MAKAREWA ROAD BOARD.

Southland Times, Issue 1951, 22 July 1874, Page 2

MAKAREWA ROAD BOARD.

The members of the Makarew* Road Board ell th'ir usual monthly meeting in the meeting- " oom, Clarendon Hotel, on Saturday, the 19th * ist. Thers were present Me D. M' Arthur *' chairman), and Me33i«3 M'Kgllar, BUkie, J. •*' Thomson, Trumble, Keith, M'lmn, G-. Thomson, P .niToahiolt. L * A letter from Mr Harvey, solicitor, touching he retirement from office of a • temporarily- J? ppointed member of tha Board, wa9 I'aid. It r' oncluded thus :— " If the Board consists of nine " aembers, and on-3 die?, or 1 retires daring the ® r eaL, and aimo person is appointed temporarily nstead, the person so appointe I during the year hall retire with other two members of the a Board, together making up one-third." c Mr J. Thomson brought: up a petition prayng the Board not to sanction the miking of a P jermment roai through the Racecourse Reserve !' it Winton, inasmuch as to do so would be to locate the reserve to a purpose other than that 8 ■or which it was granted, an unjustifiable di- j= version of the authorised road line, and a serioU3 injustice to the trustees of the racecourse reserve j 3 sind to the ratepayer? of the neighborhood ; and ' further asking that the portion of road lino at present running through the racecourse reserve . might be permanently closed, and urging that |j the road might be continual, as surveyed, in a straight line through the scrub. The petition c was signed by 44 ratepayers. ' c Mr Keith presented a counter-petition, pray- ' ing that the road might be allowed to remain as 5 at present, passing through the rac33our3B re- 3 serve, and not conducted, as prayed by the other s petitioners, through the scrub. The petition presented by Me Keith bore the signatures of 13 ratepayers. Mr Keith spoke in strong terms o? the petition presented by Mr Thomson, characterising it as bein^ in part a fabrication, and some of the signatures as being those of parsons who were not ratepayers. Mr Kaith detailed the difficulties which would be connected with forming and making a road through the scrub, and the cost which it would entail upon the Board — a cost which he estimated at over £500. It would be folly, ha said, to go to suoh vast expense when a legally authorised road— th^ one passing through the racecourse reserve— already existed, and could be made perfectly passable at a trifling cost of about £25 10s. Mr J. Thomson said that there never had been a regularly surveyed road through the racecourse reserve, but only a temporary track. The real road line led through the scrub, and by constituting, or trying to constitute, the temporary track at present leading through the racecourse reserve into a regular district road, the Board would be perpetrating a grievous mistake. To form the track through the racecourse reserve into a portion of the district road would oause the trustees of the reserve to erect two extra fences — an expensive injustice to the trustees. Besides, the road line was surveyed to pass through the scrub. The distance was only about 40 chains, and the oost of cutting the scrub would not exceed £1 per chain. He would therefore moveThat the 40 chains of sorub on the district road line near the racecourse reserve in Winton District should be cut, and the track through the racecourse reserve closed. Mr M'Kellar seconded the motion. ' A desultory debate on the motion then took place, and was continued for some time. The chairman said that the real question was, whether the track through the racecourse reserve was or was not merely a service track. If it was only a service track, it could not be continued any longer than the owners or persons in possession of the racecourse reserve liked, as such tracks could not be held available after the right and regularly-surveyed road had been opened. Eventually Mr GJ-. Thomson moved an amendment, whi3h was seconded by Mr Trumble, and carried — That the Engineer be requested to examine both lines of road, report upon the same, and give an estimate as to what it would cost to put them both individually in trafficable order. Mr W. Lawson wrote, complaining of two swing gates erected on a district road leading to the Oreti, by Mr Riddell, and asking that that gentleman might be ordered to remove them, as they were illegally obstructing the road. Mr Riddell, who was present, said that the Board had given him permission to erect the gates in question, and that Mr Lawson was the only one who complained about them. The chairman explained that such erections were always sub- , ject to the sufferance of the ratepayers, and of course had to be removed as soon as any of the latter complained. Accordingly Mr Riddell was, in consequence of Mr Lawson's complaint, instructed to remove the gates in question. A letter from Mr Buxton, complaining of the impassable state of the road near his place, was ordered to lie over in the meantime. Mr Cowie wrote, describing an Jaccident which befel his horses and cart near Winton, and asking who was to recoup him for the damage sustained by his property in consequence of the badness of the road. The Board concluded that it could not inform Mr Oowie with any degree of certainty as to who might recoup him for the damage to his property, and decided that his letter lie over in the meantime. The following correspondence was then read and recorded : — July 7th, 1874. Dear Sir,— The subject of the enclosed letter from the Provincial Secretary is, I apprehend, of much importance to the various subdivisions of the Makirewa Road Board. The supply of gra/el by rail cannot fail to be of much service for metalling the roads con* tiguous to the InvereargiU and Winton line of railway. — I am, &o. } Jambs Wilson. D. M'Arthur, Esq., Inspector of Forests. Provincial Secretary's Office, Dunediu, June 25th, 1874. Sir, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the date quoted in the margin (16th June, 1874), on the subject of the carriage by raii of gravel from the Winton Reserve, and to acquaint you that the Railway Department has been instructed to carry gravel, when convenient, to wherever it can Oe conveniently deposited, when required to do so, at a charge not exceeding the actual cost.— l have, &c, D. Reid, Provincial Secretary. James Wilson, Esq., M.P.C. The Clerk was instructed to invite tenders for several works, a number of accounts were passed for payment, after which Wednesday, the 19th of August, was fixed as the day on which the annual meeting should take place, an I the Board then adjourned.