CLIVE RATEPAYEERS' MEETING.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3906, 24 April 1877, Page 2

CLIVE RATEPAYEERS' MEETING.

Pursuant to notice, a meeting of ratepayers of the Clive district was held yesterday in Mr Caulton's Hotel, West Clive, at 2 p.m. There were about forty persons present. Mr Sutton occupied the chair. The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, remarked that the first business of the meeting was to consider the report of the board for the past year. It was as follows : — The Board of Wardens Avas elected on the 25th July, 1576. There was then standing to the credit of the Board at the Bank of New Zealand the sum of £62 2s Gel, but the indebtedness of the Board was £11S 3s lid, or £'SG Is od more than the cash in hand. This was all paid off within three weeks after the Board was elected. The amount raised by rates for the past year has been £262 6s 7d, and the Board has received from the Provincial Government the sum of £200, and from the General Government the sum of £33 ISs 6d. The receipts from all sources, including balance in hand, have been £594 8s 7d. The "Wardens have the pleasure to report that the roads throughout the district are in good repair, and it is their opinion that a smaller rate will suffice for the coming year. It has been the endeavor of myself and those members of the Board who have assisted me that the district should receive substantial benefits from the moneys raised within it, and the incidental expenditure kept as low as possible. The expense of printing, advertising, and stationery has been £17 Ss Id. Collection of rates and other charges, including fees to solicitor to support the valuations, cost the board £13 4s 6d, so that for an expenditure of £30 12s 7d the work of the board has been conducted. The accounts presented have been audited by Messrs Beck and Thornton, who kindly undertook that duty at the request of the board. There is a balance of £70 9s 6d now in the Bank, after providing for all accrued liabilities. There is also a sum of £G5 11s 7d due to the board in respect of subsidy for March quarter, so that it may be estimated that the new board will have £135 to begin with, and no old debts to pay. The only liability of the board is on a metaling contract, which has not yet been commenced, this Avill probably require about £iS. Valuations, 1577, £6036 15s. Valuations, 1576, £7290 8s 6d. — In moving the adoption of this report ho had much satisfaction in being able to draw the attention of the ratepayers to the flourishing state of their affairs. They had a little over £70 in the bank, and there was £05 due to them as Government subsidy. They had thus £135 clear to commence the financial year with, and their roads were all in excellent order. There were no rates outstanding, with the exception of £6, the sum for which Karaitiana's property had been rated. There was not much chance of getting this, as native lands were now exempt from rates under the legislation of last session. Before sitting down he would make some remarks on a subject not strictly connected with the business before them. It was well known that a movement had been set on foot, within the last ten days or so, for merging the road boards in the counties. It had arisen mainly, he believed, because there were so many outlying districts, the settlers in which paid no rates at all. The way to meet this difficulty, however, he thought, was not to abolish' the road boards, but to compel the outlying districts to raise rates. The provincial Highways Act (clauses 46 and 47) gave the Superintendent power to rate any district which omitted to rate itself. The powers of the Superintendent now vested in the Governor, and if the County Council were to draw the attention of the Government to the fact that any district which ought to have formed a board and raised rates had not done so, the Government would probably take action to make them do it. The difficulty, therefore — being capable of being got over in this way- — should not compel thorn, lie thought, to take so extreme, and as he believed, so unwise a step, as to merge their roadboard. The Clive Road Board had spent during the past year £493, and out of this sumthecharges for clerical work amounted to only about £30, or something like 0 per cent. The Hawke's Bay County Council, on the other hand, into the hands of which body there was a desire to throw the whole power, intended next 3'ear to expend £1500 on useful works ; and £092 would go in other expenses. This was about 02 per cent, as compared with 0. Ho would conclude with moving the adoption of the report, and a vote of thanks to the auditors, Messrs Beck and Thornton. Lieut. -Col. Whitmore rose to second Mr Button's motion. The Clive Road Board had always done its duty, and was a good instance to point to, illustrative of the folly of doing away with the road boards. He did not see the use, however, of putting up an obstacle with the view of knocking it down again. He had not, as yet, heard any proposition made for merging the Clive Road Board; it would be time to argue against it when it was made. It was known that he was opposed to any such project. Opposition to such projects, indeed, was the principle on which he. stood at the election for the Clive riding. Mr Sutton had referred to the Council's heavy incidental expenses. It was on this ground that he had objected to the adoption of the full powers. These heavy incidental expenses were, for the most part, necessary in order to to comply with the Act. One item, for instance, was £105 paid to the county valuer. This was a very unnecessary piece of expenditure in his opinion ; the road board wardens could always do their own valuations satisfactorily, but it had to be gone into because the Act rendered it obligatory. The county clerk, of course, could not be done without ; in fact, if the County Council Mas to exist, it must have this dead weight of incidental expenses. That fact would, no doubt, be used as an argument on the other side when the question of merging the road boards came to be discussed. People would say, if the dead weight was there, it had better be made use of. To allude to another matter, he had just been told that, for some reason or other, their proceedings, or part of their proceedings, that day were held in sonic quarters to be illegal. He should like to know on what ground this was maintained. If they were illegal, there was no use in wasting more of their time time upon. The report having been adopted, the Chairman said that the next business before the meeting was to elect wardens. He had heard since he arrived in Clivo

that some of the ratepayers considered that there was something illegal about then 1 proceedings, but what it was he wag not aware. He had thought it liis duty to pall the meeting now, because, by the legislation of last session, the financial year was made to end on the 31st March. There was nothing in the Acts telling them, in so many words, to call the meeting in April, but he thought it followed as a necessary consequence. It could never be intended that the old board should levy the rate for the coming year. Lieut. -Colonel Whitmoro said that he now understood the objection to the legality of the proceedings, and it seemed to him a very forcible one. The provincial Act ordained that the meetings were to be held in July, and this had not been altered by anything in the Acts of last session. It was nothing to the purpose to say that it ought to have been. Mr Bennett thought that if the election of the wardens was illegal, the Governor could subsequently legalise it. After some further discussion, Lieut. - Colonel Whitmore said that, to save time and to test the question, he would move that the election of wardens be postponed till July. Personally he would rather go on with it that day, but "what was the use of going on with it if it was illegal ? Mr Orr seconded the motion. A further discussion of considerable length ensued, after which a show of hands was taken on the question, when it appeared that the meeting was almost unanimous in favor of proceeding with the election of wardens at once. The election was proceeded with accordingly. Nine gentlemen were proposed — Messrs Knight, Sntton, J. P. Hollis, R. P. Williams, Stpddart, Bennett, Oaulfcon, Orr, and Giblin. A ballot was then taken, our reporter acting, by request, as scrutineer, poll clerk and returning officer. The result of the polling was as follows : — Sutton, 99 ; Bennett, 87; Hollis, 73; Caulton, 58; Stoddart, 53 ; Orr, 45 ; Williams, 40 ; Giblin, 28 ; Knight, 16. Mr Sutton got the votes of every ratepayer present. MEETING OF WARDENS. The ratepayers' meeting being over, the five gentlemen elected as wax-dens — Messrs Sutton, Bennett, Hollis, Caulton, and Stoddart — held their first meeting. It was proposed by Mr Bennett, seconded by Mr Hollis, "That Mr Sutton be elected chairman for the ensuing year." — Carried. It was then resolved, on Mr Bennett's motion, that the chairman should be requested to take legal advice as to the legality of the election, the meeting having been held in April instead of July. This concluded the proceedings.