The Clutha Leader. BALCLUTHA: FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1876.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 105, 14 July 1876, Page 4

The Clutha Leader. BALCLUTHA: FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1876.

Local matters have very muoh occupied attention in this quarter during the past week, to the exclusion of Co--lonial political affairs. Except upon the subject of the Piako Swamp sale, no important debate has yet occured in the Assembly, A storm is, however, evidently brewing' in connection with various matters, and of such force as will in ali probability effect . a change of Ministry, The Opposition are working 1 cautiously and determinedly, and are evidently malting 1 some • progress. The Otago move is financial separation, and this proposition is favourably regarded by a majority of both the Auckland and Canterbury members. A policy upon affairs generally is being* carefully moulded, and is expected to secure the support of a large majority of the House. It is generally believed that the end has now commenced, and that a very short time will seal the fate .of the Vogol Government. !

0 It appears that a considerable number of ratepayers ot Balclutha are disfranchised. This has apparently given rise to considerable disappointment, strong feeling, and hasty utterances.'. Rash assertions have been made against the Town Clerk, the Mayor, and the Town Council, in connection with the matter, and it is therefore desirable, more especially on the eve of an election, that the true state ofthe matter should be clearly understood by the electors.- Seeing that so many names have been left off the citizens' roll, we were predisposed to suspect that an error had crept in somewhere, and therefore determined fully to investigate the matter. On examining the Ordinance, under which the business of the Municipality is carried on, we find clause VII is as follows : — Every male person of the full age of 21 years being resident within fche said Province who on the'firsfc day of June in any year shall be seized of or occupy any land house warehouse countinghouso or shop wifchin fche said city either as owner or tenant and whose name as such owner or occupier shall be inserted in the assessment •hereinafter directed to be made shall be a citizen of fche said city and a member of the Corporation and entitled to be enrolled on the Citizons' Holi under fche provisions of this Ordinance. Clause VIII reads-— On or before the fif teeth day of June in each year fche Town Clerk shall cause alphabetical lists oi all persons in each, of the Wards entitled to' be enrolled as cifczens under the provisions of thia Ordinance to bo prepared and such lists being ' thereupon signed by the Mayor and Town Clerk, wliich they are hereby authorised and.required to do shall form and be callod the " Citizens' Roll" whoreof the Town Clerk shall cause a sufficient number of copies for the purposes of this Ordinance to be forthwith printed or copied and ono of such cojiies fco be affixed on one or more con.spiciuous buildings in each Ward and ho shall deliver one or more copies to any citizen applying for the same on payment of a reasonable prioe for each copy. Clause X says — No alien or person in receipt of public relief or alms nor any person who being assessed, shall not havo paid all such rates directed to be levied under the provisions of this Ordinance as shall have become payable before the time of his application to be enrolled shall be entifclecl to bo so enrolled. Clause XI provides — Any person whose name shall have beeu omitted from such Citizens' 801 l may claim to have it inserted thereon and any citizen whose name appears upon such Roll may object to any other person as nofc being entitled to have his name retained thereon. Clause XLI provides that such claims shall be made accoiding to a specified form, and be lodged not later than the ■3rd July j all such objections to be lodged Sy the sth July. . Clause XL provides for the Council holding an [

