BRUCE COUNTY COUNCIL

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 10

BRUCE COUNTY COUNCIL

An ordinary meeting of the Bruce County Counsil was held at Milton on the 7th; rresfnt — Mr Haggart (chairman), Crs Begg, Bruce, Adam, Crane, Sutherland, Noble, Tough, -and Mosley. engineer's eeport. The Engineer (Mr A. Nelson) reported as follows:— Roads. The roads are in a fair condition for the traffic, and the surfacing done was the clearing out of water-tables and culverts and other minor repairs to the roads, and the clearing of thistles from the river banks, etc. Works : The metalling contract, I Inchclutha, is still progressing slowly at the j rate of two trucks per day. The raising of | Stirling-Lakeside road is progressing fairly well; nearly one-half of the contract is fh.-ished. A start has again been made with the deepening and widening of Morrison Creek, lakes drainage works. The grader has | again been at work on the road up the riveri side past Pillan's. grading parts of the road in its natural state. The settlers on Barnego have also graded a new road through the settlement at their own expense — i.e., finding the horses and men. A culvert is required at a low place on the road, and some earthworks, to make it passable in soft weather. Part of the road through Loudens G-ully has been regraded where the formation was" in a bad state, being too narrow and hollowed out in the centre, making it very difficult to keep the water off the road. The erection of the bridge over Roper's Creek is nearly finished, and it is open for traffic. The culvert at Deep Creek washed out by the late flood has been replaced by a concrete pipe 3ft in diameter, and the earthworks were made up to the original level. The wood culvert at Blind Creek has also been replaced by a concrete pipe, and the road is open for traffic: The surfacemen are busy repairing tLe culvert and earthworks washed away at Glenfoot Creek The settlers at North Branch offered to cart stones to repair the road in that district if the coimcil would send a man to quarry the stone. A man was sent, and some stones have been carted out and laid down on the road. Several culverts have been replaced and repaired all over the district since my last report, and a new beam hns been placed on the Matau bridge at Stirling, where one had given way. I took levels over a portion of the road past Dolan's property, and called for tenders for the woiks to absorb the balance of the vote for block 11, Kaitangata. I have also called tenders for the clearing out of the Inchclutha and Matau main drains. — The report was adopted, on the motion of Cr Moplpv.

The Cleik's statement of receipts and expenditure showed the former at £1141 12s 7d, including rates £578 4s Bd, siibsidy £34 5s Id, rents £28 12s lOd, loans £450. dog tax £50, and goldfields revenue 10s; and the latter at £399 13s 9d, including works £265 8s sd, surfacing £46 7s 6d, Hospital Board £25 17s 6d, Charitable Aid Board £28 10s 4d, salaries £31 ss, and miscellaneous £2 5s. — Approved. CORRESPONDENCE. The Valuation Department wrote stating it could not gge its waj; to. leiluce. tbe county's

share of the cost of the riding valuations lately made over part of the county, and that the amount ebaiged was only one-third of the cost, and included district valuers' expenses, clerical work, cost of Assessment Court, and all other incidental expenses — The Chairman said he still thought the charge an excessive one. — Cr Mosley said <he charge was a most lidiculously high one. — Ihe letter was received.

The Auditor-general, in reply to a request that the council should be allowed to pay certain special rates out of the genera! account, wrote stating that in the case of the Tokomairiro and Balmoral Ridings he could agree to the proposal., as the interest exceeded £50 per annum, but with reference to Kaitangata Ridmg he desired further particulars.—lt was decided to make further application in the matter.

His Worship the Mayor of Dunedin forwarded a copy of the draft constitution of the League for the Promition of the Commercial and General Interests of Otago. — Received.

