The Welsh Coast Pioneer and Review for North Cambria

Rhyl Urban District Council. The Hackney Carriage Works. Long Discussion. The Promenade Bye=Laws. A Sanctimonious Quartette. A Scene. THE monthly meeting of this Urban District Council was held -at the Town Hall on Monday, Mr A. L. Cll,e.ws presiding, and there. were .also present Messes J. W. Jones (vice-chairman), H. A. Tiiliby, J. H. Eiliis, A. Lewis. Jo.nes, H. P. Warns, T. D. Jones, A. Rihydweu Jones, P. J, AshfieMi, R. Ott-dfieiKd, J. Frimsiton, John Hughes., C. R. Tayleur, Joseph Wililiiams, T. Whitlley, and W. vVinter boHom, with: the town clerk (Mir A. Rowlands), the Medroal Officer of Health Dr Iloyd), and the. other officials. Hackney Carriage and Brake Stands. DOINiG DIS'OUiS'SI'OlN. The Road Committee reported tha;t the town su-rveyor submitted a plan of the various hack- ney carriage and brake stands. Applications were -al,so received for motor licences from Messrs Barron, H. W. Roberts, arM A, Cheet- ham. lit was recommended by the Committee (I) that no alteration of the sitandsi be made this year; (2) that no more than six motor licenses be granted subject to examination and approval of the motors by a competent judge on behalf of the Council; (3) that in view of the heavv traffic in summer, on the Parade-roads, a sum of £ 11 56 be included in the esrtimwte's for carrying out part of the proposed widening scheme, viz., between High-street and Wiaber- streeifc on the promenade side., if it could be done without pressure on the new rate, so as to cause an increase on the rate for the year just ending. Mr J. Frimston called attention to the ques- tion of the hackney carrialge and brake stands. It had come to his knowledge that a stand op- posite 46, West Parade was paid for by the. proprietors to the owners of the property. The Town Cflerk said that in any case no one had a rigfhit to ask for rent. (Mr Frimsston said the stand opposite 4°, was fixed by the Council., and permission was given to the coach propriletars to take their brakes there. The Town Olerk: The Council may axllow them to go there. 'Mr Frimston: iWhat is to be done in the face of that ? The Town Clerk Remove the s,ta.nd or tela the person who goes tihere and who has been foolish enough to pay not to do so. Mir FrimSton proposed that the town cle-rlc write to the owner of the property pointing out that they had no right to charge for the .stand. :M!r T. Whitley seconded. Mir J. H. Ellis said that these property own- ers encouraged people to come opposite their premisea with the view of getting payment from tmm, and he thought the way suggested would be a good one to deal with the question of the stanclg. Mir Frimsiton: W,e ought to put a stop to it. -Mr Ellis said he was quite in sympathy witn iMr Frimston, and it ought not to be allowed, Mr Rhiydwem Jone's siaid it was not the people of the West Parade who encouraged; them, but it was the, tempting offers by the brake pro- prietors that made them let these ..stand's. This matter had been before the Council previously. He believed it was an admitted fact. that the and the way the touting goes on in iRIhvl was not at all creditable to them as a town. He suggested that, the Road Committee ishould re-con siider the master, and at the same ■time give the members of the Council an op- portunity of knowing what the Committee were really trying to do in the matter. There was no doubt that the hackney carriage and crake 'business was. a big business in the town, and certain sums of money were invested in it. Mr Frimston asked v/hether the property owners possessed the right to let a stand in this way. The Chairman said the position seeme'd to be that, this was not a proprietary stand as (there was no mention of it in the bye-laws. No person living opposite a Sltland: had any right whatever to take any money from any- body who stood- there. If they liked to pay money it was very foolish on their part, as they ,-lot no consideration for it. Mr Frimston: If we alilow this to go on others will do the same. Mr J. W. Jones said the whole of the diffi- culty arose from the question of proprietary stands. The matter had been before the Coun- cil for the last five years. The grievance was that a couple of proprietary stands were on the East and West Parades. 