GERALDINE COUNTY COUNCIL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2646, 14 April 1894, Page 2

GERALDINE COUNTY COUNCIL.

The monthly meeting of the Geraldine County Council was held ou Thursday. Present Messrs Balfour (chairman), Mackay, Quinn, Talbot, Orboll, White, and Howell.

A “ special order ” striking an annual rate of 2/3d in the £ on the Four Peaks water race district was formally confirmed. A deputation consisting of Messrs A. Kelman, Coulter, and two others, waited on the council to support a petition for the erection of a bridge over the Orari at the Main Soutli Road. The council had had under consideration the erection of a bridge about live miles lower down, ou Rolleston’s Road. The deputation urged that a main road bridge would serve a much larger number, and a larger rateable value. They asked for a comparison of tho signatures to the petitions for the upper and lower bridges, and were informed that there wore ol for the lower and 100 for the main road one. They insisted upon the larger number of people to bo served by a main road bridge. Mr Taylor stated that hundreds of people walk across on tho railway bridge every day, and ho had been informed that the Com mi-sinners had determined to put a stoptoth.it. Mr Coulter stated that he had been crossing the river there for 111 years, and ho had never seen tho river occupy more that a width of live chains, confined to one channel, so that a bridge need not be longer than that; whereas tho lower bridgo°was said to rcipiire between 10 and 11 chains. Mr Kolmau asked whether tho council would take a favorable view of the ro'iuust if fhe set tiers collected a auui

of money towards the cost of the bridge The chairman said they had better do. that first, and then ask the Council what they would say to it. Mr Howell suggested that a foot and stock bridge attached to the railway bridge would serve, but the deputation thought uot, and also doubted whether it would be much cheaper. The deputation laid stress on the fact that they were asking for a bridge on the main road, while Bolleston’a road runs into the sea four or five miles from the river. They strongly insisted that the main road bridge would serve a larger number of people and a larger amouut of produce and sheep traffic than the lower one. The council promised to consider the matter, but as they left Mr Howell said there was not much chauce of anything being done, as the council had not funds for the purpose.

The reports of rangers and water committees were read. G. Crozier, Seadown, reported that the races were in good order, but he had put on some drays to . cart shingle to fords. He recommended that a pair of horses and scoop be employed for a fortnight to raise embankments before winter to prevent overflows.—Work to be done. Mr N. Longley wrote objecting to the proposed subdivision of the Rangitata district. The Woodbury ranger reported that the filter box at the headworks appeared to be choking with silt, and he would like the engineer to see to it. —Mr Marchant said he was going up on Monday. Reports were also received from the Orari-Waihi and Waitohi committee that the filter boxes were choking with willow roots. At Waitohi the ranger had been working three weeks, some of the time with assistance trying to clear the box without satisfactory results. They thought it would be necessary to destroy the willows near the box.—Mr Marchant aaid it would not do to destroy the willows as there was no other defence against the rush of floods. He would g° and look into these cases. The Waitohi committee reported that a concrete culvert be taken up and an opto ford substituted, Mr A. M. Clark’s races had not been cleaned out; someone ought to clean them before winter.—lt was agreed that the culvert be removed. Mr J. Gardner, Washdyke, was given permission to make a loop race inside his fence at Washdyke. Mr B. Edgar asked for and was granted some 9 inch pipes to carry a race 50ft, the race having been made through his sheepyard. The Ashburton County Council forwarded an offer by the railway Works Department for a necessary extension of the stock bridge over the north branch of the Bangitata, cost £l6O, extra annual maintenance £5. (Each county pays half.) — Offer to be accepted. The Selwyn County Council wrote inquiring what this council is doing in the matter of small birds destruction. They bad been subsidising the road boards’ expenditure £1 for £l. It was suggested that the Council should give 6d per dozen for small birds’ heads and Is per doz for blackbirds. It was remarked that 6d and Is a dozen were high prices to pay for birds. The chairman said they were cheaper than 2d a dozen for eggs. Mr Orbell said the Council spent £BOO last year on poisoning, and that would pay for au euonnous number of birds at 6d a dozen.

