Lake County Council.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1521, 5 March 1886, Page 5

Lake County Council.

TV ordinary monthly meeting of above body was ?? ~ n Council Chambers, Quecustown. op Monday Ust, Ist instant. Present :-Messo C. C. u £_ ( ', a ir ™«), J. Aspinall, P. H. Daniel, A. J- F ' u ' B " d «- R - M ' Do "«* ll firmed 0 * 8 * P reT w®* meeting were read and couCORRZSPOSPKSCI. Ootward correspondence was read and approved. Inward correspondence, read and received, consisted of the following letters . ' ron ? W. Scoles, Arrowtown. stating that having, in conjunction with others, taken up a special claim oa the Arrow River, to work which a large outlay would he necessary for material, etc. He respectfully asked the Council to authorize the making of the roadway from Macetown dray-road 'ij* B*»ch. Arrow River, as the expeuse would not he ranch, and such a road would materially assist in getting machinery, timber, etc., to the claim, which it was impossible at present to " *as added that a tender had already been accepted for over £3OO. for driving a tunnel, and a further outlay of £7OO would be required for machinery. The claim, if successful, would also be the means of other large areas adjacant being

From the Crown Lands Department, Dunedin, stating tuat £llß 10a. Sd. had been placed to the credit of the Council on acvonct of deferred-pay-ment thirds received from deferred-payment sales of land in aectio is of blocks I. snd 11., Dart district 2s. 2>!.), section 4, block TV., Mid-Wakatipu (I*s 10s.), and section 3, block 11., Nokomai (£l 18s. 6d.) The Council was also asked to forward the necessary plans of roads through the blocks on which the money was to be expended, allocating to each road the amount to be expended upon it.

From the Clerk, Wairsrapa East County, forwarding memorandum on the sabject of Local Government Finance, and asking for reply *t an early date as to whether members of Lake Council were prepared to co-operate iu the matter. From R. and A. J. Park, re Glendhn BlnflF road, and statin; that Mr M'Kerrow, Surveyor-General, had instructed them to proceed With survey ; and that their engineer would start with the survey ▼erv shortly. From Kenneth M'Leay and Lara Gibson, miners. Arrow River, asking the Council to seud over a inan to examine the road lately surveyed to Bracken's Gully, as they wrre at present completely blocked in on account of Mr Paterson having run a fence across the laU-ly sun eyed road in several plvvs to the detiiment of residence. From J. Withers, .Sunnyside Lake. stating that a* the track* on Rnns 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 needed repair* l-efore w:nte», he was making them passabl*. Tue old trick up the L«vky was past repair, and he wsj» making a new occ for euht or nine miles—tlie Lst official on the old track having been nearly killed. Tlie place had heon lawless for the past two year#, and leaseholders were able to elude the do; tax collector owing to of the track unless bring left to be killed. The writer stated that the track he was nuking would enable a person t«» ride from Sunneyside or Hslfwav Bay to the Upper Lockey in a few hours, without fear of being snowed in ; *nd it would al»oenable him to work U.OOO acres, besides facilitating the workiug of 60,000 acres or. the Locky which could not otherwise be worked. The pecuniary assistance isked for was £l.">.

