WAIRARAPA WEST COUNTY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 692, 14 February 1881, Page 2

WAIRARAPA WEST COUNTY.

The ordinary meeting of the above County Council was held yesterday, in the County offices, Carterton, Present— Ora Pharazyn (Chairman), Minchin, MoGregor, Phillipsj Donald, aqdljoy?. ':' • The minutes of the previous meeting were read and qoi)firmec|, . ALTERATION Of DAY OV MEETING. The Chairman said it might be desirable to alter their day of meeting,' as local trains wore about to be ;run,,whioh would meet the convenience ohl'iany of the Councillors. • - •

Cr McGregor thought that they could not act until they knew definitely the train arrangements. Perhaps, too, it might bo well to change the place of meeting. The Ohairtnan said, it was arranged definitely that the local trains should run on Saturdays, CORKESPONDBNOB, From the Minister of Publio Works, stating that the land for the Manawatu Ferry had not been yet taken, owing to a delay in the survey; and that it was not the intention of the department to take a road between the two ferries. The Chairman explained that the statement of the question had been delayed by a succession of references between the different departments. From the shine; directing tlje County to take'chargs pf t})e Qpaki Bridge over the Ruamahunga. From the Wellington Council, calling attention to the faot that a man named E, Jones, from Masterton, had been relieved in the Wellington Hospital, and stating that their olaim foe maintenance was 21s per week; and asking if the Council would bear the expense of an artificial arm which it was proposed to obtain for him.

The Chairman said he had already explained to tftp Clerk of the Wellington Counoil. that no suoli clainfcould be admitted, and he believed'that it would be waived.

From the Inspector of police, stating that orphans in Wellington were provided for. by the Benevolent Society, and that cases, at present, had not been numerous. From the Treasurer of County East, re a claim msdj j[} November- last,- for £44. 13s4d, and asking for a'cheque.

From Messrs Mulr and Dixon, claiming compensation for the accident to their wagon by the collapse of the' bridge near Lankey's Creek,

The Clerk stated that no account indicating the amount of the claim was enclosed. . .

Or MoGregor gai.d that all they conld do was to refer the matter to the Masterton Highway Board.. He was aware that the Board had given notice that the. bridges were unsafe; It was, bethought, hard on the persons who':had sustained, the loss, but he would-.move., that., the claim be referred to the Highway.Board, Jf the Board found that it had no funds fq meet such a claim-'it'-migflVapply to the Council for assistance.'' '" Or Donald ;: uhderstood it was- the feeling of the' Council that it would: re coup.the, |oa|d for i>nj outlay it incurred by l _.',;; "■'.'.'" : -!'..'.'.v! - Chairman' thought that "jf' the Council had ip find jhe money it should; investigate the claim. ',';' • /" . ; i:-vl . Or IjoQregor; quid' they coujd trust, the Boardi'.with:the necessary.'investigation,' If the Boardfound-'theclaim to be valid it would' have a moral olaim on the floiifcj ;^(|r| ; Phillip| Vpoih|eoV{ ; put ;f thatjye'ryi •senaus claims 1 mighV!pei ; brought-against ■ hiriieelf believedthat;the;Ge^

protection: v if life and property j arid the Government ■; fere responsible'!* orihe defective legislav>- ? ion; beenlunoblo to • >btainißufHcYent funds fritfQiiellojrern-,,;-uehtto rnakerthebridges good aiid the -. mus did -not feat jwitHifc.=wp 'ss%*gpg. The said m a-v&y large' bne; and they wou}d not( j )e doing their duty to relegate its Madterton-'•Highway"'''•• Board; -Though^the fioard? waa legally';" labia if it, was admitted, that the Council ;< ifould find the- money the Goun'oirwas V practically the ; responsible body. 1; . In r ; *■ dealing with.oaaes of that kind'theyraust' be' 1 very careful how' they established "a ■ prece'den'tir(fle ; would- ask ,Or to alter h'isresblution soas to enable the" " Council to investigate, the claims: :& :..' ■ : 'Or McGregorsaid that' the Obuhty .did [i. everything with the : road paid everything " for it and the only'.thine'-it did hot have •; was the legal responsibility. '■• ■ V-:} •' It was resolved, that Messrs Muir.and • Dixon he informed that the Council; not & having declared the Qpaki to ,Manawattfi| road a County road; does riot admit koftl liabilities on account of any damsde'i-

