PUBLIC MEETING.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 116, 28 August 1877, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING.

A meeting, of the ratepayers in the Akaroa and Wainui district, took place at tlie Town Hall, Akaroa, on Saturday, the j 25th instant. •■■■.;• I Mr Piper, Chairman of the Akaroa aiid Wainui Road Board, read the advertisement convening the meeting,and explained that the ratepayers had been invited to attend that afternoon, not merely for the purpose of discussing the question of the proposed severance of the Wainui district from that of Akaroa, but also to enable the Board to hear a general opinion on the subject of Special Grants. Since advertising the meeting, however, the following telegram from Mr Montgomery, and letter from the Secretary for Public Works, had been received :— " Telegram. " Wellington, 22nd Aug. " I think I have written explaining what took place at my interview with the minister. He consents that the money for the work wholly within your district shall be handed to your Board. The money for work (partly in your district and in Little Eiver) to be operated on by Chairmen of both Boards after Government approves of the survey of proposed road. I shall write fully. ■ "W. MONTfiOBtERY. "J. BarwickyEsq., ~ ''Akaroa" " Letter " Public Works Office, . " Wellington, Aug. 20,,1877. "Sir, —I am directed by the Mob. the Minister for Public Works to inform you tliat he has had under his consideration the resolution passed at a public nieeting of ratepayers of the Peninsula County, held at Akaroa on the 21st of April, and to intimate the desire of the Government to give effect to the wishes of the ratepayers as therein expressed. " At the same time the Government recognise that the roads for which the money was set apart cannot be regarded as mere district roads, and they therefore [propose : that the boards' interested in the. various roads should have a survey made by a properly qualified officer, and that when this is done the survey, together with a proposal for. the expenditure of tlie money on each road be submitted to the Government for .asseiit. " The will, sanction the sum . required to pay for the contemplated sur- \ vey being provided out of the funda available for . the roads, and it would obviously fee advantageous that the Surveyor employed should be one having the confidence of the Survey Department. " The Minister, understands that the following are the Road Boards interested in the money above referred to :—Port Levy Road Board ; Pigeon Bay Road Board ; Little River Road Board; and he has ■accordingly addressed similar letters 'tb the present one to tIW Chairman of eacli of the above Boards. , " I have the honor to be, Sir, " Your obedient servant "John Knowles, " Under Secretary for " Public Works. ; " The Chairman.of the . " Akaroa and Wainui Road Board, ' " Akaroa." This, in his opinion, settled the matter of the Special Grants ; so that now the question before the meeting was simply that of j the severance of the district mentioned, on > which subject he invited discussion. Mr Williams thought it war; not genera]]}' known on what grounds the severance was required. Perhaps some Wainui ratepayers would state their reasons for the action. ' Mr DiciCKN said he would bo happy to Yetjpoiid to Mr Williams, aM 'glad of ¥h#

opportunity of accounting for their action in the matter. 'Aj the last meeting they had. held at French farm, a deputation was appointed to attend on the Road Board fer the, p.u#oge..p| urging their claims, and 'that if these by the Board their v intentiQU';*f to a severance should b<3 ; •fle-daresay they would be told that they oilght-to represented these- claims befere moving in the matter. Last smniner be had made a complaint, and had writterj by request to the Board, drawing the'ir.attentitui to the state of the road at JFre.nclifFar.iiV. ;He had asked them to widen the road, pointing out the landslips, and that the road was on the edge of a precipice/ He had suggested metalling the road for the winter, and,was told j that the worjt should be done. Mr Adams went there with him-, and had '"remarked that it was. necessary to make" the road .safe, and p,Ut a protection up at the steep part alluded to, by log's with post and ran fence morticed in. However, nothing resulted from this. Lately the road had been widened, but the dangerous places had not been remedied. This was one of the reasons why they took independent action. It was the opinion that if they were a separate district the work would be done more; efficiently and economically ; but, for his part, if their present wants were satisfied he would- be glad to withdraw the