Mr W. C. Buchanan at Greytown.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3228, 12 June 1889, Page 2

Mr W. C. Buchanan at Greytown.

Mr W. C, Buchanan, M.H.R., last | IC iiight addressed the electors'* of the |° Wairarapa electorate in the' Town Hall, Greytown, where, in response P" to his invitationi a fair and thoroughly ® representative, and, by their siibse- ' quent expressions of approval, cor- 01 diajly sympathetic audience had J" assembled. ' " ... c Upon the motion of Mr Buchauau, 1' Mv F. H. Wood, Mayor of Greytown, took the chair, ®' Mr-Wood expressed pleasure at ? presiding, and made a few appropriate ! c and introductory remarks. ! c . Mr Buchanan said: It had been f the rule for members te address their constituents during each recess. Last ? ] year, owing to a strongly contested J 1 and- protracted election, people and 81 members alike .had got tired of politios, and the custom .was not ° upheld. As he intended making his speech short and concise he would at ' once go into his "subject and refer v to 11 ' Tk Financial Position, ]■ - The state of the Colony financially j was the main question on which tho elections had been fought out, Tho j, ; Stout-Vogel government, after three g years' office and nonfulfilm'ent of rash promises, had allowed the colonyto drift into serious financial diffioul- t ! ties. There was a great and mcreas- . ing discrepancy between revenue and : 1 expenditure.' The unemployed were ' crying out. Thousands we leaving l ' the colony. Credit abroad was } damaged deplorably. The remedy , proposed was increased'taxation, but i ! without any practical retrenchment, | ■ Parliament condemnod the proposals and the population endorsed the | conviction; The Premier, even, lost , ' his seat.: -With the new Parliament, tho , ' present Government came into office. , ' In a fortnight they submitted that f the decreasing revenue would, .if the , 1 oxistant expenditure were continued, , ' result in a deficiency of £889,000 by ' 1 the end of the financial year on 31st r March. .They further annonnced 0 that " retrenchment" woul'd be tho main feature of their roform, and that a reduction in expenditure of ( £300,000 per annum was within their power, (applause), but as only five months of that year were left, they could by 31st March only hope to if reduce the deficiency to what lie (the e speaker) had alluded to, £312,000, V The principal items of 1 Retrenchment s 0 were: Tho Governor's salary and (1 allowances, £7,500, reducod to £5000; The Premier, $1,750 to. £1000; Other Ministers £1,250 to £BOO, with [_ travelling expenses at £i 10a per 3 f day instead of L2 2s, with a maxiie mum for ftny one year of not over d LIOOO. Ministers residences were ~1 to be sold and-L2OO ft year allowed )e for house rent, &,% instead. The ie honorarium for members of the nj Upper House was to be £IOO in the rs place of two hundred guineas; and g _ lor the Lower House LlfiO. They had previously received tho same as the Upper House, viz. two hundred [|] guineas. Those who resided in Wellington were to be recompensed with ,> a only the title of "Honorable," and to receive no payment. The salaries and allowances of civil servants or receiving over Ll5O por annum were Vi to bo greatly aud permanently ij, reduced, and a Bill proposed would remove it from tho power of future „ Ministers to make capricious ina[ creases in better times. It had also in been mtendel to save LBO.OOO by m raising the school age from five years to six years; but upon tho plea that many small country schools would be closed, tho resolution was defeated. ■ Bommg, . The Government found only L 219,000 left of the last loan, They a ] had the strongest disinclination to ce borrow, but found to do otherwise with important unfinished works in |. O hand, would bo false economy, and a would sink money already spent, nz They decided reluctantly to borrow j t- another million, with the provision that Now Zealand should not again have recourse to the English money e „ market for tLree years, He (the speaker) had jo ned in the opposition to the Bill with the object' of getting gy the amount reduced, but the measure was passed and acted upon. Besides this another million-half of it i8 _ already uselessly spent-was authorag ised for the North Island Main Trunk Lino to which he would refer later on. Land Settlement. For many future, years laud settleill ment would, lie considered, be one of a the Colony's most important subbo jects of legislation. Under the sd former law Government land, allie though