LAWRENCE TOWN COUNCIL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 215, 14 March 1872, Page 5

LAWRENCE TOWN COUNCIL.

The usual fortnightly meeting of the Town Council was held in the Council Chambers on Monday evening, the 4th instant. The Mayor and a full Council were present. The minutes of previous meeting were confirmed.

CORRESPONDENCE .

A letter from Mr. J. M*Leod Nicolson, enquiring if the Council intended giving him a title to the section which he leased from the Corporation some months ago, was read.

The Clerk was instructed to write to Mr. Nicolson, expressing regret at the delay which had taken place, and informing him that the Council trusted very soon to be in a position to give him the necessary title to the section*

ACCOUNTS,

Mr. Tuckey, £4 2s. 6d. ; Mr. James Hill, gold medal, £5. Both accounts were referred to the Finance Committee.

PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE'S REPORT

was received and adopted.

MINING IN TH£) MUNICIPALITY.

A lengthened discussion took place on this subject. Some of the Councillors were inclined to disallow mining within the Municipal boundary, on the ground that the property mined upon was seldom if ever left in a passable condition.

Cr. Mears thought it would be shortsighted policy to prevent Europeans mining in the township, as a stringent bond -could be obtained from them to leave the ground good. He proposed that the matter be referred to the Public Works Committee, with instructions that no ground be allowed to be mined upon without such bond as he had referred to being first obtained. Cr. Williams seconded. — Carried. FINANCE REPORT NO. 5

was received and adopted.

Cr. Mears referred to water pipes on Reservoir Hill, which required attention. It seemed that Mr. Barnett had been spoken to several times about the necessary repairs, but was too busy to give them his* attention. He had promised day after day, week after week, to see to it, but had as yet done nothing. The matter was of great importance, as, if not seen to at once, a much larger outlay might soon be involved. He thought the work could be done by the blacksmiths, but in the event of none of them being able to do it, he would move that the Town Clerk be instructed to write to Mr. Ferguson, of Tokomairiro, to come up and do it. — Seconded by Cr. Williams and carried.

The next matter considered by the Council was the state in which the Chinamen who were working in the storm channel at the back of Ross Place had left their work. The Town Clerk stated that he had written to the holders of the bond respecting the matter, but nothing had been done by them.

Cr. Mears suggested that unless something was done by the bond holders at once, the best thing to do would be to call tenders to complete the work, and charge the proper parties with the amount.

The Mayor said he would see Mr. Gooday, who held the bond, about the matter, and endeavour to get the work done.

Cr. Coverlid referred to several persons who had entered into bonds which had never been relieved, He thought notice should be yiven to the Council when parties who had obtained permission to mine ceased working.

BO AD BOARD.

The Mayor wished to call the attention of the Council to what he considered a most important question at the present time, and one which he thought the Council should give every encouragement to. He referred to the question of having the Tuapeka district formed into a Road Board ; the boundaries of the proposed Board to be the Beaumont in one pirection, Waipori in another, the Clutha river in another, and Waitahnna West in another direction : the country embraced in these boundaries to form one large district. Tl c object of this Board would be to get bye roads made throughout the district. Something of the same kind had been proposed some time ago, when some of the Wetherstones people opposed the proposition in the pap^r, insinuating that the Mayor, not content with the taxation in the township, wished to tax the Wetherstones people also ; but these complainants did not seem to he aware that under the B.oad Board Ordinal cc the district would be divided into parishes, and the money raised in each parish would be expended in the parish where it was raised, and there solely. He wished to impress upon the residents of the district the fact that the bye road 3 would never be made unless they were brought under local management, and they would never get a share of the £50,000 subsidy unless they brought the district under the Road Boards Act. If the matter were gone into at once, it was thought they would be in time to obtain this year's subsidy. He, the Mayor, had not fully considered the Ordinance to say what effect it would have on the township, but he was confident if a Road Hoard were formed it would be the means of hastening the inauguration of the County System in Otago. With regard to the township, he had told Mr. Reid that if municipalities were to be placed in a worse position than Road Boards, they had better do away with municipalities and get them, proclaimed into Road Boards, and thus get a share of the subsidy. He (the Mayor) was not prepared to say whether that could be done. As a public body, he thought the Council should take some steps in the matter, as nothing could take place within a radius of twenty miles but must affect the township. He recommended the Council to send round the district and get signatures to the patition which had been drawn up. Ht intended making himself better acquainted with the Ordinance, and calling a special meeting to consider what the position of the Council would be in the event of a Road Board being formed.

The Council then passed a resolution to employ a man for three days to obtain signatures to the petition. A conversation then took place regarding a weigh-bridge, in the course of which it transpired that the Mayor had sent to England for one.

Tlie lifting of one or two of the debentures was also talked over,' but uo decided action was proposed. The Council then adjourned.