RAGLAN COUNTY COUNCIL.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3103, 4 June 1892, Page 2

RAGLAN COUNTY COUNCIL.

The ordinary meeting of the Ra-j'an Oounty Council was held at Moon's Hali bour View Hotel on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, M:iy 25tli, 2(Jth, and 27th. Business commenced on th'a Wednesday morning with the holding of thu finance Committee meeting, at which th*Gliairmau (Or. Wil.son), Cr.s. Mathias, Whitesi Jβ, C-unwell, iMcOnirk and Brooks were present. The ordinary quarterly mootinp was held at 2 p.m., there being present: \ Crs. Wilson (chairman), Brooks (WhnnKtt|)»)i Calder (Knramu), Whiteside (One--1 wlibm). Mathias (To Akau), MdJiiirk (Pirongia). and Cogswell and Hill (Kurioi). Corkkspondbxce.—The following lettors t were received : From tins Government ra the alteration of rolls by local lio'lips, and ' tlie liability of electors t> be pi iced tliercon. ' —From the ru the <-pendt ing of thirds money.—From the Bank of > New Zealand, stating that they cmld inakn , no reduction on the interest char.-od on the overdraft, but that in future interest would be charged on the balance only. — ' From tlie Surveyor-General re £71 due on I- the Radian and Waipa road.—From tho - Marine Department, stating that tho Governmont steamer Hine.moa (Capt. Fairchild) would be sent down the coast to examine the beacons at the entrance to the Raglan harbour. Capt. Fairchild has, sinoa the letter wan sent, been here, but as his stay was only a few hours outside tho bait, it is not known if he found the licaoms in their right places as showing the channel. A letter is to be written to the Derail iiient ' for information on thu subject.—From (lie 1 Minister of Justice, st iting that the Gu- = vwrmrient does not rncr.Rnise tlm cLiiin? nf ' the Council in respect to the rent demanded e for the Court-house, Raglan ; and that if ' the demand is insisted on, the Government i- may have to remove the holding of (he U.M. Court from R-iglan.— From the Comr missioner of Crown lands re arrangement for payment of thirds, —From the Govern- " rnent re the wharf loan of i' 242, to the elfect > that a special rftte must bo struck before e ibe loan could be granted, in addition to r the security of the wharf dues.—From the ! " Commissioner of Taxes, statins; that the valuation roll of some of the ridings cannot be supplied unt\l after the meeting of the Board of Reviewers.—From Messrs McCracken, Saunders, and others, requesting tho Council to lay out work on a ivi;ul lending to their places, and offi-ripg to give material assistance in suppleriienting the Council's expenditure upon tl;e road, being i. willing to give £3 woith of work upon the j said road. They thought it the duty of tho '.. Council to help settlers in out-of-the-way t places to get out of their land. The re]f quest was not entertained.—Fioin Mr Secombe, asking to be exempted from the c payment of rates. It was resolved that Mr J Secomba be informed that rat'n must bo e ptid, and calling liis attention to Mr . O'Neill's It tti-.r.

Overdraft. —It was proposed by Cr. Brooks and seconded by Ci\ Cogswell ;iiid carried : "That the members of the Raglan County Council confirm the overdraft at present existing at the Bank of New Zealand." Resignation ok Clkrk.— At this stride the resignation of Hie clerk was read, the samo to take place from the end of .September next. Sover.il of the Councillors expressed regret that the Council would lose the valuable services of Mr Somerset who had so ably filled the various offices he held under tho Council, but at the si me time they congratulated liiui upon his pood fortune. -Mr Somerset thanked tin , . Council for their kind expressions towards him and regi'oted that he had to send in his resignation but that he was obliged to proceed in a few months to England. Hβ hoped on his return, however, to bo amongst them again not vs clerk but ;■» one of the County Council. Aunn , Bill.—ln reply to a letter received trotn the Colonial Secretary re the proposed Act for the keeping and auditing of local bodies accounts. It was resolved chat the Council confirm the decision arrived at in reference to this matter at the Conference of County Council Delegates held recently in Auckland. Road Deviation , .—In reference to the deviation of the Rtiglan-Waipa Koad at Mr Bruce's, near the lime kiln (Wlintawhata), it was resolved: " Tliat Mr J'nico be informed that the Council have received n letter from the Survey Department and they olfer him the sum of JL'IO for the lots to be taken, and the Department inform the Council that the money will be paid on com pletion of transfer, and if not completed the Council must proceed under the Public Works Act. H this is not satisfactory the matter will have tc be referred back to to tho orh'ee.' , Nicholson's deviation at To Mata : "Cr. Hill is to call for tenders for the work not to exceed £5." Somerset's deviation : The consideration of this matter was left in Cr. Hill's hands. Waipa Road Maintenance.—Cr. Cons well, in accordance with notice Riven, piopesed that the resolution fixing the charge for the maintenance of thii mad cm the several ridings be rescinded.— S«c"ti'led by Cr. Hill, and carried. The consideration of the question of the contributions of the various ridings now occupied tlie Council for some considerable time, a?id in the discussion that was carried on all cf the Councillor!! took part. It was prnpo-ed by Cr. Brooks, and seconded by Cr. Cogswell, that the contributions frjm the various ridings be:—Karioi, 4-10ths; Tβ Akau, ,'MOths; Karamu, 2-10ths; and Waniguro, 1-lOlh.— Carried. Dog Tax.—Constable Bulford, Registrar o< Dors for the Te Akau and Karioi ridings, brought before tho Council matters in reference to the collection of dog fees in If riding, and recommended that beside tIL usual notice in the papers, notices should be sent to the Councillors nf ridings requesting them to post m> the same Posi-otficos and other public places.—The suggestion will be carried out. Deputation —Mr Sowell, on behalf of Mr Laiißley, interviewed the Council in rospoct of certain works which Mr Laiißley

