MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 54, 25 April 1877, Page 3

MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL.

- - -— o — - , , (Continued from our last.) LetterfroraH/Eussell.JEsq., Mount Herbert, Waipukurau, sympathising with the expressions of the Gduncil relative to acreage valuation as against the annual rental, and suggesting that ihematter should be further ventilated. '<■ Letter from Robert Stanley, ferryman, Lower Gorge, applying for gear for the new punt. ■ . ; Letter, from settlers on the Rangitikei Line, as to a nuisance m their neighborhood. : ; • ■ Applications for the appointment of XUlerk to the Council, were laid Upon the table,' and a ballot having /been taken, Mr William Osborne, of Foxton, was declared elected. ; SPECIAL MEETING. / ", ," The Council then. adjourned for the [purpose of holding a special meeting to consider the byelaws and other matters. After some discussion it was moved by Councillor 1 A. F. Halcombe that the byelaws; as prepared by tbie committee appointed for that purposb, should be •adopted with an understanding that certain: regulations m the Counties Act for the conduct of councils should N be added 'm an appendix. .' . ( „ • OFFICEBs' SALARIES. Councillor Gowee then moved, That the salary of. the clerk to tlie Council be :per annum ; : that; he commence HHkutics on . Monda3 r , April ■ 23rd,; and tHfnie hold office during the, pleasure 'of the Council. Carried. Councillor Liddell moved,. That. the Chairman receive for his services £150 , per annum. " : , : • Councillor Go web would vote for the xesolution if it was made " term of office " instead of annually, and;he;th6.ught that they might consider the sum well spent, as the Chairman had by, performing j;he . clerical duties saved .. the Council a •clerk's salary up to the present ; more•over, by initiating tile work , lie had caused matters to run more smoothly than they/might have done m less able hands. • ; : : • • Councillor Halcoiibe m supporting the resolution would heat ' ' testimony "to the- able manner m whicH the Cliairman had conducted his duties— both m prepariiig matter for the consideration of ■ councillors ' and in' presiding at their meetings ; moreover, he felt that the Council were bound to pass such a y proposition,, as .when they placed Councillor Thynri'e m the position, they were a^are he would expect remuneration for his services. ; Councillor Sansqn did not agree with the. alteration m the • resolution suggested by .Councillor Gower, as it left the matter too indefinite. The Chairman might resign at any time, and would, of course, be entitled to £I^o. He thought it better to vote the amount for this; year only; the Chairman having supplemented his own work by performing the clerical duties re* (juired by the Council, but he, thought m future the sum might be rediiced. He would suggest that the period be up to the fourth Wednesday m November. Cpuncillbr McNeil would move as an amendment, That the amount of femuneratipn to the Chairman be £l(X>!, ■ fie did so .as being one, of, the cquncillors

