CITY COUNCIL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11807, 9 August 1900, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

Last evening's meeting of tho City Council was attended by the Mayor (Mr R. Cliii-v-holm), Ors Denniston, Crust, Gore, Christopher, Haynes, Carroll, Park, p.nd Christie. An apology was received from Cr Scott, who was absent through illness. . MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE. The Mayor said, before proceeding with the ordinary business, it was only right'he should give'them an account of what had transpired in Wellington at tho Municipal Conference. Ho would not trouble them with a long memorandum. Mr C-!>i::-.ulin.then read as follows:

With respect to the Corporations Consolidation Bill, which has been considered by sticcesnive conferences since 1891, and which is now before Parliament, the conference urged that the Government should be requested to pass the measure this session, and received the assurance of the Premier that this would be dene.

Dairies.—An important proposal was carried, tho effect of which, if placed upon the Statute Book of the colony, will remove the inspection of dairies out of the hands of the local authorities, and plr.ee it-iri the hands of properly qualified Government inspectors.

Sanitation,—Another important proposal affecting the health of the community wan agreed to: that where, a penalty had been imposed for omission to execute any sanitary or other work, a council should be empowered, without prejudice to liability, to itself execute the wcrk and recover the cost.

Fire Brigades.—lt was also agreed that the Government aVid fire insurance companies shruld contribute to the cost of fire brigades within boroughs. 'Subsequently a motion approving of the Fire Brigades Bill, to be introduced into Parliament this session, was carried unanimously. This bill provides that one-third of the cost,is to be borne by Government, insuiance companies, and municipalities.

State Fire Insurance.—The conference rejected the proposal to urge upon the Government the necessity of establishing Stato fire insurance. . . .

Hospitals and Charitable Aid.—lt was also decided that the clauses regulating the conduct of hospitals and the administration of charitable aid should be excised from the bill.

Workmen's ' Dwellings.—The conference appioved of the following'clauses inserted'in the amended bill submitted for their consideration. The council may, on any land purchased, Required, or appropriated by it for the purpose, either within the borough or adjacent thereto, erect, for occupation by workers employed or resident in the borough, any buildings suitable foi workers' dwellings, or may purchase 01 otherwise acquire any buildings with or without lands for such purpose, and may convert any buildings into workers' dwellings, tnid may alter, enlarge, repair, and improve the same respectively with all requisite furniture, fittings, and.. conveniences. 2. The council shall manage and control every workers' dwelling that it so fits up, furnishes, and supplies as aforesaid.' 3. The council may make reasonable charges for> the tenancy or occupation of the workers' dwellings provided-under this part of the. act. 4. It shall be obligatory mi every council that establishes any worker's dwelling r.s a lodging house to make, by bylaws, sufficient provision for the management and control thereof by the council, and for the observance of proper-conduct therein; 5.-The acquiring1 of land, and erection of workers' dwellings for the purposes of this part of this act shall be deemed a- pxiblic work within the meaning -of " The -Public Works Act, 1894.'

As desired by the council when in "Wellington, I visited the destructor, and elicited the following information:— This destructor was erected about, 10 years) ago at a cost of £4373. '. The quantity of refuse put through last year was 24,290yd5, at a- cost of lOd per yard for working expenses only, or £1012 Is 8d per* annum. Interest and sinking fund on original coat at-5 per cent., £218 13s. Total annual'expenditure, £1230 14s Bd. Collecting refuse: Eleven carts are constantly employed'-in collecting refuse'from the various buildings in the city at intervals" varying fiom one to six times per week, at an estimated, cost of 2s per yard, or an annual cost of £2429. It will thus be seen that to .effectually dispose of tho refuse of the City of Wellington an annual sum. of £3659 14s- 8d is expended. To dispose-of the refuse in the City oE Dunedin costs about £500. I do not say that our method in so effectual, but so long ns we have reserves like the Southern Oval-re-quiring raising, and which form a suitable.tip for tho material, at the same time enhnnciug the value of the. property, a."d making it suitable! for the purpose for which it was originally intended at less than-a'fifth of the cost that it would require to put the material through a dostrn-tor, the council is acting wisely in not incurring the larger expenditme. The next few weeks, when the planting and trimmingof that portion of the Oval which has' been raised to the permanent level is finished, .will ronvinefi tha most incredulous that the method being adopted is the best ir the interests of the city; Thßt Dunedin is far behind Ohristohurch and Wellington in the matter of disposing of their sewago goes without saying t .and it is earnestly;to be hoped that the "Drainage Bill to be presented to, TParliiirnont will have a, successful passh?e' through both Houses, and enable Dunedin to keep pacn with other cities in this' most necessary sanitary improvement. The most picturesque ■ and attractive city 'in the co'ony must not- continue to be the niost insanitary. The question of .the TjuThoso of. the trams and the introduction of electricity asthe motive power is without doubt the most important question that has ever come before this council. It involves not only the question of getting a thoroughly up-to-date tram service, but if the water rights sought by the council, tire secured an the -means, of generating eleo tmuty, the power thus acquired will, in addition to providing' the necessary traction for tramway service, be more than sufficient when sold ns motive power, even at a lower price than it commands anywhere else, to cover the working "expends' of, nur train service, so that.the r>U"chfi"e of the t^ams by the city and the introduction of. n thoroughly equipped electric service will add. nothinc to the rates, but wi'l provide a revenue that I'venture to think will exceed the mnjit sanguine anticipation of even those most faypurably impressed with, this scheme. , .. V-/ -. * ( Referring genp.Tftl'Jy' to what one sees in the way of municipal works in other centres, I am nob quite pure that we can learn very much. AVith the limited, rnenns nt orn-VHsposal for street formation, footpaths, kerbing, . channelling, etc.; ,with. Hie ~methods now being adopted. .Duuedin -will compare most favourably with any city in the colony. ■ • . •

