WAIRARAPA EAST COUNTY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1786, 12 September 1884, Page 2

WAIRARAPA EAST COUNTY.

The ordinary monthly meeting' of the above County was held yesterday at the County Offices, Mastorton, Present Org McGregor (Chairman), Maunsell, Meredith, Chamberlain, McCardle, W. H. Beetham, and Mackay.

The minnteß of the. previous meeting were read and confirmed.

Correspondence was read, from Mr Jas. Stuckey, stating that a plank in the Ruamabunga bridge was broken. From Chief Surveyor re Makakahi road contract. From Mr C. McKenzie, Woodville, stating the amount of payment for services rendered by him in dragging up the punt was insufficient. From Halberg 4 Laraen, declining .to undertake contract No. 2 Makakahi, except on the tendered conditions. (The Chairman explained that the 1 ten-der-price exceeded their, means, and consequently the work had to be reduced or an extra sum of- £IOO obtained from. the Government.) From R. S. Hawkins : inquiring upon what terms the services of the County Engineer could be obtained for laying off roads' in the Upper Tauera road disj#cfc., ;JVom Beard <fc<3fay ra right & Gtfinfil to e'ri'it gifts, Jim JtouM,

B. Tonner stating that the approaches to the Tiraumea bridge were destroyed, From the district Engineer asking permission to make a diversion on the Masterfcon-Woodville road. From Mr Napier re Tiraumea bridge slip, and recommending the cutting of a drain or the placing of a culvert to protect the bridge, From Public Works Office re forms, of debentures to be used by local bodies. From W. Badger re local government guide, From Castlepoint Road Board, applying for tracings, From Messrs Levin <Si Co re boat tor Manawatu ferry, From Mr Chapman stating that the wire rope could not be got out from the river. .From Mr Tait ve bridge at Mauriceyille, From C. Macquariß asking for detailed ex : penditure on the Eketahun'a-Tenui road.

THE TIRAUIIEA BRIDGE, The Chairman Baid Messrs Napier and Tonners letters had been dealt with by the Public Works Committee. The report of the Works Committee (already published through our columns) was then rsad. The Chairman asked the Council to confirm the steps taken by the Works Committee to restore communication in the County roads. They were not yet in a position to know what provision would be available for the larger repairs to bridges. As yet only slips had been •dealt with. He thought that their revenue would not justify the re-erec-tion of the bridges without some substantial aid from the Government. He agreed with the recommendations in the report for pushing on the settlement, of the bußh country. He did not think land alongside made roads should be allowed to remain idle, but should be put into the market.

Cr Meredith asked to what extent the Council were committed by the recommendations of the Committee, The Chairman said that the Council was pledged to nothing beyond the removal of slips. • Cr Maunsell thought that the Engineer should havo been limited in expending money in clearing dips.

Cr McCardle moved that the action of the Committee be confirmed, As yet the road was barely passable. Had he been on the Committee he would have gone further and made the Alfredton road passable. The Chairman: The Alfredton road was dealt with.

Cr McCardle was glad to hear this. The Mungaitainoki bridge would have been carried away but for prompt stepß having been taken to Bupport it.

Or W. H. Beetham seconded the motion,

Cr Meredith thought before the question was put discussion should be invited on it., He supported the view of Or Maunsell. He thought the Council" was bound to restore communication, but strong remarks had been made as to the manner in which the slips had been removed, A great deal of labor had been expended with comparatively Bmall results. Mr Macara was his authority for this statement.

Cr McCardle said Mr Macara complained that the men should have been put to work earlier. . An far as he could gather they only commenced to dear slips yesterday. Cr Mackay thought they should approve of the action of the committee end then decide what instructions should be given to the engineer.

