Penarth Chronicle and District Advertiser

NEW PRECEPT. On the motion of Mr Pavey seconded by Mr Guy the Councils sea] was affixed to the new rate of 1/1 for the ensuing year. MATTERS FINANCIAL. The Collector submitted hia monthly statement, showing that for October f92 Os lOd had been collec- ed, of the General district rate, X66 lis lOd was recoverable. £ 5 6s 10 irrecoverable, together with X9 14 5d by columns 8 and 9. Of the Private Improvements f341 15s 4d bad been secured, the outstanding amount being .£1437 118 9d. Paid Treasurer X516 Os 2d, balance in hand f21 9s 5d. THE COLLECTOR'S POWERS. Mr Lloyd again moved his notice of motion tba the resolution standing on the minutes empowering the Rate Collector to summarily summon defaulting ratepayers, be rescinded. He, the mover, objected to a public servant being able thus to act at his own sweet will. (Hear, hear). And he contended that Mr Llewellyn should first obtain the signature of either the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, or the Clerk. Mr Strawson seconded. The Collector remarked that such a procedure involved a lot of useless labour, and he was the only official in the district who was so handicapped in the matter. Mr R. Bevan contended that the Council bad sus- tained little or no loss by the presant mode of proce- dure of going to the Chairman's house. Mr Llewellyn I've often broken the iule and not gone to the Chairman, and so have saved the Board. A typical case was when I issued a summons on the Saturday, and the goods would have gone by the following Tuesday and been unrecoverable. R. Bevan:—Have the Council lost any consider- able quantity ? Mr Llewellyn: I can't say a considerable quantity but cnly a small amount. Mr Purnell: would the Chairman be likely to refuse. Chairman:—No. I never have. Mr. J. Llewellyn :—I only resort to such measures at the last moment, ond out of the last £ 3982 only £66 lls lOd is irrecoverable. And out of the poor rate of .£3100 only £ 35 is lost. Mr Guy:—The cases are very few, and it is invar- iably the same parties. What's the good of altering the resolution ? Mr R, Bevan :-Thresh it out. Was it not a fact that you once had the power what you now seek, and why was it departed from ? Mr J. Llewellyn:—It was over the case of Mr Evan Roberts. He would not pay because he disputed the assessment. It was brought before the Court. Mr Belcher, who was then a member, was the cause of its alteration. 1 By Mr Guy :—Mr Roberts had to pay. Mr Pnrnell You should make one man alone responsible. Mr Snellj:—If we've got an official in such a position, we ought to trust him' Mr Morgan :-Certainly. Mr Pavey pressed to speak, said he was in favour of the motion. Chairman :-Give him full power and it'll act very well. n pon a division the voting was equal, 5 for and 6 against. The Chairman gave his casting vote against Mr Lloyd's motion. Mr R. Bevan:-Thei-e are two members absent, and as the motion has on both occasions been lost by the Chairman's casting vote, I will still give further notice of motion. t5 Mr Strawson: And I support it. MR T. EMLYN JONES. A letter was read from thi-s gentleman complaining that he bad been unable to acquire the necessary information concerning prices from various firms in connection with the Ludlow Lane Urinal Contract on account of the shortness of time intervening between seeing the plans and specifications on Wednesday and the following morning when the tenders had to 'be in. Ile also objected io the Surveyor's procedure of inviting Adams to tender, and submitted that Mr Evan had exceeded his d. ty by so doing. Invariably the big contracts were J ured by outsiders when it was intended for onl,; i local tradesmen to tender. His price would have),r aen considerably less than Allen s. He wanted n favours but only fair play. Chamnan:—I don't tV^ink it afr-all fair. Mr PaveyI understood there was ample time from the n ednesday till] the following Monday, but 1 have got to learn who instructed the Surveyor to write and ask for tendei Air Snell-It's gonei^dy the custom to send out slips of all advertisement The Surveyor repliec "o the effect that he had tried to assist Mr Jones every possible way in the matter. The Chairman mainta that insufficient time had been given to local men The Surveyor I w "ected to write to certain firms. Proceeding, Mr Evans made a charge against Mr Jones, when the chairman promptly called him to order. Mr Guy thought the matter was in a nutshell. Had it been the custom, or had it ever in this case been instructed to write for anv tenders ? The Chairman:—It