Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder

SWANSSfl COUNCIL. 1 PROPOSED NEW MINING DEPART- MENT. At a meeting of Swansea Town Council on Weinesday afternooa. the Mayor (Aliernian D. Jones) presided, and ex- i ter"J a welcome at the outset to the, new Surveyor (.Mr. J. H. hwh) and elec- trical engineer (Mr. Burr), who attended "or the first time. The Star License. Sanction was given for the license of u- Theatre itoyni to be transferred from Hr. Isiey Youug to Air. G. Darner! Vaughan, tho present tenant. Insurance Commission and Mayor. A letior was received from the Weisn Insurance Commissioners stating that it had been decided that the Mayor of Swansea tiiouiii be axi es-oihcio member of the Weijh Advisory Committee. For the Belgians, The Town Cierk reported that the j concept ior the iieigian Kelugeea, Jrunti, promoted by tha ex-MaJor <md luni??'ll, haa re<ii?M'? the sum 01 Lil;j. Air. Lrneji 11. Leeaer, surveyor, wrote under dais December iith, in reierenca, to an interview he had with the Town Clerk tns previous day on the question, of prerenal. and arrc-.tiug u n employ-| ment in the town. Ni as pared to al low. a n-teufc sistant in la. i an, superintend a oi wvrk of widening Neath-road, subject to the borough surveyor's control, and. the; appointment of a clerk of works to be named by him (Mr. Leader), wliose saiary | ■—airioar.cmg to aboui; 45s. a week—should ] be. paid by the Corporation. The »er- i-ices of his t^jioUvut for a perioa of three months or until the work was completed, | rnuid be given free of charge.. The Tow.1 Clerk said he had conferred with th9 borough estate agent .and the borough surveyor, and they were prepared to give every assistance and co-oration, J Alderman Miles moved that the Council j accept Mr. Leader's public-spirited ofler. and that the surveyor be inst ructed to accept it as far as necessary. Alderman Corker seconded, and the Council agreed. The Town Clerk asked if the permission extended to employ; i of the clerk of wcrks at P,2 5s. per week. Aid. Miles: led, if the surveyor thinks jt-it is necessary.-The Council agreed  W I h c;ot t Names. 1 '¡' '<3 e s rce' ames. Mr. P. Watkins, for Miss Dulcie Vi. nil, and the Cyinrcdorion Society, protestea -against the p reposed alteration < f the names Lletliryd-avenue unci Le Breos- avenue.. Criticisms of Amount Spont on Street J I mprovenients. 1 In moving that the matter be referred back to the Highways Committee, Aid. Merrells said the alteration was made at, the direct request of the inhabitants. I Englishmen could not pronounce' thel names; he did not know how the surveyor would manage it (, Laughter.)—The matter was referred back. Street I mprovements. Mr. F. Parker referred to the request he made at the last meeting for a return l of the borough estate agent's expenses respecting the Neath-road and other im- provecuents. Since that time, he had re- o ceived a report from Mr. Tunbrioge, but report which had been prepared by Mr. Ashmole, the borough treasurer, had ito t gone with it. lie now moved that I the report of the borough treasurer re NeLith-oad and other street improve- ments be forwarded to every member of the Council, and that full discussion of this repor t and also that of the borough estate agent, be deferred until the next meeting. Alderman T. Merrells pointed out that ¡ the report of the borough- treasurer was not complete. Mr. Tunbridge had com- pleted contracts which were still unpaid for. Mr. Parker said he accepted that state- ment. Mr. G. Hill seconded the resolution. Alderman G. Col wall also supported the resolution, and referred to the enormous amount of money the Council was spend- ing on street improvements at a time when the nation was passing through a „ >ri»is unparalleled in its history. Alderman D. Davies said the Council vas committed to an expenditure of £ 30,000 on absolutely unremunerative jrcperty, and the bulk of these improve- ments :ú!t:>(1 only the outlying districts. I tie thought the Council ought to have l been consulted, and to have been given some idea of the amount of expenditure that was involved. A Id or m an Merrells: If the matter is to be discussed. I am willing to nake a statement. Alderman Daries said he was entitled Vfl go into the merits of the matter. He ó.¡.