THAMES BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Thames Star, Volume VI, Issue 1782, 18 September 1874, Page 2

THAMES BOROUGH COUNCIL.

The usually weekly meeting of the 1 Thames Borough Council was held list I night iv {he Council Chambers, Queen- I street, at 7 o'clock. There we're present 1 —His Worship the Mayor ; Crs. Mac- j nab, Bcnshaw, Anthony, Wilson, Butt, Ehren/ried and Bowc. -„..•• MINUTES. The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. \ LETTERS SKJfT. , j Copies of. letters seat by order of the J Council since iasfc meeting were then ' read. LETTEKS -KKCEIVED". A letter from Mr. Bcnney, on behalf of the Bright Smile Company, made application for permission to carry: tramway nnd trestles with flume attached j from the base of the mine along Alfred- j street. Permission was granted under j the conditions of the Trimways Act. ■ Oiu, from J. Hornc stated that the I work of completing the valuation return } was finished;-also, thai £20 had been > offered him as remuneration. He had been employed at 10s. per day. ; iThe writer referred to the arduous natfcfe of the work which he had done, and requested that the Council would be .good enough to alter the remuneration. Mr. An.thoiiy niorcd that Mr. Ilorno receive £5 extra; Mr. Ehrenfried seconded the motion. Considerable discussion arose. Mr. Macnab considered that the work should be done for the sum contracted for. Mr. JUenshaw would oppose it, not that he objected to Mr. Home receiving the sum, but because it was a bad precedent. Mr. Ehrenfried said they had originally got into a fix about the matter, and uule^g they had secured the services of a man such as Mr. Horhe, they might not have been able to get out of it so soon. Motion put and* carried. / One from Mr. Ijrown called the attention of the Council to the insecure con* dition of the public pound. Mr. Benshaw said the poundkeeper had shown him what was spoken of, and he (Cr. Benshaw) explained to the Council what was wanting. Befcrred to Foreman of Works. A letter was received from the Town Clerk of Clyde respecting the local revenue for municipalities; also one from the Town Clerk of Greymoutli who stated that, considering the impecunious position of the Province of Westland, th« Council of Grey mouth did not consider it desirable to co-operate. One wasreceived froniMr.Lessong making a sugg... stionas as to the water supply, and stating that from surveys made, he< thought the Parawaka Creek might be utilised. It was decided to thank Mr. Lessong for the information. This gave rise to a disscussion on the water works; an i Cr. Butt proposed and Cr. Anthony seconded that the Clei'k be instructed to write to the Superintendent asking him whether it was his intention to cai'ry out •" the resolution of the Council passed at last session. • FOBEMAN OF WOBKS. The report of the Foreman of Works was read. Cr. Anthony said, regarding the slip at the Waiotahi, thatit was no use putting up. shoot unless a retaining wall was put up; as it would only save a portion of the water from going into the premises in front of tho slip. The Mayor said a reference to this matter would appear in the report of the Works Committee; so it was allowed to stand over. "WORKS COMMUTES. The report of the Works Committed was read. With reference to the Waiotahi slip the Committee suggested that a drain be construted conditionally upon the occupant of the house putting, up a retaining wall. Tha report was adopted. ACCOUNTS. A number of accounts, certified correct by the Engineer, were passed forpaymeat« The pay sheet, amounting to £34, was also passed. GBEY-STBEET CULVBBT. Tender* were opened for construction of the beach culvert in Grey-street. There were only two tenders, namely, S. Place, £201 O.«; Alexander Scott, £2810 a. The tender of Mr. Place was accepted. WAIO-KABAKA EOAD. Mr. Benshaw said ~he had seen tke Engineer, who had raid that he would have the specifications and plans ready by Monday. Mr. Ehrenfried thought they should not advertise for tenders until the specification had been before the Council. It was decided that the plans could be inspected by-Councillors any time after Monday. Begarding the house of Mr. McGregor on the site of the Waio-Karaka road, a committee was appointed at last meeting to make arrangements with Mr. McGregor, the owner. Mr. Anthony $ aid the committee had decided that £30 would not be too much to give.McGrojjor for the removal. He moved that.in the event of the road being made, and on completion of the removol of his house, Mr. McGregor receive £30.' Carried. VALUATION.' The Clerk reported that the valuators -^ had corrected the valuation of the mines, which reduced the grand total from £62,560 to £52,494. The Ulerk read Clause 248 of the Municipal Corporations Act referring to the .striking of the roll. The Clerk also read a statement of the probable expenditure and income as follows:—Money required: To tramways, ;£700; footpaths, £200; maintenance of roads at present made, £1,800; formation of new roads, £4,000; bridges, culverts, and drains, £1,000; implements and tools, £40; fire brigades, £300; salaries, rent, &c., £700; legal expenses, £40; stationery, stamps, printing and advertising, £200 j election expenses., £75; sundry expenses, £15Q; total, £9,205.. Sama available; By Tararu Highway Board,

