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.or Butt r, Delicious, C-reamy, Finest Obtainable, ??/? ??? !!L!? <??/?? a&?s? B?w?t! GOOD BUTTER, guaranteed pure, OUR NOTED TEAaM/6 per Ib. is '!1d. per lb. unequalled at the price. NEW LAID EGGS 1/-per dozen. Large this, NEW APRICOTS, 6? perTin. WONDERFUL VALUE IN TEA at 2-lb. JARS MARMALADE, 5d. 12 per lb. each. 2 All oilier goods at Lowest possible Prices. Note the address Kinsey <& Company, THE CASH GROCERS, 17 <& 18, Dunraven St., Tonypandy i .=- "I The Ninth Annual Chair IF.istecldfoct "c. Will be heklat CXOSMM, t31aenclyt:3iac1:1. Good Friday. April 9th, 1909 Adjudictors of Music—D. ROBSRTS, Esq., L.T.S.C., Bargoed, J, T. JONES, Esq. Dov.-lais Adjudicator of Violin So!os-HERBERT WARE. Esq., A.C.V., Tonypaudy. Adjudicator of Ltterature—Rev. J. DYFNALLT OWEN, Pontypridd. Adjudicator of Bread—Mrs. SHEPPARD, GcIH. Ystrad. Adjudicators of Fancy Work—Mrs. TOM THOMAS, 44, Tliomas Street, Tonypandy, and Miss J .EVANS, Emiyn Cottage, Wern Street, Clydach Vale. Accompanists—D. R. James, Esq., Penygraig, and Gwilyni Davies, Esq., TorLypaiicly. 11 CHIEF CHORAL—"Ar Lm lorddonen Ddofn (Deep Jordan's Bank I Tread (Gabriel). Prize C10 and Silver Cup, value ;j61 Is. Od. to successful conductor (given by Mr Kinstley, Jeweller, Tonypandy). JUVENILE CHOIRS—"Awn yu rnlaen" (On we go) (Rhedyuog Price). Prize .63 and an Umbrella, value 6/11 to successful conductor (given by Mr. D. Melville Davies, Hatter and Hosier, B!aenc!ydach). PRYDDEST—(Chwe' ngain IHnell). Gwcbr jGl 11s 6d a Chadair Hardd (rhoddedig gan Mr. Tom Rhys, Camb!-ian''Furnishiag- Co., Dunraven Street, Tonypandy), Also Juvenile and Adu't Solos, Duetts, Instrumen!;a! Solos, Essay, Recitations, Englyn and Fancy Work and Bread Competitions. For Di]l particulars see Programmes, post free 1 bel., from Secretaries, W.J. Hughes, 33, Thomas Street, Tonypandy, 3,nd Enoch Jones, 7, North Terrace, BIaenciy dach. 4650 33rd Annual Eisteddfod Will be held on Good Friday, AprU 9th, 1909, at SALEM BPTIST CHAPEL, L!antwit Vafdre President—The Rig"lb Honourable Lewis Morgan (Lord Mayor of CardiH). Conductor—Rev. T. Richards. Llactwit Vardre. Adjudicator of Music—J. T. Jones, Esq, LR.A.M,,Treorchy. Adjudicator of Litera.tufe— Rev. J. B.A., Prof. T. D. Edyvards, A.R.C.M., forth. CHIEF CHORAL—"Ar tan lorddonen ddofa" (Deep Jordan's Bank), (T. Gabriel); prize and 10/- to the unsuceek-fulconductor. JUVENILE CHOIRS-" Gawn ni fyn'd i'r net i Hughes): prize .63, and 5 to unsuccessful conductor. Also substantial prizes for Sotos, etc. Programmes and to be obtained from the Secretary (Id., post, Ud.), John Hushes, Tonteg, LIa.ntwitVardre.GIam.' 4623 LLANHARAN. THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL EISTEDD jp 40 I-a Whtt-Tucsday, June 1st, 1909 CHIEF ITEMS (L.D.B:ne),'?15; and Gold Medai to winner of First Prize.SecondPrize.e5. Mixed Choirs, minimum -t0 Yr Haf (G. Gwent) .E10 and Gold Niedal. Juvenile (own selectioii), P-5. Action Song (own selection), ;&2. Soios, c£l la. each. Handsome Prizes for Recitations. Pro,,ramiiies_li,Yd. each, post free, from the Secretary, J. THOMAS, Ar,)ed Edwin. Hanhara.n. 4713 Eisteddfod Week at Aberga.ven.ny. THE IDEAL EISTEDDFOD Easter Monday, April 12th. GORSEDD CEREMONY Nine Chora.1 Competitions. o?c???TR?L & s/t?D co?r??r? ?occt? /MstrMMtentct/ a?ef 7'r?o/e Harp Solo Competitions. Music Composition and Numerous Literature and Art Tests. CHAIRING OF THE BARD Band of Welsh Triple Harpists. ANOTHER BATTLE OF THE GIANTS Over 60 Choirs and Hands entered. Splendid FETE Attractions. Grand Displays of Fireworks (lve,sh Devices). CYMREtGYDDtOM Y FENNI. INAUGURAL CONGRESS, EASTER WEDNESDAY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, Including Pilgrimages to Oarnhuanawc's Tomb and L!anoverIIa.)L on subjects of National importance by many Oelebrated Bards. WELSH CONCERT. BANQUET, &c. For further p:J.rti:nhrs tnply to the Secretary—Mr. R. H. JACKSON Abefz,wenny., 4720 D. M. WILLIAMS, Accountant and Public Audttor, BRYN GELLI HOUSE, AND LLOYDS BANK CHAMBERS, TONYPANDY. Tradesmen's Accounts written up, Balanced, or Audited. Deeds of Airangement, MortgMfes aid Tranters of Properties negoti&ted. Bankruptcy and Probate of Will Accounts Prepared ImeorMce, Houae and Estate Agent, Rent Collected. 