The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-02-28 00:00:00

COMMISSIONERS' MEETING.

Mr. W. J. Turney presided at the usual monthly
meeting of this Board on Monday afternoon, in the
Commissioners' Room, Corn Exchange, There
were al,-o present Messrm. Collis, Platt, Jones,
Stringer, Woolley, North, Pearvon, Gillam, Cad-
wallader, Walker, Hicklin, Patch, Griffin, Billing-
ham, Edwards, Haskew, and James.
he minute's of toe last meeting were read and
ectiii mutt.

To Finance Committee reported that the
t•easiii er's balances on the several accounts at that
d it,. were es f.11.,w5, viz :—Highway Account, due
iron t rt. sure- , £637 12z Od ; Improvement account,
due io t!ea,urer, £231 is 4d; Urban Sanitary
Ac—
vUrt, &ue to t, easurer, £B5 8s 6d. Your coin-
. n.t•n r baying examined the following accounts and
tiding them coirect recommend that they be paid;
HiAhway Account, £BO 9s 4d; Improvement Ac-
count, 113 131 4cl; Urban Sanitary Account, £4l
18s 3d. Your committee have examined the
courtiers of the accounts ordered to be paid at the
last meeting and En i them correct.
The report was received.
It was passed that various items in the finance
repo: t be ordered to be paid.
Mr J.Aues moved "That Mr. Collis be adde.l to
the Finance Committee," which was carried unani-
mously.
The following letter was read frcm Mr, H. Tur-
ney.--‘. Enville Villa, Stourbridge, February 4th,
188.5.—Johu I aylor, Esq., Clerk to the Commis-
sionfns.—Dear sir, It is with sincere regret that I
an, compelled to resign my t.osition as a member of
the Board. Thu leApoilsibilities of my business
bove so much bier ased that 1 find it quite impas-

sible to give the necessary thougl: t and attentio,
to town matters. I sever my conu, ction with tl.
Beard with very great reluctance. But feeling, as
I do, that no one should occupy such an important
position as that of a member of the governing body
of a town, unless he can devote t) it all the atten-
tion which the position deserves, I see no other
course open but to resign. I must therefore ask
you to lay my resignation before the Commissioners'
at their next monthly meeting. I am, yours truly,
Henry Turney."
Mr. Billingham moved that theletter be returned
to Mr. Turney, asking him to carefully reconsider
the question.
Mr. Stringer seconded the resolution.

The Chair—man said his brother had carefully con-
sidered this matter. It was not for nothing that
he (the chairman) took those trips across to
America, and his brother to Germany, Austria, and
Russia, and other parts of the continent. Their
business was increasing, for now they dealt with
the consumers themselves, whereas some years ago
they did not. He moved that the resignation be
received.

It was finally decided to write and ask Mr. H.
Turney to withdraw his resignation.
The annual accounts of the Stourbridge Gas Co.
were laid before the Board and referred to the Im-
provement Committee. The profit on last year's
trading was given at £2,319 5d 10d, and dividends
had been paid off £2,350 3s Od.
The Medical Officer of Health reported that the
death rate was much higher than the preceding
month, which is owing to the severe weather. Lung
diseases predominate. Only one death has occurred
between children of 3 years old and persons of 53
years old. 'The officer's journal was laid before your
committee. The water in wells on premises in
Lower Hill Street. Heath Street, South Street, and
Enville Street has been examined and the tap water
ordered to be laid on. A nuisance arising from
keeping pigs in Bell Street has been ordered to be
removed. Night-soil removal :-117 privies, 101
ashpits, and 3 cesspools, belonging to 191 houses,
have been emptied and cleansed and their contents
removed. Number of loads, 169. The seven re- ;
gistered lodging-houses have been occupied as fol-
lows :—Daily 72 persons, weekly 563, and during
the month 2,145 persons. There have been no com-
plaints. One case of overcrowding has occurred.
The lodging-houses, slaughter•houses, and bake-
houses are reported to be in good sanitary condition.
MARKET BALL IMPROVEMENT.—Your committee
consider it desirable that the principals and timbers
(now coloured) in the roof should be scraped and
el, alien and painted with three coats of good self
oak paint. This is estimated to cost US. To
scrape clean and whitewash same would cost £lO.
The columns and gates also require painting. This
will cost about £5. The walls recently limewashed
would, after the roof is finished, require one coat of
whitewash, at about £2. Your committee think
that the sum of £25 would cover the above work.
Many panes of glass in the windows are broken,
and the swing portions are broken. This would
cost about £4. The re-arrangement of the stalls
and market generally is very desirable, and your
committee would suggest that the present :stalls not
under cover should be done away with, that space
being left to hawkers and:casual salesmen supplying
their own stands. They also recommend that the
benches in the butter market be removed, and one
row of butchers stalls be placed in that part of the
market to be used by poultry sellers. They further
recommend that the remainder of the stalls under
cover be removed and others erected as shown on
plan. They would also suggest that Smithfield
Market be remade with macadam.

