HAMILTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

Waikato Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1556, 14 May 1903, Page 2

HAMILTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

Titr H miilton Borough Council o.et in ihe Chambers, Hamilton West, last, evening. 'Trie bu-iness wa- purely of a statutory nature. There were present The retiring Mayor (Mr R. W. Dyer), the Mayor-elect (Mr C. J. W. Barton), and the newly-elected councillors, D. Salmon, R. Parr, G. Pearson, \\. Dey, A. E. Manning, A. Coyle, J. Bettley, J. A. Young and H. S. tiurdley. After the councillors had signed the usual declaration; the Mayor-elect was introduced by the two senior councillors, Messrs Dey and Parr. Mr Dyer congratulated the Mayor upon his election, and installed him into the Mayoral chair. He said in severing his connection with the Hamilton Council, he might state that he had been connected with the borouuh officially for three and a-lnlf years, during the last two years as Mayor. It was usual for the outgoing Mayor to give an account of what he had done during his term ol office, aud this was his intention. Coming first to the question of finance, ho might say that when he came into office in May, 1001, the overdraft at 31st March stood at £712 His ; on the 3lßt March, 1902, it was £7US ISs ; and on the 31st March it was £490. Some people appearedj to think that the correct thing to do was to wipe off the overdraft, He did not think so. They had reduced it, hut they had increased the rate. By starving the streets they could reduce the overdraft, but it was, he said, a lad policy to do that. They should work the overdraft down as quickly as possible, but uot at ihe cost of the development of the borough. When he took office in 1901 the rates amounted to £550; in 1902 they had totalled £6lO, while last year they had increased up to £077. The mistake up to recently had beeu made in striking too small a rate. They wanted all the revenue they could get, aud it would be the greatest mistake in the world to reduce the rate. The revenue from endowments had kept up fairly well—in fact, was about the same, but the expenditure on streets had been much greater. During 1901 they had spent in Hamilton East £9O 3i 51 and in Hamilton West £l6O ; in 1902, £l3O and £-62 ; and last year, £153 and £277 ; and he claimed '.bat they had effected great improve ments. The interest on the loan of £3OOO had been reduced from 5k to 4| per cent, making an annual saving of £3O, and they also made a small reduction in office expenses. The streets were better than they were two years ago, but a considerable improvement could be made yet. The trouble iu the past was the employment of only one mau, three men were now engaged. If the system was pursued they would soon have streets which would be a credit to the town. Contracts were let for cleaning all borough drains which would be con* siderably improved on both sides of the river. Speaking of noxious weed, he thanked the Stock Department for the manner in which they had treated the Council under this troublesome Act. The officer of that Department were charged with the administration of the Act, and while not neglecting their work, they had always done it in a very courteous and by no mean a harrasaiag manner. There was a great deal to be done in this direction, but tenders had been let for clearing all Borough eudownments of noxious weeds. The bj laws were now consolidated and iu furco, and he thought were such as would waken up the townspeople. Referring to the hridge, Mr Dyer said iu taking office he had had an idea of doing something with the traffic bridge ; but now his term of office was ended, and no change had been made, except that the bridge was two years older and worse than it was at that period, fhey had fought very hard for a Government subsidy, but had not been able to get it. It seemed to him that they were entitled to a £ for £ subsidy, and if the Council uudertook the work they would be putting up a debt which they could ill afford to pay. He had failed in his endeavour to purchase Claudelauds, having met with a storm of opposition. He regretted this, as it would have been a splendid investment, and they cou<d not get it at anything like the price at the presont time. He had also failed in his endeavours to have municipal buildings and a town hall erected as a coronation memorial. The poll of the ratepayers had defeated the project ; but if another poll were taken and carried, he saw uo reason why the building should not still be erected, as nothing had heen received from the Government to indicate that the Government grant was not still forthcoming. A poll for a drainage system, taken at the instance of the Health Department, had also been thrown out. Amongst the list of functions held during his term of office was the reception of the Duke and Duchess of York, receptioD of the late Sir Hector Mac. donald, the opening of the post-office, the banquet to Sir J, G. "Ward, bauquet to the Premier and the Hon. T. ¥. Duu>. cau, prior to Mr Seddon's trip home. Cr. Bettley : What was the cost. Mr Dyer said the cost to the Council of the reception to the Duke and Duchess of York waa £7 7a, and the opening of the post-office had cost some £3 or £4.. All the re-t had been defrayed by public subscription. He had also taken part in the presentation of war medals and the dinner to the Fourth Waikato Regiment and volunteers. Comiug to the water supply Mr Dyer said he had purposely left it until the last. He had no wish to say a single word that might hurt the feelings of anybody; hut he would be shirking his duty if he did not refer to the matter. He gave it as his opinion that a great mistake had heen made in the first instance in not acting on the engineer's advice" The engineer was right throughout the piece, and had his advice been followed they would have had the water supply at the end of February, and things would not be in the unsatisfactory state they wore at ihe present time. Uthers, of course, thought differently. Ir, had beeu his desire to have the matter settled before he left office ; but those gentlemen who had obstructed—no, he would not make use of that word, as it was offensive—those gentlemen who had supported the contractor were responsible for the delay. He asked was it quite fair to the burgesses? At any rate the responsibility did not rest upon him. He again tendered the incoming Mayor his cordial congratulations on his election to office, and expressed a hope that he would experience a pleisant and profitable time. He thanked the Councillors for the manner in which they had treated him during his term of office, and said he was glad to see so maoy of the old members retaining their seats. He also wished to thank the officials of the Council for their treatment aud assistance, and wished the new Mayor a sue cessful term, aud concuded by expressing a hope that Hamilton would continue to prospor.