£400; Waiotahi Highway Board, £566 ; Kauwaerang* Highway Board, £173 ; old rates, £400: subscriptions in aid, £70; kerosene licenses, £36; rates, £52,494, being the rateable value of property as^essablo at Is in the £, £2,624; Provincial Government grant, £2,250; return from Parawai Board, £150; cart and omnibus licenses, £70; dog nuisance, £100; fees and fines, £200; Wm. Souter. £230; waterworks, £-"<—-; tolls, wharf dues, and foreshore, £ ; total, £7,269. Cr. Eensbaw said it would have been more convenient could they have struck the rate from the time the Council bad been erected; as it was there was tw«lve months' income only, as against fourteen months'expenditure, / BipowsiEirxs. A discussion arose as to the endowments: -'•Mr. Eowe said, with regard to the revenue derivable from the batteries on the foreshore, it was only £250 per year : there were only five allotments that could be calculated upon. The Mayor said that was not the point. They had a right to the foreshere whatever iWras worth. If th^y had to depend entire^ on the rates they could do nothing. Gr. ftowe said it was desirable to have endowments; but that the foreshore should be handed over to the city entirely he would protest against. The' foreshore was an endowment of the harbor, the proceeds o.f which should go to the malting of a harbor. He did not say that the city should not obtain a portion, but it was not right to look to the foreshore as tht endowment of the city to make roads ; and the Government would see that they did not get it. There were other lands that they should look to as their rightful revenue. He considered that the expenditure had been most unjustifiable, and referred particularly to the salaries granted. The Mayor: I suppose you object to a salary for the Mayor. Cr. I< owe : I do most decidedly. The Mayor said he might tell Cr. Howe that he had saved more than double the £150 awarded to him, as could be shown. Cr. Ehrenfried said Cr. Eowe had come there without any reasons and condemned the who'e action »f the Council. It was unfair and unreasonable, and should not be done. As to his allusions to the Mayor's salary, he looked upon it as narrow minded. He (Cr. Ehrenfried) positively knew that the Mayor had more than once saved the Council double and treble the' amount of the paltry sum which constituted his salary. Cr. Eowe had seized npon the subject of the Mayor's salary as a popular catch —as a peg upon which to hang his coat. Cr. Bowe: I do not seek for popularity. Cr. Ehrenfried: I did not say that. Cr. Eowe: Yes,you did, and that was uot my intention; but I still maintain that the Council should have ascertained the extent, of their Heans before incurring a liability of £2000, as the statement ■hows. Cr. Benshaw said there was £800 which might not be expended. It was only to show a necessity for striking a rate. Cr. Ehrenfried referred to the working of the Highway Boards, and the state of Eutting down culverts. What Mr. Eowe ad said was tantamount to saying that they were not fit to sit there as Councillors. Cr. Bowe denied drawing any such inference: but thought they should cut their coats according to their cloth. They htd reckoned on revenue which there was no hope of obtaining. Cr. Ehrenfried asked Cr. Eowe how they were to mend their ways. A discussion ensued. Tho Mayor said there was a statement of Mr. Bqwe's which he wished to correctC .tie perhaps was not aware that the Council had some time ago written to the General Government asking that a part of the foreshore should be set apart for a harbor endowment, and that the Council be constituted a Board. They had a right to the foreshore, and would have had it ere this had not Mr. Williamson risen in opposition to it. As to retrenchment—the cheese paring spoken of, it was the simplest thing in the world to curtail the expenses —they had only to say to persons who came,to ask for roads that they had no money. Despite of what had been said he considered that the Thames Municipality would be one of the most prosperous in the Colony two years hence. Cr. Eowe replied. Cr. Butt throught Cr. Eowe had changed his opinion. He recollected him., speaking strongly for a Municipality when the inducement for that Municipality was the obtaining the foreshore. Cr. Eenshaw moved that notice be given \n accordance with the Act that the Council intends to strike a rate of 5 per cent. on the annual value; and that the list of proposed expenditure and income submitted be adopted as the list o? this occasion. Cr. Anthony seconded. Cr. Butt suggested before the motion was put, it should be decided that no other rate besttuck. . Cr.menshaw would include in his motion that no other rata be struck for the ensuing year. . , , Cr. Eowe would ajrree with that, but considered the statement extravagant. He would vote for a single 5 per cent, rate ; he wished it to be understood that he would not recognise the expenditure of Is above and beyond their means. : r Cr. Anthony: The Waio-Karaka road is to be proceeded with jDext week. Perhaps we had. better stop-that. ' (Jr. Eowe said he would if they were to run into debt for it. ; _ Cr. Ehrenfried said with regard to Cr. Bowe's statement about salaries, that tlio salaries amounted to £650..; he ".would' ask apy Reasonable man to say whether' the work couldhaye^een done for £3s?. Jbr

the wholesale charge made by him (Cr. Eowe) the only thing he could lay hold cf was the advertising, for which there was no ground, and the salaries, for which aho there was no ground; and were they to stop working roads it would mii terfere with their prosperity. Cr. Macnab said the foreshore would not affect the matter. Fie hoped 5 per cent, would cover the expenditure. Cr. Ecnshew made some remarks on the statement which had been drawn, up. The motion was put and carried. BTJBGOBSS BOIL. . Cr. Eenshaw proposed that no burgess roll be made for the present year, as tho time being so short would necessarily incur a heavy expenditure. The Clerk; stated that to pet the roll ready, with extra clerical assistance, would cost £60. Cr. Anthony seconded the motion, which was carried. After some small matters had been disposed of the Council rose. **