MEETING OF RATEPAYERS AT SOUTH ORARI.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1828, 13 December 1888, Page 2

MEETING OF RATEPAYERS AT SOUTH ORARI.

A meeting of ratepayers in the Sonth Orari River Board District was held at Breadiey’s Hotel, Orari, on Monday evening last. Four members of the board of conservators, viz., Messrs R. A. Barker, T. Coles, Griffiths, and Breadley, and some seven ratepayers were present. , Mr R. A. Lika jiuS voted to the chair, and read a letter signed by some tea of the ratepayers in the district

asking him to call the meeting. The letter stated that, some of the ratepayers

were desirous of having a meeting

called for the purpose of having an explanation from the Board as to how the rates were being expended. Also

to disease the affairs of the board with a view to their future usefulness, With

regard to the place of meeting, the letter bad asked tor it to be at Winchester,

but as the word Winchester bad been written in in pencil there was nothing to show whether it had been written in before or after the signatures had been appended. The Board had had a sort of informal meeting, and as Orari bad always been the place of meeting, and feeling snre that the ratepayers did not wish to dictate to tbs Board,., they bad decided to hold it at Orari. Mr Guild said he had been asked to call a meeting, as several of the ratepayers did not know bow the affairs of the board were going. For bis part be was not aware, as he bad never seen a balance-sheet, and he r did not know bow the rates were being expended altboogb paying about as large a share as any* one. He bad accordingly written the letter as requested, and got it signed. The chairman said the Board did not wish to disguise anything. In regard to the balance-sheet, the auditor sent down a printed form to be filled in, and this be had filled in himself every year and returned to Wellington. He bad kept copies of this ( document for years back, and would be glad to show them to anyone who felt inclined to examine them. He was not aware that it wai necessary to publish the balance-sheet, Mr Bissett said according to the 140th section of the Act it was incumbent on the board to publish (he balance-sheet annually, The chairman said this was probably the new Act, and be did not think the board bad a copy of it.

Mr Bissett asked to have the copy of the last balance-sheet read.

The balance-sheet as read showed that ihe borrowed sum of £SOOO or £6OOO, with which the board commenced, bad been steadily paid off year by year, tilt only about £3OO was now owing. la reply to Mr Bissett, the chairman said the board were paying per cent, interest.

The board also possessed an asset in the rent of some 38 acres of freehold land, which the chairman, in replj to a question, said was let to Mr Henderson at 10s per acre. There was <ajeo a house belonging to. the' board, .which was occupied by Mr Henderson, repairs to- which had been recently effected by tbe board.

Mr Bissett said Mr Henderson hid been living in 1 this house, rent free, many years, and he thought be might at least have effected the necessary repairs. The chairman said that whek Mr Henderson first went into the boose he was supposed to keep the banks of the piece of land in repair, and had done a great deal of work that bad been quite little enough paid for by the use of the house., He was also paying a very heavy rent for the land—los per acre—which be would not have taken bad he not got the house free.

Mr Coles said be was paying only 5s per acre for a better piece of land between Mr Henderson’s piece and the main read.

The chairman pointed out that Mr Henderson bad paid lOs per acre for an inferior piece of land for the past ten years, and bad now taken it again, besides fencing it. He would never have taken the property were he not to get the house in, although it was not mentioned in the lease. After some little further conversation the matter dropped, those present , being apparently of opinion that the board were doing very well oat of Mr Henderson.

