Maniototo County Council.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 9 April 1915, Page 2

Maniototo County Council.

Thj monthly meeting of the council was held in the Council Chambers, Naseby, on Wednesday, 7th April, 1915. Present--Crs Wilson, M'Atamney, Mann, Aitken, Morgan, Lowis, Davis and Inder. . The chairman forwarded 'fitter "€t apology for unavoidable absence. Cr Inder was voted to the chair. Minutes. The minutes of last meeting were read, and confirmed on the motion of i Cr Mann, seconded by Cr Lowis. Special Claim in Spec Gullyl

Mr T. P. McNeil, solicitor. Naseby, acting fci* Mr M. O'Donohue, applied for a special claim in Spec Gully, near Naseby, through which area the Naseby Burster road runs and to ask permission for applicant to work the said road as part of the claim. Such consent would, of course, be subject to any safeguards the council requires, such as providing a temporary road, and restoring the original road after it is worked. A copy of the application was attached.

Moved by Cr Inder, and seconded by Cr Morgan—That Mr M'Neil's application on behalf of Mr M. O'Donohue be granted od condition that a safe road is provided before interfering with the present road, and that tbß road be reinstated to the satisfaction of the council's engineer.—Carried. Government Grant —Ida Valley Station to Maniototo County Boundary; £2OO —£l for £l. The Assistant Under-secretary, Mr W. R. Short, wrote that on 6th January, 1913, authority for £2OO (£ for £) was issued to the council for expenditure on above described road. No expenditure has yet taken place, 1 and it is presumed the council is not prepared to undertake the work. I have, therefore, *o request you to be good enough to regard this authority as cancelled. Moved by Cr Lowis, and seconded by Cr Wilson—That the engineer be requested to communicate with the Putlie Works Department respecting the authority to expend £2OO on the Ida Valley station to Maniototo county boundary road (£ for £ subsidy), and at the same time explaining that contracts have been let under this vote, but not yet applied for.—Carried. Legal Opinions.

The secretary to New Zealand Counties' Association forwarded legal opinions from Mr T. F. Martin, coun» sel to the association, respecting unimproved value rating, and contributions under the Public Works Act, 1908.—Received and laid on table. Dunedin Chamber of Commerce. The President of the Chamber, Mr G. W. Gibson, forwarded a lengthy circular, respecting unity in defence, unity in commerce, anol extension of inter-imperial trade. Received; this council approving of the suggestions proposed. Becks.

Mr J. W. Kingan, Ber. Dhua, Becks, wrote that the road to his property much required a coating of gravel. After rain the road is in a most deplorable state, and in winter almost impassable. Gravel is available inside his boundary, and also at Mr Armitag^s's. Moved by Cr Lowis and seconded by

Cr Davis—That the engineer be requested to inspect, and.report to next meeting on the state of the road referred to and the pro h able cost of effecting improvements,—Carried. Price, of Foodstuffs.

The clerk Runanga Borough forwarded copy of resobtion agreed to at a recent meeting, viz.—'That this Borough Council registers an emphatic protest at the way in which the foodstuffs of this Dominion are being advanced, and attributed to the war in Europe, and thus increasing the cost of living to those least able to bear it; and we further call upon the Government to exercise the powers vested in it by regulating the price of the

common necessities within the bounds

of reason, which will choke the cupidity of the few and protect the wellbeing of the whole. Trusting the members of y'our council will support this resolution, and forward a copy to your member for the district and to the Government. —Received

The Half-holiday.

The Minister of Labour forwarded extract from N.Z. Gazette of 25th February, notifying the gazetting of Saturday as the statutory closing day for Maniototo County.—Received. Alteration of County Boundaries. The Commissioner of Crown Lands wrote that it has been decided to hold the Commission of Inquiry in the petition for the propped inclusion of Strath-Taieri Riding in" Maniototo County at Middlemarch at 11.30 a.m., on Tuesday, 20th April.—Received. Pound Bridge.

The Treasurer intimated that the Hon. the Minister of Mines has &uth~ orised the payment of £lO 2s 6d, at the rate of £ for £, towards the cost of repairing the bridge.—Received. Belgian Poor.

The Hon. the Minister of Finance forwai-ded circular respecting the recent Conference of Patriotic Associations and St. John's Ambulance Association held at Wellington, presided over by His Excellency the Governor, and at which the following resolutions were passed:— (1) That the Government be recommended to make a definite grant of £SOOO per month, and, in addition to subsidise at the [ rate of pound for pound all voluntary subscriptions, np to any amount not exceeding £SOOO per month raised in New Zealand for the' relief of the Belgian nation. (2) That voluntary subscriptions be asked for on a populat'on basis. (3) That a central authority b ( 9 appointed by the Minister of Finance for dealing with the transmission of all gifts, both in money and kind, for the relief of the poor in the United Kingdom and Belgium. (4) That all donations in money for red cross purposes be sent direct from the centre of the Association of St. John in the Dominion to the headquarters in London. Further that the undermentioned authority, appointed by the Minis er of Finance, should be available for making all arrangements in connection with tbe transmission of other gifts contributed in New Zealand for red cross pur°

poseß, which in the first instance should be sent to the various centres of the Order of St. John in accordance with the working arrangements arrived at between the Association of St John nnd the Red Cross Society in the United Kingdom. " That the scheme comes into operation on Ist April, nnd the Under-Sec-retary of Internal Affairs, Wellington, as central authority. —Received. , Laying Pipes.

