HOBSON COUNTY COUNCIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5636, 9 December 1879, Page 6

HOBSON COUNTY COUNCIL.

♦ A meeting of this body was he'd at the Council office, Paparoa, on November 26. Pnsent, Messrs. Ariell (chairman). Cliff, Gammer, and Webb. Although a council meetiug here is a rare thing now. on!y ten or a dozen ratepayers were preent to watch the proceeding-. minutes oE last meeting were read and confirmed. Correspondence. —The correspondence laid before tbe council wa< unusually heavy ; owing to no meeting haviDg b:en held for several months, for lack of a quorum. Much of it was of small importance, as a request fr.iui the Maniaptoto Council for coop _ra'ion in r. pressing Chinese immigration. No one remembered having seen any of the obnoxious ce'estials in the county. Al o one Neil McLeod, an honester man than many, wrote asking if his land was in the county, as he wasted to pay his rates. Great Nurtii Road—rort Albert t.» Whangarei.—lt appeared from the report of the committee on this road that b>>t one difficulty stcod in the wy of its being gone on with—the wact of money. All the owners of land through which it parses could be arranged with ; and the sum of £'2000 would be sufficient to meet claims for compensation and open the road. It is very necessary to ba done, as the roa I is open i n either side of Hohson county ; but withn Hobson it is not completed. The chairman real voluminous correspondence which had passed on this subject between him and the Public Works Department and the F'remier ; in which he had persistently a-ked for equal justice to Hobson with the neighbouring counties ; but so far without success. Cocstv Koaks.— I he chairman moved that a resolution passed some menths ago to proclaim certain roads in th- highway dis nets to be county roa is should he riS-inded. He had not caused them to be proclaimed at once, as ctrtiin deviat ous were at the time in progress which made delay advisable. He now thought tbe co-incil should not take them over at all. Mr. Cliff seconded the motion. Mr. Cummer thought the resolution should be revoked, ai it wa« undesirable to collect a county rate in the highway district, and they could not without oue undert»ke to keep the main roads in order. Carried. Ki.iD—Waikiekie toMaunLaturoto. —The chairman had applied to the Government for the £suo voted to cmplete that pirt of this road which lies within the boundary of the county. Whangarei county had received £000, andhad opened the road totheboundary of Hotson, but that was useless till the remaining portion was made. The Government had returned answer that the vote hid been otherwi-e expended, and refused to renew it. The memher fur Marsden was requested to use his influence in the nia.ter. County Wharves, &c.—Tne chairman had appli-.d to the Gove nment fcr the grant of £1000 to be placed at the disposal of the conned for the erection of whirves at I'ahi and Matakohe, and a stone lauding place at Tokatoka. The work* are urg-atly nece-sary, and hare been reeommende i by the ..iatric: engineer, but so far the r-.quest had met with the same fate as the previous applicat:ons. No act.on was taken by the ouuned on this matter. Rate Collector. —The chairman reported that in accordance with instruct.ons given him, tenders had been called for a rate collector. Three tenders had hten sent in, and he bad accepted thai of Mr. Thomas Webb, of Whakahara. at 7i per cent. Mr. Webb reported that he h*d col ected £'200 to date. The rate was expected t> realize £400. Waterman's Licence.—Mr. J. Waymouth, cf Kaihu, applied for a waterman's licence for a ferry at Kaihu Creek, and offered to pay £3 a year for the same and feiry at 6d. a head. The council were willing to grant the licence, but seemed in a nrst as to where to get it from. Resolved "That the chairman get Mr. Waymouth a bcence on the terms stated as soon as possible." DoG T.Ol.—The constable at Wa : rca reported £15 collected on dog collars, and banked tj the credit of the council. Matakohe River Fekry.—Mr. Hard : e, at the close of his engagement as tidal ferryman, had declined to renew it. To save a break in the service, the chairman had arranged with Mr. Smith, contractor f. r the bridge, to continue the ferry service till the completion of the bridge (about sit months) for the sum of £10. Mr. Cummer moved and Mr. Cliff seconded, "That the action of the chairman be confirmed in appointing Mr. Smith as ferryman." Carried. Road Deviation at Te Kopiru.—Letters were read from Major Withers promising to oive a road deviation through his property at Te Kopuru, as the council had requested. The deviation will save the road from having to be carried down a precipitous cliff. County Rate.—Some ratepayers in the Wairoa riding had intimated their intention not to pay rates because the council was no: collectißg in the highway districts. Other ratepayers (house tenants) had left the district. The collector asked for instructions how to proceed. Mr. Webb was of opinion that all defaulters could be made to pay. It might be illegal not to collect in tbe Paparoa riding, bnt it could not be illegal to collect. Mr. Gummer moved "That legal proceedings be taken against all defaulters for the recovery r i rates." Mr. Cliff seconded the motion, and it was carried. MAOP.I OBSTRUCTION TO SURVEYS.—The chief surveyor had asked the council for their influence in facilitating the surveys now going forward between Kaihu and Hokianga. Mr. E. Mitchelson, a member of the cocncil, had interviewed and written to some of the obstructionists, and with good results. Balance-sheet. —The chairman presented the duly audited balance-sheet, as advertised in the Weekly News of November 22. The chairman Btated that there was at present date a balance in the Bank to the credit of tbe council of £636 I6s. 4d. On the motion of Mr. Webb, seconded by Mr. Cliff, a sum of £12 wa9 voted to the chairman for travelling expenses dur'ng the past year. Election of CHaiRMAN. —Mr. Webb proposed that Mr Ariell be chairman for tbe coming year. In doing so he remarked that he believed the council were satisfied with the manner in which that gentleman had performed the duties of the office during the past twelve months. Mr. Ariell had kept the correspondence well. Mr. Ariell said he could not take office again. The duties had become much heavier since the levying of the rate; there was now too much work. Mr. Ariell was ultimately prevailed upon to take office again, on account of the small attendance of councillors, on the understanding that he would resign at the next meeting. Allocation of Fc>"r.s.—The most important part of the business—the distribution of county funds—was next taken. On the motion of Mr. Cliff, seconded by Mr. Gummer, it was resolved, " That £60 be expended in opening up a further part of the main road—Kopnru to Kaihu—under the superintendence of Messrs. Webb and Mitchelson." Mr. Webb moved the following resolution : "That £350 be divided between the five highway boards in the county, the proportion payable to each to be according to rates collected, to be settled by a committee consisting of Me3sra. Airell, Cliff, Gummer, and the mover, the -committeo also to decide where and on what works the money shall be spent." Mr. Webb said it was necessary to specify distinctly on what works the boards were to expend the sums voted, as otherwise they might be frittered away on works of merely local importance. The chairman referred to a highway board in the Wairoa riding which had spent money voted for specified works on quite different

ones, and thought it necessary tor the council to have a certificate that the works were actually done before the money was paid. Mr. Gummer seconded tho motion, which was carried. This concluded the bnsines?, and the council dispersed. — [Own Correspondent, December I.]