The action of the committee was then confirmed,

The Chairman said the other portions of the report were worthy of serious consideration,

Cr McCardle thought the Alfredton road should have been embodied in the report as well as the Castlepoint and Forty Mile Bush roads. He moved that the Eketahuna-Tinui road be added to the list.—Agreed to. . CrW. H. Beetham apologised for the, absence of Cr G, Beetham, who desired him to say that he had, with Mr Buchanan, interviewed the Government on behalf of (he county roads and had received a promise of favorable consideration for their applications, The rates in the Forty Mile Bush were entirely inadequate to keep the road in repair, and without assistance from tho Government it would get into a very bad state. Till they heard from the Government, be would recommend caution in their expenditure; but at the same time they should restore communication by making a summer track round the edges of the slips, Cr McCardle moved the adoption of the recommendation to send a report to the Government through Mr Beetham. He entirely agreed with putting the lands abutting on the main line of road into the market. It was beyond their power to put the whole of the road in repair, and the Government, who owned the estate, on it, ought to contribute towards the cost.

Or Beetham seconded the resolution,

Or McCardle suggested that at least half of the land should be sold on deferred payment.

Or Chamberlain said that thousands of acres in the.Waipoua block wanted to be put into the market. Owing to it.being unserveyed good settlers were turned away, Or Meredith thought sufficient land should be placed in the market to Batisfy all applications, and a resident Engineer placed there to assist intending settlers tp make a selection, He, however, thought that while the Government were bottling up lands, they should not make roads for them whichthey had not the means to maintain, It would be easy to make good roads through the Government land, whioh would last through the summer and be destroyed in the winter. He thought the question should be deferred till after the County elections. . TheGhairman said .that they must fight for the opening up of their lands, He did not think the, land would be looked up now tho railway was located.

Cr McCardle said the proper recommendation would be to fall bush lines and let the road making stand over. Cr Beetbara agreed with this. He knew land- sold thirty years ago wbjch was still inaccessible by road. If lands . were opened up by tracks the settlers rates would suffice for making the ;ipadß.;. , . ; . . '::..,.; ~, •,

.' Cr.Meredith pointed out that roads already made were useless through the jJWvetpnjwxt hoJding to the lwtf,and that they skald not rtpent expert-

ments that had proved failures in the past, ;

The Chairman took a deep interest in this question. In the old Council they; were assured by the Fielding corporation tlmfcjt was a financial gain to fall bush andforrn and metal roads before putting them in the market, and this corporation had had considerable experience-in : Bottling land. - ,If the Government'did not help to make the roads before selling the land no assistance .could be got from them afterwards, He hoped the county would urge.upon the Government the necessity of opening up lands, ■■. <!&• McCardlo's suggestion'for half of the land to be sold on deferred payment was adopted, Or McOftrdle claimed, a right to. reply. The Fielding corporation were merely land speculatorei Their own object should be to give, settlers the advantage of any rise in values'. He recommended that a portion of the land revenue'should be set on one side .for assisting settlers to. make roads. He believed that there were men in the Government now who would do all in their power to settle the land. He .thought the report would have little weight with the Government.

The motion for adopting the committee's i;eporfc was then put and carried.' 1 *""' .'.','.

THE BURIED ROPE, Or McOardle said he had been to the Manauratu and could testify, that Mr Chapman had done all in his power to get the rope up,' The Maoris were engaged with canoes to extricate it, He thought the Council should give Mr Chapman every assistance as he had done all in his power to protect their property., The Chairman'said Mr King was going up to the Bush the next day. It was resolved—That the Engineer be requested to assist Mr Chapman. It was resolved—That Mr Macquarvie's application be agreed to, also with reference to Mr Hawkins' application, that the services of the Engineer be granted, on the same terms that, they were given to the Castlepoint Board. Mr Oonnal's application for'a deviation was referred to the Engineer who saw no objection and it was consented to.

Mr B. P. Perry waited on the Council to inquire whether he could transfer his seat on the Upper Tauera Road Board to his son.' The chairman thought it was impossible to make the change Mr Perry desired. Mr Porry's son could not serve "vithout he was a qualified elector.

