LAKE COUNTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1933, 12 March 1891, Page 17

LAKE COUNTY.

Maboh 7.— The Lake County Oounoll has held its last meeting under the old order of things, and in future the councillors will have to put their heads together to keep things going. Already there are ominous forebodings of what is to follow, and if no means are devised to make good to the council the loss sustained by the abolition of the gold duty there will be an inevitable burst up before long. The county clerk has finished his labour of rating mining property within the county, whioh according to his estimates tots up to a total of £129,593. This at £ d rate yields £40i 19s 6d, against a gold duty that last year (a very dry one) gave £1136 17s 9d, or a decrease of £731 18s 3d. Already the reduction has made itself felt, as the banks have exported little or no gold, and since it was known that the Gold Duty Abolition Bill would pass, only £l 3s has been paid in as gold duty, whereas according to escort refurns the sum should have been £800. Such a reduction to an already impecunious body meant nothing short of disaster. The financial position of the council is disclosed by the following statements— Bank overdraft, £2581 17s 3d ; liabilities on contracts, £173 15s ; accounts presented, £1258 15s 8d; giving a total of £4014 8s 3d, less wages and salaries paid £164 5s 4d, leaving £3850 3s sd, while the legal limit of the county's indebtedness is £3572 19s 3d, or an excess £270 4s 3d. To meet this not very hopeful statObOf affairs a councillor proposed that the miners should pay a double rate of ljd, but he can hardly have been in earnest. More practical and statesmanlike were Councillor M'DougaU's observations. He held that the law by its uniformity operated unfairly against suoh bodies as the Lake County Council, where the territory includes such a large proportion (probably nineteen-twentietbs) of lakes, rivers, and mountains, l'here was no land upon whioh there could be a olosely settled population, and their exceptional circumstances entitled them to exceptional treatment. If a comparison were made between Lake County and some of the settled agricultural districts, the force of the argument would ba evident. Ha thought the council should ba recouped their losb out of the land fund. This put the cate very forcibly and fairly, and when it is considered that Lake County is not the only body that Is in this fix. it is evident that Government must do something, and that soon, too. The other business before the council was unimportant. Most of the roads were let on maintenance contracts for the term of one year. It is surprising to note all the turns " corucientious scruples" and" principle" can be made to serve if you only know how, or your interests sway you properly, It is not so long ago since the council constructed a road -a most urgent piece of work — to serve two dredges, at a cost upwards of £500— a road which has now disappeared completely, and over which there were not 10 tons of coals brought, although the road was constructed for no other purpose than chat of carting coals. As a contrast to this piece of extravagance, at the last meeting a proposal for the construction of a road from Miller's Flat to a point known as Dan O'Connell's was not entertained, although the road would benefit the Shotover people greatly and be a boon to the residents "generally, especially to the Buffering portion who have now to make a long detour to reach the Arrow Hospital, to which a goodly number of the Shotover people are subscribers. she road in question would.have coat the county £140, Government giving an equal amount; while the coal pit road has cost the council all of £400, and when finished was scarcely ever used, a great portion being obliterated, -while another part clipped into the Kawarau, as might have been anticipated. Local Option and Licensing Affairs do not seem to enlist much enthusiasm in these regions of mountain dew, and the elections and voting were allowed to take care of the-nselves pretty much. Harvest.— The weather duriDg the past week has been cold and wet, delaying harvesting on that account for some days. However, with plentltude of machinery good progress is made, and it is probable that everything will be in and ssoured in good time.