HARBOUR BOARD RATING.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXIX, Issue 84, 6 June 1913, Page 2

HARBOUR BOARD RATING.

BRUCE COUNTY COUNCIL OBJECTS Ths following resolution, moved by Councillor Boyd and seconded by Councillor King, was passed at the meeting of tho Bruce County Council on Tuesday:—"That this council, on behalf of its ratepayers, here and now expresses itß justifiable indignation against a proposal by the Otago Harbour Board asking for rating authority over a district which includes the county of Bruce, and pledges itself to resist to the utmost this injury being perpetrated upon tho settlers of this county. In the first place our ratepayers in some parts of tho county are alroady overburdened with special, separato and genoral rates, so much so that an appeal is being made to the Government for some reliefj (2) in other parts the roads are so bad in wintor that settlers are unable to get egress or ingress by vehicle to their holdings; (3) this council is restrained from further increasing the rates for the purpose of road-making at the expense of financial harassment to the settlers, although first and all tho time there is urgent need for relief in this respect; (4) that if the harbour board is granted this authority and puts into execution its proposal of rating a very great injustice and injury will be perpetrated upon this county, whereby our rating authority will be overridden and rates extracted from the people that are so sorely needed to make roads to the settlers' homes. And that this protest lie forwarded to the members for Clutha, Bruce and. Tuapeka electorate:; asking their assistance in preventing this injustice being done." Councillor Boyd said that tho Otago Harbour Board, with the purpose of improving tho Dunedin harbour, was goin;: to attempt to levy rates over an are;* which included tho Bruce county. The proposed rate was three-sixteenths of a penny over ;i district which would ex tend to tlie Bluff harbour district on the south side and the Oamaru harbour district on the north side. It was a serious matter for those counties which wero to be rated. In his resolution he had refrained from mentioning the country bodies' representation on the harbour board, which representation was, to describe it in one word, farcical. Out of the 14 members on tho board thero were four counties—Bruce, Clutha, Tuapeka and Maniototo—represented by only one man, and it was farcical to expect that one man to see that his district received fair treatment. (Hear, hear.) Again, there was a river running in Bruce, Clutha and Tuapeka counties which with the expenditure of monev could be made navigable, and thus those districts could have a seaport and harbour district of their own. The work which the barbour board contemplate"l carrying out. would cost about £BO,OOO, and what reason was there, Councillor Boyd asked, to prevent the Bruce and adjoining counties saving their proportion and expending it, towards the making of a harbour for their own districts He hoped his objection to the injustice contemplated to be perpetrated would receive tho attention which it deserved (Hear, hear.) Councillor King said he had much pleasure in seconding the motion. To say that Bruce and adjoining counties' representation on the harbour board was farcical was drawing it mild, as there was no good in having one man against thirteen, his vote being overwhelmed. §ud he might just as well stay'at home. ! "I can't help thinking that if we got some of these city agitators on to the Greenfield or Clydevale muddy roads that we would get a little more sympathy from them.'' It was simply cruel to expect the county to pay this money to the harbour board when there was not enough money to maintain the county roads. (Hear, hear.)

Councillors Hitchon, Driver and Begg supported the resolution, and a deputation consisting of the chairman and Councillors King, Driver, Scott and Bussell was appointed to wait on the Hon. Jus. Allen 011 his visit.to Milton and put the council's views before liiin.