ROAD BOARD CONFERENCE

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1823, 25 October 1884, Page 2

ROAD BOARD CONFERENCE

A conference between the Masterton, Alfredton, and Upper Taueru Road Boards was held at the office in Perrystreet, Masterton, yesterday. There were present Messrs Beetham, Dagg, Gunderson, and Meredith (Masterton),' Macquarrie and Kebbel (Alfredton),' and fi. S, Hawkins and Cockburn flood (Upper Taueru.) Mr W. H. Beetham, who presided, said that it was usual to open proceedings in Parliament by prayer, but the Road Board had not been in the habit of opening its meetings in this wanner. | On the present occasion he felt that they needed counsel in order to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. When local government Was first established in this district it was deemed advisable to localise expenditure as much as possible. It soon, however, became apparent that they could enforce no hard and fast rule on this point, It was tound by experience not only necessary to expend the rates raised

by one Ward on loads in another but even to expend money outside the district altogether. For example the rates for No. 5 Ward had with the consent of its Warden, been spent for years in the Taratahi-Carterton district. ■He believed that they had acted wisely in keeping separate accounts for

Wards, but at the same time it had not been desirable to confine the expenditure of the rates to the particular Wards in which they were collected, It must also be remembered that settlers living near the centre of population had good roads made by the Provincial Government out of money which was obtained from the sale of up-country land. He thought the rates of settlers who had been benefited thereby might reasonably be diverted for the purpose of opening up outlying districts, What was once the Masterton district was now divided into five districts, first Carterton seceded, then Pahiatua followed, Alfredton went next, and after it Upper Tttueru, and now they heard that Mauriceville was about to follow suit. It seemed to him that the present conference would be the beginning of many. The new districts would find it difficult to so draw thoir boundaries as to avoid a clashing of their various interests, and unless they met each other in an amicable spirit the interests of the district would suffer. This was their experience when the Masterton Road Board was formed, and some properties, such as Bowlands, whose interests lay on the Masterton side, were included in the Cashpoint District. They had endeavored to remedy this anomaly, but the Cashpoint .Board had opposed them. The Masterton Road Board had always realized the difficulty of making a road into the Upper Taueru district, and had strained every nerve to assist the settlers, hoping to be, in time, recouped by their rates. He took it that they were then met to consider what amount the Upper Taueru district had had it excess of its fair share of the past expenditure, and he trusted that the subject might be approached in that liberal spirit which would lead up to a satisfactory settlement, An estimate had been prepared showing the revenue derived from that district, and the expenditure on its roads. Mr R. S. Hawkins, Chairman of the Upper laueru Road Board, complained hat m August last he wrote to the Masterton Board tor the information which was then about to be given, and having received no answer to his communication, his Board was unprepared for the business of the conference, The Chairman expressed regret that the information had not been furnished, Mr Dagg said the Masterton Road Board was not in existence at the time,

Mi; R. S. Hawkins said that if the Board was inanimate the officers of it were not, and the office was open. It Seemed a curious thing that no reply to his application had been sent. The Chairman said that as far as he was concerned he would take the blame on his own shoulders. Mr B, fcj, Hawkins explained that his object in referring to this matter was to show that if any point could not be adjusted that day the respondWity of the delay would rest on the Masterton Board. The Clerk then read returns of reexpenditure from November 25, 880, to date. £377 had been expended, and £152 was charged against the district for its share in the general expenditure of the Masterton Board, iho rates received amounted to £377. Between the years 1872, and 1880*, the balance against the district wbb f 2 Ward > whicll included the Upper Taueru and Alfredton districts, it amounted to £1413. The Chairman said that if they took that account as correct the Upper Taueru district had been treated with great consideration, In early days th« Upper Taueru road was the outlet of the Alfredton district, and from this point of view the question arose how tar the Upper Taueru district had received more than its share of local expenditure. Mr Cockburn Hood said the Government gave the Board £3OO on condition that it raised a similar sum. This amount wasnotcreditedin the account. Mr Hawkins said this sum ought to be credited m the return presented to hem. He thought it extraordinary that the Masterton Board should have spent a thousand pounds on an up. country road in excess of the revenue available.

TheChamnan said they recognized that it was no use spending money in driblets on such a road, and looked forward to being re-couped at a future day by rates. The Clerk stated that the £3OO referred to had been omitted by error ;vom the account, Mr R. S. Hawkins asked if it was "able for the Board to have spent some .£SOO of their moneys and l ! 1 , ia the general account with £214 for spending it, Could they wonder where their rates had gone if with no representative at ihe Board they had been charged from 30 to 40 per cent for supervision. He wished to know also whether a sum of £4O promised by the Castlepoint Board had been paid. The Chaibian said he applied for it to the Castlepoint Board and was informed that there was no minute of such a promise having been made. Mr R. S. Hawkins said he was present at the meeting of the Board at lenui when the promise was made and a minute of it taken, He desired it to be clearly understood that there was no antagonism in the Upper •Taueru to the Masterton Road Board, Had the settlers in his neighborhood succeeded in their efforts to re-adjust the boundaras of the Ward they would still have remained in the Masterton Road District, They had been thwarted m this, and it was not their fault that they had separated. Ho did not feel that ho was in a position to be responsible for the administration of the Masterton Board for the past twenty years. It was clear that if one item ike the £3OO had been forgotten others had probably been omitted. He was prepared to meet the Board on the statement of accounts from 1880, but in this he objected to the charge of 30 or 40 per cent for supervision, , T ' le Chairman explained that when it was decided to keep separate accounts tor Wards it was determined that onethird of the rates should be paid into a geneial fund to be used for general purposes. It did not follow that the administration of the Board had cost.