has never come to my know- ledge. Mr Snell:—Formerly it was always done. The Chairman Never in Mr Court's time and not till Mr Evans came. Mr Purnell:—He (Mr Jones) should not be allowed to dictate to the Council. Mr Guy :-Did Mr Jones apply before the plans were ready ? The Surveyor :—Yes, but the advertisement stated the plans could be seen on the Wednesday. Mr Guy :-Time too short. The Chairman :-The time was too short to allow a tenderer to correspond with makers. The subject then dropped. CONTRACTS. The seal of the Council was attached to the con- tracts for Plassey Lane, the Crossings, and Albert Crescent. Barnes, Chaplin & Co. applied for a further ad- I vance of Z750 on account, thus making X1300 in all for work done in Lower Penarth. Mr Snell:—They've nearly done, and therefore can wait. Mr Morgan :-There's a good deal of expenses, and as they are getting on so well let's help them. A Member :—They've already had X400. Mr Purnell:—I opposed their last application, but as they've nearly finished the question assumes another complexion. If the Surveyor can show that the work has been satisfactorily completed so far, I shall not now disfavour it. Mr R. Bevan :—Say £ 500. I move it. Mr Snell seconded. Mr Strawron --As an amendment I move that the conditions of the contract be strictly adhered to. Upon Mr Bevan amending his motion to .£400, it was carried by 6 to 1, the dissentient being Mr Strawson. MORE LIGHT. Mr Lloyd recommended the erection of an extra lamp at the rear of John Street in the lane between Paget Place and John Street. Mr Wallis Davies, a resident close by, however, thought there was a necessity for two. Mr Snell—What distance up do you propose to put it ? The Clerk-If the distance up the lane exceeds 50 yards we shall have to defray all the expense of laying the main. zn The Surveyor—It's 78 yards. Mr Snell—That was my object in asking the question. It would be cheaper to have two lamps. Mr Lloyd-Of the necessity of having additional lights there will, I am sure, be no diversity of opinion. The matter was left for the Surveyor to report upon. Mr Evan Rees also thought that a lamp ought to be erected near the cross roads by the Merry Har- riers. It would certainly be less dangerous. He would not object were one lamp on that road stretched a bit (laughter) or one shifted. Mr Guy seconded. The Surveyor-The Act compels us to keep them 50 yards apart. The Chairman—If we can't stretch 'em, we'll place an extra one there. Carried. ALLEGED SEWER POISONING. The case of one of the Council's employees having suffered from supposed poisoning, Mr Purnell said he had enquired into the circumstances and found that the man had not descended the man-hole but had lowered the materials to a mason. Since then he had gone for a holiday to llfracombe, thence to the Hills, and subsequent to his return had been taken ill, Dr. Bird certifying he was suffering from sewer poisoning. He (Mr Purnell) should advise the Council to order Dr. Nell to examine the man. In answer to Mr Morgan, it was adduced that the man had only been employed by the Council for three months. By Mr Guy—His holiday was two weeks. It was decided that the Medical Officer examine him, and pending the report to give him wages on account. j Mr Purnell-It ought to be entirely proved. Mr Morgan heard the same man had recently had a windfall, MISCELLANEOUS. On the motion of Mr Guy, seconded by Mr Pavey, the Chairman, Mr W. L. Morris, J.P., was unani. mously elected one of the governors for the University College, Cardiff, for the ensuing year. The amended Bye-laws with respect to new build- I ings have been read and notices will be issued to the effect that the Council have accepted them. As the result of an application a cheque for X300 (which had been specially retained by the Council) was forwarded the Technical Instruction Committee. Mr Pavey wished to know when his pet scheme' with respect to Cogan was likely to be consummate.d Mr Lloyd:—Hear, hear. Mr Snell :-Are we in a position to compel ? Clerk :-1 wrote recently, and will write again, to Mr Beasley, urging upou him the immediate necessity of carrying out the work. Mr Pavey:—We met them very fairlv in giving 10 feet. Surely that ought to have urged them ou! Clerk:—I'll put on all pressure possible. It was decided to remove the lam p opposite Mr Rogers, grocer, Windsor Road, to the middle of the cross road. Mr Guy in reminding the open spaces committee not to forget their trust suggested that the Surveyor draw out plans for different kinds of shelters, and to present the same next meeting. Carried.