MATAURA TOWN BOARD.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 6, Issue 337, 7 March 1884, Page 2

MATAURA TOWN BOARD.

An adjourned meeting of this Board was held at Camerpn ;ji 8 Hotel,' Mat/aura, on the evening of Tuesday last; There were ;pre-sent-^Qommissioiiers Wiuni g H. Cameron, Allison, Connor and Q, Jfumphries. The County Treasurer wrota to this eifect : " Under subsection 7 of section 57, the ;Li<'.ensing Act Amendment Act, 1882, it is provided that the cost of administering the licengjjng Act in any licensing district is re'eovefable' 'by the local body charged with the administration of the 1 same from the other local bodies forming part of such district in proportion to the amount pf .license

feus collected by them respectively ; and I am directed t« request thar. you will be so good as to forward to tuis office the amount o£ Lll 17s id due by your Board in accordance wifh the requirements of the Act." Appended was a statement showing that the cost of administering the .Act prior to Ist February, 188 V so &r as Gore Licencing District was concerned had been L 62 5s lOd and taking the value of license fees with the districts as a basis Gore would ha Ye to contribute towards this amount L2l 7s 2d ; Gordon, L 9 9s lOd ; Mataura, Lll 17s 4d ; County, LI 9 lls 6d. The Chairman remarked that it had struck him some error had beeii made in the statement, as the cost debited to Mataura did not seem fair as compared with that charged against Gordon and Gore. — The matter was held over until a reply from the County to a letter written , by the chairman was received. A communication from the Southland Land Board intimated its approval of the road lines on which the Town Board proposed to spend the moneys accruing from sale of land on deferred payments. — It was agreed on the motion of Mr Cameron, seconded by Mr Allison, that tenders sheuld be called for contracts 1 to 5. to'bfe lodged before 7 p.m. on the 11th inst. The following accounts were passed for payment.— T. A. Connor, dog collars, Ll : Tuturau Eoad Board, interest*,- and sinking fund, L 26 ; Lindhurst Road-! Board, do., Mr Allison moved that Mr Cameron's motion passed at last meeting to have certain portions of the Waimumu stream straightened be rescinded. He denied that he wis actuated by ill-feeling towards anyone, but fee' had a s'irong conviction that the Board should not disturb the surface near the stream, as it nii^ht involve them in trouble in the future. He failed to sec what benefit would accrue to the ratepayers under -the Board, and as far as he could see only parties on the side of tfa« stream outside the town district-would derive any good from the Board's action. -Mr Cameron, pointed out that Mr Allison evidently misunderstood the motion, which merely asked for a report from the engineer. It would depend on this whether any works were undertaken or not.— Mr Connor, iv seconding Mr Allison's mo: ion, said he did not approve of culling into the banks of the creek.— Mr Cameron again pointed out that the resolution named in the present , motion did not go so far as had been suggested by previous speakers. They did not know what the engineer would -suggest, and. ~jii until his report was to hand nothing could "-HI be done. The expense of such a report ) wpuld be; ver> tiSffing,i add ha Jthought they were justified'in incurring it 'in~ the interests of the jatjepayers.— The motion was earned, Mr iJamefbn dissenting. On the-motion of the Chairman it was agreed, that a recent^ resolution, withholding ■ munioipalr^ikßerves should be rescinded. It was pointed out that when this motion was carried an impression existed that" the " Board would; go pirt^of office in March, but since .then -it haa been ascertained that September' would "tie the month. Before -that time arrived ft might be ad vis- ' able to lease some of the. sections. It was then agreed on ' Mr Allison's motion ! to offer for lease by auction on the first x;onv-> /* venient opportunity, the two (guburbau re^ serves. On Mr Cameron's motion it .was also " agreed that^all the town reserves excepting section 3, block 9 (reservediasraSi office site), be offered for lease. The upsets were fixed, and after considerable discussion it was agreed that the leases of suburban ae<stions should be for 14 years, and town, sections , 21. x years. r BJLr Cameron was strongly in J favor 1 of ' the' fe-&es l of town sections only -being for 14 years, holding that it was unwise,, in -view of the probable future of the" town' to lock up their lands for a long period, Messrs Balneaves, M'Kechnie and Co. applied for a rebate of rates on sections 2 and 3, Lindhurst b.ock,K.seeipgi.. that they were paying to the Board double the amount charged by the-Connty.--Held over till next meeting, the chairman remarking that to grant such" an application would open the way for numerous other objections. The Chairman reported- tmh he had received a telegram from Mr Mi(sailoch, judge of the Assessment Court, asking, if the Board ' had prepared a valuation roll under the Act of 1876. tie replied that the BoareL had neither I prepared a roll or appointed; a,, valuer, and under the circumstances it would be advisable that he- should appear at the Court and inform the judge that nothing had been done, whereupon a valuer would be* appointed by the Court in terms of the law.— Resolved that the chairman attend the Court in the interest of the Board. On Mr Allison's motion all 1882-3 rates outstanding were ordered to be, Jjued for immediately. ' '.-■:- The Board then adjourned till Tuesday next for the purpose of accepting tenders, etc. .. . ; . 0 I.X D