Road Board.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 13, 13 June 1885, Page 2

Road Board.

THURSDAY THB AUDIT HATTBK. (Continuation of Report.) Warden Pratt apologised for having taken the action he had, and his statement to thi effect that ho did not for a moment v ish to back tip Mr Macalis'er iv atiyllurg" lie had done was accepted. Warden Sly thought that aa far as ha could soo the only error the Board had made wag m not Btrictly complying with the Act m forwarding the neevsaary balance sheets at the proper time. The cbrk stated that ho bad limply done what he had been requested to da by the audit official ("Mr Carley). Thi» gentlemen when he had nrapleted hit I audit of the Board's accounts, took away with hiia full partieuUrs required, Tit, for nine months up to thu 31st December 1884, and instructed him to forward tho balance sheets for the- remaining three montlis iat the proper time. These instruction i had been carried out, and tho letter which had been already read «v the reply the Board had received. The Audit Deputment had mis-instructed him and then wanted to get out of tho difficulty by blaming the Board. AH the necessary particulars for tho nine months rofe.red to m the letter had been made out on the forma sent up and were already £ jrwarded. DEPUTATIONS. Messrs Jenssen, Lancaster, and Stacej waited on the Board re formation road Newcombe's Corner to Lancaster's property Ittras stated that the expense of construction woul& amount to £20, rates from the probities adjoining had been collected for the past eight years and amounted to £7 153 per year. The depututron was informed they would have to assiiit m finding a portion of the money. Mr Newcomta thought the matter should be referred to the Government, the Provincial Government originally having felled the roae* line on the wrong side. A vote of £10 -was resolved, the bridge being required to be erected with the assistance and overaig it of the engineer, the deputation to iind the remainder of tie amount re luired. Mr W. Stiibbg attended and requested that a portion <>t the deferred payment money coming from Mr Rogers' Kairanire section be alloc ated to necessary metalling on the road adjoining the property. The deputation pointed out the uselessness of making roads within any block of land if then; was no egress other than impassable tracks. The Chairm m and Warden Mathieson decided to visit the road and report at next meeting what was required. Mr P. Boy^s waited on the Board and requested thf.t a track of 70 chains be formed, the f.pplicant with Mr G. Knight to find the i.-oat of 30 chains. Granted. Mr Bockn ck's matter of clearing drain was again brought up ; the engineer and Warden Edwards were instructed to visit the place and see what was required with power to act. Mr Row waited on the Board to hare his fine renrtted, but the Board resolved to adhere to the action already taken. Subsequently Mr Edwards again brought up the matter and hoped that the Board would ace its way clear to refund half the amount of the fine. Warden Edwards thought that m a small contract of the kind tbe fine imposed, £15, was he thought excessive and a great hardship on the contractor, who was not by any means a wealihy man. The Chairman pointed out that the contractor had been informed when accepting the contract that the same should be completed; m a certain time and he having failed! to do so the fi»e was inflicted as stipulated. Mr Mathiespn thought there wag a difference between this case and the other one heard, the engineer he believed had stated that Ross might have misunderstood the instructions as he had not * good knowledge of Englia!.-, but the other had evaded wilfully the terms of hit contract. Warden Mathieson seconded the proposal to ref un 1 half the fine.— Carried. Warden Akers not voting. Mr B. Newcome waited on th* Board, requesting to be informed m re. ference to the expenditure of the £80 granted by Government for extraord. inary damage to Fitzherbert Bridget, Mr Pratt had told him 9 months ago that plans and estimates had been propared and the money received and y.j| nothing had up to the present been done. Mr Newcoinbe spoke m Terr plain language of the way m which the war. den for Fitzherbert had acted m not .looking after the interests of the settler i. In fact the applicant thought that ther? was, to use his own expression ** some ehennanigan " goins: on, thn% the mone* was bding spent m some other ward, and Fitzharbert wonld fet its Bhore when the Board were once mar* m rands. The Chairman, however, gatiffied lit Newcoinhe that the money had not yet been received, and that as loon as it came to hand the necessary ftept WOOld be taken to expend it. BaSCELLAHBOrjS. A letter was received from ft number of Awapuni settlers, Messrs Clausen, Luxford, Davison, Peterson, and othen relative to the overflow of water m the Hawaii stream. Accompanying the letfer, wag altos proposal to subscribe towards the work of widening the drain from the creek to the Awftpuni lagoon. All the resident settlors, affected by the nuisance, h*4 put their names down for something. Mr Luxford heading the list with .£lO. After some opposition from Warden Sly, it was resolved on the motion of Warden Akers— That an estimate of the cost of widening the drain be laid on the table at next meeting. During the passing cf the aocountf, one of £2 2s Returning Officer's feei. for taking polls, was objected to by Wa*.: den Sly as did not see that the eWV should receive a salary aid alao be pail extra for this kind of worlc. Warden Edwards thought that at; least half the amount should bepaidati the clerk had to go to some expense m going a distance to tabs a poll. The clerk at this juncture withdrew the acoount altogether. Accounts passed for payment £780 2 b Id. The passing of an account of Mr M<k Colls for contract Bunnythorpe-Kairau-ga Road, j?l7 Is, was opposed by Warden Matthieson on the gnunds of insnf. ficient and incomplete carrying ont. After considerable disccssion the account was reduced to £18 6e 3d, and tltlf amount was passed for payment.