STOURBRIDGE WEST] EN RAILWAY. Your Com-
mittee, with the view of not altering the levels of
Bowling Green Lane and Swan Street, have called
on the promoters of this railway to give an under.
taking to your Board that clauses to the required
effect shall be inserted in the bill, and also an under-
taking that Enville Street shall not be crossed by a
level crossing. Your committee have requested
your clerk and surveyor to instruct Mr. Harry
Mills, of the firm of Messrs. Barwards, Shepherd,
and Mills, to see that the required undertaking be
given by the promoters of the bill, and that they
pay all the expenses connected therewith and in-
cident thereto.

Your clerk has forwarded to the solicitors for the
promoters of the Tramways Bill a cepy of the reso-
lution of your Board consenting to the tramway
being laid down a distance of 5-1- chains from tt e
bridge over the Stour and along High Street, but
no iurther.

INTBRNAL DRAINAGE OF THE TOWN.—The re-
quired pains, hections, and estitnates have been fcr-
war ,ed to the Local Government Board and one
or tl,eie Inspectors will shortly hold a public in.-
q,ity in reference thereto. Your committee re-
con, .er.d that three truck loads of York stone be
ordtrtd to rapair the flagging in High Street.
Your committee have under consideration a plan for
widtming and otherwise improvin4 the end of
Market Street, between St Thomas's Church and
Kidderminster Street. Your committee auvise on
the recommendation of the surveyor the purchase
of anther slop cart similar to the one now in use.
lhe Corn Exchange was granted for the use of the
Stourbridge and District Sunday School Union. for
the aggregate meeting of scholars on the afternoon
of Suuclay, March 29th.
The paragraph about the instructing of the
solicitor, was stiu:k out of the report, but the clerk
was instz noted to write to the Itailway's Company's
solietcer, and ask them tor a draft undertaking as to
the les ei of Swan Street, Bawling Green Lane, and
lay it bet ore the Commissioners at their earliest op-
portunity. It was also decided to send for 3 loads of
York stone to paten up the footpaths.
AL the conciusion of the business Mr. Edwards
congratulated the Chairman on his safe return from
America during the stormy weather.
Tne Chairmen thanked Mr Edwards, and said he
had yr.): s d the Atlantic 34 times, but he had never
expoieuced such severe weather before as in hi 6
lasc outward voyage in the "Servia." He had a
report of the storm which he would give to the
reporter 'or insertion in the newspaper i which no
doubt would be of inerest to the inhabitants,

STUITLIBRIDGE MAIN DRAINAGE BOARD.

An adj,urned meeting of this Board was held in.
th:-, Corn loners Room, Corn Exchange, on Mon-
d3y t
Air. W. .1. Turney presided, and there were also
prost:l.t ,Niesirs. Maria, eargeter, Forrest, Stringer,
Eiddiati, end Taylor, surveyors, and E. Mills,
clerk.

Thenur yors were instructed to take up 80 yards
of the dtainage pipes in a field in Brook Street,
.Lunglano:-, and substitute iro,l pipes instead
;k reported that no tenders had been re-
ceived for the cropping and cleaning ot the sewage
farm. The clerk read the conditions by which the
farm we to be taken.

The Clbairman said it was simply ridiculoui. No
one would take the farm for 9 mouths. ill the
mon,,y spent would be sunk.
ULe oi the members said that a farmer living close
to the faAm was piepated to keep iclean for to
years.
Th Cnairman suggested that the firm should be
la tot I years, and the person who took it bear
tne blunt of cleaning it. lie thought the Board
should Lot entertain the thought of paying any
moi:ey for the farm for 14 tithe, till they could see
wiletuer it. could be

Mr. Flahail thought that it was not desirable to
let tile farm for two years for nothing. He would
undertake that if tbe Board took the ftirm them-
selves they would get more than by setting it for
cleaning.

- 7 M. btringer thought it would be best to occupy
it for two fLoal Lady Day next.
IL %VOA ijual.y resolved that Messrs. Pargeter,
Strioer, aud lf.:rrest go to the neighbouring farmer
Mr. l'aciiwoo,i, and see what he would do.

The Chairman said he should have no objection
to go with thin.
it was aiso decided to write a strong letter to
Messrs. Norris and son, spade and shovel manu-
facturers, Wollast.h, iespecting their claim of ..t165
which the cnairmati said was simply ridiculou..
Mr. Fiddian said if they had said £l5 it would be
somewhere near the mark