COUNTY COUNCIL.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3212, 5 June 1879, Page 2

COUNTY COUNCIL.

Thei^uairimpiithlyAiMeetiagS;6f the County Council was"held at the Council Chambers this^ afterAoon(af^;2.^,fi'clSDk. i»re»enti-Tho f Chairman (Mr * Brodie), and "CrY Thorburn, Porter, Greenville, Deeble, and Coutts.

The mi nnte S <Tflhe"preTioiii meetiflg were read and confirmed.i; , OTTIWABD COBBEaJPONDENCE.

The correspondence outwards since last meeting was^||r^r.:||t;,^. ] ■ l

KABAKA TSAMWAT.

: Messrs Hart and Horn wrote asking for a continuance of their right to bring goods down the Karaka tramway. -; "Miip'Brien asserted lie had the "sole rjgiit to use the tramway- The consieratioh of the matter was .ordered to ftand; <tar. '\ ,•; ; , ;i | The meeting was proceeding when we; went to press.. The following reports! were to be read daring "the coarse of the, sitting. t j FIHAL BBPO'ET pF|THB,PUMHN<J ARltfjtirGE' 1 " '* M^KT3- COMMITTEE. '31 ' Tomr:Committf«;har«r thje^hoporto sub-! mit*tlieir final report on "thY rery itant matter which, has .during the past 1 two years been the, subject of their attention, and in doing so arc of opinion tKat) a general and cursory, ireriew 'of j the! various transactions connected therewith' is necessary, especially, when public^ attention has latterly been so muoh| directed to^ the present position of the Pump, and the misapprehension of the] radons facts -which, exis|, rfgardinjj the! relation of this 1 Cbdiißil to the l£50,OOO ( securities. It will betremembered on ■ oij JDeeember,'; 1876 } Oaßkeettng' £ot parties interested in the. maintenance of pumping operations, „vrasj held in * the' Borough Couricir Chambers," which Mr! Warwick < wasy thea Acting .Director of. the 'attended. lij was underatbbd that' no 'further l!advaaces would be made by the Government; that the Association had expendedLdurjipg the 1 previous two years the whole of £50,<X)Q advanced from the public exchequer, and 1 unUss ' some practical '/means were devised- 'the pumps ,would, stop. Under these circumstances'the meeting unanimously affirmed ' the necessity of securing a transfer of the mortgages to | one or other local corporate bodies. , Proposals were then made to the Govern-; ment, which the Premier/ Major Atkin- 1 ! son, strongly supported in the House, to hand over to the Thames County Counoil < when constituted, the mortgages held by the Colony over the works of the IX.PVA., and a new clause was by consent of the, 'House-added to thePublie Worksiand Immigration Sill, .empowering the Governor to make sucli transfer, and by the as-: signment so made these securities became absolutely the property of the Thames County. On the 15th January, 1877,' the Kosident Minister in Auckland dispatched three memo^. of agreement

