Waimate County Council.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 134, 28 November 1901, Page 3

Waimate County Council.

o i The monthly meeting of the Waiix-at< > County Council was held yesterday t there being present Messrs J. F F Douglas (chair), G. Lyall, W. J ) Hardie, A. Walker, A. S. Elworth.v f D. Ross, C. Studholme and R. H. i Rhodes. Before commencing business Mi 1 Ross said that Mr Morris, supervisor i of the Waihao Water Races, had lost a i son the previous day. and he moved ■ that a letter of condolence with Mr Morris should be sent. Mr Walker seconded this and it w»s carried. engineer's rs.pout. The Engineer reported on the various works do ,e in tho county during the p-ist niontli as follows; Upper Pareora Riding.—The work of repairing'he bridges on the back roads would be pr ceeded with at onue, the carting of the timber having been a.ranged for. The survey of Pringles road would bo done shortly. Surface repairs and improvements had been pffeoted on White Ruck, Prart's, an« other ba >k ro.ids. Lower Pareora.—A short length of road formation at Pareora homestead had neen finished. Men are employed in b'eakinji an 1 blinding the material on Williams and Caswell's contract near St. Andrews. An inspection of corse notified to ba removed would be made before nex meeting. Ot»i->.—The Eak Valley contract had been finished. Martin's road contract was -veil in h>vnd, and wou!d be finish-d iu ab ut a fortnight. A small cntract was let for re-breaking and ra'ing on t<e Woolsliwl Vallev road. No provision had bean made in the G;>voru- • meut estimates f>r subsidising the propped work.on Dalcdew road a-ked for by Crown tenants, and the Couor.il sho Id r ply to the petitioners regarding their req :es'. Makinihi.—The application of Mr W. M Smith was to have a length of road leading to the beicli formed, ind I this c"uld be done by the grader during tho nex", s x wnekß, th >ugh wis no | immediate hurry for the work, as it wa» little u-ed by the j,en-ral public. 11. Lindsay's application for repairs had been attended to. been Cieek.— J. B. Milsom's application for a footpath on Timaru road um.il the gorse was cleaied from the roadside hid been attended to. Contracts for work a Studholme Junction and at Waihao Forks Crirge road had been em deled. W.-i'-«ao.—Th« extra work entailed thr ug*i the of a contractor by a ratepayer in this riding totalled a kri»e Bum, About one third of this was c-uaed by 'le extra haulage on ru*ds, and this required atte tim at jnce. The G'enavy Hills-Mo:int Parker road was attended 'o. Trie Pentland Hills road contract hid he n competed, *nd g od progress wn beiug male with the r >ckcutting contract at Takitu road. The (Jouncil'H team hid the balanced this roadwnrk in hand, and it is anticipated that the whol- 1 ngt i weuld bi open for wheel tr»ffic by Bvcember 10th. Work on road wa- progressing well, and arranccnents were made with the contractor to Ho more work on the road ut the same rate up to the amount of trie i}i)ieminent grant and accrued ihirts Phis would provide for a further length of fi'ty four c >ains. Plans had bsen prep red for the proposed bridge at Rerlcliff to work up materials the Council h>d had on hand for some yeai*. This would allow t e work to be proceede I with at once without fie u<ual delay in ordering timber from Aiutralia. Teudjrs would "e called for n-xt m-retiog. Hikatara-nea.—The Council's team had been '-ngnge 1 in repairing at S uid. hurst, Milner's an I HakiUramea Valley road during the month, and w uld be transferred to the T ble Top and D-ep road Slip* on t<e Cliff road had cioaed it against traffic at times, and the Hurtacemen were engaged on it a good deal. Th-.re hid no oppor-u ity to invs-ijate M - Preston's application for a l.rid-e track up #the Waitaki river Proceedings which t) have been instituted against ratepayers for failing to ck-ar yorae hvl held over in tile hope of the work being fiaished by that date. Tender * for Australian timber were to hVH closed on November 26th, but had be'in extended to Decembar 13th, as the time had been found too short. It would be well to endeavour to arrange, through tho member for the di trict, for the inspect ioa in New South W>des of the timber by he New Zealand Government In*pnctor ,h< j re. The report was considered at length, and the following decisions were come to after discussion : On the question of the DaleddW Road iu Eohika Settlement, a let.er was received from the Hon. T. Y. Duncan that all the sections at Kohika w-ere supplied with access by road, and therefore no provision was made on the Estimates for this road. Mr Rhodes said the road had been on tha map always and nothing bad ever been done to it. He did not advocate spending a large sum, but would like the cuttings put in order for wheel traffic. Mr Bremner said it would take upwards of iJ2QO to open the road for a dray. Mr Rhodes moved that a committee consisting of Messrs Hardie, Lyall and the mover should inspect the road, and