PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2374, 27 September 1887, Page 3

PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

Tip; n-u.d monthly in-• mg O l!;.- I'ndm <,11111.v ('.nin. il was Im-' t m Om- 1 11 ■ ■ mi> ('..•llll-'ll C 1,;,,,. 1...1 I ;U Ii! i' ' 'll. I'll Sit'll,l,lV, g fr.li iiivt, I'r-s.-nl,: M"-'i- . 1- 1 • Williams iVh.iiini:«ii,l lioni.l, Murul-y. i'inni hiii, mill rin-piii'-n. Tlm inimii'M i'i tin- In-1 in. '- 1 1”-: were ll:l,l

ami uonlinncfl. f'nN’TU'H, ('V WIVKUs. Tho (’hanman of 111" nimi'-m iri Comity Council »i '- "n the ipm-li- n of tin- pfnei-'in.i 1 1- mi- - ; ' i i' ’11 11 11■ ing tin- .\• 11-.• •n " r ii"- I-"mu Hi.-- "f ll>" T1i, 111, 1 1.1 l hour Hoard I *i-t iM l. mi'l 'i'i;in" fli.il eoimeried ;ir;ti"ii I"- oUn t.y tlntivu (-."tinli'-s lii<i. »'• '-ii'ii'l'- !’■ "''ii I," act in<l,- t i<l.-n! ly. and '"'•"ii'llv I ake i-trni'i'.'H i■ !i"i tI" Im''ll" < -nO-.t "1 tli" V.!, ~1 III" Wallen mill I'l-iii" rivers wit' :,,,ir .itii'i'-nl-i i"iii"V"-l from 'll" Jim,iiM:t inn "f tli" 'I liaums o,ii l.'.ui- lO.ml, mi'l | ,!.,,-i-,l mi'l'T t Imt "! mi i ■ !> -I'-' M-ad nf ll"- "iiimti'-.-- "i- "111"'' Imnnilmi ", .-mil that i r pre-eii tati ves m""t- I" tii'ltu," tin* ina f f'T af Taoroa.

