PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3187, 26 November 1892, Page 2

PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL

ANNUAL MEETING. The statutory meeting of the above Council was held iu the County office at Cambridge at noon on Wednesday. Present: Councillors Chepmell, Herries, Heaney, Hunt, and Harrison. —Cr. Heaney moved that Mr W. P. Chepmell be re-elected Chairman. It would be his sixth year of office, which of itself showed the estimation in which he was held by his fellow C mncillors. —Cr. Herries seconded the motion and said he was sure no one of them could fill the office as well as Mr Chepmell. Tho motion was unanimously agreed t>, and Mr Chepine.ll resumed his accust uned chair, after which he briefly thanked thd Council for its continued confidence in him. —The Chairman, Crs. Herries, Heaney, and Browne were then elected members of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. ORDINARY SHEETING. The usual monthly meeting of Council was then held, the above members being present and alsoCrs. Browneand Seddon.— The minutes of- the previous meeting were rpad and duly confirmed. Thb ExeoNGKD CoMMrrrKtt Meeting MINUTBS. —The Chairman referred to this matter and said he was to blani9 for the minutes ot the committee meeting being entered in the ordinary minute book, and not Mr Westby, their late acting-clerk.

Thr Waiorongomai Tramway on the Council's Hands Again , .—Voluminous correspondence was read about tho manner in which Mr McLean had been working the tramway. Complaints had been made to the goldfiel'l's warden (Mr Noithcroft), and he had communicated with the Council upnn the matter. Mr Pavitt, the engineer, had been instructed to report upon the state of the property ; and Mr McLean's sureties hud been warned that he win not carrying out tho terms of his leaae. ami was stated to be drinking heavilv.—During the whole of this time Mr McLean w.-n present, by permission of tho Council —The engineer reported on the condition of the tramway as under : In goiug over tho line I found the perm intuit way in fair working order. | except where some slips of ground have oscuned, and these should be fixed up at once ; the aide or watertables on the two upper inclines should be cleaned out and some of the road repaired. I notiod on these inclines the necessary rollers had not been fixed ; this should be done to save the wear on the ropes. The brakes are in working order but the woodwork shows signs of decay. The bridges (except the one over the Canadian gully) are in good order, but the handrailing of the Canadian bridge will soon require renewing as aUn the decking. The tunnels are in far ord> r, Rolling stock: There are 30 out the 32 trucks in fair working order but some of the tripping gear needs overhauling and repairing, and there are two trucks that were smashed up when being sent down the Fern spur incline, that will require all the woodwork renewing. Sheds and buildings: The builingson the line show signs of deciy owing mainly to the quality of the material used in their construction. Horses: There are two of the horses working on the line ; these are in good condition and have teen well cared for, but the contractor, I understand, haa let the third horse "Lofty " to a Mr Aylward at the Gordon Settlement, who is using him to cart flax; I have not seen him, but hear he is in fair condition. Thn harness I saw on the horsos being worked, appeared to be badly kept and going to pieces, requires repairing and oiling. I summarise the various items thus:—Permanent way: the cost of putting it in such order as the contractor received it, fair wear and tsar considered, clearing slips, watertables, etc, £5 ; repairing 30 trucks, £16; renewing two broken trucks, £8; harness, £2 ; total, £31. I did not inspect the tools.—Mr Pavilt eaid he had received numerous complaints about the manner in which the line had been worked. The battery w.is now being altered to suit the Cassel process, and that method of treating the ore would cause some nf tho miners tn be considerable losers.—Messrs W. Jeffrey and B. Jennings wrote the Council undpr date 22nd November, as follows: "'ln reference to complaints recently made by us to Mr Warden Northcroftand Councillors Herriea and McNicol against McLean tramway manager, we beg to further state that in support thereof that owing to the manner in which tho line h:is been worked —or rather not worked lately—we have been nut ti considerable loss and fxuense. We have no idea why he should continuously stop the tramway altogether in the. middle of our crushing or when half our quartz is

