CLUTHA COUNTY COUNCIL

Otago Witness, Issue 2455, 3 April 1901, Page 17

CLUTHA COUNTY COUNCIL

The Clntha County Council met at Balchitha •n Friday, prese.it— Messrs D. A. M'Lachlan (chairman), W. Hay, J. R. Mitchell, John Johnston, A. C. Saunders, J. Clarke, D. Robertson, •nd J. Cvniming. CORHESPONDE^CE. Mr M'Neil wrote apologising for his unavoidable absence. He stated that he had seea ■ Messn Telford and Shaw re grading ot River Bank road, and they were both pleased at the prospect of some improvement being maJ;. Owing to harvest operations they would be unable to give any horse assistance for two or three week. — Beceived. The hoh. secretary Queen's memorial fund ■wrote soliciting the assistance of the council in obtaining subscriptions to the fuiid — Received. The secretary Department of Agziculture Wrote notifying that '"The Slaughtenng.and Inspection Act, 1900," comes into operation on the Ist prox., and that it had been decided to date the regiateration of the new licenses as from • July 1, so as to give owners time to make any necessary alterations in their present slaughtering premises. — Received. U"he Chief Health Officer forwarded circular letter pointing out" the extreme importance of the council taking steps to place its district _in ja thorough sanitary coiiditon, and asking the council to enter upon a crusade against ' ia.ts and mice. — Received. The Clerk Bruce County Council notified his council's agreement with the proposal to pay one-half — not to exceed AM per annum — of piece - of land" for the puntman at South Molyneux. — Received. « ilr James Bushell, Clinton, wrote that D. il'Donald had, with the chairman's consent, transferred the collection of dog tax for Clinton and Pomahaka ridings to him. — Received and approved. Mr R. Ledingham, Romaliapa, wrote that he ■was unable to carry out the collecting of dog tax in CathVa, and added that George Dunn ■was Jfgreeafcle to take it up —The clerk said» that after c'o'Bsultation with the chairman and member for ihe riding hmjiad given G. Duan the appointment. — Apprcnwß Henry Cunningham and four others at Waififchi wrote a joint letter urgently requesting , the attention of the council to the state of the road known as Lake load, which was their "outlet to Pukerau and Gore. They weie pre- - pared to assist with -teams in working grader. — To be attended to. Peter Hansen, Clinton, wrote asking that •wages owing to him, amounting to £10 18%, by a contractor of the council be deducted by the council in settling with the latter and paid to him (Hansen). — Left in the hands of the chairman. Hogg and Co. (Limited), Dunedin, advised that they were m a position to quote kauri, iron bark, and bluegum at very lew rates. — Received. Alexander Sime, Purekireki, drew attention to three culverts on top end of Hunt's road, which were in a very dangerous state, having been put in with bad timber. There was a hole in one of them, and a horse fell m it the morning ' he wrote, and if nothing were done something ■ serious might happen. — Engineer to attend to matter. John Puller wrote, drawing attention to the ' Etate of the track form Mr T. Wilson's to Newhaven, block VI, G-lenomaru. — -Consideration to stand over and inquiries be made regarding ■ this road. Duncan Campbell and threg others at Honipspa, settlers on block VI / Woodlands, re- ' quested the council to spend the " thirds and •" foutthß " owing to Waihoata road, £4&, in metalling part of said road, a portion of which, about 10 chains at junction of Waihoaxa-M'Lel-lan Rive 1 - roads was impassable Good metal was obtainable within three chains. — Cr Saunders moved — " That the matter stand over, and that the counci' ia]-e into consideration how it was going to deal with the land fund difficulty. Applications were coming vi- at every meeting for expenditure of these moneys." — ■ Seconded by Cr Johnston, and earned. George S. Wi]«on, Glenomaru, wrote laying before the conajbil the advisability of forming « road frm Wh^telaw'a farm, Romahaua, j through Duane's fatm, and coming out by Mr | Murray's. The Siiftance was only about 30 chains, and would cost very little, and would Bave about three miles of very hilly Toad which ihad several patches of tutu.