From Davi», Welsh and Co., Skippers road, again asking tor the sum of £l, incurred iu gettiny advice with reap-ct to aiip on No. 4 scctiou. Skippers iTrtd. Fr>>m W. Tnrton, County solicitor (r» Hurh M'Bride's request for formation of road to his ianil in block 111., Shotover), stating tint he found a public road had lieen surveyed al«.ng the eastern boundary cf section St, block 111. (I'otulas* section 1, to section 83 of the same block (H. M 'Bride's section;, an 1 that iiis road line wan the only one by which tne latu.-r could eet to his section. The draughtsman also informed him th.'t til" road line was reserved in orler to allow of an entrauce to section S3. Hitherto M'Brile had obtained access to his property by going through Mr Douglxt' property, but this license cculd Ik cut off at any time. The road line was under the control of the Council, which bait power to work it. From Waste Lands Boirl (telegram), stating thii replv v validity cf expenditure ot deferudpa\mcut thirds on Glenorch) jetty would be s«*ut aft-r Wednesday's mretin»r of Board. Fiom C. Montgomery, ('. and F. Barclay and H. Fisher. Fews Cre.-k (ner H. Manders), apulying for aid under »•! m 2, of R»>v r ulafious Gaz"tted 2Sth O t > l >er l ist, in prosjiecting with a view to discover a I;ut or ru-i of tr-'ld in partially worked ground at Fws Cre-'k. The party had, he stated, been worliin,' s:n« 4rh May last; they had driven 80 f>et ii: hard rock, and mad* 100 feet of approaches, .T'd had about £,")0 for dynamite, powder, etc. Tln-y expected to have to dnve at least another 7H feet iu hard rock before touching the run of gold. They now asked for a subsidy of ss. per foot on the 80 feet already driven (£'2rt), and ss. for every succeeding fo<it driven in future ; also a subsidy of Is. 6d. per foot on—say 100 feet of approaches already cut (£7 10s.)

PETITIONS. A memorial was presented by Mr A spina! 1 from W. L. D»vis, T. O'Counor, J. Williams aud 26 othor residents ot the locality, asking that steps might be taken for the erection of a fool bridge over the Shotover River at Maori Point. The pronnds, etc.. set forth by the memorialists were— That many years ago it was songht to have a pack bridge at Maori Point (Charleston), but the Provincial Government, by the advice of their engineer, selected the present Skippers Point site ; that f'»r years the want of a bridge at Maori Point bad been seriously felt by residents on the western side of the river, and is increasingly felt, to increase of settlement and mining enternriv: that the erection of such a hri ige would further encourage s«-ttle;n*ut and mining eMt'-rpri*- ; thit considerable sums of money h»\*c at vinous tines been voted by the legislature for such purposes; and that a!>oi:t £260 would be Hutfi ient tor th? erocrion of the bridge aiked for.

Petitions 'presented hj/ members of Kingston, Arrow, Greenstone ind Shotorerj were read from residents of the respective ri lings, asking Hie Council to re-coniid*r it* decision to re organise its .'emrtm-nts, and dispensing with the servi.-es of Mr W. J. Powell, inspector, firstly, became tbey considere I that the Inspector was an able and efficient officer, and possessed. through many years' experience, a practical knowledge of County road requirement; the increased cost of the contemplated change hy the creation of new officers and increase in the Chairman's salary. ORDERING ON CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.

lie W. Scole« and party's application. The Inspector said, in reply to questions, that it wonld be very difficult to make a dray road, which would also coat twice as much as a sleigh rend—which latter, he thought, wonld be sufficient The iensih of road woold be ahout JO chains

Mr Jenkins thought everv < ncoiirageuier.t shonld be given. The party were opening np ground, and proposed raiding stoa.? by a new principle, similar to p'an adopted at TuapeVa. He thought £'2o should Ik voted on condition of the party finding any more money required. Mr M'Dongall quite approved. Mr M'Bride thought it was a mistake to lie laying oat county money on new work*, from which no benefit had yet Iwn derived. The Council had made the same mistake before. It was. after f-i-ther short disensrion, resolved, en the motion of Messrs Jcnk-as and Doagias—

That the requ'*t of Mcssr* Sm'.e> and Co he granted re dray r>a«l from Maceto*n r»r».l to Bi< Beach, and tender- be '-a He.! for the work forthwith. Tenders to 1m acsj|*«"l by the Work* Committee. conditionally upon and C >. rat in< any amount over £26 necessary to e -icplete road, accepting lowest tcnaw.

