PENINSULA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1584, 1 April 1882, Page 22

PENINSULA COUNTY COUNCIL.

The annual meeting of this Council was held on Friday in Watson's Hotel. There were present—The Chairman (Mr Nichol), and Councillors Turnbuil,' Whitej Robertson, M'Kpy, Kerrj Dickson, and Braid. > After'the minutes of the last annual meeting had been read, Or ' Kerb asked the chairman if he had forwarded to Wellington the resolution; passed at the last annual meeting re the division of the County subsidy among the Road Boards. ! His reason for asking the question was that as i chairman of the Portobello Road Board he had I written to the secretary of the Treasuiy asking that the Portobello Road Board's share of subsidy be paid, and in reply he had received the following telegram :— " Be non-payment of county subsidy to Road Board, Colonial Treasurer regrets to find that County Council did not comply with section 31 of ' .Financial Arrangements Act, 1876.' Stepswill be taken to appoint commissioners." The Chairman explained that he had forwarded the resolution in due time,_ and ithe section had consequently been complied with. He was not, however, in a position to send away the returns from tho Road Boards as to the rateable value of the 'property within 'the county. He received the returns from ithe I Portobello Road Board in due time, but the Peninsula Board had failed to comply with; his "request to do so. He had written repeatedly to the clerk, and then, he saw Mr White aljout it, but it was not until>ear July that hej received the requisite information. Subsequently he saw the clerk, but he could give no exiuse beyond that the matter had been overlooked. , Or White : Perhaps it would be as weU to allow the commissioners to be appointed, get the subsidy. ■ If there is any defect about section 32 we might lose it. «, > Or TuRNBULr. would propose — "That a_ telegram be sent to the Colonial Treasurer intimating that section 31 of the Act had been com-, plied with, and requesting the Government to pay the subsidy in the usual manner, and thus save the expense to the Council of appointing commissioners." , . Some discussion ensued on this matter, and it' was then decided to. proceed with the business of,, the meeting— viz., ,the election of, a Chairman',, and the allocation of the subsidy for the ensuing year. , , i , ;Mr Adam Nichol was unanimously elected as Chairman. In answer to a question ( by|one of the councillors, he said he was not in favour of putting the Act in fordejußt yet. He wojild, , however, like to see only one taxing body, if such a plan could be carried out. ' [ Mr Braid would like to see the Act put mtp force. . He .would move— "That the Act; be adopted in iiis.entirety." „ ' ,' <' , '" Or ; M'Ka'y seconded the,motion. He thought ie was only the front settlers who, did not tfant to adopt it. . ' , , 1 , Some discussion then ensued as to whether the motion could'be/takeii'or not, andon'Mr 'White pointing out that, it required a special meeting to give effect to' such a motion, j the matter dropped. •'•'', >' '' '"' . ' ' Mr White then moved— "That the subsidy be allocated as formerly — pound, for pound on the ' rates collected in each district, and jbhat the taxes be the property of the district in which they'a're collected." • ( ," J '/'The! motion was seconded and carried. J ' '' Cr Kobertsoln suggested that the motion re ' sending a' telegram to the ( Colonial Treasurer should nowbe put. ■ ' ' ' j It was accordingly put to the meeting! and carried; after a short discussion., ' j ' This was all the business, and, the meeting i then adjourned. ', ' : ■