MAYORAL INSTALLATIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10627, 16 December 1897, Page 6

MAYORAL INSTALLATIONS.

The annual statutory meetings of City and Suburban Borough Councils were held yesterday for the purpose of installing mayors for tho ensuing year. Tho following are reports of the proceedings :— AUCKLAND CITY. The annual meeting of the City Council was held yesterday, at noon, when there were present: The Mayor (Mr. P. Dignan) Messrs. Patterson, Hewson, Courtney, Stichbury, Kidd, Jamieson, Julian, Farrell, Trenwith, Grey. His Worship made the usual statutory declaration on resuming the civic chair for the onsuing year, THE MAYORAL ADDRESS. The Mayor, in the mayoral annual address, said It has been usual for the Mayor on his installation to make a few remarks on the prominent questions occupying the minds of the councillors and citizens at this time of tho year. In accordance with such usage I beg to ro* mark that there are two questions that stand out boldly, and before long will compel nob only consideration but action. They are water and drainage. Both these subjects have been before the Council for some time, and have been relegated to committees to consider, and report as to the best means of dealing with them. Therefore I must nob trench upon the prerogative of the committees or forestall their reports. WATER SUPPLY. I may mention that ib is an absolute necessity thab some definite action be taken, and thab ab once, to procure at least a supplementary supply of water. So far ib would appear that the sources of supply we have been in the habit of talking about as being available would appear nob to be so fib and procurable as to warrant their being used for the purpose. Ib would appear that the work necessary and amount of money required to make these sources available would be so great, and the resulting product so small, thab a largor scheme would answer better, and bo obtained within an equal period as those we have usually mentioned as auxiliary. I have no doubt bub that the water committee will report at an early date, and in such a manner as will give you a fair idea of how to deal with this most important matter. I will content myself with urging upon you all the necessity of dealing in a calm, bub deliberate manner with this subject, which enters so largely into tho health and comfort, as well as the convenience of the citizens, DRAINAGE. The second question is drainage. This is a most important matter, and requires to be dealt with in a comprehensive manner. For some years the undrained portions of the city have been steadily upon, and thus brought into occupation. The necessity of drainage for these houses require that some active steps be taken to provide against the dangers arising from house drainage being allowed to soak into the earth surrounding them, owing to no available proper drainage facilities. This subject, the streets committee has under consideration, and a list of the undrained streets, and the aproximate cosb of the work will bo laid before you early next year, and I feel sure that the necessity of the work will be apparenb sufficiently to warranb an appeal to the ratepayers for the means to enable the Council to carry out the scheme thab may bo recommended. Of courso, these works cannob be done withoub money, and that brings us to the old subject of finance, You are aware that by a special clause in tho Acb our Council, alone of all the municipal bodies in Now Zealand, are restricted to an annual rate of 2s in the £ for general purposes and to provide the interesb and sinking funds for past loans. For some years the interest account has gone to the bad to the extent of £2000 per annnm speaking roughly, and if ib had nob been for the profit on the water consumption the Council could nob have carried on. ' From this source some £7000 per annum has to be taken to make good the deficiency. Now, fairly speaking, this sum of £7000 should go to form a fund to provide for water requirements in the matter of plant, etc,, and an extended water supply,' bub as the ratepayers prefer nob to have their rates increased ib had to be used as stated, In this connection ib is bub fair to the Council to state thab ib has on several occasions been anxious to deal with the matter of finance, bub the decidedly expressed opinion of those affected, including some who now are loudest in their desire to find fault with the Council for its alleged apathy in these matters, has prevented any action being taken.

HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID. Another matter requiring attention is the drain upon bhe city funds for the Hospital and Charitable . Aid contribution, amounting to from £2500 to £3000 per annum, and for this alone the Council hois paid in the past ton years something like £30,000, a no small Bum for a community like ours. From the desire to meet the wishes of the ratepayers the Council has refrained from levying a rate, which ib could have done, to meet this annual incubus upon its income. Bub I fear ib can no longer be put off, and, as you are aware, ab the late discussion on the .'subject of our financial position, the question was referred to the finance committee to consider the advisability of levying a Hospital and Charitable Aid rate. I might here mention that ten years ago, ab his installation, a mayor, who had done much to keep the finances of the Council in control, stated that it would be impossible to carry on withoub striking such a rate. How true a prophet he was you can see, when I 'mention that since bhab day we have paid the contribution and built up an overdraft :to the exacb amount; in fact something like £25,000. I leave thab matter to the : finance ; committee and the Council to deal with.-'" - >f,:j ' .* i

