CAMBRIDGE DOMAIN BOARD.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2282, 24 February 1887, Page 2

CAMBRIDGE DOMAIN BOARD.

The above board met at" 3 p.m.' yesterday in the council chambers. Present: T. Wells, (chairman), ,R.. Kirkwqod, J: Fisher and E. Hewitt. ■; A letter was read from Mr R. W. Sargent, chairman of the district school, asking permission to hold aquatic sports on Te Koutou Lake, on .the 25th -inst. ~. The Chairman said he had granted the request, and a motion was passed approving of it. The Rev. J. S. Rishworth wrote, complaining of being charged 2s (id for his cow being in the domain grounds, and istating* that the fence at one" part was not! cattleproof. Mr Kirkwood also referred ;tu two places where it required mending,' which were ordered to receive attention. . The chairman read letters from the Under-secretary and the. Minister < of Lands, in which they stated that they domain property was not to be handed over to the borough council, and another from the Auditor - General, saying the board had acted illegally in having a bank overdraft, and asking the members to at once square the account, for which they were each personally liable.—The Chairman said he supposed that gentleman had just woke up/ The bank overdraft was more two years ago than at the present time, and the books were then passed as correct.—Mr Hewitt: His attention has been called to it by some of the council.—The Chairman : Don't let us stir up any bad feeling. There has been. quite sufficient, and it is quite time it is given up. He then went through the whole of the transactions of the board since 1880, when it was formed, in a very concise and lucid manner, showing how the debt had arisen and the various methods that had been tried to get - grants, &c.; also the amount of work done. He had also prepared a draft copy of a letter to be forwarded to the Minister of Lands, thoroughly explaining the state of affairs, and asking that the Auditor General be requested to allow the overdraft to remain. This letter was adopted by the board, one member remarking that the amount of bad debts they had made would almost have covered the overdraft. At this point Mr Hewitt left. The Clerk reported £14 arrears of rents. One member of the board would not pay, and in fact was hardly civil if asked for it. That was a bad example for other people. The clerk was instructed to take legal proceedings against all parties over one quarter in arrears. Accounts were passed to the amount of £(> 15s sd,' the bank overdraft standing at £237. This was all the business.