WAITOTARA STONEY-RIVER VOTE

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 466, 11 October 1879, Page 2

WAITOTARA STONEY-RIVER VOTE

At the last meeting of the Taranaki County Council, held on Monday 6lh inst., a letter was read from the Public Works Oiiico, in reply to a letter from the County Chairman applying that the balance due to the Council on the Waitotara StoneyRiver vote be placed on the Estimates for the ensuing year. The Minister of Public Works now informed the Board that the balance of the money would be placed on the Estimates for expenditure on that part of the road situate in the County of Patea. By so doing, the question in dispute between the Patea and the Taranaki County Councils would be settled by Pari lament.

The Engineer said that the Taranaki County had already expended a sum of money on the bridges at the Stoney River end of the road, and the bridges were in such a state that they required repairing ot once.

The' Chairman thought this was an extraordinary proceeding for the Government to take. Ou the road from Stoney River to Opunake only six bridges had been erected, and they were now in a most deplorable state. If this state of tilings continued, it would result in the road being stopped. It comd not be expected that the County Council should keep this road in repair without a grant from the Government. The former vote was evidently intended to maintain roads through Maori land ; hut, instead of that, the money had been expended on roads going through land held by Europeans at Patea.

Proposed by Mr Brown, seconded by Mr Rattenbury, and carried, —“ That the Council protest against the balance of £3OOO (the Waitotara Stoney-Uiver vote) being placed on the Estimates for expenditure in the Patea district, the sum of £ISOO having been already spent there, (2) That a copy of the letter from the Minister of Public Works be forwarded to Major Atkinson, Mr Kelly, and Colonel Trimble, together with a copy of this resolution,’’