MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 68, 19 November 1915, Page 3

MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS.

AN INTERESTING CEREMONY. LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE The citizens of Stratford assembled en masse in front of the Municipal Buildings in Broadway yesterday afternoon to witness the ceremony of laying the foundation stone by His Worship the -Mayor (.Mr .]. W. Boon). The weather was all that could be desired, and residents of town and country attended in great numbers at the appointed time. The Municipal Hand under Bandmaster Marshall, played appropriate music before and after the ceremony. The Senior Cadets to the number of about two hundred, were on parade, and in their khaki uniforms made a pleasing sight. The Cadets were under .Lieutenant Gray. The school children were assembled in the playground and were marched to the site o' the new building accompanied by the school’s drum and fife band. The playing and marching of the boys was much appreciated.

Included in the crowd were members of the present Council and staff, and members of the Council of 1900. Members of the Stratford County Council and other local bodies were; also present. ■Apologies for unavoidable absence were received from Councillors Lawsou, Hancock and Young, and Captain McMillan, of the Home Defence Corps. His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. W. Boon), before performing the ceremony,, said he was pleased to see such a fine stamp of boys and girls before him. It* was not until late that it had been recognised that the boys and girls of New Zealand was of such a fine stamp. He said he had no doubt that some of the boys would persevere and receive high positions, and some would become Councillors. Others, who would not receive such high positions, were just as important at home and they should persevere in body and mind and raise the status of the country. He had conferred upon him the honor of laying the foundation stone, and it afforded him great pleasure to perform tlit ceremony. He was pleased to have associated with him the Councillors of flic present Council. He was sorry that a war-cloud was floating overhead, hut had it not been for the British Navy and the boys who were fighting for us,; they would not have been able to hold the ceremony that day. Many of our boys were returning wounded and fatigued, and again we had lost a number of them and we were righteously proud of them. We were proud hecauase they had made history, and that history would be handed down for generations. There was a coincidence concerning the laying ol the foundation stone. On May 15. fifteen years ago, the foundation of the old Municipal Buildings had .been laid by the then Mayor of the town. Mr F. J. Steuart. The Boer War was in progress at the time, and the papers of that date were full of the doings in South Africa.and the appeal of bushmen of Australia to be allowed to form a contingent and proceed to the seat of war, To-day the papers were reporting on the operations in the Great War raging at the present time. The Council at the time of laying the old stone, consisted of Messrs N. J’. King, H. N. Linrdet, JR/. MVR. Morison, G. Smart, R. B. Tatton,>iuul F, W. Wake. There were only six members fifteen years ago., whereas to-day there are nine. Associated with the Council were Mr T. H. Pel in (Town Clerk), Mr T. C. Fookes (Borough Solicitor), Messrs Climig ami Fairhall (engineers), and Mr J. W. Warren (architect). None of the members of - fifteen years ago were on the present Council— Messrs X. J. King and B. McK. Morison were sitting until last election—which went to show that the old men were, giving place to the younger generation. The young men were taking a great interest in Municipal matters. At the time the old foundation stone jwas laid, there was always a keen flight for the Mayoralty. Though he jwas not living in Stratford at the time he had heard it said that eggs were !never cheap on the night of the elecItion of Mayor and Councillors, and when meetings were being held., ((Laughter). The population of Stratjford in May, 1900, was 1850, ipul at (November, 1915, 3000, showing an increase of nearly 100 per cent. The roll then was made up of ratepayers or 'occupiers of houses, but at the present, owing to franchise, every person over 21 years of age or others who had been in the country for over 12 months were entitled to a vote. That in itself made a great difference to the number of burgesses on the rdll, who iu 1900 numbered 088; while at the present time the number stood at 1700. The system of rating had been revised; fifteen years ago rates were paid on the capital value, and now they were paid on the unimproved value. In 1900 the capital rateable value was £126,000, land in the present year £530.000. The [“Egmoiit Settler” and “Egmont Post” of fifteen years ago, which were found hinder the stone, showed that the Borough Council were raising a. £BOOO (water works loan. The County CouuCil of that date had an advertisement Calling for special rates. Mr 11. Din■gle, a citizen of Stratford, was actling chairman. A feature of the pap'ors was the great amount of war news |published ,and now it was practically 'the same —the papers were publishing [vivid accounts of the world war. Residents could see from the fact that before tln> Municipal Buildings were burnt down in October, 191 I, the Council was receiving a yearly revenue of £SB-1, and all the rents were paid:

