MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 8784, 14 July 1914, Page 7

MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE

OPENS TO-DAY REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES. One hundred and five borough couneis and forty-six town district* are now affiliated to the Municipal Association, wh'fh will onen its thirteenth conicien.ee at the Town Hall this morning. About 130 delegates are expected to attend. His Excellency tho Governor will officiallv open the conference a» 1U o’clock,' and at t l'-m. tho delegates will bo entertained at luncheon iy the Wellington City Council, in tho concert chamber. His Excellency_ the Governor and the 1 Prime Minister .(Right Hon. IV. F. Massey) will bo |present, and it is expected that the .members of tins Cabinet .liul the i at liamentary representatives of the city land, suburban electorates will also bo inble to accept tho invitations scut to them. , There are on the mam order paper ill 6 remits, to which have .been addled 39 on a supplementary list- I his work will occupy tho delegates until nearly tiro end of tho week. Tho Mayor of Wellington (Mr J. 1 . Luke), as president of the association, will lay before the conference a. report upon tho business transacted by the executive and' tho legislative committees. This included tho revision ot. the association’s rules, as directed by ithe last conference. These rules, as revised, will bo laid before the, present conference for adoption or amendment. The principal alteration concerns the question, which has been raised at several conferences, as to tho voting power of a delegate representing several local authorities. The committee recommends that such ft delegate have one vote only. The rules had non been altered to any considerable extent since the formation of tho association, and advantage has been taken of the present revision to recast the rules as a whole, grouping them under appropriate headings. The principal business of the committees has, however, been in watching tho legislation of 1913 (states tho report). Among other bills the com mittees have sent recommendations to the- Government concerning tho Plumbers’ Registration Bill, and tho Shops and Offices, Rating, Local Elections, Municipal Corporations, Slaughtering and Inspection, Noxious Weeds, Vain ation of Land, Institute of Architects; Auctioneers, Workers’ Dwellings, and Local Bodies’ Loans Acts, while tho secretary has been in close touch with the Ministers in charge of any hills in wlnch the recommendations of the association could conveniently bo inserted, and appeared before the Statutes Revision and other committees to support the association’s recommendations. A very considerable number of tho association's resolutions passed at the last and at- previous conferences wero last session made law. The committees . have considered Mr Lys nark! debenture, scheme, and tho subject of proportional representation, both of.which subjects they have referred to the conference. The subject of superannuation has also been considered, and tho committee will submit a report thereon to tho conference'.

A balance-sheet covering the two financial years of the association that have elapsed since tho last conference will bo laid before tho meeting. Tho balance-sheet shows: that the assets exceed the liabilities by ,£SO 10s sd. Tho receipts from subscriptions have risen from £307 13s in 1910-1911 to £391 13s in 1913-11, and it is expected that this source of income will suffice to moot all expenses during the next Two years, without having recourse to the £75 which has boon on deposit for' several years. .Outstanding subscriptions aro shown in tho balance-sheet as amounting to £24 IGs 6d, of which £5 5s has since been received. At the time of writing this report tho cash at bank, shown'as £27 13s lid in tho balance-sheet, amounts to over £250, and the item £47 ss, shown as a liability, has since been paid.