njetas theyrefer-to. '/.The OpuficiUhowvever/ while-wishing;.this;to be clearly•'•understood; is''prepared to'consider the -P. 'claim made fairly, and,will cause iucn ; .>. enquiries to be made as will ettable them to come to a decision inthe mat^r....;. :.. From H, Spratt; callingattention to the dangerous state of the Black bridge.:: The .Chairman ..said' that:undoubtedlyx . the bridge was now■„ a.JYjJry, djihgeiious. 0ne.: : ...■■•:.'■;....- ■"";.'';'"; : -„\i'-^"V : t "■ ;,■ OcMcGregor thought, that all : the toll money should be collected; and .deposited.; for the renewal of the bridge.; '_ '. , Cri Boys, thought ;-that the bridge pught ; to bo closed at once'to:heavf.traffi6.;'7 From the Feathers ton Local. Board.'.;, asking the Council to enforce the. Dog .Tax lAct in its district,' ; ■ \.. : . It'.was resolved that Tttr Brunßkill be appointed registrar, and his house in Fox. . St. the registered office. . ' ' . Or Phillips said the Government cbuldjin his opinion, force the Council to appoint dog registrars, ■••■■., The Chairman, "They cannot force us to appoint, they can only send Us to prison for contempt." , '...■*'-. Or Boys said that it was very unfair for one portion of the district to.be taxed, and : another not.: .. •';■.'. : ....;' : :..,;'' v . -.-. -From W. Booth, Chairman of the Tara-

tahi Highway Board, asking for aid to theextent of £IBO, for the road to Hurunuibridge; also understanding that a proposal would be brought forward, to. abolish the Waiohine toll-gate, expressing an opinion that the toll was not one which ought to be abolished. ■ The rate? of the , Board were insufficient to maintain the" district road without, the aid of tolls,- and . their abolition would be a loaa to the Board, while it would be no'beneflt W any other part of tke district." ': ...-X

;■ BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. •; , ; ,.;. •: The Chairman b.roughtthe question of • snbsidising Benevolent Sooietie's.up,- , Or McGregor eaid that now they goVno subsidies,.they could not contribute. .He would support a grant out of the late 7a 6d subsidy.' whioh-they had received, ,tp the Benevolenij Societies as.well as the flos-' pitals. , ( ' : 'v''.:;' r; , It was, on the motion of Cr MoGregor, agreed that £5 bs paid to'each of the two local Societies', . '.,'■. i '■'■"'" ENGINEERS REPqRT, .'. Masterton, February 12th, 1881; Tliei Chairman .'■".'; [ Wairarapa Weat County Council. , Sir,—l have, the honor to submit ihe following report on County Works. . Eketahuna and Alfredton road,—The contractor for the new to be. builf on this road, found that ho could not pro. cure the necessary materials in time to enable him to complete his contraqt within the specified time, he therefore built temporary rounh bridges over the several streams for the accommodation of traffic, trusting that the Council would extend the time for the of the permanent structures. ' ' The materials for the permanent bridge!) are now' bping delivered on the respective sites, and thp work's of being proceeded with, ;■' ' w

Culverts aud Embankments.—The culverts and embankments are all but completed, Petersen's, contract was finished on the 24th of last month r Brown & Co. would be finished about Wednesday last, the; 9th inst. Olsen and Fredoricks&n about"J r liflU2tli inst., and McMillan and Meads will complete theirs early next week, Although these. works were not quite finished, the road has been fit for dray traffic since the 7 ■:.'.. Pahiattia thecontacts-fof formation 1 on this road, except No! 2-qi'fl completed, I expect it to be quife finished in about 10 days' time. |The works, ao far are well executed.

