WAIRARAPA WEST COUNTY COUNCIL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 999, 14 February 1882, Page 2

WAIRARAPA WEST COUNTY COUNCIL.

THEusu'al'mo'nthlymeeting of theWairarap'a West- County Council' was held yesterday at the County "fees, Carterton. Presant-Dra Pha'razyn (chairman), Boys, .Phillips,.,Donald, Booth, McGregor, Ja : cksdhv and Chamberlain. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed, ■

\TARASAKI. COOJJTY CfBCULAfci A circular letter was read from the Taranaki Coilatf■'Council, asking the Oouticil' aßsiatiince. in redressing a grievance which arose from its subsidy being stopped, to .defray! hospital charges— Or Phillips desired an expression of sympathy to be conveyed to the County.—Cr McGregor said that as they knew nothing of the ciroumstancea of: the case they could express no opinion on it; and Cr Booth pointed' Out'that'Taranaki was generally snpposed .to' get more than its fair share of,good things.'

IOOATINO ItOADS. A letter was read from the SurveyorGeneral, re the location of certain roads, the construction of iwiiioh was not immediately contemplated. r Cr .MoGregor expressed himself sifniiiily in favor of the work beta" done by their "own engineer in preference to-a.Qpvßrnineiit officer, and th|a';chairmar) cnnoiimdli); the; opinion.— Or Phillips pointed'out that thij Government could not delegate such work to Counties, for though they tnivcht possess an able engineer, other Counties were not equally idrtuna(s.rUfr; ! .Krao. reported that the Chief Surveyor in the present instance had requested him to re-grade the roads referred to;—Or Phillips suggested that they should ask. the Minister of Lands to request the Survey Department to instrupt the Government engineers to onnsuft as far as possible the County engineers in laying off roads. advertisi.no. , An application of Beckett k Co., of Carterton, was read,;asking for a share nf the County advertising and printing.—&• McGregor suggested that a portion of the job printing should be given to the appli. cants, but would oppose any division of the advertising, as contractors were in the habit of looking to the Walrarapa Daily for their announcements, and any change wouldrlead'to inconvenience. The clerk mightjbe: instructed to distribute the job printing among all the offices.—The clerk pointed.ouUhat, it would be rather an arduous task to divide, the job printing between four offices,—lt was deoided to leave the matter of job printing to the discretion of the clerk. MANAWAWprjNT. It waß reported that the cost of the punt and rope recently supplied was £173.Or McGregor said that the ferrynvm had been warned not to let the rope down to,) low, the punt could be worked easier when it was low, hut there was a danger of it being carried away by flood. WOBKS .COMMITTEE REPORT. The Works Committee reported that at a full meeting of members they hud deoided to recommend the following division of the 18000 rote :-' ■ ■■ '•■'• ■••'■■ £ Mauriceville South blook roids ... 1200 I'o connect with Mauriceville West 600 Compensation for fond tokea ... 400 Pahiatua Block roads.•-, ... . ~, 1000 Dreyer's Book road.V. ,'!„ ' ... 800 Hawera road... ■".'„'" 800 Makatokiroad-' ~.. 800 Excess Mangaerei Block road ... 290 Alfredton road repairs 60 South Rangitiiman Block rond ... 1000 To subsidise amount availtble for Wangaehn road 400 Wangaehu Bridge 350

Total 7690 The Committee aho reoommended that the balance of the Government vote be applied to the extension of the Wnngaehu road, With reference to the works suggested by Mr Rutherford of Eangitumau, the Committee were compelled to admit, though recognising the great importance and utility of such works, that at present there are no funds available for the purpose.—The chairman stated that he had met Mr MoKerrow and informed him of the nature of their report and that he expressed a general approval of it.—On the motion of Or Phillips the report was adopted. < The Council then, on the recommendation of the Works Committee, accepted the followingtendera:-MauricevilleSout h road, section 1, 6. tenders, lowest Hans Lawen, £lls, accepted ; section 2, four tenders, lowest T. P. GirdwooJ, £261, accepted; section 3, three tenders, lowest LarsLaaßen, £229, accepted; seotion 4, three tenders, lowest T. P. Girdwood, £2ll, acoepted; Wangaehu road, two tenders, lowest Peter Madaen, £lls, accepted, , FINANCE COMMITTEE. : The Finance Committee reported aoooimtfltotbyoacocuDtof £971 IBs M for,

payment to .'.contractors, wages and general expenses, which were passed for payment, ■'];■■.■ TREASURER'S REPORT, ; The Treasurer reported a credit balance of LIOJS 8s lOd. He also reported that the Licensing let of 1881 would cause a loss of, Ll6O per annum to the County revenue, inasniuoh as the license fee on premises situated in town districts within would be paid to the Town Boaf'dPinsteiid of the Counoil. The license fees' received last year were L 420.-

