NELSON CITY COUNCIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 23 March 1908, Page 4

NELSON CITY COUNCIL.

FORTNIGHTLY MEETING. The fortnightly meeting of the Nelson Citv Council was held last evening. Present— Tho Mayor (Mr J. Piper), Crs. Robertson, Bisley, Franklyn, McConchie, Hampson, Lightband," Field, Pettit. I Payment were authorised as fol-

CORRESPONDENCE. Mr J. Delaney applied to havo tha leaso of a paddock at the Abattoir transferred from Mr C. W. Bird to himself. — Granted. Mr S. Tyson, Inspector of Scaffolding, forwarded forms connected with the Scaffolding Inspection Act Amendment Act, 1907. — To be acknowledged. Mr G. Ford wrote accepting a permanent appointment as manager at the Abattoir at a salary of £75 a year, with either tha use of tho mnager's residence or its equivalent in rent, in addition. — Beferred to Abattoir Committee. Mrs M. A. Thomas asked that the footpath adjoining her property in Grove-street be filled in. — Refered to Works Committee. A requisition was received fiom a majority of the- motor and cycle builders for pel-mission to keep their shops open till 9.30 p.m. on Fridays.— To be certified to and forwarded to the Minister for Labour. Mr A. F. Johnson wrote in reference to the depth of the sewer to bo put in in Upper Collingwcod-street. — Referred to Drainage Committee. ■; Mr E. F. Bun-ell, of Tahuiia^'sußx; gestod that tho Council place -^t^BIM tho vicinity of Tahuna.— Rej^re)d£jps Works Committee. v . '.p~ ■■■ 'ftesKfejl Miss Beatrice Sharp,, ori tehalt,ora«H Cabragh- .Hpujes. 'Sc|S<jpl , HQg^-*sj*?3 applied ior*the.use 'oJWWs; B9tW§fi?sga i^ion.g?4f&^fW^^^|SjP« "j P'^^^^^y^tt^vrote inj^ference : So an -for a~breach of award thatl ; wiruioS^ome before tho Arbitration Court, it being stated that some labourers working on the Council drainage works had not been been allowed an hour for dinner. — The letter was received. (Cr. Hampson presumed that the Town Clerk would represent the Council when the case came on.) Mr W. A. Styche, for himself and others, thanked the Council for extending tho water main in Bronti-street. Mr C. R. Cotton wrote in reference to 'th© ranger stating that ths writer's cattle must bo kept out of the Botanical Reserve. The fences were constantly destroyed by boys and sheep, and he had to mend th?m.— Referred to Works Committee. Ratepayers drew attention to the state of Clevciand-road.— Referred to Works Committee. - . A letter signed by a number of residents was received enclosing copy of a placard posted in the London and metropolitan boroughs of Woolwich, Camberwell, and Battersea, and the borough of South Shields, Durham, "to bring homo to men and women -the fatal effects of alcohol on physical efficiency." The writers desired to send a deputation to the Council to personally prefer a. request that the Council adopt tlie placards. — It was resolved that- the deputation be received at 8 o'clock next Council night. Tha question of repairs to. Clevelandroad was referred to the Works Committtee. Finance Committee's Report. The Finance Committee reported, recommending that the City Engineer be requested to report on the cost of putting the water mains in a serviceable condition, and that ho further report on the question of obtaining water from tho Boding river. I recommended that the balance of the order for Neath coal be cancelled ; that the City Engineer be authorised to sell such of tho Neath coal in stock as ho considers- advisable, and that he be authorised to pass the account for Neath coal, provided Is a ton rebate be allowed. The committee advised that the arrears of rates as per list submitted bv the Town Clerk, be written off. Consideration of several minor matters were deferred. Adopted. Works Committee's Report. The Works Committee reported, recommending: That the attention of the owner of the wall in Examiner-st., be called to the state of the wall, and that the owner of the wall in Manukastreet be requested to make it safe. Consideration of several matters had been deferred. Adopted. > ENGINEER'S REPORT. \ The City Engineer (Mr W. Aitoheson Smith) reported that the construction of tho retaining wall at the septic tank had been completed, and the laying of cast-iron mains should be finished in about six weeks. The work of reticulating the Wood area was proceeding as rapidly as possible, but) operations had been somewhat delayed through the recent- rains. Footpath work in Collingwood and Waimea-streets had been completed. Some work had been done in F.mano-streek {He would lil\'ce ths Council's authority to attend to ditches in that street, and the laying of the 3inch gas mains in Vanguard-street was nearing completion, and he would suggest that it do carried to Totara-strcet. For this 80 3-inch mains would be required. The clearing out of the old reservoir had not yet been completed owing to the. depth of drift shingle. The water reticulation work in Waimeastreet would be put in hand as soon as the purchase of pipes was authorised. He directed attention to the number of 3-inch mains in thickly populated lo- ! calities. Net only were they badly I corroded inside, impregnating tlie water I with iron, but the flow through them would be absolutely inadequate in case of fire. ' In suoh districts mains should be not less than 6 inches in diameter. He h*d gone carefully into the matter of the Golf Club, and had found that tho CPiitire portion of the road for a distance cf about) 22 chains did not come within the jurisdiction of the Council, not being on its property. As instructed by the Council, Mr Smith continued, ho had inspected the Collingwcod-ttree6 bridge. The Engineer was instructed to obtain necossary pipes. Other Reports. The Inspector of Nuisances reported that two cases of scarlet fever had occurred during the fortnight. A tabic attached to the report showed that | during the past five years 37 cases of enteric fever had occurred in the city, and 12 cases had been brought from | outside. The local cases had been very evenly distributed over the whole city. Ths returns from the Abattoir showed that 873 animals had been slaughtered during the fortnight. One cow < and one sheep had been condemned. < Miscellaneous. j Cr Hampson moved that it be an instruction to the Finance Committee to bring in the allocations for the ensuing year the first week in April. — j Carried. j Cr Hampson moved that it be a re i commendation to the Council of the ! Municipal Association that the Munici- j rial Corporations Act be so amended as ' o permit the Council and Mayoral lections to be hold in March, and , -'•ie installation of the Mayor the first ' ■ w!v in Apr*, so that new Councils nay fully control the expenditure of iic i-iiv "ilui-insr thi-ir term of office. — ] C-'i-iird". Cr Field moved that the fire plugs