Mingaramarama Bridge,—Thematerials for this bridge are delivered, and the work of construction will be prooeedod with early next week. . Mauriceville roads, metalling contracts, —On Harvey's contract, 123 chains were metalled on the Mi inst.', very little progress has been made ..on this section for sometime. The season has now arrived when' works of this kind should be.pußhed towards 'completion. ; Only (j(j ch'aWqf McKenzie's' conlra'ot wore 1 coMeted qii the Yth inst,, and, unless more 1 pMrfiA employed, and greatei'pffnrts.maaebythe contractor, the works will not be'comple* ted this season.

OPAKI AND MANAWATU ROAD. Mangatamoka, Bridge contract.—The whole of the works in connection with this contract are ■ now completed.: The works in connection with the Dryer's Rock bridge opntract are also oonpleted. Culverts and embankments.—The contractors for these works have all com; menced 'operations, 'afti}'"; tjtfe made would have been' muoh more'if'thS timber for the culverts had been delivered sooneY On the Bth inst. a bridge 1 ; on 1 the Opaki and Manawatu road, about 22 miles from Masterton fell, while a timber waggon was passing over it, three of. the stringers bioke, and fell with to the.botrhm of the crpek, a of 16 feet. On the Mowing dayl'iftijml porary .bridge was erected; commodate the traio until is again made-good. Ihave source of the creek, an'cl find that thelmd drained by it is inconsiderable, so that a culvert and'embankment.will.do.mstead of a new bridge.' A culvert and embankment-, will new bridge woulioo'st about &m •," : " Wangaehu Yalleyroad/--Agreeaoly with. , instructions from the Publio Works Committee, I examined that part of the Wangaehu Valley road between Mr .John McKenzie's homestead and'the' bridle ■ track formed sonie years agojby the Wj Vincial- Government. t T|ie; on which, the.'roa&liiie' is. locate^-is very rough, 'arid at places will be subject {6 slips fpi*; some years. The.road'would |iave •': to: be formed across the face of slips, at;; several places, forming'anangl^'.with;,tye, , horizon of about.Bsft, or e|en.fepsr.. '. Several of thesp slips I eiaraimed.therbadljhe abqu|;lijnjontfisj ' •vThis roadLis 'intendod7toibEßri,iUD ; ?ft,; • considerable-extent of ,opiintryi\and r if: ; . constructediWQuld '.further the settlement : of tho f Wangaeliu dutrjot; > rMtimatethe ; \ inpafgjj^fflvert^^

EXTBNSIOH OF TIME. / An extension of two months was grantfid on Mr Chapman's contract. An ■ extension to Mr MoKcnzie to the end of April was also agreed to. IHB BROKBN BRIDGE, : Or-Boys suggested that it would be as well to caution the publio against the bridges. The Engineer, reported that similar accidents might be expected with other bridges on the same road. -.:'■ The Chairman inquired whether it would be well to restrict loads.' The Engineerpointod out that after accepting tenders it would be unfair to place restrictions on the carriage of the timber for them. Or McGregor thought that the best thing they could do was to instruct Mi King to tear the old bridges down and re place them as quickly as possible. The Engineer said that the work could not be carried ,on niuoh more rapidly than at present, If funds permitted they commence at the Masterton end TjMflake them: good right through. ftwasresolved-r'Thatnoticebe given to persons-taking heavy loads through the bush, would do so, at.thqir own risk as far SB the bridges were concerned. '.',; WANOABHU VAUBY, _ A discission took placels to whether it was possible to do anything for the road to Wangaehu. It was dooided that the Council had not funds at its command which would enable it to do any real good for the settlers. Or Phillips enquired whether the Bettlerß would contribute towards opening up the road. _ The Engineer said they might, and the river and some of the worst creeks in the lines could then be bridged.' Cr McGregor said it would not divert the small balance they had to the credit of the Wangaehujroad to any other channel. He would like the question postponed to enable the Works Committee to consult with the settlers in the locality. The question was postponed for Messrs Moore and McGregor to report upon it, The following accounts were passed for payment:—