œd if the Council had realised they w..r6 going to pay the equivalent of X2,000 ln fees to take up practically -280,000 of property, which was not abso-, Intelv nocesKuy. He disapproved of a r'ornmttee committing tlw Council to. this expenditure without giving them information. Town Clerk Questions Amount. The Town Clerk: I do not think that the amount is OJSO.O^O. 1 think it is a little under £ 50,009. Alderman Morgan Tuttol1 said the listates Committee had nothing to do with it. It was done by another com- truttee.and whether rightly or wrongly he was not going to discuss. It appeared to him that a requisition was made for nertaiu information, and he thought they -(-re entitled to have it within a certain oeriod. At any rate, as only two lots remained to ba completed, there should be a period named. Mr. D. 'J. Davies said of course some I of the money that was spent would be unretiiunerative, but he thought it was a l very inopportune timo for Alderman Dai-ie, 3 to talk about the money Being spent in outlying districts. The outlying i districts were entitled to it, and he re- minded Alderman Davies that they were applying for an extension of the borough boundary. Alderman Merrells pointed out that in the return made by Mr. TunBridge the Estates Committee and the-Parliamentary Committee were concerned in the expendi- ture. ) Fullest information Wanted. I Altiorman W. H. Miles moved an amendiaent that the fullest information be given, and the matter be discussed when the mailers referred to by Alder- man Merrells were completed. Mr. Lewis seconded, and said he would like to know when they would be com- pleted. The Town Clerk said he thought the matt its referred to would be completed within two nths, and then the borough treasurer, tLe gt.8 agent, 2.1,,). himself ooaid give complete infonnation. Air. Parker said that during the'last'j t htee months, since Mr. Tunbridgebe- i-,Ur-o estate agc-nt, there had been some: tliree or four thousand pounds' worth. of /property bought.. if e borough treas-! nrcr'a statement went out. it would give the key to the situation, and there would; ue no need to defer the matter. Alderman Merrells said Mr. Ashroole was not in a position to give the informa- tion required. The Town Clerk was in a better position to give it. l;C> q /t.tt 8T!gp;,f) 'R'Tt ■nmrnrs ^an^ tw, -juo^n, ;'¥! JfunbndKe. 'asid aa not t.Q8 I amount of property that had been pur-I chased and not paid for. The amendment was lost, 10 voting for; and 11 against. The resolution was carried, with the addition that a report of the Town Clerk be incl uded. A New Alderman. t An interesting item of the day's business was the election of an alderman to filII tli a vacancy caused by the retirement of Alderman Morgan Hopkin. Mr. Griffiths, who rose to move a resolution, said the tenure of the ofbc, one year and ten months—was so short I that.no member Lf the Co uncll, he under- stood, wished to be elected to the vacancy. He had pleasure in submitting tho name  of Mr. Evan Evans, of Ber&sioid Bou.se, for the oiffce. He was a gentleman who was very desirous of entering the Council, and was in real earnest to serve the town. Ho had fought two elections, and was very nearly returned at one. Mr. Shehan seconded. Mr. Molyneux said he was sorry to speak against the resolution, though he had nothing to propose. His reason for I opposing wac that the mover of the resolution had not put forward any sub-I stantial reason for Mr. Evans's appoint- ment. He stated that Mr. Evans was desirous of entering the Council, but he was sure if the public of Swansea knew they were going to co-opt an alderman there would Lo hundreds who would be desirous of entering the Council. Any gentleman who wished to enter that Council should do so in the legitimate way. He had no prejudice against Mr. Evans—he was an excellent gentleman, and migbc he very useful to the Council, but he could not see any reason why they should co-opt him—be might have been around to see some members and pressed them. He (the speaker) asked the Council to seriously consider their action in this matter. Alderman MerreTIs observed that if any member of the Council was desirous of becoming a candidate for the office his name should be submitted now. But he understood that no member was anxious for the office, or would even be forced into it. If they appointed Mr. Evans he was sure no one would be disappointed. Ald. Colwill opposed the resolution. I would rather move another resolu- finn," he said, that we advertise the position and give them all a chance." (Laughter.) Ald. Davies: I don't think any alderman has a voice in the