PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2099, 19 December 1885, Page 3

PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

The usual monthly meeting of this council wan held .it Cambridge on Tlmnd.iv nfternr>on. Pie^ent: Cis. W. I>. C. Williams (clun man), Firth, Chepmdl, Hruiinkill, Murphy, Smith, (.iould, and Maclean. The minutes of the pievious meeting were read nnd confirncd.

(iORDON HhITLKJIKSr BRIDGE.—A COHImumcation was received from tho Lands Department to tho effoct that the Government would contribute one half tho cost of bridgo at (iordon settlement, provided it did not exceed £230. That is to say, (Joy eminent would not bo responsible for moie than £12.").—A letter was received from Edwin F. Rocho, denying that ho had caused the gully over which the proposed budge whs to be erected. Ho had sppnt already about £70 in making tho approaches to the prop<»«cd bridge. He had, therefore, oheadv given a sufficiently large subscription.—A letter was also received from the Survey Office suggesting that the bndgo idea should be postponed for the present, and that instead a road should be taken, Mr Rocho to be asked to give the land.— Cr. Smith thought the diverting of the water-course was doing damage to the river, and that navigation wouli noon bo impeded. Tho captain of one of the river steamers had told him that he expected befoie long he would not bo nble to navigate the nvrrat all. He would propose that the engineer and the member for tho Aioha riding be appointed to enquire into the matter.—Agreed to.

()\ EmniArr.--The clerk was able to report that tho council's overdraft at the bank was now wiped out.

Tkvcks to Bick Rkek and 15i rr,hu\ Spur. —Mr McLiver wrote on behalf of the deputation who waited upon Mr Liinach, consenting to undertake the con«tiuc tion of the above.—Cr. Murphy Ha id when he xupported tho projwal that the deputa tion should be entrusted with the constiuction of these tracks he did so on the undeistanding that the council should have tho dealing with the cnntractH. Handing these things over to theso people would be a bad precedent, because all other deputation** would want to bo treated likewise. He would propone that before nnv tenders bo called for the formation of the track*, the plans and specifications of such woik be submitted to the council for approval.—Carried. Ci Murphy nguin pro|M>sed that tenders for the fornnition of the above be called for in Tho Waikato Times and the Aroha News, such tenders to be addressed to the chur man, nnd to be dealt with by the council. —Carried. Ci. Murphy in speaking to the resolution referred at length to the circula tion of Tho Waikato Times in tho Aioha dint net. It was the moat largely read paper about there and by advertising To Aroha tenders in it they would be saving money.

Hospital and Charitmu.k Aid.—The Secretary of tho Thames Board wrote requesting the council to pay to tho credit of tlin Charitable Aid Hoard at the B ink of Now Zeal md, Thames the sum of £230 2s M ; also tho sum of £285 Is 7d to the credit of the Hospital Poard being the proportion due by the council to the 31st March, 188(5. A lettor wan received from Mr Fntb point ing out the pro'ioitions payable ly each portion of tho Thames dinner. The following is tho copy of Mr J. B. Smith's protest to the Thames Board:—"That the Pinko County Council bo a separate sub division of this Hospital di*tnct and that thn sum to be demanded of it should bo equal only to the cost of the Hospital requirement* of Mich county.—Cr. (iould suggested that an it took four to foun a quorum, Mr Smith and tho other country member might stay avvny from tho meet' ing* of the board, nnd they would not then be ablo to get a quorum to cairyon the buiineis.—Cr. Smith said he had tried to get a sub-division, making Piako a district under the Act, hut tho other members had objected. He had therefore lodged a protest. He advised th it the county should appc.il to tlio Government. He had pointed out th.it it would hnvo been botter for Piako to be fixed on to Auckland. — Cr. Cheptnell thought tho font counties, Waikato, Waipa, Rigl in, and Pi\ko might bo put iu'o one district. An ainendmnnt might be brought forwird to that effect next session. —Cr. Smith thought they ought to be rated at mi much per head. — Cr. Firth approved of the plan, but he doubted very much if they sufficiently advanced for a poll tax. They found tho money and the other people found tho men. —Cr. Maclean thought a poll tax was i% very suitable tax for charitable aid.—Cr. Maclean said a number of opinions had been taken in the mattei, but very few of them were alike.—Cr. Firth thought the power given these boards w.u most mischievous and bad. He would propose that a copy of the claim made bv the Thanien Board bo sent to Messrs Hesketh and Richmond, and that thone gentlemen be retained to take, any action they may deem necessary to protect tho council.~Cr. (iould seconded.—Carried.

