TARANAKI COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIV, Issue 29, 4 February 1902, Page 2

TARANAKI COUNTY COUNCIL.

Till punl-il met on Monday. Present m |es»s Okey (chairman), Wareham, | plclfconald, Brown, Hop*on, | Wrigll [ Grky, Lepper. ThtrjMoaJ foreman reported on estimated! # prid,9 of carticg metal. He vrged ;hatfche Council should stop the remov \ of 'stone from the river, A ( sciWsion ensued as to the Council's p pwer! to stop the removal of stone. Or SBiown moved that the Koad Boar* be iiofified that the Council look to tl em to make good any damage to to tb p Cqunty-road caused by carting stOßf , ' Tl p. M;oa foreman reported on the tuDOflii under the road giving access to Mr aj'i'.ck&y's property at Inglewood. 0* j McDonald Btited that there wbb onlyt jtwo fe"t of surface soil over the tunfflt 1, |vhich would probably collapse if I load went over it. He mcjei I that the chairman inspect, and , repfc on the matter. \. <Jr /Hopeon objected to delay, fearing ' aR fec'cident. ' pi' Gray suggested that the work be ' dope;iu the way suggested by the foreman. Carried. . : ZChf 'Waitara foreman reported that ' h<i tUd inspected all bridges, and repaired planking where necessary. He estimated the amount of metal iequirjjdl at Waiwakaiho at 300 yards I beyotid Mr Sampson's present oon- ,, tiae'i,. j i I The! Omata foromaa reported that tpe joirboar Board was at p?ese X untib\e\ tto continue the wupply of m»ta>, ; ijiut ipfomised to accumulate some when poßijitue. i It Iras decided that the Omata Road i Boajra be asked to make a crossing to 1! sarJethe water off its road.

Ve Foreman was authorised to I mefl the road between the Ouiata tollgavand town. t 'Me Pnribaka Foreman reported on woM done during the month. He con- i siAed he could repair the very worst < on the Opunake-Eltham-rcad t I wit* 300 yards of ({ravel. t ! C(r Grey protested against money 1 ; being thrown away in carting river \ jshitgle, which at this time of year would not bind. | <Br McDonald conourred. j ! yr Wright said water washed shingle jblibdtd with clay would be effective, i Hif advocated that the road be repaired i • as jpropcsed by tbe foreman. I fen tbe motion of Or Gray, it wa» I ; dtjcHad that the foreman be authorised < | to'obtain tendus for carting metul to the Eliham-road, with power to [accept themosi favourable, and to do • tljie lepai'g. (Trie F ,reman reported the names ci < triers on the County road, where nds were infected with dog-daisies, I It wan decided that it be a general instruction to ull the foremen to for- , yiird the nam sof offenders uod r the Noxious Weed Act, to the Stock Inspector. I The at'ention of the Railway 1) - jpartment is tj be called to tbe ei's- | Jtecce of fennel and ragwort along the filioe. \ The bridge cirpen'er reported tha» tenders were called for delivery of 35 ( barrel* of cement. Tbe Chairman stated that the tender of Messrs Berry and Company at 17s i per barrel bad been accepted—the only j other tonder being for 17s 3d, byOkey, Son, and Arnold. [ The bridge carpenter she reported I J on the timber required for repairs to ' the Makitawa bridge.—Authorised. Or M cDonald complained of the de- ' lay caused by tbe Railway Department in not supplying trucks for conveyance of shingle, and he urged tnat U.e ma>- ' ter should be brought before the d< - partment. ' The Chairman stated that the difficulty lay in the short supply of trucks ' available for this district. He m* satisfied that the (-tatioomuster at New 1 Plymouth did his utmost to prevent, inconvenience by de'ay in supply of trucks which wa?, under the circumstances", unavoidable.

