WHAREAMA ROAD BOARD.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3167, 30 March 1889, Page 2

WHAREAMA ROAD BOARD.

The monthly meeting of the Board was held on Friday, at Mr Uarswell's Blainlogie. Present; E. Meredith, (Chairman), G. Moore, and R. B. Meredith. • ■

_ Tho rqinutos of tho previous meeting wore \mi and confirmed '"''*'" . The Eparaiju Boad EjißiioGpiq. The phairman stated with reference to the stopping of the East Coast mails, caused through the blocking of the Eparaima road, that he had received several communications from the Postal and Police Departments, to which he bad replied. . Mr Moore asked whether those replies' autboriaedby th© Board. He felt sure they never were. ■

' The Chairman informed Mr Moore tWt'tjie'ldttera were wrjtfea in-reply to!• those' received' 1 by'''the ''iPMit} Department with referehde tb' the obstruction of the mails. Ho had merely acted in hia;capaciv as. ; Chairmattof the Board. ;:'JJ 1 :;i:? v'} Mr Moorb: la 'those.Jettera yoji accuse pae of inciting the Natives aha;".'-'.' 'u'sihg inflammatory JangHaga,''' f ,.;:' : The' Chairman.: accuse you personally. I'only stalK; what I had been informed.-' v>^si Mr Moore

■s coarse for tbo Chairman to have .'!; taken, would have been to call the Board together before sending suoli a report to tho Postal Department. W-The Chairman: If you .wish to Wve a resolution on this imbjeot, Mr Mooro, you are at liberty to do so when I have read the reports on the matter I have replied to. ■ Correspondence was then read from Mr Gray, Secretary to the Postal Department, in which he ' expressed a hope that uninterrupted passage for mails to the East Coast , woiild.be found without delay. The reports of Messrs ft. B. Meredith and T. Carswell on the obstruction, and tho action takon by them in connec- ■ tion with the dispute were also read. Mr Moore objected to portions of the report as misleading, more especi-. ally where he was oredited with inciting the nativos. This ho denied. He was there to assist in maintaining peace. The action of tho Board in

sending an armed force ho character- *- -fIL; 361 *- 118 outra ß eouß, Tma 1M " 10lJ ol i < fedealing with the grievenco was not i <Jw wish of tlie ma i° rit y of tue mi < '»— tSp; was carried on tho casting yote of the Chairman. Mr B. It. Meredith did not read an official document to those present, but something from a newspaper, Ho (Mr Mooro) then pointed out to the Wardens, who were present, that the natives had just grounds for the attitude they had assumed in blocking the road. In connection with the Chairman's action he would also like to draw the Board's attention to the fact that he had kept back correspondence which had passed between himself, as Chairman, and the Surveyor-General, so far back as July or August of last year, This correspondence had a very definite bearing on the present dispute. He considered it a reprehensible practico for the Chairman to write official letters without the sanction of the Board. Tho true A) should be observed. then asked the Clerk for correspondence which hid passed between the Chairman aud the .Sur-veyor-General, The Chairman: No! I. will not L trouble the Clerk to look for it. It ■ - lias not yet been laid before the W Board. Mr Mooro drow the attention of the Hoard to the Chairman's admission. It wus outrageous that the Chairman, in his official capacity should secretly conduct correspondence with a high Government official upon a vexed question which had engaged the attention of this Board for months, which had been more than once in the Supreme Court, and which was, moreover, a question in which the Chairnnu had a direct personal interest, This correspondence had a direct bearing upon the legality of the recent expenditure of loan' moniou at Eparaima, and it should have been at once laid before the Board, Ho strongly condemned underhanded procedure of this nature. Had Mr •wredith chosen to address the surveyor -General no one could find fault, Unfortunately he had not copies of the correspondence there,, but he would indicate its' nature, The Chairman having just prior to this, accepted (unlawfully he contended), a tender for work on the old track at Eparaima, applied to the Surveyor-General for t.,the authority of His Excellency the B Governor's warrant to legalise the * Baid old track. He votes tho money and then tries to validate his action, He was informed '■ This department is advised that there was no power to take a road through section 783," or words to that effect, The sum due under Mr.Girdwood's contract ' was passed for payment while the Board was kept in ignorance of tho factiilicited, that the track on which the money was about to be spent, could not be made a legal road. «ferring again to the report stating had incited the natives, he could prove that he had told them not to strike a blow. The Maoris had ■ unanimously agreed before Judge Mackay, that the line of road laid off by Mr Bawson was the best route, The Maoris did not wish to use force, but preferred to fight the matter out in a legal way, It was enough to rouse tho Native blood when four white men pitched on to'one unarmed Native. The lour mobbed him, two hanging on to his head, and two collaring his legs. Iu this way the unfortunate Native was knocked into the ditch. This might be an ortho-