'These were taken up by Large coach proprietors, who occupied the beSlt positions in the town for the puqpose of obtaining passengers. The individual carriage and brakeowner's felt that they were placed in an unfair position to compete wiith vhese people, because they monopolised the whole of the front of the town.. He had brought the matter before the Council before, and he quite understood that they had commit ted themselves to abolish the proprietary .stands altogether. There wefre a very large number of individual car proprietors and brak-eowners in Rlhyl, and they .might as a Council consider them. He seconded Mr Rhydwein Jones that the m.attef be referred back to the Road Committee with ,the view of considering how far to abolish pro- prietary stands and fixing public stands, so that everyone could1 have fair-play. MiriR. Oildfidd said that if they could arrange the widening of ,the Promenade, t'hiey could re- arrang,e. the mattler of the' stands then. Mir Tilby said they should make it. known that no one had a right to charge for ainy right conferred by the Council on the coach pro- prietors by fixing sltands. at given spots. If there wias no stand there these people had no right to be there at all; and' the buslines's of the Council was to move them on. Mr Firimston said it was, a most unfortunate (thing. Here, was a question that had beien be- fore the Council for years. They had settled the desirability of widening the promenade irolaidisi. The Council had agreed to that, prin- ciple, because they had fixe,d the electric light lamps at a ,certain distance on the promienadie with the idea of widening. Mr J. W. Jones on 'a point of order askeid whether they were discussing the matter on its melIits, to which the Chairman replied-that they were. 'Mr F,rims,ton siaid the Road Committee would not meet again for somel time, and the question was when were they going to start to do the work. The time had arrived, and there was plenty of evidence brought, before them that there was an increase in the number of coa.chtea, and it was now proposed' to licence six new imotors in the town., amd miost of this extra traffic would be on the. sea front. It was most essential to the towm. and visitors that came 'tihere that the promenade should be widened before the height, of the season. Mr Tilby argued agaitnst the adoption of that part of the report referring to the expenditure on the promenade. Hene they were going to spend £125 on this improvement. In hLs judgment1 the Council had already pledtged the whole of next year's; rate. Mr FTÏmstoln thought that a 5's 6d rate was a level, but. he thought it was; a high-water mlark, and- far too high. [He wouild say frankly that he would be no party to any further expendti,ture in the town untiL they had reduced the rate. He was Istrongly and bitterly opposle-d to further ex- penditure. Why could this matter not wait for another week, and go into the estimates. He earnestly aslked the Council to refuse toslpenu the money until the estimates were before them. They had given a pledge to the bank to pay ^500 of the arrears next year. Mr J. W. Jones sa,id he understood from Mr Furinifslton that they had already committed theirniselviesi to. the widening of Parade-road. They mlllst remember hio,we,ver the circum- s.t.ances by which the electric, arc lamps were pllaoed a certain distance on the promen.ade. They contemplated that tramways were going to run through the town. They made that ar- irangem'ent for the widening because of the in- creased traffic owing to the tramways. He wa,s one of the parity who pledged themselves to the hank to pay £500 next year, and he hoped also that the Council would ncot incur this, expendi- ture at the D,r,e;s,erft time. 