LEVELS COUNTY COUNCIL.

Timaru Herald, Volume CVIII, Issue 16887, 7 August 1919, Page 8

LEVELS COUNTY COUNCIL.

•' ;\ MONTHLY MEETING. •* -"Tha monthly meeting of the Levels 'Sounty Goundil was held in Timaru , 'rtsterday. Present—Messrs 'C. N. irbell (chairman), R. J. T. >. Garrick, S. Cain, and A. H. Abbott. iJr'C E. Kerr was apologised for. LATE MR CLELLAND. The chairman said he regretted to have to report the death of another old resident of the County—Mr Andrew Cleland—who had passed away on Monday last. The deceased had been a man of sterling worth, one of a type who would be an asquisitiou to any country. Both Mr and Mrs Qelan'd bad done well for the country and had earned the good opinion of all who had known them. They had brought up a large family in an exemplary way, and the children wore following worthily the examples of 'their parents. Mr Orbell moved a motion of sympathy with the family of the late Mr and Mrs Cleland. and this was carried in silence, all members standing. financial: - ■■';,■ The chairman ."said the debit, balance <n August- 4 was £lllO. and after nay-, ins accounts thatjday>it«wriuld be £2530.- - There had lie eh* received -{luring the month, £1406 in rates';"*£96.''iiilicense fees. £l3 in ren_N, and £55 in .contract irors' deposits. 'J'he accouints to he, r>asped. that day totalled in eluding £4OO to the Hospital Board. --DEPARTMENTAL LAXITY The Commissioner for Crown Lands wrote in reference _ to- Clareniont settlement roads, stating that the- deviation had been gazetted and asking the Council to submit proposals for carrying out tie work. The; Department would provide £SOO. and the Council £250. including' £32 compensation to Mr Greig. - The chairman said the DenyVtmenf l wanted to throw the resnonsibiiitv for this work on .the Council, though ithad nothing to do with them. As the "Department liad failed to do its out work pror>e,rly tho Council had offered them £l5O towards the cosf. of it. and Inter they increased their offer to £250. But the Department now wanted io give the Connr-il £SOO and le>- them talre all responsibility.- When the. Council first took the matter up the work could have done for £275, but. ii wa.o doubtful whether it could be--done for that now. It was two years asro *ince the Council made their * offer of £250 Tic did notJliink the Council should asaimo reaixmsibilitv for .the .-work.

Mr Garrick said they should certain-

ly keep to t-he'.r promise to contribute £250 towards the cost of the work, bponsibi'lity, foi\ which must be assumed by the DepartmentsMi- Scott, one of the Clareniont- settlers, waited on the Council Vin'" con-

The chairman, explained to him that the delay was not occasioned' by the Council. On December 11 ■ -laSfcl.-, ,the Council had offered to underlTke*:tli.e < work ior ilho Department on oortnin terms, and the Department had only replied a week ago 'to that offer. pThe. Council were prepared to go on with the work to-day if the Department would a:ivo them the necessary author-' ity. The who 1 ? trouble had arisen through the failure of the Government iio do their duly whon they cut ,np the settlement, in not roading Me settlement properly—as any private individual would have had to do.

Mr Scott said the position was nio<=t unsatisfactory, and the settlers were not being: fairly treated.

The chairman said +liat wnj; po, Twit it was not the Council's fault. Th° Council could not do more than were doing. The' fault lay wholly with the Department. . • CORRESPONDENCE. . The South Canterbury Hospital Board advised that four cases of infectious disease had been reported as existing in the County during July. ■■-".■ Mr W. BT. Walton, as =ohcitor for the owner, wrote asking the Council to take over Chaucer Stieet ;

It was decided to take over th'a streeit as soon as the conditions laid down by the Council some Lime .agofer* complied with. x The Clerk of Awards uroto advising thai/ tho Driveis' Dispute, to which tli" Council was a pariy. would h,i heard in Christchureh on August 27 Tlie Council discussed die domand= in the award, and it was decided to ask Mr C. E. Bremner engineer t-\ the Waimate County Council, who will represent his Council a*- the Concilmtinn Council, iro lepresent Levels County Co'n.ncil also.

Twentv-two of ihr> merchants uvl trades-people of Waimate ppt ; hnn<Ml the Council to allow trartion enpiivj s : to, haul loncK on j]ie mai-i Timaru to Waimate, as under tho i-ii'-•way restrictions a considerable qpaii f i-y of- merchandise and {jond= was Vine: hung up in Timaru Unless snunhes could he got by road many l>us"mev=e= would he s«'-|>eiided, and men put off work til] normal rnnnhig was resumed on tho' railway.

