SYDENHAM PROPOSED LOAN.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9515, 7 September 1896, Page 3

SYDENHAM PROPOSED LOAN.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE PRESS. Sip.,—ls "R. 8.," whose letter appeared in Saturday's Press in connection with the above the R.B. who is one of the candidates for municipal honours ; if so, he is certainly making a bad start, and it would be well for the ratepayers to think well before electing a man who can so glibly misrepresent facts as he has done in his letter, and it would be well for him before MTiting agaiu to make sure that his information is reliable. From enquiries that I have made and which I am told can be verified by the Council's records, I find that the question of submitting to the ratepayers the advisableness or otherwise of raising the loan was I never before the Council; therefore "R.B.'s" statement cannot be correct. I also iind that when the Finance Committee brought in their recommendation that the sum of £6000 be the amount of loan the Council were unanimous, none of the immaculate five spoken of in "R.B.'s" letter raising their voice against it, and yet we find as soon as the3' find opposition from a few they tiy to undo next meeting what they with readiness had passed the meeting before, and because the majority have some backbone, and do not change their opinion at the bidding of other people, these poor boneless individuals cry, " It is not us, it is the other fellows' fault." Now who are these poor unfortunates that, luckily for the Borough, are in the minority, and what have they done for the Borough during the last twelve months ? This is what 1 am informed is correct:—No. I—Because he could not go on the Committee he wanted to refused to act on any Committee that was then formed, and did no Committee work until just recently. No. 2—Because lie was not appointed Chairman, resigned from the Committee, and has done no Committee work for nearly twelve months, and now asks the ratepayers to re-elect him. No. 3 has been off Committee work for almost the whole year and has attended a little more than half of the Council's meetings. These are the three who enjoyed the privilege of growling while the rest did the work. If the ratepayers wish to know who these drones are they would be able to find out by looking up the minutes of the Council. In conclusion I would say that as a ratepayer who has a fairly large property interest in the borough, I should be very glad if they could get the loan of £6000, and if they did I am sure it would be spent in the interest of the whole borough, and I am sure if the ratepayers were only acquainted with the whole facts in connection with municipal matters they would pi-obably find that their interests were well looked "after, and wonld be less ready to find fault with those who spent their time in serving them. —Yours, &c, Ratepayer.