WAIRARAPA.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3173, 14 April 1871, Page 2

WAIRARAPA.

[From our Own Correspondent.] board meeting extkaokdinahy. A special meeting of the Greytown Board of Wardens convened, without consultation with the Chairman, by Messrs Braithwaite aad Walker, was held at the British Volunteer Hotel ou Saturday last, to which the reporters for the press had been specially invited. After the minutes of the last meeting had been read and confirmed, the Chairman, S. Revans, Esq., J.P., called the attention of the Board to the unusual course which had been adopted in convening a special meeting without consultation with the Chairman, which he characterised as a most discourteous proceeding. He would venture to say that no special meeting had ever been held by a Road Board in the district unles3 the Chairman had been first consulted upon the subject. The real object of the movement was to call in question his right to engage a lawyer in the case against Hirschberg, and to get the appointment rescinded. At the last meeting it had been resolved that Mr Allan should be engaged in case of an appeal to conduct the case in the Supreme Court, and it had afterwards occurred to him that it was necessary to have a lawyer, seeing that the defendant had one, to conduct the case in the Resident Magistrate's Court, or otherwise judgment might be given against them on grounds which would prevent an appeal against it being granted. One lawyer was a perfect nuisance in a case, and the Magistrate's Court had laid down the rule that when only one lawyer was employed the party who brought him should pay for him, however the case might be decided. As the defendant had engaged Mr Buckley and they desired that no delay should toke place in obtaining a decision in the case, he had asked Mr Allan to attend, but if the Board now decided that this course was not necessary he could be written to to that effect. Mr Walker disclaimed aDy intentional discourtesy to the Chairman ; he had simply not been consulted because be was out of town. Mr Braithwaite said that any two members of the Board could convene a special meeting without consulting the Chairman on the ; subject. He wanted to see the money |in hand expended on the roads in i the several subdivisions, agreeably with j a resolution passed at their last meeting ; and he thought, as they meant to bring the case before the Supreme Court, it was going to an unnecessary expense to employ a lawyer in the Magistrate's Court. The Chairman denied that they had any money in hand which they could honestly appropriate before the rates had been paid. The grant from the Government had been made with special reference to the amount of the rate levied, and if no rate had been levied the grant would have been withheld. Mr Braithwaite had throughout been a most obstructive member, and had always done his best to defeat the object for which he had been elected. That object was to assess and collect the rates ; he had forgotten his duty, and had done all he coald to prevent them being collected. He had even proposed that they should abandon the rates altogether, being apparently oblivious of the fact that the Government grant had been made upon their amount. Mr Braithwaite had been a thoroughly faithless steward, and a traitor to the cause he had been elected to serve. Mr Braitbwaite denied the truth of what the ' Chairman had stated ; he endeavored to faithfully represent the interests of those ;by whom he had been elected. He did not want to see money wasted in law | expenses, and he considered that to employ a lawyer in the Magistrate's Court, when the case would go into the Supreme Court, was a useless expense. ! The Bench had already decided against the legality of the rate, and ha<i only reversed its decision when he, the Chairman, had undertaken to sit upon | it. The Chairman said that a great j deal had been made of that circumstance ; but he was prepared to justify the course he had adopted. How often had Mr Wardell, a magistrate, and a ratepayer at Featherston, sat on and decided Featherston rate cases. Had not Curkeek, and Renal 1, and Phai'azyn, done the same, and yet, according to Judge Johnston's statement of English law, all such decisions were illegal. Is not any committee which takes evidence and acts upon it, judicial ? And had members of such committees, who were directly interested on one side or the other in the decision, hesitated to vote upon the question on that account. It was only as a matter of prudence that he had refrained from sitting on the case last brought before. Had he done so and the case had been brought before Judge Johnston, he would have decided that the judgment was illegal. He had never doubted his perfect light to sit on the Bench to decide a rate case because he happened to be a ratepayer. Mr Tocker said ihat as they all wanted to have the case brought to an issue us sonn as possible, he would move that the course adopted by the Chairman relative to the employment of Mr Allan be upheld. This was seconded by Mr be.v ton and carried. Mr Braithwaite, being the only dissentient. After several other minor matters were disposed of the Board was sepsirated. LOWER VALLEY ROAD BOARD. I regret exceedingly that a report of a meeting of the above, cautiously for warded to me for insertion in the Mew Zkaland Mail, in compliance with the advertisement relntivo to the subject which hud appeared in the Independent was not received by me until it was out of date, it having, by mistake, gone to Wellington. The meeting was held on the 27th ult., and there were present Messrs Water-house, Hume, Baird, and Barton. The tender of Messrs White and Windsor, for reconstruction of bridges and formation of roads, for the sum of £75, was accepted. On the motion of Mr Waterhouse the Board decided to assess a uniform rate of one halfpenny per acre on all land liable in

the district, comprising about 79,000 acres, which rate will amount to £165 ; • so that with the £167 10s allocated to the district out of the £5000 grant; the Board will be in a position to make considerable improvements before the winter sets in. MOROA ROAD DISTBICT. The Chairman has at last received a communication from the Provincial Treasurer to the effeot that no sum of money had been allocated to the district out of the £5000 granted by the General Government, as the apportionment had been made according to rates levied during the past year. A large number of road districts have had a j portion of the grant allocated to them, "^ though no rates had been levied during the past year. The matter requires the searching investigation of the Provincial Council or General Assembly.