33 per cent, but this proportion been set aside for general purposes. _ Mr - Dagg said the Board had incurred heavy expenses in preparing plans for adjustment of the ward's boundary which had come out of this fund. l ; Tii.. Mr Hawking l demurred to this cliargo as the plan jiin question was one obstacle which had been placed 'in the way of setters when they endeavored to adjust the boundaries of the Wardl !l 'lf f'hey had left the maps alone the Upper Taueru would still have been part of the Masterton Road Board. That was the way they were jockied. The Chairman said he had no recol-

lection of any jockeying taking place. He would be surprised if they found the Masterton District indebted to Bowlands, Large sums in excess of their rates had been expended therefor years, as it was considered important to open up that country, but if they did find it so the Masterton District would be prepared to pay. It would bo necessary to go back from the first; Mr Macquarrie said if the Alfredton Dstvict was part of No 1 Ward, prior to 1880 they were in credit. He read a statement of accounts showing that before the division they were in credit £293, and after they were left with a debit balance of <£237, and the only refund they got was £l5O, which Mr Dagg wanted to cut down to £l2O, so that actually No. I Ward had to pay £350 for that bridle track from Masterton to Alfredton. Mr Hawkins said it would require the services of two skilled accountants to arrive at their just position. Mr Hood said the Upper Taueru never had anything to do with No, 1 Ward, It was always No. 2 Ward, In 1876 he made application for money when he was paying £lO a year rales, and he was answered more had been already expended upon them than they wtre entitled to. Now when he was paying £33 a year rates he still got the same answer when he applied for money to be spent there. Mr Hawkins said unless accounts

were gone into from the commencement he would not recommend his Board to recognise a debt at all, o,t of £222 10s the sum of £69 10s had been spent between Masterton and Gladstone. The rest had been spent between Masterton and Alfredton road. That was the road that had swallowed up all the money, and when they petitioned for a new road district their petition was shelved, and they were 'shoved on to a Ward heavily in debt. The chairman said that- whatever money was spent in No 2 Wad out of moneys belonging to No 1 Ward, was spent with the sanction and at the instigation of its warden, and althou«h spent in another Ward it was for the benefit of his own Ward, as at that time this bridle track, which, now better communication had been opened, was sneered at, was the only outlet for the Alfredton distriot. Messrs Rutherfoid and Alpass were the wardens referred to, and they could go further back than when the ohange took place to adjust present accounts, In dealing with tho matter they should ignore the Wards, and ask, has the Upper laueru had more than its share spent in the district, and, if so, can any part of it cut itself off from that liability and repudiate the debt? The Masterton district had done more than they ought considering the rates, for the Upper Taueui district and landed themselves in debt, and now the Upper Taueru wanted to ignore the debt and leave the whole burden to fall upon the parent. Supposing the other Wards did the same thing and constituted themselves into separate Boards, takin* the assets and rejecting the liabilities" they would leave the old parent denuded ot everything except the large debt, If they chose they could now come to some settlement on a broad basisignore the question of wards and let each district accopt its fair share of the liability already incurred. It was a fact that a deal more money had been spent on tho Upper Taueru than had been received. They should recognise this, meet the Masterton Board Half way, and give them their hearty thanks for what had been done for them. After some further discussion the following resolution was carried on the motion of Mr Hawkins•

That the liability of No. 2 Ward of «»iwt ot JNo. 2 Ward remaining in the Masterton Road Board being 1453, and the rates in the % er Taueru Board I 'W-Kwlwd Um the debt ot i,/Uo be apportioned between the two Boards in proportion to the rates, and that one half the amount of the current rate in the portion of No 2 Ward included in the Taueru District ba paid over to the Upper Taueru Board, and the remaining half be retained by the Masterton Board in part payment of the debt ascertained on the above basis, the balance of such debt to be paid in two yearly payments carrying interest at the current rate. The sum the new Board will lmve to refund to its parent is nearly il3o and they will take half of their current years rates.

The Chairman said this was not to be taken as a precedent by any other intending secceisionists. Of course all that had been done by this meetiii" eould only come as recommendations to the County Council.

Mr Hawkins thanked the Masterton Board for their past liberality to his district which had tried to unite with them, but could not do so, Mr Macquarrie asked that the same principle may apply to the Alfredton and Pahiatua Districts. If that were decided on, the details could soon be arrived at, He moved the following resolution which was seconded by Mr Dagg and carried That the adjudged 1 credit balance of £2OO due to No 1 Board be handed over to the Pahiatua and Alfredton Boards in equal division, and the Alfredton Board be authorised to collect the current rates within their district.