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RATEPAYERS' MEETING.

— ♦ I RANGITATA.

The annual meeting of ratepayers m the Rangitata distriot was held at the Road Board office, Lismore, at noon yesterday. Mr 0. J. Harper, the Chairman of the Road Board, presided, and there was an unusually large attendance, ratepayers from all parts of the distriot being present. The Chairman having read the minutes of the last annual meeting, expressed his gratification at the large attendance, which he said Bhowed the interest the ratepayers took m Road Board matters, and was very different to another meeting whioh he had had to attend, and at which a quorum of Bis could not be found. In submitting the aooounts he had to state that they had not been audited, owing to a change m the arrangements as to auditing made by the Government ; and the Board m common with other looal bodies, had received no intimation when their accounts would be audited. In reviewing the work of the past year the Chairman said that the Board had been as economical as it oould be. They had been able to get through the year without having to levy a rate, and without having to overdraw their aooount; they had now a oredit balance of £100 This was the first ocoasion on whioh the Board had been able to oarry through the year without striking a rate or an overdraft, and he trusted that this would oommend itself to the ratepayers. In referring to the works of the year the Chairman said that the upper portion of the distriot had had spent upon it £100 more than had been allocated to it, on works wbioh were neoessary ones. Although he did not think it possible for the Board to go on for another year without a rate, he desired to impress on the new members the necessity for economy, for when County Oounoil, pro* perty tax, water rates, etc, had to be paid settlers did not want big road rates. After a brief informal discussion Mr E. G k Wright said that as the accounts had not been audited, it would be as well to postpone their adoption. The Chairman said that that was for the meeting to decide. Mr Wright said that if the meeting adopted them now they would have done with them, and would have no further voioe when the Auditor's report was received. Mr Peter said that to adopt the aooonnts would not be an unusual proceeding. For two years m suooession the accounts of that distriot had been adopted without having been audited. Mr Wright: Well, sir, I beg to move— " That the accounts be not adopted till audited." lam quite m order. Mr Morrow aeoonded Mr Wright's motion, Mr Peter moved an amendment — •• That the aooounts as presented be adopted." Mr Goodwin seconded the amendment, Mr Morrow wished to make a few remarks, but before proceeding asked the Chairman if it was his ruling that a ratepayer should not speak more than once. The Chairman said that a speaker could not address the meeting more than once on the same subjeot. Mr Morrow said that the Chairman had stopped discussion m that way once before. The Chairman said that the rules of debate restricted each person to one speech, except the proposer of a motion, who had the right of reply. Mr Morrow : I will aßk for all reoeipts for the year to be produced. I will proceed by asking questions. The Chairman: The question before the meeting is the adoption or otherwise of the aooounts. You are going away from it. Mr Morrow asked if they were not disoussing (he aooounts. The Chairman said that Mr Morrow was not speaking to the motion before the meeting. Mr Wright said that it was most unusual to refuse permission to see the vouohers. The Chairman said that he must refuse to produce the vouohers until the Auditor had seen them,. It was not right for the Board to give up the oustody till after the audit. Mr Morrow asked what the Aot said on the subject. The Chairman said that personally he had not the slightest objeotion to Bhowing these papers, but he thought that as they had been done up for the Auditor, the Board oould not undo and handle them. Mr Morrow thought that the Aot stated that any ratepayer had a right to see the minute book, aooounts, etc and to save time ; ne would ask to see all contracts and other papers of the Board. The Chairman had meanwhile taken up the Act, and was looking through it, when Mr Wright said that he thought it most extraordinary for the Chairman to study an Aot of Parliament to find any grounds for refusing to show the dooiujaehtg that had been asked for. . • .... The Chairman said that he had been looking up the Aot to see what course should be followed when the aooounts had not been audited, and after a perusal of the clause referring to the subject, which he read, he was undoubtedly of opinion that the Board oould not show the documents till after the Auditor had seen them, and he would, therefore, not display them. Mr Morrow : Seoreoy then 1 The Chairman : £tot at all. We can't override that otause. ••' '" " iVJr Peter; The Board do not indulge m seoretg. ' ■ ' " The Chairman said that it would be wrong to go on with the matter further m the faoe of that olausa. At first he was prepared to go on and adopt the aoaounts^w forma, but now, after seeing the Aot, he thought Mr Wright's resolution was right. He certainly should not produce anything till after the audit. Mr Wright thought that a question for the meeting. Mr Peter said that it was aj question of 'aw. The CbainilS!) :■ "W$ can't over-rido aa Aot of Parliament. Mr Wright : There is no!Aot of Parliament that oah 'prevent the yeuohera being laid on the table. . " •" " ' " ' A ratepayer : Where do we stand now, Mr Chairman. The Chairman : lam waiting remarks from ratepayers. Mr Morrow said that he had still possession i of the right to speak, not having resumed hia i seat. • The Chairman Bftid that ha was going to put the motion. I A ratepayer thought that if it was the wish | of the meeting the vouohera oould be laid on the table. ~ ' j The Chairman said that oouia only be after the inspection of the Auditor, to tyhom he ] and the Board were responsible, thpee 1 qoouments. 1 Mr Morrow thought it only right that the k Board ehguld have ascertained when, the i