surveyed, was only placed in to the market arbitrarily by the reign>r- ing minister-when and how he he choose. Larger tracks still remained unsurveyed, instead of having tia been produotivoly populated. Suery cessive ministers introduced their m "fads" and oik ideas of model' to forms of tenure, and changes were ut rang on the systems of cash, deferred payment,- village : settlements, ic. He had no doubt but that many in would'be settlers left the colony or incensed at red-tape hindrance to ly the .acquirement of land. • The id amended Aot, however, removed this , obstruction. Intending settlers get ig farms to suit them and. their ciriie cumstances, aud unsurveyed lands ay could be surveyed by their own 'a surveyors, and the cost deducted' as from the payments for the land, id Tho happiest results had happened, lie and extensive tracts useless for years, were now occupied, Last year, he might mention, 855,000 ' acres, averaging 155 t acres per settler; .were allocated" for settlement" and of improvement, while the year before ad only 190,000 acres were taken up. In the bush districts of Wellington jy luidHawkes Bay the settlement had :b, been ten times that of the previous ly year. Tho grazing leases bad .progrcssed also to an almost similar ig extent; last year 1,520,000 acres were taken up. Tho previous year of only 917,000 acres. He considered e . this extremely satisfactory news (applaußo), after a time when property was barely saleable at all, and lie had no doubt whatever, but that with the stimulus of a better market for produce, progress would steadily t continue in the same direction,

Representation, • The numbei'- of members iu the Lower House was 05—01 Europoaiiß and four Natives. Retrenchment led to a Bill being introduced to reduce the. number of. Europeans next election to 70, but leaving the Natives as originally, except that iii future they would not be allowed to voto for European memta, He (the speaker) upheld the reduction.and now saw no reason to alter his opinion. Last year some members who feared losing their seats by a reduction, tried to re-instate the old but failed.' Seventy mem-

bora' ouglit to lio well able to represent tlio limited population of Now Zealand; i\Jr George Fisher; bid his cpnstihiimlsvthat "a ttatcsuiau's I head" was wliat the peop'e required for Government;,anil he (,ho speaker) left it to his audience, to say what particular head Mr Fisher referred tp on 'the occasion in question! (Laughter), Now : Zealand possesses one member for every 8,200 of its population; New South 'Wales one to to 8,400; Victoria, ono in 12;000; and in the older countries, Great Britain elects one representative to every 56,000 people, and the United States one to. 174,000. He did, not for evident reasons, consider that fewer members ;would handicap the less wealthy candidates, When he first came to the Wairarapathere was only one electorate here, and it was just as oasily worked and just as serviceable as the present two. There was no doubt we had;been overgoverned. lime and money wasted in talk, and important measures were neglected, The Government had also introduced a [measure by which the Speaker could put to the vote any question which lie thought had been. Bufijciently discussed. This, untortuimtelv,,was not carried; but lio (Mr Buchanan) hoped it would be adopted next session. .

Railway Managiment. . j He had for (years favored -non- \ political control of the railways. Last [ year uo less than £859,000 liad to be ] paid out of taxation, to make up the j deficiency in the interest and'manage- | ment expenses of tho j which represented, an embarked t capital of four millions, sterling. ( Victoria's example of employing a ] high class English expert had been a j great success. The earnings increased, ( the expenditure decreased, thfjre was ] an actual profit above interest, and i at tho same: time freights and fares j were considerably reduced; Victoria ■ wanted the best possible management i nid was prepared to suitably pay for ( it. They voted £'Booo a year to secure it',. The New Zealand Govern- ' ment, on the contrary, provided half , that sum, or only £ISOO a year, to achieve a similar end, and of courso failed, as any business man could have foreseen, The House then forced them to raise the sum to £2500, but-even still they, were unable to get an English expert, and may be considered to have bungled the whole affair, New South Wales and Queensland had also aoted like Victoria, and with a similar successful result, New Zealand alone had