TARANAKI COUNTY WORKS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81893, 24 November 1906, Page 3

TARANAKI COUNTY WORKS.

RATEPAYERS' MEETING AT OAKURA. Nine ratepayers attended the meeting held at Oakura on Friday night •:) discuss county affairs. Mr F. JMorris was voted to the chair. Mr ('.■ V. Tate, chairman of the Taranaki County Council, and Mr C. Andrews, member for the titling, were presvnt. Mr Mollis read an apology from Mr 11. Okey, who gave his explanation of the Tapuae and Oakura contracts. Mr Andrews asked if the chairman cou.d vouch for the correctness of Mr Okev's si atnments. Mr Mortis said the ratepayers were in the daik. Mr A.idrews: All I,can say is that

1 here are statements made that arc not cornet. Mr El win said Mi' Okey was entitled to his opinion. He would like to heal' Mr Tate on the question. Mr T " said lie would have liked a bigger attendance if, as alleged, the ratepayers were so dissatisfied. The Oraa a riding, so long as the suburbs (if New Plymouth did not join with the borough, cou'd easily wipe out its liability at any time. Touching on the Tapuae and Oakura Hill contracts, he regretted that the members for the riding who were 1)11 the Council when the work was initiated had resigned. That was not so K '-at misfortune as the unforeseen ' ircumstances that the Tapuae tunnel had to be cut through solid io< and that the last season had prov. d disastrous to the contrac tor, and Hoods had prevented the filling of t'.ic Tapuae stream. The wish of t e people in this locality to have the bed of die tunnel lowered nad been given effect to. It was essential to complete the contract, before tl winter, for the present road an- bridge were nearly worn out. J Tate mentioned that tenders for . •: Oakuru bridge and earthwork wo, d be called after next meeting, burnable in January. Referring i the question of road formation, -ir Tatei urged tlie necessity for v- purchase of a road giauer, and .-staneed the work done in forming 1 chains of roud (on which a shovel .:ad never been used), 33 lceti wide, for £3 7/&- , , L . Mr J. Penwai'den slated the second contract on the 1 apuae tunne. had not been completed—only partly so. He referted to the lowering of the tunnel. Mr Tate said the engineer liad tola him the tunnel was down to its full ''"Sir' I'enwarden considered the Council had failed in its duty m accepting the' engineer's certificate oil the second contract, when the engineer had been proved wrong on the first contract. The ratepayers had paid twice over, and the tunnel was still incomplete. _ , „ Mr Tate said it was hardly the duty of the Council to measure up work after the engineer. In other parts of the county Mr Skinner lmd contracts going 011 so smoothly that people hardly knew they .were going oil. The Council would have been wise to have had flic tunnel completed before the earthwork was started. The question raised by W I'enwarden was one for the engineer ro answer at the Council s tab.e. Mr Wan ham said that there was a feeling here mat the engineer was not doing his duty in the best 111lerests of the county. He would suggest that the Council again call m outside opinion, and see it Mr skinner was again wrong. Mr Tate said the engineer was quite satisfied with the tunnel, ami was content 10 go on and carry out the earthwork contract. H might have been wiso to put a concrete cu - vert through the filling arid not touch the tunnel contract at at.. Mr l'enw .trden insisted t»e ratepayers had paid twice i'ur work mat nad not been done. Mr Ta c mentioned that tlio mouih of the tunnel had been kept high, vvitii the approval of the government cngineeis. He had seen jne of th. Government plans m which tin- mouth of the tunnel was ~11 above he bed of the river. Mv l^u - rat 'L )a > o ' } " jecied to .iic squandering of the money ill making unnece=saiy tunnels and having to do work that should not have been neces-.uy Had ihe engineer caused the tunnel t.i be placed in t-e right place and at the iitfht leve'. Mv IViV-.ardvn said tie had ncv<-'r seen sucii disgraceful tunnel as the Tapuae tv;. net in his life. It. was a s.ui'ics of luffs and holes from end to end, i: -lead of having straight wills '1 unber passing down would be choked :>v these bluffs. No men could get ... c ear it, the small tunnel was u: 'less, and the filling would go to sen. Tlie, m»uth of Hie tunnel should have been constructed at the elbow , the stream. It was impossible fi a tree to turn the differlent angli. .nd pass thimigh the tunnel, and i mist b'ot'k ike passage. Cr. An.. .W5 soul he would not have sail' oued the construction or Ihe tunnii id he been 011 the Council at the me.. Mr Kveits had told him the \ ter rose 1 oft in llood tune in that - .mi. and the biidge was 20ft betwi n the piles. Could all that water go through the tunnel r Mr Elwin said that ratepayers "should g" right at the ruot" and

remove '-In- engineer, Mr Wareham saicl the Couiici. was satisfied with the engineer. Katepayers were not. Cr. I e\n\ not >ausn<-cl with the engineer, not 1))' n long chalk. Without Roinjf outside the Omata riding-. I know any man with c:>mm< n.-eii-e would have dune Hie works better than the. engineer has doue> , u Mr Morris said a better place could have been found for the Oakura hill road deviation. Mr Penwarden considered the specification had never been carried out. Fillings were 3ft short of the required width, and batters were one inch to the foot instead of four to tne

foot .. Mr Flwm said that tht* Council had vet" In lace Mr Morris' compensation claimsMr Tate: Another reveation ! Cr. Andrews: Mr Morris can look after all right. He's doing all right ml of the Council, Mr l'cnwarden asked if it were true that the new concrete piers at the Oakura bridge were use''ess. Mr Tale said that tin- piers were built to i any a steel budge 1,1 part . of the prr-ent bridge, bui now it was r nitend-d .<• put a concrete bridge over the Oakura. As lar a.-. Mr j Skinner v.as concerned, lie lud a .rood reputation and a good know- | ledge of' Ihe district, and was giving lull satisfaction in all -jther parts of the county- . I Mr l'uu.ardi-n thoughts Mr skmner must !,- a close friend of Mr Tate',. *]>: ' ' lo I)' k gul'lt'd b) amateur against the Council's a<l\ .'• Mr 11'-'. yhe'd thought ii wou'd be wise to ; end the Oakura bridge monev 10 a culvert at- lapuae, to or - job complete, and leave thet conn te pieia as a sort- of monument I ■ Mr Skinner. I Laughter.) Mr F.b 1 moved that the ratepayers in tl, Omata liding are dissatisfied wit! 1 Hie work of tho engineer ill tile (1 iict.-and request the L'.mnci| lo a ain from spending riding money 1 any kind until further compete! '■iigineering opinions have been ob 'led. which this meeting request Council to do at once, si that- the esent disgraceful stat.o of the pris contracts shall continue as short time as jjossil/c. Mr L i'enwarden seconded and the mo- 1 was carrird. Messrs I-. J. Morris. J. Klwin, and C. Ware- ' ham be . appointed lo interview th. • Council the matter at the IJecem- ' ber mei' g, ! On lii notion of Me-srs F.lwin and - Warchat. vo es of thanks were ae--1 civih'tl ■ Ta'e and Andrews ■ lor