Roads in Waimate.

Opunake Times, Volume II, Issue 72, 12 March 1895, Page 2

Roads in Waimate.

At Friday’s meeting of the Count j Council. The position of Waimate and arrangements for road management in the future was brought up for consideration. It will be remembered that several months ago a petition was signed by two-thirds of the ratepayers and presented praying for merging;, and that subsequently a counter petition was presented in which the signatories alleged that they had signed the first petition in ignorance or under a misapprehension, and asked that their names might be removed from the first petition and counted, as against merging. After discussion it was resolved that the matter should stand over until after the Waimate election. Councillor Forsyth now moved that the prayer of the counter-petition be granted, contending that the result of the election proved that Waimate did not wish to merge. Cr Proudlook seconded. Agreed to. Cr Forsyth further moved, “Thai the necessary steps be taken to declare all county roads in Waimate district roads in terms of the resolution of 28th October, 1893. He then pointed out that it was promised that when the eastern portion of Waimate merged the balance should if it was thought desirable, have charge of the whole of the roads so as to do away with the dual system of county and road board management of roads, and the people having decided that they would not merge this was simply carrying out the arrangement then made in the best way that it could be carried out. It had been said that under such an arrangement the Waimate members of the Council would come to Hawera to interfere with road matters in which they were not concerned; but he suggested that the matter could be arranged in this way : The members of the Council other than the three Wai» mate members could be formed into a works committee, and might meet as now at 11 a.m. and do all the business in connection with and their local business. The ordinary meeting of the Council for general county work could take place later, say 2 p.m., and then as a matter of form the work of the committee would be confirmed. Cr Proudlock seconded. The Chairman said he had hitherto consistently opposed this system now proposed, mainly on the ground that the five Waimate members would be a majority, and be able to control the affairs of the county, while at the same time Waimate would not be under the control of the Council. However, as the Waimate representation was now reduced to three the objection did not exist; and as the Waimate people Slid they wanted this arrangement, he would not oppose them having their own way, no matter what he thought of the advantages or disadvantages of it. Cr McLean said as the election in Waimate was carried out on this ticket he no longer objected to the arrangement, but he wished it to be clearly understood that Waimate most accept the moral responsibility for the consequences. .4: Cr Scott would not further oppose the proposal. , •' Cr Quin said the position seemed to him to be a strange one, but he would vote for it to see how it worked. ,Cr Stewart considered that it" was the necessary result of the late election. Motion agreed to.—Star,