VINCENT COUNTY COUNCIL.

Dunstan Times, Issue 875, 24 January 1879, Page 2

VINCENT COUNTY COUNCIL.

A irteetin'g -of thf. CdtfbfciL was held in the County Offices, Clyde, mi Wednesday, the 22nd but. ITescnl;—Viiii-eat Pvk*, Esq., (Chairman )y and'i Councillors Jolly, Giee’bank, Colclnunli, Pitches, Al'Giunis, Naylor, and Masters. The . piinutcl of 1-st meeting were read «n** eonfi' ijied,: (Schedu’li e,' and inward and outward correspondence were read. ..»Tba : *r,ClKvirn)jin ■, -explained that, in obedience with resolution p i» o ed at the last ineeHrg of the Coiimul, he, aerompan'ml by Cr Colclimgh, had visited the sues of the proposed bridge across,the Clntha Hirer at Newcastle; They had discovered that in consequence of the late floods it was now impossible to erect a bridge, anil that com. munjcajinn would have to ,be curried on with apunt. He had - endeavoured to nr range with Mr M ‘l’herson, the owner of lh ■ old punt, to erect his punt ami to work it, but had* failed; MrM’Pherson demanding too much injury He entered into a contra -t wi b Mr H»dditchto bjtild a pu> t and place it'!ri the river for 1.150. the County-Jo snpply the wire .ropy and traveller. .V t X ‘ rf f f.etter from Mr [tecs, (Jallow-iy Station, nHb'iic’for a sum of 140 to be vo'fed him to c ver clist of repairing road from Little Vjd'ey to the Mannherikia. .Cr Oolclongh, rose anil s-tid : The system ndontcr' of re.u Wn • lefctei-s from "rivate parties on C un*y business in open Council avns a hail one, and wrong in principi-. If parties ha t nny mnXtcrs in enunpt to the (Vumcil the nronnr plan was to do it through ’bo me-nher for the ruling, and if the mem'ner considered.it rte ’-a ide<l attention he could a'tend to it m the usual wav by motion. By the system p irate parties coidd get their wants attended to quicker thin Councillors. ITc would Jet.}-*"* aldressed to’tbc flhfiiimanj o'Jany.’Cqnncillnr fmm private indiviitna’s asking for crants of money bo treated rAjJersmhil ’corresuond mße; and be not pi utc 1 aumng'the u.ward ey resoondenoe to ; th 3 C-uncil. snob leiters b ling proper material for members to ground m cione upon. The Ork was .instruct'd to write Mr Rees, and send Wm copy of the proposition. Letter was end from the Chairman of the Commit,te-' that bad taken.action to obtain from the Gov inmeut the balance of the Cant vburv Lmd Fund that had been imp undestating that, though their legal actim bad fallen through on the ground that the Government could not be sued, hut that thrmvjb the instrumentality of the Committee the Government had consented t> eive to ihe local b dies interested L’SS.O(I,O. Of this Loo,ooo 1m 1 been distri. bnted. and that the onfclav of the t'ommittee had been L'2li7 3s 7'l and ask mg Vincent County to pay ils poporlion. The Chairman explained that .Vincent County bad iet c’ved'LlOn, audithit a fur. tb r 1.2000 might r-.isnnab’v be expected from T-dOO.OOO still to bepa'd. Resolved—That the Vincent County signify their willingness to pay their proportion of the costs incurred. Letter was road from Cameron and party, Alexandra, claiming L3S salvage on portion of Clyde Brldi'e saved by them. The Engineer reported that the demand was excessive, and recommended that the sum of Ll3 he given Af'er some ' 'scas'-ion, and a motion and two amendments were read it ws| resolved that the En'.'Peer's recommend a lion be agreed to, together with a bonus of LlO. The Chairman stated that, havuig obtained the assistance of Mr Mac Donald, of the Public Works Depart ment, in the drawing out of plans and specific'ions of boring' rods, he had accepted the lender of Messrs Kincaid and M'Queen to snpply a eeg The tubes, be explained, could not be obtained in Dunedin, and that he had telegraphed to Melbourne and Sydney about them, but had not. as yet, received replies. Letter from Mr Perriam asking the Conn. HI to remove from tnc front of his store and hotel the sand deposited on the toad, or to allow him L2O for doing it —Declined. Schedules of salaries and wages paid in other Counties in Otago were