WAIHEMO CQUNTY COUNCIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1848, 22 April 1887, Page 16

WAIHEMO CQUNTY COUNCIL.

The ordinary meeting of' thi 3 county council was held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, when there were present: The chairman (Mr A. D. Bbll) and Crs T. Dent, %: Fraser, O. S. Hay, A. M'Laren, D. M'Leod, J. M'Kenzie, J. K. Robertson, and M. Todd. ■ ' '■> - ■ FINANCE. The Finance Committee reported having ex* amined accounts for the month, amounting to £345 158, which on their recommendation the council passed for payment. KJiPOETS. The Inspector reported having, made Pater' son's road a§ far as boundary to Anderson's, but had refained erecting fence Juntil instructed by council. He proposed to open the Bush road ai Goodwood temporarily,' and; asked instructions in reference, to Bushy road, which was very narrow. On this road, several broken, culverts were being repaired. — Report received, and the inspector to v be instructed Ujo have the necessary work carried out, including: fencing. Crs M'Jjarek arid'M'LEOD, the deputation jap* pointed to inspect 'the' creek at Dunback, reported that the distance of th^ creek on the mam road was nine chairis,,and that Mr Glover's fence was erected on thVedge of- .the bank, whioh had been ;huilt" up with, schist Btqnes ; these had been displaced in; several places by cattle rubbing against them. 'On the side of the Macraes road there were several holes which they eug> gested should be sloped down, and the present culvert; jji course of construction extended the full width of the roadway. The .culvert on tie main road at Jordan's,' which had' a large double opening from lft to 18in"at the bottom, was useless owing to the railway , fence crossing about 12ft from the end of the fence being laced, which dammed back' the debris coming down, and the creek was silted up inside the railway grounds, which required to be cleared out before the water could have free course. — Report received, and the inspector instructed to have the work done." ■ The Chairman reported the result of the recent poll of ratepayers re the proposed loan of £1500 for the re-erection of the Shag river bridge, and .congratulated the council on the result. There had been only three votes against the proposal and the majority in favour of the loan was large, and by .their action the ratepayers had justified their confidence in the council. He attributed the" success of the proposal to the .action of the councillors, who had taken great interest in the -proposal and in bringing it before the ratepayers. Cr M'Kenzie also congratulated the couucil on the result of the vote, as he had no hesitation in saying that • had it been otherwise it would have been worse for the ratepayers. He attributed the carrying of the proposal to the able circular issued by the chairman, who entered into au elaborate explanation of the matter. , He was quite satisfied that if it bad not been for the action of tbe chairman a number of ratepayers would not- have gono to tbe poll.— (Hear, hear.) He therefore considered that the chairman deserved the special thank* ot the council, which had been placed in * position to erect a bridge, that would be >• credit to the county and » benefit to the whole community. t The Chairman expressed bis gratification to find his action and efforts in the direction referred to so highly appreciated. He considered that the value of his. services had been overestimated. Ho testified to the valuable assistance he had received from the clerk, who had been very zealous in the matter. Some discussion having followed with respect to the value and durability of blue gam and other timbers for the bridge, Cr Hay moved, and it was carried — " That the matter stand over, and that the chairman be requested to make inquiry as to the value and durability of certain timbers and their .suitability for the bridge." ' "«-. correspondence. From the Treasury, Wellington, re the conversion of debentures issued under " Tbe Road* and Bridges Construction Act 1882," and requesting to be furnished- with a copy of the resolution referring to the same. — Received, and information to be supplied: From managers of local .banks, forwarding declaration of quantity of gold purchased daring the month.— -Received. From Mr Colin Allan; Dunedin, stating that the settlers who took up land in the Goodwood Bush under the village settlement system com* plained that they have no road open to their sections, and in consequence were unable to get their wire on the ground for 'fencing. As steward of the village settlements be asked t^e council for a vote to open up the bush road, and expressed the opinion that the settlers themselves would give sneh/asaistance as they were able in the matter.-r^The letter was received, and the council decided to call for tenders for opening up the road to the extent of £50. From the Registrar-general,^ Wellington, requesting to be furnished with statistical information, which was ordered to be complied with. From the Chief Surveyor, Dunedin, intimating that he was awaiting Receipt of lithographs of proposed roads to openn.p;Crown lands.—Keceived, and pla^s to" be furmabedf From the Surveyor-|eneral, J Wellington, stating that the proposal as to roads on run 210 hsu been agreed to. — Received;'' From Mr W. (3rajg;C#re.tsry to the Inch Valley School Commit^ applying -to have an

obstruction removed that blocked the' road at both ends of the Inch Valley footbridge. The late owner of the ; property was permitted to erect two gates. ' Bdth'- had been removed gome time ago and ..the-'gaps stopped with wire and sticks, which had been a great inconvenience to the public. ' He also < called' attention to' ,ttie state of the wire, netting oh the bridge, which had become dangerous, to children attending BCQO oI —Received, arid the matter referred to the inspector to have the obstruction removed. From the chairman Buller County' (Jounci)j Westport, forwarding 'resolutions, re the'maintenance of hospitals' and.' charitable institutions, to the effect that neither the present systtioYnor that proposed by' the Brube County Council were satisfactory;' that in any system established the charge should fall principally upon the more wealthy classes thrqugtfout' the colony and not, as at present, upon localities in proportion to the population and upon persons irrespective of "the measu.e of sacrifice," and to*give effect to this, a sum equal to .two- thirds of the amount required for hospitals and charitable aid should be leyied by the Colonial Government upon property and income, the sum raised to be divided pro rata, according to population, between the ooroughs and county council* of the colony, making those bodies responttible for the entire'admmistratibn and maintenance of hospitals and charitable institutions. — ReceivedFrom the Maniototo County Conncil in reply; stating that the council was Dot in possession of sufficient data to enable a definite reply to be given re the erection of a small bridge over the Taieri river.— Received. From the Treasury, Wellington, intimating that the following Sums have been paid into ' the Oolonial Bank to the credit of the council: — Goldfields revenue, £15 ss;.gold. gold duty, £9 53 lid ; subsidy, £750; rates oh Crown lands for 1886-87, £65 6s 9d ; first payment on account of graufc for road, Goodwood riding, £210.—Received, From Mr J. White, Macraes, informing the council that the 'shaft he was' now sinking at' Macraes,' had been bottomed at a depth of 54ft, j and the prospect obtained averaged 2dwt to the load. , The timber had, however, been drawn and anuther shaft commenced a mile to the' gW., on what was known as Sweden's Spur. They were down 50ft, and water was very plentiful. — Received. „ , From the Charitable Aid Board, Dunedin, intimating that the council's, proportion of contribution to the Dunedin, IJospital was 2-46 of a penny in the pound, on the ratable value, and 3-31 of a penny in the to the United Districts Charitable Aid Board. — Received, the council agreeing to pay the Respective ambants by monthly instalments. t # ' 6thbb matters. Cr, M'Kenzib was granted leave of absence daring the session of Parliament. Resolved, on the motion of Cr Hay—" That' the inspector be authorised to have the road at Macraes leading from the'street to the schoolhouse repaired, cost not to exceed ,£5." Resolved, on the motion of Cr Robestson — ''That the Shag river bridge be taken down, aol that the timber be classified by the inspector and soldby auction;" . The couucil then adjourned.'