WAINUI RIDING NOMINATION.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 285, 10 April 1879, Page 2

WAINUI RIDING NOMINATION.

Immediately after the ofScial nomination on Tuesday of candidates for the representation of the Wainui Riding in the Akaroa County Council, a meeting of the electors was held in the public school room, Wainui, to hear the views of the candidates, Messrs M'Donald and Piper, in reference to questions affecting the district and country. Both candidates and a considerable number of the electors were present. Mr Chas. Walmsley wjvj voted % to the chair, arid, after a good deal of [ skirmishing between tho two eaifdiftates I as to who was to address the nicotinic ! fiwt, • ' ' ■ Mr Piper said t'i \L h<l ca'ii-j l< r.v w 1 io .ink thoir oiipport on tl.i.i ocoa?io:i, a.-« It? h.iri been called lvi outsider, wit'i n t-ssrrln ft'iio'inl oL' (iiiirlonce. It ' a, ' t to oppo.-e ltie frigid ; L)ir.-jn*"" , h;id lived lung J anlons^^ni^PQl i |jand wa-j well known* as;ajii int£llig£tyti .'sii<l upright man. . Hig. assuxapgej-JviXKejfiri. .was to some extent balanced by tlv,}»-knowledge they a\\ had ofrKUff, epiilefeSv special attentions he had. given Itp; district while : he , wa? * a. membejk of\ jtlio Akaroa and Wainui Road (BahriL* '! With their pcniii«siori he would |t<?^ch'J. a few Rojd Bonrd matters infectingMhejir district, not r tl\at l|e' rested i> their votes Jag \ti<% liav! always, while ja of| |hejßoarji, used bia best efforts to further iijj parts of the district equAlly. Sorhe-tirn^,6efore ! Mr DonalH bderyCep c uted "Tjy the Board to report upoii certain works . in their ,rtnd lie wa&gla<|,tQ sa>*itliaiAiiiow»» aftefifie l\pi:f of Avokanaepiiiaule ttoin all public works, every one of tliersugjkeV (tipns reports .being tho the Mount Bossu road, Bell's bridge, and -the-4)ig— vthe, completioQ pt ~tUe« ? of |tlie »road along {trie"-flat: \Psf h|4/i on 'this subjecti* on#—matter he .would like to refer to, and that was his . refusal to sign a cheque while he was Chairman of the Board rTo/;this work ; ps f his\ opinion the Hhne was, that'it was not pfoperly done, but after seeing the specification and receiving I the Engineer's report he at once signed the cheque. He knew he would lose votes by his action in thia matter, but at the time he fejt conscientiously that he would have failed in his duty to the public had he acted otherwise. There was the matter of the French Farm road, which he and his friend Mr Shadbolt had reported upon and arranged the difficult questions connected with it to the satisfaction of all the settlers. He saw. by the published report of the last meeting o£ the Board, that this report had been again turned up and adopted, and that instructions had. been' given t« the Engineers to follow it. He • would now take leave of Road Board matters, and proceed to County Council affairs. Before doing so, he must express Jilsjown regret, and he was/ sure that of everyone present, at, the* loss the. County had ? sustained in the resignation of« Mr Latter, who had unsparingly placed his best .energies and matured experience unreservedly at the service of the County,. Coming to County Council questions u had to observe that the County of Akaroa, from its size and situation", was not called upon like some ot tho neighboring counties to undertake tho carrying out of large works in connection with the banks aiid ferric* of large •mvl rivo's. Tho 'iid ii> . ipi ! i'»fi' to 'rnl'.c fn» ' V, ' ' 'I I I ' < J" >. t I ,il , . , \ ... < . i v f; "J* -

