PUBLIC MEETING.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 505, 17 May 1881, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING.

«$, A public meeting was held at the Road Board OHioe, Duvauchelle's Bay, on Saturday last, in accoidancc with advertisement. | for the purpose of considering tho advisa- I bility of appointing a ranger for the whole of the roads of tho d'airict, or olheiwise. Mr E. Chappell, Chainnau of the Board, occupied tho chair. After the advertisement had boon rend, Mr Duxbury came forward and said it was no use wasting time ; better to proceed to business at once. He waa glad to see so many present, which waa proof of the deep interest taken in this somewhat vexed question, tho causea of which had arisen partly from the manner in which the ranger had canied out his duties, from the manner of his appointment, and also from the memorandum of instructions which had been prepared by the Board for his i guidance. It was well known that tho manner in which he had carried out his duties had entailed a considerable amount of expense on certain ratepayers, while others, who were continually trespassing lon tho roads, were not intersered with. I The manner of his appointment was open to objection, from the fnct that the.only benefit ho derived from it was through the driving fees, which had not inappropriately been called black-mailing. He believed such a course was illegal. It was the duty of the Board, before they made such an appointment, to have obtained a legal opinion upon the matter, and he asked the Chairman if such had been got, who replied, No. He (Mr Duxbury) then said he ( considered they ought to have done so. They were there to regard the ratepayers' ! interests, yet by turning a person loose in 1 this manner it showed how little they cared, I so long as they themselves were exempted I from his action. Just in the same manner I might the Government turn loose the police, and tell them to pay themselves from fines on conviction, or otherwise levy black-mail by compounding, as had been done in the "present instance. Referring to [jthe memorandum of instructions, it would be found that a considerable number of ro*ds had been exempted from the ranger's action, without either rhyme or reason. These roads had cost _ft very considerable sum of money in (heir formation, and if, as had heen asserted, it was the intention of the Board to prevent roads being injured by straying cattle, it was their duty to have included evory road upon which ratepayers' money had been expended in the list, and thereby have served every one alike. The instructions appeared to stultify themselves, for a rule was laid down which concluded in a remarkable manner, saying, " but in this matter the ranger must use his discrimination." It had been reported in the public prints that we had a magnificent estate in the shape of roads, and it was our duty, to preserve them. Some had a considerable tihaie of thesn roads npproj riated to their own use. No doubt tlittt was magnificent! and it was somewhat amusing to watch the careful manner in which certain individuals guarded their interests on that head. He considered all roads were the property of the ratepayers, and it was was quite possib'e that in future some revenue migot be obtained from th°sc road reserves. Lot na not regret ovrr the p*st in reference to money spent. No doubt in t\ie early days road making was very difficult, and we had been gradually improving. Tho present Board were no doubt doing their host, and spending the money judiciously. He fully agreed with their plan of letting the roads from year to year for repairs, and as "the contractors were the persons who suffered the most, ho thought it might be made one of the conditions of thoir contracts that they should keep the roads clear of cattle, and by so doing the present difficulty might be got over. Ho would, therefore, move the following resolution:—"That the appoinlment of ranger be abandoned, arid in lieu thereof the Board be recommended to empower the contractors to do the work." Mr Checkloy seconded the motion. Mr Curry asked would the roads be let again. The Chairman said he was not at liberty to say. Mr Williams said the ratepayers had better take tho roids in their own hands. Mr Sager begged leave to move as an amendment, that the matter be left in the hands of the Board to do as they thought proper in the matter. Whilst ho was on his feet ho would say he had Buffered as much as any one present frona the blackmail system, in spite of which he thought it better to pay it and leave it in the hands of the Board to deal with, if they did not act as they should, they had still other Wciys of protecting , themselves. The amendment was seconded by Mr

Libetn. Mr Marfcindale did not think the rangei had not made the slightest difference; for himself he had no cattle crti the roads, but ho held his right to let them on the roads if ho chose, and if justice was given everyone held the same right. And as British-subjects let every man claim his right. He did not believe in the amend' inent without it was done fairly. Let al the roads he left open, pound the cattle and let the ranger be done away with. Mr M. Jones said let all cattle found on the roads be impounded whoever they belonged to. Sir McDonald said ho had opposed having a ranger Jrom the first. If Mr Ilewer riid his duly properly he would require assistance, and that meant money. From .vh.-it ho had seen there had been no saving- what ever. Take his own district for ustanee. The difficulty in getting cattle :o the pound was immense they ran about ;o Unit'there was actually more damage 'one by driving one beast to the pound hau twenty cattle'would do if Jeft to ;razo quietly. Grass was the staple iroduction by which we got onr living, si ;i3 not waste a blade of it. Mr Sager said yea, so long as they did ol annoy their neighbor. In answer to that, Mr McDonald said hat he had been travelling for the ,','L'iity years at all hours, and never yet let willi an accident through cattle being [i the toady. He could salely say at :ast £1000 worth of wool and £500 of leesc were sent, home every year, the proiice of cattle and sheep fed on the roads, id he would maintain that the roads be t alone. He was not altogether in favor

