GERALDINE COUNTY COUNCIL.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2670, 11 October 1881, Page 3

GERALDINE COUNTY COUNCIL.

SECOND EDITION

The ordinary meeting of this Council for the month was held to day. Pressent—Mr C. G. Tripp (Chairman), Messrs Wilson; Clulee, Acton, Hardcastle, and Mendelson. miscellaneous. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed, and correspondence received read. Letters were read from the Temuka and Geraldine Road Boards re sale of reserves in these districts. Mr Acton moved and it was carried—- “ That application be made to Government for one-third of the moneys received from purchasers of the reserves in question.” A return was laid on the table by the Secretary showing the number of ratepayers, the acres of land held by freeholders and by leaseholders, and the rateable value of the properties in the several ridings iri the County. The totals were :—Ratepayers, 2382; freehold, 606.335 acres; leasehold, 1,126,528 ; rateable value, £205,324 Returning officers were appointed for the various ridings to conduct the election of Councillors on November 9 next. EANGITATA TRAFFIC BRIDGE. The following letter to the Chairman, was read from Mr E. Wakefield —“I have the honor to inform yon that on Thursday last I paid a visit to the Rimgitata Traffic Bridge, in order to see for myself the position of the repairs concerning which there have been so many complaints and remonstrances. On the following day I wrote to the Minister of Public Works, giving a plain, statement of what I had seen, explaining to him the public injury that results from a stoppage of the traffic, and urging him as strongly as I could to send a Government engineer without delay to enquire and report on the whole matter, with a view to an immediate re-opening of the traffic rnd a re consideration of the design for extending the bridge. I trust that I shall not be considered, in taking these steps, to have intruded improperly in a business which is more particularly in the hanefh of the County Council.” The Chairman said he passed over the bridge about ten days before, and found that instead of continuing the pile driving from the north bank towards the bridge, they had made a start near the incline to the bridge' put up by Mr Watkins, putting a stop to the traffic most unnecessarily. In addition to this the Ashburton Council had shown the greatest carelessness of the public convenience. They had stopped up the road track which had been cleared of boulders, and .had made no provision for vehicles getting along ; they had to go bouncing over boulders, in man ifest danger to their wheels and springs. OPIIII BRIDGE. Letters were read from the Temuka Road Board rc Opihi bridge extension, which was completed on September 30. The total cost had been £6268 12s 2d. Of this amount the Council had paid £4OOO, and the Temuka Road Board had made a- special contribution of £IOOO, leaving £1268 12s 2d to be repaid to the Board. . , . , It was resolved that the balance be paid to the Road BoarcL A resolution was cfli*ried thanking the Temuka Road Board _ for the very satisfactory manner in which they had earned out the extension of the bridge, committed by the Council to their care.

CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL. Mr Clulee moved, in accordance with notice given “That the constitution of the Geraldine County Council be increased to nine members, and that the representation for the ridings be as follows Levels, Temuba, Geraldine, and Mount Cook Hidings, each two members; Mount Peel Hiding, one member.” After a long discussion us to the fairness of the proposal, the motion was carried by four to two. . Mr Mendelson then showed that Clause 60 of the Counties Act requires such alteration to be made by “special order” of the Council. The special order required a month to complete, and then a fortnight’s notice must be given of the election. The next general election was fixed for the ‘Jtli, November (but postponed on account of that day being a public holiday, for a week), so there was not lime for the order to bo brought into force at this election. It would be of no use for three years. ACCOUNTS. The balance-sheet for the half-year, ending Sept. 30, was laid on the table as follows : ... ~C l<1 < Receipts —Balance to credit, £Bl4 7s Id : slaughtering licenses,. £4l ; do return books, £1 ; dog tax, £B3 Is 8d ; interest account, £IOO ; auctioneers licenses, &c., and receipts from r&y-master-General, £573 16s 4d ; total, £1613 5s Id. . Expenditure —County roll, £3l 10e> , salaries, £159 16s 8d ; stationery and printing, £35 Os lOd; members travelling expenses, £l6 18s ; Eangitata bridge mid ferrv, £146 Is 5d ; balance in bank, £1223 18s 2d ; total, £1613 5a Id. Accounts to the amount of £8 6s 8d were passed for payment.^ The meeting then terminated.