MEETING OF RATEPAYERS OF LATE HAMILTON EAST TOWN BOARD HIGHWAY DISTRICT.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 970, 10 September 1878, Page 2

MEETING OF RATEPAYERS OF LATE HAMILTON EAST TOWN BOARD HIGHWAY DISTRICT.

A. meeting of tee ratepayers of the late Hamilton East Town Board Highway District was held on Friday evening at the; Royal Hotel, Hamilton, East. R. F. Claude, Jilsq., occupier] the chair, and, m opening the meeting 1 , explained that it was the custom of the TVaikato County m distributing ''the funds at their disposal to hand over that portion intended for any district to the Councillors most interested m the riding to distribute as/ they thought fit. The money m this case, so me £1 1Q, had been handed over to himself and Cr, 'Whyte to expend as they thought most advisable. All moneys belonging fco the county must be spent within the county, and^ therefore,- the money had been voted for Hamilton East; as. part of Kirikiriroa, and as being a ratepaving district at the time. Meanwhile Hamilton East had taken' to itself a partner, and blossomed into a borough. He and Cr, Whyte had preferred calling the meeting now got together than; to to take the responsibility upon themselves. They two had talked the matter over before, and, though the immediate cause of their wishing to take the sense of the meeting was the application received from the Tamahere Board, they had come to the conclusion that the work referred to m the application was the best, m the interests of East Hamilton, that could be undertaken with the money. The chairman then read the folio .v---ing letter : — [true copy.] Tamahere Highway Board Office, Hamilton East, 6th September, 1878. ■ Councillors Claude and Whyte, Kivikiriroa. GENTLMMKN,-^-At a meeting of the Tamahere Highway Board, held on the 15th ultimo, it was unanimously resolved that it would be advantageous to the neighouring districts of Hamilton, Kirikiriroa and Piiiko to open up and render fit for traffic the road running through the Tamahere district between Hamilton and Morriusville. But, however willing the Board may be to complete this work so necessary to Hamilton and Piako, it must be apparent to you that it ia beyond the means of this Board to effect within any reasonable time without assistance. I, therefore, on the part of the Tamahere Board, request that you will be good enough to- appropriate to the purpose above indicated, the sura of £100, which it is understood you intend to expend m the late Highway District of Hamilton East. I may mention, by way of precedent for action of the kind here proposed, that the Riding of Cambridge have, at considerable expense, opened. up a road from their district to Piako, some portion of which passes through Tamahere. In short, the interests of the settled townships are ho bound up with those of tho inland districts, that I think it unnecessary to further dilate on the subject. Trusting you may bo able to comply with the request made. — I have, fee, Hejwy Reynolds, Chairman T.Ff.B. The Chairman said he thought they should follow the lead of Cambridge, and endeavor to bring the

traffic ot the country into Hamilton. Capt. McPhersou requested, on the part of the Chairman of %> Tamnhere Highway Board, 1^ supplement any information m tH letter just read.^ The TaH^JI Highw,,y Board^ttld eoaoSp'm\ expected to undffrUSJ^theifceniß up of road P^singf||hnniJ|| th M district, winch wojji ben|i : thfjl . far le3S than i* U^uld" HaniiltdK Cambridge had expanded over £200 on a similar work to iaD the H T*iako lueir action formed a precedent to* guide the settlers here. It would not .*£„ at «*J-\ --lnoouaisteo.t - -witl& the_ ■itt^Btra'iiamriVoTrtors^p^ If they wauted ' tnid.: Iheyl must look to. -the, back coanjiry producers to make it. If Hamilton did nbt fiaovein the; matter and let .Cambridge have her own way unopposed, Cambridge- instead ' of '-'Hamilton would become the post town and the: market town of ; tfie' country it was now proposed to connect with' Hamilton. 'In; voting the'hiqnev fco ,be,speqt as proposed ihe, people of Hamilton would be best consulting their interests; .-■■:.< Mr : Potter then moved the lollbwing resolution : — ■'■'■■> That — it being highly desirable m the interests of the Borough of Hamilton that all country communication should be more firmly established, and that' 'traffic from all' possible routes should be encouraged thereinto (with a view, to. f aoilitate/ such a course) — this meeting requests the Waikato County, Council to expend any monies that may be m their possession or control (that may have ' accrued 1 16 any portion of the County under any grants for the year 1877-78) m opening.the communication between Piako and Hamilton. He. was prepared ;to endorse all that had been. said by previous speakers on the matjiier.. As a burgess* a ratepayer of the late East Hamilton district, and ' ■'ratepayer' of the ! Kirikiriroa (districfc; he felt indebted to the Waikato County; Council for the course it had taken m this matter, as -ib -gaye 1 vii opportunity for explaining tire position ;of affait-s with respect to it . The Mayor had aaid,that;it was. unfair to appropriate^ this money, iia the grant belonged lightly to the Borough, and had a'rgueft- that as. the Waipa [County's share had been handed to the Borough on acconnt of the late Hamilton Wosb Town Board district,