;GENERAL maintenance.' / As. to the : . general ■' maintenance -of . our streets, and . the ordinary sanitary matters of the city, we are just able to keep going, and I must point oat that the tenders just let for - the - carting and' other, supplies, show an increase ' of, 'say, .'£7oo this year above amountspreviously paid, so that the estimated , increased income from rates on the annual valuation of the city, : which amounted to, say, £1300, is decreased onehalf -by this alone, leaving a very small margin with which to carry oat the works necessitated , by the natural spread of the city. The : health of the ' city is \ good. You will see from the various reports of the officers that the' several departments j are working, well and smoothly, and I must add my quota of praise and thanks? to the officials for the attention they have give to .their duties,- and - the -efficient manner ,in which they have carried thorn out—and this not uud«r : the - most : favourable . cirourai. . ! \ .

stances/ for, as you are aware, we have had rather, trying times this past) year. I need only enumerate the instances. '• The resignation, after absence through illness, which I regret to say ended in his death, of: the Mayor, Mr. A; Boardman; the loss of oar treasurer (Mr. Payne) by death while on sick leave, and the absence on a sick leave of our most valuable town clerk (Mr. P. A. Philips), nob to omit the excitement of the celebration of the jubilee of Her Most Gracious Majesty's record reign; these all tending to interfere with the usual quiet and almost monotonous current of the routine of ' the Mayor's government. Thanks to the cordial and active cooperation of all, I can fairly claim a satisfactory ending to the past term. In conclusion I would point) out that nlthough|this day, thanks to the energy of the officials, and the penal olause of 10 per cent, for defaulters, our overdraft stands low, we would not be justified in any but the ordinary expenditure, and unless the ratepayers entrust) the Coanoil with power to borrow, and be willing to be further taxed, they cannob expect any works to be undertaken beyond the mere ordinary maintenance of our streets. The matter is solely in the hands of the ratepayers, without their voice and will nothing can be done, and I trust that when the Council does submit the decision to them, it will meet with a favourable reception. Thanking you for your courtesy and co-operation at all times, I can only ask for a continuance of the same for the incoming term, and 'promise to do my endeavour to bring the next) year's business to as satisfactory an ending. (Applause.) Mr. Kidd said he could nob allow the opportunity to pass without congratulating tho Mayor on having taken his seat as chief magistrate for the second time. When first nominated there had been serious thoughts as to whether His Worship's health would stand the strain ; bub health and energies had improved. He (the speaker) hoped the work Mr. Dignan had undertaken would be carried out as successfully in the coming year as in the one that had passed. Mr. Trenwith moved and Mr, Jameson seconded a vote of thanks to the Mayor for his past services, the mover saying that His Worship had tilled the office with credit to himself and to the city. The vote having been carried by acclamation, The Major briefly replied. Ab the invitation of the Mayor, the members of the Council, officials and others, then partook of a fruit and cake repast served in the Mayor's room, which had been nicely decorated with flowers. Mr, Trenwith proposed the health of the Mayor; the toast having been drunk in champagne His Worship said there was no doubt his health had greatly improved. (Hear, hear). It might be that the work was congenial. He then proposed the toast of the " Members of the Council," to which Messrs. Trenwith, Kidd, Patterson and Courtney replied. The last-named apologised for the absenco, through illness, of, and conveyed congratulations from, Messrs. Becroft, Cairns, and Glover; ho urged upon members of the Council that their motto should be, "Bo just and fear not." The toast of the official-? was replied to by Mr. P. A, Philips (town clerk), and Mr. Anderson (city engineer), the former and the Mayor expressing the greatest satisfaction in the way the acting town clerk (Mr, Gorrie) had carried out his duties during Mr. Philips' absence. The toast of the visitors was replied to by Messrs. H. Garrett and J. Gordon.

