Bruce County Council.

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 984, 3 April 1877, Page 6

Bruce County Council.

The fourth meeting of the Bruce County Council was held in the Council Chambers, Milton, on Saturday forenoon. Present — Messrs Clark (chairman), Duff, Landels, M 'Donald, Murray, Petrie, Robertson, and Wayne Mr J. E. Browne, Clerk (pro. tern.). The miuutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. The Clerk readja letter, received from the Commissioner of Police, asking if the Council desired the Police to continue the collection of the tolls and dog tax. A letter was also read from the Chairmau of the Taieri Council, proposing that the se.rvices of the tollman at the East Taieri Bridge should be engaged for a month* The Taieri Couucil also wished to know how the Bruce Council were to arrange to band over the half of the proceeds of the bridge toll-bar, as the toll-house was located within the Bruce County. A letter was read trom the Clerk of the Glenledi Road Board, stating that the Board was about to enter upon some road works, md before doing so was desirous of knowing the amount coming to them from the funds of the County Council. Before taking'up the correspondence, it was igreed that they should decide whether or not they were to adopt the whole of the Act, as this was the last opportunity they would have of considering the matter, and their "uture action as a County Council would be entirely decided thereby. Mr Duff thought they had gone beyond their powers at the last meeting, as the Public Works Act defined that the funds must be livided amongst all the Road Boards within the County, he had no objectien personally to the arrangement then made, but must first ;onsult the Road Board before agreeing to cue terms then arrived at with refereuce to tolls. Mr Wayne thought they could not legally :arry out the arrangement provided the Road tioards concerned were to object which he hought very likely they would do by appeal. The Chairman said the Waibola Road Uoard could claim the Taieri Bridge Tolls. Sach separate Road Board was entitled to a iroportion of the County funds. Mr Wayne tboiifjbt they should take the jrobable cost of maintaiiiug the great works, such as the Taieri Bridge, and sub-divide the remainder according to the rates. The Chairman said if the Council thought the money should be spent on the several road districts according to the rates; ttiej should make tip their minds at once to idopt the whole Act, as he could not othervise see how justice could be done. Take the Balmoral Road Boaid for instance, which liad the largest rate roll and the smallest amount of main roads. The Mount Stuart Board again had a less roll,- and nine-tenths •nore main road to keep. At their last meeting they had agreed that the amount of tolls ectived at Clarksville should be spent on the Tokomairiro Bridge, but he observed hat the Tokomairiro Road Board at its last neeting had resolved to spend the Council's noney for the general good of the district, md after to-day the Council would not rave the control of a single penny. [f the bridge went to pieces, the General government would probably attend to it aud look to the Council to refund the cost from nonies coming to them. Although he was it first opposed to the Act, looking at it in all its bearings, he could not now see but it would be their best policy to adopt the Avhole Act. Mr Wayne agreed with the Chairman, who. lad represented their real position, At the end of 18 months they might find that the funds of the following six months had been forestalled by the cost of the Tokomariro and I'aieri Bridges, although the money would be <pent without their sanction or approval They might find that they would have no funds to spend for two years to come The Chairman said that the Hon. Mr Reid had shown him circulars which were to be sent to each Road Board in the County, but as Mr Reid had seen from the report of their last meeting that they might yet be led to adopt the whole Act, he had not sent out these circulars.. Mr Petrie : As a Council we will have no right to interfere if the Road Board do not spend the money on the main road. Mr Wayne thought the Boards could simply defy the Council, and do as they liked. The Chairman said the main roads were now in good repair, and the Boards were likely to look to the district roads, many of vrhich were as important as the main roads. The Clerk remarked that unless substancial repairs were via.de to the Tokomairiro

Bridge within 12 months they might have to build a new bridge entirely at a cost of £1000. Some of the piles had been 13 years in position, and not one-third of them were in anything like serviceable condition. Four years ago when Mr Watson, the contractor, refloored the bridge, be found great difficulty in getting the ironwork to hold in the piles. Mr Wayne : Have we the Power at this meeting of adopting the whole Act. Chairman : No ; a special meeting must be ealleii withiu seven days. Mr Wayne: Thtn it will be clearly understood that those who vote for the adjournment vote for the whole Act being adopted Mr Robertson said, alter looking over the whole matter, he was prepared to propose tht calling of a special meeting. They had clearly got into a mess already, as each Board had to get a share of the funds. The idea of the ecouomical expenditure of the funds and the way in which other Counties had rushed into lavish expenditure had much to do with his previous actiou, but he could not now see why, as a County Council, they could not limit their expenditure and keep it within bounds. The sooner they adopted the Act they would be spared unforeseen troubles. He would move that a special meeting be called to consider the adoption of the whole Act. Mr Wayne, " I second this. When opposition disappears I am disarmed. I have nothing more to say." Mr Murray was of opinion that a special meeting should not be called. If they allocated the funds to all the Boards— each would have its fair share—he would like to defer adopting the Act for this year. Mr Duff saw the difficulties before them, and was afraid of the double machinery of County Council and Road Board, and feared their funds would be largely spent on salaries. If they proclaimed all roads county roads the Road Boards would kick against that. If they could assure him that the County Council and the Road Boards would not clash he would agree, but he feared it would take 30 per cent, of their funds to work the County Council. The Chairman said that the cost of double machinery had also at first weighed in his mind against the Act, but he now saw that one man could do the whole thing, and for £300 or £350 a year could do all the work required well, although they were to hand over their monies to the Road boards to expend. Mr Wayne, the Collector, would pay himself out of the additional dog and other taxes that would be raised in this district. Mr Petrie would be willing to adopt the Act if they could come to an idea of the amount of probable expenditure. If the County of Bruce went iv as extensively as others they would have nothing left to spend. The Chairman would glory in being able to make the Bruce a model county, and to carry on its affairs at the cheapest rate. The whole of the duties could be undertaken by one man say at £300 a year, and he was persuaded the whole would not cost over £400 a year iucluding rent of office aud everything*. Mr Landels -even £400 out of £1800 was too much ; he would rather see the money spent on the bridge works required The Chairman said the Road Boards could not erpend the money for less. The engineer of his Board (Mt. got five per cent on all monies spem in works, which was just one half-the usual charge. Mr Wayne was sure 20 per cent, would not pay the expenses of the Board with which he was conuected, which he believed cost 30 per cent, at the least. The Clerk knew an instance where the Board bad lost 50 per cent by doing the engineer's work themselves. At Falconer's Gully from £50 to £100 had been lost for want of proper inspection through rubbish instead of metal being spread on the road. He had gone to the quarry and taken home a piece of the best stone, which he had laid aside for a month, when it became like blasting-powder. Mr Landels said the only difficulty he saw in not adopting the Act was that heavy bridges could not be maintained. Road Boards could not be expected to keep up heavy works — such a thing was never thought of in the home country. A vote was then taken, when five members voted for the motion, Mr Murray alone opposing it, and Mr Duff declining to record his vote. The special meeting to adopt the whole Act was then called for Monday, the 9th iustant, at 10 o'clock a.m.