BOROUGH COUNCIL,

Wanganui Herald, Volume V, Issue 16711, 6 February 1873, Page 2

BOROUGH COUNCIL,

Regular meeting held at the Court HousWednesday, Veb 5, 1873. Present—The Mayor, Ors Nathan, Finnimore, Ohevannes Brown, Beaven and Bainber. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. MB, FIELD. . Letter sent to Mr Field by the Clerk read, staling- that the Council had no fault to find with him. Letter from Mr Field tendering his resignation as Surveyor to the Council, Moved by Or Nathan and seconded by Cr Beaven, '■• That the resignation be accepted." Carried. " NUISANCES. The Inspector reported that several ratepayers had refused to remove swine from their premises although requested to do so Letter from W. Askew read, stating that he had a fat pip:; and that the weather bein«too warm for him to kill it, ho wished the Council to allow him time. The matter was left to the Inspector's discretion. APPLICATION FOR DRAIN. Application from Mr Donald .Ross for permission to construct a drain from seticon 74, L'auDO Quay, to the roadway. Referred to the Public Works Committee. . ENGINEER, &C.

The following applications were received for the office of Engineer :—W. Pickering J. Millar, F.S.A., Dunedin, li. 0. Field, Wanganui, 11. Evans, Wanganui, T. W. Downes, G. F. Allen, Wanganui,E.Anderson. Or Finmmore said, as the mover of the resolution which had brought together the applications, he felt it incumbent upon him to move in the matter. He had great pleasure in moving, " That the application of J. Millar, of Dunedin, be accepted." From the number of applications received it proved that his (Or F's) opinion as regards the salary was correct, and he thought the ratepayers could be congratulated upon obtaining the services of so eminent an engineer as Mr Millar. Or Brown seconded the motion. Or Chevannes said he had known Mr Millar for seme sixteen years, and could fully bear out the remarks made by Or Finnimore. He thought the town would reap great benefit from Mr Millar's services. Cr Nathan thought that if the engineer's salary was to commence as soon as the appointment was made, it would be putting a charge on the rates totally unnecessary. In his opinion the engineer should not be appointed until the plant had arrived from England. Cr Bainber thought it would be premature toappoint an engineer at once. The Committee on the loan had declined negotiating it yet, he could not see what the Council required a heavy salaried, officer for. Cr Finnimore interrupted and said, that the Committee had merely suspended operations until the appointment of an engineer. Or Beaven followed in the same strain, and said that the committee required professional advice before ordering any plant, or material for public works. Or Nathan said all the information the Council required could be obtained from Wellington for £25. The Mayor disagreed with the motion, and said he could not see what the Council wanted with a permanent engineer. Even the works contemplated by che Council would not last longer than 18 months or 2 years, and it was absurd that an engineer of the standing of Mr Millar would come to Wanganui for the sum mentioned in the advertisement. He (the Mayor) had received a letter from Mr George of Wellington stating that a bill of the particulars for water works could be supplied for £25, and for gas works for a similair amount. Also that he (Mr George) would supply plans and specifications for the erection' of the necessary works for 2| per cent on the cost. The Mayor thought an engineer should not be appointed until the pant was on the ground, and he would enter his protest against the appointment. Or Brown thought one point had been overlooked. The Bill empowering the loan was almost useless to the Council as it did not enable them to enter upon private property. The chief reason why this bill was useless, although a sum of £239 had been spent upon in legal charges, was, because the necessary plans of the proposed works and information only be supplied by a competent engineer, had not been given to the Government. Cr Brown then referred to the statement of the Mayor's concerning Mr George, and said that that offer was not so reasonable as it at first appeared. The 2i commission on the cost of the wovks £12,000, amounted to £300 which, together with the £25 for details of plant, made Mr George's remuneration for perhaps not more than a month's work, nearly equal to a whole years services of an engineer like Mr Millar. (Hear Hear). He (Cr Brown) was opposed to paying an engineer every time they wanted his services, as in the course of a twelve monththe Council paid more than a regular salary. Already they were paying an engineer for the wharf, and they might go on paying for every little thing they wanted done. It was a fallacy to say that there was nothing for an engineer to do. The ratepayers were crying out for a water supply, a want that the Council fully concurred in, but having no reliable data to go upon could not proceed with the work. The engineer's services were required, at once to report upon the best source of water, and to draw out the plans and specifications for the necessary works. With regard to the Mayor's claptrap about a heavy charge on the rates, he (Or Brown) had as q;reat regard for the judicious expenditure of the borough .rates, as^the Mayor had, and perhaps more so, judging from Bis actions over the Borrowing Bill, and he (Or Brown) was surprised to find that the Mayor was not conversant with the Act in question, which especially provided for the payment of xhe Engineer from the loan. (Hear Hear). The Mayor said the engineer could only be paid out of the money raised for water works, and as the water works would not take two years to construct, where was the salary to come from afterwards ?

Or Buown said that was a point that could very easily be managed. The'water works need not be completed as far as some unimportant details were concerned, until the other worksneeding the assistance of an engineer were finished, by this t means the Council could keep within the four corners of the Act. Even if a portion of the first year's salary of the Engineer became, due before the loan was floated, the amount could be paid out of the Borough funds, and recouped out of the loan, (hear, hear.) The Mayor had also laid a great stress on the fact, that it was strange a man of Mr Millar's attainments should not be in a permanent situation. Such an objection was absurd. Mr Millar

f was constantly employed, and had been so for the past twenty-five years, on works of the greatest magnitude in the Australasian Colonies, and he (Or .Brown) thought the Council would not be doing- their duty if they neglected accepting Mr Millar's services. Cr Finnimore said after the very able way in which Cr Brown had exhausted the whole question there remained but little for him to say. He (Or Finnimore) could not accept the Mayor's dictum that Yiruinia Lake was to be the reservoir for Wanganui. Until the water from the different sources round Wanganui had been tested by Mr Skey, the Government analyst, he could not state with any degree of certainty which source wuuld'be chosen. The Cr concluded by stating that a grave responsibility rested upon the shoulders of the Council, and that without the advice of a competent engineer they would not be justified in proceeding to any length with their works. On the motion "being put that Mr j Millar be appointed, Crs Finnimore, Brown Beaven, and Ohevannes voted in favor, and the_ Mayor, Crs Nathan and Bainber against. The motion was declared carried . ISRIDGK TOLLS. Or Nathan moved the motion standingin his name that the Bridge tolls be let by tender, payable, monthly in advance. Seconded by Cr Finnimore. On the suggestion of Cr Beaven, the date for the letting was postponed till the Ist April, so as to give a proper notice to Mr Ross, the present collector. Or Bainber opposed the payment of a month in advance, contending that the securities given by the successful tenderer were sufficient. The motion was put and carried, and the details referred to the Bridge Oommitte to carry out. The Council then adjourned.