AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 173, 15 March 1878, Page 2

AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

The first business meeting of the Akaroa County Council since the adoption of "The"Counties' Act, 1876," was held at " Garwood's House on the Hill Top," on Tuesday last, the 12th inst.

The Councillors present were Messrs E. C. Latter (Chairman), F. Priest, R. J. Fleming, 11. R. Bradley, J. Hay, J. Gebbie, J. Dalglish, J. B. Barker, and T. S. Baker.

The minutes of the meeting adopting the Act were read and confirmed.

The Chairman stated that he had taken the necessary legal steps in informing the Colonial Secretary of the adoption of the Act, and had also advertised the same in the local papers. The Secretary of Customs, Mr Seed, had also been written to, stating that at last meeting they could not reply competently to his letter regarding the jetties in the Okain's Bay Road District. A request had also been made to have the funds for Domains and Cemeteries paid into the Bank of New Zealand, Akaroa, so that they might be available for distribution. He had received several applications for grants to cemeteries from different bodies in the County, and also an application from the Akaroa Domain Trust for a grant. Letters had also been received from the Town Clerk, Christchurch, Mr H. Piper, and the Secretary of Customs, which would require their consideration during their sitting. JETTIES IN OKAIN'S ROAD DISTRICT. The Chairman said the first business for their consideration would be the question of handing over the jetties to the Okain's Road Board. The only question was —were they the. proper persons to have the charge of the jetties and levy tolls. Mr Fleming did not think it safe that Road Boards should have the control of jetties. It was a matter that required the earnest consideration of the Council ; he would not decide hastily, but thought that any funds that might be accruing from them should come into the hands of the Council. Mr Bradley would ask what advantage it would be to the Council to collect tolls on wharves, as he was sure the collector's pay would amount to a great deal more than the wharfage, to say nothing of keeping them in repair. The only wharves at all likely to pay were those at Akaroa.

Mr Dalglish informed the previous speaker that the Council had nothing to do with the wharves within the boundaries of a borough, and that ho for one would object to a rate being levied on the jetties mentioned.

Mr Pkiest thought a rate should be levied on the Okain's wharf, as it was only used for the purposes of shipping timber, and no produce was ever shipped there. Mr Fleming said members seemed to forget that the jetties were made out of special grants, and not out of Road Board funds, and that the public had not as yet been taxed for them. The jetties must be kept in repair, and those who used them ought to be made to pay. There should be some means of reaching the large timber merchants, and not the man who shipped a pig once a year.

Mr Barker stated that the Road Board had spent over £100 on the Little Akaloa jetty, and that more required to be spent. Mr Dalglish wished the Le Bon's Bay jetty excepted, as the Board had refused to make a road to it, and the only approach was through private property. Mr Hay was of opinion that the. Road Boards were the proper custodians of the wharves in their respective districts, and should like to see the reply to the Secretary of Customs framed so as to include all jetties in the County. The Chairman was afraid they were wandering from the question; what was before the meeting was Mr Seed's letter in regard to the Council conferring with a particular Road Board, and advising the Government with reference to any scale of tolls that Board might propose in the event of the jetties being put under their control. He read extracts from " The Marine Act Amendment Act, 1877," to show that practically the entire' power rested in the hands of the Governor, and that all monies raised must be spent on the particular wharf from which it is derived. He was sure it was better to refer to the letter before them only. He quite agreed with the principle that the jetties should be in the hands of the local bodies, but the question had only arisen in regard to the Okain's Road Board. Many Boards probably would not thank the Council to saddle them with some of the wharves; for instance, he did not believe the Akaroa and Wainui Board would care to take over the Government jetty in Barry's Bay if they had to keep it in repair, as there was not more than five tons of goods passed over it in a fortnight. Should the Okain's Bay scheme of wharfage be deemed satisfactory, then they could consider if it could be made applicable to all. After the discussion in the Council that day, it would draw the attention of other Boards to the matter.

Mr Barker, as Chairman of the Okain's Road Board, stated that by nest meeting he would be prepared with a list of tolls. Mr Gebbie moved—" That the jetties in Okain's, Le Bon's, and Little Akaloa be placed under the control of the Okain's Eoad Board, subject to the scale of wharfage being approved of by the County Council." Seconded by Mr Barker, and carried. Mr Hay moved—"That all the Eoad Boards in the County be written to, asking them to apply to the Council for the control of wharves, and send in at the same time proposed scales of wharfages." Mr Dalglish seconded the motion.

