HOROWHENUA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 17 September 1919, Page 3

HOROWHENUA COUNTY COUNCIL.

THE BANGER. " At the Horowhenua County; Council meeting on' Saturday, a letter was received from Charlotte Duggan (Hautere Cross), complaining of cows being on the road, and stating the ranger passed thcin with his eyes shut, or put them in an offender's paddock. It was, she concluded, very unfair.—Cr. Coley said it was quite true that cattle were allowed to graze on'tho roads, and he knew them to be there day ana night. Some were on for weeks, and he thought some alteration should bo made in the system of ranging. Cr. Ryder said it was very golling for some stock to be left on the road and > others impounded, while Cr. Harkncss agreed there should be no favouritism. The letter was treated as received. The ranger (G. Watson) reported -that he had seized 49 head of stock during the month, had sued one offender who was fined, while three others were to be summonsed. In answer to Cr. Coley, the Chairman

stated the. ranger received £220 a year, no percentage, and nothing allowed for v the Tunning of the car. Cr. Coley thought the system unsatisfactory, and said ratepayers were squealing over it. There was a lot of stock on the road, and it was not fair to have only one ranger, who was expected to cover fifty miles. He moved that the roadmen (20 in number) be appointed rangors. This, he said, had been tried in other counties with success, and if they were given £lO each it would be a saving of £2O per year. There was no doubt but that the roads could be kept clear, and all tho men would have to do would be tc report to the Council, who could sue offending owners. Cr. Ryder iu supporting the motion said the only trouble would be through the Tanging of stock. Cr. Coley: The men would report, and not leave their work. Cr. Harkncss said dissatisfaction was expressed with tho ranger, and he considered he should be kept up~to his duty He also considered that good, conscientious roadmen could accomplish good work by reporting to the Council. He considered the present ranger underpaid. Cr. Broadbent did not believe in roadmen being appointed rangers, and contended if the ranger was not doing his work' his services should bo dispenscdwith. He considered, the ranger should summons more.

Cr. Ryder also considered the ranger should be more drastic, and failing this they should get a new man. The Chairman considered tho present system a very good one, and had known Cr. Colcy's suggestion to be tried and provod a failure. In ono case he knew where it took one roadman all day to impound a fat lamb. He agreed that the ranger was not overpaid, but considered he should bo more severe. He failed to sec how thd suggestion would he for the best. At this stage Cr. Coley withdrew his motion. It was also decided to request the ranger to be more drastic than in the past, and to summons for a second offence, failing this his services to be dispensed with. The Chairman moved that the roads in the Tc Horo Riding bo thrown open, i —Agreed to. Kuku Dairy Co. A deputation, representing the Kuku Dairy Co., waited on the Council, and stated that at the annual meeting a resolution had been passed to try and obtain the freehold of the present factory site. A £SOOO building had been erected thereon, but the reserve was the Council's. It was now proposed to build homes for the men and to spend about £2OOO on the factory building. They had no private cuds to gain, and understood that when tho freehold was required it would be granted by the Council. tfs«^S

The Chairman asked what amount the company was prepared to give, and received an answer of £25 to £SO. This the chairman thought far too low, and suggested- it would be better to go oh leasing at £5 per year.—Decided to offer the section at £IOO.

The deputation also wished an improved road to the beach, and said, despite the sandhills, hundreds of people visited the seaside, which could be made popular from-a health point of view.—Referred to the councillors for the riding. New Gorge Road.

• Speaking re the load on. the north bank of the Otaki river (Otaki Gorge), Cr. Coley said it was essential to have the road. At times now it was knpos.sible to get stock to and fro. He thought the estimate of for the work too high. Decided that the Chairman, Crs. Ryder- and Coley be a deputation to wait on the Minister of Public Works for the purpose of getting a grant if possible, towards the formation of a roal-

ENGINEER'S EEPOET. The Comity Engineer (Mr J. Malcolm) submitted the following report:— Te Horo Biding. In this riding, as in all the ridings in the county, my efforts for the month have been principally directed towards , getting as good a surface on the roads j as I possiblr could., and those who have : inspected them will, I think, agree , with me that'in this riding I have been ; fairlv successful. There is one execp- . tion.'and that is the Olaki Gorge road, \ and'it is not what it should be. They , .are now carting firewood rfrom there to * UeOtaki railway station on narrow tvres, but I suppose as long as the coal famine lasts it is useless to say anything. There is nothing doing in this riding flt present but maintenance.. If the weather dries up I propose to fix up the "asphalt on the Qteki bridge aad. do

the tarring.at Te Horo.during the next month In fact,'l will have"to"return the tar-boiler as soon as possible, as the owners will - expect rent as" soon as we have- dry woather. <;•■) : ~' Otaki Riding. * Fair progress has been niaue with the metalling of the main road ..for the month, and the metal in the j Waitohu pit is turning ; out | very-good in my opinion. I estimate it will take about 12 days to finish the main road. Then there is the Waitohu Valley and the Upper Rahui roads to do. They will require about . 200 yards. There is also one thing that must not be forgotten, and that is the re-grading and metalling of Mr Atkins' road at Manakau. The metal for that will have to come from the Waitohu pit. On inspecting Jbe Waitohu bridge on tho Monday after last meeting I found one of the stringers crushed over the bearing on the southern end—about 2 inches of it—and another one next to it in tho same span that does not look too good. I would recommend that two stringers of 12 x 8 ironbark be got and put in. I think they can be got. After that is done I think I can safely rceoinmcnd that the surface of the deck be treated tho same as the Otaki bridge, with asphalt. Wo inspected the Mangapouri Creek bridge where the metal dray broke through, and I beg to recommend that it be replaced with a double row of 42in pipes (reinforced cement) as soon as they can be got by rail.