SOUTHLAND COUNTY COUNCIL.

Southland Times, Issue 3301, 18 January 1879, Page 2

SO UTHLAND COUNTY COUNCIL.

'?.'.. A meeting, of the Southland County Council was held- yesterday. Present^— Messrs Shanks ; (chairman), Richardson, ; . Baldey, Cowan, Kinross, Smith, Mac Gibbon, and Thomson. ."A .V "> J A communication was read "from- the Minister of Public Works stating that the Government did not see its way vto comply with the request of the Council, that the authorities at Dunedih .and InvercargiU should be empowered to issue tickets for the opening of the railway line. A letter from the Colonial Secretary's office acknowledged the receipt of by-law number one, for the regulation "and management of slaughter houses, duly signed aud sealed by the Southland County" Council. The following telegram was read from Mr W.N. Blair, engineer of railways, Dunedin: — "The survey of the Dunedin-Toi Tois railway has been ordered, and a contract for the first section will be out by the end of February." A communication was read from the Colonial Secretary's office acknowledging receipt of a letter from the County Council, asking if the Government would treat voluntary subscripfcionsin aid of county works as rates, and grant a subsidy on them accordingly, and replying to .the effect that Government were advised that presuming that the application had reference fo the subsidies payable under . the -" Finaucial Arrangements Act, 1877," it was clear such subsidies could only be paid in respect of the sum received by way of general rates. Indeed the Act of 1876 required that an account of these rates verified by the solemn declaration of the Mayor or the Chairman should be sent to the Treasurer before any such subsidy was payable. Copies of a correspondence between the Minister of Pnblic Works and the Oreti Road Board was forwarded by the Public Works Dejiartment for the information, of the Council. The correspondence consisted of a letter to the Minister from Mr G. M.VBell, the chairman of the Road Board, and the official reply thereto. Mr Bell's letter stated that application had been made to the Oreti Road Board to repair the approaches to the bridge over the Mataura at Pyramids. The road leading to that bridge was proclaimed a main road by the Provincial Council of Otago, and consequently had never been under the control of the Road Board. He had called the attention of the Southland County CouncU to the dangerous state of the approaches, and they had written refusing to execute the necessary repairs, and threw the responsibility on the Road Board. As the latter body had neither legal power to repair the approaches nor funds at its disposal to do so, he had to request that the Minister would take the necessary steps to cause the bridge to be repaired, and in doing that he considered that he had freed the Road Board of all responsibility in the matter. The official reply of the Minister of Public Works referred the Road Board to section 81 of the Public Works Act, 1876, which, placed roads under the control of Road Boards without any special proclamation or notice to that effect, and also to section 85, which placed bridges whose banks were in different districts under the control of the county, to be kept in repair at the. cost of the Road Boards interested. The following telegram was received from the Under-secretary of the PubUc AVorks Department : — : " lie your letter of the 12th December, the Minister of Public Works cannot see his way to apportion to the Southland County more than £1000. He proposes to advance that sum out of the flood damage vote for five yeare without interest, payable in annual instalments." Some conversation took place On the matter, in the course of which it was unanimously agreed that the. \ sum was ridiculously small. It was ultimately decided that the Department should be further communicated with on the matter. V Mr Baldey — A letter sighed' by the County Chairman might do a little good now affcer what has occurred during the last few days. -.-■•''■' A letter was read from the county'sV soUcitor, Mr AVade, intimating that he could not safely give his opinion as to the power of the Council to lease the ferry afr;Fortrose until he got copies of certain. Ordinances. An application from Messrs '- Cars well, AVhite, and Co., on behalf of a client, to lease for a term of j'ears the ferry reserves- at Fortrose, was held over, pending the receipt of the solicitor's opinion. The Under-secretary of Public Works telegraphed intimating that, in compliance with the wish of the House of Representatives, aU free-passes were cancelled on the 31st December, .and new ones were not being issued to Couniy Councils this year. -A communication was read J &om' Allan Gait, complaining of the manner inJwhich.a contract was being executed On the; JMJataura and Wyndham road.. It was intimated that the matter had already been attended to by the inspector, in the usual course. X ■. Mr Spence, chief surveyor, reported ye road recommended to be closed by the Makarewa. Road: Roard, that the closure would hdtj in his opinion, -interfere inVanyJ way either .with the interests; of the GdverninehtVor. the public. ' V •"-;->--. ■ ..: V-;.VW-" The usual preliniihary steps Jhaving been taken, it was resolved that the Government road-line running through sections 36, 35, 34. and 33, block 9, Invercargill Hundred, should be closed; - . . , An opinion was read; from Mr AVade tb: the effect that females whose names appeared on the county electoral roll were entitled to vote in county elections. J-! :'■_- •-■■;.*••: Several communications wecre lead relative tq : the cuttings on the East Road through Mr Thomson's. land, and it; was resolved that the chairman ; and the member /for the riding should arrange with Mr Thomson or his iigen t re the damage to his fences. J Mr A.: J. Bamfbbt wrote enquiring whether Switzers commonage, containing IQ,OQQ acres, was undei'- the control of the County Coun- ; cilV The rabbets were so numerous that steps must betaken to destroyVthem;!, V V : The CfiairmanJ pointed 'btitjthajfcjlimjcbntf ol of the commonage was vested in the; Council, but that they received no direct J bepefit from. the revenue, and Jit J was ultimately decided to hold the ijiattci* over .-for enquiry,, Mr A, Brown, VEasfc Gore, wrote to the

