WAIMEA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 7 March 1912, Page 6

WAIMEA COUNTY COUNCIL.

! MOXTHLV M KETI ,\C:. The usual monthly nn-etiiitr of theWaimea County Council was held today. Present : C'rs. P. Best (chairman), Hoult. C'order, Macmahon, Hewet.-on, i Drnmmond, and Everett. The County Engineer (Mr Whiteside) an<l "ihe County Overseer (Mr Knapp) were a!.so in attendance. FINANCE. The Bank paos book showod t!ip following balances : Dr. £ s. d. General Account 8.073 16 10 Land Fund Thirds 2 3 9 Cr. £ s. d. Contractors' Deposits 21 2 0 Int. i'ocks Road 75 7 10 Int. Ngatimcti Bridge 12 12 11 Int Baton Bridge 13 4 4 Int. Sherry Bridge 1 10 10 Int. Peninsula Bridge 2 10 8 Peninsula Bridg? Loan Acc. 14 13 11 ENGINEER'S REPORT. The County Engineer (Mr G. S. Whit;sit 1 . . ,icrt.cd that the principal work of tne pa6t month had been in connection with Government grants. Ail the granU accepted by the Council for expenditure (excepting Trass' Valley), had laid off. Specifications, had been prepared in duplicate for the Public Works Department. All these had been aDproved by the Resident Engineer at Keison with the exception of three or four which had been referred to Wellington. Twenty-eight grants had been dealt with involving the preparation (.{ 56 separate proposals. Fifteen authorities had been received to date from the Government to put the works in hand, most of which had been acted upon. In the .luaitai riding 45 chains of gravelling had been done on the Wangamca road. Further repairs and asphalting had been done on the Recks Etoad. At Tatahi great objection was being taken to the proposal to fill up th<_. ditch and remove the fence without putting in larger pipes, as if was contended that prcpertv would be damaged. The ditch acted as an over flow drain to carry off storm water The would cost between £ls and £2O. .-vs it was now a matter for tlip Stoke Road Board he suggested that the matter <f filling up the ditch and re movintr the fence shou'.d be left to them to deal with.

Wai-iti Riding.—The drainage trou ble at Sprint; Grove had been caused bv the choking up of the water chan" nel. and an obstruction in the shape of a hurdle which impeded the frt-e flow of water during the freshes. The pro Dr.ssd diversion at Andrews' (YVairoa Gorge) would cost about £lO. Thice settlors interested offered to contribute one-third of the cost. The work of expending the Trass Valley grant of £l5O could not be proceeded with until the Council had an agreement with Messrs Hoult Bros, regarding a n-eces.-ary deviation of the road.

Mctupiko Riding.—The machine was now working on the Stanley BrookThorpe road. Wangapeka Riding.—The grant for the Tadmor to Wangapeka road was nearly expanded. The Wangapeka river ford had been picked. The Dart suspension bridge was urgently in nc-.d of repairs, as the pier • supporting: the central tower was. being undermined. The erection of tho Peninsula bridge had been eomin'enced. The approaches to the Jubilep bridge required widening and gravelling. Mout-re Riding.—The Moutere-Mud-flat extension road contract was aimcst completed. The gang would start "on Edwards' road erant next week.

It was resolved that the matter of filling up ditch, etc., at Tahuna be left in abeyance. It was. resolved, that Mr \V. H. Knapp be requested 'to remove obstruction in creek at Soring Grove. It was resolved that settlers at Wa : - roa Gorge be asked to contribute £5 towards the cost of proposed deviation in the road.

Cr thought that before adopt- • ns. the Engineer's report the Council shou'd shew its appreciation of the wav in which that official had carried out his duties. Other members also jpolce in a similar strain. The report was adopted.

COUNCIL RATE OF WAGES

MOTION TO INCREASE LOST

Cr Hoult's notice of motion "That a uniform rate cf wages of &> per day be paid throughout the county was taken.

The mover said that the present system , was causing dissatisfaction. Cr Corder seconded the motion. Cr Everett said that if the motion was. carried it would be tantamount to rescinding ail previous motions, and instituting an entirely new system. The motion in its present form raised wages in two ridings only. Cr Hcwetfon was satisfied to keep to the present rate. He was sure eight out cf every ten ratepayers could not afford to pay more* than 7s a day. It would mean an increas? in the rates of £I4OO if the 8s rate'was made uniform throughout the country. Cr. Macmahon would oppose the motion in its present form. "In his district 8s was paid a day; but in more clofely populated district's men were willing to work for 7a a day. ' Cr. Drummond was of the .same opinion as Cv. Macmahon. In answer to Cr> Corder it was stated that 7s a day/was paid for work within four miles of their home, and 8s a day bevend that. 'l'lie Chairman was of opinion that to make the rate 8s a day uniform was inadvisable. Ho was of opinion that in the near future 8s ft day would be the minimum. The motion wan put and lost, oiny the mover and seconder supporting it. RANGER'S SALARY. Cr .Everett moved the resolution standing in his name to the effect: "That the salary of the Wangamoa ranger be raised from £4 to £6 a year." The motion was carried unanimously.

