AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 647, 26 September 1882, Page 2

AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

A meeting of (his Council was held on Saturday. Present—Messrs T. S. Baker (dminnan), R. R. Bradley, J. Gebbie, W. Barnutt, Fleming, Boleyn, and Pettigrew.

MINUTES. The minutes of tlie prior meeting were read and confirmed.

APOI.OOY.

The Rev. R. R. Bradley apologised for the absence, through illness, of Mr Joblin.

chairman's statement,

Tlie Cbainn-iu made a statement: of the business to come before the Council.

CORRESPONDENCE.

The following letters were read :— From Mr T. Quea!y, CU-rk of the Little River Road Board, as follows : —

" Little River Road Board, Sept. 6,1882.

" Sir.—l have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 15th uito., enclosing copy of a loiter from the County Council re the dninage of the Ahnnri lagoons, and requesting tli.it the opinion of the residents who are likely to be benefited by said drainage may be taken, with a view of arriving at the best mode of satisfactorily doing so, &<_\, and in reply to inform, yon that a public meeting Ins been convened at Tai Tapu by the Chairman of this Board for thai purpose, and a committee appointed at said meeting to visit mid report, as requested hy the Akaroa and SeKvyn County Councils , . Tl c committee consisted of Messrs it. A. Forbes, J. G. Murray, J. J. Herrick, J, Mangles, 11. Fleming, and W. Goodwin. On Fri.iay Sept. 1, said committee visited th(! river Halswell and Ahuriri lagoons, when the following resolution was unaiii - inoiisiy adopted ; —proposed by Mr Murray seconded by Mr Herrick, and resolved— ' That this committee having this day inspected the Ilalswcll river Aliuriri lagoons and having driven two pegs at the high water level of lake and river, hereby request that a professional mny be employed to take levels between those points, and report generally on the best mode of effecting a permanent drainage of said lagoons ; also, that this committee may be apprised of the time said engineer may find it convenient to attend, as they wif.li to offer their opinion on the matter; also, tint tlie Spiiiigo Read Board having had'a grant of £25 from the Selwyn County Council towards lowering the water in the Ahuriri lagoons, bo requested to employ a compelutit engineer, as above stated, at the earliest possible date.'—Yours etc., "T.Qoealy, Clerk."

Mr Gebbie stated th.it the letter was to a certain extent the result of a public meeting he'd at Tai Tapu on this matter. Mr Perynian had at that meeting made statements, which it appeared were not correct. He had siid that the £25 voted by tho Selwyn Comity Council to the Springs J&iad Board could be utilised tor tho proposed lowering of tho Halswell alone, and it had been resolved that an engineer should be appointed to report on the matter. L'ne Road Board, however, now S'li'J that the £25 Imil been granted to them without any conditions at all, ho they were free to spend it how they liked. Thpy would remember that at first it was said that the low ring a bar would get riJ of tiie surplus water, but it was afterwards discovered tint no bar existed. A great deal of land was affected, and great public interest was shown, and it was intended to hold public meeting on ihe nutter at the

several centres affocted. In view of these, ami of the position taken up by the ltoad Bo >rd, he would move—" That a, reply bo sent to the Little River Road Board, stating th'it the consMerudon of the matter would he doferred till the Council's next meeting "

Seconded by Mr Brarlley and carried. From Mr Montgomery as follow* :— "Chii si church, 19th Sept., 1882

" Sir,—l have the honor to forward herewith copy ')! t\ lettei I α-ldressed, on tli- Bth of Jii y. to tliii Muiisrer for Pul.lic Winks. vcqiK'stin<r him to fiivonr-ly eon si'ier tin , cxp-'iiinn v of fonniiiif die Smiinil roiid ; ii' he determined to vote any portion of the proposal! 10-ui to the formation of main roads. [ enclose his reply to my letter, I could not expect the Government, lo construct the Summit road if money would not *•« voted for other reads* in the Colony, but I did expect that the road in q lesiion would reoivo the same consideration as other main roads. I was therefore, very much disappointed to find no mention made.of this road iti the enlimutes when they were brought down, while lirge sums were proposed for muds in various p.irts of the Colony. I forward three copies of the Public Workn es ; i -i.'itc-i for tho iiil'onn;it/on of members o the 0 'MMi'il : and * eu; piuiii-ular attention to Class V. Roads, which shows an appropriation of £285.901 for roids, bridges, and wharves. The estimates were not brought down till nearly the last day of the Session, and were rushed through the committee at one silting, which lasted till five o'clock in the morning. Regretting that my application was unsuccessful. —Yours, etc.,

