AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9306, 15 September 1893, Page 6

AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL.

Tmr regular fortnightly; meeting of the { Auckland City Council held last night, p enfc' Mr. VV. Urowfcher (Mayor), Messrs. Trenwit'h, Wright, He wson, Grey, Warren, Farrell, Glover, Swales, Holland, Powley, andHesketh. ; w,, v Members.—Messrs. Chas. Atkin, , viV-rh Ward ; Alfred Kidd, East Ward ; ' TT Julian, South Ward ; J. M. Paterson, < Graft o " Ward (all re-elected), and Mr. William Thorne, elected for the Ponsonby ] Ward to fill the vacancy caused by the , retirement of Mr. W. J. Courtney, made the usual statutory declarations, and took their seats in the Council. The Mayor i said he considered it was a matter of great congratulation that they had been returned ' almost without a contest. It showed that ( they had the confidence of those who sent ' them, and he should have great pleasnre in ; working with them. Mr. Thorne had also been returned without a contest, showing the confidence they placed in him, and he i had great pleasure in welcoming him to the Council. ' Leave of Absence.— On the motion of the Mayor, leave of absence was granted to Mr. P. Dignan for two meetings. Retaining Wall.Charles Hayes drew attention to the dangerous state of the footpath in fronb of his house in Welling-ton-street. He had himself repaired it twice. The engineer reported that the best ' thing to do would be to make a pitched ' elope of stone inside the fence from the street level. The whole cost would be about £5. It was agreed to have the work done in accordance with the engineer's : report. ' Dividing Fence.— W. E. Bruce, solicitor for Messrs. Hay and Honeyman, wrote, asking the Council to re-consider its ! decision to refuse to contribute to the cost ' of a dividing fence at Albert Park. The ' total cost of the fence was £f)18sl0d, of which the Council was only asked to contribute half. It was agreed, on the motion ' of tbe Mayor, to pay half the amount of the cost of the fence. The Medical Association and the Measles Epidemic.—Dr. Roberton, hon. sec. of the Auckland Medical Association, wrote re the intention of the City Council as to payment for reports on infectious diseases, asking—(l) what objection the Council had to the payment of the claims? (2) if the Council has no objection to offer, why the accounts of some medical men were paid without delay, while others have been unable to obtain definite information as to the payment of their accounts. Dr. Roberton also forwarded other correspondence, and a list of accounts due to medical men for reporting cases of measles. Referred to the Legal Committee. Cabdriveks. — Mr. Hickson, Inspector of Police, brought under the notice of the Council that several licensed cabdrivers in the city are in the habit of touting for brothels, and make a practico of meeting steamers and trams in pursuance of this custom. From his own knowledge he was aware that in Christchurch and Dunedin before licenses were granted to cabmen the municipal authorities inquired from die police whether the applicants bore good characters, and this had a tendency to prevent known bad characters from obtaining drivers' licenses. The Mayor moved that the Council would have great pleasure in complying with the request before granting any more licenses. The charge, if true, was a very sorious one. The motion was agreed to. Right-of-way IV High-street. — Dr. Laishley, on behalf of Mr. Rout and Mrs. Goodwin, applied for a right-of-way ofi High - street. Referred to the Legal Committee, the parties opposing the apdlication to be requested to attend. James-street.The residents of Jamesstreet, l'onsonby, and its vicinity, wrote requesting a road to connect Pompallier Terrace and James-street. Mr. Cozens was willing to give the land, the Council to pay the cost of transfer, and they hoped the Council would do its part by forming the road so that traffic can be carried on. The engineer's memo, advised the Council to see the site before they took any steps in connection with the petition The entrance to James-street from John-street was in a water-course. The land offered for a road has been a brick-field, and is cut out 15 or 20 feet below the ground abutting on Clarence-street. The line would bo very objectionable, and would be very expensive to make. The petition was referred to the Streets Committee. Ponsonby Bowling Club.