failed, He (tlie speaker), in making these allusions, did not at allwish to reflect upon the present Railway Commissioners. They wero undoubtedly as good as men of colonial experience could bo, and were doing valuable service in reducing oxpenditure, and he was disposed to second their efforts as well as he could. Defence. A- wave had passed over tho English world in the direction of federation. ; Now Zealand had, however, not been so active as tho other, colonies in this , respect. One result of the recent , Conference at Home had been the provision _of seven war ships fur Australasian defence, of which New ! Zealand was to have two, and not to I be called upon, to contribute more ! than £20,000 to £26,000 per annum 5 for maintenance. Experts considered , that the permanent fortifications 'j were unwise and that they would I become obsolete and unserviceable, j Ho, in.preference,agreed with the ' English Government providing ships 3 and modernising them, tli& colonies t to bear maintenance expenses. He 3 regarded this as an important move [ towards federation and' warmly j supported it. Other steps would yet _ follow, and we should gradually form one of the English speaking federated countries.. V Native Land Acts, j The Speaker made a reference to j Mr Ballance's 1886 Land Act as j being unworkable, and as one with j which the Natives would havo noth- _ ing to do. Not one transaction had taken place under that Act. It was j therefore amended. In the amended Act tho Natives wero placed more on a footing with the Europeans. They a could now sell or lease their land under certain conditions, which, at * the same time, prevented tliera from J Gelling all their lands and becoming paupers, j " That Brutal Tariff." . He (Mr Buchanan) now referred to i tlio session of 1888, and asked if the r Government of tho previous session bad redeemed their promises. They deserved praise for having carried out retrenchment, and he gavo it to them, j As already said, their estimated deficiency for the year was £812,000, , but low railway receipts anil smaller " land sales, made tlio actual deficiency ] £882,007, or £7,000 more than was expected. Add to this the previous a year's Stout-Vogel deficiency of " £146,000, and thero was a grand t total of £528,000, or about half a | million to tllq bad in two yours, This f was a serious "deficit and diflicult to j.- face, but the Gouemment did it and brought down a now Tariff hill— I '" The Brutal Tariff Bill," it had been well called—to get £200,000 a year \ from an already overtaxed Colony, ' and which was to encourago local ( industry, while it increased, the revenue—impossible conditions. To I protect local industry, it is obvious j that the imported article must be first shut out, and if the imported ( articlo is shutout, no revenue can be derived from it. But this was leaving I his main subjoot. The Premier deliberately broke faith with ' staunch freetraders like.' himself 'in bringing dtwn a : tariff J which they were bound to resist. In, ' vain did he and others point out that 1 taxation could be avoided by further . savings being effected, Tboy fought, ! but lost, The new tariff had raised (lie SOO,OOO, and liad given a | surplus. The penalty had to bo borne through, and everything man wears from the cradle to the grave baa" to contribute .its per centago. ! But this is only the begiuumg ! 'The protectionist is ever craving; never , satisfied. He wrings all he can from the settler's produce, and ' the work- . man's wage. Tboy should take warning by the United States, one of the great protectionist countries of : the world. What was his (Mr ' Buchanan's) experience there a few 1 weeks ago ? He bought a hat in Ohioago-no bettor than a Wellington twelve and sixpenny one-and had'to pay twonty shillings for it. A' : six pound suit here cost him £lO there. He piid £3 Js for a pair of boots iu Chicago,-which in Welling: ' ton would only havo cost' 823 Gd, Theso weto all plain articles, bought, not in o fashionable shop, but in an ordinary .shop, and at current prices. And this is the result of pvotec'ion! Are tbowages high,in proportion? Not one whit! - They are lower than with US., '

. The 'Frisco Mail Serviu. ' ; £30,000 a year had' been paid in the paeS for this servioe, but , Parliament bad now dieccnfcinaedJ