NEWTON. The statutory meeting of the Newton Borough Council was held last evening, ab the Newton Borough Council Chambers. Present: Messrs, Shackelford (Mayor elect), S. C. Brown, Stewart, Clarke, Warnock, Ambury, Devonport, and Sexton. Mr. Shackelford (who had been returned unopposed for a second term), made the usual statutory declaration, and took his seat. Mayor'slnacgoral Address. - The Mayor delivered a brief address. He said they would have read with interesb the address of His Worship the Mayor of Auckland, an address of immense importance to the Borough of Nowton, dealing as ib did with the vital and important question of water supply. From their position, they must largely depend upon the city, and they had, he was confident, no reason to fear, but that they would receivo every consideration' ab the hands of the Auckland City Council. At tho same time it would be their duty to watch the consumption and prevent waste. During the past year the Council had endeavoured to meet the requirements of the Borough as far as possible in accordance with the smallness of the income, and the largeness of the area over which that income had been expended, the first consideration being tho health of the residents; the Council had during the pasb year continued the drainage of the more thickly-populated parts of the borough by nearly 2000 feot of main drain, etc., whioh had been connected with about 4000 feeb of private drains. Without any special loan or running excessively into debt, we had now drained the greater part of the centre of population in the borough. The work had been done satisfactorily by the borough workmen, and the thoroughness and pormanence of the work they have done was cause for congratulation. While considering health of firsb importance, they had endeavoured to maintain the roads and footpaths in fair condition, but their limited income had prevented some necessary work being done. The purchase by private individuals of a number of allotments from the Estates Company, and the building of a considerable nnmber of new houses during the year, and the fact that these houses had been occupied as Boon as completed, was a pleasing feature of the year progress. The large amount of permanenb work done oub of a low rate I showed thab care and economy had been exercised by tho Council in tho past. The large expenditure on the boundary and main roads absorbs much more than the yearly subsidy from the Government, The growing increaso of charitable aid expenditure must be viewed with apprehension by all right-thinking individuals, the present year's demand being nearly one-fourth of the revenue. The matter should be considered by the Council during the year, and possibly ib mighb be necessary to levy a special charitable aid rate, and then ratepayers would more fully realise tbe enormous drain on the Board's resources. .The large amount of work necessary to be done in the borough could nob be attempted while out of a shilling rate they had general expenses and charitable aid charges to meet, and ratepayers who thought their roads and footpaths were neglected would have a better chance of attention if the income was relieved of this strain. In conclusion, he had to express his indebtedness to the Town Clerk for the thoroughness of his work in the borough, and support to himself, and to thank tho councillors for the generous supporb and consideration they had given him in the past, and tosolicibfrom them a continuanceof the same during the ensuing year. Mr. S. C. Brown moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Shackelford for his services during the past year. Mr. Ambury seconded the motion, and, supported by Messrs. Davenport and Clarke, ib was carried unanimously. The Mayor thanked the members who spoke for the kindly remarks made, and had no doubt he would receive their hearty co-operation in the future as in the pasb. Correspondence.— clerk of the Archbill Road Board acknowledged receipb of a letter from the Newton Borough Council, and in reply forwarded the following resolution passed by the Board" That the Board does not agree to tho demand of the Newton Borough Council for payment of half the cost of the maintenance of the Greab North Road, and suggests :to tho: Council thab the most) satisfactory way of settling the matter is 1 for the Council to refer' the matter to the Resident "Magistrate." '• The letter was received. )

Slaughterhouse ) Licenses. — Messrs.! Hellaby's license was ordered to be- renewed for 12 months on the terms of last year, for £41 per annum. The application of R. Salmon and Co. was, after some discussion, on the motion of Mr. Ambury, deferred till next meeting. ' ■ "m . Report of,Foreman'of Works,—The report of the foreman of works was read and adopted. . i ' ■ Consumption of Water.—The consumption of water for the week ending December 6 i was reported - by the Town Clerk as 174,000 gallons, and for the week ending December 13 as 168,000 gallons. : Ib '/was decided to notify.water consumers that the Council reserved the right of determining supplies for breaches of the regulations or waste of water. • -..-V:'[ ; Accounts.—Accounts were „ passed * for payment to the amount of £5310s Id. ! ; '

