COOK COUNTY COUNCIL.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 234, 12 September 1884, Page 2

COOK COUNTY COUNCIL.

The monthly meeting of the above was held last night. Present—Crs. Ferris (in the chair), Clarke, Johnston, Stewart, Westrup, and Gannon. The minutes wore read. The Wellington Deputation. Cr. Johnston asked if due notice, which was seven days, had been given of the conference meeting with reference to the deputation to Wellington as mentioned in the minutes. The Clerk said there was not due notice given. Cr. Johnston said there were only two members present at the conference, and proposed that that portion of the minutes be expunged from the book. Cr. Clarke seconded. Cr. Gannon said he was present when the petition to go to Wellington was drafted, and it was by the merest accident he was fiere. Cr. Johnston said he spoke rather'huiriedly when proposing his motion. He forgot Cr. Chambers was absent, therefore he would ask to withdraw his first motion, and would propose that the matter be held over until the Chairman returned. The motion was put and carried. Representation of Ridings, On the suggestion of Cr. Gannon it was decided to proceed with ihe notices of motion before the usual routine business. On the suggestion of the Chairman Cr. Stewart withdrew his motion to the effect that the representation of the Tologa Bay Riding be amended, as Cr. Gannon’s motion to make provision for the equitable representation of every riding in the County embraced the whole question. Cr. Gannon said no doubt the whole Council saw that the East Coast was not fairly represented, and he thought it was only a fair thing for the Council on the eve of its retirement to amend that representation. He thought if they took the rateable value, that was the amount of rates which each riding contributed, that would be an equitable standard to go on. Since members of the Council came into office an alteration had taken place with reference to the Waikohu riding which resulted in Cr. Chambers and himself representing that riding, although they were not really elected to represent it. Taking then the value of the several ridings—they found that the Tologa Bay riding contributed £1,500 per annum to the County funds, and that was the greatest amount that any of the five ridings contributed, therefore it was entitled to three members. The Arai riding contributed £1263 per annum, that was entitled to two members. The Waikohu Riding contributed £1,140 per annum, the Gisborne Riding, £1,124 per annum, and the Waiapu £893 per annum. He would leave it to the Council how those members should be appointed. He was doing this so that those ridings should receive a fair share of representation in proportion to what they contributed to the County funds. When they had decided that question they could go and discuss the other as to sub-dividing the Waimata Riding. In reply toCr. Johnston, Cr. Gannon said his proposition related to every riding in the County. Cr. Stewart seconded the motion and considered that the riding which contributed the greatest amount of money was entitled to the greatest number of members.

Cr. Johnston agreed that the Coast was entitled to more representation, but did not agree with Cr. Gannon that the amount of revenue alone should be the basis, it should done on a basis connected with population. Those were the two points—revenue and population. He would have tabled the same motion as Cr. Gannon, but on the above basis. He would propose that there be only two members granted to Tologa Bay riding as at present constituted, that would give one to Tologa Bay, and one to the new Waimata riding. He thought three men to represent £1,500 and one man £1,151 was certainly not equitable representation. The Chairmau pointed out that they could not give three members to Tologa Bay, because when the Waimata riding was cut out of it there would then be Waimata £690 and Tologa Bay LBl2, and one of those would have two members, which was hardly fair.

Cr. Clarke proposed that the representation be amended as follows: —Gisborne riding, L 1,121 per annum, 2 members; Te Arai, L 1,263 per annum, 2 members; Waikohu riding, L 1,140 per annum, 2 members; Tologa Bay riding, L 1,500, 2 members ; Waiapu riding, L 893, 1 member.

Cr. Johnson seconded. Cr. Gannon withdrew his motion. Cr. Clarke’s proposition was carried. [ I’he continuation of the report is held over until our next issue.]