AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 282, 1 April 1879, Page 2

AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

-. —r* pr j • Saturday, March' 29. '' • A meeting' of j this Council was held at the Hill Top on the above date. i Presentr—Messrs E. C. Latter (Chairman), Fleming, Barker, Coop, Hay, Dalglish, Gebbie, and Rev. R. R. Bradley. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. The Chairman made a statement of the business which would .come.before the Council. The various matters appear hereunder as they were dealt with.

ALLOCATION OF FUNDS. •. The proportion of 2s in the pound allocated at.a previous,meeting to the/Various Road Boards was ordered to be, paid over, the" amounts receivable by the various Boards being as follows :— ... .ji Little River- ..£1662 5 0 Akaroa and Wainui ... 1508 7 0 Pigeon Bay 703 15 10 Okain's Bay 571 0 0 Port Levy 495 10 6 Port Victoria * 338 11 3 £5279-9 7 BUILDING COMMITTEE'S REPORT. Mr Hay brought up the repo r t of this committee. He laid the plans for newoffices, prepared by Messrs -Fenton and Wilkins, before the Council. Tenders had been called for for the building, but he was sorry to say that only one tender had been received. He thought it would be well for the Council to go into Committee on the matter. This was agreed to. As the architects had furnished no estimate of cost, the question was allowed to stand over till later in the meeting., PAYMENTS.' " ' ' * ' The following accounts were passed for payment :— Travelling expenses to mem--bers ;.. , ... . '. .!. ...£29 17 6 Printing and advertising ... 7 6 3 Clerk's salary to March 31 ... , 36 14 0 Fen ton and Wilkins 11 11 0 , An account of Mr Fenton's, amounting to-£27 18s, was postponed for further consideration, as the dates furnished were not satisfactory to the Council. It was also resolved that the Little Burer and Akaroa and Wauraisjtoad Boards be written to, aekin* MM* to report to the next meeting of ••Council whether the jviu'k on the ItoWit Boftsu toad was proceeding satisfactorily. SESSION OF PARLIAMENT. The Chairman read a telegram from the Mayor of Christchurch' requesting the co-

operation of the Council in affirming the desirableness of holding the next Session of Parliament in Christchurch. Mr Latter related the circumstances attending the resolution arrived at by the Assembly last session. There was no doubt that' the holding the session of Parliament in Christchurch would be of great benefit ta Canterburyjgenerally. : It was mnv.ed byi Mr' Bradley, seconded by Mr Gebbie, and carried—" That this Council recognizes; the. importance of the various local bodies co-operating with the Christchurch Municipal, Council in urging upon the Government the desirablility of the next session or Parliament being held in Christchurch, feeling convinced that it'will greatly conduce to the welfare and progress of the Province as a whole." COUNCIL OFFICES. Mr Coop moved that the time for receiving tenders for this work be extended to the 24th April, and the time for erection of the building be fixed at sixteen weeks instead of twelve. Seconded by Mr Barker and carried. Mr Coop further moved that the architects' account, £11 lis be paid.Some opposition wasmade to this on -the ground that the architects had not_ ifurnished the Council with an estimate pf the cost of the building. ■ ,- r , On a division, there voted for the payment Messrs Coop, Hay, Dalglish,- and Bradley; against it—Messrs Barker, Fleming, Gebbie, and the' Chairman. The Chairman asked leave to withdraw his vote, as the building committee seemed to be in favor of,the payment. The motion was therefore carried. INSPECTOR, Off,, SLAUGHTER -HOUSES. A letter was read from Sergeant Ramsay, resigning the above appointment. The resignation ,was accepted, and Sergeant Willis appointed to the, office on the same terms, a, quarter's salary being voted to Sergeant Ramsay. • COMPENSATION FOR OLD LAND CLAIMS. A letter was read from .the District Auditor, asking the Council to refund to the Public Account £200, being part of a sum 'of £500 which had been placed at the disposal of the Council to meet old Provincial claims. £300 of this sum had been already devoted to St! John's road, and the Government, having now taken over the remainder of these claims, asked for this money to be returned. It was agreed to hand over the money as requested POLLUTION OF- STREAMS.

Two memorials were received from Okain's Bay and Little River respectively, asking the Council to take steps to prevent the streams in these localities from being polluted by saw-dust and other refHse from the mills. The Chairman also read a letter from the solicitor* to the Council on the subject, [ which, as the point is of considerable im- | pprtancej we .subjoin-in full. | "Christchurch', March 8, 1879. »." E. C. Latter Esq., Chairman Akaroa I ' County Council, Barry's Bay. i Sir, —In reply to your letter of 24th ult. | in which our opinion is requested as to the powers conferred upon the Council by the ' Public Works Act, 1876,' with respect to the pollution of streams — "We have the honor to state that we are of opinion that "the Council cannot be compelled by the inhabitants to take jneasures to prevent pollution of rivers. "We think that powers conferred by Part VII of the Act are exclusively confined to drainage, and assuming that the rivers in question are included in the word drain, as used in the Act, the powers of the Council given by section 176 would relate to the clearing-,-of the. rivers for the purpose of improving' the drainage, of the district only, and- moreover these powers are exercisable at the option of the Council if they see fit. "If rivers are polluted,,any person specially injured by such, pollution has his remedy by action,for damages against the person creating the nuisance, and in the case of the public being injured as a body the remedy is by indictment rendering the person creating the nuisance liable to fine or! imprisonment. . , ," We have the honor to be, Sir, " Your obedient servants. : • - " Hanmer & Harper." After hearing; this opinion read, the Council resolved to inform the memorialists that they had no power to interfere.. MANSON'S ROAD. The question as to the road, over Manson's" Hill, was referred to the Port Victo-j ria Road Board. ! , FORMS FOE LICENSING COURT. On the application of the Clerk to the Licensing Ccurt, it was resolved to pro-; cure a supply of the necessary forms and forward them to the Clerk to the Court."' • LAND TAX VALUATION ROLLS! A letter was received from the Land Tax; Deputy; Commissioner, asking . permission to have these Tolls left for - inspection at the offices of the Council; The request was acceded to. RESIGNATION OF CHAIRMAN. The Chairman stated that in accordance with the notice he had previously given them, he had placed his resignation in the Clerk's hands. It would be necessary for the Council to appoint a returning officer for Wainui, as the gentleman who held that office was not now a resident in the district. . Mr Coop moved the appointment of Mr A. ■■ L. M'Gregor as returning officer, which waß agreed to." " X ; j. Mr Latter said that in .resigning his position as chairman and member of tjie Council he did so with great regret. He thanked all the members.heartily foTthe manner in which 1 they had supported and assisted him in carrying on the business of the Council. . The Council then "adjourned till Saturday, April 26.' '"" • "''■" ■■ -