Or Gore a^ked if he. understood from the memorandum read ... that tho hospital ■ and charitable, aid had been recommended, .to be struck out of tho bill. -

The Mayor replied that that was affirmed unn'tiitnously.' ' . ' ' Or Gore asked would the Government adopt that recommendation.

The Mayor answered that tho Premier had in 'a general, way said that the Government would accept the. recommendations of the conference. • ,

Gr Gore said he was very glad to hear it. It waa tho blemish of the bill that it threw hospital and charitable aid upon municipal bodies.

Or Denniston, while complimenting the mayor upon his report >of the proceedings of the conference at Wellington, remarked that the comparison between the cost of cleansing "Wellington nnd Dunedin was hardly fair, seeing that Wellington had no separate suburbs. To make a correct comparison, the co3t of cleansing" the suburbs of Dunedin. should be added "to thfe cost incurred by the city proper. The Mayor, in reply, said he had not dealt with the suburbs at all. If one wanted to make a comparison on a population basis, the population of Wellington was about the same as Dunedin. •

AN EXPRESSION OF SYMPATHY WITH I1E1! . . . MAJESTY.

The Mayor said, before proceeding with the regular business, 'bethought they would agree with him that they should express their sympathy with her Majesty Queen Victoria at the bereavement she'had'met with. He would move—"That a committee consisting of himself and the town clerk be empowered to draft a resolution, to bo minuted, and forwarded to the Premier, and on,to the Governor, to bo sent to the.Secretary of State." Or Carroll seconded the resolution. He thought it was a most proper tiling, and tho least tho most southern portion of her Majesty's dominions could do. The motion was carried. COEUESVONDENOE.

Mr H. O. Campbell, secretary of the Agricultural Hall Company, wrote asking the council to put' down a gravel crossing from Scoular's corner to the Education Board s corner, and called attention to the necessity of placing more lamps in Jetty street.—Referred to the Works? Committee to act. Tho Clerk of the St. Kilda Borough Council wrote asking for n reduction on their water account... A great quantity of the water had been used in scouring out the pipes.—Referred to the Water Committee to report. Mr Fitzhardinge Jones wrote applying tor permission to construct a drain from, the mulciings known as University terrace, Castle street, to the Water of Loilh.-Referred to the \\ orks Committee to report Mr J. H. Hosking wrote applying lo have a-drain across the Maori road extended so that he might connect with it.-Referred to the Works Committee to act. The application of James Couston for permission to place a "lobe lantern ni front of new premises for Messrs Kilroy and Sutherland was referred to the Works Committee to act. Rr.roKTS. On the adoption of the Works Committee's report, being moved Cr Christopher expressed pleasure at the steam roller being put in repair again—Or Park thought that before "cUinc the roller put in order it would be wise if the council were to find another quarry, so that thp metal would not be crushed into mud as it had boon. He hoped they would find a quarry where good Milestone metal was procurable. He also referred to the fact that works passed by . the committee to bo done were not by any.moans always carried out, and he would like to know who was responsible —the Works Committee or the onI o-hicer.—Cr Haynes: Mention one.—-Cr Par];;

Well, there is the lirinal down at the wharf. It is a perfect farce to pass these works. They were not done.—The Mayor said the engineer was responsible. - With regard to the one part!f:.i!ar work referred to, he had called the attention of the surveyor to the matter as soon, as, it was pnesed, and he had received a prolrnse that the .work would be attended to. He thought the time had arrived when it would be attended to. —The report was adopted.

The Water, Gas, Reserves, and Finance Committees' reports were adopted. When the General Committee's report wal read .

