EXTENDING THE CITY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11671, 11 April 1916, Page 3

EXTENDING THE CITY.

GREATER CHRISTCHURCH EMPOWERING BILL PROBLEM OF PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION. 1— ■ . ■ The By-laws Committee, reporting to the City Council Last night on the proposed Empowering Bill for the extension of the city, recommended that the,Bill should provide;— (a) That any area joining the city may continue under its existing basis of rating if it is .so desired, with power to take a poll on the question of adopting rating upon the unimproved value, the poll to be confined to such area only, and should not be taken until a "proper requisition, signed by the percentage of ratepayers on the valuation roil, is presented to the council, as provided tor in Section 37 of the Rating Act. 190 S. (b) That the addition of any ait a to a ward shall not necessitate the councillors for that ward going out of office except in ordinary course, and that the? number of members for such ward shall not be increased. (c) For the purpose of electing councillors on the principle of proportional representation, the committee considers the- city should be divided into two wards, the dividing line to be Worcester Street from Rolleston Avenue to Linv.ood Avenue, thence along Liuwood Avenue to Buckley's Road, and thence along Bucklev's Road to the eastern boundary, the wards to bo named north and south ward respectively. The committeo made this last recommendation on the ground that to elect sixteen councillors under proportional reprevse-ntation would lead to confusion and would be unsatisfactory. The committee further recommended that in thV event of the Opawa riding of the Heathcote County being included in the city it should be added to Sydenham Ward. The report was adopted.