HARBOR BOARDELECTIONS. A special meeting of the Counoil was then held for the election of a member for the Wellington Harbor Board. The appointment whs a joint onebetween the Wairarapa East and West County Councils, but the representatives, of the East County were not in attendance. In answer to the Chairman the Clerk stated that notices had been given to'.the members of: the County East. Cr Pharazyn was appointed Chairman'of the special meeting, and read a letter from Mr Krull expressing his willingness to represent the Counties at the Board, should they honor him with their confidence.-The Chairman said that they had every reason to be satisfied with Mr Krull as far as a town man onuld satisfy them. . He doubted whether they had any local man who would attend a formightly meeting, in Wellingtun.-Cr Buoth pointed out that the Wellington Harbor Board charged threepence on all sheep landed, which, was double the charge levied at Lyttelton, There was also an utter absence of any provision for loading sheep He moved that Mr Krull be re-elected, but thought that his attention should be called to matters of this kind in which the Wairarapa was interested—Tho Chairman expressed an opinion .that Mr Krull would be only ton glad to give effect to their wishes on Bitch points. The election of Mr Krull for the next two years waß unanimously agreed to, and it was resolved that Mr Krull's attention .should he drawn to the suggestions made by Cr Buoth.

RNQINKES's REPORT. Sir,—l have the honor to submit the following brief report on the public' Works of the Wairarapa West County :- Waiohine BtMge.-The works at the Waiohine Bridge are now, being carried out in i more satisfactory manner Two of the trusses are' framed and are in course of erection, and neirly the whole »f the ironwork and limber for two other trusses is delivered at the site. When the balance of the limber is delivered, and the contractor has proceeded as far us possible with the preparation of the other, trusses, etc., the old bridge will have to i>e taken dnwn to allow the works to be proceeded with. The third pile from the Greytown end of the new bridge will be immediately under the old bridge, the oileß for which o.nnot be .driven without first removing a part of the old structure. At the time it was decided to build the new bridge it appeared to me that very little inconvenience would be experienced by the traveling public, as there was a very good ford close to the bridge. Since then, however, several floods have no citrred, which have cuitied changes in the river bed, and there now appears to bo no good ford near the crossing place. I estimate the time from the closing of the old bridge to the opening of the new one at one month,

Since the survey of the Waiohine river near the site of the bridge wt>s made in September last, the right bank, about 20 chains above the bridge, has been considerably altered by floods; and there is a probability of the road near the toll-gate being destroyed if preventive measures are not taken. The plan appended shows the encroachments made, and also overflows which have occurred. Opaki to Manawam Road—Mr Cashman's contract (erection of two 30ft Bpa'n bridge)).—One of,the bridges is completed (except painting) and the contractor expects to complete the other one about the end of the present week.

Mr McDonuld's contract (erection of three small bridges).-The greater part of (he materials for these bridges are provided, and their construction is beiug proceeded with

Soi'ensen & C>., have almost completed their contraot (culvert, and 6 chains formation and metalling), I beg to apply, on behalf of the contractors, for the contract price to be left with the County Clerk, to be paid over on my certificate, as the works are nearly, if not quite, completed, The maintenance men during the past month have been employed in removing old culverts and putting in new ones, cuttint' scrub on the sides •■£ tho road, and in widening and geuerally improving the road bed.

Pahiatua Road.—Mr Girdwond has made a good start with his contraot on this road.

