SILENCE-GIVES-CONSENT PROPOSAL.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 52, 2 March 1929, Page 8

SILENCE-GIVES-CONSENT PROPOSAL.

(To the Editor.l A correspondent of your? who adopt? name "Sane Progress" does not agree witfc my suggestion that a municipal loan propon; should he deemed to he carried unless twenty, five per cent of those entitled to vote on tfe proposal recorded their votes against it. Tfe reason given for disagreeing with me is tlm •''they (the ratepayers) have no knowledge of the proposal, 110 time or means of judging its timeliness or ultimate soundness, hut fearfa lest their lack of confidence may jeopardise tfe prosperity of their city they leave it to tht other fellow, forgetful of the fact that those with the requisite knowledge and ability to understand and analyse municipal finance an so few in the community." Now if those reasons were sound they would constitute a verv strong argument for doing away witfc loan polls altogether, but I do not believe the reasons are sound, or sane, or progressive. It is not true that ratepayers have no knowledge of loan proposals, it is not true that ratepayers have no time or means of judging their timeliness or soundness, and it is not true tlmt those with the requisite knowledge and ability to understand and analyse munit-ipil finance are so few in the community. Let® proposals are always advertised, they are usually commented upon by the papers, and they are always discussed to some extent in placet where men and women meet. '"Sane Progresg" says my proposal ''would mean that the ratepayers would need to be constantly on the alert in organised force in defence of their pockets against speculative public extravagance by, maybe, incompetent and reckless optimist® for the time being on the council." That is what it is intended to mean, and if it should result in making ratepayers to be constantly 011 the alert the dancer of the incompetent and reckless optimist being in the position to indulge in reckless public extravagance would vanish. 111 my opinion, the reckless optimist is the one who thinks we can have sane progress without the expenditure of public monev without public enterprise and without the ratepayers and citizens being constantly alert and watchful of their city's interest». " TOM >HTH.