AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 298, 27 May 1879, Page 2

AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Friday, May 23,

A special meeting of this Council was ; held on tlie above date at the Hill Top, to take into consideration the yearly accounts. The members present were Messrs Williams (Chairman), Fleming, Hay, Dalglish, and Rev. R. Bradley. The Chairman read the balance-sheet, as certified to by the Di trict Auditor, and which has already been published in our columns. • , . * : . ■ ■; The balance-aheet was unanimously adopted. .'■■''■ : Ordinary Meeting. * ? • The'business of the. ordinary meeting' was then proceeded'with. ■ The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. At this stage, Messrs Coop, Gebbie, and M'Donald entered the room and took their seats. chairman's statement. The Chairman gave a resume* of the business which would be. .brought before the Council. CORRESPONDENCE. Letters were read— From E. C. Latter, Esq., offering the use of his store and office as an office for the Council temporarily. A vote of thanks to Mr Latter was proposed by Mr Gebbie, and carried unanimously. From Mr G. Grotty, on behalf of some residents in Le Bon's Bay, asking the Council to do something to a road in Le Bon's. The letter pointed out that application had been made to the Okain's Eoad Board, who had informed them that the road in question was a " County road." They therefore applied to the Council to do something in the matter. On the motion of Mr Dalglish, the letter was ordered to be referred to the Okain's Eoad Board for explanation. From the Port Victoria Road Board regarding the road over Manson's Hill, stating that they adhered to their former resolution. The Chairman thought it was a matter in which the Council had no right to interfere. Mr Gebbie dissented from this \iew. He did not know why the Council had had the question before them on one or two occasions already if they had no power in the matter. Mr Bradley would like to see the point settled as to whether tha Council had the power to decide on a dispute Of this kind or not. . _ The Chtirman read the clauses'6F""the Act bearing on the'"question.' * i .Mr Gebbie, mov.ed that :a, copy of the resolution of the Couucil, recommending a certain route., to the favorable-considera-tion of the Road Board, together. With the reply, of the Board now before the Council "be forwarded to Messrs Potts and the Road Board be informed to' that effect. ■ ; Seconded by Mr Bradley, and carried. From the Treasury, advising payment of 10s to the County Fund jon account of fines received in the Resident Magistrate's Court, Lyttelton. .. governor's visit. The' Chairman read some correspondence relative to the visit to Akaroa which had beenexpected from his Excellency. \ ■ . " ~-. : i . The report of the Slaughterhouses was read., J- X / "" ' DOG* REGISTRATION. ■ " ""■ ; -The Chairman_read a returnofjthe _qnumber of dogs registered within tlie County, lie thought there -'must'" be a/cVrisiderable •number of dogsrun-registerecl. . : It was resolved to call thb 'attention of the police-to the matter. COUNTERSIGNING CHEQUES. 'Messrs; Hay and Dalglish were appointed to countersign cheques'.' COUNTY COUNCIL CHAMBERS. Mr H. H. Fenton wrote, accepting the duty of overseeing this work ; and the contractor wrote, informing the Council that he had experienced some delay in obtaining timber for this work. MOUNT BOSSU ROAD. ; The report of the committee appointed to investigate this matter was read, as follows :— . ... ; "Your Committee beg to report that they visited that part of the Lake Forsyth road now under construction, which .extends from the foot'of ? rb!e' ( Lake towards Wainni Pass, on the 29th ultimo, accompanied byj T*- H. Parkinson, Esq., Chairman of the Little River Road Board, and Mr Wilson,-the Clerk to that body. 1. ."<Fpd"m thofbot of Lalte Forsyth to the southwestern*- boundary of the~Kinloeh Estate, a distance of "over three' miles, the contractor's havo not as yet done any work on the line. . I

" On the arrival of your Committee at. the former point, they requested .tho'-.en-gineer, Mr H. H. Fenton, to follow the line and point out the pegs. . ■' i" This was done, as a doubt had been expressed, as to, ; tho. ljno being properly pegged, and also that the contractors had been unable in some places to find the -peg?, and had in consequence departed from the properly graded line. Mr Riches, who, under Mr Fenton, graded the lino in December and January last, proceeded to show the pegs, which he,did with the

