citizens, the hall being quite full, and the chair was occupied by his Worship the Mayor. Among those on the platform were Messrs Hobbs, Turner, Nathan, Thomson, Eavkei, Peacock, Bird, Wilson, Montgomery, Cess, W. Williams, D. Craig, ted others.

The Chairman explained the object of the meeting, which waa to discuss the desirability, or otherwise, of carrying into effect a resolution puied by the City Council, which «u as followi :—" That this Council authorise the taking of the necesnry steps under clauses 179 and 180 of the Mu: icipal Corporations Act, 1876, and clauses 21, -2, and 23 of the Public Works Act, 1876, to acquire possession of town section 733 for the purpose of providing and maintaining public offices witlun the city, in which to hold tue meetings and transact the business of the Ccimni, and for the use of its officers, and for homing public meetings and transacting pubi.c business relating to the city, and for t:e further purpose of widening that portion of Colombo street which lies immediately opposite to the Bank of New Zealand. And tut toe Council cause a surrey to be made plan* to be prepared, showing generally purposes for which it is intended to apply the land, and the nature of the works proposed to be executed, as required by section 51 of the Public Works Act, 1876. And ‘urtner, to consider the desirability of borrownot exceeding £30,000 to be expeuced in the purchase of the said land, and -u tue erection of the said buildings.” On the Town Clerk reading the names of ti'jss who voted against the resolution, the Meeting cheered vociferously for each man; the names of the "ayes" were greeted r;'.n loud hisses.

Oa the Town Clerk farther announcing that motion was carried, there were loud crie» “ P b • boo!” and confuiion. A-e Chairman said it was provided in the atw Municipal Corporation Act that no mc-neji should be borrowed by the City Launcil!, unleii a public meeting wai flrat td ; it wu alio provided that the pro* poted loan ihould be advertised for four vteki| which had been done. He hoped the '“ 4 - tr would be diioutied calmly by thoie *;-' J bid met that evening. There wae no - anon to come to a conclusion that night ae , lueition muit be decided by a poll of the *u .e of the ratepayers. He hoped all the *FAken would have a free and impartial hear* vbether they disapproved of the icheme 'f u'A. He would call upon Councillor Turner a ddress the meeting. -'juncillor Turner said it had been itated by tba - the General Auembly did wrong in '-og from the Municipal bodies the power of growing money, but he thought they would 2":*; with him that it bad done perfectly ,‘ 1 "' Tbe House had not debarred them r / " borrowing, but had hedged the matter J '' und that it would be open to free discus* ; J ,' r -d consideration by the citizens. The Act f/y l bat the question of borrowing should r '°, decided by a simple majority, but by a r ‘ 4 * jri 'T of ons fifth or more. It there was ,f ~ (ucb a majority in favour of the resolution, W r ' Ult be rejected, and the money could tn i,° J rrowed - (Hear, hear.) They would J>, , c J“‘ ed u P°n in a few days to declare f ,- e - h »‘he Question discussed by the City ■ bo carried into effect or - ner it should be rejected. That k,‘ h ion was, should the City Council | v ''V BUm not exceeding £30,000, They I: a:,-i ' n^ oco nßider the matter now carefully | :> i a [ ri 7! after which they would decide ; m ,./ v “ a^ot * When he was returned as a , 6r l -° Council 18 months ago, one of t tv 1 je!ti ons agitating the public mind wae IhV‘, obta inmg 10 feet of Mr Morten’s a reas °nablo price, to widen the street. > other pieoe oI kind that pro* ? r :f . T . the lame difficulties. They might 1 d>, ave the same opportunity atiin. (Wo 5; Very well,then, lot themgo ; »i .. “Jpt-hox and vote against it. (We ■’ *i j, Jj n.ijntecn months ago the Council con* j K r;fi a £ desirable to obtain 10 feet of that I'•Ufst.d v* Wrot ® 10 Morten, ros Oii, nc :i bl 2, me ®t a Committee of the s Morton a Committee, after hearing Mr » fln ecid . ed 10 offer him £2OOO when the I*,-..! . , m > m two years. Mr Morten then mor/inn a Wou *d not take such a eum, and in r r , 6(1 ee T® I ‘al difficulties that he said lay ; to iirhit. a ?-‘ Council then offered logo VvuM nnf *° n *? r H) feet, provided Mr Morten lb at lanH U,; a . c l a ina for severance from i erected wllic h the old shanties were \ * ■msid. , ,.v. d • from w bich ho derived such a > “ A Part» fw? 00 ?*’ finally ho said be would ith the land at all unless compelled

