CITY COUNCIL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3896, 12 October 1880, Page 4

CITY COUNCIL.

A special meeting of tho City Council was • convened* for a quartor to soven o'clock last evening ; preaent— His Worship the Mayor, and Councillors King, Bishop, Taylor, Oherrill, Hulbert, Cuff, England, Ayera, Gapes, and Lambarfc. The* special business was the confirmation of tha watering rate. A pro forma resolution was carried, on* the motion of Councillor * Ayersj seconded by Councillor King. On tho motion of Councillor Bishop, seoonded hy Councillor Gapes, the rato book was ordered to be signed. •The ordinary meeting was thon held. • financial.

'• Items of finance were reported as follows : --■Oredit balance at Bank, £1601 7s 2d ; receipts for the week, £523 2a lld ; bills to be paid, £252 17s Bd. Rehired on drainago rate', £47 3s 6d ; do, on Prainoge Board rate, £165 2s 3d. Councillor Lambert, on bpi • f of the Works Committee, recommended j-**. nent of claim made by Mr Dodd; £6 10*. Councillors Vincent) in*-*' Thomson here entered the Chamber.

It was further • explained, in answer to Sueations, that the dangerous state of the Forth belt was the cause of the damage. The accounts as read were ordered to be jaid. TBTITION. Councillor Taylor presented a petition, sighed by 66 ratepayers, asking— " That tho Ca9hel street bridge now under repair, may he made wider for the benefit of the public at large, as we consider thafc a side walk Bhould be formed, afc least on one side, for the benefit of foot passengers." " On" the motion of Councillor Taylor, seconded by Councillor Gapes, it was resolved thafc the petition be received. Councillor Taylor movod— "Thafc the prayer" of the petitition be granted." He urged that the present stato of affairs was decidedly dangerous, and that a foot-bridge shonld be added to the width of tho present structure.

The Survoyor said tbat the r ddition of two pathways would cost £80. 7 1 he added only ond, the structure would be rendered very unsightly. In answer to Councillor Taylor, tho Surveyor said there were no formed foundations to this bridge. Should there be any rise in fche river, the ahut ments might be washed away. Sheet piling would be a procautionary* measure bufc ifc could nofc now be driven without; closing the bridge for some time.

Councillor Thomson considered thafc as tho matter had turned out to be one of conßiderablei importance, it should be referred fco the TVorks Committeo for a report.

This-course was agreed to. ■ SINKING- T UND,

Messrs D. Craig and E. C.J. Stevens (Sinking ITnnd Commissioners) wrote as follows: — *•* We have the honour to inform you that we •lave lent a further su n of £500 of the Sinking Fund on good freehold security, for three yeara, at 8 per oont., being tho highest interest wo could afc present obtain consistent with. good investment. We beg to mention .that we have had Borne difii'Milty in lending this money, and some delay has necessarily occurred einco we received notice from you that the same was available. The City Council, howover, having had tho use of this money pending this investment, will, of course, allow the City Sinking Fund interest therefor ; and we shall be glad to know what .amount his beon so transferred to tho latter .account."

On the motion of Councillor England, -eeconded by Councillor Ayers, the letter was referred to the' Financa Committeo to take -action. OUT BOABD OF HEALTH. The Secretary to the Drainage Board forwarded copy of tho following resolution: — " Thafc the Chrisfcchurch Drainage Board do /hereby, under and pursuant to the provisions of * The Publio Health Act, 1876, Amendment Act, 1880,' delegate to tho Mayor and .Council of the City of Christchurch, all the /powers conferred, upon the Christchurch Drainage Board, as the Local Board of •Health, by 'The. Public Health Act, 187fV .to be held, exercised and yr ? ormed within the limits of the said Cifcv ■■■ Ohristchurch; gave and except, the- power t appointing a Medical Officer."

The Mayor, thought lh-.- nroper courso would be to hand the le:- • to fche By-law Committeo fco consider, vi.v report to fche . Oounoil.

Councillor Gapes moved to this effect. Councillor Bishop said it had been mentioned tp him that the proper persona to make , the by-law were tho Local Board of Hoalth. That body would then further delegate powers to tho Council. The motion of Councillor Gapes was ..seconded', by Councillor Lambert, and agreed .to; the Committee being empowered to take legal advico. CO3IPIAINT. .Along letter from*. Mr Ruddenklau wos read, complaining that dilatorjness in collect■ing the scavengering rate had subjected him - to*, unjust, espouse. The letter was referred to .the Departmental Commifctro.

.Letters from the Messrs .Trent were referred to the same Committe' 1 .

