NORMANBY PETITION

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 28 June 1935, Page 7

NORMANBY PETITION

Proposed Merger With County EVIDENCE BEFORE COMMISSION Validity of Signatures Question POSITION OF THE COUNCIL ±'or the purpose of deciding whether the signatures to the petition presented by certain ratepayers in the Normanby Town Board’s area to -have that area merged into the Hawera County Council were valid, Mr F. id. Waters, Commissioner of Crown .Lands at New Plymouth, sat as a commission at. -Normanby this morning. Mr J. M. Burns acted for the petitioners, and Mr R. J. O’Dea for the Normanby Town Board, while Mr John Houston watched the interests of the Hawera County Council. The petition was presented to the Hawera County Council in February, and the Act provides that before the county council can take the necessary action in the matter, the petition must contain a majority of ratepayers, and fuither must represent more than half of the rateable property within the area. When the petition was being taken round among the ratepayers, a counter petition was commenced asking the county council not to give effect to the original petition. Other petitions were prepared asking that certain names be removed from the original petition. When these- petitions were presented to the council, other petitions were received by that body asking that these withdrawals 1>« replaced on the original petition. Further complications arose as to whether certain persons were qualified to sign the petitions or not, and the county council decided to set up a commission enquiring whether the signatures were valid. PROTECTION FOR COUNCIL. After outlining the history of the matter from the point of view of the county council, Mr John Houston said that the procedure of appointing a commission was designed as a protection for the council. Where doubts were entertained as to the legality of proceedings, it was not expedient that the council should be placed in the position of adjudicating on the matter, and for that reason the legislature had made full provision for a tribunal before which all interested parties may freely appear, and which would give an authoritative ruling after hearing evidence and argument. The county council had simply adjourned its con sidoration of the merits of the petition until the result of the commission’s enquiry was made known. After dealing at some length with the legal aspect of the position as defined by the Counties Act and its amendments, Mr Houston said that counter petitions were not provided lor by statute. It was, however, a document properly tendered to the council with the object of influencing ±he eouncil in a descretionary matter. If the commissioner ruled against the petition then it was still open to the petitioners to recommend their procedure. If he ruled for the petitioners then it was still for the council to exercise its statutory discretion m the matter.

APPLICATION REFUSED. The clerk of the Hawera County Council. Mr J. W. J. Harding, questioned by Mr O'Dea, said that a number of applications had been made by the town board officers to see the petition, but these applications were refused. Mr Harding said that he had refused to show the petition because it was placed in his trust and held on behalf of that body. .It was for the council to say when the petition should be made public. The chairman of the county council had concurred in the matter of refusal, but legal advice had not been obtained on the matter. Mr O’Dea: Had the petition been in your possession before January 23? —Yea. Did you divulge the fact that there were certain withdrawals to anyone?— Yes: to the solicitors for the petitioners.

Ford Plant at Dagenham.—ln a period of difficulty and world■wide depression, in the face of natural •obstacles, the gignntic Ford undertaking at Dagenham was conceived and brought to fruition. It. is an example of heroic pluck, the rearing of this hive of industry which stands like a lighthouse of hope in a storm-tossed sea of industry. It lifts the beckoning hand of faith in a time when many men are losing courage. It wins not built in a period of boom when goods almost sold themselves; it was erected in a time of depression, its purpose and mission being to create international trade. The potential output of Dagenham at the moment is between 1000 and 1500 vehicles a day. In a word, this great underbaking presents England with a magnificent addition to export revenue.

Were all the signatures accompanied by statutory declaration on January 23 ?—Yes. Some of the declarations were dated January 25, were they not ?—I do not think so. Mr O’Dea pointed out that several declarations had been dated January 26.

Mr Harding said that certain signatures had been disallowed»by him which were considered not to be in order. It was not within his jurisdiction to enquire into the validity of an agent’s authority, but the signatures of agents without authority could not and were not allowed Mr O’Dea: What was the basis of your calculations, capital or unimproved value?—Capital. Do you know that Normanby is rated on improved value? —Yes. Did that mean nothing to you ? No. To Mr Waters, Mr Harding said that access to the Normanby rate books had been refused by both the clerk and the chairman of the board (Mr D. Stewart). They refused to produce them until they had obtained legal advice. PENALTY FOR REFUSAL. It was pointed out by Mr Houston that the Act provided for a penalty of £5 for refusal to supply this information. Mr Harding, continuing, said that he had conferred with the county chairman, who had told him not to be too drastic. TOWN BOARD’S CASE. In presenting the case for the town board, Mr O’Dea said that the commission was not concerned to .enquire into the advisability of abolishing Normanby as a separate corporate entity, and the question of whether or not the merger should take pla.ee concerned only the county council. The main question for consideration was whether a majority in number of rq&epayers had signed the petition. Proof of the number of ratepayers entitled to sign the petition would be given by production of the rate book.