the subsidy. While in America. he was tpld that an export trade from New Zealand could not bo done, 1 as ■ everything was handicapped by a • high tariff. ; The question would again bo raised next session, and' ho would not support this mail service subsidy,, as: ho .considered retrenchment imperative. . . ■ ' ' The Colony's Prospects. Lust year lie had been appealed to by the writer of a most lugubrious letter in the Evening Post, arid lie '-V (the speaker) - had ; a • contrary and much brighter viow of the; prospects of the colony. Had tliis.ininreaaionv been realised? Yes, gentlemen, he might Bay,aud quickly ■ too. (Applause). The farming districts 'have had a • capital haoKst '.: (averaging 26 bushels DgaifiSt Australia's 12), and tlio declared increased value of the export in wheat and flour alone, for the year.' v ' - ended 81st March, as compared with 1 the previous year, was no less a sum ■ than £497.000. or practically half a • million. f( Applause.) This ' was merely the increase,' mind, and not the total, They Bbould just, think v \vhat this means to the farmer,'and indeed to, the whole community, for - all get their sliaro of benefit directly : and indirectly. Then take tko butter . arid cheese. Last-year; actually L211.C00 worth was exported, an increase >of L 75,000 on tlio year I before. Dairy produce must surely become our most important export;: Frozen meat, our new and infant industry, yielded LGfi6,ooo, or nearly 1200,000 more than the previous * ■ year. It had every prospect of soon, '■ " reaching a million. The flax pro- ' V drices L 112.000 for the year, or . 1 LBO,OOO above that yielded iu the same time, prior. It also absorbed a 'large "amount' of " 1 labour, aiid of what would be other- " wise waste material. Wool, the last ' V'v 1 item, lie (Mr Buchanan): estimated ' would quite, overstep, last 'year's' ' output by 1800,000 for the whole colony, and by £20,000 .for this y ' district alone,'(Continued applause.) ■ To sum up, there was a grand total f of il,2oo,ooofrom those articles of. ' export which he had eiiumetated, ! and this had to circulate through ' 1 the Colony, (Hear, .Hear!) • 1 Could any better or more cheering ' > news be: given 1 The unemployed,' ' too, who recently left this soil would i bo makinp their way brk now 1 prosperity had set in and would bnng 4 3 others with them to labour and . ! share in the profitable market we : ■ I could offer. * Mr Bubhanan then in a few words ' concluded a most interesting 6peech, 3 which was: listened to with earnest ' attention by all: present,' tho only, • interruption being the plaudits of the 'hearers. He asked if anyone desired- ? information on any subject as lie, should be pleased to answer questi ions. . 1 . ' Mr J. Wilkie.considorcd that they were bo well. satisfied - with' their •. ■ ... " member that they could refrain from '• asking questions, and were perfectly II pleased to : " take him as lie was." 3 Mr Jame6 Baillie proposed, and ll Mr 11. O'Connor senr. seconded a 6 hearty vote of thanks .to Mr Buchanan, which was carried unanilV mensly, amidst applause. ■, ; 0 Mr Buchanan tbanlted.'those '' !e present for attending, aud for their' good reoeption of him. - He proposed ™ a vote of thanks to Mr F.H.Wood, 18 the Chairman. . ' '1 Id Mr F,H, Wood briefly acknow- "• ledged, and in doing ,so made a 10 reference to Dr Newman's recent > s speech at Wellington, [ 3 Mr Buchanan asked permission to [e say a. few words on a subject he had '0 forgotten, and which Dr Newman's 'y name had reminded him of viz The Main Trunk Lint. Dr Newman' had a craze for >« proceeding with the North Island Mam Trunk Line. He(Mrßuchanan) had not. He would ask them .to to consider any man a public enemy " is who should advooato more borrowing ;h for political railways. IJe often j- when abssnt from New Zealand ( ' id blushed for the colony when he us beard people commenting and passing ■' , ;d strictures on her past conduct. Ovor >n half of th borrowed million of money ay hadboen spen ton afewmilosof rail way id at oach end of tho trunk lino, and ic - it was not earning a shilling of interest, m nor would it for years to come. • The ■. ig greater portion of the district it passed through was uufil for settle- . ment, was poor sheep land, and-some " v of it was unfit for occupation of'any 2 10 kind. Some day increasing populam tion might niako a through line to •- ' Ainklaud necessary, but' the. time ■<' had not como yet. (HcarJhear I) D .-This concluded tho proceedings, i( l Mr Buchanan having spoken for just j over one hour. i' • To-night Mr Buchanan speaks at ,y Carterton. 