CLAUSE FIVE.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17809, 7 July 1923, Page 13

CLAUSE FIVE.

TRAMWAYS AMENDMENT "A FRIEND IN DISGUISE." Considerable opposition has, been shown by Bryndwr and South Brighton residents to Clause 5 of the Tramways Act Amendment Bill, which provides for altering the allocation of loan moneys, and for empowering the Tramway. Board to determine which of the various items on the loan sohedule are more urgent than others. It is submitted by some who talc© a rather/ wiSer view of the matter that the opposition to the clause is not well founded, and that the opponents have more to gain by withdrawing their opposition than by persisting in it. They base their.opinion on the following grounds:— If Clause 5 is allowed to become law, the residents of Bryndwr and South Brighton have a chance of persuading the Board to transfer unused moneys from the improvement to existing lines section to the new lines section, which would enable the Board to complete, practically, the whole of the work in the new lines section in the loan schedule. It has been stated that the Board has decided not to construct any new worts during the current financial year, for the reason that already the standing charges, consequent on the loan expenditure already incurred, will be increased considerably, necessitating, it is supposed, some slight increase in fares. It is ,unlikely that the Board will feel disposed to increase this burden by constructing new lines; but if the position improves during next financial year, the Board would be open, probably, to consider the construction of new lilies. If the opposition to Clause 5 is successful, which, seems to be likely, the position would be that the Board, if it proceeded with the construction of new lines in the order in which they were approved by the ratepayers, when the loan proposals were voted upon, would spend the available money on the Manchester street lino in which case there would be no funds availabk for either the Bryndwr or South Brighton lines. If that state of things eventuated, the Bryndwr and South Brighton residents could only hope to get their lines by one of twi processes—cither by raising a new loan without a vote of the ratepayers, which it is understood Parliament -is to be asked to authorise but which the Board is opposing; or by submitting additional loan proposals to a poll of alt the ratepayers. Tn view of the Board's present financial position, it does not seem likely that the ratepayers would approve of this additional loan, particularly when it is borne in mind that the impression- is widespread that the present financial position of the Boara is largely, if not entirely, due to the extension of existing lines into already thinly populated suburban districts. In short, the hurdles that the opponents of Clause 5 are putting up for themselves are much higher and more difficult than those which Clause 5, if it became la w> would present. They fear, of course, that if Clause .5. goes through, tha Board will divert available money front the new line section to one of the other sections; but they overlook the fact that they would have the opportunity to persuade the Board to allocate it otherwise.