'Mr J. H. Ellilis said he was sure it would be unanimous if it coulld, be done witihoult increas- iing the rates. Why were the Committee uinani- mous, because there was- the. difficulty of plac. ing the stands, in a place that they had sarnie re- gard for the safety of the public. He felt sure that between the hours. of 10 and ri in the morning, they would find the dangerous con- gestion of (traffic that took place between High- s,tre,ett and Water-street. He also felit suire that if the improvement was c rried out, the persons who were opposing it would be the first to laud the improvement, and they need not po-se -is the "Simon P.ure'" of economy of the Council. (Laughter.) "What would be said if an acci- dent occurred on the promenade duniing that congestion of traffic; and that would injure the. towm very much. S'lniall iexpendli,tur,e of thii's sOtrt was always opposlôd by certain" members of the Council, and it was only dlone.s.imply from a sudden motive. He was a sort of Maxim Gorky. (Lo,ud laughter.) He hoped the Council would not be frightened by what he had said. "You take me into your confi- dence." Mil: Tiliby We Œ1!3;ve had you before. Mir Ellis: I guarantee you will be on the right side. If you regr,elt the improvement that we ask to-diay, or regret the expenditure I will incur it myself. II feel sure of this. I know my audience pretty well, as men of sound1 com- mercial principles'. I am earnest in t:hlils mat- ter. A vote was then taken as to whether the whole of the minutes should be referred back, when 10 voted for and isix against, and the mat- ter wias therefore referred back to the Road Committee. -■On the motion of Mir Whitley, seconded by Mr Old-field-, it was decided to call a. committee of the whole Council to consider the matter further. Foryd Dredging. The Clerk read a letter from the Board of Trade relative to the application of the Council for the transfer to them of th,e licence held by the late Mr Robert Jones, and stating that it appeared to the Bio,ard that in the absence by the Council of statutory powers to exercise jurisdiction over the Denbighshire of the River and Channel, the- Council would not be in a position to hold a I ce-nce to dlredge in the are,a .specified in the licence held by Mr Robeilt Jones. The letter addled—Thia-t the Board have- received an application from Messrs Bromley, Jones and Co., for a. renewal of the licence in favour either of Mr Wm. Horton, or Mrs Robt. Jones, the- widow of the deceased licensee, and the Board will be gliad to be favoured with the observations of the District Council in this connection." The Clerk reported' that he had acknowledged the receipt of the letter, promising that it would receive attention without delay, adding—"Mean- white may I ask, do you not consider that Sect. 36 of the Rhyl Improvemnet Act, 1892, gives powetr to our Council to' drfedige. for one mile from the- worlcs authorised by Sect. 33, withoult excepting ether slide of the river?"' The Council approved the olierk's letter, and directed him to urge the Bloard- of Trade to grant the licence to the Council, on the ground that it is of the- utmo-sit importance for them to hiave conitirol of the dredtging for the' purpose of miaintaiming the proper depth of the river, and for the protection of the shore of the river. Extension of Fforddlas. The iSuirveyor submitted a plan of the pro- posed extension of FforddJlas and bridge over the out, and he. estimated the cost at £260. Mrs Rowley Conwy was prepared to give land a.nd a contribution' of ^115. Cither interested parties however were slow tü take the matter up, and the question was deferred. Adoption of Streets. lit- was decided that the following made-up streets be adopted and declared by notice as highways, -repairable by the inhabitants at large:—Tanlleiton-street, p,ass,ag-e at rear of New Era,, West Parade, Glanlasfor-road, Piala-ce Avenue, North Avenue, and South Avenue. Kinmel Street Footway. A letter was read from Mr Williams, of the Alexandra Hotel, asking the Council to take into consideration that he had made Ivfiie fo-o!t- way in front of his house in Kinmel-sitreet and had maintained it for over 30 yeans, and he' offered £5 for the Council to re-flag it. The Council decided to. do the .work -as econ- omically as possible, and that an allowance be miade for the old .materials. Ramshackle Structures. On the question of the plans, of new build- ings. being disposed of, Mr J. W. Jonles called attention to a building that was being erected just outside the district. There was a bunga- low in cüursle of erection bordering on the dis- trict of the Sit. Aislaph (Flint) Council: on the Ty Newydd-road. They were now threatened with a series of ramshackle structures on the sea front of "the- town-. He should like to k1nö, from the surveyor whether he had been in com- munication