effect that at a nieetiug- of the East GoreProgress Committee he was requested to ask the CouncU to take' steps to prevent the Icmoval of more gravel from the pit at that place to the detriment of. a street aud the township generally. - The gravel pit wa< also in ,1 very dangerous condition. Mr Mac Gibbon said that if there was much more gravel taken away by the Railway Department there would be a slip of half a chain in the main street. The matter was a; very necessary aiid urgent one. Gore was ia. a peculiar position. "It appeared tbat two Road Boards had had their boundaries adjusted, and the township was the boundary in each case. There was a possibility therefore of the people of East Gore being excluded from both Boards. He moved that the attention of the Railway Department should be drawn to the fact that encroachments are being made on the public streets of East Gore by the contractors taking away ballast, and also tbat they be informed that it will be necessary for them to erect a fence , around the gravel pit, A communication was read from Mr Willoughby, Secretaiy io the Hospital, drawing attention to the position of the institution and the claims ifc had upon the district for support and assistance.' He desired to draw attention to the provisions of the Charitable Aid Act, 1878, which provided that deficiencies iii hospital funds should be deducted pro rata from any subsidy which the corporations in the district were entitled to, while any subscriptions or donations for such institutions would be treated as ordinary subscriptions and. receive pound for pouud fiom' the Government. After some discussion it was resolved that a committee, consisting of Messrs Smith (chairman), Baldey, Kinross, and Shanks should be appointed to enquire into the question of contributions to the Southland Hospital and to report to the next meeting. A letter was read from Messrs' Bagu all & Co., Lumsden, drawing attention to the condition of a ditch in the township, was referred to the Engineer. A communication from the Otaria Road Board requested that the county contracts on the road Otaria to Pukerau should be let, so that the road might be utilised by the settlers during the present harvest. It was agreed that the matter should be left in the hands of the member of the district under a former resolution of the Board. The payment of accounts! amounting to £3410 lOsjV was authorised W The Chairman reported, with" respect tq the RaUway Demonstration Committee's proceedings, that the arrangement come to so far was that the Chairman of the County Council should invite the Chairmen of the other County ■■'Councils,' and that the municipal body should invite the mayors. The general committee were to invite the Governor and other visitors. The invitations came to somewhere about 104.* The following motions were then adopted : —On the- motion of JMr Thomson, seconded by Mr Baldey, that the sum of V£l 50 should be expended on the county road Main North Joad. via Fern Bush and £200 on the county road lying between Wrey's Bush and running in an easterly direction from the boundary of . the - Wallace County ; that a. sum not exceeeding £70 should be voted as a subsidy at the rate of pound for pound to the 'Lindhurst' Road Board, for the purpose of making a bridge over the Otaperi Stream at Brown's Ford ; that the Engineer should be instructed to prepare plans and specifications, and tenders should be invited for 40 chains of gravelling on the Main North road, opposite the properties of Messrs Joseph Butler and G. Gorman ; that the road running in a westerly direction from the Main North road at Forest HUI Railway . Crossing, and thence to Oreti River, should be proclaimed a county road. On the motion of Mr Baldey, seconded by Mr Richardson, that the signature of any one member, in addition to that of the Chairman, should be authorised in the counter-signing of cheques. On the motion of Mr Baldey, seconded by Mr Cowan, that the Engineer should be instructed to prepare plans and specifications,' and that tenders should be invited for the. erection of a new bridge over the Waianiwa' Stream, on the county road, between AVallacetown and AVaimatuku. On the motion of JMr Baldey, seconded by Mr Thomson, that the Engineer should be instructed to prepare plans and specifications for 30 chains of gravelling on the county road between AVaianiWa and Waimatuku. On the motion of Mr Baldey, seconded by Mr Richardson, that a sum not exceeding £150 should be voted as a subsidy at the rate of pound for pound to the Aparima Road Board for the portion of the New River Flat road leading to the properties of Messrs Grieve, Beaveu, Sutton, and McCrostie. On the motion of Mr Richardson, seconded by Mr Cowan, that the opinion of the county's soUcitor should be obtained as to the power of the Council to deal with the foreshore of Toitois harbor. On the motion of Mr Baldey, seconded by JMr Thomson, that the road from the Main North road, running in an easterly direction to Wilson's Crossing, railway station, thence to the Maijarewa river, thus forming a a continuation of the county road, Woodl ands to Makarewa, should be proclaimed a county road. On the motion of Mr Mac Gibbon, seconded" by Mr Richardson, that the sum of £200- gold revenue, be voted for improvement of Vfoad near AVaikaka township, on East -Gore and Waikaka road, the District Road Board to be authorised to undertake the expenditure of the same. On the motion of Mr Mac Gibbon, seconded by Mr Kinross, that the old Dunedin and Switzer's road from the boundary of the county, via Dickie's Ford on the Waikaka to Pyramid's road, should be proclaimed a county road. On the motion of Mr Mac Gibbon, seconded by Mr RichaTdson, that a further sum of £250 should be voted to the Knapdale Road Board, as subsidy at the rate of pound for pound, for the purpose of improving the road east of Knapdale. On the motion of Mr Richardson, seconded -by Mr Cowan, that the attention of the Go's vernment J should be caUed to the fact that no reply has been received , to the communication from this CouncU re special vote .." £1000, Otaria to AVaikawa, with bridge." and that the season for road making will soon be lost. JMr Mac Gibbon drew attention to the fact that the.poll was not declared for eight days after the election at Gore. The Chairman said that was a matter which rested with the returning officer. The Council then adjourned.