' parnell. ' ' TTT u-i : At noon yesterday Mr. Nepean W. Bollard was installed Mayor of the Borough of Parnell in ', succession .fc to Mr.' Joseph Thornes, the ceremony taking place at the Council Chamber. There were present : His Worship the Mayor, Mr. J. Thornes (in the chair), and Messrs. H. C. Tewsley, A. P. Friend, Fitta, McConnell, and Mr. W. W. Pollard (Mayor-elect). Id vacating the , chair, Mr. J. Thornes briefly reviewed the affairs of the borough and the position of the finances during the out-going twelve months, saying; On taking office I found that the amount of general rate owing was £192; which we had a Bank overdraft of £*27. If our rate had all been collected we should have been £65 to the good. Now the amount of the overdraft is £720, and uncollected rates amount to £550; so that if all ra to was collected wo should be £170 to the bad. Add the £65 we were to the good, thus making £235 which has been added to our "national debt" since I took office a year ago. The roads and footpaths have been kept in good condition; more paths have been put in order and tarred and sanded than evor before in the history of the borough, the grades of several roads have been improved, and crowns put on them. Many houses have been connected with the drainage system which previously were not, and a most) strict supervision has been exercised by the Council wherever there appeared to be any danger to health from nuisances or bad drainage. These aro valuable improvements, and have cost a considerable amount of money, the Council having wisely determined that when work had to bo done it should be done thoroughly. There has also been a serious increase in the amount we have had to pay for charitable aid. Bub all this work we could have accomplished easily without increasing our overdraft at all; the overdraft has been caused by the abnormal expenditure (£247 which had to be taken from the general account) on drainage found necessary through the faulty manner in which the drains wore originally laid. We also purchased £18 worth of new hose for Fire Brigade, and bought a stock of korbs, offered very cheap, at a cost of £27. These will come in useful but the payment has, of course, swelled the overdraft. I have no doubt, if we went into a question of assets and liabilities, we are now in a sounder position than when I took office. Arrangements have been completed with the City Council for the supply of the whole of the upper levels of Parnell with water from the Kyber Pass reservoir, and the work of laying the pipes is now proceeding. The cost of pipes and laying same will cause a temporary bank overdraft for water supply account, but I am sure the account will soon right itself, as there is sufficient elasticity about it to pay for this expense out of revenue, as we did in the case of Balfour Road, Maunsell Road, etc., and the boon to the residents in the whole of Upper Parnell will be incalculable. Vigorous efforts have been made to obtain Blaokett's Point for a public park for Parnell, and our member, Mr. F. Lawry, states that negotiations are now in progress for the exchange of Blackett's Point for our endowment at I'unakitere on the basis of the capital value in each case, the Government to assist by a grant of £ for £, whatever amount Parnell may be called upon to pay as the difference between the relative values. I earnestly trust these negotiations will be prosecuted vigorously, and brought to a successful termination, during the mayoralty of my successor. The ratable value of property in Parnell for the year 1897-8 showed an increase over 1896-7 of £2259, yielding an increased revenue at Is 3d in the £of £13343 4d. I have every reason to believe that the same increase will be shown on the coming assessment, so if no abnormal expenditure is required, the bank overdraft will tend to reduction rather than increase. It has been made very clear to the Council that in the near future a large addition to the existing drainage scheme must be undertaken—and a loan will be found necessary for the purpose— the Council fulfil its duty to the inhabitants. I desire to express my regret that Mrs. Matson found it necessary to resign her position as a member of this Council and commissioner of sinking fund, owing to ill-health; and in concluding these few remarks on the work of the past year, I wish especially to thank the officers of the borough, from the town clerk down, for their invariable courtesy and assistance during my term of office. With regard to my fellow-councillors, my thanks are also due for their assistance and co-operation, without which no mayor of this borough would be able to do any useful and permanent work. For all their consideration and support of myself I desire to tender mv sincere thanks, and I am sure the same will be exteudod to the incoming Mayor, Mr. Pollard, who 1 am convinced will bring to bear on the affairs of this borough as Mayor, the same energy and hard work which characterised him when he was formerly a councillor. Mr. Pollard (Mayor-elect) then made the usual statutory declaration, and was duly installed in the civic chair by Mr. Thornes, who congratulated him on his appointment, Referring to the position of the borough he said that they would now have to face an overdraft of some £980, while the collapse of the drainage would also cost the borough a considerable furthor amount. Other matters that called for attention wore the water supply and night.soil difficulty, both of which would have to be placed on a more satisfactory footing, and would involve further outlay. He was taking office with the full assurance of a loyal support on the part of the members of the Council, and strictly in the interests of the ratepayers, whom he had to sincerely thank for placing him in the position he now occupied. Mr. Frrrs moved a vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor, to whom ho made eulogistic reference, saying that he had occupied the chair with the utmost credit to himself, had always had the best interests of the borough at heart, and had worked in perfect harmony with and extended the utmost courtesy to the members of the Council.

