TOWN BOARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 290, 20 June 1857, Page 5

TOWN BOARD.

A meeting of the Town Board, called by requisition, was held on the 15th instant.

Present — Messrs. Kilgour, Robertson, Cutten, Young, Harris, and Macandrew. Mr. Young in the Chair.

The minutes of former meeting were read and confirmed. ».

- "'A letter from Mr. R. "Williams, resigning his seat at the Board, was received, and the resignation accepted ; the Clerk being ordered to communicate the same to his Honor the Superintendent.

Several small accounts were passed, and ordered to be paid.

The Committee appointed to superintend the work of repairing the main road t« the Northeast Valley having reported that in the event of .section 10, block 26, being sold, the Board will be under the necessity of making a cutting of considerable extent and at great expense,

Proposed, by Mr. Cutten, seconded by "Mr. Kxlgour^ and carried unanimously —

"" That his Honor the Superintendent be respectfully requested to order that the said section be reserved from sale."

Proposed by Mr. Cutten, seconded by Mr. Robertson, and carried unanimously, — " That the Treasurer be authorised to pay to Mr. Reid such amount on account of work done on George Street as the committee appointed to superintend the work may order."

Moved by Mr. Cutten, seconded by Mr. Macandrew, and carried unanimously, —

"That the Town Board having discovered a stone quarry on sections 14 and 15, block 9, as laid down on the town map of Dunedin, respectfully request that his Honor the Superintendent will order that the said sections be reserved as a public quarry, and that the same be placed at the disposal of the Town Board."

Moved by Mr. Cutten, seconded by Mr* Harris, and carried unanimously, —

" That a committee be appointed to enquire into and report upon the practicability and advisability of reserving certain land on the town belt for the purpose of constructing at a future period a reservoir for the supply of water to the inhabitants of the town of Dunedin ; the committee to consist of Messrs. Kilgour, Robertson, and Cutten." ' Moved by Mr. Cutten, seconded by Mr. Macandrew, and carried unanimously, —

" That immediate steps be taken to supply the town with pure water, and that three castiron street pumps be forthwith ordered from Australia or Great Britain."

The object for which the meeting was called having been postponed until after the other business before the Board, for the purpose of giving the members who signed the requisition an opportunity of attending, ,

Mr. Macandrew expressed his regret that he -should be. the only one of the three members who. signed the requisition who had attended the meeting. He expressedhis conviction of the necessity of making that part of Princes Street, -near the- Survey Office, passable immediately. He was not aware,. at the time- he signed the requisition, that the Board had accepted .a contract for ihe construction of the stone culvert; bufthat did not materially.affect the proposition he had to make.' - The stone culvert was „necessary, necessary on-sanitary-grounds, and would have, to be made- under

any -circumstances.. The- jtesolutiOßr.ae -'Waf about to propose spoke W- fully for- itself that it would require ho further remarks from ,hinl f . He -would -therefore propose— * , . 1 r " That with a view, to meeting tHe requirements of the daily increasing tra|^|^ono the main street of Dunedin, it is, expeaiefr^lhat.g, Wooden viaduct, at least 20 feet wid§,- should be erected without delay over the hollow at the Survey Office— the roadway to be upoii ■the same level as that portion of the street opposite the slaughter hou^e, and so constructed as to afford easy access for drays _from ( Princes Street to "the beach. -That in the opinion' of the Board, the necessity of the foregoing erection is not superseded by the culvert recently contracted for, which is necessary on. sanitary^ grounds. That the Clerk be requested to procure from Mr. Langlands- or any other competent party, without delay, a specification and estimate of the proposed- viaduct ; .and that he be instructed to call a meeting of the Board as soon as such estimate and plan are received, for the purpose of considering the same."

The motion being about to fall to the ground for want of a seconder, wds seconded by Mr. Harris pro forma.

Mr. Cutten objected to the construction of a wooden viaduct, when it would be much easier to make an embankment. Bullockdrivers would not willingly bring bullocks over a wooden viaduct if it could be avoided, as it would be dangerous.

Mr. Kilgour objected to the proposed construction as useless and expensive. He further stated that one of the requisitionists had said he never proposed to carry out such a plan as that proposed by Mr. Macandrew. Mr. Kilgour also objected .to a viaduct as likely to damage the value of the property in the neighbourhood; whereas the improvements proposed by the Board would increase the value of property.

