Egmont County Council.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 15, 19 January 1904, Page 4

Egmont County Council.

The following was included in the business transacted at the last meettlhe F);ni t o'ivt County Council ; (V said that final notice had 'been given thai aIJ rates unpaid on Dec. HI last would be sued for-, hiit hliere still remained over £IOOO out:\ainding. There was no use their harking un'uws they intended to Klito, and although it might bo considered ■hard to issue summonses without any fuibb. r notice, it was as well lo gv'l the ratepayers to knowthat they mean what they say. He thm-fore tlnat ( lie {names of a nun.'lcr l,«e ballotlcd for and have summonses issued at once. It was now nearly two years since. any county rates hud lioen collected, and some ratepayers appeared contented to go on without paying; rates. The council-* liinanoas were very straitened aii-.l tthey were paying interest on ov-eitJr-aft.j—Cr Fiemin,gi s<|ld if they kept on giving notices there would he no lmality.—Cr Stevenson said letting the rules remain unpaid was not fair to those who had already paid. —Cr .Burgess niovinl that summonses be issued against all defaulting ratepayers and tha-i £lO be voted for costs of summonses.—'This was seconded hy Cr Klevenspn. and carried.

A letter was received from the chairman of the Taranaki Hospital and Charitable Aid Bon ltd l To tho amount of £llO which had been claimed from the Haw era County Council on account of Oeo i iding, nlpo encl'OM'rrg an opuiion from Mr 0. Samuel to the effect that the board could not recover from tho Hawera County.—Cr Maxwell moved that as tlie Egmont County Co-unal did not .come into existence until a year afj ter the allocation in dispute was i made, that this council cannot rej cognise any )ia;b.i\Hy. He said that : the Hospital and Charitable Aid ! Board had its redress under the Act by w ( Sfi it rould have cjols<>:-ted the rate. As 'it mailt' default, in not doing so, and this council had no pow|rr j/ow to levy the rute and recover | amount he did not see why the council should be asked to make good the amount out of current revenue.—Cr Stevensjm seconded the motion.—O Forsyth considered the board had no legal claim but the ratepayers had had the benefit and therefore he thought they were morally liable. Ho moved as an amendment that if the auditor assents the amount be paid. —Cr expressed the same views and seconded the amendment.— Cr p-otolled" out that no claim had been made.—After being fully discussed the amendment was put and lost and the motion carried. It was resolved that 25 per cent be deducted from rates accruing to roads to provide for hospital and charitable aid and administrative expenses.

It was decided to employ a competent bridge carpenter to overhaul l the bridges in the Ikihotu riding, and that the necessary timber, etc., he obtained.

'lenders will the- called' for 300 yards of bouklers to hie delivered between Mototi and Te Namu, and Rhat 150 yards are to be obtained for Opunake riding. («. S. Bowers was appointed dog tax collector for the ltahotu riding, at 8d for cattle-dogs a(nd )ls for sporting dogs.—Abridged from Opunake Times.