The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1873-01-08
THE CITY FATHERS.


Commtttees-Abrupt and UnPieaseht
Termination OF tho Meeting.
A regular meeting OF Council was held yes
terday afternoon, at which the Mayor and ten
Aldermen were present.
On the call for petitions and memorials the
following were presented:
Petition of Mrs. O. q. Bernard for reduction
of assessments. Referred to the committee
on retrenchment and relief.
Petition of insurance agents, protesting
against the license on Insurance premiums,
and calling attention to the alleged illegality
oi tie same. The petition was accompanied
by q lerter from the board of underwriters,
explaining that the petition could not be
completed In time for the last meeting Of
Council, In consequence ofthe meeting being
held Unexpectedly.
Alderman Gage moved to refer the petition
to the committee on retrenchment and relief.
Alderman O'Neill wanted 1t received as in.
formation.
Alderman Pelzer wanted to know If the petit
TONERS objected to paying any license at all.
Alderman Bowen explained that they did
not object to the license of one hundred dol
lars for the first one thousand dollars of pre-
miums, but to the five dollars imposed on
every additional one thousand.
1t was then agreed to receive the petition
as information.
Petition OF the Young America Steam Fire
Company for FIVE hundred feet of new hose,
to be paid for In monthly instalments Of
twenty-five dollars, endorsed by the Board of
Firemasters and recommended to be granted.
Alderman SHeegan said that the ordinance
regulating the pay Of the Fire Department,
which had recently been passed by Council,
referred all such matters ss supplying the de-
f1clency of hose to the Board Of Flremasters.
He regarded the action Of the board as evil
dence of disposition to shlrk the RESPONSE
bllity which devolved upons them. The petI-
tion should be referred back to the board, and
II they did not see fit to furnish the hose, the
company could then either supply Itself or
turn over its apparatus to some other COM
pany that would do 80. He moved to refer
the petition back to the Board OF Firemas-
ters, which was agreed to.
Petition of Henry Miles, asking that his
agreement to lease city wharf on Ashley
River, between Broad and Beaufain streets,
be cancelled. Referred to the committee on
city lands.
Memorial of the trustees OF the Roper Hos
pital, Offering to lease that building to the
city for ten years or more, to be used for hos
ptal purposss. Laid over for further con-
slderation later in the evening.
The Mayor read q communication from the
medical committee Of ths Board Of Health,
protesting against the use of city garbage In
filling up low lots and streets, and asking that
the ordinance permitting 1t be repealed. In.
closed with the communication was the draft
OF an ordinance on the subject, which the
COMMITTEES recommended for adoption. Action
on the communication was postponed until
the proper time for considering the ordinance.
Communication of the Board of Firemasters
giving the result OF an election recently held
for officers Of the board, and asking conhrma-
tlon OF the nomination OF Mr.. W. H. Smith as
third assistant chief of the Fire Department,
to fill the vacancy caused BY the resignation
of Mr.. R. D. White. Received as Information
and the nomination was confirmed.
The return ofthe city sheriff for December,
1872, was read, with an appended receipt of
the city treasurer for sls94 IL, and referred to
the committee On accounts.
A communication was read from the chief
of police, stating that one hundred new po-
lice caps ordered for the department had ar
rived, and asking that they be considered city
property. The request was granted.
Report of the physlclau of the City Hospital
for December was read and received as in
formation.
note from Mr.. L. D. DeSsussure, enclos-
ing the title deed ofa "trip of land on Friend
street, recently conveyed to the city by Major
John E. screven, was read and received as
Information.
The petitions of Mrs. Mulvauey, T. Q. Nc
Kewu, Marion Porcher, e1ecutrix Of F. J.
Porcher, and James Gibbes, for remission Of
penalties, were granted.
The committee on retrenchment and relief
reported favorably on petition OF Mrs. Mary
Moody for remission of penalties, and the Pc
tition was granted.
Alderman Bowen called up me petition of
the vestry and wardens Of st. Philips Church
for the exemption CT certain real estate from
taxation and the remission OF taxes and pen
slties levied on other pieces, which had been
laid over for several months. The following
report from the committee on retrenohment
and relief, made upon the petition when it
was first introduced, was read:
That the building at the corner Of Church
and Queen streets is ''actually occupied and
used as charitable Institution, In the nature
of an asylum for infrm and INDECENT per-
sons;" and as such Ia expressly exempt from
taxation by the constitution Of 1858, Act TX,
Section S. It has been exempted from taxa
ton by the state on this ground.
As 70 80 much Of the petition as refers to
the houses and lots on GleDe street, owned by
petitioners, your committee report that
according 10 the opinion of the city attorney,
tue City Council cannot exempt from taxation
properly which Is not exempt by the constitu-
tion, aud petitloDers admit their Glebe lands.
generally, are not 30 exempt; but petitioners
claim that the houses and lots on Glebe street,
which constitute but q small portion OF their
Glebe lands, should not be taxed be-
cause the church has already paid 10 the
CITY an equivalent for taxation upon this
portion Of Its property. Although, according to
ihe opinion OF tho city attorney, the agree
ment between the church and the city for the
opening of Glebe street (Which Is printed
hpra wfhl Ia NOT binding uDOu the clCy az