Mr Dyer resumed his seat amid applause. His Worship the Mayor, in reply, said it wan their duty to look nnt to the past but to the future. He thanked the burgesses most sincerely for the proud position in which they had placed him, and said that no words of his could express the peculiar gratification he felt at the knowledge that ho had the confidence of his friends. Mr Dyer had left the question of the waterworks to the last, but he would deal with it first. He did nnt think the present position reflected any credit upon the Council, and it was not fair to the burgesses ; hut he believed they would bo able to solve the difficulty, and in a very short time (Applause). The drainage of the borough was a matter of extreme urgency, and if not undertaken by the borough it would be done for them. With some slight modification of the proposal he thought a poll on the various question could still be takeu uud carried, (Applause), as the poll

t.ken the trh»r ,1.,y ws not ~ ~,. li 1 iron 10 go by The ii-ffi: lin«l ■ wis ~ long !<uinliiii! que-ih.ii a* .1 lie ha thought ir just pr>M.ih'e ttini some nf the new councillors did not ui oerstand the esii2t po*ui >n. At present the muiutanance of the bridge was allotted as follows : Hamilton Borough one-half, Waikato aud Waipa County Councils one .fourth each. This alloeiation for maintenance was fair enough, but when it came to replacing the bridge it was by any means «n. As a connec'iim link bei tween the sir Ci of t e Borough of Ham> iltnn, it was of considerable importune. and in a le>s decree to Waikato and Waipa, but there were a lari<e number of persona outside those districts by whom the bridge was largely used. It was undoubtedly a colonial work and the only fair way to deal with such a work was through the Consolidated Revenue. Up to the present the Government of the colony had always recognised the justness of the claim, and had contributed £ for £, and after the bridge was first erected did away with the toll and redeemed the dehentures. In 1891 Mr Cadman recognised that the work was a colonial one, and, « hen £IOOO was being "pent on permanent earthwork, gave £ for C. The sime Government was still in office, and they should still recognise the justice ot the chim. He was quite in accord with Mr Dyer that the present offices were not suitible to the requirements of the Borough, aud if a little give and take were shown anrl another poll taken he thought they would he able to get the new offices and other things at once. (Applause.) They must give and take, and not be two haid and fast (Hear, hear). These things must h" taken in hand almost at once. He agreed with Mr Dyer that a golden opportunity had heen lost in not securing Claudelands, hut it was just posrible that the opportunity might occur acain, in which case they should not fail to secure it. Now that they were within an ace of having the water supply he thought an ecdeavour should be made to have the gasworks put under the control of the Council. (Hear, heir). They need not costthe ratepayers a sixpence—in fact a profit would he made on them. Gas and water supplies unuer municipal cnntrol in the Old Country had always shown a substantia profit, and there was no reason why this shouM not be so in Hamilton. The Council had the right to purchase these works, and every year they were increasing in value. It could not be done for several years, but he would like the Councillors to keep the matter steadily in view. He thought the Council should have the right to appoint all its officers, and as a number of works were likely