Wairarapa North County Council.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3359, 13 November 1889, Page 2

Wairarapa North County Council.

The ordinary monthly meeting of tho Council was held yosterday. Present-Ors W. H. Beothain. (chairman), T. E, Chamberlain, E, Meredith R.D.Dagg,F.Vonßedon,andß'S l Maunsell. Leave of absence was granted to Crs Handyside and Holmes. The minuteß of the previous meeting were read and oonfirraed. SLAUQHTEH HOUSES. Slaughter licenses were granted to H, Bannister, Opalri, and F. Maunsell, Eketahuna. MiURIOEYILLE POUND, The resignation of Messrs Deadman and Devonshire as poundkeeper and ranger at Mauriceville wero accepted. Mr G. Franklyn was appointed poundkeeper, and Mr Jens Syverson ranger. EKETAHUNA POUND.Mr Arthur Spring was appointed poundkeeper at Eketahuna, the appointment to date from Ist December. TAUERU RESERVE, Mr Ralph Manning applied for a lease of a piece of land opposite Mr 6, W, Mace's property, offering 20s per acre for five years. The chairman thought the land was useful as a resting place for stock, Mr Bremner was consulted and pointed out that the area was only six acres, and that most of it was very steep and apt to be broken, in which case the road might suffer, damage. < The application was declined. ELECTION Of CHAIRMAN. The Colonial Secretary wroto, intimating that the election of chairmanof those counties which concurred ' would be postponed till tho 11th 1 December, the object being to enable tho County Chairmen to attond the Dunedin Exhibition. On the motion of Cr Dagg, it was resolved that the election of chairman ■ take place on the 11th December, 1 and that the ordinary meetiug of the Council bo held on the 11th Decem- ' her instead of the 10th. ' TIRAUMEA IIOAD. Tho clerk of the Alfredton Boad Board wrote, asking if the Council 1 would grant tbe JMO already voted ' for tho Tiraumea Road towards making a deviation through Mr Henry Burling's property for the benefit of ! settlers there. If agreed to, the i Board was prepared to supplement it 1 with £OO, to make up the estimated cost. Cr Von Redin pointed out that the proposed deviation would really be the county road in course of time. The Chairman said unloss the ■ proposed line was a county deviation, I the Council could not vote money towards it. i The engineer was instructed to report on tho proposed deviation. CONTItACTOIIS AT FAULT. Rcardon and McGinly wrote, stating in their tender for Contract No. i 27, Opaki to Manawatu line of road, s thore had been a niistalio in the [ quantities they had had taken out for i them, by which means they had boon i led astray, aud they could not do tho i work at the prico tendered, They i asked the Council to return their I deposit. i The Chairman said there had been ! a loss of time, To return deposits : was open to objection on various grounds. Cr Chamberlain said the Council was to blame for accepting a tender so much below the estimate, Cr Von Reap moved that the i tenderers having bneifmisled in their . quantities the deposit be refunded to them. The motion was not seconded, the feeling being against introducing such a precedent, the contractors having their remedy elsewhere. TOLL CHARGES, 1 The Government, as mortgagees of the Tauera toll, wrote stating they had no objection to a reduction proposed by the Council in the toll, from one shilling to sixpence for an extra horse on narrow tired vehicles, The Chairman said the request to ; the Government had arisen out of an application from Mr Taplin, who pointed out that the charge on each extra horse was sixpence for twowheeled vehicles and one shilling for vehicles with four wheels. Cr Maunsell pointed out the petition was only from one man, and was not the express desire of all carriers, It was resolved to reply to Mr ' Taplin that the Council does not at present consider any alteration iu tho schedule desirable. TRANSFER OK I'UOI'EUTY. Messrs Leech Bros, applied to havu their property transferred from tho Cashpoint Biding to the Alfredton Biding. The application was supported by the Chairman of the Castlepoint Biding. The application was referred to the Alfredton Board and on their consent being given the necessary steps to bo taken to complete the transfer. OTAIIOUA ItOAD DISTRICT PETITION. The Clerk reported on the petition for the formation, of Boad District to be called tbe Otahoua Road District. The total numbor of ratepayers was forty-eight, less four luu-vesidents. The signatures to the petition numbered thirty.a bare two-thirds required by the Act. The signatures of the attesting witnesses wore not made before a J.P, A discussion took placo and two of the signatures proving informal, the petition was withdrawn for correction. FINANCE. The report of the finance committeo wasread and adopted,and accounts amounting to £876 17s 8d were passed lor payment. The committee recommended that the Council should pass the acoouuts with an instruction to the Cleik to hold over the payment of the sum of £l3 9s to the Masterton Road Board until the accounts outstanding between the Board and the Council have been adjusted. The Treasurer presented the balance sheet for the half-year ended 30th September which had been examined by the Audit Inspector and forwarded to Wellington for approval. ' That application should be made to the ' Mastertonßorough Council for tlmim- ' mediatepayment oftheCouncil's claim ' for engineering services rendered, and failing the liquidation of tho liability ' within fqui'teeu days from date "of application the County Clerk should bo instructed to tako legal proceedings for its recovery. : Special Bate, The special order, striking a special rate over certain properties in the Tiraumea district to repay loane made at the last meeting was confirmed, ' Alteration of Boundaiilss. Tl|e Coi;Uyil resolved itself into a special meeting to consider the alterations of boundaries between tho Mauriceville, Majority "" i\Viu Eketoluina, Boad Districts. Jtwas resolved to, dolor' tho 'consideratios of the question for one month with a view to' avoid the expnse of i