A letter was received from the Otago Benevolent Trustees requesting the council to assist in approaching the Government with a view to getting a portion of the poll tax on Chinese set aside for returning to China all Chinese on the Benevolent Trustees' books The letter made no reply to the council's request for extra assistance for an aged Chinaman. — Cr Adam said the Chinornan was over 70 5 ears of age. He received 3s a week from the Benevolent Trustees, and with that he purchased about 81b of oatmeal and 4lb of rice per week; that absorbed 2s, and perhaps a tin of fish and a packet of candles would absorb the other shilling. The man was in a very miserable state, and something should be done for him. The council had asked for 4s 6d for this Chinaman, and it was stated it cost 6s 6d a week for such a case in the Benevolent Institution. He (Cr Adam) could .not understand where the economy came in, seeing that the trustees desired to take the case to the institution. It would probably be better for the Chinaman to be in the institution, but he would not go there. Cr Mosley said the objection was the disparity between the treatment the country relief cases received in comparison with the town cases.— Cr Begg said there was no better treatment of the poor in the city, but some cases received relief that were not entitled to it. — It wa= decided that application should be again made to the trustees for 4s 6d per week for the Chinaman. Amos M'lCegg wrote asking perrniseion to have wharves erected at Taieri Mouth, md pointed out that the road between the old bay and Knarston's store was very slippery during wet weather, and for this reason he asked nermission to erect an extension to Mr Jeffrey's present wharf so that passengers might be landed clear of the muddy roads. The council decided to grant the reqtured permission. D. R. Howden. Coombe Hay. wrote asking that _ several qoft portions of the road below Fortification be graveled before winter sets in, and that the council should takf stet>s to protect the roTd from flaxmill traffic duringthe winter. — The Chairman said there was about £100 loan money available for th© read. — The matter wa<! left to the chairman and the engineer to deal with. John Grey, Fort Hill, wrote asking that half a chain of the road in the cutting past Quill's property be metaHeS, as it was almost imoassab'e in winter — Allowed to stand over till next meeting. wh»n Cr Tough and the eneineei* will renort as to repairs Teouired. The District Road Engineer wrote askingthe council for the uee of the council's grader for some work at Greenfield Estate — The Chairman reported that the Ropds Denartraent had been erranted the use of the grader on the usual terms. Five ratepayers in Barnego settlement wrote asking the council to drain a lor oortion of the road which was impassable during' winter, when the road had to be abandoned and 3, track taken through paddocks. — Keferred to the eneiueer. Mrs Mary Green wrote drawing- the eounI cil's attention to the state of the road at I Quill's cutting, and to the state of a ciilverfc near her property. — The Engineer reported that the matter had been attended to. The Engineer to the Clutha Couutv Council wrote stating that the pontoon boats at 1 the Ciydevale and Koan punts required renewing. It was proposed to build new pontoons and get them ready to replace the o!6! ; ones without stopping the traffic. He asked ! the Bruce Council to approve cf the proposal. — It was decided to asree to the proposal. i James Allen, M H.R.. wiote stating that he had written to the Chief Engineer of the Roads Department re the exnenditure of tl-e £200 vote on Barnego road, but had received no reply. He had written again, and when a leply came he would send it on to the chair-n-an. — Received. Keuame and Horsburgh, flaxmillers. Lakeside, wrote statins they only u=ed three chains of the road from the siding to the flaxmill, and they would k<>ep that portion in repair. — F. T Poole, flaxmiller. Lakeside, wrote stating he was nrepaied to assist in keeping the roads leading from his mill in repair, and had done so previously. — These ■syr-re the only replies received to the council's request to -the flaxmill owners. — The Chnirman said Mr Ponle lifid sways met the council well in thia matter. — The matter was ! left over or another month. ! James Macalister wrote asking 1 permission to lav a tramway across a county road opposite M'Gill's nroperty — Granted, subject to the approval of the engineer. GENERAT.. On fhe motion of Cr Mosley it -was Egree<3 to call for tenders for protective woiks at Inchclutha.. Cr NoVp moved that tenders be called for works in Marshall's Gully out of the vote for Akatore district, tenders to be opened by the chairman and engineer With reference to a proposal for tlie ejection of a bridge at <he mouth of tj-p Wnitahuna River, it was resolved tliat the Chief Engineer be requested to meet Messrs "Besrg Bros, anc* confer as to the site of the bridge and road de\ iation in connection with same. TENDERS. The following tenders were accepted : — Clearing- out ditch at Inchclutha (first contiact), Byers and Andrew, at Is 9d per chain; clearing ditch at Inchclutha (spconct contract), Byers and Andrew, at Is 9d per chain; cleariner out part of Matau drain. Byera and Andrew, at Is 8d per chain ; and formation of road at Dolan's, James Ferguson, at £31 0s Gd.

Advice to Mothers.— Are you broken in your rest by a sick child suffering -with the pain of cutting teeth? Go at once to a, chemist and get a bottle of Mrs Winslow's Soothing Syrup. It will relieve the poor sufferer immediately. It is perfectly harmless! and pleasant to taste, it produces natural, quiet sleep, by relieving the child from pain, and the little cherub awakes "as bright as a button." It soothes the child, it softens the guma, allays all pain, relieves wind, regulates the bowels, and is the best-known remedy for dysentery and diarrhoea, whether arising- from teething or other cpuses. Mrs Winslow » Soothing Syrup is gold hx lisdicine dealer* everxvrkeio,