The Tenby Observer Weekly List of Visitors and Directory

TOWN COUNCIL. The Quarterly Meeting of the Town Council was held on Wednesday. Present:—The Mayor (Alder- man W. H. Richards), Aldermen James Rogers, and R. Venning; Councillors M. Mathias-Thomas, J. Hughes, N. A. Roch, W. Williams, W. Thomas, J. A. Jenkins, James Griffiths, George Richards, ,and B. G. Gifford. THE MINUTES. The Town Clerk read the minutes of the last meeting, and explained, with reference to the reso- lution of Mr Mathias-Thomas at that meeting, post- poning the purchase of a pump for pumping sea water for watering the streets, that the Committee had ordered the pump and it was now on its way. He was not aware of it at the last meeting. In the course of further discussion it was shown the Council had given power to the Committee to order up to JE50 and this pump would cost £60, it being found that a much better one could be ob- tained for the extra £10.¡ It was proposed by Mr Mathias-Thomas and seconded by Mr Roch, that the authority assumed by the Committee be confirmed by the Council. Carried. MONEY ORDERS. The Council then proceeded to sign money orders, the payment of the annual subscription to the Cot- tage Hospital giving rise to some discussion, as some of the members thought that for this annual subscription of £ 5 the town should have the use of the mortuary. Ultimately it was agreed that the cheque be signed. WINTER GARDENS. The Town Clerk read the resolution of the last meeting, when the plans for the proposed Winter Gardens were ordered to be referred to the Estates Committee. They reported as follows :— "The Committee have examined Messrs. Whit- more and Reeves' plans for proposed Winter Gardens, Promenade, and Sea Baths on the North Shore, which they unanimously approve of, and recommend the Council approving of the same; and to grant to the promoters such rights as the Corporation possess over the foreshore on the north side of the town, together with a right of way from the Norton to the Sea-water Baths, in such way as the Borough Surveyor may recommend." Mr W. Thomas asked if the proposed enclosure would interfere with the existing approaches to the ,sands from the Norton. The Town Clerk replied in the negative. Alderman Rogers proposed that the recom- mendations of the Committee be adopted. It was well-known that Sea-water Baths were much re- quired in the town in fact it was a great drawback to the prosperity of the place that they were with- out them. Mr W. Williams seconded. He believed the Baths would be of great advantage to the residents, and the Winter Gardens a source of pleasure to visitors. The cliff at present was quite useless to the Corporation, and in no way a source of profit to them. Mr B. G. Gifford said he should fail in his duty If he did not look after the interests of the rate- payers. He believed the Baths and Winter Gardens would be of immense advantage to the town, and a source of profit to the promoters, but he should object to the proposed grant of the land of the Corporation to the Company. He should propose that a lease be granted at a nominal rent, so that at any future time they could say, we are the owners. The Town Clerk said they did not ask for any land. They intended going out on the foreshore. Mr-B. G. Gifford--Then what is the object of coming before us ? The Town Clerk-The promoters must first have the consent of the Town Council before they can go to the Board of Trade and ask permission to enclose a portion of the foreshore. They do not want to be opposed by the Council. Mr James Griffiths was of opinion that the Cor- poration ought to do all they possibly could to help forward the proposal, and if they could afford it, subscribe as well. The Mayor said he understood all that was asked for now, was the consent of the Corporation to the proposed plans. Mr Roch—And that consent includes a right of way. The Town Clerk pointed out that the Committee rec ommended the granting of a right of way over the cliff. It did not follow that it would be over any existing path to the beach. Some of the prom oters thought it would be better to make a path from opposite the Gate House Hotel. But before they could decide upon any details it would be nece ssary to obtain the grant of any rights the Corporation possessed over the foreshore. Whatever road was proposed it would come before them for .approval. Mr Mathias-Thomas asked if they had considered the vested interests of all pa rties in the foreshore. The Town Clerk-There are none. Mr Mathias-Thomas asked whether the company on whose behalf these concessions were asked, was represented at the Board, and whether the com- pany was registered. The Town Clerk replied in the negative. Mr Mathias-Thomas said that in that case he thought the application was premature. They were asked "to hand over rights to a company not yet in existence, and he should propose that the motion stand over till the promoters were in a posi- tion to say—we have formed our company, grant ue the concessions asked. Mr Roch said he thought it premature to come to the Council before the company