audit oonld take place, bo that the rotepayeil should not have been called together for no purpose. The Chairman thought Mr Morrow wflfl BO oonversant with Aota of Parliament that he would have known that there was no option but to call the ratepayers' meeting during the first week m May. Mr Wrigbt said that the Aoiset forth that the balanoe-aheet should be Considered at that meeting. It was a moßt unleard-of proceeding to refuse the ratepayers foe right of seeing any documents they might >ish to see at the meeting. The Chairman said that Mr Wright did not read the whole of the clause, or he would see that those dooumentß werenot to be produoed till after the Auditor haddone with them. Mr Wright said that even if the Aucjtor had not oertified to the aoeounta, that wa&ao reason why the ratepayers should be debarr«J from seeing them. He had beenOhairmai of several Road BoardsJ and he consider^ the Chairman's aotion at the present meeting , was most unwarrantable. The Chairman Baid that he would be failing m his duty if he produoed the dooumentß. As Chairman of several Boad Boards, Mr Wright knew that the Boards never met the ratepayers without having the accounts audited. It was only at two meetings under that Board, oases that were exceptional' in the colony, and when Mr Wright was Chair* man, that the aocounts had not been audited, and he did not know how Mr Wright met the ratepayers. . Mr Wright : The aooounta were audited by the Clerk, and the vouchers were laid on the table. The Chairman : I might as well Bay that these were audited by the Clerk, but' that is not a proper audit, or one recognised by law. All I oan say is that I decline to produce the papers till the Auditor has had them. It is now my duty to keep the books and papera till the Auditor has seen them, after that they will be open for inspection without fee for four weeks. Ido not think that any other Chairman when challenged m that way would have adopted another course. The Chairman; I have given yon my. reasons, and I think I speak the mind of the Board. In reply to MrJGoodwin, the Chairman said that the books were open to the inspection of the meeting. - ; ' ! Mr Morrow said that his reasons for press* I ing to see the doouments were that there were rumors abroad of certain works having been done m a queer way, and he would like to see the oontraot m connection with Anderson. An argument here aroso-between Mr Morrow and Messrs Doyle and Goodwin, members of the Board m reference to the engaging of Anderson, who had been engaged by them, under authority from the Board, to do certain stone-pioking. The matter was referred to the Chairman who said that aa the Board worked without a Olerk or other officers, the members looked after matters requiring atton* tion m different localities. With regard to the Btone-pioking, Messrs Doyle and Goodwin had been authorised to get.it done. . >' Mr Wright said that the prooedure was not questioned. What Mr Morrow wanted waa the agreement- : The Chairman said that these were merely matters of detail, and if they were there to oonsider them, they might be kept till mid* night. They were there to disouss broad and general matters, The Board was elected to attend to these details, and if the ratepayers were not satisfiod with their oonduot of affairs, they could put them out. Mr Morrow said that be would oonsider the agreement to be right, bat he wanted to know who superintended. The Chairman said that different members did so. Mr Morrow : Did Anderson go vm the South Hinds Road. Mr Doyle : Yes, jhe pioked both sideß. Mr Morrow : 1 beg your pardon. I deny that. Anderson is here, and he will tett v you the same. ■ •■";"•■ -■ Mr Doyle reiterated his; {former statement, and the Chairman said that it was. no use going into these matters. ■ „'•-.. In reply to Mr Morrow t^e Chairman said that the agreement with Anderson in ■ regard to the fords was 11s a day, iaoluding a horse and dray, for the stone-pi jking oontraot it was 6a a day. Mr Wright said it waa wftntad to be known who received the money. The Chairman : AnderHon. He drew the money except