The motion having been put, was lost, being voted for by the proposer alone.

Mr. Macandrew proposed the following resolution :-^

" That inasmuch as the season has now gone by for carrying on operations in roadmaking advantageously, and inasmuch as the the plan and levels of the proposed new road through Eattray and Maclaggan Streets, as furnished by Mr. Briscoe, exhibit gradients much more difficult than, tjlose which appeared at the time at whkn ? 4Ee-lihe was'decided'upon, it is expedient to suspend, further operations until next season r an^also4o request Air. Briscoe, in the meantime, to examine the various outlets from the Town with a view to ascertain whether, or not .an easier gradient can be found on any other line,« in which case that he be requested to furnish sections and estimates of the same." Mr. Macandrew said that since the road up Rattray. and Maclaggan Streets had -been agreed to, it had been found that the levels were very different from what they were originally supposed to be, and believed that a far better outlet, with much easier gradients, could be found. Mr. Gotten objected to give up the construction of the road agreed upon because some member of the Board believed a better could be found. If the Board were to act upon that principle, they would never do anything. If a better road were afterwards discovered they could make that too. They had already spent a considerable sum in surveying the road and taking the levels, and now to spend more money and take more levels would not only waste the public funds, but render the Board ridiculous from their want of fixity of purpose. The road had been survej'edby Mr. Proudfoot four or five years since, and had then been the best known route, and it remained so still. He would propose as an amendment — "That there being no evidence before the Board that any better outlet from the town can be found, resolved, that the construction of the road up Rattray and Maclaggan Streets, as' surveyed by" Mr. Briscoe, and reported by him to be the best, be at once proceeded with." The amendment was seconded by Mr. Kh> goijr, who said that the constant proposal of alteration in the proceedings of the Board was causing them to be laughed at. The Board had repeatedly discussed the best line of road, and had decided the question, and there was no reasonable ground for opening up the matter. • • . ' . Mr. Macand.rew contended that it was quite reasonable that the Board should reconsider, their previous decision. - They had frequently done so with benefit to the public interest, i, . - - Mr. Kiixsour remarked, that the changes m the, proceedings of the Board were chiefly , attributable to the fact of the non-attendance t of certain members, who sought to alter what had been done in their absence^. The, delay. in the repair of the swamp road had arisen from, - that cause ; the wetweatherhadrin-the^mean-

