MOA ROAD BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 April 1918, Page 3

MOA ROAD BOARD.

AIONTHLY jMB1:T;V0. , The ordinary meeting nf (lie Moa Road Board wns hold at the hoard's office. Itx,**^..,..u!, V.-'ur- 1 .!.'.. there hcim: present: Mcs«r.: A. 'Yn-ki!! '• A K V.\uv»:ue J l\ l J M Ifa:r i\Tr;n.M o . T f J

The o cvs.'ur i.Ur. !I L. u S follows:

'•.oad.—l M v.inls of Mr ?)n s i ci'dcrs have Ueim crushed nnd laid on tirs re-t'Oiiiiir- about 28 chains, and * '«w ••"!!ins The lictence was ijein- lain on N'liaru Itoad On account of the plant iieini: reriuired for Mr Dmi.-h's crushing I have not tieen able to do mislilr.K for Mr. N'olan It mav he possible to do tlu; work liefore we leave the district I hope to do a little more rolliii" on the Sumy Itoad, as the dry weather preventod proper rolling when they were at work on the road

Mangaotea Loan Works.—Exceptionally 1 good progress Ims been made on this worl:, although the wet weather has now practically stopped the work. Nearly all the re-grndln<r has been done and 41 chains of metalling smvad The swampy nature of the country made' it inadvisable to do rolling wori: at the present time I hove completed the second brides (except painting) and had both <?r?«.>s fillsd. It will be necessary to make a liulo altcralion a' thh bridge, and that could now bp done, aa permis* sloji has been given to take the same through private property. nnd when done would make a satisfactory joh

Rataj>i!\o Read.—-The grader has been at work on this road, and the portion in the Stratford ciwnly, beiwecn Mr. Hare's and the Moa boundary, has lu'L'ti rounded np. the settlers coning out with iearns and l-elpin:: with the work.

Norfolk Road !•>»• '\>\ the unrivalled portion of this road 1 • r.ynuled up, the settlers turnip*.' on; good work. The vor.d was in a b s practically nothing ;if.d been done i« ve;,rs. Toi Toi R6ad -li;v allocated to tliip road has been lai 1, and arrangements made for putting on an additional 40 yards to complete a had portion of the road. Thirty yards have been laid on .Mr Corkill's private road, he. accepting this in lieu of payment f',r vovaltv on the gravel procired from his pit n chains have been me.allcd >;i the Toi Toi Itmd and approximately 2y& chains <-n .Mr. Coridll's private road The worl; is not ye: complete The water-tables requir: deepening, which work I have not yet been able to put in hand, as I 'Kekd all available labor for the metalling v t-rV I pre pose doing this work before leav\i'« the road.

,r 'qkawa Road—-Fourteen chains of this r - 'i have been metalled wi'h the nmount allocate 0 . which Inavea 10tf. chains to metal to connect the metal, the c.ort of which work is he'ii-: 'advanced by the settlers and Is now T*o»nrr d' ne. The County Council re"Miro yards to connect the metal with the •iiimlion Road, which quantify bos been supplied

Roys Road Loan Works The earthworhs should be completed durin'g the next few days, when the metalling work can be put In hand at ♦he first opportunity; all the boulders aro out for "il:' worl:

Bedford Itoad "De-vlrrtlon Works—flood pro:vor>s has bcc-n made with the earth-works, practically all the iianvv r.'ork bein* completed: ttpt. fin* wiv.thcr this work should not take Ion? to c-nmplffp The raotnHing will bo done at i!»< flrst frivoruble opportunity. Rugby R«v.d.--1 have not been able to obtain the necessary sisnitures to the ratepayers' consent in time for the special meeting, through having to the document to Christchurch for a signature General—f tyavo had to devote a certain nmoufit of time to obtaining signatures to different documents connected with loans, etc., and. have been compelled to do a certain amount of running nbout in the endeavor to procure jvlequatc labor for the various works. Engined':vfr Bowler has been discharged from military duties, and wMI take up his dutlos under the boar! at a near date. The shell rook on Mr Young's property, Miina Road, has been stripped for -a distance of approximately 40 feet and 4 feet back, and still gives indications that there is a large deposit. It will not be advisable to do nnv more work with the grader on ♦be chy roads until next season, on account of the unsettled stftte of the weather, and suitable housing should he provided for the machine '''be outlet to a large set of pines? on the Kaimata 'load p'-hMi 's blocked through a creek running through Mr. Blesick's property, and I would suggest that he be asked to clear same, as there is danger of the water running across the road when heavy n!n falls A washout has been caused on Bedford Road nor*h of Dudlev. near ♦be s?cond bridge, through the strpam flooding and washing away the embankment. I have erected a temporary fence across the washout, as it will not. be advisable to fill up the breachit would wash, away again the next flood. It will be necessary to deviate, as the road is to« near the stream