.npep,-..oo.iiv,t,iiwK t .hjsy I riug.ancLdeternining / such 'chains aind ' pi !; : ' : -These are 1 t'iiu Isiausesjjearin^upon* the- -mining up of the citizens' I lists. It.will bej.observed from clause X;, that the nainesNof those in arrear in th 6 payment of rates, cannot be placed upon the citizens' roll, and this, we believe, accounts for the omission of the targemajority of those who ' now find themselves disfranchised. But there are a few who have come to the .township during 1 the past year who have now received notices of their liability to pay. rates, whose names have not been .placed upon the citizens' roll. It is in seeking the reason for this that the greatest confusion arrises,' seeing- that Clause VII above quoted, provides that every male person, &c,, whose name shall be inserted in the assessment directed to be made, shall be entitled to be enrolled on the citizens' roll. To understand this, it is necessary to point out that while the Ordinance that the citizens' roll shall be made up by the 15rh June, it is .silent as to when the assessment shall be made. In Dunedin, we believe, the practice is to levy the !issesemen tin the beginning of the year, and frp m /-that roll the citizens' list is compiled • six months afterwards, viz., on the 15th June. In Balclutha, it has been the custom. to levy the assessment sometime apout , June,, and ,t'p compile" the citizens' list from- this assessment roll. This we think, is utterly repugnant to the spirit of our' general electoral laws, which include residence for six months' as a necessary qualification. The practice hitherto followed in Balclutha, is also open to the grossest wholesale corruption, as any candidate for — say, the Mayoralty, might bring hundreds of strangers into the township 1 : ! on the Ist June and get them ienrolled on the citizens' roll. .. K Tliey could then depart to their home| and only- return on the day. of the rjpll to record tfieir | votes. From this it would seem thatt the assessment, from which tlie citizens*roll was meant to be made 'up, was the one for the past year, or. one whick had [ been made up at least six months pra-c | viously— not \he^ one for the ensuing , year. This iiiea ;'is\ also, bore out by Clause XX,. which JiplaVes. that no one shall be entitled' to^'^oWfii^iil he, shall, have paid all rates, ''M/hlcli'shaliliay^ been declared §jx monjtbs pi?4yiously. )> 'V But notwithstanding all thfs, some may; arbitrary say' t'fiat the assessment roll for the ensuing year' is tlie one meant lin the Ordinance. Then, supposing the-. case that the Council determined noti | to levy an asessment at all for She en« stiing year, w h'ut then ? ' ' . felea'rly in this case' there would be : no "assessment roll from which tb compile the citizens' list; ■ [ the Corporation wutild thus have no members,- there. Gould be no elections and the Corporation would.^-tesMefunct But further, the, assessment roll for the i eh-uing year was not in existence at the date the- Ordinance -proyides that ': the citizens' list must be ihadeup. The , assessment notices are/elated 15th June; ; By the Ordinance, these are required ; to be served during the 'progress of 1 ; valuation, and if the' dates of the notices; prove anything, tlie.y v only prove that iotf the 15th June the valuator had entered upon the performance of Ms duties. As a matter of fact the assessment was only laid before and passed by. the' Council on the 20th June, five days after the citizens' list .was made up. Thus, apart altogether from the question asto which assessment roll different parties may consider should be used in compiling 1 the citizens' list, the Clerk had no op- : tion. The roll for the ensuing year was ; not in existence, and therefore' the citi- \ zens' list could not have been made up \ from i<v Thus then we submit w« have fully disposed of the rash accusations '■ which have been madB against the Council and all connected with them. '\ The only question remaining is as to ' who is responsible for a number of i names being left off the roll. ' Clearly : the individuals whose names are so omitted. The one portion of them were defaulters in the matter of their rates j , they had not contributed towards the ■ expense of the Corporation,' of which >■ they were members, and. their right to ! exercise the privilege of membership \ was vei-y properly cancelled. The ] other portion — new-comers- neglected | to make the necessary application to be enrolled, as provided for. in-.Clause XI. The Town Clerk could noMijiace them on the list. He was oblig^fb compile it from a roll upon which their names did not appear. They had themselves the pQwer id make the necessary application but did not do so>; s and, seeing that they did not sttend; to- their own business, -no one considered it his duty to do bo for them. Therefore are they disfranchised and debarred from having a voice in the question as to who shall , or shall not be Mayor or Councillors for the ensuing year. It was gratifying to find, from the large number ; of claims read at tlie Kevision Court, that the inhabitants, as a. whole, are alive to and value their privileges as citizens, and give the necessary attention to see for themselves that they shall have the right to exercise, these. . At the forthcoming election they will exercise then? influence and their vote, and we, have confidence that they will do so ( wisely, and for ttie general weal of, the Municipality.

