The Settlers’ Meeting at Waitoa.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4406, 4 May 1909, Page 3

The Settlers’ Meeting at Waitoa.

(Continued from last issue.) Owing to the pressure of advertisements and local reading matter in our Saturday’s issue, we were reluctantly com pelled to hold over the major portion of the report of the settlers’ meeting, held atiWaitoa onlThursday evening last. The meeting, as already stated was well attended, Mr S. Bellamy in the chair. We left off at that part where Mr Matthew Henry had given an account of the work done by the Drainage Board since its inception. The Chairman asked Mr Matheson, another Drainage Board member, to give his opinions on this all important question.

Mr Mathescn, on rising, said he had nothing to isay beyond what the Chairman (Mr Henry) had already stated. So far the scheme contemplated by the Board is satisfactory. As regards following the fall of the country so strongly suggested by some, he contended that to keep on direct lines was more satisfactory than following a circuitous course even with the same fall. —Mr S. Bellamy: Would it not be better to come up No. ,'6 and let the Piako County Council at- [ tend to No. 7 ? —Mr Matheson : I do not think so. There are drains already in existence in that locality.—Mr Bellamy : My reason for asking is because it is lower than No. 7.-Mr Matheson: No. 6 is going through private property, which meant a great deal more for maintenance, as cattle would break down the sides of the drain. He was against putting drains through private iproperty.—The Chairman : Mr Corrigan is not here, so I will call upon Mr Magiil. Mr Magill: There is a great deal of difference of opinion as regards this drainage question. The Piako Council had some 15 miles of drains to attend to in the Waitoa. He failed to see why the Waitoa Drainage Board were so anxious to take No. 7 and No. 1 from the Council, who had between £4,000 and £5,000 to spend. The Drainage Board had no money, and perhaps they never will have. The Board wished to borrow £IO,OOO. This sum is not required for drainage purposes. About ten miles of new drains would drain the estate thoroughly. If the Board takes over the Council’s responsibility on the roads and drains in the Waitoa, the settlers’ rates would be spent elsewhere. The Hungahunga Board had drained about 30,000 acres of virgin swamp, and in a little over two years they had made over 30 miles of drains, at a cost of less than £5,000. The engineer spoke of 12 chains of fluming. They did not require any £IO,OOO loan. The Hungahunga Bond did not appropriate the roads for drainage purposes, not a chain of drain had been put down the roads, although they bad had occasion to cross them. Why should the settlers take over the the County Roads and drains. It looked as if Mr Henry believed in that old proverb “ The heavier you load an ass the steadier it will go.” The Board had gone to a lot of unnecessary expense in employing engineers, etc. The engirtee~s had been at work over a month before either Mr Bellamy or himself knew anything about it, although two meetings had been held. Look at the amount of work the Hungahunga Drainage Board had done and are doing. The Waitoa Board are giving a bigger salary to their 1 engineer to attend to their work than the Piako County Supervisor got for attending to the whole of the work of the county—All the Board appeared anxious about was to get No. 7 Road from the County. He believed in giving every man an outlet, and not drain along roads. It is the duty of the Drainage Board to give every 'man an outlet Asked the probable cost of draining No. 4 Mr Magill said about £250 a mile.— Mr Magill, continuing, said : It looked as if trouble was brewing between the Council and the Board. Why spend the ratepayers money to battle with the Piako County Council and go iuto law. The Waitoa Drainage Board had no money and less brains. —Mr Henry said that Clause 64 of the Drainage Act prevented eny litigation. If the road drains were vested in the Drainage Board there is a strong probability that the Piako County Council would have to pay towards them.—A good deal of time was taken up in arguing the point as to whether half-a-dozen settlers or the whole lot should have signed the petition calling the meeting.—Mr Henry in reply to a statement made, said employing an engineer was the cheapest money that could be spent. Anyone with intelligence would say so. As regards fthe Govern' ment outlets he thought they were entitled to some thanks for getting them free of cost. If No. 7 and No. 1 were cleaned and deepened everyone Jwould have an outlet. Of course, no man is perfect; neither is any drainage scheme perfect. A Drainage Board is entitled to go anywhere and everywhere on a man’s land to make drains. There would be no double rating as suggested by Mr Bweeney.—ln answer to a question, the Engineer (Mr St. Hill) stated that a drain big enough to take all the drainage down No. 1 Road would require to be 12ft in the bottom, Bft deep and 20 ft across the top.—Mr Sweeney contended that the seat of all the trouble lay near Otway’s.—Mr Magill mentioned the names of some half-a-dozen settlers along No. 7 Road, and asked Mr Gallagher if he thought they would benefit by the Board’s scheme.—Mr Gallagher said they would not; asked if Mr Henry would derive any benefit Mr Gallagher said he thought he would,— The Chairman called on' Mr Tom Bellamy, another member of the Board, for bis opinions.—Mr Bellamy said his views coincided with Mr Magill’s. He said the great majority appeared to lose sight of the fact that the Ohinemuri county held the key to the whole position. The water could not possibly get away unless No. 1 was cleaned out. He had resided in the district for over 26 years, and knew something about the drainage of the Waitoa. The drains had never been properly cleaned. Referring to what iB known as 41 Johnson’s Scheme,” he might say that when Mr Johnson made out his scheme there was no talk of Government outlets, otherwise his scheme might have been somewhat different There appeared to be far too much haggling. He was strongly against using No. 7 Road for drainage purposes,—Speaking of Schemes, Mr Magill said that when in Committee some time back, the present scheme propounded by Messrs St. Hill and Thompson was condemned by them, saying it was against the lay of the country. As Mr St. Hill was a friend of Mr Henry’s he had been duly appointed engineer about 48 hours after the inception of the Board The Hungahunga Drainage Board has been in existence about three years and they had no fixed scheme, but nevertheless managed to carry out their work in a satisfactory manner.—Mr Henry replied that the Engineer was ne friend of his, he had never met him previously to his coming

to Te Aroha. The engineer had given an unprejudiced opinion on the drainage of the block. The previous scheme referred to was a road drainage scheme, not a district drainage scheme. —Mr S. Bellamy said that anyone who acted as Mr Magill had stated were backing Up dishonesty, and not fit to occupy a public position, and should be asked to resign. Mr Henry said that Mr T. Bellamy was mover of the motion that Messrs. St. Hill and Thompson be appointed engineers. Mr Magill: The whole business is something like Barney after he had met the hull, “Upside Down.” They hid only been fighting about No. 7 and No. 1 roads. ’Anyone would think these two roads were the hub of the whole universe.—Mr T. Bellamy said he thought Mr St. Hill a good engineer, and personally he had nothing against him ; it was his scheme he objected to.—The Chairman of the meeting said that he hoped the next time the members of the Drainage Board came before them they would have something definite to put before them, for the good of the Waitoa settlers.-A vote of thanks to the chair terminated the proceedings.