PARIHAKA ROAD BOARD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 301, 17 June 1912, Page 8

PARIHAKA ROAD BOARD

MONTHLY MEKTINCi. T'ho I'arihaka Koad Board met last Thursday. Members present were the chairman (Mr. Young), and Messrs. Harvey, Dueker, Potter, and Willcox. Considerable discussion ensued when the Oape road question was introduced. Matters have now come to a head. It appears that the week before last Mr. Crisp put a fence right across that part of the roadway which he considered belonged to him. Tlie Board, on the other hand, gave Mr. MoiFatt, a lower end settler, permission to remove the fence each time it was put up, and decided to take all responsibility in the matter. The fence was cut down, and again reerected, and Mr. Moffat again came prepared to cut it down, when Mr. Crisp persuaded liiin to await the Board meeting. With regard to the encroachment of sections 87 and 90, the Board's solicitor (Mr. Johnstone) wrote stating that before the public can acquire rights of passage over private lands there mutt be what is called in law abdication of these rights to and acceptance of those rights by the public. In view of the long uninterrupted use of the Pungarehu road, and of the expenditure of money thereon, the board would have no difficulty in throwing upon the owners the burden of showing that there never was any effective dedication of the encroachment. He had no doubt the court would rule the encroachment had been dedicated to the public. He advised that the Board should resist any attempt by the owners to set forward their fences unless they first paid to the Board a proper sum to enable it to form and metal upon the true line. He also advised that the Board'had not surrendered its rights over the proper road line by means of occupation by the present occupiers .

Mr. W. Symons waited upon the Board in reference to fencing in part of Cape road, which belongs to them, and asked what the Board intended to do, and in reply the chairman stated that the Board was going to retain, the road at any cost, and pointed out that it was the duty of the Board to keep the road open for traffic. He thought they should sell the land. Finally, the following motion was carried on Mr. Willcox's initiative:—"That the Board send notices to Mr. Crisp and to Mr. Symons that the Board offer in payment for land encroached by road the sum of £lB per acre; failing acceptance in one week the chairman be authorised to take steps to have the land taken for the purpose of a road under the Public Works Act, 1908, and the chairman be authorised to make the declaration and on behalf of the Board to, indemnify the Minister of Public Works against all claims for land taken." It was decided to confirm the action of the sub-committee in accepting Mr. T. Smith's tender of £26 for repairs and alterations to the Board's office. Tn terms of the authority forwarded from the Bank of New Zealand, the overdraft was fixed at £I2OO. The Board is at pTesent in credit to the amount of £32. The expenditure of £l4 was authorised on repairs to Te Namu road, providing an equal amount was given in labor by Mr. C. Humphries. It was decided to forward a claim to the amount of 50 yards of metal to the Egmont County Council, on account of the damage done to Cape road by one of its contractors. The chairman asked the foreman if the men got to work at the proper time, as he had heard it asserted that such was not so, to which th« foreman re-, plied that he had always found the men up to time. The foreman (Mr. J. P. Kennedy) stated in his report that he had arranged with the Egmont County for tha crushing plant for Cape road, Lower and Upper Kahui roads.