AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1715, 19 August 1879, Page 3

AKAROA COUNTY COUNCIL.

A special meeting of the Akaroa County Council was held at the Hotel, Hill Top, on Saturday, 16th instant, for tho purpose of making a by-law for the regulation of the newly erected pound in Le Bon's Bay. The members present were Messrs F. W. Williams (chairman), J. Hay, J. Gobbie, G. S. Fleming, J. Dalglish, C. McDonald, and J. B. Barker. The Chairman read a by-law that had been prepared, which was exactly the same as that passed by the Selwyn County Council, and tho scale of charges was the same as that in

the sohedule to the Canterbury Trespass Ordinance, 1872. It was suggested that oh the passing of the by-law it should apply to all the pounds in the county. Mr Barker moved—" That the scale of fees as read be adopted, and that the necessary steps be taken to make a by-law for all the pounds in the county in terms of the Counties Act." The motion was seconded by Mr Gebbie, and carried. The Council then resolved itself into the ORDINARY~MEETING. The minutes of the meeting of 19th July last were read and confirmed. The Chairman made the following statement : The first business that day would be the consideration of the revoking of the £IOOO special grant for the Pigeon Bay and Port Levy road, notice of which had been given by Mr Hay at last meeting; also, the revoking of the grants for the Pigeon Bay Recreation Ground of £57 2s lOd, Little River Cemetery, of £SO : Little River Recreation Grounds, of £57 2s lOd ; and that of £lO to the Port Victoria Cemetery, which had lapsed through not being applied for. These last four votes for cemeteries and recreation grounds wore to have been handed over on receipt being received from three trustees of each body, and it will be necessary that to whatever bodies they vote these sums that this restriction should be appended thereto. The building committee have arranged with the contractor for the Council Chambers for him to redeem Mr Fenton's surety. The Council will be asked to pass later on in the meeting, taking into consideration the very great difficulty there is in collecting the dog tax —" It is thought desirable to send a circular to all the counties where the Act is in force, asking their co-operation in urging upon the Government the desirability of the police collecting the dog tax as before." It being almost certain that before long the Council will have to take over the main roads in the county, it is thought it will be advisable to write to Mr Baker, the chief surveyor, asking him to regrade the Summit road where it passes through the unsurveyed land—for instance, from the summit of Little Akaloa Saddle, running along the road which divides section 22,603, thence to a low saddle between Okain's Bay and Little Akaloa, under Duvauohelle's Peak; thence to Cotton's line where it joins the Summit road, are places that want regrading, and, if done before the land is surveyed, it will save compensation. A statement of receipts and expenditure of hospitals and charitable aid Institutions under the control of the Charitable Aid Board, Christchurch, to 30th June, has been received, and will be laid before the Council. Since last meeting six applications for forest trees from local bodies have been received and granted, amounting to 475 trees. A letter has been received from Mr P. O'Reilly, asking the Council to grant the sum of £lO, which waß previously voted to the Port Victoria cemetery, and not applied, for fencing the old cemetery in Akaroa, which, he states, is in a most disgraceful condition. Notice has been received from the Union Fire and Marine Insurance Co., stating that the policy on the building of the Council Chambers will expire on 17th instant, on receipt of which the attention of Mr Hughes was called to the matter. The balance to the credit of the Akaroa county fund is £2125 Os 6d, which, after deducting liabilities for Council offices, £535 ; cemetery and Domain grants, £175 5s Id, and the amount of Mr St. John's compensation, £3OO, leaves a net balance, £1125 14s Bd, and the credit of the Akaroa County Council account is £l2lß 14s. £llOO SPBCIAIi GBANT TO FOBT IBVY AND PIGEON BAY BOAD BOABD3. A letter was received from the chairmen of these two Boards, asking the Council to pay over the amount of the special grant to an account in the Bank, to be operated upon by them jointly. Mr Gebbie did not think that the Council should part with the money until they had some assurance the work for which it was intended was in hand. To do so would be to part with the control the Government entrusted them with to see that the money was properly spent on the work for which it was originally voted. Mr Hay said these two Boards were now quite agreed on the matter, and, as they had already spent large sums on surveys, the money should be paid over to a joint account, and, as soon as this was done, the Boards would at once start the work. Mr McDonald objected to the Council parting with the whole control of how the money was to be spent. The work should be fairly in hand before the money was paid over, and the contracts let. This method had been followed in other cases. Mr Fleming was afraid that all the money would be spent on surveys and compensation. Mr Dalglish moved—" That the money be banded over to the two Boards, on the necesrary certificates being forwarded to the chairman, and that that part of the resolution of 26th September last referring to the matter, be rescinded." Mr Barker seconded the resolution, which was put and carried; Mr McDonald dissenting. LAPSED GBANT3 FOB OBMBTEBIBS AND DOMAINS. Letters were read from Mr P. O'Reilly, Akaroa, asking that the lapsed vote of £lO be paid over for the fencing of the old French Cemetery, and from Mr Brooks, asking that the same sum be paid to the Duvauohelle's Bay Cemetery. Mr Fleming applied for the sum for Port Levy. That district would shortly have a cemetery, and a trust would be created. They had not received any share of the money for the cemeteries on its first distribution, owing to the absence of their member. Messrs McDonald and Hay thought the money should be retained until Port Levy was in a better position to come and ask for it. Mr Gebbie thought the sum should be equally divided amongst the cemeteries who had already had grants, and moved to that effect ; Mr Barker seconding the motion. Mr Fleming moved as an amendment—- " That the £lO now in the hands of the Council not taken up by the Port Victoria Cemetery be granted to Levy, on condition that they procure an acre of land and appoint three trustees for cemetery purposes within three months." The amendment was seoonded by Mr Hay, and on being put was carried by 6 to 2 j Messrs Gebbie and Barker voting against. Mr Gebbie moved—" That the sum of £SO, originally voted to the Little River Cemetery, be re-voted for one month." The motion was seconded by Mr McDonald and carried. Rev. R. R. Bradley here entered the room and took his seat. Mr Hay, in moving that the two grants of £57 2s 10a be re-voted for three months to the Little River and Pigeon Bay recreation grounds, stated that difficulties had arisen in the case of the Pigeon Bay committee, through the action of Mr Holmes; but these he hoped would be got over, and be begged to move—•' That the sum be re-voted for three months." Mr Barker thought the time should be limited to one month. Mr Gebbie seoonded the motion, which was put and agreed to. HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID. Mr March, of this department, forwarded the annual statement of accounts in connection therewith, from which it appeared that there were three families receiving charitable aid in the county, consisting of twelve souls, at a cost of £B2 10s lOd for the year, from Ist July, 1878, to 30th June, 1879 ; and that, for the same period, the charge for the Akarea Hospital hud been £694 12s lid, and of this sum £35 14s 8d had been refunded by patients. The inspector of slaughter-houses' report was received and adopted. SUMMIT boab. The Chairman pointed out that no reply had been received in reply to the Council's letter to the Okain's Bay Road Board, in reference to Mr Dawber's road. Mr Barker Btated that his Board had not met since the last meeting of the Council, but that a reply would be sent stating that the road in question was not plotted on the maps, and that, consequently, it was no business of the Board's. NEW OFFICES. The arohitect for the new offices wrote stating that the contractor had applied for a second progress payment of £250, but as he had only done so that morning, and he had had no opportunity of making the necessary inspection, he recommended that the money should be passed, conditionally on his certificate.

The Chairman pointed out that the builder's Are iniuranco risk lapsed the following day,