THE MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8630, 28 July 1891, Page 6

THE MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE.

A record of the proceedings at the Municipal Conference, lately held at Wellington, has been issued. Four boroughs in the Auckland district were represented, namely, Auckland, by His Worship the Mayor and the Town Clerk; Newmarket, Mr. »F. Lawry, M.H.R. ; Newton, the Mayor, Mr. S. C. Brown; Parnell, Mr. P. A. Philips. The following are notes of some of the items of business dealt with ; — ,

Auctioneers' Licenses.—Moved by Mr. Philips, " That the Government be requested to introduce a Bill to amend and consolidate the law relating to auctioneers' licenses, such licenses to be issued by and be made payable only to the borough in which the principal place of business, of each auctioneer is situated." Seconded by Mr. Fish. The Mayor of St. Albans moved, as an amendment, " That it is desirable that the license fees paid by auctioneers should be payable to the borough or county in which such auctioneers reside." Seconded by the Mayor of Palmerston. The amendment was lost, and the motion carried. [Note.—The Auctioneers Bill now before the House, in charge of tho Hon. Mr. Seddon, provides that two-thirds of the fees shall be paid to the local authority withiu whose jurisdiction the principal place of business is situated, and one-third to the authorities where the place of residence of the liceusee is]. Buildings.—Moved by the Mayor of Palmerston, " That power be given to stop the erection of buildings in contravention of the by-laws, or of any laws, statutes, or regulation relating specially to boroughs or to public health." Seconded by Mr. Harris, and carried by eighteen votes to eight.— Moved by the Mayor of " That clause 303 of the Municipal Corporations Act should be amended so as to give power to recover cost of medical certificate and lawexpenses when ruinous buildings are pulled down by order of the Council." Seconded by the Mayor of Auckland, and carried. [Note. —There is now no power to stop erection of buildings, the only course open being to proeecute in the Resident Magistrate's Court and punish by fines. Neither is there any power to recover cost of medical certificate. The proceeds of sale of the old building rarely pay other expenses.] Court Costs. —Moved by Mr. Philips, " That the Corporation should not be liable for Court costs in any prosecution by their officials for infringement of the by-laws." Seconded by the Mayor of Auckland, and carried.

Disorderly Houses. — Moved by the Mayor of Wellington, " That a clause be inserted in the Act making it a fineable offence for owners of houses to let or allow the same to be used for immoral purposes." Seconded by Mr. Fish and carried. [Note.—At present the only persons who can be proceeded against are the occupiers of such houses. ] Fees and Fines.—Moved by Mr. Philips, " That fees and fines under the Licensing and Police Offences Acts should be made payable to the Borough fund." Seconded by Mr. Fish and carried. Moved by Mr. Philips, " That quarterly returns of the fees and fines inflicted under the provisions of the by-laws should be supplied to the local bodies." Seconded by Mr. Pish, and carried. [Note. —The Police Offences Act was very largely copied from the by-laws of Auckland and Wellington, thus depriving boroughs of the revenue derived from fines.J Harbour Works.—Moved by Mr. Philips, "That a proper interpretation of harbour works for rating purposes should be provided in section 341 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1586." Seconded by the Mayor of Timaru, and carried. [Note. —At present, under the peculiar language of the Act, Harbour Boards are refusing to pay any rates to boroughs. ] Change of Ownership.—The Mayor of Wellington moved, " That ratepayers should be required to give to the Corporation notice of change of ownership." Seconded by Mr. Philips, and carried. Stamp D uty. —Moved by the Mayor of Auckland, " That Corporation labour pay-sheets should beexemptfromstamp duty." Seconded by the Mayor of St. Albans, and carried. Moved by Mr.Harris, "That the Municipal Corporations Act be amended so as to giv.e to Councils the power to acquire, under the Public Works Act, or by private purchase, such portions of the borough aa in the opinion of the Council have become in an overcrowded, unsanitary, or degraded state, and that the Council have the farther power, after acquiring such land, to pull down buildings, abolish streets, lay out afresh streets, squares, reserves, and sell or lease any parts of the land so acquired ; separate accounts of each transaction to be kept, showing financial result of such scheme." Further, " That the Council be authorised to I raise the necessary money for carrying out such scheme by debentures." Seconded by the Mayor of Auckland, and carried, [Note. —In the thickly-populated parts or our colony some such provision as this has become an absolute necessity, and the Conference felt this to be a most important matter.} Dairies and Slaughterhouses.—Moved by the Mayor of Auckland, " That this Conference desires to impress upon the Government the extreme impqrtauce of at once dealing in a comprehensive manner, by statutory enactment, with the regulations of the meat and milk supply of towns." Seconded by the Mayor of Nelson, and carried. Municipal Association. —Moved by Mr. Philips, " That a Municipal Association for the colonjr be established on the basis of similar organisations in the Australian Colonies, aud that at the next sitting of this Conference the appointment of honorary officers, and the adoption of regulations and rules, be proceeded with." Seconded by the Mayor of Nelson, and carried. Food Analysis.— Moved by Mr. Philips, " That Government be requested to make due provision on the Estimates for the co3t of providing for the analysis of food in the colony." Seconded by Mr. Carson, and carried.