Wainoua Bridge.—Although the Wai. pnuiißridge hasten open for. traffic for Borne considerable time, the {contract is not yet completed. Mauriceville Smith Bond. Tenders h>ive been received by the Works Com mi tee for four sect iuns of this road (in all 207 chaiiiß). The works inolude! Felling, clearing, Btumping, farming, and culverts. The bridges that will be,required I propose making a separate contract, Wiinojeliu Valley Rnad.-Tenders have been received for the formation of 63 chiiins of this road, including culverts!. . I am, &c, John Kino, Comity Engineer. CLOSING OF THE WAIOHINE bIUDQK. The Cliiiirui'tn: A>-e we going t" allow the traffic to be suspended for Ja iihuli? On an averse there seems to have been only about throe men at work at tho bridge.— The Engineer Th«re are more now.—The OliHirmnn: What aro our powers?— The Engineer:■We can giro seven day's notice and take over the bridge. - The Chairman i It is perfectly absurd the way things are going on.— Tho Engineer: The contractor haß made provisions now for the work being carried on more rapidlv,—Cr McGregor; Can the lime be reduced during which the bridge will be closed.— The Engineer: Not very well but light traffic might be taken over the old bridge during a porti'iii of it,-»Ur Booth thought it would be better to spend money over a good ford than provide for light traffic crossing the bridge. It was decided to leave the Engineer to make the beat arrangements he could for traffic, and it was intimated that the contractor would, in proportion to his dilatoriness, ba aubjecied to penalties. RIVER ENCROACHMENT.

Cr McGrei-or pointed out that they had no funds. He suggested that the Festberßton Highway Board might take action to protect the main line of road. The. question was allowed to stand over pending a decision, on the general question of road maintenance, WAIPOUA yiiDQs, , . Or McGregor intimated that if the contractor did not at once complete'the bridge to the satisfaction of the Engineer, the Works Ouminittee would tee that it was dono by other, persons at his expeuse. '> .CHARITABLE AID. ' Aii application for assistance was read fri'in a man named Eichard Pace, who alleged .that he was suffering from chronio asthma. The applicant was informed that the County did not not deal direotly with such oases, and was referred to a Be-, nevolent Society, 'though there seemed to be a doubt on the minds of Councillor! ai to whether auob a Society was still In ej.

istaace in the southern portion"-of the County,. .■■'■■ DOO BATES. - It was decided thtitas it'was found that sufficient publicity was not given to registration notices io the southern pari of the County they should be advertised in the Watrakapa Daily.—.Cr Boys called itv tentton to the facfyhat. notices had rioi been posted to owners, as/ ordered on his - motion.—The Clerk' Reported that they had been supplied to theregistrar, and the registrar stated that a portion of them had been sent out and the rest would follow.—The Chairman said that so far the Aot seemed to work well. There was littlp opposition to it on'!the part of Bettlers, and a. large number'of useless oura were being deßtroyed.~-Or Boys bore testimony to the efficient manner M which MrLaimbeer, thß,BbqthernijiL. ~ trar, was doing his work; ■| ; - > wHr >c " THE QRBAT NOBTH-BASTBRN ROAD.:

Cr Donald moved, .pursuant to noticeThat the portion of the Great NorthEastern Road in the County from the top of the'JKimiitaka to the Cam p be proclaimed a County road. In moving it he said that formerly this road was maintained by the Provincial Government, and latterly by votes from the County to the Highway Boards. The Road Boards were unable'to find funds out of their shilling rate's for its maintenance, and even the toll gate, since its removal to the other side i of. the river was but a email assistance to them. Under the old arrangement the responsibility of maintaining'the road did not fall equally nn the different Joards, one of them having a long lengthj and another a short length to provide for, and he thought the Council'could spread the cost of them more fairly. He had no wish' to be the first to propose a County rate but it was necessary that. the rating should be adjusted. A shilling it was agreed was as much as settlers should pay, and he thought that a rate of this amount might be divided between the Road Boards and the County. If it were not for the bridges the Highway Boards might be willing to undertake the charge of the main line of road. However, they.could not do with' out the bridges, and! the''Boards must assist the County ic providing for them/ The Rimutaka road lie pointed out wad one which belonged to the whole County rather than to the Featherston Highway Board, as it was the only outlet for the Valley stock, its cost and maintenance should not be borne locally. Cr Phillips had much pleasure in supporting the motion. It had been before the Council for sometime, but now they could not delay taking np their duty to the main road. He referred to the Waihenga bridge as a work whose maintenance should fall on the County. His view was 'hat the County Bhould take charge of all bridges,, and'the Highway Boards of the road lines, and. that the main line should have been proclaimed a County road long ago in order to give the conn'v control of the bridges. As he could not get the bridges taken over withnut the roads he supported. taking over both. There were some £26,000 worth of. bridges in the County with no responsible bndv looking after them." He did not think a county rate would .be necessary, I and would oppose one. They bad tolls | to fall back noon, and if any Board voluntarily contributed towards the cost of its portion of the main line the County could uk relieve it from tolls.; He. would gladly fl see tolls abolished, but while County ,™ East stood aloof from County West,. .'. he would be in favor of their retention.

