GERALDINE ROAD BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2654, 3 May 1894, Page 3

GERALDINE ROAD BOARD.

ANNUAL MEETING OF BATEPAYERS. The annual meeting of ratepayers in the Geraldine Road Board Disirict was held at the board's office on Tuesday last. Mr F. R. Flatman occupied the chair, aud there were present Messrs J. Kelland, K. Brophy, Deßenzy, and Metcalf, members of the board, and also ten ratepayers. REPORT. The chairman read the advertisement calling the meeting, and then read the report and balance-sheet, which is as follows: — Ladies and Gentlemen,—Your boarJ, in submitting the annual report and balance-sheet, have again the pleasure oi informing- you that all roads and bridges have been maintained to the usual standard, and although your board have worked with economy and care, still there is an increase of expenditure as compared with the previous year. This U in a measure due to the amount of wet weather we have been subject to. A conference of road boarus within the county was held during the year, which resulted in the small birds nuisance being handed over to the county council to deal with for two years, results of which you are acquainted with through the council's reports. Contracts : Your board have let twenty contracts during- the year, seventeen of which were complettd on March :31st, the three remaining were making fair progress. 180 chains of new road have been made anil -.">00 yards of shingle used, beside other work in general maintenance. Bridges: One stock and two new suspension bridges have boon built, and several of the old bridges have undergone repairs, and have been well kept in painting, tarring, and general overhauling. Rates: The whole of the rates, with tho exception of .Ci> ) tis Bd, had been CQUeuted on March iilat, and this, amount

I has been further reduced to £1 12s 6d, which your board trust will be considered satisfactory. Small birds: Very few eggs and heads were collected in this portion of the county, the boys complaining that the price offered by the county council was too low. Poisoned wheat: 315 smallbagsof poisoned wheat were given from this office to ratepayers, and 92 bushels distributed on the public roads during August and September last. Funds : Your board would also point out that the funds have been reduced from 1890 to 1894 by the sum of £1947 10a 3d, or a yearly average reduction of £486 17s 6Jd. During the past four years your board have expended £9816 4s Id, of which £4218 ISs lid was collected by rate. Gorse on roads: Your board would respectfully draw ratepayers' attention to this nuisance, and ask one and all to keep their frontages grubbed at least once a year. If this were done voluntarily it would relieve the board from the disagreeable duty of issuing notices and in bringing those who don't attend to this matter to a court of justice. Merging into a separate county : The Mount Peel Board has been approached by your board, and a preliminary conversation has taken place between the two boards as to the expediency or otherwise of merging into a separate county. Opinions of ratepayers are invited on this question to-day. In conclusion, your board, its officers, contractors, and men employed have worked in harmony with each other, and have enjoyed that confidence which is essential to the carrying out of work in a proper and business-like manner.—l have, etc, F. R. Flatman, Chairman.

The balance-sheet showed that the year had been commenced with £7252 Is 2d credit balance. The receipts included—rates collected, £1023 14s 3d ; interest on fixed deposits, £342 10s; subsidies on rates,£2s43s4d; rents,£9l Is; "thirds" on laud, £ll6 12s 4d ; and sundry other amounts, which made a total of £1928 2s Bd. The expenditure comprised —construction and maintenance of roads and bridges, £1538 0s 7d; Timaru Harbor Board rates, £3Bl 7s lOd ; Hospital and Charitable Aid, £l6l 0s 6d; salaries, £226 ; timber, ironwork, pipes, etc., £2ollos 2d ; and other smaller items for various expenses, amounting in all to £2663 lis 9d; leaving a credit balance in bank of £6516 12s Id.

The chairman said with regard to the gorse question that his board considered they had not done their duty in the past, but intended to carry out their duty with more strictness during their coming year of office. As servants of the public they would only be doing their duty by enforcing the law. to keep roads clear of gorse, and, in future, if those who received a gorse notice did not recognise it they would be handed over to a higher power to be dealt with.

The chairman moved the adoption of the balance-sheet and report. Mr Tripp oecondedj the resolution, and also asked Mr Flatman to make an explanation with regard to a statement made at the Conference of Road Boards that Mr Flatman's figures anent charitable aid were misleading.

Mr Flatman pointed out that Mr Talbot was in error in thinking that he (Mr Flatman) meant that £26 covered the whole of the charitable aid in the Geraldine district. The £26 he mentioned covered the outdoor relief. Mr Metcalf would bear him out in that. Another thing, he (Mr Flatman) simply quoted the figures of the Goraldiue Road Board and did not include those of the fleraldine Town Board and Mount Peel Road Board, as Mr Talbot seemed to think he had done. MERGING INTO A COUNTY. The chairman introduced the question of merging the Mount Peel anH Geraldine districts into a county, and said that much had been said for and against the matter at the Road Boards Conference at Temuka on Monday. From Mr Mee's remarks he gathered that the Levels board were determined to have a county. They had evidently made up their minds and would move in the direction of severance as soon as they could. Mr Flatman also mentioned that some ratepayers wanted to know why the ratepayers' meeting to discuss the County Council question had not been advertised. He thought that if the present meeting would agree to it they might advertise a public meeting for some suitable evening, when the matter could be discussed.