facility of one well acquainted with tbeir positions. " The line seemed to bo graded with great care, as there are pegs to every chain and three-quarters on the average." After following the line for two miles, it was deemed unnecessary to trace'out the pegs any further, and your Committee then proceeded to examine the work done by the contractor. The work already done commences at the south-western boundary of the Kinloch Estate, and extends towards the Wainui Pass for about four miles. The character of the work throughout is faulty, \ and the specification has in almost every instance been departed from. The grading -pegs were departed from all along the ■ line,\ their positions, being in ,most cases "eifheV above or below the benching. The culverts, which the contractors stated were merely temporary ones, are constructed of useless materials. The outer edge of the benching is generally built up with bods instead of, according to the specification, the- material being.. allowed to. find its angle of repose. The benching is very uneven throughout the line. This is particularly the case in two places where the contractors have parted with the proper line altogether.., At one of these places, they-departed from the graded; line for; about three quarters of a mile, forming the road several chains higher up the range, thereby avoiding any benching , ; for over twenty chains, and by this diversion they also escape benching through five and a half chains of bush. This deviation is a serious one, as it : makes a rise to come down again, and 'makes' the route much longer. ■ ■■ /-: ; ■ ■ ; ■ . ' " The contractors stated in reference to this diversion that they were misled by another line of pegs, which, however, had been carried off since the work had been ordered to be stopped, with the-exception of two pegs, which both Mr Fenton and Mr Bichee identified as belonging to their line. One of those pegs bore the number of one, which they missed out of its proper place in ' ; j ;' \\ ~-\ ', -J £ " Tile Chairman of the" Little" Biver Boad Board stated to your Committee that no doubt the cause of the contfictdrs departing from .the line of pegs as laid down by Mr Fenton was, that they had followed an old line'of pegs laid off about fourteen years ago. • " The second diversion was evidently made to avoid a very heavy piece of work, the proper line-running along a rocky face. This part of the work is totally useless, being a series of ups and dows., The con-; tractors are evidently without experience in the formation of roads in a.hilly country such as the orje under review. In many places they have parted with the proper levels without making the work any lighter for themselves. "And your committee consider the overseer much to blame for allowing so much of the work to be done in such fa manner. The hilly nature of the country will not; permit any deviation of any extent; in fact no diver-, sion from the Engineer's line can be entertained as the line is a most important one, being the only road within the' limits of eighteen thousand acres of freehold land, and gives convenient access to the plains, and the temporary terminus «£ the: pro-" jected railway, and would ensure the sale of a large extent of unsold Crown lane}s., Your Committee recommend that the further prosecution of the work be placed under the control of a competent Engineer, and, in conclusion, your Committee are of opinion that the difficulty of finding the p°gs by any other than Mr Fenton or his. assistants has had much" to do with the errors made, and that it would hot have occurred had Mr Fenton carried out his own specification. " We have the honor to be, Sir, " Your obedient servants, ; "C. M'Donald. " John Gebbie. • " William Coop, payments. . ' '.■,'•■ ' The following accounts were passedfor payment:— ■•' " : ! ': i> , Printing and advertising. ... £8 9 6 Drafting and engrossing address to Go verner ....... 6 0 0 ' ' .. ; ,'" , . / £l 4 9 i 6 The Chairman reported the balances in the Bank to be s as follows :—County Fund, ; £2179 13s ; : Special :: grants, £1218 14s. The above report was then taken 4nto consideration. ; . Mr Bradley asked whether the contractors had received any money on account of 'the-work. , ■•;.:; >. ,[,-'. Mr Gebbie explained thatthey had not. ;Mr Coop reported that since the report had been adopted, the Little Bivef ' Boad Board had had a meeting. They" had agreed rto'requester- Fenton^to, carry out the work.'- , ' 'themselves and their Clerk , 'for'(having permitted the workt to ga as far as it ihad proceeded, f r;.- : , r The Chairman said he understood that; Mr Wilson had undertaken the'supervision; of the work without finding out -the linej beforehand. "''!■ <•< ' ' - ; ;:; • . • ■ :M.r Coop admitted .that this, was, so. They were quite willing to take their sfiare of" the blame in ■ tlie= matter ;• 'The/ohly . SauTt'fhat was toi Ue faumj, with »Mr - Fenton's work-.; w,as ; thafc the. pegs were ( somewhat : '. ■■'_''.. . " !,, .After ..sQpie., ijonyersational discussion, Mr Cqop rnioye&'that the Little Eiver Boad Board,"be "feqi jested -fo , place' the "■, supervisioir'of tniS M road'ih : the bands-of Mr •Fenton.■.•••''■ ! ft ' ; — >-; •:.' .;="j.'. ■>■■:■ The mbtibn .wasseconded jby Mr; Fleming, and carried -unanimously.-; r .,,.. , The Chairman: was authorised,toi niake a rprogress/payment on -account of the' offices, oh receipt of the architect's certificate. The Council then "adjourned till : Saturday,' July 19. ;■>'-' A r-t-.t:;■...) ,• , ,