Messrs Carr Bros., Patearoa, wrote asking permiision to place pipes under the road about 2J chains nearer the cliffs than where the tailwater now crosses the road. The privilege granted to Mr Stewart will still hold. There will always be a certain amount of soaknge and a pipe will be left to carry it off. Moved by Cr M'Atamney, and seconded by Cr Aitken—That the request of Carr Broß. be granted provided the work is carried out to the satisfaction of the engineer.—Carried. , Hyde. Mr l£. Howard, Ivy Bridge, wrote , asking for repairs to the road beyond, the Horsebura b" making it in a condition for motor car traffic. It is im- ' possible to get out of this place through the bridge over the Taieri at Tiroiti, and also by the impassable state of the road between the Horsebnrn and the Houndburn Creeks in the other direction.

Moved by Cr Mann, and seconded by CrLowis —That the engineer be instructed to rep«rt on the probable cost of making a road fit for motor traffic. —Carried. Compensation. Mrs E. Stephens renewed her application for damages sustained by her through the inroad of tailings destroying her garden, trees and fences. To finally settle the matter she would reduce the amount originally asked to £lO. Moved by Cr M'Atamney, and seconded by Cr Davis —That the council agrees to vote the sum of £lO to Mrs Stephens (without prejudice) in full payment of loss sustained by her through the inroad of tailings on her property.

Tenders. Contract No. 115.—Gravelling at Wilson's road, Lauder. —E. Dow, £SO 17b 6d, accepted. Rifle Range, etc. Cr M'Atamney moved the motion notice of which was given at last meet ing—That a sum not exceeding £2O be voted for the purpose of providing a suitable rifle range, tarcets, etc., for the use of the Patearoa school.—Cr Inder seconded the motion pro forma After the question had been ventilated, Cr M'Atamney asked leave to withdraw his motion in the meantime. Suspension of Surfaceman Laverty. The engireer stated his reasons for suspending Surfaceman Laverty for temporarily neglecting his duties. After giving the cause of suspension full consideration, Cr Mann moved—That while approving of the action of the engineer in suspending Surfaceman Laverty until this meeting, this council resolves to dispense with his services; that applications be called for the position and dealt with at next meeting of council.—Lapsed; not seconded. Moved by Cr Wilson, and seconded by Cr M'Atamney—That after hearing the engineer, and his reasons for suspending Surfaceman Laverty for certain irregularities inthe performance of his duties, resolves to remove the suspension from this date. Should any further irregularity occur, Surfaceman Laverty be dissmissed from the service of the county.—Carried, Engineer's Report. I

A few days after last meeting I went over some principal roads in the Strath-Taieri Riding of Tuieri County, and Macraes Riding, Waihemo County, preliminary to attending the conference at Middlemarch along with other members of the deputation. A considerable number of ratepayers were present to meet the members of the deputation anrl the solicitors; and the question of amalgamation, and evidence to be presented before the commission were fully discussed. The date of sitting has been fixed for the 20th inst., which leaves barely a fortnight to prepare. Grading.—Thp grading of road beyond Jones' cutting is now in hand, W. Johnston's team being engaged on that work. The formation of 69 chains of new road has been completed, and another section has been opened up and partly done. The starting of this work was delayed through Johnston being unable to get men for his contract, but now that he has begun, the work will be carried on continuously until the grading and the contract are both finished. After that the surfaceman has been authorised to employ the grader for three days on the road beyond Bl*ckbal).

Mr Wm. expressed his willingness to horse the grader iree of charge to round up that part! of the road through his run, and if others in that locality will do the san-.e, it would be well to send the grader there from the Blackball. Or the whole the roads in the Upper Taieri are in very good order, and the surfaceman attends to them well and puis in good work. Repairs to the road beyond Patearoa Station were carried out by the surfaceman, and as the damage was caused through silt being lodged on the flat by Wm. M'Lean's tail he has been charged with one halflhe cost of repairs. At Spec Gully mining operations have caused damage to the roads through the tail water crossing at places a way from the proper course of iho creek. In Ihese cases it seems t) me the repairs to rouds shuuld be done by the miners themselves, otherfwise it will be necessary for the council to be represented at the court when upplirations for mining rights near roads are being dealt with. The court rould then be asked to order that licenses be endorsed with conditions ' with damage to roads, and where necessary the miner should be lequired to make a deposit in cash, as Bk ® if? u !5 Bnte * his interfering U with the roada.