to be carried out it would be as well that clerks of works and other officers should be appointed by them, paid for by the Council, and under their immediate control. (Hear hear). They would then have someone to look to for reports, etc. The appointment of committees would be undertaken on' Friday uight. and he would like to see one appointed for the improvement of the recreation grounds and reserves of the town. In the Lake they had the making of one of the prettiest spots in Waikato, and he hoped to see the Council as a Domain Board make a aubstautial grant towards beautifying its shores. (Applause). Cr. Bettley proposed a vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor, he had not been altogether a success, but that was a matter of opinion. During the year by-laws had been passed which were not progressive, and had retarded improvements. He could not see any appreciable advance in the township during the last nine years ; the by-laws were detrimental to the town and altogether out of all reason, and he hoped the new Council would take the matter in hand. The water supply was in a disgraceful state, and reflected no credit on the Mavor whatever. The drainage proposals had resulted in £25 for a scheme being thrown clean away. He complimented Mr Barton on his election ; his history had been somewhat interesting, and he was proud to see the man who was not fit for Tewn Clerk was now Mayor of the town. In proposing a hearty vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor, the speaker concluded by saying the least said about him the better. Cr Dey seconded the motion, but said he did not agree wilh all Cr Bettley's remarks. Mr Dyer had conducted the business of the Council with ability and impartiality, and the thauks of the Council were due to him, There had been a few warm debates, but when the meetiiig was over they were aa good friends as ever. (Applause). Cr Parr said that Mr Dyer had set them all a good example; he bad always beeu at his post and had devoted his services to the best interests of the borough. He hoped the present Mayor would follow in the footsteps of his predecessor in that respect. Cr Young said it was their duty to recognise the services of a good public mau. Mr Dyer had worked conscientiously for the good of the town, and they should respect him for doing his best. (Hear, hear.) Cr Coyle also paid a high tribute to the manner in which Mr Dyer hid discharged the duties ot the civic chair, and Cr Manning made a few brief remarks. The Mayor endorsed everything that had been said. He had been closely connected with Mr Dyer, and for courtesy and devotion to his duties he could not be beaten in New Zealand. Mr Bettley : Two items, courtesy and devotion. The motion was then put and carried by acclamation. Mr Dyer briefly responded. He said he was proud to see he had gained the good opinion of the Council. Mr Bettley had not been sitting with him on the Council, and was welcome to his opinion. Cr. Bettley : Thank goodness. Mr Dyer continued : As long as he had the goodwill of the rest of the Council he would let Mr Bettley have his opinion for what it was worth. Mr Bettley : Hear, hear. The Council then closed, and, at the invitation of His Worship, the company proceeded to the Commercial Hotel, where a number of toasts were drunk. Mr John Knox proposed the health of ' The Mayor," which was responded to 'by Mr Barton ; those of 'The ex-Mayor,' Past and Present Councillors,' ' Past Mayors,' and 'Mr Knox, the father of Hamilton,' followed, the toasts being received in an enthusiastic manner.