LAWRENCE BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1671, 5 March 1890, Page 5

LAWRENCE BOROUGH COUNCIL.

The fortnightly meeting of the abovenamed body was held in the Borough Council Chambers on Monday evening. There were present— His Worship the Mayor and Crs Hetherington, Davidson, Chalmers (Wm,), M'lntosh, and Johnston. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. CORRESPONDENCE. P. Black, Secretary of the United Charitable Aid Board, requested to be furnished with a return of the ratable value of property within the Borough, upon which the Board is entitled to levy contributions, for the year commencing Ist April next. -Return to be forwarded after sitting of the Borough Assessment Court, to be held on the 10th instant. Jas. Palmer.pro Logan's Point Quarry Co., Dunedin, wrote stating that he had fulfilled the Council's order for the supply of 50 cubic yards of road metal. He desired to know if the size forwarded met with the Council's approval.—The Mayor remarked that some of the metal obtained from Logan's Point Quarry had been placed on Ross Place adjoining the weighbridge. Nearly all the heavy traffic passed over the street at that point, and it could there be seen whether the metal was of good wearing quality.— Cr M'lntosh was afraid that the metal was .-rather too fine ; it would have been better if it had been broken a little coarser.— Cr Johnston was of the same opinion. Any further supplies could be broken to a 3-inch instead of a 2&-inch guage. S. P. Craig made application to shut the lamp in front of the Railway Hotel a little nearer the Athenaeum than where it at present stood.— Granted. THE SMALL BIRD NUISANCE. Jno. Mackay, Secretary of the Tuapeka Farmers' Union, forwarded a resolution passed at a\reoent meeting of that body to the effect that the Council be asked to co-operate with the Union in the destruction of the small birds. It was pointed out that the small birds were very numerous within the Borough. Cr M'lntosh was in favour of giving the Union all the assistance possible. The small birds were allowed to go on breeding within the Borough without the slightest check, and it was a well-known fact that they swept down in countless thousands on the neighbouring cornfields, doing great injury to the ripening grain. Cr Hetherington did not see in what way the Council could co-operate with the Union. I The Borough ratepayers did not complain of the ravages of the small birds, and on that account the Council was not justified in spending any money in destroying them. His grainfields had only suffered to a very slight extent from the depredations of the birds, and as he was one of those who did not believe in running continually to the local government bodies for assistance, especially in cases where individual effort should be exercised, he was averse to the application being entertained. Cr Johnston remarked that the small birds destroyed a lot of fruit within the Borough, and the ratepayers had good cause to complain of their depredations. He thought the Council should give every assistance to the farmers in destroying the birds. The Mayor said there was not the least doubt but that the birds bred within the Borough played great havoc with the cornfields of the neighbouring settlers. After some further discussion, Cr M'lntosh moved and Cr Johnston seconded : " That the Council co-operate with the Farmers' Union to the extent of purchasing small birds' eggs and heads, collected within the Borough, at the same rates as the Union."— Carried. THE GOBSE NUISANCE. Cr M'lntosh said the small bird nuisance reminded him of another nuisance within the Borough that should have been stamped out ere now. He referred to the gorse nuisance allowed to encroach on street lines. Could the Mayor tell them what the Inspector of Nuisances had been doing in this matter lately ? The Mayor did not know that Mr Watson had been doing anything in particular. The instructions that he (the Mayor) gave him were that he should treat everyone alike, irrespective of position, whether connected with the Council or not, whose live fences encroached on street lines. Those who failed to observe the law should be made to suffer the penalty. It was resolved: "That the Town Clerk write to the Inspector of Nuisances informing him that the Council insists on the instructions previously given to him in regard to the gorse nuisance on street lines within the Borough being rigorously carried out." ACCOUNTS. The following accounts were referred to the Finance and Public Works Committees for payment if found correct :— Jas. Wilson (surfaceman), £8 8s ; W. Watson (Inspector of Nuisances), £1 13s 4d ; W. Anderson (lamplighter), £11 10s; Logan's Quarry Co., £32 10s ; United Charitable Aid Board, £14 4s 4d; P. Uren, £13 9s 3d; Jas. Farrell, £5; W. Watson (Cemetery account), £7 165. GENERAL BUSINESS. Cr Chalmers suggested that a few loads of gravel be laid on Harrington Place and the sidewalk from the Hospital as far as the town boundary.— Referred to the Public Works Committee. Cr Johnston' recommended that the footpath from the foot of Gabriels Gully to the bridge in Derwent-street be formed and gravelled.— Referred to the Public Works Committee. Cr M'fntosh drew attention to the state of the culvert in Burrows-street on the race-course.-Referred to the Public Works Committee, with instructions to attend to the same at once. carriers' teams. The Mayor Jn there was a matter, which was hardly witnm the province of the Council to take into consideration, which had been brought under his notice by a few of the business peeple, that he would like to refer to. The County Council had lately adopted a resolution to the effect that carriers' teams travelling on the County roads be limited to six horses and bullock teams to ten bullocks. If strictly carried out, such a resolution would impose a great hardship on teamsters, who would be unable to make a living, and be compelled to leave here and travel on the Palmerston road. He was not aware whether the members of the County Council had such an object in view, but there was no getting away from the effects of the resolution. With eight horses, the teamsters found it difficult enough to make a bare living ; but with six horses it would be the height of folly, especially in the winter months, to face the roads. He thought the Borough Council should confer with the County Council on the subject with the view of allowing teams to have eight horses instead of six as contemplated. Cr M'lntosh was surprised at the County Council passing a resolution to limit carriers' teams to six horses, and was still more surprised that the ratepayers, up-country did not kick against it. It was the height of absurdity to think that the carriers could plough through the roads in the winter months with sixhorse teams. Indeed, it would almost take that number to draw an empty waggon, leaving the carrying of a ton or two of loading out of the question altogether. If it was intended by reducing the number of horses in a team to save the roads, he failed to see how that would work; for it would mean that a waggon would have to take three trips where it now took two. And that meant that the up-country ratepayers would have to pay more for the carriage of their goods, which would amount to something in the winter months. Cr Hetherington did not see why the Borough Council should interfere in this matter. The carriers, it appeared, instead of using eight horses in a team, which was the law on the County roads at the present time, more frequently used ten horses, and as they failed to take out their licenses regularly they had to put up with the consequences of f -heur own shortsightedness. The carriers should fight the matter out with the County Council. The Borough Council was not called upon to champion their cause. I Or Johnston thought the Borough Council