matter. (Laughter.) Mr. J)avid Williams said if it was a question of appointing an alderman for the full period he would also oppose, but in the unusual circumstancos he would not. Mr. Evans was then duly elected. Traffic Facilities Between Swansea and I Mumbles. The parliamentary aud General Pur- poses Committee reported having referred to the Sub-Committee on Borough Exten- sion and Drainage Schemes the Mayor's suggestion that the "MIUllbles Railway should be converted into an electric rail- way. In moving the report the Chairman (Mr. D. Matthews) said there seemed to be a very strong desire to see the traffic f<n?itieh between Swansea and MumbiM greatly improved. It had been arranged that the sub-committee should be called to see if anything could be done in this I direction. The Mayor said they knew tha state of the line at the present time, and if they could get a scheme by which it would be removed and a proper tramway service provided, it would be a very considerable improvement. They were working to- wards the extension, of the borough, and this railway matter was one that would interest and considerably help the Mumbles. He hoped they would have strong support in the Council. There might be difficulties in the way of the acquisition of the railway, but they were not yet before them. Quarter Sessions Crier. The Parliamentary Committee recom- mended that the Clerk to the Kecorder of Swansea be appointed crier of Quarter Sessions at £15 per annum. Mr. Protheroe said about 1} days was the longest he had known tho sessions last, and as this was the wrong time to add to the already large salaries, he moved the deletion of the minute. Mr. Bassett seconded. Mr. Matthews said there was informa- tion before the committee that it would be in the interest of the work of the sessions that the amount should be paid. At all; events, they wished to reconsider the matter.—Referred back. Castle-street Tenants Allege Losses. The Estates Committee reported that several of the leasees of the Castle-Street plots asked tbat the Corporation should meet them with regard to losses, alleged to have been sustained—to a great extent by tne delay in the completion of Castle-street and other circumstances- by allowing a certain amount off the ground rents due" from them to the Cor- poration.-It was resolved that the Estate Agent obtain from the lessees a detailed statement of the circumstances under which they claimed to have suffered loss, and that such statements be submitted to a joint meeting of the Estates and the Finance Committee.-The report was adonted. -A Echo of the Recent Fire. The Estate Agent reported having con- sidered an application from Mr. Moxham for a renewal of the underlease of his saw mills and timber yard in Oystermouth- road, and resolved .—(1) That subject to a surrender by Mr. Moxham of his exist- ing underlease, a new lease of the pre- mises be granted to Mr. Moxham for a term of 60 years to be computed from the data of the above-mentioned surrender; (2), That the rental to be reserved by the new lease be £ 25 per annum; (3), That the lease contain the uaual covenants and conditions inserted in Corporation lease3 and also set out in the Estate Agent's report Mr. Barclay Owen remarked on a grievance tha't had long been experienced by people living near the works in conse- quence of the smoke from the stack, and he moved that it be a condition of the lease that the machinery should be driven by electricity. The Estate Agent said it had been ar- ranged that this should be so. Mr. D. Williams thought the matter should be deferred until the nuisance was remedied Residents' Grievances. Tho Town Clerk read a petition from about 160 residents in the locality pro- testing aghinst the rebuilding of the yard in such close proximity to dwelling- houses. They bad previously protested against the nuisance caused by the smoke from the engine stack, but nothing had been done in regard to this. Messrs. Collins and Wood wrote on be- half of Mr. Moxham pointing out that the premises had been used as a timber- _I yard for upwards of 60 years, and the houses had come to them, and not the works to the houses. The works wei^e, situated in a part of the town devoted to industrial purposes, and it would be ex- tremely difficult to erect them elsewhere, ilaving regard to the shortness of the lease they would not be justified m pro- viding permanent buildings. They would I do all they could to remedy any com- I plaints. Alderman Tutton, who moved the minute, said they would be for 20 years solutely powerless in the matter in view of a portion of the lease lking unexpired- Mr. Parker pointed out that cwirg to the distance the cable had to be carried the expense of installing electricity would be great, and he suggested that the electrical engineer should ,see if the expense could not he lightened by in- ducing others in the vicinity to take the power.