Mr Baker advised Mr Hay to withdraw his motion as premature. He quite agreed that the Eoad Boards were the proper bodies to have the charge of wharves, but the course was to apply to the Government first, and the application would no doubt be remitted back to the Council. This, he was sure, was the proper course, and there was no use of going into the matter before they were asked. Mr Hay consented to withdraw his motion, being satisfied with the publicity that would now be given to the matter. DOMAINS AND CEMETERIES. The Chairman reported that applications had been received for grants in aid of the following cemeteries: —From Eev. D O. Hampton, asking for £25 at least for Okain's Bay ; from K. Ashwin, asking for £100, to lay out and plant, and also build mortuary in Little Akaloa Cemetery ; from Messrs Cullen and O'Reilly, for an amount sufficient to fence and lay out the two Roman Catholic Cemeteries in Akaroa ; and from Messrs Hunter, M'May, and M'Donald, Wainui, requesting a grant to purchase two acres of land as a cemetery, between Broughs Bay and Bell's Creek, Wainui. He had also a request for £500 from the Rev. W. Aylmer, Chairman of the Akaroa, Domain Board, for the domain. The Chairman further reported that two-thirds of the grant from the Government were for Counties north of the Rangitata, and one-third for Counties south of that river, and that at the meeting of Chairmen held in Christchurch the other day £475 had been allocated for cemeteries in Akaroa County, and £900 for domains. This last seemed a large sum, .but it might be employed in the domain in raising trees, as had been done in Christchurch. Mr Dalglish—Can any part of that £900 be diverted for cemetery purposes? The Chairman replied in the negative, and said he very much wished the two sums could have been reversed.

Mr Baker thought it would be a good thing now for the various bays to acquire recreation grounds for the purpose of cricket and other sports •■which would no doubt come within the scope of the domain vote.

Mr Dalglisu was of opinion that £500 was a large sum to be devoted to so small a piece of ground as the Akaroa Domain, especially as the management of it was in the hands of a nominated board who had not as yet shown themselves conspicuous by their management. There ' was no elective body in Akaroa who were directly responsible to the public for their acts, and when the proper time came he would oppose any vote being given to nominated boards. He would move— " That the Chairman advertise that written applications be sent in for grants to Domains and Cemeteries on or before Ist April nest." Mr Gebbie seconded the motion which was agreed to. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS AND CHAIRMEN. The Chairman read a letter from the Town Clerk of Christchurch, requesting the attendance of the Chairman of the Council at a meeting to be held in Christchurch on 21st inst., with reference to the management of hospitals and charitable institutions. The Chairman further stated that he had seen the Mayor of Christchurch, who said he would be glad to see any other member of the Council present at the conference in addition to the chairman. Mr Fleming moved—" That the Chairman be requested to attend the meeting of County Council Chairmen and Mayors, in Christchurch, on 21st inst., in regard to the management of hospitals and charitable institutions." The motion was seconded by Mr Bradley, and carried. Mr Priest suggested that the Chairman should be paid his travelling expenses. To this the Chairman strongly objected, stating that gentlemen had no right to occupy puplic positions unless they were prepared to sacrifice something ( in the interest of the public. ENGINEER TO COUNCIL. A letter was read from Mr Piper, Chairman of the Akaroa and Wainui Eoad Board, enquiring if the Council were likely to employ the services of an Engineer, as his Board had been particularly unfortunate

in the matter of road diversions, and had had to pay for engineering skill a sum almost equal to the salary of an Engineer. The Chairman remarked that the» matter was one of great importance and of great difficulty, especially in the state of the Council's finance.

Mr Fleming did not see the use of there being a Council without an Engineer. Th# Road Board with which he was connected had to employ at a high rate a private Engineer in the case of the Port Levy and Pigeon Bay road. •

Mr Bradley asked if one Engineer would be sufficient for the whole County The Chairman thought not until the whole of the special grants were exhausted.

Mr T. S. Baker moved—"That the dif-_ ferent Road Boards in the County be* written to, asking what works, if any, requiring engineering skill they are likely to undertake immediately, and whether, in the event of the Council engaging the ser-** vices of a competent Engineer, they would ba willing to pay a pro rata amount of his salary during the carrying out of their particular works." Mr Gebbie seconded the motion, and it was agreed to.

LE BON'S SPECIAL GRANT. Mr Dalglish enquired if the special grant of £100 had been paid to the Okain's Road Board for the road from Le Bon's Bay to the summit, locally known as* ''the carriage drive,'! as,' after the work having been let, the contractor had been paid £15 for work he had done, and £6 as damages, he wished to know what was to become of the balance of the grant. ** The Chairman said the grant had been passed in the usual way, and he knew nothing more of the matter; perhaps the Chairman of the Board, who was present would be able to throw some light on the subject.

Mr Barker said that as soon as the Board became aware that the £100 included compensation, they at once put an end to Che contract, as £2000 would not cover the compensations asked. The would only just clear the bush off the line of road.

Mr Dalglish thought that now was the best time to put the road through, as the,,, land it crossed was not surveyed, and was subject to roads. He would procure a tracing of the sections through which it passed before next meeting, and lay it on the table. BOUNDARIES OF LITTLE BIVER ROAD DISTRICT. A letter was received from the Clerk of the Little Eiver Road Board, asking for the directions of the Council under clauses 82, 83, and 84 of the v Public Works Act, 1876," in regard lo a boundary road which* was of great benefit to the Springs and Lincoln districts. Mr Gebbie. explained that the proposed new road was all in the County, but not in» the road district, and was to be constructed below the high water line of Lake Ellesmere. The question was—was high or low water mark the boundary line of the. ; Board?