by a judge and jury. For a publio good then it m deatrable that the land ehould pate into the hande of the City Council. The Council had then offered him «2800, upon which he •aid he might be tempted by a cheque for £4OOO, which they did not feel inclined to gire. A good deal had been aaSd.about requiring that land for Council Ohnmbore and officer, and if the ratepayer* were behind the •oene ho thought they would be with them on this question. They required public office*, and he thought they would agree with him that it waa the beet eilo in the city for the purpose. («• No, no.”) They had the future to think of a* well as the preient. Ho would not be a party to (pending money for a Town Hall, but the lawyer* wanted them to itato what object the land wa* ultimately wanted for. He personally wanted it to widen Colombo dreet, and to be an endowment for the city in 60 year* hence. (Mr Turner then went on to read a portion of Mr Morton’* letter which bad appeared in the column* of the Fret*.) Ho denied that the Council wished any *uoh clause* to be paaied to meet •uch an emergency a* stated by Mr Morton. They bad taid a good deal about the expense of buring thi* land. He would prove that it would not cost the ratepayer* a penny. (Oh, oh.) He would prore it. How were they paying for their railways F [A. Voioo: Many of them were not paid for.] That wa* rery true, but they would bo paid for by mean* of the sinking fund. (Bo»h!) They might *ay " bo*h," but they could not alter Mat aspect of the question. They proposed to take Mr Morten’s property from him for a price fairly assessed by a jury. They might pay for that land by debentures, payable in 60 years, at 6 per cent interest. the Council did not propose to tax them a single penny. They proposed to let the land, and raise all the money that was necessary upon it, and pay the money by the rentals of the land, and place aside a sinking fund of one per cent to redeem the debentures at the end of fifty years, when it would be unencumbered and a valuable endowment for the City. Mr Hobbs proposed to spend £7OOO to build shops, and a hall over those shops for the purposes of public meetings and of the City Council. The revenue from this would be more than necessary to pay for the outlay. They thought that £30,000 would bo more than would be required for that purpose, nor did ho believe any jury wonldgive anything like that amount. A sinking fund of one per cent would redeem the amount in 37 yean, and even if they bad to invest the money in the English funds at three per cent, it would redeem itself in 47 yean. They could turn to the Penny Hnoyclopa l dia and see the figures for themselves. If the Bank of New Zealand were not built, they would certainly have chosen that site instead of Mr Morten’s, but they would now have to purchase the Bank. Mr Morten’s land was too valuable a site to remain unbuilt upon. He thought he bad shown that financially it would be a success. They might assume they could borrow at 6 per cent at par. (A voice ; There is a speoi- 1 men in the Court to-day about the ratepayers not being heavily taxed.) If be thought they would be taxed for it a single penny he would ’ not vote for the scheme. The assessment that day showed that Mr Morton was assessed for ■ these properties at £llOO a year. Mr Morten < said they would be worth to him £2OOO a year. That would be the security for their i debentures, so that they need have no heiita- | tion on that score. The question they had to ] decide was this, was it desirable to acquire that piece of land P (Cries of no, no.) Then let them go and vote “ no,” and he would be < perfectly satisfied that future generations—(A voice: We don’t care about future 1 generations.) The man who had made that ' remark had evidently got no child. (Loud laughter.) The traffic at that point was very ' heavy, and would increase year by year, and i in tea or 20 years time, or less, there would be the necessity to widen it, although it might i not be absolutely necessary at the present i time. Mr Turner read the statistics of 1 traffic past the spot in question. They i had not lost sight of the fact that ; it was necessary to make horses or vehicles go i past that spot at a walking pace. (A voice : “ Why don’t you do it then.”) The papers wrote a great deal on this subject that they did not understand. He hoped every man < would go and vote on the day of the poll. He would be satisfied that he had done his duty either way. (Applause.) 1 In answer to a question, ' Mr Turner laid he bad mode the remark i that the drainage meeting, if properly reported, was a disgrace to the intelligence of ■ Christchurch. (Ob, oh!) If the cap fitted | any of them, they might wear it. (Hisses.) They might oppose him all they pleased, but 1 let them not put a man down by mere brute I force—it was not worthy the intelligence of Christchurch. (Applause.) Mr Treadwell moved the following resolu- ' tion:—"That as the City possesses an admirable site for a Town Hall ou the Market place, and as the Council have no idea of the ' amount that might be awarded to Mr Morten at arbitration, and as the larger traffic of London and Continental cities passes through places as narrow as the Bank passage, and ; further, as through the difficulties in whioh • Government is involved, the city is threatened with the loss of its subsidy, it is inexpedient to purchase the block." At the present time, ; Mr Morten was drawing £2OOO a year. Mr Turner : That is a misstatement. At , the present time he is not making more than £I3OO a year from those rentals. Mr Treadwell said the block was not all built upon, and the present rental that could be drawn was £2OOO a year. The arbitrators would base their calculations on this. Mr Turner was therefore misleading them when ho said the rental drawn by Mr Morten was only £I3OO. If the City Council only received this £I3OO a year, the amount that would be available for sinking fund would be only £6OO. Mr Turner rose to explain, but was received with confusion. For some time he endeavoured to obtain a hearing unsuccessfully; he then crossed over and spoke to Mr Treadwell. The Chairman hoped they would give a fair hearing to every speaker. Mr Turner sat down, and Mr Treadwell continued: Mr Turner had told them that after all they did not want the building, but that they wanted the land as a nice little speculation for Christchurch, to pay their children 60 years hence. If they were to borrow £30,000 to buy the land, what were they going to pay for the buildings they proposVftoputup. He considered the marketplace was the proper place for a xown Hall, iad even that was not large enough. The plan that was produced tha J ® ven '^ g 0 wall was false to the extent of 21 yards. They did not want a Town Hall in the centre of the city, amid the noise and turmoil. The probability was that an English jury would make them pay Mr Morten according to his present they must remember that they were likely to lose their Municipal subsidies. Mr Stevens had told them so in that very Will S the other night. On those venous SVdVhT mmi. it... tlnded to ask them to pas* any resolution. ftdtSSi . .h.«ld b.y.r, bad nao . /Cheer*.) For two reasons uD hii mSdiotto take part in he bad Q _ g that when SKaSSf Mr xloow , advised Mr Morten on the (tl wild not say anything more iv., „ et eobemo jat all events he would Rb sllUt?y that name. (Laughter.) There not oal. it oy feature in this case, which ’“T. ThSw- Zk V Uud did not was that er or he would have hold a opinion. Because a certain very .f ,ff f r f“d / ot BW y valuable piece of individual had g _ eaatmw hy a public body land.tb.twM W ib {rom him, (Loud should step “ ® j d j,o neither more nor less applause.) ] « wo . n> xfae ownef WM entitban a public oonfi t . fcj tqlae for tied ,to the land compulsorily. Mr making him give P wag no j ar y j n OhnstTurner had aaid - ve Mr Morten £20,000. church that w D °uio a find there was ; Was’nt there Y rule wero i ftn d owners because june*i m Xarner admitted that the themselves. £ls, 000-say £15.000, value wa* £20,000 exiet4jno e that there was he wooM *tak» hi* huroh w ho would not not a jury “ obru

give him a Tery much larger rum for forcing tho land from him. Mr Turner had proved conclusively that the more tho lohome was a payable one, tho more they would hare to pay Mr Morton for it. Ho would undertake *° that if Mr Turner’* and Mr Hobbs’ ■tatemente wore made to a jury, that jury would give Mr Morten a great deal more for tho land than had been mentioned that night. If they gave £20,000 for tho land, where would bo tho money to build tho Town Hall P Betide* they had ample and far better site* for a Town Hall than that piece of land would bo, for nothing. Ho waa atupid enough to disagree with Mr Hobb* on tho neooiaity of a Town Hall at all. It waa not required at proaont. What waa tho uao of it. Ho did not disagree with office* for tho Council being built, but ho did not aoo that a Town Hall wa* wanted as a public noooaeity. Certainly ball* and parties might bo given there. Perhaps, therefore, it wa* a good thing for tho Mayor* of Ohriatchuroh not to have a Town Hall, aa they might be led to giving balla and parties, auch aa they could not afford, (Laughter.) H« did not aoo how tho City Council was going to put up shops, and make them pay rents that would pay tho interest of tho money, and also sinking fund ; and thoy had given no reliable data to prove this. It might bo, liko private speculations, a very unfortunate one. He would now spoak of a matter that had annoyed him a good deal. Ho thought his friends on the right (laughter) would agree with him that he had considerable experience in public meetings; yet they had sent forth throughout the length of New Zealand, that the mooting of tho other night was a disgrace to Christchurch. Would they have said that if the meeting had gone in their favour? (Loud cheers.) Mr Turner had made tho same statement that evening. Ho seemed to think it a good joke, but he (the speaker) did not; ho considered it an insult. He bogged to tell Mr Turner that be denied that statement in toto. It was as orderly a meeting as any that had over been held in that room. (Loud oheers.) And he would further say, that tho roooption of some of the speakers was only what they deserved. Mr Harman and Mr Wright wore well received; and why? because thoy spoke common sense. (Cheers) Were they to sit there like a parcel of donkeys. What woe tho cause of any disapprobation at the meeting in question ? Why, certain remarks of the very men who new tried to throw dirt at them—(Loud cheering)—because one speaker had said that the people who were listening to him were a parcel of fools, and he was the only man worth listening to. (Tremendous oheers, and loud laughter). What was the use of coming there if they were to be told that the meetings were packed. Mr Hobbs hod, he had no doubt, as in the question of drainage, been studying this question for months. Mr Hobbs evidently wanted to thrust down their