Mr Perry said Home ratepayers desired to be transferred' from the Upper Taueru to the Masterton Road Board.

The chairman said that the boundaries of the Board practically must remain as gazetted, as two-thirds of the signatures of the Masterton road district ratepayers' would have to be obtained before any alteration could be effected. . engineer's report. Sißj—thave'-tliß honor to report on the public works of tho • Wairarapa East County. ' ■•-.

Opaki to Manawatu Road.—The maintenance men on this road were engaged during August last in attending to drainage and surfaoe repairs eto,, and since the 3rd of the present month in removing slips, The slips which occured on this road on the 2nd and 3rd are being rapidly removed by the maintenance men assisted by a large number of extra hands whioh I was obliged to employ for that purpose. Wheeled traffic-will be resumed to-day, but a considerable amount of work will still have to be done before the whole ot (he slips are removed, and the the road made sufficiently wide where portions of the road-bed haye slipped away. The northern approach to the bridge over the Kopuranga river at Dorsets was carried away by the reoent flood on Tuesday last, the frequent passage of vehioles and horsemen, for which planks bad to be laid, retarded somewhat the execution of the repairs. This is one of the old bridges and was erected by the general Government nine or ten years ago, it is a platform bridge the piers of whioh caught a large quantity of timber brought down by the stream of the flood, the timber interrupted the flow of the water in the centre of the river causing it to deflect and impinge against the banks at the end piers of the bridge and wash away the northern approaob. The river-bed at. the point where this bridge crosses it is now about twice the average width and I would recommend that a new bridge be erected at an early date. All the new bridges on the Opaki to Maurioeville road have stood the test of this very exceptional flood very well, and not one of those ot a single span have sustained the slightest injury, proving the correctness of the views I have long advanced with regard to single span bridges crossing creeks or rivers whose beds have considerable fall.

Masterton' to Opaki Ruad.—On this road the Southern approach to the Waipoua Bridge for a distance of about 90ft was destroyed by the recent flood. This, I believe, was oaused mainly by a oolleotion of timber and otherdebria lodging on the protective works on the left bank of the mar, oausing the Btrearh to deflect and impetigo against the embankment at the Bouthern approach, A fresh ohannel has been formed some dhtanco above the bridge, which, if allowed to remain, will oarry part of the water under the oldbridge; but if this is stopped, the whole of the water in the river (except during high floods) will flow down the channel now only partly spanned by the County bridge, In that case an additional span of 90ltwill have to be built. In the meantime a bridge for foot passengers is being erected. On the Opaki; adjacent to Mr Cameron's property, the metal has been washed off part ol the road by an ■overflow from the Waipoua, This overflow still continues, although the water intha river is not muoh above its ordinary level. Unless something be done to stop this overflow the main road at the place above reforred to will sustain serious damage from time to time.' '

Masterton to Waingawa Road,—At the Waingawa Bridge about 60ft of the southern approaoh has been washed away and a new. channel is formed at the northern end of the bridge, One pier of the bridge, the second from the Bouth end, is carried away, Until J have made a more careful examination and oblloo'ted further information I am not prepared to reoommend what works should be undertaken at this bridge,

Castle Hill Road Somy.-A prelimi nary survey of the proposed road vja Castle Hill has reoently been made by Mr MoLaohlan, and the information obtained ut as follows :-~From the oroßsing on the. Taneru river to ;the top of the saddle over whioh the road passes on Castle Hill the road is about 600 ft, and the grades are 1 in 25 and t jn'TJD, From isjesaddfe to the mi near AlfMten tht iumi ii»W Mi, and