the whole time of.the Council, indeed they were simply a road board with .extended boundary and powers. If the Council did its duty there were questions which might engage its attention not connected " with the execution of works, such,as keeping all questions of railway matters before the Government. They should take up some of the functions of the old Provincial Council. Whoever was returned on this occasion should.keep the railway jquejstion' before the Council. .There was a matter that suggested itself to him now,.and that was the question, should the Road~ Board members be members of County Council ? His opinion was that the Council should be cqinposed either of members of Road iJoards wliuily or none. lie inclined to the •latter opinion. At present, when questions, say, of road diversions came before the i Council, by- a little legerdemain the two I bodies can be resolved into one or two at

the will of the? conju'rof.'■' 'He did hot believe in two bodies'such'as the Council -and ~tbeJ3oards having, concurrent ..rating. powers. As the lawat present stood each body could rate up to a shilling in the pound, and this. Avas .uhfa'ij , , He looked upon the Council, -as a good body and-thought; that: probably they would would •'one' day- absorb the Boards, but that day had-not yet arrived, indeed it was some way off. So long as the Boards have got large' funds at ; tbeir command, which most have at present,, it would be a great mistake to throw them into the

hands of the Councils. Another mistake would be the loss of what was dear to every Bntoh?-*frahchise power; tiUey would lose representation. / fyb ' the) present the District had 7 representatives—s members of the B6ar&" ; and 2 members of the Council; why throw away the 5 ? it would not improve the remaining two at the Council Board.' [He-should be sorry to see Road Boards burked without due consideration. Some Road Boards are expensive but this need not always be ; for instance, when Bβ was first connected with the Akaroa and Wainui Board its total annual expenditure working expenses was not over £75 per annum. Under the Boards the work of roading the country had been well and cheaply done, and if the 'Council had greater powers they would'degenerate into Highway Boards. There was one important function the Council might be useful in playing, and that w"as in connection with the Summit road, round the Peninsula.; The Akaroa and Wainui Board was spending large sums upon this, and the ratepayers H ,received no benefit. The Road from Barry's Pass to Pigeon Bay Saddle was only useful to the residents in Pigeon Bay, and the continuation of ! the earns road from the pigeon Bay road to the Little Akaloa Saddle only gave an opening to the Little Akaloa people. The same was the case with the Lβ Bon's Bay road. These .Roads ■ were all in the district, but ho use to the ratepayers, and for that reason should be County roads. This road, when the railway was made to Little River, would be the main coach, road. Travellers would never dip down into the basin oi' the Peninsula only to rise again. Referring again to the rating powers of the Council, they not only had, as he had ..said, power to levy a general rate, but they had power to borrow four times the amount of that rate, and make a special rate to cover interest and sinking fund of loans. Libraries were an institution he should like to see the Council take up, and they had powers to levy a rate for that, purpose. The .procuring , of reservoa—for metal, recreation,' and other purposes was an important part of the duties of Councils which they, should; attend tc. The licensing of hawkera was a matter he would draw attention to if elected. It was not faif that these wan(ierere should interfere with the business of the ■ resident-aird' taxipaying ■•citizen. Tiie establishment of-, ~aj general market for the.. M wJbple.,,;vpunty should engage the attention. {of the Council. As yet he had* seen" little ihe . Council had . done, . only - acting, as a distributive body in regard to the public funds. Any petitions sent to the Council had been referred . back to the local Road Boards, so thai; 'if they were dissolved the position would not be improved, as the Council was not bo approachable as the Boards.