read. Th# Chairman said : Whifr travelling along the road to Wan,aka be noticed the maintenance contractor# (two) were doing little or no work, and that he bad given them notice of terminating of their contract. Since then one of them, a Chinaman, he was informed, had been doing a lot of work, the notice from this one bad accord, ingly been withdrawn. The Other man, however, had done nothing, therefore his contract had terminated, and.th" money in band is being expended by tb* Engineer. The Chairman said : The monev voted by the legislature for the Nevis Bridge had not yet been received, though there bad been copsidevabie correspondence over it. Cr Greenback asked if there was any reason for the insertion of advertisements that had appeared in the local papers in reference to Supplying County laborers with stores, tools, etc. He said an uneasy feeling bad hcen created, theaeenniption being that, the Cohntv wag being cheated. Mr Pyke explained : Under the old system store? and tool* were supplied, and there was no trkoing on what work they were aspd. ;,The present system is that ordtW mutt be given (or everything.

The Chairman explained that no-'further moniea had been from the Government out of the flood# vote.' fie said it was absolutely necessary ths filrlKer ,/jim should be obtained as tb'at already received had been expended. He further 'sofa, the Ministry were very dilatory in everything Though several sections of the Sirath Taieri railway were finished tenders were not called When in Dunedin hj« bad not seen Mr Macamirew, the Minister for Public Works; be ha 4. howevor, seeri,Mr Sipgt, who had said that teddera had l«en delayed until tendersiould' ba -called rot,/ooiß,. works ih the North Island. T el ter from Tunpeka County Council, applying for Lls for rates collected from a portion of the Lone Valley Station by mistake. Jk.m&esiteied. that a portioned the run was in the Tuapeka County, but by mistake had been valued as in this county. The Chairman said there were other matters in dispute between the two Counties. Resolved^-That. the. Chairman-readjust the rates between the two Counties. The following memorials were now read anil received. P>y Cr Naylor— From residents at Doctor’s Point, asking that road be put in order. By Cr Naylor—From Residents of Wai Keri Keri Valley, asking forsum to be voted to repair road in Valley. By Or Pyk*—From John and Emma Mitrlh; asking permission to fence in old ■road leading to Bendigo Punt. By Cr Colclough—From 26G residents in Cromwell distri. t, asking for construction of bridge at Dead Man's Point, and the construction of road from thence past Quartzreef Point to Rocky Point. ? ■ By Cr Pyke. in the absence of Or Fraser From 20 residents of Lakes Hawea and Wanaka, asking for construction of track up Lake Ilawea. The Engineer s reports on roads and contracts were read and received. The Engineer's report and estimate of cost rebuilding Clyde Bridge, and of opening up communication between Cromwell and Bendigo w s read and received. The estimated cost of the former is set down at. L51(10; for the latter tlieie were several mutes SB follows :—by the extension of Rocky Point Bridge on one principle, 1.11523 ; by another, LIGS'Jo -by the erection of a bridge at Dead Man’s Point, and the construction of a road from thence into Roeky Point including 1,3000 for the bridge, LLII.S6O ; by Bridge at Dead Man's Point and alternative road over range, L 8990, and by the construction' of road from Cromwell bridge along the East bank of the Clutha, L 10.340. The Council then adjourned till 7 p.m. On the Cnunc 1 resuming at 7 tun., The Council read a letter fern J. Perriam, Lbwbiirn. offering, in order to facilitate communication bewien Cr-mweH and Hen di, o, to put bis punt iii good onler and to give the Connell the free use of it, on condition of Council employing a man to work it. A deputation of gentlemen, consisting of Mr Dewar, Manager of Aidgour Station ; I Mr McDonald, of Quartz-reef Point; and Mr Rooney, of Bendigo, was row introduced to the Council By