Mr Stewart wanted to know bow the works carried out had been let. Was it ’ by tender f Mr Griffiths explained that tenders were to have been called for the work, but when it came to be examined it was * found that such a variety of email matters had to be done that it would have been almost impossible ,to have drawn up specifications for the .work that wonld have bound a contractor jo as to prevent him scamping the work if be felt so inclined. Consequently it was decided to do the work by day labor, and Mr Coles, who lived on the spot,'was deputed to act as overseer, which he did free of cost. He was not aware that it was necessary to call tenders for the, work, and the board bad no intention of evading tha law if it were necessary to invite pnblie tenders. Mr Griffiths said that be never wonld belong to the board until be saw a large body of water running down his b»<& creek, and he then came-out to see wbfli: was op. In reply to Mr Stewart he said that when the work was undertaken the board could not calculate to « nicety what it would cost, owing to, the difficulty of estimating such work, Mr Bread ley pointed out that some of the holes in the river were from 20 to BO feet deep, and a great deal of work was done at these, and a person riding by after the work was finished would never realise the amount of work tha) bad been done.

Mr Coles, «s the member who had acted as overseer, explained what had been done. Mr Stewart asked if Mr Mason was a member of the board. The chairman said yes, but that his resignation had been sent in. There had been no meeting of the board since, and therefore it had not been accepted. In reply to Mr Stewart the chairman said that Mr Mason had supplied the board with a few goi.Js while a member, and he (the chairman) was not aware ot anything in the Act to prevent him doing so while still a member, £Mr Mason’s accoont, amounting to a few shillings, was then read over.] ' Mr Stewart said that before the meeting was called, and at the request of the ratepayers, he had, in company withMr Bissett and Mr Barker, gone over the work done, A great deal of work had been done, no doubt, and in his opinion a deal of it was not necessary; The greater part of the work had been done above the railway bridge, and was simply of benefit to the bridge, which the Government were bound to protect. He thought the erection of the fence was simply fencing in other people’s land as the cattle could go down on the riverbed, and thus eat the willows which had been planted by the board, The work done would mi benefit the settlers below the bridge. The only property the works would benefit was the board’s endowment. It was his firm opinion that the ratepayers’ money bad been squandered very foolishly indeed, and he thought the sOoner they had; a remedy for this the better. In his opinion it would be far better to abolish the Board than have the money squandered away, The chairman said for his part he had no objection at all to the abolition of the Board. Mr Bissett was not in favour of the abolition of the board, but he thought the money had been badly spent, Mr Breadley said he bad been many years upon the river, and bad seen a great deal of money wasted in building orates, Ac., that proved of no possible use, and the planting of willows such as the board had done would have been. Mr Guild thought they were getting away from the subject. If the money was not being spent in the right place there was an opportunity for the ratepayers to roll up on the day of the annual election, and either stand themselves or put in men that would spend the money where they wanted it. For bis part he was very pleased with the way in which the board bad placed everything before them in a lucid manner. Every man was likely to make a mistake, and when a flood came the members did not run to read the Act to see how they should do certain things, but they acted promptly and to the best of their ability. It the ■ ratepayers were not what (be members bad done let them put in men that held the same views as them- .. selves as-to where the money should' be spent. It was not right to pot lu men who held different views to their, own, and then abase them for not carrying oat the works according to the ratepayers’ideas, Mr Griffiths asked bow it Was that some of the ratepayers present bad allowed things to go on as they were when they bad been on the board themselves. . The chairman said be woQld like to draw attention to the fact that when the election came round not the slightest interest was taken in it, apd be bad to go out and" beg of people to come and stand. If be bad not done so the thing would have fallen completely through, and an Order-in-Conncil w6uld have had to be made appointing Commissioners. If the ratepayers were ,eo anxious to bava their money spent to advantage ' they might at least roll up and elect the men they wished elected. [At the last election Messrs Colts, Breadley, and Mason allowed themselves to/ be nominated against their inclination { simply to pre. vent the election falling through. He thought the ratepayers >ere very much to blame for taking snob little interest in the matter. I After’ some farther lonversation, in the coarse of which tbn chairman said the amount raised by /the board by a vote of £d in the £ was about £lB5 and the annual expenses about £BS, a vote of thanks was, on the proposition of Mr Guild, accorded to the chairman and members of the board ijor the lucid way in which they had explained to the rate- - payers the position of the board. Mr Mason’s resignation was accepted by the members present, and the meeting terminated. /