" W. Montgomery." The" following is the correspondence referred to :—

" Wellington, July 18, 1882,

" Sir, —I have the honor to bring un ler your notice a matter in which my constituents take great interest, viz., the necessity which exists for the formation of what is called the Summit road, leading from Long Bay to Barry's Pass, on Banks Peninsula. Jt' this road were formed, it would enable th;j residents in the valleys on the northern and eastern sides of the Peninsula to reach the terminus of the railway at Little Hirer; the road would, in fact, be a feeder of the railway, and the additional annual receipts from passenger traffic and carriage of stock would be much greater than the interest of the money required to defray the cost of constructing the road. I therefore have the honor, at the instance of my constituents, to ask you to fivorably consider the expediency of forming the Summit road, should you determine to vote nny portion of the proposed loan to the form itionof main roads. I beg to point out that the residents in the localities before mentioned have never received any benefit from the railway nnd other large'puclic works, the cost of which was defrayed out of loans, and that they have always contributed, according to their means, to the revenue of the Colony, a great portion of which revenue has been used to pay the annual interest on the cost of these public works.—Yours, etc.,

" W. MONTGOMERY." "Public Wurks Olli-e. • " Wellington. N.Z., July 18, 1882.

'• Pin,—l am directed 11v the Minister for Puliiii! Works to acknowledge Ihe recipt of your letter o" July 8, urging f-nn-trnc-tion of Summit ro-ul from Long Bay to Barry's P :ss on Banks Poninsuia, ami to s'aio that 11 jo same wili be <lii'y considered. —Y.i'irs et<\. •' Join Ksowles,

" Under-Seemtary for Pu >lii: Works."

If was resolved Mr Montgomery's communication should be acknowledged with thanks-.

From Colonial Secretarj', ns follows :— "Colonial Secretary's Office,

'• Wellington. August 26. 1882. "Sir, —I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, of your letter of the 15th nit., suggesting a means by whi h grain statistics could be obtained from the owners of private thrashing machines. In reply, I am directed by the Colonial Secretary to inform you that tlie returns could not easily Vie procured in the manner proposed, as the inspector's time for inspection is the season when 'ho m-ie'iin'-n are i'He ; besides, it is intended that in future the inspection of such machinery shall be inado once only in every two years;— Yours, etc, " G-. S. Cooran." From Hospital and Charitable Aid Board? Hβ follows :—

" Board Room, Christchutch Hospital,

" August 1, 1882.

" Sir.—l have the honor, by direction of the Hospital and Charitable Aid B)ard, to forward herewith, for the information of your Council, statement of receipts and expenditure of the hospitals , and charitable institutions for tue year ending 30th June, 1882.—Yours, etc.,

"J. E. March."

OLE .It's WORK.

The Clerk reported he mid answered circulars from the Government as to whether there had been any alteration in the boundaries of ridings in the county ; also as to the Road 80-mls in the county, number of members, an I oLce of office; also as to the Council's indebtedness by loan. An application had also been made for the v.-it of the Council Chamber for holding an enquiry on tin; fire at the Somerset Hotel. Tlie request had been granted.

NOTICE OF MOTION.

Mr Fleming then moved the following notice of motion standing in his name :— '•That the resolution fixing members travelling expenses be rescinded with a view to a'teration."

Mr Gebbie had much pleasure in seconding.

The Rev. R, R. Bradley Was opposed to the resolution. lie had to come some forty miles to the Council meetings, and knew there was no other resident in hie riding who could epire the time to come at all. It was not at all reasonable to expect that a man coming such a distance should not only his valuable time, but have to pay his own expenses as well. He wouid move an amendment to the effect that the standing resolution, regarding members travelling expenses should not be rescinded.

Mr Maseh'uld was in favor of Mr Fleming's notice of motion. Tliero were many members of the Council that did not care to lake the travelling expenses, and their chairman had announced his intention of not accepting any honorarium. Ho believed the ratepayers generally were against the travelling expenses.

Mr B.irnett said th it residing in Le Son's us he did, it was only last night that he had known of tho matter being brought forward. Now, in rescinding a resolution, he had understood that seven days' clear notice had to'be given to every individual member of the Council,