Mr Chas. Bates': Why not so easily °ap- : proached? s 1 ') 'i :; ' i. ; £) \ Mr Piper: What he meant was the larger amount bf representation,; which was , as live,Jo.,two, and, the chances, were that 1 the five would know more of the local ; wants than two., ; -There was "' another J matter about \vhich he'wiianxious to speak.Tahd'that Jwsk the formation .of an assooiation for-looking after the genera! welfare of the district, 1 to watch the progress of Bills through ' Parliament, keep the railway-agitation 1 alive, looking after matters connected with ; farming, and markets, &c, and having no . political bias. He had taken up much of ■ their tinie, but the,matters touched on ; interested them all'as - citizens. He hoped . he would receive their support at the poll, but, if.defeated*, he> would still serve them [ as honestly in the/future as he had done in the. pasi, ",' * . . . a \ Mr W: M'Kay put a number"of qiiesl tions to 'the ; candidate, which Mr Piper r answered £ _- — -Irf ~" > .' ']'»-; Mp" McDonald said it-was difficult for • him toifollow'Mr Piper, aa that gentleman s had travelled,.-over 30 large, a; space of ground, Afld dealt with such a variety of i questions. He would in the first place refer to a matter personal to himselt and' ! the'electors. At the late general election of County Council members he' had' re- , ceived a largely signed requisition and promises of such support that his . return to the Council was no matter of doubt. At this time he learned that Mr Latter's seat for Berard was to be contested, and with some doubts as to that gentleman's return. He at once saw Mr Latter, and offered to ! retire in his favor,-and Mr Latter,'after seme Jiesjtatioii,, agreed t.o represent, the riding, and withdrew in his.favor; In doing this he' was sure he was Apjjjjng in i concert with t the" wishes 'of liis 'supporters, and that : his 'friends , acquiesced in his action, as at ,the .time jMr.Xatter's loss to tjhe .Council, would be .great. Oh the presorit .occasiou he consented to come forward until oth'ers'lri : the riding had , been'requested to stand, and refused ; then only had he consented, as he held the notion that each riding should be represented by a man from amongst its own electors.. In the absence of any question of great importance being -before the Council, he did not see >what room there htudiy v\,.o for a hpeecb. The question of ' id? v. a rs" ••? lio.id i\.;i'ds into the ((ui. ij. • .i- ;, :hJ \'.m p.'cupying the . .1 T i '.'I i > -' ~ dP.I intv I J i,-;ent portion : v j iui -; , ::'!„ ■Jir''i:t i Lhe Colony. ; 'L;(> t"..it' ucv c l two cleuiivo bodies along-

side of each other, with pretty much the same public duties, was not satisfactory. He had no doubt but that the frame™ of the Counties Act contemplated-ultimately the entire merging of the Road Boards into the Councils. They would remember that towards the end of last session the Colonial Secretary introduced into the Legislative Council new Counties and Road Board Billet, having for their scope the improving'of the present Counties Act, and the defining and curtailing the femetions of Road Boards. The principles of the Bills were generally approved of, but owing to the late period of the session, the Bills never reached the Jower House*,. and were withdrawn by. the Government on the understanding th'ut they were to be re-introdnced during the coming session, with the prospect of becoming law. If elected, he would hold his seat for three " years, and during that period there would be legislation on the.. question, and until this was on the statute-book he would not pledge himself in any way.. Whatever was for the good of his feJlow colonist?, in his opinion, that he would support. Mr Piper: Be distinct. Mr M'Donald thought he had been quite as distinct as Mr Piper, and he might say that the question of merging as it at present stood was in the hands of the electors themselves, and the vote was taken on the ' amount of the value Of the'rateable property, so that Mr Piper in this way would have an opportunity of making himself heard. On the question of representation he did not see they had anything to lose, at present they had a representative at the Council, and they had only one at the.. Road Board. No doubt it suited Berard to have four, and he only sat at the Board to pick up the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. He was in favor of. the' Council taking over the jetties, as at present they were no man's property, and were falling into disrepair. He asked the support of his neighbors with whom he was in daily communication on general grounds, and would be happy to promote their interests, which were identical with his own. Mr C. Bates asked if it was known what - had become of the money vote by the Council for the Wainui Cemetery and recreation ground ? Mr M'Donald : The money is secure in the Bank, but it was difficult to get a piece of ground for recreation purposes. Cricket, requiring a flat, would be expensive, and for this the sum was too small. - •: A vote of thanks to the Chairman then terminated the proceedings.