THE PROPOSED BOROUGH LOAN

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume III, Issue 213, 22 February 1882, Page 2

THE PROPOSED BOROUGH LOAN

We are rather anxious to hear what arguments Councillor King will advance on Friday evening in support of his motion for a £2500 loan ; for while many, very many, reasons occur to us why such a motion should not be carried (at an}' rate, at present) we are at a loss to discover one in favor of it. In the first place, the Council has not resolved upon auy large expenditure yet, nor has any e.-timato been formed of what expenditure is immediately necessary or desirable. Then, a loan of £2500 is not needed, because it could not be profitably spent just now. In three months winter will be upon us, aud consequently the loan could not be raised m sufficient time to allow of its being put to a beneficial use this season. In the third place, such a loan is not necessary, because the Finance Committee of the Couucil have made arrangements for an overdraft which will enable the Couucil to do all that cau with advantage be done just now. The amount of that overdraft is said to be £1000, and the terms upon which it is granted are said to be so favorable that it would be a financial absurdity to extinguish it by a permanent loan. In the fourth place, it is extremely doubtful whether it will be at all necessary to raise a loan for streetmaking purposes in this Borough. At present no official estimate of receipts and expenditure have been made, but from remarks made at the last Council meeting it would appear that Councillor Partridge estimates the revenue at something like £1400, and that Counoillor King fears £400 will be spent in office expenses. JLI UIPKH >.i..,i«rn I MtirK uru rw.rriH mil. 1.,figures there will be plenty of people to contend that the balance — £1000 — will be quite enough to spend ou the streets annually. On that point wg at present offer no opinion. Then again, the ratepayers have no right to be asked to saddle themselves with a permanent debt until the Council has by its administration of ordinary revenue established its reputation for economy and prudence. When it hns shown that ordinary funds have been spent to advantage, and has made out a prima facie case for being entrusted with borrowed monej-s, there is not the least reason to doubt that the burgesses, true to their own interests and to the permanent interests of the borough, will be ready to give their consent to a loan. But to ask for a loan for publi works before the Council has decided what works shall be carried out, and before it has been shown that the money is required — nay, more, in spite of positive evidence that it is not — would be to ask for that which the burgesses would scarcely grni.t. We cannot think that the Council will adopt Councillor King's motion.