throats everything that he said or thought; indeed, he was a second Nelson, who raised the flag, that " England expeots that every man this day will do bis duty.” (Loud laughter). They bad been told not to be personal, and yet they found the people who were to teach them manners were those who used the personalities. The question was, did they or did they not want this land for a Town Hall. He answered emphatically, No! (Loud cheers.) Mr B. Cass briefly supported tho resolution, and said be hoped that a by-law would be passed to compel vehicles to drive at a walking pace round the corners. Mr Turner rose to give a short explanation. Ha bad shown Mr Treadwell Mr Morten’s own figures as the highest amount he could hope to obtain for the land. Both he and Mr Cass —as the City Council had done —ridiculed the figures of Mr Morten. Mr Morten had stated that in June of the present year the buildings would have to be swept away to make room for new ones. The £2OOO was merely ground rent on a6O years’ lease. He had never used the word “touting" when speaking of the drainage meeting. He might tell them that he was perfectly in favour of the resolution that had been carried at that meeting. He had referred in his remarks simply to those persons who went to these meetings for the mere sake of interruption. (Applause.) Mr Treadwell asked if Mr Morten did not expect to get £2OOO a year when the buildings were swept away. Mr Turner: I said whatever it was worth to Mr Morton it was worth to the City Council, and vice versa, and that we should have to give him the full value of the land. Mr Treadwell said then at that value the land was worth £30,000 if Mr Morten could get £2OOO rent for it. Mr Hawkes said be was requested by the City Surveyor to say that the map produced that evening was quite correct. If at any moment Mr Fisher chose to extend his property, he would force the City Council to change their pathway. The map showed what the real shape of the section was. Mr Treadwell said the map was a false one as the city now stood. The Chairman asked if any other ratepayer wished to address the meeting. There were then loud calls for Mr Hobbs, who, on rising, was greeted with applause and hisses.

Mr Hobbs said he had no pet scheme to put before them that night. If they wished to vote against it they could ; and if they wished him to address the meeting ho would have great pleasure in doing so. Mr Hobbs then sat down amid applause, hisses, and cries of “ No, no.” Mr Nathan said he did not belong to I hat portion of tho Council whioh comprised twothirds of their intelligence. (Loud applause.) He had voted againt the motion, because be did not think they could afford the money ; and besides he did not think that because they had the power to commit an injustice, they should do so. (Cheers) He also failed to see, on principle, why the Council should take valuable land from a man, purely for speculative purposes. In the first instance, the question was confined to taking a portion of tho land to widen Colombo street. For his own part he had never seen the great reason for widening this street. Some of them no doubt knew London. In Oheapside, 1000 vehicles per hour passed along. They were asked to support a scheme for widening a street through whioh they were told that something like 8000 vehicles and cqestrians bad passed in four days, or less than 2000 a day. Oheapside was not wider, if as wide as this spot whioh they wore asked to widen. He thought if they could induce Mr Morten to sell tho land for less than its value, then it would be advisable to have it. Any iury would assess it at a far higher value than any of the ratepayers, if they had mmey to invest, would care to speculate on the purchase of that site. If the proposition of the maiority of the Oounoil was given effect to, he was of opinion that it would result m m creased taxation. \Ohoers) He did not think a rental could be got for it sufficient to yield interest and sinking fund for tho cost. It would not bo wise in them to spend so large a sum of money for the benefit of nosterity. They could very well leave posterity to pay for the street when tho troflio no other ' P S"wH the Mayor to put fch Mr e Tirne°r n oontendod that according to the Act they could not put the motion. Mr Williams said the Aot did not say so. A Voice : “ That Aot don t say you shan t PU i t oonforan t craround the chairman then was surprised at Mr Turner intorCa ?'™ tas ho done. Tho thing preting noee on one > # f a oe. Whatwas as olo “ . tfa _ ohose to pass that night ««z bound to accept result, and r»e band. (Loud applause) should accordingly p * t the Xown The resolution ft * , T . ; a inexpedient Clerk in this form-'That it * to purchase bhioa- p Unghter.) Morton’s „ pu t and every ; r.h. “PP- d - - Mr Hawkes was the only P°

ing who hold up hi* band, and that amid loud cries of “ No packing, no packing." The Mayor > I declare the resolution to be carried unanimously. (Loud ohesrs.) On the motion of Mr Turner, ttoonded by Mr Hawke*, a poll wo* demanded, the date of which, the Chairman *t»ted, would be duly advertised. . The usual vote of thank* to the Chairman terminated the proceeding*.