TBNPEHS. . Opaki-Manawalu Ptoad, metalling 84 chains, 11 tenders received, D.McKenzie accepted £174. • Forty five and 25ft span bridges :-F. , Chapman,' £2Bs'' 3s :'6d acoopted; MoDonald and Carlson £295 • dejinefl, Forty-feet span' bridge \-$, Chapman £}72 17s accepted. Jesperaen £IBO, Gillespie, £IBO, Oashman £220 declined, Mr F, Chapman'B tenders were accepted on the understanding that penalties would be enforced if they were not completed to time, as he already had many contraots on hand. BLACK BRIDGE, . It was resolved that the Blaok Bridge . styuldbe'o!osed..for heavy traffic; and that persons crossing it would do so at their own risk. IIANAWATU BRIDGE, The Engineer was prepare plans for the JManawatu Bridge. The Chairman expressed an opinion that as this was the last link tho money could be . obtained for it during the coming session. BLACK BRIDGE TOUS, pr Donald, pursuaut \n nutjce,' inoved— TJiat the B'ladk"B;idj?e tolls be abolished, as no proyisipri was inade witji them for the maintenance of the bridge,' He com. plained that the Taratahi-Oarterton Board retained the whole amount of the , . tolls collected. Before pressing his reso- , lution he was willing that the Clerk . should write to the Taratahi-Oarterton , Board, and ask if it would be agreeable , to allow tolls to be applied exclusively to ( the maintenance of tho bridge, and any .balance unexpended to go towards re- < building it, There was no reserve fund ' to re-bui]4 the bridge, and the wjjole : • .County puld have to pay for it'; or the ' Featherston and Carterton Highway ' pißtricff flight' be ta?pd r to're-biiild'' it, ! It was really a bridge toll at first, and ought never to have been diverted for the general maintenance of the road. j Cr McGregor seconded the motion, as ( he considered that the Taratahi-Oarterton Highway Board had not behaved fairly to the Featherston Highway Board In taking ; all the tolls for the maintenance of their ; roads, especially when it was remembered ' that the Featherston Highway Board had i . .'a greater length of main road to keep in ' " repair than the Taratahi-Oarterton Board I had, .Cr Donald's suggestion for apply- ' . ifig tfie tolls was a very reasonable one. ' Jt would not ftkYvery the tolls ' .now collected'to raise a sum for re-placing \ thebridgo, • , Or Phillips wished his next motion to i be read with the present one, viz., That a i tabulated return be laid upon the table : showing the proceeds of the toll and how 1 they had been applied, The chairman replied that a statement ' had been prepared shewing that the ' County had advanced the following sums J to Boards:—Featherston Highway Board . UMllßlOd;Tptfahi-CartDttonHigh- ' • My Board 1240 ffs od, tolls L 1.360 0s 7d, total l Ll,6DolßsßdrTMa'BtertonHigh'vsy , • Board L 1.512 1b 6d, ; The fact of'the tolls , had .bcou taken into consideration in i apportioning the subsidies, though Car- I terton had certainly had in proportion to ! • its rates a Urger Bhare than the other •' Boards. '•'' ' ~ ;' k. ; ■■< i S'. prDpjiald/'jvitli-thppprrnieslon of the ] eetih|," postponed his' resolution for ] , Jbiiahingth'e Black b'ridge tolls till next fleeting, and in the interim the olerk'wda ! 'to 'apply to Ijie' Taratahi-Car- J 'lertort-Board r to inquire if the Board ; :; would agree'to the tolls of the bridge ■ •'; Being applied to'the inaihtenance and rebuilding of [ip •''• *'■■' "•■■": J pr'McGregor said the bridge wsb Under i f|ie cpnfrol of tjie County, but fhey could ( recover it's^osf'or maintenance 1 from the " ifihabitantß'on either-side of the'stream. '' The Chairman suggested 'that the Featherston Highway Board should be j asked if, in the event of the toll being .' atiplisjied'on the Carterton side,of the 1 river, it would erect a gate pp its side and j apply the'tolls from it to the maintenance • of the bridge,'' '■'" ■'' '■'■ ■ " "" ! '' ' } Cr'Boys said if they parrieel out the : proposal to abolish the tol) the fiMtthjng ■'■■ yopld^'thpugh'he'did'notstate it as a j •f!)Wt.thatPartprtonsvo||ld'be declared | ; ; f» bpro'ughj and the County would lose the ■ lipep'se fees, Ho pointed out that the tolls had been charged agaiiißt the subsidies of ' the Board, The Chairman stated .that under the •, Provincial system, one>fifth of the tolls were'set aside: for replacing bridges, buti ■ ,".'" unfortunately, the: reaerve"oiily appeared ] 'ablefrom.such ]

