OHINEMURI COUNTY COUNCIL.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 170, 18 September 1886, Page 2

OHINEMURI COUNTY COUNCIL.

The usual monthly meeting of the above Council was held afc the County Chambers, Paeroa, on Saturday last. Present : Crs Cock (chairman ),Strange, Butler, Moore, Corbett, Nichols, and Walsh. After the' minutes of the previous meeting and outward correspondance had been read and approved, the inward correspondence was dealt with as follows :—: — Waihi Bridge. — The under-secretary of the Public Works' department, wrote informing the council that the sum of £250 was voted by parliament during its last session, as a £1 for£lcontribution towards the cost of erecting the above bridge. .Referred to the Finance Committee. County boundaries. — Mr F- Pavitfc, County engineer, forwarded a report covering an account for £47, being amount due for defining boundary between tho Thames and Ohinemuri Counties, and also sketch plan of the same. The report stated that the number of kauri tree 3 standing near the Hikuta-ia river, within the County, weie 12G9, and the number of stumps showed that 106 kauri trees had already been cut down in the same neighbourhood. Referred to Finance CominitLee. ProgressPayments.— Thomas Ritchie, contractor for maintaining Hikutaia section of the main road, applied for a progress payment on work done ; Thos. Stanley, contractor for Waitou load ; Edward Bein, contractor for Komata section main road ; and William Barn-it, contia<.tor ? Owhavoa section main v ;ad sent in similar applications. Resolved that contractors be paid at the rate of 50 per cent, on amount of work done.' Final Payments.— Owen McCabe sent a communication, complaining of the delay anent the matter of squaring up with him for eoutiact work passed some time since. Resolved that, he bo paid at tho rate o£ 50 per cent, on account. Parakawni Track.— The following communications v\as received from Mr C. F. Mitchell :— ." I am requited by the miners at Dihar's camp, to urge upon you the necessity of making a commencement with the track between these mines and the Waitekauri battery, for which the Government has granted a subsidy of L2OO on the Ll for LI principle. Ami lam to state on their behalf that they are willing to contribute in work, one-third of the subsidy to be paid by the Council j should you see fit to so arrange the matter with your engineer, that they can get the work at a schedule price to be agreed upon." After a considerable amount of discussion this matter was referred to the Board of Works. Owharoa Low Level Tunnel.— «Mc Conachie and party applied for a piogress payment, stating that they had already driven 228 ft, and that they had worked 20 weeks, during which thuir wages averaged os Gd per day A good deal of discussion ensued, with regard to the Council's ability to avail itself of the L2OO subsidy, which had been placed oh the estimates in aid of carrying out the above work, and at length "if was resolved to leave the whole matter in the bauds of the hands of a committee composed of Crs. Corbett, Moore, and Walsh. Waitoa Lower Drain Eoad. — With regard- to this road the SurveyorGeneral wrote as follows :—"I: — "I have been requested to inform you that the Government has agreed to grant to the Council, for expenditure on above road, the sum of Ll5O, as a subsidy of L"2 to Ll to be contributed by the Council to the same work." — Received. Tui Creek Track. — A letter was received from the Mines' Departmentstating that the Minister of Mines had, on the recommendation of Mr Grace, M.H.R., authorised a further subsidy of Ll for Ll to the extent of Ll5O towards the completion of ilu; track to the Tui Creek mines, deceived. Charitable Aid. — The secretary of the Thames Charitable Aid Board, wrote a^ follows : Your Council having failed to comply with the offer of the above Board to accept payment of yoitr contributions 'by quarterly instalments, as 3peoified in my lettor of the 30th of March last. The Board now requuo you to pay to their credit in the Bank of New Zealand, Thames, or to me, as Treasurer of the Boar I, on or before tho 18th day of Sept., instant, -the sum of L 35, 12s, being the proportion due by your Council for Charitable Aid to 2! Ist March,' 1887. * Failing compliance within one month frcm date, tho Board intend taking the necessary proceedings to recover the amount, as pro- "

vided by section 28 of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Institutions Act, 1885. A similar application from the Thames Hospital Board claiming payment of the sum of L 44, was also received. Cr Corbett said that he did not ageee with the resolutions prohibiting the Council representative from attending meetings of the Thames Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards. It was carried at a meeting which he did not attend, and he would now give notice of motion to the effect that it be rescinded at the next meeting. Aid to Prospecting. — John Reilly and party made application for assis.tance to prospect for gold. The country which they proposed to explore was situated in i he Waitekauri district, distant fully 3 miles from any main road or known workings, and therefore their application would como under the Class 1 of the aid to prospecting grant, Resolved that the application be forwarded to Government with the Councils recommendation. Jamas Hickey wrote asking for information on the same subject. Resolved that he be requested to forward a proper application, which could then be dealt with in the same manner as Reilley's. Main Roads. — The following letter was forwarded under cover of one from Mr L. M. Grace, M H.R. : " I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 13th ultimo, forwarding an application from the chairman of the Ohinemuri Couniy Council, for grants to the extent of L 6,500 for sundry works in that country. In reply I bes: to state that the matter has been brought before the Cabinet for consideration, but I regret to inform you that the government is unable to see its way to provide the funds for the Works in question at the present time. Edward Richardson, Minister of Public Works — Mr Grace adds that it is possible something may be put down on the supplementary estimates for the roads in question, but he has not been able to ascertain the exact amounts. Karan^aliai*? Suspension Bridge.— Mr N. Dickey wrote chaining the'eouncil with partiality in the matter oT allowing trolly and sledge traffic to pass over the bridge. Griffiths' teams had been permitted to cross, but his men bad been prohibited from cluing so. Resolved that all wheel and sleigh traffic be stopped fiom date. Subsides. — The Chairman said that they had a difficulty to face in the matter of reduce*! subsides, and it was high time that something weie done to meet the exigencies of the case. The Auckland Chamber of Commerce was about to exert itself in matters affecting the progress of the Colony generally, and lie thought that it would be as well ! for the Council to place itself in cornmuuication with that bo.ly, with a view to representing the wants and requirements of this County. Agreed to, and on the motion oE Cr Strange, it was resolved that the chairman write to Government, explaining the state of the roads in the County, as well as the Council's inability to improve them. Government Grant. — A telegram from the Treasury department states that the balance of the grant for the Mackaytown-Owharoa road was withheld, pending payment of debentures for L 358 14s, due on Ist May last by the Ohinemuri and Thames Counties jointly. Received. Board of \Vorks Report.— That the question of raising the punt at Mackaytown stand over for future consideration, and that Mr Hogg be informed that there were no funds available for the construction of a track from the Monastery mine to the -Iyanhoe hoppers. Adopted. Chairman's Recent Appointment. — A very warm discussion took place lelative to the Chairman's appointment as clerk and foreman of works also, at the previous meeting. Cr Corbett most strongly disapproved of the arrangement, on general grounds, and also to being in direct opposition to the provisions of the Counties Act ; and gave notice of motion, that he should move to have the i evolution rescinded. Accounts. — Salaries, wages, and other accounts, to the amount of L 67 17s lOdj were passed for payment. — Thames Advertiser. *