BOAD TO OBM2TK».T.

•In reference fco an applical > n for a grant dn.aid of forming a road to t J *■> new cemetery, -■Councillor Bishop reported that the By•Jaw Committee considered tht.* Council had no power fco expend money outside the city. Further, the state of the finances precluded 4hepossibility of any grant. Ihe report wasadopted.

_. sroBV^OB'S BBJ?QBT.

The City Surveyor reported as follows : —

*"»l.iThe, repairs to Cashol street bridge are commenced. In consegnpnce.of Councillor England having reported fco ■• the Council afc last meeting thafc fche timber, on this bridge had been ,, unnecessarily destroyed by tho Council's workmen, I requested fche Worka Committee the next morning to visit the bridge,iwbich fchey did, and fchey are satisfied that no .unnecessary damage has been done to the timber.

u _B. The Works Committee, have found it neoessary to discharge .some; of tho atonebreakers, and,, as .those discharged reside in Sydenham they will be f urnish-sd with a letter to theCounpil.of that Borough. "_?. The Drainage Board, aro now laying pipes .down the. centre of North etreet, and as Boon as tbat is completed the shiggle will bo put on. "4. fljho.aherafcionto therQs.d,,in front of Mr Bowman's is completed.

"5. '£be 'Work-vCfammifct.ee. do, noi feel in a position .to recommend fche . adoption of the wood pairing, .which was referred' to -fchem to report upon, without having first apiece of road in a well .frequented thoroughfare laid wifch it in oi.dor.to te.st.ifc. One chain ff road the full width between the channohvwould cost £165.

" 6. Chudley'a Jape has been channelled, and ifc will now bo advertised to be formed and shingled.

" 7. Mr Dodd's acco.unt»,phich was referred to fche Works Committee .to Alport upofy fchey recommend should be paid. '' "8. The swimming hath jvas been lefc .fco Messrs Sedgeley and Barker. ,

" 9. The College bridge antlitho foot-bridge; near the Government Buildings have both! been strengthened by re-planking. *

" 10. I have laid fivo informations against! persons who hare acted in contravention of: the building by-law, and J. shall lay several more in fche course of a &w days. " 11. The Victoria steeet well ia.now down 150 ft. The well thafc was driven .about ten jears ago on the opposite aide of the tepk was driven to a depth of 156 f fc." With referenco to Clause 1, Councillor England desired to explain ih&t the Chairnun of the Works Commif/wa took him to see the damage. Councillor Lambert must giva that statemem^the most unqualified denied. ((Laughter.) The wholo of fche claußes in fche report wero approved. THE TBAMWAY3. The __fcamways Committee repo-.ted as follows:— " There a?e only a few points in fche letter from the Tramway Company to tho Ciunoil, bearing dafo Sopfc. 30 last, fchafc your Committee deem ifc necessary to refer fco, the general facts contained in your Commifcteo's Srevious report nqfc having been shaken. Tho runaway Company obtained a concession to lay certain linos as shc^n on a plan deposited j they hsye deviated from -that plan in a number of places, and claim th?fc they can make any loop lines or sidings thoy without further reference to tho lo.e^l authority. With this opinion your Committed differ, and therefore -^quld Recommend fcb*s the

