The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-12-01 00:00:00

anb gistrict getvs.

COMMISSIONERS' MEETING..

The usual monthly meting of this body wa.q held
in the board 1-tootn, on Monday afternoon, Idr. W.
Turney, J,P., in the chair. There were ale
present Messrs. Gidam, Stringer, Parkes, Icke,
North, Woolley, W“lker, Perkins, ila,ske w,
Edwards Underwood, Jones,. Palfrey,
Patch,. and Griffin.

The minutes of the labt meeting were read and
confirmed..

The following accounts were presented and
passed:: Highwax, Account, £143.1s 10J; Improve-
ment .2tocount, '14235 94 10.4 Urban Sanitary
A.uthority, £.89 9s 10d.
The Finance Conimittce recommended that a loin
of £16,000,be advertised for, at 3i. per e,-nt.
lee Chairman said the present bondholders were
willing to let their money remain at 4 per cent.,
but the committee thought aneffort should be made
to.obtain t..ie money at lesA than. 1 per cent. He
thought it probale they should get the m, ney at
31,. but the committee decided. to recommend that
tenders be invited et 34 per cent.
Mr. Haskew said a difference of / per cent. would
make a great deal of difference if the money was
, borrowed for fitty years.
The Chairman said there were several offers of the
money at 1 per cent., but if they eouldknot get
a loan at less interest teem that,. he thought they
shouLt Let it remain, at 1 per cent, to the present
bondholders..

Mr. Walter Jones•s-aid he hoped. there would be
a. sinking fund created.
The Chairman said he took it there would be a
sinking fund, as they had had a lesson on. that sub •
ject. There was power forty y ears ago to create a
sinking fund. and. had there been one the loan
would have been, paid off; anA the rat's would have
been is 61 less Li the pound than.they uow were..
The repo. t was adopted.
The Mectical Officer's report showed the nunaLer
of births registered from, October 22nd to November
20th, 21, viz:. 12 males and 9,temmes; birthrate
258. The number of. deaths 'during the same
period 8, viz: 5, males and &females lie was
pleased to say that the death rate waz... lower for the
past month than has been known., tor three years.
The rate for the corresponding month last year. was
27'08.

The. committee received a report from Dr. Swett
on the water taken, from a w- in Union Stieet,
which suppiied !louses belonging to M rs.:Cartwright..
The water was.reported' as bad and unfit tor drink.
Oa purposes.. and as Mrs. Cartwrig4t had refu,ed tow
uy down the tap water, recommen led that proceed-
gs be taken against her. The slaught r-houses
and lodging-houses were reported to be in good
sanitary condition, The committee report piogreba
with respect to accommodation in the Commis-
sioner Room, the disinfecting apparatus, and the
lighting of the streets.
The Improvement Committee recommended that
the Board pass- the plans for the erection of. a house
and premises in Lower Hill Street,. for Mr. Parry,.
subjectito their being in aciordance with the bye.
laws, They alsarecummend the proposed alteration
at No. 18, Market Street,, and Nos, 12, 13, and 1-1,
Kidderminster Stmet. The committee had received
.plans for. alterations. to. the front of. Mr. Cund's
house in Iligley Street, with an offer of £5 for the
land taken,, and which. they recommend the Board
, to accept
A. letter was read from. the! Town Clerk of.Thars-
leru with regard to the incorporation of that borough,
the Chairman remarking, that it. would be el interest

to the ratepayers of Stourbridge and adjoin;ng town-
ships in view of the steps respecting local iocorpora-
don, The following is a copy of the lettPr :
Town Hall, Burslem,

Dear Sir,—

16 h November, 1883,

INCORPORA LON.

Th4nkB for yours 01 the 14th. wi.h accompanying
reports.

You are quite right in saying that our expendi-
ture was st.i.ted, at our interview, to be about one
peony in the pound, additional reason for incorpor—
ation. 1 have now gone through our published
ae,ount for the past year, and find that the direct
result of incorporation amounts to less than one
halfpenny iu thc pound.
It is true that our Borough and General District
Rates, together, are 8d in the pound more than be-
fore incorporation, but 7d of this addition is the
result of Market, Cemetery, and Sewage Dispcsal
Works, commenced before incorporati in and
fd9ished since. It follows, therefore, that we should
have had this additional amount to pay if we had
remained a Local Board. Indeed it is a very
general opinion here, founded upon the greater
economy or the wiser administration of the Council,
that it we had been incorporated years before we
should have avoided the large expenditure upon
cemetery and markets, to which our increased rates
are mainly attributed.
. . _

It is highly probable that another halfpenny in
the pound may be taioly charged in the indirect
results of incorporation, for both council arid bur-
gesses are constantly calling for improvements in
streets, lighting &c., which a Local Board (or Com-
missioners) and ratepayers would be inclined to
think might very well be done withou , on the plea
that it was gool enough for our fathers and will do
very well for us.

Wishing you success, and ready and willing to
give you any further in'ormation likely to be uteful
1 remain, dear Sir,