The Resident Engineer of railways wrote asking if the council would sell, and at what price, the truss bolts taken out of the Oxford-Temuka railway bridge. Mr Merchant suggested that an offer be made to barter the bolts for old rails. — Such an offer to be made. A telegram from Mr Deßenzy stated that two planks had been broken in the Winchester bridge by a road engine.—Mr Merchant said this bridge was not meant to carry engines, and there was no necessity for it, there being a good ford. The clerk stated that engines are prohibited by by-law from crossing this bridge. —The offender to be prosecuted. Mr G, Lyall wrote calling attention to a deep and dangerous hole in the ford on the Pareora. —This had been attended to. Mr Inwood, Winchester, wrote drawing attention to the danger said to exist of the Orari river overflowing above the main south road and flowing through Winchester and Temuka, and as the council is the only local body which seemed to have any power to deal with it, he urged the council to instruct and report. —After a short discussion during which Mr White read a letter from Mr Flatman, M.H.R., stated that he believed the Government would give some help, it was resolved that the engineer should, report on the matter. Messrs Moason and Marchant submitted the following report on the proposed diversion of the Opihi river at the Main South Road bridge The Opihi river on the Main Road in spanned by a bridge 2250 feet in length. In the most severe floods the o»ly very strong and deep currents of water are at the extreme ends of the bridge, more than half the width of the riverbed being merely wetted by such floods. The great width of channel is not in the least degree necessary for the discharge of such floods, but has been caused by the river making from time to time incursions on the land adjoining its original channel, the soil composing the boundary terraces being eroded by the flood currents. As the river spread beyond its original channel so bridging was built to follow up its inroads on the terraces, instead of endeavoring to solve the difficulty by the reverse process of making the river keep within reasonable bounds. That the present length of bridging is wasteful and unnecessary we have only to state the fact that some three miles lower down, and after its confluence with the Temuka river, the width of the river ' channel there is under 700 feet; the restraining banks being of clay of ordinary consistency and not partaking in any degree of the ualure of a gorge, or of any difference from the remainder of the river bed beyond the nature of its banks. The position the council occupies with regard to the bridge in question is this—Fifteen hundred feet of the bridge has lately been rebuilt, and made, practically speaking, as good as when new. In say three years time the balance of the length, 750 ft, must be rebuilt, and the cost of it will bo about £I7OO. To this amount must be added the cost of diverting til® northern channel of the river and keeping it diverted while the bridge is being built, in to maintain the traffic unimpeded, ’ilu-s ■will bo very expensive for a temporary work, and would probably cost £3OO. Thou again, a curtain amonntof protective work is needed at the present time, so that taking one thing with another, the cost of rebuilding this length of bridge with contingent works would amount to more than £2OOO. And of course this

length must bo maintained and eventually rebuilt in a certain term of years heror after. By the wire fence system of training this class of river it is now possible to restrain them within reasonable bounds, provided the fence, willow plantations, and embankments are well built and thoroughly established. There is no doubt whatever about the elbcionoy of this class o£ protective uorks, where u euUicieyt sum

1 of money has been available to make them all they should be. On this same river we have two fences restraining the river at certain points, one at the Raincliff bridge and the other at the Waitohi water-race headworks. These have withstood tremendous rushes of water without any damage, and we regard them now as being practically speaking impregnable. If then, a protective fence, willow plantation, and embankment were built, commencing at the turn out on the bridge in question, and extending upstream a distance of about 35 chains to the northern terrace of the river, this would have the effect of diverting all the water under the portion of the bridge lately rebuilt. The cost of such work would bo £650 to £7OO. Supposing the work to be executed in the autumn of next year (1895) it would have two years to get established before the remaining length of the bridge had to closed against traffic. By an expenditure then of, say, £7OO, this length of bridge could be dispensed with, saving not only a large sum of money in first cost, but also a repetition of such expenditure in after years.”— The Council postponed discussion of the report generally, but as the river is threatening to do damage on the north side, it was agreed that the engineers should expend £25 to £3O in protective means. Certain alterations of roads in Mount Peel district were formally sanctioned. A letter from the Mackenzie County Council stated that the South Canterbury hounds had been registered in that county at the rate of 10s each for the first two, and 2a 6d each for the remainder. The chairman was requested to look into the matter, and see whether the owners had a right to go into another county to register at a reduced rate. A doubt was expressed whether any local body can reduce the registration fee for dogs kept for pleasure. A petition was received from a large number of settlers in Waitohi and Point districts, asking that the engineer be asked to report upon a proposal to place a bridge across the Opihi at the “ sandstone bluff,” below Pleasant Point, where it was believed a light bridge could be placed for not more than £6OO, the river being in one stream and in a permanent channel.—lt was agreed that the engineer be instructed to report on the proposal, and that the petitioners be informed of this.

In connection with this application the whole question of bridging was discussed, and the chairman produced the following estimate for the year, including no new works except the half share of protective works on the Pareora; —

Estimated expenditure to 31st March, 1895 : Bank overdraft Slat March, 1894, £1753; County Gonncil buildings, payment and interest, £218; Pareora protective works, half share, say, £350; salaries, clerk, etc., and engineer, £322; small birds destruction, say, £9OO ; Opihi protective works, say, £100; inspection of slaughterhouses, £35; cleaning offices, stationary, etc., £SO; sundries (advertising, repairs to bridges, fords, and incidential expenditure), £500; debenture due Ist May, 1894, £264 ; total, £4592. Estimated receipts Public house licenses, £240; dog registration, £370; slaughterhouse licenses, £7O; rates uncollected, £250; Jd rate, 1894-5, £3000; total £339o.—Deficit or overdraft 31st March, 1895, £662. This showed that a Jd rate will not pay off the present overdraft and meet expenditure, so that with that rate no bridge work could be undertaken this year, except the protective works at Pareora, agreed to at the conference with Waimate County, and therefore included in the estimate. There would be a deficit of £662 at the end of the year.

It was resolved that the recommendation of the conference re putting up training fences on the Pareora be adopted, and that the engineer be instructed to call for lenders for the same, to be in by Wednesday, June 13th.

It was resolved on the motion of Messrs Howell and Orbell—“ That at the next meeting of the council a rate of ; jd in the £ be struck, payable in one sum on the 15th July, 1894.” The junior clerk, Mr Cabot, applied for an increase to his salaay of £52 a year. After a discussion it was resolved to increase it to £65 a year. Accounts were passed for payment amounting to £22417s 7d, and the council rose at 3.40.