Jit !«tter frr>m Messrs Park Bros.,

Mr M'Dougall thought the survey of Glendha r> id should be preceefol with at ere, as a number of workmen were now at liberty in the locality. O-dered that Messrs Park be written to accordingly. Re Messrs Maciay and Gibson's application, it was ordered, on ths suggestion of Mr Pntchard,

that the InnMctor be instructed to visit the locality and repoitui application at next meeting. With regard t. Mr Withers' application, Mr Darnel was under the impression that the road was ordered to be repaired month* ago. The Inspector said that the woik then ordered at the Upper Lochy was done, and men were engaged on it focr days. Mr Daniel said £lO had been voted, bat it was not spent The settlers in the locality paid their rates regularly, and seldom came to the Council for anything. Mr Douglas objected to roting money to parties without first knowing what they had done for it. i He also thought Mr Withers should have come to I the Council in person. Besides, the settlers had £SO spent on the road a few years ago. The Chairman said that money was roted for the purpose if getting poisoned grain to the extreme part of Mr Atkins' run. Holders were throwing up their runs in all parts of the coanty through the i ravages of the rabbit, and he thought the Council ■ should assist Mr Withers, who was about the only | man that stuck to his run. It was resolved, on the motion of Messrs Daniel and M'Bride — That the snm of Li 5 be jnntcd for the purpose of repairins the road up the Lochv rfver. Mr W. L. Davis (introduced by Mr Aspiuall) spoke on tahaif of netitioners for a bridge over the | Shotover at Maori Point. He said the bridge would | he a benefit to the whole county, as it would greatly j assist in opening up a extent of auriferous : country for 20 miles. Tack horses now had to mike a detour of eight miles by the Skippers suspension bridge to get from one side of the river to the other. He had to do this lately iu order to get over 20 tons of iron. The span was not very I wide, the approach on one side was very easy, but ' cn the other it would be a little expense. There i were miles of payable terraces up Stoney Creek, and in the neighborhood, but the expense of carriage , was a great drawback. Parties there now were I under great disadvantages, and, as it was, had to Ci»rrv provisions on their backs over places where a goat could hardly get along. Mr Aspinall said the span across the river was ! under 200 feet, and he thought the proposed bridge would cost about £3OO. At the present time about 20 Europeans and SO Chinese miners were working up Stoney Creek, and there were acres of new auriferous couutry. Mr Daniel thought that Government should be asked to assist. Mr M'Dougall suggested that, as Mr Larnach, Minister of Mines, would be coming up to the disinct again shortly, the Chairman might wait npou him and ask if the Government would give a subsidy of £2 to £i for construction of the work. The suggestion was adopted. Davis, Welsh and Co.'s application for refund of £1 Is. expens* incurred for leijal advice, the Council adhered to their former decision, not to entertain th» same. Re Mr Turton's letter, the seme was merely received, as Mr Dougla*, iu explanation of oue portion of it, said that he had never refused to allow the writer to see his title deeds to the land in question. H* ietter from Crown Lands Department with regard to dcferred-]>aynient moneys, the Inspector was ordered to furuish plans, etc., of the localities iu which the money was to be speut. lif application for prospecting aid at Few's Creek, Mr Atpuiall thought it was difficult to deal with the same in it* present form, as the application was mostly for work already done, and not for what it was intended to do. The latter was the intention of the Prospecting Regulations, otherwise he (the speaker) might eoine to the Council and make a c'aiin of £B'*) which he hid expended in opening up a quartz reef on the .Shotover. It would be a hail precedent to entertain the application. Mr M'Bride knew a party who were working for lour months at Few's Creek, endeavoring to find the run of gold, which was very rich, but it w*s difficult to trace it, and any assistance now would l»e of value. Mr Manders, on behalf of applicants, agreed to withdraw the hpnlication, and to scud in another one at next meeting, more in accordance with cou ditious of Projecting Regulation*. R> cir.ular from Wairarapa Council, it was ordered that the Clerk procure a few more <ropies for perusal of members, and that the matter be consideied at next meeting.

slr R. D. Owens (introduced by Mr Pritchard) said that last Febiuary twelve months the Council voted nun £'JO for keeping in repair, for a year, the 'oad loading to his coal pit at Deep Creek ; and he respectfully aokei for a similar amount for the current year.

The Inspector said that, on the previous occasion, Mr Owens had to put in culverts, but it would not cost so much in future.

Mr Owens said that it cost him £6O to repair the road that year. The Council thought the request was reasonable, considering that Mr Oweu* U*.k *ll the responsibility of the Coaucil in keeping the road in repair ; also, that the public, who carried coal over the road, benefitted.