was formed. The Town Clerk said it was true the company had not yet been formed, but it was usual before a company was floated to ascertain the conditions upon which they could obtain land, so that they could go before the public and say, we have obtained certain concessions, will you become shareholders in the concern. Mr J. A. Jenkins was of opinion, in reference to the .amendment of Mr Gifford, and the remarks of Mr Mathias-Thomas, that if they were endorsed it would simply tend to snuff out the undertaking, as no company would spend £ 5000 or £ 6000 upon a lease of 75 years, which was the longest term for which the Corporation could grant one. The Town Clerk remarked that if the concessions were not granted, the affair would simply be dropped. Mr Mathias-Thomas looked upon it as placing too much power in the. hands of the Surveyor to say where the pathway in the cliff should be made. That ought to be settled by the Council themselves, and not by any individual official of the Board. He was not opposed to the company, but wished them every success. At the same time they must :«ee that the interests of the ratepayers did not suffer. He would second the proposition of Mr Gifford. Mr George Richards said he felt they ought to give all the support they could to the promoters. At first he was not inclined to fall in with the idea of granting the existing rights of the public over the cliff to a company; but since he had been at the meeting, and listened to the discussion, he had changed his views. The Mayor said he should have much preferred if the question had been referred to a committee of the whole Council, and he understood this would have been the case, as then they could have had all the details before them. Now they were obliged to ask for all their information. He should have preferred that the plans had been considered by the whole Council. Mr J. A. Jenkins said all the information the committee had before them were the plans, and all they were asked was whether they could recom- mend the Council to give their consent to the project. The Mayor-There is the right of way. Alderman Venning looked upon it as their duty 'to assist the Company in every way, and proposed that the path through the garden in the Norton be made a public path. Mr Roch said it made no difference whether the path in question was a public one or not, the public had the use of it. The Town Clerk had explained fairly their position with the Board of Trade. He was not opposed to the scheme. The Gardens and Baths would probably do a great deal of good to the town; but the question was the right of way over the cliff—whether it should take the form of a grant, or a lease. Mr J. A. Jenkins said, supposing the company had been formed, he would have been prepared to propose at -the meeting that day, that the whole cliff should be ceded to them, subject to an annual rent charge. The Mayor was of opinion it was highly desirable something should be done to attract visitors to the town. The scheme before them gave promise to do that. No loss could accrue to the Corporation, as the money would be found by private individuals. He did not think, if the test was applied, That a single ratepayer would object to the concessions, -for really very little was asked. The matter gave rise to a prolonged discussion, and ultimately the Council divided. For the amendment of Mr B. G. Gifford—Mr Roch, Mi Mathias-Thomas, and Mr B. G. Gifford. For the motion—Messrs. Rogers, Venning, Hughes, Williams. Jenkins, Griffiths, and Geo. Richards. WATER COMMITTEE. The Report of the Water Committee with respect to the purchase money of new engine, was read and adopted. SANITARY COMMITTEE. The Report of the Sanitary Committee was also read, recommending the extension of the Castle Hill sewer. The report was adopted, and the work ordered to be carried out by the Borough Surveyor with the Board's own men. COLLECTOR'S STATEMENT. The Town Clerk read the following statement:— Recoverable arrears of District Rate -dM42 18 7 Unpaid by the Corporation and mem- bers thereof 116 18 0 £326 0 7 Rateable value— £ 21,490 5s. Recoverable arrears of Water Rate zC362 3 2 Unpaid by the Corporation and mem- bers thereof 65 4 11 £ 296 18 3 Assessable value-£18,276 10s. Surprise was expressed that members of the Council had not yet paid their rates. NEW RATE. The Town Clerk read the following estimate for the District Rate :— Estimate for District Rate for year ending 25th ) March, 1886. Balance due to Treasurer on 25th March, 1885 £ 452 9 8 Bills unpaid (say) 60 0 0 Scavenging— Men's wages £ 190 0 0 Removal of refuse- 169 0 0 Sundries 15 0 0 —————— 374 0 0 Road labour 120 0 0 Footways- 30 0 0 Sewerage 20 0 0 Watering- 35 0 0 Culvert 20 0 0 Penally Road 30 0 0 Esplanade steps 30 0 0 Sundries 30 0 0 —————— 315 0 0 Rent of Surveyor's stores 2 0 0 Expenses of lighting the town 450 0 0 Instalment to Public Works Loan Commis- sioners on £ 1450 loan £76 2 10 Ditto on X-2670 212 14 4 Ditto on £ 1500 102 0 0 390 17 2 Salaries- Clerk 15 0 0 Medical Officer 30 0 0 Surveyor and Inspector of Nuisances 54 12 0 Analyst 