GERALDINE COUNTY COUNCIL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1218, 16 August 1884, Page 2

GERALDINE COUNTY COUNCIL.

An ordinary meeting: of the Geraldine County Council was held on Wednesday. Present—Mr J. Talbot (Chairman), Messrs JR. Mackay, A. Sherratt, W. Bnlfour, J. PuterFon and W. Moody. ,

i The minutes of the previous meeting , were rend and confirmed. In hia statement the Chairman ssid tlmton calling for tenders for inverting the Opihi into tha 1 centre, of the river-bed turn the North side, the lowest tender received was £4O. 1 As the Council only authorised the exi" penditure of £3O, lie did not accept it. i Mr Meason then suggested that another - course should be taksn, and, using somt of the material from the old bridge, a permanent dam should be put down, making a more ceitain and lasting job. He instructed Mr Meason to go into the question of cost, and if it could be dene for anyting like the sum named by tha Council, to have the, idea carried out. The bridge over the river was closed soon after the last meeting, and the traffic had to take to the river-bed. It was found that the northern portion of the old bridge need not be taken down at once, and it was suggested that, as the main itreaM ran under that portion, it should be left standing for the present, and an approach made to it froai the river-bed, which could be done at a small expense. . The debentures for the Opihi bridge loan had been received from the Government, and had hcen duly executed and 1 returned. Some time ago the Council determined to give ibe firl registration fee for each ccn viction obtained for non-registration of dogs, but so far nothing had come to that scheme. He thought the Act should be amended so as to place the duty of seeing the Act complied with in the hands of the police. He thought also that local bodies should have power to increase the maximum registration fee, say to £l. Thoro were a great many sporting doga kept, and the loc»l bodies should have power to demand a higher fee for these. The Sub-Committee appointed, to con-. aider the claims of the Ashburton County Council had been unable to meet, and therefore they had no report to present,' and the Council as a whole had better consider it. —The Chairman'* action was approved. Among the correspondence dealt with was one from the Geraldine Town Board, , acknowledging receipt of moneys transferred to their account. A letter was received from the Colonial Secretary, in reply to a letter from the Council suggesting that the Government should advance moneys to County Councils for «aterwork? under conditions .similar to those under which money is advanced for roads and bridges. The reply stated that the Government considered the suggestion a valuable one, and would, if

opportunity offered, be prepared to recommend it to Parliament. Mr George Levens, Temuka, wrote, stating that he had a scheme for turning the mountain'streams of the colony and confining them under the bridges built over them, and he would be glad to luy it before the Council, if they thought it worth while to consult him.—The Clerk was instructed to inform Mr Leveoa that the Council would be glad to hear further from him, and to consider his scheme. The report of the Engineer, Mr Meason. upon the progress of the bridge works at the Opihi stated that the contract of W. Spur >vaj for protective works to the . Souih approach was completed and certificate for final payment was enclosed. During the month, Messrs Philp and Jones, the contractors for the new bridge, had removed the superstructure of the old bridge, »nd had the greater part of the material on the {.round or in Timaru. Tenders had been called for diverting the Stream, but they were all too high. Since then he had, on instructions from Ihe Chairman, designed a more permanent and in his opinion more effectual method of diverting the stream. He proposed to construct a dam 200 feet in length, sloping down stream at an angle of about 50 degrees, and all the material could ! be taken from the old bridge except a few poles and spikes required. A small cutting would be needed in addition, to assist in turning the stream. Messrs Philp and Jones had offered to carry out the work for £4O, and as that was below his estimate, he had, as instructed, directed them to carry it out. vVith reference to the clai.n of the Ashburton County Council for interest on amount expended by them on the Upper Rangitata Bridge, it was resolved on the motion of Mr Moody, seconded by Mr Sherratt-" That the claim of the Ashburton County Council for balance of Interest be paid, £163 19p, in full of all claims." Mr Mackay voted againßt the motion. It was resolved, on the motion of Mr Moody, seconded by Mr Sherratt—" That the members for the district be asked to endeavor to get the Dog Registration Act amended, so as to make it the duty of the police to enforce the registration of dogs, it having been found that no means so efficient as the police can be put in motion ; and as the increase of sporting dogs has been very great of late years, and injury to sheep is becoming frequent and serious, thiß Council recommends that the police be instructed to attend to the enforcement of the penalty clauses, and the destruction of unregistered dogs ; and that the Act be amended so as to allow arate of over 10s, and not exceeding 20s, to, be charged for dogs used for sporting purposes." A copy of the resolution was ordered to be sent to the member for the district, and to the Colonial Secretaiy. The Chairman made a few remarks on the subject of the Timaru High School, and stated that owing to the lateness of the hour at which the morning trains arrived in Timaru country children were debarred from attending. After a few remarks by the other members, it was resolved on the motion of Mr Balfour, seconded by Mr Moody—" That in order to extend the benefits of the Timaru High School to country residents, the Minister for Public Works be asked to make such arrangements that the morning trabs may arrive in Timaru not later than 10 a.m. The Council are of opinion that this could be met by a slight increase in the speed at which those trains travel."

Accounts amounting to £377 16s 3d ■were passed for payment. The Secretary 3tated that there was £142 15s in the Bank in the current account, and £BOO on deposit, of which a deposit of, £3OO would mature next month. He also stated that there was about £4OO of theiate outstanding, and he was instructed to take legal proceedings at- once for its collection. The meeting then terminated, the next meeting-,being fixed for the second Wednesday m September.