COUNTY A COUNCIL.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 31, 3 February 1877, Page 3

COUNTY A COUNCIL.

■■ :•■ _, ■» — There was a meeting ofc the Council at the Athenaeum m Foxton on Wednesday last, all the Councillors *being present. MINUTES, The minutes of last meeting having been read and confirmed, the Chairman read the foUowihg EEPOET. . -■ Gentlemen, — I have the honor to inform you that I have laid upon the. table all the correspondence that has 'passed since our first meeting. I also have; laid upon the table a synopsis of the letters received from the General Government, relative to enquiries I "was instructed to make. And I liave prepared a table showing what duties have to be undertaken on certain dates, as fixed by s the ; various Acts. '"-'•- --: Also, a table has been made out showing the duties that a clerk would have to perform. ' According ;to my reading of the Counties Act, ft seems to define the duties of the Council as being , to supervise the general management of the district and of its finances,; also to retain the direction of the drainage of the district. All the roads areunder the managemejrtof the various Boards through wh^se 'districts they run. ir _ But the ferries and bridges connecting two different districts are under the oontroiof the County m which the river bajJcgtore, but when m different countwPHey are under" the control of the General Government or of such one of the two counties as the Mihister'directs. I have laid upon the table a copy of a return forwarded to the; General Government, showing the rates collected by the various Boards up, to the -31st March, 5 1876, on which our half-year's^ subsidy to the 30th June next, will be paid. The" return shows a total, of £1;937 for the year- We have then a sum at once to be paid to our bankers of £968 odd: . ..-..•. ..•?. The license fees will be collected by the Customs Department and paid over at once to the County Account at the bank, and an account of the same will be rendered vveekly. By this I understand that ho portion of the licenses now m force will be receivable by tho Council^ and we have only to look forward to the new license's when issued. I think, therefore, that we must- put our income to June at £1108— made up of— Government grant, £968 ; auctioneers and hawkers licences, £90 ; dog licenses, £50. ; But the income: for the 12 months next ensuing should show a sum of £3,B7o:— say Government grant, £2,840; 28 public houses, £840; dog. licenses, £100 ; .auctioneers arid hawkers licenses, £90 ; being an increase from fates and the public house fees then falling m. The immediate sums necessary to provide for would be :-^-A subsidy to the, various Boards through which the Council might consider the main. lines of roads ran ; a sum to refund the travelling expenses of the members ; a sum for a copy of the various valua^tioh lists to enable the proper rolls, to be prepared ; anda^sum for the conduct of the business of the County. / : A-'y.y -A : The .matters for chief consideration would be, I would venture to say :-^-As .to the advisability of striking a rate, seeing, that we receive the subsidy whether we do or not, and I. feel- much inclined to recommend our proceeding this year without, one till the whole machinery is m; working, order .; the deciding by resolution, :So; that ; the matter maybe determined, that the whole of the Act shall; be accepted ; the appointment of a Treasurer ; the^ fixing upon a . bank, so that the Government can at once pay m to our account t wliat > sums are now due ; and the consideration of the advisability of appointing a clerk. IJpon^is'matter I may be r allowed to staftflPfc§; as I do not see it anywhere repu^hant to the spirit of ■ the Act that, your Chairman: should undertake those duties-^^nd m places the \ Act reads as though^lwas almost anticipated that he would— J should be happy, if agreeable witii the. wishes of the members, to undertake them m conjunction with my other 1 , duties, seeing that, even if you s,trike aerate, I; believe it would be cheaper to obtain the assistance of the collectors of the various. Boards to • collect the County rate, at a small-commis-sion, whilst they are collecting their own rates ; and if you dp not strike a rate, there would be little work for a clerk to wholly" occupy his time, without- frequently referring to his Chairman, and Tshoitid prefer to do the work myself than 'to supervise and beresponsible for the work done by any other person. Seeing that we shall have to rely; upon legal advice, it would be advisable to elect some solicitor for the County. ': ''••' It; will bo necessary to "appoint ;'■ some office of the Council, as. public : notice has to be given m the- County of the situation of the offices, and the : office hours thereat. . r A' : I have^the honor to report-that I have received replies to my enquiries put to the General Government, m accordance with a request made at the last meeting of ihe Council, and — <L The ' Government state that they are unable to grant free passes to the members; or Chairman and Sec.retary, the concession being one they have not felt themselves at liberty to make.in any similar case. 2. The subsidy will be^ paid, whether the Council strikes a rate' or not; and.the sum will be paid m a lump • for six months j from Ist January to • 30th June, y ; Ar vi 3; They recommend obtaining legal advice as to whether arate can be struck before 31st March, next, and decline to give an opinion.

4. License fees and other similar items of revenue will be paid from the Ist January, and the fees will | .-be^paid over ,at once, to the County = Account at the Bank ; and accounts [ will be rendered weekly of such ; '" collection's to the County Treasurer. 5. .No power will be given to the Chairman to frank correspondence, and there.is no amendment of the Stamp Duties Act to exempt receipts given by the County from A ' duty. 6. Government will supply the necessary forms of account. 7. They state that all roads are m charge of the Road Boards through whose district they run, unless the Council decide to take them all over. Government m either case do not interfere with their management or repair. 8. The Government state they are not m possession of information to enable them to furnish a map as applied for. EESOLITTIONS. The following resolutions were passed : — 1. That all the roads under the management of the late Provincial * Government, also the-main road from Bennett's corner at Awahuri to the northern boundaries of the Biwitea Block, be taken over by the Council. . 2. That no rate be struck by the County for the present. - 3. That the Bank of Australasia be the County Bank. .4. That the. offices of the Council be temporarily the buildings known as Mr E. S. Thynne's offices, Foxton, and that the office hours be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 5. That Charles Mac Lean, Esq., be written to and asked if he would act as legal adviser to the Council, and on what terms. 6. That Mr Liddell be requested to act as Treasurer for ..tile Council. 7. That the. Chairman be requested to ascertain definitely what action the Government proposes to take with reference to the Rangitikei Bridge, and what will be done with the tolls collected thereon. 8. That the County Council pay onehalf of the expense of making the Valuation Rolls to the various Road Boards, after the said rolls shall have passed the Assessment Court. 9. That the Chairman be instructed to procure a corporate seal for the use of the County. 10. That the Chairman apply to the Government for the services of the District Engineer, r to prepare specifications for the supply of good metal along the various County roads, at per yard, and to take the necessary steps for keeping the said roads m repair. 11. That the Chairman be authorised to purchase a safe for the purpose of keeping book&pertaining to the County accounts, and minute books, to the value of about £40. 12. That the Chairman ask the Government to have an accurate estimate made of the cost of a railway from Carnarvon junction to Sandon. 13. That if the services, of a Government Engineer -be not available, the Chairman be requested to obtain from a competent person an estimate, with particulars, of ; the work necessary to be done on the County roads to put them m proper repair before the winter. 14. That the duties of Chairman and Clerk be amalgamated. 15. That the next meeting of the Council be held at the Athenaeum, Foxton, on Wednesday, 28th February, at Ip.m. 16. That a special meeting be held on the 28th February, .at 5 o'clock p.m., for the purpose of considering the following resolution : — "That a special order De made by the Council to give an additional Councillor to the Manchester Riding."' ' 17; That Mr Macdonald be authorized to expend a sum (not, however, exceeding ten pounds) on the bridge on the main line of road through Otaki. ■-'''- ■ t QUESTION. Councillor Gower gave notice that at the next meeting of the Council he would ask, "What power the County Council may have to deal with the township of Rangitikei laid off near the mouth of that river."