Cr McGregor said he had proposed a similar resolution years ago, and the reason he oppmed it now was the reaßbn on which he withdrew his former proposalviz. that ns long as the Government found the revenue for maintaining the road, it was the duty of of the county to take charge of it. He believed that a pressure would be hrought ? to hear oh the Government to settle the Local Self Government question and that in the meanwhile to mate any change wdiild only complicate their position. If they proclaimed the road a County one they would find themselves in a diffionltv. Ors ; Donald and Philips .though deprecating a county rate were taking steps to secure one. It was a wild idea to sunposo tbat the Highway Board would contribute towards the cost of the road out of their shilling rates. They' tti were already too heavily handicapped and wanted assistance from the County rather than being in a position to help.it, The County system was likely to' permanently established as a the colony, and he believed some at'nn would have to be made to avoid f flr dnnl rate. He regarded a dnplioate raj Mr as nnjnst and oppressive, and if they evade it by biding a wee let them do sdi Till the lootl self-government question was settled they ihould be patient and cautions and not complicate their position by any hasty change.'» ; Cr Jackson would support the motion if no County rate was required. He thought that they had too many taxes already. He approved of tollgates, the men who destroyed the roads were the men who might to pay for them. He would like to ' sen a few more toll gates put up. , Cr Boyg said from the first he had adrocnted the view thut the County Councils as the successors of the Provincial Government, Bhoold take nver'the main line of road. The road boards could not contribute from their funds for the main line without stopping local improvemeuta, If from the first the County had taken over the main line there would have been no heartburnings between It and the road boards.

Cr Booth took Sides with Cr McGregor. Two or three years ago he was in favor of their taking up a still larr/er responsibility; but pending the decision of the next session of Parliament •bare was nothing to be done by taking the Btep Their present difficulty wbb the two hridges at Waipoua and Waiohine. He thought the Maiterton Highway Board would temporarily he willing to pay at least the w t of interest on the former, and that the tolls would provide interest and some sinking fund for the latter. The carrying of Cr Donald's resolution meant, in his opinion, the carrying, of a County rate. _ In the present circumstances of the district tolls were inadvisable, the cost of their collection being altogether out of proportion to the amount collected. If they carried this resolution they must impose a County rate and abolish the tolls (No I) He also scouted the idea of the Highway Boards haying-any, money to spare for the main lines, of road.'''. ■ < Cr Phillips; Allow me to remindyrfu thatffc. the Taratahi-Csrterton Highway floarofv offered us £BOO a year to take oharge of ' the main line through its boundaries, Cr Booth: The offer was made out of tolls, not out of rates. The pmition of the Board was one of destitution. Set. tiers had eamany legitimate claims .upon it for roads that it was monstrous to think of alienating any portion of "its' revenue for the main line. He confeMid: thitthi position of the County did hot inMretljs necessity of an immediate deoision on the question now submitted -to. it. Were, a *. County rate absolutely necessary he w'tiuld. support one, but he did rioVrecflgniietEii to be ttacase then, He wassatisfled tfrat from Featheratpn to theiCamp repair! wereunneoessary. for Ihe.nextyear.and be declared now the road was reeved from all its heavy traffic they need np.t discount against : railway communication, which carried it. He also pointed, out that tola yeai. settlers, as they flight be, wero relieved f)(om tftx theywould be bejler nbh to pay. i;d<mnty rate.