this was agreed to. It was resolved to attend to W. M. Smith's application The Engineer was authorised to try and make arrangements to have the iron bark timber inspected in Australia if possible. The report as a whale was adopted. The application of Mr N. Francis for a crossing to be made over Waimate Creek was held over, the clerk to ascertain if the river comes within the Waimate Borough. If it is not, tb.9 work is to bo done. With regard to Mr Lindsay's application for road formation at Nukuroa, Mr Walker supported it though be did not see how it was to be paid for. Mr Studholme said that the work wai urgent, but over £SOO could not be spared. He «ugge3ted that Jt should be held ovar till next yearns estimates wer* considered, and this i ww dwifod ou»

,<} CORRESPONDENCE. iy Correspondence was read and dea p with as follows: — [l Fr»m the Department of Healtl , covering health ciroulars and askin that they should be distributed. n From the Commissioner of Crow y Lands, with reference to the procedur y to be followed in the disposal of third e and fourths. The members for the ridings are fr confer with the occupiers of the lam asking their wishes for the disposal o the money. From the Receiver of Land Revsnui f enclosing £228 acorued thirds fo 3 different lands. A discussion took place on tbi ) action of the Lands Departmen repudiating the claim made by th< Council on the thirds and fourths o: 3 various lands on account of the claims ! being made for works which were done before the various settlements wen made. It was pointed out by Mi Bremner that the works had all beer done since the settlements, and it wai decided to renew the application pointing out these facts to the Depart' ment. , From Booth and Macdonald enelosing circular re road machines. The matter was held over for a time. From the' Hon. W. J. Steward stating that £9OO had been voted foi the Pareora No. 2 Settlement road. The Land Department have already . commenced the work, and as this Council had already expended £250, it was decided to apply for a refund of that amount. From the Hon. W. J. Steward, stating that he had asked for the cost of telephone communication between Waimate and Waihao, Studholme ■Junction, Makikihi and St. Andrews. He had not yet received a reply. Mr Rhodes urged that the Council should help on this work and urged that the Council should become a subscriber if anything were done iu the matter. The matter was held over. From the Hon. W. J. Steward, with reference to the grants for works in the Waimate County, urging that the giants should be laid hold of as soon as possible. It was resolved to apply for the grants for all works already done. ANNUAL MEETING. At noon the annual meeting of tbe council was h*ld, the County Clerk taking the chair. Mr J. F. Douglas was unanimously re-elected chairman on the motion of Messrs Hardie and Lyall, who recognised Mr Douglas's work while in the chair. Mr Douglas returned thanks for the honour done him. [ The Rev. G. Barclay was unanimously reelected the council's representative on the Timaru High School Board, members declaring that they could not get a better man. Messrs Ross, Hardie, Studholme, Douglas and Walker were elected the council's representatives on the Waimate Hospital Board, Mr Walker was elected to represent the council on the South Canterbury Hospital Board. Mr Douglas was appointed to record the council's vote in favour of Messrs Coltman and Walker as representing the combined borough and county of Waimate. The meeting day was fitfed as at present. The usual day falling on Christmas Day, it was decided to nistet next on Ddcember 18. It was decided to call tenders for dog collars. The dog tax was fixed at 2;i 6d for the vear. Messrs C. Ott and W. H. Emmett were formally appointed pound keepers at St. Andrews aud Hakataramea respectively. Mr G. V. Cochrane was appointed Returuiug Officer for all county elections. The ordinary meeting was then resumed, correspondence being continued. From T. Huston, Morven, asking that the ford at Lower Waihao should be lowered, as it interfered with the drainage. The engineer i 3 to report. From W. Quinn, asking leave to purchase netting as used by the C'juncil for ford works. Mr Bremner said the council kept stocks of netting and pipes merely for their own use, but if they wished to go into the business of general merchants hrf would order more than was wanted. Similar netting was made in the district. It wad resolved that, as it could be made in the district, the counoil Would not supply the netting. From W. Graves, ranger at St. Andrews, re stock on Hunter road, that it was not in his district. From W. Rothwell, Morven, complaining that his cattle were taken by ranger, and then he was summoned for it. Ho pleaded guilty and had to pay court costs aud solicitor's fee. The chairman said thiU he thought that persons should not be summoned unless their stock was found on the road at least' twice. Tbe ranger should charge full driving fees