with the gentleman who _was erect- ing iit, or wilth the St. A'slaph Council, who, he understood, had control of the buildings in that part. Otherwise the Council would be ob- liged to consider the que.stion of the' annexa- tion of the portion of the r-ur d distract in ques- i,on.. Mr Tlilby You mean we shall have1 to pro- ceed for an extension of our boundary. (Laugh- ter). The- S'urvevor said he had been approa,che.a with a request that the new building should be drained into the Council's sewer, and he (the surveyor) had referred, the matter to the town clerk. Replying to a question the Surveyor said that the builder was a- Nir Galway, of Gloucester. The miatter was then referried to the Road Committee. Typewriter.4 for the Officials. The- Road Committee recommended that pro- vision hemadle in the estimate for the ensuing year for a typewriter for the town surveyor's office. 'Mr Tilby Isaid he opposed this unnecessary expense. Thiere were two typewriters already iin the town clrelrk',s' office, and1 the correspond- ence was not sufficient to demand a thûlrd. There was o-n-ly an average of two letters per day going out from the surveyor's office. He pro- posed that if be not granted. Mr H. P. Wiilllliamsl seconded. The Surveyor said it wa's not for correspond- ence, but. for the making of specifications that he wanted it. Mr Winterbottorn, said i,t had been .agreed in that Council that the town clerk's m.a.chiine should be at the disposal of the surveyor when he requined it. The Town Clerk said it. was at his. disposal Whenever he liked to have it. Mr Tilby's' proposition' was then carried. Gifts of Trees. The Inspector reported a gift of 18 silver leaf poplars, rl2 for Ith pumping station., ,a,nid six for the hospital, from Mr J. S. Greenhalglh., and a hearty vote of thanks was passed to that gen- tleman for his generosity. Rate Collections. THIE FINANCIAL POSITION. T'HEEiUE:CTRTCDI GHi'V U'NIDiElRTAiK.IlNG. The Finance Committee reported that the tOltaL amount of the genNal district rate col- lected up to 311st March was £ 14,394 3's' nd; water rate for the same period, 67,769 gas rate, ^ti,i82 electric light, £ 2,804. There wias a balance at the bank against the Council at the end of the financial year, March 31st, of £ 6,589. IMir Rhydwen Jones called .attention to the fact that the estimated gais, collection for the year w,a,s 6"1,005, and a sum of £ 1.1,i$2 had been collected, wthich increased the collections, by ^177. Regarding the electric light the. esti- mated- collection was £ 3,^26, whereas the ■amount collected only came to £ 2,804. In other words, on a bigger collection the gas in- creased 6177, and the electric light on a. smaller collection had a loss of £ 322. The unfortunatie part of the electric light business was, that they seemed to be wrong right though. Mr Frimston, the chairma,n of the Committee, said he had given a good dieial of timie- to the electric light department. He had tried to make the concern pay its way. They had lost in receipts nearly 6200 from thie Palace alone1. What, advantage was there to him or the en- gineer to squander money in connection with the department. It was to their advantage- to curt ail expenses. 'The consumption was. in- creasing year by year, and more customers- were coming in every week. They knew very well that the gas department did not pay its way for some years, andi it was only this. last year or two- that they had. been able to receive. anything from them.. lit was hardly fair to run the concern down in that way. The Chair-man of the Finance Committee (■Mr Tiilby) stated that for the first time since the incorporation, of the town the, ra-te estimate had been fully realised. (IHea.r, hear). Town Band Instruments. At a meeitiiing of the General Purposes. Com- mit tee a letter was read from Mr R. Jollley as One of the. trustees who- handed over. the instru- ments. to the Council applying to. have them returned, as they were now in a position to form a, band on a permanent footing. It was recommended to hand over the instruments on loan to the five trustees 00 the undterstanding that a band be formed1 and regular practice held, and in the event of the band not giving satisfaction to. the Council that the custodians should hand over the instruments in the same