MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2402, 9 March 1922, Page 3

MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING,

. The monthly meeting of the Ma/nawatu County Council was held on Tuesday, at Sanson, Sir James, Wilson; (chainnan) presiding. There were also present Crs. H. G. Hammond, H. J. Fagan, W. S. Penny, W. E. Barber, J. Boyce, and H. H. Hunt. .

The New Zealand Railway Department wrote, forwarding paid in charges for the tram. —Received. The State Advances Office wrote i granting £I,OOO for the main road bridges. —Received. The Otago Hospital Bosird wrote, asking the Council’s support in protesting against the increased fees charged for audits. —Decided to endorse the protest. i x The,Director of the Feilding Technical College and Agricultural High School wrote that, in order to encourage a healthy rivalry both in work and in play, the school had been organised into four houses. In grateful, appreciation of the-help the Council had given towards bringing into existence, the pupils desired that one of the houses be called “Manawatu House.” —Agreed to. •

Mr C. C. Bagnall wrote, asking the Council to attend to a culvert on the Sanson line to prevent flooding of his property. —Engineer to report.

Mr E. G. Beard asked for certain improvements on the Main road and Pike’s Road. —Work to be carried out. • j ' Mr D. Kernohan, Rpngotea, wrote claiming £6 8s 2d for goods lost and damaged in handling by the tramway.—The chairman said the damage had been done twelve months , ago, and it was decided to reply that the Council was not responsible, this course having been adopted by the Council in all such cases.

AFFORESTATION CAMPAIGN. The Conservator of Forests wrote urging the planting of trees of tim-ber-producing value. The Chairman referred to the Government reserves that had been planted, and particularly mentioned the Himatangi reserve. There were many railway reserves that could be planted in forest. He had interviewed the authorities, and had asked if railway reserves in other districts could not be planted, as in the Auckland province. There, the reserves were becoming very valuable. At Rotorua much shelter was afforded by these plantations which were useful. He had been infoi-med that the matter was one for the Minister of Public Works. It wastpointed out that Mr. Stewart was a likely place, but it was the opinion that this ■was. not suitable, asr it was the principal’frig station for the district. Certain trees were blocking the view from the station, and the owner having refused to remove these,' a duplicate station had had to be erected. The letter-was received.

: GENERAL. 'lt was decided that Mr F. Easton’s offer to put the Kari Kari road in order if the Council provided the grader and a man to work it, to-, gether with a payment to he agreed •’ ' upon’, be left .in the hands of Cr. Barber, with power to act, the work to be passed by the overseer. ■ Representatives of a contracting firm waited on the Council and discussed plans and specifications of gear and general machinery -for a proposed rie\v crushingplant. After considerable 'disenssion it was*agreed that the following purchases be made: —Six metal trucks at £2O each, steam winch £95, elevator gear £56, snatch blocks £3O, and wire hauling rope £l5B, making n • , total of £459. . Mr B. Walter, the ranger, reported that in January and February he had impounded 177 head of stock, X the resulting fees being £l6 12s. He had issued three summonses for allowing stock to wander at night. / The manager of.the tramways reported that during February traffic was satisfactory, and a credit balance of 6d was shown. The . • chief items of traffic were: —Merchandise .104 tons, minerals 112 A tons, butter and cheese 183 tons, stock 61 trucks, timber 38,000 .fegti metal 975 cubic yards. Fares amounted to £1 3s Bd. The “G” class locomotive had been overhauled. It . would be necessary to re-tube the boiler of the locomotive “Mana-:- / watu.”

ENGINEER’S REPORT., T The Engineer reported as follows on-the Awahou Riding:—l have arranged with Mr Walker to cart. 150 . : yds. .of .metal on to” the Whirokino road for the "sum of 7s per yard, and also 150 yds, for the sum of 5s " > : c per yard. - :> ... ' ' Stoneerusher. —During last month there were crushed 955 cubic yards of. metal, which ,is the largest out- .■ put for this season. I also made some experimental tests with crush- . ing, clean stone from 2Jin. cubes down to |in. to fine sanld. The time occupied in crushing this material down' to Sin. was approximately 13 to per cubic yard. The _ tests made by a 'firm’s representative was for crushing If yards of river bed metal down to If ip. cubes, occupying 13 to 15 minutes, an£ the time: occupied in. crushing If cubic

yards ofJclean boulders down to lfin. cubes was 19 to 20 minutes, ■v From the above tests the output per day of eight hours would be as follows Crushing 2fin. spalls down to Jin:. and fine sand, 32 cubic A yards per day; crushing clean boul- N ders down to lfin. cubes, 36 cubic : yards per day; crushing the aggregate from river bed down to lfin. ■ cubes, 48 cubic yards per day. ... .-Tramway.?—The head of: the 401 b. . track is about 20 chains from the

Tnikorea siding, and all the available sleepers are used up. The platelaying will be at a standstill for the time being. The best of the 2811). rails are being used to replace the bad raijs along the 281 b. track.