CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 712, 3 September 1870, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS.

_* A public meeting, convened by his Worship the Mayor, in accordance with a requisition presented to him, was held in the Town Ha 11 at 7 o'clock last evening, to hear the views of the respective candidates for civic honours on municipal matters generally. The attendance at the commencement was not so large as on former occasions of a eimilar nature, but in a short time the Hall was crowded. His Worship the Mayor occupied the chair. The Chairman read the requisition calling the meeting. He had called the meeting for so early an hour, because there were a great many speakers to como forward to address them. Christchurch had recently been visited by an earthquake, and he had no doubt that but for its occurrence there would not have been so many empty chairs in tbe hall. He might tell them that there was no cause for alarm. Yesterday morning, he had caused a careful survey to be made of the building, and he could assure them that there was no fear of its falling down about their ears. Before sitting down, he begged to thank the electors for the honour they had done him, and the great consideration he had received a* their hands whilst, during a period of nearly six years, he had the honour of representing them in the City Council. (Applause). He would now call on Mr T. D. Jones to address the meeting. Mr Jones said he believed in the necessity of candidates coming forward to explain their views to the electors. He had great pleasure in doing so, and he hoped that before he concluded, those present would consider him a fit and proper person to hold a seat in the City Council. For a number of years past, the assessment had been far higher than it should have been. He considered that the system of doing permanent works (for instance stone-channelling and stone cnlverts, and drainage) should be altered, and that they should be accomplished by means of borrowed capital. With regard to the Ferry Road drain, he thought that the nuisance should be abated, and that Christchurch should bear a prrtiou of the expense. He didn't believe in

throwing dirty water in any man's door. If the drainage of the city were to be accomplished out of rates, years and years would «lapse before it could be done. He considered that they were rather dilatory in the establishment of a market. In England, corporations derived a large income from t_ie letting of markets or places of sale, and he flaw no reason why tbe same system should not be adopted here. Hitherto he had criticised the action of the City Council in vari- 1 ous ways, because he differed with the action taken by tbat body on divers matters ; at tbe same time he was ready to allow that the City Council had effected a great deal of good in the city. If the ratepayers elected him, he would do all in his power to increase their comfort and .the prosperity of the city. (Applause). Mr Frederick Hobbs next addressed the meeting. He said it might perhaps appear to some of , them a piece of presumption on his part in coming before them as a candidate for civic honours. To those who might think so, he begged simply to state that several gentlemen were of opinion that he night be of use as a public servant, and therefore requested him to allow himßelf to be nominated. His reply was that he would wait and see if some better man came forward to fill the vacancy caused by tho much regretted retirement of their worthy Mayor ; but heing of opinion that a better man than himself had not come forward, he was there to address them. He would now proceed to touch on the points mentioned in his address. He promised that, if elected, he would give every attention to matters of necessity and economy. He meant by this, simply works which were strictly necessary, such as forming and metalling streets and footpaths, drains to carry off surface water ; in fact, all works of that class. He was decidedly opposed to taxing the public for works purely ornamental. He considered it was only when a country was rich and flourishing that luxuries of any kind should be bad at the ratepayers' expense, certainly not in our present state of stagnation. He should now, with their permission, proceed to shew tbem why he thought a less rate than ls in the £ was enough for them to pay in the present depressed state of business, and more than was actually needed to carry on the business of the Council for 1870, and as tbis would take him somewhat into the dry details of figures, he must crave their indulgence in the meanwhile. He found on perusing the abstract of receipts and expenditure for 1869, that the nett annual income of the Council was about £5000, made up by rates, rents, licenses, &c, and that tbe actual necessary, or ordinary expenditure waß £2500, consisting of costs of lighting the city, fire prevention, scavengering, clearing water courses, printing, advertising, and other incidental expenses, leaving a balance of £2500 to be expended on public works. The position of the Council at the commencement of the present financial year was thus: they had a balance of £1000 of assets over liabilities; £600, stock in hand, besides their working plant, many items of which were bought last year. If they added £2500 to £1000 balance assets, and allow the £600 stock as cash, it showed the Council had about £4000 to spend tbis year on any new public works. Now, however desirable it might be to continue improving the city, the state of business was and is such that the Council should have taken it into consideration, and only rated them at 6d in the pound, or, at the very most, ■9d. At 6d they would have had £2000 to spend, and at 9d, £3000. Either of these sums would have gone a long way to keep streets in repair, and to form and metal a few new ones. And now, what were they going to do in 1871 ? Were they going to collapse, or was a better time coming ? If the latter, he had a scheme to propose to them how to spend a shilling rate. They must all he well aware of the notorious fact that half the sickness in Christchurch tbis winter had been occasioned by a want of some large and general system of sewerage for the city. He need not go over the old ground, and tell them what every medical man in Christchurch knew — that decayed