PROPOSED BOROUGH OF HAMILTON LOAN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2117, 2 February 1886, Page 2

PROPOSED BOROUGH OF HAMILTON LOAN.

Tiik following report, prepared by His Worship the Mayor and Cr Edgecumbe, was adopted at last night's meeting of the Council, and will be presented to the meeting of burgciscs at the Public Hall at 8 o'clock to night : — The proposals which .this meeting is called together to listen to and discuss are of such importance to the present and future inhabitants of Hamilton that the Council have felt justified in departing from the ordinary mode of procedure as niescribed by law, and therefore havo asked you to meet them to-night, preliminary to exiling the usual public meeting. The Council's object in acting thus is to afford you a full and free opportunity for satisfying yourselves as to the advantages sought to be gained for Hamilton by means of raising a special loan at this juncture for impro\ ing the borough lands and securing extraordinary conveniences for the district. The Council desires, therefore, to make it clear to this meeting that whatever may be tho opinion formed thu> evening it will be necessary to call another meeting of the burgesses at a future date to conform to the requirements of the Municipal Corporations Act. And therefore it will be sufficient for all purposes if we are able this evening to secure your general approval of tho Council's proposals in order to strengthen their hands m preparing such measures as will meet the object we have in view. And furthermore, the Council desire at this meeting to afford you an opportunity of asking any questions which may be necessary for clearing away and explaining any doubts which may have arisen in your minds as to their intentions, thereby saving time in the future. The proposal is to borrow a sum of £0000 for borough and domain purposes. In asking the burgesses to commit themselves to raising a loan, the Council have carefully considered and discussed the question, and as the Council are unanimously in favour of the scheme, it gives them much confidence in laying the details of the expenditure of the said loan before this meeting. It w proposed to devote tho loan so raised to the following purposes :—: — Ist. The erection of public buildings. 2nd. The improvement of the domain and borough lands. 3. The paying off of the overdrafts of the borough, the Domain Board and the Cemeteries Trust. Public Buildings.— The main object in the scheme is the erection of buildings of such capacity as will provide office accommodation for the Survey, Public Works, Crown Lands, Borough Council Chambers, and other Government departments, for which the Government have promised to vest in the Hamilton Domain Board a further area of 170 acres. Improvement of Domain Lands.— A sum of one thousand pounds will be laid aside for the express purpose of improving the lands of the borough, in clearing, fencing, and laying- down in gra»s. Pacing off Overdrafts. — It is estimated that a sum of eight hundred pounds will pay off all the overdrafts for which the burgesses are liable, viz., the borough overdraft, the domain overdraft, and the cemeteries overdraft. It is estimated that the foregoing objects will absorb four thousand pounds out of the six thousand pounds. The remaining two thousand pounds it is proposed to put out at interest, and before deciding upon what objects it should be expended a vote of tho burgesses will be taken. Tho raising of the £6000 at once has been carefully considered and decided upon as a matter of economy in time and expense, iind the dividing the expenditure of the £4000 over a period of at least two years has been decided upon as a matter of policy.