The £6000 Waitoa Drainage Loan.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4421, 8 June 1909, Page 3

The £6OOO Waitoa Drainage Loan.

MEETING OF SETTLERS. i On Saturday evening last the Waitoa ' Schoolhouse was well filled by. settlers and all interested in the proposal of the Waitoa Drainage Board to bbrrow the sum of £6OOO j for the following works : | 1 The construction of a drain between Eastport Road and the Wai* toa River, discharging into the said River. 2. The construction o : . a drain commencing from the Waitoa River

at the mouth of the Ohipe Stream, and continuing in a souths ly direction through Section 8. 3. The construction of a drain along No. 1 Road from the boundary of Crown lands to Section 1 (connecting with promised outlet through Crown land into the Waitoa Biver. • 4. The construction of a drain along. No. 7 Boad from the boundary of

Crown lands (connecting with pro" mised outlet into the Piako Biver) to the southern boundary of Section 59. .X 5. The construction of drains to

the west of No.. 7 Boad, emptyirg into above outlet through Crown lands and into the Piako Biver or the Waiharakeke Stream.

The meeting was called by the Chairman of the Board (Mr Matthew Henry) to consider' the proposal. Settlers attended the meeting from far and near, arriving at the schoolhouse on horseback, buggies, spring-carts, bicycles, and motorcars. It was indeed the biggest gathering f of ratepayers we have ever seen at WaLtoa, and showed conclusively the way in which the district is being cut up and settled upon.

Mr Matthew Henry, Chairman of the Drainage Board occupied the chair, and explained the business for which the meeting had been called. He hoped those w T ho had anything to say would be as brief as possible and avoid personalities. Mr Henry referred to the appointment of the engineer and his words were endorsed by Mr St. Hill who was in attendance. lie referred to the various meetings, deputations, conferences, etc., held in connection with the drainage scheme, since the Board’s inception. It had been staled that the engineers (Messrs St. Hill and Thompson) condemned their original scheme. They did nothing of the sort, the second scheme was simply an enlargement of the former one. Mr Kensington had staled that to properly drain the Estate they must do so through the Crown Lands. This necessitated two more outlets. He (Mr said they could not have too many outlets. He considered the road

drains should be made to carry their own water. They should not

go into private property. lie referred to tho washout near Messrs Sweeney and Bellamy’s properties,

and in which a woman was nearly drowned. This is part of the watershed spoken of by those opposed to taking over No. 1. It show? the fall is towards No. 7 from the country the other side. lie gave other instances showing the fall of the country.—Mr St. Hill, with the assistance of maps of the Estate explained the position of Cribb’s outlet, etc., in Mrs Allen’s land. He said there was plenty of fall from No. 7 to the \Vaiharakekc stream. — Mr Harrison asked Mr St. Hill if No. 7 was virgin country would he make it an outlet at the present time.—Mr St Hill replied probably not. —Mr Mclndoe : Could you get a fall from Piako into the Ohine Creek ?-Mr St. Hill ; No—Mr Mclndoe replied the previous surveyors said “yes.” The sole of Piako is as low if not lower.—Mr Matthew Henry said as regards classification he might state their area was in dispute, so that they could not very well classify. It was stated the drainage area is from river to river and from railway to the boundary drain. At all events the rate is not collectable for 18 months. —(Mr Mclndoe questioned this) and there is a provision in the Act Svhich says the land may be classified from time to time. The loan is for £6,000 for 41 years at 3|- per cent —Mr Harrison : You’ve got to raise it first. —Mr Henry, continuing, said that certain settlers along the east of the Eastport Road were entirely against the Loan and desired to be cut out There is nothing to prevent them petitioning to be cut out of the drainage area. Land not fit to drain was not fit to j hold. The drainage carried out in J the old days for a large estate would j not suffice now that the block is cut I up into 200, .300, and 500 acre I farms for dairying purposes. It is altogether different. He said there j was a good prospect of them getting the Government subsidy, it would be on the estimates. —In reply to Mr ' Harrison, Mr Henry said he had nothing in writing. Mr Gab lagber pointed out the various defects in the suggested scheme adding that part of the land it, was proposed to drain into No. 7 was 6 inches lower than the bottom of No. 7 drain. The settlers did not want a drain taken on top of a ridge, it would be no good to anyone. He pointed out the variations and descrepencies in the taking of the levels -There had been a variation of 4ft Gin in 20 chains. —Mr Lushy said that ho held the staff in the bottom of the drain when the levels were being taken, and what Mr Gallagher s l ated was quite correct. —Mi' St. Hill said then li‘,u been a mistake, but it had been