ti^iefsfet in and sp"o|lt tie' Work^; TJ^.aJ^bf tion "iad: bleen ma^e/at/the're^ekVof' Mir. "Macandrew. ! One * evil attendant 'upon the constant change^ of purpose oin. .ihe part of "the Isosrd w^as, that people were unwilling to tender for contracts ; .they were, always' in doubt vphetiier the Board would carry ojit the undertaking or not ; and he should therefore second the amendment. ,' 1 „ .. V.,1 Mr! Harkis would be willing to. reconsider the matter, if it were shown that a better road could be made; but there was rib evidence before the Board of such r being the case. , k jMr. MicAWDKE^ said he believed tliere was a better line up by Mr. Mollisori's property ; that' road "went through sections which were private' property,' but the parties were willing to give up so much of their land as would be required for the road. ",,.,,.. . The motion was lost, and the amendment carried, the former being only supported by the proposer, who equally stood alone in opposing the amendment. . , Mr. Yotjng di-ew the attention of the Board to "certain statements which had appeared in the "Otago Colonist," evidently made with the intention of damaging the Board iii the eyes of 'the electors ; he thereupon proposed— /'That in consequence of a severe icensure upon the proceedings of the Town Board having lately appeared in one df the public journals of Otago, such censure being founded upon statements in a measure untrue, and certainly calculated to mislead the public mind, — Resolved, that a Committee be appointed to draw up a report of the proceedings of the Board, with a view to publishing to the electors how far the journal alluded to is justified in the statement complained of. The . committee to consist of Messrs., Cutten, Harris, and the mover." Mr. Macanjdrew seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. The following communication from his Honor the Superintendent, which had been previously read, was considered, and ordered to lie upon the table :—: — " Dunedin, June 10," \s>sl. " To the Town Board of Dnnedin., ■ " Gentlemen, — I think it my duty to the public, as advised by the Executive, to call your attention to the purposes for which the sum of £1000 was placed at your- disposal by the Provincial Council at its last sitting, namely, to provide for the existing traffic, by maintaining, improving, and repairing, main roads in the Town of Dunedin. "To elucidate the matter still further, T would direct your attention to the annexed resolution of the Council which formed the ground of the appropriation for road purposes — as, in my* opinion, clearly indicating what was intended to be included in the phrase ' Main Roads in the Town of Duaedin.' " It will be observed that the roads referred to in the resolutions are those already formed and in use. Viewing in connection therewith the appropriation — namely, '.£SOOO to the General Board of Road Trustees and £1000 to your Board", as a connected whole, it must be obvious, I think, that the sum placed at your disposal was for. the purpose of improving and repairing, &c, so much of the existing lines of road referred to as were comprised within the limits of the town. " Whatever . road and street lines, therefore, other than the main thoroughfares referred to, may have been constructed or improved by means of assessment and levies by you, it is for you to consider whether any of die" money voted by the Council can be applied to any other purpose than that of providing .sufficiently for the existing public traffic as indicated ; and also whether, in the dearth of labour and urgency of the case, a preference will npt-have been expected to have been given to the interests of the general public over what may be comparatively called the private interests of the town. " The Executive can hardly doubt — though it is not their province to interfere otherwise than by caution and respectful remonstrance — that had the administration of the sum referred to— £loo0 — (and which sum was placed at your disposal as per my letter of 4th February last, in the amounts and at the dates proposed by you) been in the hands of the trustees of the adjoining country districts, the necessary labour would not have been wanting, and the stqneculvert near the Survey Office would also most probably have been erected. " I have the honor, &c M (Signed) " W. Cargill, " Superintendent." RESOLUTION OP' PROVINCIAL COUNCIL, „•: - , 4th December, 1856. .'.'•No. 2. That having regard to- the amount of traffic with the seaport, and the utility of a mail from Waitaki to the Bluff, these through roads should be from the Town Belt of Dunedin, and undertaken in the following order :—- " Ist. By Loqk-out Point through the Taieri, WaihoJa, and Tok'omairiro, tp the Clutha, and thence by a bridle path to the Blriff. ," 2nd. To Half-way Bush, with a bridle path to Waitaki. , , , • "3rd. To the head of North-east Valley,' and thence by a bridle-path to Sawyers' Bay. " 4th. Other lines to be taken up hereafter." Mr. CuxTßif remarked, that as tlae, Executive'admitted that it v was not their province to'interfere. in" the jdaitter, it was- not w.orth while' 1 ! to" enter into controversy with them. He might say, however, that the resolutions passed' T>y the "Provincial Council, did not bear on the question at issue, first resolution referred 'bnTy "to making roads from Look-out point,' and evidently 'lerVthe means l>f reabh ling'that' point to thediscre'ti.ori'of jfch'e Town Board. ;'; ' •-■ { -f x y"\ ( - : } '' -'-", ' v "\ '-• : The-Bdar^^djoiirnea^siiiedie;''' ; '' ;