matter. : Mr Lelievre, jun., asked what these wants were. , Mr Magkay said the deputation would attend to that. Mr. Williams reminded them of the wants of other districts : they must not lose sight of them. He thought Wainui had been attended to quite as nvucn as J tne others had been for the last seven or eight years. There were 22 ratepayers in Wainui, and the amount of rates collected annually was £48 9s. 6d. The total number of ratepayers in the district was 165. The district of Long Bay, comprising 27 ratepayers, paid rates to the amount of £70 18s. He did not wish to raise one part of the district against another, but merely desired to give statistics in support of his assertion. In 1873 Wainui had received apart from Grants altogether, £266 12s. 6d. on Wamui roads. Tn 1874, £398 Bs'. In 1875, £854 Bs. In 1876, £369 os. 6d., and, in the present year, 1877, £342 11s. 3d., making a total amount of £2231 os. 3d., spent wholly on Wainui. Throughout the*whole district, from 1873 to 1876, £3661 11s., lid., liad been, spent on the main roads. WainAi as one-seventh was debited with £527 as their share towards this. They had , moreover received Special Grants amounting to £2465 ss. 2d., making a grand total of £5223 ss. sd. received by the Wainui districf. He was of opinion they had been very fairlydealt with. In urging separation, they would do injustice to themselves. They would require a separate staff of officials, which was a matter of great 'expense in itself. Besides, the money for these works was drawing to a close, and, soon, they would all have to make roads at their own expense. ' Hβ thought the district had received a large share of this mopey, and that now they ought to keep together, assist iv bearing the coiAnion burden, and help other districts when they should have to. make their own roads, and lie characterised their action as. V6id of reason or 'justice/—(Applause.) r • ■ Mr M'Kay considered. Mr Williams was rather heavy on Wainui'. It was iio use bis referring to past works, and quoting figures, when these works were of no use to them. If, as Mr Williams asserted, they had got more than their share, why should they want to keep then 1 ! ? Better let them go. Mr. Williams said tne iiApassable state of old roads was not the fault of the Road Board, but of the Government survey which they had to follow - . The Public Works Policy now got at fair value, as regards compensation: The sur-. : veybrs in the old days never thought the. country likely to be so important, and made roads anyhow. >■ Mr Dicken urged the case as it stood at the present tinie ; better leave the past alone. He wanted to make the best out, of the present state of affairs. _ It was quite possible to make a passable road by extending three chains to the beach. , • Mr Latter said he had listened with in-, terest to the figures laid before tliem, as lie, for one, was not aware that the district had received so much. He had no direct interest in that district. However, ( , it should be remembered by the Road BoaH that the Wainui district was a. large one, one half or side of the harbpur, ;and that it was necessary the district, .sho'ild .be opened, for which purpose it would require a considerable amount of money spent on it, although they did pay only a small proportion of rates. They should receive the fostering care of the Road Board, and he was glad to F think that the projected severance would be abandoned. In a monetary view, it was impossible such a scheme could pay, as a large machinery was involved, and the wlio/e of the. rates would be swallowed up in providing an efficient staff:. All but certain subsidies received came out of the Public Works, and these would soon cease altogether—making the xoads fall on the ratepayers. , In his opinion it was better that. the Peninsula should have'one Road Board management and obtain .engineering skill for which the' whole district would help to pay. Several roads had been laid out,'and commenced, but the work had to be stopped for the want of funds. There was hardly a good road in the district., He thought all the districts should concentrate, which would cause less expense in theiV administration. (Applause). Some discussion of a purely local character then ensued between Messrs. McDonald-and McKay. The former gentleman then proposed the following resolution, seconded bty Mr Stewart, which visa's put to the meeting, and carried unanimously— " That, in the opinion of tins meeting, it is inexpedient that a severance of the districts take place at the present time." Mr Latter proposed, r and Mr Saxton seconded, that a Vote of thanks be given to the Chairman. , Tlw meeting then terminated, .