SPREYDON DISTRICT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 446, 19 October 1869, Page 3

SPREYDON DISTRICT.

♦ , Meeting of Ratepayers. . A meeting of ratepayers in the Spreydon -district was held last evening in the Church of England schoolroom, Selwya street. Mr W. Wilson occupied the chair. There were about fifty of the ratepayers present. The Ciiaihman in opening the proceedings remarked that the object of the meeting wns to consider the advisability of dividing the Spreydon Road district into two, and creating the eastern portion of the present district into a separate one. He had no intention of throwing any odium on the Spreydon Road Board ; but he thought that the district was •quite large enough to admit of division, being about the third on the list with regard to rateable value in the province. He thought that the effect of the division would be beneficial to the residents in both parts of the district, by giving them more direct control over their own local affairs, and there was already a precedent in the northern portion •of the (province for adopting suchacourg> The district contained the largest area of arable land in the province, and the rate roll for 1868 shewed an assessed value of £18,903. Without pretending to go into the grievances of the promoters of the meeting, he might mention that in passing through one portion of the district daily during the last winter, foe had seen many of the houses completely surrounded by water, in some cases up to the level of the floor. Although the Road Board liad now cut a drain to obviate this, they had left the drain without any bridges or culverts by which the residents might obtain access to their dwellings with horses and carts. The portion of the district which the ' promoters of -the meeting wished to erect into a new district, was bounded on the east by ■Colombo street South, on the North by Christ■church, on the West by the Lincoln Road, as far as Craythorne's, and on the South by the Halswell district, and included, according to the rate roll for the present year, property assessed at the rateable value of £ 1 0, 1 30. He •concluded by calling upon Mr Packer to move the first resolution. Mr Packer moved, " That, in the opinion j ■of this meeting, it is desirable that the Sprey<lon Road District should be divided into two parts, in order that the ratepayers in each j part may have proper control over the rates levied," briefly Temarking that lie thought it Tery advisable the district should be divided, j Mr J. T. Belt, seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. Mr Hudson then proposed, " That a petition, praying that the Eastern portion of the Spreydon district be constituted a separate road district, to be called the Addington district, should be forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent, and that Messrs W. Wilson, J. T. Bell, B. Dewsbury, C. E. Briggs, G. Booth, and J. Hudson, be requested to act as a committee to prepare such petition, obtain signatures, and otherwise assist in attaining ithe said object." Mr G. Booth seconded the resolution, remarking that he believed it was always found very advantageous \to have direct local control over local afiVsirs, and he did not think, from his experience of the district, that this would prove any exception to the rule. The resolution was carried without a dissentient voice. Mr C. E. Briggs moved the next motion in the following terms ; — " That in the event of separation being obtained, it is the opinion of the meeting that the new district should at once be divided into wards." He said that he thought it would be obvious to the ratepayers present that this was a matter of the greatest importance, as in the event of ■their wishes being acceded to, and the new district Bot being so divided, they would be in Tery little better position than they were oow. Mr McDowall endorsed the remarks of ithe previous speaker, and seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. Mr J. T. Bell said that he had great pleasure in moving, " That the thanks of this meeting be presented to the Very Rev. the Dean, for the use of the room." Mr Packer seconded the motion, which was carried by acclamation. The Chairman mentioned that sundry email expenses had been incurred in getting up the meeting, for advertising, &c., and that a further expense would have to be gone to in obtaining the services of a person to canvass for signatures to the petition. A subscription was then made in the room, and the necessary amount obtained. Mr J. Hudson proposed a vote of thanks to Mr J. T. Bell, for the great interest he had taken in getting up the meeting. The motion was seconded and carried, and briefly acknowledged by Mr Bell. A vote of thanks to the chair terminated tfee proceedings, which were very orderly and unanimous throughout.

Xs' Is there any danger of the boa-con9trictor biting ?" asked a lady visitor at the Zoological Gardens. " Not the least, marra," replied the keeper; "he never bites— he swallows his wittles whole 1" A man was found dead near a railroad in New York, and as the coroner could not decide whether he had been drinking or not, one of the jurymen very innocently remarked, " a Wby don't jou smell his breath T"