931 BETHANIA, FORTH. THE SECOND ANNUAL EISTEDDFOD be held at the above Ohapel on EASTER TUESDAY, APRIL 13th, 1909. CHIEFITEMS. jEa.d. MALE VOICE Oo the Ramparts (SÛntis) 15 0 0 Minimum of 50 voices MIXED VOICES: "Y Gwanwyn" (HuHer). 500 Miniii-tuin, 35 voices. JUVENILE CHOIRS (Own Selection) 300 CHAMPION SOLO (Own Setectioc) 2 2 0 Duett. 25s. Snios and Recitations, 2l3. each. Novice Solo, 10s 6d. Essay.? and Letters, ate. GRAND CHILDREN'S PROGRAMME. Adjudicators Music, Dan Davies. Esq., Merthyr, and J. T. Jones, Esq L.B.A.M., Treotchy. Recitations, Ash. Programmes can be obtained from the Secretaries, Mr W.'H. JOHN? 62, Birchgrove, Forth, and Mr JOHN DAVIES 65, Birohgrove, Porth. 4G62 Ch!na?, Ea?rihe?v?2t!'e, and 6?c!. Basastr <Soods Teas, t 3; Bteakfast, 2, Plates, 4d. Dinner Plates, I Fluted Teas, 13. A other Goods equatty as Cheap. Send for particulars of our samp'e &t :rate. Shorthouse and Co., China and Earthenware Manufacturers, Cha.n- cery Lane, or South Wales Warehouse, 39 and 41, Westgate Street, Cardiff (Opposite the General Po;o:,t OfHce). Lists free. c21/89 Your Eyes :Bread- '1lV"inner,s! 'MTO matter what your occupation -L? may be, everything' depends on your sight. Without good, keen sight, you cannot hope to hold your own in these days of keen Competition. It is an age of the survival of the fittest; the weakest (those with weak sight) go under. .Are your eyes right? Can you work for hours without fatigue or discomfort? Can you see as well as you ought ? If not, have them put right. Call and be fitted with a pair of specially adapted glasses which give strengthand vigour to even the weakest eyes. -o- Nci.eOn]yAddregs— EMRY§ RIOHARDS Chemist & Opt!0an, The Dunraven Pharmacy, TON"YPANDY (lower end). The Chemist nearest the Trealaw Bridge. 3111 It's a wise woman who buys Puritan Soap aEZZSH§y? PurMan Soap saves, jj M ? ???t? ? saves because it Masts tonger. ? ???????? It lasts longer because every tablet has gone § m<mt?thromgn a speciat process to maite it tast longer. ? ???'? It saves because it contains olive oit. {? ? No other household soap contains olive oH. ja ? The olive oil saves the. clothes keeps white linens nice and white Bg t)j —prevents shrinking of woollens-keeps the hands nice too. ? a These are True Savings. THOMAS, Bristol, a IDELICIOUae- ????????i?.??????3 ECONOMICAL t- n
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it Ri10ndda Council's Finance. A?d!?of's Report. important Statement by the Clerk. A special meeting of the Rhondda District Council was held at the Council Chamber, Pentre, on Friday last. Coun cillor Ed. Jones, J.P., presided, and the other members present were Councillors Dr. W. E. Thomas, D. R. Jones, Walter Williams, Lewis Hopkins, D. C. Evans, W. H. Morgan, J. D. Williams, L. P. Gi-iSths. David Smith, Dr. A. G. Tribe, W. T. Jones, H. EL Maltby, Ben Davies, W. T. Davies, David Williams, W. D. Wight, Tom George". Grimth Evans, R. S. Griniths., and Danl. Evans. The Clerk said that that meeting was called as it was necessary for the Council to give a decision upon an important question arising out of the Auditor's Report before the close of the present year of accounts. The Auditor, in the year of accounts. The Auditor, ui his report, took exception to the manner in which the Council in the pa.s't had been making allowances in respect of properties owned and occupied by workmen-owners in the district. There, were. about 5,OCO such cases, and the practice