THE RURAL DISTRICTS ACT, 1869.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3650, 31 March 1869, Page 5

THE RURAL DISTRICTS ACT, 1869.

b To th» Editor of tho Daily Souihbbn Cross. g IK —The Easts Tamaki District will pror.iv«ily be the first Koad Board that will endeavour praotically to carry out this neTf.Bpeciawnof prorinoial l-gisi*-Owing to the disastrous floods, bridges have been Bwepfc away, and it has b.eii deemed mdastwy to levy anew or extra rate within tbe current year. Ihe old rata svas levied under the Highways A.ct, 1887, on the acreage system. Now, it is sought to obtaiu a I second rate solely \i t >on the "estimated value to sell of rateable property wiihiu East Tamaki. It may be a qnestiou how these Aot« cm act in concert, The ilural Districts Act cannot come into operation uiitil the l«b October next, the former Highways Act beiug in operation until that time. If the latter Act was imaieiiiatttly repealed on the pausing of the new bill, under what Act are the Road Boards working now ? „, I am sorry that I cannot altogether decree witn your remarks r^gardm* this bill as Btated in ymif leaiing article of the 25th ultimo. An acre»go rate, though apparently somewhat oppressive, ia tho cheapest method of obtaining » uniform payment from the ■ettlora within the district. Tbe aorea^e being known, it is easy to calculata what die rat-* agreed upou will at ouoe produce. Not so easy, howtror, is it to asc-rtain the true value to Bell, or even what th* marketable price atouid be ; nor can any valuator fairly declare how prices will rule lor the nest twelve mmithst An acreage rate i« perhaps the moa 1 ; equitable, with a small frontige rate where farma a ijoin the principal road within the disbiiot. The ldan of faima beiag improved when lywg in their pristine state of tea-tree and fern is something new. Some propertiea may be bettered by expenditure on the highways, by improved access, &c, bntcanitbe said that farms unimproved and lying back from the main road have yearly advanced in value ? It would seem that the proprietors and ratepayers pre3eiit at the la&t meeting of the Bast Tamaki Board were of opinion that it ought to have been left optioual with the ratepayers to decide which mode of rating they would prefer. lam also of the same opinion— that it should have been left to the settler* to select which method or plan of rating would produce a sufficient sum to keep and maintuiu the roads wifch the smaller amount of pressure to the proprietora and occupiers of the soil. — I am, &0., A Ratepayer. Auckland, March 30, 1869.