MANIOTOTO COUNTY COUNCIL.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 465, 8 June 1878, Page 3

MANIOTOTO COUNTY COUNCIL.

SPECIAL MEETING. A special meeting of the County Council of Maniototo was held in the Council Chambers, Naseby, on Wednesday, May 29th. Present—Crs. Turnbull, Laverty, Stuart, Williamson, Shannon, Brown, and Foster. An apology was read from Cr. Ewing. In the absence of the Chairman, through illness, Cr. Turnbull was voted to the chair. ANSTJAL BALANCE SHEET. The annual and half-yearly balance sheets, certified by the auditor, were submitted, together with the auditor's report thereon. Moved by Cr. Shannon, seconded by Cr. Brown, and carried unanimously— That the balance sheet, with certificate attached, be approved, as andited. B"XELA\V NO. 4. Clause 8, of Byelaw No. 4, was struck/uit, and, on the motion of Cr. Williamson, seconded by Cr. Brown, the following was substituted— That slaughterhouses erected after the date at ■which this byelaw shall have dome into force shall he licensed, if within half a mile of the outer boundary of a borough, or five chains from any main road. STRIKING BATE. Moved by Cr. Shannon, seconded by Cr. Williamson, and carried unanimously— That the Council, having considered estimate laid before it, as required by the 107 th Section of the Counties Act, 1876, hereby approves of the same, and orders that public notification shall be forthwith given of its intention to make and levy a rate of Is. in the £1 upon the value of all property in the County, as appears by the valuation roll in force for the time being; that such rate shall be made for the period ending on 31st March, 1879, aud shall be payable in one sum- on the 19 th day of August, 1878; and that the rate book shall be kept in the office of the Council, at the Town Hall, Naseby. and be open for inspection by ratepayers on any working day. SUSPENSION OF BY-LAWS. Moved by Cr. Foster, seconded by Cr. Laverty, and carried unanimously— That Clause 1, of Byelaw No. l,be suspended to enable the Council to meet on tho 31st July next. SPECIAL MEETING. Cr. Shannon moved, Cr. Foster seconded, and it was carried unanimously— That a special meeting of the Council be held on the 31st July, to confirm resolution to levy rate; also, to confirm Clause 8, of Byelaw .No. 4. ORDINARY MEETING. All the Councillors were present except •Crs. Holland and Ewing. MINUTES. The Clerk read the minutes of last special and ordinary meetings, which were confirmed. CORRESPONDENCE. The Clerk read schedule of outward and inward, correspondence. COUNTY COUNCILS' CONFERENCE. The Chairman read letter from the Chairman of the County of Westland, suggesting the desirability of holding a Conference of County Councils, for the consideration of matters of importance, such as the maintenance, of main roads, the construction of large • bridges, and other public works, and the various matters affecting the finance and revenues of Counties ; and asking fur this Council's views on the subject. Cr. Shannon was of opinion that this County should be represented at the Conference, more particularly as the County was a Goldfields one. Cr. Williamson thought that it would end, as the last Conference did, in smoke. Cr. Laverty was averse to sending a delegate to Wellington, and thought that the District Member in the House of Representatives would watch over the inteiests of the County. Cr. Brown did not approve of the Conference, nor of the time proposed to hold it—when Parliament was sitting. The Chairman thought that the influence of the District Member in the House would effect more than a Conference. It was generally expressed that main roads and large bridges should be made and maintained, or at least subsided, by Government. Moved by Cr. Shannon, seconded by Cr. Stuart— That the Council concurs in the desirability of holding a Conference of County Councils, as suggested, and proposes Wellington, and tho early part of next, session of Parliament, as the place and time of meeting; and that, as many members of Parliament are also members of County Councils, the delegate need not necessarily be the .County Chairman. As an amendment, Cr. Foster moved, and Cr. Laverty seconded — That the County Council of Westland be informed that this Council does not see the necessity of holding a Conference, as any good which a Conference might ■do could be better effected by the District Representative in the Assembly. Aye—Cr. Foster ; noes—Crs. Shannon, Brown, Williamson, Laverty, and Stuart. An amendment was moved by Cr. Brown, " seconded by Cr. Williamson— That the Chairman of the Westland County Council he informed that this Council does not consider it advisable to send a delegate to the proposed Conference. On the amendment being put, there vote*! Ayes—Crs. Foster, Brown, Williamson, Laverty, and Turnbull; noes—Crs. Shannon and Stuart. ADJOURNMENT. The Council adjourned at 6 