Contracts.—rThe contract for bridg e at Cunningham's Ford, Tsieri River, has now been completed except for the wire netting and fixing to hand rails. lam satisfied that this bridge is s»fe for all motor and light wheel traffic, so far as the upper structure is concerned. Without knowing the depth to which the piles have been driven, I cannot determine whether there is a risk of their sinking or being undercut but so far they appear perfectly safe. No further work has been done by H. Inder on his two contracts, as he has been engaged harvesting his own crop, but he was to commence at the beginning of this week on his contracts, an I there should be no further delay until they are completed. i

The bridge across Woolshed Creek has now been completed, and tbis now leaves practically a dry road from

Hill's Creek via St. Bathans and Beck's to the county boundary except for Dunstan Creek, and this creek will in all probability be bridged within the next three months. I expect to be able to call for tenders within the next fortnight. Williamson's Hill.—l would call the attention of the council to the slippery condition of the temporary road at Williamson's Hill in wet weather, and I would recommend that thirty chains of the upper end be formed to the final grades, and gravelled without further delay. A number of complaints have been made by people using the road, and I am satisfied that there is reason for these.

Thei lower end could be left in the meantime, and perhaps this portion of the old gravelled road will stand; although if it does slip away it will be necessary to continue the new formation down the Johnston's Creek Hide of the hill.

Hyde.—ln the Hyde Riding there are three short stretches of road requiring grave), one is on the road to Mr Pearson's, one on the cemetery road, and the third is on the main road through Hyde cemetery. The surfaceman was authorised to engage teams to do these by day labour, as they were all small works.

Highfield.—A fifteen inch pipe has bsen ordered for the creek near Lindsay's hut on the Highfield runs road, and the surfaceman instructed as to the filling necessary to improve the road at this place. He will require

the assistance of a mm for about three days to do this and other work near that place. Planks have been ordered to make a footbridge across the Kyeburn River on E. Parker's road. Angle iron stands to support these are beiner moved from Hamiltons tailings, where they ar<> not now required. Ten new planke have also been ordered for the bridge across Little Kyeburn, and in the same consign'msnt six new planks have been ordered for the Kokonga bridge. Paint is now on hand to be used in painting bridges on the Kyeburn River. This work would havi been undertaken last week, but the surfaceman and another man had to be sent to roids in the Hyde Riding, and Mundell's road in the Kyeburn Riding. Pass Road.—An extra man was engaged to work with the. surfaceman on the Pass road to remove Blips, and by arrangement with the engineer for Waitaki County, apipe was put in and some work done in repairing the road at the top of the pass. The cost of this work will be borne by the Waitaki County.

Last week I went with Mr Monk, of the Public Works, over four contracts and graded roads in the Idaburn Riding, in connection with application for money spent out of Government grants. To all appearance he was satisfied with the work.

Contracts for work on the Highfield roads, including gravelling on road past Highfield Station, and formation on part of the Garibaldi road could be let at any time after the 19th inst, and if the council approves, a contract for Williamson's hill formation and gravelling could be let at the same time.

Naseby-Ranfurly Road.—Since the mail dull very at Eweburn House has been discontinued, the bulk of the traffic between Nasehy and Ranfuny is done on the back road, and one portion of this on the Ranfurly side of Chain Gully is very )bad in winter. About sixty chains of the road require gravelling as in its present condition it is one of the worst pieces of main road in the county in the winter. Lauder.—Seventy cubic yards of maintenance gravel, has been included with the 300 cubic yards passed for Wilson's road at Lauder. \ Williamson's Hill.

Moved by Cr Lowis, and seconded by Cr Morgan—That the engineer cu!i for tendero for formation and gravelling on Williamson's hill; tenders to be deßlt with at next meeting.— Carried.

Garibaldi. Moved by Cr Davis, and seconded by Cr Inder—'•That the engineer call for tenders, to be dealt with at next meeting of council, for the formation of road leading to Garibaldi, and also gravelling part of road near Highfield station, as recommended by the engineer in his report.—Carried.

Linnburn Bridge Crossing. Cr Aitken thought some mention should have been made in the engineer's report a? to the reason why the plans and specifications for the bridge at Linnburn crossing were not mentioned. The engineer stated that in consequence of his engagements at Middlemarch and the time occupied by the Government Inspector in vinwing tne works under construction from Gov ernments grants he was unable to supply them.

Ranger's Report. Th 6 ranger reported that since last meeting 3 head of cattle were seized at Ranfurly, 1 heifer at Hills Creek, 1 mare at Wedderburn, and 1 mare at Hyde. All fees were pai:i before impounding.—Received.

St. Bathans. Moved by Cr Wilaon and seconded i ' Morgan That a 9 inch pipe, 15ft in length, be placed at Mr Pyle's gate on the main road at St. Bathans. —Carried.