WAIPAWA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3901, 9 May 1877, Page 2

WAIPAWA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Tuesday, May 8. The Council met at 11 a.m. at Mr Monteith's office, AVaipukuraii. Present — Messrs Mackersey (Chairman), LeAy, Herrick, Rathbone, Monteith ancl LaAATence. The minutes of the previous meeting aa -ere read and confirmed. CORRESPONDENCE. The iiiAvard ancl outAvard correspondence aams read. Among other communications aa _re the folloAA-iiig : — A circular from Dr. Pollen stating that it aams proposed to amend the Counties Act next session, aud asking the chairman to make suggestions Avith reference to any amendments AA'hich tlie Council thought it Avould be desirable to introduce. A telegram from Dr. Pollen, authorising the appointment of a clog tax collector. A letter from Mr Batkinof the Treasury, under date 4th May, stating that the return of road board collections (sic) previous to the SOth March, 1870, AA-ithin the AVaipaAva County, had not been sent in ; that its absence prevented the payment of the subsidies, and requesting that tlie chairman Avould cause ifc to be forAvarded fortliAvith. A letter from Mr Sainsbury, resigning the appointment of County Solicitor. Applications from Messrs Ellison and Son, Mr Turley, and Mr Robinson for the appointment of engineer to report on the county roads. Messrs Ellison and Son ottered to inspect and report on the roads for £30, and to give estimates of the cost of construction for £50. Mr Turley offered to inspect <aiid report on the roads for £30, Avith an additional charge for oxtra Avork of tAvo guineas per clay and travelling expouses. Mr Robinson did not fix his price. A letter from Mr Burgess, road overseer, giving his monthly report, stating that £118 lls Od altogether had been expended, £74 7s 3d on the Seventymile Bush road, £34 12s 6d on the Porangahau road, ancl £9 12s on the road betAveen Te Aute and AVaipukuraii. Letters from Mr Batkin, of the Treasury, to the effect that there aams no balance due to the county either from land fund or proA-incial liabilities account. ROAD INSPECTION. In reference to the applications for the appointment of engineer to report on the roads, it aams resolved, on Lieut.-Colonel Herrick'. motion, that none of thou should be accepted. Mr Rathbone then moA-ed that the road overseer should be instructed to report on the roads under the control of the Council. To this an amendment aams moved by Mr Levy to the effect that he should be instructed to report on those roads only on AA-hich provincial money had been expended. The amendment Avas carried by the chairman's casting vote. T'L AOE OF MEETING OF COUNCIL. Mr LaAvroncc moved, and Mr Rathbone seconded, a resolution that all future meetings of the Council should be held at AVaipa-AAM. The Chairman said that he could not let the motion be passed without entering his protest against it. He kneAv that nothing AA-hich he could say Avould alter the result. It Avould force him ancl other members from outlying districts to Avasto throe clays of their time in attending each meeting of the Council during the aa inter months, Avithout benefit to anyone. No consideration had been sliOAvn for themembers from the outlying districts ; the .motion Avas one of pure

selfishness. The Waipukurau Public Hall had iioav beon offered thorn for 10s per week, and so the sum saved by getting the Court-house rent free aams a very trifling one. Mr LeAy Avished to say a Avord or tAvo in explanation of his position in reference to the matter. He intended to support Mr Lawrence's motion. He felt satisfi eel that before long the Council Avould have to be moved to Takapau, ancl that there the Council building Avould have to be erected. If the AVooch .lie member aa .re a local man the necessity for this Avould afc once become obvious. The Bush, too, Avould no doubt shortly claim and obtain further representation. In the meantime they would have, in the Waipawa Courthouse, a building rent free, aa .rich Avould serve their purpose. It Avould be at great personal inconvenience that he would go to AVaipaAva. HoAvever, if it ay.is to do any good he would not regret that ; he believed it avoulc! do good, for ifc Avould preserve the unity of the county. The question aams put .and carried on a show of hands, Mr Monteith's hand being the only one held up against it. COUNTY KOADS. Lieut.