BOROUGH COUNCILS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13938, 21 December 1908, Page 5

BOROUGH COUNCILS.

♦ BIRKENHEAD. At the meeting of the Birkenhead Borough Council, held on Thursday evening, there were present: Messrs. Alex. Keyes (Mayor). Skeates, Taylor, Hadfield, Pitt, McPhail, Clements, J. G. Kay, and Souster. Official Opening of Post Office: A letter was received from the chief postmaster stating that *ir Joseph Ward hoped to be able to open the post office shortly after the' holidays. Statutory Half-holiday: A letter was received from the town clerk, Auckland, asking the Council to appoint a delegate to attend the conference to fix the statutory half-holiday for the combined district of Auckland. Mr. Skeates was appointed, the Council favouring Wednesday for the holiday. Water Supply : A communication was received from the Northeote Borough Council stating that they were prepared to supply water to Birkenhead at Is 3d per 1000 gallons, "with a minimum consumption of 5,000,000 gallons per annum. A committee, consisting of the Mayor and Messrs. Skeates, Taylor, and Kay, was appointed to go into the question of water supply and report to the Council. Building Permits: Several building permits were granted, subject to the usual conditions. Drainage: The Council decided to visit Palmergton Road to inspect, the drainage complained of by Mrs. • George, the members indicating that thev were tired of hearing of this business. The foreman reported that the drainage on BadenPowell Road was in a bad state, the outlet through which the water has been running for some years having become blocked up. The foreman was instructed to open up the outlet so as.to protect the roadway. THAMES. [FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Friday. The ordinary meeting of the Thames Borough Council was held last evening, the Mayor (Mr. A. Burns) presiding. The Waihi town clerk wrote pointing out the necessity of keeping up an active agitation on the question of the East Coast railway by persistent efforts to induce the Government to authorise the work. A resolution was passed urging upon the Government the necessity of the early start and completion of the work. It was considered advisable that a con)mittee, comprising delegates from the goldflelds local bodies, should be formed for the purpose of collecting statistics and information that would aid in forwarding the undertaking of the work. The return of gold purchased by the local bank for the month of November showed the number of ounces of melted gold as 1515 from the various mines within the borough and county. At the conclusion of the ordinary meeting n special meeting was held to consider the special loan for the erection of public abattoirs. The Mayor stated that the architect had furnished a preliminary estimate of cost, which made it necessary to enter into fresh arrangements, as the loan of £25! 0 arranged for would not be sufficient to carry out the work in a satisfactory manner and a further £500 would be required. The meeting decided to apply for a fresh loan of £3000, instead of the one already arranged for. WAIHI. [BT TELEGRAPH— CORRESPONDENT.] WAIHI, Friday. The monthly meeting of the Waihi Borough Council was held last evening, the Mayor (Mr. J New Hi) presiding. The district health officer reported three cases of scarlet fever and one of enteric fever within the borough. Notifications were received advising the purchase of 15,2910/, of gold within the borough during the past month The Under-Secretary for Public Works wrote intimating that the Council's resolution urging the construction of the East Coast railway, vii Waihi, bad been noted and would receive careful consideration. The clerk of the Ohinemuri County Council forwarded the usual demand for road maintenance, amounting to £209 3s 9d for November. Mr. Donaldson said he saw no reason why the borough should continue to pay away such large amounts for road maintenance outside the borough limit, and it was agreed that the Mayor and town clerk approach the County Council with a view to a more satis factory arrangement. Accounts totalling £2043 10s 5d were authorised for payment, and the financial statement submitted showed the district fund account debtor to the extent of £23,145 17s The engineer's report stated that the new reservoir had been satisfactorily completed and that th» storage was now double that of last season, giving an' ample water supply, despite an enormouslv-inc.reased consumption. The report also stated that the construction, of the public swimming-baths was sufficiently forward, as to enable the baths to be used during the holidays. The report of the Gasworks Committee gave the gas manufactured during November as 590,000 cubic feet, an increase of 29 per cent, over the corresponding period last year.