The Oierk said that the notice sent had

be '! posted seven dnvs before the meeting, an lii-'it siiilii-ud to make it a leg ,ll notice. cv 11 if it had not ! ccii received seven dip be 'ore. Mr Baniett: Well such nm-ht bo the eft '. bat h» -houltl have liked to have kno vn c r!ier, so tli.it In: might have tho-<n<rlily ascertained the wishes of bin own riding. When he h-d desired to alter n previous lesolution, bo had been told it was hardly fair In interfere with a previous derision of a former Council, and h" t'lought it applied in Ibis case. One of liis constituents, whom lie had spoken to on the question, said tint it was quite ravelling expenses snouM be pnid for going Hiich v distance to serve the pulilic, (m<l he was sure the majority of the people of the tiding did not object, therefore he should vole against Mr Fleming's motion. The question then cropped up why members of the County Council should be paid, and not members of other bodies The reason was, however, obvious. Members of the Council filled other positions; as well ns the reft of the ratepayers, they were members of Road Boards, of School Committees, and other public bodies, and the Council work was extra work altopet her. Perhaps every one of the present Council could afford to do without any travelling expenses, but it might happen in the future that some, good man mi^ lit be required who could not afford the time and travelling expenses. They must not think of themselves alone, but of the future. He did not believe that the County Council should consist simply of those who could Afford time and money, irrespective of merit. It had been said if County Councillors are paid, why should not members of Road Boards be paid also ? but it should bo remembered that in most cases they had not far to go to these meetings. (Mr Gebbie : " And make a little out of them, beside,, "—laughter.) It was truo there was often benefit accruing, either direct or indirect. Some said the honor of being a member of the Council was sufficient remuneration, and it was an honor to represent a riding, hut they should represent thedistiict for the general good, not for their honor only, or for the promulgation of their ambitious desires. They must reinoinner, too, that any member who objected to receiving his honor/ariuin could always return it; he was not forced to accept. How would it do if those who were opposed to receiving any honorarium were to club together, and offer a substantial prize for some worthy object, to be given at the Akaroa Exhibition on New Year's Daj. No doubt the Akaroa Exhibition Committee would be very glad to receive it. (Laughter) The Chairman said he had listened with much interest to all that had fallen from the previous speakers, and the he had formed was, that any one residing within twenty miles should not receive travailing expenses, because they would only lose a day ; and he thought that no one had a right to be a member of that Council who could not afford to lose a day every month or two months for the public ■benefit. When however, a member had lo travel some forty i- ilesit ineuit a great ■deal of time lost, besides the incurring of ■considerable expense. Iv fact, if they <iid away with any travelling expense.-! at aM in regard to one of their'distant ridings, it leally meant i.ot having that riding represenien on ■ lit- Council at all, for a member (mild not be found who won id fome all that -iistnnee without some provision were made, hie had no intention of taking any remuneration for his cervices. If they were doing a great deal of business, and had a lot work thrown upon them, it would be right for them to claim expenses, for if they were doing some good to the general public they would be fairly entitled to them.

After a little further diacussion the ■Chairman ruled that the notice of motion would have to be put to the meeting direct without amendment. On being put the motion was carried by the casting vote of the Chairman. The following is the division list:—Ayes: Messrs Fleming, Gebbie. Minefield. Baker. Noes: Meesrs Boleyn, Bradley, Barnett, Pettigrow. The Chairman gave his casting vote with the ■ayes. Mr Baker then proposed : " That no member living within twenty miles of the County Council office be allowed travelling expenses, but that all members living •beyond that distance be allowed expenses at the rate of Is per mile."

Seconded by Mr Fleming. Mr MiiKefit'ld had much pleasure in supporting the Chairman's proposal. Mr Gebbie opposed. He did not like to Kee these public duties made matters of pay. He had to ride .«onie 33 miles, but -»vas*|uite prepared to do so without receiving: any expensevS. Perhaps there might be a better member who could not afford the time, but if there were such a man he did not think that 33s would repny him for his trouble. He was altogether opposed, and always had been, to any remuneration being given. The Chairman agreed with Mr It should not be a matter of psiy, but lie thought it might be considered as a nvitter of compensation. Few men were likely to be elected whom it would pay to go in for mileage fees. Mr Gebhie must remember that any one objecting to the travelling fees could return them to the Council. (Mr Gehbie: "If one men tikes them at all, why not another?") Certainly, he agreed, that one had just as good a right as another. The object of hia resolution was not, however, to pay any ■one for coming, but to take steps to pre vent the exclusion of certain members or .the non-representation of certain districts, by giving a small cotupenention to those •who were obliged to lose two or three -days by attending the Council meetings. The vote was then taken—For: The Chairman ond Messrs Masefield, Fleming, Peitigrew, and Bradley. Against: Mess Gebbie and Boleyn. Mr Barnett refuse to vote on either sidf , . SLAUGHTERING LICENSE. Mr Bradley asked if when a slaughtering iicensc was tr nsferred from one per.-on to another it wus necessary to i.dverti.-efifiesh. or to pay an additional fteol £1. He spoke in cases when the pi.-ice liiul already been advertised and paid for for the time". Mr 8n.d1.-y was informed that it was untiei-essary to tulvcitise in such a case but that an nddilimial fee of £1 would have to be pi!id. DOG COLLARS. Mr Burnett said that owing to some of the liepiitj- re»i;-:tr.iis being short of dog collars, scvtral people luid put off: regislerthere! y 'denned lines.

The Oik Hi.id ili;U w<.!>.'.'. nil imnisikil with returns, which it was their duty to fill up, btntitJg the nui . ber o£ collars they used, w'lat they ro-