animal and vegetable matter produced malaria, which was the cause of an endless amount of complaints, often culminating in fever of the worst description. He presumed they were all aware of it. Were they then to go on generating disease for want of a means to carry off this obnoxious matter, or -had the time come when they should make a strenuous effort to look the difficulty boldly in the face and grapple with the drainage question, and commence some system of arterial drainage. He thought the time had come, if they neglected it any longer, they should only be adding each year to the list of deaths caused by their own apathy in not dealing at once with it. He found, on perusing the Act, that the City Council had power to borrow an amount of five times the ordinary rates for any permanent public work, the sum so borrowed to be paid off in 15 years. Now, as the rateß were £4000 per annum, this must give tbem the power to borrow £20,000. His scheme was this : that they should go to the General Government and ask them to lend them the £20,000 out of the _£!,< 00,000 loan guaranteed by the Imperial Government, and which was to be had at 3£ per cent, and give them in return 400 £50 debentures for the same ; and he had no doubt that if they went the right way to work they should get it. They were a great political power in New Zealand, and if they pledged their two new members when they elected them, he felt certain they would obtain it. Now, the interest on £20,000, at 3J per cent, was £700 per annum ; and the sinking fund, to pay off in 15 years, about £1300 per annum. With the £1300 per annum, he would make arrangements with the General Government to sell us 26 of the debentures annually, and at the same time reduce the interest by £45 10s each year until the debt was extinguished. And now he had to show them that the present rate oi ls in the £ was quite sufficient to Carry on the ordinsry exrcrstp, ard find in'trest and

sinking fund on loan ; it would have to be divided. A special rate of 6d in the £ would bring in £2000 for interest and sinking fund, and an ordinary rate of 6d, with the amount of rents &c. the Council had to receive, would provide sufficient for ordinary expenditure ; and if one was collected at a period of six months after the other, it would be much more convenient for all parties. (Hear, hear). He was not prepared to say how far £20,000 would go towards draining Christchurch, but if it were not sufficient, he believed it to be quite possible to get the Municipal Council Act altered to extend the time for paying off from 15 to 30 years, and they would be able to borrow £40,000 on the same terms, and payable in the same way. They were nowcalled upon to decide whether they thought it time to cope with the drainage question, or if they were satisfied with the present system of spending their rates. He would warn them to consider well before they deferred the sewage question any longer, as it was a matter of life and death to many in this community. It would perhaps be urged thafc by taking 6d in the £ for interest and sinking fund he left nothing to be expended for other purposes. In reply he would say that they had a balance of £500 at least, and should any of the present expenses admit of being curtailed, they would then have £1000, and with this they must be content till they could afford to spend Is 6d in tha £ which he was afraid would be afc a very distant date. He was not in a position to say what system of drainage would be best adapted to Christchurch, but among the many reports on the subject the Council had, and the one recently brought under notice as being adopted at the town of Haddington in Scotland, he thought it quite possible to come to a right decision. He now wished to make a few remarks on the subject of by-laws. He feared tbe term was rather distasteful to them just now, and he feared it would continue to be so unless some gentlemen used a little more discretion in attempting to create by-laws which were quite uncalled for. He found the Council had immense power under the Act ; in fact, enough to rule the city of London, but because they had those powers was no reason why they should use them. The Act simply said they " may," but not that they " must." If they return him he would be no party to introduce or support such by-laws, for instance, as the closing of places of amusements, or compelling them all to carry lamp 3, and what was more, be would do his best to get repealed any at present existing that were in the least obnoxious or arbitrary. There was an eyesore to every business man in Christchurch he should like to see removed : he meant the curve in Cathedral Square. (Hear, hear.) They often spoke of things being done more by luck than by wit, and this was one of them. They all knew '• Luck " made it so, and they had better set their wits to work to alter it. He believed the Council had power under clause 267 in tbe Act to alter or divert any road in the city, this one amongst them. He would certainly do his best to have it altered. He was of opinion that it was quite possible to create a considerable income by a judicious use of the Market square, and if elected he would give the subject his best attention. Before sitting down, he would tell those gentlemen living in the outlying, neglected streets of the city that he should make it his business to see their wants attended to before another winter set in. (Hear, hear.) He would thank them for having accorded him so patient a hearing, and should be most happy to answer any questions they might put to him. (Applause.) In reply to Mr John King, Mr Hobbs said he was in favour of borrowing money for the necessary improvements of the city. Mr Hugh Bennetts said thafc in coming foward to solicit their favour for civic honours, he could not fall back on any past career in the City Council like Mr Jameson. He could bring before them a little colonial experience. He had watched municipal proceedings in Christchurch from the commencement, and was tenth on the list when nine members were elected. He would not be a drone to sleep, or a wasp to sting, but a bee to work, if he was elected on tbis occasion. He need not detain them by referring to the necessity for draining the city. Any place with a large population and without underground drainage was not fit to live