Mr C. G. Tripp saw how determined the Levels people were to have a county. He said it was a piece of extravagance and folly to have a county council and a road board meeting perhaps in tho same street, and double rating power. By making the Levels Road Board into a couuty council, they would do away with a lot of expense. Mr Mee spoke strongly in favor of it, and apologised for the absence of Mr Orbell, who was even strouger than Mr Mee on the matter. In fact, the whole Levels district seemed to be in favor of the change. Now if the Levels people carried this out, there would be three boards left, viz., Temuka, Geraldine, and Mount Peel, Temuka was not iu favor of the change ; in fact, Mr Talbot expressed himself totally opposed to it, being in favor rather of enlarging the county. Such an idea, of course, was late in the day now, although it might have been very good in the early days. The question was this: If the Levels left tho other boards, which iu all probability they would do sooner | or later, what would Mount Peel and Geraldine have to do 1 The two boards mentioned had over £12,000 between them, and, if they formed into a couuty, having such a large sum at their backs, they would require to strike only a very small rate. They had the interest of their £12,000, and, what with saving in expenses, the saving by separating themselves from the Geraldine County Council would be immense. He had asked a gentleman to prepare for him a statement as to the saving likely to bu effected by the proposed change. Before reading the statement, Mr Tripp quoted the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Geraldine Couuty Council. He then read the statement, a? subjoined : Iu making 1 the Geraldine and Mount Peel rt,ad districts a county, it appears to me that everything will be to gain and nothing to lose, besides extended powers conferred upon a county council beyond a road board. With reference to the fees raised in the district and sent away to Timaru at the present time, we may mention the dog-registration fees, which amounted to nearly £7O for the year 181)1-5. There is an additional sum of say, say, £lO or ;iils sent away for accommodation aud conditional licenses every ye-r, and it is probable that this sum will be considerably increased during the next few years. Further there arc the slaughtering licenses fee.-!, which, to take at a low figure, wilL pro :unc from ,C 1 (i to per annum. In Addition to these and other fees, the present (Jjraldinc Couuty Council have taken the preliminary steps of collecting a rate of jd in the £, which means that a sum equal to .CI2UO is sent out of the district proposed to bo made into a separato_ comity, with very little prospect of seeing any of it again, for all the contemplated works arc south of our district. I may mention that in addition to tho maintenance of our own oiUuers witbiu the two roiul board districts we arc called upon to maintain a staff c.( ollicers for the council, costing, say, .'i-iW per annum, of which sum wo contribute at least JJI.IO. Then we have a go id ollice in which to carry out the necessary work of a county council. ' At the present tiino wo

are called upon to contribute our share of £2lB, which includes payment and interest of county council buildings in Timaru. There are likewise other items of expenditure proposed by the present county council which we might be saved from by forming ourselves into a county. Further allow me to state that a saving would be effected within the district itself by only needing one office. The Mount Peel Road Board office with residence and outbuildings could be disposed of in some way, either by direct sale or lease. Either way means a revenue of from £2O to £3O per annum. Then, again, there are certain reserves that could be rented and be made to contribute a considerable sum as revenue, and a cottage, etc., near Fairlie, which would also contribute towards revenue. Putting all these sums together, of what is raised in the district and sent away, in addition to what the revenue can be raised by amalgamating the two road boards in one county, the matter stands as followß : £ s. d.

Dog registration fees, say (col- [ lected in county £370) ... 68 0 0 Accommodation and conditional licenses at Orari Races (£240 for present Geraldine County) 15 0 0 Slaughtering licenses (£7O in Geraldine County) 20 0 0 General rate of *d in the £ collected here and sent to Timaru (the whole rate in county being £3000)... ...1200 0 0 Total sent out of district...£l3o3 0 0 £ s. d. Above total 1303 0 0 Our share of office staff, say, out of £422, Timaru office ... 150 0 0 Purchase of offices in Timaru and interest (our share of £218) 60 0 0 Sale or lease of office at Mount Peel (let at 10s, or selling value £520) 26 0 0 Cottages, paddock at Fairlie, let only at 5s fid per week would realise 15 0 0 Rents of reserves, say (three cottages at Geraldine £25 and other reserves, including 30 acres Mount Peel Road Board office, £ls) 40 0 0 Intereston£l2oooatspercent. 600 0 0 Grand total 2194 0 0 Moneys actually sent away are £1303, which will be kept in the district if the two road boards form a county.