hud iiitiMidnd tn rf-rpu-Kt tlm Council to undertake, viz: tlm -t.ute of the rosuls in tho township of Ilayluu, and the necessity Of repairs being etinct'vl therein : as at pr.isont they wiinj positively dam:iT'..is lifter dark. Tho Council are receiving licenses of £50 :i year frmi the two hotels and ho thought the Council could at small cost hiiva the roads and footpaths improved, and, it would certainly bo wisn economy, as it would tend not only to the comfort of residents but also to rha*. of vi-itora to this favourite sea-side resort. The levels of the streets should also be now fixed, so that nil works carried on in future should lin dr.no in a practical manner.—Mr T. IJ. Hill, ahui hoped the. Council would do soinu of this necessary work for them, it had been thought by many that thoy should f.irin into a town district, but if tho Council did their duty there would bo no ntvd of this.— Mr J. N. Peeler also support-id tho satr.e.— Cr. Cntrswejl stated he hat at last meeting brought this matter up, and £2 10s had been voted for the work. —After consultation with Cr. Hill, it was thought, as this »mounfc was not sufficient, they had hotter defer it being spent, but he hoped the Council would see their way to grant a large sum, an it was much needed.—Cr. Brooks spoke of thu indebtedness " f the Kariri Riding, and sa ; d that at present the Council was carrying their burdens, but thought that perhaps after a year or two they might be ablo, if no fresh Nubilities were incurred, to go on with tho necessary work, but at present they arc still in debt.— Tho Chairman referred to the state of their finances, and hoped that settlers would be moderate in their demands, bo that they might sret out of debt. Only such necessary work should be carried out as would prevent accident. N.VTI7E ObstMJCTION.— A'ter a lettrr had been read re the native obstruction of a surveyed road, Cr. Brooks further instructed tho Council in the matter. In several cases tho natives had altered the road, fencing off the propnr road and making it through a swamp. In one instance they cat off a settler from any road communication, and even charged him for getting in and out of hid land.—lt was resolved to write to the Native Minister and Chief Surveyor on the subject. Thirds.—The Chairman having brought before the Council the desirableness of perpetual lease and deferred payment settlers being consulted in the spending of thirds, suggested that they should call a meeting and elect three of their number to act with the councillor of each riding in the matter.—Cr. Brooks concurred with the Chairman's remarks, and thought it would tnka some of the responsibility off the councillor's shoulders.—The suggestion was agreed to. Special Rate,—lt was proposed by Cr. Brooks, and seconded by Cr. Whiteside, "That a rate of Jd in the £ be struck in the Karioi Road District to meet the deficiency in debentures under "The Loans to Local Bodies Act 1880."—Carried. Hospital Rate.—The Council struck a separate rate of 3-lfiths of a penny in the £ to meet the requirements of tho Hospital and Charitable Aid Board.— a very general discussion took place into Hospital management, and charitable aid disbursement many of the committee thought that the operations of the Board were increasing much too fust, and that unnecessary buildings were being erected, and expenditure increased all of which was surely tending to increase pauperism in their midst. Cr. Brooks disapproved of title administration of the Board which as things were advancing would surely very soon place .i great burden upon the ratepayers shoulders. Many of thoso treated ill the Hospital or receiving charitable aid were either themselves, or had friends who were, able to pay, and the Board should certainly "temper murcy v/ith justice." Cr. McGuirk was pleased as their Hospital representative, with the impartial manner in which Cr. Brooks had spoken. The Chairman also concurred in the views expressed, and said that strict economy should bo exercised in Hospital and charitable aid management. After the discussion it was resolved that a letter be sent to the Waikato Hospital and Charitable Aid Board conveying to them the opinion of the meeting on this question. Cr. McGnirk received the thanks of the Council for his work on the Hospital Board as their representative. County Rate.—The general rate on the various ridings upon the resolution of Councillors was carried viz., Firongia, id ; Te Akau, Jd ; Waignaro, Jd ; Karioi, j'd ; Kiiramu, $d ; Onewhero, Ad ; Whangape, 3d. Refund, —Cr, Brooks proposed : ' That this Council apply to the Hon. the Minister of Lands for the sum of five shillings per acre on the land adjoining the Opuatia Creek recently sold, which land has been loaded to the amount above named for the purpose of roading, the amount already expended by the Government being £138." Seconded by Cr. Whitesida and carried. Kivkii Obstruction.— The Clerk was instructed to write to the saw-mill owners re logs floating in creeks and rivers, and requesting them to obtain a certificate for that purpose from the Department. Slaughterhouse License. —This question was considered, information being given that it was thought parties were in the habit of slaughtering cattle, etc., and selling the meat without having taken out a license for the same. —The subject was deferrod. Whark.—Wharf matters took up a very largo p:iition of the Council's time, and several resolutions that had been considered were withdrawn. A Wharf Committee was appointed, consisting of the Chairman and Cr.s. Mathias and Cogswell, with powor to act. Thfl resolution in reference to free storage for -48 hours was rescinded. The leasing of the wharf and store, tho storage of lime and doing without wharfinger, and other questions relating to wh»rf management, occupied tho Council's attention. The wharf is now bringing in considerably above £100 per annum. Tenders kob Clekk.—lt was resolved that alternate tenders bo called for tho ofh'ee of clerk and wharfinger, and of clerk, etc. Security required to t'm amount cif £250, no lawyer's security to bn a r, cepted.'il Bridges and Culverts.—Crs. Cogswell and Caldnr reported upon the various bridges and culverts on the Raglan and Waipa road on both sides of the mountain, many of the bridges and culverts requiring, repairs. The work was ordered to oedone. The sum of £3G is to be paid for the Waingaro bridge when funds aro available, and £10 for the Onewhero ferry. Cr. Hill was empowered to spend the sum of £10 for repairs on the Ruglan and Ruapuke road contract, to be paid when funds ara to hand. Raglan Works.—Messrs I'rissel and Sewell having given an estimate for the proposed works in Bow and Clilf-streets, together with the fixing of levels, the expenditure of £17 8s was authorised for