Production of the rate book was in itself proof of the truth of its contents, said Mr O’Dea. There might have been some changes of ownership since the rate book' was last brought up-to-date and these would be put in. Tnere were 138 ratepayers whose names appeared in the rate book as at March 31, 1934. Of these a certain number had not paid their rates and must be deleted^ SIGNATURES WITHDRAWN. Certain of the signatures to the petition had been withdrawn and tb« withdrawal of those signatures had been notified to the Hawera County Council, continued Mr .O’Dea. In addition, a number of ratepayers who signed the petition but did not withdraw, had signed a counter petition, which also was presented to the Hawera County Council. Certain of those who withdrew their signatures purported to reinstate themselves on the petition and a number of letters lequesting such reinstatement had been put in. It was submitted that once a signature was withdrawn there could be no going back. One signature bad been added after the petition was presented to the Dawera. County CpugciJ. That signature could not ‘hold and mpst bo entirely disregarded in computing the number of those who signed the petition. Section 4, snb-se.etion B, of tjio Counties Act provided that the signatures to the petition should bo verified by statutory declaration in the prescribed form. Mr Q’Doa was instructed that a number of these declarations were not signed until after tlie petition was presented to the Hawera County Council, and this was one more of those irregularities which would operate to nullify the petition.

NOT DISCLOSED. The petition was not' disclosed to the Normanby Town Board prior to presentation, and for a considerable time afterwards, 'but lists of withdrawals of signatures were made available to the petitioners with in a very short time after they were filed, continued Mr O’Dea. It was also questionable whether the declaration of the county clerk was a good and valid one. It was made not from particulars supplied by the town clerk as should have been done, but from a Scrutiny of the town board’s valuation roll made some months before the petition was presented. Subsequent alterations were made by the Valuation Department and by the town clerk pursuant to his power, and of these a county clerk could have had no knowledge.

Perhaps the most striking feature about this vast London Ford development is not so much the plant itself, but the prodigious faith in the future of the industry in the Old World. Some three years ago Dagenham was a depressing and unpromising piece of apparently win si e land. There were few dwellers thereon, and a few industries alone.were situated along the River Thames frontage. To-day the Ford industrial estate embraces GOO acres lying within twelve miles of Charing Cross, and situated on the north bank of the Thames. It labuts the London, Tilbury and Southend main lines. The L.M.S. railway passes right through the estate, and, today, situated on and adjacent to th«j» Ford estate there are a- score or so of large and important manufacturing concerns quite independent of the motor manufacturing plant.

Certain signatures on the petition purported to bo those of ratepayers sighed on their behalf by agents and certain authorities have been put in to justify the signing of the petition. Any such signatures wore absolutely worthless.

‘The Normanby town, district was rated upon unimproved value and therefore the ordinary meaning of tlie term “rateable property” meant the unimproved value of the property wh;cli was liable for rates within the Normanby town district. In the present case, for example, there were two hotels within the Normanby town district with a very small unimproved value, and a .very large capital value. One of these hotels paid per year in rates the sum of 6s fkl. It would he manifestly unjust to give to the ratepayer of tli at hotel voting power in respect of some £I6OO capital value when his hext-door neighbour, also paying 6s 3d per year in rates for land without any buildings has a voting power of about £6O. There is a duty to pay rates on unimproved value and there is also a corresponding right to exercise a franchise and it would be correlative commensurate. To sum up, the total number of signatures required for a majority was as follows: Total number of ratepayers 133, less unpaid rates 11, total 122; number required for majority 62. The total number of signatures good, bad or indifferent was 83. Deduct non-ratepayers 11, ratepayers whose rates are not paid 3, signed too late 1, signatures withdrawn 22, signatures by agents 8, making the total deductions 45, and the balance was 38. RATE COLLECTION EVIDENCE, Henry D. Hughes, town clerk to the Normanby Town Board, gave evidence , concerning the matter of rate collection by the board. Ho said that, on February 17. he presented a petition to tfie County Council asking that certain signatures be withdrawn from the original petition. He had attended the county office on January 24 and asked to see the original petition, but this request had been refused. The town clerk was cross-examined at some length by Mr Bums relative to the transfer of certain properties and for the reason of the transfer. He said it was not for the reason of building up the counter petition that the transfers were made but for business reasons.

