TE AROHA TRAMWAY. Complaints re Working.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 62, 9 August 1884, Page 7

TE AROHA TRAMWAY. C omplaints re Working.

At the usual monthly meeting of the I'talco County held at Cambridge on Wednesday evening, July 30th, the cuiirnuiti of t.ie Tramway Committee su'imitted the following lvport : To M. GilfiUan, jun., Esq., secretary Tramway Committee, Aueicland. Dear Sir, — 1 have the honour to report as fol'ows :

Kfuoii»t> and Expenditure. — The vec'ipts fioni the tramway for the four we'ks ending the liHh inst. are as follows :

The ordinal y working expenses for the same period are as per pay-sheet attached hereto — £150 4s lid — which would have left a balance of £02 14s 7d. This balance has, however, been reduced to £40 15s 7d, by the cost of impairing the line after the heavy rains w ■ have had during the mouth. Piesent State of the Line. — The line at present is in a fair state of repair, but heavy rains during this time of the year are liable at any moment to cause damage, which it if impossible to avoid or guard against* Current Month. — For the current month I estimate the nnmher of trucks to be brought down will be about the ' Mime as last, fior can any very large increase in tie revenue be expected until ! more crushi'ig ni.u-.iinery i.-> erected on the line of tramway - -1 am, &c , H. 11. Adams, Mnu.-igor. Cr Firth Said it would be seen there was a surplus of £50 on the month's working. Had u not u-vm for the slips c used IV the heav\ >:un« experienced lately, th" >urplus won! i have been £/l instead of £50. Or C « j |»mk'M t'j< < i ilia*" there W'ts ' froni'-tniii^ r " .• .ill; v*i)\j, u. tu' 1 in i:i- { ;!_rem.eut cf th zv >- r\ *. The Council | had given it even c mini; and yet t'.is was the first month a mii|>Ui« had het*n ! ft iown. c t.ion.Mit tiny coitivt u-iy well devise some \ei\ miicu bettor, more advantageous, and more economical way of working this coiuvm. Cr Uould supjioitfl tne remarks of Cr Chcpniull. He tlnnj_rht. it wa~ poasilile for them to uaw, the tramway vorked by contract Cr Chopmell thought the charges which had been' levied were altogether j»i*(»liib>iory. The pre>ent charge per toft f• ' <»xc"e<!ei! tip estimate. Ci Firth ex|.l mcl tin 1 causo of thi» nu - -v' :^'h raio eh ii'i^i 1 for tlu* conveyMio- o; >\\ui\t'A on the tramway. Under I*.* 1 circnm-tanet 1^ he did not think tin 1 prescut tariff at all exoruitant. It Was purely a question of crushing power. Again, there were very few mines working when, compared to tlie number which they were led to expect would be working. If there were four batteries working they could carry the quaitz at 15d a ton. He considered it would be ulteriy impossible to work the tramway with iVwor men than at present. It would be wrong to put such a valuable work jis the tramway in the hands of contractors, »s it would be a perfect wreck in about six months. Cr Chi'pmcll said whpn the tramway *^vas undertaken they were told they would be able to carry quartz at 2s, but now it was 4s 6d. Nothing but first class stuff would pay under this tariff In view of the general dissatisfaction which prevailed, he thought a competent engineer should be appointed to report upon the gear and the working of the tramway. He believed the Government woald allow the district engineer, Mr Jieere, to inspect and report upon the tramway. Cr Miiclcan demurred to this course, j Mr Jjeeiv might go to Mr Purcbas and to Mr Adams ami report according to what they told him. Cr Chopmell suggested another gentleman, a Mi Corbett, of Waihi, a very competent man. He would propose that the Government be requested i n ask Mr Beere to report upon the gear and the working of the tramway ; and failing this the council to employ Mr Corbett, of Waihi, to do so. Cr Firth : {Supposing these men report that it is necessary to replace the biakes at present in use? Cr ChcpmJl did not consider this a sufficient objection to his proposal. , Cr Firtu gave as his experience that one engineer always reported against the work of another. Whoever was appointed to make this report should first satisfy tlit* council as to his qualifications. Cr Gould seconded the proposition, which was carried unanimously. Cr Chepmeli al&o enquired what had become of the engine lor which they had paid £700 ? They were now paying £70 interest upon this piece of expenditure, Had tlioU^Ji the- engine had been- on 1 the

ground for a considerable time it had never yet been made urn*. of. Cr Firth vikl, thong i the engine was noc in use ;it present, still it. was being looked after. He admitted that the purchase of this engine had been somewhat premature. Had the crushing power of the present buttery come up to expectations, or ha I another battery been erected on the flat, then the engine would have been indispensable. Cr Chepmell thought they should sell the engine for what it would bring. Cr Firth did not approve of this course. It was quite possible that tiic time wa*? not far distant when it would be required. Cr Williams remarked that as soon as the railway was. completed to the Aroha, and coal could be had there at £1 per ton, and thus enable steam power to be used, batteries would then be erected to meet all possible requirements. Cr Firth also quoted the fact that s«»me of the mines had not turned out equal to what was expected. For instance, the Eureka mine, one of the leading* mines on the Held, after the expenditure of a hir»e sum of money, had turned out unpayable. The shaivhohleis in tms mini! had spent £fnR) in constructing a wire tramway to connect with the main lino, and the mine was now I practically abandoned. This alone made a diifeieuee of about 150 tont> passing over the tramway. Cr Firth referred at some length f> the company's battery at I Waiorongomni. When they purchased^ it they were given to understand that it would crush on ait average 500 tons a week, but they had found its capacity not to exceed 300 tons. This Was a source of considerable* disappointment. It was found that the Aroha quartz was very much harder than the Thames quartz, and it cost £1 a ton to bring this quartz to the hoppers. The cost at the Thames did not nearly approach this. The conversation on this mutter after a few other remarks dropped. — Waikato wmes.

No less than 105.000 human beings have been transported to Siberia during the past ten years. A n uw Ounurder has been launched of 12,500 horse -power. This means the trip across the Ail.intie in less limn six days. All sort& ol sleeves d> - e admissible for ladies' drosses but ihe uoat slee\e, ruu-ul thf waist, remains the favourite ll! ri lad\ hart a it-d none uveryono inquires about lier bad told. If ,i in. m h.is a iv d nose everyone bweais thej can binjll whisky 50 yards oil". An Insluu in K.iy> lie can no cavtlilv reason why women should not be allowed t> become medical men

tf'k. Trks. 1 239 2 233 3 234 4 200 irnpk9. at 4/6 £ c.. d. 53 15 6 52 8 G 52 13 0 45 0 0 Up Cnrringe. £ s. d. 2 9 0 2 0 0 2 15 0 1 18 6 Total. £ s. d. 56 4 6 54 8 6 55 8 0 46 18 6 906 i 203 17 0 9 2 6 212 19 6