FINAL NOTICE.

Shannon News, 13 September 1927, Page 3

FINAL NOTICE.

drainage board called on to remedy road trouble. It is not often that relations between tivo local bodies become severely strained; but this has happened as between the Horowhenua County Council and the Alakerua Drainage Board, following upon repeated requests, to the Board by thq Council to deal with a roach trouble at Linton. The subject was revived by a letter from Air G. Craw, of Linton, at the Council meeting on Saturday, and a resolution was passed finally calling on the Drainage Board to carry out certain work, failing which the Council will take further action. Air. Craw, wrote stating that he was extremely disapppohited in the results of his repeated appeals to the Council in regard to the roadway »on the main drain covered over by the Alakerua Drainage Board. The Council were evidently going to force him to extremes, which would involve both parties in a lot of unnecessary expenditure . (He could not cut one block of his flax last season, and had about 10 tons go rotten in the swamps of another block, because the road was impassable. .He now asked that the road be attended to at once, as he was starting his mill again and could not suffer any more damage through this work not being completed. “Apparently he is casting the whole blame on the Council, ’ ’ said the Chairman. “He knows the Council is not primarily to blame in this matter, except insofar as the Drainage Board carried : this work out' without arriving at any arrangement. In the first place, they should have made application to' us for' permission to deposit this stuff on the road,. The facts of the case are that there has been a considerable amount -of correspondence between the Council’ and the Drainage Board, and up to the present* they have not replied except in a stereotyped manner that the matter would receive attention, this occurring at various* meeting;'. after they got our letters. They _ have studiously avoided giving a definite reply. They have gone on to cur road, dug a ditch, deposited stuff there, and not carried out our requirements as far as the ifoad is concerned.” The Chairman moved thatt final notice b j served on the Makerua Drainage Board to carry out the. necessary work on the road complained of by Mr. Craw. He added that, failing this being done, the Council - would have t«, take action against the Board. He did not know whether it was the Board’s intention not to do the work, under the impression that the question would be shelved. Mr. Craw was not going to allow the Council to forget it, and the’y must obviously call on the Board to carry out wliat was required by law. It seemed a wrong thing to be forced to take action against another local body when the Council’s own ratepayers were involved —taking action against a body of their own ratepayers seemed a ridiculous thing. . Cr. McLeavey: The Board might give tlicir reasons. - The .ClhairinauThey avoid' giving reasons.

The motion was seconded by Cr. McLeavey. Cr. Whyte stated that he had inspected the road in question, and the greater portion of it was in the Kairanga County. He would like to find out what the Kairanga Council were doing.' The Chairman: The clerk to the Kairanga County Council is clerk to the Alakerua Drainage. Board. Cr. Catley: I think it is time that the pacific or kid-glove method was dropped, and we should tell the Board finally. Cr. Whyte: We should work together with the Kairanga Council a little more. They asked for the same as we did, and the letter was received. Cr. AlcLeavey.: What is the good of this coming before us at every meeting? There was no metal on the road.

Cr. Jensen: It was just a road through the flax. The Chairman: We have a right to demand, irrespective of Air Craw,., that this stuff be spread as we want it spri^d. The motion was carried.