18 Masterton Borough Council. r,f The ordinary meeting of the 1( ] Council was heldlast night (Tuesday), a Present: The Mayor and Crs Perry. i a Hessey, Eton, Capper, Heron, Dixon, ; 0 and Chamberlain. ■ nl The minutes of the. last meeting _ were read and confirmed. in TIIK WATER NUISANCE. ir A letter was read from Mr E. h Mcliwen stating that the nuisance 11 complained of was still unabatod, ana , 0 threatening proceedings.' . - ' 0 « The Mayor said there was a leak 1B where the water ran through in front )e of the fluming on tho east side of l( j Queen-street. There was no chance l 6 of the Committed doing the work, asg tlicy did not consider they had any)r thing to do with it. If /action was A 1, taken by Mr McEwen it would cost If the Council three times asmu&h as [f it would to repair tho damage. • n Cr Cullen movod that the' Works ' ■ Committee be instructed to abate tha - : , r nuisance. . J t, Or Heron seconded the motion, 3 He said the water could be out off. ~ ' a ;The Mayor moved as an amendment , I, that the sum of thirty shillings.be ••'•V. n granted and the Works Committee ' a instructed to extend tho UutffiSg in 5, Queen street. . , e Cr Eton seconded tho amendment. The Mayor said it was decidedly I, their duty to do the work. They , took ,'the ratepayers' money and e r ef™d to give any return for it. They. j.. if had spent three timos the money in , ( f timber for useless culverts in Dixon ' r street, • ■. jy' A hot debate followed between the, Q Mayor and three or four councillors,' ■. Or Dixon thought if the work was ' j to be done, a good job . should be t made of it. .: • [) Tho amendment was put and lost •" £ ,f ayes, Crs Eton, Oullon, and the , Mayor, noes, Crs Hes?ey, Dixon, I; Chamberlain, Heron, Gapper, and i, Petty. ii The motion was . then put and' j. ' ■ , • SPECIAL OKANIS. • ■ j A letter was read from the Town [j Lands Trustees declining to contribute'' 1! * - to the Library this year a grant of books, or anything .towards the „ maintenance of the Steam Fire - t Engine, > ut 1 The Mayor said the Chairman

|p|tbe:T6wn Lands Truateca took a M?t-%ptig'objectibn to granting anything :p|jtpwards .tbe Steam Fire iSngine, on groiind tliat it was foisted on the against their will, and %f?ttat without a water supply it wis |u4useles3. KFBIGSATION. sK ,■Mr «l[ai'ker wrote tendering bis !£v.;'Ksignaiion as captain of the Muni gpgl^Mnßrigade,-and also as.Eire vv\^;lnapcotor. JjSj' <\ Cr Cullen moved that tbo resigbe accepted.. .Cr Porry said it would be necosVC first to appoint someone' to take c "over > from Captain Barker the " property of the Brigade. He moved 1-; 'that tho,letter be referred to the [t- • , Firo Brigade Committee, with pvor accept the resignatimr of Captain Barker, and take over tho property. - '.£>\ Carried, ; . STREET WIDENING, v Tho Trustees of tho IJcKenzie ' . qs&e asked if the Council would be t >/:•; wuling to appoint a Committee to ' p i. ;l fliscuß3 the question of taking over certain land required for street c widening purposes. I'V: Referred to a sub-committeo consisting of Crs Gapper, Heron, and Hessey. OAS. .. Certain residents in the Kenton ; Estatypte stating they would bo use gas, if mains were laid on. Referred to the Gus Committee. REPORTS. ■■■■: The Works Committees report was I . ; read and adopted. 1 . The Mayor e;iid lie had prepared ■ ■/■■■ specifications ior repair? to Queen- ; : street as instructed. It was a difficult ' ; matter to make up what was required of tbo contractor in patching a road. 'He could not give an estimate of tbo work, ' Cr Chamberlain said be poiiited that out at the last meeting. The : ' work should be done by day labor, k Ct Cullen said the work could bo 1 let at per yard, Ho was certain the v, maintenance could be done much f owler than at present. . Tr Chamberlain maintained tho work oould not be let by contract. The Mayor owned ho could not give (an estimate of the work and he asked how could anyone leader for it. It i could only be done by day. labor. _He [; ' was himself always in favor of letting work by tender when it could be the present work could not bffo let. Cr Gapper said it would be better 'to ascertain first what amount of fluming had to be doue. The Mayor said the work could be let as far as the present fluming. He did not know what extra was to be done as it was in the hands of the Committee. Cr Gapper Baid tbat a couple of carts and two or three men would do the work cheaper than letting is by contract. ! Cr Dixon said no stones required moving and a few loads of motal would repair tbo steiV.' 