of Mr Duxbury's motion, Jet the latter part be withdrawn, ttill if he would not withdraw it, lie was inclined to support it for want of a better. If Mr Martindale had put his views in the shape of a motion, he would have had hid hearty support. A ranger was not required, in fact no measure that any Road Board could take would prevent cattle from straying on the roads. Mr Williams said that he had been a long time connected with the Road Board, and that his chief aim during the whole time had been to consult the interests of the ratepayers. The Bonrd found that through the stoppage of the Government Subsidies they would have some difficulty in meeting their liabilities. It was not generally known the amount of money that had been spent on the roads, and perhaps, it would not be out of place for him to inform them, the amount spent was verging upon £40,000, this meant £150 per head for each ratepayer. He would ask them if they had spent this amount out of their own private funds whether they won Id not, as sensible men, have been most particular in £3oing t'jat this was not unduly destroyed. The time had now passed when they could expect extraneous assistance and in the future they would simply have to depend upon the rates alone, and these amounted to something like £GOO. The expense of keeping the main road in order, and clerical work amounted to £500, and that left a very small sum for the other roads of the district. It had been said that the damage done by cattle on the roads was very trifling. He could assure them it was very great. • Contractors had told him very lately that if they had known that tho cattle wete to be" allowed on the roads they would not have taken the work under double the money they now got. Willi reference to the hardships alleged to have been suffered by the action of the ranger, he would point out that those roads were fenced on both sides, therefore In reality there was no unnecessary hardship inflicted. As to the ranger taking cattle out of paddocks, that was an illegal act, and made him responsible to the criminal law, and he scarcely thought that anyone would place themselves in danger of being sent to gaol. With reference to the black-mailing he considered that it was in favor of thnso whose cattle were taken, as it was far better for them to pay tho small amount than have to pay poundage fees and have their milkers driven a longdistance to the pound. Mr McDonald's statement in reference to the quantity of wool and cheese taken off the roads was simply clap trap, as he did not consider that that gentlemen had given the question that consideration due to it. Again referring to the ether statement re using the grass on the roads, ho would tell them it took between four and five miles of road, deducting formation, to make twenty acres of land, and they all knew how much this amount would produce. He at-;ked if this was going to continue what weio they going to to do in future years ? should they lose the labor of past years? and how wore the roads to be kept in repair? With reference to the schedule, Mr Duxbury had made statements which were not true. It was the intention of the Board at all times ■to protect the interests of the ratepayers. MrDnxbuiy here endeavoured to reply but was ruled out of order. Mr Williams then said that he'was nob interested in the question more or lews than anyone else there. Ho merely spoke as an Englishman should do. He did not desire to detain, them long but ho. must say that ho knew very well that if the subject waa hold in abeyance it would only make worse for the future. As to tne ranger he would tell them that the Board was not married to Mr Ilower. Whoever took the job would have to do his work properly. It was folly to say that tlie contractors should do it. If they did it they would have to be paid extra, which would come to the same thirg in tho end. He codsidered Mr Sager's amendment wits a good one. Speaking as to the ranger not going to Wainui, he was sure there wae a mistake;- in his opinion lie both could and should go there, as there had been a great amount of money spent on that road. Did the people mean to say tliut our good roads were going to bo damaged for the sake of a couple of tons of cheese, the money for which went into private pockets. ReI ferring to the grass on the roads, he did not object to the settlers being allowed to cut it and put it over the fence for their cattle. In answer to a question he said he took such interest in the matter that ho could speak all day. He had been a longtime on tha Board and thanked the people for their confidence, but he hoped that the question would not be shelved, but decided at once. Mr Brooks said lie thought Mr Williams had made a mistake in saying the money wag nearly all spent . About the cattle doing ho much damage, he thought fifty sheep would do more harm than all Iho cattle put together. It seemed to him to be a one-sided affiiir altogether. For himself, he did not care about the ranger. If a ranger was appointed, let him do his duty ; but to enable him to get the cattle to the pound it wonld be necessary to give him a good salary, which, he thought, would be far bettor spent on the roads. Mr W. McKay said he did not object to having a ranger, but ho certainly did: object to the man they were employing >at the present time. He would suggest giving the job to the Clerk. Let tho i'ecs go to tho Board, and let them be responsible^ Mr Whit field said he was to a certain extent in favor of employing a ranger, feut not to having the present one. He was of opinion that Mr Duxbury's motion was a good one. He thought that the Board would lose nothing by letting the work to the contractors ; he was sure it would meet the case for a while, until the Board saw ;their way to a better system. Mr McKay's proposition was also a fair one, providing the Clerk would accept. . Mr Checkley thought that Mr Whitfiold'e suggestion of letting the job to the contractor was very good. Mr Shadbolt asked did they want roads and bridges, or did they want wild commons for their children after them? were they to leave them unprotected from the attacks of all kinds of wild animals that were allowed to roam at] large at the present time. As regarded the ranger, they knew that several of those present had suffered at his hands, and therefore the feeling showed against him. As for himself he had nothing against him ; the argument was veiy simple. They wanted roads and bridges;-they had.now got them, but he was sure they wouul soon lose them, if they wore to be left open to cattle, let them then protect themselves. Let t them act like men oi: sense, . Would every due . agree to keep the ro'.u! in front of hi,, place m repair for the grass on it '! Hi

idea was that they should all do their best. The Chairman having again read the proposition and amendment, called for a bliow of hands on the amendment. The result was in favor 12 against it, 30 for it. The original motion was therefore carried, and the proceedings terminated.