AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 71, 23 March 1877, Page 2

AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

The adjourned meeting of the above Council was held at Haines's Hotel yesterday, the whole of the Council being present. THE PERMISSIVE CLAUSE. Mr. Fleming, in opening the debate, said he had no remarks to make, and moved the former motion standing in his name—" That the Act be not adopted in its entirety." Mr. Baker moved, as an amendment— '' That the Council do adopt the Act in its entirety." He said that all knew his reasons for supporting the Act, and they were briefly—The advisability of having local affairs conducted by local men. The case of the Peninsula was entirely different to the counties established on the plains. He had endeavoured to explain at a former meeting that the question of expense was scarcely worth considering, as the Council would not requiro to meet oftener than two or three times a year. The whole business of the county could be conducted by a clerk and engineer, and the salaries of these officials would be nothing compared to the advantages to be derived from having the supervision and management of their own affairs. He would again ask what do the people in Wellington understand about the requirements of the Peninsula. Mr. Barker said he was glad to hear the remarks of Mr. Baker, being of the same opinion as that gentleman, " that local men should manage local affairs," and therefore he held that Road Boards were the fittest bodies to be endowed with such powers. He held that local Eoad Boards, with extended powers, were a far better form of government than County Councils. He, for one, would not sanction the Council to assume control over roads or spending the moneys which would otherwise fall to the lot of the Boards. The Council might possibly serve as a check upon the Eoad Boards. With regard to Mr Baker's remarks that the people of Wellington knew nothing about our requirements, he failed to see what they had to do with the question. lie was quite certain that the people could rest, assured that their affairs would not be managed worse than they were formerly from Christchurch. The Council had waited three months, to see the course pursued by other counties, and he thought the example set by them should be adopted by Akaroa. The whole of the counties of Canterbury, with the exception of one, had rejected the Act by large majorities. The Selwyn andAshby Counties were composed of able men, and if they could not make the Act workable, how in the face of that could a small county like Akaroa attempt to accept the Act. Ho stated his intention to vole against the Act, Mr. Dalglish seconded the amendment, remarking that the question had been pretty fully ventilated. He had noticed that in several counties where the Act had been rejected, the Councils were now convening special meetings to rescind their former resolutions. He thought it was time to remove our expenditure from foreign control, when it had been asserted by a member of a Road Board that two or three roads had been made to Okain's and two or three to Le Bon's. To his knowledge, money had been voted by the General Government for a road to Long Bay and allowed to lapse, which ho felt convinced would not have been allowed to take place had the County Council been in existence. The money had been squandered as was plainly evinced by the results of the expenditure. Okains, to wit, a person at the present time being scarcely able to find his way to that locality. Mr. Barker accused Mr. Dalglish of attempting to throw dirty water on the Road Board. He said that the road referred to was made by the General Government, and that Mr. Thacker, when before the Magistrate for pulling logs over the road, ran it down, but forgot to mention that lie received £800 for its construction, and explained that he in no way desired to blame the Boards, as the money did not pass through their hands. Mr. Hay desired the question to be put to the vote without delay, as members' minds were fully decided on the question. As far as he was concerned, he intended voting against its adoption. He had studied the Act, and found it to contain a grent many contradictions. It would be far better, he remarked, for the members to wait, as the Act could now at any time be brought into full operation on giving one month's notice. Hβ was certain that a great many reformations would be effected in the Act at the next session of the General Assembly. The county would benefit nothing by bringing the measure into force at the present. They were a young body, and had much to learn. lie believed it would be well to Allow the Boards to work on, and the Council to !

act. as it were, a check over their actions. The Council could, at any time, step in and take possession if it found that the Road Boards were not doing their duty. A majority of the members can at any time convene a meeting of the Council by giving the necessary notice as prescribed by the Act. The Chairman asked the members to weigh the question well over in their minds before voting. At the present, the Council can meet and decide to carry out the Act, but should the Council reject the measure, it would be necessary before separating to recommend to the Government the apportionment of the grants among the various Road Boards for the nest 18 months. Therefore it will be seen that all the funds in the Council's possesion will be allocated for a considerable period, and the bringing of the Act into operation in the meantime would be of but little use when there were no funds. The Council will be called upon in the event of the Act being rejected, to recommend the apportionment of the revenue for the sis months ending 31st March ; and again for the 12 months ending 31st July, 1878, before the 31st of June next. He wished particularly to impress upon members minds that the Council will be in a perfectly helpless condition for a a period of eighteen months. The Little Lake was now almost to the level of the road, and there were other important works requiring the immediate attention of the County. The Government would not consent to the handing over of sums of money to the Road Boards for special purposes, for this reason, they had not the services of an engineer _at their command. Other questions not within the province of the Road Boards to deal with, would be certain to arise. He asked them to pause before throwing away something they would be sure to regret. Rates had not been levied in all the Road Board districts on the Peninsula, and those Boards who had failed to levy rates would not recehe r funds. Mr. Hay.—That will be the first thing to sharpen them up. Mr. Fleming said that the £1.000 for the Port Levy road would be certain to be handed over to the manipulation of the local board. The Chairman held that the grant would revert to the Government. Mr. Fleming said that the amount accruing from rates in his district was not worth collecting. If a man could be found to collect the rate for nothing, he was sure £50 could not be raised. The district would be quite content to do without the subsidy accruing from rates, providing it could make sure of securing its share of the land fund. Mr. Bradley expressed his intention to vote against the measure, and coincided with Mr. Hay's remarks. He said if the Act were rejected, there was a chance at some future time of adopting it. The Chairman then put the amendment, when Messrs. Barker, Dalglish, and the Chairman voted in its favour. The motion was supported by Messrs. Fleming, Priest, Barker, Gibbie, and Bradley, and was therefore carried. The Chairman said that the next business would be to recommend to the Government the apportionment of the revenue among the Boards. The following were the amount of rates collected in each Road Board district for the year 1876. £ s. d. Little River 192 10 0 Port Levy Nil Pigeon Bay ... ... 65 4 3 Okains 144 0 0 Port Victoria 40 0 0 Akaroa and Wainui ... 251 9 4 £71 Is. 3d. of this amount would have to be deducted as having been collected within the Borough of Akaroa before it was incorporated a municipality. Moved by Mr. Barker—" That the Government be requested to pay to the various Road Boards the amounts derivable from the sums otherwise coming to the Akaroa County Council, viz. : —the first payment from the Land Fund, and that from the Consolidated Fund—pound for pound according to the rates collected by the Road Boards during the year ending the 31st March, 1876. Mr. Barker seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Mr. Barker moved—"" That the Government be further requested to pay the balance accruing to the county from the Land Fund and all other monies to the various Road Boards in the county in proportion to the valuation of property in the Rate Roll for the year ending 31st March, 1876,' and " That for the year ending 30th June, 1878, the Government be requested to pay the various Road Boards in the county pound for pound on all rates collected during the year ending 31st March, 1877, out of the Consolidated Fund, and first payment to Land Fund, and divide all other monies in proportion to the valuation of property on the Rate Roll, for the year ending 31 st March, 1877." The motion was seconded by Mr. Bradley and carried unanimously. After a vote of thanks was passed to the Chairman, the Council -adjourned.