'He had inspected the: JIV u since last meeting. ■The .w seer could fill up the holes, . M'picking over the road this weather ■'J was worse than useless, * Cr Hessey thought it a pity Cr . Cullen should be so persistent in having his fads carried 'out, There was jirtittle to do and the difficulty of Reifying the work was so great that not worth calling tenders | fori ai work could be done cheaper 1 . by day labor by tho ordinary stail, 3 ■ The Mayor said the streets could bo a scraped and tenderers could go over ' it with the oversoer. ■ I 1 • On the motion of Cr Chamberlain t the matter was held over till next meeting. t FINANCE. _ I The Finance Committee's reporj t was read and adopted. i • Accounts amounting to £124 18s 6d were passed for payment, and a vote of 18 was granted Mr Russell for inspecting buildings, Cr Gapper drew attontion to the amount of the overdraft which was nearly £17.00. He would ask the Finance Committee to instruct' the Works Committee to what extent i they could carry on works. They oould do nothing but patch as it was. The Mayor asked how Cr Gappor intended to remedy matters. Tho excessive overdraft .was due to the action of former Councils. Cr Gapper: Stop the work. The Mayor: What! dischargo all hands and shut up shop.? That wAueverdo.FIRE BRIGADE. report of tho Firo Brigade was submitted by Lieutenant Pickering and referred to tbo Fire i Brigade Committee. , EUILDINQ REGULATION. , Mr J. Kussell reported an infringe- "" ' went of tho Building Regulations hi d been made on the property of Mo -si b Petrie and Hockley. The Clerk wis instructed to give them notice to comply with the provisions of the By-laws. ■AIM STREET, The committee reported that Mr J. Smith bad been interviewed and refused to give the Council a title to the land required for road purposes unless paid for it. The Mayor and Crs Perry and Gapper were appointed a committee to interview Mr Casellerg with a view to getting Albert street opened up. WANDSRIKG DOOS. Cr Eton, drew attention to the fact that only ninety to one hundred dogs were registered, whereas it was estimated that at least three hundred mfcowned in tbo borough. He riorol|that the Inspector's attention . be called to the matter and he be requested to use his vigilance to bring the whole of the dogs under the tax,—Carried. NOTICE OF MOTION. ByjCr Heron: That tho resolution re falling tenders for repairs to Queen street, passed May 20th, be ■ rescinded. .• BAtAKOIjv SHEET. \ Theconsideratteh .of the balance sheet was referred tho Finance Committee and the Counoil adjourned. Waivaim North County CouncilThe ordinary monthly meeting of tbe Wairarupa North County Council was held on Tuesday. Present;— Crs Beetham (Chairman), Maunsell, Dagg, Yon Ruden,Handyside, Elder, and Holmes. ' The minutes of the previous meeting wore'read and confirmed, M CORRESPONDENCE. , Wli clerk read tbe correspondence outward and inward, Messrs Holmes Warren andotbors \ presented a petition re expenditure of money on tho Tiraumea-Alfredton road, The Clerk of the Alfrodton LicensI ing Committeo wrote, atatin» that iy three membera of ihe Commltten liad c ; ; refused to ait unless' their expenses I were paid. - Tho Colonial becretary wrote that I thejuiplioation for an increase of ten |hf' peuontoa'the loan of £3OOO for tbo

Maiterton-Waimata Road had • been ' approved'of. • niVAI RoAD LINES. > Tlw Alliedton Road Board applied 1 for tlio services of the Engineer to Jay I oil ibe r'oud from Alfredton to Manga- ' iimlioo. It appeared from a 1 discussion that the Board is in doubt 1 ns to whether the road to Eketahmia or that to Mangainahoe would be the best,—Agreed to, TAUKRU POUND HESEIIYE, ' Messrs Whatman Bros. wrote stating that the horses kept in the pound reserve wero a great nuisance to them. They offered to purchase the lund, about 1"J acres, leaving an aero for the pound, and offering to fence the eame, An alternative oiler 1 whs also mado to fence the whole ol (lie 1 laud if the Council found the I material. The Chairman thought the letter was in every way very reasonable. 6 He moved that tlio second proposal I bo accepted, and that the roadman ° seo the woi It carried out. 1 Seconded by Cr von Reden and 1 carried. Mr R, Manning, poundkeeper wrote drawing the attention of the ' Council to the bad state of the pound, ' which is very muddy. Mr Manning further wroto that he had 4a Gd 0 paid by Mr Lee undor protest as v poundage, and inquiring what lie 1 should do with the monoy in case Mr Lee did not put the matter before the 'Council. f The Chairman thought it was too late in t'jeyear to do anything now ' ti.l Spring. Ho moved to that effect. —Carried. c ALFKEDTON LICEN3INO . COMMITTEE. The Olerk of the Alfredton " Liceiising Cunimittee wroto, stating that no meeting of the Committee ' had yet been held, as the three J members he had named would not act unle.