TAIERI RIVER TRUST.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19762, 13 April 1926, Page 4

TAIERI RIVER TRUST.

The monthly meeting of the'Taien River Trust, held yesterday, was attended by Messrs R. T. Sadd (chairman), Evans, W. O’Leary, Walter Blaekie, R. A. Kempshell, and N. Reid. An apology for absence was read from Mr John Miller.

The Finance Committee reported having examined the accounts for the month, and recommended payment, the total being £137 12s 9d. The bank pass book showed a credit in general account of ££3s 13s- 4d. — The report was adopted. The ; city electrical engineer wrote .in regard to the apparent neglect oy his department to notify the trust of the intention to remove the transformers.—The explanation was quite satisfactory, and the letter was received.

J. J. Walker, Otokia, asked that a crossing be placed over the Otokia-Maungatua drain to enable him to get to his farm from the nearest point.—lf Mr Walker would supply the pipes—2ft 6in—and cart them to the site the trust would put in the crossing. The inspector’s report was read and received. Regarding the bridge over the contour, no action was decided on in the meantime.

A previous request from the board's workmen for an increase in wages, held over till the end of the financial year, was considered. An opinion was expressed that fewer surfacemen would do the work at present, say, a man less in each gang. The fact that some of the men had, been helping the farmers during the past month pointed to the fact that fewer would do. Mr Munro held that he could not do with fewer when so much of their time was taken up on pumping.—As two trust members were absent, it was decided to let the matter stand till next meeting. The Clerk submitted a statement of the rates, showing that the following rates had been collected during the year ending March 31 1926: —Paid during 1926: Current year, £5575 12s lid; 1925. £966 3s lOd; 1924, £lB5 18s 2d; 1925, £136 7s 9d. Outstanding at March 31, 1926: Current year, £677 11s 3d; 1925, £l3O 8s 7d. Written off: Current year, £3O 8s 7d; 1924, £2l 19s 2d.—lt was decided to notify all defaulters for , 1925 that if outstanding rates were not paid at once they would be sued for. The Chairman mentioned a statement made at the last meeting bv Mr Kempshell to the effect that the Railway Department had not objected to the height of the bank under discussion; the department had never been approached. No doubt the statement had been made in good faith, but, nevertheless. correspondence was on the office files to prove tne statement inaccurate. The department did object right on from 1917. and it was only after the Minister and the Public Works engineer 'conferred with them that the objection was got over.—Mr Kempshell adhered to bis version of the affair—that a railway engineer had stated that his department had been approached.' Members discussed the matter briefly, and then dropped it. The Inspector mentioned a_ bank at . Mr Summer’s, at Berwick. This work bad been decided on but not carried out.—The matter was left with the inspector to attend to.

At last month’s meetifitf of the trust the following motion (inadvertently omitted from our report of the meeting) regarding the progress of the work on the plain was moved .and lost, Crs O’Leary and Kempshcll voting for it, . i the remaining members against it: ‘That the Taieri River Trust deplores tfe lack of progress being made with the construction of the bank by the excavating machine, and requests the Public Works Department to accelerate the construction of the bank from Henley to Otokia.”