Ohinemuri County Council.

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 487, 9 July 1890, Page 2

Ohinemuri County Council.

[From our own Correspondent.j

The ordinary monthly meeting of tlie above Council was held in the Council Chambers, Paeioa, on Saturday last. Present : 'OsT Moore (Chairman), Nicholls, Robson, Strange, Nash, and Quinn. Minutes of the previous monthly meeting wers read and confirmed. Cr Nicholls read a telegram from Cr Dearie, apologising for his absence, owing to his having to ,at(eud the Native Land Court.

Correspondence: Damage to Bridge: From F. Gilliland, drawing Council’s attention to damage done to a bridge erected by him on his land, in consequence of water from the County drain being turned from its natural course through his drain, and stating that in consequence of this the bridge had been damaged by the excessive flow of water, and dropped in, and he was now unable to get a vehicle of any kind on to his place.--Beferred to Foreman of Works. Extension of Time: From J. McKee, asking for three week’s extension of time for completion of bis outfall drain contract.—Granted for one month.

Waihi Bridge : From W. J. Gray and party, contractors for the erection of the Waihi br.dge, asking for one month’s' extension of time.-Granted.

Puke-Paeroa Road : From P. Sheehy, forwarding a summons to Council for L2, balance, of money due on,his Fnke-Paetba road eon tract;.:. v . .The Foreman of Works stated that Sheehy had not done the work according to specifications, having made the road too narrow, etc., thereby leaving it in a dangerous state. Resolved that the matter be left in

flip hands of the Chairman, Crs Nicholls and Robson to deal with. Removal of Store: F<om 11. 11. Ada'tjjs, asking permission fo remove a store he.liatl purchased from Mr J. C. Firth, , hli the banks of the Ohiuemmi river.—v Application "ranted. Waitekauri-Marntoto Track : From E: Bein, sta'insr. that hn had completed his contract, Mo. 177, WJaitekanri-. Marototo track, as far as possible, and asking payment for amount of work done. Cr Nash said Ik* tlmnghL the conlracto" should be paid a compromise of. L 35 on his'Vontrnct; ■ Cr Nicholls said it was a Governmant gran't/aml if a payment , was made, it must be out of rat-payors’ money ; the Government would not pay one shilling. ■ Cr Strange also objected to money being paid away unless Council were first fully satisfied it was the right thing to do. Mr Bein being present, .stnteo that it was impossible to grade the track L in. 10, and that lie would ’accept L4O as full payment. Resolved on the motionof the Chair--' man, seconded by Cr Quinn, that the contract be determined, and the contractor paid L 25 fdr the work done, the money to he paid in three months. Road to Karangahnke : Cr Nash stated that he strongly objected to men being brought from Paeroa to do work at Karangahnke, while there were so many men out of employment there. The Foreman of Works here handed in a letter from Mr Trezise, mine manager, requesting that some men be sent to Karangahake to repair the Karangahake road, stating a’en could not be got at Karangahnke to do the woik, that he Imd a quantity of quartz to cart, and Mr Dickey, carter, had refused to proceed with the carting until the road was repaired. Dog Collars : 0. Vincent, saddler, wrote, tendering for the supply of dog collars. Resolved that the offer be accepted.

Damages Claimed : From P, Foster, of the Junction Mills, stating that owing to the bridge being so narrow which lie had to pass over, near Mr Cooper’s house, his horse and cart had gone over the side, and forwarding a claim for L 6 10b damages.—Letter received. Road to Mr Quinn’s: Mr T. Quinn, stating that through the influence of Mr C. Nicholls he had obtained the right of road from the natives to his property, and that he had paid L 7 to get signatures, and asking Council to give LlO towurds cost of the load.

Resolved on the motion of Cr Nicholls seconded by Cr Robson, that the matter be left in-.the hands of the Foreman-., ofWorks t'o report son at t lie. nex t .moy tidy* meeting. ...

Valuation Roll: F.om A. Brown, asking that the. name of .1. Morrison be placed, on.the Roll for Lots 4 anl f> of Kaimaiianai Block. 1 Resolved that the request be-granted.