An Euuy Ai'iT.it'AnoN. — William Henry Click, Auckland, wrote applying for the position of ration distributer, inspector, 4c, under tho Hospital and Charitable Aid Act in the Piako County. The application was generally ridiculed by tho council and no appointment was made. PArETKRK ])iHrnicr.--Mr F. I). Rich wrote applying for the wages of a surfaceman to be employed on the formation and attendance to roads in the I'atetere district.—Cr. (iould moved that tho clerk write to Mr Rich telling him that no special rato had been struck for that district.—Cr. Cbepmell agreed with this.—Cr. Maclean did not feel inclined to supjmrt the application. He would suggest that the matter be allowed to stand over for the pre»ent.—

Agreed to. Ratk Dkkam.tkhs.—The Clerk said that there wan nearly £5)00 of tho genoial rnto not collected. He had coaxed and threatened the defaulteis, but to no advantage. — It wai agreed, on the motion of Cr. Chepmell, to »ue (ill fiersons whose rate* remained due on the Ist

prox. Clakkk'h Drain, Tk Aroha.—A letter wm received, asking tho council to have this drain kept ojwn.— (ieo. M. Burke also wrote a long letter on thin matter, objecting to tho work which the county engineer had carried out here.—Cr. Murphy agreed with Mr Burke. The natural drain went through Mr Clarkes praperty, and ought pot to have Uen turned po m to flood. Mr

Burko's property.— It was agreed to refei the mitter to Mr Pavitt for his explanation. Powder Maoazine. — A letter was roceived from J. Fra/cr, Te Aroha, 10 a nite foi a powder maga/,1110 at To Aroha. — A letter was also received from the Ti.ido and Mines Department on the same nutter.— The matter was leferrod to Mi P.ivitt to report upon. Tk Anon \ School Committee.— A communication was received from the abovo cotnmitteo, asking the council if it would contribute to the erection or maintenance of school buildings in th.it locality, a request to that effect having been made by thf Education Board. — Or. Firth stated tin-* watt the first step towards bringing the cost of education under the local bodies after tha manner of the Charitable Aid. What with one thing and another, local hodie-. would noon bo taxed to the extent of about 10s in the £. He suggested tint the committee bu told the council had no finds for this purpose. — Agieud to. Tiumway Extension.— A communication was received from the Mines Department to the effect that the county wai meiely required to ha\e the extension to Feiguson s battery inspected and approved. The county should then take over the branch tramway, on the conditions recommendc d V>v* the Gold Fields Committee, a copy of which was enclosed. The battuiy company vveio to hand ovci to the tramway all money-, paid by them beyond the £1000, contributed by tho Government being refined by the county. It was ftuthcr added that the £3000 authorised foi payment to the county for the tiamway was on the understanding that they, the county, would deal fairly with Mr Ferguh >n.--Tho lepoit on tho petition of .lames Mills and others at To Aroha was read,— Ci Muipliy said the branch tiamway was not really completed yet. He suggested that the matter bo allowed to stand ovei until then. Agreed to. Kn>u'no\ ok Tiumway Charoin.— l). G. Me Done! I, legal manager of tip' New Find, Colonist, Premier, nnd Can iili.ni gold mining companies, wrote applying foi a leductton m the tramway charges from 4s (Jd to 3s per truck, seeing that the Govern ment had largely contributed tow aids tli" liquidation of the county's liabilities, and that tho council consequently could better afford tho reduction now sought foi. Such reduction would largely benefit tho companies, and would not, he believed, lessen the leveniie, but might instead tend to its increase. As most of the abovo named mines were not paying or barely covering working expenses the reduction was more strongly urged. Unless the radiation was made some of the mines would clos", and thus mateiially diminish the revenue of tho council.— F. A. White legal manager of th" Waiorongomai and other companies made a similar loque-t. — Cr. Filth thought the htatcments of these mine managers weie perfectly true. The Colonist had come down to about lodwt., and was likely to be stopped. Within tho last six months the Colonist his bent down about 1400 ti ticks, representing a revenue to tho council of about £'300. They should therefore be very caieful. He was certainly not going to rcommend the council to get into debt again. But they must, however, heiiously consider the matter. — The Cleik said tin; reduction asked for would, accoiding to the piesont returns, mean a, 10-,s of about £">0 a month. — Ci. Gould rem.uked tii.it for thej next four months of diy weather half the stamps in tho lattery would bo hung up. All tins time the tramway would have to be maintained at a loss. — Cr. Murphy said thin vva« a, matter in -which he felt deeply inteiested, and as it not only concerned the welfare of tho goldfield, but the county at Lulv, he had made it his business to look well into the matter and see vt hether ;i reduction was or was not de-arable. He had come to the concluMou that it was not. This he would endeavour to explain. On the 28th May last, at a meeting of tho council, this m itter of reduction of the ti.vmvvay charges was brought for ward by Cr. Filth. He then opposed s,uch a stop, knowing that quart/ could not bo carried over the tramway at a less cost than Is (Jd a truck, and at the same time asked that the tramway manag'r's opinion be taken on the matter. The manager reported th.it any quaiU coming over Butler's Spur could not be carried at a less charge than Is (id a truck. The trim way return* since had pioved conclusively that ho was right. When the tramway first staited the freight was '.U (Jd per truck all round. At that tune theie was as much quaitz coming down as the battery could put tluough, and one-thud of the" quartz came only from tho top of Butler* Spur, \i/.: from tho Waitoki, Wei.ilnko, and other mines in that locality. The top of Butler's Spur was only about half way between the battery and the Coloniit mine. Notwithstanding that one-third of the quart/ had only to be carried over about half the tramway, when the ch.irgo was 4s (Jd as now, the council during the first year or m> lost about £1000 on tho working. With the present charge the tramway wan only paying its way. It had been pointed out that if they made a reduction of say a shilling or Is (!d a tiuck, that it would be tho means of encouraging mineis to woik those mines which had been closed as unpayable. Tin", he contended, it would not do. A shilling a truck neyer kept a mine closed, and he defied any councillor piesent to point to an instance where it had done so, while a reduction such as that proposed would not m iteually assist tho miners or the field generally, or tend to a greater development of its resources, the only other effect which it would havo would be a renewed lo»s on the working of the tramway, and making it once more a serious loss and burden to the council. Then the council, finding that the tiamway was a burden, it might be sought to get it off their hands by leasing it to private individual, who by working it to their own advantigp, might cause greater injury to the field than the present tramway charges were likely to bring about. Again, there was not a single spare tiuck on the line. Tho whole of the present stock were used to keep Mi Firth's battery sup plied with quart/. How, therefore, were thpy to supply Mr Fergusons battery with quartz? Fergusons branch lino alone would lequire six trucks to be continually left on it, for when there were less than six on it, it could not be worked. Then it would tako at lpast six more trucks along the main line getting quait/, fiom the different mines to supply Fergusons battery, mtking twelve trucks m all. When these twolvo trucks were taken from the present number they would not then be able to send to the two batteries the same amount of quartz by one third, as they were sending now to one. Thus a third of the present revenue on tho tramway wa« lost. Again, it would cost £2 a day addi tional wages to work Feiguson's branch lino alone, and he was certain that the extra expense which would have to be incuired along the main line through the extra work con-eqnent on tho opening of the new hi and] would not bo lem than 10s delay extra, making in all an addition to their wages bill of £1"> a weok. Another horse would also have to bo bought to work Fergusons branch line. They would therefore nee that to make the tramway pay not only would they have to maintain the present charges on the tramway, but they would also have to got twelve extra trucks. The tramway was the cheapest in point of freight in the Australian colonies. In fact if Miey did anything at all they would have to raise the charges, Ho was opposed to the council making even a sixpence out of tho tramway. To rrduco the chaiges only meant taking the money out of the pockets of the struggling ratepayers, and putting it into the pockett of mining companies who could better afford it. Ho anticipated that with tho l eduction which was pioposed they would lose in twelve months over £2000. It was to his mind a scandalous shame for these companies to come thuie and ask for such a concession when they know perfectly woll the council could not afford it. Tho council scorned to bo under tho impression that the people of Te Aioha weie anxious for this reduction, but this was not ho. Tho petition forwarded to the council by the mining companies was signed by butchois, bakois and their boys, and others about tho place who had no stake in tho county whatover. It wan merely an nttempt to got tins thin edgo of the wedgo in, as tho undoubted object of this movement was to got tho tramway into private hands. Ho would therefore propose "That it is not at present advisable thnt any reduction should bo made in the existing tramway charge*, and that before any future, proposal for a reduction can bo considered, dua notice bo given each councillor prior to tho meeting at which such proposal is to be brought forward." Cr. Smith said Mr Mm phy had clearly nhown that a reduction was impossible. He agreed entiioly with what that gentleman nnd said.— -Tha Chairman uaid it wan tho cheapest oarrying tramway in New Zealand.— Cr. Smith seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously, Tramway Rrpobt.— The rmnngor's ieport for the month was laid on the table. For the pant five weeks the revenue was only raoaer»te, Ho had. mhcipated that

