GREY VALLEY LOCAL REVENUES BOARD.

Grey River Argus, Volume XVI, Issue 2051, 5 March 1875, Page 2

GREY VALLEY LOCAL REVENUES BOARD.

A meeting of the Grey Valley Local Revenues Board was held at the Board's Office, Ahaura, on the 3rd March. There were present — Mr J. W. Jones, in the chair, and Messrs John Reid and Robert Alcorn. The minutes of the last meeting wer£ read and confirmed. Letters were read from the Manager of the Union Bank, Greymouth, acknowledging the receipt of remittances. From Mr W. S. Staite, the legal adviser to the. '■ Board, in the matter bf the rate. : j A ratepayer appeared personally asking relief under circumstances as follows : — Since the rate was struck he hadjbeen burned out, and his landlord refused to "go anything" towards the damage. [ He (the lodger) had been summoned ,f or the rate, and- he consequently .. hoped; the. Board would see to his interests. After discussion, the Board agreed to take his' advice, telling him that if he paid lite 6d into Cbuit 48 hours before the case was called in the Resident Magistrate's Cpurt, ; it would not be pressed; ) An argument took place as to whether Mr Corbett or Mr M'Guire were members of the Board, after publicly refusingto. act, but it was decided that as the seats of the members for the sub-district of No Town would become yacent on 6th March, 1 by reason of their non-attendance at the meetings of the Board, it was not neces-. sary to take action except to elect their successors. ..•..: ;! . | „ The financial position of ; the Board was then considered, and, after balancing it was found that matters 'might be a good deal worse. • - j y. A personal altercation took place between Mr Jones and Mr Reid with reference to the Bank overdraft, andj Mr Alcorn t^ew' oil upon , the troubled waters by reminding his colleagues that after hanging together ao . Ions; and so well it was not worth; while falling out now, whereupon the hatchet was buried.-, The Secretary brought forward several,-; accounts from the creditors of the Board,. One was, received from Mr T. Garth, with a footnote informing the Board that the payment ofhis'rate was i -contingent upon) the manner in which "'their. i worships" treated his contra. '* It was decided that the Board could not entertain any further propositions as to "swaps ;" Mr Garth's account would be settled at the proper time, but he would have to pay his rate. The account; of Messrs Kerr, Arnott andCo. was next • considered. Mr Reid thought some of the items were, overcharged, and 'Mr Alcorn agreed with him.. Mr Jones wished to remind Messrs Reid' and Alcorn that at the time the assessment roll was forwarded for publication he suggested that one of the members of the , Board shoald be appointed to confer with the printers, so as to have a special; agreement made about the work. His suggestion was disregarded on the score of economy,! and if the charge was made at the regular scale : , the Board had to thank itself. Mr Jones read the resolution from the minutes .authorising him to have 'a fair copy of the assessment roll made out and forwarded for publication. The resolution was proposed by Mr Alcorn and seconded by Mr Reid. ! Mr Jones, after reading the resolution, said he now challenged the Board to, say if he had not carried out its instructions, , and if the other members thought he had' not let them pass a resolution condemnatory of the action he had taken. ; • After further discussion, the Secretary, was directed to write to Kerr, Arnott;. and Co., asking them to reconsider their account. "n Mr Fraser's account for the rent of the Board Office was passed for v payment, and' the Secretary was directed to give Mr Fraser one month's notice of the intention, of the Board to terminate the present:' agreement as to tenancy ; the new Board could make its own arrangements. The account of J. B. Roche for stationery was passed. ■ ' m The account of Messrs Gilmer Brothers was ordered to stand over for settlement.. Other .small accounts were. passed for payment, and on the motion of Mr Jones, seconded by Mr Reid, the Secretary;waS| directed to prepare a balance-sheet, show-*! ing. all the monetary transactions of the ( Board for. the last twelve, months, to be, submitted for the inspection of the Pro,-' vincial Auditors by the- 12th March, % copy of such balance-sheet to be published) in a newspaper circulating in the district, and also posted outside the door of the Board Office; r ■ ' - It was agreed that the Board should endorse, the recommendation of the District Surveyor with respect to the course of the proposed new road, through 1 Mr, M'Laughlin's i section at the foot of Calla- ' ghan's Creek, from, Moonlight Creek to Ahaura, and that the Government- should be asked to compensate Mr MTJaughlin if, on the report of the District Surveyor, he Buffered injury by reason of the deviation of the road. Mr Rbid, objected to that portion of the letter of Mr M'Laugh-i lin to the Provincial Secretary: being taken into consideration where Mr M'Laughlin wished Mr O'Conor a "happy New Year," and called attention to the tyrannical ; proceeding of ;the .Board with respect to . his land. This was carried. The r Assessor to the Board , brought forward the case, of Mr Kinsella at the Blackball Creek, whose property; was in his opinion V over-estimated .on the roll. Mr Kinkella had no hotel license, and did not charge for ferry ing, travellers across the Grey River at the Blackball. -~< lt was decided that* if it should be found that Mr Kinsella had not a hotel license, and did not charge for passengers on the ferry/ the Board would recommend a reduction" of L3O in his assessment, i v c The Board adjourned to 12th March. A few days ago, at Rugby a seafaring; man was charged with attempting to defraud a railway company under the following extraordinary circumstances, j On the night previous he got under the carriage of an express train that leaves London from Euston Station, for Liverpool, and travels at a high rate, of . speed, j not stopping until it reaches Rugby. .When the train reached Rugby, a distance of 82£ miles, the wheel-examiner saw a man's.leg protruding from under one of the railway carriages, and looking further under he saw the prisoner coiled round a piece of iron (the break ro,d), not .above ihree inches broad, in a most curioiis posi- I .tipn,! on which he h^jtravelled^om London, intending, as he/said, to make! his i way to Liverpool. ! ;• i Mr Hockin, so well known in connec- : tion with Hockin's Hotel, Melbourne, i died on Dec. 23. The news will be! re- < ceivedwith regret by a large ijcdrole 5 'ofbi friends in Auitralia. i