legal portion of the Corporation, with respo^t to tho Tramway Company, bo placed beyond a question of doubt, by obtaining such further legal opinions the Council muy deem necessary. The Tramway Company, iv their letter to tho Council, givo an explanation of why certain of tho deviations were mado. Your Committeo cannot but regret that tho Company did not deem it advisable to have adopted the Bame course beforo the alterations were made instead of after tho lines had been laid and publio attontion called to the fact. Your Committee would liko to say that they did not enter into tho question of iho advisability or otherwise of theso deviations being mado, but only reported that they could not ascertain that the Council evor authorised them ; j and your Coir.iniltce still maintain the right of the locsl authority to bo consulted on any alterations from the deposited plans that the Tramway Company may deem necessary. Tho Engineer of tho Tramway Company writes—' 1 am at a loaa to understand how the Council could have made any modifications to the lines as laid down which could possibly have conduced more to the public safety than has been done by the Company, as they have reached in every case the limits of practicablo working, while increasing tho advantages to the publio traffic' Your Committee would point out that in the plan deposited by the Tiamway Oompany on Sept. 20 lasfc, when applying for further concessions, a curve from Manchester street into the South Town Belt lino is shown, which would eacapo fche cabstand and yet join the lino in front of the railway station. Ab the plan was prepared by the Tramway Company your Committee presume that the curve is fpracticable, and could havo been as easily sent out at tho timo tho line was being laid. This is ono instance whero reference to tho local authority would have prevented future difficulties. -Again, in the loop line rofcrred to as No. 8 in previous report (near Montgomery and Co's), thia deviation runs a distance of 2k chains, parallel with the footpath on the easfc side of the street, and only six feet from the Bidechannel. Thia placo has already proved an j obstruction to tho traffic when tho lino is being used, us thoro is nofc room for a vehicle to keep tho proper side of tho street and pass the tram cara. Your Committee do not consider that these places havo reached the limit of practicable working, or increased fche advantage to tbe public traffic. Your Oommi* - tee only point out theso instances to show how necessary it ie, in tho interests of tho public, for the locality authority to bo consulted when deviations from the original plans are made. " The remarks in the Tramway GompaEy's letter respecting an interview between the thon By-Law Committee and the Chairman of the Tramway Company respecting tho South Belt cab-stand are somewhat -spocioua. The interview took placo with reference to tha'bua-Btand, and when the Committee were leaving the ground Mr Brown callod thoir attention to the points thafc would connect the curve with Manchester street (the lino waa not then laid), and remarked that fche cab-stand would havo to be shifted, as fcho line would run through it ; bnt he disingenuously refrained from any mention of the fadfc thafc tho curve was being considerably altered from the original plan to gefc there. With reference to the 'tram-cars discharging their passengers in tho contre of tho street, your Committee's remarks were 'intended to more especially apply to the information given them respecting the practice obtaining in England and American cities; butas regards Dunedin, your Committee hovo official authority for stating ' that tho fcrem-lino does nofc in any caao run alongside tho kerb to discharge passengers.' " Beference has been mado to Dunedin having to purchase tho tramways •at the expiration of 14 years. Your Committee would point out thafc if -fcho Christchurch Council desire to acquire tho tramway at the end of a similar term, the' city will have to pay for the • goodwill' cf the undertaking as well — thia, in Dunedin, is nofc to bo included as the conoes: ion ceases. The 'goodwill ' of the Christchurch tram-way at - the expiration of 14 years will probably bo no inconsiderable item in the "valuation.

" Bespecting rates, ifc appears thafc the promoter in Dunedin is nott*harged wifch municipal rate?, and therefore tho annual payment made to the respective Corporations will boas follows : —

«*»■*»• .SSfc ■£ -s. J d. £ 0. d: Annual ront paid by Trass., way Company to Corporation .305 0 0 Nil. Municipal rates Nil. 18 15 0 Total paid by Tramway Companies to Corporations for 1850 £363 o*o *£I 8 15-0*

"There is one other point that has -come somewhat prominently forward during tho lasfc few days, and that is -ihe 'Lower Lincoln road being outside the oity boundary,; as this eeems to bo more th&n probable/the Council will have to bear it in mind when granting any further concessions. 'Xho concession granted by the Council 'to the Tramway Company to run to Addington along this* road appears to have lapsed on .the :24th; ultimo, that being the timo -stated for them; to complete the work.

" As the Tramway Company have declined to fall in with any of the suggestions of your Committeo respecting the fiouth Belt line opposite the railway station, and also their refusing to acknowledge the -authority of the Council to approve of any deviations from original plans before they are carried out, l your Committee can only recommend the Council to refuse to consider any further concessions or to agree to any further. orders: in Council until the question of .fcheir authority is Bottled.

"With regard to standing plaoea, -joinCommittee beg to recommend two .on the South Belt, near the Bailway station, as indicated on tho plan attached hereto:; and they will be prepared to recommeiad standing placcß in other streets, but desire more time to consider these as well as the license fees to be charged for drivers and conductora.""

On tho motion of Councillor Bdahap, seconded,, by .Councillor England, the report was recpj.vsd.

Tho 1-Uyor Eaid the principal points appeared ,to .be— so far as the Committee was coccerned-rrtbe recommendations thafc two standing .iplaces should bo laid out on fche Belt, and fchafc no further concessions should be granted pe^dipg a settlement between the Company #nd the Council.

Councillor Bishop concurred. Ho would move — " That, .the report of the Tramway Committee,, a? just^ead, be adopted."