Mr Julian applied f <r terms for use of crusher to put through about 60 ' yards of stone. It was decided that 1 the Council charge nt the rate of 2s 1 per yard. Mr John Skinner reported that ho . ' had carefully examined the Waiwakaih,. river from the Devon rood bridge towards the sea with the view of ascertaining whether the removal of stone ' from river bed and adjoining lands had any injurious 6fF<ctson the founda- ' tions of the bridge piers and to the roads under the Council's, control. He considered that the removal from the . old bed, providing it did not get below 1 tbe cylinders supporting the bridge, would have a beneficial rather than an ill eff ct. This was already erident ' A3 shown by the fuct that the laud on the flit adjoining was now no longer ' flooded, even at tbe highest tise of the 1 river. The removal of stonu from the river banks was another matter, as it > altered the course of the stream. The > east side already showed this, as th« ; current was now undermining the i east pier of the bridge and lowering i tbe bed b-ilow its foundations. Should ■ the erosion rxtend further north—be lo " the old ford - as there was every . probability of it doing unless prevented, i, the whole course of the river below tbe . bridge would bn ohanged, and it was . iaipo-aible to tell what would b3 the i effect on the land* lower down. He considered tint if steps were not taken to stop the erosion on the hanks con- . sidcrable expense would be thrown on . the County to protect the bridge r against floods, as already the east pier was undermined. i The Chairman suggested that a copy i of the report should b.9 sent to the ; Rail way P 1 partment (whioh was equally , affected with the Council) with a *t*<ement of the ca>e and a request for cot operation. It was decided to adop' tbe chairman's suggestion. Formal consent was given to clesiog an old road at Omata end for an exchange with N. Julian of put of eecion 7, Omota. The Ohuirmw explained tha 1 ; thare had b'eu soma misunderstanding ns to the w.iges of 0. Fonwarden who was assisting the bridge carpenter. The man was willing to accept 9s a day ••hi/ih was Is less than he received elsewhere, Mr. Gray raovod thi* il 0. Penwarden do-s nos accept 8s per day his services be 'iespflos.id with aud that the 1 drivpr of the Council's eagine when not employed with tbe eugimt, assis* the c irp inter, Mr. McDonald moved an amendment, that the 9s per day asked for he paid, j On a division the amendment was • lost by 5 v> 3, Messrs. Warsham, Mc- • Donald aud Wright voting with the ' ayes. j Mr. Gray's motion was tl ©n carried, j Tbe clerk of th» Moa, Road Bard > applii d for £l2 15» for gravelling doue • at the junotion of the Ttriki and | Junction rads,—R.ferredto the foreman for his report.

A. H. Aud«rtson, Ooriatchurch, notified arrival of scarifier which his agents had been instructed to forward to New Plymouth. An account of £llO for . same was enclosed. It was decided to send the plant to Inglowood. The Postal Department wrote regretting inability to contribute to cost i'f improving approach to Rabota pott office on ihe giound that tbe expense M if any should be borne by the landlord of the properly, and also tbat the Official Inspect >r did not see any need for the improvement. Mr. Gray moved that a copy of tlfcr letter be sent t j the landlord of the property, witEStnjntimation that the work will be done oh\bie contributing half cos'.— Carried. \ Messrs. Okey and Kollo submitted quotations for moulds for oonoreteV pipes. , \ It was dee'dad to instruct tbe bridge \ carpenter to report on the moulds offered by Mr. Tarry. The Paribaka Road Board applied for money received for dog tax in tbat > dutii ict. The clerk was instructed to make op the accounts of the dog tax collected in . tbe various districts of the oonnty. Meredi.h ami Son wrote expressing i their intention to repair damage done by their waggon to tbe Ornate tolli gate. The Commissioner of Crown Lands notified that if thn Council undertook it» d.R r r -y the blackberries on eub--eetw. 206, section 62, block 11, Eg- , inoii , within six months, the land i would be vest-d in the Council.—Not accepted. I The County Solicitor advised on tb* ) course to pursue relative to the adoption of the third schedule of tbe