rectified. —Mr Gallagher said that when the water is 2ft in No. 7 drain it was flowing all over the country.—Mr Mclndoe asked Mr St. Hill if he was carrying out his own or the Board’s scheme of drainage,—Mr St. Hill replied that he had been given a free hand, but was told to keep to the roads as far as possible. He had not departed one io‘a from his original scheme submitted to the Piako County Council. He recommended the cutting through the high bank through Mr Henry’s.—Mr Mclndoe said that a road drainage and a scheme for the drainage of the whole estate were totally different. Catting through sand ridges had always proved a fallacy. They had only to look at what it had done for Coates on the lower part of the Estate—practically ruined him. We want a drainage! scheipe not a scheme for the drainage , of roads.—Mr Horne asked Mr St. j Hill to outline his scheme, which that j gentleman did.—Mr Mclndoe said the ' Piako County Council had battled with the Bank for four or five years, and eventually got several thousand gounds to spend on the roads, and they were now asked to vote for the taking over of these roads to be used as part and parcel of a drainage scheme. Such a proposal was utterly wrong. The scheme was abortive, and would mean double rating. We have to consider the district as a whole. The scheme is not for the best interests of the settlers. Up to the present time the business of the Drainage Board had been transacted in a “ hole and corner” fashion. They had a splendid object lesson right at their very door —the Huogahunga Drainage Board—which had gone about its work in a proper manner. They had classified their land, struck rates and drained their land in the best way possible. Referring to the Waitoa Drainage "Board he might state plainly that things had been done by the Chairman in such a way that the present Board had lost the confidence of the settlers. lie had acted on his own too much; certain members of the Board were never consulted. lie moved “ That considering the amount of friction that existed between the members, this meeting is of the opinion that it would be advisable for the members of the Board to resign, in order that fresh members be elected.” —Mr Harrison seconded. — The Chairman : We were put into office at the poll and you can put us out there. Mr Ilenry read the Drainage Act, etc., in justification of his actions - —Mr Gallagher said it seemed as if the Chairman had no respect for the settlers whatever. Ti c settlers met on Friday, 14th, at a public meeting, when it was decided that a petition be drawn up protesting against the Board including No. 7 and No 1 Roads in its scheme. The petition had been signed by some 35 settlers, and yet the Chairman ignored their wishes and treated them with contempt. The Board had indeed lost the confidence of the settlers. — The Chairman : There are others to be considered besides those who signed the petition. Some of those mentioned would vote for the loan. Others were not asked to sign.— Mr S. Bellamy ; The Chairman is acting in a most extraordinary manner. Had thb members a spark of manliness they would resign and I save the settlers expense, as no doubt the loan would be rejected. — ! Mr Matheson said he did not attend the meeting to have bis actions reviewed, to be blaguarded, or to be asked to resign, but to discus? the loan.—Mr Mclndoe : We have come to ask you to stop it.—Mr Matheson spoke a few words on the drainage scheme, and gave his opinion re same. He believed in a direct route for drainage. He was strongly in favour of the loan and scheme. He did what he considered in the interests of the settlers as a whole. If the loan is not carried he considered it would be a retrograde step.' He had hot come to Waitoa to learn drainage, as he had had a good deal of experience in the Manawatu district. As far as the Ilungahunga Board is concerned he understood that they had decided to go over some of their work again, completed some years ago.—The Chairman of the Ilungahunga Board (Mr Hanna) explained that the peaty country had fallen so much that the Board had decided to go over certain drains and deepen them. They had not altered their original scheme. He said there was no private pro property in a drainage area except the roads.—Mr Mclndoe : A feeling of distrust in the Board had arisen, confidence in them had been materially shaken. The Board is holding the district back. The first thing the Ilungahunga Board did was to classify the land. lie said both Mr Magill and Mr T. Bellamy wero I old residents and highly respected.— | Mr Matheson said all steps necessary were left in the hands of the Chairman, jle (tko speaker) considered classification only a side issue. The Board wished to expedite matters, so decided - to leave the classification till after-1 wards, and get a scheme drawn up.— Mr Mclndoe : The scheme is identical with that submitted to the Piako Ounty Council fora reading scheme, so that no time was required in formulate it.—Mr Horne contended that a good deal of tne friction arose through the want of bye laws. The Board had had plenty of time to classify the land, andsdraw up up a drainage scheme, but it had done practically nothing.—The Chairman ana Sir Matheson remarked that it was al ways intended to classify the land. — After a few other remarks the meeting terminated with a vole of thanks.