in vogue at the pro-seat time was to allow a rebate of one- third of the rate to owner-occupiers of houses rated at tl.O and under, and he (Mr. Nicholas) had been requested to consider the legality of these allowances' and report thereon to the Council. He, therefore, would have to express 111F, views on this matter in order that the Council should give its decision as to the course to be pursued in future; but before he, dealt with that matter, he womd like to avail himself of this opportunity of dealing with a, para- graph which appeared in one of the lead- ing CardiS daily papers relating to the Auditor's Report. The circumstances under which the Auditor's Report came to be written were not stated in that L) paper, and in the interests of the Council, as well as to allay any uneasiness' which a, partial disclosure of that report might have occasioned in the minds of the ratepayers of the! dis- trict, he would like to make some brief reference to the matter. In the nt'st place, proceeded Mr. Nicholas, he desired to say that the- Auditor'.s Report was a. document written expressly for' the purpose of assisting,' the Council, and in response to an invita- tion made by the Council due to circumstances over which the Council had no control. He did not. want to make allusion to unfortunate circum- stances which had arisen in the discharge of duties by a person who had since died, but it was now known that certain dis- closures made in reference to that omcer —who was not, in the employ of the Council, but u'nder the control of the Guardians—made it necessary for the overseers appointed by the Council to take certain steps. The facts were now known to most of the ratepayers, and immediately the facts were disclosed to the overseers upon an >' audit of the Collector's accounts, they re- ported on the 10th April to the Council, and made a recommen- dation that the Council should approach the Guardians asking them to appoint a committee to meet a committee of the Council so that the future method of collection of the Poor Rate in the Parish of Ystradyfodwg could be discussed and agreed upon. In pursuance of that recommendation the Council appointed a deputation to wait upon the Guardians of the Poor Law Union, and on the 4th May this depu- tation waited upon the Guardians, and it was only fair to the latter to say that the proposals laid before them were very favourably received, with the result that step's were taken to approach the Local Government Board with a view that the omce of the, Collector' of Poor Rate, which up to that time had been under the .juris- diction and control of the Guardians, should be done away with so as to enable the Council to make the necessary arrange- ments for the collection of the Poor Rate, and consequent unifica- tion of the collection of all rates. He would like to emphasise the fact that this arrangement was made long anterior to the receipt of the Govern- ment Auditor's Report. When the Auditor was in the district to audit the accounts for -the year ending March 31st, 1907, he (Mr. Nicholas), acting, on the instructions of the Council availed him- self of the opportunity which was afforded them of having a gentleman of Mr. Propert's experience to give! them some recommendations in regard to the course they should adopt, not only a-s to the future collection of the Poor Rate, but also in relation to the general control of the finances, which the Council recog- nised would have to come under their review owing to the new circumstances which had arisen through the death of Mr. Joshua. Williams. The point he wanted to emphasise was that the appoint- ment of the sub-committee by the Council to investigate mattei'a and the action of that committee was not con- sequent upon the Auditor's Report, but that the latter was an outcome of the circumstances which had arisen, and which the