KAPUNI MEETING,

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 3031, 27 May 1895, Page 2

KAPUNI MEETING,

A meeting of the eastern ratepayers at the instanoe of tbe Batanui committee was held in the Eapum sohool last Saturday evening. The obair was occupied by Mr G. Mudford (member Waimate -Boad Board). About 20 ratepayers put iv an appearance. The chairman, after explaining the object ol tbe meeting, invited tbe committee from Batanui to address the settlers on the subject of proposed ward. Mr W. Blennerhassett then earns forward and read tbe resolutions passed at the Batanai meetings and stated many of the grounds of objection there were to making, each an important road as the Skeet the southern boundary of the proposed new road distriot. The natural boundary was the railway reserve, a boundary below which they dare not go when fixing tbe special rating area for Eltham road loan. The valuation of the land north of railway reserve, notwith* standing its seven or eight blocks and. three townships thrown in, was only £76,000, while blooks xiii, xiv, and xv were valued at £91,000 and it was not- f sir to allow tbe rates to be diverted from the Skeet road to probably fix up the Opunake track (the metalling of four miles of which recently was estimated to cost over £7000). Tbe prinoipal platform of the promoters of new road district was " conservation of bush rates," but it would be found that if there had been robbery of rate* from bush to open roads, blooks 13, 14, and 15 bad most to complain of on that score, as witness the state of the Skeet Boad in Bpite of its high valuations. The inland country had no rates to speak of until quite recently, and tbe roads were capable of swallowing up the lot and have nothing left. The speaker oonoluded by stating that Skeet settlers shonld do all in their power to prevent the three blocki in question from being taoked on to a country that were "up to their necks in special loans and up to their knees in mod." ••+ ~~ TT> *w*.,

. Mr J. Mndfora eaid tbwii would be a bad thing for settlers if they allowed the Skeet road to be placed under dual coutrej^ An important highway like (be Skeel-ra^P^ deserved better treatment than it baa received in tbe paßt, and forming the three blocks named into a separate ward, and devoting the rates raised therein to im« . provement of tbe road and its tribntaries would only be an aot of jostice to settlers who have been paying high rates for years past, and atill ploughing through bogboles.

Mr D. Gibson favored the formation of a separate ward, and strongly objeoted to the three blooks being tampered with by the promoters of new road distrioc. A few questions were aske.d and answered satisfactorily, after which Tbe following resolution wtfa adopted unanimously, viz., "That this meeting endorse the action taken by the western settlers, and are willing to co-operate with them in obtaining a separate ward." Messrs Bentley, Luscombe and Clements were appointed a committee to act with tbe Batanui one in furthering the objects of the meeting.

A voie of thanks to the chair brought the meeting to a close.