Mr. McConnell seconded, and together with Messrs. Tewsle? and Friend endorsed the remarks that had fallen from Mr. Fibts,

The Mayor was thoroughly in accord with the previous speakers, and after a few wellchosen words called upon Mr. Thornea to reply, that gentleman then thanking all who had spoken for their kindly expressions. The proceedings then terminated. ONEHUNGA. The statutory meeting of the Onehunga Borough Council for the installation of the incoming Mayor was heid at the Municipal Chambers yesterday at noon. There wore present:—The retiring Mayor (Mr. D. A. Sutherland), and Messrs. Colledgo, Nixon, Stoupe, Rowe, and Laking. The Mayor, in opening the proceedings, congratulated the Council and ratepayers on the healthy state of the finances. The general account was in credit about) £100, and there bad not been an overdraft on this account since 1896, a tribute to the economy of the Council. The waterworks account was also in credit about £600, and he pointed out that it would only be necessary to renew the loan for £4000, instead of the original £5000. He also referred to the question of supplying outside districts with water, and urged the ratepayers to take a broad and businesslike view of the matter, and sanction the scheme. Allusion was also made to the importance of the sanitary question, and its strict enforcement urged. In conclusion, he thanked the Council for the courtesy shown him during his three years of office, and hoped they would show the same consideration to his successor. Tho Mayor-elect (Mr. F. W. Court) then made tho usual declaration, and took the chair. Mr. Imking moved, "That this Council places on record its appreciation of the services rendered by Mr.' Donald Sutherland during- his three years term of office as Mayor of the Borough of Onehunga, and begs to assure him of its hearty good wishes for ' the future welfare of himself and family." 'Mr. Rowe seconded, and Mr. Nixon also added a few congratulatory remarks, whilst Mr. G. J. Jackson, J.P., testified to the satisfaction of the' ratepayers with Mr. Sutherland's conduct of the municipal business. •" The motion was carried. ■Xt Mr. 'pooBT then thanked those ratepayers who had 'placed their confidence in him,' and assured them that he would do his best to retain that confidence. Referring to the water question, he said the": Council should formulate a scheme for the supply of the outdietcicts which , would be beneficial to t hem and of financial benefit to the borough, I

—i—— ——i—■— — . This ' probably i would ■ be the : last chine they would get, for. if they did nob uadei take to supply them the oatdiatricta woali help' themselves. Therefore, to retain th springs it behoved them to put the witc on to One-tree Hill ab as reasonable a rat as possible.' As to Mangere Bridge repairs Mr. Court favoured the issuing of daben tures, say at 6 per cent, interest,' payables any time within eight years at the optio of the Borough Council... He went on t say that it was currently'reported that th Onehunga School Commit tee,' or, some ( them, have their eye on a portion of th blockhouse grounds for their public school He would do all In his power to preVeb any such encroachment. .. .. Messrs. Lakino and Nixon assured th Mayor of their hearty support, and after general conversation on the cemetery an water questions, the proceedings termu abed, "jjv NEW PLYMOUTH. ] [by IKLIGEAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION,] ■■ New Plymouth, Wednesday, Mr. Edward Dockrill was formally 0 stalled as Mayor to-day. . WELLINGTON. ''l Wellington, Wednesday, Mr. J. R. Blair was installed as Mayor's noon. He said he was satisfied no one hi ever given more time, attention, or abilih to the duties of the chair than Mr. Bell, th retiring Mayor. He himself desired' t work harmoniously with the Council, Th Mayor should not try to run the who! business of the city, but to be an imputia officer. He took that opportunity of thank ing his constituents for the honor don him. Mr, Fraser, on behalf of the Council presented Mr. Bell with a eo\id silve salver. Mr, Fraser said Mr. Bell was no only an excellent Mayor, but an admirabl Chairman. Mr. Bell said ha was tunc] touched by the gift, of which he had hai no notice. He thought it advantages that the chief officer of the city shoal have more leisure than he had. H hoped Mr. Blair would meet no : sue] difficulties as beset him when he found th drainage fund had run out, and had to ob tain Parliamentary authority during short session to procure more money. Hi montioned that lie had agreed to excise tlx purchase of Miramar, and the cutting s) of the town belt from the Empowering Bil now before the Legislative Council. V'.'Sj DUNEDIN. Dcnidih, Wednesday. 1 ! Mr. Cargill was install ed Mayor to-day, In his address he paid a high complimtni to those responsible for laying out the citi and administering its affairs in the put, He said the Council could not stand still but must adopt a forward policy. Drain age especially must be faced, but the delay had been productive of good, «i thai were likely to benefit by the experience d the cib ies of the old world. . v.. <'-$