condition as they received them. Art this'commit tee the town surveyor asked for instructions' as to. preparing ,a bill of quan- tities: in respect. of the -proposed free library, and it was recommendfed that no. bill of quan- tities be prepared, and ra.:l'SIO that -tenders be invited in one local paper and the "Builde,r, before making the application for the lloan. The report was- adoptled without discussion. The Market Hall Roof. As instructed, the Town Surveyor read his report on the condition of the Market HaIll, and it was recommended by the Committee that the principals- be strengthened and the roof re- paired, at as small expense as. possible. The suggested alteration of some of the stalls was considered and the sua-veyor was requested to fur,n,ish an estimate of the cost. 'Mr Whitley thought it was of no. use what- ever spending money in the repair of the Market. Hall. If was simply a tumble-down place, M.r J. H, Ellis What will you do? M'r Whitley Let it come down. Mr J. W. jOn-es And kill someone.. Mr Whitley: Vletry well then. We ought to go into the report of the surveyor thoroughly before spending any money. I move that, we do- not spelnd. a penny on the Market I-Iali at the present, time. Mr- Rlhydwen Jone.s seconded'. Mr J. IT. Ellis said that the committee-were not anxious- to. spend money, but something would, have to be done to the Market Flail roof sooner or later, and al'so a ne-arrangement of the stalls. Ait the present timle on a we,t day, the rali,rI'.JOt:arme i-ni, and did a. great, deal of harm. The estimate of the, surveyor for a new roof was £400, Mr Whitley withdrew his amendment, and the report was then adopted. The Free Library. APPLICATION FOR A LOAN. The Road Ctomimittee reported that iNIr Carnegie had definitely decided to agree to" the Free Library Scheme, according to plans sub- mitted to him, and to give his promised ^3,0-00.. and they recommended that application be made to the Local Government Board for sanction to a loan of £ 650 (the. excess of Mr Carnegie'? gift)., to carrry out the combined scheme, Of Free Library and Town Halll extension, the loan to be repayable over a period of 50 years. This' recommendation was. agreed to. At a meeting of the General Purposes Com- mittee the correspondence. of the town- clerk and Mir Carnegie was read, in which the latter ,I ,agreed: to give- his promised 63,0o0, and *t was decided that a ve-ry cordial1 vote of thariks be give,n, to- Mr Carnegie., and that he be assured that the Council: had endeavoured to carry out his wishes throughout the whole of the. matter, ,and confidently believed .that the, object he hlad' in view in giving his handsome donation of ^'3,000 would be successfully achieved. In moving the adoption of the report, Mr J. W. Jones expressed satisfaction that this long corirespondiencle with Mr Carnegie had ended in so satisfactory a manner. The town cfork had conducted' the maltite-r wiith admirable judgment. It was a sourc.e of satisfaction to the whole. town that they had; now a reasonable prospect o.f a library being accomplished' at an early date. The committee hoped soon to be in a position to recommend the Council to. accept a te-n,dier and to start work with the leaat pos- sible delay. Mir A. Lewis Jones; seconded the adoption of the report-, and this was. agreed to. The Promenade Draft Byelaws. TIHiESIAINcrri\:MIONJiOU'S QUARTETTE. A. SIOENE. The General Purposes Committee reported having further considered the -draft bye-laws for the promenade and foreshore, and subject 'to the. addition of "'slandhiills" to the mterpi". tation of "seashore" and the etliimination of the words "or obstruction to the free use and en- joymte-nt thereof by the public at large ;n No. 10, it was recommended that the draft be sub- mitted. to the Local Government 'Board for their preliminary approval. Mir T, H. El-lis, moved that the maitter be re- ferred; back. He refer/red to the committee of four gentlemen who had recommended at the committee meetinig as a "mediocre and: sancti- monious quartette," The Chairman called upon Mr Eilllis to with- draw, and he did withdraw tjhte, term mediocre, and substituted the words, "highly intelligent." M'r Tilby seconded;. Mr J. W. Jones said that if the Council felt that the bye-laws should be. considered again,