so m this case should the share coining 1 to tho late Hamilton East Town Board district from the Waikato County. If the premises, -had oeen as stated the conclusion w.ould have been tenable,, but they were not so. If they looked into the matter they would find that the argument used by the Mayor was mere theory, ii.asmuoh " as the Act was not m operation m the Waipa County. In that oase the Gofernmem distributed the money and_jiot_Jbhe ...Coimcil, and simply m distributing ft haudel it- over without making many enquiries into the right of the? matter as was evidenced m the mistake made m the case of the .£SOO grant wrongly paid to the borough account. It was more than probable that had the Act been m operation m Waipa the Council would have acted as tho Waikato Council had done. There was i another side to the question.- The west part of the borough had no back country. Get up a few miles, to Atkinson's, : and the railway cut off all .communication with the borough, taking the traffic past it. The opening of the lands east of the borough was what they ""hid to look forward to as the future earnest of their, prosperity. , The, traffic derived from these lands' was what r.would. :make ; Hamilton the great commercial; entrepot-of the district. The ... . borough must . stand or fall by its ability arid willingness, to bring 1 the country around iton direct, communication with it. s The niore they could encquraere settlement to concentrate at Hamilton the more likely they were to make Hamilton not only a grate market town, for. a lar^e district bnt the railway centre for it also. Let them keep the country from coming to the Borough, and the latter must soon dwindle away. The Mayor, at a late meeting, m "another place," had quoted a balance sheet of the assets , and liabilities of the two ' Town Board districts when they formed into a Borough. That statement was a fallacious one. The Mayor had a second time forgotten Hamilton East altogether. He had forgotten that Hamilton Wesc pocketed £320 a year from the punt. Tjg punt was now letting- for £570, a year, and the addition of this item to the Borough revenue, eclipsed m" a single year, by fifty per cent., all. the assets Hamilton West brought to the common fund, when the two Boards united m forming a Borough. Had they not amalgamated that money, as ferry revenue, would have gone to the Waikato Couuty Council, and have been an asset for expenditure on the east side the river. This more than made up the difference shown m the Mayor's balance sheet. This very revenue was even now providing the Borough with means for coustructing a bridge. Mr Robert Harris seconded the resolution. Captain McPherson said this £100 could not legally be given to be spent ou'side the county. The question was whether the raonev should be spent on the eastern side of the Borough, or m opening up the back country into it. He thought they would act wisely m bringing all possible traffic to their stores and businesses. He might mention that the manager of the Plako Lind association had offerel to plough gratis the proposed road from the Kirikiriroa boundary

to the station gate. The work would cost some £200 altogether, b%t byjjnajcp^ nearly level road tl^jgHp^^ve^t the traffic from Piako-tp^j^iQiUtoii/in^tead of letting it go^ aiyi^atljerwise mußt do, to Mf Sli^lp^ed if the meeting had pow||r| to^^)te the money as it clipse. * ; dmS?/ MvQ]j»|B^^xplained tiiiit he and Mr Wiiyte, as councillors of the rjdinor, were alone empowered to decrae-'where and how the money should be spent, bub they wanted to know. what weve the' "wishes of the I^re^lyi?^ Wd'^'M^jalM^h is meeting to to act as the general wish should be found to i.^t Pearsbn'; tlibugh:t- the'inoney should be handed, i.ovei 1 / tp the borough - There was plenty to do with it on the east side the river without going- outside the borough bouadaries. ..,■-.! : „ - „- y Mr Outnming did not agree with^ the previous speaker. ! \ that the money should be spent at their doors. To expend it m opening up the road to the : Tiako lands through Tamahere would bring traffic into Hamilton for all time to come. Cambridge '^was bidding strong for ; tie Pinko tr de, putting every penoy it possibly could into the work of opening road cominuuicatiou with that district. He would urge; upon/sthe settlers of Hamilton to look to it that their interests Were not jeopardised m that mutter,' and it was only by pursuing sucb a course as that proposed they could hope to compete with Cambridge. Mr Harris objebted to the handing ovbr the money to the Borough Counsil. ! :; ! *

. Mr Gaudiri then proposed the following amendment :^- ■■■••■■•■ That the moneys m question be paid over to the Borougli Fah'il, to be expended on the eastern side of the river. He was as much an East Hamilton as a Wiesfc Hamilton man. There had been such a spirit of fair play manifested' 'among the West Hamilton Councillors towards the residents ou the East side the river as to afford a :C.on.y.incing guarantee tha.t if entrusted with' 'the 'expenditure of "-''tin's money they w.ould deal fairly and generously by the easl; side in -distributing it. It was fairly the property of the borough, and it : was only the borough should have the contiol of the expenditure of its own money. The amendment was then put, and three hands were held up for it. On the motion of Mr Potter being put to tho meeting some twenty hands were raised* and it was declared carried. A vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings. .