WAIROA.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4316, 28 May 1885, Page 3

WAIROA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Mr J. H. Brown, chairman of the Wairoa County Council, has been elected chairman of the Clyde Licensing Committee, and Mr T. J. Tunks has been elected in a similar capacity for Waikaremoana. Mr Ormond has sent up to his Mahia property 20 fine-looking draught horses. I hear that considerable improvements will be made shortly on this property. Tho Clydo Licensing Committee have no affection for the Native Assessors, whose vote is of more weight than those of five Europeans. Captrin Precco has been asked to got tho office of Assessor abolished. A bettor course would be to ask tho Government to abolish the Clyde Native Licensing District, and with that the Assessor would vamoose. Mr J. Sticr, the contractor for the luhacliui bridge, has finished his contract, the work being carried out in a very workmanlike manner. The Chairman of the Wairoa County Council has fallen foul of Mr H. Baker, Commissioner of Crown Lands. At the recent banquet to Mr Locke, M.H.R., Mr Brown came out in the character of a free lance, and had a few hits at lawyers, legislators, and surveyors. On tho subject of surveys Mr Brown"said that the Survey Department had spent £5000 for surveys of roads near Mahia that might never be wanted. Mr Baker's official hair _ must have stood on end when he read this; he wrote a letter to Mr Brown, pointing out that tho surveys in the Nuhaka, Mahanga, and . Jftahia districts for the last five years onlyjroosfc £2,221, including minor triangulatiofi, topographical survey, section surveys of land purchased from the Crown, section surveys of Crown lands, and road surveys. Mr Brown has apologised to Mr Baker for his mis-statement. The County Council meets on Saturday, Juno 6 th. About two years ago the license fee for the' Mohaka and Tarawera hotels was £10, but by a mistake of Mr Kelly, then clerk to the Licensing Committee, a fee of £5 only was charged, and since then it has remained at that figure. Owing to tho greatly increased coat of electing licensing committees and assossnrs, and taking local option polls, the County authorities have applied to tho Licensing Committee to raise tho fee to £10.