5 5 0 Auditors 6 6 0 Collector 25 0 0 —————— 136 3 0 Interest on purchase of pump and Castle Hill outfall sewer loan 10 0 0 Interest on overdraft at Bank 5 7 0 Incidentals 20 0 0 JE22151610 Less amount uncollected of Rate made I 18th Jitae, 1884 442 18 7 91772 IS 3 The rateable value may be taken at £ 21,000, and a rate at Is. 9d. in the £ will realize jE1837 10s. Od., allowing for land which yields only one-fourth. The Surveyor laid on the table two plans for the improvement of Penally Road, one at an expendi- ture of Eloo, and the other £ 40. After some discussion it was proposed by Mr J. A. Jenkins, and seconded by Mr James Griffiths, that a sum of £ 30 be added to the estimate to repair Penally Road. Mr Mathias-Thomas proposed as an amendment, that in view of the large snm they were now pledged to spend no outlay be made at present. On a division three voted for the amendment and eight for the motion. Mr B. G. Gifford said he thought due considera- tion should be paid to the proposition of Mr Roch last year over the salary of the Collector, and moved that the estimate be reduced 97 10s. The Mayor pointed out that the resolution did not take effect until November next. The Town Clerk said it would make no appre- ciable effect in the estimate for the rate if the £ 7 10s. was struck out. The Mayor then proposed that a District Rate of Is. 9d. in the £ be made, being 3d. less than last year. This was seconded by Mr J. A. Jenkins, and agreed to. WATER RATE. The Town Clerk read the following estimate:- Estimate for Water Rate for year ending 25th March, 1886. Balance due to Treasurer on 25th March, 1885 £297 7 10 Bills unpaid at that date (say) 100 0 0 Instalments to Loan Commissioners On 1st f 5000 f,271 17 6 On 2nd £ 5000 271 17 6 Oti f,1825 113 3 0 On X2174 174 9 4 —————— 831 7 4 Rent of Reservoirs 25 0 0 Wayleave 4 4 0 Sir Tlios. Meyrick 10 0 0 Surveyor's Stores 2 0 0 —————— 41 4 0 Rates (say) 40 0 0 Interest on purchase money of engine, &c. 12 10 0 Expenses of engine working F,120 0 0 Fittings, repairs, main- tenance, &c. 100 0 0 Incidental 20 0 0 240 0 0 Salaries- Clerk 15 0 0 Surveyor 27 6 0 Collector 25 0 0 Auditors 6 6 0 — 73 12 0 Incidentals 20 0 0 Interest on overdraft 3 6 10 £ 1659 8 0 Less amount uncollected of Rate made 18th June, 1884 362 3 2 £1297 4 10 The rateable value may be taken £ 18,2/6, and a rate at Is. 6d. in the £ will realize £1370 14s. On the motion of Mr J. A. Jenkins, seconded by Mr George Richards, a rate of Is. 6d. in the £ was made, being Id. less than last year. THE WINDMILL FIELD. The Town Clerk read a letter from Robert Ash- man, relative to his rent, pleading his inability to pay. It was agreed that it be struck off. THE FOLLY ROAD. A letter was read from Mr F. B. Mason, asking the Council to repair the road through the Folly, or lie should not be able to fulfil his contract of supplying coals for the engine. It was agreed that the road be repaired. PROMENADE BAND. The Town Clerk said he had received several letters relative to a Band for the season, and he had brought them forward thinking perhaps the Council would take the band question up. In many places the Town Council provided the band. The Mayor said he should be happy to subscribe, but would have nothing to do with the manage- ment. The Council, after some consideration, decided they could not do anything in the matter. The letters could be handed over to a committee. The subject then dropped. THE VOTE OF CONDOLENCE. The Town Clerk read a reply from Lady Mayoress !■ Nottage, thanking the Council for their vote of condolence. The same was ordered to be entered on the minutes. THROUGH CARRIAGE TO LONDON. The Town Clerk was instructed to write to the Great Western Railway Company, the London and North Western Railway Company, and the Pem- broke and Tenby Railway Company, with respect to a through carriage to London. ABERYSTWITH COLLEGE. The Town Clerk read a circular from the Secre- tary to the Aberystwith College, asking the Council to elect a gentleman to serve on the Council of Governors of the College. The appointment would extend over five years. On the motion of Mr Mathias-Thomas, seconded by Mr J. A. Jenkins. Mr Alderman W. H. Richards was unanimously elected. MR. GRIFFITHS'S FIELD. The Town Clerk said he had received notice from Mr Griffiths that he intended to quit the large field held by him. It was agreed to let the same by auction. GENERAL GORDON. The Mayor said that on a previous occasion he had mentioned the Mansion House Gordon Memo- rial Fund to the Council, but lie understood some persons objected to the Mansion House Fund, and would therefore not subscribe. He should like it known that in a few days another memorial fund would be opened, the Greenwich Memorial. It was intended to build a large home for poor boys at that place, as it was well known that the gallant General Gordon always took a great interest in such undertakings. The papers would be ready in a few days, and those persons who objected to the Mansion House Fund would have an opportunity of subscribing to the Greenwich Memorial. The meeting then broke up.