Council itself had set in motion in relation to the consolidation of rates. The Council had .been committed to this policy for several years past. and it would have been brought about had all the omcers bee-ii under their control. It was known to the Council, but perhaps not to the parishioners, Mr. Joshua Williams held a statutory omce, an omce that could not have been put an end to without con- siderable compensation being paid. That was not the only complication they had to face. The rates for a part of the parish of LIanwonno were collected by Mr. Wm. Phillips, an omcer who occupied a. similar position to that held by the late Mi". Williams, but a twelvemonth before Mr. Williams' death the Guardians took steps to put an end to Mr. Phillips' omce. When, therefore Mr. Joshua Williams died, the decks were cleared, and the Council were able to take the nrst step towards bringing about this system of consolidation. A system such as this, however, could not be introduced in a moment. They had to get an order of the Local Government Board, and they had also to wait the Auditor's Report. which had been asked by the Council. Although the report was dated in the month of July last. it was not received by the Council until the 24th August. 1908. It waa laid upon the Council's t table at the next meeting after its { receipt, and what he protested against was that such prominence should now be give:! to the document, when representa- tives of the Press who were present at Li that meeting did not think it of sufficient importance to make some enquiry in regard to it. It was on a par with what appeared in that morning's papers, for whereas nominations of other districts in the South Wales coalfield were reported, those of the premier District Council in the Kingdom, and the most important municipality'in the Principality with the exception of Cardiff, were not considered of "nmcient importance to be recorded in either of the Cardiff papers. The Auditor's Report was discussed on the 2nd October, a.nd a. sub-committee was ap- e I e pointed at that very committee to go' into same. Pending the receipt of the Auditor's Report, the Council had allowed the matte!" of consolidation of rates, as well a.s the. consequential re-arrangement of omce staff, to remain in' abeyance. and that these matters were remaining in abeyance was evidenced by the fact that the Council on 8th May resolved, ou the motion of Councillor R. S. Grimths, and seconded by Councillor Dl. Evans, to make a temporary arrangement only for the collection of the Poor Rate. That reso- lution was passed in anticipation of the Auditor's Report, which had been asked for' by the Council with a view of their bein? advised by him as an expert as to the best method they should .adopt. Continuing, the Clerk said that certain matters had been raised in the Auditor's Report and had appeared in the Press, and which had gained a currency in the district. It was not the first time one had to clear up misapprehensions. He referred more particularly to the Gas and Water accounts, .and he complained that. the discussions in the Council were not given tlie prominence they deserved in the Cardiff papers. He hoped that what he had to say of the Gas and Water Department would be given prominence. They were told, he proceeded, that the position of the Gas and Water Works was unsatisfactory, and that there was a tremendous wastage of gas. With regard to the latter, it was quite true that they had reached the high-water ma.rk in .wastage in the year under review, but at the same time no notice was taken of the fact that the Rhondda. Tramways were being constructed that year, and that considerable leakage of gas occurred as the result of the works then. carried out. It was useless for them to expect to attain the impossible in this district. They lived in a great mining district, and