COUNTY COUNCIL.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1079, 12 January 1872, Page 2

COUNTY COUNCIL.

3s4d;on spirit licenses, L 445 10s; on incidental receipts, L 333 6s Id ; on tolls, punts, andj terries, L3OB 10s lid—altogether amounting to L 2781 Is 6d, against .which an increase is shown in land revenue of L 129 5s Bd, and in mining .£ revenue, &c, of L17417s 9d— altogether ' amounting to L 304 3s 6d. The decrease in the gold duty is merely nominal, as a large. -pan»l of^gold'nyas cleared 5 " oirthe' r '^ w 2nd instant, an.4 considering that the , population has diminished,- it should- fee 1 looked upon in a favorable light. Miners' -rightr and the flatter) have decreased); greatly on account of the sale of the townships of and Stafford. ThelsftS* crease on spirit licenses^ and fees&nd fines in \fardMiis}#J6W Me attributable to overestimationr "'■'"; )■ <v ; ls; l ;i Th*e expenditure is in accordance with 1 the votes passed by the County Council. Notwithstanding the falling off in jbne'' r | revenue during the past cab months, 1 the * financial. position of the County ;may be, ;■ : considered sound; ..and .it will only irequire the judicious exercise of economy to . enable us to meet all liabilities. I|have great pleasure in stating that all demands oh the Treasury during the last financial : half-year were always promptly met. ' ' " ! We hayj.gp^d rewon to expect that on 1 : the completion 1 of the public worlds iiow : " : '„ in course of .cojistrubtion, every branch of (: - !', indußtty'in:.the 'CpUnty will revive, and .7 by this the revenue will hi increased' I ;again. The .reports ... of the' Wardens,^. i which I shall lay before you, speak conr. t ; .' fidentty, of the future: :::. „;>•..■: v\:.v. is, <i !■<;/ 1 ■ ln[ order to prevent the stoppage'ofthei "<••' public works undertaken by the General ; Government; to^obtain 'for the^Cbti.n'ty'€ ' ' fair shafeJd^the' sum'vbtedby MGen'eral rfi! ' ' : , Assembly -for -water- works -tra-the— gold—-'- 1 fields, and to prevent the, dismemberment of? the County, at the" instigation of the 'member for the Grey Valley, J considered it my duty to go to WelUngtpnlduring the session of the General Assembly. I can but acknowledge the liindireception accorded.to me,by his Excellency . the Gpyer- ., -- „ nor andLnis Ministers. Every opportunity ' *J was afforded me to work in theinterficis'of .{*. ■'. the County.. So far, the result r,of;',t^t-;.:', ; ;'v visit has been satisfactory, as I succeeded in inducing the Ministers to bring in i bill enablingtthem to expend the whole of the' • ' '• County's share of the Middle Island Rail-' ' i;l way Ilund; in one year j and ; therefore' we ' i may expect that ; the;main.Vtrurik link of ; *: road to .connect Grey mouth and Ross ,will V be .proceeded with until it isVcpmpleted.' With regard to Westland's participation in theyotepf the General Assembly for •? water supply on the/ Gold Fields, ;I was ■',. r . less successful ; but we may expect daily ; ; to have the conditions gazetted under' ' which iithe'.- General Government' will b©i- : Vi ', inclined tojassist'water-Tace».! The threap ' •-' ;'■' ened dismemberment' of 'the-Oourifcyrt^'Y* "ceived but little (if any) encouragement • '■' ' from the Government, and, like many other impracticable motions, died a natural • '" . deafh.. When at 'Wellingtohj'ilJavaaed myself of the opportunity to inquire into matters, materially, affecting the finances^- : the County, and 1 have reason to' think that the information received may be of great benefit to; the. County yes. ;■ . ,jt ; The past session of the Assembly has, I regret to state, been again of serious im- '• port to the Colony. The system of finance passed in the previous session has undergone further aKeratibha,' anil it will cause a rfurther loss to the Coupon of about LBoooper annum. I tise^d l my-Tbest endeavors to convince the Qplonial<Treasurer how seriously the cbu&^i|b a uld be affectedi by the then contempiated 'mea^ ' I , sure, but in vain. 1 The correspondence : on/this : subject be ! laid tipdnihe. table. 