Cr Park said it seemed strange that the committee only enforced tho attendance of firemen at the Princess Theatre and the Aiham.bni Theatre, when such attendance was equally necessary at such large places of entertainment as the Agricultural Hall and the Garrison Hall He suggested that the council enforce the attendance of firemen at these hall?. Cr Park also referred to the facilities' of egress and ingress at the Agricultural-Hall, which, he said, wore simply scandalous. They should not only be improved, but better attendance should also be provided.

Cr Denniston said that the reason why the committee recommended the attendance of firemen at the theatres was, he presumed, on. account of their having stages and scenery. This danger was not present in respect of tlw halls.

The Mayor said that Cr Park had made n suggestion that the halls referred to should also be required to have the attendance of firemen.

Cr Haynes explained that the only way in which the matter came before the cominittes was through the Alhambra Theatre requesting to be exempted.

The clerk was requested to bring the matter before the committee when dealing-with the licenses to those halls, in order that it might consider whether it is desirable to make it compulsory for firemen to be in attendance at these hulls.

Cr Christopher referred to the matter of the granting of a driver's license to one Kirk, and pointed out that the man. had to payseverely for an offence.—Tho Mayor thought that.if the facts had been before Cr Christor pher he would not have mentioned the matter at all. There were several previous convictions against the man, and tho last license had boen granted with a caution.—The report was adopted. WATER SUPPLY.

Cr Carroll moved, and Cr Park seconded— "That, pursuant to 'The Municipal Corporations Act, 1856,' public notice be given by the council of the City of Dunedin that it is proposed to borrow, by way of special loan, the undermentioned sum for the purpose o£ extending the existing waterworks in manner hereinafter mentioned: (a) The particular works to be undertaken are (1) an extension of the existing waterworks belonging to the corporation of the City of Dunedin by taking and intercepting the Water of Leith and its sources, and all or any of its tributaries, and all such of the sources; and tributaries of the. *Waitati as may be found requisite; constructing a race, or races, laying pipes, and constructing such dama, reservoir, appliances, and other works as may be found necessary to make such tributaries and water available as a water supply for the City of Dunedin, including the necessary main pipes and appliances required for distributing the same; and the taking or purchasing of such land aa may be found necessary or desirable for. carrying out or completing the aforesaid work.----(2) A further extension of Jhe existing waterworks by laying down filter beds to purify; the water supplied from Ro3s Creek reservoirand the Silver'stream reservoir; and- (3) a further addition to the taid waterworks byproviding additional storage of water in connection with the Silverstream supply, (b) The eurr. proposed to be borrowed for. tha aforesaid works is £65,000. (c) The security for the said loan, in addition to the-general indebtedness of the City of Dunedin, shall be tho whole of the waterworks so to be constructed for taking and makiag available the "Water of Leith, together with the existing waterworks belonging to tho City of Dunedin. subject, in the latter ease, to charges in respect of existing loans." ■ ■-' :

Cr Carroll, in moving the motion, said that the position had improved considerably since the fYrst steps were taken lo.plnce the matter before the council and the ratepayers. So far as tho preliminary surveys were concerned, it had sines been ascertained that it would not be necessary to take so 'much land, and this, together with other curtailments, would result in a saving of £15,000; T.I Was intended to utilise this money in erecting a reservoir at Whare Flat, and establishing filter, beds' at the two - reservoirs. This matter had been most carefully considered by the committee, and he trusted tho ratepayers would seti ft from a different point than they did before. Cr Gore said that the proposal was.a little improvea, inasmuch as it was intended to construct a reservoir on tho Silverstream. Still, he, would oppose it, although' he'knew" he would stand alone. There' were' statements made at last meeting which were not correct. He would take another'opportunity of replying to them. Meantime he would like-to. know if such a motion could be brought forward without notice.

Cr Park said it was resolved at last meet ing to bring it forward. ■ . The Mayor observed that the solicitors re commended it to.be brought up that night"-

Cr Gore said he did not intend to take up the council's 'time, but he did not want the council to spend a lot of money, and then some citizen, to come forward and render the matter void through an informality.

Cr Haynes said the difficulty could be got over by suspending the standing orders. The standing orders were suspended; and Tho motion then being put, was- carried., Cr Gore alone voting against it. TENDEKS. ' • The following tenders wore received and referred to the Works Committee: — '~ • For hydraulic rams for the gasworks—J. W. Faulkner and Co., £286 13b 4d; A. and T. Burt, £675 10s {fromHhe difference., in the prices it is assumed that some misapprehension exists). —Referred to tho Gas Committee. . ".

Six-inch pJDe sewer in Leith street —George Mathieson, £77 18s 9d.; D. M'lntyre,. £-6 7* 6cl per chain.—Referred to the Works Com mittee. '■•■.-. "".•.