only Mt the battery. Wu estinute tha iiniier ordinary circum-tinc»s we ihoulf liivo exccertwl mir output fr.nn the mini >y at least 200 tricks firt , the year. It h leedleea for us t-i pirtieularise as to dates ,s the whole community can v.mch for the .ccuracy of our complaint, neither nri iiir own oyes blind to the fnct. Wt efr.iin from stating the diraect canst if such cirelessness on his part am imply leave the matter in the hanrls if the Council fur a remedy, if then; is 0111 eft open. The tramway us it is at pr.jsenl nanaged is certainly against the. interests o: •his part tif the district.—Mr McL»an wai iskud what explanation he amid giv< igainst the viriou.s charges. Ho said tht shief caus- of til 3 stoppage was caused hj lis man, Geo. Beeson, going away suddenly ,o Auckland for a trip without commiini sating with him (MoLsan). <>»o '» :,n Cl)ulc mt work the line, and the Council ulioulc jear in mind that it was not ordinary work, or no man could do it without beinf .rained to it. All the trouble had beer iauaed by petty jealousy and he had grea' iifficulty in obtaining any men used to tht vork in consequence of this jealous feeling Continuing he said : " I was never in such i )lace as Waiorongoinai for lying and petti ihieving. They thieved the tools and evei ;ook the grease and oil off the line. ' Hi iurther stated that the two trucks that wen jroken was caused by a fa'ilt in the iron That he could not see and was notrespon jible for. The horse lir liiul sub-let for 2 5d per week, not to make anything out o it. but simply to insure its Iming well fe< and cared for. The clause of the lease re ferring to sub-letting was read, but Me Lean said he had not troubled to read hi copy of the lease or he should not hnve Ie the horse out of his possession. Regardiui the statement that he was drunk ; he pre sumed the day referred to was the Otl November. If it was he saw Cr. McNicn r>n that day and spoke to him, so M McNicol could say if he was drunk or not —Cr McNicol : I think you were a littli too loyal to the Prince <.f Wales on tha day.—Mr McLean : Well, I could attem to tny business, so there could not havi been much the matter with me. Mr Me Lean then retired from the Council Guam ber,—The chairman siid Mt McLean hm broken his lease in three or four differen ways.—Cr. Browne asked if the illfeeltm between McLean and the other men was o 1 mg-standing.—Cr. Harrison said he di< not know if the il'-feeling was of long standing, but he did know Wniorongoma was a pretty good place for cliques.—Cr Herries said he had continually receive! complaints, and in one instance the Wardei had compelled the lessee to bring dowi some stuff that he had refused to brini down for the mines. It was the lessee' look-out if he could not get men. Per sonally he was in favour of suspending Me Lean, and that the Council should re-ento upon the property and oil for trash tender Eor leasing it. If Mr McLean was allowei to last out his lease which would expire ii February, the Council would then havo t face the trouble; and some of the miner would apply to the Warden t> protect thei mines till after February.—The chairmai moved : That the Council re-enter upon tin bramway propeity.—This was seconded b; Or. Hemes and carried unanimously Mr Pavitt was authorised to reent-r on tlii Council's behalf and tako charge of the pro perty. He was also requested to get thi tramway, etc., put in thor 'Ugh repair, am report the cost of so doing, together witl the cost of missing tools, at the next meet ing of the Council.—The clerk will inforn Mr McLean's sureties that the Council havi re-entered upon the tramway, and that upoi the cost of the necessay repairs beinj ascertained a claim for the amount will bi made upon them. —After some discussioi it wos resolved to alter the conditions o lease ao that tenderers may offer to lea* the tramway from one to five years, at thei option; otherwise.the conditions will bi similar to the List lease.—The warden' consent will, of course, be obtained previou to tenders being called. —The next meetinj of the Council will be held on Tuesday 20th December. The chairman was autho rised to deal with any matter that may aris in the interim in connection with the tram way. Patatere Returning Officer.— Mr W H. \\ estby wrote tendering his resignatioi as returning officer of this riding.—lt wa accepted, and Mr Alick Rowe was ap pointed in his place. Thk New Cou.vrY Office.—Mr J. Me Caw wrote statir.g that the directors of tin Estates Company had been pleased to gran the Council a site at Morrinsville upoi which to build county offices, and that hi should be glad to meet any member of th Council to fix upon a site.—lt was resolvet to ask Cr. Horrell to meet Mr McCaw.—l was thought probable that the Morrinsvill sale yards will be moved, and it that is si the Council will ask for thnt site.—A voti of thanks was unanimously accorded thi directors of the Estates Company for thei donation.—Mr Pavitt was instructed ti prepare plans for the new office, the build ing to cost about £100.—Cr. Heane; thought the building should cost at leas £200, and then a room large enough foi public meetings would be erected ; but thi other councillors dissented, and lie did no press the matter. A Contract Rkfuskii.—Mr Pavitt re ported that Mr MoLe. d refused t> take ui the No. 1 contract on the Tfl Aroha-Lich field Road, let to him at the last meeting The deposit will be forfeit d, and frasl tenders will be called for the iol>. Thamks-Waikato Roam.— Tin; fnllowini tenders were received fur cnnt.auts t > cleai the drains and earth m> this roid: No. contract—McCJuire and Shine, £57; Par and Bew, £40 10s (accepted). No. 2 con tract:—McGnire and Shine, £70; W Thompson, £09 10-s; Parr and 13aw, £01 (accepted). No. 3 contract:—W. Thomp son, £79 lfl-i; Parr and Bew, £08; Me Guire and Shin», £00 (accepted). No. ■ contract:—McGuire and Shine, £42; Par an-i Bew, £40 (accepted). Thk Clkkk's Bond.—Tho deed relatim to the security given by Mr Gilchnst, tin newly-appointed clerk, was submitted anc approved. Io was duly signed by tht Chairman, sealed with the common seal o the Council, and will be lodged in thi bank. That Gate on tke Road.—Mr J Bridgeman of Pukekura wrote on 22nc Nov., os under : I was surprised at the de :ision of the last meeting of your Council i> the gate and fence "ii the roivi, erected b> Mr Vosper. l>. was point-d out by Cr, fjaddon and Eneinetr S.ir.des that thai Mad was out of y.mr boundary. I though! >t the time of writing th it I was making implication ti the right source, as youi Council, I am informed, has been providng large draining pipes, putting in culverts, Mittine hills, eK, commencing about sis :luiins from the eato in question on the lame road dming the past yeT. As I am I iMtei-nyn- to the Piako County Council, [ would ask what amount lias been spent on he said road in I lie last year (and if the ;ate has nothing to do with the Council, I ,hink that there has been money spen* Hegally, which was wanted far iik.vj in >ther places) and also what body that road >elongs to. By answering the above qnesions you will oblige.—Cr. Seddon wd the vork Mr Bridgman referred to had been lone by the Gorton J5-.tii.te proprietors and Hγ Voaper: all the Council did was to pro'ide the pipes, and at that tune the Conn:il thought the road was in the Pinko bounty.—The Clerk will write Mr Bridgnan to that effect. Accounts.—The following accounts were masfd for payment:—W. McLean, i'-'J 0s ; r, Heathcote, £7 9j 81 ; Te Aroha News, 51 17s Gd ; J. Shine, £1 8s 4d ; T. Wells, is 7d; Batger, 18s; F. Pavitt, £3 3s ; L. lice, £9 11s 8d ; J. Barker, £1 10a ; G. V. Ormsby, £1 ss. This concluded the business. —Not a word vas said about the Taotaor.ia. roads.