who had been m favor of no salary for the chairman. He thought, moreover, that 'the County was too poor to make large payments, and it would be better to commence at a small sum and increase afterwards if it was found necessary. Councillor Snelson, as one of tfcose who was m favor of having an unsalaried chairman, would support the amendment. The amendment being put, the Chairman declared the show of hands against, and on a division being called for it was lost. ; Ayes : Councillors Snelson, McNeilj and Sanson. Noes: Councillors McDonald, Liddell, Gower, and Halcombe. ■ -, ■'"' v: .;.'./. The proposition altered as suggested to the fourth Wednesday m November, was declared carried. The Chaibman desired to make a few remarks with reference to the resolution just carried. He thought more of the kind words made use of than of the amount voted. He felt that he could ;say with truth that he had given his closest attention to the affairs of the Council, but if it had not been for the kind attention of Councillors, matters would not have worked so smoothly. • . ■■'■■ fe&bies! Councillor McNeil asked whether there was any regulation as to whether the toll could be demanded from persons crossing above or below a ferry? The Chaibman stated that the Public Works Act defined half a mile on either side of a ferry as the limit within which a toll could be demanded. After some discussion as to the action necessary for the Council to take with reference to existing ferries, it was decided that no action should be taken at present, and on consideration of the tariff it was decided not to alter those now m force. ACCOUNTS FOE PAYMENT. The Chairman brought to the notice of the Council a letter received from the Government,. 'enclosing a voucher for £2 paid by Roach, a ferryman, to a Maori, for the recovery of a boat at the Ohau river, requesting the Council to consider the matter, as the Government had no funds at their disposal for such a purpose. ; The. other accounts presented for the Council's approbation, were :— Lyon & Blair, stationery, &c, £21 15s ; E. W. Mills, safe, £52 4s 6d; C. McLean, Esq., retaining fee, £2 2s ; H. McDonald, Esq., advances to Otaki bridge, £17 9s ; " Manawatu Times " printing, &c, £5 17s ; petty cash, £3 10s 3d. It was resolved to pay the accounts as read, including the voucher for the recovery of the boat, making a total of £104 17s -9d: HAWKEBS' LICENSES. The Chairman suggested that before the special meeting closed, the question of Hawkers' Licenses should be considered. . . .. Councillor Snelson moved, That the County charge hawkers and pedlars a half-yearly license fee of £5, such license to free them over the area of the County, excepting such portions as are contained within local board boundaries. Carried. IMPOUNDING-. Councillor McNeil moved that the Council appoint persons to impound stray cattle on County Eoads. He brought forward this resolution as the . Highway Board found itself powerless on roads proclaimed county roads and the cattle had become, a great annoyance. Councillor Sanson would move, as an amendment, That an advertisement be inserted m the local paper, stating that clause 101 of " The Public Works ■Act, 1871," gave anyone power to impound cattle annoying them on county roads. . Councillor Snelson would put the matter' in its true position before the Council. All that was necessary was ;to give '.the Highway Boards power to act on county roads the same as they did m their own district roads. On the Eangitikei : line cattle were at night dangerous to. life and limb. Only the other day a person had been thrown at his fence through coming into contact with a beast lying across the road. COUNTY KOAD. ; Councillor Mcdonald moved that the Council take over that part of the main line of road from the turning m of the beach at the month of the Otaki river to the inland ford of the Otaki river ' from there to and through, the town of. Hadfield on to the beach at the mouth of said -river. Carried. The Council then resumed its sitting. Councillor McNeil moved that a laborer be employed on the road from Palmerston to Awahuri from Monday April 23rd. Carried. Councillor Snelson moved that the Waste Lands Board be applied to, to lay out immediately the Town Eeserve at the mouth of the Eangitikei river and place the same m the market for sale. Carried. - Councillor Sanson moved that the estimates prepared by the Engineer for maintenance, of countyroads be adopted and that he be instructed to employ the men, who had been working for the Provincial Government, to do the necessary work; - Carried. ■Councillor Goweb desired to refer to a matter which had already been alluded to that eveniiig, viz., the contemp- j lated petition for' a separation of the ' 'County, and which had been somewhat J attributed to his action on a previous occasion;. He had intended to have beeii present at the meeting held at .Feilding when the movement Was iiiitiatedj and to have made some plain statements showing that this Council Were prepared to, and had meted out justice to all parts of the County, He contended that no portion of the County I had been overlooked and m the apportionment of the money the Manchester Riding was. the only one that had jreceived the vwKole sum asked. He