in. He did not come forward with any clap-trap to gain their favour. If they con sidered tbat he would be of any use to them in the City Council, they could elect ; if they did not consider him worthy of a seat, they could do the other thing. A day or two ago, a doctor had told him that death or drainage was staring Christchurch in the face. If elected he should take care that every man had a clear path to his door before a single shilling was spent in decorations. (Hear, hear.) He was of opinion that a live stock market at a convenient distance from the city was necessary. In Melbourne, £7000 a-year was derived from this source of income. It was also necessary that a market for dairy produce, &c, should be established at as near the centre of the city as possible. He thought that a free public library should also be established in Christchurch. If elected, he should do bis best to squash some of the by-laws wlrch had been passed by the City Council, and which pressed unnecessarily on the personal rights and liberties of the people. (Hear, hear.) If he could not boast of classic eloquence, he could at least assert that he was in earnest, and that was a great thing. If they did not place him at the top of the poll, he trusted that he would be second in the list. (Applause.) Mr Aaron Ayers next addressed the meeting. He said that tbe greatest praise was due to those gentlemen who had been hitherto, and were now, in the City Council. He had been told by persons at tbe outskirts that he was in one of the '• favoured spots," and that therefore he would be inclined to look solely after the interests of those spots Nothing could be further from his mind, or the mind of any man possessed of the smallest particle of honesty. If elected, he would er.-

deavour to see. the whole city once a month The drainage of the city was an imperative necessity, and should not be delayed. (Hear, hear.) There could he no doubt that the great mortality that had occurred of late was attributable to the want of a proper system of drainage. Although it was unworthy of being compared to drainage, still he considered that public baths were a necessity. His plan for their establishment was by voluntary contribution, supplemented by a grant from the City Couucil. The baths should be as nearly free as possible. There was another matter on which he would say a few words. He had stated in his address that he considered that the system of collecting the rates should be altered. He was of opinion that the rates should be paid in two instalments — the first within a given number of dates after the commencement of the financial year, and the second some time before the close of the year; the first instalment to be paid at the City Council Office, and the second to the collector whenever he called for it. Su^h a system as this would ease the poor man, and he believed that the Council would get in the money sooner, and that no arrears of rates would accumulate. (Applause;. In reply to Mr John Caygill, Mr Ayers expressed himself opposed to the ornamentation of the City, whilst works of utility were yet to he accomplished. (Applause). Mr Jameson next addressed the meeting. Having been inthe City Council for some time, it was unnecessary that he should follow the ground taken up by previous speakers, and recapitulate the views which he was known to entertain on civic matters. Mr Hobbs had suggested the adoption of a sixpenny rate, but a less rate than Is in the £ would not suffice for the requirements of the city. And he would show them why. The income of the present year at a ls rate was £4085 ; rents and fees, £692 ; total, £4777. Expenditure : lighting of the city, £505; assistance in the maintenance of the Fire Brigade, £240; printing, which was a very large item now; Solicitor's fees and salaries, £1000; total, £1745. The labour gang costs £1000 per annum at the strength now employed. This left a balance of £2032 to be spent in the foi mation and maintenance of the streets and the carrying out of other worka. If the rate were reduced even by twopence, that would bring the available balance to £1320 to be spent in works. Anybody with any calculation could see that this amount would not be adequate for the maintenance of the streets in the city with any degree of decency. The sickness that had prevailed of late was not to be attributed to the absence of underground drainage, but rather to the presence of stagnant water on private properties below the street levels. If the streets were continued to be kept in good order, this would effect as much as could be done in the way of drainage at the present time . There were no less than 25 miles of streets in the city. He was opposed to the borrowing of money except for very special purposes. He would not detain the meeting further, but would leave what he had done hitherto to speak for itself. All the ornamentation that had taken place within the centre of the city, lamps, tanks, &c, had been paid for, but not out of rates. The rates had not contributed one farthing; and the cost of the plantations on the Eaat town belt was no more than it would have taken to spread metal on the roadway. Mr Goss said he saw no urgent necessity for the borrowing of money now. One reason why he was opposed to the borrowing of money was that it might lead to extravagance. There was no chance of doing with a lower rate than 1 8 in the £. Mr John Caygill asked if Mr Goss was of opinion that the Building Ordinance should be repealed. (Hear, hear.) Mr Goss replied that he thought the Ordinance was too rigid, and the time would come when the necessity would be seen for repealing a portion of it, and allow buildings in the centre of the city to be of iron and wood, for the experience of the past day or two had clearly proved that it would not be safe to erect buildings of brick or stone. (Applause.) The business for which the meeting was called having concluded, his Worship the Mayor declared the meeting at an end. Messrs W. Pratt and J. Ollivier addressed the meeting with reference to a correspondence that had passed between them and an anonymous correspondent in the Lyttelton Times. Before separating, a vote of tbanks to the Chairman was passed by acclamation, on the motion of Mr Jameson. ■iMaa a a^^^^HMn ß m^Baß_H.________________.(_______________________________a