doing anything they thought right because Carterton would become a borough. The Ohairman'B euggeation wbb accepted by Or Donald and added to the resolution, ' Cr Phillips said a statement had been tabled allowing the subsidies paid to Highway Boards, but the return for which he had asked was not givon viz., showing how the proceeds had been.spent, He was however, satisfied with the information obtained, ORPHANAGE, OrPhillips moved pursuant to noticeThat in the opinion of this Council the attention of the Government should be called to the desirability of establishing an orphanage. There was no suoh institution in the colony, and he suggested that communications should be sent to the various iMunties in the .Wellington Provincial District asking 'them to co-operate in urging the Government to establish an orphanage in Featherston-that township being couneoted by railway with Wellington, was better suited than any other place for such a purpose.. ' . Or McGregor thought that the only way in which an orphanage could be built would by the Government undertaking the work. It was impracticable to suppose that local aid would be available for such a purpose. Or Boys thought that the General Government should provide for orphans and supported calling its attention to the question. ■

The Chairman did not see that any practcal good would come out of the resolution. It was not dear that there was as yet any necessity'tor an orphanage, and he was not in favor of anticipating it. . Cr Phillips, with the leave of the Council, amended his resolution, iu ordei to ask all New Zealand Counties by circular letter, to co-operate in getting the Government to subsidise voluntary efforts in establishing an orphanage for. the colony. In reply he claimed that many private persons and public bodies might be disposed to subscribe towards an orphanage, and this, with the aid of the General Government, would be sufficient to establish one. In England it was the custom to collect subscriptions to get a ohild into an orphanage, and he thought such an example might be followed in New Zealand. The motion was put to the meeting, and lost by the Chairman's casting vote. BLAOK BRIDGE. A resolution waß passed instructing the Engineer to report upon the Black Bridge, and to give au estimate for replacing'it. DISTKIBUTIION OF SUBSIDIES. The Chairman was'not suro that it would not be wiser, in their present position, to retain the subsidies for a time, and only make small granls for urgent cases. Cr Boys protested against witholding the distribution. He advocated the claim of the Taratahi-Carterton Board for £IBO towards the Hurunuiorangi Bridge road. . Or Phillips was in favor of the other Boards being treated in a similar way. Cr McGregor said £IOO had been advanced to the Masterton Board, and he would support a vote of a similar amount to the Featherston Highway Board if it were desired. The Chairman wished to know if the Featherston' Highway Board had any special work on hand. . Cr Donald could not state that they had any special work on hand but they would be wanting money soon. It was agreed to vote £s(). for the Hurunuiorangi road, and £IOO to the Featherston Highway Board for expenditure on the main road, the advances to be charged against subsidies, The motion was carried, Cr Boys only dissenting. Cr McGregor gave a notice of motion for changing the place of meeting and the offices to Masterton. The.Council then adjourned.

£ S. D, Featherston Benevolent So ciety 5 0 0 North Wairarapa Society .. . BOO • Olsen & Fredericksen . „ . 26 0 0 J; Brown & Co. - . 56 0 0 McMillan & Mads ... 60 0.0 W.Day ... •• ... ... 85 0 0 McDonald & Carlson... ■ .. 422 0 0 T. 0. D'Arcy... ' 205 0 0 James Cashman -,,. ,, 7 0 0 . J. Payton&Co; ■ ... ., 117 6 i Donald & Cartoon ... 018 0 Donohue, dbposit .■.,„■ „ 28 0 0 J. Paytonand Co. '■;..'. ,. 2 6 0 Caraton and Co. 6.8 0 Tweeddale ....... ;'... 1210 0 Imprest account- ..,-■ ., 150 0 0 ————