COUNTY COUNCIL CONFERENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5715, 20 June 1879, Page 5

COUNTY COUNCIL CONFERENCE.

[By Thlegbaph.J GREYMOUTH, June 19. The conference of delegates from the counties of Grey, Hokitika and Inangahua concluded its sittings to-day, when its deliberations resulted in the following recommendations:—

“ That no new county be formed within the boundaries of existing Counties without the consent of the original County. “That no Borough be formed without the consent of the Council, and a memorial signed by a majority of the inhabitants of the whole County. "That the word ‘aliens’ be struck out of the kluidoipal Corporations Act, and all persons riot being Chinese be allowed ‘ to vote ’ inserted inßea thereof.

“ That the County Chairman be elected by the people instead of by the councillors. "That the various Counties in the Colony be classified.

"That subsidies be paid to goldfield Counties based on goldfields revenue and on the rateable property in the County. If this is not agreed to, the Government to maintain the main roads or subsidise the Counties for their maintenance.

“ That all gold duty and goldfields revenue be added. to'Oounty Council’s revenue. - " That all buyers of gold: be licensed, and be required to inquire .where the gold offered was raised, and to make a sworn declaration of the amount purchased by them, and in which County it was raised. , “That the dog tax be a uniform one of 10s perannum. “ That the rate collectors he allowed to distrain for rates owing on lands or tenements, fVio nTtmflTO r\f whinh «r» absent nftaa " month s notice. _ “That the administratien of Waste Lands Boards be under cumulative voting. “That the rents and royalties from coal mines bo County revenue, and that power be given to County Councils to license carriages and vehicles.

“That 20 per cent, of the land revenue be colonialised and divided equally throughout the Colony. “ That all money voted by Parliament for public works be expended by Councils. “ That Government give the Councils power to levy a capitation tax not exceeding 5s on all males over 21 for the support of hospitals and charitable institutions.

“ That the Chinese are an undesirable class of colonists, and that means be adopted to suppress their immigration. “ That a reconnaissance survey be made of the country between the Teremakan and Hokitika for the purpose of diverting the proposed Hokitika and Greymouth railway through the centres of population of Kumara, Waimea, and Stafford. “That the upset price of laud be reduced for the purpose of settlement, “ That free grants of land of 100 acres be allowed to settlers on the West Coast.

“ That £SOOO be placed on the estimates for the purpose of assisting small parties of miner* constructing water-races. The subsidy to each party not to exceed £500.". THE BAIL WAT WORKSHOPS. [By Tbinobaph.] [raOM OTTB OWN OOBEBSPONDBNT.] DUNEDIN, Jpnb 19 At the annual meeting of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce to-morrow the report by the Secretary on the Eailway workshops at Christchurch and Dunedin will be read. The report concludes as follows; —“A comparison between the existing establishments at Christchurch and Hillside shows (1) That the whole of the buildings here are about equal in size to the workshop originollv put up by the Provincial Government at Christchurch, or to about a fourth of the existing establishment at Christchurch. (2) That the area which has been secured for workshops at Addington is more than three times as great as that provided at Hillside, (3) That at Christchurch half a dozen steam engines and an average of 219 workmen are in constant employment, whilst at Hillside there are only 96 men and one steam engine at work, out of which there are about a dozen men in excess of what has been the usual average. In this comparison, tbe work which is done at Port Chalmers graving dock workshops for the railway is hot taken into account, because much work for the northern district has also been done there, and as the local ironfounders at Christchurch have also been pressed into employment, it may be allowed to stand as a legitimate estimate of I he difference between the two establishments. (I) That whilst plans and estimates for the Dunedin workihops ware set aside last year, a vote woe passed for the Addington shops, and prompt measures taken for their construction. It might, perhaps, be argued, that if there is so much more work to be done at Christchurch, os is evidenced by the activity of the workshops and the number of men constantly employed in these, it is only right that the first attention should be given to the workshops for the northern district, to which the reply is easy. In the first place provision for new workshops at Hillside might very well have been made at tho same time as those at Addington, and when the new plant was ordered it was something like culpable negligence to provide no workshops in which to erect it on arrival In the second place, and this is the point which requires tho special attention of the Chamber, the work at Christchurch is magnified by the extension of what is known as Northern district of the line as far south as Palmerston. Thus tho miles of railway within that district are very much greater than in tho southern district. There was, of course, reason for extending the jurisdiction of the Christchurch

engineers ss fer as Palmerston, during thi interval which occurred between the opening of the line to that .place and the completion of the link between Palmerston and Blaoskini Tho anomalous character of the present arrangement is clearly shown by the fact that besides the engines of tho express train,, two engines and the ordinary complement of trucks and waggons are run through to Oamaru by the _ staff of the southern dis-trict,-and a similar quantity of the rolling stock which is under the charge of the Christ* church engineer runs through to Oamaru by tho staff of the Southern District, and a similar quantity of the rolling stock which is under the charge of the Christchurch engineer runs .through doily to Dunedin. It may therefore be quite correet for the Department to say, in answer to our remonstrance, that, 'The work done in Christchurch shop is for Christchurch section only, 1 and yet the foot be that the Dunedin workshops, and the work done at them, remain quite secondary in importance when compared with the Ohristohurch establishment and the employ- 1 meat it gives to workmen, because work is concentrated at Christchurch. which' ought prop;:!.- te bo done at Dunedin.”