COUNTY COUNCIL.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3418, 5 December 1879, Page 2

COUNTY COUNCIL.

We conclude our report of the pro* ceedings at the Couuty Council meeting yesterday afternoou. BOAD XV POBISI. A letter was read from the agent of j the Church Mission Society, agreeing to the road from . the 1 airaa road to the Mission property, Tairua. A letter to similar effect was received from John Nicholls and William Bennett, the proviso being that Cribb and others also gave theirs. A third letter was received from George Cribb, agreeing to the rdad if the Council would fence it on one side. A letter was read from Mr Eliiott, of Pnriri, re the road from Ohinetnuri main road to his property. The road would be about 30 chains in length. It was decided that the surveyor lay off the road as soon as possible. , The Council agreed to accept the con* ditions of the Borough re the Kauaeranga Valley road provided the County be not required to fence for a period of 3 years. WATBE. The manager of the Kuranui Hill Battery notified the Council that the company's battery would not require water from the supply after date ot writing, it having been decided to stop the battery. COMPENSATION.

A letter was read from Harriett J. Morris offering to take £5 as compensation for the Kauaeranga Valley road going through her land. Beferred to Finance Committee with power to act. CONTBACrOE's APPLICATION.

McLonghlan and Donnelly, contractors for the Karaka-Hape Creek road, wrote asking some consideration for the loss they had sustained. They wished the Council to take over the contract in its unfinished state or allow a small sum of money to enable them to complete the contract.

Cr Brown moved that no action be takes on the matter. He spoke strongly against the principle of assisting contractors, and expressed his intention to set his face against it.

Cr Greenville seconded. He said this contraot had been a swindle all through.

Cr Deeblo spoke in a similar strain. (One of the contractors present attempted to speak, but the Council refuted to permit it.) The motion was then carried. WATER SUPPLY. A letter was read from the Water Supply Committee asking permission to made several connections with (he Big Race for the supply of the residents of Block 27. After some discussion, the application was granted on the motion of Cr Porter. BATING OF LOCAL BODIES. Crs Carpenter, Dee bin, and Greenville, were appointed a committee to meet the other local bodies re the matter of Local Bodies rating each other. ' ' CHABITY. Mrs O'Brien's (a widow) rates were remitted, as sue was usable to pay them throagh poverty. HETUBK. A letter was received from the Parawai Highway Board asking a return of rates and subsidies of that riding and the amount spent therein since the County was formed. It was resolved that the request be granted. TABABU CBEEK FOOTPATH. Mr Deunerly wrote drawing attention to the bad state of Tararu Boad footpath. Referred to Engineer with power to act. SMALL COTTAGE. A letter waa received from Mr Hearn offering £2 fur * small cottage on the JHape Creek tramway. It was decided to accept the offer. LANDSLIP. A letter was read from the Secretary to the Water Supply Committee covering a resolution of that body to the effect that the committee wore not in any way liable' for the landslip on Mr Bull's property Parawai road, CASH. A Treasury voucher for £4 7s 6d, Gold* field's .Revenue, was received. MCWILLIAMS' PETITION. A letter was read from Mr John MeWilliams, father of the young man shot by theJNgatihako, asking the Cottneil to strengthen his hands in the matter of a i petition he intends forwarding to the House of Representatives for compensation for tie injuries his son had received, lad the loss of time incurred. Cr Porter propotE^ th*»Lth> CommiL-

recommend to the consideration of the Government, the claim of McWilliams who was shot by the Ngatibako ia Ohinemuri riding. Cr Carpenter seconded. This Was carried unanimously. OOMPKNSATION. A letter from Mr Miller re a claim for compensation by Mr Williamson for allotments taken in Block 27 for road purposes was read and referred to the Board of Works. - .-„-..... ,„^-.^ KAUAEHANGA BOAD. Mr Walker wrote asking the Coaneil to define the Kauaeranga Valley* road.— It was decided to instruct the inrvvfor to define the road, and that iteps be taken to construct it in accordance with the resolution passed at last meeting. boad. .. . - •«• It was decided to instruct the Engineer to lay off the road applied .for by Mr Moore, and report estimated cost at ntzt .meeting. ■'■.•- M'AITEKAUBI. :-.;i A similar course was adopted with reference to MoLoughry and party's application that some improvMMatt b« made on the Witite&auri tra«kv 7 . \ V-.13 COMPEHATIOX. Mr ComminKs' (Owharoa) application for compensation was referred to the Finance Committee. bepobts. ■ • - ' - -• The reports, published yesterday, wye, read and adopted. '", JCOXATA JROAD. •■ ••"■". .j % The Committee re Komata rvad . ••> ported as follows:— '* vjs<";<'•- -•' That the ram of £50 would tp#a ip a 'road' tor the me of be •ettiers bvhiad Faere*; and ftloo to enable tbe Volunteers to get to:their rifle range. The settlers of this 1 district hivt/ no tccets to their home* *t the pnscnt Urne f but the road so laid out wpulf aot bf thl Iwt, potition for the main line'to: the'jfftioM^ wbidi road mutt be made M'ibda a*p«Hibl»i m the present ro«d will, be iMpast^tt* dirHif the winter months. We, therefore,- nrge ••" the Councit the .urgent' isecwcity of lostng no time in spending the money voted for this a«4 1 he other worki in the Ohinainuri Btdottj.flnd that the Engineer be enipowend, to prastad with the work on the Kdmata ro*d in saeh manuer as he may consider as mott sdviaabl*, and the beat line of road. —Mr Logan wrote on the same sibjeeU —It was resolved to ins tract the Kngi* neer to proceed with the work aaispot/Ai possible. ; WATIB KACt BBFOBT.