what he authorised me to keep baok. Mr Morrow m reply to an enquiry wag allowed to see the book, Bhowing payments to Anderson, ' Mr Peter : If Mr Morrow wants to know these things, he should have sent notioe beforehand. Mr Morrow : This is a ratepayers\Wieting. In reply to Mr Morrow the Chairman oaid that Anderson's money had been paid to orders presented by creditors. The Chairman said that the present diaoussion wsb going beyond bounds. If any ratepaper was dissatisfied, he had his remedy. Mr Morrow pointed out a olerioal error of 5s m Anderson's account. Mr Morrow : I would like to ask Mr Doyle how many days Anderson worked for him on the Board's money. The Chairman : That is a personal quea* tion. Mr Doyle ; I beg to deny—. The Chairman : You can't make a charge of that nature here. We oannot adjudicate m suoh a matter ; that would be for a Court of law. The ratepayers have their rem«dy, if anything wrong has been done. He had allowed the meeting a great deal of latitude, as there had been muoh tattle and muoh exageration outside. He .had gone very carefully into this matter, of .Anderson's, and had bestowed muoh upon it. Anderson had been extravagant, and orders bad come m which he (the Chairman) had paid. There might be a olerioal error of ss, but that could be easily remedied as he had kept baok £1 of Anderson's money, as from former discrepancies he suspected others might arise, Anderson having m one oaae mis-stated the amount to be paid. There were a few shillings to Anderson's'' oredit yet, and the 5s mistake could be easily remedied. Mr Morrow : What does the Act say about members of the Board participating m the ratepayers' money ? The Chairman : I . have explained to you that very heavy penalties are provided. If we have done anything wrong, go at us. We oan't do any good by discussing these matters here. : Mr Morrow : But if we had -them ex* plained now, it may save a Court case. The Chairman further explained the Anderson affair. He Baid that the" man gave orders to be paid out' of what was owing to him, and when his work was finished he took what waß due to him and went away perfectly satisfied. The money did not last long, and he came baok for more. He was tojd thai there waß no more, and he then said that hg had been "done." When asked by whom he replied, " Bomebody." He was then told that if suoh wasi the case, he had a claim against the person who had "done" him. At this stage Anderson came into the room, as if to speak, but the Chairman informing him that he was not a ratepayer, he with* drew. . A ratepayer said that it might satisfy tha meeting if the orders were produoed. The Chairman said that if they could not take his word, then pass - a vote of na-oonfi* denoe m him. He had told them' that he has not paid a shilling except on Anderaoq's, orders, Mr Ooskerie'said the horse Anderson had waß not of muoh value. • The Chairman said that so far as he saw it answered its purpose. Certainly it was not a grand horse. Mr Ooskerie : We have every 5 faith m yoa, but you put power m the hands of a member m whom we have not faith. The Chairman ; I didn't elect him, Mr Coskerie said that Anderson had told him that he had sometimes to travel 16 miles to get one bag of feed. The Chairman prouaulj !?!!? u °fc k kwQ °w this, and tha rate* payere believed him to be m ignortnds of it, The Chairman said that the man had to ba trusted tp a obtain extent—all men similarly employed had— and to'thebest of his knowledgf. the work had been fairly well done. One of the members of the Board had been told oU to look after him and had done so. A great deal had been made out of these things, bat there was nothing, m reality, m them. * Mr Sutherland asked if it could be proved that the man had charged the Board when going for these things. The Chairman said that the man stated that he had not. A disoussion here took place between Mr Morrow and Mr Goodwin m reference to the horse and cart. Mr Morrow said that these had been rented from Mr B/oyle for Qs a 4ay, Anderson to say that they were his own, but m reply to Mr Goodww telling him WflOW