I A few weeks agO we called attention S to the Road Board elections, urging i upon the electors to attend and record iy their votes, and urging.also upon the % members elected to 'the * necessity.^*~l| giving strict attention to the duties o^tf

« the responsible office. We regret to from various quarters that since V, : the elections the meeting's have no' i been attended with that punctuality and regularity which the ratepayers ari' -entitled to expect they would be. For -example, ia meeting* of the Clinton KoadS^Board was called for Friday, 23rd June, when only two, instead ol eight, members put in an appearance, and the meeting was adjourned to the 58th, the business muaioing unattended to. On the 28fch only three members attended, and as five are required to form a quorum, the meeting had once more to be adjourned. This is simply neglecting the business of the Board, that too at a time when so much is required to be done. Moreover, it is "very unfair to those memhers who do make a point of attending that they -should be put to so much trouble and -inconvenience to no purpose. We have -only referred to the Clinton Board as -an example, for we are aware the same thing has occurred with other Boards. If onr Provincial institutions are to be •abolished, and the business of tbe country left to Road Boards, &c, we fear the change will not be for the •better, 'but whether a change be introduced or not, we would again urge. mpon members the necessity of giving to the duties which devolves mpon them in tbe important and responsible position in which they have by 'their fellow ratepayers been placed. A

We have procured a copy of the Provincial appropriations for the current which have at last been by the General Government. 'They chieSy provide for the payment •of interest and Departmental necessities. There are, however, a few items -in' which the inhabitants of this district are interested. Under the heading of "*' Grants in aid" is-r-' Straightening channel, Kaiiangata to Clutha ... ... £300 binder the heading of Roads are — Takomairiio to Clutha 100 Clutha to Mataura 2500 Mataura Bridge to Invercargill .. 100 •Southern Trank to Port Molynex 600 'Do S : '■'•'- Kaitangata... 200 : Clinton to Waipahi , 200 Waipahi to Tapanui 50 "Tapanui to Swift Creek 100 * '■-'. 'Tapanui to Waikaka 100 -Mataura Bridge to Toi Tois ... 100 'Glenomaru to Catlin's .kiver ... 400 "•'•■ Lower Owake to Landing ... 100 -Port Molyneux tb Nuggets ... 50 - Road 50 Main Head, Tapanni 5o . r y -Koad through Kaitangata ... 5U . ■ 'i -■■' Roads, Lower Mataura 50 Under the heading of Bridges we Balclutha £200 Waipahi (central road) 150 "Mataura (main road) 200 'Pdmahaka (Waikaka road) ... 719 Wairuna Creek 40 Iricfc. Clutha 4400 t Pittriahaka (Svritzers road) .. 120 _, Stirling to Railway Bridgo ... 500 Under Jetties and Harbours are — Kaitangata Jetty Punta 140 Toi Tois Jetty 350 Coal Point Jetty . f 30 These appropriations are for the six anonths from lst April to 30th September. Only ten weeks of this period has •aow to run, and as Sir Julius Yogel tiolds the abolition of Provincialism to be an absolutely settled fact, all such V works may in future hare to be paid by direct taxation. The above ap•gjriations are small, but unless they be -expended within the next ten weeks, •even these small sums will be lost, as the appropriations wili then lapse, and ;tbey cannot, as hitherto, be renewed. Jt would be well, therefore, that those interested should use what influence they possess to induce the immediate •carryihgYout of the works referred to ; /or, at all events, that the contracts for Ithem should be entered into. All of ■them are much required, and it must be 'bWae in mind that other districts are •clamorous for having works carried out, ■and this, one may be neglected, and the appropriations spent elsewhere, mnlessjv some action be taken in the •matter,^