Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

10 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

PORTRC&WL URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL

Rhestrau Manwl, Canlyniadau a Chanllawiau
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

PORTRC&WL URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL NEW MEMBER CO-OPTED. "FACTIOUS AND CORRUPT." INTERJECTIONS BY MEMBER OF PUBLIC. The usual monthly meeting of the Porth- oawl U.D. Council was held on Monday, Mr. T. James presiding. Then;; were aliio present Messrs. R. E. Jones, T. G. Jones, Daniel Davies, D. J. Rees, and T. E. Deere, with the clerks (Me^rs. Evan Davies and W. Chorley), and the surveyor (Mr. T. Hatcher). Several matters of more than average in- terest were discussed. The business of co- opting a member to take the place of Mr. John Grace came as near producing a scene as makes no matter. In addition to the pre- sentation of a memorial on the subject, from a number of ratepayers, there were three separate plans submitted to the Council for dealing with the question—open voting, ballot, and the referendum—by way of public meeting. In the end, the ballot had it, and the Council—or rather the majority— promptly availed itself of the privilege of secrecy by electing Mr. D. Jones, thus ignor- ing the memorial in favour of ex-Councillor Wm. Griffin-a. procedure that drew from Mr. J. E. Thomas, who formed an audience in himself, the indignant interjection of "Factious, corrupt!" Nothing perturbed by this outbreak, the Council quietly proceeded with the discussion of allotments, small holdings, and an ingeni- ous scheme for saving the town's waste paper that evolved from the fertile brain of Mr. T. G. Jones. MISS SAUL'S RECITAL. The Deputy Clerk (Mr. W. Chorley) an- nounced that as a result of Miss Saul's Dickens' Recital a sum of P.21 had been sent to Lord Burnham for the Soldiers' and Sailors' Christmaz Pudding Fund. (Hear, hear. ) DISTRICT NURSE. A letter was read from the County Nursing Association on the work of health visitation in the Council's area. Sixty cases of child- birth had been attended. All the oases were satisfactory. Some of the new arrivals were excellent little specimens a few were delicate, but were now doing well. CHRISTMAS CLOSING. A communication was read from the South Wales and Monmouthshire Association of Wholesale and Retail Confectioners, on the question of Sunday closing. The thousands of retail confectioners (said the memorial) were already severely hit by the Closing Order and the Association expres&ed its very strong opinion that the Order, so far as confectioners were concerned, ought to be entirely sus- pended for the period December 11th to Janu- ary 6th. The Association asked for the Council's support foe a memorial to the Gov- ernment to that effect. Mr. Dan Daviea asked whether the ques- tion might not more suitably be dealt with by the Chamber of Trade. Mr. T. E. Deere, to test the meeting, moved that the Council support the Association in the matter. The proposition was not seconded, however, and accordingly fell to the ground. THE COUNCIL COMPLIMENTED. The next communication read was of a nature that could not fail to be gratifying to a Council modestly proud of its achievements in the direction of war activities. It was a request from Treorky, couched in extremely flattering terms, for particulars of the Coun- cil's scheme for providfng coal and coke at cost price to the dependents of soldiers and sailors. The Chairman: This is not the first time this Council has been foremost in matters of this kind, but it has not always been recog- nised. It waa decided to send the desired particu- lars. -1 FLAG DAYS, ETC. A letter was read from the National Patrio- tic Relief Committee in regard to the Rumanian Relief Fund, and laying down the conditions on which a Rumanian Flag Day, if held, must be run. The reading of this communication raised the whole question of Flag Days in Porthcawl. The Chairman reminded the Council that they were more or less pledged to a Belgium Flag Day in the near future, and in this con- nection an appeal was read from. the Na, tional Committee of Relief in Belgium, ask- ing for the Council's co-operation in a great national effort on behalf of the children of Belgium, "among whom, as a result of Ger- man inhumanity and under-feeding, tuber- culosis and other diseases are making alarm- ing in-roads." A "Christmas envelope" waa enclosed, containing the Lord Mayor's ap- peal, and it waa earnestly hoped "one of these may find its way to every Christmas dinner talkie in the area under your authority." The Council was asked to form a local committee, if one did not already exists to distribute and collect envelopes. The Chairman: There are four flag days on the carpet now, and it is impossible to move. I should like the Council to meet in commit- tee, and see what can be done. Mr. D. Da vies moved to that effect. Mr. T. E. Deere: It's not much good unless the ladies are in it. Mr. D. Davies moved that a public meeting be held, in conjunction with the Council, to consider the whole matter. Mr. T. E. Deere howl they would not lose sight of Belgium. Belgium had not failed them in the time of great need. Mr. T. G. Jones reminded his colleagues that the Lord Roberts' Fund for soldiers' workshops was also having a flag day at Christmas. He hoped they would not clash. In the end the matter was left in the Chair- man's hands to make arrangements. STORM DAMAGE TO FRONT. The Surveyor reported that the recent storm had done considerable damage to the east and west timber piers, and to the sea wall. Heavy timbers had been carried away at the base of the piles. These had been re- placed while it had been found possible to run a strip of concreting along the pase of the sea wall. CO-OPTED MEMBER. I The next business was the co-opting of a member to take the place of Mr. John Grace, resigned. In regard to this the clerk read a petition signed by 112 ratepayers praying the Council to