('r. < ‘ 1 1 • -11111 1 pi’i'P'isr'l ami 11"; "liaii man s"(;inii"fl 'l'hat, fli" I, o Vi -1 niii'-nf- In- a-k' '.I 1" "liti-rtam til" a|ip!i""li"n "f ill" ' lliim-iiiiii i ('"iinty CmiiK.-il, Unit 1 11" pi'," l nnal i"'i I"i"setlulcti, l"!i'inK tlm "i"iti'"l "f the rivi j s t" tli" ""iinti"-. (l.'an-ui'l.) I, I * - ; N - IN" Ait.—Tin; clink of tli" 1" Afilia Town I’l'ianl v.Tni" (m- p.iymrnt of JC7 10' f »-soi vicos r"iiil"i-"(l "" dci k of 111" l,i"ini-lny (loiiimitlvo. -f-i'. f .A 11 -1 mm i -1J imiV'-l, ami tli'M'haiiin ill srcll'l" 1 !, “ I’lint tlm clfi'U 1'" I'ai'l L'-'i f"i" sin-vici-s up I" tlm 30lli .fun", tlm otli'ir poi-tioii to In; paid liv tlic Town Hoard, ami that 1 it) lie allnwnfl tlm sum of la -Js l'"i' annum from that date.'’ —e.'in'i"il. Tiiamwav.— The tramway mmiamn- sntiinittud Ills usual monthly report, which was received. I’kisok op Walks J ti ipj-i 11 >a v', P lie Colonial .Secretary asked the Council to posl.piine the county i-lectimis, which fall dm-on the fttli Novemher, for a week, in 1 1 - • 11 ' 1111- of Mis Royal lliylni'-ss. —Cr. .Murphy said other bodies had dune so, and he proposed that the election' be postponed as ic'piestcd.—Seconded by Cr, Chepmcll, and carried. Comm- Si;ttu;.mi;ni's. -li’epurt of the committee appointed by the I’iako County Council oil the -J7tl. Auym-l ISM, with no strnctioio. liist,: To meet and e "if"r with a committ"" appoint.-d by tlm ral'-payers of Shaftesliurv and W idoi.ineoiiiai to mvest.o the niaini"!- in which ree.-iit eontraets have liven let and carried out, -, i.e. wiih no to tlm cxpcndilnm ( >f tho i-pccial loan;” second I v : T" inspect, and, if upproved of, certify to the completion of the works near Shaftesbury fm- which a sub-ldy of L'.’iO was ({rallied by Urn Council ; thirdly : To certify the works for which tenders have been called in tho Cimvhao outlyim; district, am! to arrange as I," the acceptance of tlm lowest or other tender. To -nil; CIIAIIIMAN Of TIIK I’IAKO CIH.NTV CofSi'll., t f Sir.—l have the honour to report for the information of the Council that tho committee, consisting of Mr Could and myself, went to Waiorong'imai on the Ist mst, and that wo met the Shaftesbury Committee consisting of Messrs Roche, Cox, limit, and Haskett and went with them to inspect the. works on Urn road from Wninrongoniai to tho Cordon Settlements, Mr Havitt being in attendance. In presenting om; report vom committee will only deal with those contracts concerning which complaints have been made, viz.. Nos. L’, S, hj, 10, 11, Ik 1 , 4, ami \ tlm last throe being hndge contiacts. The work done on contracts Nos. k’, S, !), and 10 was for the most part formation and metalling, and it was alleged that the mutulliiu-f Wii*' insulliuiunt ; Unit some of tho worst places had not In-en metalled at all ; ami that tlm speeiheations of work to be done on No. ll were not properly drawn i'P, the engineer having neglected t" specify the depth "f ditch ami quantity of .stuff to lie laid on Urn mad fm a distance of about 000 chains, Hie consequence being that the old ditch was niciviy cleaned out ami the cleanings thrown on the road ; also, that some of the contractors were very much behind tinm. With regard to the last compi lint, it is true that the contractors for Nos. o ami 10 were as much as 17 weeks and It! weeks behind time, respectively, hnl the states that ho reported this to the Council from time to time, ami no actum was taken by the Council in the matter. With regard to the complaints about insiillicieney of metal, it is difficult to come to a just decision. It is certain that the mad must have been very bad in many places during Urn winter, mid those works which were completed within the specified time are in hotter order than the others, hut at the same time it must be home in mind Hi it. considerin'.: the lateness of the season when tlm w.-rks were commenced, ami tlm fact that them, was a considerable amount of taallie between Wai imng'imai ami Shaftesbury while the work was going "u, it was almost impossible to make a good job of tlm metalling on a foundation "f mud, ami when the contractors fell behind with their work, of course it made matters worse. Tlm engineer also laboured under another dillieullv in that In-had tnnninch work to do with the money at his disposal, and he alleges this as his reason for tlm slight natmc of the woik speeiimd on contract N". !). M it.li reference to the complaints concerning contract No. U, your commiltcn have to report that this contract extends over six miles of road through the tlmdon Rettlcnnmt: tin; foundation through the swamps was to have been HO feet wide, but when tho work was in progress the engineer directed the cmli'aclor to make the foundation narrower and higher, in order to lay a heavier holly of Mult mi i-he mad, and your committee, had practical proof of the necessity "f this fm- they (omul it somewhat difficulty to pilot their horses along some parts of those swamp roads. Tlm cuttings on this mad were to lie good enough to take a loaded dray, ami though some nf the gradients are exceedingly steep and somewhat narmw and tortuous it js evident, that dravs have been over them, as tlm wheel marks are now visible, and as the niatei i.d was carted over the mad there must have been loads of some .sort on the drays that wen! over it. This contract was not, completed when your committee, inspected it, and tlm engineer staled that the cmitract»r would have to rednee some of the worst gradients before 1m eonld pass the work. With refvieiu-e to the complaints about the substitution of rough timber culverts for pipes on this contract tlm engineer explains that when Im laid nut the work in Hie dry weather at the end of tlm summer lie made in. provision for ditching and forming about Id chains of a peculiar gravelly swamp, which was then quite hard, but he stated that when the work was in progress he had to ditch and form this piece of mad ; he also made about six chains of heavy cutting, and a sideling cutting down tlm inecipitons face nf a terrace, a most dillicnlt place fm-a mad, and these, extra works wore paid for by the dtlfcrcncu between Hie cost of pipes and rough Umber. Vom- committee are of opinion that, the, engineer was justified in doing this, taking all the circumstances into coiisideialinn. The bridge contracts appear to have been well carried out. One of the wings of the Wammngiunr.i bridge was partly carried away, owing to the collapse of tho river hunk aiiovn tlm bridge, but the wings were being tied hack when yum- committee inspected it, and there is eveiy reason to believe that tho approaches are now pmperly secured. Complaint was made about the Wairakaii bridge, and some bridges on the Maori reserve, having been built without approaches. The connecting mad between tlm small bridges on tho reserve was not mude. as the mad was not yet taken, and that does not appear to have been owing to the fault of the engineer. The bridge over tlm Wairakaii has no approaches for a simitar reason. It will be remembered that it was reported to the Council that a deviation should be. made in the mad where it crosses tho Wairakan, so as to have one crossing instead of two, and the new road had not been taken when the bridge contract was let. Indeed, your committee doubt whether it lias yet been finally taken. Tn sum up, your committee report that in their opinion the Council made a mistake in beginning these works at tlm cud nf the dry sca.-ou, when it was certain that the new formation would be cut, up by the winter's traflic. Then the engineer made a ■ istake in proposing to build tlm bridges over the Wainmngomai ami Wairakaii streams. If llmse two bridges had not been built a sum of b'-J-'ai would have been available for expenditure on other parts of tlm road wlmm work was much more needed. Tlm que-tioii of tlm emi-tion nf these bridges wa-. b-iwevcr, brought up h"foro the Council ill-fore the contract' wen.' lot. Therefore the i'o-p ’mobility lias b., ( -n to a groat c-tont retiio;ed trom tlm shoulders of tlm engineer. Taking Ml I h ■ eircum-tanees of the case into consideration, your committee are Ilf opinion that though He- mad is bail 'iuio'i"b. it, eouM not have been made much better for the money. -Many mistakes have been mad'-, hut the Council must hear a eer tain aumunt.d the blame, partly from its bavin" "one too hurriedly ml" the "xpcntlitm-" id ill" loan, and paitly from too great a la..ily in neglecting In dilutee the penal-