the grades are lin 15,1 in 30, and 1 m 80; the 1 in 15 grade is about a mile long. Tbero are no engineering difficulties of any magnitudo on the line, and the ground over which.it passes is round and well suited for a.road, The difference in length between the present main.road and the proposed road over.Castle Hill would be roughly four'and,thraequarter mile'sl . "•.... I have, elo., • • John Kino, • County Engineer. The Chairman said the cost of re pairing the damage done to the roads by the late flood through the FortyMile Bush was:—Removing slips and metalling to the Manawatu river £535. To erect an 80ft bridge over the.Kopuaranga, £480." To; erect another span to the!\Vaipoua bridge, £SOO, and earthwork £100.: The road through the Forty-Mile - Bush was a narrow one, and., it would be necessary to- remove the slips to allow of a passage, and in some Darts where the outside of the'road had been carried awayJke bills would have to ba cut away, flfse thought that economy as far a? the slips were concerned'would be a mistake, but that the' metalling might be heM over, The; removal of slips and repairing ot bridges would have to be done.'

Or Maunsell asked what funds they had at their disposal for" that particular wdrk, A statement"should 'be before them showing their position before any expenditure were authorised. ••'".

The Chairman said the grant for repairs to the road was about exhausted, but the Council could go on with the work on the County rate: Cr Maunsell objected to the general rate being expended for & special riding,

Or Mackay thought the work should be done and the ridings recouped when the Government paid for the repairs. The Chairman said if the. Governwould not-find funds for this colonial road that ran through crown lands it.would have to go to rack and ruin as there were no settlers tlictfjk) rate to keep it in repair. Cr Beetham moved and Or Mackay seconded—That the engineer be instructed to open up communication, by the removal of slips, and repair the Forty-mile. Bush road to allow of traffic, but anything further than that should not be done. Carried.

The report of the survey of the Ca3tle Hill line of roiite by Mr McLachlan was given. Mr King aaid it was shorter by 4| miles than the Tiraumea Valley route, but the latter would also possibly have to be made at Borne future date.

. Cr Beetham said if it was a question of making the shortest and cheapest road .from ■Eketahuna to -Tinui, he should say the. Castle Hill was certainly the one, but ho did not look at it in that light. He considered the road should be made through the already partly settled and fertile valley of the Tirauuiea which would recoup the outlay by the extra rates. There we'reno • settlements tho Castle Hill wayAd from the nature of the ground 'winch . was extremely wretched, there never *y would be

Or McCartlle considered a County road should be constructed as direct and at the least coat possible, and district roads could be made to connect with the County road if necessary. _ The Chairman said what staggered 1 him was the difference in the cost of the two proposals, which was £2OOO and £SOO a year extra maintenance. ' Ur Mackay said thoy never would have rates to pay by the cheaper line. The country could new be settled whilst the other way was altogether different. He advised Councillors to go and see the country, and moved— That the question be deferred till further information was obtained. Or Meredith seconded the resolution which was carried, Cr McCardle moved-That thjfcontraotor, Mr Dowaes, be written Wand requested to put the road near Stoney Creek m repair forthwith, failing his A doing so that Mr King be instructed to r have it done at the contractor's ex-

pense. Cr Mackayseoonded—Carried. The Treasurer reported the amount to the credit of the Goneral Fund to bo £776,5s 3d, and to the Special Fund £699 8s 4d, and the receipts since last meeting for rates 4c, £97 lis .Id, and the Finance Committee recommended tlurt accounts to the amount of ,£578 ss, including an imprest advance to the Engineer of £2OO be passed for payment.

The report was adopted. The special order fixing the boundaries of Ridings as advcttiaed wag adopted, The clerk reported that an offer had been made of £l2 for the Te Ore Ore toll house,

_ It was resolved not to sell the building, and authority was given to the clerk to let it at a nominal sum. Or Meredith moved the motion of which he had given notice at the last meeting-" That an order papgfebeW" laid on the table of the Council a|pch ordinary meeting and that no addition be made thereto after five o'clock p.m." His object wa3 that no important question Bhould be dealt with by a bare quorum.

The motion was carried, and the Counoil adjourned.