COUNTY COUNCIL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3573, 6 October 1916, Page 5

COUNTY COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING.

. The monthly meeting of the Ashburton County Council was held to-day. Present/ Crs. C. J. Harper (chairman), W- Morgan C Reid AY. 1. Lill A Drummond, G. Murdoch, J. Cairns, and T. Doherty Leave of absence was granted Crs H. J. Harrison and J. Grigg. '„,... „ •The chairman reported tJiat lor tho i^ix months ending September ;» tho aum of £49 12s had been received for the sale of poisoned grain, and the Mle and" rent of bird traps had amoxmted to £11 5s for thd ■ same period. Three traps are in hand. Up bo September 30 the sum of £12,030 9s Id had been collected ior rates for 1915 and 1916 and water charges due on July 15, 1915, leaving £43 16s Id outstanding. Up to tho end of last month 2817 dogs had been registered, as* sigainst 2861 registrations for the year 1915. The sum of £1500 had been received for this year's rates, and £1512 6s for water charges.

Engineer's. Report. The County Engineer (Mr Charles' Morrison) reported as follows:— Ashburton-Rakaia Water Supply.— During the past month the supplies from Pudding Hill dam and the auxi- , Wary channel have been occasionally of | an intermittent nature owing to tho rivers, being frequently in a flooded stale.' At ' prosoiit, tho rivers hay« receded to thoir normal .state, and the , supply is more rogulai;. Several of tho fiteel .jplaies at the outlet sluioc-gato of Pud- • 4ing Hill dam arc worn out with the ' "Constant grinding of shingle and boulders, passing over them, and they will require to bo renewed. These : plates are Am. thick," and have been "in position "a little over. eight years. Plates havo been ordered, which I exP4*t to have placed in position by the *)fld of the month. From the Rangers' Reports, it would appear" that 'the yearly overhaul of races has generally .' fj'cen "carried out in a, satisfactory manner. There, are .several owners who hare done little or nothing to improve tut; condition of the races, but these will shortly receive'attention. . ■ Upper Wichmoro Main Race.—This . -freak is proceeding stcjidily and satisfactorily. Flumes" have been erected over tho creek in the old riverbed and gully in Mr Scott's land, and water led along the-channel for fl. distance of about 2-i: miles from tho intake in the north ■ branch ■■ of the Ashburton River. By tho end of this month T expect that the channel will be opened to the Lauriston Road, where it teraainates for tho present. From this point on to whore it joins tho Freezing Works Race, the work is light, simply ■■enlarging, .tho existing raco. which can foe got 7 over in a short, time. When |his connection, with tho Freezing Works raw. is completed; I would, recouiraeml that tho -Winchmore main, which now • supplies the Freezing Works, be abandoned and filled up, as It is, and will lie, a constant source of expenditure for All races <:an bo connected and supplied from tin-, upper main, noW in course of con-, Stiuction and additional races granted to those owners who, at present, are dependent on 1 the Winchmprc main for /their supplies. I presume that races ■ granted as ■"referred to above, would cotnii under tho "Water-works %-lawa, in respect to maintenance and water ■charges. At present those owners deriving their supplies from the Winchmorc" main do not pay water charges &nd the main ten unco is done by tho council. . . Ashburton-Rangitata. Water Supply. —During the past month, the main rare from the south, branch o,f the Ashfcurton Rive/- has been overhauled ■from-tho intake to near Ballantino s, a*ul is now in fnir working order. Plumes havo been tarred and otherwise repaired. On the Craoroft main, stone-walling has bora erected for a length of about "40 chains, which will obviate tho necessity .of a considerable amount of cleaning in the fnture, »nd the channel has been scooped out and'thoroughly cleaned from the noad.wbrks to tho top of tlxv terrace..The B poU lying along the banks still re-' qmtos to bo removed, and I would surest that a . hillside plough and small'grader be procured for this and wilier similar purposes, as hand labour is expensive and difficult to procure The around is rough, but I .am of the opinion that the plough and/grader onbo used. T havo -recently inspected Ruapuna.: main ; race, and am pleased. W say that I-*a?V tK Sionsly' seen it in so good order. There Sit "a short length' near to the lower end «f the terrace Ktffl uncompleted, but tneo are at work, and I expect that B£•whole length will be finished m the *ourS of nest week With the change It Rangers, during the cleaning period, T-anr-Stin a position to say definitely«)>ai has been done by owners clcnxiW their respective portions, but d> nert meetmgThopo to bo in * position to report fully w.*!? B.™-** 01:^ The additions to '.cottage tor the ■ <*Stoker at jlakaia ate Hearing -com* intention of the council to clean waterrams where the owners .had neglected to do soy and to charge the cost to tho occupiers of the land ?-The engineer v ..,k instructed to take _ action to so* tlwt-the necessary leaning was carried ■iJt-Tt was docidod to Notify owners trough whosr, property the old W.ncli■moromain wntor-roon runs that tho councir intends io,i. fill in the race.Tb« report was tlion adopted.