ami the shops tenanted, that it Was a serious thing for the Borough. Mr W. P. Kirkwood, who was Mayor at the time, called a meeting, and alter considering the advisability ot erecting an Opera House in conjunction with the Municipal Buildings, the Council decided to call tenders for the work of a Municipal Building. Six months later tenders were received. The tenants who occupied the shops in the old building had leases of the premises lor seven years, and had four years to run. Negotiations were conducted, but two of the tenants refused to forfeit their leases. When the plans for the building were prepared, they had to consider the tenants, and the building was erected accordingly- The previous Council had gone to a great deal of pains and praise was due to them for the work done, and he was sure when the building was completed they would have nothing to be ashamed about. When the present Council came into office tenders were called for the work, and were received at the first meeting from contractors, whose figures for the work varied from £9710 to £12,315. As £9OOO was authorised by the ratepayers the Council decided not to raise 4 per cent, extra, as it had power to do, so by deleting the hot water system and sundries from the plans, the lowest tender was reduced by £947 10s. Three days later Mr .J. L. McMillan’s tender of £8792 10s was accepted. To this bad to be added £540, interest and sinking fund, £450 plans and supervision; £350 for advertising, cost of loan, solicitor’s fee, and clearing site; £650 for furniture, fittings and cork matting, making a total of £10,732 10s. The money available amounted to £10.750, loan £9OOO, insurance £1750, leaving a margin of only £l7 10s. The building would be the most substantial in tbe whole town. Ho said that the shops in the town, and especially east of Broadway, were not as substantial as lie would like to see, but it was due to their being railway leases, which were only granted from year to year, and under the circumstances the tenants could not he expected to erect new shops. The Municipal Buildings were of ferro concrete, which was practically fireproof, and this would he a great saving to the Council; The building would he lighted and heated with electricity, and the Council had been fortunate in. arranging with the Electric Light Co. to supply it and the tenants at the low price of 1 id per unit. The plans made provision for a commodious Council Chamber, large Public Library and .Reading-room, private offices tor the Mayor, Town Clerk and engineer. Two rooms had not yet been allotted. H had been suggested that 0,10 °t the rooms should ho allotted to the secretary of the District Patriotic Association. a f nd if the matter was brought before the Council lie was sure it would be granted. The front part of the building would lie comprised of four shops, two large and two small. One of the larger shops would he divided into two by a wooden partition. There would lie six rooms l ()l office suites. The Council hoped to receive £IOOO in rent, hut of that amount £6OO or £7OO would he required to pay interest-anti other expenses, so*'the profits would only amount to £3OO or £IOO. The speaker,- in conclusion, said life stone wfis of! greens tone hewn from a quarry in the South island, and it haff been polished naki. The Mayor then performed the cere-. monv of laying the stone, after which he declared the foundation stone ol the Municipal Buildings to ho well and truly laid. (Applause). Air J. B. Hiue, member for the district, during the course of a shore speech said that though the ol( l building had been destroyed by hro it was now counted as an unmixed blessing that it had occurred. The building was going to cost a great deal of money which the ratepayers would have to pay, and under the circumstances he would not hko to be a ratepayer ot Strut lord. (Lang iter.) The laying of the foundation stone was a mile stone as the boys and girls of to-day would read the names iucribed thereon iu years to dime. He hoped that as the country was in the.urgent need of recruits the Public Works Department would not employ men eligible lor the filing line; Any such men when they apply for work should Ije told that" they was plenty ot employment “fighting for their country. He hoped the suggestion would be considered by the Borough Councils, not only the * Stratford Borough Council, but those indifferent parts of New Zealand, and that they would take the lead. He was sorry that the names of the architect and contractor were not on the stone but in all probability the Council was considering ■ putting a special stone on the top ot the building lor their special benefit (laughter). In conclusion, Mr Hine said”stratfoi'd had made marked progress in the hist twenty years and he hoped that in twenty years to come he would still lie representing the district. He wished the Council and the citizens of Stratford a happ> time in the new Alunicipal Buildings. Mr Boon again addressed the crowd and said be wished to thank Air McAlilhm, the contractor, for presenting him with a silver trowel. Air

Boon said a clerk of works had not been required on the building owing to two trustworthy men, Messrs Healy and McMillan being in charge of the work. He thanked all present j and said ho hoped he would not see ( a foundation stone layed in a new Municipal Building in Stratford dur-' ing his time. (Applause.) j The stone, the size of which is 2ft x 15 inches, is a green stone hewn from the new quarry on the West Coast near Greymouth. It was prepared by Mr W. S. Short, of New Plymouth. It is stated that the distinction of having the first green stone foundation stone stands to the credit of Stratford. The stone contains the following incription:—“This stone was laid by His Worship the Mayor( Jos. W. Boon, Esq.J on November i ( J, 1915, Councillors A. J. Davey, E. Hancock, S. B . Hunter, T. Lawson, G. W Mills. E. B. Butherl'urd, A. D. Stanley, J. H. Thompson, W. H. H. Young, I*. Skoglund, town clerk.” Mr J. L, McMillan, of Wellington, the contractor, who has erected similar buildings in other parts of the North Island, states that so far the work is very satisfactory and when finished will be on© of the best of its kind in New Zealand. The building was designed by Mr J. Healy, architect, of Stratford. The silver trowel presented to the Mayor had the following words engraved thereon: —“Municipal Buildriug, Stratford v presented to Jos. W. Boon, Esq., Mayor, by J. L. McMillan, contractor, on the occasion of the laying the foundation stone, November 10, 1915.” After the ceremony, the stone was viewed by a considerable number of the residents.