The chairman stated he did not know anything about the metal being put on his priva''» road until he saw It put there He had decided to expend Jiiy royally for metal taken out of his wroperty on metalling h.'s private road between ♦he pit rn-1 his fate He had no intention that the N>ard should dn the metalling. He had teams idle and could have done the work himself

The foreman explained the position had arisen through a misunderstanding on his part. He believed that the amount of royalty due to Mr. Corkill wtis to be expended in metalling his private road

Mr .1. \V. Harding, on behalf of the Norfolk ittyvl settlers, interviewed the board and asked If thr board would crush and spread metal on Norfolk Road cast if the settlers got out the metal The settlers were willing to. supniy teams for carting, and If done at a time when they were not busy ploughing he thought they would supply an amount of free labor. He thought If something like thot was done each'winter they might eventually do the whole road. A good amount of work had already been done on the road by the settlers.

The overseer reported that the work already done was worth about £7O. About a mile of road bad been formed.

Councillors expressed appreciation of the work already "done, and said that when the settlers helped themselves in ?uch a way the board should support them —lt was decided that the hoard would crush the metal if the settlers got it out

It was decided that the matter of the creek on Bedford road be left to the chairman and overseer, with power to act.

SURFACEMEN'S WAGES. The chairman reported that Immediately after the last meeting of the board two of the surfacemen had approached him with a demand for 14s per day while working outside their length He protested at such action just after the board had risen, but under the circumstances had undertaken to pay the 14s until other arrangements were made. He protested that it would be impossible for them to carry on if they paid 14s per day Last year they had paid for wet as well as fine weather. He did not think they should entertain such a demand. He moved that the service of the four surfacemen be dispensed with and that the board employ casual labor and pay for fine weather only. The motion was seconded lv Mr. Kenwood, who said that the wages question was ahominable, and the board was paying the wages and getting no work done J* all. Mr. Laurence said he understood local bodies could not pay more than lis per day. He thought that as other hoards had recognised that men working outside their own lengths should receive more, the board should make the wages up to 14s by way of a bonus. The motion was carried.

OVERSEER'S RESIGNATION. The overseer (Mr H. L Hogg) wrote lo the chairman tendering his resignation, and stating: "I cannot carry on under existing conditions. A certain member of the board has adopted a mailed fist policy during the whole of my period of service, and i am not prepared to work under the 'iron heel' any longer. He has been 4determined to take the food oui of the mouths of my wife and children, and the position lias become too acutc\ life being too short to live under such conditions. The question of running a motor-cycle baa a bearing on the matter of my resignation. I cannot run the machine on the salary allowed, as It leaves an Inadequate allowance to live on. I thank you for your courtesy and assistance, and also those members of the hoard who have treated me in a British manner, and regret having to take this step " On the motion of Messrs Trimble artd Laurence, the resignation was accepted with regret. It was decided to invite applications for the position. GENERAL. The Moa Farmers' Co-operative Dairy Company wrote stating that it had been decided to sell the land required by the board for deviating the Bedford Road for the sum of £lO per acre or part of an acre—Received. A. C. Lunge wrote granting the board permission to deviate the drain on his property, provided the board would fill up the old drain and leave the fence secure—Received The hoard's solicitor wrote that Mr Lyons' objection to being Included in the special lating area for the Makara bridge reAiiMiag and Cooper's hill metalling loan had been cmsidered by the Stipendiary Magistrate and had been disallowed. It was "Shown that Mr. Lyons would derive benefit from the bridge in respect to the whole of his land that the board had brought in, while it was admitted that no part of the land was likely to be benefited by the proposed metalling The board way clearly acting within the scope of the Act In joining the two works in the one loan. —Received.

Mr. Laurence said some pipes on private property on Surrey Road had been damaged by th<i board's plant, and he asked if the board would replace the damaged pipes. The settlers had had to pay for the pipes In the first place, and he thought the board might well consider repairing ♦he damage —On the motion of Mr. Trimble ft&l

-Mi'. Hemvnod it was derided to replace the broken pipes. SPECIAL MEETING. A special meeting of the board was held to pass resolutions itutliwiainj; special loans for the following works: Makara bridge and Conor's Hill installing contract—A; 1050. Everett Road n:C lllng and bridge ovor the Ivurape : 'c .stream—,Ui!JOO. lVjne\. . ; ig liugby Road bridge--£350. TII3 necessary resolutions v.tre carried.