CITY COUNCIL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17328, 30 May 1918, Page 8

CITY COUNCIL.

lho ordinary meeting of the Oily Council was held. Just evening, nn<l was attended by rho Mayor (Mr .1. J. Clark), and Crs TavcrMaedonaJd, Bradley, Green, Scol t, Douglas, Ilayward, Shaddock, Wilson, Smcock, Hancock, Thompson. Or Lunn'.s notice of motion lapsed in tho absence of tiie mover, the Mayor statIn -rT thut tho in-a-tCer could bo revived at any tmfp. 'J'he motion proposed that the term of electrical power contraete be' fixed at 0110 year, instead of not. less than three years nor more than live voars, as at present. Cr Douglas moved the adoption of tho general Committee's report. The report vrT> "A 1 a f<,rracr nssistant'at the baths, . • -who had lately returned Ii rDn J'n ac !' IV ? sorxnne ' h;wl agreed to conduct the .Turkish baths on the following terms No rental to be charged for the first six months; thereafter the / position to bo reviewed, and a rental, to Ik* agreed upon, sea, Jyli- Guyton to pay in the meantime tor all lighting ,heating, and other running coste, but to use the ijresent fittings and accessories without cha.rire.-Cr Tavemer moved as an amendment that the clause be referred back to the committee. lie objected to the control of the batlis- going out of the hands of the council. —Cr llancock seconded the amendment. —Cr Smcock stated tliat the whole baths showed to w 852 f ? r tho I M3riod of 12 months, 191MH.—After discussion, tho amendment was defeated, and, the report was adopted. Or Scott moved the adoption, of the Tramways Committee's report.-Cr Wilson moved as an amendment that tho whole of the clauses referring to the issue of tram passes be deleted. lie said he considered that tno present conditions fully covered the position.—Cr Hayward seconded the amendment. the amendment was carried- by seven votes to five, and the report .was then adopted. The reports of the Library, Public Works \\ ater, Reserves, and Electric rower Committees were adopted with little or no discussion. . IVAB ■ TAY. •J went into committee to consider the question of discontinuing' . the payments now being made to all unmarried employees of tho corporation on active service, and of reducing the payments being made to all married men. It was finally decided to hold the matter over for a month ANDERSON BAY QUARRY. The Public Works Committee submitted a supplementary report dealing with the proposal to purchase the quarry at Anderson Hay. Tho report read as follows Your committee reports having received from tho Anderson Bay Quarry Syndicate an offer to sell its quarry, crushing plant, machinery, and buildings. The matter has been carefully investigated, and valuations made of the syndicate's property and plant which / has been placed under offer. At the price quotedl at does not appear to the committee that the quarry could lie developed into a payable proposition for the council, and in these circumstances it is recommended that tho offer be declined." Mr Thomas Begg, on behalf of the Anderfon Bay, Quarry Syndicate, wrote again offering to f{ie council its quarry at Anderson Boy as a going concern. The discussion was taken in committee. Tho report was adopted. WATER RIGHTB AT WAIPOM. The following supplementary report was submitted by the Electric Power and 'Lighting Committee:—"Your committee has received an offer from Mr J. T. Johnson, miner, of Waipori, to sell to tho coilncil of his water rights at Waipori for a cash payment of £3000. plus a 12 years' free lease of them'to the seller when required by him. The matter has been very carefully investigated by the committee, and all the information collccted is set out in reports laid on tho table, which were presented to the committee by a sub-oommittee set up %r the purpose, and by the electrical engineer. These reports indicate that the rights offered by Mr Johnson are all in the Waipori watershed, and it is therefore_ most important that they should not be disposed of in any way that would likely result in their diversion wholly or in part to any other watershed. The only way. of ensuring against such a risk, the same time give tho department the opportunity of preventing loss of water during dry seasons, is for the council to purchase the rights itself, and accordingly the committee has taken the matter up with Mr Johnson, who has now advised that he is prepared to accept a . "M l3 )'" l ™' for the rights in question of £2000, subject to the following conditions: (a) Mr Johnson to bo granted the free use of the water within the Wai- . pori watershed for a term of five years, and thereafter to have the" option of leasing the rights for a further term of seven years at a rental of £110 per year, the lease to contain a provision gijing him the right to a further renewal at a rental to be fixed by arbitration in the prescribed way; (b) Mr Johnson to enter into a legal agreement to keep tho whole of the rights alive in terms of the Mining Act, and to so use the water as to ensure that it will continue to flow into the Waipori River; (c) all racce to be kept in good repair by Mr Johnson at his own cost, and he to permit the council to repair the races itself, of desired, and generally comply with such other conditions as v may bo prescribed by the city solicitors to safeguard the interests o the council. The committee considers the above offer a reasonable one, and recommends that it be accented. The matter was taken in committee. The report was adopted. BENDOFF TO SOLDIERS. Cr Bradley moved as follows" That this council desires to protest against tho unreasonable attitude of' the military authorities at the sendoff of the Fortysecond Reinforcements on the 21st \inst when loyal members of the council who have given of their best in the interest of recruiting, together with certain press representatives, were ordered and roughly bustled from the Dunediu Railway Station while others were not asked to produce a pass; that the town clerk be instructed to communicate with the military authorities in Wellington at once, and endeavour to procure a pass for each councillor that will admit him to the Dunedin Railway Station platform when troops are leaving or arriving m the city or on the occasion of any similar function." Cr Bradley said ho objected to being pushed or pulled about as ho was on the occasion of the recent send- ' off of troops. i Cr Hancock asked what 1 Or Biradley 1 meant by referring to "loyal" members ; of the council. Cr Bradley, said he was sure that there was not a mon. l loy;il set of men in the ' dominion or Australasia thaa those of Dun- 1 edin. No reflection was intended by the i wording of the motion. What he objected 1 to was being_ singled out when councillors s who were sitting roiuid the table that even- ' mi j wcro as ked to show passes. He 1 understood that only one pass was granted < —to the Mayor and his robe-holder. Ho 1 also objected to the pressman being ordered 1 off when his bona fides had been vouched 1 for by the Mayor and Cr Kellett. Surely pressmen should be allowed to go on the station to give a report of what took place when the men were going away. Cr Hayward seconded the motion. He considered that the method adopted in these send offs was bad. Some of the men who had been sent away had informed him that tlio present mayoral send offs were an infliction to them. To stand there, as they d.id, was against their wishes. He thought the men should fall in outside tho Railway Station, and that each man should be given a pass, to be handed to a relative or a friend to enable them to get on to the station. The men took no interest in the send offs, and sometimes turned their backs. Cr Sincock said -ho thought that, as representatives of the people, city councillors should be admitted to the railway platform with the Mayor. The town clerk should be instructed to write and ask that passes be issued .to the, Mayor and the councillors to tlx l civic fafe\vells. He understood thji.t some of the military officers who were busy on that day were doing tho work against their grain. The order had come from a certain quarter, and it vas time that democratic Now Zealand put its foot down and stopped such an autocratic move as had been brought into being. Cr Bradley said he did not move" the motion in his own interests. It was only fair that the representatives of the people should 170 allowed to go, 011 the platform, seeing that the people themselves were not allowed on. The motion was carried. -