the average for the Kingdom should not be taken as the average in a mining district. He had only to refer them to the chief private companies in mining districts, and in the reports of the Aberdare and Fern- dale Gas Companies, the directors had to record that tliM question of gas leakage wa's becoming a question of increasing dimculty. The Council had all. along been ajive to this fact, and realised that strenuous efforts should be made to reduce the wastage, and expert advice, had heen obtained as to whether this leakage could not be reduced. With regard to the financial aspect of the question, lie would respectfully draw attention to the fact that, although the gas and water undertaking had only been in the hands of the Council for ten years, ;e78,000 had been paid on account of the principal raised to acquire the under- taking. That was a very laudable result. He explained that. although they possessed the right to spread the repayment of the loan over a. period of 45 years, the Council, in the exercise of their wisdom, had decided to accelerate the payment, with the result that they had paid off .B21,OCO more than they need have done had they accepted the 45 years period. Thus, a sum of .615,000 which could have been spread over a, term of 45 years, had been spread over 10 years only, and would next year be paid off entirely. This might render them liable to criticism, but lie would say that the Council had adopted the wisest policy, the wisdom of which would be made manifest before many years would have passed by, and if any criticism arose through the adoption of this policy, it should not come from householders and small property owners. He felt confident that tins -)Iic.y of pay- ing off these larg, sums in days of pros- perity would be appreciated in the near future. Dealing with the question of profits, the Clerk said that In the ten years the Gas Works had been under the jurisdic- tion of the Council no less a, sum than .690,000 had been made by way of profit on gas, while 'the' profit on the water undertaking was !E42,000. Refemug to the Auditor's criticism of "false finance re the provision of a gas-holder at Tre- Oi'chy, Mr. Nicholas 'said that he did not admit the charge, and he was quite prepared to justify the policy adopted by the Council. It was known, said Mr. Nicholas, that for some reason, better' known at Whitehall than else- where, the authorities would not sanction a< loan for the manufacture of g,as unless Parliamentary sanction had been obtained for the manufacture of gas upon the land where the manufacture was to take place. They had an illustration of this at the time when the Council bought the old horse tramway depot at Perth, and although only a wooden fence divided the depot from their Gas Works, the Local Government Board refused sanction for a loan for the extending of their Gas Works on the adjoining site unless Par- liamentary powders were first obtained. Just at that time they were promoting
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naft Aar& M m W N VIR. L The Medica! Times says This boy was suffering froiv epidemic diarrhoea. The usuat "remedies were tried one after "the other without avâ At 14 "months he omy weighed !0ibs. "He was put on Viroi with immediate and gratifying success. He is now a fine, bright "healthy child in the pink of condition, and weighs 30 !bs.
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??r?????????! [ ?__——??r??'??? 7??x<?'j ? ??M?M??&H?-? ????! ???????????<?? ????M???W TOOTH AC E ??l?i gJgL AND EU ALGII tD/?\A/r\EDC opRBt??M??s? t rUWUt: Kb? t?xwExzK PfOtMptty Afreets Qu!nsy and Colds
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) I Corney I Lewis ? 1 1, FOR PEHFECT FITTING Dainty Teeth Sets from .6: !s. od. GUAP,.ANT,ED, £2 25. inchtding Extra.'dons. ) 85, PONTV. PRIDD- ? Hours—lOtoS. j 4374 Thursdays, lOtol. \A1:'I.