Agricultural Lease V Mr. d. ..Miller, Sol ioitor, wrote, ;»tn t j ug, that he- appeared in accordance, with Council’s instructions, at the Warden’s Court, Thames, ’to oppose Mr C. Nash’s application lof an agricultural lease at Mack ay town, and stating that the application had been adjourned to July 10th.—Letter received.

Fascines : It was resolved that the Council advertise for the supply of 600 bundles of fascines.

Paero'avTe Aroha Road : Cr Strange <lr€\Y;attention 1 ty a culvert on the main Te A roll a road, ami stateil that the water was wearing away the bank. Netherton Riding : It was resolved that.the Clerk prepare a ratepayers roll for the new Netherton Killing. Altering Day of Meeting : Resolved that the next meetiug of tlie Council be held on the 9th instead of 2nd August. Matamata-Wnihou Road : Cr Strange asked if the Council were in a position to continue the . road known as the Mafamata two-cliain road* Resolved that the Council invite tenders foi‘ ; the work at once.i ! > Kauri Timber: A letter was read from J. W. Walker, manager of the Waihi G. M. Co. disclaiming any liability for timber cut in excess of that for which the Company had paid the Warden’s department, and, stating the Company had not used more than 30,0U0 feet of kauri up to the time Mr E, M. Corbett left the employ of the and that some of the, trees bought and branded by the Company were still standing. Reports : The Foreman of Works and Forest Ranger’s reports were read and adopted. Finance Report. Your Committee beg to report : 1. That the overdraft at the Bank of New Zealand to date. amounts to L 9 13s 4d, which together with unpresented cheques, make the debit balance Ll 5 13s 4d. 2. The Committee have much pleasure in reporting that though not able to liberally keep the agreement with the Bank so as to have the overdraft cleared by June 3Ctl), yet the debit balance is comparatively speaking a trifling amount, and even this would not have existed if the Native Rates, which were passed by the Property Tax Commissioner on 15th June, had been promptly forwarded by the Treasury. 3. Oil the other hand the Committee had to state tliut the incoming liabilities|for the next two months will require the very careful consideration of the Council in the direction of ways and means. Roughly speaking on receipt of Native Rates, the Council will have L 350 in hand, against L 843 .IBs .Id of;-,d.mmediate. liabilities. Of these liabilities L 350 will probably be paid by Government subsidy during the month,, but in .the first instances the Council will have to find the whole amount.

4. By-this it will be seen tliut when all these pressing liabilities are. liquidated, there will be little or nothing in hatM far

C’MT'nt and urgent works, until tlie rates F< r 1890-91, gold revenue, and subsidy on mlev onviw it),:-" f>. By resolution of Conned on the 7th June, it was decided to pay certain sums monthly: into a sinking fund, towards liquidating tlm indebtedness to Government, and making monthly psyrrjents ,to Hospital and Charitable Aid contribution, hut considering the very heavy strain on our finances this month, the Committee have deemed it .advisable to defej; the commencement of these payments -until next month. G. The lin Gil i ties of the Council,for passed hut unpaid accounts 1,141 4s 9d for Hospital and Charitable Aid contributions, it is proposed to pay off by mrnthly instalments, commencing next month. "7.-- The •: prospective; liabilities 'of the Council for engagements entered into hut tmt included in above, amount, to LI29G 17s 9d. '8 The Committee recommend accounts amounting to L 843 18s Id for payment. This was all the business. Special Meeting. General Six-farthing Rate: At a special meeting of the Council held after the ordinary meeting, it was resolved that a general county rate of six-farth-ings ,in the pound he levied. A Special Order was also made adopting bye-laws ns follows : No. 5.- Fob Licensing Pedlars and Hawkhrs trading in .tl.ie Ohinemnri County. No. 6. Fixing the Seale of Charges on the Rnngiora Ferry, No. 7. Regulating the traffic, etc., on the Paeroa, Ohincmuri, and Junction Wharves. ‘