— Cr Hay said the ' council had no funds ci-ailable in the meantime, but he would move that the engineer report on the probable cost at r.ext meeting. He ye de-stood the settlers were prepared to assist in this work, but he wa<3 afraid the co=t would be too much. It would make a very good road ; in fact, the mam load to Cathns should have been taken that way originally. — Seconded by Cr Saunders and carried. < Joan Duiey, Tahatika, wrote that as there ■wa=, £14 10s due to his road he wished it spent in i putting rotten rack on a portion of the load •which was very flat. — Left over till rext meeting. E. Scott. Port Molyncus, wrote stating that the drain between Wyhe's place and her leasehold was in need of cleaning as the swamp wii3 getting very soft and there was a danger of the cows getting bogged. — Engineer to attenf* to the matter. . Marcus Jackman and six others at Glenomaru pointed out to the council the advisability of spending Eome money on the upper end of Jackman's road, there being practically no proper outlet to the Mam road. They suggested that instead of felling the bush on the upper end of the road that the .road be made fit for traffic from the Main road ■upwards. — On the motion of Cr Hay, the engineer was instructed to lay off work to the exte.it of £10 and Mr Chalmers to do the work. The Chief Surveyor, Dunedin, wrote asking the council to forwaid at its earliest convenience a report setting forth the roads .it would recommend to be formed during the year 19011902 to give access to Crown lands. — Ci Hay &aid this matter affected the Catlins and South jlolyneux Ridings, and he would suggest that the councillors for these ridings, and any others interested, meet with the engineer and prepare the repoit a&ked for. — Suggestion agreed to The Valuer-general acknowledged receipt of the council's letter asking for particulars of charge for correcting lolls, and stating, in reply, that the expense is largely incurred in having to call in the services of the district valuer wherever divis.ons of property have taken place. »A large number of these levalua"tions have h?d to be made in the Clutha County, and this, with the clerical work of altering and checkmg, made up the claim. — Cr [Robertson said very flittle information was given, except that they had charged a portion i>f the Valuer-general's salary.— Cr Robertson also referred to some instances m which the discrepancy in valuations were unaccountable. > — Letter received. Joseph Gwyn, Houipapa, acting on the advice cf the Minister of Lands, made application to the council to acquire a title to one acie of the Houipapa school reserve under " The Public Works Act, 189J," and stating that the authority to do this would be found in section 40 of " The Cemeteries Act, 1882." Mr Gwyn pointed out that there was no cemetery nearer than Hatanui (five miles) or Owaka (seven miles); and as there were settlers seven miles further Tip the valley, this made the nearest cemetery 12 miles away.— Cr Saunders suggested that the ( matter stand over till next meeting, and that m , the meantime he would make inquiries.—Accordingly. R. Carnck, Port Molyneus, wrote that he could only get access to his section thiough Ins aasigiibour's gionud. He therefore approached

