CLIFTON COUNTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 June 1921, Page 2

CLIFTON COUNTY.

MEETING OF . THE COUNCIL. ' PAST MONTH’S WORK. The monthlj meeting of the Clifton County Council was held at Waitara yesterday. Present: Crs. R. : H. Pigott (chairman), T. McKenzie, H.. A. Foreman, F. C. Jones, 8. Sutton and H. R. Harrison. The englhieer (Mr. CV F. Dowsett) reported

Waihi Riding.—The Parihaka culvert has now been Stripped, the re-forming of the road and the connecting cut Is receiving atten'Bp|idrtunity will be taken to dismantle jhy old bridge and/fill the creek bed. On atatiro Road the gravelling contract has ' b&’en 1 proceeding sftlsfactdfily*, about 112 chains out of 167 haying now been completed. Tikorangl Riding.—The section known as White’s Hill, Otaraoii Road, been covered to the extent of about 17 chains, which embraces the worst portion, but does not cover the whole section. There still remains a small quantity of metal to cart from Alexander’s pit, wtfch Will be deposited at the depot, and the metal /accumulated at Knuckey's pit will be laid, down . In. continuation of that hitherto completed on thq Ngatimaru Road. Arrangements sUouid be .made later to procure, say 150 yards of boulders for resurfacing the Inland North ituad, north at the cemetery.

Ngatimaru Riding.—Owing to other matters engaging their attention, the settlers have been unable to proceed, with the work on the Tirangi Road, and the same remarks apply to the Ratarake Road. An Bft. track tas been opened up to the Mangawata low level bridge, Ngatoro Road, and chargeable to thirds.

Urenui Riding.—The kerbing in the township has been renewed where required, and additional gravel placed upon the paths. Further gravel supplies have been quarried on the Native Reserve, and used on the Main Rond and elsewhere. On the Piko Road, near gravel face, a small bridge requires repairs, and arrangements • have been made to have these effected. The timber is already cut for the Black bridge, and this work will shortly be put in hand. On the Okoke Road some three chains of gravel have been put down, but the wet weather Will, I fear, pre-

pent much further progress this season. Tl:e timber for shoot at gravel pit is now on the

site, and will shortly be erected. On the PUkearuhe Road arrangements were made to raise the road and metal the filling opposite the school, for which the White Cliffs Dairy Company offered to provide the aum of £lO. Work of a similar nature was also arranged opposite Mr. Moller’s gate. Uruti Riding.—The county road 'through! the Mimi Valley is in many places completely, worn out. From Uruti northwards t7 the Public Works Department have an obligation, but I am endeavoring to get the resident engineer

to sell the council some crushed'meta! for urgent repairs south of Uruti. Road meta) !n this district was never more required than at present, but tightness of money necessitates the refusal to comply with the fanciful prices asked for work, although I am prepared to accept any reasonable offer. On the Mangahia Road a small bridge is requrrt ing attention, and getting it. Mokau Riding.—The balance of tower legs have been placed on the arranged site at Mangaonga, and are reserved for the Rotate and Derwent bridges. Frequent requests are made in respect of the coast road improvements, but as a preliminary the money must be forthcoming first. General.—Wandering stock are in evidence

everywhere, and some organised method is required, which means .additional expense to be’ effective, but here is more than one solution of the difficulty. Th' bridge party wc.. dissolved upon completion of the Parihaka culvert, a:;d If the services of a foreman are required he will be more easily obtained than in ti?e past. A statistical return was -equired giving detailed information as to condUio’.i of lengths of roads within the county’s jurisdiction. ’ I supplied the following: Metalled roads, 72 miles; dray roads 168 miles; bridal tracks, 75 miles; unformed legal ?oa<L, 116 miles; total, 431 miles, to which may be added 73 bridges of all dimensions. The report ras ae ptfed. LOCAL BODIES’ ASSOCIATION. The secretary of the Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association (Mr. W. J. Tristram) wrote stating that the counties of Eltham, Hawera, Straford, Clifton, Waiinare West, Taranaki and Inglewood had agreed te join the association. A meeting of representatives was called for at Eltham on June 6, and he would be pleased if the Clifton County arranged for representatives. The business was to arrange adoption c rules, consideration of wages, and general. On the motion of Cr. Sutton, seconded by Cr. McKenzie, the chairman and the engineer were appointed to represent the Clifton County.

GENERAL. The secretary of the Taranaki Hospital Board wrote stating that the amount payable by the Clifton County at 2s <)d in the ' £lOO maintenance was £99 14s, on a rateable Value of £lOBB 6s. The resident engineer of the Public Works Department, Stratford, wrote stating that he had received authority te expend £25 on the formation of an access road to Mr. Mo watt’s, section 43, block 4, Upper Waitara Survey District (Kaiwaru Road), as soon as the legislation was carried out.

The resolution passed on May *6 authorising the raising of Uruti No. 1 loan ( £1600) and Uruti No. 2 loan ( £250) was confirmed. The Minister of Public Works (the Hon. J. G. Coates) referring to the Tangitu tunnel and deviation, telegraphed that he would be pleased to give the matter his early consideration. The State Advances Office wrote stating that a loan of £4OO for metalling a portion of the Kaipikari Road had been granted.. * It was resolved to strike the same general rate as last year, viz., 2%d in the £. No action was taken in regard to the hydro-electric power board scheme.