JOINING THE CITY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 107, 6 May 1913, Page 8

JOINING THE CITY.

UNION PROPOSALS DISCUSSED. BY REMUERA RATEPAYERS. I The Greater Auckland question ac it ' affects the Remuera road district was considered at some length iby the ratepayers at their annual meeting last night. The chairman of the Eoad Board (Mr. J. S. Dickson) stated that negotiations had been in progreM for some time between the Board and the City Council regarding the terms upon which the city would receive Remuera ac part of Greater Auckland, and he would read the conditions of union offered by the city. The Board had received a petition signed by over 50 ppr cent of the ratepayers, praying that the. i amalgamation should be completed. This was now in the hands of the Governor. An objection had been lodged on the ground that the distance fioin the furthest ond of Remuera to the we3t of Poni'ionby would be over sis miles, .but tbw had been overcome through an arrangement made with the Ellenslie Town Board, whereby the latter i would take over cix acres of Remuera. [He proceeded to read the terras of I union, as agreed on, and, in doing so. i remarked that on the question of water supply no agreement had yet been reached, as the city wished to charge a rate, and not by meter, but this laet proposal had been referred br.ck to ths I City Council for recon.-.iJer.;tion. Hu understood that a petition againat union with the city was in lirculat.ou, and it was for the Minuter for Internal i Affairs to decide whether a poll would ibe necessar3\

A number of the ratepayers present asked questions regarding the city water rate, and several speakers expressed themselves unfavourably regarding the system of charging ou the basis of a minimum consumption measured by meter. Mr. A. W. -Short auked whether the buildings recently erected by the Board would not be a dead tItSS in the event of amalgamation. The chairman replied that the build- ! ings, including the new fire station and store, would still be in vise after amalgamation. He mentioned that the city I had found it necessary to spend £900 on similar buildinga in Parnell. The same I thing applied to the Board's plant.

"SNEAKING ROUND THE BACK." Air. J. H. Hamian (chairman of the Ratepayers' Atfoociation) gaid that ths ratepayers were now being asked to put the district holus-bolus into the city, in spite of the fact that the city had just banged the door in their faces by rejecting the candidates for the City Council, and now they were asked to slink round by the 'back door like, a lot of dogs. "That shows what the city thinks of ue," continued Mr. Hannan. "Why, hair of the latepayers who signed the petition have signed the counter-petition that's now in circulation/

Mr. F. B. Winstone: It's not true. Mr. H-annan: You earft speak. You're not a. ratepayer, and you come here to insult ratepayers. (Derisive applause and laughter.)' The chairman: Mr. Hannan, I must aek you to address the chair. Mr Hannan went on to say that the ward system was bound to become universal, and declared that the rest of the city of Auckland was l>eing starved because nearly all the rates were being spent in Ponsonby. He considered that the ratepayers would be foolieh to agree to the union proposals.

The speakers reoiarks were interrupted by a good deal of ironical applaiiee and laughter.

Mr Winstone commenced a reply to Mr Hannan'e remarks, but. 'was informed by the chairman that he could not epeak as he was not, a ratepayer.

Mr Merchant advanced a theory that if Remuera came into the City as a ward all the -present councillors would have to he re-elected. He. contended that the councillors would never rick their seats in order to give Remuera representation.

Mr G. W. Murray (a Boards member) expressed his confidence that the eighteen "colonial Englishmen" composing the present City Council would do their best for Remuera, and declared tha.t Mr Parr was a host in himself. (Loud applause.) He felt that whateverarrangements might be made the district would get fair and juet treatment from the City.

Mr S. Moore-Jones (another member) expressed same disagreement -with Mr Murray's remarks. He felt that it w.-.s not a business proposition to hand over the large works which the Board had in hand if the district had no direct representation. He favoured t.he ward system ac a good temporary expedient. Similar views were expressed by Mr Percy Spencer.

In the course of some subsequent discussion, the Chairman said that at a conference between the Board and the Council it had been agreed that the -ward eystem wae not the beet, and personally he did not envy the man who went into the City Council as a ward representative, but there was no other course open.

Lifter the meeting had been declared closed Mr Winstone mounted the platform and made a Teply to Mr Hannan. He efcated that he had been a ratepayer foT over twenty years prior to a couple of months ago, and ajjain denied Mr Hannan's statement about the counterpetition. He contended that thoee who had signed the. first, petition included many large ratepayers posseting several votes each, and that in the event of a, poll the reactionaries -would be hopelesely outvoted. (Loud applanee.)