Noxious Weeds Act. It was formally decided to adopt the third schedule nf the Act. Mr. 0. Symocts, on behalf of Teriklroad settlers waited on tbe Council with reference to the insecure state of the bridge. He mentioned an instance of the bridge springing at least two feet, and he stated that home were afraid to foes the bridge. Tbe Chairman stated that thenports on tbe bridge were to the effect that the bridge wag safe. Mr. McDouald said the bridge was not safe, it baviug b?en constructed nf improper material.—No action taken. The following offers of royalty for flax on the miiu South-road were received :—Sam F. Jones 5s pw ton, G. Ruthorford 6s, S. J. Glover 7s 6d. Mr. Wright stated that t e was receiving 12s 6d royalty. Mr. Gray moved that Mr. Jone« be offered the flax mentioned by him for 7s 6d per ton.—Carried. The Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce forwarded a copy ef the resolution passed in favour of the appointment of a resident engineer to act jointly for th* Borough Council, County Council and Harbour Board. The Chairman pointed out tb*t there was little work for" an engineer in the; County, the bridge carpenter doing all that wag required. Mr McDonald agreed with the chairman's remarks. . Mr Gray considered that it ii the Harbour Board who most required » resident engineer, and they shouli lead in the matter. It was decided that the Oouncil had not sufficient work to justify the appointment of an engineer. W. The Sydenham Borough Connc'l forwarded copies of resolutions passed at* conference held there in July last relative to me.thods adopted by the Government Valuation Department, and asking co-operation with the objects of the conference, -y It was decided to acknowledge the communication and concur in the resolutions. Thn Chaii man stated that the cost to the Council of revising the roll for the past year was £32 16s 3d, which w»i supp-jged to be one-third of the total cost, Mr T. S. Wes'oo, onbehilf of J. H.

-- —. «, ». w. vj, vru uniiu vt V. 41.. Colesby (a contractor having a claim against the Council), suggested eithir that a committee of tbe Council be s*t up to go into and adjust t. v e claim, or that tbe muter be referred to arbitration. After some disoueaion it was decided that, provided Mr Colesby notifies hie willingness to abide by the decision of a committe of tbe Council, Messrs Okey, Gray, and Brown be authorised to act as the oommittoe to arbitrate on theol.im. Mr T. H. Weston also w«>ra with reference U the pond on the Ouuntr road near Mrs Gibbons' property. Tin* Chairman stated that at the plsee in question. ;tbele were several holes which h'.| been l«ft when the. ro»d »ae originally formei It was decided that the Foreman b« instructed to fill up such of th« boles as were in front of any buildings. Mr Wareham brought up the question of enforcing the bye-laws reguUting w'dth of tyws". The Chairman stated the bye-laws' had been duly advertised, and had come into operation on January 1»|, ©,. tails of the scale fixed had been printed and sent to the dairy factories and othsr plaoss in the distriot. / The Council considered tenders for woiks in the county, and accepted tbe following: Mo* riding: Contract No I, oartiog boulders, F. Zimmerman, 8s 8d pr yard; No. 2, bouldew, H. A Juliao, 2s 9d yd; No. 3, gravel. Bishull, 7s 3d yd; No. 4, bouldera, J. Tarry, 3s 4d yd (an alternate tender for orushed stone at 6s 7d yd from same man was declined); No. 8, grave) Bishell, 5s yd; No. 7, bouldm, K A Julian, 2s 9d yd ; No. 9, boulders, J. Magee, 2s 5d yd. Waitara riding: No. 1, carting boulders, J. G. SamptM. 3s yd; No. 4, ctrting gravsijf W. Cartwrigbt, 5s 9d. OmataT riding: No. 1, carting bouldersE. George, 4s 3d yd j No. 2, do., HL Kendall, 3s 9d yd; No. 3, do., Fred Jury, 3s yd ; No. 4, do., W. Q, Richard'oi, 3s yd. Or Gray drew attention to the ad. vis thinness cf having about 200 yards of stona crushed at Stoney Kiver before the crußhor was ivmov«d. chairman aua himself had cojfeiwd on ih» raattei, and agreed with Mr Ju'ian as to what should be done. —The suggestion was agreed to. The Ohairman referred to the question of toll-gates, and it wasdeoined to put up to auction the lease of tbt gs'es, except those in the Firihaka riding. Cr Hopson asked the clmruun for an expression of opinion on »he ■ubjeet. The people at Inglewond underwood a* l<st eleo ion that the gate* wouH b» off in. two yeirs. P e (Mr Hopson)t now wished to know if th« CH t<:» woul<ft be off, Th«.Ohaituiansta*td that was the in- I ten'ion of the Council. m Or Gtay asked how the ratts warn' I coming in. ■ The Oleik statad they were ooaioK I in pretty freely, ■ lo wsl reiolvedtesue forainsej/fl

outstanding after 28th February. A luggestion was made that the clerk should ga out to luglewood and other places once or twice a mon'h, to receive psymentß of rates, but this was negatived. Accounts were passed, and the Council adjourned.