Councillor C.b-qrrjli seconded the motion. That report, sufficiently referred to the wholo question to enable tha Council to take action without going back.tq.the former report. The position assumed by tho Tramway Company was that their Order-jn'Oouncil enabled them to over-rido everything ; and they could do anything thafc they, .might consider advisable for tho convenifinceof thajjmblio. If necessary this Council shquld get an opinion from solicitors other than , its pwn, that positions might be clearly

Councillor Gap^s, did not. tjbink the Council had power to give .-effect fcq.atty recommendatiens affecting lines of » tramway which were already in existewia. iFurthir concessions would be quite anofchsr. matter. As ifc waa provided tuat when aeartain limit was reached the Governor might step, in, he gaw no necessity for tho Council to flsexxr any e^penEc for furthor legal opinions. dJe^Councfllgr Gapes) hoped thoro was to be arfree discjusfipn, and ■ihufc Councillors would not Jbe liinitejd. fco one speech.

•His Worship would atriqtiy adhere-fc^ the iu^3 of discussion.

Councillor Gapes went ou*fcp .complain tliafc tho Committee's laat report had heen brought up /hat. The report they batf itefore them was impracticable; it could pqfc bo carried j oufc. !

Cpuo^l'lors asked for examples. Councilor Gapes replied that ifc would tiko hipi tpme littlo timo to hunt theja up. The Mi^pr would again call attention to tho leading points — Tho legal position ofthe Council to .te placed beyond doubt; no further concesvoiiß to be granted meanwhilp, and two standipg places to be laid oft on the Ifauth Belt.

Councillor Gapjg continued speaking fit considerable length. He had no objection to the standing places jcecommended.

Councillor Thomson could not agree with tho concluding paragraph. What ifc meant was, if we can'fc gefc yo# to do whafc wo want, wo will not give you something else. He hoped this dog-in-the-manger spirit would not bo encouraged; and that Councillors would nofc uselessly attempt to ignore previous concessions. Of the eleven deviations whioh had been reforred to, it w.a.s fco be borne in mind thefc no fewer than sevjtij were passing places, without which no tramway could be worked. -Jhe Commfttee might, nf

course, havo been justified in attompting to show that there were too many of these looplines or passing places. The speaker then referred in dotail to the various places under notice. The time for making onquiries about these mattors, was when the Order-in-Council waß being applied for, nofc now. It was still very advisablo that, beforo granting further concessions, thero should be a clear understanding as to details. Councillor Thomson thought that fche on'y plan which could be adopted now, was to refer to tho Governor any matters which were in dispute up to tho present dato Supposing that in a certain case it was patent to Councillors that tho Act had not been complied with, and yet the Engineer had given a certificate of compliance ; then, no Court of law, tho speaker believed, could do anything for tho Council. There wero points which told in favour of the Company, and theso ought to be stated. For instance, had the Company followed the Cathedral squaro plans, the cab-stand there would havo been destroyed. Councillor Hulbert was strongly of opinion that there was but ono solution to the difficulty. That was, in the interests of the general public, to uphold tho recommendation of tho Committee as to further concessions.

Councillor Taylor considered the Council was deeply indebted to tho Committee for their long and elaborate reports. Afc the same time he would bo against the adoption of the report now before them, in which the Committee had admitted that they really did not understand their position. It was to be regretted that tho former report had beon kept in tho background; that should havo been brought forward now, and discussed clause by clause. No Company, it might be remarked, would undertake the construction of an expensive lino if they had to submit to the whims of annually elected Councils. There was, for instance, n recommendation about tho relaying of a lino if the Council desired to alter a road level. The whole spirit of this report was calculated to widen tho broach between tho Company and tho Council. The great majority of the public was much conveniepcod by the tramwayß, and yet the Committee seemed to be acting in dead opposition to a particular enterprise, instead ef considering the matter on its broad basis.

Councillor England, as one of the Tramway Committee, uphold tho recommendation?. So far, the speakers had shirked tho main question for present consideration, which was the granting of stands, so that the Tramway Company might not monopolise the whole of the railway frontage. Ifc was for this Council to come to a decision, leaving it to the Company to appeal to the Governor if fchey thought proper. Councillor Avers concurred with the remarks of the laßt speaker; and he contended that fche securing of legal advice as recommended, would facilitate the settlement of real difficulties. When such opinion had been obtained, it might bo advisable to appeal to the higher authority. If the Company were now in possession of privileges which they had no right to etijoy, then-it surely could mot be undignified to refuse further concessions.

The Mayor considered thafc such refusal would be most undignified — unworthy of any ipublic body. The Council had no right to set themselves against any public convenience, such, for example, as tho establishment of a tram line along the Eerry road. So long as that clause remained, His Worship could not vote in favour of the report. Personally, he would be quite content to leavo ' the whole matter to the Gorcrnor-in-Council.