p.m. Evening Sitting. The Council resumed at 7.30 p.m. RAISING LOAN BY A CENTRAL BOARD OF WORKS. Letter read from Clerk of Council of Wairarapa East, forwarding resolution passed by that Council, That the Government should be strongly urged during the next session to make provision for raising loans for County purposes by a Central ,Board of Works, with authority to distribute such amounts among ,_ ttie Counties requiring loans, taking security sn local rates, as such a body would undoubtedly be able to raLe loans on much more favorable terms than can be done by isolated local bodies. After the matter had been ventilated and discussed, it was moved by Cr. Laverty, seconded by Cr. Foster, and carried unanimously— That tho Chairman of the Council of "Wairarapa East bo informed that this Council cannot see any practical benefit to be derived from the proposed Central Board of Works. BLACKHTONE HILL SCHOOL. Letter read and laid on the table from the Chairman Blackstone Hill School Committee. STKATHTAIERI RAILWAY STATISTICS. It was agreed that, as all the County returns of produce, &c, despatched towards Dunedin and the Lakes had not yet been sent in, and the quantity of traffic traversing the County had not yet been made up, the matter should be left over to be dealt with by the Chairman. committee's REPOHTSThe Clerk read reports of the Finance Committee and Committee appointed at last meeting to report on the circulars recently issued by the Government in the matter of the support of hospitals and charitable institutions. COLLECTOR AND VALUER'S REPORT. The report of the Collector and Valuer was read. approval of reports. On the motion of Cr. Brown, seconded by Cr. Shannon, the reports, as read, were received and adopted. ENGINEER'S REPORT. The report of the Engiueer, showing the state and progress of contracts at present being carried out in the County, was read. He recommended tbat the Council should take over the unfinished portion of contract No. 10, on road Cambrian to White Horse, consisting of forty-five chains of gravelling, and to make other arrangements for its completion. Moved by Cr. Shannon, seconded by Cr. Foster, and carried unanimously— That the Engineer's report be adopted, and that he be instructed to complete the forty-five chains of road from Cambrian to white Horse Hotel by clay labor, or otherwise. RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE. The Chairman laid on the tabls a state-

ment of the receipts and expenditure of the Council for the two months ending May 29, which showed a balance to credit of £"24S 12s. lOd. BRIDGE ACROSS TAIERI. Letter read from the Hon. the Minister for Public Works, informing the Council that, after consideration of the whole circumstances of the case, it was decided to grant one of the iron girder bridges now at Dunedin, on condition that the same shall be removed and erected at the joint expense of the Counties interested. Moved by Cr. Shannon, seconded by Cr. Laverty, and carried unanimously— That the Cleric place himself in immediate communication with the Waikouaiti County Council, acquainting them with the action of the Government re bridge for Taieri River, and requesting their immediate co-opcration in securing the bridge, with a view to its erection, and that the Engineer he requested to see to the repairs of the same. RETURNING OFFICERS. The question of appointing Returning Officers was again brought before the notice of the Council. It was agreed to further postpone the question, SHEEP BILL. The Council further considered a number ol clauses in the Sheep Bill (forwarded for consideration and suggestion by the Government). ADJOURNMENT. The Council adjourned to the following day. Thuksday, May 30. The Council resumed at 10.30 a.m. CONTRACT NO 3. ' • • The contractor for contract No. 3 (Mr. Bisson) having become insolvent, the Engineer drew the attention of the Council to clause 14 of the general conditions of contracts, and asked for instructions. A letter from the trustee in the bankrupt estate (Air. G. F. Newrnarch) was also read, asking the Council to substitute the name of John Malloch, of Kyeburn, on the said contract, who is willing to take tip and complete the same to the satisfaction of the County Engineer ; and that the Clerk be authorised to pay over to the trustee, on behalf of the estate, all monies due on work performed by the bankrupt. Moved by Cr. Tumbull, seconded by Cr. Laverty, and carried unanimously— That contract No. 3, as far as the insolvent is concerned, be cancelled, and the Engineer be authorised to arrange with Mr. Mallocli, or others, to finish it; and that all monies now duo on said contract be paid over to the trustee in Bisson's estate, if the Engineer is able to arrange for the completion of the work at a cost not to exceed the original contract price. RESERVES WITHIN COUNTIES. The Chairman read a circular from the Tuapeka County