• ■ , Fromr the « Xyttelton > Times".of the, 16th ult. j ' we'eop^tlieT6UoViDg ( sta'tisti'cal'infdrmalidn r : : i [■■ • • •• •;-<- .iMt>i'»v> ■ - s - '■ ; „ - „',-.,, i *,i n,iTBAD£ v , „ . „,u , .. t „..; j ■ Trade has foatfirally increased in ..proportion j to the- producing-potfer-.of the fcol'ohy. The j low jjrice of grain aii'd otjh'ei: farm jfo&u&eln the ; nei^nbouringcolpnies afiectedour j . farmers, and ,CDnsequently,qu? storekeepers, on ; ■ whom falls th& chief part of the burden of sup- j porting the farmer through . any season of diffi- , culty. The price' of wheat, jvhich till jast.h'arj-' vest had never "fallen in, ; this 'settlement below 58. 6d.,,is now t at,4s., and is difficult of sale at. ' that figure. Barley is consumed -partly by our \ own brewers, partly by those of Wellington', an d ' \ ranges at about ss. 6d. to 6s. Oats are almost entirely grown for home consumption, and may l be priced at 4s. to 4s'. 6d. Flour stands at £16 r perton, and bread at lid. per four pound loaf. Prices range 10 per cent, higher in Lyttelton., Potatoes were a drug in the market ail last sea- . son, but at present there is a better demand for them, and some quantity has been shipped to Australia as well as the neighbouring provinces. Tlieir prjesent value may be quoted at £4 per ton. STATISTICS. The census for the present year is not yet obtainable. By the last published table the y total while population numbered 5,347; acres ' fenced in, 12,261 ; horses, 1,189 ; cattle 12,434 ; ■ sheep, 220,788. The population has now risen T to about 6,500, and the number of sheep to ' 330,000. The extent of country occupied is ; somewhat over 4,000,000 acres. > The value of the last season's clip of wool is i stated to be £61,000. The value (from the Custom-house Records) , of produce exported during the year ending December 31, 1856, amounted to £60,386 165., ■ and for the quarter ending March 31, 1857, • £28,95"0 10s. > The value of the imports for the year ending December 31, 1856, was £88,017 14s. 4d. THE NEW IRON FOUNDRY. We (" Canterbury Standard") record with pleasure the opening of an Iron Foundry 1 in this Province, which took place on Monday the 11th May. The public have long seen a spacious building in the course of erection in Cashel-street, in the rear of Mr. Anderson's ? smithy. This is now a complete Iron Foundry, supplied with all the necessary apparatus for executing castings up to the weight of 2 1 or 8 tons. The entire building is 99 feet in length, and 22 feet wide. In it a high pres- ' sure steam engine, and a fan blast have been been placed. The boiler is in adjacent shed, P and the cupola is at a small distance from the t present building, where it will not interfere ; with the future extension of the Foundry nor . with the erection of a Brass Foundry and other departments which will be gradually added as -the progress of the settlement leads to their construction. [. Canterbury has now entered on a new path of industry and commercial enterprise. She ■ has now assumed in earnest the character of a manufacturing country. The greatest success , has attended the settlement in its pastoral and agricultural undertakings. It is now assum1 ing a new phrase. No doubt the venture is a bold one and many shakes their heads at it. But we have great confidence in the sagacity 1 our townsman, Mr. Anderson, and are quite ' prepared to believe that with the characteristic . prudence of his countrymen he has well calcu- ■ lated his risk. Let it be remembered that a ' large amount of machinery has been imported . into Canterbury which will necessarily require I continual repairing. There are already here > three Steam Threshing engines, and some dozen or two threshing machines. We are also on the point of placing three Steam Boats to ply on our rivers and to navigate our coasts. These must necessarily give rise to employment for the Foundry — then again in the construcf tion of. Bridges castings will be continually , needed. .Let all these facts be borne in mind, I and it will probably be conceded that there is reasonable ground for hope that' the venture [ will prove a profitable one. 1 f NELSON. / , I By the " Spray" we (" Lyttelton Times") have, a file^of the " Nelson Examiner" to April 29. • , The , Provincial Council, , after an ads' journmenf'from January 15th, resumed its i sittings on the 7,th of 'April. . The chjef business before it is the Slew Waste Lands 3 Measure, which is thus summarised ; in the . " Examiner" :• — , ' I* , . ,, L AND REGUIATIONS. t. "All lands are ito-De put up for sale by, \ auction. v . rJ . , i " , " They are j;o he divided into " 'five' yiz.V T f 6wn ; Suburban'; Rural \ "Pastoral-anil other Tana 'Mineral «''Eu-

