HUTT AND PETONE NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 174, 16 April 1908, Page 10

HUTT AND PETONE NEWS.

THE PROPOSED TRAMWAYS. MEETING- AT LOWER HUTT. A meeting of ratepayers of the combined boroughs of Lower Hutt and Petone was held in the Town Hall, Lower Hutt, last night. Mr. T. A. Peterkin (Mayor of Lower Hutt) was in tho chair, and Mr. J.' W. M'Ewaa (Mayor of Petone) was on his left. The Chairman stated that a month ago a meeting was held in connection with tramway works between Hutt, Taita,- and Petone, and circulars had since, been sent out to the various bodies and landowners interested. There was nothing which would give such an impetus to the district as a tramway, and the sooner they got something in the way of a good scheme, of traction the better it would' be for all concerned. He called on Mr. M'Ewan (Mayor of Petone) to speak on the subject. Mr. M'Ewan was of opinion that the engineers had been rather timid' in their proposals. Ho thought that a guarantee scheme iniglit.be arranged" to enable the work to bo considered seriously. The' question was—Were those present agreeable to, guarantee, sr-ie-thing towards the probable loss on the first few years' working of the tramway?; xiie uv.--ficit would probably be .£IB4O :on'the' first year's working.' These remarks vfere not in advocacy' of any particular scheme,\ but if necessary he would- later state his views on the sc'iome. .

The Chairman then asked; the Engineer to describe tho routes of the proposed tramway system. . Mr. _Rix-Trott, Engineer to the Lower. Hutt Council, read the report',of the engineers. Questions were asked' as, to who was agitating in favour of the tramway .system. From the attendance he did not think there war much enthusiasm displayed,'. , • The Chairman' said that'ho thought-all thoso who had any idea of the future were in fau.ur of the scheme. There was, not,-so far as ha knew, any "agitation" either anioi'.gst speculators or residents,, but lie thought. the majority were only waiting .for. the scheme to be taken, in hand. '

Mr. . Birch 6aid "he was not the scheme, but he would' like to say that in his opinion it was: .tooelaborate for tlie two boroughs in their v present stage.' Judging from the 1 attendance of residents from the outlying districts to 1 be served bv the , system, lie did rot think tlioso who would receive the,greatest benefit were very enthusiastic, y . ' The. Chairman said, they were not wedded to the . scheme proposed. . There was nothing to prevent a better scheme being brought forward., , ; .

-Mr. Pole, asked; who the guarantors;'.were against the ldss which might occur on tho first few-'-^eara*'-. irorkinjgi, The Chairman explained that Mr. Hermann Lewis was in charge of the offer of a £10,000 guarantee,-which had not been'renewed, and was not at present available. Councillor J. Ward, said that be thought that ,the guarantee offered was not worth the paper it was on, and he fconsiriered a better offer urns made some years ago by Cap-, tain Jl'Donald, who was then Mayor of-Hutt Then a guarantee of v£2o,oiio was offered, but was not'accepted: He, considered that the scheme proposed, was too'elaborate for., tho population in the Valley.. . .. - ■ The Engineer (Mr. >Rix-Trott) made a comparativel, statement with regard to the cost of similar. installations .elsewhere, and said he, considered that the local scheme proposed was quite feasible at tho price. ■ Mr. Hurrell thought that the scheme was the very thing for the two boroughs; ■ . : Mr. MCEwan (Mayor of Petbne) said that within a year the whole aspect of the scheme would be altered. It wa6 necessary to apply to Parliament for a measure authorising the formation of a tramway board. The , feeling of the residents was undoubtedly- in' favour of a system of tramway traction for the Hutt Valley. They had. got their, engineers to-re-port' on. the subject, and he considered that they .had got an honest report. (Hear, hear.) He considered, that 'no iate,should- be struck unless there was a loss. * He. was "not altogether in favour of a guarantee froni a few to coyer any loss that, might arise, but he was in favour of all ■ affected . owners being rated for tho general, good.'- He'favoured rating 'on the bottermcnt principle in' this matter. ,- ■ ... .. . .' . Councillor ; Russell,.Hutt,. ; moved that ;those present affirm that an electric*tramway.system is desirable. He submitted that nothing would meet _ vfith. general approval unless it was a combined ■' system, "controlled by ' the two. boroughs. This would also be a great factor in bringing about the long-considered' amalgamation of tho Boroughs of Petone and Lower Hutt. .• He advocated the establishment of a trust fund to be provided' by those willing to guarantee against a loss on the scheme, such funds to be returned; plus interest, if loss did not exceed the' estimate.

Mr. -H.'E. Leighton seconded the motion, but did not agree with, tlie suggested guarantee. Ho' belipved that the fairest form'of guarantee was a tax on the land, as this would reach all who benefited by . the installation. Captain M'Donald spoke in favour of. rating on betterment principles. He • congratulated the , joint Engineers, ,011 their comprehensive scheme fribmitted, and .thought that the predicted loss should be met by the usual municipal means, viz., a rate. ' • \ Mr. M'Ewan'' (Mayor' cf'Pctcno) advocated that power be. granted, t, otho.proposed Tramway Board to rate for such area-as would produce revenue sufficient to .'cover any prospective less. ' ,The motbn.was put:to the meeting and carric(i.. ■ . 1 : .' > A meeting of thc.'Hutt Valley Gun.Club was held last night. The balance-sheet submitted showed a credit .'balance''.of ..Sol. ,17s. Id. Tho following officers were elected for the coming vear .—Patron. Mr. 0. ;S. Watkius; president, Mr. G. • Cudby;/ vice-preii dents,' Messrs. F. Gadsby, S. Scott, ; A.. M'Vinish. and J. Young; committee,-Messrs. A. F. Yorke, T. M'Grath, IX fiaucock, W. Buck, A. G.. Saunders, P. Edwards, and Kilminister. Mr. J. Brafeell waa re-elected secretary. :

All nominations for. the Avondale Jockey , Club's Autumn meeting, advertised to'; close on Good Friday,' will close on Saturday between 6 and 9 p.m. Messrs. Ross arid M'Qregor draw attention to their ' advertisement ■ giving particulars of large areas of sheep and cattle country for '"' sale ; on tho West' Coast.