PlAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 89, 14 February 1885, Page 2

PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

— —^» A meeting of the above was held at Cambridge on Wednesday last, nil members being present, viz. : Crs W. L. C. Williams (chairman), Maclean. Branskilt, Smith, Murphy, Cl^pmell, Gould, J. C. Firth, W. T. Firth. The minutes of last meeting having been read andjjconfirnjed, correspondence was taken up. A reply was read from the General Manager of Ba lways, re the council's protest against tt c altered time-table, as now in force, statin? that the matter was about to be re-considered. The following report from the Tramway Manager was read :—: — Waiorongoma 1 , Feb. 6th, 1885. To the Chairman ami Councillors of the Piako County Council.

Gentlemen,— l have the honor toreport that since taking over the sole management of our tramway I haw caused repairs te be Hone on various parts of the lino. Butler's Spur was in a very bad state, and here I placed eight lien for ten days, lifting, ballasting and straighting the .me, and unless we have very severe weather indeed, it. should last a considerable time, without further attention. The other grades are all in fair -forking cder. I have caused a connection t*rhe make to the Waiorongrmai G.M.C. hopper, which necessitated an expenditure of £20. A further sum of £6 was also spent in exeavatin • a site for the new stable. You will observe, gentlemen, by comparing the pity-sheet with the weekly returns, that our expenditure for the lasl six weeks is greatly in excess of our income This is attributable to the facts mentioned above, the works, as it were, not being reproductive. In reference to the new tramway which occupies our attention, when there is no quartz to run to the battery, I would suggest that the timber (which must necessarily be fallen to clear the road, and which i* valuable for sleepers) should be cut up into suitable len ths. 1 make this sng nation simply because, as the timber i» heavy and requires to be male smalle to be convenient to handle, it might a? well be cut up into lengths that wo-iM suit. — I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, your obedient, servant, E. Cookson, Manager. A letter whs read from Mr J. B, WUyte in reply to the council's request

that h<» wonid support an application to the Govertiment for £1200, under the £2 to £1 system, for the & nstrnctfon of branch tramway to connpct the new buttery, now in course of construction, with the eotmty tramway. Mr Whyte stated he had written to the new Minister of Mines on fche subject, supporting the application as strongly as possible. The council also wrote to Mr Kenr.ck on the subject, whose reply was rea.l r in which he stated that knowing the great benefit, the proposed work would be, he was prepared to report favourably on the* .proposed mi lertafcing if called <m to do so. It was stated tb<» poimcfl hml wrft lento tlie Minister of Minf^ referring him tn Mr Wan fun Kenrirk re t:i«» application, wiiosi* opinion on t.ie mutter, fvoinr his loner experience on gol I fields,, would be most valuable. Tiio Clerk m tailed no reply had been? received from the Minister of Public Wo. ks respecting tiio application by the council for .£4OO r^Kafcikati track. BoniP correspondence was real re Taotoaroa, T(* Aro'ia, and Waitoa diftrict*, and it wjh resolved tn.it t'x^e, districts- be constituted special rating di*«* trick*. With regard to the road tli rough Mr Wm. Wilson's pmpprty at Waioi'o-ngo-mai, tiie Cierk stated that ifc bad nevT been gazetted aa a public road. Tiie Chairman jmd Messrs Gliepmelt and Brunstcill were appointed a com i:ittee to confer with the clerk, and take 1 such steps hs were considered advisable in the matter. Mr W. Wilson wrote offering to fencer said road, at prcsen f being us>d by the county, for £1 pi?r chain, fence to be Sffc ditch and bank, and three wires. I Mr Pavitt also reported re this roa;i Ithat 59 chains of fencing would be re> ! quired, and cost would be £1 per chain. ' Resolred, that the matter be left in I the hands of the committee appointed to deal with the roads question . Further resolved, that the, Thames 1 High School Governors be again written to, requesting them to contribute to-, wards the cost of making this 'road. I Mr P. Ferguson wrote requesting thecouncil to put a man on tokeep the lower track in repair. Ifc was decided the Council could notaccede to the request. The Te Aioha Public Pound and Poundkeeper evoked some discussion. It was stated the present poundkeeper had been sued by one party before he cruld get his trespass money for cattle impounded, and that he had never handed over any inDnies or statement to the council. Resolved, that the question stand over an til next meeting ; in the meantime farther enquiries to be made into the matter. Mr Gage Brown, Shaftesbury, wrotecomplaining of the lack of proper road accommodation giving access to i»is property, and stilting that although now settled two years, he had no road by which he <*. uld bring his produce to market. Mr Brown .stated henould retain the lates he was now upplie ; to for, and future applications oi a like nature and make tiie road hini.selt. Some members thought it would be f» very excellent arrangement to let Mr Brown retain his rates, if he would mal<»* a good load. The Chairman pointed out that the council's engineer had estimated the cost oF forming this road at £200, £150 of which would be required for one bridge. The council discussed the question at length, but owing to the great expense and lack of funds could not see their way to take any action in the matter. Messrs E. Y. Cox, D. Craig, and Downes, sen 1 ; in a requisition asking that the road to Shaftesbury, opposite Mr Baskett's property, some 15 or 20 chains, be repaired, as last winter it was impuss.ible. Cr Murphy said the work was a very necessary one, and should certainly be attended to. He did not think the cost need exceed £20. Resolved, that Cr Murphy be appointed to attend to the matter, and consult with Mr Pavitt ; not more £20 to be expended on repairing said portion of the road. The County Engineer wrote advising that the road laid out by the Government to Mr Craigs propertj be adhered to. There was 09 chains t> form at a probable cost of £80. Resolved, that a letter be written to Messrs Craivr and Downes, the owners of the property to be benefitted, offering to contribute £15 towards the proposed work, same to be carried out to the satisfaction of the County Engineer. The engineer reported having had the ! tramway stables constructed at a cost of £±5. Mr Smardon was the contractor. The engineer reported on the progress already made by the tramway hands in their spare time, in forming the connection to Fergusons battery. Mr Cuff, solicitor, wrote complaining that the report which appeared in the Watktito Times, as regards his charges for collecting certain rates, was incorrect. Messrs R. Mackie and John Wood, made application for slaughter-house licenses fot section 16, Thames High School Endowment, and Tfe Aroha West respectively. Both adjourned till next meeting, as applications were sent in too late to give opportunity of advertising hearing of same, as is required by the bye-laws.-Mr Jas*. Roycvot't. applied for permission to convey iirewood down the lower tramway grade at 3s per truck Resolved, tli at tramway manager be • instructed to accede to the request when it. will not interfere with the transit of quart'/. A letter from Mr John Bonney was