CORRESPONDENCE. The County Ranger reported on work done during the month, stating that there was little to find fault with. The Ujider'Secretavv for Internal Affairs informed the Council that a voucher for £lB9 ISs lid, Coronation subsidy, payable In connection with the Wftimen South Literary Institute, Wakefield, had been approved for payment.—Tt was decided to inform those responsible at Wakefield that the Council was holding the itfoney. The Public Works Department wrote cancelling the grant for the Wangapeka bridge, From the Public Works Department, in reference to the Council's application of 18th July last for an Order-in-Council delegating to the Council the right to use water for the purpose of generating electricity for ltL'hiiiig or motive power, in terms of the Public Works Act. 1908, informing the Council that the Minister was not aware of any authority vested in a County Council to establish any nohome pf electrical lighting. The Minister pointed out the provisions of the Act under which the Council coulti undertake such work, and he did not see )»,'» way to grant the application. From the Under-Secretary, Public Works Department, in reference to the Council's corresDondence relating to an application of Mr Ellis for permission to ppect poles on the road for the purpose Rf carrying electric#! wires for the light-

I ing of Brightwater. The Minister pointed out that if a, license was grant I ed to Mr Ellis, it innst be a license both under Section 5 of the Public Works Amendment Act, 1908, and under Section 2 of the Public Works Act Amendment Act, 1911. The Crown Law Officers did not agree with the opinion that Mr Ellis was entitled to use water tor electric lighting without a license. If any license was issued, the express consent of the Council should be obtained, rind Mr Ellis should be 1-L.quesicd to obtain a license under the powers mentioned.

Cr. Hoult thojight that the Council should help Air Ellis in all manner possible. He moved that the matter be deferred for a month, in order to give Mr Ellis an opportunity to make application to the Council.—Agreed to. From Mr W. Widdowson, Resident Engineer, stating that before final payment could be made for Lower Moutere Mudflat extension road, the work would be required to be finished satisfactorily. —Referred to Engineer. _ Lieut. B. G. Mahoney, Secretary of i-iegion of Frontiersmen, asking the Council's co-operation in the movement, and forwarding pamphlet.—Letter received. A number of letters were received from various County Councils giving information in reference to the Motor Regulation Act, 1908.—1t was decided that the Council /constitute itself a registration authority under th e Act, to come into force on_ lsfc May. The Act provides a registration fee of 10s for motor cars and 5s for motor cycles. From Mr. Godfrey Harley, Moutere, asking to have road legalised.—lt was resolved that permission bo \given to fence the road, the Engineer to survey and have the road legalised. (Left Sitting.)

The- "Gardener's Chronicle," London, in its issue of. October 21, 1911, gives a very appreciative notice of Dr L. Cockayne's "New Zealand Plants and Their Story." It says i —"This is the title of a charming educational book. It consists of a series cf chapters in popular language, and is admirably illustrated by photographs of the author's own production. In designing it as educational, we do not mean in the narrow sense of juvenile education. Even growa-up botanists will find much of interest and much, maybe, that is new to them. It if full of the right sort of botanv to teach children and persons who are not aiming at becoming professional botanists, as it is explanatory of objeats and phenomena commonly within range of observation in the country for which, tho book is intended. We do not know of any one book treating of the British.flora in .an equally entertaining and instructive manner."

We heard of a remarkable coincidence on Saturday evening (says the ".Wanga--1 nui Chronicle"). A Wellington gentlei man was spending a holiday in Auckalnd ! some weeks ago. While there he visitI ed the Theatre to witness a production of "The Chocolate Soldier." The .night being very wet he took with him his umbrella, which he placed in the cloakroom. A couple of days' later he. discovered that he had .become possessed of another umbrella than his own, but where the exchange had been- made he could not think. This umbrella he carried in rain and sun till Saturday evening, when, happening to be . in Wanganui, he went to the Opera House to see "Miss Lancashire Limited." Heavy raiu falling, his adopted umbrella accompanied him. He placed . it in a. corner of the cloak-room, and a little lateriit was joined by another umbrella. Judge of the gentleman's surprise after the play to learn that the second umbrella was his own. Conversation showed that an Auckland. gentleman who had been present at the performance of "The Chocolate Soldier"- had had his umbrella taken, another being left in its place. Like the Wellington visitor, he had given up hope of seeing his property again, and had regarded the new "gamp" as his own. Visiting Wanganui on Saturday,; he had gone to the Opera House to see "MissiLancashire Limited,'' and had placed his adopted umbrella alongside whajt afterwards proved to' be his long-lost rain protector. With his rightful property restored in so strange a manner, each of'the visitors went his way rejoicing.