i in the Wood receive' the Engineer's attention. — Carried, Cr Field moved that Xhe cycle track to the Port receive attention. — The En- | gineer said that as soon as tar was available the track would be attended to. i Cr Pettit moved that the Engineer i see to the repairing of the footpath , round the Trafalgar Hotel.— The Enj gineer said the contractor intended doj ing the necessary work. I Cr Bisley moved that the Works j Committee consider whether the ap- i '. pearance of Alton-street could be improved. — Carried. • Cr Hampson remarked that at the end of the year the exepnditure would :be found to be just about equal to the allocation, and the Council could I congratulate itself on the fact. NOTICES OF MOTION. ! The following notice of -motion by Cr Hampson, postponed at the previous . meeting, was brought on: — (1) That it ;be a remit from this Council to the Council of the Municipal Association of New Zealand as follows -.—That the present system of bookkeeping and accounts sanctioned by the Audit Office for Public Bodies is 'in many cases entirely inadequate to their requirements, and that the Government be urged to so amend the Municipal Corporations and Loans to Local Bodies Acts so that the Public Bodies can, when considered advisable, keep their books upon the double account or modified double account system, particularly where public bodies are supplying their ratepayers with either gas, electricity, water, or are engaged in other semi-trading operations, the present system of merely showing receipts and expenditure being altogether inadequate as it fails to show the results of such operations. Also to enable such local bodies to appoint, or -the rate- , payers to elect, a duly certificated public auditor to audit such accounts, and that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Premier and the local members of .Parliament. Tho motion was seconded by Cr. Field and carried. Cr Pettit moved "That in .view of the fact that the weekly statutory halfholiday has been fixed for Saturday, the ordinary meetings of the Council in future be held on Thursdays instead of Fridays, and also that the Council's pay-day. be Friday instead of Saturday. The Mayor suggested that the motion be withdrawn for a time, in view of the move being made by shopkeepers, and the fact that Wanganui, had gone back from Saturday. Cr PettuTsaid the position at Wanganui was quite different from that at Nelson. Wlanganui was a combined dis- ' trict, and two Councils favoured Thursday, and one Council Saturday. Cr Hampson remarked that he had seen a telegram from the Minister J.-at Labour, in which the „.■ latter _ stateiS that he. was quite^ti^blfeitp/^e^^l

. The statement of bank balances show- ' ed:— ___ Dr. Cr. £. a. d. £. «. d General A/c 1 1 SS-2 116 Water „ 482 i7 4 Gas „ 3040 17 5 Interest „ 4GO 4 11 Abattoir ., 0 7 8 7 Hospital and Cl a- I i ritablo Aid 24 19 2 j £15,682 6 3 £1103 2 8

£ s. d. General Account 393 3 3 Gasworks Account 636 16 lt Waterworks Account 321 14 3 Cemeteries 15 8 10 Abattoir Account 41 18 8 | Interest Account 2£B 0 0 I Drainage 1057 6 1 Bridges 1 10 0 I [ Tntal f.9733 19! fl '

Cr. Cemeteries Trust Account 127 7 10 Contractors' Deposits Account 248 0 0 Trafalgar Pais Account 6:2 3 4 Draina-e 1 oan Ac. (Dr.) 297 6 1 (ias Reticulation Loan Ac. 0 7 11 Bridges Reinstatement Loan Account ... ... 607 8 2 Renewal Loan 1906 Account 38 15 8 Dr. Bank Balance ... .£14,579 3 7