Concerning one signature, a declaration was submitted by one person whose name appeared on the petition that she bad not signed the petition nor had she authorised anyone else to do so for her." This document was considered by Mr Burns to be in the nature of a: ; serious charge, and She demanded that the person appear for the purpose of cross-examination. The commissioner requested that the woman, whose name was Walden, be brought to the inquiry for the purpose. At this stage the commission adjourned for lunch. DID NOT SIGN. . Rangiao Walden, in evidence, said that she had not signed the petition nor 'had she authorised any person to sign for her. She could not remember anyone calling upon her asking her to sign the petition. Mr Burns said that unfortunately, since tlie preparation of the petition, Mr Lloyd, who had interviewed the woman, had died. Mr Burns said that probably Mr Leydon could explain the position, and he called him to give evidence.

In evidence, Joseph P. Leydon said that the late Mr Lloyd had told 'him that the signature had been written by the sister of Rangiao Wtalden, as the latter could not write. The signature had been made in the presence of Rangiao Walden and her father. Mr O’Dea objected to this form of evidence as “hearsay,” and not permissible as evidence, the objection being noted by the commissioner. Mr Harding then presented a letter from the Valuation . Department in which a transfer to Constance and Edna Free was acknowledged by the Department. These were two of the petitioners whose signatures were objected to by Mr O’Dea.

Mr O’Dea addressed the Commissioner at length concerning the legality of agents signing on behalf of a ratepayer. He quoted the oases of the Robson Estate and Methodist Church Trustees where authorities had been given to vote, but icould not be applied to the petition. Ho also dwelt at some length on the definition of the Act con-

The English Ford Motor Company', which -was floated in England with a capital of over £8,000,000, has, under the direction of Sir Pereival Perry, equipped the estate with roads, railway sidings, sewers, electric plants for the supply of light, power and heat, installed gas mains, provided a water supply, and. built a jetty nearly 2000 ft. long capable of berthing ships up to 10,000 tons displacement, the largest jetty', in fact, in the Thames. Power houses, blast furnaces, coke ovens and wells have been developed by the Ford Company, not only for its own supply but for the needs of present or future tenants requiring coke, pig-iron, coaltar, benzole, ammonium sulphate, naphthalene, or blast furnace slag. Round about the Ford enterprise has sprung up one of the biggest housing developments in England, while a labour exchange adjoins tho estate, the

cerning the rateable value of properties. The counter petition which had been presented asking that the county take no action concerning the merger had no bearing on the present commission, but Mr O’Dea* claimed that the county council would be unwise to ignore it altogether, not that there was any suggestion that they -would do so. Mr O’Dea, however, suggested that the commissioner should take the counter petition into consideration when coming to a decision. Julia Walden, sister of Rangiao Walden, declared in evidence that she had not signed her sister’s name to the petition, nor Iliad she seen anyone else do so. She had not seen Mr Lloyd at all on tlie night when her father signed the petition, declaring that it was Mr Leydon tvlio came to the house with the petition. Her sister had not been in the same room on the night in question.

•Miss Walden wrote her sister’s name on a piece of paper at the request of Mr O’Dea, and satisfied the commissioner that she had not written the 'signature on the petition. Mr O’Dea said, considering the fact that the signature on tho }ietition had been proved to be a false one, a certain doubt must be cast upon the document as a whole.

“I will go into the question and after I have carefully perused the signatures land considered what you have had to say will make my report to the county council,” said Mr Waters when the case was concluded.. He will have the assistance of Mr Harding and Mr Hugnfes concerning the matters which arise concerning the Tate aoll.

L.G.O.C. runs services of buses to and from it, and all The important joint {stock banks offer every facility. Thus, out of a marsh has sprung a civilisation —a most astonishing development of modern industrialism. Not merely the largest motor vehicle manufacturing works in the British Empire; not merely the best-equipped in Europe; but—far more important—those in which are produced Ford | passenger ears and utility vehicles sold jin the British Isles, the British Em- | pire and Continental Europe. These w r orks have been planned and equipped expressly to secure produc- ! tion as economical as it is efficient — Ito give Ford buyers the utmost value | for their money, to make Ford vehicles more than ever the least costly to buy, :to rup, or to maintain in A 1 condij tion, year after year.