« their travelling expenses be paid, and asking tho Council to let ut him know what was intended to be , done in the matter. Cr Vim Reden said tho Committee * was bound to do the Work, and moved that the same ' reply as that rcsolvsd upon at last umeting be " aiven. Seconded by Cr Dagg and ' carried. ' EKETAUUXA BANGER. C Four applications were received lor | the pusitiou of 'ranger at Eketahuua, and Mr Robert Murrell was ap- | pointed. r EKETAIIUiN'A CEMETERY. An /application was received from . the /liketahuna Cemetery Committee , asking that the ground be laid off. /Cr Von Reden explained that at present tho graves were made in all Boris of places, dotted all over the ' reserve. He muved tint tho services of the engineer he granted, the cost to bo charged to the Trustees. Cr Maunsell thought it *as hardly 1 tho duly of the County Engineer to ' lay oil'graveyards, •, ' Tiio Cleik remarked that the Tinui cemeteiy lnd been laid off by the j engineer, The motion was seconded by Or Holmes and carried. TRAVELLING EXPENSES. j The Auditor-General wrote, stating that lie would not allow mileage allowances to Councillors, and he should therefore havo to disallow the payment of £ls 53 Ho could only pass amounts claimed by Councillors under declaration that 'hey had actually incurred the expenditure of , the money claimed. There was only £ one voucher—that of Cr Maunsell— ( which did not contain the itom. It appeared from remarks made by j Councillors that this latter remark . was wrong, The Chairman said he did not , think that they would havo any difficulty in making the declaration that the oxpenaes had actually been incmred, • Tho question being put to Conncillors individually, they all agreed that they could do that. Cr Handyside remarking that he intended to return to tho Council all but some' flSpensea incurred for buggy hire, ' The course suggested by the Chairman was agreed to. j WHEEL TIliE BY-LAW. It was moved by Cr Handvside seconded by Cr von Reden that Constable Roche bo authorized to prosecute nnder the wheel-tiro by-law. Carried. ' .. LOAN, A petition was received from residents at Alfrcdton asking the Council to raise a loan of £7OO under the ; Loans to Local Bodies Act, to form j what is known as the Happy Valley | Road, | Cr Von Reden moved that the i Government bo appiied to for a loan i ot'£7oD for, the Happy Valley section ( of tho Alfiedton-Kketahuna toad, Seconded bj Cr Maunsell, and carried, Cr Von Reden asked whether they could include Crown Lands under a rating area, There was a good deal of Crown Lands in tho neighborhood : which was just about to bo sold. The Chairman thought they could certainly do that, THE LAND ACT, ThoTauranga Comity Council wrote asking the co-operation of tho Council to have the Land Actamendedso nsto have all urown Lands absolutely thrown open for settlement. The' ; request was accompanied by a petition 1 which tlio Council was requested to sign and have presented to Parliament by tho member tor the district. ' Tho petition having been read by 1 the Chairman, 1 Cr Handysido romarked that it was ' tho old plan of selection before 1 survey, but without having «[irioe 1 fixed. ! Cr' Von Reden thought it was 1 hardly County business. 1 Tho Chairman thought the proposal watt applicable to an out-of-the-way district like Tuuranjja, where oc--1 casional travellers saw good land, and ' found that they could not buy any of ! it. Cr Dagg moved and Cr Von Reden seconded, that the correspondent be 1 laid on the table. Carried. DEFERRED PAYMENT THIRDS. ■Tho Clerk of the Pahiatua County Council wroto enolosing a ret'olution j passed al the last, mooting ol tluit Council suggesting that settlers should (• bo allowed to anticipate their deferred I payment thirds and payments on . perpetual leasehold in the making of roads, and asking tho .co-operation of ' the Council; ' Or Von Reden thought tho idea was a very good ouo, as at present tho monoy was coming in in driblets, Ho moved that this Council co-operato with the Pahiatua County Council in the matter. 8 Seconded by Cr Elder and carried, f LICENSING ACT. i The llutt County Council wrote suggesting that tho'Licensing Act . might he amended so that tho duties t of the Licensing Committers would J devolve ou Borough' and County s Councils aud Town Boards, as such a course would save a good deal of t expense. .