;• ■■ • , •. < i -tunc ; air 1 \> ait r-n mi* w.r.iM P-i'ititirn'T ! t!i>- t ’■ ;i’,icil In ric--; r (ic [ i I |r' fm'iii i;.» |Jy l ;ti {*• »-cii <>M (•'ailr,!(ji' u> \vh«< ni'jjluct I" ioitit tii C'Uhiit i'U.s <.f t lirjr c*'allr ict Willi ri;f*-1 nro !■< :1 ■■ - 1 ■ 11■ i 1 >f tho ill'll lift Dur, y >nr cmnn.iiv • Invi* to !'<• piij't lint tiio (irain nrir Sha:y app■■aiy to havo hrm s:it i-M;*''-N'li'y (‘oiiijih-icil. hot tho hridi/i* lias not yet hi-in r.-nio\r(h With ivjj.itfl to tins thin) of iho iii'lniflioiis, yo'ir U ll mllnll* 'o IkiaC 1" i'-|ioii lb-it, i cunt far!, ft u- wnuhs in tinI’muliao ilistiict, jhas born h-t lo I’,. Mtiimi f< >r L'i-’ l , the sun-tics fop t!io ooitlract-T lining Musses Hon amt < l:ili:m r lnT. Tin; f >111: ai 1 ' is fur the formati -n of tho roml, «.Vc., to spouitir.ation. uxu'-jit that Ihm* is to he only ono 'ihch instoari of tho two, as originally s | ) 1 u■ili ia i, WII.UAM (.’UHI’MKIX.

Cr. Murphy sii'l he was olad to hoar -m:h afa voiir iblr report. It was satisfactory to find tho . -oil In s worn trotting value for thoir ntoiH-y. -t'r. Chupiuell said it was a vi-iv diihonlt mattor to malm road> in tho roujrh now country they had. -Tim report. ■ rr'C'-iv od. and the committee,' thanked. <V. Murphy a-lmd if then* vras any ( i li:iiii'i | n| tho. road hehur cent inne.d t lirouch tlm Maori ir-rne to tin' <h-nh>n Si-ltic-ment. It, would lie of m'eat Item-Jit- to a number of'-ctUi-is. of whom there arc Tile expense would bn about ir,o. _ At pro sent, they have no mean- of yetting away {■heir prttdnce or hrinymr: their stores.—-f.r, (hmld said the settlers <!o'(,T'.od lludr sympathy. bciiuf so remotely situated. The land was patchy, hid very m ,(, d in some places, (,’r. (Jhcpmcll said he tlmnydif they slmnld wait tlll they saw what money was eominu' to tlm Council under the Special Settlements Act. Cr. Murphy said the road was useless until tlm middle portion was made The Chairman said tlm expense of bridpns would be very ore.al, mill Ui".v lui'l not, the mnni'y. 'rimy wuM li;i\" fo u-.-tit. 'I'll" m.-it t"i t livui (iii'piHitl. Tiiamwav Lkasks.—Tlmso diiciiniunts ivur" brim-lit np by Mr Huy, ill" ivniritv inli'-ifiir, f'ii- M'lmf.im'. Ari'in Nr.s. Tli" f.illuu Imk nccmils wro iiiMsml fur p iyim-nt. Tnnmv.iy : W'mn-s nl", tTCi Os; I-’. V.ite, ,UO 1-m r.U ; W. I (imt, G 10s; K. Miihimd, Ks l«i ; M is""llmi"ims: Clink, IM Ins: D. >l. I'-r.iz"!-, UP 11s: 11. Mifcliiili, f-'n ; C, Munihy, 1m Os; i-’. ra,vitt, UlSlis'.l'l ; I'. l-'utriar, PI 01s ; lluynn mill pm-ty, PO T' ; 'ln. ilep'init iiconmt I' I: Mr Hay, L'in Us. 'l’lin ('"imcil I ri.-n i'"-".