tho returns would increase at the first of the month, but ho presumed the battery returno not being sati->factory had led to o-io or two of the mines boing closed. He re;ommonded now ropes for Butler's Spur. One of tho drivers, Thomas Hill, had been s<riounly lamod by a full truck running over his foot. He got full Mine on the payihoet. He siif,'pc<tpd repairing portions of tho lino d uing tho holidays. £20 would bo roquired f<>r thn. — Cr. Mr.rphy proposed that tho manager be empowered to effect tho necciary improvements. — Agreed to. Wokks AT Tk Awohv.— Tho enginoer, Mr Pavitt, jeported tli.it ho had spent on roads in tho Arohn township tho following Hums, as nuthoiiscd :— Nfct.illinf: WhitikcrHtieet, V>o cubic yards at 3s 3d, £24 7s (id ; removing stones, &c, £2 ICM ; cloanmg drains in Rolleston street, £1 12s. Suveral accmnts were passed for payment, and the proceedings terminated.

T.Am Hi al ni nus — I. idies, son cannot make fur skin, ro^y checks, and spirMing ejes with all the cosmetics of Krmrc, or bcauliner* of tbo world, while in poor health, and nothing will tfive jou siirh rich blood, k oo( 1 heilt'i, strength, and beaut) as Hop Bitters, American Co's made A tri il is ccrt.nn proof Sen