—The secretary of this club forwarded a lengthy letter, the substance of which was to ask the City Council to permit them to occupy the grounds free from city rates. They had taken the ground on lease for ten years. It was agreed that the letter be received. Ponsonby Reservoir.-* Mr. Allan Maguire, contractor for the erection of the Ponsonby auxiliary reservoir, again wrote, urging a settlement of his claim against the Council. A previous resolution of the Council offered £35 in full satisfaction of all demands. The Mayor moved that they offer Mr. Maguire £50 without prejudice. They had £100 of Mr. Maguire's money on hand, and if they obtained five per cent, on that, Mr. Maguire was entitled to consideration. A good deal of discussion aro.se. The Mayor's amendment was lost, and it was agreed to adhere to the former resolution. Reeusi'; Destructor. — Mr. Arthur Nathan brought under the notice of the Council a refuse destructor, with testimonials as to it efficiency. Referred to the Streets Committee. Brown-street. — Mr. Swales presented a petition from ratepayers, requesting that Brown-street, Ponsonby, be kerbed and channelled. Received, and reforred to the Streets Committee. Park Avenue.—Mr. Paterson presented a petition in favour of drainage of Park Avenue. Referred to the Streets Com mittee. Streets Committer. —This committee reported as follows : —Letter from Carder Brothers and Co. re patent kerb and channel : Your committee has no recommendation to make. Letter from Lindsay Cooke re permit iron building in Elliott-street: Your committee recommends that application be granted (no fireplaces) for a term of five years. Letter from Wingate and Co. re crossing in Queen-street, opposite railway station : Your committee are of unanimous opinion that the crossing is nob required. Memo, from Town Clerk and letter from J. Henderson re streob nameplates (referred with power to act): Your committee has instructed that tenders be called for enamel plates. cotter from Town Clerk, Parnell re allowance on meter water account: Your com recommends that the necessary valves bo fixed at the cost of this Council, and that £21 be allowed as a, rebate. The report was adopted on the motion of the Mayor. Finangk Committee.—This committee's report was as follows : Memo, from Town Clerk re annual insurances expiring 31st August (referred with power to act): Your committee has accepted the offer of the four local companies, the New Zealand, National, South British, and Standard Insurance Companies, to renew the insurances on the Council's properties, as per schedule of last year, for a total sum of £115, a reduction of £71 7s Bd. Letter from Thomas Jenkins re diversion Marine Parade : Your committee recommends that the Council pay the costs of conveyance. The report was adopted. Street Name Plates.—Tenders for enamel name plate*, 722 in number, were received as follow :—T. and S. Morriu and Co., £154 10s Id ; and E. Porter and Co., £126 10s. The latter was accopted. Cutting Gokkh. —Tenders for cutting gorse at the Western Springs and abattoirs wore received as follows :—J. H. La wson, £40; A. Leonard, £57 ; John Boylan, £53 12s ; M. Garrett, £72 ; E. Ryan, £69 5s ; E. Hardwick, £49 15s ; H. Wilson, £44 12s. One man tendered at £3 an acre, but this was informal and the tender of Mr. Lawson was accepted, being the lowest. Assignment of Lease.—The city solicitor applied for a transfer of a lease of certain property in Mount-street. It was referred to the Legal Committee. Lease of Abattoir Property.— Salmon applied to lease certain portions of the abattoir properties and the application was referred to the Endowments tee.Committee Appointments.The following appointments were made: Mr. C. Atkin as a Sinking Fund Commissioner, Legal Committee and the Costley Investment Committee ; Mr. Kidd and Mr. Julian to the Streets Committee, Mr. Paterson to the Finance Committee, Mr. Thorne and Mr. Farrell to the Legal Committee. Upper Union-street.—Mr. Glover in ac- , cordance with notice moved, "That the footpaths in Upper Uniou-streeb be formed,

kerbed, and channelled— to be done by ward workmen." On the suggestion of the mover the matter was referred to the Streets Committee.