THE RANGITATA BRIDGE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1097, 26 April 1883, Page 2

THE RANGITATA BRIDGE.

We continue our report of the opening of the Rangitata Bridge : Replying to the toast of ' Success to the bridge,' with which his name was coupled Mr C. G. Tripp said that, as Chairman of the Geraldine Csunty Council, he had great pleasure in being present that day. Ho had been one of the strongest opponents of the bridge being constructed oa the principle which the Ashburtoa Council adopted, but he

had good reason for it. A Government Engineer had attempted to drive the piles and had condemned them, and the Geraldine County Council could not ;o beyond thnt, They felt bound to k condemn them, and he was sure the -—■' Ash burton Council would say they were right. The work had been dona now -and the Ashbnrton Council deserved . .credit for it. They deserved credit for having done what the Government"'could not do, (Laughter and cheers.) He doubted that it cbu'd have been done,, however, only for the able b'ngineer they ' had—Mr Baxter. (Cheers). The bridge wanted yet the finishing stroke put on it, and he was sure the Engineer would agree with him that it meant a good deal, and that the north end would require strong protective works. Ten thousand pounds worth of protective works had already been earned away there, and no one knew. t»hen such an occurrence might take place again. Ho would do his best to get the Geraldine County Council to pay half the cost—(cheers) — but he could not answer for the other members, lie thought Government j>might well give them something towards it. He would suggest that they should ti-y to get something under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act. Mr Wright said he thought they were too late now. The bridge had been constructed befoie the Act came into I fore '.• '•''!'■■ •

Mr Charleß Harper proposed ' The health of the members of the two Councils.' He had great pleasure in beias present', and :felt it was a matter of congratulation on both sides to have the bridge constructed. It made little difference to settlors on both sides whether the piles were six inches or six yards so long as they were firm enough, and he certainly would §ay they were. In driving? over the bridge ha could tell with his eyes shut the great difference between the old and new. The netr**" was far firmer than the old, there being much less vibration in it. It was a matter of great importance to both districts that the bridge had been completed, and it did not matter to him which Council paid for it, (Cheers and laughter.) But he hoped the hatchet would be buried and that it would be paid tor, The Ashburton County Council was the be-t of any in the Colony, and had done the best work, It would be worth the while of any man to ride over the plains, and see their work of irrigation, which would enable lrnd to be taken up, and settled upon . which wou'd not otherwise be worth anything. He fjlt pleasure at seeing from the J newspapers that the Geraldine County Council intended taking action in this matter and hoped they would persevere. He was sure it would double and treble the value of land, and that the ..improved value of land would yie d such a rate that there would be no necessity for special taxation. He coupled with the. toast the names of the Chairmen of both Counties. Mr W. C... Walker thanked them on behalf of the. Ashburton C'»u icil for the manner in which they had drunk the toast. He was pleased at bein.? present at the completion of such a great work. It was a very difficult ono because it had been condemned by professional men when they undertook it, but they took the best advice to be got in New Zealand, together with their own Engineer, and they took into account two most important mattersecrtnomy and efficiency. In this they ~, did good work for bath Counties. It was now a thing of beauty, and he was sure, that no one present would live to see a pile of it washed away. (Applause.) Whether they looked upon the bridge as a thing of beauty or a thing to go over (laughter) they had reason to "be satisfied. As to the plains water-supply he was gratified at finding it a great success, and hoped the Geraldine County Council would undertake similar work. It was not a very great undertaking, but it wanted b?ginning. They were fortunate in having Mr Baxter, who had proved a most efficient and Admirable adviser to the Council, and inquiries were now being sent to him about irrigation from various.parts.of the colony. (Applause.) He < hanked them for the manner in which they drank the toast, Mr C, G. Tripp had said all he had to say about the bridge. He had no doubt a little bill would come to them shortly, and he supposed it would be paid, although he was only sppaking for himself. , There was one thing certain : that to pay that account they would have to strike a rate (laughter), and as the bridge had "proved a success, he believed there would be very little objection. Money would be wanted for irrigation also, *od as all would to

benefited by it, he felt sure, at least he hoped, there would be no objectiou to a rate. So fur as he could learn the Ashburton County Council liad spent £17,000 on irrigation, It was not much, only about 3s 3d per chain, fio he thought the profits would bo large in proportion to the outlay. Ho hoped the Geraldine County Council would follow the example of their neighbors. (Cheers.) Mr Ivess proposed ' The Road Boards within both Counties,' coupled with the names of Mr Talbot (Temoka), M>" Dennistoun (Mount Pee;), and Mr J. Jackson (Mount Hutt.) The usefulness of Road Boards was quite apparent, but the question was whether the time had arrived when for purposes of economy they might be abolished, and a moro comprehensive form of local government put in their stead. It was expensive to keep them all, and it was a question whether they could not be amal-' gamated. j

Mr Dennistoun sa'd that Mr Tripp, Chairman of his own Board, had already gpokeo, and therefore he had very little to say. He was glad the bridge had,been constructed as it would do a great amount of good. He did not believe the piles couldjbe driven, but they had been, and he supposed all that remained to do now was to shell out. (Cheers and laughter.)

Mr John Talbot said he never disputed the desirability of bridging the river, The dispute was over the plan adopted. The Chairman of the Geraldine Council said he was satisfied with the work, but he (Mr Talbot) was not engineer enough to say whether it would do or net. its stability had-yet to be proved, but it would be too selfish to say they would not pay for it. As for it having been said that it could not be done, the same thing had been said of many another work which had afterwards been accomplished. It was said the Rakaia bridge could not be made but Mr White made it, and the Ashburton County Council did what ever) one said they could not do, As for Mr Ivess' remarks anent Road Boards he hoped to see them kept intact becausa the wcrk could never be so well done by the County Council. The Government might well subsidise a work like the Rangitata bridge which was of more than local importance. (Hear, hear.)

Mr J. Jackson said he woald bo very sorry to see Road Boards abolished. There were a great many roads yet requiring to be made. Mr Tripp proposed ' The health of the Engineer, Mr Baxter.' He desired to thank him on behalf of both Councils. He had overcome a difficulty which everyone thought he never would. Mr Baxter's name had now gone far and wide and it frequently happened that he was referred to in matters rela'ing tn drainage. Mr Baxter, who was received with cheers sdd the scheme had been originated before he had the good fortune to join the Ashburton Council, so all he did was to modify the plana ind superv : se the work. Owing to circumstances over which there could be no control the work had to be done step by step, but the expenses were kept within reasonable limits. In comparison with other less ambitions works the cost could not be said to be great. It cost £6BOO ; half of it went for the iron pilet, and it was not great considering that the river wa» supposed to be im penetrable. Scepticism on that point had no doubt by this time vanished, but still it cost him some anxiety, as the work had been condemned before he undertook it, but it was compensated for by tho pleasure it gave him to fill the gap between the two Counties. A good deal of the credit was due to tlie foreman of the pile drivers, and to Mr Mnnro, the inspector fie now trusted the ielation between the two Counties would always remain as cordial as *hey were that day. As to the protective works at the end it would be very little that would be necessary owing to the wider span of the bridge now. (Cheers,) Mr St. Hill proposed ' The Press,' and the proceedings came to a close.