It w»«- resolved, on the motion of Messrs Douglas and Jenkins— That the mini of !,20 be granted to Mr Owen*, for the keeping of the ma ) from the coal pit 10 main road, for a period of 12 months from l«t March. •Mr Jenkins brought up the question of a separate arden for the Wakatipu district, as he believed that it would lie of advantage to have a Warden—as in the olden times—and one could be got for less than half the cost of the present Warden for the combined Dunstan-Wakatip district. He suggested that the local boroughs and Cardrona Mining Association be asked to co-operate. it was resolved, on the motion of Messrs M'Dongdll and Jenkins, and after a short discussion—

That if you are of opinion that the public interest would be W.-tter served by the locating of a Warden solely to work the btis.r.w of thu county, you furnish to this Council rich data u you can in supi<ort of such opinion.

Arrr.RNooN Sittings,

The Chsirman referred to the ofTer of Government to give sixpence per beak for kess, provided the 10-al boHit-s ga v e au equal sam, and he therefore suggested that the Council should give the amount named per beak. Mr Douglas was against psying any »nch bonus, as the ratepayers could not afford it, and the Council had plenty of other waya of spending iU money. Mr Daniel considered that all had to sufler more or less for the ravages of the kea.

After further discussion, it was proposed, on the motion of Messrs Daniel an J A spinal I

That a sataidy of 6d. per k«» b?ak be printed for all that may he caught or. arvl after thi« date ami until further noti-e. Mr Miller» voucher be authority for payment of same. An ameudmeut was proposed by Messrs Douglas ana Jenkins— owir.; to thf small rjm as rate* the County receives from the rum. thev do not act tiieir way to #ve anything at present to the killing of kea*.

There '*otcd for the amendment, Messrs Douglas, Jenkins and M'Bride; and for the motion, Messrs Aspinail, Daniel and Piitchard. The Chairman gave his casting vofe in favor ot the motion, which was carried.

IN COMMITTEE. The Council then sat in Committee of the whole to consider applications (of which there were Id) for office of eugiueer, clerk, etc. The following are the names of the applicants (three or four of whom did not possess the required qualification) Messrs G. T. Murray, Jas. Macquarrie, W. D. Cochraue, Frederick Hiller, N. Prentice, N. Dobuon, A. Mornshy, John Black, R. C. Taylor, A. F. Dawson, Naylor Hillary, W. Vowell, E. Campbell, It. Reynolds, D. M'Arthur, F. A. Wrigg, T. F. Hoskruje, H. B. Bristol, and C. E. Watkm.

Mr John Black was appointed, bv the following i rcsolntion, propose J by Messrs Daniel and Jenkins— I That Mr John Black be appointed to the situation of j Clerk, E.irfincrr, etc., according to term* of adverti-r----mer.t—throe u ontUa' notice on cither side to terminate ' the and approved security of 1.250 to be I (P v en. ! In the matter of an assistant, it waa resolved, on ! the motion of Messrs Aspinall and- Pritehard—

{ That applications be called for a Junior Clerk; salary, , £52 per rear. ) It was ordered that applications for same be advertised in the local papera,

Mr Aspioall's notice of motion with regard to increase ot the Chairman's salary was withdrawn. MrR. M'Dongall (chairman of Cardrona Forest Nursery Board) said tiiat daring the past hot summer young transplanted trees had suffered very much from the drought. He therefore suggested that autumn planting be adopted, instead of spring, as hitherto. He also suggested some reductions on previous prices, and allowances on large orders. The Chairman said he always planted in autumn, and found that the system succeeded well,

It was ordered that the whole matter be left in the hands of Mr M'Dongall and Mr Studholme, curator, with power to act as they thought fit. Snndry accounts were brought up and passed for payment. Leave of absence for ten days was granted to the Clerk, the Chairman consenting to attend at the County offices in the meantime. The Clerk, in reply to a question, stated that no reply had yet been received from Government with regard to refund of duty on Criffel gold paid to Vincent County.