BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Kumara Times, Issue 798, 22 April 1879, Page 2

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

An adjourned meeting of the Borough Council was held at the Town Hall last evening. Present: Has Worship the Mayor (in the chair), Councillors Brown, Campbell, Pollock, Hanna, Cornfoot, King, and Fitzsimmons. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. The outward coi’respondence was read and approved of, and the inward read, received, and considered seriatim. On a letter from the Secretary of the Kumara Volunteer Fire Brigade coming under discussion relative to an acceptance of £SO, which the Council had given the Brigade, to meet its difficulties with, and which acceptance the various Banks in Kumara declined to honor. Cr. Pollock said there was little doubt the Brigade would disband if the money was not forthcoming, and as h.e consideredtheii servicesa great benefit to the town, he trusted the Council would meet this difficulty. Cr. Hanna inqured who paid the cheque for £l7 10s to release tho plant of the Brigade from the hand of the law ? The Mayor said he had personally given the cheque on the good faith that when the acceptance was discounted, the Brigade would refund him the amount he had advanced on their behalf. Or. Campbell would like to know if the Brigade had li ed every endeavour to get the acceptance discounted, as he thought the Secretary’s letter was most discourteous in tone. He would let the matter stand over until the next ingCr. Cornfoot moved “ That the matter be left to the Mayor, Cr Campbell, and the mover, to deal with” which was seconded by Cr. King, and carried. The report of the auditors was x’eceived and laid on the table, and their fees of £3 3s each passed for payment. On the motion of Cr. Campbell, seconded by Cr. Hanna, it was resolved to hold the next ordinary meeting of the Council on Wednesday the 30th inst. instead of Thursday, the Ist. May. Cr. Seddon here entered the Hall, took his seat, and moved—“ That with the view of proving to the Government the practicability of a railway between the Arahura and Teremakau Rivers, connecting Kumara, Goldsborough, and Stafford Town, with Hokitika and Greymouth, this Council undertakes to find a competent Engineer to make a survey, and aho to pay one-third of the cost of survey, labor, and expenses. The plans and information so obtained to be laid before Parliament at its next sitting. The remaining two-thirds of cost of survey, labor, and expenses to be defrayed by the County Council, or by voluntary subscriptions from ratepayers in the Borough and County. Also, that a telegram be sent to the Minister of Public Works, requesting hun to instruct the Public Works and Survey Departments at Hokitika to furnish the Council with all infoima tion which may be useful in making the survey.” In moving this resolution he said it was of great importance to the Borough and County Council generally. Meetings had been held on previous occasions, asking the Government to make this detour. The Government had «e<-eived every information on the subject from their engineers, one of whom had simply ridden along the beach, and then reported to the Government that the line inland was not practicable. This was not a fact, as there was only a slight engineering difficulty between here and Goldsborough. If sleepers were laid on the main road, it would not be a steeper giadient than lie (the speaker) had seen in some of his late, travels through the colony. He could enumerate many places he had visited where these junction lines had been made without any benefit to the

places whatever. In one place (Foxton) the people had found it so injurious to their interests that they had actually subscribed to make a branch railway- to go through their township, and by a detour again join the main line. He wanted to see a flying survey made, and from the information thus obtained, they would be able to lay something practicable before the House previous to the next session. The Hokitika people said, “ Give us a railway, at any price ! never mind the detour ! But the Greymouth residents, he believed, would only too gladly suje port the deviation. If the Pounty Council did not support the line being carried inland through the mining centres, it would be his duty, as their representative in that body, to call meetings at the various inland towns, and request the Government, by resolution, to put a veto on the whole of the work, as the people objected to be taxed for a useless undertaking.—[Hear, hear.] He trusted the Council would unanimously endorse tho resolution. Or. Cornfoot had great pleasure in seconding the resolution, as he thought they could not divert some of their revenue, to a belter object. It would be a disgrace to allow the Government to make a railway along the beach, and leave out all the mining centres, he (the speaker) would go as far as to say that he should endorse the action of the mover ol the resolution in calling meeting's to do away with the railwayaltogether if it was not made beneficial to all, as actually where the majority ot the people were living there was no line contemplated. He did not doubt but that a survey could be made, and all they had to do was to show the Government a practicable route, aud then they had no excuse for not making the line. The Mayor, coincided with the views expressed by the last speaker, but was afraid it was a matter of £ s. d. If the survey could be clone, it should, as we had been neglected, the Government being only to glad for engineers to say “ there is no practical route,” as there was an end to any further trouble. If the Council were in a position to lay out their money he would heartily support it, but he should not vote for any expenditure which they were unable to meet. There was a great probability that the main line from Christchurch would yet come via the Taipo* and in that case Kumara would be the central junction. He would support the resolution, but he should like the expenses defined before so doing. • Cr, Campbell, although agreeing with the object of the motion, thought that the Council were not empowered to spend the ratepayers money for that, purpose without fiist consulting them 1 on the subject. Cr. Brown, briefly but strongly sup- ! ported the resolution. Cr. Hanna, thought the ms tier required some consideration, and that the resolution had not had time to be carefully looked into. He should move as an amendment. “That the question deserves the more serious consideration of this Council, and of the County Council, and that the debate be adjourned till next meeting.” The amendment was seconded by the Mayor and carried on the voices. The Council then adjourned.