Cr Colclough Mr Dewar said, he and th» other gentlemen were deputed By the rest 'cots on the east hank of theCliPha to wait on the Council lo ur e the necessity of active and immediate steps being taken to open mi communication Between Cronvel] and Bendigo. He explained that since the floods, which, he was 1 s wry to say, had render d useless the new I bridge erected at (locky Point, as also the punt at the same pi re—the district was j perfectly isolated, and in consequence the ; whole of the jeople residing on that si le of j the river we-e placed at considerable incon- j venienc" j the faet was there was now no; mad for velm'es an 1 all sup lies Bad to Be c mveveil to them Hv pack horses, or By some equally expensive and si .w process. In reply lo a question By the Chairman, Mr Hewor said : The route the demita. tinn would .suggest tic C. unci' In make was that as indicated in the me nrial presented and which, ho Believe', was also lecnmmen. ded Bv th ‘ Engine-r, <hongli don'.t'ess it was a wink that would cost a large sum of money i* was of a permanent character, and once ma ’e.would last forever. The Bridge sit was far above Big'i water mark, and as a whole was everything that could Be desired. Mr M ,r >mial 1 ant Mr Rooney also sunke in favour of the route, a d expresse ' the wish that the Council would see flt to enter upon the work at once. The Chairmm hiving Stated that the ' Council were fill'v alt' «to the necessities of the case, and that the suos“Btiqn of the deputation would receive cverv consideration. The denutation after thanking the I lonnoil for the courteous manner they had been receive d then withdrew. The Valuation Lists, ns Billows were laid on the Bible :—Hawea Riding, 1.9893 ; Dnnstan Riling. 1.7232; Mannherikia Riding, 1.3 J32 ; Matakanni, 1,3882 ; Earnsclencht L 3735; Clntdi.-v. L325S ; f.indis, L3KI3 ; Kiwaran, 1,2563 ; Nevis, L22SO, making a total of 1,41,442, as against L4l, 917 for the past year. The Valuator cxailalned that the difference in the amount he accounted for to the fal in the price of wool, losses sustained by the late floods, and excessive valuation in portions of Hawea Riding. The valuation was adopted. The Engineer reported that in consequence of the continued height of the Mo. Ivnenx, he had been unable to proceed with the plans and specifications of thebridge across the Molyneux at Alexandra. The question of opening un communication between 'Cromwell a"d Bendigo by way of the Easfrside of the Clutha was now opened foren’-sideration. After very len thened argument, hy Or. Colclough and other Councillors, all admitting the urgent necessity of at once op-ming np the communication, Cr. Creenhank however contended that the hurri&l manner in which thiswork which involved the expenditure of so large a sum of money, was irregular. It was then resolved on the motion of Cr. Colclough, seconded by Cr. McCinnis That this Council affirms the necessity of Building a bridge at Dead Man's Point; also, the construction of the lower road from the bridge to Rocky Point. Rfsolved—That the offer of Mr Perriam he accepted. The Council then resolved itself into Committee for the consideration of tenders, and upon rising the following report was read and adopted, and tenders accepted. That the tender of Mr M. Sharkey, for Contract No. 42, forming and gravelling 57 chains of road, Cromwell town boundary to Johnson’a Gully. Contract, No. 43,-W. ‘Williams, ejteniion of street, Ophir. Contract No. 47, James Holt, lifting wires of Clyde Bridge. Contracts 46 and 50, Messrs Grant and I MaeKellar, tarring and painting Cromwell Bridge ; and repai>-» to do. Contract 51, Messrs M'Cnnnochle and Tohill, part foimation and gravelling 53.57 chains of road. Bald Hill Elat, Contracts 48 and 49, Darby and Edgar, Timaru, building suspension bridge over the Mannherikia River, at Blacks ; and ap. pinache# to same. Working the Punt*,—Clyde, Wm. Howfohns ; T.indfs, George M‘Lachlan ; Albert Town, Gideon Anderson. Tenders for cleansing Clyde street* were referred to Chairman and Engineer.