Reserve -Inspector's Report. Tho Inspector of K^serves (Mr B. Stuart) 'reported, as follows:— On September 5 I inspected part reserve 1771>. coimuiimg 113 aeie..%, <« lWmon\ and find that the conditions if-thc lauiM are not being carried out. Surse is makiiiK headway around the Salaries, and on about 2^ acres ot ■tlw- "round which «-:us not ploughed h^fc year there is a. considerable growth if young sorsc-uml tho land should be TiniXd iuumaliutdy. I have given the flittl lover ond is dry,, and no wa^i f

would be fche better for another wash of black.

Tho fenco iilong the- roadside at the tanks has been removed, and a short lino of fonco erected- through the plantation to protect the railway line from stray stock, and the fence along the. inside boundary is being repaired with stoke. About one ton of wire, which is ia very good order will be available for the fence at Cracrol't.

Tho planting of tho strip of land leased from Mr Grigg will be started this week, and the fence <?roctod immediately the post and. stakes are ready. 1 have seen Mr Jaino, aad ho tells me no stock will bo put on the ground for a fortnight, and by that time the fence will bo finished. I have? inspected the trees to be planted, and found them in good condition and a. nice even lot. These axe tho larch trees that were exchanged for tb© pinus. iasignis, and they have to be used this year.

Tho inspector was instructed to take steps to sfv that the conditions in regard to • Ittwping rosorvo 1770 free From gorse wore carried out.—The report >vfis adopted. Correspondence. The tfecrefcary of tlu% Ashburton Ssileyards- Company wrote asking the council to supply high-pressure water i for tho cottage at tlie yards.—lt was decided to have bbo work carried out. A lottcr watf received from the Upper Ashburtoa Road Board asking the council to take into consideration the matter of ■ establishing an insurance scheme to cover council and road board employees.—Tho chairman said the suggestion was a good one, but he did" lnot' think tho Government would give tho necessary permission to establish. fchy insurance fund.—Cr. Lill said the Govornment had an insurance ' fund of its own, nnd he did not sec any , reason why the County should not have a similar one—The chairman and 'Crs. Lill and Drummond were appointed- a committee to make inquiries and report.

MessrH Wildioe; and Aclafid wrote asking the council to pass a resolution proposing an alteration in the boundaries of the Aahburton County so that the Mesopotamia Station, occupied by Mr G. and Mrs F. Gerard, on the south-west side of the Rnhgitata River, may be joined to the Geraldine County. •—The chairman said the matter affect.cd ■ the Mount Somers Road Board more than th« County Council, owing to the latter having made a road in the locality .—lt was decided to ask the Mount Somers Road Board to report to the council.

Mr D. Fergas wrote tendering- his rosijinatiott a* ranger for the Ashbur-ton-Rangitata water-supply district. — The chairman reported that S. R. Johnston had been, transferred as ranger. ■ to, Mayfield district, and that J. R. Elms iiad Iwen appointed ranger for Hinds district. —It was decided to give Mr Fergus a bonus of £10 in recognition of his good work in looking after the race*. '"

A letter was received from the Department of Agriculture stating that the Waipara .fSoiuity, ';. Council had recovered ,a ; large quantity of naturallygroiiud limcetoicUy,''■ and had sent out; a few hundred ; tons to farmers. The price charged 'was J)s per ton free on j rail for 100■ niiies for six-ton lots.! Good resulfe had been reported with regard to tho action of the lime on, soils well supplied with moisture, as, for instance, drained swamp land. The analysis of three soft deposits varied somewhat with the depth, but where the council had excavated tho average analysis had been fairly high, and contfumvd 75. to 90 ■$>«(' cent, calcium carbonate. At &h jH>r ton tho price was reasonable and the luno suitable for application to all types of soil in any quantity,,provided the land is situated not too far from the railway.—Cr. Reid said ho bad moved in this matter and had collected information regarding it. Burnt lime could be procured on trucks at Oamara at 10s per ton. He considered the burnt lime was far superior to the' Waikftri lime; it had a good .analysis, and was comparatively cheap. —-No; action w;i.s t'nken. Mr ,3. .Blackburn, Dromore, wrote 'asking for a remission of rates. — Agreed to. General. Cr. Lill moved, . and ' Cr. Doherty seconded,..that «, return be prepared, showing the ift£;>l expenses of the council during'tlie. past th/'oo years.'-— The motion vr-ns corned. Accounts amoc^jtijig. to €1436 15s i lOd wore pasw<l h>v paymont.