the council to give him an outlet, and said that thiough section 33 was the only suitable ' place for a lore 1 — Cr Hay said the sun eyed road was impracticab'e. ar.d it would be necessary to arrange for a -oad thiough pnvate pro1 perty. Probably the Government might assist in the matter. He moved that application be made to the Mir.itser of Lands. — Seconded by Cr Mitchell and carried. John Barnett, Waipahi, applied for a few loads of rotten rock and grsvel for road near 1 his place.— Left m the hands ol the member for ' the riding. 1 D. Sutherland, Wa.wera, applied for a slaughtering license, and enclosed £1 for same. — The clerk said Mr Sutherland had complied i with the necessary conditions — .License granted. ! NOXIOUS WEEDS. Cr Saunders, m accordance with notice of motion, moved — " That goise and ragweed be > declared noxious weeds in accoidance with the Noxious "Weeds Act. He mentioned thflt rag- | weed was over-running the district in Catlins — i one man had about 30 acres of it. After a desultory conversation, Cr Cumming said he thought they shou'd proceed cautiously as regards gorse. It would be a serious matter in some cases if gorse were de- j clared a noxious weed. It would be better to give some warning. There being a general objection to including gorse, Cr Saunders withdrew his motion, whereupon Cr Mitchell moved that ragweed be included in 'the first schedule. — This 'was seconded by Cr Saunders, and carried. ! RO4DS AND \TORKS. The Engineer, Mr M. Paterson, reported as follows : — I I have the honour to report that according to instructions tenders haVe been called for the fol'owmg roads and works. Contract No. 915, formation on Rankleburn road , No. 917, painting "Waiwera bridge (hand railirg), Mam South roid: No. 918, mainteLiar.ee metal, 50 cubic yards, Renton's road, 'No. 919, metalling seven chains, Otanomomo Swamp road ; No. 920, maintenance metal, 50 cubic jards, Wairuna ► road ; No. 921, maintenance metal, 200 cubic yards, Chnton-Tapanui road. Contracts completed since last meeting of council aie 901, o:i Rankleburn road; 906, on Lots er Main road, 90S. or Puerua road. A. n amber of contracts for luelalhng within Pomahaka Downs are nearly finished— namely, 891 on Cln,toii-Tapanui roed, 897 iiear Ashley Downs, 8&9 on C'arke's road, and 903 on Clydevale-Waiwera road. The contractors complain of r.ot being able to obtain men for load works, although very high wages have been offered. The gravelling of Back Creek road from perpetual lease thirds, is progressing satisfactorily, by last Friday there weie 2' chains done, and as the weather since then has been favourable, I expect there will be 30 chains overtaken by this time. The surfacing of Awakiki Bush road has been attended to, and the timber is on havid to rebuild the culverts that were complained of at last meeting of council. The surfaceman of this riding, thiough illness, has only been able to work three days duung this month, consequently a number of works that would have been attended to hnie hi"d to stand over. The road through papt of Piserui Bush has been opened up, and the bridge over Puerua Stream at the site of the old sawmill has been repaired : but this bridge at best is in a &haky condition. I have prepared plan of bridge over Waipahi Stream at Arthurton. Tenders were accepted as fol'ows. — Contract No 9i6, ,T. Sharp, £47; contract 917, G. D.' Stewart, £9; contract 918, P. M'Eorie, £16 17s 6d, contract 919 IL J. Allison, £37 10s. It was decided not to open tenders for conti^cts 920 and 921, which, it was understood, would be returned unopened. I Motions were passed as follows — I Mo»-ed by Cr Robertson, seconded by Cr Cumming — " That the engineer call for tenders for maintenance gravel on Kelso-Waikaka road. Tr-udeis to be -n at rext meeting." Moved by Cr Cuminmcr. seconded by Cr RoWrt=o"i— " That t^nders'ba called for traffic bridge at Arthurton for next meeting of council. j Moved by Cr Mitchell, seconded by Cr Hay — "That the engineer irspect the working of the Clydevale punt, with authority from the j council to make what alterations he considers j nece&sarv to improve the landing on the Bruce ' side oi the river; Bruce County Council to be asked to pay half. cost." FINANCIAL. The Chairman said the auditor's report on the riding accourts was now on the table. He I understood Cr Robertson had a motion to move. j Cr Robertson moved that the report be re1 ceived, and that the clerk furnish each counJ ciKor with a copy ot ibe accounts at his earliest ' convenience. Councillors were not in a position to discuss the matter till they had had time to give the matter full consideration. ! The monthly pay sheet, amounting to £538 ■ 17s lOd, was passed for' payment. Several vouchers ha-nded in after the Finance Committee had gone through the accounts were also pft a sed, but it was made an instruction for the future that all vouchers must be in by noon on day of meeting. THE V 7 URUNA. SURFACEMAN. The Chairman said he had taken advice of the county solicitor as regards the wording of the by-la >vs with reference to the powers of the chairman to dismiss officers of the council, and he upheld the view taken by him (the chairman) . His (the speaker) reasons for dispensing with the man's services had not been refutacl m any way. However, the man had now been lemstated by the councillor for the rjdiug, so that matters were much as they were at first; and it was foi the council to take any step 3it chose. After some dclfv ard conversational discussion, Cr Saunders moved that the petition from Wairnna settlers on the matter be recen ed, and regret that the councillor for the riding reinstated the surfaceman without bringing the matter befoie the council. — Seconded by Cr Ha-y and carried. Cr Clarke said he did not understand ilie motion, and several councillors said it was to get rid of the question. Cr Clarke said the council had absolved him from responsibility in the matter by agreeing to allow the man to remain on till the thing was settled. SPECIAL MEETING. The council then held a special meeting at which the special order in connection with the Pomahaka ridi-ig special loan was confirmed. The Chan man said the auditor suggested that the office hours and days for receiving rates should be ir>seited on the late notices, and also that a rotice to that effect should be affixed at the office. — A motion embodying the suggesj tion w.as adopted on the motion of Ci Hay.

The pVoposed West Coast band contest lias been abandoned, owing to insufficient entries. Only three bands en+ered for the test pieces. Floriline ! — Fob the Teeth and Bheath — A lew drops of the liquid " Florilme " spnnkl?J on a wet tooth brush produce a pleasant lather, which thoroughly cleanses the teeth fro n all parasites and impurities, hardens the gums, prevents tartar, stops decay, gives to the teet'i a peculiar pearly whiteness, and a delightful fragrance to the breath. It removes all unpleasant odour arising from decayed teeth ' or tobacco smoke. "'The Fragiant Floriline, bein^ composed in part of honey and sweet ' herbs, is delicious to the taste, and the greatest toilet discovery of the age. Price 23 6d of all chemists and perfumers. Wholesale depot, 0J Famngdoa road, Louden, Jinsiaud. - A»vx.