for the first offence, and if they ware out again should summon them. Mr Ross protested against the county solicitor appearing at Court for cattle cases. It was decided to instruct the ranger-to collect full driviug fees for thd first offritice unless the cattle are repeatedly on the road to his knowledge. In that case he is to summon the owners. From C. Da.vis, pointing out that a gate was across the road on the Waimate-Elephant Hill road near the Elephant Hill creek. Tbe gate was not in the centre of tbe road, and it had never been authorised. It was decided to ord&r Mr Anning to remove the gate. Accounts amounting to £943 19s 5d were passed for payment. From A. Copoland, Otaio, stating that he bad erected no fence on the road near the swamp. He was quite willing that the fence should be removed if on the road. The engineer is to attend. From M. Hanstritch, Glenavy, with reference to the road near Glenavy railway station, which bad been taken over by the Railway Department. From A. Copeland, enclosing an account for half cost of boundary, fance between hte property and council's reserve.— The aooounl is to be paid. From D. Maxwell, Cave, stating that Cannington Creek road needed attention, and asking that it should be attended to. The Engineer Is to report. From C. Hobbs with reference to the complaint about pigstyes at St. Andrews, that ha had examined into the matter, and tbe ; owner had promised toxabata the nuisauce. MrHobbaig,to report progma at -meeting.."'. .

v From E. 0. Studholme, agreeing t It sell gravel pit on Molloy's road, an asking where it was required, j Ine exact spot is to be pointed on o and the price-obtained. From M. Smith, asking that th n Council would give a share of it e advertising and job priating to th s Waimate Times. It was decided to leave things a 0 they are at preseot, the clerk ti j prepare a comparative statement o ,f the cost of printing and advertising fo the past two years. B The olerk reported that he ha< r ascertained that the land claimed fy Mrs Cameron belonged to thi 3 Council. t The Engineer stated that it wai , copered with gorse. Its area wai f eighteen acres, and it was now un , occupied. The last tenant had pafc , £6 per year. 3 It was resolved that the sectior f should be let by tender, tenant tc 1 clear the gorse and to give the 3 Council's team access at tiny time. The chairman reported that Mr A. ] McLean rod no claim for loss of sheer at the Waihao water race head works. Several places were just'trap* for sheep, and ha thought that cuts down to the race should bo put in tc [ allow sheep to get out of the race. . Three or four 6tnall bridges were also required. It was decided to get the work , suggested done, the water : roce ranger to do this subject to Mr McLean's approval. The matter of the telephone service was brought up again, Mr .Rhodas. urging that action should be taken. Messrs Douglas, Lyall, Hardie, and Ross are to enquire in Waimate, St. Andrews, Makikihi and Glenavy respectively to see what support wa p likely to be given. Mr Rhodes moved that dog-tax collectors should receive Hppointment only till March 31, to bring the date right for the balance sheet. This was carried. Messrs Dortglas, Hardte, S'udholmo and Walker were appointed a com mittee to deal with the tenders lor Australian timber. Twelve applications were received for the position of office-cleauer to the council, four from the town and eight from the country. After discussion the application of Mrs T. Cleary waß aocepted. WATER RACK MATTERS. Messrs Hardie and Lyall. who inspected the Glenavy races, reported on their visit. At Glenavy tho races were dry. At Whitney's cre*k a concrete dam had been broken down, and as this was necessary to raise the level to make the water flow, they recommended the erection of the dam. or instead of this water could be got about a chain lower without a dn.m. The other races were full near the Waitaki river, but gradually got lower and lower till it disappeared altogether about two miles above Glenavy. The race was not large enough at the top. The ground was very porous and some ratepayers recommended thu abandonment of the race altogether. Mr Lyall said the re-ereetion of tha dam was much the simpler method and it was desired to re-eivot the wall if the council have the power. If not, the other method will ba followed. Messrs Nichol and Williams wished to get water from Whitney's ereek. It was decided to supply Messrs McNaughten and Fahey from this race and to bring the water from Whitney's creek for Messrs Williams and Nichol. It was decided to return Mr Henatritch a letter which he had written re the water race supervisor. An account for making a race to his property was passed to Mr Slattery. The chairman reported with reference to Whitney's creek that all the guarantors except one had paid, and this one had cleaned out his portion. It was resolved to call for tenders to clean out the creek with the exception of this portion. The meeting then rose.