THE NEW MUNICIPAL OFFICES.

Colonist, Volume XLVI, Issue 10708, 4 May 1903, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE NEW MUNICIPAL OFFICES.

CEREMONY OF LAYING THE i FOUNDATION STONE. g The ceremony of laying thefounda- j tion stone of the new Municipal offices was performed at four o'clock on Wednesday, April 15, by the Mayor (Mr H. llaigent), in. the presence of a considerable assemblage of spec- ' Rain began to fall heavily just as Mr Baigent commenced to speak, and had the effect of shortening the < proceedings, as- well as lessening the t attendance. Among those present j were the Mayoress, the members of { the City Council, and officers, the \ Bishop of Nelson, Judge Robinson, j iand other prominent citizens. ; Mr Baigent in his address referred to the occasion as a most important < one, one that had not occurred pre- , viously in the history of the place, ; and as far as one could see not likely j to occur again for at .least hair a . century. Continuing, he said that , he would like to traverse the history of the building, and stato the reasons that had prompted the Council to take steps to erect the new building. As was well known, the old building was originally a newspaper office, occupied by the ' ' Nelson Examiner. ' ' In 1875 the City Council was occupying the building as offices, and the Mayor determined to try and buy the" building, and the owner put a price of £875 upon it. There was a good deal of objection raised at the time, in fact history was now repeating itself, and .the objections now; made were much the same as those • made at that time. A public meeting was called in protest, the late Mr J. R. Dodson occupying the chair. The late Mr H. J. L. j Augarde in a lengthy speech opposed the proposed purchase, and moved that application be made to the Superintendent of the Province for accommodation in the Government Buildings. The late Mr Field seconded the proposition, and protested against the purchase of a " rotten wooden building, put up, over twenty years ago," saying that j it was not for such a purpose that , the ratepayers paid rates. The pur-j chase was completed, and the City Council had for twenty-seven and a half years continued to ocupy premises then condemned as rotten. For a great many years past Mayors and C>uncils had recognised the need of i new buildings, and seven or eight years ago Mr Trask proposed to borrow £2,000 to crest a new buildings, but this scheme was never brought before the public. A little later." in May, 1597, the Counil referred to a Special Committee a proposal to raise £2,500 for the purpose, and the Special Committee having reported, it was resolved to take steps to raise a speial loan of £3,000 to give effect to the scheme. A meeting of objection was held, and the matter was never pushed further. Since then on many occasions the Council had considered the matter of repairs and alterations. Competitive designs for a new building were invited, and that of Mr Charlesworth was found best, but the magnitude of that proposal, put forward in October, 1901, no doubt led to its being rejected by the .ratepayers. It was imperative that something should be dooe, and a Committee was set up to examine the old buildings, it being proposed to spend £15 on repairs However, that Committee found, the condition of the building so bad that it would not recommend the Council to spend a single penny on the building. Since that time they were all aware of what had taken place. It was wel, and he could not keep people standing in the rain, but he would like to emphasise the fact that the offices were so insanitary that the Council officers had to take their work into the Council Chamber for the purpose of getting a little fresh air. In his opinion the Council acted risrhtly iv increasing the overdraft — when it found it had the power to do so — by so small a sum as £3,000 to erect new buildings. Mr Henderson, the City Surveyor, was tied down to £3.000 as the sum on which he was j to work in preparing plans. In view of the accommodation required there was the greatest difficulty in designing a building that would have any appearance, and yet keep within the estimate, and he thought it would be admitted that Mr Henderson had done well under the circumstances. The Council was, of course, much disappointed to find that tenders exceeded the estimate, but it was considered that the work required could not be obtained more cheaply, and it was decided to increase the overdraft by a further £500. For this the Council had been attacked, and the local Press had given them harsh treatment, in fact, it was almost a wonder they had hot been indicted and brought before the Court. He was sure that the people would recognise that the right thing had been j done, and that no one desired to see! the Council officers working in insanitary rooms. There would also be a gain to those who had business to do at the Council offices in added convenience. The contract price for the new building was £3,563, and the annual interest charge would be £180, or sixpence farthing to each of the seven thousand inhabitants, or three shillings and three farthings to each of the eleven hundred ratepayers. He asked would anyone grudge so small a sum to see the officers in comfortable offices, and away from the ramshackle old building that was almost tumbling down of itself. He had intended to say a lot more, but he could not ask people to remain in the wet, and he would proceed to lay the foundation stone. The foundation, stone, a block of Timaru stone, bearing the inscription—"This stone was laid by H. Baigent, Esq., J.P., Mayor, April 15th, 1903," was then laid, the contractor Mr J. A. Stringer presenting the Mayor with a silver trowel and the mallet used in the ceremony. The Mayor having declared the stone to be truly laid, three cheers were given. Mr Gully, Town Clerk, read the particulars of the documents and articles contained in the bottle which was placed beneath the stone, these being as follows: — Copy of "Colonist" of 15th April. 1903; copy of "Evening Mail" of 14th April, 1903; copy of City Council calendar; one each of current coin from a halfpenny to a soveregn (crown piece excepted), and the following document : "City of Nelson. "This building was erected by the Nelson City Council for use as Municipal Offices and Council Chamber. The building was designed by Mr John Henderson, C.E., M.S.E., City Surveyor, and the contractor for carrying out the work was Mr John S. Stringer, the contract price being £3,563. The foundation stone was laid on the 15th day of April, 1903, by Henry Baigent, Esquire, Mayor. "•Mayor and Councilors— Mayor : Henry Baigent, Esquire. Councilors : William , Ake'rsten, Jesse Piper, Charles JohD Harley, Frederick William Fairey, James Hudson, M.8., James Boon, John C. Mercer, Thomas Fathers, John A. Orsrnan, Edward Webley, Martin Lightband, Thomas Petti t. Office staff— Town Clerk and Treasurer, H. V. Gully. City Surveyor^: John Henderson, C.E., M.S.E. £ Assistant Clerk, G. A. Edmonds. Collector of- Rates, eto, \ William Fletfe, Junior Clerk: Jamil Walks r. Jaspsoto? of Nuis-

mcoa: James Graham. Inspector of iluildtngs : George C. Gilbert. Regis ;rar of Dogs : James I. Garrett. danger: J. Hodgson. Office boy : H. 3eldon. Clerk of Works: Samuel Hooker. Foreman of Gasworks: lames Hart. "(Signed) H. Batgrnt, Mayor. "11. V. G.illy, "Town Clerk. 'City Council Office, "Nelson, 15th April, 1903." The Mayor invited any of the Councilors or citizens who might lesire to do so to address the gathering, but the invitation" was not accepted, and the function was brought to an end, having occupied rather less than half an hour. Municipal, Ojfficks Foundation Stone.— ln t>ur report of the laying of the foundation stone of the new Municipal offices, ' we omitted to mention that the stone was prepared and inscribed by Mr G. M. Simpson, monumental mason.