was perfectly justified in championing the cause of justice and fair play. The carriers were the means of circulating a lot of money among the farmers for supplies of horse feed, and gave a good deal of employment to blacksmiths and wheelwrights and other tradesmen, and these were matters that ought not'to be overlooked. He did not think the waggoners would find it very profitable in the winter months to be bound down to six-horse teams. Cr Chalmers said the position certain of the County Councillors took up was this : that six horse teams could easily enough overtake all the traffic within the County boundary ; and, that being the case, why should the Council allow eight and ten-horse teams to travel on the County roads, which cost so much to main- ; tain, for the exclusive benefit of adjoining counties which contributed nothing towards i keeping up these roads ? It was easily enough seen that six-horse teams, even travelling as far as Roxburgh, could take very little loading in the winter months owing to the state of the roads. The Council should have limited the teams to eight horses, and have seen that the letter of the law was strictly observed. The camera would bo better off the roads in winter if their teams were restricted to six horses. The Mayor did not think that the County Council had been put to much expense the last year or two in maintaining the County roads. It was a difficult matter for anyone to see a surfaceman from the Lawrence town boundary to Coal Creek. He thought it would be most impolitic on the part of the County Council to give effect to the resolution that the number of horses in teams be restricted to six. He would like the Borough Council to confer with the County Council on the subject, but. of course it was for the members ot the former body to say whether they approved of such a course. Cr Hetherington said it would be just as well to leave the matter alone, seeing that the Borough Council had no control over the actions of the County Council. The discussion then dropped,and the Council adjourned.