~ ■ ', Cr Chamberlain Baid that he would eup' ••;■' pott the resolution if it could '.> -'.town that it would .not.involve a-county rale. He would rather see the Highway Boanli Strain a point to provide fnr'themain lint ■ • •'•• 'fin!' have a' dual rate levied in tliodistriot .■...: ne Chaii man said the debate was curioui m oneieapect; The opponents of takinj OVer the road, were'formerly the supper tera of it, and those who now advocalet it were formerly against it Cr Boys wii the only.consistent membor amongst them Circumstance, however had altered einci they last diacusaed iho question, and on t ■/." practical question of this kind a oluinge c: this character justified a different course They were unanimous'ua to it being righ ■. to take over tho road, only they did no want the County rate. It was, however jWqounty rate would follow. He was sur at a practical man like Mi ' WKlcGregor proposing to wait on Provi dence, and ,this only shewed the evil effects of too much Government expendi ' ture. Hitherto the subsidies had enablec them to equalise the burthen of the main line, and there would have been no distinct gain in taking it over from theHJuhway Board,' Now they hud to provide for a deficit of £1,600 on bridges, and the road itself would prove costly, as its metal was worn through. They had managed to tide over a period ot depression without a rate, and in doing this they had accomplished all that could reasonably bo expected from them. They had no power to borrow on security of tolls, and if they did not Ink the action pioposed by the mover of the resolution tho main line ' would be in a miserable state next winter. The county rate would not be a serious one, and if the Boards could do with less than a shilling one they could adjust it without much difficulty. The county iate . had thiß advantage. It could be levied in town districts which now escaped iheir liubility towards the main line. ,He pointed out that the idea suggested by Cr Phillips of catching County East by tolls was a mistaken one, as settlers there came principally by cross ■■• roada to the railway stations, and hardly used tho main line. Ho did not think that their position wiih the Government would be any worse because they helped themselves. He hoped that if the notion were carried that some Councillor, at the next meeting, would propose a small County rate, and that they would all be unanimous in voting if, Cr Booth pointed out that future settlers in the district ought in bear their shaie of cost of expensive bridges like the one they were now construciing, and that it was inexpedient that they should be paid for at once, The Chairman explained that it . was understood that if the Government proposals for lending money at a low rate of interest were adopted the Waipoua and Waiobino bridges would ,be allowed to comennder them.-Cr McGregor said ho looked to the Government for settling local self got eminent on a permanent basis rather than for grants of money.— Cr Donald in reply said the cost of mainK. taining the main line trust fall on settlers either in the form of a rate or in tolls, and he maintained that it was better for the Council to provide the ways and means as it could equalise the burden hotter .. than the Boards'. He did not believe there would be any difficulty in collecting tbe rate.—Cr Booth: It is the rate itself not the collection of it which presents a difficulty.—Cr Donald: 'Jhe collection ; was, however, one of their troubles. The '.' Property Tax seemed to be collected in a very simple manner by ibe postal department, ami he did not Bee why the Government could not place this machinery at their disposal for collecting County rates.—Cr Booth: If in order, I would move an amendment.—The Chairman: You are in order.—Cr McGregor: Go on and I'll second it.—Cr Booth moved as an amendment^That the consideration of the question be postponed till the expiration of the next session of Parliament, He ; saidhe had a wholesome dread of starting a fresh staff on the main line. He thought their revenue from licenses &c, ought to have been saved for the main road and their ordinary expenses charged . against special votes. He behoved this revenue would keep the main line going for another year.—Cr McGregor seconded the amendment, feeling sure the Government would legislate for them during the tominK session-Cr Phillips: We shall ; only get Major Atkinson's proposals over L> %yo.— Wi Chairman : Yes, something L^H^iJr iUI ' e --Cr McGregor: Then to he altered.—l he amendHRfct 'was then put and lost and tbe was canned. j WAIHESGA AND GLADSTONE. moved- That the Council as far as lies in i< s power any attempt maae to open up a toad between Waihenga and Gladstone, so as to connect with the East Coasi road. There being some haziness amongst Councillors as to the geography of the Bpot indicated, and ' whether it was wiibin the boundaries of • the County, its discussion was postponed till a plan of it was; obtainable. After a desultory discussion on tbe Waiobiiie toll gate, in which an opinion wub expressed that if the tollkeeper, who is losing money by lis lease, desired to throw it up the County would bo willing to cancel the agreement with a view to abolishing the toll, the Council then adjourned.