—Eventually, it being understood that electric power would be definitely I installed, the report was adopted. Suggested Terms for Provision of Mining Department. I At the special meeting of the Finance and General Purposes sub-committee of the Education Committee the minutes of the sub-eommitee re mining education dated the 9th December, 19M, containing suggested terms of agreement between the Glamorgan County Council and the I Swausaa local education authority in re- gard to the provision of a mining depart- ment at the Technical College were sub- mitted and approved and recommended for adoption.>' Mr. Ivor Gwvnne (chairman of the Education Committee) said the members were all awaro the committee contem- plated establishing two new departments I at the Technical College. He had asked the principal to interview the architect with reference to the cost of erecting the building necessary for establishing a mining department, and according to his version it would mean something like £ 1,000. They were also aware the com- mittee had been in negotiation with the -N, i In i n- Board for Mining Board for South Wales with a view to establishing a similar depart- ment in connection with the College, but some few weeks ago they withdrew their formal offer. Personally, upon principle, he would much prefer establishing such a department in conjunction with another public authority than with a private body, and for that reason the committee at once complied with the invitation of the County Council to discuss the matter. The County Council were prepared to advance the sum of P,1,000 for equipping the department, and also contribute £100 per annum for its upkeep. The Educa- tion Committee would have full control (' of the department. The County Council were already giving elementary instruc- tion in the various districts around ] Swansea, and only advanced mining in- struction would be given at the Technical College. From a financial standpoint he I thought the scheme would be an advan- tage to Swansea. While the County Council would bear the cost of equipping the department and maintaining that equipment, the Education Committee would be in receipt of the grant and fees. According to informaiton they had re- ceived from the Director of Mining for Glamorgan, Mr. Gwynne continued, if they had 40 part-time students at the College it would mean between grant and fees an income of something like S100 to £UO per annum. Out of that it would be necessary to pay the sinking fund, and they would have a surplus to meet any emergency that might arise. He was not going to press the matter that day, and if any member of the Council was anxious ■to postpone it he was quite willing. In conclusion he thought the establishment lof the school would be of advantage to the College, and to Swansea, and would raise the status and prestige of the Col- l lege. Swansea Head Teachers' Application for Christmas Holidays. I The Education Staffing Sub-committee recommended that Mr. and Mrs. S. Davies, Neath-road, llafod, be appointed 'caretakers of the Hafod School, and that Mr. and ifcs." W. Griffiths, Aberdyberthi- fitreet, be appointed caretakers of the next vacant school. Aid. Tutton moved that the positions be reversed, and supporting, Mr. Williams alluding to his very remote relationship to Mr. Grifiiths, met a criticism by saying that he had never used his position to the benefit of his own people, and those re- sponsible for a suggestion of that kind were incapable of speaking or thinking the truth. But when people were wanted to take charge of schools Mr. and Mrs. Griffiths were chosen, and now now people were called in over them for permanent work. Aid Davies and others supported, and the names were reversed in the minutes. Christmas Holidays. The Education Finance Sub-committee recommended that the application of the Swansea Branch of the National Associa- tion of Head Teachers for a fortnight's holiday at Christmas be not acceded to. Mr. Williams moved that the applica- tion be acceded to, in recognition of the services of the teachers in connection with the feeding of school children. Mr. Howells seconded, and Aid. Miles supporting, paid a tribute to the services of the teachers in feeding children, os- pecially at the commencement of the war. On the motion of Aid. Davies, it was' decided to ask the War Office to grant free Christmas passes to all soldiers. To some of the Swansea men at Northamp- ton the new arrangements on this point did not apply.