STRATFORD COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 203, 16 January 1913, Page 8

STRATFORD COUNTY COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETIXG. (From our Stratford reporter.) There was a full attendance of members at yesterday's meeting of the Sratford County Council, Mr. W. Hathaway presiding. The chairman reported that Mr. €. Roberts, recently with the Waimate West County Council, had been appoint"d driver on the steam, road roller.

The matter of arranging for fencing the recently acquired cottage site and quarry site on the corner of the Manaia and Opunake roads was referred to the riding members to attend to.

NO MONEY. Mr. J. IS. Iline, M.P.. in reply to the Council's letter concerning its financial difficulties arising out of the inability of the State Advances Offices to pay out loan monies, etc., wrote that he had written to the Minister of Finance, and hoped that a satisfactory reply would be received.—Mr. Iline will be informed that the Council has received no reply from the Minister, and he will be asked to obtain an assurance from the Minister that, in the event of the loan money not being available by March 31, the subsidies will be renewed, and not allowed to lapse.

EX,(i INKER'S REPORT. The engineer, Mr. E. G. Robinson, presented his usual monthly report. Remetalling Waiwiri road had been commenced. Metalling contract on Mangaelui road was going on slowly. Boulder contracts in west riding, with the exception of the upper Waingongoro one, had been practically completed. A start had been made with the tunnel and filling on Barclay road. The Makuri Valley drainage contract was progressing slowly. After much delay, the hardwood timber for Finnerty road bridge had been carted from Ngaere railway station to the bridge site. The small bridge on Cardiff road, upon which he had previously reported, was in a dangerous state, and required replacing with a large pipe culvert without delay, estimated to cost £OS. As the crushing plant would be moving round to the west riding very shortly, tenders should be at once called for necessary boulders on lower Palmer road. As instructed, he had inspected the Ratapiko and Makara roads, near the county' boundary, and estimated that the cost of the regrading and improvements contemplated would be £4O on each road. He had obtained an allowance 6f" £ls from Anderson Bi;os. on account of roller wheels. The grader had been doing good work on east riding roads, and had now been started on Pukengalnt road.

Mr. Robinson also furnished material extracts from the foremen's reports. In the north riding (west), 1825 yards had been crushed for the Mountain road remetalling, 34 yards for Radnor road, and 10 yards for Waipuku Creamery. Blinding the metal was also finished. The balance of the Waipuku bridge decking had been carted to the county stable, to be used for future repair work. The old deck of the Manganui bridge was unfit for this purpose., The deck of the "Gentle Annie" bridge at Cardiff had been patched, but was In a bad state. Repairing York and Derby roads would be put in hand forthwith. In the north riding (east) new metal on Beaconsfield road had been raked in and blinded, and was now setting fairly well. The crusher was at work on Salisbury road. Makuri road settlers asked for repairs to the road. In the south riding the first Finnerty road bridge had been redecked. General road repairs had been carried dout in the east riding. The decking on the -Waitard river suspension bridge was rotten, and needed renewing from end to end. and the deck of a small bridge on Makuri road west was in a similar state. Re-grading Malone's Hill on Opunake road was nearly completed. The engineer was authorised to replace the bridge on the Cardiff road mentioned in his report. The grade of the hill and the turn at the bridge will be eased. Bridges will be re-decked as mentioned in the engineer's report. The engineer's recommendation to expend £4O in improving the Makara road was adopted. MISCELLANY. Mrs. Carroll, of the Denbigh road, asked that the ranger be asked to 'give receipts on payment of fees. She also wished to know if it were legal to impound calves "on the bucket." The chairman said the Council Avas not a legal adviser, but lie understood these calves could not be impounded, although the owner of calves trespassing on the roads could be prosecuted under the provisions of the Impounding Act. Information to be forwarded. The tender of D. Favicr was accepted for supply of boulders at Cardiff. The ten per cent, penalty will be enforced on current rates unpaid after February 4, and unpaid 1011-12 rates will be sued for without further notice. Mr. W. IF. Norton, on behalf of the settlers at the top end of the Denbigh road, offered to provide horse and dry free if the Council would authorise the employment of a man to spread the metal which had been stacked there for about a vear.—Authorised.

On Cr. Young's motion, seconded by Cv. Thomson, the engineer will furnish an estimate of the cost of renewing the Tututawa bridge near the dairy factory, and to call tenders for 500 yards of maintenance metal in the Mangaehu riding. Mr. F. M. -Standish, of Tarata, wrote asking the Council to continue a previous arrangement whereby the rates collected on section 2,5, block' 12, Huiroa. by the Council, were handed over to the Moa Road Board for expenditure.—The chairman said that the Mangamri "Road Board, since absorbed by the county, used to pay over this money, but the Council had. never done so.—The Council agreed to transfer £5 out of this year's rates in this way. doc; tax collector.

Mr. A. A. Cuthbcrlson was reappointed dog-fax collector, with power to prosecute owners of unregistered dogs.

ACCOUNTS. The schedule of recounts passed for payment totalled C 3090.