The report of the engineer -was read aa* follows :—

I have fcjie honour to report thai the eon*; tractor for supplying and laying the 10 inejk' ca?tiron mains it proceeding satisfactorily wittr his work, and will finish curing .the Month. During the month the Waio*Kantka reservoir has been cleaned out, and the ntw, gritting for' TaWe has been fixed into position. ; Bepairt hare also been effected in tome of the tunnel*. The trestle work whei j the race crosses Seelegr. street hac betn altered, as is its fonrter' aitse \ it interfered with the dray'traffleundfef thi, race. Tbe race throughout m in good condl* tion. - ' \ j- *' The report was adopted. . r ' r -'„' XETBUtOBICSST. . , ■ ','.''„ ,~VThe Council then proceeded to eoMkcter' the reduction of administrative exneoii-' tore. Cr Carpenter moved that the salary of the County Clerk and Treasurer be £SU6 per annum. Tue salary was not a,large s pee, and wajjipe that ooald leas bear ja«_ daetion than^oineriv tmt the Committee had seen the necessity of the reduction. Cr Brown seconded., ; ,:, ( <, ,.. r ..-, Cr Contts mored^ as an aiaendflMii, that the salary remain at £250. Seconded by Cr Thorbum. * ' The resolution was earned. - r - No alteration was made in the salary of the Engineer, nor his assistant. Cr Carpenter proposed that riot MOM than one man be employed in each. tfUSt^ constantly, and that no extra men be esi> ployed without the sanction of the Boacd of Works. * Cr Porter moved,., as an amendiamt, that the working management ef the Kanaeraßga, Waiotaai and Paeairal ridia| be united under one foreman.

Cr Greenville moved, as an ap—d—t, that the Surveyor be restricted to etv ploying but one foreaan.for eaafc riding. The motion was carried. Cr Carpenter then moved Iks> adoption of the paragraph ra nemberV traveling expenses. Cr Porter moved as as atnendneatthatY the travelling expnncfls be abolished, and meetings of the Council be htld one* every three months at Paeroa. The Chairman spoke against tb« - proposal to abolish tha travelling exptwes." It would leave the representation of the j County in the hands of the people on the Thames. He for one wvnld rasign -if .. tfca:.' expenses were abolished. The motion was carried. • -.••.:•. t Cr Carpenter moved that all printing bo let by tender and the advertising to bo given 3 months alternately to each paper. Carried. *' CB POBTJEI'B MOTIOIT. Cr Porter moved the notice of motion stauding iv fail names— * i V\" That in the opinion of this Gouneil it ia I deaaed advisable for the better local bonUol,') | and for a fair distribution of all moieyi, that 1 tha ridings of Ohinemuri, ToUra, and Hast* 1 ings, be created into, highway district*, and thac steps be takes for the amalgamation of the ridicge of Parawai, XauMraaga, and \ Waiotahi with tba other local. gov«rcmff bodies of the Thames, and that a joint meeting of the local bodies ba heM/or that purpose.

In speaking to the resolution, Cr Porter said at the present moment ire had four or five local bodies on the Thames to govern some 8000 people. In moving the resolution, he was actuated by the follow* ing considerations;—lst. By a resolution passed in his absence the Council baa. affirmed the principles he now sought to . establish. 2nd. The saving to be effected ; by only paying one staff of officials. - 3rd. That outside districts would have a show of fair-play if they had the money under their own control. The total indebtedoesaV "" of our four or five local bodies wat

