MACKENZIE COUNTY COUNCIL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13355, 3 August 1907, Page 7

MACKENZIE COUNTY COUNCIL.

Tlie monthly inching of ihe Mackenzie County Council was hel.l yesterday. Present •" Messrs J. S. Rutherford (in the chair), Schlaepfer. living. Guthrie, Smith. :tu 1 Stewail. VOIT.S OF CONDOLENCE. llefi.iv the ordinary meeting was taken. Mr GuLhrie moved a' motion of regret for (he loss liv death of the late Allan McLean. Tlie hue -Mr McLean. lie said, had b:en identified in a. public or a private capacity with almost everything of beneficial inteie.-t to the dis;iict"and almost ever since Fairlie'.s earliest .lavs. He had hen for many year* a member of the Council, and no member had b:en more honoured or lespected. He was a man of reserved nature, hut the better people knew hhn the better they liked him. lie had the courage of his. opinions, on-.- of the finest traits in a man's character. The McLean family had been an example for kind and philanthropic acts, and no one knew how many kind acts Mr McLean had done. Nothing, in fact, was more likelv to deter him from doing deeds of kindness than the idea that they would he made public. H e «'as a style of man they could ill-afford to lose, and therefore he hall a melancholy pleasure in moving: "That, this Council'record their profound sense of th<> loss .sustained by the community of this district by the death of Mr Allan McLean, of Foyers, and direct the Countv clerk to forward to Mrs McLean and "also the Misses McLean of Strathconan. the expression of our sincere sympathy." The motion was carried by members rising. ENGINEER'S REPORT. The engineer repotted the work done by each riding aang. and on the progress of contracts. That for Tengawai bridge, was making no progress owing to no timber coming to hand. He could not recommend the work asked for by Mrs Cotter-ell. He reported on the fence lines on Mackenzie Pass road near the creek and on Mr Rudd's application for shingling. The Council were reminded that the prosecutions for traction engine owners for failure to register engines, and take out licenses for trucks had been held in abeyance since March. An increase in Ihe pay of the office-boy was recommended. The Council decided to leave the traction engine cases till the Levels case has been decided; to leave over for the present Rudd's application ; and to raise the hoy's wao-es from 10s to 15s per week. CORRESPONDENCE. • The Education Board accepted the Council's offer to supply the Burke's Pass school with water. The Commissioner of Crown Lands wrote that Mr W. G. Rutherford's thirds couhi not. be, expended as he desired the line not being a public road. —Mr Guthrie said the Council knew that. Mr Rutherford'sroad was not a public road, and they wanted it made public. Messrs J. McGregor and J. McMillan asked the Council to take over the charge of the Burkes Pass cemetery again, the local committee arrangement having proved a failure. The committee had nc- iu.'t for over a year, and work previously dons had been last through not being followed up.—Mr Smith moved that the Council agree to the request, as the- cemetery was in a disgraceful state.—Mr Guthrie opposed this. The- committee had not much funds and this was being spent. A good deal had been done by a. working bee, and the present writers were about the only persons who did not turn up to help. The first thing to be done was to get the plo!i> r<Gurv-£yed and marked. Mr Mc : Gregor had never done, a hand's turn of any sort for the cemetery. He explained that the -worst looking ground was where people had been buried outside the cemeT tery proper, though within the cemetery. MiG&rs Schlaepfer and Smith urged Mr Guthrie, (chairman of the committee), to call a meeting.' and he said he would da so, though nothing could be done in the winter. The- Commissioner of Crown Lands wrote that the Board could not give settlers a permanent right to remove shingle from the Tengawai riverbed, and Mr Neill's ob-jtc-:ion to the removal of uhingle appeared to be a reasonable one. Even the Council had no right to take shingle off the riverbed without permission. Councillors expressed astonishment at the latter statement, and several said they could not take any notice of it: If they wanted shingle they must take it. If the Commissioner was right, the Council bad no right to take shingle from other river . beds, except within the road lines.—-It was resolved to apply to the Land Board for a permit to take shingle from all rivers for all time. Mr G. G. Hayter applied for formation of a part of the'road t» bis grazing run.— To be done by the gang. Mr F. F. Null, Albury Homestead, applied for some surfacing on the road, and' made an offer io leave a shingle roa-rvc.—■ The engineer to see Mr Nei'.l. Messrs Giddings and Robertson applied for ;., branch iaoe, from the lower end of tho Ashwick race, and offered to pay'not hss than £5 per annum.—Engineer to report at next meeting. On a letter from tha chairman o he Cavj School Committee, a discussi'.ir. •-.•!< place on tho power and the duty <>i ' ,''" % Council to compel owners to cut <) ■■■■:<'■■ trees overshadinj; - roads. Mr Rutherford asked, for the Educd;' ,i Board, for leave to.run drainage from'.The Crickkwood cchool into the Coav -.:'-■ general ro;erve, and for leave to g; tew loads of gravel from the grave] sv-xerve.—-The requests weie granted, c ;;•'■- tional on th; drainage b:mg slopped v.i. n over the Council require it. ' AN IMPOUNDING QUESTION Mr 11. Wheeler wrote to protest ag '■''■ '•'■- j what ho considered unjust action oi J.s : part of the Fairlie poundkesper. Hi -. as chiving sheep along the road, and in!laying them to th=; Clayton crossing hi; dog split the mob, half going along or-:i iad and half along the other, and whii; he was fetching back on 3 lot,. the i-und-k:ep:r happened to come along an-: .-i/sd the other for impounding-, refused / o've them up. impounded 'tKam, and -;ar;.-"d him 10s for driving aricP-'lOs for -x>u; d fees. Mr Wheeler considered tl • • ■'- keepers' action unjust, and asked ic irecompense for the expense ai;u •.'''- he had been put to. — Sir Gnth"V _''■ : ■'- stood that the Council had not eii-i -i----trol over a ranger once fhey .:.'■'-..fd him. but he ishould not have • !• : so harshly as he did in this case ;' Schlaepfer said stock ought to b ■ -.ered up when asked for.—Mr Guthi .- J the question of impounding came - 'it tho County Conference, and it was s-.-ed that llis Court of Appeal had dcci ./'hat the stock seized for impounding ■--■• ■'■<• to be taken to the pound and not : ■ :ed up. He. did not think the four- •'■ : d orri.r the refund of the fee. FAIRUE IMI'ROV. :. Mr Binnie waited on th '-' d t<> "xk for some improvement in '.;■' : > street, and grading of footpath _:- ■ 1"">1> >' level, and Jixing the ero.. Councilors objected '■ "inre ... demand thai a handsome ■}*'-' m the edge of the footpath «"' '>' ' I,L liovn. and it was ag - inspect tie. place. It was then .' ; t» "™y " lit Mr Binnie's wishes es-- - !lL ' removal of the tree, and "Mr Bi;::. hdrew tins rc''"a depuiarion oJ i : " ith r Kin S ar ' sp.,kesman. asked .. .< vxreiiMon of the .rn; supph- to tl ■ , ••■ ''■•'". to .supply

