ROAD BOARD CONFERENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 178, 30 July 1877, Page 2

ROAD BOARD CONFERENCE.

The adjourned meeting of the conference of Road Boards of the County of Wairoea was lield at the liichmond Institute on Saturday. Messrs Holland, Harley. Win, and White, of the Waunoa Road Board, and Mr Thompson the Secretary were present. The Motu*ka and Upper Motueka Koad Boards were represented by Messrs Tarrant, M'Mahon, and Uliver. lne Chairman and Secretary of the c ° u " fc / CW» also a "entted by invitation 3he Chairman, Mr White, regretted that the conference had not been held earlier as our representatives having gone to Wellington, had thus been prevented from attending I that day. s The miuufces of the last meeting were read and confirmed. The Secretary of the Suburban North Road Board wrote that they did not think it necessary to send a representative to the conference but forwarded certain resolutions to which they had agreed. The adoption of resolution No. 1 " That Counties are too email to undertake works of colonal importance" — was moved by Mr Barnicoat, who thought that the inhabitants of the country districts would prefer wading and fording the rivers as in the early days of the settlement to being taxed thousands of pounds for the erection of large and costly bridges Great leading roads, running from end to end of the island, were works of colonial importance, and ought to be made and kept up at the charge of the Colonial Government, as local bodies, such as Road Boards or Counties, would be quite unequal to the task, aven under a system of the most oppressive rates umtea with large borrowing powers whether the Counties were large or small if aT,7v v TV ere derived * om ta *a«°n. toulSZS*** Peo - Dlecoald «* a*>rd a The resolution havin g ;been put and agreed to, the Chairman submitted No. 2—" That «ip revenue of the Road Boards should come

direct without the intervention of an intermediate body." Mr Barnicoafe dissented from this proposal «« toto, as the General Government;, having no local knowledge, would utterly fail in fairly apportioning the subsidies. Mr White thought that the Road Boards and Counties in the matter of rate levying would not work harmoniously together. One of them must inevitably give way to the other. The resolution waa put and lost Mr White then proposed — « That the Chairmen of the several Road Boards should be es-officio members, and together with the elected members form the County Council. Ihe Road Boards to carry out all public works except railways, to receive the subsidies, and to be the sole bodies competent to impose and raise rates." Mr Harley agreed with the Chairman's proposals, as rates should be expended where^ raised, and the. subsidies devoted entirely to the main roads. • Mr Win advocated the claim's of the outBM &3^ W ™*^<«**- Mr Barnicoat condemned the merging of Road Boardsin counties ; if the two bodies could not co-exist, it would be better that the former should . swallow up the latter. The county enjoyed a large revenue from 1 various sources, and the Provincial Councils I having Eceased, we. required some body with local knowledge to apportion the monay grants justly, which the General Government certainly could not do. He liked the idea of the chairman of Road Boards being ex officia membew of the County Councils, but would, afc the aame time, Dreierva the pres«nt elective elument. Mr Macmahonjremarked that the subsidies ' would probably soon cease, and then whenca. would toe counties get their revenue ? Theie resolutions having been carried, Mf Tarrant moved, ".That the Nelson Highway Acts are satisfactory, and that the Government be requested to embody thamas largely ag possible in the contemplated Roads Act That it i3 inexpedient for Counties and Koad Boards to have concurrent powers ; also that only one body have power to levy rates. ' Which having been saconded' by Mr Win and carried, it was resolved on 'the motion of Mr Holland, "That all bridges and leading trunk lines of colonial importance be constructed and maintained by the General Government, forming a charge upon the Colonial Revenue, and not on local rates and resources, as being beyond the means of the counties and Road Boards." The suggestions of Mr D. Lindsay were read and considered, and after a good deal of desultory discussion various resolutions based upon them were passed, indicating amendments in the Rating Acts. Mr Barnicoat then argued "'that fche functions of the County Council should he confined to apportioning their revenue between the Road Boards and outlying districts, also to the recommendation of necessary public works by the General Government outside" of the charg 3 of the Road Boards, and to be a medium of communication between them and the Government. Each of the Road Boards within the county to return one member to the Council so as ,to ensure the best local knowledge." : Mr Oliver had said what he had to say. on this subject afc their former meeting and declined to take a part in tinkering and patching up a system which he disapproved of, and which was so much inferior to the one they had discarded. He atill retained the opinion he had held from the first, that whether they liked, it or not some sort of elective body must exist for the management of many local matters, and he would like to see such a body invested with the largesS powers. It was the old story, they would rather pay £5 upon tea and tobacco than 5s directly out of their pockets. The Road Boards as at present constituted were not fitted for much besides road-making and he did not believe that even now they possessed in a high degree the respect and confidence of the community. A little experimental legislation might nofc do any hand, but it was necessary for the good government of the country, and inevitable that the Provincial Council should be replaced in gome way, for the colony would before long open its eyes to its political degradation in being content tamely to permit the entire administration of affairs and the whole power and influence of the State to reside at Wellington. 'TheImperial Parliament was proceeding to divest itself of all functions of a local character and it was likely before long that County or Provincial Councils would be established in the old country to manage all public affairs except such as might be strictly termed Imperial matters. If we retained the County Councils here he hoped to see the Munici-, pahties included in the system, and returning members, as town and country were interested alike in trunk roads, and acting in concert might conveniently manage, the hospitala asylums, relief of destitute poor, 1 public' libraries, and many other matters of a local nature. The resolution having been carried it was resolved on the motion of Mr Barnicoat "that the rating powers of the Eoad Boards under.' the present Acts ara much too limited." Resolved also that copies of the resolutions passed at this meeting be forwarded to the County members a6 Wellington for embodiment in the proposed Colonial Roads Act. A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated, the proceedings.