the work required. Harbour Board Allotments. — The Marine Department informed the Council that they would only issue a Crown grant for the allotment on which the County Council buildings stand.—lt was resolved that the Government be informed that they have already granted these allotment?, and have, by notice in the Gazette, vested them in the Raglan County Council, and the Council having disposed of the lease of several allotments, request the Government to give o, Crown grant as (l> title to the leaseholders for the 3ame. Furzk.—Attention was drawn to the furze miisauce upon the Raglan-Wai pa Road, but nothing was done in the matter. Whakk Loan.—A special rate was struck over the Whaingaroa and town of Rfitflan districts to pay the interest on the £242 loan feu- wharf purposes. Sundriks.—Robert Muir was appointed flog registrar for the Whangape Riding.— Search wan ordered to be made for absentee owners in the Karioi Rifling, and instruction given to sue those still owing rates.— Application will be made to the Survey Office to obtain 37 acres of land .its Teko Tcko as a county reserve.—The Council do not hold themselves responsible for the wire stored in tho wharf store, tho Northern Shifping Company being responsible for the same.—Mr Moon requested the porini.-sion of the Council to run a drain frmn his premises under the footpath into a drain running across Bow-street. Granted.—Tho travelling expenses of the various ridings are to be distributed generally. Accounts.—Payment of the following accounts was authorised :—Whiteside, £3 10s; Caldor, £1 0s; A. H. Calder, £1 ; Scott, £8 17s fid ; McGuirk. £2 ; Calder, £2 •E. B. Hill, £1 10s; J. Brooks,£4 ;R. La Trobe, 12s ; A. H. Giubs, £5 3s ; Pegler, 1:"h; Bhckwell, £1 83 8d ; Onewhero Road Board, £0 0s ; Fawkes and Foxhall, Sfl-td ; S. Wilson, £0; O. Mays, 10s Gd ; Whaingaroaßoad Board, K33].«: .1. Roid, £5 Is Ud : Hill, £3 0s ; audit, £2 3s -Id. Riding Account*.— The following statement of riding accounts was presented :— In credit: Karamu, £Sls; Onewhero, £lo 7s -Id : Whainffiira, £130 4s OJ. In debt : Kniioi, £28 8s 2d : Pirongia, £12 4s 9d ; Whangape, £20 7s od. Thirds account in credit, Karamn, £17 43 0d : Whaing.iro, £13G 12s Id ; Whangupe, £21 Bs.