-Colonel Herrick rose to give notice of motion for the rescinding of the resolution passed at the last meeting in favor of making all the roads county roads. The Chairman remarked that the action of the Council in this matter could not be revoked Avithout consent of the road boards. (Clause 88 Public AA r orks Act.) A discussion arose on the question as to lioav this difficulty should be got over, AA-hich became really a discussion on the substantive question. Mr Rathbone and Lieut.-Colonel Herrick remarked that the road boards were one and all dissatisfied with the action of the Council in the matter. Mr Monteith thought that the effect of Mr Johnston's resolution Avould be to necessitate imposing a heavy county rate, and this avoulcl be very unjust to road districts — such as AVooclville — AA-hich had already rated themselves heavily. The Chairman thought that on the contrary the double rating avoulcl fall on the road boards if the county did not take over the roads. Tlie county must in any case strike a rate, ancl thus, unless the road boards ceased to exist, they could not fail to be double rated. He had made a rough estimate as to the comparative amount of funds aa T hich the district would obtain for local works from the present road board rates Avith subsidies, and from a shilling county rate Avith subsidies. The former he made out would be about £3400 ; thelatterlittle short of £10,000. He arm r ed at his conclusions somewhat as folloAvs : — The amount of ratable property in road board districts aams about £45,000, the average road bo.ircl rates upon Avhich Avere certainly not more than sixpence in the pound, making the proceeds of the rate £1125 ; this, AA'ith £2 for £1 added, Avould give a total of £3375. The amount of the county rate he estimated as folloAvs : — Tliere were 550,000 sheep in the county. Valuing the returns from them at £100 per thousand, a shilling rate on pastoral land alone aa-oulcl yield £2750 ; adding to this the rates on the returns from other descriptions of live stock and from .agriculture, also the rates on house property, i.e., the total result avoulcl be at least £3750 ; again, adding to this £1 for £1 of subsidy, they avoulcl have a total of £7500. It avoulcl in reality, he had no doubt, be larger ; it would probably make their gross revenue about £10,000. He might remark, too, that Avith their present valuation the settlers in the Waipukurau road district. Avere paying more with a sixpenny rate than they avoulcl Avith a shilling county rate. Mr Monteith remarked that it might be true that if the road boards continued to carry on they avoulcl be tAvice rated, but that aams a very different thing from being double rated. Mr Rathbone thought tliat it Avas the general opinion of the ratepayers in the outlying districts that if the road boards ceased to exist, Avorks for the benefit of particular localities aa -ould be overlooked. Lieut.-Colonel Herrick thought they avoulcl be as they Avere under the old provincial system. Noav that their roads aa -ere looked after by the Avardens, if they AA'anted a tiling clone they could get it done at once ; if they merged in the county they would have to go through the process of draAving their member's attention to the matter, getting him to bring it before the Council, and so on. He, as chairman of a road board, had received a circular from Dr Pollen, similar to that AA.iich the Chairman of tho County Council had received, asking for suggestions as to what amendments of the Act were requisite, and he (Col. Herrick) thought it avms contemplated to increase the power of the road boards. In the meantime they should work on as they Avere. This interesting, though technically informal, discussion being concluded, it aams decided, on Lieut.-Colonel Herrick's motion, that the opinion of a solicitor (Mr Cotterill) should be taken on Mr Johnston's tAvo motions in regard to taking over the county roads, and as to Avhether tlie Council could rescind them — or rather the first of them — Avithout the consent of the road boards. Lieut.Colonel Herrick then gave notice that he Avould moA-e at the next meeting that Mr Johnston's motion be rescinded. MISCELLANEOUS. Lieut.-Colonel Herrick gave notice of motion to alter the clays of meeting of the Council from tlie first Tuesday to the first Friday in every month, in order to prevent their clashing Avith the clays of sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court at WaijmAva. The accounts aa .re passed ancl ordered to be paid. The clerk aams appointed treasurer. The time for appointing a dog-tax collector aams extended to AA T ednesda3 r next. Tlie Council then adjourned.