The Waimate Betfli'ers' Association wrote in suppnrb' of this request. ' Mr Cain said that Waimate was Under no cre-ater hardship., than any oth»r district. ' •-. V'':-v-'^

The chairman Mud hp/was infonnpri Ihni there was nvnetiHJi.llv no ; Wnff VJiftinA 'in th> Timsirtj ircods «hed to go to Wnimate. The AVaiinate County

I Council had turned the request clown. Levels Council had refused '; to allow one ot their contractors to" cart over the loads bj" traction engine in the closed peuod. and they could hardly do that -and then give'' outsiders permission to c-ait over the roads.

Mr "McKcown and Mr Abbott, agreed •that the Council should, the request.

- Mr Gan-ick thought that they thould "20 carefully inio the matter and grant the request if Waimate people were suffering hardships. He agreed; however, that there was little chance of opening the roads, seeinjj that the Waimate Council was onposed to it. ,Tt was decided to decline the application. .

Mr' .T. Connolly. Gcrn.Mine, wrote asking that the road past "Rock^ood - ' "ate loading rcq his property on, '"The-B'-->fhers" be regraded and shingled. The was asked to report. The Health Tnsnecfcor wrote asking ■> '•<? Council >to improve the drain" r j ' "\Yatlinn r ten Sweets,, by kerbing and channelling. Tt was said that the only romedy for the residents of Watlington was to join the Borough. It was impossible to do ■■what was asked for on a penny rate.

It was decided that the Engineer s-licraUl inspect the locality with th« HealYch Inspector, and give the residents notice to discontinue draining on to the street.

Sir J. A. ICeay wrote asking,, for improved dra-nage on his propeKv at Siiiithfjc l cl. ' \' It was decided that as the Conned! bad dealt with this matter in m way satisfactory 'to the previous owner of the property they could do nothing further now. • ■'

ZMr J. Mee, Levels, risked permission to take a small race about 200 feet lone, terminating in a. tank. from which he proposed .to pump ihc water "*> fo h'« house f«r domestic purposes. Tie- would he wilVna to oipe the, race should the ran<rer tlr'uk it "cressa'-y. The nppl'cii'oi was sxaivrcl. Ife was decided io ''piw"- the Council's insurancp with 'the New Zeal-Hid Insurance Company. ENGINEER'S REPORT. The Engineer (Mr T. Black) reported or., work done during the month.'- He could get no casual labour for patching work, and proposed to keep the grader in operation on various roads throughout the district. After the wet weather and former traction traffic a number of roads were showing weak in places. | He asked the Council to purchase ait least four hauling trucks, as the work could he done much cheaper by engine and trucks than by horse teams. A new bridge would be required ovor the Te Ngawai river in the near future, and. he suggested that twenty chains of protective fence to curitail the bridge h© proceeded with, this season. The Government would give a grant for the bridge.

The Engineer 'was asked to recom-' mend a. suitable crasher and get prices for trucks. He was also asked to report on the protective works required at Te Ngawai bridge. THIS LOAN PROPOSAL. The Council sat for some time dis-' cussing the proposal to raise a loan of .EJO.OOO for road formation and nietal'inp; in Point. Clareuiout, and Otipnn ridings, as decidod upon at the previous meeting. The County Clerk (Mr F. E. Whitehead) submitted a. list of proposed polling booths, and explained the. formalities which would have to be gone i ■through. In ren'y to a. question he said that a , three-fifths majority would he required to navvy the loan. The chairman said .that if the ratepayers did not take sufficient interest in the loan to record their votes they would simply have to put up with the roads ns they are. Mr MeKeown said that so far as he could learn' all the rn.tepa.yers in his rifKnc were in favour of the loan, and Jir Abbott said that ho had not met one ratepnver who was opposed to it in his riding. GENERAL. ■ The chairman said ihatc the iret weather] had affected the work in Levels Valley, and 'it would probably have to be, completed by horse team, instead of traction engine. - A motion wa<; passed to the effect that the Council cannot consider any further increases of pay to its workmen at the present time. Tfc was decided to hold tlie next meeting: on September 10. as oil the "dnte t.h<* chairman will be at the Connties' Conference.

A counts amounting to £1420 were passed for payment.