MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 639, 16 October 1909, Page 15

MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL.

" V HARBOTjiI; REVBN UEi';' :+■-;;'■' ; '■; IS THE BOARDjROBBEbf':': ; V V " The Manawatu. Ooanly Council held its ordinary meeting on Wednesday.: Present;' C6un- : ', .cillorsJ;.-:G;..VVilson (in the".chair),'Mastors,. 1 Hensony'R. B.: M'Kenjie, .Dalton, and Kehdall;s;:.'-.••:■'; ,v , •:;.:!".':;:''-.;■"'-:■■':":,;..■■-,•:... "■':,:.:. ; .-.The.-. Treasury remitted-:X9 ss.' Sdti on' account ?of + tram'.freights, £]50 ..0n account'< of.l the-Palmerston-Foxtou road: formation, ""iffflOO on of a jfJUOO --loan ■ for drainage. It Was.also .intimated that the loan.Of S4OO was available for. the Tiriroa.Road.near Feilding. ' , JJJ>° -tramway:.manager..(Mr. Dreiv); reported thrft- last: month'. wtts satisfactory;- there balance ol aUr.lflsWftl.^vi'he'h-foll'd-wing .were. Jhe. chief items Gra:in,.Nitons; minerals,' 571 tons; manures 32i tons; merchandise, 1171.tons; timber, ,86,300 ft.'; metal,' 210 .yards; fares, Jil 15s. 10d,:'included' in the' exp'endituro-were amounts for ;sleopers: and freight, ,£l3 15si;3d. -,The "chairpan wa3 appointod delegate '.to : the County.Councils' Confoi-encc.,:; :..-■,,.., '.-■': r.' ■■' ..-Iti.wa* decided to aslc. Mr. : ieslio Gorton to represent the council on, the Feilding Technical, School Conimittoe, vice ; Mr. ; John Roid, -who,resigned; on-account of ill-health. '•.'.'-. i.: The, chairman stated •■ that the Foxton' Har'bOur Board:.was in a: peculiar position owing ■•tO'.;.thfr.actioh--of',-tho--o.6Verhni'4iit,- The' Raif way.;. Department collected.: tho. harbour. fees, and-only: allowed the board the dues, which . woro; hardly t .snfflcient'to.vmeet - bare ,;ihe wharf- had 'cpst:;fho"Goverhment 410,000, but they.had collected moid than ttrice 'thai amount, in wharfage fees. :• Certainly:tHey.-had :spont/'a.'.cpn6idcrab)e ; -snm':in-:{dredging: the ■,river, but the, metal which' they, had thereby, nearly paid:for that.' Tho" lVanganm Harbour Board received . tho Wholo of • the .wharfoM, fees and nnd ho "believed the'same thing;applied to l'atea.' 'Yet tho Mmister,,fpr i -'Railwa.vs:' ? :pOsitively, .refused : to treat Foxton: in:-a>similar,v.ay.'vlt.seemed to .hinft exceedingly unfair that- the 'rev'en'ur should . increased in : such a f way; it looked like an. .attempt;.to. squelch.'-:the'.'harbour .boatd.'' The board; had-prepared a. scheme, 'and ospected the, .Minister to visit-tho-locality shortly. mcrly.L.(!vin ; andCo. were .paid ayear bv ™° government: to mark the channel,: but;'nb'w' ,the-,;harlK)ur;board'.wore..oxpocted v t6.'do that themselves. Api an instance of "the methods of the-Government; Mr,;."Wilson..pointed but that a piece of land which had .been vosted in tho-Foxton Harbour; Board, on. which tev n ,»nd,Co f : had'erected.a. wharf.for priva'tb use,, had., been.., gazetted by the Government as o reserve.,lpr.;a. railway" purpose,. when there was not.the-sllghtest.jdea ,of using it for rail- • way,purposes.' - ..■.•.•■■"■: : ..-; ■ . •.",-. V Councillor. WKonzie- pointed,; out'.'that the reason why. there was such a.: large rovenue frbm the vrhMf-fwas', that enormous: charges were,made.;., Thevother day,he had received a parcel from Wellington, !■• and. the-/'steainer charge was ,5.,6 d., the. railway charge from Foxton-15..-4d.,: and -: % the,.fee for. passing it through the wharf Is; 6d.; The council should protest against these, demands. ' ■'-■ -vlt:,wasi decidedao,enter, an emphatic protest against the refusal of the Government: to give the. Foxton. Harbour Board the revenue from ,£he;wharf, and also as to the practice'of taking from, the board' the ■ portion' of the railway roserye^let.to-aiprivato-firm,'';•"-,.. .,..■.', :" V'The chairman, mentioned during the discussion that in-188,5 the wharfage revenue m . >£600,'. and, in : J9fJ4.it. was " e s