they were. Mr Goodwin denied this, Baying that as far aa he was conoerned nothing of the Bort had happened. Mr Wright Baid that all that oonoeined the ratepayers was the queation of pounds, shillings, and pence. The; were desirouß, seeing that they had to contribute the funds of the Board, that the money Bhould be spent with economy. It was pretty evident that a epsoies of truok system had prevailed, and with that they did not get *he full value of their money. In matters of public policy members of Boards could not be too careful m keeping their hands clean. A certain amount of dissatisfaction was felt with the Apportionment of the money spent, and he thought the best way would be to divide the district into wardß.j He did not think it worth While to prolong the disoussion. Quite ■nough had been said to show that the Board's management of affairs had not been economical. Mr Peter, Baid that a great deal had been Baid about the expenditure of the Board, but if it was compared with that preceding the comparison would be greatly to the advantage of the present Board. He was dubious of the success of the ward system. One ward, whioh might not require a rate, might still largely use the roads of another ward and much increase the burdens of the ratepayers m it. Mr Cosfeerie asked the Chairman if he was aware that a traok through private property had been picked. The Chairman said that m some cases these tracks were used more by the ratepayers than the roads. The Chairman, m reference to Mr Wright's remarks, did not see how any fault could be found with the Board on the soore of economy. With regard to the stone-picking, the Board had had nearly 50 miles of stonepioMng done for £18. After a good deal of discussion of a desultory nature, Mr Peter's amendment was withdrawn, and Mr Wright's motion was carried Unanimously. Mr Wright moved — " That m the opinion 6l this meeting it is desirable that the distriot be divided into Wards, and that the Boad Board be requested to take steps to oarry this resolution into effeot." Mr Morrow seoonded. .Mr Peter moved an amendment to the efleot that the matter be deferred. Mr Doyle seoonded. After disoussion the motion was lost on the easting vote of the Chairman. Mr Morrow said that he had another matter to bring forward. On the nomination day he was at the office m good time. Mr Harper and himself exchanged time— The Chairman Baid that the matter was nbt for the ratepayers, but one for the returning officer. If anything was wrong Mr Morrow had his .remedy under the Looal • Eleotions Aot. Mr Morrow: This is a oharge against yourself, and I consider the rights of the ratepayers are challenged. The Chairman : If it is against myself I am quite ready to hear anything. Mr Morrow : I put my nominations on the tableThegOhairmant'.jni tell the story if you like. Mr Morrow : There was a letter on the table addressed to Mr Simpson. You said that you had better take it and send it to the returning officer, You ran your finger through the letter — The Chairman': My letter. Mr Morrow : You opened my nominations and looked at them. The Chairman : They were open, weren't they? Mr Morrow;: They were addressed to the returning officer. The Chairman said that he ana Mr Morrow Were at the office.' According to their time the returning officer was late, but as it happened their watohes were wrong. His nominations were on the table, and Mr Morrow put two there. As he thought it was after noon, and as it was his duty, m the absence of the returning officer, to look after the nominations* he took Mr Morrow's up and put all m the same envelope. Mr Morrow : You opened them. The Chairman: Is there anything. wrong. The nominations are open to anybody ; it is the ballot that is secret. Mr Morrow : Suppose a nominator was a servant of yours. The Chairman : That wouldn't affeot me. The nominations were laid on the table open to the inspection of everybody. What is there m it? Mr Wright: It is this. The Chairman, who should proteotfthe ratepayers' interest, fan's m his duty. No member of the Board had any right to open those papers. The Chairman : Why don't you challenge It m open Court ? Mr Wright: The Chairman improperly examines the papers and then adds another. The Chairman : Are they private things ? Were they not put on the table open to all ? Mr Wright: An honorable man would respect them. The Chairman saw no object m an interminable discussion on this matter. There was a remedy if he acted wrongly. Mr Wright : I proved your charaoter long ago. t challenged you m the public press and you would not take it up. The Chairman : Your remedy is to upset the eleotion. You can do that if there has been anything wrong, but there is no occasion for you to lose your temper. The matter then dropped and the meeting broke up m the usnal manner.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG18880503.2.7

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1831, 3 May 1888, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
3,472

RATEPAYERS' MEETING. Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1831, 3 May 1888, Page 2

RATEPAYERS' MEETING. Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1831, 3 May 1888, Page 2

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