FOXTON BOROUGH CITED.
AS CONTRIBUTOR TO. MANA-WATU-OROUA RIVER BOARD SCHEME. FOR STRAIGHTENING THE MANAMA TU. COUNCIL OBJECTS TO BE SADDLED W;ITII EXPENDITURE. At last night’s Borough Council meeting a letter was received from (he Department of Internal Affairs informing the Council that persuunt to the provisions of Section 11, Manuwatu-Oroua River District Amendment Act 1925, Ihe Mana-watu-Oroua River Board made application to the Governor-General to apportion between that Board and several other local authorities the cost of the operations carried out or proposed to be carried out by .that Board under its statutory powers. Also stating that the Board has named the Foxton Borough Council as a local authority which will receive benefit from its operations and stating that a Commission has been appointed to inquire into the matter, eonsisfing of Messrs P. .M. Watson, Stipendiary Magistrate, Peilding (chairman), A. C. Koch, Civil Engineer, Auckland, and H. E. Leighton, auctioneer and estate agent, Wellington. '
Cr. Woods said that farmers had already been paying rates to the Board for the last three voars.
The Mayor: Not in this borough though. Cr. Woods said that he did not think the borough of Foxton would benefit in any way through the activities of the Board. The proposed scheme would benefit a few iaimers, perhaps. Cr. Thompson said that the Board, as it was at present, would soon be a dead letter and continue to be so. The expenditure proposed to be incurred would be greater Ilian the valuation of the land in ilit* Board’s area. The Board was not receiving any assistance from the Government in the scheme. In his opinion the river was better left alone. There had been a lot of talk about the dangers of the river in the future, but lie did not believe there was any dangers to be feared. The cure in this case was worse than tlie disease in his opinion. At present there seemed to be a banking contest in operation. The majority of farmers on his side of the river (tiie west side) were not in agreement with the hanking scheme and were prepared to carry on as they were, rather than pay ilie rates for the proposed scheme.
Cr. Me Murray said lie did not agree with the opinions expressed by. the previous speakers. The borough depended on the river to a great extent, and if the proposed etils were not forthcoming one of the greatest eatastrophies in the history of Mnnnwatu would he witnessed in the near future. A few years ago the great swamps higher up held the water in Hood time. They were now high and dry. When an “old man Hood” comes it will come ijuickly and the Hood waters would endanger Foxton. In his opinion it was the same few people who had kept this work hack rather than pay for progress. The Manawatu'li'oua River Board’s scheme was tho eorreet one. Under the pre--oiit hanking system the sides of the river were hanked and the silt coming down the river was diverted from one side to the other and tinally deposited in the middle of the stream whieli, in time, would raise the bed of the river, as in China, uni il ii was above the height nf the land and hanking would have to lie kept up. The Long Reach was already an example of this. Flax punts could not now traverse this portion of the river without becoming stuck on a sand bank. If the proposed cuts were put in, a straight -run out would be obtained and the bar kept from shifting about, besides 30 miles or so of river being cut out. The scheme should he approved of by the Council as it was to the beneiit of the town. Cr. Walker said lie agreed with Ur. McMumiy to a certain extent, hilt he did not see that Foxton would beneiit to any great extent through the operations of the Board. Cr. McMurray said that if the Boiough Council and other local bodies backed the scheme up the Government would assist with the project the same as they had done in Paeroa and Thames. The whole trouble was that the ManawatuOroua River Board was battling alone. If the Government saw that oil were unanimous about the proposition they would feel it their duty to assist. Cr. Woods said that the Board was already fighting with the Makeriiii Drainage Board. The Clerk said the borough had nut been approached for assistance until a very late stage in the movement. They should have been asked for assistance in the first place. Cr. Who els said that a Commission was to be set up and that evidence would, in all probability, he taken in the Foxton Courthouse.
Cr. Thompson said Hmt the land in the surrounding district was all under the jurisdiction of the Board. Vast fortunes had been made olf portion of that area and now a few wealthy farmers were bringing this project forward. It would be hard on the small farmers. Nothing was done in this matter prior to the ravages of the yellow leaf in the swamp areas. He also pointed out that the Waimakariri scheme had failed. The Mayor said that* the Maker ua side of the river was now all
hanked. In the event of a Hood it was this side that would suffer. Cr. McMurray said that in the event of the cuts being put through, the mills along the river bank would have to shift higher up. It was decided that the Chairman of the Commission be notified that the Council is of opinion that the Borough should not be saddled with a share of the cost of the scheme. At the monthly meeting of the tlnrowbeiiua County Council, held in Levin yesterday the matter was also discussed. The Chairman (Mr. G. A. Monk) suggested leaving the matter to himself, the Clerk and County solicitor to take whatever action was necessary. This was agreed to, Cr. Barber saving it was necessary to watch the matter closely.
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Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3048, 15 June 1926, Page 2
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1,007FOXTON BOROUGH CITED. Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3048, 15 June 1926, Page 2
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