Councillor Cherrill commentod upon somo of tho details of the Committee's -firßt report. Somo of those deviations being most obnoxious, the Council should havo*a right to placo its veto thereon. The serious difficulty at present was with regard to theSoufch Belfc ; and the three- separate overtures mado to tho Company hart met with an unqualified rejection.

Councillor; Lambert did nofc think the Company could be compelled to shift their South Belt lico. 'He did nofc believo* in trying to bounce fche Company. The Council did nofc know whafc their position wae, and thoreforo they could not tako a very firm stand. To his mind, tho matters in dispute ought to be referred at once to the Governor-in-Coun-cil ; and with regard to future concessions, while * tho • Council should bo more cautious than in the past, it should make no threats.

* Councillor King said that the matter of South Belfc stands might havo been dealt with at once, but thero wbb much more than thi*?. The threats held cut were und ; gnified. Ifc seemed to him thafc the tramway might very well be compared to a cow. Tho Company had gofc fche cow by the horns, the Council was hanging on to the tail, and the lawyers were doing the, milking.

Councillor* Bishop, in reply, would flatly deny that any animus had been shown in the report. Ho contended thafc five or ten years hence the hindrance to the traffic caused by the deviations would be very marked indeed. He thought *it was within the bounds of possibility for fche Council to settle these matters without, running to the GovernorinOouncil. The facfc was, Councillors seemed really frightened to^gefc fche opinion as recommended,.andhave ib published. Councillor Thomson had admitted that a previous Council, of which he was the Mayor, had blundered somewhat in granting all these concessions. . Ifc was fche desire fche Committee-had to understand their position, that led fchem* to. make certain recommendations.

The motion' for the adoption of the report >wasnow put.

.Councillor Thomson moved as an amendment — "Thafc the points i a dispute between *the City Counoil and the Tramway Company be stated in detail, and be referred to the only • authority referred to by tho Order-in-Council, .namely, His Excellency the Governor." Councillor Thomson .quoted from fche Tramways Act to show that in the construction of the Heathcote . line, a refusal on the parfc ,of the Council could be over-ridden, •regard, to Councillor Bishop's remark aboufc a former Council, ifc had been said fchafc a certain,personage could quote Scripture for his purpose. He (Councillor Thomson), did not afc all, mind being quoted, provided ifc was?, done correctly. ; and when referring to what) had been, done before, he said " if " aome onej. had blundered,, (tc.

Councillor Lambert . seconded fche amendment.

Aftor a^considerable, amount of furthor discussion, in 4he course of which Councillors Taylor and Hulbert urged that the report .should now be referred hack to the Comt&ifctce,

Tho Mayor compared . Councillor Hulbert io & drowning rat catching ,afc_& straw, which had been held out by Councillor Taylor. The amendment ought to be Accepted as the fairest .outcome for all, concerned.

Leave was for Councillor Thomson to amejad his amendment, so as to have tho points in dispute stated in detail agroed to by both bodies.

The following .voted for the amendment : — The May<or, Councillors Gapes, Emg, Thomson aad Lam-borfc^ against— -Councillors Bishop, Taylor, Ch«rrill, Hulbert*, .England and Ayers.

Councillor Hulhert moved, as a (further amendment — "That the soveral n)B*K,*?ra in dispute between the Council and the Tramway Company be referred to a conference, to consist of the members of .this Council and the Directors of the IVamway Comply." Councillor Hulbert withdrew his amendment almost immediately. Councillor Thomson moved— "Thafc -tiae conference asked for by the Tramway Company be granted, and fchafc this Council meet the Tramway Company." Councillor Taylor seconded the amendment, and the votes were es follows •_: — Foir, tho Mayor, Councillors Gapes, King, Taylor,; Thomson, and Lambert ; against, Councillors \ fcishop, Cherrill, Hulbert, England, and Aj-era. The amendment was declared carried.

i£*ouncillor Bishop moved for obtaining the fujfcher legal opinion as suggested in the repos. The .motion was unanimously agreed to. FINANCE. The F/jaance Committee reported upon threo rate collecting cases which had been brought before fchem, and expressed the opinion that tn future " all cases sued for should bo settt*d in Court." The report was approved. V.ATEBINO. Councillor Gapes i#oved — " That the street crossings at the junctions of Kilmoro, Peterborough, and Salisbury streets, in the Whately road, be waterea^tiring the season." Councillor England seconded the motion, which was agreed to.

THE OID POST OFFICE. The question of lotting the old Pob '-office was referred to tho Reserves Committee. Tho Council then adjourned,