co-opt ex-Councillor Wm. Griffin to the vacant seat. The memorial, it was stated, was only started on Saturday, or many more signature could have been got. As it was, there had not been a single refusal, and the memorialista suggested that the peti- tion was one which the Council could not very well ignore. The petition having been duly read, Mr. T. G. Jones moved that the election be by ballot. It would save personalities. We have a memorial before us," said Mr. Jones. "We want to be fair to that memorial. There is a gentleman named in it, and the fairest way is to ballot. Mr. D. J. Rees would be very sorry to see the ballot adopted. He himself was prepared to vote openly. He was not afraid of any- body. Mr. R. E. Jones said it was not a question of being afraid. Y, reconded the motion. An amendment by Mr. D. J. Recs that the voting be open meeting with no seconder, Mr. T. E. Deere moved as a further amend- ment that mstoad of taking the matter into their own hands they should cast the onus on the ratepayers. Let the ratepayers them- selves choose Mr. Grace's successor, and who- ever it was, let them (the Council) welcome him in a hearty manner. Mr. R. E. Jones would welcome the amend- ment if the matter really went to the rate- payers. How did Mr. Deere propose to man- age it ? Mr. T. E. Deere: By calling a public meet- ing. If the ratepayers are interested they will come. Mr. R. E. Jones: In that case I cannot fall in with the proposal. Such a meeting would not in my opinion be representative of the ratepayers. You would have at most 300 or 400 people, and you know that you or I or anyone could pack such a meeting. Mr. T. G. Jones agreed. They all knew from recent experience what a ratepayers meeting could be. The decision of the meet- ing he alluded to was upset and routed when the people had a chance of deciding for them- selves. It was war time, and he hoped that most of them had buried the hatchet of con- tention. (Hear, hear.) For himself, he could only say that latterly they (the Coun- cil) had somehow or other not done their work as they used to do, and if they were not capable of co-opting a member according to the Act of Parliament, then the sooner they gave way and Jet the people elect a new lot altogether the better. His reason for advo- cating a vote by ballot was in order to ensure that the man who was elected should come to that chamber on a unanimous vote. If he (Mr. Jones ) named a man some other member would name someone else. There would be a fight. One of them would win, and the new man, whoever he was, would come in with the feeling that some of the members were against him. That was not desirable. The Legal Clerk: A public meeting would of course have no power of actual election. The Chairman thought the matter should be "done by ballot, and done now." On the matter being put to the vote, the decision, on the casting vote of the Chair- man, was for ballot. A ballot was accor- dingly taken, Mr. T. E. Deere abstaining, when the figures were:— Mr. David Jonea .3 votes. I Mr. Wm. Griffiths .2 votes. I Mr. Jones was therefore declared elected, Mr. J. E. Thomas (from the spectators' seats): It is factious—corrupt—unfair to the I ratepayers. The Chairman: I must ask you to retire, sir, unless you can behave yourself. I SMALL HOLDINGS. I I Mr. T. G. Jones raised the question of food production "from the standpoint of local administration." The Small Holdings Act I allowed that Council to grant holdings up to I o acres to any applicant. The time had come I to act on that permission and to take steps to encourage the application for small hold- ings. He proposed that a Committee of the whole Council be formed to that end, and that it should seek to co-operate with the County Council and to make inquiries as to holdings over 5 acres. He had been told that there were many people waiting for al- lotments of from 5 to 50 acres, and could not get them, and he thought it was time they remedied that state of things if it existed. Mr. Dan Davies seconding, agreed that it was abouVtime the Council moved. Mr. R. E. Jones supported. This war made the cultivation of every inch of ground a most important question. He would like to ask, however, were they making the best of their present allotments? He had seen some uncultivated, and he thought if a man would not use his allotment they ought to take it from him. The Legal Clerk pointed out that several of the allotment holders were on active ser- vice. Mr. R. E. Jones: I am very sorry. It was my ignorance. Mr. T. E. Deere suggested that these un- cultivated allotments might be let tem- porarily to other people on condition that they paid the owners a small percentage of the produce, the Council to hold the allot- ments for the owners at the front, and on the understanding that they should be han- ded back when they returned. I The matter was eventually referred to a Committee, as was also the larger question of small holdings. PAPER SHORTAGE. I Mr. T. G. Jones called attention to the serious shortage of paper in the country, and proposed that they establish a municipal de- pot for waste paper, the public to be invited to save their waste paper in bags, which could then be collected by the town scaven- gers on their regular rounds. There were 600 houses in the town, and he calculated they could make a profit of from JE5 to £10 a week at the present price of paper, which they could devote to some charitable object. A machine for immediately condensing the paper could be bought for 23 10s. Mr. Jones gave details of his scheme, par- ticularly as regards the collecting by the town scavengers. Mr. Deere, who seconded, criticised these, and suggested instead a collection by the schoolboys of the town, and also that, to in- duce people to enter heartily into the scheme, the proceeds should go towards the benefit of their own town. This niatter also was eventually referred to a Committee for the threshing out of de- tails.

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