Council, containing a resolution passed at a meeting of the said Council, that all reserves within any County district shall be vested in the County Council, and, if necessary to legislate upon the matter, that the Government be requested to take action during the next session of Parliament, to enable tbem to give effect to the same. Moved by Cr. Laverty, seconded by Cr. Foster, and carried on the voices— That this Council approves and concurs in the proposal of the Tuapeka County Council, viz., that all reserves within the different Counties be vested in the County Councils, and tbat a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Tuapeka County Council. HAMILTON. Cr. Foster drew attention to the state cf the road in liamilton township, and asked that it be put in a safe condition. Moved by Cr. Foster, seconded by Cr. Williamson, and carried unanimously— That tlis Engineer be instructed to make such improvements to road within Hamilton township as will put the said road in a safe condition, with as little delay as possible. CAMBRIANS. Cr. Brown drew attention to the almost impassable stats of the footpath at Cambrians, and suggested that something shouid be speedily done to improve the road. Moved by Cr. Brown, seconded by Cr. Laverty, and carried unanimously— That the Engineer be instructed to get sucli work done as will make Cambrian footpath passable. QUARRY AND GRAVEL RESERVES. Cr Shannon was of opinion that it was a matter of importance to the County that quarry and gravel reserves, in suitable and convenient places, should be selected. After some discussion it was generally admitted that reserves of this description were very necessary. Moved by Cr. Shannon, seconded by Cr. | Stuart and carried unanimously—- . That the Engineer be instructed to select suitable sites 'within the County as quarry and gravel reserves, and that the' Government or Waste Lands Board be requested to set aside such reserves from sale, for the purpose of constructing the roads wt-ih-in the County. PLANK BTtIDGE ACROSS ENTERPRISE GULLY. Moved by Cr. Shannon, seconded by Cr. Stuart, and carried unanimously— That the attention of the Engineer be called to the necessity that exists for a plank bridge across Enterprise Gully, near i[-Phee"s, for foot traffic; and that the same be erected as soon as convenient. NEW COUNTY OFFICES. Moved by Cr. Williamson, seconded by Cr. Brown, and carried— That the Engineer b3 instructed to add an outer door to the County offices. BRIDGE ACROSS MAIN GULLY. Memorial read and presented by Cr. Shannon from residents on east side of Main G-ully, praying that the Council would erect a bridge convenient for horse and foot traffic across Main Cully, at foot of Brook's G-ully. Moved by Cr. Laverty, seconded by Cr. Brown, and carried unanimously— That the memorial of 11. Urown and others be referral to the Engineer, and to report on same at nex. meeting of Council. CONSTABLES TO ACT AS RECEIVERS. Cr. Shannon was anxious that the Council should express an opinion as to the advisability or otherwise of constables being authorised to issue'minerright in their visits to outlying districts. He thought that thi revenue would be considerably increased thereby, especially from Chinamen. Out of 100 Chinamen in ;'pec Gully he did not believe ten miners' rights would be found in the lot. At Kyeburn aud Hamilton he was convinced a considerable number of Chinamen were mining without being in possession of a license. Several Councillors, while agreeing in the main with the opinion expressed by Cr. Shannon, thought that the matter should be referred to the Chairman. Moved by Cr. Shannon, seconded by Cr. Stuart, and carried— That the Council suggests that the Chairman confer with the Warden in reference to the supposed evasion of the Act by the Chinese, in mining without miners' rights. CONTRACT NO 24 (BLACK PINCII) —EXTENSION OF TIME. Letter read by Chairman from the contractor (Mr. Currie), asking for a further extension of time for completion of his contract, which was to have been completed on 30th April, under a penalty of £5. 1 he Engineer reported that he bad no good reasons to advance why the penalties should not be enforced. The work, so far as completed, was satisfactory, and the road had not suffered by the non-completion of the contract within the specified time. Moved by Cr. Turnbull, seconded by Cr. Stuart, and carried unanimously— That, with reference to Mr. Currie's letter, asking for extension of time, he be informed that this Council is not disposed to alter the terms of his contract. FINANCE. Moved by Cr Brown, seconded by Cr. Laverty, and carried— That the followingamountsbe passed for payment: Due on contracts anil surfacing, as per memo, of expenditure, ending May 3ist, IDs. 10d.; Corporation of Naseliv (rent), £l3 ; Wilson and Ash, £7 125.; Marshall, £1 15s. Total, £SC2 (is. lOd. ADJOURNMENT. The Council then rose.