1 "" ' ■'•• ' ■'■'' "■'■ " ■'";"'• '/''V'^" I ■ Convinced of the injustice done to Westand in, adjusting the Canterbury ' ; ..- > • -debt, 1 induced the member for the Grey Valley—and I have to thank hini' for his' ; coroper^tipn 77 to, try and , re-open .the • : question again ; but as the Ministry were fdverse, :^o result was obtained; ( i ; ■■' ■ lam happy to acknowledge the. great . assistance fen'dered : me by our member, ; J. White, Esq., in all. matters concerning •:. the County; and also 1 Hie promise I re-' oeived from the C6l6nial Treasurer that a member •of the Ministry should viait Westland during .the recess to ascertain . the wa'nts'of County. 1 .'., , , '. V You will also be glad to learn that I ' received a communication frgm the GeneraUGovernriient^whict \, ledwme to; expect ihat a sum of L3OOiO would be paid over to the County out of the Road Board Fund,;to be i expended in permanent works. The correspondence relating to this will be laid on the table. The new Act for the sale of disposal of waste lands of the; Crowtir h& so far -worked satisfactoril^^tJSeidemand for 5 the land is steadily increasing, and still ,? ; better results may be hoped for. r Tenders have been accepted for 1 the making of roads ami tracks in accordance with the resolutions of i^e Obiincil. With regard to the road from the Omqtu-i : raotu Cree"k tb'the Arnold, lam to ! be able to state that the General Government has given, instructions for the jimiinediate survey of the road from Greymouth to the Omoturaotu Creek, and we may expect to, see- the ; road from Grey- ■■/■< mouth to the Arnold completed during the r ; : summer.^lnstructions for the working / / survey of the railway from Grey mouth to the Brunner Coal Mine have also been given by jthe.Gfeneral Government. -„ \ :-• ; r Among other subjects of more or le3s iraportancerespecting which your advice will be solicited is the compensation to tramways, which will require'ybur most serious conßid,erationi.:: , : .V:»-,>-- ..'■; ■■ : '>!'-| i You will be requested to provide for the- * expenditure _durmg the ensuing halt, > year, the estimates of : which' 'will be laid ' ! before you in-a few days. ; .;;'• • i ■ - The usual reports from thq teads of thq departments, will b^e laid .on the; table, ajuj / v » the perusal of them will nbtalpne impart full information concerning' tie County, but will also strengthen bur belief, in\ita, ■•; future. "' ■; • -• ■■■• ■• ■ - ~- in consequericeof'anintimationreceiYed from the General, Qftyernrnqn^, ypu-iwali be requested to consider fclje desirability of .constructing a rail way frQm . Greyraontt •; ,r - to Hokitika and ft,pssl ■„,!!'■= i.. : 5 J The increased d'eiqanfis fqr sijl^idies to hospitals, and which are. put of proportion r to the revenue of the County, will necessitate an alteration in the basis on which subsidies are oaid to hospitalsvat: present. .•>, ■ I shall also invite your hearty co-opera-tion -.'. in. .drawing up^ameuwrial to the General Government, se,ttiug fo?th that in s making our Customs ft veriue'the^asis'bT' arbitration in the adjustment of the Canterbury debt, ;and< then depriving the "i ? County of their share of the Consolidated c; ; Revenue without giving an equivalent, the County is entitled to be freed- from paving interest on the debt; : Iv conclusion, I can bt|t congratulate, ;

the Council upon the fair prospects the affairs of the County offer ; and I have no, doubt but that on the completion of the majgtrunk line of road, together with a liberal supply of water. , works, every branch of industry throughout the County will be revived. Gentlemen, I trust that our deliberations will be guided by wisdom, and characterised by an endeavor to further the business of the session, and, in a cordial spirit, to promote the interests .of the County. : m , ! ' - I now declare the Council open for the despatch of business.