OTAKI NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLX, Issue 8164, 16 August 1887, Page 2

OTAKI NEWS.

(from our own correspondent). Monday, August 15. The “oldest inhabitant” has had a fine opportunity of exercising his loquacity daring the last few days, the subject being when, if ever, there was such severe weather. The southerly buster has given mb a taste of its quality, and we all agree that a little of it goes a long way. Those who ought to know say there has not been so sharp a storm here for 22 years. , On Friday and Saturday it was very severe, rain, hail, and snow falling abundantly, with [a strong wind, at times quite a gale, blowing. I have not heard of any damage being done, but there was a good many young lambs about, and they must have suffered so much that many of them will be lost. The ranges were covered with snow down to the lowest spurs on Saturday, and all kinds of rumors are about as to its depth in different places, some of them giving as much as 30 inches, but I cannot vouch for the correctness of this. This is certain, that on one clearing in the bush, behind the town, about three miles from the beach, it was three inches deep. At Manukau it was about six inches, and a little farther up nine inches. The Road Board meeting for this month has been twice postponed for want of a quorum. The monthly meeting of the Horowhenua County Council was held on Saturday. The members present were Councillors A. Small (chairman), John F. Anderson, John Davies, H. Eager, A. J, Hadfield, and J. Kebbell. The Council’s bank account has been transferred from Foxton to Wellington. The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company applied to have the manager’s name placed on the voting list, so that he might exercise the rights and powers of the Company as a ratepayer. It was considered inadvisable to accede to the request until legal advice was taken in the matter, although the Council was in favor of its being done. An application was received from some of the settlers on (the Railway Company’s land at Tokomarn, to the effect that they be transferred from the County to the Manawatu Road Board. A resolution was carried that the •chairman be instructed to request the Hutt County Council to send their engineer to arrange with the Horowhenua engineer as to the best point for the junction of the Manawatu-Waikanae and PaikakarikiWaikanae road lines on the boundaries of the counties at the Waikanae River ; also to request that the Horowhenua engineer: may be supplied with the necessary plan showing the western end of the Mungera-: Waikanae road line in the Gorge ; so that the Horowhenua County Council may ex-; fend the road from such point to the main xoad, and thus render the works of the Hutt Council to secure communication between the east and west coasts of immediate use.: Several small contracts were let for fencing on Station-road, grading a short : piece of county road, and forming (footpaths in the town. Ten--dera are to be called for felling two miles of bush on the main road line at Waikanae.. It was decided to co-operate with the' Manawatu County Counoil in closing the Foxton ferry, and in establishing one higher up the Manawatu, in the vicinity of Shannon. This will be of great advantage to the settlers, but it will be a trouble to those who pass through by road from the Otaki direction to Foxton or elsewhere, -on that side. The beach road is the only through-road, and persons travelling by it must cross the river at Foxton. Through travellers by road are few now, but it will be very awkward for those few to find themselves on the banks of the river without the means of crossing. If the Council had not been frustrated by the Treasury in obtaining a loan for carrying the main county road through, this difficulty would not have oc-. curred, as the new road would lead to where the new ferry Is to be." The Council cannot be blamed for considering the interests of the county ratepayers as of more importance than the convenience of outsiders; still it'seems a very unsatisfactory state of affairs when a county within 50 miles of the metropolis of the Colony has no main road, and that persona travelling through it must do so by the beach, for 30 miles, and then have to pull up on the bank of a considerable river without the means of crossing. When the railway was carried through by tire Wellington and Manawatu Company a road had to be made, te it from the lown, through Native land. There was a good deal of trouble about the matter, and it was finally settled that the Council should pay the Natives through the Native Department LIOO as full compensation, the money to be paid as soon as the statutory notice appeared in the Gazette. This was all settled nine months ago, and yet the notice has not appeared. The_ Council has urged the Government to issue it j the Native Department has promised it shall be done; the Natives have pleaded all round for their money, but the Public Works Department is immovable, and a telegram received from that Department on the Ist insfc. manifested complete ignorance of what had been arranged by the Native Department on behalf of the Government many months ago—the old jjtoiy of the circumlocution which prevails

in our Government offices. A circular letter was received from the Chairman of the Palmerston North Hospital Committee, asking the Council to assist in forming a new Hospital district. The opinion of the Council was that Wellington Hospital could provide better treatment than could be got in Palmerston North, but the matter was not definitely decided upon. A circular letter was received from the Chairman c£ the Manawatu County Council, asking the Horowhenua Council to join in endeavoring to obtain cool chambers in the direct steamers, suitablo for the transmission of butter to England. No action was taken in the matter. The rest of the business was of the ordinary routine kind. Things are very dull here at present; one store has been closed, others are retrenching, and one baker has ceased operations. The Native Land Act prevents the Natives from leasing or selling their land, or even selling the timber from it, without the interference of the Government and a prolonged course of legal manoeuvring, so they are practically prohibitedfrom making any use of it, and having nothing else to live upon, they are getting into some straits. The Native opinion here is dead against the prohibitory clauses of the Act, and they are hoping fora change of Government so that it may be amended. They consider themselves quite competent to take care of their own interests in making a bargain, scorning the idea of requiring the protection of Government in this direction. And they do not hesitate to say that the Act was passed in the interests of the Govern meat and not for the benefit of the Natives.