THAMES DRAINAGE BOARD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 35, 9 February 1906, Page 2

THAMES DRAINAGE BOARD.

APPEALS AGAINST ASSESSMENTS. The Thames Drainage Board met at 11 o'clock this moruiug iv the Victoria Arcade, when there were present the Hon. E. ilitchelteou (chairnianj, Messrs W. Gorrie. Ui'. Gome, -11. i'aui, A. Bruce, W*. lSunou, U. Uillilian, and b. Heskuth, members oi the Bwiru, aud Messrs O. S. Ivissiiug (VVaiotahij, J.M. JbemioJK Oauguaid), a. fcUnua l&iiortland Flats), Graves Alexin and H. Green (Victoria). The Chairman explained that the meeting was called -for t)ie -purpose of ■ hearing ap peals against the drainage assessments £or the ensuing year. Appeals had been received from the Waiotahi, Vanguard, Victoria, aud Stortland Flais Companies. The making of the assessments, had given the Board great trouble, as Uie tegulaUous were somewhat vague. For Instance, last year the Kuranui-Caledonian was assessed at l< per cent, upon the gold won. whereas the "old was got by tributers, and, as the company only received. It) per cent, for the tribute, it paid 7 per cent, more than It got. Tbe Board had tried to make a fair assessment upon area, depth,, gold won, aud benefit derived. ■ Mr J. M. Lennox, on belialf of the vanguard Company (assessed at £23(5 5/>. Bnlfl ne did not attend to cavil at assessments, but in the case of the Vanguard this was a matter of life and death to the company. The Vanguard Company was an exception to the others, in that it had to pay ££f> 4/ per month to drain its own shnft Under such circumstances it was hard"'to be compelled to pay £236.a year to the Board for no services whatever aud another £600 a year for their own pumping H" considered the basis of the assessmert f:<ir enouch. but the trouble was thnt tl\e TKiTius-H.iurakf pump did not benefit the Vanguard.. If this dminace assessment was enforced, it would probably etr;ir,£"lo the company before it got fairly started. Mr Hesk'th: Do you not derive benefit from our pun ping Mr l.rnnos: No: wh°n we stopped pumping fh ,, water rope <'.i mir shr>ft. a , though the Tlinmes-Haurnln puron was working. Mr KiKsling. for the Waiotahi Company, assessed at £1702 I.V. said the principle upon which the assessment was based was not considered fair by his directors, as it threw about 'half the total contribution upon the Waiotahi Company. Tbe Chairman: Yon contend that gold won should not bear the proportion of cost we have placed upon it? Mr Kissling: Yes. Mr Graves Alekin. on behalf of the Victoria Company, assessed at £180 17/, said his objection was that they were assessed upon 41 ecrps, wheren* the only j area dnnned was 17 acres inside thr> seaward -slide. . The Boar/ 1 , had -no right *to charge on the 21 acre's It cnnld not dvoift.'•' Mr A. Hauna Raid Ills olije-i-tion on half of the Shortland Flats mine. psse«sed at J?3f>l 10, was on the s.ime lines as of Mr Lei'mox. The pump did nut drain the mine, and tbev had to pay £<-ftl a year to have it iTiiwatcred. They lißnjected nivdar thos* dfcJV'.sH'iufi's t.o paying another £301 10/ to t n<? Hoard for work not performed. Mr V.. H. Adams, prrveyor. had sworn hefnrp tbe Warden's Court that tbe Queen of Beauty pnmti did . pot drain the Vancnard and Sli'Ttlnnd F!ats rr'incß. Tho Board under the Act was only empowered to hfs<-ss "all land actually benefited by such work. Mr Oorrie: I understand that if th,? pump slnnppd you could not nnwater your mine, Mr Hanna: It never drained the Shortland Flats shaft at all. The Chairman said the Board had endeavoui"'- to act upon a fair basis all round, i\r& those companies objecting might perhaps, through th" Warden, get the Government to amend the regulations, so' thnt the Board would in future have less difficulty in making assessments. He knew these contributions were a great hardship upon shareholders in mines that were not on gold. Mr Bruce: Can the Vanguard drain that property if the Thames-Hauraki pump stops work? Mr Panl: I am quite sure that if the Thames-ITaiiraki pump stopped, the water would rise to the surface in the Vanguard shaft The Chairman said both the Vanguard and Shortland Flats claims appealed last year, but the Warden practically bore out the Hoard's assessment. He therefore moved that the whole of the assessments be upheld. This was seconded by Mr Bruce and carried without further discussion. Tenders.—Mr J. J. Craig's being the lowest tender for supplying coal, it was accepted. Mr Rickett's tender was accepted for carting the coal at Thames, he being the lowest. Hematite Deposit.—The N.Z. Varnish Co. wrote asking permission to get hematite from the old big pnmp workings. Mr Panl explained that the water deposited oxide of iron in the old levels, and It was useful for making paint. He thought It would be well to allow the levels to be cleaned out. The request was referred to the Thames Committee, with power to act. A daring attempt at robbery in the i open street was made by a -weil-dressed | man in Wallace-street, Porsonby. on I Tuesday niprht at the early hour of 8 p.m. A nurse who -was employed in Mr A. M. Wilson's house went out for some fresh air. and when she -was opposite to Mrs Strbbiug's gate the man crossed over and snatched at her puree —a nickel bag. He failed to get it, anr] then seized tbe nurse round the less and tried to throw her. The nurse screamed, and the man ran off on his hands and knees alonsr Argyle-street, where he was lost sight of.