a street light there, and thive private connections. A second reiitte.'L was for the formation of footpaths and the tarring of the ])riucii):il of them. Some shingling wa.'« aNo asked for. Regardiii"' gas the chairman doubled whether it was the duty of the Council to provide- gas for private consumption.- - The elirk' stated thai the profit on the private supplies la:.I ytar paid for the. street lighting. Supervision and lamp-lighting cost £5 a year. --Mr Rutherford still denied the wisdom of the Council undertaking this sort of work. He believed in street lighting, but not in supplying private consumers. Mr Guthrie said ihey must inquire whether the existing main was big enough to carry the proposed additional supplLii. it was agiee-'l that the engineer should make inquiry into this and other questions and report, and that an experiment be made with tarring and sanding the path Ix-twoen the two hotels, and to make a temporary shingled path along the front of the buildings on the opposite side of the main street. PLANTING. Albury residents have formed a Beautifying Association. They have fenced in several small patches of ground in the open space between the railway and the hoftl block, fenced them in, and will plant them with trees and flowers. Mr Rutherford mentioned the matter to the County Council yesterday, and asked for a fulfilment of "their promi.-e to give a Mibxidy of £ for £up to £4. Mr Smith said the Association had collected £SO. and had spent a good deal of it in fencing and grabbing gorse. and he asked for a larger subsidy. After a good deal of talk the matter was shelved, a majority questioning th-sir power to spend money in that way. In reply to the chairman Mr Banks said xhc Council would not have much money for planting this year. It would be better for the. Forestry "Department to take over the work. COUNTY CONFERENCE. Mr Guthrie, the delegate for the County, gav,. a report on the recent County Conference. CONFUSION OF NAMES. Mr Sm'th spoke of the desirability of getting the name of- Coal Creek railway' station, changed to Mawharo, (Maori for "Coal Creek"], the same.a.vjhe post office, as there was a Coal Greek in Central Otago, and sometimes consignments .from Dunedin went to the wrong station. —It was agreed that the clerk should forward the suggestion to the -Department." ACCOUNTS. Accounts- amounting to £269 6s 4d wore passed for payment, and the Council rose.