a double election, The Council thou resumed ordinary business. Engineers Report, Mastorton, Novomber 12,1889. Sib—l have the honor to lay before you my report on tho public I 'works of the County for the past month as follows : Masterton Riding—Waingawa to Camp Road.—The damage caused to the Waingawa bridge by ifo September flood has been repaired by suspending the two spans (the pier of which was washed out) upon 40 feot trusses, and doing away witli the central support, By this means a larger opening is obtained for the passage of draft timber and other debris, and tho risk of scour around the south approach is also considerably lessoned. In order to meet the Council's half share of tho cost of this work, it will be necessar/ to curtail the amount allocated for surface repairs, so as to keep the expenditure for the current year within the limit passed by the Council, or *o anticipate next year's revenue by a sum of £ll lis. The Council will therefore decide which courso shall he adopted. The surface man is at present employed in raising and re-laying the rough sections of tho road surface at the northern end of the line. Masterton to Waimata Road—(Masterton to Kahumugi gectionj.— Considerable damage has been done to the protective works on tho western banks of tho Ruamahunga river at Te Ore Ore by the late floods. Several chains of the willow gruwth have been undermined and dislodgpd into the river, leaving the banks in an unprotected and exposedcondition, The small amount passed for river works on this section has already been expended, so that no fund is available for the present without forstalling a portion of the next year's rates. The nature of the work, howevor, demands immediate action as nothiug of a substantial character can be performed until the river falls considerably below its present lovel. To Ore to Bideford Road.—Tenders have been invited for carting road metal for surface repairs upon this line.

Contract No. 19. - (Wangaehu bridge repairs), has been completed, and the bridge is again available for all descriptions of traffic. Opalti to Manawatu Road.—A contract for surface repairs on this line is now in course of execution, and will be completed by the next sitting of the Council,' Castlepoint Biding.—Masterton to Waiinata Road--Contract No. 88. (Road formation and metalling). Fair progress is being made, and it is expected that the Rorokoko section of the work will be completed in a week or ten days from date, when the metalling at Sugar Point will bo taken in hand. Upou the Castlepoint section timber has been supplied for constructing a number of new culverts between Tinui and Whakataki, which will be built and put in position by the permanent man ns time may permit. A contract has. been advertised for metal repairs on this and the Tinui to Manawa road, which work will be proceeded with as soon as tho tenders have been dealt with by the Council.

Alfredtcn Riding.—(Ekctalnma to Tiraumea section).—Contract No. 21 (bridge painting). This contract has not been examined since letting the work,

Contract No. 22 (surface repairs to Tiraumea Road). This lias been let to,Mr I). ( Cameron, who lias, only recently commenced operations 'on the road.

Plans and specifications have beoii prepared and a contract advertised for forming 203,50 chains of the Tirauniea Koad extension. Tenders for this and two metalling contracts will be laid before a committee of the Council to be dealt with on the 20th inst. A further contract for a bridge on the Tiraumea line will be advertised ill n fortnight, and tenders laid before the Council at its next meeting. The stone reported to have been discovered at Peep-o'-Day clearing has been examined and tested for tho purpose of road metal, but has proved quite unfit for use. The reef, which is extremely inaccessible, is of soft sandstone rock irregularly stratified with shallow limestone seams, and could not possibly be worked to any advantage. Opaki to Masterton, -Contract No 27 liketahuna Township formation) —Operations have been .commenced on tliis work at the southern end, where a considerable portion of the earthwork has been removed. This, together with the partial burning oil of surface timber is all llml can be reported for the present, The metalling repairs contract on other sections of the lino is temporarily suspended ponding the arrival of more favorable weather.—l have, C, E. BIIKMNKII,

The report was adopted and the Engineer was instructed to curtail expenditure to meet deficiency caused by expenditure on Waingawa Bridge. The consideration of (Jr Mauusoll's motion under notice re Cashpoint Separate Bate expended in Wainuioru was adjourned. This concluded tho business,