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the Bill for the construction of the tram- ways, and they were able to get the necessa:'y power for the site into that Bill without additional expense. Owing to the development of the undertaking, the I Council, a few years later, were confronted with the dimculty of getting additional land for a, holder at Treorchy. Rather than go to the expense of having an Act of Parliament to acquire land for the manufacture of .gas, the Council decided to pay out of revenue the cost of putting up a holder, and I instead of being charged to one year, it was spread over a. period. It was done with the sole object of saving hundreds of pounds to the ratepayers in Parlia- ? mcntary cost, and it was said that it was 1 a departure from the principles of sound finance. They were often-told that, in municipal trading, they should copy the methods, of commercial concerns. He believed that a suspense account, as the Council had adopted in. this ease, was resorted to very frequently in commer- cial concerns of the very soundest descrip- tion. All they did was to spread the expenditure on permanent works over five years, cha.rging the expenditure to revenue every year until the whole had been wiped off The Auditor diss&iited from that view, and it would be for them to determine, when the gas accounts came up for con- sideration, whether they would charge the balance to the revenue of this year or continue to spread it. The Auditor had criticised them for not putting any- thing on one side for depreciation. The Council had discussed this matter and had 'satis'ned previoua' auditors that it would ba unfair to charge depreciation when they were accelerating their pay- ments on account of capital to the enor- mous extent already indicated. There were other matters, dealt with in the report, and he might say that, with regard to some of them, that criti- cisms were justined. It was not to be expected that an Authority spending in a. twelvemonth no less a sum than £4J58,844. could make the whole of this expenditure without affording room for some criticism. He did not think that a Council which had had thrust upon it other .work, andj which in consequence had had to weave into its original .ystcm the working of other departments, could have done better than the Rhondda Council had done. Proceeding, the Clerk said that criticism had been made in relation to what had I been termed in the papers the unbusi- nesslike methods" in ordering goods. As principal omcer of the Council, I lie took exception to the state- II ment of the Auditor when he said that the routine In ordering was unbusiness- j like. as it was known that the policy of the Council was that the majority of the goods obtained we're obtained under open contract, and the oiRcers only ordered goods for the carrying out of works pre- viously ordered by the Council. With regard to the private street im- provements, considerable sums had been owing, but it was the policy of the Council, where a workman was the owner of his own house, to give him as much time as possible to enable him to meet the heavy call which private street im- provements made upon the workers. That was a. astern which the Auditor did not approve of, and since his report had been received, the Council had been obliged to take more legal proceedings for payments than they had previously done. The repojt which appeared in the Press, added Mr. Nicholas, had created a false impression in the district. On behalf of the Council, and on behalf of the omcers, we invite in regard to the whole transactions of the Council the closest scrutiny. I believe I am entitled' to say that the Council has been actuated by the highest motives that the. best should be done for the ratepayers, and I think I can also add that the omcers are actuated by the same motives" (hear, hear). Mr. Propert had raised another point— and it was to decide this vuestion the meeting had been called—viz.. the custom .of the Council in allowing one-third rebate of the rate to owners of houses rated at £10 and under, who were also the occupiers. Mr. Nicholas pointed out that if .a person, owned a house rated as indicated, he was entitled to the abate- ment, but the Auditor held that when the owner was also the occupier it was illegal to OTant the allowance. He (Mr. Nicholas) had been asked to look into the matter, and he was bound to say that there were strong grounds for the Auditor's contention, but if the Council agreed to this, they would be penalising industrious workmen who owned and occupied their own houses. The Auditor was sympathetic and had suggested that the only way to get the matter settled to surcharge one of these houses with a view to having the whole matter decided by the Local Government Board. It would mean a serious thing to the workmen if they had to pay the full rate. for upon a calculation, he (the Clerk) had discovered that it would mean the pa.y- ment of an additional JE2,.500 in rates per annum by these working people, as the rate v.ouJd be raised to an equivalent of 50 per cent. He (the Clerk) thought the Council would not allow the increa.sed rate to become operative witliout a struggle. He fe.lt sure that the District Auditor, who had merely to interpret the law, would render all possible assistance in connection with this matter, as throughout be (the Clerk) had received