dox, but it certainly was not a British, style ol settling tho difficulty, It ■JL, took about a dozen white men to tackle Sm the Maoris, If it was a free fight that was required the services of two hundred natives could have been secured.to attain this end, but the jfctives elected to carrj the matter in a le«al manner. ' This matter then dropped. '• donal'd's Acciititra. The Chairman informed tho Board that a Bummons had been received from the Clerk of the B.M Court for the long disputed timber account, between Mr Kobert Donald and this Board. The members would recollect that the account was pissed at last meeting and then thrown out. The amount of the claim was £l2 '.'■' 12s 9d.

Mr Moore proposed, and Mr Mor- f rison seconded, that a cheque for the J fall amount be sent to Mr Donald's , solicitor at once. Carried. ' The Chairman movo'd ■ that tho ! amount be charged to No i subdivision. This was seconded by Mr | E. fi. Meredith. The voting boing J equal the chairman used his casting ' vote and carried his resolution. ' ■ Mr' Moore: This question is not yet settled. We have yet to distil it outofthemu'dot'Eparaima. ' l 4 ' IIIBOELLANECiIIS.' ' Ijb. The rlorth County Council wroto that the'' adjustment of accounts betweeu the Mastertori and Whareama Boards would bo gone into at a special meeting of the Council on Wednesday, 10th April, at 9 a.m. With referenco to Mr Pinkerton's application for oxtra payment for clerical work, the matter was allowed jb'standover until next meeting. '' Mr T. P. Girowodd sent in a claim of I 1? lis, interest'and expenses' in connection with his recent contract on tho East Coast, Tho Chairman moved that £6 8s 2d be paid in lull satisfaction of the claim. This was seconded by Mr R. K. Meredith. After a Blight discussion the motion was carried on the casting vote of tho Chairman, Messrs Moore and MorriBon opposing it. Mr Bartlett applied for £65 5s balance owing on his contract, which he expSCt*?. to 00llJ l?^' e on. Saturday. The Board resolved to p™ tue amount pp. production of the Engijieefscertificate.'' jl /The Clerk was instructed to oomwith tho circular' from' the Auditor General's office re" prepay- ,, . tion of balance-sheets.: >jk : •MrR. Bv Meredith reported that in the' adjustment' of aicoiintsof tho sum ' • •■. rt m 18s 1 6d, £7 2s "2d had been &iwn out of the SBOO loan awoinji

and placed to credit of general account, and that the sum of £6 3s had been paid out of general account and credited to loan account, Mr Moore moved, Mr Morrison secondod, "That the Secretary of Posts and Telegraphs be informed in reply to his letter of the 9th Marok, 1889, that a legal road (vido P- Gazette, 1875, p. 1110) is now open for wheeled traffic at Eparaima.

The Chairman moved and 41 rE. It. Meredith secouded " That there is no data in the possession of this Board to support the motion. On a division being called, the Chairman and Mr E. E. Meredith voted in favor of the latter, aud Messrs Moore and Morrison against. The amendment was carried on the casting voto of tbo Chairman. Mr Moore submitted that in his opinion it was tho duty of tho Chairman to ascertain tho logal position of tbo road in question. Its legality was constantly denied, but no steps wore taken by the Chairman to support his statement. , Eosolved that the next general meeting of the. Board take place at 11 a.m, on Saturday, 4th May, and that the annual meeting of ratepayers be hold on tho same day at 12 noon, at the office of the Board, Accounts amounting to £GS 5s was passed lor payment, and the meeting adjourned,