The Chairman said he rather thought it was a matter for the Selwyn Council. At any rate, no Road Board has any control over any land under the lake. The whole matter was regulated by clause 83 of the Act, and the question of boundaries was one for a lawyer.

Mr Gebbie promised to get the written nif opinion of a lawyer before next meeting of the Council, and the further consideration of the question was dropped. SPECIAL GRANTS. - Mr Gebbie asked the Chairman if he had sanctioned the payments of the special grants of £1000 to Port Levy and Pigeon Bay road, and of £900 to Mount Bossu and Lake Forsyth road, as he intended to object to the latter vote being operated upon by the Akaroa and Wainui Eoad Board, as the line of road was entirely in the Little River district. He would also ask if the Chairman knew anything of a sum of £90 that had been paid to the credit of the Little River Road account. +

The Chairman replied that in regard to the first question the actual act of signing had not been completed, and that in regard to the second he knew nothing of it. m SEVERANCE OF TAI TAPU. Mr Gebbie stated /that he understood a petition was in course of signature in the Tai Tapii district to cut it off from Little River and add it to the Halswell Road District, and asked what steps the Council proposed to take in the matter. The Chairman stated that the boundaries of road districts did not come under the cognisance of the Council, the matter was one for the ratepayers to petition the Governor about. The Council could only deal with the boundaries of ridings. „, AKAROA AND LITTLE RIVER BOAD BOARD. Mr J. Gebbie read a long correspondence between the two Boards dating as far back as January, 1874, from which it appeared that the boards had mutually * agreed to make the water-shed at Barry's Pass the boundary of the districts. Thg> Akaroa Board now wished to withdraw from the arrangement and adhere to the boundary as set out in the schedule to the " Canterbusy Roads Ordinance, 1872." The Council were of opinion that they could not interfere in the matter. COUNCIL SEAL. Mr Dalglish drew the attention of the * Council to the necessity of having a seal. The Chairman thought the consideration of the matter might stand over in the m meantime. BANKERS. Mr Gebbie thought it was right that a bank should be fixed upon, with, of course, the proviso that it. could be changed at any time, he would move that the Bank of New Zealand, Akaroa, be the Bank of the Council. The motion was seconded by Mr nay, and carried. SIGNING CHEQUES. It was agreed that the Chairman should act as Treasurer and sign all cheques, and * that they should be countersigned by two Councillors as required by the Act It was also agreed that all the Councillors should give in their names to the Bank for this „ purpose as a matter of convenience. PROVINCIAL LIABILITIES. "\ ''Mr Barker wished to draw the tion of the Council to the fact that roads had been constructed by the Provincial Council and shut up on count that the compensation agreed had never been paid. The Board refused to have anything to with them until the matter was settled. The Government had now the place of the late Provincial and when they seized the chest they w^^H

bound to take the liabilities .along .with it. It was utterly beyond the power of the Boards to compensate all the persons who wished it. His Board would never try. He wished the influence of the Council to be brought to bear upon the matter. He begged to move—" That the various Road Boards be written to asking for a list of all outstanding claims for compensation for road diversions, agreed to be carried out by the late Provincial Government, and that this Council bring the matter under the notice of the Minister for Public Works." Mr Priest seconded the motion, and it was carried. BUSINESS OF COUNCIL. Mr Baker suggested that some standing orders should be framed for the purpose of conducting the business of the Council, especially in regard to notices of motion, Councillors would then be able to come to meetings with some idea of what was to be before them, and in a position to give an intelligent vote on the subject. The matter was allowed to stand over.

TRAVELLING EXPENSES OF MEMBERS. Mr Bradley wished to know the opinion of those present in regard to the payment of members. He had no objection to give his time, but it was too bad to ask a man to put his hand in his pocket. Under the amended Act of last session it was now pennissable, and he thought they should receive travelling expenses, either by the day or mileage. To test the opinion of the meeting he would move the following motion—"That the members of this County Council should be paid mileage fees as travelling expenses." Mr Barker seconded the motion, which, on being put from the chair, was declared carried. The Chairman said he quite concurred in the principle, but at present it was a question of expediency. They should keep the the charges as low as possible. Mr Barker moved—" That the mileage fee to be paid to members attending meetings of the Council be Is 6d per mile for the first 10 miles or under, and Is per mile for every other mile." Seconded by Mr Priest. Mr Hay moved, as an amendment — ■" That the fee for the first 10 miles and under be Is 3d, and any miles over Is •each." Seconded by Mr Baker. ■, Mr Gebbie wished to move a further •amendment with a view of reducing the mileage to 9d after the first 10 miles, bur, was unable to find a seconder. On Mr Hay's amendment being put, only the proposer and seconder voted for it. On the motion being put, Messrs Barker, Priest, Bradley, and Dalglish voted for it. The Chairman and Mr Gebbie declining to •vote. The motion was consequently ■declared carried. ADJOURNMENT. Mr Gebbie moved—"That the next meeting of the Council be held at (iarwood's House on the Hill Top on Monday, Sth April next, at 11 a.m." Seconded by Mr Bradley, and carried. The Council then adjourned.