EXPENDITURE OF THIRDS

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1933, Page 5

EXPENDITURE OF THIRDS

CLIFTON COUNTY DECISION METALLING WORK RECOMMENDED. SETTLERS LODGE OBJECTION. - MONTHLY MEETING OF COUNCIL. Expenditure of the thirds accruing from ; lands on Rerekino and Makino Roads was again discussed by the Clifton County Council yesterday as the result of an objection from a settler to the money being expended in metalling Moki. Road. The council decided to ask that the Moki Road metalling be put in hand at once. Concerning the report that £2OOO had been placed, on the estimates for metalling Moki Road and that camps would be, established at once under the Public Works Department, the solicitors for Mr. D. Mcßean and others notified that they H had placed the matter fully before the Minister of Lands (the Hon. E. A. Ransom), who had stated that he intended to obtain a report The council, the solicitors wrote, was fully aware of the attitude taken by their clients and on the information before them it appeared that the council’s proposed application of the thirds from lands in Rerekino and Makino Roads was irregular and illegal and that a full investigation, of the proposals and the administration of the Uruti special reading district was necessary... They had been instructed to take action in the Supreme Court to restrain the council from the proposed handing over to the Public Works Department of the accrued thirds for those roads but did not desire to involve the council in that expense if. it could be. avoided. They therefore asked that the matter be not proceeded with pending the investiby the Minister of Lands. In May last the Commissioner of Crown Lands (Mr. F. H. Waters) notified approval'of the proposal to hand over .£3OO accrued thirds on -Rerekino and Makino Roads to the Public Works Department and the Unemployment Board for the establishment of a camp to metal Moki saddle as far as the Rerekino junction. In the course of a brief discussion it was. pointed out that after due consideration the. council decided ,to utilise the thirds to provide 5| miles of metal for the settlers in. that district. It was not necessary that the thirds should be expended on the frontages of the properties from which they were derived. The 1 council decided to write the district engineer (Mr. P. Keller) asking that the work ■ be put in hand at once. MONTH’S WORK ON ROADS. The engineer (Mr, N...C, Fookes) reported that in the Tikorangi riding the grader had worked on. Tikorangi, Bertrand and. Ngatimaru Roads. Patching, banking and water-tabling had been attended on on Tikorangi, Bertrand, Nikorima and Epiha Roads. The work on Otarapa Road having been completed the whole length had been handed over to the county for future maintenance. Water-tabling and cleaning culverts had been attended to on the Ohanga, Turangi, .Ma taro, Waiau and Onaero Roads, in the Waihi riding. Re-gravelling weak places and grading had been done on Turangi Road. The reformation and gravelling of Matoro Road was rapidly nearing completion, and it was then hoped to make an inimediate start on Ohanga and Turangi Roads. Tn the Urenui riding water-tabling clearing culverts, blinding, .patching and serhb-butting had been -attended to pn Kaipikari, Wai-iti, Okoke, Kaka and Piko Roads. A start had been made with V sandstoning the access road to Urenui JMpmain’ with material' from the Onaero pit. Slips, water-tables and culverts had been attended to on. Rerekino, Moki,,[ Uruti, Puke, Ngatoto and Mangahia Roads in the Uruti riding. The lower portion of Uruti Road from Moki Road ■ to the Uruti school was being scarified, re-shaped, rolled and gravelled. The repairs, tarring and painting of the Tangitu bridge (Uruti Road) and Mimi bridge (Tupoki Road) had been completed. As soon as Moki and Rerekino Roads were fit for lorry traffic the timber and materials for the construction of the Makino bridge would be transported to the site and the work commenced. In the Mokau riding the metalling of the lower' portion of Mangatoro Road had been completed to the Tongaporutu f 'bridge at Okau Road junction, and a \ start had been made with the metalling of the upper portion. Work on the Mohakatino Road metalling had been recommenced, and it was hoped to have the work in full swing very shortly. On Okau Road, patching, banking, watertabling and grading had been attended to and -the large wooden culvert near the end of the metal re-decked. On Tongaporutu-Mangaroa Road bad holes • had been filled, water-tables and slips cleared and fem cut. On Kiwi Road water-tables and slips had been cleared. The widening, super-elevating and remetalling of Sheard’s comer on the Auckland-Wellington highway near Urenui had been completed. Shoulders on the hills along the bitumen length were being widened and metalled. Pukearuhe, Ngatimaru and Inland North Roads had received usual maintenance attention and had been graded at regular intervals. The inspector (Mr. G. F. Rowe) noti- ■; fled that nine heavy traffic licenses and * eight driving licenses were issued during the month. Several lorries had been put over the weighbridge and two had been found to have exceeded the licensed load. ’ ... NATIVE RATES COLLECTION. The Waiapu County Council forwarded a letter pointing out that so far the finding of the Native Rates Commission had not been published. In the event of it proving adverse to any definite alteration in the present ’ law the Waiapu Council proposed to call a conference to formulate proposals to place before Parliament to rectify the present inequitable position whereby native land escaped its share of its just liabilities. A report was enclosed from the council’s solicitors showing how cumbersome, expensive and almost impossible it was / to secure native rates under the present jL legislation. f’ The council resolved to support the Waiapu council, the chairman stating that the Clifton County Council had experienced difficulty in collecting its native rates, though not to the extent other councils had. . The Public Works Department notified payment to the council’s account of £8 8s on account of grading. After hearing Mr. Pritchard on the question of loan conversion it was resolved to take steps to convert the following loans: Bridge £9OOO, Okau Road £2OOO, Kaipikari £1250 and Pukearuhe £6OO. The council passed formal resolutions agreeing to maintain Ohanga and Turangi Roads. Mr J. E. Dickey, Uruti, asked that a gate on Tupoki Road be removed. He said he had received notice threatening prosecution if he did not always close a gate that was at present on the road. He would apparently be held liable if -X-any passer-by left the gate open The chairman said that probably the council had given the. settler concerned permission to erect the gate on the road

during the pleasure of the council. If a settler asked that the gate be removed the council must ask that it be removed.

It was accordingly decided to give the settler a month’s notice to remove the gate and fence his road boundary. There were present at the meeting Crs. H. A. Foreman (chairman), G. W. Rogers, J. F. Phillips, W. H. Watson, E. A. Shaw, C. H. Bamitt and F. Sarten.