OTAKI TOWN BOARD.

Otaki Mail, 16 January 1920, Page 3

OTAKI TOWN BOARD.

MONTHLY MEEtInG.

The ordinary monthly meeting of tho above Board was held at the Board’s offices last night. Present: Commissioners Byron Brown (chairman), .T. Meads, H> Nicolson, W. Noble, H. H. Olliver, P. Rikihana.

Correspondence was read and dealt with as under: —

From Department of Labour, asking the Board to fix the statutory halfholiday.—To be referred to the general public for consideration. From Department of Agriculture, stating lantana had been added to the third schedule of the Noxious Weeds Act. —Received. The question was raised as to the nature of the p>nt, but no one present could supply the information.

From Geo. Gallagher, complaining of a resident of the county feeding his t stock in the Town Board area. —Gallagher given permission to take Court proceedings should- the person again offend. Concrete Footpaths. j From W. A. Chute, Ltd., notifying 1 that cement had increased in price to j IPs per cask. —Received. j It was pointed out that owing to the . scarcity of cement the work of iniprov- j ing the footpaths would have to cease for the time being. It was agreed, ] however, that- ns soon as cement was j available the work be proceeded with, j The Chairman commented most favourably upon the work done, and j considered it a credit to the town and j the workmen. , Dog Tax. I It was decided that the tax for sheep and cattle dogs bo fid per head, and * Ills for.sporting and other dogs. Goo. Gallagher was appointed collector at fid for sheep and cattle dogs and Is fid for house and sporting dogs. R. Webby’s tender at fid and 2s fid was the only other received. Arthur Street. The. Board decided to accept Mr

Kirk’s offer of sft of land on Arthur Street for street widening purposes, and, agreed to pay half the cost of reerecting the fence. Water Supply. The question of installing a highpressure water supply was brought for- j ward, but it was decided to leave the matter in abeyance till next meeting, when the Board will meet at 7 p.m. to give further time for full discussion. Mangapouri Creek. The roadman pointed out that the Mangapouri creek needed cleaning, and on the suggestion of the Chairman if, was decided to let Mr Webby attend to the matter. The question of piping the creek on Lupin road will also be attended to. Auctioneers’ Licenses. Auctioneers’ licenses were granted Mr G. Anderson and the N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Chairman’s action endorsed for issuing the. licenses Accounts. The following accounts were passed for payment: —R. Webby £l6 17s i>d. H. Knox £l3 )os. Clerk £K> 16s Bd. Noble and Capewcll £2 Is Bd. Geo. Gallagher £3 15s, Frank Peon £6 Is fid. C. T. Tranter £1 11s 6d. John Swan 6s 7d. Bills and Moore £2 lfis, Palmerston North Borough Council £7 Its 9d. W. Guldens £1 (cemetery account). An account received troni a local

business man was considered excessive. After consideration it was decided to pay the account, although the item of labour was considered too high. Mangahao Hydro-Electric Power League. i The following is the report of the Vigilance Committee on the progress at the Mangahao works: — In reviewing the progress made by the Public Works Department in carrying out the works, us planned by Mr Parry, at Mangahao during the last 12 months, your committee is t,leased to note that progress has been made, but regrets it should have to call the League’s attention to the obstacles and delays caused by ;t defective system. >

During the 12 months now ended, the scheme has been finally adopted and authorised by Parliament, and the whole of the money necessary for carrying the work to completion has been authorised, so obviating the possibility of further delays from this reason.

The whole of the plans are now. we believe, complete, 21 miles ot the ne*\ road from the Tokomaru stream to the Mangahao gorge has been formed and metalled, and the balance of the road, some two miles, is in process of formation. The work of improving the Tokomaru road from the power-house site to the Tokomaru dam site is also in hand and will soon be completed. Boilers for the temporary steam plant, to provide power necessary for piercing the tunnels, etc., are on the ground. ; and the rest of the plant is,being shipped from England. - Ajj? The machinery for the savSSili io cut . timber for the necessary accommodation houses, etc., is now. aftqf several months’ delay, in process, ef being shipped. When thi.- finally relies the mill site, which is cleared v i ready ! for its erection, and is in opuation. it will aUftw pi the provision « proper accommodation for the workers, and will render it easier to procure the labour necessary for the carrying on of the work. This matter should have been foreseen and provided for months previously.

It will be evident to every eommer- ] eia! rpan that the above rgcurd of work accomplished is a very meagre one. considering the size and Importance of ili6 xvorli?. and tiie oxtr<?rJLe econoniic UTgency of them. There is no doubt that, considering thy present state of the'coal problem and the future 2*o?pects C.i ’the' sam>- ike provision cf feydrc-aettiie power is. apart ires iu .eroncmip bespat tut rscst _ Jdl vji(3D. The troth oi t tm® is admit; vast majority

of the people, but does not seem to have dawned on the Public Works--De-partment. The most striking needs for improvement, as your committee sees it. are as follows: —

Labour.—The rates paid, for work done must be. increased. bp to the present this has been computed at 12s per day,, a totally insufficient wage considering the present high cost of living and that tiie work is not of apermanent nature, as, in mountain work such as this at least lo to 15 per cent must.be allowed for brokeq) time caused by bad weather, etc. Ihe rate

is also an uneconomic one, as it leads to inferior labour power being employed. - causing delay and friction. Several instances have been brought

under our notice of men leaving owing to insufficient wage and bad accomtnod:t; ton. This also helps to explain the fact that not. more than 60 men have over been employed on the works, despite the need for energy in pushing on. The labour is available if the remuneration is sufficient; and the rate should be raised to 345. Organisation. This seems to be faulty. At present there seems no definite .responsibility for the whole scheme. It is generally understood that the electrical department of the Public Works is responsible for the carrying out of the scheme, but this is not so. Apparently their responsibility begins and ends with the erection of the electrical machinery required. This divided resoonsibiiity goes to bear out the soundness of your

committee’s former coiucntion. that the electric works of the Dominion are now so large and important that thoy shouhl be placed under a separate board, acting under the .Minister, with undivided responsibility for the constructing and operating <d all electrical schemes. To sum up. your committee considers the fault of the slowness of tinprogress lies not at the works themselves nor with the technical staff, so much as wilh ihc heads of the department and the system in vogue in the department. We wish to do justice to the excel lent work done by the retiring Minister for Public Works, the Hon. .Sir IV. Fraser, but we think it will lm admitted that, a young, vigorous man is needed for that position, one with a vision to grasp the greatness o 1 his opportunity and with energy to re organise his department and remove the vexatious red-tape regulations and methods that hamper his officers and tend to discourage enterprise and initiative in them. A “big” man is wanted for the enormous mass of constructive work that is. now years over due. We trust Ihe Premier in his choice will be able to till the position suitably. The letter was received.