thought it would be only a matter of justice to the Council that they should approve of a resolution to the effect that full justice had boen done to the whole of the County, he would therefore move, That m the opinion of this Council the funds as far as <Ley v/ould allow were fairly apportioned I<> the rightful needs of each riding, an<! that m particular, the riding of Manchester had had its full share. Councillor .Halcombe stated that he thought it too late for the Counril to take action m the matter. The question of separation was not now a question of whether justice had been done or otherwise, but that the ratepayers m the ridings of Manchester and Kivvitoa were convinced that they would be i better off as a separate County. With regard to the especial justice done- to the Manchester riding by granting their claim for £300 out of the sum to be allocated, he failed to see it. As this riding paid one- third of the County income he did not think that the amount allowed was at all out of proportion. Councillor Sanson considered that the road to Bulls was of greater importance than any road m the County being a colonial road, yet they had struck down the Engineer's estimates so that the Manchester Eiding should not suffer. He considered that the reports, m the papers of meetings and doings of the Council were dressed m a Palmerston and Peilding coat. When he and Councillor Gower moved the resolution postponing the granting of another Councillor to Manchester, it was with the idea that Parliament would the next session alter the present mode of representation, and then, they both considered, would be the time to take the matter into consideration. Councillor Snelson said he thought that the matter was quite foreign to the purpose. He considered that a scramble had beeu made for the money, and he had opposed on principle granting the Manchester Hiding the full amount asked for ; he thought it would, as now it turned out, place this riding m a false position. It was now made a stalking horse to foist upon the Council the proposition now before it. The Chaibman stated that he felt it was a pity that on such small grounds the County should be divided. He felt that ho was looked upon by many of the members as the whole cause of the division, whereas he would do anything to prevent any such action. When the boundaries of Jthe County were mapped out by the Government, the ridings of Manchester and Ejwitea were left out, and added to the Eangitikei County; and what was the consequence ? The whole of the Manawatu, except the ridings m question, did all they could to prevent the old boundaries being altered. He considered that then would have been the time for these two ridings to have declared what their action would be. He felt that the proposition before the meeting was perfectly just, and he thought that full justice had been done to all parts of the County. Councillor Goweb m replying stated that he repudiated the plundering that Councillor Snelson imputed to them. He felt sure that had more been asked for, it would have been granted, even to reducing amounts allocated to them. If they could not prevent the separation, still he felt that' m justice to themselves such a proposition should be on record. The proposition was then put, and carried m the affirmative. Ayes: Messrs Gower, Sanson, Liddell, McDonald, and Thynne. Noes : Messrs Halcombe and Snelson. Councillor Halcombe stated for the information of the Council that he had caused tenders to be issued for work on the Kimboltonroad, Feilding, but it was found impossible to get them within the amount. The Corporation would therefore send m a tender if the Council approved, for the sum allotted, namely £300, and would be answerable for any amount that might be expended over and above. Councillor Liddell, moved That the offer of the E. and C. Aid Corporation to perform the work specified on the Eimbolton Eoad at Feilding within the sum of £300 be accepted, and the Engineer be instructed to prepare the necessary contract on behalf of the Council. Carried. Councillor Sanson would move a further proposition with regard to the separation of the County. He was not at all aware when he came to the present meeting that any proposition would be made upon the question, but he had felt himself that it was such a serious matter that he thought it the duty of the whole Council to protest against such an action. Councillor Halcombe had, time after time, expressed a view that large Counties could work much more effectually than small ones, yet now he was one of the first to desire to break up this County into insignificant atoms. He would move, That m the opinion of this Council the business of the Manchester Eidings can be more efficiently and cheaply conducted by maintaining the unity of the County than it could be if the County was divided. That this Council considers the attempt to divide the County impolitic and unnecessary, and that 'it would, if sanctioned, bring the Counties Act into contempt, as an undue proportion of the revenue would then be paid away m salaries. Councillor Halcombe said it appeared to him very curious that Councillor Sanson should be so anxious to do the Manchester Eiding the small justice previously asked when A few weeks ago ne thought a year would be quite soon enough to consider the subject, when* perhaps* the population m the Manchester Eiding, according to his view, would have so decreased as not to require additional representation. The movement for separation was not his own alonej but the feeling m favoi' of it

was general m the two ridings, and was supported by people quite independent of him. He could not see the force of Councillor Sanson 's remarks as to cutting up the County into insignificant atoms, for he could not consider the expression applicable to the two ridings m question, which represented two thirds of the present County. He did not think Councillor Sanson knew anything of the resources or development of the portion of the County lie was speaking about, and he did not think any action that might be taken m the Council, on tliis question, would have any effect. The proposition waa then put and carried m the affirmative. Ayes : Liddell, Thynne, McDonald, Sanson, Gower. Noes : Snelson, Halcombe. Councillor Halcombe moved, That the Chaii'man be authorised to rent offices for the Council at a sum not exceeding 15s per week. Carried. Eeselved, — That the Council meet again on the last Wednesday m May, at 7.30 p.m.