PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL,

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 243, 25 February 1888, Page 2

PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL,

Appended will be fonnd reprrt of the fin oiibsion jit last meeting of Pinko CountsCouncil, re certain matters i elating to Te Aiolu Killing, and which wo could not (iod space to more than briefly refer to in our list weeks issue. Also Mr McO. Hays (solicitor) opinion relative to the recovery of rates. To Arilm— VVaiorongomni "Road : — Cr Murphy retired r<? the need of rep.iii in/athe To Aroha-Wiiioeongomni road, and said lie Wicl spoken to the lCn«fmcer, Mr Pavitt, about it, who estimated the cost of putting the main road from the battery at Wdiorongomai to To Aroha in fair order would be about 1! 40- There was a large amount of gold fields traffic over this road { and Council should expend some money on it ; and ho would now move tlt.it the sum of £40 be voted for the proposed work. Cr Mills seconded the motion and said lie considered it w,ns advisable the money asked for should be voted for the work. Cr Gould • Tlie rond is in my opinion a good road, and in any case I think it would be better to defer putting down metal till later on, if that w«s intended, as it would only get knocked off the road again now, but he w m!d bs in favour of f'eferring repairing the road until it needed it hk re than it did fit present. In reply to one oC thoCrs the clerk «aid a rate of fd in the £ on the Aroha Riding should yield £277. i The Chairman ; Tbero U still a debt of £45 on Aroha Riding in connection with the last rate alone. Cr Mills £750 J'as been, received from the goldfield by tho County during the past year, of which only £12G has been expended on the gold field, tho rest having been spent all about tho country . The money spent in connection with milking the ocmnty tramway at Wftioronsrnmni had been, most Wttftefulty expended, and the \vo«-k it wna well known could have been don&U'or>halftho mottay ; besides the work hKd boon vjndci tU«*n py tho Council having i}i viow" ; the increasing oC the va|«« of their own landd that would result from a goldfiold. Tho Chairmin to Or Mills : Tian'b mako such ji^ortinni us th*>fc in tin's ConnoU unless yon >ir* i>rop/irc"l to prove tliem. 1 Everybody who knows anything of tho

real circumstances of the easeknowß all the nst of the county liavo contributed toward.* providing the money which had been expended in the Aroha Hiding. Te Arolialuwft debt of £7000, and whethor the money had been judiciously expended or not, in noway altered the fact of tlio indebtedness existing. The County tramway hud been undertaken by the wish of the Ore at the time in office, with the desire to dovclopo the resources of the gold field, smd nil the rest of the county had cootributcd more of less towards tho expenses, and it was a matter of regret that the re suits had not come up to expectations ; but that was no reason why tho rest of the county should continue to contribute towards cost of works within Te Aroha Riding. If the goldliolds had prospered and thn construction of the tramway been attended with more satisfactory results, no doubt everybody would have been far batter pleased, but the position must be accepted as it really h. Or Gould: I have no objection to re Aiolm having nil the rates raised within the Hiding expended therein ; but it is certainly high time it was put on a business footing; and I shall strongly object to all the rest of! the county continuing to contribute towards the expense of works within that Hiding. The Chairmain: To be told wo are expending the goldfields revenue in other parts of tho country is too much. The Te Aroha representatives seem to ! think that directly n rate is Jevicd, although their Riding may at the time be ' in debt 5 , no account is to be taken of that fact, past expenditure is not to be considcicd, imt any new works have only to bo asked for and authoiised. Cr Hoany : Surely Te Aroha Ruling must not expect the rest of the County to pay interest on the money that has been expended in that Riding only. The Clerk stated the goldfields revenue for half ycjr ending 30th December last amounted to £260 (gold duty, £118, goldfiolds revenue, £142). The Chairman: This Council undertook a big woik, lightly or wrongly, and in can*} ins out that work incurred a big debt. Two yeais ago a goMcral rate of §d in the £ w.is levied over the whole county to pay oft a portion of this liability incurred in te Aroha Hiding; no county woik was done with the money so raised. The motion wa then put, That £40 be voted for expenditure on the To Aroha. Waioron^om.u road ; only Crs Murphy and Mills voted in favour of it, and the motion w as declared lostCr Murphy • That will bo another step towanls To'Arolia being formed into a Borough, and then we'll be clear of yon. Te Aioha Kidine; docs not owe you a penry From what [ can learn the people are now sorry they did not Conn a Borough when they went about it before. Re Recovery of Rates. --Thi'Clcrk having j wiitten to Mr Hay for his opinion on the i matter of rates, the following reply was received :— "Hamilton, 11th February, ISSS Mr C Tuck, Oik Piako County ! Council, Cambtidgc. — Dbar Sir— Fn your ! letter of Ist. Fchiuary, duly icceivod, you ask for my opinion on throe seveial points I reg.uding the liability oC an occupier for I rates, and I think it will be clearer and more I convenient if I give your question in each 1 case first, and my opinion upon it immediately following. Ido not think it necpsR'uy to touch upon all ea->es and authorities I have looked up, as it would bike too long, but will content myself wilh giving such an opinion ,\s will be a plain direction to you. Question 1 "Is an occupier withm I the meaning of the Riting Act, 1882, liable for rates after he had ceased to occupy, or noc^s the bare fact of his having ceased to occupy cxonoiate him fro.n all liability' in respect nf such rates? 11 Answer:— lam of opinion that the occupier becomes liable for the rate if he is dc facto an occupier at (ho time the rate is made and his name appear ** on the rate boric. It is not sufficient in itself that hi« name should appear in the ratebook. He must also be an actual occupier at the time tho rate-book is made, and be \<i at liborty to prcve the fact at the trial that he was not an occupier at that time. Censing to occupy will not exonen>t<>. 1 read tho words "actual or beneficial occupation" in the interpretation given of " occupier " in section 2 of the Act to mean actual or beneficial occupation :it the time of making the inte-book. By section 26, a poison failing to pay a rate 14 days after <lemand becomes liable for it as a debt. " Person" heie moans the person named on the rate-book, and to him the debt then attaches. Section 28 m.ikos it plain that tho occupier is liable for all rates becoming due while his name remains on the ratebook, and where tho rate is payablo by instilments the occupier has n, right to recover from tho incoming tenant all instalments coming duo after he has ceased to occupy, and which he has paid. This seems clearly to contemplate tho direct liability of the occupier to the local autlmity, and po-'nts to tho fart that when tho^tto is payable in ono sum, and the occupier has paid i(, tie. cannot, recover from tho incoming tenant. Question 2: "If he is ' liable for rates made before the termination of ln's tenancy as occupier, docs he still continue liable for his rate-? made after such determination, no notico Having been received by the loca 1 body, after having ceased to bo occupier. Answer. — "lam of. opinion that the rates made after former occupier has vacated tho property, he is notliable thathisname may be retained upon tho rate-book. The rate-book is evidenco only unless the contrary bo proved, and the former occupier would be in a position to prove the contrary ; notico is immaterial. Walton Park Coal Compary v. Taieri County Council, Now Zealand Law Be ports, 8.0. , p. 318, is in point hero. Question 3<— IC Does the fact of his having notified tho local body that ho has ceased to occupy, relieve hiin"oF his liability for rates made before roceipt of such notice." Answer.—-Irres-pective of any notification if ho has in fact ceased to occupy at or before the time of the late bviing made he will not bo liable." Tho opinion of- Wm. MAcaniKion Hay. "

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