Mr Tripp then read the several letters received by him from various bodies and persona as read by him at the last meeting of the Mount Peel Road Board. In conclusion he warned the ratepayers that they were on the point of losing their £ 12,000 if they delayed the matter and allowed the Levels to get the advantage, while as a county council with £12,000 they could be master of the situation. Mr M. C. Orbell having stated in his letter to Mr Tripp that about 25 per cent, of the rates collected by road boards and spent upon roads is absorbed in collecting and spending i«, Mr Shiers (clerk and overseer to the Geraldine Road Board) was asked to explain this matter. Mr Shiers said that to get at the correct figures they would have to take the whole work of the board into consideration, and he thus calculated that his board had spent only percent, in administration. The expenditure was on various things, and not all exactly on the bare contract work.

Mr Tripp asked what preliminary course would have to be pursued in forming a separate county. Mr Flatman said there was nothing in the Act to show what steps to take. No doubt a petition would need to be sent round for ratepayers to sign. Mr A. White thought it inadvisable to do anything at the present meeting with respect to amalgamating the two road boards, and he moved—" That a public meeting be called at Geraldine to thoroughly discuss the matter of merging the Geraldine and Mount Peel Road Boards into a county, and that the ratepayers of Mount Peel District be invited to attend as well as the Geraldine ratepayers ; the resolution to be forwarded to the Mount Peel Board." Mr J. Dean seoonded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. ROAD BOARDS CONFERENCE. Mr C. G. Tripp proposed, Mr B. R. Macdonald seconded, and it was carried — " That the chairman of the Geraldine Road Board forward to J. Talbot Esq., chairman of the Road Boards Conference, Temuka, the following resolution : ' That the minutes of the conference passed yesterday be forwarded to the chairmen of the Selwyn, Ashburton, G'eraldiue, Mackenzie, and WaimatejCounty Councils, suggesting that they shall meet to discuss the council matters in general, the alarming spreading of rabbits, small birds' nuisance, tramways to open up the country; the unemployed; elective bodies versus nominative bodies."

Mr Flatman mentioned that last year the question came up at the Road Boards Conference that there should be a penal clause to the Rating Act, aud 5 per cent, was suggested, but it was not agreed to, He nptiped, however, that suoh a clause had been passed in the new Act, only that all unpaid rates twelve months owing be subject to 10 per cent, being added. RABBITS. • Mr C. (r. Tripp moved, aud Mr A. White seconded—" That the Geraldine .ratepayers at the annual meeting views with alarm the spreading of rabbits from the south into South Canterbury, and would suggest that the Government erect wire feuces to check the inroad, or the country settlers will be ruined. 3 ' Mr Tripp thought the money for the erection of a rabbit fence should come from the sheep rate of tbf colony, and he thought that £I<},OGO would be nowhere with the Government, considering the sheep rate they got from the. country. Mr J. Kalaugher said he had been told on good authority that rabbit fences were no good, as the rabbits climbed the fences like squirrels. Mr Tripp said that the Mackenzie Country fence was erected when rabbits wore on both sides of the fence, but anyhow, a feuoe was a, great eheok on rabbits from the south. He expected that he (Mr Tripp) would be thoroughly ruined in three years if a fence was not soon erected.

Mr Kelland could not see why settlers on tho lower levels should be made io contribute towards a fence for the benefit only of settlers on the high country. He thought tho settlers on the low country might look upon it as a hardship. Mr Tripp said that in the opinion of Mr Marchant, which ho agreed with, the question wus not one of a district but of a whole country. If the sheep fanners were ruined then the whole country would be Ml'ectou. Tho south rabbit wns not yet upon his (Mr Triors) country, but the storm was coining, ancl it might not be many mouthy before they came on hira. After further discussion the motion was carried and it was agreed to forward it to the Minister of Agriculture and others.

VOTES Ol!' THANKS. Mr A. White proposed a hscity voto of thanks to the der', and. overseer, Mr Shiors. f;.:.v \'n* excellent work lie had done during the past year. Ho was euro that tho members of tho board and ratepayers would agree with him that tho proof of Mr Shiers' good work was in tho excellent balance-shout laid before thorn. He

eulogised Mr Shiers as a moßt desirable man for his position. Mr Tripp seconded the resolution and •ndorsed the remarks of the mover. Mr Flatman, on behalf of himself and members, alsojadded hi* endorsement to what had been said with respect to Mr Shiers. Mr Tripp proposed a vote of thanks to the chairman and the meeting terminated.