The Council then adjourned till 10 am., the 23rd. Thursday, 23rd. The Council met at 10 am., the same Councillors as on previous day being pmsent. The Council at once went into (’ommittee, and on rising the following report was read and adopted : That John Holloway’s deposit on tender he returned ; that no further alteration in r tjmr'atp of tpUahotete .be fliiide ; that. tfa,v^ | liiigicyi)eiiteß, < at the rate/it LI 00 per an'imni,heSn%Aed; the Engineer ; that a sum, not exceeding Ll5O, be vmedfor furnishing County Offices. It was understood that Tenders would he called for the furniture. ■ The-Treasurer read his statement 'of receipts and expenditure. Since November 25th to date, shewing receipts inclusive of fixed deposit of 1,5000, and balance in hand to he L 12.947 Is 2d ; and expenditure, L4272-TBs iod-; -leaving balance of LBC7d tjs 4d. Or Greenback asked if anything had yet been done about the Lauder Cie- k Budge. The Chairman said no. The Engineer* of the two Counties not having as yet met. Cr Greenback asked if any order had yet been given about the removal of Rocky Point Bridge. He slid, as it was no use there it might as well he pulled to pieces, and re-erecied at the crossing of the Mannherikia, at the White Horse. It was understood that the Council had no power to spend their revet ue outside the County, and that at pic sent it would he premature to interfere with it. D«[ asiuring licensis Were granted to Thom; s Johnson for 60 head ; and Benjamin Didiig for GO head. Acc unts, amounting to L6B 10s6d, were passed tor payment. The Council then adjourned for lunch. On resuming at 2 p.in., ( r Greenback moved his notice of motion - That the Council give a bonus of one shilling pr r ounce on all geld the produce of Vincent ('minty. Or M'Gii'iiis seconded the motion. Both pro]«ser ami seconder eloquently Mippor'ed the motion. Cr Gieenhank, among other .Arguments adduced in its favor, slo wed that - he miners in the County weretaxed neaily LG per man per an, lira through their gold du f y. irrespective of the general assessm mt and the other fers and imposts levied on them ; that they paid mo-e than their fair share towards the County, either for the limited area occupied by th- m. or for the benefits received hy them through the construction of roans and bridges. After long argument—all members" joining—the motion was lost. Crs Gieenhank, M‘Ginn's, and Jolly voting for ; and Crs Pitches, Naylor, Masteis, Colclough. and Pyke, against. Cr Pyke moved—Thus this Council appropriate the sum of L 25 towards the maintenance of the Benevolent Institution,— Carried. Cr Naylor moved—That plans t nd specifications be prepared for the re-erection of the Clyde Bridge, and that tenders Be called for same to he dealt with at the m xt meeting. This motion produced very general opposition, the impression Being I hat the motion was premature. It was also asserted that, by huildingahiidge.it Alexandra :Le Bridge would not Be required, and that the punt that, was being erected was sufficient for the traffic, at all events for the time. Cr M 4 -'innis spoke very strongly against the motion, saying, that with the exception of a few rmiho'ders the whole o ! ' the residents in the riding hid evpresse I lhi motives against spending money in the re-erecion of Clyde Ciidge until the bridge at Alexandra was made. Afier considerable discussion the following amendment was carried—That, dhe fur. tlier consideration of erecting Clyde Bridge Be left over till the seven, 1 Bridges in coarse of construction are completed Cr Pyke moved—That a further sum of L4OO Be appropriated towards the rorstroctiioi of the Pipeclay Sludge Charm-1. Crs Pyke and Jollv urged the in o'inn, saying it would Be a direct Breach of faith, as the money was promised when tho fust ina'a'lnient was givan. Carried op the casting vote of the Chairman. Cr .Tolly, who occupied the chair -hirin'' Hie time Cr Pyke was dealing witli his morions. Cr Pyke moved—That 1,300 Be appro. 1 * p’iated'for'repairing Cromwell and Nevis road. —Carried, Cr Green Bank moved -That T.SOO Be ap. preprinted for constructing roads Himm-h deferred payment Block No. 1, Tiger Hill, and tdrough Spottig Hundred. Carried. The Council then adjourne’.