which were submitted to a conference of Borough and County Council members, who, after interviewing the Minis* ters, agreed to them as the basis of the agreements which now exist botween the Government and two Councils respectively. The right to sell of mortgage the securities thus assigned, was also conferred upon the County Council by " The Public Works and Immigration Aot, 1878," and this power was exercised by the Council in June, 1877, and a mortgage taken by the Zealand Merc|ntile Loan Agency for £10,030, to bePerpended eon pumping md/drmoffat the 640feetleVeiofthetTPlA;;shW Before the'mortgage ■watfiaallpcxe««t«d,^li»e whole plan^, ,w,as n valued by direction of the aKencyby'Messrs^ric^Brothers and G. Blaclf, who made a careful- appraiie-r raenfc of the? estate, the; basis being,theprobable suin^^^wStild* j\M under a forced' Vale. The valuation'ti thus .given 'WcWmSimm'm. Co. battery'" &3&01 *$mse»««!r^milto, : battery, £2900; Golden Crown battery and,(winding plant, i^2295;j; $«ile.<to«an' pumping and winding'ditto, £3050; B^.Ayfipumpin^an^fjrindinß^anfe^^ plant in y«.rd, total, £257465. Contracts for the extension of the adits -j at: the f640 Uerer' W«reAt»lfes-ORrthe h ; 10th June, 1877, and the work continued witfi'©lai""iifßfMMioltt~uTrtii^othHlfatchr 1878, at a cost f including interest on money. adTaaced of £4,134 It. Many reefs, some of a promising eharaeot the work, which the Associated Companies and the proprietors of .the adjacent mines persistently refused' to prospect or test, and the work was necessarily abandoned. There is no™ doubt these exten•j°n!;^^]ino|eas|duhe^ntrrf tbj pump and the area of drainage^ Trud^w their agreements.{the, Council* jinaintained pumping operations until the 31st of January, 1879, when the whole works were closed down.'*Tibe original mortgage. ? ;dee^Bi fors.jfiSO.OQO, terminatyL in 1881, consequently no aemariaw can legally be made for the payment *«f the principal until then j, but. the deeds T abjio provide for the payment of mteresr aY% Per cen*7 .WkxifajSm* ** dafcs upon wnich this demand must be satisfie^^Ww^^ the Ist July next, for payment of abobr £»m>immtm*b aoojue^fnd, ?^|in^ and if within sixty days, or on or before Septemberoast, tthifpsumj Vajpo^J^^" commg, the Council can re-enter upon the estate and realise to^tJUef^xteat d& their demand. The foregoing statement defineg the legal lituatlon of the Council, and your committee have now the honor to submit the financial position of t&e . Council in relation to these securities:— To payments on driving account and interest:to i3lnt March, 1879, £1,134 Iti To payments on rpumpint account to Feft. 22, 187,9, 5 |10,495;i7i8; fd^ I£l4 l 629 l*Bs Id. Balance on December rind January statements, £272 18s 6d; disconnecting loweiii^flance^6Blan)i fflqWtiy^tmnk '"'■ 10d. SereraT atWmpis Kafe 1 Wen' made by your compittfefe! {8* amicably adjust this matter'vrith. tile Associated Cdm^ nie3, both by correspondence and^peridii intercourse with,|he directors; bfl|JHH| i to be, regretted,.th^ only tangible;. "6ffe ma^e ;^to( iit^^pu^cil.,^|^ f the||^ ' £4000. i Acting sunder ins f trupwons ri tK)ii the Council! i iywr; committed apWatei Mr Erringtoo,' C;E., of i;Aucklan4; r « agent fofctheisaleiof^hea^ the offer of £5000, wyefyou' are called to^-conside^ißynj^Joniy^tiffeiP^ecavM ■' ■ througlLthatfienilema'n. tour J«*ommiitee refrain from*xfr eßß ing an opiriiaD<fethi situation of this "important subject, as they justl/WtfiiaeV sTt r£i/ one which should»be unreservedly dealt with by the . Council.—Alexandee 3 ioDiK,*CHairman M Cjommittee. '>t o () T^ EEPOET OF BOABD OF WOBES. Lf i Your Board hare the honor to report as follows •—" Tapato: Waikauwau: All the contracts on this road will be completed by Saturday next. Tapu Boad: Most of the'c<«tra«tß on^hislroadflSreib^oloompleted, and the remainder will be finished by the 21st of this month. Waiotahi Eiding: Me^'ha#e:been *mpll>yed during the month in the construction of a dray road in Waterfall Cn»k, within the County boundary, which is now nearlj completed. Kauaeranga Eiding: Men hare been eWp'ltiyed dimngJthe; olo]J9lh)iB forming portions of the road in Hill street* and, a contract has been let for metalline Hill rtreet'from'Seal.y: strati to Birtka Eoad. Eewi's Hill: The contract on this road will be completed during the present week. Ohin'emuri Main Eoal i Tbdfei>atractor is proceeding as rapidly as possible with the work, but the bad weather has congiderabl^^etar&di'jtiieOitOtk. Ohinemuri Eiding: The Faeroa bridge will be completed in about 14 days'. Many of the contracts foci, other? works in this district are completed, and the remainder will be finished about the 21st instant. Snagging'Waihbl* NoT work has been done during the month.—Albx. Beodie, jQhairman."

The report of this Committee ia as follows:—« Th^ v?f wJ»qle ofjhe contrtcti ' of 'the Thar&s v>-WaieV^cPlxten^ sion are now in a forward state, m/S£~J will be completed about the 21st of June. Nearly the whole dfWksi race have been lined by the contractor, and the result of lining is highly satisfac. Tory, as the race will''now carry a i more water than it would before the tunnels

wereiliSmi J.3M cottlrl^i^lorifn^ply of cast iron mains has received intimation

that the pipes have been shipped and will shortly come to hand.—Alexandkb Bscfoii!, Chjiirman\"K , ■. j,^ q jj

Thames, Jffarbqr. Board meeting is un> avoidably'crdwdedMt s!'^^^ The University of Strasburg has pur« cbased for it#-libr'&ry fdufe collections of manuscripts by Goethe. They belonged To Baron "Stein, and contain^ among other interesting works,-. *•■,Bamber of,ypp^H|i« songs composed by Giethe, at to«; wfcfrt fewenty-twor during his sojourn at Strai* We hear, from a well-informed source in St. Petersburg'tnat'thV reception of Lord Dufforin at that' court is something far more "than complaisant; r .,i.t. ;is;ti^affectedly hearty. Not only the Czir, but his Chahcellbi* has been ostentatious in friendliness towards,the new Enjjlish Ambassador. ' ' "'" ''' , v v™ ;'F J . l(ie,utenant f Zubowitz, th°e Hungarian officer who some years ago made and<*wou a heavy bet that he would ride to Parts from Vienna in a given time,'has once taore distinguished him,self-nshif iime-by his 1 bravery in saying life,at- Szegeam. He hascrescued atlea«t ; ;a doaen peoph? with his own hands from the floodji.f#nji falling houses, a work of great personal fisk.