i Vai^'^featt ; m Wr%iMfft& >rsM&oi& IWi %ci D , t .uMt. •; " ''' \:\ :r '->" [' : •/"" Tne ffpsft-BSqe Umsl ]$Bs'is>" .«e I 'ted-By a'KoM tS Son'sts't, bF.ttie I 'inieifdent; -&£ Spealcer o? th9"'KoViriajal ! eTplificil^and- \hp Lanft Co\nßiss»r; ■ 'Eo> j'TWn 1 and;, Susursm : Lands,' 1 it^ay , whl f t tide feb4ta;-pjlea^es| /for' Pastoral j lanps, anything b f e r t^ve f eii' l's.'anjdlOs;. pen i acre; iox Rural', anything" l)etVeen '10si j i ~and'2o[s. ( , " /;;,' ' . __ : .' ! * •• Notice of theaiicjibn sale to be given i froni one month to three months previous- , , " Lands actually sold' at theauctioii sale : to be paid fo r r n witlnn a month after ; lj) 1 "per cent', at 'time of' gale. 'If longer "time 1 of payment desired, purchaser's may enter into a contract with Government to pay by , thirteen annual instalments of 10 per cent, upon the purchase money. jThis includes interest at five per, cent. ; Bqna^fi^e occu^ 1 patipn and improvement required. . For rural lands there are to be the erection of a house, and cultivation of a per centage of the land according to its character, as bush land, fern land; &c One acre in every fifteen of fern or open 'land, to be tilled or laid down to grass eyery year, one in every twenty of bush, land. Bona fide occupation by the purchaser to .be equivalent to these improvements. For pasture lands the condition is that they be stocked as required under the Regulations now in foree — one ewe to every twenty acres, or one cow. to every hundred-and- twenty. Land to be absolutely forfeited on failure in making these improvements, or in occupation, or payment of instalments. " Lands not sold at the auction sale may be taken for three years at the price they were put up at ; or the highest price bid for them. But Government may at any time withdraw them from sale, and put them up again at a different price. " The present holders of pasture licenses may buy, without going to auction, any amount of their runs up to 10,000 acres. Price to be assessed as before ; payment within three months, or by instalments as before. "Depasturing licenses to be given on same conditions as at present. " Mineral Lands to be leased and sold as at present. Leases for twenty-one years of blocks not exceeding two square miles ; annual royalty or rent of one-fifteenth of minerals raised reserved for Government ; lands to be put up for sale at £J per acre after three years' working, in blocks not exceeding sixty acres. " These, we think, are all the important provisions of the regulations. The minimum of Is. for non -agricultural lands was substituted by the Council for the 2s. 6d. originally proposed ; and the board in the Government Bill was to consist of Superintendent, Executive Council, and Commissioner."

MELBOURNE. From the Melbourne papers of the 20th ult., containing a summary for Europe, we copy the following information :—: — GOLD MINING. It appears from our provincial contemporaries that fortune still flings gigantic nuggets at the feet of some .of her favourites. At the Whipstick, on the 30th ult., a nugget weighing twenty-six ounces was taken up in Scotchman's Gulley, a short distance from the claim where the 370 ounce nugget was found ; and on the day previous (Tuesday) another nugget was taken up out of a different claim in the same ground weighing' 16 ounces. At M/Intyre's a person named M'Evoy has a claim on a quartz reef lately opened, and on Tuesday week he took out from it two specimens, one weighing 129 lbs. and the other 8 lbs., 137 lbs. in all. It is supposed that about 40 lbs. of quartz will be the outside, the remainder pure gold. On the •following day he and his ( mate, a ; yojuig hoy, took out, another , specimen, weighing 107 lbs., of which the tetter half, is pure- gold. The claim is very little ' worked, 1 and the deepest part is only , eighteen'inches. The finder of the present lotis the same party who found, the nuggetweighing 129 ozs. 18dwts.Jn No. 3 , gully at M'intyre'.s, .which was the occasion o t f, the last; ;rush. -Of course these are the < prizes in the lottery of gold-digging,, «and there are plenty of blanks',- of -which we hear . nothing. The quartz* reefs in yaVious dis- , tricts are fielding almost fabulous returns.' • In yesterday's ',"" 'Conner /of the ,Hines" (Be,ndigo n paper) we ( find, the .following;-^. { The Messrs.! Cartwright, . .Ear)ey, Jadr-- , wick, and Daiiban have crushed another kiln this week r of 15 tons; which yielded 'them i '. three hundred 'arid sixty ounces /of. gold." This cjaim, which ; was ' bniy !; struck^,' rich" some few weeks since, has already produ-