—The Council agreed. Morriston's "Unbearable" Attitude. The Tramways and Electric Lighting Committee recommended that the tender amounting to £ 37, of the British Thomson Houston Co., Ltd., be accepted for the necessary work of overhauling, prior to starting up, the turbo alternators and condensing plant installed at the electri- city station. Mr. D. J. Davies moved that the minute be referred back, his objection being that owing to tho slow method of doing the work Morriston had suffered in regard to the supply of electric current. Mr. Molyneux seconded. Mr. Sinclair: This is getting unbear- able. I cannot use any other term for it. It is always Morristoii--Morrirton. (Laughter.) If Mr. Davies persists in his motion he will thereby delay anything the committee could do for Morriston for a month. The new Engineer will do all he possibly can 1')1' Morriston, and this is one of the things he wanted to do. Mr. D. J. Davies: The electric light we have had at Morriston has been unbear- able for a long time. Mr. David Matthews said he and his Morriston colleagues were continually being worried to get work done for Mor- riston. This minute partially explained why the committee could not give Morris- ton better facilities for electric light. Alderman Miles: It seems to me that is just the very reason why they should not move the amendment. In reply to further questions, Mr. Sinclair said the reason for the delay was well-known, and had been explained several times. Mr. Molyneux: Tradesmen in M orris- ton complain that they cannot get electric light installed without paying a deposit. Alderman Col will: I suggest that when the Parliamentary Committee are draft- ing their new Bill they should stipulate th.tt from this time henceforth Morriston shall be a separate county. (Laughter.) Mr. David Matthews: If you spend this money, will it facilitate lighting at Mor- riston ? Mr. Sinclair: Yes. Mr. D. J. Davies: I withdraw, then. The minute was then a,clopted-I Sub-Contracting and Town Hill Scheme. Mr. Molyneux (vice-chairman of the Housing Committee) reported upon re- ceiving tenders for the 500 houses on Town Hill. Nothing had been done so far, but he hoped in the course of a week j or eo-tbe chairman of the committee was unwell—to call tho committee together, and then a special meeting of the Coun- cil to arrive nt a final decision. Alderman Miles urged the committee to do away altogether "with tha sub- letting of contracts except in very excep- tional circumstance# Mr. Molyneux: When we accept ten- ders we will bring the alternative ten- ders before you. Mr. David Williams objected to the wording of the clause on the subject of sub-letting, which read that no sub- letting or under-letting should be per- mitted unless the contractor obtains the previous written consent of this committee under the hand oc the Town Clerk. He objected to the Town Clerk having power. The Town Clerk: The committee has the power, sir. Mr. David Williams: I want to be cer- tain that all these permits to assign shall be brought before the council. The Town Clerk: Before any sub-con- tracting can take place the consent of the Housing Committee will have to be given and the consent must be given under mv hand. Mr. Williams: I want these matters re- ferred to the council, and I move that the word council" bo added to the minute. Alç1:fIi¡J seconded    A Id '?&tyn?t& t:nO'ttg tth c?mmit?eo ftuito coptpeteut to decide, and Mr. Owen also hoped the matter would not bo í pressed, and said he knew tho committee would take every precaution in view of what had transpired. To make the addi-I tion would be to delav the work. Mr. Molyneux said the tenders had been asked on tho terms stated, and if the ^alteration was made the whole of the: tenders would have to be reconsidered. I Mr. Williams: I'm not going to give away the council's power. The voting was 8 to 8, and the Mayor giving his casting vote in favour of the minute as it stood, it was passed, t S 1