MEETING AT FRENCH FARM.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 104, 17 July 1877, Page 2

MEETING AT FRENCH FARM.

At the meeting at the French Farm school-room, held for the purpose of discussing a ■ re-arrangement of the Road Board District, Mr Dicken was voted to the chair. Mr. Dicken believed he might congratulate the meeting that the consideration of the subject they had met together to discuss had caused no unfriendly feeling amongst those who lived on the other side of the harbour. So far they had been an outside district, and it was natural they should have been treated as one. They did not however mean to raise any complaint on that score ; they only wished to act in such a manner that the district should not remain fin outside one. He firmly believed that in a few years there would be a great change in their district ; but at the same time he folt that it rested very much with themselves to help forward that change. He felt that the question before the mooting was to those interested in the district a most important one, and one that ought to receive every consideration. AsJ this meeting had by an oversight been fixed to take place on the same day as the Road Board meeting, he thought it would be desirable to adjourn it. "in this way they might be able to obtain more information upon the subject than they already possessed, and also an opportunity would be given to any members of the Road Board who might wish to attend and take part in the discussion. Mr. W. Wright said he considered that forming the district into wards would be preferable to having a new district created. In that case this part of the district would be represented, and if we were successful in obtaining men as members of the board who acted ""in a fair and impartial spirit, one part of the district would not be neglected Hiore than another. Mr. Bakkr said he had helped to promote the meeting because he felt that this part of the district was, so to speak, in a corner. It was therefore only natural that their requirements should be somewhat overlooked under, the Road Board as at present constituted. It was mooted that a new district should be formed, taking for its boundary a line drawn from the head of. Lake Forsyth to some point in Barry's Bay. He had therefore aquiesced that a meeting should be called to discuss the matter ; but he wished it to be understood that he was in favour of the new district, if one should be formed, taking its failshare of responsibilit}* of the maintenance of the main road. It was unfortunate a meeting of the Road Board took place on that day. He therefore proposed the meeting be adjourned to 12 o'clock on Monday, the '23rd. Mr. McDonald suggested that the next meeting be held at Akaroa. Mr. Knight, in seconding Mr. Baker's motion, that the meeting be adjounied, objected to Mr. McDonald's proposal that the adjourned meeting should be held in Akaroa. He felt that it would be quite right out of courtesy to give any member of the Road Board an opportunity of attending, though the real question rested with the ratepayers of the proposed district alone. He quite agreed with Mr. Wright, that it wo'vi'ld be well to have the district divided into wards, but as the law now stood, there was no provision for carrying out such an arrangement upon a real "too ting, for by thu Act, any workingpublic grant would be given to the whole district, and could not be allocated to the diiHerent wards. Mr. Knight had obtained a map from tiie Government ofiice, which shows the greater part of the proposed district.