finder r <M irtfbßfflsttt m^t "6f -,y ®& Ktfndre r d ; olc^ : o? .gofd W'&l'iM&U owrfers^pinetM^ rjike ; fmfi " thotfsaM seven. 'KiinureS pourfds' sterling.-"- " ' ' J " J -" „.;,•,,., .„ G,?^ BXPOKTEJ). ' , ;TJiefollowmg comparative i^atement 6£ •* title receipts by r escort,, and! the shipments ? during . the first three months, of jtKe- past fouryears, snows, that thje year- 1357. is sei cptid only , to its predecessor :— - ,'. ,' '\.\, w \ 1854. itbb. 1856." 1857. Receipts by ozs. 6zs. ozs. : ' ozs' I ... Escort;'. 482,991 407,394 "748,303 -527,154'; Shipments 627,116 497,173 ,842,428 .682,819 , . The,, total (shipments of gold in 1857. -up to : May M IJ>,. ;aip/)unts to, 44 tons 1 cwt k i 4! lbs, 2 'ozs!, at 80s., is £4,229,480. .. IMPORTS AND EXE6rTS. , The -imports in the year .1857, up to May 9, amounted to 5,383,946 L;. and the exports in the same period, to 5,166,0922.; leaving! a: balance of imports over e&ptfrts of 21 7,8542. PASTORAL. . . . Stock farming still continues to be on& of the most profitable pursuits in "which the colonists are engaged. Our exportof wool .this season bids fair, to be larger than id 1855-56, though it.will not, perhaps,; equal that of 1854-55. Some, of, the causeslfor this result are attributed to ;the opening of Guieheii' Bay- on our South Australian boundary, and the Murray River traffic ; besides which,, a large number of settlers have converted their sheep into cattle stations, in consequence of the scab. This disease has," however, greatly diminished within the last twelve months, and as the present lambing is a very successful one, we may look forward to a large increase in our clip next yearl ■ RAILWAYS AND TELEGRAPH; The Hobson's Bay Company opened their branch line of railway to St. Kilda last week. The Geelong and "Williamstown line, which is the longest line of railway yet completed in Australia, will be opened for regular traffic in about three weeks. The Melbourne and Williamstown Railway is expected to be opened by December. The Intercolonial Telegraph is being rapidly earned through the colony, and ordinary road improvements are proceeding. THE PUBLIC LANDS. Lands sold by auction during the first three months of 1857 :—62,0.03: — 62,0.03 acres, realising N £i41,030. Lands selected during the same period :—23,682: — 23,682 acres, realising £26,097. Alienated under pre-emptive rights :—SOOO: — 5000 acres, approximate value, £5000. Total, hi three months, 90,685. acres, realising £172,127. POPULATION. A census of the population of the colony was taken on the 29th March last. The district returns are in a sufficiently advanced state in the office of the Ilegistrar--General to warrant us in computing our numbers at 400,000. The nett increase by the seaboard since Ist Jan. to 15th May 1857, has been 13,612 souls. - AGRICULTURE. Farming in Victoria, and in the Australian colonies generally, has now-recovered the shock it sustained at the date of the 1 gold discoveries, and has completely overtaken consumption. In South Aiistralia, more wheat has been grown- in excess of their requirements than will be wanted iiv this colony ; and large quantities have' been shipped to. the Mauritius, and "soriie even to England. In Victoria, though the" crops, owing to 'an unfavourable season,' have been light, there have been 70,000 acres sown with wheat, yielding 1,400,000 bushels, and fourteen large steam mills' have been built within the last twelve months. Flour may^be at present qiioted : at from £16 10s. to £17- 10s. per ton, and there is no probability of an advance. Potatoes, and aaltl t kinds of garden produce, are extremely reasonable ; indeed, ; if r it, were not for the fertility of the ; soil, thei prices would not remunerate the groyvers»Hay and oats are scarce and dear, the far^, me'rs having to "a great extent cefifinecl their attention to wheat. , ,' It is now generally, admitted that, ex,-. cep't on very rich soil, or in, the, immediate;, neighbourhood of a- market,'. agrieulturVis, hot a very profitable pursuit^ arid vigor-, qus efforts are being made to the expenses" by improved machinery, 1 and to increase the -returns , by combination . of stock farming with 'tillage^. ' ? Tjt mu'st'be f re^_ memoered by^pur v home .xeadeiis' jtliat/th'iej jwages of , an agricultural labourer^ are, 'frqin' £"^Ot6,£BO per ammhr, 'with board and. lodging. • ,r _ '■ \ . ■ Agricultural,, societies, .are springing up all over the 'country,, from, tne Murray/to* the seaboard '; and ploughing matches, and shows pi cattle and implements, are becoming recognized institutions. * %