nothing but the greatest courtesy at Mr. Propert's hands. Dr. Thomas said that the Government Auditor ought to encoua'a.go thrift. Instead of tliat. lie was simply penalising those industrious workmen who bought their own houses. Councillor Tom George: Supposing my neighbour and I, who own our own houses, were to exchange them. we would be entitled to the allowances? Mr. Nicholas: Yes. Counci)!or George: That shows how ridiculous the suggestion is. Councillor R. S. Grimths said that the proper course to adopt was to go on as they had hitherto done, and ilet the Auditor take the point. He (Mr. Grimths) certa.inly thought that they ought to make a struggle to the very end on a matter-of this kind, especially having regard to the class of ratepayers affected r by this drastic change. He believed that would be to the interest of everyone, and especially to the. interest of the v.'orkman who owned his own house, and he would sav t-ha't it was a. credit to the Rhondda collier that there were so many who owned their own houses. It would be a very serious tiling to that class of rate- payers, added Mr. GriSiths, if they were to be saddled with a third rebate higher than those wdio owned three or more houses of a precisely similar class in one street. He therefore believed thev would be justified in fighting thia matter' out to the bitter end. He, personally, felt obliged to the Clerk for laying before tlie' Council and the public such a precise statement of the facts as. he had done' that afternoon. Councillor J. D. Williams said timt lie agreed witli Councillor R. S. Grimths. He (Mr. Williams) felt very strongly on this point, and ho dare say that tha.t feeling was shared bv most of the mem- bers. What they really wanted to do was to. do everything possible to assist work-
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.=:=: men. and encourage them to become owners of their' own houses. They ha? done that in the pa,st by allowing tb? one-third rebate. Inasmuch as tiley lived in a mining district, he thought it wa3 very gratifying to them as a."CoT;'ncil to know there was ,such' a great number of workmen building their ov.'n houses. Ther? had been a great talk about the housing; problem, and he thought that here ths? had a good solution or the drSicultv, ano he therefore thought that the best tIlIng they could do wa.s. to leave matters as tl'ey were. It \as very well. added Mr. Williams, for the Auditor to come herÐ aud 6Hdoutcertainfaui.ts.but he respect, fully submitted, that, if Mr. Prope't liveo in the district and knew something of Its requirements, he would he of the san10 opinion as members of the Council. Those who lived in the district were the best judged of the requirements of til.It dis, trict, and he would be prepared to sup- port a test case being taken. He seconded Mr. Grimths' motion that a hea'tv vot0 of thanks! be tendered the Clerk. U Dr. Thomas asked why should they net take the matte! before'Mr. John Burns, if the Auditor was favourable. The Clerk: We must have some cas0 upon which to proceed. If the Audita! were antagonistic, he would surcharge the lot. Councillor Wight said that lie also wished to bear testimony to the able waý in which the Clerk had" exDlsiued things. If there was one thing with which he (Mr. Wight) would advise him to attacb no great importance, it was to what th? Press hod said on. the matter, and 118 believed that as Mr. Nicholas got older, he would be more thick skinned, and the Jess felt would be any criticism from out* side. As long as they felt. they wet's pursuing the right course, they need Pa-f no attention whatever to what appeared in the papers. With regard t.o the- Gas and Water business, it was quite incoB? prehensible to him why an expert shottic condemn a system of getting thc'r debts behind them as soon as possible. That IS what they had been doing. All large hmis had to do the same thing with the general approval of their shareholders. although sometimes ss a. result they had declared high dividends, and .said to have made pt'oRts which were not warranted' It was then resolved to let matters gO on. pending a test case being taken. Cbtmcillor R. S. Grimths cal!ed attef tion to the anomalous court fees charged in legal proceedings in connec- tion w ith claims for work done under the Private Street Improvements Act, an<* instanced two cases where a. man owing .€2 was charged exactly the same ngure-- 2Cs.—as another man who owed £20. It seemed to him, said Mr. Griffith's, that if that was the state of the law, ? was a state of things whi&h ought to ? altered to some extent. The Clerk said that the amount hn nothing to do with the fees charge by the C?urt. The Private Stre? Improvements were charged upon pi'o' perty, and the plaintiff sued as 1)1. enforcing a mortgage. These proceeding were taken in what was .known as Equity' and the costs were the same in x;2 as 1)1. ?20. Cbunoiilor R. S. Gri.fnth.s moved th? the Roads Committee be more fully advised on the matter, as, in his opinion' something should be done to remedy this. The Clerk said that as an officer of ths Council, it was most distasteful to hi!C to put into County Court people who were trying to own their own houses. Councillor D. Smith seco-nded tIle motion, on the understanding that t" should go to the Finajice Committee instead of the Roads Committee, and the resolution was carried.