£26,563; made up as follows:—County of Thames, £12 000; Borough, £2190; Harbor Board, £1173;: Domestic Water Supply. £7000; Parawai Highway Board; £500. In the face of this account all would admit that general reta»eam*nt .'■ should be gone in for. , The rery lint day he joined the Council, he had been, led to believe that Obioemuri bad been" exceedingly well treated, and whenever A he mentioned the name " Ohinemuri/' : be ~ was looked on with holy horror, as if members thought that anything ObiaW~, jmuri got was. at the expense of the ■■ ! County. He had been to the trouble of ■ 1 collecting statistics, which wonld eonvinea them that instead of Ohinemnri being ton wall-treated, it was quite the- ravers*. Up to iWth September last, .be total , amount expended»on Obinemnri bad been £9621, and the amounts that riding waa entitled to were—Special vote*, £800t: 1J J i J nVil^sfl* Mn\nnsasßv'nnnvM_Li

subsidies, £1500; publicans' licenses, £400; slaughterhouse lieeatses, £15 proportionate share of grants in aid, £350; ■hare of overdraft, £2000; total £13.470. As a set off, he would allow £1000 as Ohinemuri's share of the cost of management, leaving a balance in favor of the riding of £2750; or, including Totara riding, which was formerly part of the Ohinemuri riding, there was a balance of £635 in favor of the two. Now let them look at some of the other badlytreatod ridings: K&uaeranga had had spent £1427 in excess of its special rotes; Waiotahi, £2760. Hastings—that illtreated riding, rppresented by Cr Thor* biro—had had £3917 2s lid spent in it, while its votes came to £1700, fitting it £2217 2s lid more than its share; ■o it had not faired so badly. Parawai had had £651 6s 6d, and if the £350 vote was deducted it left them a balance in their favour of £301 6s 6d. These figiires he had quoted to show that Ohinenuri had not fattened on the rest of the County. To return to the main question, be would point out that before the Thames local bodies could tpend a shilling in works the folio* ing sums had to go for administrative expenses. County £2315; Borough £815. Harbor Board £150, Water Supply Committee £175, making a total of about £35C3 to govern a community of 8000 people. It wasnecessary that some joint action should at once be taken. Mdst present were aware that he always believed Ohinemuri should never have been connected, with the Thames.

Cr Brown seconded. „ Or Thorbarn said Cr Porter proposed to do away with the County Council, and form three bodies in its place. He did not think it would work. : Gr Carpenter said even if tho resolution wls Carried, it was practically of no avail. He was was quite willing to admit the highway sjEtom to be a good one perhaps better than the present. If ifc was the intention of the Government not to favor the splitting up of counties, but rather consolidation then it was no use passing the resolution. He objected to Parawai being merged into anything. H« preferred it as it was. There was nothing like a division of labour, and no lie thought Councils and Harbour Boards and Committee* should each perform their functions. Cr Green?ille spoke of the resolution as a stupid one. The town ridings were quite able to look after their own ridings without the assistance of Cr Porter, and if they desired to merge into the Borough or form a separate district they could do it without his help. Gr Brown did not think it was a stupid resolution. He did not think this resolution would have any direct prac- " tical result, but still the ides is getting indoctrinate, and the people educated up to the mark. He might Bay that he had always been of opinion that the Borough 'jfcfcould -hare controlled the whole of the RQldfieid, and the County should never JbVfe hid the water race or Big Pump tecurities. The Government of the day made a mistake in handing these endowments over to the County, when tho Borough should hare had them as being better able to foster the goldmining indtutry than the County The afikira of all the local bodies had in hu opinion been grossly mis-managed, the High School Board being the only one on the right side of the ledger. He did not think the settlement of the country would affect the Borough for a century to come. Cr Deeble thought snch a movement should come from the ratepayers. He thought it a retrograde step instead of one forward.' ■<■; •■'>■■ _ _ The Chairman considered the motion ill-considered, and likely to defeat the object in view. He expressed himself in favor of the principle of separate Governments for town and country districts. Cr Porter, baviny replied at length, the motion was put and lost, only two voting for it.

OHINEMtJBI GOID DUTY. _ : Cr Porter moved.the second notice of motion standing in his name—"That a sum eqtial to 30 per cent, of the gold duty be refunded to the Ohinemuri riding to aid in prospecting the district." -....■ Cr Greenville having spoken against the motion, and Cr Porter and others in favor of it, it was put and carried. TBAVEIUKG BXPIN9SB. Cr Deeble; moved tbe notice of motion re the return showing amount of travelling expenses paid to each Councillor, and the business on which they had been despatched. Cr Greenville seconded. Cr Brown failed to see that ifc would do any good. It would only rake up old matters, and give rise to some talk among the public. „ , Cr Detble said insinuations had been thrown out that a country member had been travelling about and drawing up specifications that another man had been paid to do. t Cr Porter said it was a deliberate he. Cr Deeble had been interviewed by soma of his (Porter's) constituents on the matter. Cr Deeble withdrew his motion. MEETINGS. Cr Greenville moved that the fortsightly meeting* of Board of Works and Committees be discontinued. Cr Porter seconded. Carried. STATEMENT. Qn the motion of Cr Greenville a statement was ordered of the rates, subsidies and expenditure of each riding since the foundation of the County. This concluded the business.