Or Von Rsden thought it would hi beat if they went backto the oli

sjatem ami have the licenses grantol by the Besident Magistrates. The Chairman thought that would oftuso ah'ontcry by the total alistnincrs, who would object to being deprived of their present power, though he tlid not think il had ever done them any good. ' Cr Von Beden moved that the ' .Chairman sign the petition. ' i Cr MaunEell seconded tho motion, 'J as he thought the course suggested I would suvo a lot of useless expense. " The resolution was carried, NATIVE LAND BATES. j A lotter was received from tlie v Colonial Secretary pointing out thai ! before any money can be granted for j rates on Native lands the Council must submit a statement how it is proposed to oxpend the money. The Chairman moved that the Engineer he instructed to prepare a ( scliedulo showing how the Council proposed spending the various sums \ due from such a source, the schedule to be laid before the next meeting of the Council, Carried, 1 FINANCE COMMITTEE. jj The Clerk presented the report of the Finance Committee, showing that q tho Council bud a debit balance of J £IOB4, and also embodjing reportf of the Chairman of the conference 7i with the Pahiatua Council on the question of accounts which has already f been published, 1 The roport further recomtueudod, that, asa great inconvenience in causal by the delay in furnishing tho new valuation roll, the Colonial Treasurer ho asked to take such steps as will 8 , obviate the difficulty in future. {j That the Council bo advised to s< appoint a committee consisting of I Crs Beetham and Dagg to interview 0 tho Banks with a view to an arrange- '' men!, being made under whioli the Council shall only be charged a j 'wonable rate of interest for an N overdiaft, 1 That, with sjvnw to ascertaining the equity of the arrangement bv which the Castlepoint Riding is charged with the maintenance of the Masterlon-Waimata road Irom Kaunringi to tho southern boundary of 'j that riding, the clerk be directed to prepare a return showing the amount of the separate rale raised ou all properties abutting on the main road , between Masterton and Taueru bridge, 1 and the properties in the Mustertun * Eoid District lying to the east of the Taueru river. I That the Council contribute one half of tho cost of repainting the Masterton Borough Pound boards. That the Masteron Boiough bo furnished with an account of the pro- ' portion of contributions to the Wairarapa North Benevolent Society due from the first mentioned body, and j that an immediate settlement be reqiusted, as the Council hiiß now to pay interest on a bank overdraft. That the proposal made by the EketahunaKoad Board relative to the j payment of tho Council's claim for lengitu e.-iug services bo agreed to. That the Council bo advised to ■offer Air E. Tomlinson at the rate of £6 per aero for tha land taken from him under the Public Works Act for a gravel reserve, , That amounts amounting to £237 Cs 6d be passed for payment, The report was adopted. LOCAL BODIES LOAN, It was resolved, on the motion of < Cr Von Reden, seconded by Cr Dngg, \ That the members for the districts i of Masterton, Wairarapa, and Woodvillo he requested to oppose any , proposal to amend the Local Bodies * Loans Act, by increasing tho rate of / interest to 6 per cent, engineer's ItEPOIIT, ( • The Engineer's report was read and adopted. SLAUGHTERHOUSE LICENSES. , The Clerk was authorised to eign slaughterhouse licenses when the necessary forms liavo been complied ] with, AKITEO ROAD, On the motion of Cr Yon Eeden, seconded by Cr Elder, Cr Handyside was authori ed to expend L3O in putting the Akiteo roadjia order for tho winter. The meeting then adjourned,